[2][3], The subsequent investigation by Spanish authorities concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the KLM captain's decision to take off in the mistaken belief that a takeoff clearance from air traffic control (ATC) had been issued. Picture: Wikimedia Commons Another factor was use of ambiguous phrases by the pilots. Because the flight crew was performing the checklist, copying the clearance was postponed until the aircraft was in takeoff position. Feathers, who had been flying from Los Angeles to the Canaries to begin a Mediterranean cruise added: All my rings had come off my fingers. Jon Ziomek is a former Chicago newspaper reporter and retired Northwestern University journalism teacher and assistant dean. The wreckage of Pan Am flight 1736 burns at Los Rodeos Airport as survivors scramble to safety. [46] By March 30, a small plane shuttle service was approved, but large jets still could not land. Grubbs yelled:Goddamn, that son-of-a-bitch is coming straight at us. There is also a memorial at the Westminster Memorial Park and Mortuary in Westminster, California, US. [12] His photograph was used for publicity materials such as magazine advertisements, including the inflight magazine on board PH-BUF. Whatever life brings all you can do is take precautions. But whilst preparing the aircraft for departure, a thick fog began to develop and visibility deteriorated, only complicating the situation further. TENERIFE AIRPORT DISASTER. By December 1988 she was based at Heathrow (LHR) and living in London with other crew when one of her colleagues asked her to swap flights. To read more incredible stories of heroism from our aviation family click here. [55] These included: The extra fuel taken on by the KLM added several factors: As a consequence of the accident, sweeping changes were made to international airline regulations and to aircraft. when he spotted the KLM's landing lights through the fog just as his plane approached exit C-4. The word "takeoff" is now spoken only when the actual takeoff clearance is given, or when canceling that same clearance (i.e., "cleared for takeoff" or "cancel takeoff clearance"). Due to aircraft blocking the parallel taxiway, planes now had to backtrack down the single runway before turning round to take off. Arriving at the hospital, she refused treatment, instead volunteering to help the medical team. 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. Meurs read the flight clearance back to the controller, completing the readback with the statement: "We are now at takeoff. John Beardmore was among 131 passengers who boarded the ill-fated British Airtours flight 28M scheduled to leave for Corfu on 22 August 1985. [14], Both flights had been routine until they approached the islands. 2. Posted in Leadership Development. I wasnt in a position where I could see out of the plane and I thought a bomb may have exploded. Of the 380 passengers (mostly of retirement age, but including two children), 14 had boarded in New York, where the crew was also changed. Kelly declined as she wanted to spend time with her family in New York. The instructions used the word "takeoff," but did not include an explicit statement that they were cleared for takeoff. Passengers and crew from the Pan Am aircraft escaped onto the intact left wing and jumped to the ground. A woman who survived the worst aviation disaster of all time has recalled how she saw a fellow passenger sliced in half by her seatbelt. Nothing was like it had been moments before. And also those on KLM flight 4805: Purser C.W. 02 Marion Andersen. Harrowingly she later learned from survivors that some inside the aircraft simply stayed in their seats, waiting to be told what to do. Once they confirmed the wound was superficial, she continued her rescue efforts. She spotted a tiny amount of light above her which she headed towards and climbed out into the front of the plane. Woman fighting eviction 'blows herself up in house with dozens of cats', Sphynx cat tattooed by Mexican gangsters finds forever home in US, Joe Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest. She was then asked to help with the burns victims, removing burnt clothing and skin from the injured to prevent infection. Video, 00:04:17Why did 918 people die because of this man? 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. 