The Crash Caused by One Missing Letter: Dan-Air 1008 | A Short Documentary | Fascinating Horror

[@FascinatingHorror]

Want to watch my video on the 1977 Tenerife Airport Disaster that's mentioned in this story? Here's the link if so: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pperdIGOm62goM0

[@Knight6831]

Dan Air was actually not on the 255 heading for most of is fatal approach as the 727 was travelling faster than the approach speed and were about half a mile east of TFN beacon due to the excess airspeed making getting lined up impossible as they were on a 263 degree heading

[@cfisher2447]

did the wools fool down in this one?

[@davesmith5656]

There is a tiny error in the video explaining the tiny error. You say the guy said turn to the left, you show that in print. Then you say he should have said turn to the left, and you show that in print circled in red.

[@texasred143]

​@davesmith5656 You made the same error in your comment that the ATC made! The narrator said "turns" the second time, not "turn". Just saying! 😊

[@davesmith5656]

@@texasred143 --- "Turnzzz" in the narration should have been used, then. And the print should have differentiated, not remaining "turn" and "turn". It's a 14 minute video, surely a few seconds to slap an "s" on the screen wouldn't destroy it. It is "a tiny error". He did clarify it in the following minute of the video. In contrast, the controller didn't make a tiny error, neither did the pilot: both made big errors. What was it, proceed 105 degrees north or south? It's like an extra second would have been a cost overrun forcing the airport to close permanently.

[@metalburner357]

Worst aircraft disaster in history at an airport that you can't see. "Maybe we should put in radar." Another major incident 3 years later. "Yeah radar is probably a good idea." It's like a dangerous intersection not getting a traffic light until after a bus load of people burn to death, but way worse.

[@nothingtoseehere93]

Another reason to not go to shitholes. They just aren’t equipped for safety.

[@realcanadian67]

Its more like a dangerous intersection not getting a traffic light after 2 school buses crash into eachother, explode and everyone dies, and only getting it after another bus load of people crashes into a propane tanker, explodes and everyone dies.

[@DaveSCameron]

Indeed yes!! 🇬🇧📚👍

[@sepiasnakesigil]

My hometown tolerated years of crashes at the main intersection because the townies were proud of the town not having any stoplights.

[@getyoursupervisor8519]

@@sepiasnakesigil there is a village or small town in the Netherlands that removed all traffic signs whatsoever. This lowered their accident rate.

[@philtkaswahl2124]

"Somewhat distracted" is a chilling combination of words describing anyone involved in the delicate act of air traffic control.

[@limbeboy7]

Nah it's on the pilots. How can you have that many flight hours and not know an airport at 2k ft is near a mountain. Did they not study the terrain?

[@sister_bertrille911]

@@limbeboy7 It's so clear from the transcript that they knew something was wrong, but they never once asked for clarification. Oh, and fog.

[@daerdevvyl4314]

philtkaswahl2124 It's better than "very distracted" or "quite drunk."

[@nyx2903]

A lot of air traffic accidents happen because traffic control was a bit distracted or simply overloaded. They had one plane fall out of the sky because one traffic controller forgot to tell the one who took over that one of the planes were low on fuel (Avianca Flight 052). There was no evil intent. Just a boss, telling people to take a certain amount of planes each hour during very bad weather conditions. One plane was running out of fuel, was allowed to late to attempt landing, had to abort and try again due to heavy wind and yeah.. ran out of fuel before it was able to do so. It just smashed into someones garden. I would never want to work as an air traffic controller. I imagine this is a very stressful job. I once was offered a job as a train traffic controller for the high speed railway here in Germany. They would have paid well, offered a lot of holidays and so on. But I always thought one moment where my attention goes elsewhere and people could die.. and so I refused the job offer and took a worse paying job. People who do these jobs have to work in shifts, which means they will be exhausted by design. I don't think I could do that job without making any mistakes. I am always suprised that not more traffic control related accidents happen world wide to be honest.. because it is always the small things that cause these tragic events. Now I work in ecommerce and small mistakes are a daily occurance. I think it's good that I'm not responsible for other peoples lifes and instead only for some online shops and our wares. With me in traffic control I am sure something bad would have been only a matter of time and then I would have myself for the rest of my life for it.

[@ilyamuromets2508]

​​@@daerdevvyl4314Nah. It's the small distractions and lapses that are insidious and slip through more often, catching even professionals off guard because they're less immediately obvious.

[@Coyotek4]

I remembered the 1977 disaster at Tenerife ... had no idea that a second disaster occurred so shortly after.

[@limbeboy7]

They should give the Island back to the Africans. It's a curse

[@ja37d-34]

@@limbeboy7 So it can turn into absolute trash like all of Africa?

[@F40PH-2CAT]

​@limbeboy7 it's not part of Africa.

[@martinward2159]

@@limbeboy7 fool 🤣

[@alexb2209]

Geographically the Canary islands are part of Africa. They're just off the coast of Morocco and Western Sahara

[@ferociousgumby]

This channel is proof positive that you DO NOT NEED MUSIC in the background! If only other creators would wake up to this. I am tired of a five-second loop of basically noise that drowns out the narration.

[@wrosebrock]

💯

[@marzipom5630]

I can't stand music on videos either - it's so distracting. I really can't understand why so many channels do it. Same with TV documentaries.

[@alankirkby465]

​@@marzipom5630My personal view is: I believe music in the background is dumbing-down ( Just saying ) Anyway, Peace to all.

[@ni-dirus]

I love that your videos aren't unnecessarily long or ridiculously short. Your videos offer a very good balance of information to brevity, that informs viewers and gives them the opportunity to seek out more details, rather than presenting a 50 minute video every week. Yet you don't lack quality for having "short" videos (compared to similar content)

[@mimib8032]

Also, for us neuro-divergent folks, it is perfect length to hold attention. Those hour long videos, I can't get through.

[@onionbubs386]

And he doesn't do ad breaks or ask people to like and subscribe. I love that about this channel.

[@shelleyshocked]

Yes! This! The length of the videos are perfect.

