The Tenerife Airport Disaster (Disaster Documentary)
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- Опубликовано: 17 ноя 2024
- The in-depth story of The Tenerife Airport Disaster
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The Canary Islands! An all-year refuge for all those yearnings for the sun! For a long time, the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean has been attracting tourists from all over the world. It is a place to be now, as it was back in the 70s. However, back then, the islands became known worldwide for the worst disaster in aviation history.
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Write your ideas for new videos in the comments! See you next time.
This disaster documentary is inspired by the fantastic "Fascinating Horror".
#thetenerifeairportdisaster #darkhistory #disasterdocumentary
I've studied this incident. van Zanten was a very pushy, arrogant captain. (Most experience, trained everyone, so thought he knew everything and was always right.) As I recall, the CVR shows they did get Pan Am's radio call, but a**hat was already at full throttle. Both the FO and FE voiced their lack of takeoff clearance, but van Zanten knew all ("we have clearance") and rolled anyway. They (KLM) were under a serious time crunch before they'd have to fly in a fresh crew. Yes, there were mis-steps with ATC. Yes, there were radio problems. But there was ZERO excuse for not being 100% clear, and 100% safe. (other than van Zanten knowing everything.) van Zanten was going to do whatever he wanted to do, and no one had the balls to question him. That arrogance cost 583 souls.
At that time, as said by a aircraft mechanic, no one challenged a captain. Thankfully things changed.
@@alandunaway3000 ESPECIALLY van Zanten. Highly experienced, chief instructor, and the literal face of the airline. I'm curious how many students had he failed for rolling without ATC clearance?
Air Disasters had an episode regarding this incident. They also indicated that he was a very arrogant and pushy captain. Apparently, he was a golden child of the Air Lines and could do no wrong. His arrogance cost the lives of many including his own.
I just wanna add that the airline held him in such a high regard, that when they first heard one of their planes was involved in a disaster, they wanted to send him to lead their investigators - only to learn that he was the pilot in command on this very aircraft
Well that worked out for them didn't it, sure they are all dead, but at least they weren't inconvenienced. SMH.
For the record, there was 1 lone survivor of the KLM. Her final destination was Tenerif (sp?) and her boyfriend was there, so her friends told her to stay and they would see her later and took her boarding pass back (or something like that...I can't remember all the details). KLM was forcing her to get back on the plane to go to Los Palmas then catch another plane to Tenerif. So she did what any young girl in love does...she didn't listen and stayed in the airport.
A more accurate way to put it was this survivor's final destination really was the Canary Islands but because she lived on Tenerife, she thought it was impractical to continue the flight hence her decision to stay behind going against KLM's advise and her co-workers' encouragement to join them on the flight to the Canary Islands. Being able to spend more time with her partner was the other reason for her to stay.
@@heyhligg5434 what are you? The Comment Police? Let Jessica say it the way she wants to say it. 💟☮️
@@kdfulton3152 I'm sorry but I never intended for it to come off that way. I still tried to acknowledge that this passenger wanted to spend time with her partner because it really is still nice.
@@heyhligg5434 how is it nice? 500+ people died!! (Joke)
I read comments from another video (news video) on Tenerife that this lone female lied about being on the plane and decided to get off at Tenerife. She admitted this years later. Several people confirmed this. One person tried to include her link source but it wouldn’t show. So the female story was debunked.
As a pilot myself I can assure the video is well done, of course it simplifies a lot, but key points are there. Not a lot to add to the explanation itself. The good thing is that from this accident industry as learnt a lot, not only in Tenerife but everywhere in the world. The 1977 Tenerife accident is the one that all pilots know, especially those that weren’t born that day, it summarises all the things flight instructors highlight when giving flying lessons, what to do, what to avoid.
From that day of 1977 things have changed for ever: CRM was introduced, that is Cockpit Resource Management, which is taught since the early stages of flight training, then again on any big airplane you start to fly, and then again, mandatorily, over a course lasting 3 years while you work as a pilot (Captain or First Officer doesn’t matter). Once you finish those 3 years you start over again, until you turn 65 and retire. This means that if you start your career at 25 with your first big airliner job, you learn CRM over and over again for 40 years. A good thing into a good thing: CRM training is constantly updated, it doesn’t remain the same. As new airplanes are manufactured, new studies are conducted, new possible threats are discovered, the training changes to adapt. One example: until few years ago it was taught to avoid some kind of behaviour to avoid accidents. Although this is true and of course still taught, the industry recognised that accidents will happen anyways; you can reduce them but you can never totally 100% avoid them from happening. So the CRM training now also focuses on the “don’t let the accident happen, but if it happens, know how to react”. Training has also been focusing on “identifying threats before they turn into accidents”.
