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00:00on a simple test flight the crew loses control it's pitching up all the time it's pitching up
00:09in the middle of the night what do you think what do we need to do i don't know a packed
00:15airbus goes missing over the atlantic ocean an air show in france a demonstration flight
00:24ends in disaster when there's new technology on board how do pilots and planes get their signals
00:33crossed why isn't the airplane responding what do we need to do flaps up flaps up it's a diagnostic
00:41process that you don't have a lot of time with but what's happening
00:46the investigations lead to a troubling question
00:54was it the pilot or was it the plane we need to know
01:01basil moulouse airport france a brand new model of plane is about to be introduced
01:31to the world ladies and gentlemen hello and welcome aboard this airbus a320 which was put
01:38into service just two days ago the airbus a320 is the first civil aircraft to use fly-by-wire technology
01:46air france has assigned captain michel aceline the head of pilot training for the a320 to promote a
01:54to promote a revolution in the cockpit
02:01fly-by-wire technology changes the way pilots operate their planes
02:06on the fly-by-wire system the pilot essentially flies the computer and the computer flies the aircraft
02:13with this new system pilots no longer manually control flight surfaces like rudders and elevators
02:20they now fly the plane by sending commands through the planes electronic system
02:28airbus's philosophy was we'll get rid of most of the human error by getting rid of the human input
02:41to the greatest extent that we can
02:43on its debut flight there's a lot on the line for the airbus a320 and captain
02:50a saline air shuttle 296 would like to roll please
02:54acf 296 q clear for takeoff
03:00we tried to demonstrate the capability of this aircraft
03:04to say we wanted to show off not exactly we wanted to make a good job and we were sure to make a good job
03:11the airbus and a hundred and thirty guests and journalists are heading to Habshaim airfield
03:19as i got on the plane i thought great this is going to be an unforgettable experience and it really was
03:29eager crowds have gathered at an air show to see the airbus for the first time
03:43air charter 296
03:46uptime hello we are coming into view of the airfield for the flyover
03:50yes i can see you you're clear
03:54to showcase the plane captain a saline is planning a low-altitude nose-high flyby at alpha max
04:01this is the slowest a plane can fly at this angle without the risk of stalling
04:06we'll do the flyover at 100
04:09landing gear out and you just leave it up to me
04:13i'll give it alpha max
04:15done it 20 times
04:18okay we're going in for low altitude low speed flyover
04:27200
04:29the airbus reaches the planned altitude for the alpha max maneuver
04:33okay you're at 100 feet there
04:35100
04:36watch it
04:37watch it
04:38watch it
04:39a saline must keep the plane in a stable position with the nose up
04:46okay i'm okay there disconnect off the throttle
04:50normally the safety feature would automatically speed up a plane moving too slowly but the pilot
04:56disables this protection
05:01before he's finished the maneuver a saline is stunned to find trees directly in his path
05:08no idea that at the end of the runway was a forest for me was bushes or something
05:14a saline tries to pull up
05:18but the plane keeps dropping
05:22i started to see tree branches through the window
05:29i was astonished
05:35oh
05:37oh
05:39oh
05:40oh
05:41oh
05:43oh
05:45oh
05:47oh
05:48oh
05:49oh
05:50oh
05:51oh
05:52oh
05:59oh
06:00oh
06:01oh
06:02oh
06:03oh
06:04oh
06:05oh
06:07oh
06:09oh
06:19i
06:20and
06:21The crash could not possibly have come at a worse time for Airbus.
06:31They were trying out this new concept, which they had touted very widely as a new level of safety for civil flight.
06:41And here's a pilot going and crashing one.
06:45Investigators from BEA, France's Accident Investigation Bureau, face a whole new challenge.
06:55The A320's fly-by-wire system has altered the relationship between pilot and plane.
07:02It gives computers the ability to override human inputs to correct pilot error.
07:08Is that what happened at Habshaim?
07:10Was it the pilot or was it the plane?
07:16We need to know.
07:19Captain Asseline comes in for questioning.
07:23My intention was to carry out a flyover at slow speed, landing configuration.
