Congrats. GG for the achievement. My favourite has been the FedEx 705 Fight for your life, it describes the event so clearly and I watch it atleast twice per day
Almost all of my fav episodes have been uploaded, but, there is one story that I've only seen short videos of. Has Mayday done an episode on the Germanwings Disaster that took place in 2015? I used to watch your show on Smithsonian, with the American narrator, but I've not watched the Smithsonian Channel in years. I don't remember seeing a Germanwings ep.
The actors portraying the air traffic controllers giving such emotional performances paired with the interviews of the real passengers really help drive home the tragedy of the situation. What a horrific event
It just kept getting worse; the ATC were in over their heads and no one should have been allowed to take off in those conditions I wish everyone would have just stayed for the night, the fog would have lifted and they could regroup and fly out over the next few days If only
Those sweet flight attendants. The whole Pan Am crew seemed to demonstrate what the industry is about- patience, resilience, even a bit of humor. So so so heartbreaking for all involved, this disaster has always stood out as unbelievably hard to watch
Whoever the sound designer was for this episode did a fantastic job. The background music really helps tell the story, but without interfering with or overshadowing it.
583 dead all because of Captain Jacob Van Zantan taking off without a clearance and to not exceed his work hours regulation. The crew of the KLM are not operating as a team, it’s one man with a few assistance which is cultural norms. When flying a jetliner like a 747 I don’t care how senior the pilots are: Captain, Senior First Officer, First Officer, Second Officer I don’t care what rank the pilots are, flying a jetliner is teamwork. Crew Resource Management is a must.
@@francisduorinaah5269 Yeah like I said. I don’t care how senior or junior the pilots are: Captain, Senior First Officer, First Officer or Second Officer, flying a jetliner is teamwork.
Three Things That Thorned My Empathy: 1. Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten was a complete egoistic man. He ignored the advice of his First Officer and Flight Engineer about refueling. Also, he decided to take off without being given instructions from Air Traffic Control and not knowing the Pan Am flight was still on the runway. I also didn't appreciate his meanness towards his crew or that of the Pan Am flight. 2. Robina van Lanschot was super lucky. If she did go along with her friends and followed the rules, she would have ended up dead. Thank goodness, her love for her boyfriend and economical thinking saved her life. 3. Though Veldhuyzen van Zanten had an ego, it would have been better if he started the plane without that family. The family could have survived. Only if the parents didn't find the children, that family would have lived. It was so sad to see them going up the stairs to the plane that would carry them to their deaths.
On Mentour Pilot, it was pointed out that the vast majority of van Zanten's experience was in simulators teaching student pilots, not in actual aircraft. Petter suggested that, under pressure (the Netherlands had just instituted a law imposing criminal sanctions on pilots who went overtime, and he was getting close to that) perhaps he forgot that he wasn't generating the ATC directions, but depending upon them. He didn't live to be asked what had been on his mind. Nonetheless, the event shook up the aviation industry and now there are much better precautions, such as ATC distinguishing between a "departure" and a "takeoff." This kind of pilot confusion beyond logical thinking is sometimes called a "helmet fire." We don't know if "feeling dissed" was in that picture. A hurry likely was.
Yes, presenter Mentour Pilot recently did a deep dive into this accident and showed it was much more complicated than just a pilot seemingly ignoring lack of clearance. It's the best analysis of this accident I've ever seen. Check it out.
I've seen a lot of Mayday: Air Disaster episodes, but somehow missed this one. It made me feel so very sad and heartbroken. I would have to say that this was probably my most favorite episode.
The reason you probably haven’t heard of this Mayday episode was because it’s never been said that this was a Mayday episode. On Amazon and the “One The Move” post, it is just called “Crash of the Century.” I never knew this was a Mayday episode because of this, and the fact that the Smithsonian Channel reboot, they made an episode over this, too.
This may be the most riveting episode I’ve ever watched. So tragic. Even though I knew what had happened, seeing the coffins lined up really hits you and makes you realize how terrible this tragedy was.
The two air traffic controllers were trying so hard not to cry even hearing their sadness in their voice makes me tear up and just seeing that devastation that just took place is very sad and may the victims rest in peace 🙏🏻❤
If your gut tells you not to do something you should always listen Some friends of mine asked me to go riding with them in a very fast hot rod car Something told me not to go I would have been in the back on the passenger side About 15mins after they left my house they hit a telephone pole at about 70mph It hit right in the spot where I would have been setting instantly killing the guy setting there and badly injuring everybody in the car The driver pulled 5yrs in prison for DUI and vehicular manslaughter Always listen to your gut Better safe than sorry 🙏
Human beings do have instincts like other animals. Our downfall comes because we talk ourselves out of them so we don't look or sound silly since instincts are by their very nature illogical & we like to pretend that everything we do is because of forethought & logic.
@@tazhienunurbusinezz1703 Why do you think instincts are illogical? That doesn’t make any sense to me. In fact, our instincts usually makes perfect logical sense, and we only try to talk ourselves out of it for reasons having to do with stubbornness, laziness, illogical hopefulness, etc.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 logic involves reasoning & thought. Instinct is a pattern of behavior in response to stimuli, often involuntary. Idk why you can't tell the difference but idk what to tell you. If someone jumps out of the bushes & yells, your heart is going to speed up, you'll likely give an involuntary startle response & one of the known instincts will kick in (fight, flight, freeze...). These instincts are also highly involuntary & you don't really get to choose which one initially happens. They don't originate in the part of the brain that conducts higher executive functions like figuring out why said dude is jumping out of the bushes & yelling at you. They don't care why. Their purpose is to get you to safety & make sure you survive. You can logic it out later once the adrenaline that accompanies those instincts subsides. That's the difference.
Staying overnight wasn’t the problem, the problem was KLM had a culture of punishing crews who ran out of hours without reaching a hub due to this incurring the airline extra costs: they need to send a replacement crew down, compensate passengers for delay, provide lodgings, and so on. As basically KLM’s star pilot, Van Zanten was not immune to this - if anything, he’d be expected to set an example of running on-time.
Wow, this goes to show exactly the consequences that can come if you believe you can belittle others and have a superiority complex. Its such a shame that everyone on that KLM flight (and the Pan Am) had to lose their lives because of the man that was supposed to get them to their destination safely was more concerned about not having to find a hotel room smh
I think it's disingenuous to say Van Zanten had a "Superiority complex" or "Belittled" anyone based on how a documentary portrayed him. Yes, he was in an extreme hurry. However, many Dutch Pilots were also said to have a great experience working with him, and he did value the opinions of pilots he trained himself. Due to the circumstances of that Day and the pressure that Capt. Van Zanten faced it is understandable why he refueled, and due to the technical difficulties, he thought he had ATC Clearance to take off when he shouldn't have. in all, as the documentary put it if one of the factors never happened, this whole tragedy could have been avoided.
@@mohamedshidane9155 WRONG. The consensus was that Capt. Dutch-Boy was a first rate assh*le and created a horrible lack of esprit de corps in the cockpit. And his haste and his indulgence of his moods directly affected his judgement and cost hundreds of lives.
It's worse than a superiority complex. He was a textbook cluster B grandiose narcissist. They suck. I would never work with him, I would find another option.
My fav air disaster story. My great grandpa was a Pan Am captain and was working with NASA at the time of this crash and went out there to investigate!
