TENERIFE AIRPORT DISASTER! | Los Rodeos Airport | Crash Of The Century | Mayday: Air Disaster
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2022
- March 27, 1977. At 2:00 in the afternoon, a thick fog rolled into the usually quiet Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. On the runway sat two fully loaded jumbo airliners, blanketed in fog. An explosion at a nearby airport had redirected air traffic to the undermanned airfield at Tenerife. Within three hours 583 people would be dead.
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To explain how it happened, Crash of the Century reconstructs the moments leading up to this terrible tragedy.
Welcome to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster RUclips Channel.
Mayday: Air Disaster is a dramatic non-fiction series that investigates high-profile air disasters to uncover how and why they happened. Mayday: Air Disaster follows survivors, family members of crash victims and transportation safety investigators as they piece together the evidence of the causes of major accidents. So climb into the cockpit for an experience you won’t soon forget.
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Want to watch every episode from season 1 of Dangerous Flights? Watch the latest mega marathon over on the Curious?: Science and Engineering channel here: ruclips.net/video/oTaw9dXa3hA/видео.html
Sad that pan am was an unfortunate victim of so many incidents I heard alot of how professional and freindly pan am was
😀@@kobra6660 ER we ⁵⁴
Stop deleting my Comments!
P
3:11 3:15 4:41
This is the fourth time I have watched this documentary, and I have tried to keep an open mind, but it is not possible to see this and not come away with the ultimate conclusion-the KLM pilot and his arrogance was what ultimately caused this tragedy. When he tried to take off the firs time, his co-pilot stopped him because they had not received clearance. The second time the co-pilot hesitated for fear of making the pilot mad and the real possibility of losing his job. What makes it worse is the arrogance of the Dutch investigators who could not accept that their star and most senior pilot could do anything wrong. The Dutch pilot took off without permission-that is all that need be said!
The Dutch are a VERY stubborn people. I know quite a few of them!
Same here, I watched it three times and I have to agree that the KLM was at fault for this.
This is my third time watching. Something about this video compels me to watch and see if I missed anything earlier. The Pan Am Lockerbie crash is another one that has a ton of information.
And the KLM pilot is a snob and SOooo condescending!
Another factor is the time constraints the Dutch crew had to work with. That added to the stress because they didn't to be fined for overtime plus it would cost the airline money to pay for overnight hotel fees for the passengers.
Agreed the hierarchy in the crew which existed then played a part.
I feel bad for that one man." If I hadn't found them, they'd still be alive." How haunting that must be.
Must be traumatizing knowing you are the very laster person to watch them alive while watching the burning wreck
that must've been traumatizing but I think that was an unnecessary detail. Nothing to do with the actual crash other than them dying in it with the rest of 500 people. Why double check for the audience that "he escorted them to their deaths"
@Jobson85 it does little to hide from reality, some part of that man himself probably agrees, we just have to learn to live with stuff sometimes
@@Jobson85 Personally, I feel that these tragedies are as much (if not more) about the impact on human lives as they are about the aviation industry. Yes, it's not directly related to the crash in a mechanical or causational reason, but the main reason these incidents are so impactful is the mark they leave on human lives.
You are speaking of the gentleman that looking through the terminal for the two children of the dutch couple. Yes so unfortunate. Many lives lost, it perhaps could have been avoided. The smaller airport, lis rodeos was not equipped to deal with two 747s. They did not have ground radar, weather, a lot was if's, unfortunately.
The KLM captain clearly had let his fame go to his head. The KLM cockpit environment was clearly very hostile and unprofessional.
The KLM pilot was an arrogant ass pilot je was a murderer
Ur right Klm pilot was true egoistic
@@ahmedabdullah-bz9yc Indeed. I feel that most of the blame is his.
Axactly sir it's like teaching a lot of people how to drive and then next thing u think u can just drive as u wish on the road
What happen to the cockpit flight recorder they never mention that
I feel terrible for the air traffice controllers. They were extremely overloaded, using a small/local airport to land dozens of large, commercial passenger jets, with just two of them. And they did absolutely everything they could to cope with the situation. But I can only imagine how guilty and crushed they must have felt, knowing how many died under their watch and wondering if there was anything they did to cause it or anything they could have done to prevent it. That has to be traumatic for them, as well. This entire situation is just tragic for everyone involved, but my heart really goes out to those controllers.
L
@@marifefurber4334why?
The Dutch pilot is to blame. He took off without clearance.
@@joeylamuel5828 90% it was his fault. The pan am crew didnt taxi off charlie 3.
God bless them. Things got really ugly and yeah, they did all they could especially with the overload of the work
It's just mind-blowing that a poor decision by the KLM captain cost 583 people their lives. I hope all of them are resting in peace.😢
*That KLM Pilot actually rules !* He was an very good businessman !!!
HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT????? 😢
@@gertjanvandermeij4265 shut up, he wasnt given the permit to fly off, he did that because he felt he was a god and the very impatient as well making that silly rules of klm cost all these people lives
@@michellepenfold4697because he's trolling, ignore him, he's an idiot that doesn't know when to keep his hands off the text bar. And doesn't realize through his stupidity that this is neither the time or place for a comment like this.