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 airport was forced to accommodate a great number of large aircraft due to rerouting from the terrorist incident resulting in disruption of the normal use of taxiways. A terrorist incident at Gran Canaria Airport Image from Google maps +own work [19] While the KLM was backtaxiing on the runway, the controller asked the flight crew to report when it was ready to copy the ATC clearance. After much rest and recovery in Tenerife, Dorothy Kelly returned to the United States, and a year and a half later, she returned to the skies for Pan Am. Slaton was dispatched from Torrejon Air Base just outside of Madrid, Spain. Many former employees were laid off, including Kelly. Had the plane turned at the third exit as instructed, the collision would not have occurred. [15] There had been a phone call warning of the bomb, and another call received soon afterwards made claims of a second bomb at the airport. The worst crash in aviation history. Most of the KLM passengers were Dutch; also on board were four Germans, two Austrians and two Americans. [Many of the quotes for this article were taken from the incredible bookFasten Your Seat Belts! SURVIVED: Only 61 People Made It Out Alive (Tenerife Airport Disaster) - YouTube Get MagellanTV here: https://try.magellantv.com/brookemakenna & get an exclusive offer extended to my viewers:. All of a sudden things were not right. Survivors that later died. As a ramp crew on the LAX crew we loaded the plane and were in the coffee shop in terminal Two where the passengers were waiting for a mechanical problem to be solved and we were assuring them that their flight was going to be to be leaving soon and that it would be Safe. Get off!as they immediately applied full power and turned sharply to the left in a vain attempt to avoid a collision. Despite the horrific experience Feathers has flown regularly since the disaster, but says it is always on my mind when I get on a plane.. Some 583 people died or were mortally injured on March 27th 1977 after two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on a runway at Los Rodeos airport, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, making this the world's worst civil aviation disaster. I seem to be more resilient and able to recover more quickly if something bad happens. This was one of the first accident investigations to include a study into the contribution of "human factors". My shoes came off. This memorial stands at Mount Mesa Mota, Tenerife, Canary Islands. The couple then sprinted away from the plane, shortly before it exploded in a huge fireball. For other crashes, see, Wreckage of the KLM aircraft on the runway at Los Rodeos, Aviation accidents and incidents in Spain, (now Tenerife North Ciudad de La Laguna Airport), CAP 413 Radio Telephony Manual (Edition 15), chapter 2 page 6, CAP 413 Radio Telephony Manual (Edition 15), chapter 4, page 6, paragraph 1.7.10, Comisin de Investigacin de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviacin Civil, International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, International Tenerife Memorial March 27, 1977, List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft, "580 killed in history's worst air disaster", "How KLM accepted their responsibility for the accident", "The Cockpit, the Cabin, and Social Psychology", "The Tenerife Airport Disaster the worst in aviation history", "List of Dead and Survivors on Pan American Plane", "Wreck of 747's Sets Back Cause Of Insurgents on Canary Islands", "Enige overlevende KLM-toestel vliegramp Tenerife blikt na veertig jaar terug", "Cockpit Voice Recorders: Transcripts: KLM 4805", "Advertisement: KLM. Meanwhile, in Amsterdam (AMS), KLM Boeing 747-206B (PH-BUF) The Rhine was being readied to operate Flight 4805, also to Gran Canaria. [11] The refueling took about 35 minutes, after which the passengers were brought back to the aircraft. This message was also blocked by the interference and inaudible to the KLM crew. On March 27th, 2007, 30 years after the disaster, a first time ever official international memorial service for the largest aviation disaster in history was held on the initiative of the Foundation for the Surviving Relatives of the Tenerife Disaster. KLM Flight 4805 (a B747-206B, registration PH-BUF, from Amsterdam) and PanAm Flight 1736 (a B747-121, registration N736PA, coming from Los Angeles and New York). While waiting for Gran Canaria airport to reopen, the diverted airplanes took up so much space that they had to park on the long taxiway, making it unavailable for the purpose of taxiing. Our main task is to get you on and off the plane and to your destination as safely as possible, something that is never emphasised enough and something maybe to remember next time you take a flight. All 248 passengers and crew aboard the KLM plane died, as did 335 passengers and crew aboard the Pan Am plane,[38] primarily due to the fire and explosions resulting from the fuel spilled and ignited in the impact. Less experienced crew were also encouraged to challenge their Captains after first officer Klass Meurs failed to challenge captain Van Zanten when he commenced the take-off roll. Get off! van Staveren-Marchal, J.H.M. Instead, departing aircraft needed to taxi along the runway to position themselves for takeoff, a procedure known as a backtaxi or backtrack.