07:30We decelerate over the airstrip and we go to Alpha Max.
07:34Asseline planned to fly past the spectators at 100 feet.
07:43But investigators learn this height violates national safety standards.
07:50He should have been at 500 feet, as a matter of fact.
07:53But they had at that time a tendency for pilots who were making air shows like that to go a little bit lower and sometimes much lower.
08:06To understand what happened when the A320 flew so low, investigators have a rare piece of evidence.
08:14A video of the accident.
08:15It was the first time we had a video of an accident, you know.
08:22Normally an accident happens in the middle of nowhere.
08:30The investigators discover that the A320 was flying even lower than the planned 100 feet.
08:36That airplane was flying at approximately 30 feet above the ground.
08:48No airplane of that size or of any other size should make a flight pass that low.
08:56Why was the captain flying so close to the ground?
09:00I believed I was at 100 feet.
09:02Captain Asseline insists his instruments failed him.
09:08But investigators are skeptical.
09:12Asseline had more than one instrument to give him altitude information.
09:19Some people said, but you could have heard the radio altimeter saying 30, 30.
09:24No, because at that time this aircraft was very, very noisy.
09:27And the radio altimeter warnings, the radio altimeter callouts, they were not going through the headset.
09:35Captain Asseline doesn't know how low he's flying until it's almost too late.
09:43What did you do when you saw the trees?
09:45I did what any pilot would do.
09:47I tried to climb over them.
09:4830.
09:49Can't be!
09:5230.
09:52The black box data shows that Captain Asseline increased thrust and pulled back on his side stick.
10:02The side stick controls the plane's elevator.
10:06Pulling back on it should have raised the elevator and pitched the plane upwards.
10:10But investigators can see that's not what happened.
10:17The elevator moved down.
10:22Asseline wanted to climb, but the plane continued to drop.
10:25Why didn't the plane respond as the pilot expected?
10:30Is there a serious flaw in the A320's fly-by-wire system?
10:35Investigator's wonder, was the A320's flight system confused by the low-speed, low-level, alpha-max manoeuvre?
10:50Had the plane's fly-by-wire systems initiated landing mode?
10:56Investigators turned to the flight data recorder.
10:58But the A320's systems are so advanced that the recorder can't track all of the plane's functions.
11:08So was the plane in landing mode or not?
11:11Investigators conduct their own test flight to replicate the A320's trajectory at the air show.
11:17We replayed the accident exactly what it was, but on the longest runway in Toulouse.
11:27Okay, power to flight item.
11:32Now put it into alpha-max.
11:36That's it.
11:37Gently.
11:41Altitude, 40 feet.
11:4435 feet.
11:45Hold it there.
11:46The airbus is now in alpha-max, flying very slowly with its nose up.
11:53Okay, now full thrust.
12:00Did you feel that?
12:03Alpha protection.
12:04The computers have launched alpha protection to stop the plane from stalling.
12:10Now investigators know what happened on flight 296.
12:16Flying slowly in a nose-high position reduces airflow over the wings, and this can cause a plane to lose lift and stall.
12:29To avoid stalling, the computer is programmed to bring the nose down to increase airflow.
12:35The computer did override the plane, not to land the plane, but to avoid a stall.
12:47The captain didn't realize that the plane had launched alpha protection.
12:51The conclusion of my report was that the airplane was too low, too slow, and with not enough power.
13:12The confusion in the cockpit compelled airbus to improve training and safety procedures, and guest passengers are barred from all future demonstration flights.
13:23Despite the crash, the A320 would go on to become one of the most successful commercial aircraft in history, selling over 750 planes in its first 10 years.
13:37And fly-by-wire technology was safely adopted by a new generation of passenger aircraft.
13:45Slaps up!
13:46But learning to work with these complex flight systems remains a constant and sometimes tragic process.
13:54Oh, God!
13:54We have to have pilots who understand the limitations and the modes of the electronics that they are using to actually fly the airplane.
14:06And that means we don't over-trust them, they don't over-trust us.
14:12At Perpignan Airport in southern France, the crew of XL Airways Germany Flight 888 is preparing for an acceptance flight.
