The fatal crash in Tenerife occurred 45 years ago on April 25, 1980, when Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashed into the mountainous region of La Esperanza.
On April 25, 1980, at 09:22 UTC, a flight departed from Manchester (MAN) en route to Tenerife-Norte Los Rodeos (TFN) with a three-engine Boeing 727-46. After a calm flight, the crew made contact with the approach controller for TFN at 13:14, reporting they were at FL110 (11,000 feet or 3,608 meters) and 14 nautical miles from the TFN VOR/DME.
Normal approach
Approach transmitted the following message:
Dan Air one zero zero eight, cleared to the Foxtrot Papa beacon via Tango Foxtrot November, flight level one one zero expect runway one two, no delay.
The pilots repeated the clearance and then requested weather information:
Runway in use one two, the wind one two zero zero five, visibility six from seven kilometres, clouds, two oktas at one two zero meters, plus four oktas at two five zero meters, plus two oktas at three five zero meters, November Hotel one zero three, temperature one six, dewpoint one, and drizzle.
– An okta is the older unit used to measure cloud cover.
One minute later, approach instructed the crew to descend to FL60 and maintain that level, which the pilots acknowledged. The controller then requested the aircraft’s distance from the TFN beacon. The crew replied that the aircraft was 7 NM from TFN.
Little communication
At 13:18 UTC, the pilot reported that the aircraft had just passed over TFN and was proceeding to the FP beacon. The controller then informed them of an unpublished holding pattern over Foxtrot Papa:
The standard holding over Foxtrot Papa is inbound heading one five zero, turn to the left, call you back shortly.
Dan Air 1008 replied only with “Roger”, without repeating the received information, which was not mandatory under the ICAO rules in effect at the time.
Almost a minute later, the crew reported:
Dan Air 1008, Foxtrot Papa level at six zero, taking up the hold,
to which approach replied, “Roger.”
The aircraft flew 1.59 miles past FP and instead of flying radial 255 to waypoint FP, the Boeing 727 continued on a heading of 263 degrees for over twenty seconds, entering an area where the minimum safe altitude (MSA) was 14,500 ft. Approach cleared the aircraft to descend to 5,000 feet, and that’s when the ground proximity warning system (GPWS) alarm sounded.
Fatal turn
The captain aborted the left turn and initiated a right turn, ordering a missed approach. They were flying over a valley, which temporarily silenced the GPWS warning. The co-pilot suggested flying on a heading of 122 degrees to exit the overshoot, but the captain continued the right turn. He was convinced that the left turn would take them into the mountains.
At 13:21, the captain contacted Tenerife Norte Approach:
Dan Air 1008, we’ve had a ground proximity warning.
Two seconds later, the aircraft crashed into the mountainous area of La Esperanza at an altitude of 5,450 ft (1,662 m), 11.5 km off course. The fatal crash in Tenerife ended in tragedy.
In this crash, 146 people died: 138 passengers and 8 crew members. A full and clear reconstruction can be viewed in the video at the bottom of this article.
The full investigation report can be read HERE.
Unknown © Photography
A fatal crash in Tenerife ©
Sources: Admiral Cloudberg – Aviation Safety Network – SCAAC Investigation Report
