Emily writes:

Actually, in the Tenerife accident, the only radio problem was caused by
simultaneous radio transmissions by aircraft, NOT a pilot hearing want
he wanted to hear.

There were several problems. The Pan Am crew was not sure of which
exit to take from the runway. Neither was the KLM, IIRC. The KLM
didn't understand the ATC clearance, and the tower didn't understand
the KLM acknowledgement. Pam Am said it was on the runway several
times but this was misunderstood as well. There were many
misunderstandings, most of them related to radio communication.

The tower told the KLM aircraft to stand by at the
same time the Pan Am aircraft transmitted, which resulted in a blocking
of both transmissions.

Not entirely true. Part of it was audible.

There were many other steps in the accident
chain, but Tenerife was most certainly not caused by a pilot hearing
what he wanted to hear.

That has never been determined. The most likely cause is that a pilot
heard what he wanted to hear, or he deliberately and negligently
ignored instructions. Other pilots may also have heard what they
wanted to hear.

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