14:21Gentlemen, good afternoon.
14:24Find any problems under the hood?
14:27XL Airways Germany has been leasing the A320 from Air New Zealand.
14:33Everything looks good.
14:35Before XL can return the plane, it must demonstrate its imperfect working condition before Air New Zealand will accept it for its own fleet.
14:44It's very similar to returning a car off lease where the dealership will take the car, they'll let maintenance look at it,
14:51make sure that it hasn't been in an accident, that it hasn't been abused in some way, and that the systems actually work as designed.
15:01Better buckle up.
15:02Captain Norbert Keppel is going to put the A320's automated systems to the test.
15:12It is different than a lot of conventional airplanes in that you fly it through a computer,
15:18but the handling characteristics of the airplane are very, very good.
15:23The captain and his first officer are joined by a pilot and aviation official from Air New Zealand and three engineers.
15:31The flight plan calls for a two-and-a-half-hour trip that reaches the west coast of France.
16:01Before looping back to Perpignan.
16:05The route should provide an opportunity to conduct some 35 tests.
16:12Hands off now.
16:16A sharp turn triggers the system that prevents the A320 from banking too steeply.
16:23Yep, yes, voila, it's all good.
16:26Now the captain will bring the plane close to a stall.
16:29Yeah, we need to go slow with recovery.
16:33This test requires that the airplane be slowed well below normal speed to let the automated protections activate.
16:44Get your power at idle.
16:47Adjust pitch.
16:49Flaps full.
16:49But instead of bringing the nose down to prevent a stall.
17:02It's pitching up all the time.
17:05It's pitching up.
17:06Does that seem right to you guys?
17:14Stick forward.
17:16Oh, God.
17:18Oh, God.
17:19Oh, God.
17:26Damn it.
17:27Triple-A Tango contact tower.
17:45One of the world's most advanced and popular aircraft has fallen from the sky.
17:51Investigators need to find the cause before it happens again.
18:01Excel Airways Germany 888 has crashed off the coast of France.
18:07There are no survivors.
18:08Three days after the crash, dive teams recover the black boxes.
18:18France's Accident Investigation Bureau is responsible for finding out what went wrong.
18:23It went down right here.
18:26Because the XL crew was testing the Airbus flight systems, investigators face a massive puzzle.
18:36We did not have any reference for that kind of flight.
18:43Investigators track the sequence of tests captured on the flight data recorder.
18:48Let's hear this.
18:51OK, we can do it via Jeff 3.
18:54Navigation systems.
18:56OK, that's good.
19:00We need to go slow with recovery.
19:03Get your power at idle.
19:05Adjust pitch.
19:07Flaps full.
19:09In the final test he conducted, the captain reduced speed to bring the plane close to a stall.
19:16When the Airbus slows down too much, the flight control computer should automatically boost speed to prevent the plane from losing lift.
19:24It should also correct the plane's pitch, in this instance, lowering the nose.
19:32This is exactly what the Airbus did at the Habshaim demonstration flight.
19:36On the XL flight, the captain waits for the automatic stall protection to start.
19:46But the plane doesn't respond the way he expects.
19:49It's pitching up all the time.
19:52It's pitching up.
19:53Why didn't the stall protection tick in?
19:58Monsieur David, I have the angle of attack sensor data.
20:01Stall protection is one of Airbus's critical safety features.
20:09Investigators discover a serious system malfunction.
20:13That's odd.
20:16Partway through the flight, the angle of attack sensors failed.
20:20We knew they were descending here, but the sensors still show a climb.
20:29Angle of attack sensors are mounted on the outside of the plane.
20:35During flight, their pivoting motion helps the computer monitor and automatically adjust the angle of the plane.
20:42Flight data shows the sensors didn't fail until 22 minutes after takeoff.
20:51What could have stopped the sensors from working at that point?
20:55We need to get a look at those sensors.
21:01Lead investigator Sebastian David has an idea.
21:05At high altitudes, the air outside the plane is extremely cold.
21:09Can the sensors freeze?
21:12If there was ice in the sensor mechanism, it might have frozen them in place, sending the plane's computer faulty data.