Ohh woowww 🙏🏼💙 have u heard stories? This is also my other “fav” air disaster 💔🥺 Feels very wrong to say. The other one is Alaska Airlines Flight 261. That episode really affected me. It is the greatest mix of emotions. Overwhelming sadness for the passengers and crew. Absolutely INFURIATED with Alaska airlines 😤😡
@@kentuckyleigh9623 unfortunately my stories of my great grandpa are limited, he died about a decade ago. Everything I have is from my grandpa, from what I know he was working with NASA investigating close calls/collisions with aircrafts. Obviously this one was the jackpot as far as collisions are concerned and he knew the captain of the Pan Am flight so he went out there to help out! Wish I could have one more conversation with him now that I’m older.
@@JL-ix5io Ik it sounds bad and feels wrong to say 💔 but, It’s the name of the show. If you’re new they were asking what’s your favorite Mayday: Air Disaster episode.
Do you think Dutch aviation authorities have learned anything about not pressuring pilots in situations beyond their control? The evidence shows that he thrusted before clearance. Inexcusable, and one person and one person alone is responsible for all of these dead people, all of these lives.
@@ShikataGaNai100 well I'm not going to make that judgment. A higher power will. The Christian way is forgiveness. They're all dead. The fact of the matter is Dutch aviation authorities made blunders in pressuring pilots.
@@ShikataGaNai100 van zanten wasnt arrogant here, he is just stressed and worried about that pilot hours limit, that made his emotion went out of control and caused this
Mentour Pilot’s take is very interesting actually - about workloads, poor ATC communications, and plain bad luck. It’s easy to blame the KLM pilot, but perhaps more useful to ask how does an experienced pilot make what seems on the surface like an obvious mistake.
And even worse, before he thinks of what may happen to those other humans on that plane, his first thoughts are about the company and what HE may lose, selfishly proceeding to move the plane without permission. So it starts like this Stress turns into = fear Fear turns into = selfishness Selfishness causes= chaos and irrational behaviours. His actions are driven by the need to make money and to maintain job. When will humans wake up and realize this entire financial monopoly that we are FORCED to play by the elite above us will continue to cause death and suffering…it will continue to keep us behaving like apes. Technology does not lead us to “God” or “Higher power” whatever you want to name it, that “Divine” Spirituality, whatever that is that we’re looking for, Financial monopoly, fake fiat printed dollars will not get us there Lol. If you even read this comment and disagree you are the perfect Sheep robot of the elite, and you will continue to push this system just to bring down all the others with you, that’s what miserable useless eaters do, after all that’s exactly what we are referred to as by the ultra rich.
I have done lots of research within this case and it is like a layer of slights of cheese, which coincidencely having a whole all at the same place. I figured out approx 15 issues which one by one had made this not happening. I would have to look them up but there were tiny issues from missing ground radar or misleading words like takeoff which is today replaced with departure to do not mix up the real takeoff with preparation or allowance. Or having speaking both crews at the same time on radio so the last possible warnings were not heard due to this coincidence. If you have a close look and watch up all available documents you find so many things responsible. But will not say that it wasn’t at the end the klm pilot who made the biggest mistake.
I think that the Spain side is correct Because the captain should've NEVER moved Because he wasn't told to move . I feel so bad for these survivors The loss of there family members is so heartbreaking but i think it was also the towers fault too
To quote another show that covered this crash: "Disasters don't just happen. They're a chain of critical events. Unravel the fateful decisions in those final, Seconds from Disaster." (season 1, episode 12: "Collision on the Runway")
You can easily see why it was the Dutch pilot who caused the crash. The difference in the Cockpits is night and day. The Pan Am cockpit is relaxed and the crewmembers in it are getting along well while the Dutch Planes Cockpit is Icy at best.
Pan Am staff were known for their politeness, friendliness, and how they treated passengers and fellow co-workers like family. The history of Pan Am has always been fascinating to me. They were a very unique airline, one we may never see again.
@@alexjones3511 I’m glad I got to at least fly with them one time before they went out of business. It was my first flight ever too, making it a special memory. I was only five years old, but I still remember the flight and being very, very happy playing on board with those little plastic sticker storyboard things they had back then in 1980. I wasn’t scared or impatient or anything. It was a fun trip!
Such a hard one to watch. They went into very sad story to lead into the accident and the people. Such an important story of the importance of following procedures and patience.
Way back in 2005 when I first watched this and heard the survivors talking about how a survival mode kicked in I could empathize but not completely understand what they were talking about. Then about a year later we had a fire, our garage next to the house caught first and as I was running out of the house I got out the front door and looked toward where the garage had been and I literally saw a wall of fire probably 25 feet high where it used to stand. After that I understood what these people meant. Basically for anyone who hasn't experienced it it's like if your entire brain instantly forgets every extraneous or non-essential piece of information and you now have a singular purpose. GET TO SAFETY.
I had an experience with Typhoon Haiyan. The ceiling was gonna collapse on us and what I did was to grab my little sister from the other side of the room and run for safety. She literally felt like a teddy bear on my arms and she was what about 20 kilos that time. I ran to the hallway of the house and we immediately closed the door. I was numb all over and started crying after I realized what exactly happened.
My little survival story is what was told to me, because I was only a baby at the time... My mother told me the story about the first time I almost died when she was the only one that could help, and it took place in the 1970s: I was choking on my phlegm because of surgeries I had to have on my esophagus, turning blue in my crib. Using her instinct/intuition, she grabbed me and ran to the bathroom, taking me by the heels to hold me upside down, turned on a hot running shower next to me for steam, and whacked the bajezus out of my back - which resulted in a loooonng line of mucus getting dislodged and pouring out of my mouth, successfully making it so I could once again cry/breath again. She was never taught by anyone to do that, nor had she learned how to do that by reading about such a technique or anything… She was just going off of pure instinct/intuition and didn’t second-guess herself for a moment. It worked, and whether that is an appropriate/recommended technique or not, all that matters is that it worked and my life was saved. The other time isn’t as interesting as far as this thread topic goes. It was only a few years ago when I had an asthma attack so severe that it made me go unconscious and face plant on the concrete driveway in front of her house. With my very last 2 breaths I opened up the front door and shouted to her “CALL 911!” Luckily the fire department was only a few blocks away, but she said I was turning blue again and gave me CPR until they arrived and took over. They kept me alive until the paramedics got to me. I didn’t regain consciousness until I woke up in the emergency room, which was around 40 minutes round-trip drive for the paramedics. To this day, I consider a miracle that I didn’t suffer any brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
It doesn’t completely remove his guilt, but you should remember that under the rules that had been put in place, he could have faced criminal charges if he was in the cockpit too long. I’d probably be a little impatient in that situation as well. Also remember, the man never lived to defend himself; we will never know exactly what was going through his mind.
@@Shaun_Jones He could have finished his duty and made them wait for another flight. Impatience shall not warrant someone to ignore the ATC's instruction
Captain Vanzant was in a tremendous rush because he was just about going over his duty flight hours and if goes over he could have lost his license also the KLM Captain had not flown in almost 6 months he was just in a terrible rush to get back in the air
In other words, he shouldn't have flown. Rushing to fly is dangerous enough as is, but combining that with the dangerous attitudes Vancant displayed is what led to the disaster.
Regardless of the circumstances which led to this disaster, KLM captain killed all of these people with his arrogance and abuse of power. Even his own copilots were questioning the takeoff
Personally and obviously insignificant, I considered this more as worse plane collision of all time and from sheer number of lives lost, yes even as air disaster but as of right now, JAL flight 123 still holds record for most deaths in a single plane crash at 520. All that aside, I have heard stories of how gruesome this crash was, and that several workers from emergency crew n such had PTSD, few committing suicide but unconfirmed. R.I.P to all victims regardless of the title.
