Spantax Flight 275

On December 3, 1972, a Convair CV-990 Coronado charter flight operated by Spantax from Tenerife to Munich with 148 passengers and 7 crew crashed while taking off from Tenerife-Norte Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, killing all 155 passengers and crew onboard. Many of the passengers were West German tourists heading home.

Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Convair 990 Coronado, MSN 30-10-25, registered as EC-BZR. It was delivered to American Airlines on 8 May 1962 and was leased to two airlines before being finally sold to Spantax on 8 May 1972. The aircraft was equipped with four General Electric CJ805-23B engines.

Accident
Spantax 275 was a chartered Flight by the Landesverband Bayerischer Omnibusunternehmer, a community of Bavarian bus company owners. Conditions that morning were IFR with a reported visibility of about only 500 ft. The Flight was cleared for take-off on runway 30 at 6:45 UTC. At 300 ft the aircraft entered a steep bank and soon began to descend. The left Wing hit the ground about 325 m past the end of the runway, rupturing a fuel tank before the rest of the fuselage touched down. A massive explosion of the almost fully fueled tanks followed. All 155 people aboard were killed upon impact.

At the time, the accident was the deadliest aircraft crash on the island of Tenerife, to be surpassed by the Tenerife airport disaster five years later. It was the eighth loss and deadliest accident involving a Convair 990 Coronado.

Investigation
The investigation was conducted by the Spanish Police’s air crash investigation council. German investigators also arrived, but were barred from investigating by the authorities. Due to the unstable Political situation unfolding, Authorities suspected a bomb could have brought the aircraft down. This was quickly dismissed after a close look determined no signature blast damage. A theory of an engine failure was also dismissed early on. The Investigators concluded that the captain had experienced a somatogyral illusion in the low visibility. The investigators also faulted the ATC controller for letting the aircraft take off in conditions it was not certified to fly in. The conditions were caused by clouds moving through the airport, a common problem. The board recommended air traffic control to inform crews about the conditions via the newly developed ATIS, which was introduced about a year later. The council also recommended training on spatial illusions for Pilots.