21:20It's pitching up.
21:23Did rainwater from a severe storm flood the sensors and then freeze?
21:28We'd have to get all the way in here.
21:32But reports reveal the plane didn't encounter any bad weather.
21:43The weather was nice that day.
21:47If water got inside the sensors, it happened on the ground.
21:55Investigators study maintenance records and learn the plane had just received a new paint job.
22:02Proper procedures were followed and the sensors were covered for the painting process.
22:08But the sensors were left uncovered during the cleaning process.
22:13Normally, maintenance workers use a clean cloth to remove any dust afterwards.
22:18But this time, they rinsed the plane with a hose.
22:22The painting operations had taken a little bit of delay.
22:27To rinse the aircraft was faster.
22:31Spraying uncovered sensors with a high-pressure hose might explain how water got so deep inside.
22:38But the investigators need proof.
22:40They mount a sensor in a test rig and recreate the cleaning procedure.
22:46Okay, hit it.
22:51Next, they place the sensor in a freezer and duplicate the frigid temperatures found at 32,000 feet.
22:59I think we definitely got some ice in there.
23:02Won't budge.
23:05Investigators realize the A320 was flying with frozen sensors.
23:10Okay.
23:11They can finally begin to understand what happened on board flight 888.
23:20The flight control computers can only respond to data and inputs that they get.
23:26Because the angle of attack vanes couldn't move,
23:29they could not then activate the low-speed protections that the crew was expecting.
23:36It's pitching up all the time.
23:37With stall protection failing to activate,
23:41the captain tries to fly out of the situation.
23:44Stick forward!
23:46He increases power and uses his side stick to bring the nose down to increase airflow and lift.
23:54It's a textbook maneuver to prevent stalling.
23:57The A320 doesn't respond.
24:01Does that seem right to you guys?
24:06The plane continues to pitch up until it loses lift and falls.
24:11Why didn't the plane respond to the pilot's efforts?
24:19Investigators use a computer simulation to get a fuller picture of what went wrong.
24:27Pause it.
24:28They notice a warning on the cockpit flight display.
24:32There.
24:34What is that?
24:38The warning is telling the pilot to manually adjust the elevator trim for a more dramatic change of pitch.
24:45Investigators determined that because computers can't make sense of the faulty data coming from the frozen sensors,
24:56the autopilot switches to a mode requiring more manual input.
25:00But the crew doesn't notice.
25:07The airplane by design, when it starts getting data that it cannot figure out what to do with,
25:12reverted and said, all right, something is wrong, we don't know what.
25:17This is up to the pilots to sort out.
25:21Stick forward!
25:22Focusing on the side stick, the captain likely assumes the autopilot is adjusting the trim.
25:28The plane gave the pilots control, right here.
25:36They tried to apply the nose down input on the side stick, but their efforts were not sufficient.
25:44Flaps up! Flaps up!
25:47Now the pilots find themselves in a very, very difficult situation.
25:51The airplane's not accelerating, the nose is coming up, it's very hard to get it to come down,
25:56and they're at low altitude.
25:58The two crew members tried everything to recover and to take the control of the aircraft,
26:05but they did not fully understand the situation.
26:08Then they were in a stall recovery situation without a lot of altitude to work with.
26:20Flying with faulty sensors, baffled by the plane's lack of response...
26:25Oh, God!
26:27Oh, God!
26:28The crew could not save themselves or their four passengers from the catastrophic stall.
26:34Damn it!
26:44The accident's final report specifically recommends more training for stall recovery.
26:50Improved training for loss of control events is something that all pilots need.
26:56Loss of control is the leading cause of fatalities in all aspects of aviation.
27:03And so we need to take these lessons and learn them well,
27:06because we're going to be doing these flights again.
27:12Months later, French investigators are faced with another mysterious accident.
27:17Do you understand what's happening?
27:22A flight crossing the Atlantic Ocean never reaches its destination.
27:32Air France flight 447 is crossing the Atlantic Ocean on an 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
27:40There are 216 passengers on board the Airbus A330.
27:4858-year-old Captain Marc Dubois is in command.
27:52Air France 447.
