Two Passenger Airliners Clash On The Runway | Crash Of The Century | On The Move

close to the shores of africa a necklace of small green islands floating in warm seas they're called the canary islands and they're one of the world's favorite tourist destinations on march the 27th 1977 two giant aircraft are heading there the 650 passengers think they're on their way to paradise they're on the road to hell their planes are diverted to a small airport on the island of tenerife as the day goes by it becomes more and more choked with planes and a thick fog sets in tension mounts passengers and crew are impatient to get to their final destination we're going 1736 report runway clear okay we'll report when we're clear you clear that what do you say is it declare that oh yes [Music] there he god is that summer [ __ ] is coming straight at us come on words cannot adequately describe the horror 583 people died the worst air disaster in history it was all over in seconds for the handful that lived they would be the longest and most terrible seconds in their lives at first i thought they had gotten towards the bomb the only thing i could liken it to is as if each molecule of air exploded i looked in the cabin and everything was on fire i thought oh my god we're trapped we had 28 people in the upstairs lounge the lounge was no longer on the airplane joan was standing there yelling suzanne take my hand the engines were starting to disintegrate i lost joan's hand very quickly i had my put my hands over my face and said lord today i'll see you it was a survival mode that kicked in and it was just get out of that airplane i said i will jump and try and break your fall the airplane was collapsing in on people i immediately thought it was total destruction i felt so responsible because i couldn't take care of my passengers and so helpless and looking back and knowing that there's nothing you can do you can't get back in the aircraft there's no way to get in it and it's all on fire firemen are there for 12 hours trying to put out the flames but it's a hopeless task as the news spreads around the world everyone wants to know how could two state-of-the-art aircraft possibly be on the same runway at the same time all those people dead what had gone wrong who was to blame only later would they discover the chain of coincidences mistakes and misunderstandings that had led to the biggest disaster in the history of aviation [Music] the story begins at midday on the 27th of march pan am flight 1736 is nearing the canary islands this has been a long long flight the plane left los angeles via new york the afternoon before now the passengers are tired looking forward to journey's end in the canary's capital las palmas so you guys been to the canaries before you guys ever visited the canary islands yep i had a great time there ah golden beaches oh grilled fish midnight swims i could do it with that [Music] but this is the first time i've been rooted this way way too it's gone quickly yeah and this particular flight was one of the first ones that was what we named a fly cruise trip most of the passengers were retirees their destination was las palmas then they would board a cruise ship and do a 10-day cruise and then come back and they would be picked up again and flown back to the united states what no one has told the passengers is the canary islands have their own local brand of terrorists they are determined to get independence from spain which actually owns the canary islands what everyone has to understand is that the canary islands are at war as long as the islands are a colony they will be at war with spain if the spanish government doesn't agree to our three conditions we'll launch full arm combat and will fight to the very end six hours out of new york i can do it again doesn't time fly when you're having fun on board the pan am plane are 380 passengers with 11 flight attendants to look after them i was on the flight with my best friend suzanne donovan and we used to bid flights together and we could do that we would because we enjoyed each other's company so much hey susie save some of that energy for pyrene we're just going to go to las palmas and drop off the passengers and ferry the aircraft which means flying it without any passengers up to paris and then stay in paris few disasters are ever caused by a single event it takes a chain of tiny coincidences and so it was that day everything is going fine but at that moment the terrorists decide to act and as luck would have it they choose gando the airport for las palmas where the pan am plane is due to arrive shortly [Music] just ahead of the pan am is another jumbo jet from the dutch airline klm it too is heading for gando airport with 234 dutch holidaymakers the captain of the dutch plane is jacob vanzanten he's klm star pilot it's his face that appears in adverts all over the world vanzanten is so senior he hardly flies anymore when he's not in the photo studio he's in a simulator training young pilots like the man in the next seat class mers he personally given mers his license something which mers is not likely to forget you're just now looking at the rival information for gando yeah i'll program in the alternates as well we can do the briefing anytime for future reference i don't like to leave it this late in the flight okay i was just rechecking the procedures no no times to worry about here good thank you the dutch passengers are looking forward to journey's end too but not all of them are going on holiday three are young tour guides who actually live in the canaries they've been back to holland for a seminar and are now returning to their work it's true back in holland yeah but i'm glad to be getting back to san antonio i mean how many people can say they have banana trees in their backyard yeah well the week was just good enough for me i don't know why they sent us back to holland for the seminars i mean really it's not as if we learn anything we're not gonna suddenly sell more package deals we got a free trip home to see our families i'm not complaining well why don't we celebrate our return to the sweet life and paint last palmerstown right tonight yeah three of us went to holland for a week it was a kind of holiday and work i lived on in puerto de la cruz that's a small village in northwest of tenerife yvonne was traveling with me walter was traveling with us and it was nice to see your colleagues every year it was very nice atmosphere on board and a very relaxed atmosphere there are many families on the plane taking an easter vacation break among them 53 children there are two bombs in the terminal you have 10 minutes to save as many lives as you wish we'll talk again and so it begins the first step on the road to disaster [Music] on the pan am plane they know nothing of this all is relaxed as the flight nears its end you have control gando's already uh dialed in there yeah crew gando las pamas airport in 45 minutes ah ccc hand me the rival in for which for the passengers a welcome sight the flight attendants beginning to tidy up in preparation for landing [Music] hear your roses they still look nice and fresh oh lovely yes a friend of mine gave them to me in the airport i wish somebody would give me roses like that here oh take one i insist i had worked very hard and i was