Tenerife- 30 years later

Some news from Spain.

Tenerife has been remembering the world’s worst ever air disaster.

It was 30 years ago, March 27 1977, when 583 people lost their lives in a collision between two jumbo jets from the KLM and Pan Am companies when the planes were diverted to Tenerife because of a bomb scare on Gran Canaria.

Investigations at the time showed that the Dutch plane had started to take off in thick fog without permission from the control tower.

An 18 metre high monument to the dead, ‘The snail’s staircase sculpture’ will be inaugurated this afternoon in the presence of family members of the bereaved and representatives of the Spanish, United States and Dutch governments.

The spiral theme is said to be a symbol of infinity, according to the Dutch artist Rudi van de Wint.

A grandaughter of two of those who perished at Tenerife, made the trip.

Thirty years ago, what was supposed to be a Greek cruise for Long Beach residents Dora and Lee Torres turned instead to tragedy.

On this day three decades ago, the couple was among 583 people who died when KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Flight 4805 collided with their plane, Pan Am Flight 1736, as it tried to take off from Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.

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Today, the Torres' granddaughter Michelle Torres will join relatives of survivors, as well as American, Spanish and Dutch officials in Tenerife to take part in a ceremonial unveiling of a 19.8-foot-tall sculpture commemorating the air disaster.

"It applauds the people who were involved in rescue efforts and the people who were involved in the crash itself," said San Clemente resident Chuck Torres, the son of Dora and Lee Torres.

God bless the Chuck and Michelle Torres and all the families of the dead today.

What I said about Tenerife before, still applies.

Like most aviation disasters, a chain of seemingly innocent or inconsequential events ended in tragedy. Most but not all the blame falls on the KLM pilot, Captain Jacob Van Zanten who despite his many years of piloting, made a series of fatal mistakes mostly due to impatience.

Many lessons were learned from this disaster, but at a heavy price. Right now the US is going through a never before seen period of air safety. With no major airline crashes in over three years. We still need to keep our vigil up, complanecy has been the cause of more than one air crash.

Airdisaster.com has more information on the events of that day on Tenerife 29 years ago. The report is good, but I disagree. Captain Van Zanten was not solely responsible for that tragic day in 1977.

Humans do tend to learn from our mistakes. There has never been an air disaster like it in the last 30 years. Aviation authorities need to stay vigilant, and keep another tragedy like it from ever happening again.

Linked to- Bullwinkle, Outside the Beltway, Third World County,