The Tenerife disaster , which occurred on 27 March 1977 , remains the accident with the highest number of airliner passenger fatalities . 583 people died when a KLM Boeing 747-206B attempted to take off without clearance , and collided with a taxiing Pan Am 747-121 at Los Rodeos Airport on the Canary Island of Tenerife , Spain . No one on the KLM 747 survived while 61 of the 396 passengers and crew on the Pan Am aircraft survived . Pilot error from the KLM aircraft was the primary cause . Owing to a communication misunderstanding , the KLM captain thought he had clearance for takeoff . Another cause was dense fog , meaning the KLM flight crew was unable to see the Pan Am aircraft on the runway until immediately prior to the collision . The accident had a lasting influence on the industry , particularly in the area of communication . An increased emphasis was placed on using standardized phraseology in air traffic control ( ATC ) communication by both controllers and pilots alike , thereby reducing the chance for misunderstandings . As part of these changes , the word " takeoff " was removed from general usage , and is only spoken by ATC when actually clearing an aircraft to take off
Tenerife disaster
Tenerife airport disaster
KLM