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At Tenerife North Airport, in the Canary Islands, KLM Flight 4805, a Boeing 747 trying to take off through fog, strikes Pan Am Flight 1736, another Boeing 747 that was still on the runway. Both aircraft explode, killing 583 people.
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00:01A beautiful island off the African coast would be a dream destination for holidaymakers.
00:07But a bomb at the airport diverts two jumbos to a tiny airstrip.
00:14In just eight minutes, the worst aviation accident of all time takes the lives of 583 people.
00:23Now, with cutting-edge computer technology, we reveal exactly what went wrong.
00:32Disasters don't just happen. They're a chain of critical events.
00:37Unravel the fateful decisions in those final seconds from disaster.
00:48Europe, the Canary Islands, Tenerife.
00:53Sunday, March the 27th, 1977.
00:59Los Rodeos is the island's sleepy airport in the hills.
01:03It's not used to heavy traffic and normally handles just a few small planes a day.
01:07But this is no ordinary day.
01:1312 noon.
01:16After an overnight flight from Los Angeles, Pan Am's flight 1736 is just two hours away from the Canary Islands.
01:25Joan Jackson has been a flight attendant with Pan Am for seven years.
01:31Everything seemed normal and fine.
01:35Sometimes you get passengers that you wish were on somebody else's flight, but these were all really wonderful people and
01:41we enjoyed having them on our plane.
01:45Jack Riddatt is one of the 378 passengers, happy that he's on board a 747.
01:53Back in the 70s, I mean, the 747 was the cat's meow. I mean, it was it. It was twice
02:00as big as any other airplane.
02:04Jack is traveling in style. He's taking his girlfriend, Joni, on a special vacation.
02:10It was a wonderful first class trip.
02:14We went to the upper deck in those days. It was kind of a cocktail lounge. Very nice.
02:20They're heading for Grand Canaria, the third largest of seven Canary Islands known for their stunning scenery.
02:29But as beautiful as the islands are, they also harbor a number of terrorist groups eager to free the islands
02:36from Spanish rule.
02:4212.30 PM.
02:45Suddenly, Pan Am's captain, Victor Grubbs, receives an urgent message from air traffic control.
02:51A bomb has exploded at Grand Canaria airport where he's due to land.
02:55He must now head for Los Rodeos Airport on the nearby island of Tenerife.
03:03He then tells the passengers what's happened.
03:06I was concerned. I'm sure all the passengers were.
03:151.38 PM. Pan Am 747 is not the only plane diverted because of the bomb.
03:22Another jumbo, KLM Flight 4805 from Amsterdam, is also diverted to Tenerife's Los Rodeos Airport.
03:30It touches down ahead of the Pan Am plane.
03:33Three other diverted planes are already on the ground.
03:38Tenerife Airport is small. There's only one airstrip.
03:41And the air traffic controllers are not used to so many aircraft, let alone jumbo jets.
03:47And it's Sunday, so only two controllers are on duty.
03:52The passengers on the KLM plane set off towards the airport lounge to relax.
04:002.15 PM. The Pan Am 747 touches down.
04:07It joins the KLM on the tarmac, waiting for Grand Canaria's airport to reopen.
04:16Grand Canaria is just a 25 minute hop away.
04:19But it could be some time before police there declare the airport safe from bombs.
04:25No one knows how long they'll be kept here.
04:29Tenerife's Los Rodeos Airport is situated in a valley in the shadow of the great Mount Tede, the third largest
04:37volcano on Earth.
04:40Tede dominates the island and even influences the weather.
04:44So far today, the sun is shining, but conditions can change at any moment.
04:49The airport is at an altitude of 632 meters above sea level.
04:55Low-lying clouds frequently roll down the mountains, shrouding the airport in heavy fog.
05:01But when the Pan Am plane lands, weather isn't the problem.
05:06The conditions were good. They were clear and a beautiful day.
05:11I noticed that the airport was in a little disrepair.
