UNITED STATES
August 2, 2005 - In a raging thunderstorm, after a difficult landing, Air France 358 skids off the runway in Toronto. As it crashes, the left engine catches fire. More than 300 passengers and crew have only seconds to escape. With only half of the emergency exits open and only two of the slides deployed, frantic passengers fight through flames and thickening smoke. In less than three minutes, the plane is completely engulfed by fire. The investigation reveals that the weather wasn’t the only – or even most important – cause of the accident. But in fact, the co-pilot's inexperience may have contributed significantly.
Do you think the pilot's inexperience contributed to the crash, or do you think you think only the weather was to blame?
From Season 4 Episode 1 “Miracle Escape”: August 2, 2005 - Flight 358 bursts into flames when it skids off the runway in Toronto during a raging thunderstorm. More than 300 passengers and crew have only seconds to escape the burning plane.
Welcome to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster YouTube Channel.
Mayday: Air Disaster is a dramatic non-fiction series that investigates high-profile air disasters to uncover how and why they happened. Mayday: Air Disaster follows survivors, family members of crash victims and transportation safety investigators as they piece together the evidence of the causes of major accidents. So climb into the cockpit for an experience you won’t soon forget.
#MaydayAirDisaster #MaydayInvestigation #AirEmergency
#MaydayEpisodes #planecrashes #airplanecrashes #aviationaccidents #Fullepisode #airplanedisasterdocumentary #aircrashinvestigation #AirFrance358 #MiracleEscape
August 2, 2005 - In a raging thunderstorm, after a difficult landing, Air France 358 skids off the runway in Toronto. As it crashes, the left engine catches fire. More than 300 passengers and crew have only seconds to escape. With only half of the emergency exits open and only two of the slides deployed, frantic passengers fight through flames and thickening smoke. In less than three minutes, the plane is completely engulfed by fire. The investigation reveals that the weather wasn’t the only – or even most important – cause of the accident. But in fact, the co-pilot's inexperience may have contributed significantly.
Do you think the pilot's inexperience contributed to the crash, or do you think you think only the weather was to blame?
From Season 4 Episode 1 “Miracle Escape”: August 2, 2005 - Flight 358 bursts into flames when it skids off the runway in Toronto during a raging thunderstorm. More than 300 passengers and crew have only seconds to escape the burning plane.
Welcome to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster YouTube Channel.
Mayday: Air Disaster is a dramatic non-fiction series that investigates high-profile air disasters to uncover how and why they happened. Mayday: Air Disaster follows survivors, family members of crash victims and transportation safety investigators as they piece together the evidence of the causes of major accidents. So climb into the cockpit for an experience you won’t soon forget.
#MaydayAirDisaster #MaydayInvestigation #AirEmergency
#MaydayEpisodes #planecrashes #airplanecrashes #aviationaccidents #Fullepisode #airplanedisasterdocumentary #aircrashinvestigation #AirFrance358 #MiracleEscape
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01In heavy wind and blinding rain, the crew of a passenger jet struggles to land.
00:09Put it down! Put it down!
00:20A terrifying crash landing leads to a desperate fight to survive.
00:24The only thing that matters to me now is to get my daughter Emily and protect her as we blow up.
00:34But we just knew that there were so many passengers in that plane that had not gotten out.
00:42Open the door! Open the door!
00:44Open the door!
00:51Made it! Made it!
01:03This is a true story based on air traffic control recordings, official reports and interviews with those involved.
01:08Tuesday, August the 2nd, 2005. Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
01:19297 passengers are boarding Air France Flight 358, bound for Toronto.
01:26Far Isle, left hand side.
01:29Philippe Lacalle is travelling with his wife and two of his four children.
01:37They're stuck at the back of the enormous jet.
01:41And they're not sitting together.
01:42It just happened that we were separated from Emily. They had three seats together.
01:53So we were in the middle section.
01:55And Emily was actually sitting a couple of seats ahead of us on the right side.
02:00So close to the right wing of the plane.
02:05For Eddie Ho, Flight 358 is the continuation of a trip that began in Johannesburg.
02:09I'm an international student in Canada at Queen's University.
02:14And every summer I go back to South Africa.
02:20Ho isn't travelling light.
02:22I was carrying everything that I had.
02:26My books to my clothing to tuition money for the year, computer laptops.