[@bobsmithinson2050]

Indeed…he hits the sweet spot that maximizes captivation

[@ni-dirus]

@@mimib8032 for me, I have some channels I watch when I want the extra long content. I go through phases where my ADHD is managed better or worse, and I go through and catch up on the longer channels -- which often cover the same topics, but at a leisurely pace, with a lot of diagrams or video footage, survivor interviews, etc. It's good variety that there are channels that make very long videos of this nature, and channels that make much more easily consumable videos of this nature. For instance, I can usually watch a new episode before work while I'm getting ready. Other channels I have to have an hour of free time to do it

[@mazzholmes2086]

My husband worked with a young guy from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, whose parents were on that flight. The only thing left to identify them was his fathers wallet and his mothers ring. I remember feeling extremely touched and upset by the situation, and it added to the fear of flying I already had.

[@cindys.9688]

That's so sad. I honestly cannot picture the disintegration of an entire airplane plus the people! Poor guy. So many other families were going through the same thing.🥀

[@oscarguerrero178]

That poor fellow. I hope that he has been able to find some peace since then. ❤

[@deenasmusicbox]

@@cindys.9688Can you imagine the mental toll that it took on the crew that had to retrieve their “bodies”…😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@trevorregay9283]

Not meaning to be insensitive, but that is one thing about dying in an airplane crash like this is that it's "merciful" from the standpoint that you are dead immediately and don't really suffer. These poor souls most likely weren't even aware they were in danger so when their time came it simply came in less than a second so they had no anxiety of crashing prior to their deaths. Unlike other plane crashes where sometimes the passengers are fully aware of what is about to happen to them and the terror of it. RIP to them and condolences to their families.

[@cindys.9688]

@@trevorregay9283 ~ I don't see your comment as insensitive. You're realistic. I've thought the same thing. In this case, all the passengers knew was that they were spending extra time in the air. Their deaths were probably quick and painless.

[@oneluckygirlandherdog]

Great job explaining a very complex situation to those of us that only know "window seat" or" aisle seat" when it comes to flying.

[@motivase]

Classic swiss cheese model. I remember a friend of Tenerife discussing the accident with my father. 1. Layer: Distracted Controller 2. Layer: No established and published holding pattern 3. Layer: unclear/misunderstood communication 4. Layer: not reading back 5. Layer: no ground Radar 6. Layer: Not following the GPWS Any of these could possibly have avoided the crash

[@herrkaliyuga]

You can add poor visibility to that Swiss cheese.

[@kentuckyleigh9623]

Do you possibly watch the “pilot debrief” channel? He’s always talks about the Swiss 🧀 cheese holes sadly lining up to create a so called “perfect storm” that results many times in tragedy 😢 I do really like and appreciate his channel, I hate to say enjoy because that sounds wrong. I have nothing to do with flying, in fact I’ve always been terrified of flying, especially the handful of times I’ve had to do it. So not really sure why I dig these sad catastrophic stories 🥺 I guess it’s because I feel like every innocent victims story should be told. Information and knowledge, especially learned from tragedy are key.

[@kentuckyleigh9623]

Dang it I strongly dislike grammatical errors but I’m not on the yt app rn so I’m not able to edit my comment. Sorry!

[@ImmortalKat4ever]

Every single line of dialogue in this had me going "oh shit, oh no, oh god." This was awful to listen to. Well made, of course, just absolutely nerve-wracking.

[@dawnstorm9768]

You and me both.😢

[@ChesireHeart]

Just awful reading how the pilots all had that gut feeling something was wrong

[@satyne1]

Same. I kept saying "Oh shit. oh no man. Oh no." so sad.

[@JTV84]

it had me going "PULL UP FFS!"

[@MegaEmmanuel09]

Read this right at the 8:05 mark This isn't going to get better...

[@pickles3128]

Today, I am grateful that accidentally using the wrong verb tense at my job won't cause _anyone_ to die. Jeez! Poor ATC, bet he feels.awful.

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

TBH. The message from ATC was more than a little ambiguous. Not just a missing 's'.

[@bradleyzurweller5639]

@@AnotherPointOfView944 Right? The holding pattern wasn’t described at all; it was just a vague reference to the “standard” pattern and an instruction to turn left. I don’t see how this isn’t fully the fault of ATC. The pilot’s turn doomed the flight but if the plane were where he thought it was, not turning would have doomed it.

[@Fairiegurl101]

@@bradleyzurweller5639 It's more an issue of pilots only knowing where they are in space based on where they "should" be. There are no instruments in the cockpit that tell the pilot exactly where they are on a map, just way points that they should hit to be on the right track. And those way points are only points. They don't indicate direction without a second point. I think the real reason ATC is to blame here is that they had no established holding pattern for one of their landing strips. That seems like a pretty basic thing to not have, even on file for reference. It's like having a 10 story building, but floor 7 doesn't have a fire evacuation map on it. Sure, it might be empty right now, but you should still have that map, dang it. We wouldn't be having a conversation about how ATC was vague or how the pilot misunderstood where his plane was in space if the El Rodeo Airport had done its due diligence.

[@SockDrawerDemon]

I used to have a life and death job. Now I have a Form Job in an office. The relief is immense.

[@darksu6947]

​@@SockDrawerDemonWere you a hitman?

[@adafrogg7646]

Not related to this video but the other day my family and I went to a restaurant and it smelled like natural gas inside. My husband told me not to worry about it, but because I watch this channel and it makes me more vigilant (and admittedly paranoid), I mentioned it to the waitress who went into the kitchen and discovered the cook had left the gas on by accident. I don’t know that anything would’ve happened but I’m glad if it did prevent anything.

[@abiechartier4464]

That's so scary, you're lucky you got a finely tuned nose

[@ashb7846]

I hate when people don’t take the smell of gas seriously. I worked at an aquarium and the smell of fish is sometimes strong but one gets used to it. My coworker and I thought we smelled gas so we called maintenance. When they arrived they proceeded to joke about only smelling fish and if we were certain we can detect anything else. We told them we’re desensitized to the fish smell and yes, we’re certain of the gas, and those men still kept joking about the fish smell! Turns out there was a gas leak, a construction project in the area hit a pipe, and we all had to evacuate. Our alert wasn’t what detected it, people elsewhere noticed too, but I was pissed that we were treated like we were overreacting.

