What Caused the 1977 Tenerife Airport Disaster in Canary Islands, Spain?
At Los Rodeos Airport in the Canary Islands, Spain, now Tenerife North Airport, dense fog and a series of miscommunications between the crews of KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, along with air traffic control, led to the deaths of 583 passengers and crew on both flights on March 27, 1977.
The high number of deaths from the runway collision officially made this disaster the deadliest in aviation history.
Nearby at Las Palmas Airport, a bomb threat was called in, which forced all inbound flights to divert to Los Rodeos Airport in the Canary Islands. As more planes landed, taxiways became used as parking spaces, causing some aircraft to use the runway as a taxiway and backtrack to take off in the proper direction.
As the day went on, heavy fog covered the airport, which made it difficult for air traffic controllers to see the aircraft. Pan Am 1736 was still taxiing to exit the runway when KLM 4805 misunderstood its departure clearance as a clear-for-takeoff clearance, causing the runway incursion.
Aboard KLM Flight 4805, all 248 passengers and crew members were killed, while 335 passengers aboard Pan Am Flight 1736 were killed, leaving 61 survivors.
After the incident, major changes in international aviation safety.
These included improvements in cockpit communication protocols, standardized phraseology in air traffic control, and the installation of ground radar at major airports to prevent ground aircraft collisions
Overall, the Tenerife Airport disaster of March 27, 1977, is labeled as a turning point in aviation that transformed how pilots and controllers communicate, emphasizing clarity to keep passengers safe.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Why did KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 use the Runway to Taxi?
The small airport lacked parallel taxiways, and the main apron was blocked by diverted aircraft. Both jumbo jets had to use the primary runway to maneuver into position.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1guwthw/til_that_in_the_tenerife_air_disaster_the/
2) Who was Held Responsible for the Tenerife Airport Disaster?
The Captain of KLM Flight 4805, Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, was held responsible, as he incorrectly assumed he had clearance to take off and rejected warnings from his own flight engineer. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster
3) Did Los Rodeos Airport have Radar?
At the time of the 1977 Tenerife Airport disaster, Los Rodeos did not have round radar. Air traffic controllers had to rely on voice radio communications to track the positions of aircraft on the ground. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenerife_airport_disaster
Source: https://staging.elkford.ca/tenerife-disaster-a-deep-dive-into-the-air-crash-that-shocked-the-world
Why it matters
The 1977 Tenerife Airport disaster led to critical changes in aviation and communication safety protocols that have prevented similar tragedies.
Sources
Continue Reading
What Caused the 2001 Crash of American Airlines Flight 587?
Upon lift-off on November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300-600, encountered severe wake turbulence from the previous takeoff of Japan Airlines Flight 47, a Boeing 747-400, forcing the first officer to apply full federal movements to counter the turbulence, leading the vertical stabilizer to snap off, and the plane to crash into Queens, New York.
ReadWhy did American Airlines Flight 191 Crash Minutes After Takeoff?
On the afternoon of May 25, 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 (AA191), a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10, took off from Chicago-O’Hare International Airport’s Runway 32R bound for Los Angeles International Airport. Upon lifting off from the runway, the left engine tore off the wing and fell onto the runway, severely damaging hydraulic and electrical lines, causing the aircraft to stall and crash 4,600 feet past the end of the runway.
ReadWhat Caused Japan Airlines Flight 123 to Crash in 1985?
On June 2, 1978 , a Japan Airlines Boeing 747-SR100 suffered a tail strike at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan. Boeing technicians performed a faulty repair using two separate splice plates instead of one continuous plate with three rivet rows, cutting the part’s fatigue life by 30 percent. Seven years later, on August 12, 1985, after 12,318 pressurization cycles, the weakened metal tore open on the Boeing 747, leading to the deaths of 520 passengers and crew aboard Japan Airlines Flight 123.
Read