Cleared For Take-Off? (Tenerife Air Disaster 1)
The story behind one of the deadliest aviation disasters.
鈥淓vacuate the airport, we鈥檝e planted bombs,鈥� a terrorist tells the telephone operator at the airport in Gran Canaria, in 1977. By the end of that day, 583 people will have lost their lives 鈥� but not to a bomb explosion.
The planes are diverted to the neighboring island of Tenerife. Loaded with passengers, they鈥檙e forced to sit on the hot tarmac for hours. Meanwhile, the flight crews rely on air traffic control to keep them updated.
Two Boeing 747s are waiting for thick fog to lift so that they can begin the journey home; they're anxious to receive clearance to take off. One of them has just taken on a hefty 15,000 gallons of fuel. What unfolds next is the most deadly aviation accident in history.