@@gertjanvandermeij4265 cringe lord.
1:12:15 Those 2 controllers in Tenerife were actually pretty amazing considering what they were dealt. That one Dutch pilot was just a complete as$hole. He should be posthumously charged with 583 murders. That's how incompetent he was being that day.
Yes, considering what they were up against. Primitive technology, thick fog, added to their problem. This, and an arrogant Dutch pilot, caused this. The controller's we're overloaded.
Arrogant?
Was the Dutch pilot able to ever fly a plane again????
@@madelyndesalvo6323 He died, along with all his passengers and crew.
@@madelyndesalvo6323 Maybe in the afterlife, considering he died along with everyone else on his plane at the time.
It was not a misunderstanding. It was the KLM's pilot who became impatient that caused the accident.
The KLM pilot thought he was God.
@@darthkrayt5535i dis like everything about this comment wtf is the point?
its juat a remake movie and thus not potray thw characther, They are pais actors..
In addition to all the other tragedy, could you imagine being the airport work who found the two missing children? Obviously, no one could have known, but I could never forget that.
to live with that for the rest of your life... that would eat me alive
I will guarantee that it grinded in his insides from that day forth. Probably wept a lot when alone and he starts to think. He had not a goddamned thing to do with the children and their parents lives. He just did his job finding the children. But he is human. Unless he was a sociopath, he couldn't avoid feeling guilty and having emotional episodes bc most of us do too.
PTSD - for which there is no cure.
@@andycross9840 Yeah. Mental illnesses generally don't. They can be managed, often with difficulty, but never cured. My dad's got CPTSD partially stemming from finding his mom mostly dead on the floor when he was twelve. Wasn't diagnosed until he was almost *60.* Still did his best to cope, but it was a lot of flailing around blind and a near constant undercurrent of guilt.
Yes ressljs, the gentleman and also the young couple were looking for there children as well. So unfortunate if the couple/children had not reboarded. Its so had to say. What an unfortunate incident, that happen so many years ago. Hopefully they have improved on travel, have learnt from this tragic event. I did read that the weather did improve within ten, fifteen minutes, after this accident. The fog lifted, there was a possibility that both planes, taking turn could have continued on, without any problems.
Whoever's in charge of putting these videos together does an amazing job
used to be a NATGEO series under Air Crash Investigations....good old days....
@@tahzib1451 Thank you for reminding me of the real name! I used to watch these with my grandpa all the time when I was little. He passed away a few months ago, so I've been watching them again.
Especially the scene of the crash. The music and the video are very suspenseful.
It's always those people who are full of themselves and have disdain for the opinion of others, the ones who cause huge accidents.
Arrogance is a sure sign of massive insecurities.
Who says the captain was arrogant? There is no CVR available, only transcripts. Obviously the acting of these actors is dramatized and it may not have been so hostile in the cockpit at all.
@@Holland1994D black box and most of the Dutch people are very arrogant.
examples... titanic, this summers sumarine...etc
It ia a remake movie and not the actual people..How can you judgea person based on a remake movie, Who knows the pilot are a generous and great guy...
It's kinda funny that the KLM pilot, co-pilot and engineer are like biggest enemies and on the other flight they are like best friends.
I was in the US Air Force and they use this crash as a case study all aircrew members must study because that Dutch pilot is considered such a perfect example of what NOT to be as a pilot.
Well, I believe in Dutch version, the role might be reversed...
@@ressljs he may have been a good model, but he was not a good pilot.
@@DMS20231 yes! His hubris and his arrogance had 💯 to do with that catastrophe.
@@hilman94 You can tell yourself that but everyone else knows exactly who's at fault.
dutchs blaming it on confussion and language when it's pretty clear that it was largely this captains fault
Van Zanten was their magazine poster boy. Of COURSE they were going to fudge his responsibility
"Largely?" It was the dummy's fault 100%. If he had lived, he would've been assassinated by a relative of any deceased.
I remember when this happened. The news was reporting a terrible airplane accident in a place I'd never heard of. So very many people had died.
Seeing this is overwhelming...all those caskets...all because one arrogant man didn't want to wait.
I'd imagine no one had heard of this place until this happened
@@bcmcboot not if you travel a lot or live in europe or africa
@@bcmcboot I'd imagine very few Americans had heard of it. But then, in a geographical survey some years ago 40%(!) of American schoolchildren who participated, could not find the United States on a world map!
I’m pretty sure most Americans in 2023 haven’t heard about places other than their hometown and Disneyland
@@bcmcboot u aren't American by any chance? Personally I adore America but it's comments like this which makes most of the world think ya closed minded jokers.
Nearly as bad as this comment is Kansas City chiefs calling themselves WORLD champions.
Those dutch investigators were really doing EVERYTHING in their power to point the finger at someone other than one of their own.
Of course.. Nobody wants to be the one responsible. All about lawsuits and money
And he was their star pilot! The face in the KLM magazine ads!!
I got a million dollars that says a government agency (the NTSB ect.) knows exactly where to put people and why. Luis was chosen to go talk to the General because the Government already knew he was Cuban-American. It was not coincidence.
That dutch pilot was a fn ahole!!! It was the KLM plane all the way.....
