Why dont they bring back traffic cops? In the
old days, on television, I used to see these
guys with funny looking flashlights directing
airplanes. On aircraft carriers I think they
still have them, right? You could have a cop at
each turn off on the runway. I mean, how much
could it cost. You hire a guy and give him a
pair of flashlights. Geeze!
2006-10-17 17:39:43 · 13 answers · asked by Simple 8 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
If you are refering to the most deadly crash at Tenerife in 1977 involving two 747 colliding with each other in fog due to poor communication, that definitely would have been a good idea.
Marshalers (as they are called) are usually positioned at the terminal to direct slow moving aircraft. For aircraft taxiing in low vis, they use a 'follow me' truck. It says 'follow me' on the back and it drives in front of the aircraft.
Also there is the taxiway lighting system at some airports. Special lights on the taxiway light up in intervals, showing which direction the aircraft should go.
Another advance is ground radar that can pick up aircraft on the ground so the ground controller can see if the aircraft are going the right way or if they are going to collide.
I don't know for sure, but I think that Pan Am and KLM were diverted to Tenerife due to a terrorist threat so the airport wasn't really equipped to handle the situaltion.
Too bad though.
2006-10-17 17:58:52 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The collision of the two Boeing 747s at Teneriffe, Canary Islands was the deadliest accident. KLM's chief pilot tookoff without a takeoff clearance, in the fog, and collided with the PanAm 747, which was back-taxiing on the runway as they were cleared to do by tower. Upon seeing KLM coming out of the fog, the PanAm pilots desperately tried to take their airplane off the runway to get out of the KLMs way. Approximately 80 people, including the cockpit crew, survived onboard the Pan Am, all died aboard the KLM. You can go to the accident site today and there is still quite a bit of small debris there. They didn't do all that good of a job cleaning up after the accident.
One of my mother's best friends died in that accident. She was a flight attendant for PanAm.
2006-10-18 11:40:58 · answer #2 · answered by Kelley S 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I saw the program on the Discovery Channel about the accident in Tenerife, Canary Islands, just recently.
From the flight recordings, it would appear that the KLM flight did not have clearance to take off, hence it smashed into the Pan Am flight. But, that being said, it was a combination of factors which made it such a terrible catastrophe.
Definitely lights on taxiways would greatly assist in advising pilots on where to go, as well as ground radar. Having staff on the ground would be a significant cost per annum, and I think it would be passed straight on to the travelling public.
2006-10-18 02:43:43 · answer #3 · answered by Tiger1980 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe that the deadliest plane crash was the PanAm and KLM jets which collided on the runway in the Canary Islands. Fault of the tower
2006-10-18 01:47:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Technically 9/11 was the deadliest Plane Crash(s) due to all of the fatalities on the ground.
2006-10-18 09:57:37 · answer #5 · answered by FlywithUS 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The deadliest plane crash ever was an Uranium plane 737 plane crash.
It was hit by a missile from a battleship as it had come into the range of the battleship by mistaking of thinking it as a Uranium F-14. The ship was a U.S.S Vincess that had hit the plane killing 290 passengers and crew. The cause of the crash was that they never heeded to the battleships warnings and the battleships thought of it as a F-14 and bombed it down. All the blame was taken on captain Rogers(the captain of the battleship).
2006-10-18 08:09:07 · answer #6 · answered by Arnav D 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The Tenerife 747 collision was actually the fault of the KLM Pilot, he commenced the takeoff roll without permission. the next dealy one was the Korean Airlines jet shot down by a Navy Battleship ( mistakenly)
2006-10-18 10:59:57 · answer #7 · answered by Latin Techie 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you are referring to ground operations they do hire guys with flashlights and they have vehicles that they usually use to guide the aircraft in low visibility. plus i don't think their have been to many taxiing collisions in awhile. the ATC usually makes sure nothing happens and if they are lost they can call for Progressive Taxiing.
2006-10-19 12:24:37 · answer #8 · answered by g-rald 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The TWA Flight.
2006-10-18 01:28:26 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What would be the deadliest plane crash? The one that kills me.
2006-10-18 01:03:10 · answer #10 · answered by Kane 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