Another big change, which is partially mentioned in the video, is that now inside the cockpit all pilots have the same “authority”. Yes there is the captain, yes there is the co-pilot, but once the cockpit doors closes, before engines are started, they don’t exist anymore, from now on it’s only PF and PM which is short for “Pilot Flying” and “Pilot Monitoring”. Sometimes it’s even less specific: it might be just CR1 and CR2 that is “Cockpit Resource 1” and “Cockpit Resource 2”.
I want to add, in conclusion, that what I mentioned so far is just the “tip of the iceberg” of what safety in aviation really is.
This is what makes air travel the safest transportation mean and one of the safest industries in the world
Thank you so much for this info! I dream of flying planes one day 😊✈️
Thanks a lot for the amazing insight 👍
It's horrible that it takes such tragedies to effect change, but at least a lot of good eventually came out of this mess.
If Allah does mad things, close the airspace!
Fck Allah!
You Pilots take Allah on your planes? ban them for ever!
thank you for this comment. this is so interesting to know. makes me feel really heartened that this is an industry that is always evolving, makes me feel a sense of assurance for my friends who are flight crew.
This accident was like a Final Destination plot. I mean, the KLM captain was reckless af, but there also were so many random factors that contributed to the perfect storm.
So Final Destination is based on situation such as this. I'm not sure what your point is.
@@princeofcupspoc9073 they are saying this story is like something off final destination
Funny enough one of the klm passengers decided not to return to the aircraft. She would be the lone survivour of the klm plane.
@@wantedu2812 although an interesting fact is that the plane crash in Final Destination was based off a real plane crash. It was TWA flight 800
Clearly pilots of klm here to blame.mfs too cocky and too self righteous
The KLM captain was the primary cause of this accident. There were several other contributing factors but ultimately he chose to go without proper authorization.
Yeah I agree. If I'm the pilot, I know my life is at stake. I put safety first and make absolutely sure of everything, even if it leads to delays
I would say the plane hitting another plane was the primary cause, and some fire.
@@DavidB-rx3km How do you think the KLM 747 hit the Pan Am flight? Totally not cuz a pilot named Van Zanten was in the cockpit huh?
The primary cause was a terrorist threat. I'd have to say it was quite effective...
@@DavidB-rx3km thats the dumbest comment I have ever read on youtube
Edit: As many have correctly pointed out, this is the Swiss Cheese Model in Effect, NOT the butterfly Effect. Thanks for the correction and education 😅
I feel this disaster is one of the best examples of the butterfly effect: SO many minuet things occurred and if a single one of them had been removed from the equation, this disaster might not have happened at all. Had the pro-revolution group not acted out that day and forced flights to divert to a smaller airport, had the Pan-Am flight not been delayed when arriving to the original airport, or if the Pan-Am flight made it to Los Rodeos before the KLM flight, had the Pan-Am been able to move past the KLM flight to leave BEFORE the KLM and before the weather got really bad, hell, had the KLM flight decided not to refuel, they'd not have been too heavy and could've lifted off seconds sooner, making it a near miss. There's SO many factors in this disaster that I could go into, but just changing one of those things, A SINGLE ONE, and this wouldn't have happened. God damn, I can't help but think about it every time the topic comes up.
Same... Like ominously perfectly imperfect series of events (that could have been altered soooo many times😪😔🤧😭) to imenent disaster 😭🙏🏾...a real life series of unfortunate events!
Final Destination levels of coincidence
My exact thoughts as well. It’s so insane
And probably if they didn't refuel, they would have probably been gone earlier, also avoiding the entire situation.
Nah. It comes down to unsafe piloting. A good pilot never assumes safety... In fog... On a tiny runway... Rushing to an airport where bombs exploded.
The boss I had at that time, lost both of his parents in this tragedy. He was devastated. James and Alice Barkdull🙏
I was watching this one thing and it said when KLM heard one of their planes went down they were looking for Van Zanten to lead the investigation and were absolutely shocked to learn he was one of the people involved
Troubling how everyone kissed that guy's ass. No wonder he became an arrogant asshole. This whole accident was HIS fault.
Shows you that hero worship is not healthy. It was mostly his fault
He was not only one of the people involved, he was responsible for the disaster.
Rather more than involved! He was the cause for all the deaths and wounded!
Yeah, when you are put on a pedestal, your fear is falling off and it’s your goal to keep proving you are worth the elevation. That’s what Van Santen tried to do here on Tenerife and failed the hardest way possible.
