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Tower, did I ever tell you about Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten? He was a good pilot. In fact, he was more than a good pilot. He was the superstar of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. You could pick up an advertisement for KLM and you would always see his golden smile inside. Maybe it was the clout he had, or maybe it was because he was training all the other pilots to fly a 747 and he was simply the only guy available for a photoshoot. Then one day, his flight to Gran Canaria had to be diverted because somebody bombed the airport, so he was forced to land at a tiny airport in Tenerife. In fact, it was so small that planes had to backtaxi. He really wanted to go back home, so he refueled the plane and got into position for takeoff. However, it was a very foggy day and he couldn't see the backtaxiing Pan American flight that also got diverted, and he was getting antsy. Did I mention that he was a superstar? His status was so high that the other crew members didn't dare question him. Anyway, he throttled up and asked his first officer to get an ATC clearance, but all they received was a clearance for the route, not clearance for takeoff. He didn't care, though, so he continued throttling up and said those iconic words, "we gaan". The first officer didn't question him, of course. The Pan Am flight was still on the runway, but they called at the same time as the tower, so all he heard was a loud squeal. The Pan Am said they were still on the runway, which he didn't hear, but he did hear them saying that they'll report when they were clear. The first officer told him if the Pan Am wasn't clear, and he said they were, basically his way of saying "shut the fuck up, I'm a superstar and we're going." Because of his status and his arrogance, he smashed into the Pan Am, killing himself and everybody aboard the flight, and killing most of the people on the Pan Am. And on top of all that, KLM was going to ask him to help with the investigation. And he was a good friend.
