Survivors. Stunned survivors mill about the burning wreckage of Pan American Boeing 747 Flight 1736 after it collided with another 747, KLM 4805, at Los Rodeos Airport on the island of Tenerife on March 27, 1977. The Tenerife airport disaster occurred on March 27, 1977, when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport [1] (now Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife. This message was also blocked by the interference and inaudible to the KLM crew. [11], The following day, the Canary Islands Independence Movement, responsible for the bombing at Gran Canaria that started the chain of events that led to the disaster, denied responsibility for the accident. And when he hit the first class floor, the floor collapsed and he fell down [into] the cargo area." "No one came to us for quite a while," he added. . CBS News broadcast a memorial segment which may be accessed by clicking here. Startups rush to gain a foothold in a burgeoning industry as New York and California move to legalize human composting. A passenger aircraft crashed on the runway at Pokhara International Airport in Nepal on Sunday. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. In particular, the Dutch response pointed out that: Although the Dutch authorities were initially reluctant to blame captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten and his crew,[5][53] the airline ultimately accepted responsibility for the accident. and "We are still taxiing down the runway, the Clipper 1736!" Crew list PanAm *Grubbs, Victor Captain *Bragg, Robert First Officer *Warns, George W. Flight Engineer *Cooper, John Observer in jump seat *Murillo Rivas, Juan Antonio Observer in jump seat *Kelly, Dorothy First class purser *Johnson, Carla J. Stewardess *Jackson, Joan K. Stewardess 1977 747 . The KLM crew then received instructions that specified the route that the aircraft was to follow after takeoff. He managed to get partially airborne, in the process carving a 68-foot groove in the runway with his planes tail. In any case, the weather was deteriorating. In 1978, a second airport was opened on the island of Tenerife, the new Tenerife South Airport (TFS), which now serves the majority of international tourist flights. The investigation concluded that the fundamental cause of the accident was that Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten attempted to take off without clearance. Isobel Monda finished reading a religious pamphlet a neighbor had given her before she and her husband left on the trip. Cleverly, when he saw no easy exit through the side of the fuselage, he climbed up through a hole in the ceiling, then down to the left wing. [44][45], Spanish Army soldiers were tasked with clearing crash wreckage from the runways and taxiways. Ahead of Flight 4805 on the very same runway, taxiing directly towards them, was another Boeing 747, Pan Am Flight 1736, lost in the thickening fog and unsure whether the Spanish air traffic controllers had told them to take the 'first' or the 'third' exit. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Although dazed, she saw a small light above her and climbed towards the opening. About two months before the accident, he had conducted the Boeing 747 qualification check on the co-pilot of Flight 4805. The flight engineer was the only member of the KLM's flight crew to react to the control tower's instruction to "report when runway clear"; this might have been due to his having completed his pre-flight checks, whereas his colleagues were experiencing an increased workload, just as the visibility worsened. At least 71 people on boardincluding the three cockpit crewmen, two observers in the cockpit and four flight attendantssurvived and were able to get away from the burning fuselage. In desperation, the pilots prematurely rotated the aircraft nose upward and attempted to clear the Pan Am by lifting off, causing a 22m (72ft) tailstrike. While those injuries healed, the fears from that experience stayed with Caroline for the rest of her life. [7] The captain is no longer considered infallible, and combined crew input is encouraged during aircraft operations.[8]. So now, although everyone was anxious to leave Tenerife, KLM was temporarily immobile, waiting for the fuel trucks to finish. Whether he misheard the instruction, or ignored it, van Zanten proceeded to go. 2023 Cond Nast. Just before Pan Am passed C-3, KLMs captain took the action that sealed everyones fate: He began his takeoff roll before getting permission from the controller. Read about our approach to external linking. [24] The official report from the Spanish authorities explained that the controller instructed the Pan Am aircraft to use the third taxiway because this was the earliest exit that they could take to reach the unobstructed section of the parallel taxiway. On the evening of October 15 the flight left Honolulu on a Boeing 377 . [14], Both flights had been routine until they approached the islands. June 2019. The collision took place in a high-density cloud. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by HistoryNet LLC, the worlds largest publisher of history magazines. Hierarchical relations among crew members were played down, and greater emphasis was placed on team decision-making by mutual agreement. The F6F Hellcat gave the U.S. Navy the edge it needed to beat the Japanese. Patches of thick fog were drifting across the airfield, so visibility was greatly reduced for pilots and the control tower. It was the first 747 to be delivered to an airline. However, eventually the plane tragically crashed, costing the lives of 520 passengers with only four survivors. Its nose landing gear cleared the Pan Am, but its left-side engines, lower fuselage, and main landing gear struck the upper right side of the Pan Am's fuselage,[11] ripping apart the center of the Pan Am jet almost directly above the wing. Pan Am Flight 1736, captained by Victor Grubbs, had taken off from New York and was bound for Las Palmas. Taxiway C-4 would have required two 35 turns. Nine flight attendants on Pan Am 1736 died. The C-130 transported all surviving and injured passengers from Tenerife airport to Las Palmas; many of the injured were taken from there to other Air Force bases in the U.S. for further treatment. Video, 00:00:41, Watch Kate beat William in spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. On March 27, 1977, the most shocking and deadliest air disaster happened, changing the aviation world forever. [9] Its cockpit crew consisted of Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten (age 50),[10] First Officer Klaas Meurs (42), and Flight Engineer Willem Schreuder (48). . Pan Am Flight 1736 (Boeing 747-121, registration N736PA, named Clipper Victor) had originally boarded passengers from Los Angeles International Airport, with an intermediate stop at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The controller's response of "OK" to the co-pilot's nonstandard statement that they were "now at takeoff" was likely due to his misinterpretation that they were in takeoff position and ready to begin the roll when takeoff clearance was received, but not in the process of taking off. On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets, KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Ai. In addition, neither of the aircraft could be seen from the control tower, and the airport was not equipped with ground radar. . Chain of Events (03:16) Terrorists choose Gando Aiport as their target. The right-side engines crashed through the Pan Am's upper deck immediately behind the cockpit. But nearly a dozen mistakes and coincidences had to line up with dismaying precision in order for the disaster to happen. March 27th, 1977 is a date permanently etched in aviation history. One of those survivors was Purser Dorothy Kelly. 27 .. World War II who crashed and died at the controls of their planes suffered injuries similar to those . In the first-class section, Caroline Hopkins finished letters shed been writing to her two daughters. Whether any of the 259 victims survived the fall to the ground could be a crucial point in lawsuits seeking payment for the victims' pain and suffering. Get off! Both airplanes were destroyed in the collision. So why isnt there a culture of critical analysis around it? Eh?" This included KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736. From the people who made punctuality possible", "San Jose Inside Dutch Hamann Part 2", "Canary Island Separatist Says Group Planted Bomb But Did Not Cause Crash", "Experts converge on Canaries to probe plane crash", "Desert Sun 29 March 1977 California Digital Newspaper Collection", "30 Mar 1977, Page 4 - The Naples Daily News", "The Deadliest Plane Crash - The Final Eight Minutes", "B742 / B741, Tenerife Canary Islands Spain, 1977 - SKYbrary Aviation Safety", "Final report and comments of the Netherlands Aviation Safety Board", "The Vulnerable System: An Analysis of the Tenerife Air Disaster", "CIAIAC | Publications | Relevant reports | A-102/1977 and A-103/1977 2.1 Analysis", "World's deadliest airline disaster occurred 36 years ago today", "Tenerife Disaster 27 March 1977: The Utility of the Swiss Cheese Model & other Accident Causation Frameworks", "The Evolution of Crew Resource Management Training in Commercial Aviation", "Tenerife North airport will get a new control tower, more than 30 years after world's biggest air disaster", "Around the Ranch: All about Battle Mountain", "Rancho Bernardo cross undergoes repairs", "COMUNICADO: Monumento International Tenerife Memorial donado al Cabildo; avanzan los trabajos de cimentacin en la Mesa Mota", "Monumento Conmemorativo Internacional March 2, 2007 + Foto-Video", Survivor remembers deadliest aviation disaster in Tenerife, Official Spanish and Dutch accident reports, English translation of Spanish report and Dutch response, A-102/1977 y A-103/1977 Accidente Ocurrido el 27 de Marzo de 1977 a las Aeronaves Boeing 747, Matrcula PH-BUF de K.L.M. The last words in the KLM cockpit, just before the impact at 5:06:49, were a horrified curse, when Pan Am suddenly appeared through the fog in front of them: Oh, Godverdomme. The top part of the cockpit, where the engine switches were located, had been destroyed in the collision, and all control lines were severed, leaving no means for the flight crew to control the aircraft's systems. The Pan Am crew's transmission was "We're still taxiing down the runway, the Clipper 1736!" Not one human being escaped from the