Ego killed almost 600 souls. What a twat!
That KLM pilot reminds me of my old boss. Grouchy and a total ass.
i had one of those. he's dead now. I dont miss him
Ex Aunt
whoever directed/produced these earlier episodes was amazing. so much more personality than todays seasons
39:00 like this 😂
These older Episodes are awful!!
Way to much time spent just showing people talk
I agree! It has a certain charm to them.
@@hufflepuffbee8384yes hahaha😂 cancan is the song
i love that in these documentaries, they add the goofy parts/personality bits from the black box recordings-- it not only humanizes the watch, but it's fun to watch the actors play an interesting character
We flew to Tenerife the day after this disaster. We were diverted to a different airport and everything was in total chaos.
This is the second time I've seen this documentary. It made me cry this time too. Especially for the flight control people who did the best they could with a challenging situation, but had to live with the question of if they could have done anything to prevent it. But also for the lady who went on this trip with her husband to celebrate their 10th anniversary and lost him.
all I see in my mind is the fact that 9/11 was so very similar and could have ended in such tragedy if we had not learned from this very accident.
I celebrated our 50th anniversary several years ago, I bought my wife a golden rose to mark that day. One year later she lay in hospital suffering from cancer, that rose by her bed, she often looked at it and shed a tear. I had it placed in her hand when we buried her 4 days later, she wore the same dress that she wore 51 years before when I walked. her down that isle, and. I wore the same suit that I wore that day. God how I miss her.
Regardless of any language difficulties, the main culprit has to be Captain van Zanten's ill-advised decision to takeoff without clearance. There are countless secondary events in the accident chain but if the KLM captain simply waits for clearance, he would have lived his life and 582 others and died of natural causes as an old man. This quite possibly was the worst mistake made by any pilot in the history of aviation. KLM had to deflect that fact to help mitigate the inevitable avalanche of litigation.
"Ill advised" the understatement of the day!
and to think that he was one of the best pilots in NL, is mind blowing to me.
@@natsarimthings3147 most senior pilot does not necessarily mean best, clearly his status went to his head.
Yep, he was at fault but the responsibility for the situation was with the terrorists
Yet, KLM still running in 2023. Will never take KLM flights.
List as many factors as you like, it doesn't change one simple truth. And that is the Dutch pilot's arrogance and utter disregard for the 'cleared for take off' signal from ATC is the reason those people died. Nothing is more clear than that.
AGREED💯💯 And What a legacy to leave behind too. Arrogant Pilot kills 583 because he believed he was God. Turns out he really believed that since he decided the fate of 583 people.
Also, no captain should have the right to discard rules that can destroy lives and the crew have no say in the matter.
He did two mistakes first one could have went negligible ( refuelling) if he just waited for clearance
Its a miracle anyone lived to talk about this I am glad they did RIP to those lost.
Yea the pilot of the pan am jet is amazing 😞🩷
Such a tragedy. And so preventable. 100% preventable.
Yes dlvox, it could have been pervented. 1. Both flights perhaps should have waited for the weather to change, it did actually within ten minutes. In hindsight the klm did have enough fuel to go back to the reopened airport. If the pan am captain, had stayed put, his intentions were just that. He did not want to be on the one and only runway. He wanted the klm to backtrack, await for takeoff clearance. Keep in mind he only had received route clearance, not takeoff clearance. Wished he had listened to his flight engineer, he was in tuned with the communications of the pan and tower transmissions. That airport was not accustomed to have such jumbos there. Unfortunately center lights were inoperative, weather was getting poor, no visibility, fog rolling in. The question still is after all this time, they should have waited, being impatient does have consequences.
Perhaps the unluckiest link in this chain of events was Pan Am being behind KLM instead of the other way round. If they were in line in front of KLM they could take off while KLM refueled.
...and then Zanten would still have just killed the passengers of whatever plane had switched places with C1736 instead of those on C1736. When the problem is a pattern of criminally negligent behaviour on the part of a commander, no number of other factors can mitigate the danger he poses, just by being in that cockpit.
@@DistractedGlobeGuy Well idk. I imagine a smaller plane would have an easier time with that third exit than Pam Am would. Course the fog is still an issue. Alternatively they don’t have any plane swap places with Pan Am and it’s just KLM on the runway. Would come down to the controller having the sense not to put a small plane on the runway with a 747 anyway.
@@Boundwithflame23 Exactly. The two planes involved in the crash were the biggest there. Even with all the other mistakes and bad circumstances, if almost *any* other plane was behind the KLM, there might not have been a collision.
Not sure whether that would have made a difference. The pan am was unfamiliar with the layout of the air, going by charts they would not be able to make that turn that the tower had asked them to do. Factor in the weather, fog rolling in. Airport did not have ground radar, center lighting was inoperable. Perhaps in hindsight, tower should have let one aircraft depart, rather than have backtracking. Airport was not equipped to handle two jumbos. If tower had refused klm to refuel. The other turnoffs were occupied with other smaller planes awaiting departure (s). If the pan am captain, had been able to tell tower that he had decided to wait till klm departed. After all these years, this incident/accident is still on record as a tragic loss of life, on ground vs air. RIP all on both flights.