True, the KLM captain was overwhelmingly to blame. At the same time, I feel that much like many things in life and history, focusing in on that misses the big picture, especially from an investigative standpoint. The bomb threat lead to an overcrowded airport, a factor in a number of accidents. The culture of the time is why someone prone to making such a dangerous, horrific mistake maintained his position for so long, and indeed likely a factor in how he became that way. Without the fog, much of this would have been obvious enough and it could have been avoided. So many things go into both the most glorious and the most tragic parts of history. Assigning extent of blame to people is important for lawyers and courts, but moving forward often means looking at what can be changed and how, and what can be done to mitigate what we cannot control.
I’ve took the time to count all factors that day came together. Just one of them missing this would not happened. I had to look it up but there were approx 15 factors coming together.
I’ll never understand why pilots are blamed for these kinds of delays which are out of their hands. It only causes them to make reckless decisions to save their jobs/pay.
the 70s until 90s waslikethis. today aviation its the safer transport because pilots not love your jobs. and there are very laws and regulations rechecks and training in ground and flightcrew.
What do you mean by blamed? Are you referring to the limitation they had on flight hours? The limitation in itself is a very good and important idea, you don't want tired crew on a plane. I think after this disaster at Los Rodeos, rules were made more flexible for exactly this kind of situation, when you get stuck because of events that are outside your control.
Funny people say regulations, laws, and rechecks helped some to solve the problem. instantly air Canada comes to mind, as well as a handful of other carriers. Then the one commercial airline that was caught flying passenger jets with NO license to do so 😂. The U.S did ban that carrier from entering the U.S for a while, but they kept doing the same thing in their country. Which begs the question, how many people are flying that aren't registered and or up to date certified flying people around. Look to motorcycles for comparison. Being retired law enforcement about 40% of all motorcycles I've stopped the rider had no license to operate it. And worse yet, other officers frowned on me for pulling them over
@@divineknowledge4607 This has literally nothing to do with my comment. I said I don’t understand why pilots are blamed (under threat of termination) for delays which have nothing to do with them.
@@brera2434 I am asking why they would be threatened with termination or loss of licensure for delays which have nothing to do with them which force them to make these kinds of reckless decisions to save their jobs. No one is arguing that flight hour limitations are necessary, but it can be as simple as saying they can’t fly for a certain period of time (e.g. 12hrs - or whatever it is) if they are going to exceed it. Why throw in threats of termination for delays which are not their fault?
As an American, I thought the Orbit Gum at 51:40 was an anachronism the first time I saw this episode. I now know that it launched in other countries over 100 years earlier in 1899. Of course, that kind of package wasn’t seen until 2001 so it’s still an anachronism of some kind. ;)
it really hurt for the flight attendant who gave her life trying to save passengers to simply be called one the black flight attendants and go nameless by her coworkers shows what they thought of her.
Well, it's possible they might not have remembered her name if they hadn't flown with her before. But the documentary makers should have taken the time to find her name and say it - they found her photo after all!!
Maybe they weren't able to get the permission of living relatives to mention her by name or something? She wasn't a public figure after all, so they might've gotten into trouble for including the name without being allowed to. By extension, the producers would've similarly told interviewees to not mention it either.
I see a lot of people blaming the klm pilot and he does play a role but also company policy was something that also played a hand. It was those policies that forced him to act irrationally and after seeing the Boeing doc on Netflix, it’s clear how big of an impact does certain company policies can have on accidents
The KLM pilot was to blame, but that said, that AIRPORT is still a mess even today, we got stuck there 8 hours last May when traveling from Tenerife to Madrid to Mexico City so.
Well the Panam guys also missed the 3rd exit to the left, here they pretend as if they didnt hear them, but they did, what happened was the 3rd exit to the left needed a 180 degree turn which was kind of difficult for the size of plane they had. So.
7:13 I was really surprised when there was a person on a KLM flight talking about that day. My understanding was that everyone died aboard that flight.
She had left the flight at Tenerife and decided not to re-board (she was a Tenerife local), so luckily was not on the flight when the incident happened. Hope she bought a lotto ticket that day lol
This is the saddest story. We can learn from errors, but we'll never entirely take out human errors. Sounds like an ego was the fuse to the bomb on the runway, but the root cause was the bomb in the airport causing the diversion.
Another reason why I never fly KLM. I flew Qatar to the Philippines and there was never a doubt about quality, service, or safety below five-star perfection.
That is not particularly sound reasoning. The fact is, KLM has had a more impressive safety record than most other large airlines witness no scheduled passenger fatalities since 1960.
Well the Panam guys also missed the 3rd exit to the left, here they pretend as if they didnt hear them, but they did, what happened was the 3rd exit to the left needed a 180 degree turn which was kind of difficult for the size of plane they had. So.
This disaster was caused by several events, but three causes stand out the most, from top to bottom: 1. Human error: KLM Captain's decision to take off without clearance. True, he might have misunderstood ATC, but considering the circumstances these planes were in, common sense should've won. Yet he took off and ignored the concerns of his crew. 2: Weather: The airport was covered by clouds. The crews of both planes as well as the ATC tower couldn't see well enough. 3: Technical limitations: Heterodyne interrupted the most crucial radio transmissions. And the airport didn't have a ground radar. I put most of the blame to KLM captain, yet I do acknowledge some things were out of his control.
@@anonnimoose7987 I think it was more of an arse move than anything. He had an absolute line of planes waiting to depart, yet he decides to hold them up even longer by filling up the gas tank. What a true piece of work that guy was.
Yeah Tenerife airport is weird, that one, I was there a couple months ago, it gets really misty and cloudy, but then you take a bus to the south of the Island and there is very sunny, it never even rains on the south part, so the Nort part of the island is like green etc, while the south is dry / desert-like and has beach. xD
The KLM pilot is, in my opinion, the sole responsible person for this accident. He was rude, arrogant, and more worried about saving the company money and his job than he was about anything else.
yeah he was the deciding factor but that airport is always a mess, we were there in may 2022 and we flew back from Tenerife to Madrid to Mexico City, and we got a delay of 8 hours because they had no fuel to re-fuel the planes...
Okay, this airport reminds me of the one we have in Leyte, Philippines. It only has 1 runway too and shorter than the one in Tenerife. There were accidents there of some planes overshot the runway with zero casualties. If you’re curious you can search for DZR Airport and you’ll see what it is. It always scared me whenever I have to travel by plane from there that’s why I travel by bus sometimes.
@@ShikataGaNai100 I'm not saying he didn't make the wrong decision and I'm not suggesting he was in the right. He wasn't. There were PLENTY of other things he could have and should have done. I'm just saying that a show like this is going to dramatize and exaggerate his personality.
Wow, this KLM pilot must have been an absolute nightmare to fly with. Talking about someone with a MAJOR EGO here. Shame that so many people died because of it.
Absolutely! The guy seems to have had a huge ego problem! Even the First Officer was starting to sound like him! I just feel sorry for the needless deaths and the family and loved ones of the passengers and crew. It must’ve been horrendous for them!
you're literally basing your entire conclusions on an entire video that made assumptions of his character. if you would actually read the Dutch, American, and Spanish Report and also understood the circumstances and the nuances of the KLM pilots' situations. it isn't hard to understand why this accident occurred, especially the external factors.
@@mohamedshidane9155 I have seen different versions of this particualar episode. Wheather right or wrong, they all have portrayed him being very arrogant. I do realize that there were a number of factors that caused this unfortunate accident.
@@navyspook79 I understand your viewpoint, many want to come to simple conclusions, its Human. however, a flaw human have is failing to account other factors and understanding that the truth is grey. if you could watch Mentour Pilots video about this accident, it really takes into account what went wrong. and I highly recommend you listen to the actual Cockpit voice recorder, Van Zanten is actually portrayed in a less arrogant way.
He was a raging grandiose narcissist. No way would I willingly sit beside him in a cockpit. I would leave the plane and even the company if I had to. Can't suffer dealing with cluster B monsters.
