New Delhi: On March 27, 1977 a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines collided with a Pan Am flight 1736 aircraft at Tenerife airport (earlier known as Los Rodeos Airport ) on the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, killing 583 people.
The planes collided on the runway. All 248 people aboard KLM 4805 were killed. On Pan Am 1736, seven of the 16-member flight crew, along with two company employees and 61 passengers, survived, although nine later died of their injuries.
The major cause of the accident was the bad judgment exercised by the Dutch captain.Though poor visibility on the ground, muddled instructions, malfunctioning runway lights and an overcrowded airport played their roles, too.
