Tenerife Airport Disaster (Famous Photo)

Historical Context

The Tenerife airport crash at Los Rodeos Airport occurred when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided. It is the world's deadliest aviation accident with the loss of 583 lives.

A number of factors contributed to the disaster; a terror incident at nearby Gran Canaria airport had diverted a number of planes to Los Rodeos and fog was obscuring visibility. In these conditions Dutch aircraft KLM Flight 4805 began its take off, not realising Pan Am Flight 1736 was still on the runway. The two planes caught fire and only 61 people from the Pam Am flight survived.

Photo Info

Date taken: March 27, 1977
Location taken: Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain

Related Events

• 1977-03-27 583 die in aviation's worst ever disaster when two Boeing 747s collide at Tenerife airport in Spain

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