An Air Canada pilot almost created a worse disaster than this one when he nearly landed on planes waiting for takeoff. This happened in San Francisco, a few years ago.
It's a scary airport to fly into with frequent fog and the runway ending over the water. It always feels like you're going to land in the bay. I saw the busted fuselage of the Korean plane that botched their landing sitting to the side of the runway every time I flew in.
51:41 nothing like a little product placement inside the grim telling of the monstrous, fiery, sad ending of hundreds of people’s lives. Classy, Orbit, classsssy.
Cockpit protocol had changed a lot since then, the captain is still the captain but the co pilot doesnt have to yell and scream to be heard, especially on a safety issue, if he says go around, they pretty much around and then discuss why, it's much better to be safe than sorry. Wouldn't refueling for a trip back to Amsterdam cause an issue with landing weight after just a short hop?
It's funny all this talk of CRM. I agree it may well have prevented this crash. But it seems apparent that this crew was not afraid to speak their mind against the captain. They did so twice.
@@cchris874 assuming the reenactment is accurate, overruling a superior it's not the easiest thing to do, then you get egos involved, I'd think we all would rather get there safely and not burnt to a crisp. I do think there should be some wiggle room on flying hours in an extreme situation like that, a pilot in a mad rush is just as dangerous as a tired pilot.
@@janspup6232 That may well be right on the money. Perhaps the Dutch authorities thought it inconceivable that one of THEIR captains could ever stoop to such peasant impulses. They are the "Royal Dutch" after all.
@@cchris874 lol, i mean there's an airpot shut down due to bombing, there's a flight engineer in those early 747s that seems a good place for an exeption, would your have your pilot an hour over his fligt time and a little tired or a pilot in a rush probably making decisions in order to save time? I'd rather my crew tired than running around like a chicken with their heads cut off so he can drop us pleabs off.
@@janspup6232 i think u r defending the klm pilot, if iam not mistaken. Why defending he is at fault no matter whatever reason behind that. Other crews are trying to do good for all of them including pax.
It’s very telling that the worst airline disaster of all time was essentially a car crash involving two planes. Even in a plane driving is more dangerous.
The television show "Mayday", from which these episodes are sourced, is a relatively well financed production. Their episodes usually included recreations of the cockpit activity.
@@LotusLady9 I'm always amused people think they can read my mind from 7 words. I have nothing whatsoever to do with the Dutch. I have spent exactly 5 days of my life in the Netherlands. I also have come to agree from so many comments over the years the Dutch can be very arrogant. Nice try though.
A little strip of metal leads to a horrific fireball flying off the runway. I rode the Concorde as a child. I still have the little flight bag of goodies in a box somewhere.
I’ve flown on a lot of international carriers, and absolutely by far the worst, THE VERY WORST, was KLM. Service was terrible at the KLM ticket counters, and on the plane as well. The steward crew were either totally inattentive or downright rude. Once was enough for me on that awful Dutch airline. I feel terrible for all the dead and their families…it was so completely avoidable.
Thank you for 100k subscribers! What has been your favorite Mayday episode on our OFFICIAL channel?
Congrats. GG for the achievement. My favourite has been the FedEx 705 Fight for your life, it describes the event so clearly and I watch it atleast twice per day
Nice job, would honestly love to see the music yall put into these documentaries. Fav video has to be falling from the sky tho
You needed to be on RUclips 10 years ago, what took you so long? How do people who don't have cable TV supposed to watch this till now?
All of them
Almost all of my fav episodes have been uploaded, but, there is one story that I've only seen short videos of. Has Mayday done an episode on the Germanwings Disaster that took place in 2015? I used to watch your show on Smithsonian, with the American narrator, but I've not watched the Smithsonian Channel in years. I don't remember seeing a Germanwings ep.
The actors portraying the air traffic controllers giving such emotional performances paired with the interviews of the real passengers really help drive home the tragedy of the situation. What a horrific event
It just kept getting worse; the ATC were in over their heads and no one should have been allowed to take off in those conditions I wish everyone would have just stayed for the night, the fog would have lifted and they could regroup and fly out over the next few days If only
Those sweet flight attendants. The whole Pan Am crew seemed to demonstrate what the industry is about- patience, resilience, even a bit of humor. So so so heartbreaking for all involved, this disaster has always stood out as unbelievably hard to watch
Whoever the sound designer was for this episode did a fantastic job. The background music really helps tell the story, but without interfering with or overshadowing it.
583 dead all because of Captain Jacob Van Zantan taking off without a clearance and to not exceed his work hours regulation. The crew of the KLM are not operating as a team, it’s one man with a few assistance which is cultural norms. When flying a jetliner like a 747 I don’t care how senior the pilots are: Captain, Senior First Officer, First Officer, Second Officer I don’t care what rank the pilots are, flying a jetliner is teamwork. Crew Resource Management is a must.
And also the dumb idea of loading a lot of fuel
Even the Pan Am pilots who flew longer were much more patient than the dutch pilots. Really sad
@@francisduorinaah5269 Yeah like I said. I don’t care how senior or junior the pilots are: Captain, Senior First Officer, First Officer or Second Officer, flying a jetliner is teamwork.
Imagine being so arrogant that your arrogance kills 583 people
these buffons and clowns.....
Three Things That Thorned My Empathy:
1. Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten was a complete egoistic man. He ignored the advice of his First Officer and Flight Engineer about refueling. Also, he decided to take off without being given instructions from Air Traffic Control and not knowing the Pan Am flight was still on the runway. I also didn't appreciate his meanness towards his crew or that of the Pan Am flight.
2. Robina van Lanschot was super lucky. If she did go along with her friends and followed the rules, she would have ended up dead. Thank goodness, her love for her boyfriend and economical thinking saved her life.
3. Though Veldhuyzen van Zanten had an ego, it would have been better if he started the plane without that family. The family could have survived. Only if the parents didn't find the children, that family would have lived. It was so sad to see them going up the stairs to the plane that would carry them to their deaths.
On Mentour Pilot, it was pointed out that the vast majority of van Zanten's experience was in simulators teaching student pilots, not in actual aircraft. Petter suggested that, under pressure (the Netherlands had just instituted a law imposing criminal sanctions on pilots who went overtime, and he was getting close to that) perhaps he forgot that he wasn't generating the ATC directions, but depending upon them. He didn't live to be asked what had been on his mind. Nonetheless, the event shook up the aviation industry and now there are much better precautions, such as ATC distinguishing between a "departure" and a "takeoff." This kind of pilot confusion beyond logical thinking is sometimes called a "helmet fire." We don't know if "feeling dissed" was in that picture. A hurry likely was.
Yes, presenter Mentour Pilot recently did a deep dive into this accident and showed it was much more complicated than just a pilot seemingly ignoring lack of clearance. It's the best analysis of this accident I've ever seen. Check it out.
@@garymartin9777, thank you; I did check it out, and it was amazing, and it cleared up some of the questions I had from yesterday's video.
@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 es verdad
@@garymartin9777 ah, thanks for the recommendation!
I've seen a lot of Mayday: Air Disaster episodes, but somehow missed this one. It made me feel so very sad and heartbroken. I would have to say that this was probably my most favorite episode.
The reason you probably haven’t heard of this Mayday episode was because it’s never been said that this was a Mayday episode. On Amazon and the “One The Move” post, it is just called “Crash of the Century.” I never knew this was a Mayday episode because of this, and the fact that the Smithsonian Channel reboot, they made an episode over this, too.
I agree!!!
i agree!
@@chukowiley3823, thank you for the info. That's a good explanation.