I used to have a friend who lived on Tenerife and worked at the airport, he told me how you could still find parts of the two 747s if you looked long enough.
Yeah they even display wreckage on a memoria at the entrance
Why do I want to bomb a large area in the middle of nowhere with an insanely high amount of bombs?
Macabre...
No one can really blame the Pan Am captain, he was at an airport he had never been too before, looking for an exit that was too sharp for him to turn in to and it was hidden by thick fog. Chances are both planes may have still collided while the Pan Am was doing that sharp turn.
The exit was maybe not too sharp for him to turn but it was very difficult to see the 3rd runway in the fog. Plus the controller at Teneriffe airport had worded his instructions very awkwardly so that the crew was uncertain whether to exit on the 3rd runway or the 4th (after they had passed the 1st). Van Zanten may not have heard the radio message from Pan Am before his takeoff attempt but he must have heard while speeding down the runway that the PanAm hasn´t made the turn yet. Still he did not abandon his attempt.
@@LordOfTheBored Flight engineer even noticed it, but captain dismissed him.
hey was in to much of a rush
Why blame Pan Am or KLM, Allah did this!!!!!
FUCK ALLAH!
KLM was free to go, but Pan Am was still there taxing.
Plus he and the cockpit crew survived to tell what happened.
I have always wondered if the KLM hadn't refueled to capacity if they wouldn't have been too heavy and maybe cleared the Panam or if it truly wouldn't have mattered.
I’ve read that they likely would have cleared it. But I’ve not done the calculations … 😔
@@hlowrylong The landing gear is the real question in my mind...assuming the KLM was lighter, the gear still may have clipped the PA....?
Also if the KLM captain didn't order refuel they would be on their way before the fog moved in. But then he would have to refuel in Gran Canaria which costed extra time and they were already on a tight schedule.
@@Ozymandias1 You have to wonder if less fuel on board would have resulted in less fire or escapable conditions.
@@Ozymandias1 yeah that’s a good point about refuelling in Tenerife. The KLM would have taken off before the fog rolled in. Plus the Pan Am might have been able to get around the KLM if necessary.
An interesting fact that not often mentioned when talking about this disaster is that the Pan Am aircraft in question, Clipper Victor, was actually the same aircraft that inaugurated 747 services in 1970. It was also the first 747 to be hijacked.
So for it to notch three distinctive firsts, is an amazing coincidence.
How did he manage to achieve all of that?
Actually this disaster was from 1977
Sounds like the CIA were involved. I don't believe in a multitude of coincidences. This world doesn't work like that.
@@ISAIDALMONDTOFU what do you mean your reply doesn’t make any sense
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 know it would cause delay and discomfort, but given that it was such a small airport, the planes all should have been grounded until conditions cleared. I've been a dispatcher where everyone uses the same radio frequency, and it's chaos. Not saying the KLM pilot was in the right, but if the fog was that dense, no one should be taking off.
Especially given the technology of the time. Its hard dealing with Fog today (Kobe Bryant disaster).
Am all or what you have written.because of the thick fog,every plane should have been grounded.
One of the reasons was the KLM captain hadn’t flown for a long period of time yes he was the face of KLM airlines but he flew in the simulator as a teacher to other pilots and a simulator you don’t have ATC he became his own ATC. Pan Am couldn’t have got off on the third exit because that’s 148° turn a 747 is too big to do that that’s why they wanted to get off on the fourth because that was a direct turn
I Heard the Pan-Am took the fourth because the fog was so damn thick they missed the third and had to take the next one..... either way,The KLM's pilot fucked up and caused this. All the other circumstances are minor in comparison.
148° is too much..? Yet the KLM made a 180… 🤔
@@Trex1094 It would have been two 148* turns
I’m aware but not impossible.
The taxi way was not as wide as the runway.
It is theoretically possible to make the second turn.
But only with mathematical precision, leaving no room for error.
“Burned down to conditions beyond repair” is the biggest understatement of ….ever
It’s so crazy how so many different things had to perfectly happen for this disaster to occur. Bomb threats to make one plane go to that air port, interference, fog, and the one that tried to doge went in the perfect spot for them to hit the fuel tank.
It was extremely foggy with low visibility, this plus the signal interference were two huge factors in the crash.
The airport they were at was not equipped well enough for the 747's, it's a really horrible tragedy, terrible way to go
It can handle maybe one 747 as the runway is long enough, but not the sheer amount of planes they received on that day.
Only blame Allah, who needs those freaks?
Just found your channel last week. I binged every video in a couple day. Great content man. May I suggest the 2013 Dhaka garment factory collapse?