ready for a break i had great anticipation for what we would see and hear and experience for nearly everyone on board this is the start of something special the holiday they've always promised themselves my husband and i were taking this trip to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary it was the first really big trip we've been able to take because we'd been in school forever and didn't have the resources to take a trip like this before [Music] is airport the terrorist bomb explodes badly injuring a shop assistant luckily she's the only victim so far approach security here we've had an explosion in the terminal and we've been told to expect another we've got to close the airport now you need to divert all inbound traffic of course right away [Music] kendo 4805 is with you now flight level 350 inbound request approach klm 4805 gandol the airport is closed diver to los solo support via itinerary vor decent flight level two five zero well how do you like that i'm in serious danger of missing my dinner two five zero for you now five zero this diversion is bad news for the dutch pilots they're only allowed to fly a certain number of hours and they still have to get back to amsterdam [Music] one seven three six good afternoon uh we're on flight level three seven zero a 120 miles west inbound approach the airport is closed diver to los old support via itinerary vor decent flight level 250. we filled her up at new york asked them if we can wait what would you say george two hours up here uh two hours easy uh gando 1736 requests a hold over las palmas we have enough fuel to wait about two hours negative sir i say again the airport is closed we had an explosion in the terminal there's already a long line of aircraft in front of you expect all at crossroads contact canary's approach now on 118 decimal five that's just great i think they just had so much traffic to deal with they didn't have time to even consider giving an airplane clearance to hold or whatever so that's that's what i assumed that they would had made up their mind that they were just diverting everyone to tenerife so now both jumbo jets along with many other aircraft find themselves heading for los rodeos airport on the island of tenerife half an hour away it turns out to be a regional airport more used to dealing with light aircraft than boeing 747s it has only one runway and about as much parking space as the average supermarket but it's the only airport within striking distance ladies and gentlemen this is captain grubb speaking we've just been told by air traffic control to land at tenerife which is about a half hour flying time from las palmas apparently there are some difficulties in the airport uh we're working the radios up here to see if there's a way that we can get you over to las palmas just as soon as we can on the ground i'll let you know when we have some more information on that thank you for your patience when they made the announcement that we were not going to be able to land right then at las palmas mostly i was frustrated because it had been a really long trip and i was tired and time changes and this and that so i guess i would say that the chief feeling was frustration and sadness that we couldn't immediately disembark and get on a boat people were not happy about this because it was not a good omen you know it was not a good omen having this take place for the air traffic controllers at los rideos it's not good news either it's sunday and they're short staffed in the tower there are only the two of them enough on a normal day but today there threatens to be as much traffic as a motorway on a bank holiday monday what are they thinking what do they want that makes four planes already and two seven four sevens on their way so what have we got pan am 747 [Music] behind the 737 report outer marker 4805 follow the 737 report outer marker my god i've seen post-it stamps bigger than this place come on we're going to get boxed in here god damn it anyone care to hear about the landing checklist class you're flying you've got to call the landing checklist landing checklist please auto break on medium you never know runway is short and on top of it might be slippery be careful limit tango 107 you are clearly sent to flight level eight zero holding pattern at los rodeos planes are pouring in one after the other 282 switched to ground now on one one eight decimal seven sungen 282 switching to 118-7 good day god damn it of all the days this has to happen just when spain is gonna teach hungary a lesson in football i don't know for sure it's bad timing how are we supposed to get all these planes down that sunday the two controllers find themselves thrust into a situation that's way over their heads los rodeos had never seen so many big aircraft all at once contact standby for taxi clearance on jet will take your place you can begin your taxi just after it passes behind you break spam tax hold on hey say where are you gonna put the klm next to the breathing 737 no choice still waiting for the panam 747 yeah but that's two large carriers it won't be easy to handle you gotta leave some room for these other planes that want to roll but i'm 1736 leave level two three zero now for level one two zero call back crossing one eight zero the pan am plane begins its approach now one seven three six clear to flight level one two zero report crossing one eight zero the passengers are fed up after 13 hours in the air they're wondering when it's all going to end say uh why the diversion is anything wrong at the airport oh no just a slight technical difficulty it'll be cleared up in no time nothing no nothing to worry about at the back of everyone's minds is how long is this diversion going to last is it going to jeopardize their crews will they miss the boat their tour guide reassures them hello everyone this is beaumont speaking ladies and gentlemen our cruise ship the golden odyssey has got its engines running and will i've been told come out to pick us up if this delay should continue so it will be just a few minutes longer please bear with us [Music] auto brake selector on medium we did the learning checklist auto brakes medium klm4805 to land runway three roger 4805 clear to land 3-0 [Music] so [Applause] nice clever this landing nice and smooth grandma didn't spill her tea next time just get the plane stopped don't eat up all the runway you never know okay all right i think he wants us to park parallel to the 737 all right if you've got room on my side you can turn stop break here stop all right that will do that'll do good good good loves radios grounds klm4805 ground yes uh any idea how long we're gonna be here negative four eight or five we're waiting for the word from gondo well then we need to get our passengers in the terminal so they can be more comfortable how many passengers do you have on board 273 passengers i'd rather not have them in here moaning and complaining roger was sending a passenger bus thank you but this might only take a few minutes or it could be hours you want to tell them to stay in there the controllers are now stuck in the middle of a traffic jam the likes of which have never been seen before at this airport the tarmac is getting bumper to bumper miguel take a look at this let's make it fast man we already got two aircraft