On March 27, 1977, on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, two fully loaded 747 jumbo jets collided on a fogbound runway, killing 583 people in what is still the deadliest crash in aviation history.

At the time, the facts of the accident were shocking and inexplicable. In the fog, a KLM 747 began an unauthorized takeoff, slamming into a Pan Am 747 that was taxiing on the same runway. The best and the brightest pilots, including KLM’s senior captain and head of safety, were at the helm. What could have triggered the accident? NOVA looks back at the crucial final hours before the disaster, when an improbable chain of coincidences, bad luck, and misjudgments snowballed into tragedy.

The Deadliest Crash features realistic recreations, interviews with accident investigators, and moving testimony from the few survivors of the disaster. NOVA’s gripping examination also points to the crash’s continuing relevance for today. Despite new technology to improve runway safety, near-misses on the ground are still the leading cause of deadly aviation accidents.

Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA Web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: Region 1. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.