This wasn’t really a Mayday episode they just uploaded it here
This may be the most riveting episode I’ve ever watched. So tragic. Even though I knew what had happened, seeing the coffins lined up really hits you and makes you realize how terrible this tragedy was.
Bravo, Mayday! I've seen this episode multiple times, but it never fails to catch my attention!
Mine too! Makes me believe every time that, what is destined to happen will happen, no matter what! RIP all souls...
The two air traffic controllers were trying so hard not to cry even hearing their sadness in their voice makes me tear up and just seeing that devastation that just took place is very sad and may the victims rest in peace 🙏🏻❤
I can’t imagine what Robina must have felt after the crash. May all the victims RIP.
A horrific tragedy, but wow that Captain Van Zant, what an arrogant man!
A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY THAT HE IS ARROGANT, SMUG, ETC.
@@rp7r54 *Was. That day was his last day to be arrogant.
That van zanten was a big axxhole. RIP axxhole.
If your gut tells you not to do something you should always listen Some friends of mine asked me to go riding with them in a very fast hot rod car Something told me not to go I would have been in the back on the passenger side About 15mins after they left my house they hit a telephone pole at about 70mph It hit right in the spot where I would have been setting instantly killing the guy setting there and badly injuring everybody in the car The driver pulled 5yrs in prison for DUI and vehicular manslaughter
Always listen to your gut Better safe than sorry 🙏
Jesus Christ dude. Sorry
Human beings do have instincts like other animals. Our downfall comes because we talk ourselves out of them so we don't look or sound silly since instincts are by their very nature illogical & we like to pretend that everything we do is because of forethought & logic.
@@tazhienunurbusinezz1703
Why do you think instincts are illogical? That doesn’t make any sense to me. In fact, our instincts usually makes perfect logical sense, and we only try to talk ourselves out of it for reasons having to do with stubbornness, laziness, illogical hopefulness, etc.
@@anti-ethniccleansing465 logic involves reasoning & thought. Instinct is a pattern of behavior in response to stimuli, often involuntary. Idk why you can't tell the difference but idk what to tell you.
If someone jumps out of the bushes & yells, your heart is going to speed up, you'll likely give an involuntary startle response & one of the known instincts will kick in (fight, flight, freeze...). These instincts are also highly involuntary & you don't really get to choose which one initially happens. They don't originate in the part of the brain that conducts higher executive functions like figuring out why said dude is jumping out of the bushes & yelling at you. They don't care why. Their purpose is to get you to safety & make sure you survive. You can logic it out later once the adrenaline that accompanies those instincts subsides. That's the difference.
i was looking for that version so long, thanks so much!
Wow, that Captain seemed more concerned about having to stay overnight at the alternative airport terminal than waiting for clearance for take off!
Staying overnight wasn’t the problem, the problem was KLM had a culture of punishing crews who ran out of hours without reaching a hub due to this incurring the airline extra costs: they need to send a replacement crew down, compensate passengers for delay, provide lodgings, and so on. As basically KLM’s star pilot, Van Zanten was not immune to this - if anything, he’d be expected to set an example of running on-time.
Wow, this goes to show exactly the consequences that can come if you believe you can belittle others and have a superiority complex. Its such a shame that everyone on that KLM flight (and the Pan Am) had to lose their lives because of the man that was supposed to get them to their destination safely was more concerned about not having to find a hotel room smh
I think it's disingenuous to say Van Zanten had a "Superiority complex" or "Belittled" anyone based on how a documentary portrayed him. Yes, he was in an extreme hurry. However, many Dutch Pilots were also said to have a great experience working with him, and he did value the opinions of pilots he trained himself. Due to the circumstances of that Day and the pressure that Capt. Van Zanten faced it is understandable why he refueled, and due to the technical difficulties, he thought he had ATC Clearance to take off when he shouldn't have. in all, as the documentary put it if one of the factors never happened, this whole tragedy could have been avoided.
I agree but there were other factors at play, not just him
@@mohamedshidane9155
What technical difficulties are you talking about? There wasn’t any such thing - he took off without permission, period.
@@mohamedshidane9155 WRONG. The consensus was that Capt. Dutch-Boy was a first rate assh*le and created a horrible lack of esprit de corps in the cockpit. And his haste and his indulgence of his moods directly affected his judgement and cost hundreds of lives.
It's worse than a superiority complex. He was a textbook cluster B grandiose narcissist. They suck. I would never work with him, I would find another option.
My fav air disaster story. My great grandpa was a Pan Am captain and was working with NASA at the time of this crash and went out there to investigate!
Ohh woowww 🙏🏼💙 have u heard stories? This is also my other “fav” air disaster 💔🥺 Feels very wrong to say. The other one is Alaska Airlines Flight 261. That episode really affected me. It is the greatest mix of emotions. Overwhelming sadness for the passengers and crew. Absolutely INFURIATED with Alaska airlines 😤😡
@@kentuckyleigh9623 unfortunately my stories of my great grandpa are limited, he died about a decade ago. Everything I have is from my grandpa, from what I know he was working with NASA investigating close calls/collisions with aircrafts. Obviously this one was the jackpot as far as collisions are concerned and he knew the captain of the Pan Am flight so he went out there to help out! Wish I could have one more conversation with him now that I’m older.
*"My fav air disaster story"*
You have a favorite air disaster story? Wth is wrong with you? Genuine question.
@@JL-ix5io Ik it sounds bad and feels wrong to say 💔 but, It’s the name of the show. If you’re new they were asking what’s your favorite Mayday: Air Disaster episode.
Do you think Dutch aviation authorities have learned anything about not pressuring pilots in situations beyond their control? The evidence shows that he thrusted before clearance. Inexcusable, and one person and one person alone is responsible for all of these dead people, all of these lives.
@@ShikataGaNai100 well I'm not going to make that judgment. A higher power will. The Christian way is forgiveness. They're all dead. The fact of the matter is Dutch aviation authorities made blunders in pressuring pilots.
@@ShikataGaNai100 van zanten wasnt arrogant here, he is just stressed and worried about that pilot hours limit, that made his emotion went out of control and caused this
Mentour Pilot’s take is very interesting actually - about workloads, poor ATC communications, and plain bad luck. It’s easy to blame the KLM pilot, but perhaps more useful to ask how does an experienced pilot make what seems on the surface like an obvious mistake.
And even worse, before he thinks of what may happen to those other humans on that plane, his first thoughts are about the company and what HE may lose, selfishly proceeding to move the plane without permission. So it starts like this
Stress turns into = fear
Fear turns into = selfishness
Selfishness causes= chaos and irrational behaviours.
His actions are driven by the need to make money and to maintain job.
When will humans wake up and realize this entire financial monopoly that we are FORCED to play by the elite above us will continue to cause death and suffering…it will continue to keep us behaving like apes. Technology does not lead us to “God” or “Higher power” whatever you want to name it, that “Divine” Spirituality, whatever that is that we’re looking for, Financial monopoly, fake fiat printed dollars will not get us there Lol. If you even read this comment and disagree you are the perfect Sheep robot of the elite, and you will continue to push this system just to bring down all the others with you, that’s what miserable useless eaters do, after all that’s exactly what we are referred to as by the ultra rich.
@@davidunebed So according to you we should all just go back to the stone age? (rolls eyes)
Kudos for a documentary of the highest creative quality.
I have done lots of research within this case and it is like a layer of slights of cheese, which coincidencely having a whole all at the same place. I figured out approx 15 issues which one by one had made this not happening. I would have to look them up but there were tiny issues from missing ground radar or misleading words like takeoff which is today replaced with departure to do not mix up the real takeoff with preparation or allowance. Or having speaking both crews at the same time on radio so the last possible warnings were not heard due to this coincidence. If you have a close look and watch up all available documents you find so many things responsible. But will not say that it wasn’t at the end the klm pilot who made the biggest mistake.