02:31This is also another leg in a long journey for Joanne Cordery Bundok, who's returning from a trip to Thailand.
02:44I rerouted myself in the last two days before the flight from Bangkok through Paris to come directly to Toronto.
02:52As the passengers continue to board, the flight crew gets settled into the Airbus A340.
02:59The captain is 57-year-old Alain Rosay.
03:03He's been with Air France for more than 20 years.
03:06His co-pilot is 43-year-old Frederic Noe.
03:08Do you want to start, or should I?
03:12Why don't you fly first, and then I'll take over for landing in Toronto.
03:17I check the weather.
03:19On this flight, the two men decide that Captain Rosay will handle the takeoff in Paris,
03:24and co-pilot Noe will land in Toronto.
03:27Destination Toronto Pearson.
03:30Crews often split the duties so that co-pilots can get more experience.
03:34Rizai and Noe are joined by one other person in the cockpit.
03:41I think you've been expecting me.
03:42I'm Miles Trouchasse.
03:44Miles Trouchasse is the son of an Air France employee.
03:47He's allowed to ride in the cockpit's jump seat for free.
03:51I just want to let you know I've done this before. I promise I'll be quiet.
03:55This Air France plane is one of the safest in the world.
04:04Since the A340s first went into service in 1993, they've had an excellent safety record.
04:10Air France 358.
04:13Air France 358, runway 27 left.
04:17Clear for takeoff.
04:18Clear for takeoff.
04:19Air France 358.
04:20Have a good afternoon, gentlemen.
04:22Police Chief.
04:26Just a few minutes before two in the afternoon, Flight 358 powers into the sky above Paris.
04:32of Paris.
04:39Toronto may be several thousand kilometers away, but the friends and family of those
04:43on board flight 358 are already making plans to meet the plane when it arrives.
04:49Hello?
04:50Audrey, I won't forget, I'll make sure to pick up mom and dad.
04:55No, I won't forget the two brats either, I'll get them all.
04:59We usually make arrangements before we go to France to be picked up, it's easier because
05:03we have lots of luggage, you know, and we bring back stuff from France, so it just happened
05:07that Julian, our son, was going to spend the summer in Toronto and was available to pick
05:13us up.
05:14Sis, I'll give you a call soon as I get in, don't worry, I've got it covered, okay?
05:18All right, talk to you soon.
05:21Bye.
05:22Center, we have a Humidex advisory and extreme heat alert for Toronto as well.
05:29A thunderstorm warning in effect for Toronto.
05:36A regular flight from Paris to Toronto takes about eight hours.
05:49As Air France 358 closes in on Canada, there's little to separate this trip from any other.
05:56I found that their service was amazing, the food was great, they had very good flight attendants.
06:04There were a lot of exchange students from France, like teenagers, you know, coming to Canada for their first
06:11time, usually their first flight, and they were very rowdy.
06:16There was a beautiful day on the flight over, and the sun was shining, and it was just blue skies and
06:23white clouds, and just a lovely day.
06:27The autopilot does most of the work for Captain Alain Rezaille and his co-pilot, Frederic Noe.
06:34Just as the two men had planned, Noe is now in control of the plane.
06:40We have a new weather report.
06:43The two men get regular updates on the weather conditions in Toronto.
06:47Overcast and rainy with a chance of thunderstorms, temperature in the low 20s.
06:52At Toronto's international airport, the thunderstorms are already rolling through.
07:06Rain, wind and lightning are hammering the runways.
07:11The lightning has already forced airport authorities to declare a red alert.
07:15It means that the chance of being struck by lightning is so great that ground crews are not allowed to work on the planes.
07:29Just as flight 358 closes in on Toronto, it's put into a holding pattern.
07:34The weather isn't getting any better.
07:36Air France 358, there's going to be a little delay.
07:38Air France 358, so roger on delay.
07:45Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.
07:49I'm sorry to inform you that there'll be a short delay.
07:52There's some weather conditions above Toronto and we're just going to give it a couple of minutes to clear up.
07:58I was very surprised when I heard the captain's announcement that we were going to be delayed in landing for about 25 or 30 minutes because of thunderstorms over Toronto.
08:10While they're not in the storm yet, the crew enters their holding pattern northeast of Toronto.
08:17Their alternate airport is almost 300 kilometers away in Ottawa.
