March 27
1977
Tenerife Airport Disaster
On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets—flights operated by KLM and Pan Am—collided on a fog-shrouded runway at Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife. With 583 lives lost, it remains the deadliest aviation disaster in history. The crash, set against a backdrop of crowded ramps, miscommunications, and a chilling lack of visibility, transformed the way the world thinks about cockpit protocol, air traffic control, and the fragile choreography of flight. Read more
1964
The Good Friday Earthquake
On March 27, 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake struck Southcentral Alaska, causing massive destruction, deadly tsunamis, and profound changes in science, emergency response, and seismic engineering. The disaster killed 131 people and remains North America’s most powerful recorded quake. Read more
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