plugging charlie one hre2 the only option is to start lining them up down here not everyone is going to make that turn on to charlie 3. i already thought about that we could squeeze it i'm 747 through here how do you get them out if we ever do get them out we'll have to backtrack them taxi down here turn around take off he's gone do the next one we'll be here or not you know that right or you can go out there and pick us another runway maybe i do rodeos approach pan am 1736. there is some method in their madness sooner or later they'll have to get all these aircraft out again since all the taxiways are blocked with aircraft what they propose to do is to use the main runway as a taxiway instead the planes will take it in turns to taxi down to the far end turn round and take off ladies and gentlemen we apologize for this delay the dutch plane waits on the ramp its passengers should be spending this afternoon on the beach instead they learn they're going to spend it hanging around the departure lounge of a small airport no we're going to visit another airport first because then we'll be going to hispanics yes let's get your shoes on it is weird robina walter and yvonne actually live and work on this island so when they eventually get to las palmas they'll have to get another plane to bring them straight back again what make we could get off here yeah what about our bags you're so materialistic just because you want to see paul doesn't mean the rest was said robina wants to see her boyfriend paul in tenerife tonight not spend it in las palmas i miss him so much after this week in holland i could skip last promise to be honest with you we're moving let's go [Music] bye you all right uh yeah yeah you don't like it it's not right there's all these planes [Music] i i i got a bad feeling about this i can remember so well his words because he was standing next to me and he was looking outside and he said this this is going to go wrong this can't go right because of a terrorist bomb explosion dozens of planes have been diverted to a small airport on the island of tenerife in the canaries one of the first to arrive is a klm jumbo jet its passengers are taken to the terminal but what with those arriving those departing and those like the dutch who are in transit the little terminal is becoming overwhelmed [Music] pan am one seven three six short final four three zero final one seven three six clear to land three zero and now the pan am is arriving just to make matters worse [Music] [Music] [Applause] 1736 at the end of the runway you have a follow me for taxi instructions have you got him inside affirmative sir 1736 you will be just behind three other planes have you got them inside it looks a bit tight in there 1736 be careful of your jet blast when you turn there's a plane just next to you the ground situation was a traffic jam because when we landed there the ramp was so crowded with other airplanes and we were directed to taxi down to the end of the ramp area and parked behind three other airplanes and basically that's all we saw and we didn't know when the airport at las palmas was going to open so we we really didn't leave the airplane area let's say by this time the terminal is so full there's no room for the pan am passengers they'll have to stay on board their aircraft after 14 hours stuck inside it they're not happy ladies and gentlemen i've authorized a door to be opened and the stair ramp set in place so that anyone who wants can walk down and stretch their legs uh unfortunately due to the number of other airliners here now we cannot get near the terminal now i know we've all had a long day already so i hope that we can get you out of here in about an hour or so thank you very much they actually allowed us to get off the plane and just to walk downstairs and stand on the tarmac stretch our legs i think everybody was getting weary of traveling and ready to start their vacation they opened the doors to give us air and we could look out it was cloudy cloudy and overcast it kept darkening down and was not not nice like we had hoped it would be everyone had been expecting tropical sunshine instead it's damp and misty with clouds as far as the eye can see [Music] i'm worried we're going to get caught by this fog all we need now is for them to close down that runway yeah we need them to get a move on or else we'll be spending the night here and then hello duty time limits any idea of how much longer we've got before we need to get other crew down to take over yeah well it says here that the company time limits are 10 hours of flight in an amplitude of 13 hours and that's with one stop over but if there are two it goes down to 9 in 11. but we're allowed to ask for a derogation jesus christ who writes this stuff here i'm going to i'm going to back time from when we have to be back at skip hall to stay legal right what happens if we go over the civilian company time limits well you get hung out to dry you lose your license your career everything [Music] as soon as i settle we can stay here and tell her it's so stupid to go to house promise now we just have to come back tomorrow and paul's waiting let's get a taxi hey slow down can't wait another 24 hours and they were making plans you know we're going to have dinner here and then we're going to have a drink there and we just wanted to go back to him in the end it's love that saves rabina i met robina in december 1976 i fell in love and we've never been separated not again afterwards why don't i pick up the bags and see you guys in state again you know walter and i actually know how to have a good time without you yeah you'd just be a drag anyway thinking about paul the whole time really excuse me is everything all right yes we're all right uh i am a bit peckish though maybe we could get something to eat i'm sorry there is nothing left on board maybe just a cup of coffee and a biscuit not even that i'm sorry i really am that was a long four hours without coffee or pop or anything we had no food to serve we we had only the one meal that had been boarded in new york we'd already served that before landing that was really all we had to serve in the tower the two controllers are also getting fed up all the aircraft are in now so there's nothing to do except listen to the football on the radio and worry clouds are gathering over the airport looks like we might have a company yeah these clouds are ready to jump down a little more coastal wind a drop in temperature and we'll be covered in clouds better get a move on now that won't be taking off rodeos rodeos rodeos go ahead gando to tenerife atc we've just reopened temperature is 20 degrees winds light and variable arrivals raining 2-4 gondolas start sending them your way we're at 14 degrees fog and light rain i'll be glad to get out of here let's get started it should be tricky getting all these planes in line i will be all right we'll just have to take it slow no doubt about that i just hope we won't still be here tomorrow at last everyone can leave well here we go to all aircraft gando is reopen you can ask for startup and clearances at your discretion ladies and gentlemen may i have your attention please gando airport has reopened your [Applause] was very complicated because when the passengers were called for their flights they were