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The '''Tenerife disaster''', the deadliest crash in aviation history, occurred on March 27, 1977, when two jumbo jets (both Boeing 747s) collided in the fog on the ground at Los Rodeos airport, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.  At least 560 people died as a ball of fire erupted into the sky, and the explosion heard all across the island.

The '''Tenerife disaster''', the deadliest crash in aviation history, occurred on March 27, 1977, when two jumbo jets (both Boeing 747s) collided in the fog on the ground at Los Rodeos airport, Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.  At least 560 people died as a ball of fire erupted into the sky, and the explosion heard all across the island.

All 249 passengers aboard the KLM plane died in the crash.  About 60 injured survivors escaped the Boeing 747 belonging to Pan Am airlines, which carried a crew of 16 and 378 passengers.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/27/newsid_2531000/2531063.stm</ref>

All 249 passengers aboard the KLM plane died in the crash.  About 60 injured survivors escaped the Pan Am Boeing 747, which carried a 16 crew members and 378 passengers.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/27/newsid_2531000/2531063.stm</ref>

Neither airline was even scheduled to be at that airport, but both had been diverted from the bigger Las Palmas airport on nearby Gran Canaria island due to a terrorist bomb blast there.

Neither airline was even scheduled to be at that airport, but both had been diverted from the larger Las Palmas airport on nearby Gran Canaria island due to a terrorist bomb blast there.

The immediate cause was that the KLM jet was in the process of taking off and hit the Pan Am plane as it taxied across the runway.  The KLM pilot was ultimately held reponsible, and the Pan Am pilot cleared.  The Dutch report tried to emphasize that the American plane had taxied slightly beyond the third exit, and reported that the KLM captain assumed that he was given clearance to take off due to the ambiguous terminology used at the time.<ref name=dutch_response>{{cite web | url=http://www.project-tenerife.com/engels/PDF/Dutch_comments.PDF | format=PDF | title=Dutch comments on the Spanish report | publisher=Project-Tenerife}}</ref>

The immediate cause was that the KLM jet was in the process of taking off and hit the Pan Am plane as it taxied across the runway.  The KLM pilot was ultimately held reponsible, and the Pan Am pilot cleared.  The Dutch report tried to emphasize that the American plane had taxied slightly beyond the third exit, and reported that the KLM captain assumed that he was given clearance to take off due to the ambiguous terminology used at the time.<ref name=dutch_response>{{cite web | url=http://www.project-tenerife.com/engels/PDF/Dutch_comments.PDF | format=PDF | title=Dutch comments on the Spanish report | publisher=Project-Tenerife}}</ref>