[@basbleupeaunoire]

Another great video. The crew's nervousness makes this story so haunting.

[@serafiiiine]

That really stuck with me, too. It's so sad.

[@Jabarri74]

I know it's commonplace now but even back then if the gpws sounds you need to gain altitude. I'm no pilot but I seen enough to know that ignoring your planes warnings never ends well

[@MegaMesozoic]

Cannot understand why they didn't ask for clarification!

[@thestars386]

Yes it does. They shouldn't be nervous in situations like this or else their job is going to go pretty bad.

[@thestars386]

​@@MegaMesozoic It makes no sense why they don't at least ask for clarification.

[@Kevin_747]

I flew into Tenerife in 1990 and they still didn't have radar. I was flying a DC-8 with one ADF receiver. ATC loved their NDB holds.

[@eywine.7762]

After 10 years?!?!?

[@ItsJustLisa]

That’s insanity!

[@emilycampbell5798]

Man, these Tenerife be freaking insane!!

[@kentuckyleigh9623]

Saaayyyyyyyy WHHHAAATTTTTTT????!! 🫢🫢🫢😳🤯😳🤯💔💔💔💔💔 I haven’t read the other responding comments if there are several. WHYYYY??? I can guess money has something to do with it and that’s my only guess?!?! But that’s a terrible awful reason if you’re going to be an airport, in a region that’s naturally more dangerous to begin with!!! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹😣😩😩😩

[@pangorban1]

Just for the record, a major factor in the 1977 crash was that a terrorist bomb scare closed the international airport at Gran Canaria, diverting many 747s to temporarily land at Teneriffe, which the regional airport was not equipped for.

[@kennethkobylakiewicz3157]

Yes Thank you for pointing that out.I was going to comment the same.

[@pickles3128]

I thought they began closing the airport due to fog, seasonally after that crash? Guess that costs too much lost revenue.

[@martinward2159]

This video is not about that accident.

[@F40PH-2CAT]

But the ultimate cause was an impatient KLM pilot.

[@GiordanDiodato]

@@F40PH-2CAT nah. there were a lot more factors

[@sketchyskies8531]

That’s absolutely terrifying that one small error can cause so much damage

[@chadbouss]

yes, the pilots not listening to their gpws is what caused this crash not the miniscule difference between turn and turns. makes for a less interesting title. gpws goes off in two ways they got it in a way that exlaimed they were in immenent danger

[@Vpmatt]

it did in 1980, far far far less likely today.

[@artsyscrub3226]

@@chadbouss Nope try again. Bad instructions, poor sight conditions and no radar causes this accident, the crew had no idea where they were you cannot blame a blind pilot for not seeing a mountain. Or would you rather fly a plane and show us how it's done?

[@chadbouss]

@@artsyscrub3226 I absolutely would love too. Because when my plane tells me to full power and full pitch or else I'll crash. I full power full pitch. Not turn away from the terrain as they were actively losing altitude at the time of the crash. Gpws + declining altitude= pull up. Steps that don't involve: alerting atc that their Gpws went off without responding to it first. Not confirming what the atc said and discussing it amongst themselves. Not listening to critical warnings from planes. The facts are that planes consistently landed at this airport regardless of the weather or lack of radar. A Plane landed right before it fine and right after fine as well. Atc not plourilizing a word did not cause this crash once so ever. They likely would have crashed if the air controller said it correctly.

[@sfafew3708]

@@artsyscrub3226 "crew had no idea where they were" --> then communicate asap with ATC, also pulling up with Pull Up warning would be a good idea on extremely mountainous area.

[@irenetorkel2186]

I always feel like I got the whole story in a short amount of time. You are very good at condensing so much information. Thanks for another great story.

[@jessicablackburn9898]

"They could not locate a single complete human body amongst the remains". Fukkn brutal 😳

[@slypear]

This freaked me out, too - gawd~

[@RonSeymour1]

When you see what happened to the solid metal structure, human flesh is being put through a meat grinder.

[@slypear]

@@RonSeymour1 Aye~

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

There are more of those than can be imagined. When we see the film or video of the aftermath, you can’t tell which pieces are human and which is wreckage, since it all looks the same. The speeds of the planes make for brutal crashes.

[@Dilley_G45]

Read about Turkish Airlines 981. Any crash at that speed will have that effect. Or even PSA 1771

[@ellenbryn]

every disaster & airline channel covers the main Tenerife accident,, but I've never heard of this one before. I flew so much during all of the years of most of the accidents that people talk about… It's really chilling now to hear how haphazard protocols were back then. (like ignoring the pull up message).

[@motivase]

There are even more: -Iberia 261 in 1966 - Spantax 275 in 1972

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

@@motivase Someone should do a video about all the crashes in Tenerife. There were at least four of them. The ones you mentioned, the huge one in 1977 and the one in this video. I think there were a few more.

[@TerryAnderson-k5i]

Unbelievable

[@Dilley_G45]

​@@motivasethose two you can barely find info about

[@Dilley_G45]

I think two youtube channels have already

[@va.greenthumb7579]

Perfect before a plane ride

[@commentor3485]

Best time to watch these ;)

[@mayatara1980]

I watch too many of these thinga before flying. Maybe I shouldn't.

[@SteedRuckus]

bros out here just living life on warrior mode 😅

[@KyoushaPumpItUp]

I can already see you panicking once the plane starts shaking from turbulence.

[@Benjipee77]

Stop lying gagging for attention

[@MG-ot2yr]

I have been to Tenerife and I'm not British, though did have to fly through the UK to get there! There's two airports, TFN and TFS, which opened in 1978 and handles the majority of flights, located in the south of the island. So we flew into TFS, but also took a local flight out of TFN to El Hierro and took off in dense fog. It was the craziest thing, can hear planes but not see a thing, and we taxied out and took off in it. I can't imagine when they operated flights without any ground radar.