[4]. This was a problem in the crash when the Flight Engineer asked if they were not clear, but Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten (the captain of the KLM, with over 11,000 hours flown) said that they were obviously clear and the Flight Engineer decided that it was best not to contradict the captain. That smash happened after a bomb exploded at Las Palmas Airport in Gran Canaria her intended destination and saw the plane she was traveling on diverted to Tenerife. "[34] Captain Grubbs applied full power to the throttles and made a sharp left turn towards the grass in an attempt to avoid the impending collision.[4]. This meant the PanAm crew had to backtrack on runway 12 for takeoff on runway 30. The story of the world's worst air . Things were flying around the airplane and everything moved in slow motion. I remember people jumping. A witness later said that she: Looked like Road Runner dashing backwards at 50 miles per hour. Dorothy has a message for those who so often forget this: Its not about what youre going to get fed or how quickly youre going to get a glass of champagne. It happened more than four decades ago, but the Tenerife airport disaster in Spain is still the deadliest plane crash of all time. Meurs read the flight clearance back, ending with the statement:We are now at take-off. Pan Am Flight 1736 had originated at Los Angeles International Airport, with an intermediate stop at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The Tenerife air disaster killed every passenger on board KLM 4805 and all but 61 passengers on the Pan Am flight. Nothing was lost in translation. The airport quickly became congested with parked airplanes blocking the only taxiway and forcing departing aircraft to taxi on the runway instead. She was therefore not on the KLM plane when the accident happened, and would be the only survivor of those who flew from Amsterdam to Tenerife on Flight 4805. Video, 00:04:17. "[4] Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten interrupted the co-pilot's readback with the comment, "We're going. The KLM pilots heard only Ok, but there was more to the sentence. The KLM plane remained briefly airborne, but the impact had sheared off the outer left engine, caused significant amounts of shredded materials to be ingested by the inner left engine, and damaged the wings. March 27, 1977 is a date permanently etched in aviation history. But as warnings came through of a second bomb, all aircraft were diverted to Tenerifes Los Rodeos Airport (TFN) and the Clipper jet was ordered to follow suit. Is he not clear, that Pan American?, Captain Van Zanten simply replied Oh, yes and continued down the runway. KLM paid the victims' families compensation ranging between $58,000 and $600,000 (or $259,000 to $2.7 million today, adjusted for inflation). Robina van Lanschot,[18] a tour guide, had chosen not to reboard for the flight to Las Palmas, because she lived on Tenerife and thought it impractical to fly to Gran Canaria only to return to Tenerife the next day. Aviation authorities around the world introduced requirements for standard phrases and a greater emphasis on English as a common working language. Tenerife memorial for the 583 passengers and crew who lost their lives. The KLM 747 was travelling at around 160 mph when they spotted the Pan Am desperately trying to clear the runway. Video, 00:01:37, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. Turkish Airlines Flight 981 (1974) 5. We were so busy during the whole time on the ground. 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=1142445103, 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. 