27:54Air France 447, go ahead.
27:57He is one of Air France's most senior captains.
28:01His first officer is 32-year-old Pierre-Cédric Bonin.
28:05We are arriving at Intor.
28:06And 37-year-old David Robert is the relief pilot.
28:12Maintain flight level 350.
28:14Okay, will do.
28:19At 1.49 a.m., the A330 leaves Brazilian radar surveillance and is never heard from again.
28:30Air France 447, this is Dakar.
28:33Do you copy?
28:34Come in, Air France 447.
28:39Dakar, for Air France, have you heard from Air 447, over?
28:43Negative.
28:45Hold for Air France, please.
28:47By morning, the airline is forced to conclude that Air France 447 has almost certainly crashed at sea.
28:54It's one of the worst accidents in the history of commercial aviation.
29:02228 people are presumed dead.
29:06It was a real shock to the whole industry that a modern aircraft like an Airbus A330,
29:14operated by a world-class airline like Air France, could just go missing without a word.
29:22The BEA, France's Accident Investigation Bureau, is called in to solve the mystery.
29:33The loss of an airplane during cruise is always rare.
29:40We're more used to events taking place during take-off or landing, so this event raised a lot of questions.
29:54All the evidence and answers investigators are seeking are likely lying on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean,
30:01somewhere between Rio and Paris.
30:03If we didn't find the flight recorders, we would never understand what happened.
30:14Investigators scour the ocean floor for the wreckage,
30:18while other team members examine the only hard evidence they have so far.
30:22The 24 maintenance messages sent by Flight 447's Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System, ACARS.
30:38To have only the maintenance messages to work with is really unusual.
30:43We had parcels of information that gave us, in fact, very little information.
30:52This is a problem with the pitot tubes.
30:55One of the maintenance messages notes a failure in the device that measures airspeed, the pitot tube.
31:05The ACARS messages had given us the first piece of the puzzle.
31:08We knew that there had been a clogging problem in the pitot tubes.
31:15Pitot tubes are small cylindrical sensors that sit outside the body of the plane.
31:20As air rushes through the tubes, they calculate airspeed.
31:25But sometimes pitot tubes temporarily fail.
31:28In an environment with very dense ice crystals,
31:31all the ice crystals clog the tube and stop the air from entering.
31:38The pitot tubes were freezing all the time.
31:43Annoying, but certainly not dangerous.
31:45If you lose a pitot tube, you don't fall out of the sky.
31:49The pilots knew about the issue and how to respond to it.
31:53Here, look at this.
31:56The company had notified its pilots with an OSV,
31:59an information bulletin, that described the phenomenon
32:02and the appropriate measures to take.
32:04Investigators conclude that frozen pitot tubes cannot explain the crash.
32:11There is more to this story.
32:15But the critical body of evidence remains buried beneath the sea
32:19and may never be found.
32:21Under these circumstances, it was essential to find the recorders
32:28to understand the accident and explain why it happened.
32:34Search teams cross six and a half thousand square miles of ocean
32:38listening for the beacon signal coming from the Airbus black boxes.
32:44Investigators are racing against time.
32:46The beacons can only send a signal for 30 days.
32:50After that, they will go silent forever.
32:5630 days of searching do not locate the black boxes from Air France 447.
33:04But investigators have recovered some debris,
33:07including unused life jackets.
33:09Recovering the life jackets in their original packaging told us
33:19that the event happened very quickly.
33:24The passengers weren't ready for the impact with the surface of the water.
33:32A section of Flight 447's galley has also been recovered.
33:36Looks like the pressure was vertical, like this.
33:42They realised that the aeroplane had not nosedived into the sea.
33:47It was almost certain that it had belly flopped into the sea.
33:52And how that could have happened to a modern airliner,
33:58nobody could think of.
33:59For two years, investigators work in the dark.
34:04Then, in April 2011...
34:06Stop, stop there.
34:08Zoom in on that.
34:09Off the coast of Brazil,
34:11seven and a half miles northeast of the plane's last reported position,
34:15at a depth of more than 13,000 feet,
34:19the wreckage of Flight 447
34:20and the two black boxes are finally found.