Month or so ago here man, you come across Fascinating Horror yet?? Excellent as well
@@chadcovey1626 That’s where this channel was actually recommended to me. Also great stuff there.
same
@@Lol-gn8om it’s more 3+ hours lol
And this is why you don’t complain when your flight is delayed due to weather conditions.
I just watched a lengthy documentary on this accident and you missed some key points. The first is that KLM had just implemented a strict policy that pilots could only fly up to a certain amount of hours before they had to rest. If they didn't follow this policy they could lose their license. This is important to note because it's the primary reason the KLM pilot decided to fully refuel so he could make it all the way home instead of spending the night in the Canary Islands. This decision set off the following chain of events:
1. The full refueling took over 30 minutes and the tarmac was too small for the Pan Am to navigate around it by a few dozen feet from what I can recall.
2. During the long refueling is when the clouds came in over the mountains and created the dense fog. Had the KLM plane left on time, or took on less fuel, then everyone including the tower would've had clear sight lines.
3. Due to being fully refueled, the KLM plane was too heavy to take off and clear the the Pan Am plane. The amount of fuel also guaranteed there would be few survivors.
4. The KLM passengers were allowed to leave the plane and sit in the terminal. The only survivor of the KLM crash was a passenger who decided not to reboard the plane so she could spend time with her boyfriend on the island.
5. The Pan Am pilots had already passed the first turn off when they asked for clarity about the third turn off. The third turn off at that point would have been the fourth turn. It seemed logical to them to go to the fourth turn since they already passed the first, the fourth would've been the third, and it was near impossible for a 747 to make a 45 degree turn in the fog since they could barely see the ground. The problem was that the tower couldn't see the 747 had already passed the first turn when he said make the third turn. All the same, the American pilots said there wasn't a language or communication barrier over the radio. The primary problem was the lack of visibility.
Bottom line, Spain and the United States both agreed that KLM and the arrogant pilot were at fault based on the communication heard on the black boxes. The KLM pilot clearly decided to take off without clearance, but it wouldn't have mattered had he not fully refueled. And the primary incentive to fully refuel was due to the KLM policy and fear of losing his license, and the exhaustion of not wanting to sleep over in the Canary Islands before going home.
So you're saying a lenthy documentary has more details than a short video? Stunned! I had expected the opposite.
@@annnee6818 No, I'm saying whether the video was 14 hours or 14 minutes, these are very important points. I can type what I shared in less than 14 seconds: "The new KLM policies placed on their pilots pressured them to unnecessarily refuel which started a chain of events that caused the crash." It's up to the storyteller how much they want to detail each chain of event which will determine the length of the documentary. Stunning, right?
@@heartbreak25 Too much info for Ann.
Your analysis is wrong: Van Zanten was the face of klm. He wasn’t the least bit worried about his license. He was just an arrogant-know-it all. Unfortunately, 583 people died along with his arrogance!
@@kemwilson2046 How is this "my" analysis if I literally said this was covered in an in depth two-hour documentary featuring the people actually involved? This is not my story to tell as they told their own.
In my opinion, your analysis contradicts itself. If he was the face of KLM, wouldn't he feel the most pressure to not violate any company policies that could result in a pilot being grounded? You don't become the face of your organization by giving the middle finger to management. He gave the middle finger to the air traffic controllers and other pilots that day who are all separate of KLM.
Also captain Grubbs is not at fault he couldn’t make that turn on 3 so he went onto 4. KLM was also worried about being grounded so he was rushing a bit.
Exactly. Even if he was able to see it without the fog he wouldn’t have been able to make that turn. The Tenerife ATC wasn’t used to working with aircraft the size of the 747 so they weren’t aware that what they were asking the Pan Am to do was virtually impossible.
Couple things to note. First thing is that the KLM crew were under immense pressure due to a recently changed law that made it illegal for pilots to fly for over 12 hours. Doing so would result in your pilot's license being revoked along with possibly facing criminal charges. Second thing is that the Pan Am could pass the KLM due to the fact that the KLM was refueling at the time. The KLM filled up their tanks to return to Las Palmas and then Amsterdam. This added a great amount of weight. Had he not refueled, they would've reached V1 a lot sooner and could possibly avoid the Pan Am.
Better dead than late?
Just found your channel last night and finished today can’t wait for more!! I feel like I learned about so many disasters I never even heard of
Capt. of the Panam can hardly be at fault, I feel.
One of the victims of this collision on board the PanAm flight was Eve Meyer, the wife of the celebrated exploitation-film auteur Russ Meyer. I interviewed him in the '80s and was shocked to hear this awful news when he brought it up. I'd heard of the Tenerife disaster, but had no idea that he'd been personally affected by it.
