KLM 4805 Strikes the Starboard Side of Pan Am 1736

After impact, the KLM plane flew another 150 meters before it slammed into the ground.  Because it was carrying so much fuel (fifty-five tons), it exploded in flames.  No one on board the flight had a chance to survive.

Thirty years later, Robert Bragg (Pan Am's First Officer) provides his recollection:  "After KLM hit us, he went on down the runway, and hit on the runway 1,500 feet down, closer to the tower, so when the fire truck and the ambulance came out, they got to him first."

Because of the dense fog, fire and rescue personnel at Tenerife had no idea two planes were involved in the disaster.  It took about twenty minutes before anyone on the Pan Am plane received help.

Credits

Recreation image, courtesy J. van der Meer and M. Keller, Boeing 747 (a Dutch-language web site).