08:22At the moment, the plane has a little over 7,500 kilograms of fuel in its tanks, more than enough to get them there.
08:31Typically, a pilot will think about the economic impact of diverting to an alternate airport.
08:38While that is not a primary decision maker, it is an alternate decision maker as far as if they have to divert, how are the folks going to be transported from that alternate airport back to the destination airport that the airplane was originally going to?
08:54Flying almost 300 passengers to Ottawa would be a logistical nightmare.
09:01But the crew can't circle for too long with the fuel they have.
09:04If the delay continues, they'll have no choice but to divert.
09:09Air France, Toronto arrival. Your hold is now cancelled. You are cleared for OASI-2 arrival. Maintain 5,000 feet.
09:19Air France, 358, roger on cancellation of hold. Cleared for OASI-2 arrival.
09:26Today, the delay isn't long at all. Although the storm continues to thunder down near the airport, the crew is put into their landing sequence.
09:41Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I just wanted to let you know we are beginning our descent into Toronto at this time.
09:48We should be on the ground at about 4 p.m. local time.
09:54Usually when they say 45 minutes, you know, it's to be nice. You know, usually it's like an hour, an hour and a half.
09:59This time it was like 20 minutes. 20 minutes later, they said, OK, well, now we're going to go down, prepare, you know, for the landing.
10:06With co-pilot Frederic Noh at the controls, the plane begins its descent into the storm.
10:11Air France 358, reducing speed to 190.
10:14Noh isn't prepared for what he's about to face. The storm has a savage surprise in store for everyone on board flight 358.
10:24A brutal summer storm is battering Toronto.
10:36Winds and lightning are hammering the airport, making it tense for incoming planes.
10:44After a short hold, Air France flight 358, with 297 passengers aboard, begins descending into the storm.
10:56Outro Music
10:58Flaps 2
10:59Flaps 2
11:00Flaps 2
11:01F speed
11:03Gear down
11:04Landing gear down
11:06Spoilers armed
11:08Foregreen
11:10Landing gear down
11:12Spoilers armed
11:13Foregreen
11:15You'll be fine, don't worry.
11:28It immediately turned into very dark skies and dark clouds and a little bit bumpy and choppy and the weather outside was definitely within a thunderstorm.
11:38But really and truly, to me, it was just a typical stormy landing.
11:43Nothing out of the ordinary.
11:45In the main cabin, though, not everyone is so sure.
11:49The plane was getting very bumpy.
11:51There was a lot of turbulence.
11:53We were surrounded, basically, by heavy rain, and this was completely not expected.
11:58I didn't expect that.
12:09Air France 358, your final approach.
12:14Air France 358.
12:14Co-pilot Fredrik Noe has the plane in position.
12:17He's moments from landing.
12:19Air France 358, roger.
12:22Flaps to full.
12:23Flaps full.
12:24It was going darker and darker.
12:42We were, like, in the middle of hundreds and hundreds of lightnings.
12:46Every second, we had lightnings all around us.
12:50So people were getting nervous, quite nervous.
12:53I was getting nervous.
12:56Ahead of the Air France Airbus, two other planes have just touched down on the same runway that flight 358 is heading for.
13:02Air France 358, this is Toronto Tower.
13:06Toronto Tower, Air France 358.
13:09Go ahead.
13:11You are cleared to land runway 24L.
13:13Be advised, the preceding aircraft reports braking action is poor, and they estimate the surface winds near the runway as 290 degrees at 15 to 20 knots.
13:23Braking poor, 15 knots, gust 220.
13:26France 358, thank you.
13:30The crew is being sent to runway 24L, which will allow them to land into the wind.
13:36It also happens to be the closest runway to the city's biggest freeway, which is gearing up to handle the evening rush hour traffic.
13:51Facing unpredictable winds and a wet runway, the crew prepare for the landing.
13:56The final approach for landing was hellish.
14:11Lightnings were all over.
14:15Turbulences were enormous.
14:17You could feel the pilot fight with the plane to keep the plane in line with the runway to land.
14:23And they had a heck of a time to keep it lined up.
14:29I know my son next to me was getting very nervous.
14:31And I was nervous to see my daughter actually far from us.
14:34I cinched up my seatbelt tighter than it was, expecting a very hard landing, and the pilot was going to stick it on the runway.