2023 BBC. Interference from simultaneous radio transmissions with the result that it was difficult to hear messages. But it was too late. Kelly knew they needed to get out as quickly as possible and as the fire began to take hold and explosions went off around her, she encouraged passengers to jump. Just 61 people survived, all from the Pan Am jumbo jet. The Tenerife disaster remains a watershed moment for the aviation industry, one that transformed safety, not only in the air but on the ground. The creeping TikTok bans, Hong Kong skyscraper fire seen on city's skyline. [29], According to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the Pan Am captain said, "There he is!" Greater emphasis was placed on using standardised phraseology in communications, thereby reducing any chance for misunderstandings. The two. With Mark Halliley, Randall Holden, Paul Bandey, Mike Dineen. It was the first 747 to be delivered to an airline. He tried to take off quickly on seeing the plane parked, but was unable to get sufficiently high off the ground, with all 248 people on the KLM jet killed. Investigations, books, news reports, academic studies, and even movies have chronicled what's known as the Tenerife. [2][3] The collision occurred when KLM Flight 4805 initiated its takeoff run while Pan Am Flight 1736 was still on the runway. Meurs had 9,200 flight hours, of which 95 hours were on the 747. One of the Pan Ams four engines continued to run after the impact, which had severed all controls in the flight deck. Website about the largest aircrash in our history. The Pan Am Podcast. Aware of increasing explosions in the wreckage, Kelly continued to yell for survivors to jump, painfully aware there was little time before the remains of the jumbo jet exploded. Video, 00:01:37Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off, Tear gas fired at Greece train crash protesters. There were 61 survivors on the Pan Am aircraft, including the flight deck crew. 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. A commemorative booklet has been published as a keepsake of the international commemoration and the unveiling of the International Tenerife Memorial on 27th March 2007. There were initially 70 survivors, but 9 passengers later died of their injuries. These include. The monument gives us, the next of kin and survivors, and also all others who were involved, an opportunity to commemorate the disaster and find inner peace. The search for a missing Dutch family of four, who had not returned to the waiting KLM plane, delayed the flight even further. [22] There were no markings or signs to identify the runway exits and they were in conditions of poor visibility. But they soon realised that the 350-tonne aircraft was hurtling towards them. The aircraft was a Boeing 747-121, registration N736PA, named Clipper Victor. Episode 17: Tenerife Airport Disaster Remembrance March 08, 2022 Pan Am Museum Foundation Season 1 Episode 17. [17] The airport had only one runway and one major taxiway running parallel to it, with four short taxiways connecting the two. The ground staff wouldnt let the passengers disembark because there were so many aircraft at this tiny airport and the terminal was packed. May GOD bless them all. Due to an earlier terrorist attack (influenced by the Canary Islands Independence Movement) in Las Palmas, many flights were re-directed to the domestically used airport. This concept was later expanded into what is today known ascrew resource management (CRM), something now mandatory for all airline pilots. Takeoff was delayed by an extra 35 minutes, allowing time for the fog to settle in; The increased severity of the fire caused by the additional fuel led ultimately to the deaths of all those on board. Tenerife Airport Disaster was the deadliest plane crash in history that killed 583 people and prompted air traffic control to avoid phrases such as 'okay' Forty two years ago today, a. [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]. [71][72], The disaster has been featured in many TV shows and documentaries. 4. Video, 00:02:12, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages, Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle. The investigators suggested the reason for this was a desire to leave as soon as possible in order to comply with KLM's duty-time regulations (which went in place earlier that year) and before the weather deteriorated further. It is important that justice is done to this disaster. At 2:00 in the afternoon, a thick fog rolled into the usually quiet Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. 583: The Tenerife airport disaster, which occurred on March 27, 1977, remains the accident with the highest number of airliner passenger fatalities. The sculpture will not be immediately recognized as such, and yet neither is it in practical terms a staircase. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Finding the exit proved very difficult with little help from ATC, dated airport diagrams, unmarked taxiways, and visibility now less than 200 metres. [33], Due to the fog, neither crew was able to see the other plane on the runway ahead of them. She returned to America in October 2006, continuing to fly for United out of Washington DC. Dorothy was taken off roster and sent to help the grieving relatives and other flight attendants. Of all of the 61 survivors of Pan Am Flight 1736 (the flight that had survivors come out), only 16 people came out without injuries. tenerife airport disaster survivors. He spoke to Witness about that terrible disaster. February 27, 2023 equitable estoppel california No Comments . Tenerife was an unscheduled stop for both flights. Fire and accumulated metal wreckage prevented escape from the center and rear sections of the cabin. Art can only provide a subtle hint. She felt the plane she was on veer sharply to the left as it tried to avoid the other airliner, then looked up to see the roof of the 747 sliced open like a tin can. We also remember the other crew members who perished performing their duties on Pan Am 1736:Purser Francoise Colbert de Beaulieu and Flight Attendants Mari Asai, Christine Ekelund, Luisa Flood, Sachiko Hirano, Marilyn Luker, Aysel Sarp, Carol Thomas and Miguel Torrech. [13] The new crew consisted of Captain Victor Grubbs (age 56), First Officer Robert Bragg (39), Flight Engineer George Warns (46) and 13 flight attendants. Eh?" "[35], Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten was KLM's chief of flight training and one of their most senior pilots. tenerife airport disaster survivors. As it left the ground, the KLMs nose gear cleared the Pan Am, but the left engines, lower fuselage and main landing gear slammed into the upper right side of the Clippers fuselage, ripping apart the centre of the jet above the wing. The Pan Am aircraft did not leave the runway at the third intersection as instructed. Many of the passengers were West German tourists heading home. Both flights to the Canaries had been uneventful. Seeing some of her colleagues in the carnage, she ran over and got them to check how serious it was. One of the inbound passengers, Robina van Lanschot, who lived on the island with her boyfriend, chose not to re-board the 747, leaving 234 passengers on board.[11][12]. She finally stepped back and allowed the medical team to treat her. Eventually, most of the survivors on the wing dropped to the ground below. The use of ambiguous non-standard phrases by the KLM co-pilot ("We're at take off") and the Tenerife control tower ("OK"). Get off! Hierarchical relations among crew members were played down, and greater emphasis was placed on team decision-making by mutual agreement. It was inaugurated on March 27, 2007. [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. The crash killed 583 people, making it the deadliest accident in aviation history. I think Ive learned to be more patient in many ways. Bragg had 10,800 flight hours, of which 2,796 hours were on the 747. Moroccan baggage handlers were confused by bilingual English/Turkish instructions. 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 Airport), on the Spanish island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, killing 583 people, making it the deadliest accident in aviation history. He travelled with Howard Harper, who was killed. [43] The first aircraft that was able to land was a U.S. Air Force C-130 transport, which landed on the airport's main taxiway at 12:50 on 29 March. Engines 3 and 4 then smashed through the upper deck behind the flight deck. The impact and resulting fire killed everyone on board KLM 4805 and most . [4] Dutch investigators placed a greater emphasis on a mutual misunderstanding in radio communications between the KLM crew and ATC,[5] but ultimately KLM admitted that their crew was responsible for the accident and the airline agreed to financially compensate the relatives of all of the victims. You just said to yourself, Ok. In 1977, a cross in Rancho Bernardo was dedicated to nineteen area residents who died in the disaster. Video, 00:00:51, Australia's 'biggest drug bust' nets $700m of cocaine, Thanks, but no big speech, in Ken Bruce's sign off. Video, 00:01:23, Watch: Matt Hancock message row in 83 seconds, Isabel Oakeshott: Why I leaked Hancock's messages. The co-pilot who survived the Tenerife aircraft disaster, The worst crash in aviation history. These were the 2 cockpit observers who may as well be considered passengers, 2 flight attendants, and 12 passengers. Sonneveld, Assistant Purser A.TH.A Van Straaten; and Flight Attendants H.W. Both planes involved in the crash had been scheduled to depart from Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria. The full load of fuel, which had caused the earlier delay, ignited immediately into a fireball that could not be subdued for several hours. The subsequent investigations by Spanish, Dutch and American teams revealed that the primary cause of the accident was the KLM captain taking off without clearance from Air