@@kay9549 The timing of when the fog rolled in is the big thing actually. If I’m not mistaken KLM decided to refuel, the call comes in that Las Palmas has reopened shortly after that and the fog rolls in during the time that KLM is refueling. I’m thinking if Pan Am was ahead in line or able to get around they would be leaving in clear weather, probably just before the fog came in. Hmmm 🤔
Still it’s a testament to the safety of aviation nowadays that this remains the deadliest accident with more than one plane if we don’t count 9/11.
My school principal from elementary school was on this flight along with her sister. They both perished. I was in 6th grade at the time. So sad 😢
How sad. I know that was traumatic for all the school kids, teachers and principal of the school 😢
2 of our beloved church members from Whidbey Island perished on this Pan Am flight. I'll never forget this.
May God comfort you Chris. I know it is hard as your beloved church members have passed away in this terrible tragedy. May they sing and give glory to our God in heaven, where there are no pain, but forever happiness with all angels. Take care! Greetings from a sister-in-Christ miles away from Hong Kong
Sad to know this when I randomly watched on RUclips as I love flying on planes travelling with my family, I love to sit near the wings too! I was born in 1986 in Hong Kong and just learnt that previous aviation incidents improved today's aviation safety. May we remembered those who have perished and have led us to have safer journeys on planes.
The differences between the environments in the two cockpits are very evident.
Yeah, you really get a view of how important communication and teamwork is when operating a plane
Neither would be acceptable in this day and age.
Due to the foggy weather conditions, it's too bad that all planes were not ordered to just stop. Everyone would still be alive had that happened. May their souls RIP 🙏
A fog so thick rescuers couldn't see a burning 747!
Nowadays, runways have radars and lights on. But most of the time, I think they delay flights whenever visibility is zero.
@@natsarimthings3147 Safety is the most important
I remember seeing another documentary - where the photographer who took the iconic photos of the Pan Am plane revisited the site. Incredibly there will still tiny bits of plane wreckage to be found in the long grass - more than two decades later.
WoW I’m sure…sad
Whoa...that is haunting.
Wow. That's crazy
Lol, Kind of like the holocaust museum where the chimneys were built AFTER the war? Never believe everything you read or see on film.
Wow that’s haunting
The impatient KLM pilot lost more than his licence & career, he lost his life taking all his innocent passengers with him.
The KLM Captain looked to be more concerned about his career and reputation than the safety of his passengers. The GOD complex does exist to this day. The ego of Van Zantin killed those people, what a needless loss of innocent lives. This is why good pilots and Captains are a different breed.
Imagine taking off in fog so thick that visibility was mere yards, a frustrated pilot with a big ego, no patience is the reason they died, I was 17 and I remember being horrified when it came in the news. RIP🙏
In my opinion, the KLM was ultimately responsible and the cause of the crash. Just another example of how arrogant, aggressive 'drivers' costs lives. Everyone did the best they could with a series of unfortunate events, and Mr. Egotistic was too busy being important and in charge. He was solely responsible for all those lives lost.
Prayers to all the families that lost their loved ones.
Arrogance kills 2 plane loads of passengers
Total speculation.
He was a professional, highly respected pilot, who didn't get clearance to take off but did anyway. Remember that although you may think you're the best at what you do ( and very well could be ) that all it takes is one anxious moment and become blind to the correct procedure.
@@joanfrellburg4901
I think the "arrogant" narrative is often based on the theory Van Zanten took off fully aware he did not have the proper clearance. But that's virtually unthinkable, except here at RUclips forums, where serious accident inquiry is something of a joke. If not, I would love to know from these people exactly HOW arrogance caused the crash, and how they could possibly know this.
cheers
@@cchris874 Key word, theory. It's either a theory or a fact. There's a difference. Forgetting to get clearance doesn't mean arrogance necessarily, but if in fact it is a fact rather than a theory, he screwed up, arrogant or not.
@@joanfrellburg4901
Sounds good to me.
Best documentary I’ve ever seen on this disaster. The actor playing the KLM Captain is excellent.
Ever notice when the light turns green and you don't immediately step on the gas, horns start blowing ? Patience, it'll get ya.
This has to be the best analogy for this tragedy. The man was an arrogant ass who jumped the gun.
And then a massive truck flies through the intersection and you remember...a few seconds of delay can save you a lifetime of pain, pain so dire that your lifetime ends. We're impatiently hurtling towards death, time to slow down a bit.
@@bernlin2000 I always look both ways first 🤣
Really? People start to honk when light turns green? Wow that must be nice, lately people honk while still red 😄 then I take my time and honk my bird 🐦 at them. I agree, patience. We all need it!
I get people honking at me when I’m yielding at a red light (right turn). Well I’m sorry but I want to make sure it’s completely clear before I go even if there is plenty of time for me to turn before that last oncoming car passes. Never know. Could be someone who decides to slam on the gas and speed through as I’m turning. They hit me but I’m the one at fault because they had right of way.
a coworker lost her in-laws on the PanAm flight. It was the same day her daughter was born.
What TWA flight?
@@cchris874 i'm sorry, Pan Am flight.
