World events WORLD EVENTS

1977 Tenerife Air Disaster

On March 28 1977, a terrorist bomb exploded at Las Palmas airport in the Canary Islands, and as a result a number of planes were diverted to Los Rodeos airport on Tenerife.

Several hours later, a KLM 747 jumbo jet attempted to take off, unaware that a Pan Am 747 was on the same runway. The KLM plane tore the top off the Pan Am jet, and managed to climb a short distance before crashing further down the runway. 274 out of 335 people on the Pan Am jet died. There were no survivors on the KLM jet. A total of 583 people died in the collision, making it the worst air disaster in history.


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Do You Remember 1977 Tenerife Air Disaster?

Do You Remember 1977 Tenerife Air Disaster?

  • Anonymous user
    on
    I had been working at LHR for BEA then BA 3 years and 77 was the year we married and flew to South Africa & Rhodesia on honeymoon. 77 a big year and vividly remember this awful disaster.
  • Anonymous user
    on
    Coincidentally, I've just been reading the diaries of Carry On star Kenneth Williams, and he was in Tenerife when it happened.