title: Jeff Buckley

text: A tour of Canada and the U.S. began on October 19, 1994, at CBGB's. The tour was far reaching with concerts held on both East and West Coasts of the U.S. and a number of performances in central and southern states. The tour ended two months later on December 18 at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey. After another month of rest and rehearsal, the band commenced a second European tour, this time mainly for promotion purposes. The band began the tour in Dublin. The short tour largely consisted of promotional work in London and Paris.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: In late January, the band did their first tour of Japan, playing concerts and appearing for promotion of the album and newly released Japanese single "Last Goodbye". The band returned to Europe on February 6 and toured various Western European countries before returning to the U.S. on March 6. Among the gigs performed during this period, Buckley and his band performed at a 19th-century-built French venue, the Bataclan, and material from the concert was recorded and later released in October of that year as a four track EP, "Live from the Bataclan". Songs from a performance on February 25, at the venue Nighttown in Rotterdam, were released as a promotional-only CD, "So Real".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Touring recommenced in April with dates across the U.S. and Canada. During this period, Buckley and the band notably played Metro in Chicago, which was recorded on video and later released as "Live in Chicago" on VHS and later on DVD. In addition, on June 4 they played at Sony Music Studios for the Sony Music radio hour. Following this was a month-long European tour between June 20 and July 18 in which they played many summer music festivals, including the Glastonbury Festival and the 1995 Meltdown Festival (at which Buckley sang Henry Purcell's "Dido's Lament" at the invitation of Elvis Costello). During the tour, Buckley played two concerts at the Paris Olympia, a venue made famous by the French vocalist Édith Piaf. Although he had failed to fill out smaller American venues at that point of his career, both nights at the large Paris Olympia venue were sold out. Shortly after this Buckley attended the Festival de la Musique Sacrée (Festival of Sacred Music), also held in France, and performed "What Will You Say" as a duet with Alim Qasimov, an Azerbaijani mugham singer. Sony BMG has since released a live album, 2001's Live à L'Olympia, which has a selection of songs from both Olympia performances and the collaboration with Qasimov.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley's "Mystery White Boy" tour, playing concerts in both Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, lasted between August 28 and September 6 and recordings of these performances were compiled and released on the live album "Mystery White Boy". Buckley was so well received during these concerts that his album "Grace" went gold in Australia, selling over 35,000 copies, and taking this into account he decided a longer tour was needed and returned for a tour of New Zealand and Australia in February the following year.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Between the two Oceanian tours, Buckley and the band took a break from touring. Buckley played solo in the meantime with concerts at Sin-é and a New Year's Eve concert at Mercury Lounge in New York. After the break, the band spent the majority of February on the "Hard Luck Tour" in Australia and New Zealand, but tensions had risen between the group and drummer Matt Johnson. The concert on March 1, 1996, was the last gig he played with Buckley and his band.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Much of the material from the tours of 1995 and 1996 was recorded and released on either promotional EPs, such as the "Grace EP", or posthumously on albums, such as "Mystery White Boy" (a reference to Buckley not using his real name) and "Live à L'Olympia". Many of the other concerts Buckley played during this period have surfaced on bootleg recordings.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Following Johnson's departure, the band, now without a drummer, was put on hold and did not perform live again until February 12, 1997. Due to the pressure from extensive touring, Buckley spent the majority of the year away from the stage. However, from May 2 to 5, he played a short stint as bass guitarist with Mind Science of the Mind, with friend Nathan Larson, then guitarist of Shudder to Think. Buckley returned to playing live concerts when he went on his "phantom solo tour" of cafés in the Northeast U.S. in December 1996, appearing under a series of aliases: the Crackrobats, Possessed by Elves, Father Demo, Smackrobiotic, the Halfspeeds, Crit-Club, Topless America, Martha & the Nicotines, and A Puppet Show Named Julio. By way of justification, Buckley posted a note stating he missed the anonymity of playing in cafes and local bars:


title: Jeff Buckley

text: After in 1996, Buckley started writing a new album with the working title "My Sweetheart the Drunk". While working with Patti Smith on her 1996 album "Gone Again", he met collaborator Tom Verlaine, the lead singer of the punk band Television. Buckley asked Verlaine to be producer on the new album and he agreed. In mid-1996, Buckley and his band began recording sessions in Manhattan with Verlaine, recording "Sky Is a Landfill", "Vancouver", "Morning Theft", and "You and I". Eric Eidel played the drums through these sessions as a stop-gap after Matt Johnson's departure, before Parker Kindred joined as full-time drummer. Around this time, Buckley met Inger Lorre of the Nymphs in an East Village bar and struck up a fast and close friendship. Together, they contributed a track to "", a Jack Kerouac tribute album. After Lorre's backup guitarist for an upcoming album quit the project, Buckley offered to fill in. He became attached to one of the songs from the album, "Yard of Blonde Girls" and recorded a cover. Another recording session in Manhattan followed in early 1997, but Buckley and the band were unsatisfied with the material.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: On February 4, 1997, Buckley played a short set at the Knitting Factory's tenth anniversary concert featuring a selection of his new songs: "Jewel Box", "Morning Theft", "Everybody Here Wants You", "The Sky is a Landfill" and "Yard of Blonde Girls". Lou Reed was in attendance and expressed interest in working with Buckley. The band played their first gig with Parker Kindred, their new drummer, at Arlene's Grocery in New York on February 9. The set featured much of Buckley's new material that would appear on "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" and a recording has become one of Buckley's most widely distributed bootlegs. Later that month, Buckley recorded a spoken word reading of the Edgar Allan Poe poem, "Ulalume", for the album "Closed on Account of Rabies". It was his last recording in New York; shortly after, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley became interested in recording at Easley McCain Recording in Memphis, at the suggestion of friend Dave Shouse from the Grifters. He rented a shotgun house there, of which he was so fond he contacted the owner about purchasing it. From February 12 to May 26, 1997, Buckley played at Barristers', a bar located in downtown Memphis, underneath a parking garage. He played there numerous times in order to work through the new material in a live atmosphere, at first with the band, then solo as part of a Monday night residency. In early February, Buckley and the band did a third recording session with Verlaine in Memphis, where they recorded "Everybody Here Wants You", "Nightmares by the Sea", "Witches' Rave" and "Opened Once", but Buckley expressed his dissatisfaction with the sessions and contacted "Grace" producer, Andy Wallace, to step in as Verlaine's replacement. Buckley started recording demos on his own 4-track recorder in preparation for a forthcoming session with Wallace; some of the demos were sent to his band in New York, who listened to them enthusiastically and were excited to resume work on the album. However, Buckley was not entirely happy with the results and sent his band back to New York while he stayed behind to work on the songs. The band was scheduled to return to Memphis for rehearsals and recording on May 29. After Buckley's death, the recordings with Verlaine and Buckley's demos were released as "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" in May 1998.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: On the evening of Thursday, May 29, 1997, Buckley's band flew to Memphis to join him in his studio to work on his new material. The same evening, Buckley went swimming fully dressed in Wolf River Harbor, a slack water channel of the Mississippi River, singing the chorus of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" while swimming under the Memphis Suspension Railway. Keith Foti, a roadie in Buckley's band, remained on shore. After moving a radio and guitar out of reach from the wake from a passing tugboat, Foti looked up to see Buckley had vanished; the wake of the tugboat had swept him away from shore and under water. A rescue effort that night and the next morning by scuba teams and police failed to discover Buckley's body. On June 4, passengers on the "American Queen" riverboat spotted his body in the Wolf River, caught in some branches.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley's autopsy showed no signs of drugs or alcohol in his system, and the death was ruled an accidental drowning. The official Jeff Buckley website published a statement saying his death was neither mysterious nor a suicide.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, with whom Buckley previously had a relationship, recorded the Massive Attack song "Teardrop" the day she learned he was missing, and later stated: "That was so weird ... I'd got letters out and I was thinking about him. That song's kind of about him – that's how it feels to me anyway."


title: Jeff Buckley

text: PJ Harvey knew Buckley personally. She wrote the song "Memphis" after hearing the news. She had received a letter from him the week before. "There were many things I wished I could say to him, so instead I wrote this song".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Chris Cornell wrote "Wave Goodbye", which appeared on his first solo album, "Euphoria Morning", for Buckley.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Rufus Wainwright, whose career had barely started when he met Buckley, wrote "Memphis Skyline" in tribute to him, from his 2004 album "Want Two".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Steve Adey's "Mississippi" from his 2006 album "All Things Real" contains the lyrics "Until the morning thief steals the humming of the Lord", a reference to Buckley's "Morning Theft".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Duncan Sheik's "A Body Goes Down" paid tribute to Buckley on Sheik's 1998 album "Humming", which was included in the documentary "". Drummer Matt Johnson played drums on the track, as well as for "Grace" and most of "Humming".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Glen Hansard wrote "Neath the Beeches" in memory of Buckley; it appears on the album "Dance the Devil" by Hansard's band The Frames.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Pete Yorn's song "Bandstand in the Sky" from his album "Nightcrawler" and his live album "Live from New Jersey" is a tribute to Buckley.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Zita Swoon's song "Song for a Dead Singer" from the album "I Paint Pictures on a Wedding Dress" is a tribute to Jeff Buckley.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Lisa Germano's "Except For The Ghosts", from the album "In The Maybe World", was written for Buckley.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Juliana Hatfield's song "Trying Not To Think About It", from the album "Please Do Not Disturb," was written about the death of Jeff Buckley.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Lana Del Rey's song "Gods and Monsters" is a direct nod to Buckley's former band; Del Rey cites Buckley as an influence.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Caligula's Horse's song "Dragonfly" was described as "a vocal dedication to the music of Jeff Buckley" by Jim Grey (the band's lead vocalist).