scattered throughout the airport in the cafeteria or buying souvenirs we had to go around the map and in fact some passengers never did board the aircraft okay right so we need to leave within the hour then make it a short stop over at las palmas and we'll stay legal all right villain since we're trapped in here until the passenger get back we might as well take on some fuel hello let's do that at gando it's less expensive there right yeah exactly i mean we've got enough to there might be many planes wanting fuel at las palmas huh or who knows we'll be in a halt if gander closed down again while i'm sitting here in this seat i make the decisions refueling before they take off will affect everything that happens from now on klm4805 requesting refueling [Music] yes we're going to refuel during passenger boarding apply the necessary security measures information lights on turbo gums armed with four doors without step ladders and do you know when we will be in the air again my crew is starting to wonder about the shift time tell them whatever they like i'm trying to save us some time here okay in order to keep the weight down at takeoff the normal practice is to take on just the amount of fuel you need plus a margin for safety but the dutch captain takes on 55 tons enough to get him not just to las palmas but all the way back to amsterdam that decision will have unexpected consequences for everyone [Music] [Applause] inside the terminal all the passengers are called to rejoin their flights the two dutch children are missing they've slipped outside to explore you go this way i'll go check the bottom but let's meet at the gate in five minutes meanwhile robina is trying to get off the klm flight although i do understand your wish to stay yes this is where i'm coming tomorrow so there's no point in going back to las palmas yes i guess this is just against company rules and as much i would like to help you i'm afraid you must take this plane you can't change the rules just for me but there's no harm in trying right have a nice place klm might not be willing to bend their rules but robina decides to bend them anyway problem kind of but i'm staying anyway you'll just have to arrest me i'll pick out the backspin thanks i'll walk to the door with you guys so that my friend here thinks i'm taking the plane let's go come on [Music] they wanted me to go with them and they really tried to persuade me and i try to persuade them to stay [Music] but that's that's how it goes fortune had smiled upon robina van lanscott of the 234 passengers on her flight she would be the only one left alive [Music] the temperature is 14 and falling the dew point is 12. not a good sign visibility is going to drop like a rock weather hi guys it's fernando what's the courage disability got it keep us posted if it changes okay in the meantime we're going to let them go the controllers need to move quickly before the weather closes them down but some planes can't move rodeos ground pan am 1736 request clearance las palmas latest weather and taxi instructions 1736 there is the delay for you the klm in front of you is refueling oh come on let's try to get around him but there's going to be a revolt back there if we don't get moving soon uh ground uh we'll try to sneak past him here the pan am captain does his best he starts his engines and tries to squeeze past but a 747 is nearly 200 feet long it's not built for squeezing not enough room uh george why don't we get a breath of fresh air and take a look [Music] the engineer and i went out underneath the right wing and basically stepped off the distance between our wingtip and the klm 747's wingtip and we were 12 feet short of being able to taxi easily around the airplane for the sake of 12 feet hundreds of lives are going to be lost [Music] do you notice that when we were coming in the volcano amazing isn't it legend has it the devil himself lives on mountain 12 000 feet highest point in spain it's always in the clouds you must get socked in here all the time warm moist air comes screaming across the atlantic hits this island gets cooled down and wham you're in the soup and the tour starts screaming klm4805 this is pan am one seven three six what's underneath uh we're stuck behind you guys have you got any ideas to what time you'll be rolling 35 minutes scale him out [Music] he hung up nice man we're stuck behind him that's all he's got to say what an ass [Music] on the klm more frustration that's the count we're missing four it must be the family from row of 33. all right i'll let you tell the captain i'll help prepare the cabin for the cough gee thanks roberto you have to find them please hurry up please captain yes what is it now we're missing four passengers we have 273 passengers back there who will be spending the night in here if we don't get moving now unless you want to be locked in there with them i suggest you get over to the terminal and drag them in here now on the pan am plane the passengers have had enough most of them left home some 18 or 20 hours previously they've been up all night stuck in an airplane seat they're tired jet lagged and they understand less and less why all these other planes seem to be taking off but not then [Music] my friends i know it's been a trying afternoon for all of us but when we are finally on board the golden odyssey you will be pampered day and night your own private telephone will give you access to room service at all hours a twist of the button will give you just the right temperature queen-size beds will make you forget these airplane seats miss uh i can see the other planes are taking off what's the holdup i mean we were here longer than those other planes we'll be leaving in just a moment you thinking of paris i guess you can keep thinking about it yep yeah moulin rouge maybe the old moulin rouge dancing girls fancy girls ah get there [Music] around about this time the ground controller roberto manages to find the two missing dutch children [Music] where have you been come on hurry up they're only waiting for you to take off [Music] [Music] he takes them back to their plane and as it happens to their deaths [Music] was it destiny [Music] klm4805 is ready for startup 4805 clear to start checklist before startup plane three blocks in place doors shut and checked ready for startup in sequence one two three four affirmative ready on one the klm pilots start their engines one by one and prepare to go back out onto the runway for takeoff if the weather were good there'd be no problem at all but everything is changing rapidly and for the worse that's it companies here visibility is right down we've fallen from ten to three kilometers in the past half hour but there's good wind there will be some horn yeah but let's face it the weather is not going to get any better [Music] approach 4805 requires backtrack on runway 1-2 for takeoff on 3-0 taxi straight ahead to end of runway and make a backtrack roger make a backtrack 4805 is now on the runway [Music] the klm is now back on the runway the pan am prepares to follow them a few hundred meters behind through the fog which is getting thicker by the minute 1736 ready to start 1736 you are clear to start thank you please make sure your seat belts are fastened your tray tables are closed and your hand baggage is stowed beneath