100%
Yes, swiss cheese theory!
The younger air traffic controller actor really did a great job portraying emotion in his eyes.
Yeah, they were both really good IMO.
@@deprofundis3293 For sure, I just felt it a lot in his expression. It felt very real.
So good to hear the voices of the survivors~
I think that the Spain side is correct Because the captain should've NEVER moved Because he wasn't told to move . I feel so bad for these survivors The loss of there family members is so heartbreaking but i think it was also the towers fault too
It wasn't the tower they told the klm what to do
What did ATC do wrong?! Lol. Silly.
Please don't delete this, I always wanna watch this because I miss this video a lot!
This is the first time I have the entire two-hour episode. Many thanks.
To quote another show that covered this crash: "Disasters don't just happen. They're a chain of critical events. Unravel the fateful decisions in those final, Seconds from Disaster."
(season 1, episode 12: "Collision on the Runway")
Best quote
Best series from Nat Geo 👍
@@rolandhazuki8787 Agree, Iconic
Sounds like you've also been watching Petter's vids. I like his channel, lots to learn from him. But I'm not sure why he put a "u" in "mentor".
You can easily see why it was the Dutch pilot who caused the crash. The difference in the Cockpits is night and day. The Pan Am cockpit is relaxed and the crewmembers in it are getting along well while the Dutch Planes Cockpit is Icy at best.
Pan Am staff were known for their politeness, friendliness, and how they treated passengers and fellow co-workers like family.
The history of Pan Am has always been fascinating to me. They were a very unique airline, one we may never see again.
But you get that this is a reenactment, right?
@@aandykf Yes a reenactment based off of official transcripts taken from the flight recorders. Your point is invalid.
@@alexjones3511
I’m glad I got to at least fly with them one time before they went out of business. It was my first flight ever too, making it a special memory. I was only five years old, but I still remember the flight and being very, very happy playing on board with those little plastic sticker storyboard things they had back then in 1980. I wasn’t scared or impatient or anything. It was a fun trip!
I can't imagine sitting next to such a narcissistic ass in the cockpit. I would refuse to fly with him or get a job with another airlines.
Such a hard one to watch. They went into very sad story to lead into the accident and the people. Such an important story of the importance of following procedures and patience.
Yes all the stuff happened beforehand to make the situation possible, but god damn that KLM pilot taking off without clearance.
But not deliberately.
It was a miscommunication he didnt do it on purpose
@@TheDutchGuy110
If that was so, then Spain wouldn’t have blamed him.
That's how a malignant grandiose narcissist operates. Entitlement is just one of their charms.
Way back in 2005 when I first watched this and heard the survivors talking about how a survival mode kicked in I could empathize but not completely understand what they were talking about. Then about a year later we had a fire, our garage next to the house caught first and as I was running out of the house I got out the front door and looked toward where the garage had been and I literally saw a wall of fire probably 25 feet high where it used to stand. After that I understood what these people meant. Basically for anyone who hasn't experienced it it's like if your entire brain instantly forgets every extraneous or non-essential piece of information and you now have a singular purpose. GET TO SAFETY.
I had an experience with Typhoon Haiyan.
The ceiling was gonna collapse on us and what I did was to grab my little sister from the other side of the room and run for safety. She literally felt like a teddy bear on my arms and she was what about 20 kilos that time. I ran to the hallway of the house and we immediately closed the door. I was numb all over and started crying after I realized what exactly happened.
My little survival story is what was told to me, because I was only a baby at the time... My mother told me the story about the first time I almost died when she was the only one that could help, and it took place in the 1970s:
I was choking on my phlegm because of surgeries I had to have on my esophagus, turning blue in my crib. Using her instinct/intuition, she grabbed me and ran to the bathroom, taking me by the heels to hold me upside down, turned on a hot running shower next to me for steam, and whacked the bajezus out of my back - which resulted in a loooonng line of mucus getting dislodged and pouring out of my mouth, successfully making it so I could once again cry/breath again.
She was never taught by anyone to do that, nor had she learned how to do that by reading about such a technique or anything… She was just going off of pure instinct/intuition and didn’t second-guess herself for a moment. It worked, and whether that is an appropriate/recommended technique or not, all that matters is that it worked and my life was saved.
The other time isn’t as interesting as far as this thread topic goes. It was only a few years ago when I had an asthma attack so severe that it made me go unconscious and face plant on the concrete driveway in front of her house. With my very last 2 breaths I opened up the front door and shouted to her “CALL 911!”
Luckily the fire department was only a few blocks away, but she said I was turning blue again and gave me CPR until they arrived and took over. They kept me alive until the paramedics got to me. I didn’t regain consciousness until I woke up in the emergency room, which was around 40 minutes round-trip drive for the paramedics. To this day, I consider a miracle that I didn’t suffer any brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
Excellently neat stoked job guys!!
Probably my 5th time watching this episode, but they never get old!!
I love these videos, best aviation education I have ever had
If the klm pilot wasn’t so impatient, this accident never would of happened.
It doesn’t completely remove his guilt, but you should remember that under the rules that had been put in place, he could have faced criminal charges if he was in the cockpit too long. I’d probably be a little impatient in that situation as well. Also remember, the man never lived to defend himself; we will never know exactly what was going through his mind.
@@Shaun_Jones He could have finished his duty and made them wait for another flight. Impatience shall not warrant someone to ignore the ATC's instruction
@@evan.5967 I didn’t say it did, but maybe it wasn’t so much arrogance, but that under the stress and fear, he simply heard what he wanted to hear.
@@Shaun_Jones that's true, i remember hearing that's a psychological phenomenon in another one of these mayday episodes
A well-narrated documentary covering the destructive nature of one man's ego, and very very sad. Subscribed...;-)
1:05:42 the controller saying "we're done" or "what have we done" is the most heartbreaking moment that every human goes through
MAN ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW! NICE MAYDAY! SHOW US MORE
What a terrifying nightmare that survivors would be forced to relive in their minds for the rest of their lives.
Im binging these on my flight to the bahamas. So encouraging to fly and enjoy a nice vacation.
I remember watching this quite frequently when I was a kid.
Amazing the number of coincidences that added up to make this tragedy. Just, at every turn something went wrong.
I hope we never see something this tragic again!
This accident changed aviation for ever. We now have 100s of checks this situation would never come hopefully.
Biden got elected, so there's that.
@@JL-ix5io ?
@@___kayed they're just start trying to start an argument. Best to just ignore them
@@IsaacLeonhardtVideos fr bro
Ready to watch a new video!!!
Captain Vanzant was in a tremendous rush because he was just about going over his duty flight hours and if goes over he could have lost his license also the KLM Captain had not flown in almost 6 months he was just in a terrible rush to get back in the air
In other words, he shouldn't have flown. Rushing to fly is dangerous enough as is, but combining that with the dangerous attitudes Vancant displayed is what led to the disaster.
Regardless of the circumstances which led to this disaster, KLM captain killed all of these people with his arrogance and abuse of power. Even his own copilots were questioning the takeoff
That Pan Am Captain knew what he had to do. Unfortunately, he had little time to clear the runway before disaster struck.
So many factors went into this disaster that it was just a powder keg just waiting for the right spark. It came in the form of a simple radio message.
Personally and obviously insignificant, I considered this more as worse plane collision of all time and from sheer number of lives lost, yes even as air disaster but as of right now, JAL flight 123 still holds record for most deaths in a single plane crash at 520. All that aside, I have heard stories of how gruesome this crash was, and that several workers from emergency crew n such had PTSD, few committing suicide but unconfirmed.
