Three fatal crashes at Los Rodeos, recalled by a regular flyer

Von Marlis Zoschke

It was our first approach to Los Rodeos. And it proved problematic. We eventually landed on Gran Canaria and had to transfer to a smaller aircraft. It then touched down safely on Tenerife. We later learnt that landing with a large aircraft would have been too risky that day.

Things never got any better in the long run. Every return flight was a bit like playing the lottery. But it was well known that the opening of the new Tenerife South Airport near El Medano was not far off.

I’ve never seen Los Rodeos from above. On more than 20 landings, it was always just grey on grey and hazy. Once, it even became too much for the pilot. He probably wanted to reassure the passengers. To that end, he said: „Ladies and gentlemen, it’ll all be over in a moment.“

Several serious air accidents at Tenerife North Airport

Then, on 3 December 1972, came the first horrifying news report: a plane crash on Tenerife. We had flown back just two days earlier. A Spantax aircraft crashed from a height of about 300 metres shortly after take-off.

There were many people from Bavaria on board who were planning to fly home after a cruise. None of the 150 passengers survived. It took until March 1973 to identify the victims. It was then confirmed that the crash had been caused by pilot error. Once everything returns to normal afterwards, people try to forget the bad times.

Easter always meant a holiday in Tenerife, and we were looking forward to it. But on 27 March 1977, what was probably the worst air disaster Tenerife had ever seen occurred: two jumbo jets, one operated by KLM and one by Pan Am, collided during take-off.

They must have been experienced pilots, because someone once told me that a Jumbo licence requires quite a bit of flying experience. There were no survivors from the KLM flight, whilst 61 people were rescued from the Pan Am flight. This time, there were 583 fatalities (more on this below).

Tenerife’s ill-fated Los Rodeos Airport

A good week later, we landed at Tenerife North Airport, Los Rodeos. Our joy was somewhat subdued. The runway had been repaired and everything looked as it used to. But in Candelaria, the coffins were waiting to be taken away.

The new Reina Sofia Airport opened in November 1978. Not for us, though, as our return flight was at a different time. The airport was shrouded in thick fog; the atmosphere felt somehow different.

No sooner had we arrived than we were practically shooed onto the plane in a rather unfriendly manner. We set off straight away. What on earth was going on here? That evening, we heard on the news: a plane crash on Tenerife. Once again, there were no survivors – but 146 people had lost their lives. That brought the death toll to 879 within eight years.

Tenerife North Airport live

By the way: You can view a live webcam at Tenerife North Airport right here.