14:49Or we were maybe going to do a touch and go, and he was going to give it power and go around, because I knew that it was not going to be just a normal landing.
14:58At 2 minutes after 4 o'clock, Air France Flight 358 roars over the beginning of the runway.
15:11put it on!
15:39This landing was more intense and harder than any time I've ever landed in another aircraft.
16:00It's a very difficult landing and everyone started clapping and even the lady sitting next to me,
16:06I remember very clearly she said, you know, wow, that was an amazing landing.
16:17And as soon as she finished that sentence, then all hell broke loose.
16:28We started just, the plane started violently going up and down.
16:34And it felt like we were going 100 miles an hour down a road filled with potholes that were about three feet deep.
16:49Immediately you could see this orange aura.
16:53And for me, it's a picture I will never forget.
16:55My daughter was sitting ahead of us on the right side of the plane.
17:01And at that time, she turned her head towards us, you know, with very wide eyes, you know, looking at us.
17:07And her face was surrounded by this enormous aura, orange aura of fire.
17:12Then, moments after touching down, still traveling at 146 kilometers per hour, flight 358 runs out of room.
17:27At that point that I believed that we were all going to die, it was obvious that no one can survive this kind of thing.
17:34I thought this was it.
17:34The next thing that I can remember is that an announcement came.
18:02Ladies and gentlemen, everything's okay.
18:05We've stopped now.
18:07Well, no kidding.
18:08Of course we've stopped now.
18:10But I could tell that everything was not okay because I could immediately smell jet fuel.
18:18As the smell of jet fuel fills the cabin.
18:21Fire!
18:22We have to evacuate now!
18:25Panic quickly spreads.
18:27Get out of here!
18:28Get out of the way!
18:30Get out of the way!
18:31Everybody was expecting the plane to blow up.
18:35It was obvious.
18:37Smoke and flames are spreading quickly.
18:40Now it's a desperate struggle to escape.
18:50You hear shouting from the back that there was a fire and fire and then people started really panicked.
18:55If they don't get out, they have just seconds to live.
18:59We know that about two minutes into a fire, in many cases, the environment becomes untenable.
19:06So, 90 seconds is a good rule that we use in trying to get people out to make sure that they have as much time and safety as possible.
19:16297 passengers are desperate to leave the plane.
19:19Emily!
19:20Emily!
19:22Emily!
19:23Emily!
19:23Emily!
19:24Emily!
19:25Emily!
19:26Emily!
19:27Emily!
19:28Emily!
19:29Emily!
19:30Emily!
19:31Emily!
19:32Go!
19:33Go!
19:34Go!
19:35Go!
19:36Go!
19:37Go!
19:38Go!
19:39Go!
19:40Go!
19:41Am I going to try to get my luggage, my laptop?
19:44And then I thought to myself, what if I would die trying to get my laptop?
19:51I just said, okay, I've got to get out.
19:52I've got to get out.
19:53I've got to get out.
19:54Flight 358 has eight possible emergency exits.
19:58But seconds after the crash, most of them aren't open.
20:01People were crawling over the seats.
20:04They were pushing each other.
20:05It was basically all for yourself.
20:09Stay calm, please.
20:11Please stay calm.
20:12Feel right.
20:13Go!
20:14Go!
20:15Go!
20:19Open the door!
20:20Open the door!
20:26And I could see the air attendant there struggling with the fact that, should I or should I not open
20:33this door?
20:34Because the fire was raging just in front of it.
20:37If the fuel tanks rupture and we have a lot of fuel that gets out onto the ground, well then there's
20:47enough heat and fire there that would cause the airplane skin to melt in a couple of minutes.
20:54At the front of the plane, thick smoke is pouring in through one of the open doors.
20:58Joanne Cordery-Bundock races to the other side of the plane.
21:01The gentleman in front of me had his bag with him.
21:05And he was kind of fumbling around with that and trying to take that down the slide.
21:08He was a rather large man.
21:11And the slide did not deploy the entire way.
21:15So I kind of bailed off the side above him and hit the ground.
21:20Eddie Ho has found an exit too, but there's no slide.
21:24And people pushing me forward, I couldn't even control myself.
21:29And I was like, you know, I don't want to jump as well because, you know, it's five meters down at least.
21:39Is he okay? Is he okay?
21:43I'm okay.
21:45I'm okay.