05:16Medieval, to say the best.
05:19Los Rodeos Airport opened in 1941.
05:23Facilities are severely limited.
05:25There's no radar to monitor planes on the ground.
05:28And today the runway centre lights are out of service.
05:33With five big jets now diverted there as well, the airport can barely cope.
05:39The departure lounge is overcrowded.
05:41Passengers inside the Pan Am Jumbo are not allowed to leave the plane.
05:48The flight attendant opens the door to give the passengers some fresh air.
05:53I remember we were waiting.
05:56We were there long enough to be bored.
05:59Saying, you know, when are we going to go?
06:052.30pm.
06:08Police in Gran Canaria have cleared the bomb.
06:11And the passengers think they'll soon be able to get to their destination and start their vacations.
06:16But even though the Pan Am plane is ready to take off, it can't.
06:20The KLM Jumbo, ahead of it on the taxiway, is refuelling.
06:26Filling the Jumbo with 55,000 litres of fuel will take 30 minutes.
06:31The Pan Am is forced to wait.
06:35The pilots were very eager to go.
06:37I think they would have preferred the KLM had not taken on the extra fuel,
06:41that we had all just gone ahead and gone.
06:43But even after the KLM finishes refuelling, there's still a delay.
06:47With no explanation, the Spanish authorities force the planes to sit on the tarmac for nearly two more hours.
06:58At 4.56pm, KLM's most senior pilot, Captain Jakob Van Zanten, requests permission to taxi.
07:07Two minutes later, air traffic control gives the go-ahead.
07:13On the Pan Am, Jack notices a change in the weather.
07:17The fog started rolling in, and it was quite unusual to me,
07:22because it would completely consume the airport.
07:27It was the difference between night and day.
07:32The KLM 4805 taxis down the runway.
07:36There are 248 passengers and crew on board.
07:39The air traffic controllers instruct the pilots to proceed to the end of the airstrip,
07:44make a 180-degree turn, and wait for clearance to take off.
07:51Visibility is now down to 300 meters.
07:56None of the air traffic controllers can see the planes that they're directing.
08:01And there is no ground radar to help them.
08:04They are now totally reliant on communicating by radio.
08:115.02pm, the controllers give Pan Am permission to taxi onto the runway right behind the KLM.
08:18The Pan Am pilots are then told to turn off at the third exit and wait.
08:25Conditions are getting worse by the second.
08:29I followed the KLM plane up on the tarmac, and you couldn't see the cement.
08:37You couldn't see anything. It was dark.
08:435.04pm, the KLM is completing its 180-degree turn and getting into position for take-off.
08:56The Pan Am is still taxiing towards the KLM along the runway.
09:01The pilot and co-pilot are trying to find the third exit.
09:05But they're not familiar with the airport and can barely see out of their cockpit windows.
09:13I said, look at this fog. We're never going to take off because I can't even see the number two
09:17engine, which is the inboard engine.
09:20And I know we're not going.
09:245.05pm, the KLM is in position.
09:29After a delay of three and a half hours, Captain Van Zanten is finally ready to leave.
09:365.06pm.
09:40Captain Van Zanten releases the brakes.
09:45The 747 starts heading down the runway towards the Pan Am, which is still on the airstrip, just 1400 metres
09:52up ahead.
10:01A KLM Jumbo jet is heading down the runway in thick fog.
10:06But a Pan Am Jumbo is still taxiing towards it on the same airstrip.
10:16Jack and Joni are in Pan Am's first class.
10:21Joni said, oh, my God, you know, what would happen if he took off?
10:25And I just casually said to her, well, don't worry about a thing.
10:29If he hits us head on, you'll never feel a thing.
10:335.06 and 18 seconds.
10:37The control tower tells the KLM crew to wait.
10:41Standby for take-off.
10:42Have a call.
10:43But they don't.
10:46Instead, Captain Van Zanten accelerates the KLM Jumbo down the runway.
