This is the story of the deadliest accident in aviation history. More than 500 lives were lost when two Boeing 747s collided on a runway on the island of Tenerife. 😨 To learn more about the tragic accident, watch this clip from Air Disasters: Disaster at Tenerif. For more shocking stories of flights gone wrong, follow @Smithsonian Channel Aviation Nation: https://bitly.com/3pNech8 | Smithsonian Channel Aviation Nation

On March 27, 1977, the small Spanish island of Tenerife became the site of the deadliest aviation disaster in history. Due to thick fog, poor communication, and airport overcrowding, two Boeing 747s—one from KLM and the other from Pan Am—collided on the runway. The crash claimed 583 lives, leaving only a few survivors from the Pan Am jet. The tragedy prompted major overhauls in aviation communication protocols, particularly the standardized use of English and clearer pilot-tower language. | thes

The Tenerife airport disaster occurred on 27 March 1977, when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North–Ciudad de La Laguna Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife. The incident occurred at 5:06 pm WET (UTC 0) in dense fog, when KLM Flight 4805 initiated its takeoff run, colliding with the right side of Pan Am Flight 1736 still on the runway. The impact and the resulting fire killed all 248 people on board the KLM plane and 335 of the 396 p