R.I.P to all victims regardless of the title.
39:02 it must have been funny when they discovered this masterpiece in the cockpit voice recorder
Right?
Yes thay did put pu pu bo pu pu lol
Damn! This made me cry a lot. 😭😭😭
At first I thought there was no survivors but once they started interviewing the passengers I knew there was at least some home.
Only in the KLM does having refueling become a liability
I hope you guys will continue uploading these, I loved these series when they were getting aired on National Geographic back then.
What bloody arrogant from KLM Captain. And what a bloody disaster. RIP.
I think my fav mayday episode was that one "Kid In The Cockpit"
So sad.. RIP😔🙏
The thumbnail perfectly shows the gravity of the incident.
What a crazy turn of events that turned into tragedy...so sad.
True, the KLM captain was overwhelmingly to blame. At the same time, I feel that much like many things in life and history, focusing in on that misses the big picture, especially from an investigative standpoint.
The bomb threat lead to an overcrowded airport, a factor in a number of accidents.
The culture of the time is why someone prone to making such a dangerous, horrific mistake maintained his position for so long, and indeed likely a factor in how he became that way.
Without the fog, much of this would have been obvious enough and it could have been avoided.
So many things go into both the most glorious and the most tragic parts of history. Assigning extent of blame to people is important for lawyers and courts, but moving forward often means looking at what can be changed and how, and what can be done to mitigate what we cannot control.
I’ve took the time to count all factors that day came together. Just one of them missing this would not happened. I had to look it up but there were approx 15 factors coming together.
@@TheApp9 Your comment and thoroughness are appreciated.
Well put and good points, thanks.
@@TheApp9
Only one mattered truly though - the klm pilot absolutely knew better.
This made my heart hurt 😞
Congratulations!!! 👍
I’ll never understand why pilots are blamed for these kinds of delays which are out of their hands. It only causes them to make reckless decisions to save their jobs/pay.
the 70s until 90s waslikethis. today aviation its the safer transport because pilots not love your jobs. and there are very laws and regulations rechecks and training in ground and flightcrew.
What do you mean by blamed? Are you referring to the limitation they had on flight hours? The limitation in itself is a very good and important idea, you don't want tired crew on a plane. I think after this disaster at Los Rodeos, rules were made more flexible for exactly this kind of situation, when you get stuck because of events that are outside your control.
Funny people say regulations, laws, and rechecks helped some to solve the problem. instantly air Canada comes to mind, as well as a handful of other carriers. Then the one commercial airline that was caught flying passenger jets with NO license to do so 😂. The U.S did ban that carrier from entering the U.S for a while, but they kept doing the same thing in their country. Which begs the question, how many people are flying that aren't registered and or up to date certified flying people around. Look to motorcycles for comparison. Being retired law enforcement about 40% of all motorcycles I've stopped the rider had no license to operate it. And worse yet, other officers frowned on me for pulling them over
@@divineknowledge4607 This has literally nothing to do with my comment. I said I don’t understand why pilots are blamed (under threat of termination) for delays which have nothing to do with them.
@@brera2434 I am asking why they would be threatened with termination or loss of licensure for delays which have nothing to do with them which force them to make these kinds of reckless decisions to save their jobs. No one is arguing that flight hour limitations are necessary, but it can be as simple as saying they can’t fly for a certain period of time (e.g. 12hrs - or whatever it is) if they are going to exceed it. Why throw in threats of termination for delays which are not their fault?
As an American, I thought the Orbit Gum at 51:40 was an anachronism the first time I saw this episode. I now know that it launched in other countries over 100 years earlier in 1899. Of course, that kind of package wasn’t seen until 2001 so it’s still an anachronism of some kind. ;)
Yeah, that gum package cracked me up. Too funny!
it really hurt for the flight attendant who gave her life trying to save passengers to simply be called one the black flight attendants and go nameless by her coworkers shows what they thought of her.
Well, it's possible they might not have remembered her name if they hadn't flown with her before. But the documentary makers should have taken the time to find her name and say it - they found her photo after all!!
Maybe no one liked her lol.
Maybe they weren't able to get the permission of living relatives to mention her by name or something? She wasn't a public figure after all, so they might've gotten into trouble for including the name without being allowed to. By extension, the producers would've similarly told interviewees to not mention it either.
I agree completely. I couldn't believe that when I heard it.
Yes I was ready for you to post this
Sorry, *siff* 😭, seeing there's pictures of the 2 747's totally destroyed it just makes my heart break 💔.
This channel posting this as an episode of "Mayday" is like when your parents buy you the wrong video game for Christmas.
I love the actors, especially the American crew
I see a lot of people blaming the klm pilot and he does play a role but also company policy was something that also played a hand. It was those policies that forced him to act irrationally and after seeing the Boeing doc on Netflix, it’s clear how big of an impact does certain company policies can have on accidents
The KLM pilot was to blame, but that said, that AIRPORT is still a mess even today, we got stuck there 8 hours last May when traveling from Tenerife to Madrid to Mexico City so.
Well the Panam guys also missed the 3rd exit to the left, here they pretend as if they didnt hear them, but they did, what happened was the 3rd exit to the left needed a 180 degree turn which was kind of difficult for the size of plane they had. So.
7:13 I was really surprised when there was a person on a KLM flight talking about that day. My understanding was that everyone died aboard that flight.
She had left the flight at Tenerife and decided not to re-board (she was a Tenerife local), so luckily was not on the flight when the incident happened. Hope she bought a lotto ticket that day lol
She wasn't on board during the accident, but on the flight to Tenerife
This is the saddest story. We can learn from errors, but we'll never entirely take out human errors. Sounds like an ego was the fuse to the bomb on the runway, but the root cause was the bomb in the airport causing the diversion.
A grandiose narcissistic malignant self-love bomb.
Another reason why I never fly KLM. I flew Qatar to the Philippines and there was never a doubt about quality, service, or safety below five-star perfection.
That is not particularly sound reasoning. The fact is, KLM has had a more impressive safety record than most other large airlines witness no scheduled passenger fatalities since 1960.
I’m so sad that this wholesome flight blew up
There wasn't any issue with the language. The controller spoke clearly, and he said 3rd from the left. The pilots made a judgement error.
So it was the American pilots' fault that this happened? For not getting off the runway when they should have?
Well the Panam guys also missed the 3rd exit to the left, here they pretend as if they didnt hear them, but they did, what happened was the 3rd exit to the left needed a 180 degree turn which was kind of difficult for the size of plane they had. So.
Congratulations 🎉 and thanks a lot😙😚😌😍🥰🥰
The Hudson ditching by Captain Sully.
This disaster was caused by several events, but three causes stand out the most, from top to bottom:
1. Human error: KLM Captain's decision to take off without clearance. True, he might have misunderstood ATC, but considering the circumstances these planes were in, common sense should've won. Yet he took off and ignored the concerns of his crew.
2: Weather: The airport was covered by clouds. The crews of both planes as well as the ATC tower couldn't see well enough.
3: Technical limitations: Heterodyne interrupted the most crucial radio transmissions. And the airport didn't have a ground radar.
I put most of the blame to KLM captain, yet I do acknowledge some things were out of his control.
4: Terrorists: Everything wouldn't have happened if they didn't cause the planes to crowd a very under prepared small airport.
@@gabrielc7861 this bit is almost always omitted when it shouldn't be as you properly noted. Without this doesn't occur.
I agree. It was a bad situation but he made it deadly.
5. Impatience - the decision to refuel for 2 flights meant that there was no way they could fly up immediately.
@@anonnimoose7987
I think it was more of an arse move than anything. He had an absolute line of planes waiting to depart, yet he decides to hold them up even longer by filling up the gas tank. What a true piece of work that guy was.
