How Did The Tenerife Airport Crash

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Spencer Perkins 5/29/2014 AVSC 2070
Tenerife Airport Disaster
The Tenerife airport disaster happened on March 27, 1977. Five hundred and Eighty Three lives were taken making it the deadliest accident recorded in the history of Aviation. This accident has had a lasting effect on the industry, more specifically affecting the communication between pilots and the control tower. There were a few factors that went into the crash including the fog that made it hard to see on the runway, and a bomb exploding at Gran Canaria Airport that diverted air traffic to the Tenerife North Airport. The treat of a second bomb had passengers and workers on edge and eager to get to their destinations after a delay. However the most notable factor that caused …show more content…

The Pan Am flight was instructed to take the third exit and wait for clearance while the KLM flight completed a one-eighty degree turn in order to line up for takeoff. Once they had completed their turn the Captain of the KLM flight began to take off without getting clearance to do so. They weren’t aware that the Pan Am flight was in their way and merely assumed that the runway was clear. The Pan Am flight personnel saw them coming and tried to tell them via radio that they were still on the runway and to stop. However the control tower tried to communicate at the same time as the Pan Am flight and neither warning came through to the KLM crew. This led the Pan Am flight to panic and attempt to get out of the path quickly to avoid a collision, unfortunately it was too …show more content…

Go over what you want to say in your head before grabbing the radio. Tell the control tower where you are located on the ground; you’re going to need the ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service) information. Be sure to present yourself over the radio in a clear, professional and organized way. You can repeat information to ensure what you heard was correct. Never assume that you are cleared to do anything, always check with the control tower and comply with their instructions. Do all this and you’ll be able to avoid a collision or a disaster similar to the Tenerife Airport Disaster.
The captain is responsible to be in control of the aircraft and the current situation and his decision to takeoff without clearance was a mistake on his part. This could have been avoided had they asked for clearance, but they failed to do so. Because of the fog many people didn’t know that the collision occurred and initially thought that more bombings had taken place. It is important that we all know the proper way to communicate and get clearance with the control towers so that we can avoid a disaster like this in the future.
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