34:24The investigators finally have the hard evidence they desperately need.
34:35Starting with the cockpit voice recorder,
34:38they carefully open the protective casing,
34:40looking for the memory card inside.
34:48This isn't good.
34:49We quickly noticed that there were small parts that were broken,
34:54so we weren't sure that everything was in working order.
34:58If technicians can't fix the broken CVR,
35:01there may be no way of knowing
35:03what was going on in the cockpit before the crash,
35:06or who was flying the plane.
35:09Look at the FDR count.
35:12A close examination of the second box,
35:15the flight data recorder,
35:16brings better news.
35:17It's fine.
35:20No problems.
35:23The memory card was in excellent condition.
35:27We were able to read the data very quickly.
35:30While technicians try to repair the cockpit voice recorder,
35:35investigators carefully plot the flight recorder data.
35:39We're cruising safely at 35,000 feet.
35:43The flight data recorder reveals
35:44that the pitot tubes did in fact freeze.
35:47The pitot tubes freeze here.
35:52The frozen tubes produce erratic airspeed readings,
35:56triggering an alarm.
36:00Autopilot shuts off,
36:02and the pilot takes control of the plane.
36:04The crew has been taught that a frozen pitot tube should clear itself in less than a minute.
36:13The pitot's on the aircraft,
36:15they were only subject to the clogging for about 56 seconds,
36:19and after that,
36:20the airspeed readings were back to normal again.
36:23The pilot only needs to hold the plane steady,
36:26and the problem will disappear.
36:30But he does not hold steady.
36:33Whoever was flying the plane pulled back and pitched the nose up instead.
36:39He climbs more than 2,500 feet.
36:42If you pull the nose of an aeroplane up,
36:45it's going uphill,
36:46it's going to slow down.
36:48A small issue,
36:49frozen pitot tubes,
36:51turns into an emergency.
36:55Here,
36:56their speed dropped more than 90 knots in less than a minute.
36:59This triggered a storm warning here.
37:03In an aerodynamic stall,
37:05the wings lose lift,
37:07and the plane begins to drop.
37:09It was the pilot's actions that led to the stall.
37:14They fell at more than 12,000 feet per minute.
37:20Inexplicably,
37:21the pilot continued to pull back,
37:23when he should have been pitching the plane's nose down.
37:27The more you raise the nose,
37:29the more the lift will be destroyed.
37:32And that's what was happening to Air France 447.
37:36But why did the pilot continue to pull back
37:39and pitch the nose up,
37:41stalling the plane?
37:43Only the cockpit voice recorder
37:45can reveal what was going on in the cockpit
37:47during the stall.
37:49Air France 447,
37:51go ahead.
37:55Investigators have repaired the cockpit voice recorder
37:58and are about to finally understand
38:00what caused the worst disaster
38:02in Air France's history.
38:11Investigators now know,
38:12minutes before the crash,
38:14the captain left the cockpit for his break.
38:16First officer David Robert
38:22has relieved the more experienced captain.
38:26The CVR allowed us to understand
38:29who was piloting the plane,
38:31who was monitoring the parameters.
38:35Investigators then hear
38:36that the plane hits a column of ice crystals
38:38in the clouds.
38:39There is turbulence,
38:41and the ice crystals pound the plane,
38:45blocking the pitot tubes.
38:47Air speed readings are no longer valid.
38:52That is the autopilot disconnecting.
38:55It warns the pilots very loudly,
38:59and it definitely was a shock to these pilots,
39:02and it was their reaction
39:03to this warning,
39:06which was the key
39:06to everything else that followed.
39:08I have the controls.
39:10Finally, investigators know
39:12which pilot put the plane into a stall.
39:19What's that?
39:20First officer Bonin is pulling back
39:23and stalling the plane.
39:25Neither pilot can figure out
39:27why the warning is sounding.
39:29Officer Robert doesn't understand
39:31what's happening.
39:32He sees the airplane going up,
39:34and he sees the airspeed dropping.
39:36And he says,
39:38hey, watch your airspeed.
39:39We've lost the speed.
