Difference between revisions of "Tenerife disaster"

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The Tenerife disaster, largely considered the worst airplane crash in history, occurred on March 27, 1977, when two jumbo jets (Boeing 747s) collided in a 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.
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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.
  
None survived the Boeing 747 belonging to Dutch national airline KLM, and all 249 on board died.  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>
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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.
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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 blamed, and the Pan Am pilot held blameless.
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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 responsible, 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>
  
Though not widely reported, the real cause of the crash was poorly spoken EnglishEnglish is the international language for pilots and air traffic controllers, but miscommunications have caused several deadly crashes.<ref> ''See, e.g.'', [[ValueJet Flight 592]].</ref> The official report found that
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The primary cause of the accident was Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten of the KLM plane taking off without the proper [[air traffic control]] clearance, resulting in the runway incursionContributing factors included: the presence of thick fog at the airport, greatly limiting visibility; the KLM plane taking on an extra 55,000 liters of fuel at a location that blocked the Pam Am plane from taking off, as well as making the plane heavier and therefore increased impact and worsened the post-crash fire; CVR data noise was speculated to be the air traffic controllers listening to a football game, but this allegation was never proven; and inadequate [[crew resource management]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title = The Evolution of Crew Resource Management Training in Commercial Aviation|author1 = Helmreich, R. L.|author2 = Merritt, A. C.|author3 = Wilhelm, J. A.|journal = [[Int. J. Aviat. Psychol.]]|year = 1999|volume = 9|issue = 1|pages = 19–32|doi = 10.1207/s15327108ijap0901_2|pmid = 11541445|url = http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/helmreichlab/publications/pubfiles/Pub235.pdf |archivedate=March 6, 2013 |url=https://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/HelmreichLAB/publications/pubfiles/Pub235.pdf |format=pdf}}</ref><ref>[http://www.fomento.es/MFOM/LANG_CASTELLANO/DIRECCIONES_GENERALES/ORGANOS_COLEGIADOS/CIAIAC/PUBLICACIONES/HISTORICOS/LOSRODEOS/los_rodeos_2_1.htm This Spanish report] says 55,500 liters of [[jet fuel]]. Based on a density of 0.8705 kg/l that weighs some 45 metric tons, or 49 US tons {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412154318/http://www.fomento.es/MFOM/LANG_CASTELLANO/DIRECCIONES_GENERALES/ORGANOS_COLEGIADOS/CIAIAC/PUBLICACIONES/HISTORICOS/LOSRODEOS/los_rodeos_2_1.htm |date=April 12, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/deadliest-plane-crash.html |title=The Deadliest Plane Crash - transcript|quote=The 55 tons of fuel the Dutch plane had taken on creates a massive fireball that seals the fate of everyone onboard |publisher=NOVA  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.project-tenerife.com/engels/PDF/Tenerife.pdf |title=Official report }}&nbsp;{{small|(5.98&nbsp;MB)}}, section 5.2, p. 38 (PDF page 41 of 63):  "...&nbsp;these circumstances could have induced the co-pilot not to ask any questions, assuming that his captain was always right"</ref>
"inadequate language" was a cause. The KLM pilot used the phrase "we are now at take-off” when he meant to state that he was now taking off, and thereby proceeded to crash into another airplane on the runway and kill 583 persons on both planes.<ref>Report of the Secretary of Civil Aviation, Spain (Oct.
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9, 1978), reprinted in Aircraft Accident Digest (ICAO Circular 153-AN/56, 22-68).</ref>
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== References ==
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== Aftermath ==
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Pilots as well as air traffic controllers now only use the phrase "take-off" when giving or cancelling actual clearances; up until such point the word "departure" is used instead to avoid confusion.<ref>CAP 413 Radio Telephony Manual (Edition 15), chapter 4, page 6, paragraph 1.7.10</ref>  The airport eventually received ground [[radar]] from the government of Spain after the crash.  Crew resource management training was changed in order to further emphasize the need for communication among all members.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = The Evolution of Crew Resource Management Training in Commercial Aviation|author1 = Helmreich, R. L.|author2 = Merritt, A. C.|author3 = Wilhelm, J. A.|journal = [[Int. J. Aviat. Psychol.]]|year = 1999|volume = 9|issue = 1|pages = 19–32|doi = 10.1207/s15327108ijap0901_2|pmid = 11541445|url = http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/helmreichlab/publications/pubfiles/Pub235.pdf |archivedate=March 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306162247/http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/HelmreichLAB/publications/pubfiles/Pub235.pdf |format=pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.tenerife-training.net/Tenerife-News-Cycling-Blog/tenerife-north-airport-will-get-a-new-control-tower-more-than-30-years-after-worlds-biggest-air-disaster/|title=» Tenerife North airport will get a new control tower, more than 30 years after world’s biggest air disaster.|website=www.tenerife-training.net|access-date=2017-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tenerife-information-centre.com/tenerife-airport-disaster.html|title=The Tenerife Airport Disaster - the worst in aviation history|work=The Tenerife Information Centre|access-date=2017-03-04}}</ref>  Los Rodeos Airport was renamed to Tenerife North Airport after construction on Tenerife South Airport was finished.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://broom02.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Tenerife%20North%20Airport&item_type=topic|title="Tenerife North Airport" on Revolvy.com|last=LLC|first=Revolvy,|website=broom02.revolvy.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-04}}</ref>
  