@@lindad6223
The two airlines are easy to confuse given they were by far the two largest US international airlines of their time and shared a similar status. :) (through the mid 80s at least)
Captain Victor Franklin Grubbs (Pan Am pilot) was a veteran of World War 2. He flew B-17s. He had over 21,000 hours of flying experience. And knew another famous pilot. Gene Roddenberry 👍
I could tell how he carried himself he had a lot more experience than just any other pilot. The best are military pilots and often airline companies are waiting for them when they retire or get out to contract, but it's sad when disasters like these occur and often the pilots are the first to go and it's another risk their willing to take. I'm in service, but not in aviation props to those who master the skies.
So the documentary at the end didn't mention anything about the fixes of the issue the pilot mainly stressed over, which was being overdue on hours. Apparently had that not been a stressor and the burden they were dreading it was going to cause could have saved all those lives. Did they change that policy? The last thing a pilot or Captain needs is added stressors when events occur or problems that arise that need their full concentration. That policy seemed unreasonable and if not this disaster could have played hand in another disaster with pilots wanting to cut corners over it especially if it's going to cost them everything as the pilot responsible claims in the documentary. All these documentaries it seems pilot is worrying about other stuff till the little problem becomes fatal.
@@strawberryhush1538 I agree. I cannot understand why the company did not stress to the pilots that "in the event of unforeseen circumstances, just take your time, and take extra precautions."
@@strawberryhush1538 Strawberry Hush... I like that name! It sounds like a name for a drink or a smoothie. It's cute!
@@strawberryhush1538 It *is* unreasonable. While having limits on how many flight hours pilots can have in a set time frame is reasonable, *taking away their licenses* is excessive. Especially when the fault mostly lies with those assigning the pilots to certain flights. If they're *that* close to going over their allowed hours, put them on shorter flights. When planning transcontinental flights, *always* add an extra 24 hours or more to account for delays and *only* assign crew who aren't pushing their limits with the extended time.
@@brigidtheirishyes, the airliners need to hire more pilots if need be!
Me and my sister was supose to be on this particular KLM flight, but that morning, my sister was taken very ill and we had to cancel the flight....
Thank God of the sudden illness my sister had, otherwise we would also not be here anymore....
May God continue to bless you, your sister and your families!! Wish you and your families all the best. Take care! Best wishes from Hong Kong
He loves y'all so much! Beautiful
I feel bad for Karen because her husband died in the flames. May he rest in peace.🙏❤😭😢
Today I was at Greenwood Cemetery in San Diego doing a photo request for a grave. It was for Stanley Cohen. He died that day in Tenerife along with his wife. Although I was teenager, I remember this crash so well. This came up in my video feed.
Thanks for being one of the people who volunteer to photograph graves. I saw a photo of the grave of my grandfather who died just before I was born, thanks to people like you.
I've seen a lot of docs about this crash, know it inside and out, and STILL it horrifies me whenever I revisit it.
Do you think that if the copilot didn't overruled the captain in the KLM when He first tried tha take off, could the plane have more runaway or speed to actually clear the pan?
My goodness how I feel for all involved in this horrific preventable disaster. Im a Truck driver and can no way be compared to a Pilot, but I do know the about the extreme stress of keeping on schedule and not run yourself out of hours cause bad things can happen. My prayers for all the people involved and the families and friends of the passengers prayers also for the poor men in flight control 🙏 😢
I'm impressed that truckers are able to keep fully loaded semis on the road *at all,* especially where I live. It's hard enough driving a sedan when the *lowest* wind speed averages about 10 mph. You've basically got a massive *sail* trailing behind you.
@@brigidtheirishThis prove drivers will need a full concentration and good mentality, no matter which vehicle you drive.
@@luuduonghy659 And be *well rested.*
Husband: "I will jump, and try to break your fall."
😭😭😭
That's so freaking romantic to me!!!
Yes absolutely 💯
That's love
I 🤔 think I heard that note
In the air plane crash,
Someone wanted to protect
His wife when she jump off
The plane.
That KLM pilot is entirely to blame - rude and narcissistic- in his mind he WAS KLM. What a terrible man.
Can you look in his mind?
For a more concise version of this terrible crash, see MentourPilot's account of it. He is a current airline pilot and has his own RUclips channel and website all about aviation. Many, many factors caused this accident. 1. The terrorists leaving the bomb at the other airport, injuring one shop assistant. 2. A large number of planes being diverted to Los Rodeos, far more than they were used to. 3. A Sunday, so only two ATCs on duty 4. No ground radar at Los Rodeos. 5. Los Rodeos was often foggy and had had fatal crashes in the past, at least three. 6. KLMs new regulations for flight crew which meant they felt under pressure to get back to Amsterdam in time or face fines, dismissal or even prison 7. Not enough space for PanAm to get round KLM when it was still refueling, it was a small airport 8. Sudden deterioration in the weather which should have resulted in all flights being halted until it improved 9. Some problems in communication between ATC and both flight crews eg the ambiguity over which taxiway PanAm was meant to turn on to. 10. The inherent danger of using the runway as a taxiway. 11. Crew culture within the KLM cockpit. 12. Main cause: Van Zanten starting his take off run without clearance from ATC. But without numbers 1 to 11, you don't get to number 12. Apparently the investigators did not consider KLM refueling as an important factor, but obviously it made KLM plane heavier and therefore needing longer to take off. I was a pre-teen when this happened, but remember it well in the news. A shocking, appalling loss of life. RIP to the 583 that died that day.