the seat [Applause] the weather's taking a real dive here yeah looks like we're getting sucked in hey ask him to turn down the fog machine will you pan m1736 clear to taxi on runway following the klm pan am 1736 following klm basically our instructions were to follow klm to backtrack down the runway now backtrack means that you're taxing down the runway in the opposite direction of the takeoff following klm 335 tons of boeing 747 turn out onto the runway at first traveling at about 15 kilometers an hour but not for long a fog bank started on the right hill this particular airport is situated between two fairly big hills and we saw the fog bank come off of the right hill and proceed down and stop right on the runway so our visibility went from unlimited to 500 meters we lost sight of the klm airplane i'll have two planes stealing on the runway it keeps some healthy separation visibility is dropping every second now they can't see my childhood they certainly can't the klm plane is groping its way through fog you can barely see the pavement we're down to 50 knots ground speed sky taxi checklist this is a nightmare we'll never make the limits at this rate and i really don't want to be spending the night at las palmas i'll give headquarters a call let's take a list please epr adi safety compass compared and checked okay we're messing 200 tons with 55 tons of fuel the parameters are checked and verified by myself rolling checklist completed the two aircraft are following each other on the same runway but no one can see a thing everyone is nervous especially the american pilots they know that before long the klm will turn round and come back down the runway at full speed taking off they have to get off the runway but where pan am one seven three six one seven three six approach um we were also instructed to taxi down the runway is that correct affirmative taxi into the runway runway third third to your left third to the left okay 36 three thirds third to your left i i thought he lead the runway third to your left third to your left left turn i said look at it out there i mean this cloud just rolled right onto us i don't think anybody has the minimums now in a 747 the pilots are more than 10 meters off the ground it's very difficult to see out and it's built to fly not to drive down a highway in thick fog trying to find an exit [Music] no [Music] we've got center line markings only we need 800 meters visibility if we don't have the lights anytime you get a low visibility such as that on the back of the approach plates you have the runway information it gives you the minimum visibility you must have to be able to take off we turned our charts over and it said rvr minimum 700 meters visibility so we assumed that with that he'd just given us 500 meters we couldn't take off something tells me this isn't going to be over anytime soon klm4805 how many taxiway did you pass i think we just passed uh charlie 4 right now ok at the end of the runway make 180 and report uh report for atc clearance okay sir tell me is centerline lighting available for 4805 i don't think so stand by we'll check the pan am is still travelling along the runway behind them but very slowly now because the pilots are confused they thought they might have misheard the controller did he say the third exit or was it the first the first one was a 90 degree turn yeah okay this one down here is a 45 it must be the third but this third exit seems to be an impossible turn for a 7-4-7 there must be some mistake the logical exit is the next one charlie 4. it's only a 45-degree angle and leads to where they want to go i'll ask them again uh would you confirm that you want pan am 1736 to turn left at the third intersection the third one sir one two three third third one one two good well that's what we need right the third one right one seven three six report runway clear pan m1736 we couldn't see any taxiways we couldn't see barely the center line of the runway we were taxing on but we knew that the 45 degree angle to the left was the taxiway we were supposed to take one kilometer ahead and out of sight in the fog the klm is nearing the end of the and runway am 1736 for your information the center line lighting is out of service 4805 we copied that why am i not surprised wouldn't make any much difference anyway you need a bunch of searchlights to punch a hole through this mess back in the control tower things are becoming stressful too for several minutes they've been unable to see either of these two big jumbo jets on the runway they don't have ground radar like a big airport to all intents and purposes they're working blind [Music] [Applause] [Music] they're doing well i mean there's good separation distance final one seven three six approach position please one seven three six just checking yeah that that's the 45 there yeah yeah that's uh this one here yeah i know okay uh the next one is almost a 45 yeah but it goes yeah but it goes ahead i think it'll take us to the taxiway yeah just a little bit yeah okay for sure maybe he counts these as three oh oh i like this on the klm captain vanzanten knows that he is now very close to the minimum visibility for takeoff there's a good chance he's going to be trapped on the ground forced to spend the night at los rodeos not an enticing prospect christ bloody class give me take up speeds okay uh the v1 will be 120 knots and the vr is 135 knots i'm preparing the frequencies uh 139 and 138.7 lights on affirmative strobes as well of course the people in the back have no idea about any of this the way that everything is clicking into place [Music] that's it just one last hop and we'll be there okay kitty is it gonna be a long hard day just like last year the only thing which might alert them is the fact that the view from their windows is now down to just a few dozen meters where's the ring gun it's hidden by the fog what a [ __ ] a big green frog don't be silly just calm down [Music] chewing gum to pop your ears yeah sure thanks i wonder if robina will have a good time tonight oh are you worrying about her she always manages to have a good time that's true at the end of the runway the plane begins its 180 degree turn how many have taken off now feels like we've been texting for hours i can't see anything and do you think they can see any better out the front maybe yeah yeah there's a lot of fog out there it's just after 5 p.m the two aircraft are now face to face a kilometer apart unable to see each other in the fall okay we're on the numbers now can't be far from the threshold you can just about see the white center line i've left the body gear on to help you turn around i've got eight greens on the undercarriage wipers on lights are on i said wipers on all right there you go okay we have 700 meters visibility here now wait a minute we don't have atc clearance [Music] i know that go ahead ask klm 4805 uh it's now ready for takeoff we're waiting for atc clearance klmm 4805. atc clearance is the route the aircraft intends to take once it's left los rodeos but it's not permissioned to take off that has to be obtained separately roger we're cleared to the papa beacon uh flight level nine zero uh right turnout zero four zero until intercepting the three two five um we're now we're going no standby for takeoff we're still texting down the