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== References ==
 
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[[Category:History]]
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[[Category:Aviation]]

Latest revision as of 22:35, April 9, 2019

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 Pan Am Boeing 747, which carried a 16 crew members and 378 passengers.[1]

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 responsible, 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.[2]

The primary cause of the accident was Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten of the KLM plane taking off without the proper air traffic control clearance, resulting in the runway incursion. Contributing factors included: the presence of thick fog at the airport, greatly limiting visibility; the KLM plane taking on an extra 55,000 liters of fuel at a location that blocked the Pam Am plane from taking off, as well as making the plane heavier and therefore increased impact and worsened the post-crash fire; CVR data noise was speculated to be the air traffic controllers listening to a football game, but this allegation was never proven; and inadequate crew resource management.[3][4][5][6]

Aftermath

Pilots as well as air traffic controllers now only use the phrase "take-off" when giving or cancelling actual clearances; up until such point the word "departure" is used instead to avoid confusion.[7] The airport eventually received ground radar from the government of Spain after the crash. Crew resource management training was changed in order to further emphasize the need for communication among all members.[8][9][10] Los Rodeos Airport was renamed to Tenerife North Airport after construction on Tenerife South Airport was finished.[11]

References

  1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/27/newsid_2531000/2531063.stm
  2. Dutch comments on the Spanish report (PDF). Project-Tenerife.
  3. Helmreich, R. L.; Merritt, A. C.; Wilhelm, J. A. (1999). "The Evolution of Crew Resource Management Training in Commercial Aviation" (pdf). Int. J. Aviat. Psychol. 9 (1): 19–32. doi:10.1207/s15327108ijap0901_2. PMID 11541445. Archived on March 6, 2013. Template:Citation error. https://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/HelmreichLAB/publications/pubfiles/Pub235.pdf. 
  4. This Spanish report says 55,500 liters of jet fuel. Based on a density of 0.8705 kg/l that weighs some 45 metric tons, or 49 US tons Template:Webarchive
  5. The Deadliest Plane Crash - transcript. NOVA. “The 55 tons of fuel the Dutch plane had taken on creates a massive fireball that seals the fate of everyone onboard”
  6. Official report(5.98 MB) , section 5.2, p. 38 (PDF page 41 of 63): "... these circumstances could have induced the co-pilot not to ask any questions, assuming that his captain was always right"
  7. CAP 413 Radio Telephony Manual (Edition 15), chapter 4, page 6, paragraph 1.7.10
  8. Helmreich, R. L.; Merritt, A. C.; Wilhelm, J. A. (1999). "The Evolution of Crew Resource Management Training in Commercial Aviation" (pdf). Int. J. Aviat. Psychol. 9 (1): 19–32. doi:10.1207/s15327108ijap0901_2. PMID 11541445. Archived on March 6, 2013. Template:Citation error. http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/group/helmreichlab/publications/pubfiles/Pub235.pdf. 
  9. » Tenerife North airport will get a new control tower, more than 30 years after world’s biggest air disaster..
  10. "The Tenerife Airport Disaster - the worst in aviation history", The Tenerife Information Centre. 
  11. LLC, Revolvy,. "Tenerife North Airport" on Revolvy.com (en).