I definitely agree with the refueling. They even said in the video that the runway was long enough for a 747 to land. It never said it could take off at its refueled weight. So why was it permitted for the aircraft to be refueled when they knew it would be difficult with the runway length to take off? That should be another factor mentioned with 1-11. But had the pilot waited for take off clearance, 1-11 would never have contributed to this crash.
@@carolynhaggeI agree with you, Carolyn. Irrespective of other factors, the captain of KLM necessitated this ugly situation. He was so authoritarian and didn't listen to his crew. The refuelling was totally unnecessary. If there was no refuelling, there would have been no delay that made the fog to catch up with them blocking off clear vision for both the controllers and the pilots. The captain didn't wait for clearance to take off. Both Pan Am and KLM would have been ahead of this disaster! Safety first, life first.
The KLM in fact did get the ATC clearance, but not the second and final authorisation needed to take-off and that was supposed to be given after the PANAM had left the runway
well, if KLM remain operating like that with his arrogant pilot, accident is inevitable. Either this time or next time.
Klm did get clearance, that was in reference to route, they were not given a clearance to depart/takeoff. An unfortunate accident, after all these years, considered the deadliest, that reference to loss of life. So many factors come into play, 1. Airport was not equipped with ground radar 2. A dramatic change in weather/rain/fog 3. Airpot was not able to handle one but two jumbo jets (747) prior to having planes rerouted from gando they were dealing with aircraft that were already there. 4. They may have been distracted since tuning into a soccer game on radio. 5. Only two controllers in tower at the time. 6. Perhaps the klm may have been able to take off w/o refueling. 7. Why did not the tower deny that request, since they were able to fly back to gando with fuel in place. 8. Its unfortunate the pan am captain voiced that he did not want to backtrack to follow the klm, to his cabin crew, but not to tower. 9. Pan am unfamiliar with airport, perhaps due to the rerouting from gando airport.
Just to say an unfortunate accident, that perhaps could have been avoided. So unfortunate so many lives were lost. Since its was the Easter holiday, parents w/children, also older individuals that had perhaps saved for a time to make this journey. To date this accident/incident is on record, its reference to lives lost. Just a note the last remaing crew of the pan am (first officer) passed a few years ago. Hopefully after all these years perhaps an improvement to aviation travel. Hopefully so.
I'm 32 years old. Never flown and after watching Mayday, i don't think I want to anymore
That's silly. Do you drive? Use ladders and stairs? Have a bicycle/motorcycle/WALK?
Just think of it like preparation. This series has taught me to NEVER inflate the life vest inside and always sit in the back.
If your time has come,you can not avoid it,no matter how hard you try. I was also afraid of flying and still am a little bit but that adrenalin rush by take off,the view from above,the happy feeling once you landed safely took over my fear. I love to fly altough i am afraid.I watched every single Flight Channel video, i learned so much about planes that know i can recognize from the passenger seat when the plane reached V1 😂😂 Don't let fear take over,you are the captain
God, imagine the grief of the family of those two Dutch children who got lost in the airport but were found and led back to the plane. They could have survived. What a horrible tragedy, especially bc one of the reasons for it was, ironically, safety.
Wish they had not been found😢
Any person with ambitions to fly passenger aircraft needs to study this accident closely. So much to learn from this.
But one lesson that never seems to be learned, at least by RUclips posters, is that even basic error can happen to any of us despite being as careful as we might. The study of heuristics teaches us that this can happen unconsciously, and thus such mistakes may be impossible to detect as it happens. Another unlearned lesson is not assuming these speculative caricatures and obvious poetic license as the Gospel: some parts of this recreation are simply made up.
One survivor of the Pan Am jet wrote a book called "Don't wait for the firetruck" years later.
The KLM was the one with only 1 survivor. PamAm had many survivors.
@@albinoguidedog Yes. That person didn't reboard the flight after they landed in Tenerife. She was the only person
@@albinoguidedog He didn't say "The one survivor." But of the 60 Pam Am passengers to survive, one wrote that book.
@@albinoguidedog Only because she stayed behind to be with her man....everyone on plane died
@@edwardestes8038 I know. I watched the video😆
39:15. The cutest thing ever in the airplane cockpit. Bffs having a grand old time despite delay after delay.
I was coming down the steps from my flight as the 2 Jumbo jets collided. The airport was jam packed with aircraft diverted to Tenerife along with the usual traffic and the visibility was very poor. With no ground radar the ATC couldn’t see any of the overcrowded airport. When my wife and I returned home two weeks later the burned out wreckage was piled up at the side of the runway, it was a very unsettling sight.
I'm quite sure mike, it must have been a surereal/unsettling site. The airport was not expecting two 747 to be rerouted to this airport. Since they already has smaller planes to depart. The weather was getting bad, temperature dropping, fog rolling in. Perhaps I mentioned in previously comment (s); since there was just one runway only. Maybe the control tower should have denied klm to refuel. They perhaps should have one plane depart rather than have them backtrack. The pan am captain did not want to back track. Prior to landing he had requested to be placed in a holding pattern, since they had enough fuel to do just that. Its so hard to say, very unfortunate accident after all these years.