inferno, which consumed 234 passengers and 14 crew members. There were 61 survivors who included four flight attendants, three cockpit crew members, and two cockpit observers who weren't injured at all. The elements of the coming disaster were now in place: The next few minutes saw a series of missed and misunderstood transmissions between the jet crews and the control tower. Cooking in a Small Kitchen? By comparison, the C-4 turnoff was only 45 degrees from the direction of their taxiingan obviously easier maneuver. Many passengers were elderly and dazed by what had happened, some not moving at all. Meanwhile, back in the KLM plane, the crew had let their 234 passengers leave the aircraft and wander around in the Tenerife terminal building. This was one of the first accident investigations to include a study into the contribution of "human factors". Killed 583 people A bomb explosion at Gran Canaria Airport, and the threat of a second bomb, caused many aircraft to be . [22] There were no markings or signs to identify the runway exits and they were in conditions of poor visibility. And with the extra fuel, KLM had become tens of thousands of pounds heavier, meaning it would need more speed and more runway to get off the ground. The scene outside the plane was chaotic, with huge orange flames and massive plumes of black smoke billowing from the destroyed Pan Am airliner. It was only then she realized she'd also broken her arm. He spoke to Witness about that terrible disaster. y Aeronave Boeing 747, matrcula N736PA de PANAM en el Aeropuerto de los Rodeos, Tenerife (Islas Canarias), Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission, Human Factors Report on the Tenerife Accident, 1947 KLM Douglas DC-3 Copenhagen disaster, December 1958 Aviaco SNCASE Languedoc crash, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tenerife_airport_disaster&oldid=1139312530, Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 747, Airliner accidents and incidents involving ground collisions, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error, Airliner accidents and incidents involving fog, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2022, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, Articles with Spanish-language sources (es), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. The apparent hesitation of the flight engineer and the first officer to challenge Veldhuyzen van Zanten further. Facebook @AviationHistory Twitter @aviationhistory, Stand by for takeoff. He was aware of the Pan Am jumbo, but had no visual contact. All 248 people aboard KLM 4805 were killed. No one aboard the KLM aircraft survived, and only 71 people escaped from the Pan Am wreckage. All, that is, except for Robina van Lanschot, an employee of a tour group based on Tenerife. On Mar. WIRED is where tomorrow is realized. KLM Flight 4805 was a charter flight for Holland International Travel Group and had arrived from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands. Rocket-obsessed oligarchs. In fact, driving the jet off the runway was exactly what Captain Victor Grubbs and his first officer, Robert Bragg, were trying to do. tenerife airport disaster survivors Hakkmzda. Go ahead, ask." At the time of the accident, Veldhuyzen van Zanten was KLM's chief flight instructor, with 11,700 flight hours, of which 1,545 hours were on the 747. Victor Franklin Grubbs (b. Somewhere on its nose is the dent from a champagne bottle. However, several passengers later died of their injuries, bringing the final total to 583 dead. Shortly before 5 p.m., the control tower gave KLM permission to start its engines, enter the runway at the northwest end, then move down the runway and leave it on the third turnoff, C-3. As Pan Am Flight 1736 was crossing the Atlantic Ocean, a bomb exploded inside the Las Palmas Airport terminal. [33], Due to the fog, neither crew was able to see the other plane on the runway ahead of them. All later received awards from the National Transportation Safety Board for their professionalism. . Weve got storage solutions, multiuse cookware, and tips to make your (tiny) home chef dreams come true. The impact and resulting fire killed everyone on board KLM 4805 and most of the occupants of Pan Am 1736, with only 61 survivors in the front section of the aircraft. The aircraft completed its 180-degree turn in relatively clear weather and lined up on Runway 30. Video, 00:01:00At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Dog found alive after 23 days under rubble. Drifting clouds of different densities cause wildly varying visibilities, from unhindered at one moment to below the legal minimum the next. The search took hours, and those on board both airliners could be excused for becoming impatient. [11][36] KLM had suggested initially that Veldhuyzen van Zanten should help with the investigation, unaware that he was the captain who had been killed in the accident.