21:48In the cockpit, Captain Rosai has been badly injured when his seat was ripped off the floor by the force of the crash.
22:00As pressure seconds tick by, the flight attendant near the Lakaise manages to open the exit door.
22:07Even though passengers are confronted with the flames and smoke of the burning engine, they jump out of the plane.
22:12So I pushed him down.
22:15My wife went down.
22:16I went down.
22:18We just ran up as fast as we could through torn metal and thorns and like through whatever was left of the ground where the plane was.
22:35Once the fire gets inside the airplane, all of the furnishings are much like the furnishings in your house.
22:40And there are foams and materials that when they catch on fire, produce toxic gases.
22:46And that's really the most important lethal aspect of the fire.
22:58Basically, you just had to jump.
22:59So what I did was, you know, I prayed quickly and I closed my eyes and jump.
23:11Emergency workers are able to reach the burning jet just 52 seconds after it crashes.
23:17But with the threat of an explosion, it's dangerous to get too close.
23:20It was very difficult to see anything due to the rain that was coming down.
23:25There was a lot of smoke engulfing the plane, some fire that was still ongoing, as well as you could see that some of the parts of the plane had broken off.
23:35Some of the wheels that were at the side of the roadway, as well as portions of the plane's wings that had broken off.
23:44Philippe Lacay and his family struggle up the hill the plane has just plowed down.
23:50You know, and at that point, the plane blew up.
23:54Once, twice, three times, so you could feel and hear this enormous explosion actually taking place.
24:09On the first one, I looked at the first one because I just couldn't believe my eyes.
24:12You know, I could see, I think, pieces of luggage, things flying up in the air.
24:17And of course, at that time, I figured, oh my God, you know, that could have been us, you know.
24:22We had a perfect view of the airplane and see this black smoke coming out the side of the airplane and the yellow and the orange and the red flames shooting out.
24:39We were fine, but we just knew that there were so many passengers in that plane that had not gotten out.
24:46August the 2nd, 2005. Air France Flight 358 has crashed off its runway in Toronto.
25:03Flames are tearing at the fuselage. Smoke is pouring from the ruined jet.
25:07Dazed passengers are stumbling from the plane.
25:10Passengers that were coming up, again, were very rain-soaked and muddy from coming up the hill.
25:23There were several individuals that once they got up there were crying and a bit emotional, as well as looking around for other passengers or family or friends that may have been with them at the time.
25:34About 35 minutes ago, a plane ran off the runway at Toronto's Pearson Airport.
25:42Footage of the crash quickly appears on local TV stations.
25:46Philippe Lacay's daughter Audrey is one of the many people shocked by the pictures.
25:51She turned on her TV and here we go. There was the Air France crash right here, live in front of her, you know, burning, exploding right in front of her eyes.
26:00250 people on board. We have not had any reason to make a statement yet as to whether anybody has survived or escaped.
26:11Philippe Lacay's son Julien is waiting for his father at the airport. He has no idea what's just happened to the Air France flight.
26:18What? What do you mean, where am I? Not the airport. Where do you come up and down? Like, you, what?
26:29So, Julien didn't know anything and he was there at the airport.
26:32And she says, well, you know what, I think you're gonna have to wait a long time because their plane just crashed.
26:37One of the busiest highways in North America borders the airport. Just before rush hour, it's packed with thousands of vehicles.
26:47Drivers slow down, captivated by the terrifying sight of the burning plane.
26:51Some of the passengers who've escaped the plane stumble, dazed and shaken, right onto the edge of the highway.
27:04Passing motorists stop to take them to the airport.
27:10At this point, there was only about 25 or 30 people with me in the airport.
27:27And in here, you're also beginning to think, is this all there is?
27:32As people are brought in, airport employees struggle to account for all the passengers and crew.
27:37They were totally disorganized.
27:41There's no announcements being made. There's nothing of any kind of organization.
27:48And you're in this little crowded area with all the array passengers waiting to be processed.
27:56Some people even said, you know, the first disaster was the plane crash.
28:02And the second disaster is exactly how it was handled afterwards.
28:05Relatives wait desperately for any news.
28:12Julien Lacai is just one of many who fears the worst.
28:19For at least an hour and a half, we thought we were dead.
28:25That's a shame, because, of course, we panicked, we were scared to death.
