Das große Flugzeugunglück
auf Teneriffa,
im März 1977
At 12.30h a bomb explodes in the Las Palmas
passenger terminal. Because of warnings of a possible second bomb, the
airport was closed. A large number of flights were diverted toTenerife,
a.o. KLM Flight 4805 from Amsterdam and PanAm Flight 1736 (coming from
Los Angeles and New York). Las Palmas Airport opened to traffic again at
15.00h. Because the PanAm passengers remained on aboard it was possible
to leave Tenerife at once. The taxiways were congested by other aircraft
however. This meant the PanAm crew had to backtrack on Runway 12 for take-off
on Runway 30. The entrance to Runway 12 however, was blocked by the KLM
Boeing. The PanAm flight had to wait for almost 2 hours before all KLM
passengers (except 1) had reboarded and refuelling had taken place. The
KLM flight was then cleared to backtrack Runway 12 and make a 180deg. turn
at the end. Three minutes later (at 17.02h) Pan Am 1736 was cleared to
follow the KLM aircraft and backtrack Runway 12. The PanAm crew were told
to leave the runway at the third taxiway and report leaving the runway.
At 17.05:44h KLM 4805 reported ready for take-off and was given instructions
for a Papa beacon departure. The KLM crew repeated the instructions and
added "We are now at take-off". The brakes were released and KLM 4805 started
the take-off roll. Tenerife tower, knowing that Pan Am 1736 was still taxying
down the runway replied "OK ...... Stand by for take-off, I will call you."
This message coincided with the PanAm crew's transmission "No ... uh we're
still taxiing down the runway, the Clipper 1736". These communications
caused a shrill noise in the KLM cockpit,lasting approx. 3.74 seconds.
Tenerife tower replied: "Papa Alpha 1736 report runway clear.",wereupon
the PanAm crew replied: "OK, will report when we're clear". This caused
some concerns with the KLM flight engineer asking the captain: "Is he not
clear then?" After repeating his question the captain answers emphatically:
"Oh, yes". A number of seconds before impact the KLM crew saw the PanAm
Boeing still taxiing down the runway. The crew tried to climb away and
became airborne after a 65ft taildrag in an excessive rotation. The PanAm
crew immediately turned the aircraft to the right and applied full power.
The KLM aircraft was airborne, but the fuselage skidded over the PanAm's
aft fuselage, destroying it and shearing off the tail. The KLM aircraft
flew on and crashed out of control 150m further on, sliding another 300m
bursting into flames.
There were many heros that day at Tenerife,
but one stands out. Dorothy Kelly was senior flight attendant on the Pan
Am jet. Although she had a broken arm and a fractured skull (sustained
while jumping from the jet) she managed to save the Captain and tend to
many injured passengers.