runway panam one seven three six finam1736 report runway clear okay we'll report one more clear thank you 1736. he asked us were we off the runway and i responded back negative we are still on the runway but we will report clear of the runway that was the last thing i said over the radio let's get the hell out of here yeah he's anxious isn't he yeah and now he's in a rush we were only taxing it three miles an hour nothing in my mind would have even given me the thought that he was taking up [Music] with every second the klm is going faster and faster at the same moment the pan am reaches the number four exit and begins to turn off the runway god damn that summer [ __ ] is coming straight at us [Music] get up [Music] so get up when he hit us i didn't think he'd done us that much damage because the airplane very quickly shuttered different women the first thing was this huge loud noise and the only thing i could liken it to is as if each molecule of air exploded that's the way i thought of it afterwards it just was so loud at first i thought they had gotten to us the bomb and it came up and slammed down the lights went out and flames came through i had my put my hands over my face and said lord today i'll see you the minute i opened my eyes i looked in the cabin and everything was on fire all the windows were going in the cockpit i looked out to the right the right wing was on fire i looked back to the left we had 28 people in the upstairs lounge the lounge was no longer on the airplane it was just a big hole there and i could see all the way to the tail of the airplane just like someone had taken a big knife and cut the top off people were just sitting in their seats they weren't moving i don't know why yeah in normal circumstances you're supposed to wait for a command but it was clear and you didn't need to wait for a command in this situation there was fire and i shouted to suzanne fire on the wing she ran back to my exit and saw suzanne standing there getting ready to open the door and just saw the door crumple like cheap tin foil and i thought oh my god we're trapped i was staring at the door and i yelled and fasten your seat belts remove your shoes leave everything come this way and as i stared at the door a jagged hole seemed to open up in the roof over the door and the next thing i knew i was outside that i don't know how i got out there joan was standing there yelling suzanne take my hand and i was standing above the level of the door on fuselage rubble pieces and i leaned down and said to suzanne give me your hand she grabbed me out with one hand i mean i don't know how she lifted me and then we were standing up on top of the almost on top of this airplane and i thought it's really a long ways down if we jump we're going to break our legs we were on debris it was like ice floes big chunks of fuselage kind of moving all around the engines were starting to disintegrate already we could hear them disintegrating and throwing metal i lost joan's hand very quickly so i jumped and it was about it seemed like the leap from a second story building the captain he elected to jump down in the first class section of the airplane and when he hit the first class floor the floor collapsed and he fell on down into the cargo area it was so hot that the oxygen bottles exploded and burned him very badly as a matter of fact it was a survival mode that kicked in and it was just get out of that airplane i didn't stop to think about how it happened i went to where the door would have been and i left my wife seated and then it came to me what am i doing i should where's my wife so i turned around and she was coming and i said i will jump and try and break your fall my husband was sitting to my right and i undid his seat belt and kind of pushed him out of his seat to get him moving and we headed for the door that was closest to us and it was engulfed in flames and there was no way to exit that way looked over and at some point someone had opened the other door which was amazing to me and i just yelled over here and headed toward the door on the other side which was again the wing door um in the haste to get out of the burning plane karen became separated from her husband he died in the flames i immediately thought it was total destruction it never dawned on me that i would make it but i i thought hey you know do something don't just sit there do something i just went over the seat backs and i'm not that athletic really but i went over three rows of seats one man was sitting there looking like i need help but i couldn't help him when klm hit us all communication stopped the tower called and couldn't get any response from either the klm or ourselves there was an airplane in the holding pattern right above tenerife called the tower and said i see smoke and wreckage on your runways approached sterling 105. we're downwind from runway 3-0 and something's glowing on the field looks like a fire are you aware of any fire this can't be true come on come on come on come on he hits the emergency warning after klm hit us he went on down the runway and hit on the runway 1500 feet down closer to the tower so when the fire truck and the amulets came out they got to him first so no one came to us for quite a while matter of fact i remember thinking i wonder why somebody hasn't gotten out here to help us it's complete bedlam in the fog the fire trucks don't know where to go when they eventually find the dutch plane it's hopeless everyone's dead and the whole time they don't realize there's a second plane a short distance away hidden in the mist with people waiting to be saved it's another 20 minutes before the pan am plane is discovered [Music] i had no idea that 50 meters away there was a plane on fire with people still alive inside i would say over and over don't worry the ambulances will be here soon help is on the way because you assume that somebody has seen this and take a note and is sent for the emergency equipment it's hard to call what we did in evacuation it just seemed to be people got out where holes were provided it all seemed a matter of total luck when i arrived i saw the aircraft in two pieces the captain lying bleeding on the ground staring at the plane people staggering about crying people running people calling out for members of their family not knowing if they were still in the plane or whether they had got out not knowing if they were dead it was a scene of absolute chaos only 20 of the pan am passengers get out alive and most of them are gathered on the left wing which has somehow miraculously remained intact [Music] the entire left wing of the airplane was covered with passengers and it turned out there were probably 45 to 50 passengers out on that wing i've never asked anybody how high the wing is from the ground on a 747 but it looks to be a very long ways and i cut open my head and fractured my foot my wife jumped after me and she said i cannot walk and i dragged her on her side for probably a block and a half away from the plane the motors were going full tilt and i didn't want to get over where the motors were so i sat down by the body of the plane i had no comprehension at that moment that i would be jumping off the wing and in the debris you knew there were trapped passengers and people and there was absolutely nothing you