[@peggyl2849]

I landed at O'Hare once in dense fog and it was the weirdest thing - just floating downward and nothing below but fog...nothing.....nothing.... and then all of a sudden there was the runway.

[@QT5656]

I remembering reading about this crash before I visted Tenerife in 2019. A horrific disaster which highlights the importance of radar and weather conditions.

[@Ozymandias1]

I also visited Tenerife in 2019. But landed on Tenerife South (Reina Sofia). Most international flights start and land there as it's the bigger of the two airports and closer to most tourist towns.

[@upndowndelinquent7593]

I lived in Tenerife for a number of years and actually visited the site of this accident. Remarkably (or not) there are still a few bits and pieces lying around that weren't cleared up. To anyone thinking of visiting the site themselves I would recommend extreme caution as it's not easy to navigate and the blankets of pine needles that cover the terrain can conceal all manner of ankle twisting hazards and pitfalls.

[@laurarojas8490]

Probably bits of bodies are still there too!

[@CaptainFordo21]

@@laurarojas8490you seems awfully enthusiastic about that.

[@knrdvmmlbkkn]

@@laurarojas8490"Probably bits of (...)still there too!" Not very likely.... They would presumably have rotted or been eaten decades ago.

[@knrdvmmlbkkn]

@@laurarojas8490"Probably bits of (...)still there too!" Not very likely.... They would presumably have rotted or been eaten decades ago.

[@laurarojas8490]

@@knrdvmmlbkkn fragments of bones could still be there. In Belgium the farmers still dig up bodies from WW1

[@RogEdwardsTV]

I remember this because a boy in my class a school lost his grand-parents. So very sad. Even before this, and the 1977 disaster, there was another incident at TFN in 1972, again caused by fog. A Spantax plane crashed just after take off and 155 people perished. This is the least documented of the Tenerife disasters. Maybe another one for you to do? Good video.

[@julosx]

It was a crash of a Spantaw CV-990 Coronado, in this case registered EC-BZR. It was the 8th crash of an aircraft of this type (included one the same year that was bombed over Vietnam, : Cathay Pacific flight 700 Z on June the 15th).

[@stevebbuk9557]

They should never have situated the airport in the north of the island in the first place. I believe it was used by the Spanish military, but unsuitable for huge volumes of commercial aircraft given that the runway was often covered in cloud.

[@flankerroad7414]

Another fine video! I was really surprised that the captain didn't put the plane into as fast a climb as possible to get away from whatever the Ground Proximity warning was seeing...and 'then' sort out what was going on. Isn't hindsight wonderful!! Very sad and tragic for everyone.

[@sturmovik1274]

That is part of the universal GPWS protocol today: firewall the throttles and haul the plane into the most aggressive possible climb. Do this instantly, by pure muscle memory associated with the that alarm, zero conscious thought at all. GPWS was a new technology back then; there may not have been a standard protocol to react to GPWS alarms, or, if there was, an old and experienced captain may not have been aware of it or may have trusted his own instincts more.

[@aileencastaneda3724]

Every time I hear the alarms and the “Pull up! Terrain! Terrain!” I get chills and have this eerie feeling.

[@kentuckyleigh9623]

Ugh, same 😢😓

[@Eagle_the_18th]

Iirc, the lack of a readback was the same issue that plagued the 1977 accident, where the ATC responded to KLM’s request for takeoff with a simple ‘okay’, meaning the crew was more likely to misconstrue the vague response as a direct clearance for takeoff, and the ATC would not have properly understood their request in time to warn them of the Pan Am flight, hence the first disaster. It baffles me how after such a high cost of life, the need to repeat what the ATC said wasn’t enforced enough in the 3 years between the two accidents. Edit: as pointed out in the replies, the ATC did add an extra ‘standby for takeoff, I will call you’, but that didn’t seem to have done anything to prevent the crew rolling down the runway either?

[@dew9103]

the KLM flight did a full readback of ATC's departure clearance. Specifically the FO, while the captain is initiating a takeoff without clearance. It was actually the controller who responded with "okay........... standby for takeoff I will call you"

[@CoastalSphinx]

​@@dew9103 If I recall correctly only part of that message was heard? KLM heard "okay ..." followed by a loud squealing noise, since the Pan Am tried to say they were still on the runway but the two transmissions interfered with each other. So both the controller and the Pan Am thought they had warned the KLM. Meanwhile the KLM knew there had been conflicting transmissions but did not ask for a repeat, maybe they thought they had already heard all the important information...

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

@@CoastalSphinx The captain in the KLM plane was the head captain for KLM, so his impatience and arrogance caused the disaster. He was racing the time limits for a captain in charge of a flight, so he jumped the gun and took off anyway, even though his crew were warning him at every step.

[@ItsJustLisa]

The KLM/PamAm disaster was the flashpoint to make standard communication mandate read back of instructions with airline/flight number, not just “okay” or “Roger”. That makes clear that the correct pilot is acknowledging the correct ATC directive. “Dan-Air 1008, instruction instruction instruction.” “Roger, instruction instruction instruction Dan-Air 1008 copy.”

[@dew9103]

@@CoastalSphinx that is correct

[@TwinBlasters]

I wanted to take a second to show you some appreciation for never having fucking sponsors, never begging for subscribers, or even breaking the fourth wall. You do it exactly how you're supposed to, making you one of the few drops of water in a sea of oil. Uploading should never be about the money

[@harleyquinn3589]

Easy to say, unreasonable to do 🤷🏽

[@TheKazragore]

I believe only the Halifax harbour explosion video was sponsored.

[@KiloOne]

There was another sponsored video (I believe it was the Tacoma Narrows Bridge) by Betterhelp, but he cut out the mention after audience outcry

[@amateur_ckaiyion5999]

Do you even understand how long it takes to put together a good video? And then not being able to make money off of it? Screw that.