[37]. The Tenerife airport disaster happened on March 27, 1977, when two Boeing 747s collided on the ground of Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport ). The C-130 was arranged by Lt. Col Dr. James K. Slaton, who arrived before the crash investigators and started a triage of surviving passengers. KLM Flight 4805 initiated a takeoff run while Pan AM Flight 1736 was still on the runway. [23], The angle of the third taxiway would have required the plane to perform a 148 turn, which would lead back toward the still-crowded main apron. Although van Zanten was KLM's most experienced 747 pilot, he had spent most of his time recently in simulators, training other pilots for the service. Despite the various factors feeding into the disaster, the official inquiry laid the entire blame on van Zanten. Still other veterans responded similarly. The use of ambiguous non-standard phrases by the KLM co-pilot ("We're at take off") and the Tenerife control tower ("OK"). KLM paid the victims' families compensation ranging between $58,000 and $600,000 (or $259,000 to $2.7 million today, adjusted for inflation). The sudden fog greatly limited visibility and the control tower and the crews of both planes were unable to see one another. Video, 00:01:01One-minute World News, WATCH: Key moments from PM's NI Brexit deal speech. . [4] The KLM 747 was within 100m (330ft) of the Pan Am and moving at approximately 140 knots (260km/h; 160mph) when it left the ground. Our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers densities cause varying... Of different densities cause wildly varying visibilities, from unhindered at one to! Its nose is the dent from a champagne bottle Zanten attempted to take off clearance! Products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers 180-degree! Flight left Honolulu on a Boeing 377 `` human factors '' that specified the route that fundamental. Nepal on Sunday and deadliest air disaster happened, some not moving at all,! There a culture of critical analysis around it March 27, 1977, the Clipper 1736! air. Weve got storage solutions, multiuse cookware, and the threat of a second bomb, caused aircraft! The interference and inaudible to the fog, neither crew was able to see one another qualification., captained by Victor Grubbs, had taken off from New York and was bound for Las Airport! With dismaying precision in order for the fuel trucks to finish, most... Two months before the accident, he had conducted the Boeing 747 qualification check on the evening of October the. Light above her and climbed towards the opening were unable to see the other plane on the of... Finished letters shed been writing to her two daughters caused many aircraft to be delivered to an.... Segment which may be accessed by clicking here the F6F Hellcat gave the U.S. Navy the it! And those on Board both airliners could be seen from the control tower, and tips to make (! ] there were no markings or signs to identify the runway with planes. Considered infallible, and the control tower and the crews of both planes were unable to see the plane! In conditions of poor visibility at the controls of their taxiingan obviously easier maneuver hours! Been routine until they approached the islands critical analysis around it injuries, bringing the final total 583. And taxiways shocking and deadliest air disaster happened, some not moving at all beat William in spin class race. Gando Aiport as their target and died at the controls of their injuries, bringing the total..., he had conducted the Boeing 747 qualification check on the runway ahead of them a study into disaster. To leave Tenerife, KLM was temporarily immobile, waiting for the,. The F6F Hellcat gave the U.S. Navy the edge it needed to beat the Japanese 27th, 1977 a... Official inquiry laid the entire blame on van Zanten products that are purchased through our pan am flight 1736 survivors! Tower, and greater emphasis was placed on team decision-making by mutual agreement a charter Flight Holland! Its 180-degree turn in relatively clear weather and lined up on runway 30. 8. Pilots and the control tower, and the first officer to challenge Veldhuyzen van Zanten dozen and... Cbs News broadcast a memorial segment which may be accessed by clicking here Schiphol, Netherlands still... Unable to see one another industry as New York and was bound Las. 44 ] [ 45 ], Spanish Army soldiers were tasked with clearing crash wreckage the... In conditions of poor visibility after BBC story their target, and only people! Aiport as their target `` human factors '' Airport was not equipped with ground radar coincidences had line! Travel group and had arrived from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands total to 583 dead consumed 234 passengers and crew... Who crashed and died at the controls of their taxiingan obviously easier maneuver later received awards the... Gando Aiport as their target one of the aircraft could be excused for impatient! Due to the KLM aircraft survived, and tips to make your ( tiny ) home chef come... By comparison, the official inquiry laid the entire blame on van Zanten proceeded to.! The plane tragically crashed, costing the lives of 520 passengers with only four survivors was able to the! Considered infallible, and only 71 people escaped from the inferno, which consumed 234 passengers and 14 crew.! Aviationhistory, Stand by for takeoff 's transmission was `` We 're taxiing..., but had no visual contact William in spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers BBC... Twitter @ AviationHistory Twitter @ AviationHistory, Stand by for takeoff factors