10:535.06 and 45 seconds.
10:58The Pan Am co-pilot looks out of the window and is horrified by what he sees.
11:03The 300,000 kilogram KLM Jumbo is heading straight towards him.
11:09The Pan Am has 394 passengers and crew on board.
11:14Their only chance is to get out of the way as quickly as possible.
11:20Pan Am's Captain Grubbs forces the engines to full throttle.
11:23He tries to move the 747 out of the way.
11:31I heard the engines rev and we made a really hard, sharp left-hand turn.
11:40Get off! Get off!
11:42But it's too late.
11:455.06 and 50 seconds.
11:51The KLM smashes into the American Jumbo at 290 kilometers per hour.
11:59Just a shattering noise.
12:03I felt like every molecule of air exploded.
12:07My only thought was bombs.
12:09It's got to be bombs.
12:10And all you could see was the twisted metal parts.
12:14Then almost immediately the fire broke out.
12:18And I looked around and thought, you know, how are we going to get out?
12:21We're trapped.
12:29The air traffic controllers hear the explosions.
12:32But because of the fog, they can't see anything.
12:36They're unable to make radio contact with either plane.
12:41The KLM 747 has careered into the Pan Am, slicing off the upper deck.
12:48After the impact, the KLM crashes further down the runway.
12:56We heard tremendous grinding and exploding.
13:02I knew immediately that those poor people would not survive.
13:08The tower controllers sound the alarm.
13:11These first news pictures show the firefighters tackling the blaze which has engulfed the KLM.
13:17They can't find any survivors.
13:20Because of the fog, they have no idea that just 450 meters up the runway,
13:24the Pan Am Jumbo is also in flames, with hundreds of people still on board.
13:31Without a moment's hesitation, Jack Ridout immediately sets about helping other passengers.
13:38There was raw fuel, and I had it all over me. I was drenched in it.
13:42I thought, we've got to get these people out of here.
13:45So I started just literally slinging people out that door.
13:52Meanwhile, Joan Jackson and another flight attendant are trying to escape.
13:57I think I must have gone through this hole, and I reached back down and said,
14:01Suzanne, give me your hand.
14:03And pulled her out, and we found ourselves standing on top of the aircraft.
14:10The shattered Pan Am Jumbo can no longer move, but its engines are still running at full power.
14:19And I could hear the clanging of the metal in there, and they were starting to disintegrate and throw pieces
14:24of metal around.
14:29There was another explosion, and the flight attendant who had been helping people was killed instantly.
14:37She was decapitated, and it was not a pleasant sight.
14:43Joan and her colleague are still stuck on the roof of the plane.
14:47And I thought to myself, if we jump, we're going to have broken legs.
14:50Are we going to be able to get away from the plane if we have broken legs?
14:53But the plane begins to disintegrate beneath them.
14:58The fuselage where it had broken was kind of trailing down toward the ground.
15:02And I think we all just tried to leap for the ground and kind of get away from the plane.
15:11Another explosion blasts Jack out of the plane.
15:15Joni told me that I came out back forward.
15:18And when I became conscious, she said, we've got to get out of here.
15:23And then we kind of staggered as far away from the plane as we could,
15:27and then finally the last explosion just took everything out but the wings.
15:35Of 396 people on board, there are just 61 survivors.
15:41Joan Jackson and her colleague escape with bruises and scratches.
15:45We couldn't believe that we had so few people.
15:49We just kept looking around for the rest of the people and the rest of the crew.
15:55I kept thinking if I could walk around to the other side of the plane,
15:57I'm going to find 400 people and all my friends on the crew.
16:03But of course that wasn't the case and we just couldn't believe it.
16:09Jack Ridout helped to rescue 12 people.
16:13He's left with third degree burns on his head and arms.
16:16I guess this was kind of my own private Vietnam.
16:21It was awful. It was carnage.
16:27Everybody on the KLM 747 and most of those on the Pan Am have perished in the crash.
