Survivor of 'worst plane crash in history' recalls what she saw moments after impact
One of the 61 survivors of Pan American Flight 1736 has recalled what she saw moments after the collision and how she escaped to safety
Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions and images which some readers may find distressing.
A woman who survived the deadliest plane crash in history has opened up about 'rallying' herself after impact.
On March 27, 1977, as a result of a bombing incident at their destination airport, KLM Flight 4805 and Pan American Flight 1736 - both Boeing 747 airliners - were diverted to Los Rodeos Airport (now called Tenerife North) in Tenerife.
When both planes tried to take off again from the island, they collided on the runway and a total of 583 people were killed - the crash remaining 'the deadliest in aviation history'.
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Los Rodeos airport became overwhelmed by the number of diversions redirected there as a result of the terrorist attack at the Gran Canaria airport. Couple that with poor weather conditions, a lack of communication between pilots of the KLM Flight 480 and air traffic control, tragedy struck.
When the KLM flight attempted to take off from the airport, the Pan Am aircraft was using the runway to taxi and the vehicles collided.
"All 248 passengers and crew aboard the KLM flight were killed. There were also 335 fatalities and 61 survivors on the Pan Am flight," the Federal Aviation Administration reports.
And one of the 61 survivors on the Pan Am flight was Joani Feathers, who was with her boyfriend at the time, Jack Ridout - the pair travelling to the Canary Islands to board a Mediterranean cruise.
Joan - aged 27 at the time - told The Daytona Beach Journal she remembered being nervous about the KLM plane and how close it was to their plane on the runway.
She recalled feeling the plane veer sharply to the left just before the crash and then the next memory she has is looking up and seeing the roof of the plane exposed, small fires set alight and debris scattered.
Joani reflected: "All my rings had come off my fingers. My shoes came off."
She looked around for Jack, who she spotted hanging over the seat in front of him.
His head had a large cut on it, but they were both alive. The same could not be said for those around them.
Around the pair lay bodies of other passengers, some on fire, others left in a horrifying state from the impact of the collision.
Joani recalled just not wanting to 'burn up' and her and Jack knowing they needed to act - and act fast.
Drawing on her law enforcement training, Joani took in her surroundings and got to work, adding Jack 'rallied' with her. She undid her seat belt and the pair managed to manoeuvre their way over to where the plane's door was - or what was left of it.
The drop below was around two stories high, however, a man urged Joani to jump, encouraging her that he'd 'catch' her. She slid down part of the way before walling the rest, missing the man and landing on the ground.
Not even noticing what injuries she ascertained during the collision and her fall to the ground, Joani just immediately began to run.
While running for her life, Joanni murmured: "No. No. I can't believe this is happening."
Jack wasn't far behind her, having stayed to try and help a stewardess get an escape raft out - devastatingly, it's reported an explosion occurred and the stewardess was killed.
Jack made it to Joani just in time, the whole aircraft exploding moments after he reached her standing by a fence around 50-100 yards from the plane, Joani recalling the plane going 'up like an atom bomb'.
The crash left Joani 'black and blue' all over, but remarkably without any major physical trauma. Jack suffered the cut to his head, badly burned hands and internal injuries.
Joani experienced periodic depression after the crash but has found comfort through her work, noting while the incident is 'always' on her mind when she steps onto a plane, she has 'a great life' and can now 'sleep at night' so feels 'blessed'.
As for her and Jack, the pair ended their romantic relationship but remain friends.
Topics: Mental Health, Travel, World News, History
Poppy Bilderbeck