Traffic Control. None of the passengers of KLM survived the crash. Former travel agent Jean Brown has left the retirement. Survivors waited for rescue, but it did not come promptly, as the firefighters were initially unaware that there were two aircraft involved and were concentrating on the KLM wreck hundreds of meters away in the thick fog and smoke. Change). Schuurmans-Timmermans, M. Mey-Lefeber, M.E. The monument, situated in a breathtaking location on Mount Mesa Mota, is fitting and inspiring. A study carried out by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) after the accident concluded that making the second 148 turn at the end of taxiway C-3 would have been "a practical impossibility". Why did 918 people die because of this man? The creeping TikTok bans. confessionsofatrolleydolly.com by Dan Air. 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. Through the fog, Captain Grubbs exclaimed:There he is, as he spotted the landing lights of the Dutch jet. The air traffic controller did not simply respond, Ok to the First Officers We are now at take-off. "I was one of the people who survived," Joani said. The KLM 747 went first, followed by the Pan Am. From the KLM flight, all 234 passengers and 14 crew perished. AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS: TENERIFE AIRPORT DISASTER, THE WORLD'S DEADLIEST PLANE CRASH EVER . March 27, 1977. The sudden fog greatly limited visibility and the control tower and the crews of both planes were unable to see one another. The civil aviation authorities had therefore closed the airport temporarily after the explosion, and all incoming flights bound for Gran Canaria had been diverted to Los Rodeos, including the two aircraft involved in the disaster. Crew list PanAm Photo: Martin Lewison via Flickr There were 61 survivors Badly damaged, the KLM jumbo lands back on the runway and skids for a thousand feet before bursting into flames before any of the 248 passengers and crew could escape. [69][70], In 2007, the 30th anniversary marked the first time that Dutch and American next-of-kin and aid helpers from Tenerife joined an international commemoration service, held at the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz. With her injuries treated, Dorothy and her colleagues continued to assist her passengers: So we started our hospital life. Video, 00:04:00The 'Queen of Chess' who defeated Kasparov, Shuttle disaster: 'Something didn't look right' Video, 00:04:15Shuttle disaster: 'Something didn't look right', The fish that nearly caused a war. It turned out to be CaptainGrubbs. Their destination was Gran Canaria Airport (also known as Las Palmas Airport or Gando Airport), serving Las Palmas on the nearby island of Gran Canaria. [4] The Pan Am crew indicated that they would prefer to circle in a holding pattern until landing clearance was given (they had enough fuel to safely stay in the air for two more hours), but they were ordered to divert to Tenerife. Robert Bragg, 2004 CASE STUDY. The transparent fence encloses and protects the sculpture. Taxiway C-4 would have required two 35 turns. The memorial service was held at the Auditorio de Tenerife in the capital Santa Cruz; the unveiling took place on Mt Mesa Mota in the municipality of San Cristbal de La Laguna. [44][45], Spanish Army soldiers were tasked with clearing crash wreckage from the runways and taxiways. Hes alright. Airline officials withheld a death count pending notification of relatives. One of those survivors was Purser Dorothy Kelly. She busied herself labelling survivors names, ages, allergies etc. 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). KLM Flight 4805 was a charter flight for Holland International Travel Group and had arrived from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands. The Boeing 747-121 (N736PA) Clipper Victor had stopped in Chicago (ORD) to collect more holidaymakers before a final layover in New York (JFK) to collect the remaining passengers and change crew. Resulting in 583 fatalities, this accident is the deadliest in aviation history. I had nightmares for many years. Answer (1 of 9): The Pan Am was taxiing down the runway (there were no taxiways at Tenerife which was one of the contributing factors) and spotted the KLM coming toward them out of the fog trying to take off. I cant believe this is happening as she ran from the plane. All but five passengers onboard the aircraft were Americans, the non-American passengers were all Canadian nationals. After voicing her fears to Ridout, he jokingly replied: Dont worry. It is a monument of which we can be proud, and which honors the victims.

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