The air accident that spurred the modernization of airplanes and became the deadliest in history, claiming 587 lives, left a profound mark worldwide. It involved two planes that together remain etched in the minds of pilots everywhere.
The disaster at Tenerife Airport on March 27, 1977, significantly transformed aviation safety standards, even though the true horror unfolded before the planes had left the runway.
On that day, two aircraft—a KLM flight and a Pan Am flight—collided on the ground at Tenerife Airport. Neither flight was originally scheduled to land there but was forced to do so due to a terrorist incident at Gran Canaria Airport, which injured one person.
Both planes ended up in the same part of the airport. The KLM aircraft was instructed to wait, while the Pan Am aircraft was to follow it. However, this is where the tragedy occurred: the KLM plane attempted to take off without authorization.
The situation was further complicated by fog, which caused the Pan Am plane to miss its turn. The KLM aircraft began its takeoff when it shouldn’t have, only realizing the presence of the other plane when it was too late.
The recording of the plane crash
A recording from the Pan Am flight captured the captain exclaiming, “Damn, that son of a b*tch is coming!” before the co-pilot screamed, “Get out! Get out! Get out!” The Pan Am plane tried to leave the runway while the KLM jet was taking off – then they collided.
Everyone on the KLM plane, 234 passengers and 14 crew members, died. 319 people died on the Pan Am plane, but there were 61 survivors. The total number of fatalities was 583.
KLM issued an apology after discovering that the captain mistakenly believed he could take off, and the company was forced to pay $110 million in compensation to the families and damages, reports the Express.
This tragic event led to a change in flight regulations. It was discovered that the word “OK” caused confusion for the KLM captain regarding whether he could take off. Air traffic control is now required to use only the word “takeoff” when allowing or canceling a takeoff; at any other time, the word “departure” must be used.
