Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions and images which some readers may find distressing.
A woman who lived through the deadliest plane crash in history has shared how she managed to ‘rally’ herself after the disaster struck.
On March 27, 1977, due to a bombing at their intended airport, both KLM Flight 4805 and Pan American Flight 1736 – Boeing 747 airliners – were rerouted to Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North) on Tenerife.
As both planes attempted to take off again from the island, they collided on the runway, resulting in 583 fatalities, marking it as ‘the deadliest in aviation history’.
The Los Rodeos airport was overwhelmed by the number of flights rerouted there due to the terrorist incident at the Gran Canaria airport. Combined with poor weather and communication breakdowns between the KLM Flight 480 pilots and air traffic control, a catastrophe unfolded.
When the KLM plane began its takeoff, the Pan Am plane was on the runway, taxiing, leading to the collision.
“All 248 passengers and crew aboard the KLM flight were killed. There were also 335 fatalities and 61 survivors on the Pan Am flight,” as reported by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Joani Feathers, one of the 61 survivors on the Pan Am flight, was traveling with her boyfriend, Jack Ridout, to the Canary Islands for a Mediterranean cruise.
At 27, Joan spoke to The Daytona Beach Journal, recounting her anxiety about the proximity of the KLM plane to theirs on the runway.
She remembered the sharp left veer of the plane just before the crash and then next finding herself looking up at the exposed roof of the plane, surrounded by small fires and scattered debris.
Joani remembered: “All my rings had come off my fingers. My shoes came off.”
She searched for Jack, seeing him hanging over the seat in front with a significant cut on his head, but both were alive. Unfortunately, many others were not as fortunate.
Surrounding them were bodies of passengers, some on fire, others brutally affected by the collision’s impact.
Joani recalled a strong desire to avoid ‘burning up’, prompting her and Jack to act quickly.
Her background in law enforcement helped Joani assess the situation and begin taking action, with Jack supporting her efforts. She unbuckled her seat belt, and together they made their way to where the plane’s door had been.
The ground below was about two stories down, but a man encouraged Joani to jump, assuring he’d ‘catch’ her. She slid some of the way before falling, missing the man, and landing on the ground.
Despite the injuries sustained from the crash and the fall, Joani immediately started running.
While fleeing, Joani repeated to herself: “No. No. I can’t believe this is happening.”
Jack was close behind, having stayed briefly to assist a stewardess with an escape raft – tragically, an explosion killed the stewardess.
Jack reached Joani just in time, as the aircraft exploded moments after he joined her by a fence, 50-100 yards from the plane, with Joani likening the explosion to ‘an atom bomb’.
The crash left Joani bruised all over but without serious physical injuries. Jack suffered head cuts, badly burned hands, and internal injuries.
Joani later experienced bouts of depression but found solace in her work. Though the crash is ‘always’ on her mind when flying, she believes she has ‘a great life’ and can ‘sleep at night’, feeling ‘blessed’.
As for her and Jack, they ended their romantic relationship but remain friends.