Collision on Tenerife: The How and Why of the World's Worst Aviation Disaster

One of the jets, KLM Flight 4805, was traveling more than 150 miles an hour and was within seconds of lifting off when it crashed into Pan Am Flight 1736 taxiing in its path. The loss of lives was staggering--583 dead. The crash happened after a lengthy series of major and minor human errors. In the intervening years, has aviation advanced to the point that such a disaster can't happen again?

In this riveting account, written from the perspective of the passengers in the cabin as well as the...