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Mark Kozelek's song "LaGuardia", from the album "Mark Kozelek with Ben Boyce and Jim White 2," includes lyrics detailing Kozelek's memories of Jeff Buckley.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Bono often pays tribute to Buckley and once stated "Jeff Buckley was a pure drop in an ocean of noise".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Katatonia covered his song "Nightmares by the Sea" on their album "Tonight's Decision," and their song "Saw You Drown", from their previous album "Discouraged Ones," was written as a tribute to his tragic death.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Kevin Morby's songs "A Coat of Butterflies" and "Disappearing" include references to Buckley and his death.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley's voice was a particularly distinguished aspect of his music; he possessed a tenor vocal range, spanning around four octaves. Buckley made full use of this range in his performances, particularly in the songs from "Grace", and reached peaks of high G in the tenor range at the culmination of "Grace". "Corpus Christi Carol" was sung nearly entirely in a high falsetto. The pitch and volume of his singing was also highly variable, showcased in songs "Mojo Pin" and "Dream Brother", which began with mid-range quieter vocals, before reaching louder, higher peaks near the ending of the songs.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley played guitar in a variety of styles, ranging from the distorted rock of "Sky is a Landfill", the jazz of "Strange Fruit", the country styling of "Lost Highway", and the guitar fingerpicking style in "Hallelujah". He occasionally used a slide guitar in live performances as a solo act, as well as for the introduction of "Last Goodbye", when playing with a full band. His songs were written in various guitar tunings which, apart from the EADGBE standard tuning, included Drop D tuning and an Open G tuning. His guitar playing style varied from highly melodic songs, such as "The Twelfth of Never", to more percussive ones, such as "New Year's Prayer".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley mainly played a 1983 Fender Telecaster and a Rickenbacker 360/12, but also used several other guitars, including a black Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1967 Guild F-50 acoustic. When on tour with his band, he used Fender Amplifiers for a clean sound and Mesa Boogie amps for overdriven tones. While he was primarily a singer and guitarist, he also played other instruments on various studio recordings and sessions, including bass, dobro, mandolin, harmonium (heard on the intro to "Lover, You Should've Come Over"), organ, dulcimer ("Dream Brother" intro), tabla, esraj, and harmonica.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley was roommates with actress Brooke Smith from 1990 to 1991. During a tribute concert to his father, Tim Buckley, in April 1991, Buckley met artist Rebecca Moore, and the pair dated until 1993. This relationship became the inspiration for his record "Grace" and provoked his permanent move to New York. From 1994 to 1995, Buckley had an intense relationship with Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins. They wrote and recorded a duet together, "All Flowers in Time Bend Towards the Sun", which has never been released commercially. Buckley began a relationship with musician Joan Wasser in 1994. He reportedly proposed marriage to her shortly before his death.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: After Buckley's death, a collection of demo recordings and a full-length album he had been reworking for his second album were released as "Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk" the compilation being overseen by his mother, Mary Guibert, band members and old friend Michael J. Clouse, as well as Chris Cornell. The album achieved gold sales in Australia in 1998. Three other albums composed of live recordings have also been released, along with a live DVD of a performance in Chicago. A previously unreleased 1992 recording of "I Shall Be Released", sung by Buckley over the phone on live radio, was released on the album "For New Orleans".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Since his death, Buckley has been the subject of numerous documentaries: "Fall in Light", a 1999 production for French TV; "Goodbye and Hello", a program about Buckley and his father produced for Netherlands TV in 2000; and "Everybody Here Wants You", a documentary made in 2002 by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). An hour-long documentary about Buckley called "" has been shown at various film festivals to critical acclaim. The film was released worldwide in 2009 by Sony BMG Legacy as part of the "Grace Around The World Deluxe Edition". In spring 2009, it was revealed that Ryan Jaffe, best known for scripting the movie "The Rocker", had replaced Brian Jun as screenwriter for the upcoming film "Mystery White Boy". Orion Williams is also set to co-produce the film with Michelle Sy. A separate project involving the book "Dream Brother" was allegedly cancelled.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: In May and June 2007, Buckley's life and music were celebrated globally with tributes in Australia, Canada, UK, France, Iceland, Israel, Ireland, Republic of Macedonia, Portugal, and the U.S. Many of Buckley's family members attended various tribute concerts across the globe, some of which they helped organize. There are three annual Jeff Buckley tribute events: the Chicago-based "Uncommon Ground", featuring a three-day concert schedule ("Uncommon Ground" hosted their 25th anniversary tribute in November 2022 ); "An Evening With Jeff Buckley", an annual New York City tribute; and the Australia-based "Fall In Light". The latter event is run by the Fall In Light Foundation, which in addition to the concerts, runs a "Guitars for Schools" program; the name of the foundation is taken from lyrics of Buckley's "New Year's Prayer".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: In 2015, tapes of a 1993 recording session for Columbia Records were discovered by Sony executives doing research for the 20th anniversary of "Grace". The recordings were released on the album "You and I" in March 2016, featuring mostly covers of songs.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: In 2012, "Greetings from Tim Buckley" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival; the film explores Jeff Buckley's relationship with his father.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Buckley is referenced in the 2001 film "Vanilla Sky," when Sofia asks David if he would rather listen to Jeff Buckley or Vikki Carr, to which he responds, "Both. Simultaneously." As David is leaving Sofia's apartment, the music playing is the intro to Jeff Buckley's song "Last Goodbye", from his 1994 studio album "Grace".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Matt Bellamy from Muse acquired the yellow telecaster Buckley used throughout his 1994 LP "Grace" and used it to record new music. In July 2021, a new rendition of Muse's 2009 song “Guiding Light” was released and sold as an NFT ahead of appearing on Bellamy's solo EP "Cryosleep". Bellamy stated: “Jeff’s Telecaster that he recorded the whole Grace album with, and the song ‘Hallelujah,’ has a sound like nothing I’ve ever heard. I had a whole team of people doing due diligence on it to make sure it was absolutely the right one, interviewing his family and all sorts, before purchasing”.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: In 2002, Buckley's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was used in the "Posse Comitatus" episode of "The West Wing," for which the audio team received an Emmy Award.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: On March 7, 2008, Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" was number one on the iTunes chart, selling 178,000 downloads for the week, after being performed by Jason Castro on the seventh season of "American Idol". The song also debuted at number one on "Billboard"s Hot Digital Songs chart, giving Buckley his first number one hit on any "Billboard" chart.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: The 2008 UK "X Factor" winner Alexandra Burke released a cover of "Hallelujah", with the intent to top the UK Singles Chart as the Christmas number one single. Buckley fans countered this, launching a campaign with the aim of propelling Buckley's version to the number one spot; despite this, Burke's version eventually reached the Christmas number one position on the UK charts in December 2008. Buckley's version of the song entered the UK charts at number 49 on November 30, and by December 21, it had reached number 2, even though it had not been rereleased in a physical format.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Musicians who have been influenced by Buckley include Muse, Adele, Bat For Lashes, Lana Del Rey, Anna Calvi, Kiesza, Ben Folds, Jonny Lang, Eddie Vedder, Fran Healy, and Chris Cornell.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Radiohead recorded "Fake Plastic Trees" after being inspired by Buckley's performance at The Garage in London. Speaking about the difficulty of recording the song prior to seeing Buckley, Colin Greenwood remarked “It was going really slowly, so John Leckie said, ‘Why don’t we go out?’ We went to see Jeff Buckley play at The Garage. He just had a Telecaster and a pint of Guinness. And it was just fucking amazing, really inspirational. Then we went back to the studio and tried an acoustic version of ‘Fake Plastic Trees’. Thom sat down and played it in three takes, then just burst into tears afterwards. And that's what we used for the record.” Thom Yorke has said that Buckley's performance gave him the confidence to sing falsetto.


title: Jeff Buckley

text: Coldplay's song "Shiver" was inspired by "Grace". Chris Martin called it "a rip off of Jeff Buckley".


title: Jeff Buckley

text: According to "Variety", a biopic about Buckley's life, called "Everybody Here Wants You," starring Reeve Carney as Buckley, is set to begin filming in autumn 2021. It will be Orian Williams's directorial debut and will be released by Culmination Productions. It will be co-produced by Buckley's mother, Mary Guibert, and Alison Raykovich, manager of Buckley's estate, and will have access to his music.


title: LL Cool J

text: James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip hop acts Beastie Boys and Run-DMC.


title: LL Cool J

text: Signed to Def Jam Recordings in 1984, LL Cool J's breakthrough came with his single "I Need a Beat" and his landmark debut album, "Radio" (1985). He achieved further commercial and critical success with the albums "Bigger and Deffer" (1987), "Walking with a Panther" (1989), "Mama Said Knock You Out" (1990), "Mr. Smith" (1995), and "Phenomenon" (1997). His twelfth album, "Exit 13" (2008), was his last in his long-tenured deal with Def Jam.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J has appeared in numerous films, including "", "In Too Deep", "Any Given Sunday", "Deep Blue Sea", "S.W.A.T.", "Mindhunters", "Last Holiday", and "Edison". He currently plays NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna in the CBS crime drama television series "". LL Cool J was also the host of "Lip Sync Battle" on Paramount Network.


title: LL Cool J

text: A two-time Grammy Award winner, LL Cool J is known for hip hop songs such as "Going Back to Cali", "I'm Bad", "The Boomin' System", "Rock the Bells", and "Mama Said Knock You Out", as well as R&B hits such as "Doin' It", "I Need Love", "Around the Way Girl" and "Hey Lover". In 2010, VH1 placed him on their "100 Greatest Artists Of All Time" list. In 2017, LL Cool J became the first rapper to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an award for Musical Excellence.


title: LL Cool J

text: James Todd Smith was born on January 14, 1968, in Bay Shore, New York to Ondrea Griffith (born January 19, 1946) and James Louis Smith Jr, also known as James Nunya. According to the "Chicago Tribune", "[As] a kid growing up middle class and Catholic in Queens, life for LL was heart-breaking. His father shot his mother and grandfather, nearly killing them both. When 4-year-old LL found them, blood was everywhere." In 1972, Smith and his mother moved into his grandparents' home in St. Albans, Queens, where he was raised. He suffered physical and mental abuse from his mother's ex-boyfriend Roscoe.


