The cause: Following a bomb threat at Gran Canaria, two Boeing 747s—one operated by KLM and the other by Pan Am—were diverted to the small, fog-covered Los Rodeos Airport on Tenerife.
Due to miscommunication and dense fog, the KLM captain believed he had been cleared for takeoff, while the Pan Am aircraft was still taxiing along the same runway.
The KLM jumbo jet collided directly with the side of the Pan Am plane.
The aftermath: All 234 people on board the KLM flight and 322 on board the Pan Am flight perished (61 people on the Pan Am aircraft survived).
This tragedy led to stricter global regulations regarding radio communication and improved cooperation within the cockpit.
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