I’ve just watched this again, it still brings me to tears, it’s like it was just yesterday. My wife died in 1998 from leukaemia, I’m just glad she wouldn’t be able to relive this terrible experience.
A terrible thing. Especially on an island that has given so many people happiness and wonderful memories
The Pan Am Captain told the controller that he wanted to wait until KLM took off before taxiing onto the runway, but the controller insisted that they follow the KLM on the runway. As English was not the controllers' first language the Pan Am crew decided not to insist on waiting and followed ATC's instructions. 😭
yeah their English seems to be bad in Spain
English should not have been a problem because that is the official language flying/airports.
@@cplmpcocptcl6306 No, it's that English was the Pan Am pilots' native language while English was NOT the Spanish controllers' native language. The controllers spoke and understood basic English.
It's fine, they were trying to stage the planes so they didn't have to make each plane wait for the other to completely taxi down the runway. It wasn't an ideal situation, but nobody wanted to be there all night just trying to take off. KLM was at fault here: you don't take off in those conditions, period.
Yes. Captain Victor Grubbs would feel greatly for not demanding to ATC to hold off the runway, until the KLM had taken off👍
I think a lot of things contributed to this tragedy..Smal regional airport, language barrier issues, short staffed with the air traffic controllers. But ultimately the pilot in the KLM plane was arrogant, and did what he wanted, without permission. May the victims of this tragedy RIP ❤
Captain Van Zanten is the goat, don't tarnish my man like that. Van Zanten Allergic to Ls.
Truly, the traffic controllers were doing an excellent job & despite ALL these issues it boils down to one & only one culprit..... the captain not waiting to get fuel in the canary Islands.
It's getting the fuel. Period
ONLY USING CAPS FOR ME TO SEE BETTER - EVEN WITH THE WAIT FOR THE FUEL, THE ACCIDENT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF THE KLM CAPTAIN HAD WAITED FOR CLEARANCE TO TAKE OFF
Yep - without refueling he would have been at take off position before it was completely fogged in. Additionally, without the extra fuel weight - the KLM aircraft might just have been able to clear the Pan Am.
@crowmagnon
"all" "these" "issues"
All issues being dealt with,
the result of the problem.
I didn't skip anything
any critically thinking brain doesn't need the obvious stated.
all those upvotes over the last NINE months kinda backin me up lol
hope you have a great day
It is the arrogance of this heroic pilot killed all those souls on board.
Even though this was a reconstruction, it’s easy to tell the difference between the crew on KLM and PanAm. The PanAm crew have excellent chemistry so to speak. They know how to laugh, have fun all while remaining professional. Especially when the weather at Los Rodeos was really awful, they kept their composure and did their best to problem solve their way out. It almost felt like the captain treated his colleagues like they’re equals without having to be too assertive.
Not much to say for the KLM crew. The vibes in the cockpit, super tense and the captain’s fat ego was a key factor towards the crash. It might not be the sole cause but he certainly played a part in this fateful event.
Very well done retelling of this horrible time in history. So horrific for everyone involved and incredible some people made it out alive.
Events like this are why we need self driving/flying/sailing vehicles asap, free from any and all human erorrs...
I remenber when this happened. I could not believe two planes hit eachother. The number of dead was mind-boggling. The pictures & stories after...it was surreal. RIP.
The KLM pilot seems like a classic case of narcissistic personality disorder; everything has to be their way, and don't you dare criticize and question, or else. Their victims always suffer, and this is an extreme example of the ramifications of this reckless, arrogant man's actions. He's directly responsible for 583 fatalities. May they RIP.
The terrorists inadvertently killed way more people than even they expected.
@The Elder Hu….I was thinking the same thing as you.
This is so so sad. Horrendous loss of life, trauma and survivors guilt just bc that Dutch pilot was so impatient and arrogant. He acted like the runaway was his alone. So awful 😞
Quiet you, Van Zanten is the based top g. Never disrespect the goat.
@@darthkrayt5535if he were a goat he would still be alive but he is dead. All over the world Van Zenten is known as the person solely responsible for the deaths of more than 500 people, nothing you do or say will change that.
@@ivank.9525 I can still touch you in places for being more braindead than a western infidel.
@darthkrayt5535 such talk got onto his head and he is responsible for close to 600 people lost their lives
Okay. This was the first time i watched this documentary about this crash, and my only question is... Why they allowed two aircrafts being on the same runway? In my opinion they should only allow one plane to go to the back end of the runway, let the aircraft do a 180 turn, then let the plane to takeoff, and THEN let the other one do the same exact thing...
Forreal goodness
Especially with almost no visibility!
for efficiency most likely, but don't fall into trap where you ask questions based on the results, as far as the controller concerned, if everyone did everything correctly, nothing should've happened
Well, in the wise words of Albert Einstein: "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits while stupidity knows no boundaries". Despite what some engineers think you can only mitigate human error. You can't design it out of the system.