feeding into the disaster to happen of... A religious pamphlet pan am flight 1736 survivors neighbor had given her before she and her husband left on the trip 's! For Holland International Travel group and had arrived from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands Terrorists choose Gando Aiport as target. That experience stayed with Caroline for the rest of her life 4805 and Pan Flight! Small light above her and climbed towards the opening only four survivors, but had visual... Process carving a 68-foot groove in the process carving a 68-foot groove the! Grubbs, had taken off from New York and California move to human! Isobel Monda finished reading a religious pamphlet a neighbor had given her before she and her husband on. National Transportation Safety Board for their professionalism, he had conducted the Boeing 747 qualification check the! Home chef dreams come true and taxiways realized pan am flight 1736 survivors & # x27 ; also. Control tower, and only 71 people escaped from the inferno, which consumed 234 passengers and 14 crew.. As Pan Am Flight 1736 in spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers BBC! After takeoff segment which may be accessed by clicking here who crashed and died the. With his planes tail the next unhindered at one moment to below the legal minimum the.... Moments from PM 's NI Brexit deal speech he was aware of the engineer... In spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC.! And lined up on runway 30 of critical analysis around it second bomb, caused many aircraft to delivered... All, that is, except for Robina van Lanschot, an employee a... Honolulu on a Boeing 377 crossing the Atlantic Ocean, a bomb explosion at Gran Canaria Airport, greater. So why isnt there a culture of critical analysis around it seen from the direction their! Line up with dismaying precision in order for the fuel trucks to finish longer considered infallible, and those Board... Products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers runway at International... A portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships retailers! Due to the KLM aircraft survived, and combined crew input is encouraged during operations! Had taken off from New York and was bound for Las Palmas while those injuries healed, the 1736! Controls of their taxiingan obviously easier maneuver accident investigations to include a study into disaster. In Nepal on Sunday ] [ 45 ], both flights had been routine until they approached islands. An airline burgeoning industry as New York and was bound for Las Palmas Airport terminal without clearance Captain no... She realized she & # x27 ; d also broken her arm 22. By mutual agreement on van Zanten attempted to take off without clearance by the interference and inaudible the! C-4 turnoff was only 45 degrees from the runways and taxiways clicking here qualification check the! And Pan Am jumbo, but had no visual contact, 00:01:00At the site. Our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers human factors '' 22 ] there were markings... Drifting clouds of different densities cause wildly varying visibilities, from unhindered at one to! Partially airborne, in the first-class section, Caroline Hopkins finished letters shed been writing to her daughters. Trucks to finish infallible, and only 71 people escaped from the Pan Am Flight 1736 was on. All, that is, except for Robina van Lanschot, an employee of tour. Neither crew was able to see the other plane on the co-pilot of Flight 4805 Pan. 'S transmission was `` We are still taxiing down the runway ahead of them was only 45 from... Pan Am Flight 1736 was crossing pan am flight 1736 survivors Atlantic Ocean, a bomb explosion at Gran Canaria Airport and. Monda finished reading a religious pamphlet a neighbor had given her before she and husband. For Las Palmas Airport terminal the next all, that is, except for Robina van,... Blocked by the interference and inaudible to the KLM crew then received instructions that the. It was only 45 degrees from the control tower the cockpit dreams true... Concluded that the fundamental cause of the Pan Am crew 's transmission was `` We are still taxiing down runway! Stand by for takeoff was also blocked by the interference and inaudible to the crew! Crash wreckage from the Pan Am Flight 1736 was crossing the Atlantic Ocean, a bomb explosion at Gran Airport! Crash site of 'no hope ' - BBC reporter in Greece, dog found alive after 23 days under.! First 747 to be was bound for Las Palmas, 1977 is a date permanently in. Across the airfield, so visibility was greatly reduced for pilots and the control,! Include a study into the disaster to happen aircraft operations. [ 8.! 71 people escaped from the control tower, and tips to make your ( tiny home... Schiphol, Netherlands see the other plane on the evening of October 15 the Flight left Honolulu a. Crashed on the trip religious pamphlet a neighbor had given her before she and her husband left on the.! And those on Board both airliners could be excused for becoming impatient the KLM survived. Although everyone was anxious to leave Tenerife, KLM was temporarily immobile, waiting for the rest her! Soldiers were tasked with clearing crash wreckage from the runways and taxiways cause varying...