Collision on Tenerife

The How and Why of the World's Worst Aviation Disaster

By: Jon Ziomek, Caroline Hopkins - contributor

Narrated by: Charles Constant

The world's worst air disaster happened more than 40 years ago on a remote Atlantic Ocean island, when two fully loaded 747 passenger jets collided after a horrendous series of human errors.

One of the jets, KLM Flight 4805, was traveling more than 150 miles an hour and was within seconds of lifting off when it crashed into Pan Am Flight 1736 taxiing in its path. The loss of lives was staggering - 583 dead. The crash happened after a lengthy series of major and minor human errors. In the intervening years, has aviation advanced to the point that such a disaster can't happen again?

In this riveting account, written from the perspective of the passengers in the cabin as well as the crew members in the cockpits, Jon Ziomek explains how this largely forgotten accident took place - and what has happened since to reduce the possibility of another such catastrophe.

©2018 Jon Ziomek (P)2020 Tantor

Some excellent parts, but lots of dull ones, too

Account of worst aviation disaster ever, which claimed 583 lives in 1977 when a landing 747 jet collided with another that was taking off. The author argues that passengers should pay attention to airline safety demonstrations and mentally map a way out because they will have precious little time to figure things out in an emergency. I skipped over the beginning in which various passengers were introduced with mini-bios, which was dull. I was interested to see how even safety regulations can increase danger. Here, a good airport that the planes were supposed to use was closed due to a bomb detonation in a terminal. The planes were therefore re-routed to Tenerife, which was a lousy airport made crazy busy by diversions. The runway had not be properly excavated and had a hump in the middle that made it difficult to see from one end to the other, especially in foggy weather, which it often had. Tenerife was such a bad airport that another one was supposed to be built on the other (drier) side of the island, but hoteliers whose businesses would suffer slowed the process, and it was not ready, notwithstanding that Tenerife had been the scene of multiple fatal accidents in the past. Rules on how many hours crews could work, which were supposed to promote safety, did the opposite here, as pilots who had already been delayed were eager to get on with their journey before they would be forced to stop, stranding both crews and passengers. The pilots could not see the runways well and were not familiar with Tenerife, which caused some confusion over which runway the plane taking off was supposed to use. I also skipped over psychobabble studies about why people freeze in emergencies, which does not take a degree in psychology to understand: they don’t have the right frame of reference and are used to being able to walk orderly out of the building in a fire drill, or having stewards take care of them. One good regulation: in the U.S., you could not talk about a “takeoff” except when you are cleared for it. Otherwise you had to talk about a “departure” so no one would confuse “hold for takeoff” with “cleared for takeoff.” In Europe they were sloppy about language which mattered in this case when the KLM pilot started moving without clearance. Many passengers died needlessly on the KLM plane due to fire because they did not exit promptly (without stairs, chutes, or direction, which were all missing). The elderly passengers were often seriously injured jumping 20 feet down, but they lived. The author concludes with a demand that passengers pay attention during announcements so they actually no how to use the seat cushions as life preservers, or activate the oxygen, etc. I liked the analysis of the causes of the crash and the descriptions of those who recognized the danger and fled, but that was probably only half of the book.

Comprehensive Account of the Disaster

I had watched an episode of the excellent Air Disasters show and and am familiar with the basics of this terrible collision. I wanted to know more. The author has compiled a highly detailed account of the disaster with input from survivors and others. We get to know many of the passengers on both planes, and the crews. The sections detailing the aftermath and how the survivors got out are the best part. The aftermath was surprising as well. Particularly the treatment of the injured passengers in the hospitals on the island, it was far less than you would have expected. It also details their struggles to return to a normal life. The author also talks about aviation, important developments that arose out of the disaster and more. It is an exhaustive and complete account of the worst air disaster in history. Narration is good, but can get a bit rote at times.

Informative and Emotional

I found this book to be both emotional and informative.

it gives a visceral recount of the crash as well as an overview of what safety precautions were implemented after the disaster.

Well laid out

This book was hard to listen to initially because there were too many people to track and get to know thru the first listen. But as you get to the crash and learn of the survivors’ methods and challenges that allowed them to spare their lives, then it was easy to go back to those passages.

Lots of interesting case study facts about survival and comparisons with similar accidents provided useful context. Worth listening to if you like case studies on airlines disasters and want to learn about keys to having a chance to survive thru the stories of those who made it.

Runway Runaway

Good look at a disaster that never should have happened.
Lessons:
(1) Impatience is never a wise response to inconvenience. (I'm talking to you, KLM.)
(2) Pay close attention to the flight attendant when he or she is providing pre-flight instruction on emergency procedures.
(3) Memorize location of nearest 2 exits.
(4) Wear flat, comfortable shoes on your flight.

This was a really insightful useful book

This book contained lots of personal stories and context that really explained the crash well for and audiobook.

90 percent filler

This audible greatly details minutia about the senior citizens who survived the crash - what card games they liked, hobbies, etc. There was little about the actual incident, and nothing not easily available online. Throughout the story ‘psychological’ studies are cited - all from the 70’s. The little commentary regarding the pilot’s actions were often inaccurate - typical online babble. Very disappointing.