28:31But the families that were waiting for the passengers, they were even more scared, because it lasted much longer.
28:37They really believed, deep down, that their family members were dead.
28:43Finally, hours after the crash, passengers who have waiting family members are reunited.
28:48Julian! Julian! Julian!
28:51Julian!
28:52Julian!
28:54You okay?
28:56You okay?
28:58We finally met up with Julian, it was 11 o'clock at night.
29:02night it was uh you know god we're so lucky we're so lucky we're alive you know
29:18it's hard to explain but it's like um you're giving a second chance you know
29:23here's my son you know maybe i didn't tell him i loved him you know when i left for friends
29:27last time to to to say it rather way it was uh it was a very nice moment a very very deep moment
29:37it's just one of dozens of reunions it takes hours to confirm but by early evening air france and the
29:44local airport authorities can make the incredible announcement remarkably every single passenger
29:50and all the members of the crew of flight 358 have managed to escape the burning wreckage of their
29:56plane
30:08the next day smoke and charred wreckage are all that remain of air france flight 358
30:17the airbus a340 is a sophisticated highly engineered plane with a glowing safety record
30:26what had gone so terribly wrong
30:34canada's transportation safety board quickly begins investigating the accident
30:43landing autopilot or thrust off
30:44rain and lightning had been battling the airport all afternoon was it simply bad weather that caused this
30:53crash
30:53put it down put it down
31:02neither the pilot nor the co-pilot have spoken publicly about the crash
31:06we have to evacuate now citing lawsuits that were filed soon after air france has kept all of its
31:15employees who were on the plane from speaking to the media okay i don't know is he okay i don't know
31:22but former air france trainer elvay labart has spoken to captain rosay
31:28we spoke with me for half an hour he told me that this is the crucial point that he has control
31:35more specifically informed control that he had reached the point where he would have to
31:40consider diverting what he told me is that control informed him that they would soon open the runway
31:49there was of course a lot of lightning rain and turbulence and turbulence can have a devastating
31:54effect instruments become more difficult to read the aircraft is harder to handle
31:59on the ground delicate instruments used to measure the wind at the runway were destroyed by lightning
32:14with the ground equipment destroyed they were relying on their onboard systems for information
32:19about wind conditions the onboard equipment only gives them the actual wind direction and speed on
32:26the nose of the aircraft at that exact time it does not predict ahead of the aircraft so the pilots
32:33really have no way of knowing what lies ahead of them but two planes had touched down just minutes
32:42before the air france flight on the same runway the crews of those planes did their best to inform air
32:49traffic control of the tricky conditions air france 358 this is toronto tower toronto tower air france 358 go ahead
32:59you are cleared to land runway 24 left be advised for seating aircraft reports braking action is poor
33:05and they estimate the surface winds near the runway as 290 degrees at 15 to 20 knots breaking poor 15 knots
33:1320 knot winds are strong but are well within the allowable range for landing an a340 but when
33:20investigators study radar images of the airport they discover quite a different story as flight 358 landed
33:28a sharp line of rain moved across the runway from north to south it was driven by a sudden gust of wind of
33:35up to 33 knots the crew of the air france jet had to deal with conditions that were much worse than they
33:42were expecting landing autopilot or thrust off 33 knots is the demonstrated maximum crosswind for an a340
33:52and that would be on a dry runway so when you say 33 knots at 90 degrees you're you're encroaching on the
34:02limits of the aircraft closely studying the airport investigators uncover another piece of the puzzle
34:10maintenance issues and the storm itself were forcing air traffic controllers to use runway 24 left for
34:16landings it's the shortest runway at the airport almost 650 meters shorter than some of the others
34:24blinded by rain driven by unexpected winds and landing on the shortest runway at the airport flight 358 was in
34:31a dangerous position over the previous four hours they had been made aware of the terrible storms and
34:39red alerts and that was for me my biggest concern were they perhaps overtired were they lacks victims of
34:47routine in any case it's obvious that they had engaged the extent of the danger it's evident that the flight
34:55crew didn't perceive the information that they were getting from these various sources as being threatening
35:02therefore they attempted to make a landing but even in bad conditions even on a short runway the crew had
35:103000 meters in which to land their plane it should have been enough to find out why it wasn't investigators
35:17in the past in 1999 an eerily similar accident took place in little rock arkansas damn we're off course
35:24i can't see it way off struggling with unpredictable weather the crew of an american airlines jet landed their
