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Plane CrashesVersion 2

Dan-Air Flight 1008 crash caused by single-letter omission, report finds

All 146 people on board died when the aircraft struck La Esperanza on Tenerife on 25 April 1980.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 26, 2026, 2:00 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 26, 2026, 2:52 a.m. ET
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The crash of Flight on on 25 April 1980, which killed all people on board, was caused by the omission of a single letter in a word, according to reports from the Daily Record and Irish Mirror. The reports state that had the controller used the term "turns" instead of "turn," the crash might have been averted. The aircraft crashed into the side of La Esperanza at an altitude of 5,450 feet, 92 feet below the peak, . Spanish investigators placed all the blame on the Dan Air crew, while British investigators contended that the controller should have recognised sooner that the separation between the two planes would pose an issue, according to the Daily Record and Irish Mirror. The controller's instruction "turn to the left" was interpreted as a single turn instead of "turns to the left." The crash was the deadliest incident involving a British airliner. The investigation has concluded, with the report attributing the crash to the misinterpretation of the instruction. The aircraft was operating as flight and was in the phase when it struck the mountain, according to the Daily Record; the Irish Mirror described the phase as .

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
7,339 ft
Nearest aerodrome
17 miles N of Tenerife Sur Airport (GCTS/TFS)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 226 Aug 2026, 06:52current

    Updated to include the Irish Mirror as a source, clarify the phase of flight conflict, and note the investigation status.

  2. Version 126 Aug 2026, 06:15

    First published.

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