title: LL Cool J

text: Smith began rapping at the age of 10, influenced by the hip-hop group The Treacherous Three. In 1984, sixteen-year-old Smith was creating demo tapes in his grandparents' home. His grandfather, a jazz saxophonist, bought him $2,000 worth of equipment, including two turntables, an audio mixer and an amplifier. His mother was also supportive of his musical endeavors, using her tax refund to buy him a Korg drum machine. Smith has stated that by the time he received musical equipment from his relatives, he "was already a rapper. In this neighborhood, the kids grow up in rap. It's like speaking Spanish if you grow up in an all-Spanish house." This was at the same time that NYU student Rick Rubin and promoter-manager Russell Simmons founded the then-independent Def Jam label. By using the mixer he had received from his grandfather, Smith produced and mixed his own demos and sent them to various record companies throughout New York City, including Def Jam.


title: LL Cool J

text: In the VH1 documentary "Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation", Smith revealed that he initially called himself J-Ski, but did not want to associate his stage name with the cocaine culture (The rappers who use "Ski" or "Blow" as part of their stage name, e.g., Kurtis Blow and Joeski Love, were associated with the rise of the cocaine culture, as depicted in the 1983 remake of "Scarface".) Under his new stage name LL Cool J (an abbreviation for Ladies Love Cool James), coined by his friend and fellow rapper Mikey D, Smith was signed by Def Jam, which led to the release of his first official record, the 12-inch single "I Need a Beat" (1984). The single was a hard-hitting, streetwise b-boy song with spare beats and ballistic rhymes. Smith later discussed his search for a label, stating "I sent my demo to many different companies, but it was Def Jam where I found my home." That same year, Smith made his professional debut concert performance at Manhattan Center High School. In a later interview, LL Cool J recalled the experience, stating "They pushed the lunch room tables together and me and my DJ, Cut Creator, started playing. ... As soon as it was over there were girls screaming and asking for autographs. Right then and there I said 'This is what I want to do'." LL's debut single sold over 100,000 copies and helped establish both Def Jam as a label and Smith as a rapper. The commercial success of "I Need a Beat", along with the Beastie Boys' single "Rock Hard" (1984), helped lead Def Jam to a distribution deal with Columbia Records the following year.


title: LL Cool J

text: Released November 18, 1985, on Def Jam Recordings in the United States, "Radio" earned a significant amount of commercial success and sales for a hip hop record at the time. Shortly after its release, the album sold over 500,000 copies in its first five months, eventually selling over 1 million copies by 1988, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. "Radio" peaked at number 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number 46 on the "Billboard" 200 albums chart. It entered the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart on December 28, 1985, and remained there for 47 weeks, while also entering the Pop Albums chart on January 11, 1986, remaining on that chart for thirty-eight weeks. By 1989, the album had earned platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with sales exceeding one million copies; it had previously earned a gold certification in the United States on April 14, 1986.


title: LL Cool J

text: "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Rock the Bells" were singles that helped the album go platinum. It eventually reached 1,500,000 copies sold in the US.


title: LL Cool J

text: With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and the "Radio" LP, LL Cool J became one of the early hip-hop acts to achieve mainstream success along with Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C. Gigs at larger venues were offered to LL as he would join the 1986-'87 "Raising Hell" tour, opening for Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys. Another milestone of LL's popularity was his appearance on "American Bandstand" as the first hip hop act on the show, as well as an appearance on Diana Ross' 1987 television special, "Red Hot Rhythm & Blues".


title: LL Cool J

text: The album's success also helped in contributing to Rick Rubin's credibility and repertoire as a record producer. "Radio", along with "Raising Hell" (1986) and "Licensed to Ill" (1986), would form a trilogy of New York City-based, Rubin-helmed albums that helped to diversify hip-hop. Rubin's production credit on the back cover reads "REDUCED BY RICK RUBIN", referring to his minimalist production style, which gave the album its stripped-down and gritty sound. This style would serve as one of Rubin's production trademarks and would have a great impact on future hip-hop productions. Rubin's early hip hop production work, before his exit from Def Jam to Los Angeles, helped solidify his legacy as a hip hop pioneer and establish his reputation in the music industry.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J's second album was 1987's "Bigger and Deffer", which was produced by DJ Pooh and the L.A. Posse. This stands as one of his biggest-selling career albums, having sold in excess of two million copies in the United States alone. It spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on "Billboard"s R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 3 on the "Billboard"s Pop albums chart. The album featured the singles "I'm Bad", the revolutionary "I Need Love" - LL's first #1 R&B and Top 40 hit, “Kanday”, "Bristol Hotel", and "Go Cut Creator Go".


title: LL Cool J

text: While "Bigger and Deffer", which was a big success, was produced by the L.A. Posse (at the time consisting of Dwayne Simon, Darryl Pierce and, according to himself the most important for crafting the sound of the LP, Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin), Dwayne Simon was the only one left willing to work on producing LL Cool J's third album "Walking with a Panther". Released in 1989, the album was a commercial success, with several charting singles ("Going Back to Cali", which had originally been released on the 1987 movie soundtrack "Less than Zero", "I'm That Type of Guy", "Big Ole Butt", and "One Shot at Love"). Despite commercial appeal, the album was often criticized by the hip-hop community as being too commercial and materialistic, and for focusing too much on love ballads. As a result, his audience base began to decline due to the album's bold commercial and pop aspirations. According to "Billboard", the album peaked at No. 6 on the "Billboard" 200 and was LL Cool J's second #1 R&B Album where it spent five weeks.


title: LL Cool J

text: In 1990, LL released "Mama Said Knock You Out", his fourth studio album. The Marley Marl produced album received critical acclaim and eventually went double Platinum, selling over two million copies according to the RIAA. "Mama Said Knock You Out" marked a turning point in LL Cool J's career, as he proved to critics his ability to stay relevant and hard-edged despite the misgivings of his previous album. LL won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1992 for the title track. The album's immense success propelled "Mama Said Knock You Out" to be LL's top selling album of his career (as of 2002) and solidified his status as a hip-hop icon. LL also recorded a rap solo for Michael Jackson's demo of "Serious Effect" that remains unreleased but leaked online


title: LL Cool J

text: After acting in "The Hard Way" and "Toys", LL Cool J released "14 Shots to the Dome". The album had four singles ("How I'm Comin'", "Back Seat (of My Jeep)", "Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings", "Stand By Your Man") and guest-featured labelmates Lords of the Underground on "NFA-No Frontin' Allowed". The album went gold.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J starred in "In the House", an NBC sitcom, before releasing "Mr. Smith" (1995), which went on to sell over two million copies. Its singles included "Doin' It" and "Loungin". Another of the album's singles, "Hey Lover", featured Boyz II Men, and sampled Michael Jackson's "The Lady in My Life"; it eventually became an early hip-hop music video to air on VH1. The song also earned him a Grammy Award. Yet another single from the album, "I Shot Ya Remix", included debut vocal work by Foxy Brown.


title: LL Cool J

text: In 1996, Def Jam released this "greatest hits" package, offering a good summary of Cool J's career, from the relentless minimalism of early hits such as "Rock the Bells" to the smooth-talking braggadocio that followed. Classic albums including "Bigger and Deffer" and "Mama Said Knock You Out" are well represented here. In December 1996 his loose cover of the Rufus and Chaka Khan song "Ain't Nobody" was included on the "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" soundtrack & released as a single. LL Cool J's interpretation of "Ain't Nobody" was particularly successful in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Singles Chart in early-1997.


title: LL Cool J

text: In that same year, he released the album "Phenomenon". The singles included "Phenomenon" and "Father". The official second single from "Phenomenon" was "4, 3, 2, 1", which featured Method Man, Redman & Master P and introduced DMX and Canibus.


title: LL Cool J

text: In 2000, LL Cool J released the album "G.O.A.T.", which stood for the "Greatest of All Time." It debuted at number one on the "Billboard" album charts, and went platinum. LL Cool J thanked Canibus in the liner notes of the album, "for the inspiration". LL Cool J's next album "10" from 2002, was his ninth studio (10th overall including his greatest hits compilation All World), and included the singles "Paradise" (featuring Amerie), and the number 1 R&B hit "Luv U Better", produced by the Neptunes. Later pressings of the album added the 2003 Jennifer Lopez duet, "All I Have". The album reached platinum status. LL Cool J's tenth album "The DEFinition" was released on August 31, 2004. The album debuted at No. 4 on the "Billboard" charts. Production came from Timbaland, 7 Aurelius, R. Kelly, and others. The lead single was the Timbaland-produced "Headsprung", which peaked at No. 7 on the Hip-Hop and R&B singles chart, and No. 16 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The second single was the 7 Aurelius–produced, "Hush", which peaked at No. 14 on the "Billboard" Hip-Hop and R&B chart and No. 26 on the Hot 100.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J's 11th album, "Todd Smith", was released on April 11, 2006. It includes collaborations with 112, Ginuwine, Juelz Santana, Teairra Mari and Freeway. The first single was the Jermaine Dupri-produced "Control Myself" featuring Jennifer Lopez. They shot the video for "Control Myself" on January 2, 2006, at Sony Studios, New York. The second video, directed by Hype Williams, was "Freeze" featuring Lyfe Jennings.


title: LL Cool J

text: In July 2006, LL Cool J announced details about his final album with Def Jam Recordings, the only label he has ever been signed to. The album is titled "Exit 13". The album was originally scheduled to be executively produced by fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent. "Exit 13" was originally slated for a fall 2006 release, however, after a 2-year delay, it was released September 9, 2008 without 50 Cent as the executive producer. Tracks that the two worked on were leaked to the internet and some of the tracks produced with 50 made it to Exit 13.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J partnered with DJ Kay Slay to release a mixtape called "The Return of the G.O.A.T.". It was the first mixtape of his 24-year career and includes freestyling by LL Cool J in addition to other rappers giving their renditions of his songs. A track entitled "Hi Haterz" was leaked onto the internet on June 1, 2008. The song contains LL Cool J rapping over the instrumental to Maino's "Hi Hater". He toured with Janet Jackson on her Rock Witchu tour, only playing in Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, and Kansas City.