I found your channel a few days ago and I absolutely love it. 15 minute, perfect length videos, very informative and well presented.
This is a perfect example of two pieces of matter trying to occupy the same space and it didn't go so well.
Beautifully detailed work. Thank you for making such informative and compelling videos.
Mayday: "Thank you for stealing our animations. Our lawyers will get back with you"
@@LordOfTheBored ? I'm just commenting, I didn't make this video.
I found your channel a few days ago, and I am seriously into aviation related stuff, so this is the coolest thing I possibly could have seen! Can't wait to see more awesome content, keep it up!
The KLM pilot was very arrogant. He did not verify that he had clearance to take off. He was at fault. Very sad.
My father actually was the airport marshaller at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport that waved the same KLM plane in on its position at Schiphol Airport that day, before it eventually leaving for Tenerife. Like some other people here have said before, my father told me as well that the Dutch captain van Zanten was an arrogant prick that didn't listen to anybody, because 'he knew best'. His arrogance has cost a lot of people their lives and left a lot of pain for the families and friends of those who died.
and for himself
I have never heard of this accident until today. This is wild. But the way it’s told in this video is amazing. Subscribed!
For a more detailed look watch Mayday which also chronicled this accident. Several survivors also told their stories. It's on RUclips.
To anyone wondering, the deadliest mid-air collision is the Charkhi Dadri midair collision on November 12th, 1996 when two planes collided over New Deli due to pilot error causing them to enter the same altitude as each other which killed 349. The 9/11 crashes aren't counted since 1. the vast majority of deaths were in the affected buildings and surrounding area and 2. the amount killed in either plane is still much lower than either of these others.
your youtube channel is underrated, keep up the good work.
I'm from Tenerife. At the time of this accident the island only had one airport in the north in Los Rodeos. The north of the island has the worst incremental weather. High mountains bring in low clouds and fog frequently, making visibility poor. After this accident, a new airport was built in the south in Los Cristianos. The south has year round good weather and was always the best location for an airport because of this fact and because the area was flat. Los Rodeos remains open but only for small planes. Los Cristianos is the international airport that accepts all large airplanes. At the age of 2 in 1972 I flew out of the north Los Rodeos airport with my parents, who were leaving to migrate to Australia. When we returned again in 1982, we flew in through the south Los Cristianos airport. Everyone from the Canary Islands knows about this accident. Even me, who left the islands at age 2 and grew up in Australia. I have flown back 4 times. Always into Los Cristianos airport.
I tbhink that by the time of the accident the TFS airport was almost complete, as it opened just one year later. So the decision to build a new airport came before the accident.
And TFS is not in Los Cristianos ;)
Kinda crazy 70 survived judging by those fires
I don't know anything about aviation practices, but I am familiar with radio messaging and there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between the meaning of "received" and "okay" 😦
RIP all victims 😞
As always, a great break down and beautiful editing. Much appreciated
He just cut the videos from air crash investigation.He did not edited them.Lmaoo🌝
@@sheikhmehran1 wow you are so full of hate that you cant even see what work he actually did. You're life must be miserable if you have to act like trash all the time
RIP
To the passengers and crew of KLM Flight 4805 and the 335 passengers and crew of Pan Am Flight 1736
The most experienced man on the field that day was Vic Grubbs. He was a former USAAF bomber pilot, with over 20,000 hours.
Yes I had read that as well, a world war 2 veteran. His thoughts were he did not to backtrack to follow the klm. He had voiced that concern to his flight crew, unfortunately that was not passed onto tower. Sure if he was able to pass that concern to tower, it may have been a different outcome. Know that all of the pan am flight crew have passed, including flight officer Robert Bragg, that passed a few years, he was the last of the pan am flight crew.
Thank you so much for all the details and thorough information during the presentation…
the reason the Pan Am crew didn’t use the exit they were told to use was because the 140 degree turn was too tight for a huge plane like a 747.
10:44 *OMG THIS IS HARD TO WATCH, R.I.P ALL PASSANGERS BOTH PLANES*
This and the Jonestown Massacre are my first real memories of news stories in my youth. I kind of remember my parents watching the Watergate hearings, but Tenerife and Jonestown still stand out. I was 8-9 years old when these stories happened and I remember them vividly, especially the bloated dead bodies of Jonestown. Don't be fooled man, the "news" always made sure to provide major coverage of death. Then I also remember well the pictures of the DC10 falling out of the sky in 79. The "News" loved that one too.