[@harleyquinn3589]

@@amateur_ckaiyion5999 exactly!! I'm glad someone has common sense

[@spencesky4979]

Always a great informative video from this channel! He is really respectful to the victims and doesn't sensationalize event

[@reneedennis2011]

I agree.

[@Clownacy]

"The Crash Caused by One Missing Letter" "doesn't sensationalize event"

[@philippkemptner4604]

vs "the crash that cost 100s of lifes, cost a billion and wiped out a village."

[@hdng1984]

@@ClownacyI read somewhere that, these days, creators need to sprinkle a degree of clickbait on their video titles, otherwise they get buried

[@Knight6831]

The title is accurate, not adding the letter S to a transmission crashed this passenger jet and killed 146 people

[@reneedennis2011]

I remember hearing about the first Tenerife crash, but I didn't know about this one. Thank you for this video.

[@ScottDLR]

As a side note, GPWS is now "enhanced" (EGPWS) and has a built in database of anything over 600' on earth. So modern EGPWS would known that the mountain was there and alerted. EGPWS doesn't have to rely on radar to see an obstacle although it also has that ability.

[@eywine.7762]

Good to know. Thanks.

[@douglasb5046]

Absolutely correct

[@sturmovik1274]

Further note: GPWS of that era used DOWNWARD-looking radar, not forward-looking. This meant that the radar could not see terrain ahead; it could only see terrain below and calculate that the terrain was sloping upwards towards the aircraft at a dangerous rate. You could be flying straight towards a vertical wall and the GPWS would not see it.

[@StephenLuke]

RIP To the passengers and crew of Dan-Air Flight 1008

[@ajaks7636]

RIP to the unfortunate victims. Sounds like errors on both sides, starting with the air traffic controller. Great Video! Thank you.

[@swanvictor887]

In the UK, we called the airline Dan Dare....they were still using De Havilland Comets in 1980! Cost cutting was keen at Dan Dare...

[@jamessimms415]

The Central American airline TACA was known as ‘Take A Chance Airline’

[@dew9103]

@@jamessimms415 they did have a good captain that one time tho

[@randomscb-40charger78]

Just because they were using the Comet up until 1980 doesn't mean the airline itself was bad. In fact, they acquired a bunch of second-hand aircraft throughout their history and the Comet was ideal given that at the time in the 1960s, airlines had already begun disposing of or had already completed disposing of Comets in favor of the 707 or DC-8. By the way, despite Dan Air having been the largest operator of the type, not all Comets saw revenue-earning service, just being bought for use as spare donors.

[@swanvictor887]

@@randomscb-40charger78 proving my point: they were Cheap! lol.

[@randomscb-40charger78]

@@swanvictor887 Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that. Plenty of start-ups will use secondhand aircraft. Beginning in the 70s they acquired ex-Pan Am 707-320s, secondhand 727-100s, BAC 1-11s, and so on and so on until the 1980s when fleet modernization began.

[@shgstewart4674]

My dad is a retired commercial pilot and this one made me feel a little sick to my stomach. Despite being an aviation fan, I hadn't heard of this incident. Well done.

[@ridethasno]

It is 2:15am here in Washington State USA. Sending love to whoever reads this… ❤

[@TAYKONG]

3:17 here in colorado

[@greggadams1]

10:25pm New Zealand

[@LucareonVee]

2:32, also in Washington. Hi, neighbor. ;)

[@JillMorgan731]

5:51 am here in East Tennessee.

[@spiral1978]

11:01am. Greetings from the UK ;)

[@MaydayMayday2024]

Crazy how one small mistake like a missing letter can lead to such a huge tragedy

[@bocahdongo7769]

Those kind of thing is usually just "Accident waiting to happen."

[@dfuher968]

Another example of why CRM and standardized phraseology was invented and made mandatory, and why its so important to stick to it.

[@MusicoftheDamned]

I have to wonder how many instances of poor communication literally killing have been caused by one letter added or missing. Either way, another example of the importance of double-checking.

[@Taladar2003]

The use of voice communication in aviation certainly is one of the primary killers in situations with otherwise functional planes.

[@catprog]

I do know of one plane that ran out of fuel (not the gimli glider) due to a number being added.

[@peggyl2849]

@@catprog Yes, I remember hearing about that also. Gimli glider was a cool story (because everyone lived) and a pilot had mad skills.

[@catprog]

@@peggyl2849 I the one I am thinking of was in brazill I think were they interpreted the bearing wrong and turned west instead of north.

[@susanfreeman9500]

It's hard for me to consider any of the people on duty as fully to blame. They weren't shirking their duties. They made small mistakes that compiled into a fatal error. Human beings make mistakes, that's inevitable. Not putting radar in an airport like Tenerife is the worst one and not their fault.

[@Grayto]

Yes, it seems more of a sytems' issue. However, accepted lack of clarity or a lack for foresight for how things can be ambiguous or unclear, ESPECIALLY for something as unforgiving aviation, is extremely frustrating.

[@Real_g.s.]

How incredibly sad.

[@Dosser1962]

Another thought provoking episode, which dealt with both the accident and aftermath in a decent and sombre manner. I noticed the slight error towards the end (13:26), but that doesn't deter from the overall episode.

[@roxannepearls901]

You always do such wonderful, thoughtful work and have such a wonderful voice. I could listen to you for hours. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@kevinfinn9086]

The memorial is just around the corner from me.( Manchester Southern Cemetery) It could do with a touch up as the letters are fading now.

[@danieleregoli812]

I have visited the memorial in Tenerife, I seem to remember it's close to the English church in Puerto de la Cruz...

[@davidglanfield7985]

A fair number of local folk, Huddersfield and Halifax, were killed in this crash. It still sends a shiver down my spine. The tv camera fixed upon someone's small metal teapot that had somehow survived the impact.

[@andyjay729]

I used to live near a San Diego, California suburb called Rancho Bernardo. Apparently a fair number of the victims of the 1977 Tenerife crash (on the Pan Am flight) were from there. This was brought home to me one day when I was just walking through the Rancho Bernardo town center, happened to glance down, and noticed a memorial plaque dedicated to the victims of the 1977 crash. I hadn't known about that local connection before or this plaque, so that image has stayed with me. Also, I eventually moved closer to downtown San Diego...and only about a mile from the crash site of PSA Flight 182, one of the worst air disasters in American history (FH also covered that).

