Both Pan Am 1736 and KLM 4805 were sent to taxiways. Van Zanten took the opportunity to refuel his aircraft, which took about 35 minutes. As soon as refueling was completed, he fired up his engines.
Both captains were eager to get going, especially Grubbs, who had already flown for eight hours and was tired. Their anxiousness, coupled with the tower's occasionally unclear instructions of how to proceed through the morass, helped set the stage for what happened next.
