Crisis Management Tenerife
Term Project
Crisis Management Tenerife Planes Crash Case Study
Table of Contents
Contents Page
Abstract History Key Discussion Question 1 – 9 Conclusion and Recommendation References
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Abstract
The Tenerife Disaster is a well known event among the aviation industry for being the worst air accident in human history. A Dutch KLM 747 and an American Pan Am 747 crashed into each other at a Spanish airport in the Canary Islands resulted in 583 death and a extensive media coverage on the Dutch, American and Spanish subjects. The disaster was investigated and studied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International
Civil Aviation Organization ICAO and researchers as a model for human errors in the airplane
system that proved vulnerable to crisis. The disaster was summarized as a combination of human and technical errors although the investigation pointed out communication inaccuracy as the sole cause for the tragedy. Attention error, perception error, response communication error, poor decision making and an insufficient airport all contributed to the crash. This disaster has great impact directly and indirectly to the stakeholders such as two national airline companies, the victims and their families, the airport employees and the Spanish government, as the country where the accident took place. Therefore, this disaster involves the aviation industry in three different countries, laws, languages and also local political issues. Right after the disaster, both airlines and Spanish government has to deal with several sensitive issues including the crash survivors and victim, body identification, releasing information to the public, sorting financial responsibility under the pressure of high level of media coverage and time limit. Since the event, international aviation organizations and airline business have worked hard to put together new regulations, crisis prevention and response plans that will stop similar
Crisis Management Tenerife Planes Crash Case Study
Table of Contents
Contents Page
Abstract History Key Discussion Question 1 – 9 Conclusion and Recommendation References
1 3 5 21 23
Abstract
The Tenerife Disaster is a well known event among the aviation industry for being the worst air accident in human history. A Dutch KLM 747 and an American Pan Am 747 crashed into each other at a Spanish airport in the Canary Islands resulted in 583 death and a extensive media coverage on the Dutch, American and Spanish subjects. The disaster was investigated and studied by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International
Civil Aviation Organization ICAO and researchers as a model for human errors in the airplane
system that proved vulnerable to crisis. The disaster was summarized as a combination of human and technical errors although the investigation pointed out communication inaccuracy as the sole cause for the tragedy. Attention error, perception error, response communication error, poor decision making and an insufficient airport all contributed to the crash. This disaster has great impact directly and indirectly to the stakeholders such as two national airline companies, the victims and their families, the airport employees and the Spanish government, as the country where the accident took place. Therefore, this disaster involves the aviation industry in three different countries, laws, languages and also local political issues. Right after the disaster, both airlines and Spanish government has to deal with several sensitive issues including the crash survivors and victim, body identification, releasing information to the public, sorting financial responsibility under the pressure of high level of media coverage and time limit. Since the event, international aviation organizations and airline business have worked hard to put together new regulations, crisis prevention and response plans that will stop similar
References: McCreary, J., Pollard, M., Stevenson, K., and Wilson, M.B., 1998. Human Factors: Tenerife Revisited. Journal of Air Transportation World Wide. 3(1). P.23-30. Wilcock, J. ,and Heimann, L., 2008. Crew Resource Management. Presentation http://project-tenerife.com/engels/identifying.htm http://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/27/newsid_2531000/2531063.s tm http://abcnews.go.com/US/tips-surviving-plane-crash-flying-safesttravel/story?id=13359862#.UVxqupNTC_Q http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4163280.stm www.airsafe.com Page | 23