title: LL Cool J

text: In September 2009, LL Cool J released a song about the "NCIS" TV series. It is a single and is available on iTunes. The new track is based on his experiences playing special agent Sam Hanna. "This song is the musical interpretation of what I felt after meeting with NCIS agents, experienced Marines and Navy SEALs," LL Cool J said. "It represents the collective energy in the room. I was so inspired I wrote the song on set."


title: LL Cool J

text: In March 2011 at South by Southwest, LL Cool J was revealed to be Z-Trip's special guest at the Red Bull Thre3Style showcase. This marked the beginning of a creative collaboration between the rap and DJ superstars. The two took part in an interview with Carson Daly where they discussed their partnership. Both artists have promised future collaborations down the road, with LL Cool J calling the duo "organic" One early track to feature LL's talents was Z-Trip's remix of British rock act Kasabian's single "Days Are Forgotten", which was named by influential DJ Zane Lowe as his "Hottest Record In The World" and received a favorable reception in both Belgium and the United Kingdom. In January 2012, the pair released the track "Super Baller" as a free download to celebrate the New York Giants Super Bowl victory. The two have been touring together since 2011, with future dates planned through 2012 and beyond.


title: LL Cool J

text: On October 6, 2012, LL Cool J released a new single from "Authentic Hip-Hop" called "Ratchet". Following that, on November 3, 2012, LL collaborated with Joe and producers Trackmasters with his second single, "Take It".


title: LL Cool J

text: On February 8, 2013, it was announced that the title of LL's upcoming album would be changed from "Authentic Hip-Hop" to "Authentic" with a new release date of April 30, 2013. A new cover was unveiled at the same time. At around the same time, it was announced that LL Cool J had collaborated with Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen on two tracks on the album.


title: LL Cool J

text: On October 16, 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced LL Cool J as a nominee for inclusion in 2014.


title: LL Cool J

text: In October 2014, LL announced that his 14th studio album would be called "G.O.A.T. 2" and would be released in 2015. LL stated that "the concept behind the album was to give upcoming artists an opportunity to shine, and put myself in the position where I have to spit bars with some of the hardest rhymers in the game"; however, the album was put on hold. LL Cool J explained the reason for it, saying, "It was good but I didn't feel like it was ready yet."


title: LL Cool J

text: In March 2016, LL announced his retirement on social media, but quickly walked back his announcement and indicated that a new album was on the way. LL hosted the Grammy Awards Show for five consecutive years, from the 54th Grammy Awards on February 12, 2012, through the 58th Grammy Awards on February 15, 2016.


title: LL Cool J

text: In October 2018, LL Cool J was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In September 2019, it was announced that LL had re-signed to Def Jam for future album releases. His upcoming album will be produced by Q-Tip.


title: LL Cool J

text: On December 29, 2021, LL Cool J canceled his performance at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest 2022 after testing positive for COVID-19.


title: LL Cool J

text: While LL Cool J first appeared as a rapper in the movie "Krush Groove" (performing "I Can't Live Without My Radio"), his first acting part was a small role in a high school football movie called "Wildcats". He landed the role of Captain Patrick Zevo in Barry Levinson's 1992 film "Toys". From 1995 to 1999, he starred in his own television sitcom "In the House". He portrayed an ex-Oakland Raiders running back who finds himself in financial difficulties and is forced to rent part of his home out to a single mother and her two children, one of whom moves out with her before the third season.


title: LL Cool J

text: In 1998, LL Cool J played security guard Ronny in "Halloween H20", the seventh movie in the "Halloween franchise". In 1999, co-starred as Preacher, the chef in the Renny Harlin horror/comedy "Deep Blue Sea". He received positive reviews for his role as Dwayne Gittens, an underworld boss nicknamed "God", in "In Too Deep". Later that year, he starred as Julian Washington—a talented but selfish running back on fictional professional football team the Miami Sharks—in Oliver Stone's drama "Any Given Sunday". He and co-star Jamie Foxx allegedly got into a real fistfight while filming a fight scene. During the next two years, LL Cool J appeared in "Rollerball", "Deliver Us from Eva", "S.W.A.T.", and "Mindhunters".


title: LL Cool J

text: In 2005, he returned to television in a guest-starring role on the Fox medical drama "House"; he portrayed a death row inmate felled by an unknown disease in an episode entitled "Acceptance". He appeared as Queen Latifah's love interest in the 2006 movie "Last Holiday". He also guest-starred on "30 Rock" in the 2007 episode "The Source Awards", portraying a hip-hop producer called Ridikulous who Tracy Jordan fears may kill him. LL Cool J appeared in "Sesame Street"'s 39th season, introducing the word of the day--"Unanimous"—in episode 4169 (September 22, 2008) and performing "The Addition Expedition" in episode 4172 (September 30, 2008).


title: LL Cool J

text: Since 2009, LL Cool J has starred on the CBS police procedural "". The show is a spin-off of "NCIS", which itself is a spin-off of the naval legal drama "JAG". LL Cool J portrays NCIS Special Agent Sam Hanna, an ex–Navy SEAL who is fluent in Arabic and is an expert on West Asian culture. The series debuted in autumn of 2009, but the characters were introduced in an April 2009 crossover episode on the parent show. In 2013, LL received a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Action for his work on the show.


title: LL Cool J

text: In 2013, LL co-starred as a gym owner in the sports dramedy "Grudge Match". Since April 2015, LL has hosted the show "Lip Sync Battle". He played Beth's father in "" and was shown in a trailer for the film but his scenes were cut from the final product.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J launched a clothing line (called "Todd Smith"). The brand produces popular urban apparel. Designs include influences from LL's lyrics and tattoos, as well as from other icons in the hip-hop community.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J has written four books, including "I Make My Own Rules", (1997), an autobiography cowritten with Karen Hunter. His second book was the children-oriented book called "And The Winner Is..." published in 2002. In 2006, LL Cool J and his personal trainer, Dave "Scooter" Honig, wrote a fitness book titled "The Platinum Workout". His fourth book, "LL Cool J (Hip-Hop Stars)" was cowritten in 2007 with hip-hop historian Dustin Shekell and Public Enemy's Chuck D.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J started his own businesses in the music industry such as the music label in 1993 called P.O.G. (Power Of God) and formed the company "Rock The Bells" to produce music. With the Rock The Bells label, he had artists such as AMyth, Smokeman, Natice, Chantel Jones and Simone Starks. Rock the Bells Records was also responsible for the Deep Blue Sea soundtrack for the 1999 movie of the same name. Rufus "Scola" Waller was also signed to the label, but was released when the label folded.


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J founded and launched Boomdizzle.com, a record label / social networking site launched in September 2008. The website accepts music uploads from aspiring artists, primarily from the hip-hop genre, and the site's users rate songs through contests, voting, and other community events.


title: LL Cool J

text: With the breakthrough success of his hit single "I Need a Beat" and the "Radio" LP, LL Cool J became an early hip-hop act to achieve mainstream success along with Kurtis Blow and Run-DMC. Gigs at larger venues were offered to LL as he would join the 1986-'87 "Raising Hell" tour, opening for Run-D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys. Another milestone of LL's popularity was his appearance on American Bandstand as the first hip-hop act on the show.


title: LL Cool J

text: The album's success also helped in contributing to Rick Rubin's credibility and repertoire as a record producer. "Radio", along with "Raising Hell" (1986) and "Licensed to Ill" (1986), would form a trilogy of New York City-based, Rubin-helmed albums that helped to diversify hip-hop. Rubin's production credit on the back cover reads "REDUCED BY RICK RUBIN", referring to his minimalist production style, which gave the album its stripped-down and gritty sound. This style would serve as one of Rubin's production trademarks and would have a great impact on future hip-hop productions. Rubin's early hip hop production work, before his exit from Def Jam to Los Angeles, helped solidify his legacy as a hip hop pioneer and establish his reputation in the music industry.


title: LL Cool J

text: "Radio"s release coincided with the growing new school scene and subculture, which also marked the beginning of hip-hop's "golden age" and the replacement of old school hip hop. This period of hip hop was marked by the end of the disco rap stylings of old school, which had flourished prior to the mid-1980s, and the rise of a new style featuring "ghetto blasters". "Radio" served as one of the earliest records, along with Run-D.M.C.'s debut album, to combine the vocal approach of hip hop and rapping with the musical arrangements and riffing sound of rock music, pioneering the rap rock hybrid sound.


title: LL Cool J

text: The emerging new-school scene was initially characterized by drum machine-led minimalism, often tinged with elements of rock, as well as boasts about rapping delivered in an aggressive, self-assertive style. In image as in song, the artists projected a tough, cool, street b-boy attitude. These elements contrasted sharply with the 1970s P-Funk and disco-influenced outfits, live bands, synthesizers and party rhymes of acts prevalent in 1984, rendering them old school. In contrast to the lengthy, jam-like form predominant throughout early hip hop ("King Tim III", "Rapper's Delight", "The Breaks"), new-school artists tended to compose shorter songs that would be more accessible and had potential for radio play, and conceived more cohesive LPs than their old-school counterparts; the style typified by LL Cool J's "Radio". A leading example of the new school sound is the song "I Can't Live Without My Radio", a loud, defiant declaration of public loyalty to his boom box, which "The New York Times" described as "quintessential rap in its directness, immediacy and assertion of self". It was featured in the film "Krush Groove" (1985), which was based on the rise of Def Jam and new school acts such as Run-D.M.C. and the Fat Boys.


