On this day March 27, 1977

Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). 61 survived on the Pan Am flight.

The collision took place on March 27, 1977, at 17:06:56 local time.

The aircraft involved were the 747s of Pan Am Flight 1736 (the Clipper Victor) under the command of Captain Victor Grubbs, and KLM Flight 4805 (the Rijn) under the command of Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten. Taking off on the airport’s only runway, the KLM flight crashed into the Pan Am aircraft taxiing on the runway in the opposite direction.