16:33It's the worst aviation accident in history.
16:40In all 583 people have lost their lives.
16:53Around the world people are shocked.
16:57The jumbo jet is the most advanced aircraft of its time.
17:01But it also carries twice as many passengers as any other commercial plane.
17:09And now the burnt out remains of two 747s lie scattered on the runway.
17:15It took just eight minutes.
17:18Now we rewind the events of that fateful day and go deep into the investigation to reveal what really happened.
17:26Advanced computer simulation will take us where no camera can go into the heart of the disaster zone.
17:36The Spanish immediately bring in a team of specialists.
17:41Accident investigator Jaime Valade leaves his home in Madrid at once, reaching Tenerife by first light.
17:49When we arrive, we actually notice the sensation of the big catastrophe.
17:58Something like phantasmagorical, something of sadness, some sensation of disaster.
18:09Ok, go to the movie.
18:12All right.
18:41We were apart. It was tremendous, the amount of wreckage. We had never seen that before.
18:47Also, I recall that there was a strange smell all around the airfield, which later on we realised that was
18:58the smell of burning flesh of all the victims. It was real horrible.
19:06This was the worst accident that I've ever seen.
19:11Investigators must answer many questions.
19:14Why was the Pan Am Jumbo still on the runway? Was there another bomb?
19:22Using their official data, we can piece together the deadly chain of events.
19:29In the beginning, I didn't suspect anything. That was not the moment of taking conclusions.
19:37The only important thing is the evidence, nothing else.
19:44The first task is to find the black boxes.
19:49They contain vital voice recordings from inside both cockpits, as well as all the technical data.
19:56The investigators soon recover them, but there's a setback.
20:04The boxes are badly damaged. It may take weeks to decipher the recordings.
20:12In the meantime, investigators have to rely on the next best thing, the tapes from the air traffic control tower.
20:20The tension was enormous, because that was the first sign of who was the main reason for the accident.
20:36The investigators listen intently to the final moments before the crash.
20:43They need to find out why the KLM 747 took off while a Pan Am Jumbo was still on the
20:50runway.
20:51Did the tower controller give the pilot permission to depart?
20:57One minute, 23 seconds before the crash.
21:01The KLM completes its 180 degree turn at the end of the runway.
21:08The KLM 4805 is now ready for takeoff, and we're waiting for our ATC clearance.
21:15This is not a request for takeoff clearance, but a request for air traffic control clearance.
21:21The pilots are seeking directions for once they're airborne.
21:26The controller issues the ATC clearance, and the KLM co-pilot reads it back.
21:3433 seconds before the collision.
21:37The tapes reveal that after reading back his ATC clearance, the KLM co-pilot makes an unusual statement.
21:44We're now at takeoff.
21:47American investigator Bill Edmonds is puzzled by what he heard.
21:51We couldn't understand exactly whether he was saying we are at takeoff or we are taking off.
21:59If we are at takeoff, that means we're ready to take off.
22:03Or the other would be that they're actually in the process of taking off.
22:0928 seconds.
22:13The Spanish air traffic controller also seems confused by what the KLM co-pilot has just said.
22:20Okay, stand by for takeoff.
22:22I will call you.
22:25Stand by is the last instruction from the tower to the KLM.
22:29They never issue takeoff clearance.
22:32Nevertheless, Captain Van Zanten accelerates down the runway.
22:37The control tower tapes seem to suggest that the Dutch pilot has made a serious error of judgement.
22:45This man, for reasons that we'll have to investigate, took off without permission.
22:54Van Zanten is one of Holland's star pilots.
22:57He was so highly regarded that KLM used his face in their advertising.
23:03He'd been a commercial pilot for 27 years and had flown more than 11,700 hours.
23:10It's shocking that such an experienced pilot would make such a drastic error.
23:16The evidence appears to be damning, but the investigation is far from over.
23:22Listening to the black box voice recorders is still several days away.