[@bicivelo]

The 1st Tenerife crash was a lot more than miscommunication. It was also a pilots impatience that cause it. In any event, it’s very sad. 😢

[@TekniCaliSpeakin]

Impeccable as always

[@ausreflectindustries6107]

*G'Day from Australia Everyone*

[@cindys.9688]

Hello and Good Morning from California USA!🇺🇸🌴

[@ausreflectindustries6107]

@@cindys.9688 I've been to Disneyland in Anaheim twice and Hollywood... Typical tourist lol

[@TreyMcDonaldAnimator]

Wild that this specific airport faced two catastrophic tragedies but even wilder, the very simple mistake of saying left instead of lefts altered the course of history and took people away from us. Insane what even the TINIEST of errors can do.

[@sturmovik1274]

More than two. Between 1956 and this accident, there were six fatal accidents at Tenerife, not including the Big One. The deadliest was a takeoff crash in 1972 in which 155 people were killed. In that case, ATC was faulted for knowingly letting a 727 take off into heavy fog for which it was not certified. This airport, Tenerife North, is no longer used for the bulk of commercial service to the island. That load is now on the new Tenerife South, planned since the 1960s and opened in 1978, which is deliberately placed in a much safer location.

[@QT5656]

One of my favourite KZbin channels.

[@evilassaultweaponeer]

I don’t understand why it took so many crashes to get it through pilots’ heads that heeding the “PULL UP!” warning verbatim is the correct course of action…

[@NiallWardrop]

Possibly because there have been a number of accidents in similar circumstances to this one where the terrain was sufficiently steep that the aircraft was not capable of climbing fast enough after a GPWS alert to clear it. Given where the captain thought he was, turning away from the mountain must have looked like a safer option. Climbing and turning, or at least avoiding losing altitude would have been advisable.

[@alec_s18]

Exactly! The warning isn’t “whoop whoop turn right”. The captain’s response is baffling

[@absurdengineering]

@@NiallWardropThere were lots of accidents where the reaction was delayed and/or insufficient. This led to the “not possible to clear the obstacle, best turn first” thinking that seemed pervasive at the time. Most GPWS activations back then would be either survivable or miss the ground if the reaction was to immediately go into max climb rate and figure the rest out later. Even if you’re not going to clear the mountain, going at an angle closer to the slope makes the normal component of the impact velocity much lower, leading to possibility of survival. Plowing straight in was universally lethal.

[@chadbouss]

@@NiallWardrop i also whole heartedly disagree with this time and time again it has been shown that if you go to max climb power and max pitch you will clear any obsticale the gpws has givven you as they are allowing for 30 seconds once the pull up is innitiated. since he couldnt see anything there is no reason for him to have thought the pilot was where he was.

[@NiallWardrop]

@@chadbouss I'm only trying to suggest why the crew responded as they did. back then there may also have been instincts from the recent past when piston engined planes did not have the climb performance of jets.

[@myquartknee]

I truly appreciate the reverent manner in which you present your videos. Facts, and just the fact with an occasional survivor account.

[@jstewlly4747]

I always think of Breaking Bad and how ATC can't be stressed AT ALL!!!!!!!! That job needs people who OCD and double checks and only think about the planes smh rip to all....also ho many times have planes tried to save pilots when it says Pull up!! Dammit you do it immediately

[@eywine.7762]

One of my nieces is an air traffic controller. She's the exact kind of person for the job in that she is a bit OCD, super attentive to details and able to keep her concentration on what she's doing. Still, I pray for her that she will NEVER experience anything like this. Dear Lord, how much guilt must that man carry after this. Yes, the pilot contributed to the disaster, but it's a small mercy that he didn't survive to have to live with it. Apologies to anyone who feels that is an inappropriate sentiment.

[@scottyerkes1867]

What a tragic event caused by a missing letter in ATC instructions

[@coconutsmarties]

...and a pilot inexplicably deciding not to ask for clarity at any point. And then turning instead of pulling up when the PULL UP sign started flashing.

[@PetraKann]

The Tenerife disaster was ultimately caused by the KLM pilot taking off without full clearance from the tower. There were also other factors as you say: poor visibility and communication issues.

[@Randomly_Browsing]

That's not what it was right now

[@PetraKann]

@@Randomly_Browsing I know - but the Tenerife accident was mentioned and blamed on poor communication and low visibility. No mention of the KLM pilot taking off without full clearance from the tower

[@tjroelsma]

Sure, but in my experience people will always explain unclear communications to their advantage, so certainly in aviation it's vital that communications are clear and can only be interpretated in 1 way. The Tenerife disaster was far from the only disaster where a pilot heard what he wanted to hear instead of what was meant. It's a phenomenon called "information bias".

[@Randomly_Browsing]

@@PetraKann the pilot in KLM misinterpreted the ATC command due to audio overlapping

[@PetraKann]

@@Randomly_Browsing His own co-pilot told him that he didnt have full clearance and then he backed off the throttle and told him "ok ask". That last clearance permission was not given. If you remember, the pilot said "okay we're going". He was in a hurry and violated one of the most basic safety protocols.

[@indy_go_blue6048]

I listened with a dark screen, and it sounded like one of those disaster shows on OTR. Your voice has just the right amount of gravitas to build up the drama of the event without droning or dramatizing your voice. I'm like a lot of viewers, I know about Tenerife but had never heard of this one. Tx for posting.

[@joeyjamison5772]

More than 700 people killed in 2 accidents at the same airport in 3 years. All caused by human error.

[@pippa3150]

Such a great channel. Thank you!

[@TheGingerDoctor]

GPA stands head and shoulders over some of the most absolutely terrifying sounds I have ever heard. Everytime it plays in a video like this I'm chilled to the bone.