Yeah Tenerife airport is weird, that one, I was there a couple months ago, it gets really misty and cloudy, but then you take a bus to the south of the Island and there is very sunny, it never even rains on the south part, so the Nort part of the island is like green etc, while the south is dry / desert-like and has beach. xD
The KLM pilot is, in my opinion, the sole responsible person for this accident. He was rude, arrogant, and more worried about saving the company money and his job than he was about anything else.
The only people working with malice were the terrorists. Let's not forget that none of this would've happened without them.
yeah he was the deciding factor but that airport is always a mess, we were there in may 2022 and we flew back from Tenerife to Madrid to Mexico City, and we got a delay of 8 hours because they had no fuel to re-fuel the planes...
He was actually a cluster B grandiose narcissist. They are a plague on humanity.
Okay, this airport reminds me of the one we have in Leyte, Philippines. It only has 1 runway too and shorter than the one in Tenerife.
There were accidents there of some planes overshot the runway with zero casualties.
If you’re curious you can search for DZR Airport and you’ll see what it is.
It always scared me whenever I have to travel by plane from there that’s why I travel by bus sometimes.
Gotta give a big F you to captain Van Zanten
Remember that they do play it up somewhat for drama.
@@ShikataGaNai100 I'm not saying he didn't make the wrong decision and I'm not suggesting he was in the right. He wasn't. There were PLENTY of other things he could have and should have done. I'm just saying that a show like this is going to dramatize and exaggerate his personality.
RIp to all 583 who died in this accident......Thank You Maday ....👍😇
"We don't want the passengers to be moaning and complaining .".. Of course not captain..That is your job !! XD. Thanks for the Upload 👍 .
lol, of course he would be entitled to stamping his superior feeties the way only a grandiose narcissist can.
and how many people die every day because of mistakes like this, but because only a few die at a time no one notice.
Wow, this KLM pilot must have been an absolute nightmare to fly with. Talking about someone with a MAJOR EGO here. Shame that so many people died because of it.
Absolutely! The guy seems to have had a huge ego problem! Even the First Officer was starting to sound like him! I just feel sorry for the needless deaths and the family and loved ones of the passengers and crew. It must’ve been horrendous for them!
you're literally basing your entire conclusions on an entire video that made assumptions of his character. if you would actually read the Dutch, American, and Spanish Report and also understood the circumstances and the nuances of the KLM pilots' situations. it isn't hard to understand why this accident occurred, especially the external factors.
@@mohamedshidane9155 I have seen different versions of this particualar episode. Wheather right or wrong, they all have portrayed him being very arrogant. I do realize that there were a number of factors that caused this unfortunate accident.
@@navyspook79 I understand your viewpoint, many want to come to simple conclusions, its Human. however, a flaw human have is failing to account other factors and understanding that the truth is grey. if you could watch Mentour Pilots video about this accident, it really takes into account what went wrong. and I highly recommend you listen to the actual Cockpit voice recorder, Van Zanten is actually portrayed in a less arrogant way.
He was a raging grandiose narcissist. No way would I willingly sit beside him in a cockpit. I would leave the plane and even the company if I had to. Can't suffer dealing with cluster B monsters.
An Air Canada pilot almost created a worse disaster than this one when he nearly landed on planes waiting for takeoff. This happened in San Francisco, a few years ago.
It's a scary airport to fly into with frequent fog and the runway ending over the water. It always feels like you're going to land in the bay. I saw the busted fuselage of the Korean plane that botched their landing sitting to the side of the runway every time I flew in.
Those poor children 😢 I hate it when anyone on a flight dies, but Children? They'll never get to grow up and live their dreams.
51:41 nothing like a little product placement inside the grim telling of the monstrous, fiery, sad ending of hundreds of people’s lives. Classy, Orbit, classsssy.
Cockpit protocol had changed a lot since then, the captain is still the captain but the co pilot doesnt have to yell and scream to be heard, especially on a safety issue, if he says go around, they pretty much around and then discuss why, it's much better to be safe than sorry. Wouldn't refueling for a trip back to Amsterdam cause an issue with landing weight after just a short hop?
It's funny all this talk of CRM. I agree it may well have prevented this crash. But it seems apparent that this crew was not afraid to speak their mind against the captain. They did so twice.
@@cchris874 assuming the reenactment is accurate, overruling a superior it's not the easiest thing to do, then you get egos involved, I'd think we all would rather get there safely and not burnt to a crisp. I do think there should be some wiggle room on flying hours in an extreme situation like that, a pilot in a mad rush is just as dangerous as a tired pilot.
@@janspup6232
That may well be right on the money. Perhaps the Dutch authorities thought it inconceivable that one of THEIR captains could ever stoop to such peasant impulses. They are the "Royal Dutch" after all.
@@cchris874 lol, i mean there's an airpot shut down due to bombing, there's a flight engineer in those early 747s that seems a good place for an exeption, would your have your pilot an hour over his fligt time and a little tired or a pilot in a rush probably making decisions in order to save time? I'd rather my crew tired than running around like a chicken with their heads cut off so he can drop us pleabs off.
@@janspup6232 i think u r defending the klm pilot, if iam not mistaken. Why defending he is at fault no matter whatever reason behind that. Other crews are trying to do good for all of them including pax.
I was waiting to see this episode pop back up
It’s very telling that the worst airline disaster of all time was essentially a car crash involving two planes. Even in a plane driving is more dangerous.
If one of the cars was airborne, dragging over the top of the other, sure.
Can we appreciate that they’re actually using pilots flying an actual plane. Either that or this one cockpit set is outrageously accurate.
The television show "Mayday", from which these episodes are sourced, is a relatively well financed production. Their episodes usually included recreations of the cockpit activity.
While the 2nd version of Mayday’s Tenerife provided more facts, this episode was more horrific.
Hopefully the second version gets posted soon, I’ve heard that it’s much less focused on making the KLM captain look like a complete scumbag.
@@Shaun_Jones the actor, who plays van Zanten in the 2nd version, portrays him as less arrogant than in this episode.
Am I the only one who thinks that tour guide looks like Ed Sheeran?
Do more of the Eastern Airlines ones like the Dc-9 from ChS> Clt
The attitude of the KLM Captain really irks me.
@@ShikataGaNai100 Indeed At the time KLM had been almost crash free... Ironic
A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION
its not an accurate description
The Dutch pilot seemed very over confident & arrogant. Such a tragedy.
SMUG TOO
@@rp7r54 Yes; he seemed like a miserable person.
@@LotusLady9
If you believe every thing you watch.
@@cchris874 No, I don't believe everything I watch. Are you Dutch or something? No need for the extra sensitivity my friend.
@@LotusLady9
I'm always amused people think they can read my mind from 7 words. I have nothing whatsoever to do with the Dutch. I have spent exactly 5 days of my life in the Netherlands. I also have come to agree from so many comments over the years the Dutch can be very arrogant.
Nice try though.
I would to recommend the object on the runway that led to the concorde disaster.
A little strip of metal leads to a horrific fireball flying off the runway. I rode the Concorde as a child. I still have the little flight bag of goodies in a box somewhere.
I’ve flown on a lot of international carriers, and absolutely by far the worst, THE VERY WORST, was KLM. Service was terrible at the KLM ticket counters, and on the plane as well. The steward crew were either totally inattentive or downright rude. Once was enough for me on that awful Dutch airline. I feel terrible for all the dead and their families…it was so completely avoidable.
Basically everything went wrong that day
Murphy's law was at its peak.
39:24 This poor man. 42:16 Not bad. 1:04:34 Important point made here about description of flight attendant.