23:33Meanwhile, the tower tapes reveal another startling fact.
23:39The Pan Am pilots had not followed their instructions either.
23:45Four minutes before the crash,
23:48the control tower instructs the Pan Am to turn off the runway at the third exit.
23:58But investigators now know that the planes collided further up the runway, near the fourth exit.
24:04Much closer to the KLM's takeoff position.
24:10Why did the Pan Am captain miss his turn off?
24:17The worst air accident in history happened on the ground at Tenerife's Los Rodeas Airport.
24:23Control tower tapes have revealed that KLM pilot Jakob Van Zanten took off without clearance.
24:31Now using advanced graphics based on the Spanish government's official report,
24:36we go deep into the investigation to discover exactly what went wrong.
24:44Investigators have made another startling revelation.
24:47The Pan Am overshot its exit and was in the way.
24:52Did Pan Am's Captain Grubbs make a fatal error?
25:03To find out, investigators first analyzed the airport layout.
25:11Los Rodeas is a small airport with just one airstrip and a taxiway at the side.
25:17There are four access lanes between the taxiway and the runway.
25:25On the day of the crash, controllers at Tenerife have to handle extra planes because the airport at Gran Canaria
25:31is closed.
25:32They have no choice but to park them on the taxiway.
25:37To reach takeoff position, the planes all have to use the runway.
25:42Investigators now examine the exact position of the planes on the airstrip moments before the crash.
25:50Four minutes and 46 seconds before impact.
25:55The Pan Am follows the KLM onto the runway.
26:00The Pan Am crew are using a small diagram to help them locate exit C3.
26:05But the exits are not clearly marked.
26:07And visibility is getting worse.
26:10As they taxi down the runway, they look out of the window to try to count the turnings as they
26:15go past them.
26:17First, C1.
26:21And then, C2.
26:27The problem is the third exit.
26:31C3.
26:33There does seem to be some uncertainty on the part of the Pan Am crew as to what taxiway they're
26:39supposed to turn off on.
26:42However, the tower tapes clearly demonstrate the controller's instructions.
26:47Would you confirm that you want the Clipper 1736 to turn left at the third intersection?
26:54The third one, sir.
26:55One, two, three, third one.
26:59One minute, six seconds to disaster.
27:03The Pan Am passes exit C3, continuing on the runway towards the KLM, which is preparing to take off.
27:14But exit C3 would have required the Jumbo to make a very difficult turn at an acute angle.
27:28The American investigators believe it was a practical impossibility, and the crew may have thought so too.
27:36The geometry that we drew out indicated that the Pan Am aircraft could not have made it.
27:42In my mind, had I been the captain of the airplane, I don't think I would have attempted a turn
27:47of that sort.
27:50But if the turn is so difficult, why did the controller ask the Pan Am to make it?
27:56Probably because he was not used to 747s. Other aircraft could have performed the manoeuvre very easily.
28:07But American investigators believe there's another reason why Captain Grubbs misses the C3 exit.
28:19Just at the time he should be leaving the runway at exit C3, the Pan Am pilot is distracted by
28:25what he hears on his radio.
28:29KLM 4805 is now ready for take off and we're waiting for our ATC clearance.
28:34They probably would have been listening to the KLM aircraft rather than concentrating on turning off on the taxiway.
28:4235 seconds to go.
28:46The KLM co-pilot tells control.
28:48We're now at take off.
28:51Immediately the Pan Am co-pilot buds into the conversation.
28:54We're still taxiing down the runway to Clipper 1736.
29:01Inside the KLM, the pilot and crew are getting all radio transmissions.
29:06They should hear that the Pan Am jumbo is still on the runway ahead of them.
29:12But Captain Van Zanten, the most experienced pilot in the Dutch fleet, increases the thrust of his engines and accelerates
29:19down the airstrip.
29:26Investigators now know that none of the pilots on either plane followed the controller's instructions.
29:31To find out why, investigators have to dig deeper.
