It was not until the 747 lined up and was ready for takeoff that the cloud covered the 747 as well. The KLM aircraft was still in good visibility, as the cloud had yet not completely covered the airport. The visibility at the location of the Pan Am 747 reportedly decreased from 500 meters (1,600 feet) to 100 meters (330 feet). When Pan Am 1736 entered the runway, the visibility at Los Rodeos airport decreased, as a high-density cloud was making its way over the airport. Such was the case on the 27th of March 1977. ".Third one, sir one, two, three third, third one."ĭue to the airports' high altitude, clouds of different densities could result in rapid changes in visibility. The Pan Am crew became confused, and the air traffic controller had to clarify which exit the Pan Am 747 was supposed to take to exit the runway. The Air Traffic Controller's KLM 747 would back-taxi and get into takeoff position while the Pan Am flight would taxi off the runway at runway exit C4. Pan Am 1736 soon followed the KLM 747 onto the runway. Upon its entry to the runway, the crew of KLM 4805 was going through pre-takeoff checklists and missed the Air Traffic Controller's instructions to read back the clearance given to them. Pan Am 1736 (seen center) and KLM 4805 (seen upper right) photographed shortly before the disaster | Photo: Antonio Gonzalez via faa.govĪs a result of the traffic, aircraft were forced to utilize a procedure called "back-taxiing," which involves pilots utilizing an airport's runway to get into position for takeoff by taxiing the length of the runway, then making a 180-degree turn to face the opposite end.ĭue to its proximity to the runway, air traffic control at Los Rodeos gave KLM 4805 permission to back-taxi first. This would be the only survivor of KLM 4805. Of the 235 passengers, only one chose to stay on the island of Tenerife, de-boarding at Los Rodeos. During the 35 minutes in which flight 4805 was refueling, the passengers were de-boarded and taken to the terminal at Los Rodeos. When Gran Canaria airport was finally re-opened by authorities, Pan Am 1736 was ready to depart but, because it had parked behind the KLM 747-200 (Flight 4805) on the taxiway, it had to wait for the KLM aircraft to finish refueling.
Because of this, there were so many diversions that planes were forced to park on the taxiways. The airport had only one runway and one main taxiway, with a small apron area with a capacity for only small-to-medium-size jets. Shortly after aircraft began landing at Los Rodeos airport, the airport realized that it was incapable of handling such traffic. PH-BUF | Photo: clipper arctic via KLM 747
Of the 235 passengers onboard, 14 were crew, 52 were children, and the rest of the passengers were various European nationals - mostly Dutch, with German, French, and Austrian nationals also being present onboard. Also in the cockpit were first officer Klaas Meurs, and flight engineer Willem Schreuder. Operating the charter flight was a Boeing 747-200, PH-BUF, named Rijn. The crew of flight 4805 was extremely experienced, with the pilot, Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, being KLM's chief flight instructor.
N736PA as pictured in April 1972 | Photo: Aero Icarus via Flickrįlight 4805 was being operated as a charter for Holland International Travel Group from Amsterdam (AMS) to Gran Canaria (LPA). Later that year, the aircraft became the first 747 to undergo a hijacking on its way from New York JFK to San Juan Puerto Rico. Side Note: N736PA was the first ever 747 to enter commercial service on 22 January 1970. However, authorities ordered the plane to land in Los Rodeos. Upon receiving the directions to divert, the crew of flight 1736 suggested that they remain airborne until Gran Canaria Airport reopened, as the aircraft still had two hours left of reserve fuel. Of the 380 passengers, only four were not American nationals. The crew flying the 747 to Gran Canaria consisted of Captain Victor Grubbs, First Officer Robert Bragg, and Engineer George Warns, along with 13 flight attendants. Pan Am flight 1736 was being flown by a Boeing 747-100(N736PA) named Clipper Victor. The flight had originated in Los Angeles (LAX), stopping in New York-JFK before making the stretch across the Atlantic. Shortly after this, officials decided to temporarily close Gran Canaria airport, forcing all flights inbound to Gran Canaria to divert to the much smaller, and less capable Los Rodeos airport (Now Tenerife Norte Airport) on the neighboring island, Tenerife.Īmong the flights being forced to divert were Pan Am flight 1736 and KLM flight 4805. At 13:15 a bomb was set off at Gran Canaria airport by Canary Islands Independence Movement fighters.
0 kommentar(er)
