2. Investigation about Tenerife Disaster
and TWA Flight 847 Incident
AMIDEE AZIZAN
KPMC102217
In this PRESENTATION I will describe about air crash fatal accident
between 2 aircraft in two different situations that is runway incursion(aircraft
collision) and aircraft hijacking. The issues are:
Fact, Chronology , Comparison and Assumption of Fatal.
3. Crash of Century
TENERIFE DISASTER FACT
Destination
: Las Palmas Airport , Canary Island
Place of Accident : Tenerife Airport (Regional airport)
Date
: March 27th 1977
Aircraft
: Pan Am B747 and KLM B747
Fatalities
: 583
Survivors
: 61
Incident type
: Runway Incursion-Aircraft collision
during take off
Reason divert
: Bomb threat at Las Palmas
4. Chronology
• 12 00 pm Pan Am on cruising level 2 hours to
destination Las Palmas
Pan Am received urgent message from
• 1230
Las Palmas ATC about Bomb Threat at
Las Palmas airport and instruct to
divert to Tenerife Airport
• 0138
KLM already on ground
5. Tenerife is a small airport.Only have 1 airstrip.Its
Sunday and only 2 ATC staff on duty.Tarmac condition
already pack with a/c,getting bumper to bumper.Taxiway
block with aircraft.ATC have to clear aircraft out of gate as
soon as possible.
•
•
•
•
•
0215
0230
0456
0502
0506
Pan Am touch down at Tenerife Airport
Las Palmas airport reopen
KLM request permission to taxiing to depart
Pan Am taxiing behind KLM
Pan Am saw KLM jumbo heading towards them
on same runway
• 0507 Pan Am trying to pull out of the runway as
soon as possible
• 0508 Both aircraft collide each other
6. ASSUMPTION OF
DISASTER ERROR
Human Error
Communication Failure
ATC
Airport Requirement
Weather Conditions
Aircraft Refuelling
Human Error
Haste to take off because afraid closed to
minimum visibility to take-off (Fogging
situation)
Not follow ATC clearance on take off & exit
Take-off during Pan Am still taxiing
Stress to catching departure slot to avoid
exceeding flight hour expenses
Didn’t follow order to exit on C3 continue
manoeuvre to C4 therefore aircraft shouldn’t
be on the runway during event occur.
Communication Failure
Pilot misunderstand instruction
Lack of communication
Bad English accent
7. Weather Condition
Fogging around airport
Visibility down from 500 meter to few Dozen
meter before event occur
ATC
Propose to use the main runway as a taxiway
instead
(Back track Method)- a/c take turn taxing to
runway-end ,turn around, and take off
continuously at the same runway, Next a/c exit
and hold before taking turn take-off
8. Airport Requirement
Limited facility
No radar to monitor surface movement
Lack of equipment- runway center light out of
service
Aircraft Refueling
Pilot judgment on carry extra fuel to fly to Las
Palmas plus back to Amsterdam to avoid queue.
Refuelling block Pan Am to taxiing on behind
Carry extra fuel take more time to refuel
Causing delay
Too heavy to lift
Delay causing fogging getting thicker