This right here is exactly why the Final Destination movies are so dang scary for me, cause while the odds seem impossible, tho proves that that crap and the odds really can happen, goodness
😢 I remember when this happened...
So many ways this could have been avoided. So sad so many lost their life.
🙏
It is said that working in the communications tower at an air port is one of the most stressful jobs out there. One miscommunication could result in hundreds of deaths.
Your video video on this specific subject is one of thr most detailed I've come across! Very informative
Also, I like how you give a history of the Canary Islands colonial history with Spain and how it and thr subsequent political unrest contributed to the incident.
I hadn't actually heard of this; aviation history and especially commercial traffic history is one of my blind spots. Very informative both here and in the comments from folks who have also studied the incident. My thanks to you and your smooth narrator voice once again, sir.
You had never heard of this disaster? It's the worst air disaster in history.
@@krashd so I heard
I also never heard of this until a few years ago when i watched breaking bad after the 747 crashed in the show, and he brings up tenerife as a point that people move on
You are incorrect about the experience of the captain. He only had 11,000 hours. That is nothing. I was Captain for a major US airline. I retired with over 35,000 hours. Instructors are not usually the best pilots either. They are in simulators often, while more experienced pilots are flying around the world. The KLM should not have taken off without a clear take off clearance. When you are in a country where English is a second language you need to clear up any misunderstanding.
Cockpit procedures were also changed after the accident. Hierarchical relations among crew members were played down, and greater emphasis was placed on team decision-making by mutual agreement. Less experienced flight crew members were encouraged to challenge their captains when they believed something to be incorrect, and captains were instructed to listen to their crew and evaluate all decisions in light of crew concerns. This course of action was later expanded into what is known today as crew resource management (CRM), which states that all pilots, no matter how experienced they are, are allowed to contradict each other. This was a problem in the crash when the Flight Engineer asked if they were not clear, but van Zanten (with over 11,000 hours flown) said that they were obviously clear and the Flight Engineer decided that it was best not to contradict the captain. CRM training has been mandatory for all airline pilots since 2006.
Great vid Dark History. I've heard a few versions of this infamous disaster, thanks for sharing yours.
I watched this episode a couple of times and damn so sad with the situation they had to attend. Starts off with a bomb and then you can know what happens after that fog creeped onto the island. And miscommunication and as well as an arrogant pilot killed 100s of people around 540 some died.
Dang, the perfect storm. The description of this accident always makes my stomach drop...
There was also a crash in 1980 on Tenerife, Dan-Air Flight 1008, again there appears to have questions about the instructions given to the flight crew by air traffic control.
I love your voice ! So appropriate for the content you create!
One thing I like to add is that another factor that lead to this disaster.
KLM.
They had a policy change where if a delay occurs, rhey will accommodate for the passengers. BUT. Out of the crew's paycheck.
As for the radio, this is the technology at the time. Check the phase "stepping on the shoe" as an example. The radios used were on the same frequency. As long as anyone doesn't speak, you can hear. But since everyone was tapping, it was hard to hear due to a screeching being made when someone tries talking over another.
Another is language. Everyone was speaking English, though try talking to everyone with heavy accents. And another is the terms used that wasn't universal.
And finally, the island itself. The island of Tenerefe had one major problem. It's a volcano. And tbe cooling can create fogs that hit the lower part of the island, which is where the airport is located. So you can see why both airplanes couldn't see each other, let alone the watch tower.
So you can do the math on how van Zanten screwed up everything. Along with this being the era that the captain's word being final, regardless of complaints from his crew or better alternatives.
Not saying he's innocent. But shows how things can be complicated that lead to disastrous results.
And all it took was one person.
I struggle to believe how Tenerife airport was allowed to remain operational. Fog was a constant problem at the site. And although airplanes fly mostly by instruments, poor visibility, especially for traffic control, should be unacceptable. But if you insist on operating an airfield under such conditions, at least your radio channels should be open and free of interference, which clearly wasn't the case. And if all of that can't be helped and you still want to run an airport there, your protocols should be very cautious and your crew trained to be careful with their words. Cpt. Grubbs was right to be nervous to go to Tenerife, with events conspiring to put him on an airfield that was too small, with bad visibility, badly trained traffic control, very tired passengers and crews, and an unclear terrorist situation at the primary destination bottlenecking every person involved.
While van Zanten should have paid more attention to his crew and take-off protocol, everything went wrong here to ensure maximum confusion and misunderstanding. The fog denying visual confirmation the runway was clear, the confusing instructions of the control tower if parts of it were left out, the radio interference that meant airplane crews essentially talked over eachother, the decision to allow two planes onto the same runway, the poor layout of the field for larger airliners like the 747. Van Zanten, Grubbs and their crews were all left blind and deaf, and the only thing more astounding than how unlucky they were, is the fact that Tenerife's airport continued to operate after despite all these flaws.