title: LL Cool J

text: The energy and hardcore delivery and musical style of rapping featured on "Radio", as well as other new-school recordings by artists such as Run-D.M.C., Schooly D, T La Rock and Steady B, proved to be influential to hip-hop acts of the "golden age" such as Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy. The decline of the old-school form of hip hop also led to the closing of Sugar Hill Records, one of the labels that helped contribute to early hip hop and that, coincidentally, rejected LL's demo tape. As the album served as an example of an expansion of hip-hop music's artistic possibilities, its commercial success and distinct sound soon led to an increase in multi-racial audiences and listeners, adding to the legacy of the album and hip hop as well.


title: LL Cool J

text: Smith dated Kidada Jones, daughter of producer Quincy Jones, from 1992 to 1994. He married Simone Johnson in 1995. The couple met in 1987 and have four children.


title: LL Cool J

text: In an episode of "Finding Your Roots", Smith learned that his mother was adopted by Eugene Griffith and Ellen Hightower. The series' genetic genealogist CeCe Moore identified Smith's biological grandparents as Ethel Mae Jolly and Nathaniel Christy Lewis through analysis of his DNA. Smith's biological great-uncle was Hall of Fame boxer John Henry Lewis.


title: LL Cool J

text: In 2002, LL Cool J supported George Pataki's bid for a third term as Governor of New York. In 2003, LL Cool J spoke at a U.S. Senate Committee hearing on the RIAA lawsuits against Americans distributing or downloading copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks. He appeared to endorse the RIAA's position, claiming illegal file sharing was hurting his sales and that his session musicians “can’t live” due to the lost income. Chuck D provided an opposing viewpoint, saying free file-sharing could be leveraged as a promotional tool and the industry was being overprotective of its copyright. He also voiced his support for New York State Senator Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, during an appearance on the senator's local television show; he worked with Smith in putting on the annual Jump and Ball Tournament in the rapper's childhood neighborhood of St. Albans, Queens. In a February 10, 2012 televised interview with CNN host Piers Morgan, LL Cool J expressed sympathy for President Barack Obama and ascribed negative impressions of his leadership to Republican obstruction designed to "make it look like you have a coordination problem." He was quick to add that no one "should assume that I'm a Democrat either. I'm an Independent, you know?" In his 2020 book "LL Cool J's Platinum 360 Diet and Lifestyle", he included Obama in a list of people he admired, stating that the then-president had "accomplished what people thought was impossible."


title: LL Cool J

text: LL Cool J has his own charitable foundation called Jump & Ball, which is based in his hometown of Queens, New York, and offers an athletic and team-building program for young people. He is also involved in many charitable causes for literacy, music, and arts programs for kids and schools.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The Tenerife airport disaster occurred on March 27, 1977, when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife. The collision occurred when KLM Flight 4805 initiated its takeoff run while Pan Am Flight 1736 was still on the runway. 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. With 583 fatalities, the disaster is the deadliest accident in aviation history.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: A bomb set off by the Canary Islands Independence Movement at Gran Canaria Airport had caused many flights to be diverted to Los Rodeos, including the two aircraft involved in the accident. The airport quickly became congested with parked airplanes blocking the only taxiway and forcing departing aircraft to taxi on the runway instead. Patches of thick fog were drifting across the airfield, so visibility was greatly reduced for pilots and the control tower.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The subsequent investigation by Spanish authorities concluded that the primary cause of the accident was the KLM captain's decision to take off in the mistaken belief that a takeoff clearance from air traffic control (ATC) had been issued. Dutch investigators placed a greater emphasis on a mutual misunderstanding in radio communications between the KLM crew and ATC, but ultimately KLM admitted that their crew was responsible for the accident and the airline agreed to financially compensate the relatives of all of the victims.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The disaster had a lasting influence on the industry, highlighting in particular the vital importance of using standardized phraseology in radio communications. Cockpit procedures were also reviewed, contributing to the establishment of crew resource management as a fundamental part of airline pilots' training.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Tenerife was an unscheduled stop for both flights. Their destination was Gran Canaria Airport (also known as Las Palmas Airport or Gando Airport), serving Las Palmas on the nearby island of Gran Canaria. Both islands are part of the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwest coast of Morocco.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: KLM Flight 4805 was a charter flight for Holland International Travel Group and had arrived from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands. Its cockpit crew consisted of Captain Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten (age 50), First Officer Klaas Meurs (42), and Flight Engineer Willem Schreuder (48). At the time of the accident, Veldhuyzen van Zanten was KLM's chief flight instructor, with 11,700 flight hours, of which 1,545 hours were on the 747. Meurs had 9,200 flight hours, of which 95 hours were on the 747. Schreuder had 17,031 flight hours, of which 543 hours were on the 747.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The aircraft was a Boeing 747-206B, registration PH-BUF, named "Rijn (Rhine)". The KLM jet was carrying 14 crew members and 235 passengers, including 52 children. Most of the KLM passengers were Dutch; also on board were four Germans, two Austrians and two Americans. After the aircraft landed at Tenerife, the passengers were transported to the airport terminal. One of the inbound passengers, Robina van Lanschot, who lived on the island with her boyfriend, chose not to re-board the 747, leaving 234 passengers on board.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Pan Am Flight 1736 had originated at Los Angeles International Airport, with an intermediate stop at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The aircraft was a Boeing 747-121, registration N736PA, named "Clipper Victor". It was the first 747 to be delivered to an airline. Of the 380 passengers (mostly of retirement age, but including two children), 14 had boarded in New York, where the crew was also changed. The new crew consisted of Captain Victor Grubbs (age 56), First Officer Robert Bragg (39), Flight Engineer George Warns (46) and 13 flight attendants. At the time of the accident, Grubbs had 21,043 hours of flight time, of which 564 hours were on the 747. Bragg had 10,800 flight hours, of which 2,796 hours were on the 747. Warns had 15,210 flight hours, of which 559 hours were on the 747.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: This particular aircraft had operated the inaugural 747 commercial flight on January 22, 1970. On 2 August 1970, in its first year of service, it also became the first 747 to be hijacked: en route between JFK and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, it was diverted to José Martí International Airport in Havana, Cuba.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Both flights had been routine until they approached the islands. At 13:15, a bomb planted by the separatist Canary Islands Independence Movement exploded in the terminal of Gran Canaria Airport, injuring eight people. There had been a phone call warning of the bomb, and another call received soon afterwards made claims of a second bomb at the airport. The civil aviation authorities had therefore closed the airport temporarily after the explosion, and all incoming flights bound for Gran Canaria had been diverted to Los Rodeos, including the two aircraft involved in the disaster. The Pan Am crew indicated that they would prefer to circle in a holding pattern until landing clearance was given (they had enough fuel to safely stay in the air for two more hours), but they were ordered to divert to Tenerife.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Los Rodeos was a regional airport that could not easily accommodate all of the traffic diverted from Gran Canaria, which included five large airliners. The airport had only one runway and one major taxiway running parallel to it, with four short taxiways connecting the two. While waiting for Gran Canaria airport to reopen, the diverted airplanes took up so much space that they had to park on the long taxiway, making it unavailable for the purpose of taxiing. Instead, departing aircraft needed to taxi along the runway to position themselves for takeoff, a procedure known as a backtaxi or backtrack.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The authorities reopened Gran Canaria airport once the bomb threat had been contained. The Pan Am plane was ready to depart from Tenerife, but access to the runway was obstructed by the KLM plane and a refueling vehicle; the KLM captain had decided to fully refuel at Los Rodeos instead of Las Palmas, apparently to save time. The Pan Am aircraft was unable to maneuver around the refueling KLM in order to reach the runway for takeoff, due to a lack of safe clearance between the two planes, which was just . The refueling took about 35 minutes, after which the passengers were brought back to the aircraft. The search for a missing Dutch family of four, who had not returned to the waiting KLM plane, delayed the flight even further. Robina van Lanschot, a tour guide, had chosen not to reboard for the flight to Las Palmas, because she lived on Tenerife and thought it impractical to fly to Gran Canaria only to return to Tenerife the next day. She was therefore not on the KLM plane when the accident happened, and would be the only survivor of those who flew from Amsterdam to Tenerife on Flight 4805.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The tower instructed the KLM plane to taxi down the entire length of the runway and then make a 180° turn to get into takeoff position. While the KLM was backtaxiing on the runway, the controller asked the flight crew to report when it was ready to copy the ATC clearance. Because the flight crew was performing the checklist, copying the clearance was postponed until the aircraft was in takeoff position.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Shortly afterward, the Pan Am was instructed to follow the KLM down the same runway, exit it by taking the third exit on their left and then use the parallel taxiway. Initially, the crew was unclear as to whether the controller had told them to take the first or third exit. The crew asked for clarification and the controller responded emphatically by replying: "The third one, sir; one, two, three; third, third one." The crew began the taxi and proceeded to identify the unmarked taxiways using an airport diagram as they reached them.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The crew successfully identified the first two taxiways (C-1 and C-2), but their discussion in the cockpit indicated that they had not sighted the third taxiway (C-3), which they had been instructed to use. There were no markings or signs to identify the runway exits and they were in conditions of poor visibility. The Pan Am crew appeared to remain unsure of their position on the runway until the collision, which occurred near the intersection with the fourth taxiway (C-4).


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The angle of the third taxiway would have required the plane to perform a 148° turn, which would lead back toward the still-crowded main apron. At the end of C-3, the Pan Am would have to make another 148° turn, in order to continue taxiing towards the start of the runway, similar to a mirrored letter "Z". Taxiway C-4 would have required two 35° turns. A study carried out by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) after the accident concluded that making the second 148° turn at the end of taxiway C-3 would have been "a practical impossibility". The official report from the Spanish authorities explained that the controller instructed the Pan Am aircraft to use the third taxiway because this was the earliest exit that they could take to reach the unobstructed section of the parallel taxiway.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Los Rodeos airport is at above sea level, which gives rise to weather conditions that differ from those at many other airports. Clouds at above ground level at the nearby coast are at ground level at Los Rodeos. Drifting clouds of different densities cause wildly varying visibilities, from unhindered at one moment to below the legal minimum the next. The collision took place in a high-density cloud.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The Pan Am crew found themselves in poor and rapidly deteriorating visibility almost as soon as they entered the runway. According to the ALPA report, as the Pan Am aircraft taxied to the runway, the visibility was about . Shortly after they turned onto the runway it decreased to less than .


