What Caused the Deadliest Air Disaster of All-Time?揭秘史上最惨空难

On March 27， 1977， the world reeled1 with shock when two packed passenger jets collided at the airport on Tenerife2 in Spain’s Canary Islands.

1977年3月27日，两架满载乘客的飞机在西班牙加那利群岛的特内里费岛机场相撞，震惊全球。

Two Boeing 747s—one operated by Dutch carrier KLM， the other by now-defunct Pan American—collided on the runway， causing a catastrophic fire that killed 583 people on both aircraft： an aviation death toll not seen before， or since. Neither of the doomed planes should have been on Tenerife Island， but as fate had it， they were.

这两架波音747客机分别由荷兰皇家航空公司和泛美航空公司（现已倒闭）运营，在跑道上相撞后，引发灾难性大火，共造成583人遇难。死亡人数在航空史上空前绝后。两架失事客机本不该降落在特内里费岛，但一切都是命中注定。

The Pan Am plane and the KLM plane were both heading to Gran Canaria， another of the Canary Islands. But a bombing at Gran Canaria airport by a local separatist group forced air traffic to divert to the usually quiet regional airport on Tenerife—the first unfortunate event that would set the runway calamity in motion.

泛美客机与荷航客机的目的地均为大加那利岛——加那利群岛中的另一座岛屿。由于大加那利岛机场遭到当地一个分裂主义组织的炸弹袭击，当日航班被迫转降至平日较为清静的特内里费岛地区机场——这一变更成为引发跑道撞机灾难的首个原因。

A prelude to disaster

灾难的前奏

A few hours after both planes were diverted to overwhelmed Tenerife airport， Gran Canaria was finally back in business. The Pan Am plane was ready to take off but its path was obstructed by the KLM plane， which was ahead and needed refueling. By the time it had refueled， a heavy fog settled over the airport at Tenerife. As pilot and author Patrick Smith3 wrote in his analysis of the disaster， had Pan Am been able to take off when it was ready， it would have beaten the fog.

两架客机转降到不堪重负的特内里费岛机场，数小时后大加那利岛机场恢复运营。泛美客机做好了起飞准备，但跑道却被前方等待加油的荷航客机挡住。待荷航客机加满油，浓雾笼罩了整座机场。飞行员出身的专栏作家帕特里克·史密斯在分析报告中写道，如果泛美客机能在准备就绪后起飞，本可避开浓雾。

The bad weather meant neither aircraft could see the other， and the air traffic control tower couldn’t see either of them. At this regional airport， there was no ground tracking radar.

恶劣天气导致两架客机看不见彼此，空中交通管制塔台也看不到它们。特内里费岛的这座地区机场没有装配地面跟踪雷达。

Another complication was congestion at the airport， which had cut off the usual access to runway 304， which the planes were using to depart.

引发灾难的另一个因素是机场拥堵，通往30号跑道的常用通道因此受阻，而这条通道正是飞机离场的必经之路。

To take off， each plane had to taxi5 down runway 30， get to the end， make a 180-degree turn， and take off in the direction it had taxied from—similar to how models walk and turn on a catwalk. As both aircraft taxied down runway 30， preparing for departure， KLM was in front， with Pan Am trailing behind. KLM reached the end of the runway and turned， awaiting clearance to take off. Pan Am was to move into a left-hand taxiway， so the runway was clear for KLM’s takeoff. At least， that was the plan.

若要起飞，每架飞机必须沿30号跑道滑行到头，然后掉头，逆着滑行方向起飞——如同模特在T型台上行走再转身。两架客机在30号跑道上滑行，准备离场。荷航客机在前，泛美客机随后。荷航客机先滑行到跑道尽头，再掉头，然后等待起飞许可。泛美客机要驶入左侧滑行道，为荷航客机让出跑道。至少计划是这样的。

“That son of a bitch is coming”

“那个白痴冲过来了”

As the KLM plane sat at the end of runway 30， in position and holding for takeoff， the Pan Am pilots missed the taxiway they were meant to turn into. They could use the next turn， but it meant they were on the runway for longer.

荷航客机在30号跑道尽头就位，等待起飞，但泛美飞行员错过了驶入指定滑行道的转弯口。他们可以在下一个转弯口驶出，但这意味着泛美客机在跑道上的滞留时间变长。

Meanwhile， the pilots in KLM got a route clearance from air traffic control. The route clearance had come unusually late， due to the unusual circumstances of the day. The KLM pilots mistook it for takeoff clearance. Poor communication between both cockpits and air traffic sealed6 the terrible fate of both aircraft and everyone on board.

与此同时，荷航飞行员收到管制员发出的航路放行许可。由于当天情况特殊，航路放行许可发出得异常晚，荷航飞行员误以为是起飞许可。飞行员与管制员之间的沟通不畅导致两架飞机和机上所有人注定面临悲惨命运。

As Smith explained， communication was via two-way VHF7 radios， and on these radios， if two transmissions were sent simultaneously， they cancelled each other out—leading to words being missed and messages misunderstood.

史密斯解释道，陆空通话基于双向甚高频无线电。如果双方同时发送，无线电波就会相互抵消，造成部分通话听不清，从而误解信息。

The Pan Am crew and air traffic control knew Pan Am was still on the runway， and despite efforts to tell KLM， the KLM crew—thinking they were cleared for takeoff， and unable to see due to fog—didn’t realize.

泛美机组和管制员都清楚泛美客机仍在跑道上。虽然管制员设法告知荷航机组，但后者以为已获准起飞，加之大雾蒙蔽视线，所以并未发现异常。

It was only as the KLM jet started thundering down runway 30 towards Pan Am as it tried to take off that the horrible reality of the situation set in. “There he is！” Pan Am Captain Victor Grubbs yelled， in a cockpit voice recording. “Look at him！ Goddamn， that son of a bitch is coming！” With that， the two mighty jets collided in a catastrophic crash.

荷航客机执行起飞，在30号跑道上轰鸣加速驶向泛美客机，这时人们才发现大祸临头。“他来了！”在驾驶舱录音中可听到泛美机长维克托·格拉布斯大喊，“快看！该死，那个白痴冲过来了！”话音刚落，这两架巨型飞机猛烈地撞到一起。

The briefly airborne KLM’s undercarriage and engines hit the top of the Pan Am jet， ripping off the top of the fuselage8 down the center. The KLM plane stalled9， rolled， hit the ground and slid. And with its full fuel load， it erupted into a fireball that blazed for hours.

荷航客机刚刚起飞，起落架和发动机撞到泛美客机顶部，将机身顶部从中间撕开。荷航客机在失速、翻滚后撞向地面，继续前冲。加满油的飞机炸成一团火球，熊熊燃烧了数小时。

Both planes were destroyed. All 248 KLM passengers and crew died， along with 335 passengers and crew on Pan Am. There were 61 survivors， all on Pan Am， including captain Victor Grubbs and Robert Bragg.