could do to help because the airplane was collapsing in on people only one door was opened by a crew member and that was one of the black flight attendants who did that and she lost her life when the engine disintegrated and debris hit her and i thought if we could just walk around to the other side of the plane we would find all of the passengers and our other fellow crew members which of course wasn't the case even 20 minutes after the disaster the controllers in the tower still have no idea how serious things are departing aircraft all departures are suspended until advised [Music] hello [Music] my god [Music] i'll get local fire out here notify the ambulance we have an emergency we need every vehicle they've got we're done scrappy are fought i'm here [Music] i told him to clear the taxiway [Music] when i got out on the ground i could hear people screaming and yelling and all within about five minutes you heard absolutely nothing there was no noise at all just the air the airplane burning i asked one of our medical directors later on what he calls that he said that when you have a fire that hot and that much of a fire it consumes all of the oxygen in there and people basically suffocate i felt so responsible because i couldn't take care of my passengers and so helpless and looking back and knowing that there's nothing you can do you can't get back in the aircraft there's no way to get in it and it's all on fire of the klm plane very little remains it had continued flying for another 400 meters before slamming into the ground the 55 tons of fuel it had taken on ensured that everyone on board died in the fiery explosion it was personal vehicles cars and trucks that seemed to come onto the grass and gather up people about 75 percent of our surviving pastors got to the hospital in taxi cabs it was a wild crazy ride as we were going to the hospital the skin was hanging on both hands because i had received burns but it hadn't affected my eyes i had blood all over me and i walked up to somebody and said i'm a doctor can i help and the guy that i said it to have the oddest look on his face just this very warm smile and he just shook his head and then then i immediately went into a coma [Music] word soon gets out and in the hours that follow the international press begin to arrive and the first news is flashed around the world rescue workers are still going through the wreckage of the two jetliners this morning in the canary islands they're looking for the bodies of victims in this worst accident in aviation history two jumbo jetliners 747s collided on the ground at the airport at santa cruz de tenerife yesterday morning one was a pan am charter from los angeles that picked up more people in new york before flying to the canaries the other was a klm charter from amsterdam in the netherlands they set up a a morgan one of the hangars and it was huge and they had all of the nearly 600 bodies in in that particular hangar or temporary more the death toll rises to 583 people nearly twice as big as any previous accident and then everyone begins asking the same questions how and why could two state-of-the-art airliners smash into each other on the same runway [Music] very soon a whole army of investigators begins arriving from the three countries involved spain holland and the united states under the rules that govern this sort of thing they all have a right to be there but that doesn't mean they're going to get along in spain the military still runs everything including aviation when the american team from the national transportation safety board arrives the spanish general in charge won't even let them into the room i sneaked in and i went to the general i told him the general my name is luis carmona i represent the u.s government the ntsb and i am here to participate in the investigation he answered back to me i represent the king and you get out so after i walk was walking out he looked at me again and he said hey you don't look american and i told him well yes i am an american but i was born in cuba and he said well so so did i i was also born in cuba so he turned around and he asked me questions and asked me to bring my team in and we started doing the actual investigation there [Music] the investigators discover the chain of coincidences that had led remorselessly to the deaths of 583 people if any one of them had not occurred neither with the accident the first had nothing to do with airplanes a terrorist bombing perpetrated by a small group fighting for their independence their intent was to create publicity for their cause in that they certainly succeeded there are two bombs in the terminal you have ten minutes to save as many lives as you the wish is closed drive to los angeles airport via itinerary vor decent flight level 250. because of the bomb all air traffic was re-routed to los rodeos airport on the neighboring island of tenerife but it's a small regional airfield with only one runway a 747 can land there the runway is long enough but that's all [Music] the airport is ill-equipped and unable to handle that amount of planes or people 1-07 you are clear to flight level 8-0 282 switch to ground now contact standby for taxi clearance klm4805 try to land one way three zero five one seven three six seven three six short final as luck would have it this tidal wave of traffic happens on a sunday afternoon when there are just two controllers on duty they're good but not used to handling as many airplanes as on that day big airplanes that need lots of room to park they are confronted with an enormous jigsaw puzzle we'll be here or not you know that right or you can go out there and pay us another runway meanwhile in the klm cockpit the stress is mounting any idea of how much longer we've got before we need to get other crew down to take over yeah well klm had recently introduced new company rules which handed out severe penalties for pilots who exceeded their flying hours what happens if we go over the civilian company time limits well you get hung out to drive you lose your license your career everything the klm plane has to get away before 5 30 that afternoon or abandon the flight hundreds of passengers would then have to be found hotels on this small island a new crew would have to be flown in from amsterdam the expense would be enormous since we're trapped in here until the passenger get back we might as well take him some fuel but that seemingly simple decision seals the fate of everyone aboard the klm refueling not only delays him for half an hour and the pan am stuck behind him it makes the klm plane so heavy it'll be unable to lift off and clear the pan am plane on the runway [Music] the half hour delay has another effect during that time the weather changes abruptly los rodeos is an unusual airport it's on a plateau high in the hills the los rodeos airport is at 2000 feet elevation and the normal clouds in the area they they stay about two thousand feet so when the wind blows the clouds over the airport it closes the airport the the visibility goes to zero and it goes on and off on and off all the time unfortunately for an airport that's constantly lost in fog los rodeos is ill-equipped to deal with it it has no ground radar so that controllers can see where the planes are in fact the facilities are downright primitive