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Meanwhile, the KLM plane was still in good visibility, but with clouds blowing down the runway towards them. The aircraft completed its 180-degree turn in relatively clear weather and lined up on Runway 30. The next cloud was down the runway and moving towards the aircraft at about .


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Immediately after lining up, the KLM captain advanced the throttles and the aircraft started to move forward. First officer Meurs advised him that ATC clearance had not yet been given, and captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten responded: "No, I know that. Go ahead, ask." Meurs then radioed the tower that they were "ready for takeoff" and "waiting for our ATC clearance". The KLM crew then received instructions that specified the route that the aircraft was to follow after takeoff. The instructions used the word "takeoff," but did not include an explicit statement that they were cleared for takeoff.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Meurs read the flight clearance back to the controller, completing the readback with the statement: "We are now at takeoff." Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten interrupted the co-pilot's readback with the comment, "We're going."


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The controller, who could not see the runway due to the fog, initially responded with "OK" (terminology that is nonstandard), which reinforced the KLM captain's misinterpretation that they had takeoff clearance. The controller's response of "OK" to the co-pilot's nonstandard statement that they were "now at takeoff" was likely due to his misinterpretation that they were in takeoff position and ready to begin the roll when takeoff clearance was received, but not in the process of taking off. The controller then immediately added "stand by for takeoff, I will call you", indicating that he had not intended the instruction to be interpreted as a takeoff clearance.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: A simultaneous radio call from the Pan Am crew caused mutual interference on the radio frequency, which was audible in the KLM cockpit as a three-second-long shrill sound (or heterodyne). This caused the KLM crew to miss the crucial latter portion of the tower's response. The Pan Am crew's transmission was "We're still taxiing down the runway, the Clipper 1736!" This message was also blocked by the interference and inaudible to the KLM crew. Either message, if heard in the KLM cockpit, would have alerted the crew to the situation and given them time to abort the takeoff attempt.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Due to the fog, neither crew was able to see the other plane on the runway ahead of them. In addition, neither of the aircraft could be seen from the control tower, and the airport was not equipped with ground radar.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: After the KLM plane had started its takeoff roll, the tower instructed the Pan Am crew to "report when runway clear." The Pan Am crew replied: "OK, will report when we're clear." On hearing this, the KLM flight engineer expressed his concern about the Pan Am not being clear of the runway by asking the pilots in his own cockpit, "Is he not clear that Pan American?" Veldhuyzen van Zanten emphatically replied "Oh, yes" and continued with the takeoff.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: According to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the Pan Am captain said, "There he is!" when he spotted the KLM's landing lights through the fog just as his plane approached exit C-4. When it became clear that the KLM aircraft was approaching at takeoff speed, Captain Grubbs exclaimed, "Goddamn, that son-of-a-bitch is coming!", while first officer Robert Bragg yelled, "Get off! Get off! Get off!" Captain Grubbs applied full power to the throttles and made a sharp left turn towards the grass in an attempt to avoid the impending collision. By the time the KLM pilots saw the Pan Am aircraft, they were already moving too fast to stop. In desperation, the pilots prematurely rotated the aircraft and attempted to clear the Pan Am by lifting off, causing a tailstrike.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The KLM 747 was within of the Pan Am and moving at approximately when it left the ground. Its nose landing gear cleared the Pan Am, but its left-side engines, lower fuselage, and main landing gear struck the upper right side of the Pan Am's fuselage, ripping apart the center of the Pan Am jet almost directly above the wing. The right-side engines crashed through the Pan Am's upper deck immediately behind the cockpit.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The KLM plane remained briefly airborne, but the impact had sheared off the outer left engine, caused significant amounts of shredded materials to be ingested by the inner left engine, and damaged the wings. The plane immediately went into a stall, rolled sharply, and hit the ground approximately past the collision, sliding down the runway for a further . The full load of fuel, which had caused the earlier delay, ignited immediately into a fireball that could not be subdued for several hours. One of the 61 survivors of the Pan Am flight said that sitting in the nose of the plane probably saved his life: "We all settled back, and the next thing an explosion took place and the whole port side, left side of the plane, was just torn wide open."


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten was KLM's chief of flight training and one of their most senior pilots. About two months before the accident, he had conducted the Boeing 747 qualification check on the co-pilot of Flight 4805. His photograph was used for publicity materials such as magazine advertisements, including the inflight magazine on board PH-BUF. KLM had suggested initially that Veldhuyzen van Zanten should help with the investigation, unaware that he was the captain that had been killed in the accident.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Both airplanes were destroyed in the collision. All 248 passengers and crew aboard the KLM plane died, as did 335 passengers and crew aboard the Pan Am plane, primarily due to the fire and explosions resulting from the fuel spilled and ignited in the impact. The other 61 passengers and crew aboard the Pan Am aircraft survived, including the captain, first officer, and flight engineer. Most of the survivors on the Pan Am walked out onto the intact left wing, the side away from the collision, through holes in the fuselage structure.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The Pan Am's engines were still running for a few minutes after the accident despite first officer Bragg's intention to turn them off. The top part of the cockpit, where the engine switches were located, had been destroyed in the collision, and all control lines were severed, leaving no method for the flight crew to control the aircraft's systems. Survivors waited for rescue, but it did not come promptly, as the firefighters were initially unaware that there were two aircraft involved and were concentrating on the KLM wreck hundreds of meters away in the thick fog and smoke. Eventually, most of the survivors on the wing dropped to the ground below.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The following day, the Canary Islands Independence Movement, responsible for the bombing at Gran Canaria that started the chain of events that led to the disaster, denied responsibility for the accident.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Los Rodeos Airport, the only operating airport on Tenerife in 1977, was closed to all fixed-wing traffic for two days. The first crash investigators to arrive at Tenerife the day after the crash travelled there by way of a three-hour boat ride from Las Palmas. The first aircraft that was able to land was a United States Air Force C-130 transport, which landed on the airport's main taxiway at 12:50 on 29 March. The C-130 transport was arranged by Lt. Col Dr. James K. Slaton, who arrived before the crash investigators and started triaging surviving passengers. Slaton was dispatched from Torrejon Air Base just outside of Madrid, Spain. Slaton, who was a flight surgeon attached to the 613th Tactical Fighter Squadron, worked with the local medical staff and remained on scene until the last survivor was airlifted to awaiting medical facilities. The C-130 transported all surviving and injured passengers from Tenerife to Las Palmas; many of the injured were taken from there to Air Force bases in the United States for further treatment.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Spanish Army soldiers were tasked with clearing crash wreckage from the runways and taxiways. By March 30, a small plane shuttle service was approved, but large jets still could not land. Los Rodeos was fully reopened on April 3, after wreckage had been fully removed and engineers had repaired the airport's runway.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The accident was investigated by Spain's Comisión de Investigación de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviación Civil (CIAIAC). About 70 personnel were involved in the investigation, including representatives from the United States, the Netherlands and the two airline companies. Facts showed that there had been misinterpretations and false assumptions before the accident. Analysis of the CVR transcript showed that the KLM pilot thought that he had been cleared for takeoff, while the Tenerife control tower believed that the KLM 747 was stationary at the end of the runway, awaiting takeoff clearance. It appears that KLM's co-pilot was not as certain about take-off clearance as the captain.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The investigation concluded that the fundamental cause of the accident was that Captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten attempted to take off without clearance. The investigators suggested the reason for this was a desire to leave as soon as possible in order to comply with KLM's duty-time regulations (which went in place earlier that year) and before the weather deteriorated further.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The Dutch authorities were reluctant to accept the Spanish report blaming the KLM captain for the accident. The Netherlands Department of Civil Aviation published a response that, while accepting that the KLM captain had taken off "prematurely", argued that he alone should not be blamed for the "mutual misunderstanding" that occurred between the controller and the KLM crew, and that limitations of using radio as a means of communication should have been given greater consideration.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Although the Dutch authorities were initially reluctant to blame captain Veldhuyzen van Zanten and his crew, the airline ultimately accepted responsibility for the accident. KLM paid the victims' families compensation ranging between $58,000 and $600,000 (or $ to $ million today, adjusted for inflation). The sum of settlements for property and damages was $110 million (or $ million today), an average of $189,000 (or $ today) per victim, due to limitations imposed by European Compensation Conventions in effect at the time.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: This was one of the first accident investigations to include a study into the contribution of "human factors". These included:


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: As a consequence of the accident, sweeping changes were made to international airline regulations and to aircraft. Aviation authorities around the world introduced requirements for standard phrases and a greater emphasis on English as a common working language.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Air traffic instruction must not be acknowledged solely with a colloquial phrase such as "OK" or even "Roger" (which simply means the last transmission was received), but with a readback of the key parts of the instruction, to show mutual understanding. The word "takeoff" is now spoken only when the actual takeoff clearance is given, or when canceling that same clearance (i.e. "cleared for takeoff" or "cancel takeoff clearance"). Until that point, aircrew and controllers should use the word "departure" in its place (e.g. "ready for departure"). Additionally, an ATC clearance given to an aircraft already lined-up on the runway must be prefixed with the instruction "hold position".


