[Mark17]

They don't know how lucky they were. The worst airline disaster in history was due to a collision on the tarmac with 583 dead

We air traffic controllers studied that in detail. It was a sick comedy errors, with many different factors involved, but the biggest error (on the runway, not the tarmac) was the fact that the KLM pilot was NEVER cleared for takeoff. The visibility was so bad, the tower controllers (like me) could not see the KLM begin to roll, or they would have tried to stop it. Language barriers contributed to the tragedy too.

[dfwgator]

An excellent documentary on the Tenerife disaster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzH0AnDMBVU

[Oshkalaboomboom]

There was also a terrorism scare at another airport which diverted dozens of planes to Tenerife. I've been to this airport and it's easy to see how the air traffic controllers got overwhelmed. The Tenerife Disaster

[The Westerner]

Thanks for reminding us of the details. The fog was all I remembered, but the issue of language was shocking back then.