'' Clipper Victor '' , which was the first Boeing 747 to carry fare-paying passengers in 1970 ( N736PA ) , was involved in the Tenerife disaster on March 27 , 1977 , the deadliest aviation accident in history . On that day , '' Clipper Victor '' operated a charter flight , PA 1736 , from Los Angeles to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands , Spain , via New York . The aircraft , along with many other aircraft , diverted to Los Rodeos Airport on Tenerife because of a bomb scare at Las Palmas . After Las Palmas airport reopened , the diverted aircraft began preparations for departure . By this time the airport had become surrounded in fog . '' Clipper Victor '' was instructed to taxi along the active runway after KLM Flight 4805 ( a Boeing 747-200 ) . The pilot of the KLM aircraft commenced takeoff without clearance and collided with Pan Am 1736 while it was still taxiing on the runway . 335 passengers on the Pan Am plane died while 61 survived . Everyone on the KLM was killed . A total of 583 people were killed
Tenerife disaster
Tenerife airport disaster
Pan American World Airways