39:43The pilots need to push
39:45the plane's nose down
39:46to gain speed.
39:48But Bonin continues to pull back,
39:50lifting the nose.
39:52Okay, okay, okay.
39:54I'm going back down.
39:57I call me two or three,
39:58you're going up,
39:58so go back down.
39:59The pilots struggle
40:00to understand the situation
40:02and regain control
40:03over their plane.
40:06They're doing everything wrong.
40:08It should be obvious what to do.
40:13Desperate to save
40:14his 216 passengers,
40:16Robert summons the captain
40:17back from his break.
40:20Bonin increases thrust
40:23to maximum power,
40:25but it's no use.
40:27Do you understand
40:28what's happening?
40:30I'm losing all control
40:31of the plane.
40:34When I get here,
40:36they are falling
40:36at more than
40:376,200 feet per minute.
40:39So they still have
40:40about two minutes left
40:42to figure out
40:42what's happening.
40:43First officer Robert
40:46decides to take control.
40:48Controls to the left.
40:52He tries to push
40:53the nose of the plane down,
40:55the key step
40:56for recovering
40:56from a stall.
40:58But Bonin
40:59is still pulling back
41:00on his controls.
41:02They can use their side sticks
41:05at the same time.
41:06If both go
41:07in different directions,
41:08they have a tendency
41:09to cancel each other out.
41:1090 seconds
41:12after the crisis began,
41:13Captain Mark Dubois
41:14returns.
41:15What the hell
41:16are you doing?
41:17We've lost all control.
41:18We don't understand
41:19anything.
41:20We've tried everything.
41:22Because they weren't
41:23believing the situation
41:24that they were now in,
41:27they just went back
41:29to basic instinct,
41:31which is,
41:31I want to go up.
41:32I want to stop falling.
41:34Let's pull the nose on.
41:35What do you think?
41:38What do we need to do?
41:38I don't know.
41:39It's going down.
41:42The captain doesn't
41:43have enough time
41:44to assess the situation.
41:47We're at 9,000 feet.
41:49Climb, climb, climb, climb.
41:53But I've been at
41:54maximum nose up
41:54for a while.
41:57Finally, Dubois understands.
41:59First officer Bonin
42:01is causing the stall
42:02by pulling the nose up.
42:03No, no, no, don't climb.
42:07By the time
42:08they figure it out,
42:10it's too late.
42:12Robert can't get enough
42:13lift to recover
42:14from the stall.
42:16At 2,000 feet,
42:17sensors detect
42:18the ocean's surface
42:19and trigger new alarms.
42:24We're going to crash.
42:27This can't be true.
42:30But what's happening?
42:33The aircraft hits the water
42:35at 125 miles an hour.
42:42More than three years
42:44after the accident,
42:46investigators announced
42:47that the downing
42:47of Flight 447
42:49was caused
42:50by the crew's failure
42:51to understand
42:52and rectify
42:53the situation
42:54after the pitot tubes froze.
42:56When everything else
42:59goes away
43:00in terms of your ability
43:01to understand
43:02what's happening
43:03and you've got a challenge,
43:05you go back to basics.
43:07If somebody had just said,
43:08you know,
43:09to heck with it,
43:09boom,
43:10let's put throttles up
43:11and let's use
43:12the sidestick controller,
43:13get off of that one,
43:14I'll take it over here
43:15and we're just going
43:15to fly through this,
43:18they'd still be with us.
43:21Air France brings in
43:23new training procedures
43:24to teach crews
43:25how to deal
43:26with unreliable airspeed
43:27and how to recover
43:29from a stall
43:30at high altitudes.
43:31This helps to prevent
43:33similar accidents
43:34from happening again.
43:36The progress in air safety
43:38has been nothing
43:39short of astounding.
43:41We didn't realize
43:41what human factors
43:42was all about.
43:43We didn't realize
43:44about communications
43:45and all of these things
43:46has taken us now
43:47to the point
43:47where we're almost at zero.
43:49We're so close
43:50we can taste it.
43:50We're so close
43:52to one another
43:52where we can
43:54hang out
43:55and let's say
43:55in the vato
43:57later
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