Remembering the Tenerife Airport Disaster 42 Years Later

On March 27, 1977, 42 years ago, the deadliest accident in aviation history occurred at Los Rodeos Airport on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Two Boeing 747 aircraft, the largest passenger aircraft flying at the time, had collided, leaving 583 casualties due to a series of miscommunications and errors. Neither of the aircraft involved were scheduled to be in Tenerife that day.  Pan Am flight 1736, a Boeing 747-121, had originated at Los Angeles and was scheduled…