TENERIFE — 1977 · Major Tragedy
The Tenerife Airport Disaster
On 27 March 1977, two Boeing 747 aircraft collided on a fog-shrouded runway at Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands. 583 people died, making it the deadliest accident in aviation history. The official inquiry found that the disaster was not the result of a single cause but of a chain of compounding errors: dense fog, overlapping radio transmissions, ambiguous tower instructions, and a cockpit hierarchy that discouraged questioning. The disaster led to standard radio phraseology being made mandatory in aviation and to the development of cockpit resource management (CRM) training.
- Date
- 1977
- Place
- Canary Islands, Spain, Tenerife, ES
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- 28.4827, -16.3415 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 1977Two planes collided on the foggy runway (March 27)
- 1978The official inquiry report was published
- 1980'lerStandard radio phraseology and CRM training were made mandatory
Sources
- Official Report
- Contemporary Press Archive
Source grade C: no linked source yet; details rely on the general press archive. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.