[@EarlierPlane034]

The fact that you include the sources in your description is amazing!

[@kitharrison8799]

Another great video, buddy. Many thanks 👍

[@manfromanywhere]

Avgeeks are hypercritical about their aviation facts. I know, cos I'm one of em. Sure, there are details to be critical about in this video, but I've not experienced the Gell-Mann Amnesia effect - which says a LOT about Fascinating Horror, who apparently does proper research and takes the time to translate technical problems to an interesting story.

[@seandelap8587]

Always look forward to a Tuesday morning video by FH

[@cindys.9688]

Seriously! I've been subscribed to FH for probably 7-8 years now. He's very consistent in the quality of his videos. FH is the best "true horror" channel there is.

[@suitejodi]

I only knew about the one major catastrophe at the Tenerife airport. I love these tragic and quick history lessons.

[@ethribin4188]

A missing letter and a wrong decission based on a mistaken position, cost 160 lives. No greed, no criminal negligence. Just human error. This is why safety is only improved with profitless investment into it. Not to prevent greed or get controll. But because misrakes can happen.

[@Randomly_Browsing]

?

[@cebbi1313]

​@@Randomly_Browsingwhat is puzzling you?

[@jekanyika]

@@cebbi1313 146 people died not 160

[@Randomly_Browsing]

@@cebbi1313 that before I realized what he meant,so ignore it,I now understand what he was explaining

[@vladivosdog]

@@Randomly_Browsing what

[@imlistening1137]

That first Tenerife accident was really tragic, and according to some reports, was due to an arrogant, impatient pilot. 2 planes full of passengers collided on the runway, one which was in the middle of take-off- thus, going very fast.

[@sct913]

I had read about this crash years ago. At the time Dan-Air approached the airport, there were two other flights in the pattern also occupying the controller's attention. Further, the controller was speaking to one of these flights in Spanish, which likely created some uncertainty on the part of the Dan-Air crew (i.e. there's someone else out there, but we are clueless as to exactly where they are or what they're doing).

[@laurarojas8490]

Probably a lot of cover ups!

[@mercury_rising]

Mercifully, it would seem the passengers had no idea what was coming and were killed instantly.

[@thewizardofgore5303]

Another fantastic short film, one of the highlights of KZbin.

[@OrioleSongbird]

I'd love to see you cover Helios 522. That one is truly horrifying.

[@MaiAolei]

This is one of the rare occasions, where I really cannot fault anyone in particular, rather none at all. Just a tragic chain of events that may have been avoidable, but not a gram of malice or unethical behaviour in it.

[@Lemmon714_]

I rent a 150 to fly on clear days. I have no desire to fly into clouds without being able to see where I am going.

[@johnnyliminal8032]

Hi Lemmon. I feel you/ya. I used to fly 150s and never went IMC. But I recommend getting some training just in case. Skies can change fast, and even in clear air night flight can turn IMC. And check out Dan Gryder and his Probable Cause chan for safe maneuvering speeds in the pattern, and safest responses to loss or reduction of thrust on takeoff. Cheers.

[@Lemmon714_]

@@johnnyliminal8032 I have taken a few imc training rides. I just wander around for a couple of hours with no destination. Never gotten bored with it since 1999. The best training I ever got was aerobatics. Wish I had the money to do that once a week. 6-1/2g's was my limit. Had to take a nap.

[@Lemmon714_]

@@johnnyliminal8032 I have taken some training in imc. I just go up and wander around for a couple of hours. It's never boring even after 25 years. The best training I have ever taken was an aerobatics course. I wish I could do that once a week. 6-1/2 g's was my limit. Had to take a nap at 7.

[@jamessimms415]

Those granite clouds can reach up & grab you if not careful.

[@dew9103]

not a bad idea to get instrument training, you never want to be trapped by clouds

[@whiskey6string]

Excellent video! One of your best produced. I'm an aviation enthusiast and was unaware of this accident.

[@JCBro-yg8vd]

A classic case of a disaster that can be summed up as follows: A series of unfortunate events.

[@beverlyforward7173]

I look forward to your videos and try to run them as soon as they come in. Thank you for a great presentation!

[@E100Omega123]

If someone gives you instructions that doesn't quite make sense, question it. Especially when piloting an aircraft

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

I found your channel 3 years ago. I’ve watched every video you’ve ever produced as far as I know. In my top five favorite channels! Thank you for your great work. It is quite informative, entertaining and fascinating. Always looking forward to your next video.🏆

[@helxis]

Absolutely horrifying from a passenger point of view. No idea anything is wrong. View out the window seems fine. Excited about your vacation. And then just blinked out of existence with *maybe* just barely time to perceive the cataclysmic smash.

[@RespectOthers1]

I’ve watched so many air crash videos but have never come across this accident. Thanks!

[@brendanwilliams7291]

Don't forget that the staff flew to Spain on-board Dan Air Airlines in the Are You Being Served movie.

[@jimdemetriou8730]

Human factors will always be an issue . A distracted air traffic controller, a captain forced to make a life or death decision in the heat of the moment. Neither of these men carry the blame in my eyes as we are all human . I’m trying to get my head around it took till 1980 to make an immediate climb a compulsory response to ground proximity alert.

[@miaohmya92]

At 13:23 he says "The crash of Danair flight 1008 in 1988" when it was really 1980. Shows how easy a verbal error is even when the narrator knows the topic.

[@MrTonaluv]

Had The Narrator been in control of an aircraft, this simple error may have resulted in the loss of many souls.

