KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. (Royal Aviation Company, Inc.), Netherlands flag airline is advertising a lot just now. That's because they're the world's oldest having been established a hundred years ago today on 6 October 1919.
While
While
KLM generally has an exemplary safety record, on March 27, 1977, 2 Boeing 747 jets, (KLM Flight 4805 & Pan Am Flight 1736), collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife resulting in 583 fatalities, the accident being
the deadliest in aviation history.
The collision occurred when the KLM airliner initiated its takeoff run while the Pan Am airliner, shrouded in fog, was still on the runway and about to turn off onto the taxiway. The impact and resulting fire killed everyone on board KLM 4805
The collision occurred when the KLM airliner initiated its takeoff run while the Pan Am airliner, shrouded in fog, was still on the runway and about to turn off onto the taxiway. The impact and resulting fire killed everyone on board KLM 4805
and most of the occupants of Pan Am 1736, with only 61 survivors in the front section of the aircraft.
The KLM pilot started take off while the Pan Am 747, shrouded in fog, was still on the runway, the KLM pilot misunderstanding take off instructions from the tower. It led to
The KLM pilot started take off while the Pan Am 747, shrouded in fog, was still on the runway, the KLM pilot misunderstanding take off instructions from the tower. It led to
the use of standardised terms in aircraft / tower radio communications.