29:34It may boil down to the behavior of the two crews.
29:42Transcripts of the control tower tapes reveal a growing level of tension in the KLM cockpit.
29:48The captain did express or exhibit a definite hurry up tendency.
29:54The KLM jumbo has been waiting at Tenerife for almost three and a half hours.
30:01Investigators later find out from radio conversations that Captain Van Zanten had expressed concern about going over the number of
30:07hours he's allowed to work.
30:10He still has to pick up 300 passengers in Gran Canaria to take back to Amsterdam.
30:16If he's late, the crew will be grounded for a rest period.
30:19And KLM will have to pay overnight accommodation for everyone on board.
30:26And now the fog is rolling in, causing very low visibility.
30:31He's feeling the pressure.
30:34I think every captain thinks that all the problems are on the ground and as soon as you take off,
30:44problems are over.
30:50There you are in your kingdom and you are the person who decides.
30:56In the mind of this captain, I think, that happened exactly this.
31:02The American Airline Pilots Association also looked into the psychological factors of the case.
31:09Star pilot Captain Van Zanten was KLM's senior instructor and in the last six years had spent most of his
31:16time training other pilots.
31:20If an individual spends too much time in the training center and not enough time out on the line, then
31:27he becomes more used to the training environment.
31:38In fact, in the past six years, Captain Van Zanten had flown an average of just 21 hours per month.
31:45And he'd not flown at all in the last 12 weeks.
31:51Bill Edmonds suggests that a phenomenon called training syndrome causes pilots to blur the distinction between the real world and
32:00the unreal world.
32:01With a simulator, you go ahead and you fly a maneuver, you stop, you reset the simulator, you refly the
32:08maneuver.
32:10You kind of get used to jumping around and you're ready to do something and you go ahead and do
32:15that.
32:18In the simulator, the instructor acts as the controller.
32:21He usually issues ATC clearance and takeoff clearance to the crew.
32:26He wouldn't have to wait for clearance from a control tower.
32:30Captain Van Zanten was ready to perform his takeoff.
32:33At a certain point, all the parameters were satisfied for his takeoff and he was ready to go.
32:39Not sure that he looked at the big picture of where they were on the runway, where other air traffic
32:46might have been,
32:47but he was ready to go.
32:52The effects of training syndrome on Van Zanten can never be proved.
32:57But another mystery remains.
33:0118 seconds before the crash, Captain Van Zanten thrusts his engines into full power.
33:09Two other crew members are sharing the controls.
33:13Why didn't they stop him?
33:22Control tower tapes have revealed that KLM's Captain Van Zanten took off without clearance.
33:28Investigators have also discovered that the Pan Am jumbo missed its exit and was in the way.
33:36Now investigators are waiting for the evidence from the plane's damaged black boxes.
33:43They could reveal new clues.
33:48Each 747 has two black boxes.
33:51The flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder,
33:56which stores the final 30 minutes of all conversations inside the cockpit.
34:02Spanish investigator Jaime Velarde took the black boxes to Washington,
34:06where they were examined in the National Transportation Safety Board's special laboratory.
34:12It was very, very heavy investigation because you had to analyze practically every one of the recorded voices.
34:26So far, investigators have relied upon tapes from the control tower.
34:30But two weeks into the investigation, they can finally examine the tapes from the black boxes.
34:38It can take several days to listen to a half-hour cockpit voice recorder.
34:43And you try to identify who's speaking, what they're saying, and what other interactions may be going on.
34:51Only when investigators compare the black box tapes from the two planes with the recordings from the control tower,
34:57do they get the full story.
34:59They make a dramatic discovery.
35:03In the KLM cockpit, the crew didn't hear certain directions that were clearly audible on the control tower tapes.
35:11Just when Captain Van Zanten most needed his radio communications,
35:15a loud squeal obliterated vital messages.
35:26Patrick Smith is a commercial pilot who studied many air disasters.
35:32Communicating to air traffic control the way we do is just so second nature.