[@Southboundpachyderm]

The main problem I see happening over and over and over again in aviation is the problem with radio communications and etiqutte about asking for help when you need it. So many times when someone should have asked for clarification, they don't and it ends up in a disaster. (this next part is a bit of a sociological tangent so you can tldr to the next paragraph for my summary, but I do think it's relevant to those who are interested) This is something I've noticed in my adult life working too. I ask lots of questions at work even if I know the answers sometimes just because I want CLARIFICATION. That way any mistake that does happen can't be blamed on anything I did, unless it is my fault in which case I know exactly what I did wrong and where and how to fix it. But I've been chewed out by several bosses for "asking too many questions" and "not taking the initiative". But the whole reason I "ask too many questions" is to protect not just myself but the whole fucking business/process itself. It's mostly a toxic masculine behavior too. Guys seem to think that if they ask for clarification and extra help it means they're less of a man and women learn to be passive quiet people who can't speak up because they're constantly being put down by men and other women when they do speak up. Now this incident obviously doesn't really have anything to do with sexism, but I'm pointing to a broader sociological trend of people becoming passive actors in their lives instead of advocating for themselves and asking/taking the things they need to live and be a functional adult. You should never be afraid to ask questions, even if you think you know the answer. Because sometimes what you thought you knew, you didn't and with the million distractions we have in our lives these days, it's much easier to just forget things in the heat of the moment. JUST ASK QUESTIONS. ASK MORE QUESTIONS. If your boss yells at you for asking too many questions, just tell them that you want to make sure you're doing things right the first time so that you don't have to come back and fix mistakes later. That instantly shuts that shit down. IF you didn't hear something, but youre shy and afraid to speak up and ask someone to repeat, you're going to NEED to develop some strategies to help you get over that shyness. I know that's not easy and I say that as someone who used to be incredibly shy and quiet. It's not worth suffering just because you're afraid to speak out and say you need help. Don't be helpless. Advocate for yourself. Ask for clarification and help if you need it and don't think it makes you less of a man or dumber because you had to ask. I promise you there's others around you that will be grateful you had the courage to speak up and ask for that clarification.

Thank you for making my morning better by listening to other people's bad days.

[@roxannepearls901]

Disintegrating into a mountain is so much more than a bad day.

@@roxannepearls901 not for long.

[@deborahblackvideoediting8697]

I worked at a reception desk for several years. It always seemed important to me that I repeat phone numbers back to people when they were leaving a message. I worked at a copier sales office, not an environment like a hospital, so taking those phone numbers properly was not critical to anyone's wellbeing. It just always made sense to me. So I can never understand when people in any type of remotely dangerous situation do not confirm information by repeating back. This simple step could have save hundreds of lives in these two incidents alone. It honestly baffles me. It's very sad.

[@seandelap8587]

A split decision is the difference between life or death unfortunately it led to the later in this instance

[@altarwall]

thank you for providing such accurate captions!! i watch all videos with captions on and a lot of detail can be lost in the autogenerated captions.

[@daviegriffin3539]

*_Thanks for the uploads!_* 💚👨🏾‍🍳 *Cheers 🍻 from México!* 🌮 🌯 ⛱️ 😎 🥂 🤘🏽 🇲🇽

[@daviegriffin3539]

😳 Damn sad ending, again. 💔

[@janethomas7747]

Amazing video. Thank you for the clear and concise explanations of what could easily be very confusing content.

[@jelyse14]

Death by typo, what an awful mistake to die from

[@barbaraprest783]

Thank you 🎉🎉

[@Randomly_Browsing]

Final moment inside the 727 were simply "bank ang-" shows they have no time to react

[@scottlewisparsons9551]

Thank you for another disastrous video! Another very well researched and informative video. Much appreciated. All the best from Sydney Australia 🇦🇺

[@coolhandloca6918]

If they found the instructions so weird why didn't they call again to confirm?

[@arturoaguilar6002]

That poor air traffic controller. After he had just learned her mother had cancer, he probably never thought his day could get any worse...

[@polygonvvitch]

It sounds like the fact a single S can be this fatal was an oversight in the standard communications protocols.

[@Chrisjude100]

I am not so surprised. Unlike Italian, which uses vowels "i" and "e" to indicate plurals generally (there are some irregularities) and where it can be hard to train learners of English to actually sound the plural "s", and where you will hear then say "Two bottle of milk", Spanish speakers do use "s" to indicate plurals. Italian speakers will also say "I go, You go, He go": However, I have also listened to Spanish speakers of non-Castilian extraction failing to enunciate the plural "...s" to a quite significant extent. I do not know if Canary Island Spanish does this, and a lot may depend on how clear the radio transmission is and also whether the speaker is addressing family/friends, or strangers. We can be sloppier with the former ... Over my longish sort of life with many occasions of public speaking to non-native speakers of English, I have learnt how difficult some areas of the spoken language can be. Ironically, I am from Yorkshire and I can affirm having relatives who would say: "One bottle, two bottle, three bottle" and so on.

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

The accents of the tower personnel were very tough to understand.

[@ItsJustLisa]

The standard comm protocols were also still very new at that point. The whole repeating of ATC instructions followed by airline/flight number was put in place because of the KLM/PanAm crash and I think they were put into effect in 1978. So was restricting the use of the word takeoff solely to clearance for or cancellation of from ATC. Until then, the word used is departure. These two crashes were 3 years and 1 month apart, almost to the day.

[@trevorregay9283]

Although I'm not a pilot nor a self proclaimed genius, I have to say, if seeing the ground proximity warning alert go off, my first inclination would be to....well, immediately consider going higher, especially if its cloudy or foggy out; however I would also be worried about smashing into another plane, but somehow I feel getting away from the ground would be first priority and then start to worry about other plane traffic......which, I suppose that is why this pilot decided to change direction rather than increase altitude.....and of course also assumed to know where they were as well. Sometimes having experience isn't always a good thing as it may cause you to become overconfident or assured of your situation when in fact it turns out not to be. RIP to these poor souls.

[@hughgurney8686]

My parents generation referred to them as Dan Dare. Which was a reference to the 1950s Eagle comic character but also probably to them as a risky airline

[@sturmovik1274]

Other commenters say that this was a common nickname for them.

[@IntimateCabaret]

Thank you as ever for your video. There is a a very touching memorial to the victims in Manchester Southern Cemetery.

[@martinward2159]

my gran is buried just nearby.

[@rebeccahylant7695]

Interesting. I have followed many presentations on the Tanerif disastrous crashes. I had not seen anything about this crash. Thanks for covering. Prayers to family, friends, crews.