Tenerife Disaster.FLV
Channel: Anbr Cama
Date: 2012-01-22

Tenerife Disaster
1977
Location: Tenerife Airport, Canary Islands
Fatalities: 583
Survivors: 61

Fortunately for us, the deadliest airplane accident in history is the sort of thing that could never happen twice. It's amazing enough that this happened even once, and it stands as proof that a great number of things usually have to go wrong before a disaster can occur.
After a terrorist bombing at Gran Canaria (Las Palmas) International Airport, five large aircraft and a number of small aircraft that had been scheduled to stop there were diverted to the Los Rodeos Airport on Tenerife. Los Rodeos was a much smaller airport, with one runway with a parallel taxiway and four exits between them. Planes usually taxied up the taxiway, then turned onto the runway and took off. In these extremely cramped conditions however, the parked aircraft took up a significant amount of the taxiway, meaning that a plane had to taxi up the runway and then somehow turn around to take off.

Two 747s waiting at Los Rodeos were Pan Am 1736 and KLM (a Dutch airline) 4805. As soon as the Gran Canaria airport reopened, the Pan Am was ready to leave. However, the captain of the KLM had decided to refuel at Los Rodeos, apparently to save time since he was in a hurry to get home, and the plane was blocking the Pan Am from getting onto the runway. Refueling both kept the Pan Am behind the KLM and made time for a heavy fog to set in.

When it was finally ready, the KLM was told to taxi up the runway and turn 180 degrees to prepare to take off. The Pan Am was told to taxi up to the third exit, cross back to the taxiway (clear at that point of other airplanes), then turn back onto the runway after the KLM left. However, the crew of the Pan Am was confused about which exit to take, particularly since they were not marked by number and visibility was low in the fog. Also, the slant of the exits meant that the third exit would require performing two 135 degree turns, nearly impossible in that amount of space, while the fourth exit would require two comfortable 45 degree turns. The Pan Am continued taxiing to the fourth exit.

The captain of the KLM (an arrogant and difficult-to-work-with man who spent most of his time training new pilots, including his flight engineer on this flight, or talking to the media rather than flying) began to prepare for takeoff. His flight engineer pointed out that they did not have clearance to leave. They asked the controller for clearance, but the answer was unclear, partly due to interference from the Pan Am radioing at the same time to point out that they were still on the runway. The flight engineer did not dare point out a second time that they did not have proper clearance, potentially embarrassing the captain. The fog meant that neither plane could see the other, the local air traffic controller could hardly see the two planes, and the crew of the Pan Am most likely believed that nobody would be allowed to take off in such low visibility.

The KLM began to take off down the runway. They came in view of the Pan Am just as the Pan Am reached the fourth exit. The Pan Am pilot took a hard left onto the exit, and the KLM pilot hurriedly attempted to take off. Because of their enormous weight, being full of fuel, and their steep takeoff angle, their tail scraped along the runway, and the bottom of the KLM and its landing gear hit the upper right side of the Pan Am, tearing the top off. The KLM plane was momentarily airborne, but it had lost use of two of its engines, and it crashed back onto the runway. The enormous fuel fire killed everyone on board. 61 people on the Pan Am, including the flight engineer, ultimately survived.

Conversations with air traffic control became much more standardized, avoiding confusion such as whether the KLM had clearance to take off, after this accident. Crew resource management, considering the crew to be a team and downplaying the importance of the captain, has also been emphasized to avoid situations like that of the KLM cockpit.