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: Cockpit procedures were also changed after the accident. Hierarchical relations among crew members were played down, and greater emphasis was placed on team decision-making by mutual agreement. Less experienced flight crew members were encouraged to challenge their captains when they believed something to be incorrect, and captains were instructed to listen to their crew and evaluate all decisions in light of crew concerns. This course of action was later expanded into what is known today as crew resource management (CRM), which states that all pilots, no matter how experienced they are, are allowed to contradict each other. This was a problem in the crash when the Flight Engineer asked if they were not clear, but Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten (the captain of the KLM, with over 11,000 hours flown) said that they were obviously clear and the Flight Engineer decided that it was best not to contradict the captain. CRM training has been mandatory for all airline pilots since 2006.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: In 1978, a second airport was opened on the island of Tenerife, the new Tenerife South Airport (TFS), which now serves the majority of international tourist flights. Los Rodeos, renamed Tenerife North Airport (TFN), was then used only for domestic and inter-island flights until 2002, when a new terminal was opened and Tenerife North began to carry international traffic again.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The Spanish government installed a ground radar system at Tenerife North Airport following the accident.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: A Dutch national memorial and final resting place for the victims of the KLM plane is located in Amsterdam, at Westgaarde cemetery. There is also a memorial at the Westminster Memorial Park and Mortuary in Westminster, California, US.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: In 1977, a cross in Rancho Bernardo was dedicated to nineteen area residents who died in the disaster.


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: In 2007, the 30th anniversary marked the first time that Dutch and American next-of-kin and aid helpers from Tenerife joined an international commemoration service, held at the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz. The International Tenerife Memorial March 27, 1977, was inaugurated at the Mesa Mota on March 27, 2007. The monument was designed by Dutch sculptor Rudi van de Wint (1942-2006).


title: Tenerife airport disaster

text: The disaster has been featured in many TV shows and documentaries. These include the "Survival in the Sky" episode "Blaming the Pilot", the "Seconds From Disaster" episode "Collision on the Runway", PBS's "NOVA" episode "The Deadliest Plane Crash" in 2006, the PBS special "Surviving Disaster: How the Brain Works Under Extreme Duress" (based on Amanda Ripley's book "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why") in 2011, "Destroyed in Seconds" and an episode of the Canadian TV series "Mayday" (known by different names in different countries), namely the season 16 standard length episode "Disaster at Tenerife" with the earlier more in-depth 90-minute "Crash of the Century" being a spin-off. Footage was included in the 1979 film "Days of Fury", narrated by Vincent Price.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: "Commercial Aircraft (Airbus S.A.S.)", "Defence and Space", and "Helicopters", the third being the largest in its industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. As of 2019, Airbus is the world's largest airliner manufacturer.


title: Airbus

text: The company's main civil aeroplane business is conducted through the French company Airbus S.A.S., based in Blagnac, a suburb of Toulouse, with production and manufacturing facilities mostly in the European Union and the United Kingdom but also in China, the United States and Canada. Final assembly production is based in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; Seville, Spain; Tianjin, China; Mobile, United States; and Montreal, Canada. The company produces and markets the first commercially viable digital fly-by-wire airliner, the Airbus A320, and the world's largest passenger airliner, the A380. The 6,000th aircraft, an A380, was delivered to Emirates on 19 January 2010, while its 10,000th aircraft, an A350-900, was delivered to Singapore Airlines on 14 October 2016. The 12,000th aircraft, an A220, was delivered to Delta Air Lines on 20 May 2019. By October 2016, the global Airbus fleet have performed more than 110 million flights, totalling over 215 billion kilometres and carrying 12 billion passengers.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus's registered headquarters is in Leiden, Netherlands, but its head office is located in Toulouse, France. The 'SE' in its corporate name means it is a , which enables it to be registered as a European rather than a national corporation. Its shares are traded in France, Germany and Spain. The company is led by CEO Guillaume Faury and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.


title: Airbus

text: The current company is the product of consolidation in the European aerospace industry tracing back to the formation of the "Airbus Industrie GIE" consortium in 1970. In 2000, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV was established. In addition to other subsidiaries pertaining to security and space activities, EADS owned 100% of the pre-existing Eurocopter SA, established in 1992, as well as 80% of Airbus Industrie GIE. In 2001, Airbus Industrie GIE was reorganised as Airbus SAS, a simplified joint-stock company. In 2006, EADS acquired BAE Systems's remaining 20% of Airbus. EADS NV was renamed Airbus Group NV and SE in 2014, and 2015, respectively. Due to the dominance of the Airbus SAS division within Airbus Group SE, the executive committees of the parent and subsidiary companies were aligned in January 2017, but the companies were kept as separate legal entities. The holding company was given its present name in April 2017.


title: Airbus

text: The logos of Airbus Industrie GIE and Airbus SAS displayed a stylized turbine symbol, redolent of a jet engine, and a font similar to Helvetica Black. The logo colours were reflected in the standard Airbus aircraft livery in each period. The EADS logo between 2000 and 2010 combined the logos of the merged companies, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (a four-ray star) and Aérospatiale-Matra (a curved arrow), after which these elements were removed and a new font with 3D shading was chosen. This font was retained in the logos of Airbus Group NV (2014–2015) and Airbus Group SE (2015–2017), then Airbus SE:


title: Airbus

text: The Airbus product line started with the A300 in 1972, the world's first twin-aisle, twin-engined aircraft. A shorter, re-winged, re-engined variant of the A300 is known as the A310.


title: Airbus

text: Building on its success, Airbus launched the A320, the first commercial jet to use a digital fly-by-wire control system. The A320 has been, and continues to be, a major commercial success. The A318 and A319 are shorter derivatives with some of the latter under construction for the corporate business jet market as Airbus Corporate Jets. A stretched version is known as the A321. The A320 family's primary competitor is the Boeing 737 family.


title: Airbus

text: The longer-range widebody products— the twin-jet A330 and the four-engine A340— have efficient wings, enhanced by winglets. The Airbus A340-500 has an operating range of , the third longest range of any commercial jet after the Boeing 777-200LR (range of 17,446 km or 9,420 nautical miles) and the Airbus A350-900ULR (range of 18,000 km or 9,700 nautical miles).


title: Airbus

text: All Airbus aircraft developed since then have cockpit systems similar to the A320, making it easier to train crew. Production of the four-engine A340 was ended in 2011 due to lack of sales compared to its twin-engine counterparts, such as the Boeing 777.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus is studying a replacement for the A320 series, tentatively dubbed NSR, for "New Short-Range aircraft". Those studies indicated a maximum fuel efficiency gain of 9–10% for the NSR. Airbus however opted to enhance the existing A320 design using new winglets and working on aerodynamical improvements. This "A320 Enhanced" should have a fuel efficiency improvement of around 4–5%, shifting the launch of an A320 replacement to 2017–2018.


title: Airbus

text: On 24 September 2009, the COO Fabrice Bregier stated to "Le Figaro" that the company would need from €800 million to €1 billion over six years to develop the new aircraft generation and preserve the company technological lead from new competitors like the Chinese Comac C919, scheduled to operate by 2015–2020.


title: Airbus

text: In July 2007, Airbus delivered its last A300 to FedEx, marking the end of the A300/A310 production line. Airbus intends to relocate Toulouse A320 final assembly activity to Hamburg, and A350/A380 production in the opposite direction as part of its Power8 organization plan begun under ex-CEO Christian Streiff.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus Corporate Jets markets and modifies new aircraft for private and corporate customers. It has a model range that parallels the commercial aircraft offered by the company, ranging from the A318 Elite to the double-deck Airbus A380 Prestige. Following the entry of the 737 based Boeing Business Jet, Airbus joined the business jet market with the A319 Corporate Jet in 1997. Although the term Airbus Corporate jet was initially used only for the A319CJ, it is now often used for all models, including the VIP widebodies. As of December 2008, 121 corporate and private jets are operating, 164 aircraft have been ordered, including an A380 Prestige and 107 A320 family Corporate Jet.


title: Airbus

text: In September 2014, Aerion partnered with Airbus (mainly Airbus Defence) to collaborate on designing the Aerion AS2, a supersonic 11-seater private business jet, hoping for a market entry in 2021. Airbus was replaced with Lockheed Martin in 2017.


title: Airbus

text: In June 2013, Airbus announced that it was developing a range of "smart suitcases" known as "Bag2Go" for air travellers, in conjunction with luggage-maker Rimowa and IT firm T-Systems. The cases feature a collection of built-in electronic gadgets which communicate with a smartphone app and with the IT systems of the airline, to assist the traveller and improve reliability and security of baggage handling. Gadgets include a weighing scale and a location tracker, using GPS for location tracking, RFID for identification, and a SIM card for messaging. Since then, similar products have been announced by other companies.


title: Airbus

text: In the late 1990s, Airbus became increasingly interested in developing and selling to the military aviation market. It embarked on two main fields of development: aerial refuelling with the Airbus A310 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) and the Airbus A330 MRTT, and tactical airlift with the Airbus A400M Atlas.


title: Airbus

text: In January 1999 Airbus established a separate company, Airbus Military , to undertake development and production of a turboprop-powered tactical transport aircraft, the A400M. The A400M is being developed by several NATO members, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey, and the UK, as an alternative to relying on foreign aircraft for tactical airlift capacity, such as the Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan and the American C-130 Hercules. The A400M project has suffered several delays; Airbus has threatened to cancel the development unless it receives state subsidies.


title: Airbus

text: Pakistan placed an order for the Airbus A310 MRTT in 2008, which will be a conversion of an existing airframe as the base model A310 is no longer in production. On 25 February 2008 Airbus won an order for three air refuelling MRTT aircraft, adapted from A330 passenger jets, from the United Arab Emirates. On 1 March 2008 a consortium of Airbus and Northrop Grumman had won a $35 billion contract to build the new in-flight refuelling aircraft KC-45A, a US built version of the MRTT, for the USAF. The decision drew a formal complaint from Boeing, and the KC-X contract was cancelled to begin bidding afresh.


title: Airbus

text: The Airbus numbering system is an alpha numeric model number followed by a dash and a three digit number.


title: Airbus

text: The model number often takes the form of the letter "A" followed by a '3', a digit, then followed normally by a '0', for example A350. There are some exceptions such as: A220, A318, A319, A321 and A400M. The succeeding three digit number represents the aircraft series, the engine manufacturer and engine version number respectively. To use an A380-800 with Engine Alliance (EA) GP7200 engines as an example; The code is 8 for series 800, 6 for Engine Alliance and engine version 1, thus the aircraft number is A380-861.