when he was not they had a person sitting in a building next to the runway and he just took a visual measurement of the weather and that's that's how the weather was checked and that's about all [Music] in the fog that day both aircraft are invisible to the controllers there are no runway center lights working either visibility is on the borderline of what is safe in fact as far as the pan am crew is concerned it's below the legal minimum so no aircraft can take off look at it out there i mean this cloud just rolled right onto us i don't think anybody has the minimums now but the dutch are working to a different set of rules the scene is all set for a disaster what will actually trigger it the dutch investigators thought they'd found the reasons god damn it of all the days this has to happen just when spain is going to teach hungary a lesson in football the controllers they say were listening to the football on the radio perhaps their minds weren't on the job furthermore their bad english had confused the pilots taxi into the runway third third to your left third to the left okay 36 three third to your left i thought you leave the runway third to your left third one sir one two three third third one one two good well that's what we need right the third one we were listening to the controller talking to the other airplanes we were listening to controller giving the atc clearances the taxi clearances and he spoke clear enough english for anyone i think so i'd have to say no i don't think the controller was involved at all i don't think he had any fault at all in 1736 just checking that that's the 45 there but the dutch haven't finished yet yeah that's uh this one here yeah i know they make an even more controversial claim one that provokes a blazing row that the pan am plane had caused the accident by being on the runway when it shouldn't have been they hadn't followed orders to turn off okay for sure maybe he counts these as three oh oh i like this they were they were going to taxiway four he was instructed to go on three but he had to go four because taxiway number four was the one that had 45 degrees and it was easy for the 747 to access it we said confirm which taxiway you want to take he says the third on your left one two three the third on your left and we and here again i still believe this i think he had seen us go by the first one and when he says count three more tax ways the third one two three if we were doing exactly what we thought he meant for us to do and i still think that's what he meant for us to do it was the logical taxiway to take whether they should have taken the third or fourth exit became largely irrelevant anyway because it became clear that captain vanzanten had made one of the most elementary mistakes a pilot can make he'd taken off without permission we have 700 meters visibility here now wait a minute we don't have atc clearance [Music] i know that go ahead ask uh klm4805 uh it's now ready for takeoff we're waiting for atc clearance klm4805 you're clear to the papa beacon the klm is given its atc clearance which is simply the route it must follow after takeoff now it must wait for permission to take off roger we're cleared to the papa beacon flight level 9-0 uh right turn out zero four zero until intercepting the three two five um we're now we're going but why didn't his crew stop him it's very difficult for a co-pilot or a flight engineer to tell the captain hey look give me something tenerife exposed a problem that had long existed in commercial air travel the pilot was regarded and often regarded himself as god the captain is always right he's never wrong no junior officer was ever going to contradict the airline's top pilot the man who'd given him his license report runway need to clear that what do you say oh yes captain vanzanten highly stressed knowing that he has to take off or abandon the flight his crew aware that he's done wrong but frightened to tell him disaster is now inevitable the official report is written by spain it blames the accident on captain vanzanten's decision to take off without permission the dutch refused to accept it they published their own report blaming language difficulties and the general confusion at los rodeos what i learned from the territory accident is that regardless of how well qualified experienced professional and and exact professional you are okay accidents as long as human beings are involved actions can always take place the insurers pay out a record some two billion dollars in today's money as for the survivors the images of the 27th of march will always be with them they've just learned to live with them that's all and whenever i have friends that travel i tell them make sure you know where your exit is make sure you read all that stuff know how to get out of the airplane i mean those are important things i never had nightmares i had only dreams about being helpless and being at an airport behind a big thick window and watching an airplane take off and knowing that it was going to crash and wanting to shout out but there was this big thick glass window you're just helpless and you that's what you feel is this because our responsibility is to take care of everyone and that's what we want to do and we couldn't do it we couldn't save them the loss of my husband had a tremendous impact on my life on my son's lives on my extended family's lives it was huge and you can see how strange life is you know that things like that happen that you get off and they go on and perhaps if it's the plane left a minute late it wouldn't have happened i think it brought home to me how quickly you can leave this life and how everyone should enjoy life every and each day as much as you possibly can after the crash i decided to start a family i thought maybe i will stay home and have children i thought you know my friends have died and if i let myself sit in this little apartment it's going to be as if i'm curled up and died and that's not fair to them i can honor them best by living a life a full life and not being afraid i am blessed because i do not have any horror left over from the accident i felt ashamed the first while in a long time i i thought you know i wish i died because i felt very bad i was scared for quite a while after the crash but i knew if i flew with joan she would pull me out again i had to quit the ntsb i didn't retire i felt so bad that i became ill i had to go to a doctor and get some medication because i i got sick i went back to tenerife my wife and i and i had a driver to take me out to the airport and show me the runway and i looked at it all i did it all over again and then i went back and took the golden odyssey steamship from the royal cruise line to sort of complete the situation which i had missed [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: On The Move

Views: 637,305

Keywords: on the move, cars, planes, trains, documentary, documentaries, full length documentaries, plane disaster, mayday, crash of the century, crash of the century tenerife disaster, crash of the century klm and pan am 747, Crash Of The Century, Plane Disaster, Plane Documentary, Canary Islands, Tenerife, KLM Flight 4805, Boeing 747, Boeing 747 Crash

Id: JJVrW9UGnrw

Length: 87min 46sec (5266 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 31 2021