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Crash Incident
Crash Incident
Ironically, the very airplane crashes that give air travelers the most pause serve as the
chief catalysts for increased safety, as most key improvements to flight protocols and
equipment follow large-scale investigations into the most terrible disasters. The 1977
crash in Tenerife, the worst commercial aviation accident in history, was no exception. In
this overview, learn about a handful of major crashes, beginning with Tenerife, that
resulted in extensive inquiries and consequent changes. While safety experts caution that
much still needs improvement—including reducing the more than 300 runway incursions
that occur in the U.S. alone each year—these changes have made flying safer than ever.
—Lexi Krock
KLM FLIGHT 4805 AND PAN AM FLIGHT 1736, MARCH 27, 1977
This crash remains the deadliest ever, claiming the lives of 583 people when two 747s
collided on a foggy runway on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. It occurred
after a series of miscommunications between the two flight crews and Air Traffic Control
(see The Final Eight Minutes). The KLM plane initiated takeoff while the Pan Am plane,
unseen in the fog, was taxiing midway down the same runway. As the KLM plane began
to lift off the tarmac, the lower part of its fuselage struck the upper fuselage of the Pan
Am plane, which was in the process of turning off the runway. After Tenerife, officials
made sweeping changes to international airline regulations, requiring that all control
towers and flight crews worldwide use standardized English phrases. Also, cockpit
procedures were modified so that the hierarchy among crew members was deemphasized
and decision-making by mutual agreement was the rule. Known in the industry as "crew
resource management," this modus operandi is now standard worldwide.
AVIANCA FLIGHT 52 | JANUARY 25, 1990
This Boeing 707 on service from Bogota, Colombia, crashed while approaching its
destination at New York's JFK International Airport. Seventy-three of the 158 people
aboard were killed. The accident occurred after the plane flew in a holding pattern for 77
minutes while awaiting landing clearance at JFK and ran out of fuel. The NTSB attributed
the crash to the failure of the flight crew to manage the aircraft's fuel load and to
communicate to ground controllers what had become an urgent fuel situation. The board
also criticized the airline for failing to provide the crew with the latest wind shear
information in New York, which could have helped the pilot anticipate landing delays
there and plan for an alternative destination. The FAA subsequently mandated stricter
flight planning and communication requirements for all foreign carriers operating in the
U.S.