title: Airbus

text: An additional letter is sometimes used. These include: 'C' for a combi version (passenger/freighter), 'F' for a freighter model, 'R' for the long-range model, 'M' for a military model and 'X' for the enhanced model.


title: Airbus

text: Commercial aircraft generated 66% of total revenue for the group in 2013. The product portfolio of such aircraft encompasses short range models such as the A320 family and the world's largest passenger airliner, the A380. Final assembly for this division is the Airbus Toulouse facility.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus Transport International is a cargo airline that operates a fleet of five Airbus Beluga aircraft. The Belugas carry aircraft parts from factories to final assembly lines. In 2020, three Airbus BelugaXL aircraft, which can carry two A350 wings rather than just one, were introduced. The BelugaXLs will gradually replace the five original Belugas in the coming years.


title: Airbus

text: The division Airbus Defence and Space was formed in January 2014 as part of the group restructuring from the former EADS divisions Airbus Military, Astrium, and Cassidian (composed of Cassidian Electronics – develops and manufactures sensors, radars, avionics and electronic warfare systems for military and security applications, Cassidian Air Systems – develops manned and unmanned aerial systems (UAVs), mission avionics, electronic defence and warning systems and Cassidian Systems – provides global security systems such as command & control, lead system integration, TETRA and TETRAPOL communication systems for public safety, industry, transportation and defence. This line of business was the first one in the world to begin field tests with TETRA Enhanced Data Service (TEDS).).


title: Airbus

text: The Airbus Military division, which manufactured tanker, transport and mission aircraft; Airbus Helicopters, the world's largest helicopter supplier; Astrium, provided systems for aerial, land, naval and civilian security applications including Ariane, Galileo and Cassidian. Through Cassidian, EADS was a partner in the Eurofighter consortium as well as in the missile systems provider MBDA.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus Helicopters, formerly known as Eurocopter, is a helicopter manufacturing and support company. See also: Airbus Helicopters, Inc.


title: Airbus

text: In September 2014 Airbus considered divesting Dassault and several other units to focus on aerospace. It reduced its shareholding in Dassault Aviation to 10% by the end of 2016.


title: Airbus

text: The subsidiary Airbus Middle East is headquartered in the Dubai Airport Free Zone. This subsidiary opened in 2006.


title: Airbus

text: The subsidiary Airbus Japan K.K. (エアバス・ジャパン株式会社) is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus, however, has a number of other plants in different European locations, reflecting its foundation as a consortium. An original solution to the problem of moving aircraft parts between the different factories and the assembly plants is the use of the Airbus Beluga, a modified cargo aircraft capable of carrying entire sections of fuselage. Boeing adopted a similar solution with 4 adapted 747-400s to transport the components of the 787. An exception to this scheme is the A380, whose fuselage and wings are too large for sections to be carried by the Beluga. Large A380 parts are brought by ship to Bordeaux, and then transported to the Toulouse assembly plant by the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit, a specially enlarged waterway and road route.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus opened an assembly plant in Tianjin, People's Republic of China for its A320 series airliners in 2009. Airbus started constructing a $350 million component manufacturing plant in Harbin, China in July 2009, which will employ 1,000 people. Scheduled to be operated by the end of 2010, the 30,000 square metre plant will manufacture composite parts and assemble composite work-packages for the A350 XWB, A320 families and future Airbus programmes. Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Corporation, Hafei Aviation Industry Company Ltd, AviChina Industry & Technology Company and other Chinese partners hold the 80% stake of the plant while Airbus control the remaining 20%.


title: Airbus

text: North America is an important region to Airbus in terms of both aircraft sales and suppliers. 2,000 of the total of approximately 5,300 Airbus jetliners sold by Airbus around the world, representing every aircraft in its product line from the 107-seat A318 to the 565-passenger A380, are ordered by North American customers. According to Airbus, US contractors, supporting an estimated 120,000 jobs, earned an estimated $5.5 billion (2003) worth of business. For example, one version of the A380 has 51% American content in terms of work share value.


title: Airbus

text: Plans for a Mobile, Alabama aircraft assembly plant were unveiled by Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention Centre on 2 July 2012. The plans include a $600 million factory at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley for the assembly of the A220, A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. It could employ up to 1,000 full-time workers when operational. Construction began on 8 April 2013, and became operable by 2015, producing up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017.


title: Airbus

text: In February 2019, Airbus stated that production of the A380 will end in 2021 after Emirates, the biggest customer for the plane, reduced its outstanding order for 53 planes to just fourteen.


title: Airbus

text: In October 2005 the British Ministry of Defence warned European politicians to stop, as it sees it, interfering in the corporate governance of EADS. The former UK Defence Procurement Minister Lord Drayson hinted that the UK government, a major customer for EADS, may withhold future contracts. "As a key customer, we see it as important for EADS to move in a direction that is free from political interference."


title: Airbus

text: On 4 April 2006, DaimlerChrysler announced its intention to reduce its shareholding from 30 % to 22.5 %. The company places a value of the stake at "approximately €2.0 billion." Lagardère will reduce its holding by an identical amount. However, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, a unit of the French government, acquired 2.25 % of EADS. At issue as a result is the fact that the German and French shareholdings are now in imbalance.


title: Airbus

text: On 30 August 2006, shortly after the stock price decline caused by the A380 delivery delays, more than 5 % of EADS stock has been reportedly purchased by the Russian state-owned Vneshtorgbank. Now its share is nearly 6 %. In December 2007, Vneshtorgbank sold EADS shares to another state-controlled bank Vneshekonombank. EADS sharers are to be delivered by Vneshekonombank to the charter capital of JSC "United Aircraft Corporation" in 2008.


title: Airbus

text: On 3 October 2006, shortly after EADS admitted further delays in the Airbus 380 programme would cost the company 4.8 billion euros in lost earnings in 2010, EADS shares, traded on the Paris arm of Euronext, were suspended after they surpassed the 10 % loss limit. Trading resumed later in the day with the one-day loss holding at 7 %.


title: Airbus

text: In 2007, Dubai Holding acquired 3.12 % of EADS stock, making the Dubai buy-out fund one of the largest institutional shareholders.


title: Airbus

text: , 73.6 % of Airbus Group stock is publicly traded on six European stock exchanges, while the remaining 26.4 % is owned by a "Contractual Partnership". As at 26 April 2018, the partnership is owned by SOGEPA (11.1%), GZBV (11.1%) and SEPI (4.2%). SOGEPA is owned by the French State, GZBV is majority owned by KfW, while SEPI is a Spanish state holding company.


title: Airbus

text: In April 2020, Airbus announced that it has cut aircraft production by a third due to the COVID-19 outbreak. According to Guillaume Faury, the company was "bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed." The recession put its survival at stake and presented the need for deep job cuts throughout all Airbus departments. 3,000 workers in France were involved in government-assisted furlough schemes.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus has committed to the "Flightpath 2050", an aviation industry plan to reduce noise, CO, and NOx emissions.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus was the first aerospace business to become ISO 14001 certified, in January 2007; this is a broader certification covering the whole organisation, not just the aircraft it produces.


title: Airbus

text: In association with Honeywell and JetBlue, Airbus has developed a biofuel to reduce pollution and dependence on fossil fuels, claiming that this has the potential to replace up to a third of the world's aviation fuel. Algae-based biofuel absorbs carbon dioxide during growth and does not compete with food production. This alternative may be commercially available by 2030 but algae and other vegetation-based fuels are in an early stage of development and fuel-bearing algae has been expensive to develop. Airbus offers delivery flights to airlines using a 10% biofuel blend in standard engines. The fuel does not cut carbon emissions but is free of sulphur emissions and demonstrates that the fuel could be used in commercial flights in unmodified engines.


title: Airbus

text: In September 2020, Airbus unveiled three liquid hydrogen-fueled "ZEROe" concept aircraft that it claims could become the first commercial zero-emission aircraft, entering service by 2035.


title: Airbus

text: Boeing has continually protested over "launch aid" and other forms of government aid to Airbus, while Airbus has argued that Boeing receives illegal subsidies through military and research contracts and tax breaks.


title: Airbus

text: In July 2004 former Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher accused Airbus of abusing a 1992 bilateral EU-US agreement providing for disciplines for large civil aircraft support from governments. Airbus is given reimbursable launch investment (RLI), called "launch aid" by the US, from European governments with the money being paid back with interest plus indefinite royalties, but only if the aircraft is a commercial success. Airbus contends that this system is fully compliant with the 1992 agreement and WTO rules. The agreement allows up to 33% of the programme cost to be met through government loans which are to be fully repaid within 17 years with interest and royalties. These loans are held at a minimum interest rate equal to the cost of government borrowing plus 0.25%, which would be below market rates available to Airbus without government support. Airbus claims that since the signature of the EU-US agreement in 1992, it has repaid European governments more than U.S.$6.7 billion and that this is 40% more than it has received.


title: Airbus

text: Airbus argues that the military contracts awarded to Boeing, the second largest U.S. defence contractor, are in effect a form of subsidy, such as the controversy surrounding the Boeing KC-767 military contracting arrangements. The significant U.S. government support of technology development via NASA also provides significant support to Boeing, as do the large tax breaks offered to Boeing, which some people claim are in violation of the 1992 agreement and WTO rules. In its recent products such as the 787, Boeing has also been offered direct financial support from local and state governments.


title: Airbus

text: In January 2005 the European Union and United States trade representatives, Peter Mandelson and Robert Zoellick respectively, agreed to talks aimed at resolving the increasing tensions. These talks were not successful with the dispute becoming more acrimonious rather than approaching a settlement.


title: Airbus

text: WTO ruled in August 2010 and in May 2011 that Airbus had received improper government subsidies through loans with below market rates from several European countries. In a separate ruling in February 2011, WTO found that Boeing had received local and federal aid in violation of WTO rules.