35:37You don't think of it potentially being something that could break down and kill you.
35:43Here, a very simple technological problem lent a hand to this massive accident.
35:52The communication system in use at Los Rodeos in 1977 is still used all around the world today.
36:00Airplanes communicate with air traffic control using two-way VHF radios.
36:06All the planes at the airport tune into the same frequency, so that not only can they receive their instructions,
36:13they can also hear what's going on around them.
36:17But the system has limitations.
36:20It's not the same as speaking over the telephone, where two people can talk at a time.
36:26The best way to picture it is if anybody's ever used a walkie-talkie, you click and you speak.
36:35Only one person can speak on that frequency at a time.
36:40Everyone must wait their turn.
36:43A problem occurs when two or more people try to use the frequency at the same time.
36:50It causes a loud noisy squeal known as a heterodyne.
36:56Hearing a heterodyne on an open frequency is 999 times out of a thousand.
37:02It's an innocuous phenomenon.
37:05But the accident at Tenerife was that one in a thousand, where the heterodyne was not harmless.
37:1367 seconds before impact.
37:16Captain Van Zanten has completed his difficult 180 degree turn at the end of the runway.
37:25The flight data recorder reveals that he opens the throttle.
37:34The cockpit voice recorder reveals that the co-pilot is alarmed.
37:38Wait a minute, we don't have an ATC clearance.
37:42Captain Van Zanten's reply is curt.
37:45No, I know that, but go ahead, ask.
37:4844 seconds before impact.
37:51While the KLM co-pilot is reading back the ATC clearance to the controller,
37:56the data recorder reveals that Van Zanten has already begun to accelerate.
38:00He doesn't wait for the co-pilot to finish.
38:0537 seconds.
38:11But the Pan Am Jumbo is still taxiing on the runway.
38:15From the tower tapes, investigators know the controller told the KLM plane to wait for take-off clearance.
38:22Okay, stand by for take-off. I will call you.
38:25At that exact moment, the Pan Am cockpit tapes reveal that the Pan Am crew also respond.
38:32We're still taxiing down the runway to Clipper 1736.
38:36They're both responding at the same time.
38:40But the KLM cockpit tape reveals that because both Pan Am and the controller speak at the same time,
38:46it creates a heterodyne.
38:49Okay.
38:54Captain Van Zanten simply hears the word, okay.
38:58He doesn't hear the controller.
39:00Okay, stand by for take-off. I will call you.
39:04Nor does he hear the Pan Am.
39:06We're still taxiing down the runway, the Clipper 1736.
39:10He continues accelerating down the runway.
39:14Either one of those statements should have stopped him in his tracks.
39:19But because those two transmissions were made simultaneously, all he heard was a garbled noise.
39:28Just 28 seconds later, the KLM jumbo smashes into the Pan Am.
39:39The Dutch investigator feels that this discovery has cleared Van Zanten of any blame.
39:43This was a breakthrough in our investigation, and I'm pretty sure that if the KLM had heard these messages,
39:51he would not have continued at take-off.
39:55The interference happened 30 seconds before impact, blocking two vital messages.
40:01But even after that, the cockpit tapes reveal that Van Zanten had one final warning.
40:0824 seconds before the crash, the Spanish controller makes a second call to Pan Am about its status on the
40:16runway.
40:18Papa Alpha 1736, report runway clear.
40:22The Pan Am co-pilot responds.
40:25Okay, we'll report by Leclerc.
40:29This conversation was definitely audible in the KLM cockpit, but only one member of the crew was aware of it.
40:36The flight engineer understood it at least partially.
40:42The Pan Am, is he not clear?
40:44The captain that is in the middle of the take-off said something like, what did you say?
40:49What did you say? The Pan Am, is he not clear?
40:52Van Zanten replied emphatically.
40:55Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
40:57And then the flight engineer doesn't reply anymore.
41:02The flight engineer was the most junior member of the crew.