You missed mentioning that the KLM captain was argumentative and yelling over the radio telling the tower he was going regardless so clear him.
This is the second video I have watched in the past few days regarding this crash, and this is a great overview, the other was quite a bit longer, and had interviews with the co-pilot of the Pan Am aircraft, as well as two flight attendants, passengers etc.
It is a sad but interesting culmination of so many paths intersecting, I was curious why this video did not really mention the confusion in counting the off ramps between the tower and the Pan Am plane. How the Pan Am crew was told to use the third one as a turn around, but thought the tower had to have miscalculated, due to the angle of the one they were told to use.
In the end it is a sad chapter in aviation history.
Yep. I read comments blaming Pan Am for not turning on Number 3 despite several videos narrators saying it’s either impossible or close to impossible for a 747 to make 2 - 180 degrees turn - being it’s a much larger aircraft than what the ATC is familiar with smaller planes.
What channel please?
@@roserocks1979 I did a search of my history for you Roseanne, and this is the video;
Two Passenger Airliners Clash On The Runway/Crash Of The Century/On The Move
Like I said, it is quite comprehensive, and gives excellent insight given the interviews.
@@karend1577 Yes it is quite clear in watching the video I mention, that the flight crew thought there had to have been an error in calculating those off ramps.
It includes a computer drawing of what those interviewed explain, makes it that much easier to understand why there would have been confusion.
@@dellahicks7231 ty
It might have been a better idea to just get rid of the KLM plane and let it takeoff before they told the Pan Am to do anything. Once the KLM had gone then the Pan Am could have taxied up the runway then taken off. Especially with the fog as bad as it was.
That would take a long time, considering the length of the runway.
Every one knows air accidents are caused by a combination of multiple factors, but in this one in particular, the KLM"s captain arrogance played a major role. This video is downplaying A LOT his responsibility in the disaster.
The KLM didn't know if they were supposed to take off since they heard just a long beep over the radio. This was caused by another plane which was talking to the tower.
@@Hel15if he didn't know then he shouldn't have taken off
Hey! Recently subscribed and find your videos super interesting!
Could I suggest the 1881 Eyemouth Fishing Disaster? I've barely seen any coverage, let alone told this way, for that tragedy despite it being Scotland's worst fishing disaster.
Thank you for making these videos.
if you don’t mind me asking where do you get your stock footage ?
suggestion for a alternative title: the deadliest aircraft crash in history
thank you for the suggestions. Good sites for stock are videoblocks, envato or artgrid
Sooooo tragic to hear about. 😔 Playing the blame game doesn't bring back the loved ones. No one wants the responsibility when things go horribly wrong and yet the bigger picture is getting to the root cause. Period.
Great telling of this story. You produce well balanced information/ detailed videos. I find that I'm captivated the entire time and shocked when they are over. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
While I was only 10 when this happened I remember it very clearly. This started my extreme fear of airplanes.
Love how you put clips from air disasters in
'WHEN GIANTS COLLIDE', is the title given, to this disaster. The worst airline fatalities, to this day, PERIOD.
It's widely regarded that a 747 was incapable of making the turn to take the 3rd exit.
Hi. A terrible mining accident took place in Turkey in 2014 and 300 people lost their lives, can you please tell us about this incident?
12:14 …..fabulous to see the SAA plane ….where was this picture taken?
The glorydays of South African airways
This airport is really challenging. Once the plane tied to land twice before diverting to Tenerife South. On a local flight the plane „fell down“ that my arms floated in the air for a second and the plane approached the runway in an angle that I was looking down the runway. Only when the tires hit the ground he turned the nose.
You can listen to the actual audio transmissions between the tower and the two planes if you search for it. It’s very haunting.
We were waiting to land at this airport as this happened, we diverted to two airports, in Morocco and Gran Canaria I believe, then transported in a very crowded ship in terrible weather to Tenerife. Way before cell phones or internet, nobody had any idea what was going on till we got there. It was very sad, everyone knew somebody that died- a lot of workers in the tourist industry. Everyone at home assumed we were dead until we got back- amazing the lack of information and confusion just a few decades ago, but that was life.
I remember when this happened. That report blaming the KLM Captain was definitely not well received by some.
Only by the Dutch.
I love the blatant use of footage from Mayday/Air Disasters episode covering this incident, and the fact that the Smithsonian Channel logo was blurred out...
A drama (and a frontpage) that lasts a long long time.