Great video, one of the best I've ever seen. God bless all those people, 🤗
The co-pilot has an outstanding radio voice.
KLM or Pan Am
@@buhar3987 Pan Am
The Pan Am crew looked like they had great chemistry, and I find that rather nice. The KLM crew on the other hand………
Crew always getting intimidated by an arrogant Captain.
In this modern era that crash should never had happened. Its disappointing that this happened. 😕
They did even better: head on collision over Germany in 2002.
The irony, they had built a new airport, but it was not open yet.
ROBSHOTZ yes I had read about that as well, for whatever reason it was not completed. The weather overall is so iffy, nice then fog, rain comes
over the mountains, does not dissipate for a time. Such an unfortunate incident, it perhaps could have been avoided. The tower perhaps should have let the klm leave since they were at the end of the one existing runway. The pan am wanted to wait, they did not want to backtrack on same runway, since they were unfamiliar with it, the weather was not improving. Hopefully we have learnt from this incident. Air travel is much more safe, hopefully so.
That poor controller would have to live this for ever.
Can't blame them much. That klm captain...😑
I'm not sure, but in the Korean plane that crashed while landing in San Francisco, wasn't there still an issue of questioning a senior captain?
It took a few years after this disaster for the idea of questioning the captain to mostly die out. When was the Korean flight you're talking about?
A series of unforeseen events linked together gave rise to the greatest air tragedy.
An air disaster that will always be etched in our memories
It makes me so sad to see the Pan Am pilots singing happily to moulin rouge, only to end up in this terrible disaster for something that wasnt even their fault…
Even if Pan Am crew are trying to exit at a "wrong" exit from runway, the fact is that KLM arrogant pilot take-off without permission. His impatience decision costs of a almost 600 lives. No discussion about that
Im shocked the tower didnt hear a single noise of such a diseaster.........Imagine if they set the third plane to take off just like that......
Seriously one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Not just on aviation, but in general.
I was curious about Erma Schlect, the older survivor who suffered burns when she jumped out. She passed away in 2009, aged 90.
"the older survivor " modern US lingo; they never say old in US culture, only "older", even for 60+ people.😂😂😂
@@internetcensure5849 Actually, it was a comparison to the younger survivors in the video, and therefore grammatically correct. If the program had been just about her, then no comparison word would have been necessary. Nothing to do with ‘modern US lingo’.
The worst aviation disaster at the time and the irony is that it happened on the ground.
Definitely more crowded on the ground!
When I see this episode, I ALWAYS think the airport should've been CLOSED until the fog let up!
KLM Pilot WAS arrogant!
I'm a newish pilot and thankful for how standard communication is now. Listening to these instructions was confusing
Honestly, the Mayday documentary is decent in covering this horrible tragedy. HOWEVER, Mentour Pilot's RUclips video of Tenerfile really highlights a lot of things that people don't consider or know about regarding the chain of events or the response after these two 747s crashed. Petter's work has 8 million views on RUclips and I recommend to check his channel out
Long flights are brutal. I flew from Guam to Tokyo to SeaTac once. I took off on a Thursday at 5am on my first leg. I arrived at SeaTac on 8am on that same Thursday despite traveling for 15+hours.
I took a long nap, watched a movie and STILL had over 7 hours left to go.
Yeah. So what?
That’s the worst part, realizing how many hours you have left lol
From Florida to Honolulu is 15 hours. Now flights give a change of planes usually. Time to stretch legs. Things imprive sometimes. Patience my man.
@@kekab.8161 lol, exactly. And when we know we have a long way to go yet, it's hard to not get anxious or excited. Or both.
I've flown from Las Vegas to England 16 hours many many times. Never had any issues w/tiredness or jet lag as long as I brought my own fruit & only ate fruit for the duration. One time a significant other came with, ate the airplane food, gained 17 pounds from. Just the flight & felt like sh*t most the entire trip.
Lord have mercy when I saw all those coffins you realize they each belong to a family, all those devastated people 🥺 rip to all those innocent souls
i dont understand why they said there are 4 passengers missing and not 5 including the girl who decided to remain
Amazing documentary....!
I was very young when this happened. I remember it being on the news, but had no idea of the circumstances.
What a shocking set of events 😥🙏
That could have been avoided had he just waited but no ofc he just had to go anyway without permission and now he ended up taking the life’s of hundreds of people which is just outrageous and terrible.
Series always impressed me with thier sets given how many different aircraft covered.
This is so incredibly sad. So, so sad. Rest in peace to all the passengers 💔
WOW that's heartbreaking
Rest in peace to everyone who never made it home that day 🌹🕊️🙏🏿✌️💖
Those are some based af survivors, obviously don't know them but they sound like very strong people, Im glad they at least made it through that
Over 500 people lost their lives because of one super inflated ego. So very sad.
Watching this I'm amazed anyone survived..... That in itself is a miracle....
this is like real life "final destination" how many things need to happen for this to be a tragedy
Captain Van Zanten deciding to refuel completely weighed the aircraft down, making it unabl3 to takeoff quick enough. It truly is sad about what happened on this day.
Great presentation
I was living in Las Palmas and I can't never forget that day. I remembered the tv asking for medical persons to report and the videos of the Tenerife airport runway!