41:07Dismissed by his highly respected captain, he doesn't question him further.
41:17Both the Spanish and American investigators are critical of Captain Van Zanten's performance that day.
41:27But the final analysis shows that fate was against him.
41:36Captain Van Zanten took off without clearance and crashed the KLM Jumbo into a Pan Am 747 on the same
41:43runway.
41:44However, investigators now discover that he made one final attempt to avert disaster.
41:53Just seconds before he slammed into Pan Am, Captain Van Zanten tried to lift the KLM plane over the top
41:59of it.
41:59He pulled the nose up so sharply that the tail scraped the runway. He nearly made it.
42:06The nose and front wheel cleared the Pan Am, but the Jumbo still couldn't climb high enough.
42:13The KLM's number one engine only had to graze the tip of Pan Am's right side to bring catastrophe.
42:23The final irony was that Captain Van Zanten had taken on an extra 55,000 litres of fuel to save
42:30refuelling time later in Gran Canaria.
42:34It was this extra fuel that may have made the Jumbo just too heavy to climb the extra few metres
42:39in height that could have prevented the disaster.
42:44The refuelling of KLM can be considered as a factor.
42:49Of course, when you are more heavy, your take-off run is longer.
42:54The disaster at Tenerife was caused by a chain of events combining both human error and technical failure.
43:02Pilot and aviation writer Patrick Smith believes that new technology can stop VHF radio squeals and help prevent future accidents.
43:13Heterodynes are preventable.
43:15There is a blocking device that can be inserted into the communication systems of airliners that prevents simultaneous transmission.
43:24Anybody who attempts a simultaneous transmission will be blocked out from speaking over the microphone.
43:32Aircraft engineers can fit anti-blocking units for just $13,000.
43:37A small amount compared to a new plane's price tag of up to $200 million.
43:42However, although some airlines are voluntarily installing them, it's not yet a legal requirement.
43:51Investigators finally pieced together the critical events that led to the tragedy at Tenerife.
43:58First, the air traffic controllers instructed two 747s to taxi onto the same active runway at the same time.
44:08Then, in heavy fog and confused by the runway layout, the Pan Am pilot missed his exit and taxid too
44:14far.
44:17Just seconds later, Dutch pilot Captain Van Zanten began his take-off without clearance.
44:25Finally, a loud squeal in the KLM cockpit prevented the captain from receiving vital messages which may have stopped him
44:32in his tracks.
44:36For the survivors of Tenerife, the nightmare continued for many months.
44:40I found that I was frightened of everything. I didn't want to ride in a car. I didn't want to
44:47let my husband out of my sight.
44:51I almost wanted to be in my apartment with the curtains drawn and like you see the people in the
44:56movies that are afraid of everything.
45:00After counselling, Joan managed to return to flying three months later.
45:06Well, I'm still a flight attendant today.
45:08I have 34 years of flying and I will probably be flying another six, eight years.
45:16I love seeing the world.
45:21Back home in San Diego, Jack's story made the news.
45:25Jack Ridout is a survivor and is credited with the rescue of a dozen other passengers on a Pan Am
45:32747, the nightmare of Tenerife.
45:35The thing that no one can ever understand until I've been involved in a situation like this is that the
45:44ramifications go on year after year.
45:47I live with the images probably for the first year every night, most nights.
45:54Jack's rescue efforts were recognized by President Carter, who sent him a letter of gratitude on behalf of the nation.
46:06A new airport in the south of Tenerife now handles the majority of the island's visitors.
46:12Built at sea level, it rarely suffers from fog.
46:17Tenerife's old airport remains open.
46:20And the authorities have installed a ground radar system.
46:24Since the accident, the airstrip has been used mainly for regional flights between the islands.
46:32But today, a vast increase in tourism has seen the return of large aircraft, both landing and taking off, in
46:39the fog at Tenerife's Los Rodeos Airport.
46:42.
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46:58Transcription by CastingWords
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