I have been to that airport landed there and took off there
It’s weird to think that I have been on a plane which has been in the exact position another plane crashed
We nearly crashed on tenerife aswell. A strong hit the plane while beeing a few meters away from ground. The plane nearly hit with his left wing the ground. The pilot managed to lift the plane up again and he pulled us up mid air. I remember people screaming. I fly a lot and never had that happen to me before
That happens a lot there because of wind shear, I have had it twice myself over the years.
It baffled me as i heard that the crew in the cockpit survived this crash. If they haven't made a sharp left turn the cockpit would have been hit by one of the turbines surely
Word is after the crash, KLM brass immediately tried to locate Van Zanten to send him over..
And planes crash due to weather, terrorist attack, pilot error, and/or mechanical issues. Somebody wrote this is the only one with all four.
this is showing up on my feed after watching w2s' interest in plane crashes and talking about this in a sidemen vid 💀
fr😂😂😂
Me too 🤣😭
Thanks for this what a tragic sad series of events
Learned about this from breaking bad, funnily enough 😊
The Breaking Bad collision is a reference to another accident, the Cerritos disaster in 1985. Coincidentally, the air traffic controller that was involved in the Cerritos disaster was named WALTER WHITE - no joke. Google it up!
This video gave me so much anxiety.
The thing is with pilots is that they only have to make 1 error to cause massive damage, or a crash. it doesnt matter how many hours or experience you have. it only takes 1 error.... but the only plus side is that from every crash that they investigate and learn from it.
One factor pressuring the KLM crew to land at Las Palmas ASAP was they were about to go over their flight time. Going over flight time (particularly without a backup crew onboard) would mean serious infractions on their pilot's licenses.
In addition, KLM would've had to find hotel rooms for their passengers to sleep in while the KLM crew rested, making the flight an extremely expensive and inconvenience for the airline.
The KLM crew's plan was to refuel at Tenerife to save time, though the fuel was much more expensive there than at Las Palmas. Once at Las Palmas, the plane would lose weight once the passengers and cargo was unloaded.
From there, they could take a direct flight back to Amsterdam. At worse, they could land at Paris, France to sleep while a backup crew fill the plane with passengers for travel. Or resume the flight to Amsterdam from Paris the next day.
KLM 747 Pilot : " We're going "
Pushes the throttle...
So HeartBreaking
Midway through this video I got a advert for holidays including flights to Tenerife
14:12 is wrong. The phrase "Take off" is only allowed for the positive take off clearance. Rejecting it, must be said by "departure clearance cancelled"
Nice video! Maybe do a video on the Enschede Fireworks disaster?
i have already considered it. in the meantime, fascinating horror made a great video on it
The first major news story I can remember
😩 " HEARTWRENCHING!.... A horrific example of ' Murphy's Law ' resulting in catastrophic results. "
If the fog was this bad, they should have grounded all planes.
I've seen this on Seconds from Disaster and/or Air Crash Investigations.
Pretty much the greatest aircraft disaster, on the ground
Mentour Pilot did an interesting piece on it, too.
Good video mate however 1 point you kind of missed or error. Cpt Vancance was in a rush to get back because he and the crew were reaching their crew work time which is a serious issue as a new crew would have be flown over to take over from him. There's STRICT punishments for crews going over their allowable flight hours including loosing your licence and demoted or your job. Now Vancancenten is the CEIF pilot for the entire airline was always putting his face on their advertising. There's no way he's gonna let himself get anything wrong. If he had not refulled before departing whi h then blocked the pan am if he hadn't the plane would have been enough to just clear pan am. The weather there is changes minutes by minute difference in weather very thick flog constantly covers the airport. When klm stopped for fuel the weather would have been good enough for everyone tower and both planes to be seen so had klm not stop to refuel despite the tanks having way more than it needed to. He refulled there because it was cheap. So had not stopped to refill when he had fuel on board, if he didn't add the extra 30 minutes and the 2 officers in the klm corrected their captain when they were well aware of what was happening.
Without any of these parts of the puzzle, would the accident had happened.
I'll let you be the judge!?
Thank you. I was Surprised that this was left out.
Wow, i never heard of this one. Thank you.
A few years back I vacationed on Tenerife.... I knew about this horrific disaster before I arrived. Could not get it out of my mind when we were arriving. I understand the topography much better and experienced the fast cloud cover phenomenon but not at the airport. With this knowledge I understand why the controllers and firefighters never knew there were 2 aircraft envolved at the start. The fog can get extremely thick.
If you were arriving by international flight,. you did not see this airport. Los Rodeos serves domestic flights only.