World's Worst Aviation Accident - 30 yrs ago today

[RAF Man]

Just a sad note from today's internet London Times newspaper.....
Remembering the world’s worst aviation accident-

The world’s worst aviation accident happened on this day 30 years ago. Two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on a runway shrouded in fog in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain killing 583 people.

Flights had been diverted from Las Palmas international airport to the smaller regional Los Rodeos airport, Tenerife, which soon became congested with large aircraft it could not easily handle. KLM and Pan Am flights were parked on a long taxiway when news came through that Las Palmas airport had reopened.

Tenerife is often plagued by fogs as moisture-rich winds drift in from the Atlantic. On March 27, 1977, a thick fog suddenly rolled in over Los Rodeos. The KLM flight prepared for takeoff, unaware that the Pan Am aircraft was also on the same runway. The control tower could not see either aircraft in the fog, and there was no ground radar at the airport. As the KLM sped down the runway, the Pan Am crew only saw its landing lights at 700 metres on a head-on collision. The Pan Am captain spun his aircraft to get off the runway, and the KLM flight tried to climb over it but hit the Pan Am plane, ripping it apart. The KLM plane then plunged to the ground a short distance away and burst into flames, and was completely destroyed. Remarkably, 61 passengers and crew on board the Pan Am aircraft survived.

I can't believe this was 30 yrs ago. May the victims Rest In Peace.

 

[RedPop4]

Thirty years, wow. I remember that.
It's 28 years since Pan Am 759 crashed here, due to wind shear.

 

[Paisley]

I saw a PBS program on that crash a few months ago. As I recall, the KLM pilot was not cleared for takeoff. The copilot reminded him of that fact once, but the pilot proceeded to take off again.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

We were talking about it this weekend - that the new Airbus 380 (?) with 800+ aboard was sort of like waving a red flag in front of terrorists. The first time one of those crashes, either due to pilot error, a ground-launched misile or mechanical failure. it'll be the beginning of the end for planes with that many seats, as it was for the Concorde.

 

[RAF Man]

There were many errors that all compounded into a serious tragedy that day. As you said Paisley the KLM co pilot questioned the Captains decission.
There was a mis-hearing of the words negative and affirmative, spoken in English and being understood by American pilots, a Spanish controller and Dutch Pilots, both with strong heavy accents. This accident caused the word Affirmative in the aviation world to be abbreviated to just "Affirm" so it could never be misinterpreted with negative again.
There was only one controller on Duty in the tower, as it was not supposed to be busy that day.
There was no ground radar, and diverted aircraft parked all over the place due to a bomb scare at near by island Las Palmas airport.
And finally a thick fog had shrouded this airfield, on a plateau 2000ft up a hillside.
A horrific example of what Murphys Law can prove, if it can happen it will.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

I had an interview in Phoenix, AZ that day. A friend of mine flew me to Orange County airport in his Cessna 172 and taxied right up on the ramp at the terminal. I deplaned and walked into the terminal from the ramp side. (That alone tells you how things have changed over the last thirty years!) I boarded a Hughes Airwest DC-9 and was seated in the last row aisle. As we taxied out, everybody forward of me had the newspaper opened to that Tenerife crash news - complete with pictures of burning debris and scorched passengers. What a way to start an airline career!

That day I passed my interview and got my first airline job.

-dixon cannon

 

[RAF Man]

A memorable day for you there DC, for good and bad reasons. I guess one you'll never forget.