Boeing 747 - INFORMATION

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT BOEING 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial jet airliner and cargo aircraft. It is the first wide-body airplane ever produced. First flown commercially in 1970, the 747 held the passenger capacity record for 37 years. The first flight of 747 took place on February 9, 1969, and the first delivery was to Pan Am on January 15, 1970.

The 747-100 was the original variant launched in 1966. The 747-200 soon followed, with its launch in 1968. The 747-300 was launched in 1980, and was followed by the 747-400 in 1985. Ultimately, the 747-8 was announced in 2005. Several versions of each variant have been produced, and many of the early variants were in production simultaneously. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classifies variants using a shortened code formed by combining the model number and the variant designator (B741, B742, B743, B744, B748).

The worst single accident to Boeing 747 happened on August 12, 1985, when Japan Airlines Flight 123 crashed in the area of Mount Takamagahara, Japan. The aircraft was Boeing 747SR, a short range variant of the Boeing 747-100, which was specifically configured for domestic flights with a high density seating arrangement. Of the 524 people on board, 520 were killed, and it is the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.

On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747 passenger jets, KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport on the Spanish island of Tenerife. The collision occurred when the KLM airliner initiated its takeoff run while the Pan Am airliner, shrouded in fog, was still on the runway, and about to turn off onto the taxiway. The impact and resulting fire killed everyone on board KLM 4805, and most of the occupants of Pan Am 1736, with only 61 survivors in the front section of the aircraft. Resulting in 583 fatalities, this accident was the deadliest in aviation history.

ACCIDENT LISTS

747 ACCIDENTS

RELATED LINKS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT BOEING 747

AIRLINERS.NET/AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL DATA AND SPECIFICATIONS/747-100/747-200

AIRLINERS.NET/AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL DATA AND SPECIFICATIONS/747-300

AIRLINERS.NET/AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL DATA AND SPECIFICATIONS/747-400

AIRLINERS.NET/AIRCRAFT TECHNICAL DATA AND SPECIFICATIONS/747SP

BOEING WEBSITE/747-8

BOEING WEBSITE/MODEL HISTORY

SIMVIATION/AIRCRAFT INFORMATION/747

SKYBRARY/AIRCRAFT TYPES/747-100

SKYBRARY/AIRCRAFT TYPES/747-200