35:31plane only to have it skid off the runway
35:3711 people were killed greg feyth helped investigate that crash
35:42one of the first things that i thought about was deja vu having the first bits of information about
35:49the air france accident it reminded me so much of the american airlines accident in the little rock
35:57crash feyth discovered that the crew had made a critical mistake which contributed significantly to the
36:02accident they hadn't followed all of the checklist procedures and they didn't have the ground spoilers
36:09which basically degrades the efficiency of lift on the wing and settles the airplane heavily on the
36:15main wheel so that braking action is more effective spoilers are only one of several ways pilots of
36:22passenger jets stop their massive planes reverse thrusters are used to redirect the engine power
36:27forward as the plane lands and sophisticated brakes help slow the jets down
36:32to rule out any mechanical fault all three systems are examined by investigators of the air france crash
36:42one of the brakes on flight 358 was destroyed in the fire but the seven other sets of brakes are all
36:48tested after the accident all of them are working properly flaps two flaps two at speed investigators in
36:57toronto also discover that unlike in the little rock crash this time the spoilers had deployed properly
37:03gear down spoilers on all green and when the engines are examined the reverse thrusters are deployed
37:11no obvious mechanical fault can be found
37:17as the investigation continues a french newspaper prints a bombshell
37:22the figaro publishes a story claiming that the thrust reversers which use the jets engines to slow it down
37:31were not turned on until the plane had been on the runway for more than 12 seconds
37:39as for captain rosa he confirmed the newspaper report his explanation was that his co-pilot had
37:46tent stopped and was having difficulty controlling the lateral movement of the plane no doubt because
37:52of the strong crust winds and because the runway was so slippery his hand was clamped tightly on the
37:57throttle release lever which prevented the captain from reaching it himself so the reverse thrusters could
38:04not be activated shortly after the newspaper story appears investigators published their initial report
38:14it confirms the figaro's version of events
38:17canada's transportation safety board reveals that while the thrusters were found in the on position at the crash site
38:23they had not been deployed as soon as the plane landed
38:26in fact it took 17 seconds before they reached maximum power
38:31the delay was a question raised in the in the report
38:35and i wouldn't want to hazard a guess as to why there was such a delay
38:39or what was the cause of it i just know that uh pilots as a rule want to get those reversers in as
38:46quickly as possible for maximum stopping the investigators reveal other confusing facts about
38:53the last few seconds of flight 358
39:01when it came over the start of the runway it was twice as high as it should have been
39:05and when it did land it was nearly halfway down the runway
39:10put it down put it down in these stormy conditions the crew didn't have enough time to stop
39:18once they found that the airplane had floated down the runway the pilot has to make the decision
39:26whether we stay on the ground and try to salvage this bad situation or we abort the landing power
39:32up pull up and go around get our stuff together and then come back for a second landing
39:38at france 358 but decisions in a cockpit are joint decisions the captain and the first officer work
39:44together if the captain sees that landing will be difficult he must open throttle and go through
39:52abort landing procedures that's his duty it's an obligation
40:00and of course the copilot is also allowed to be the first to act
40:04but the captain's duty is to avoid at all costs a lengthy touchdown that is clear
40:13by the time the plane touched down it had only 1500 meters to stop
40:18and when it did land critical seconds were lost when the reverse thrusters weren't engaged
40:23would it have made a difference to immediately activate the reverse thrusters of course it would
40:34since reverse function reaches its peak efficiency at high speed that is the exact moment of touchdown
40:40that's what reverse is there for it's all a matter of aerodynamic braking
40:45the other problem is that the wheels touched ground in the middle of the runway and reverse or no reverse
40:52at that point it was already too late as was pointed out by the head of the inquiry block it
40:58that being said if the reverse thrusters had been activated immediately the plane would have come to
41:03a stop more quickly
41:04in heavy storms the margin for error is razor thin on this rain filled afternoon sudden wind a long
41:16landing and a short runway sealed the fate of everyone on board flight 358
41:25what concerns some in the aviation industry isn't this particular flight but the reality that overruns are
41:31far too common they happen all around the world and safety procedures that could stop them are not in place
41:45in august 2005 air france flight 358 crashed off the end of a runway in toronto
41:53it was a horrifying incident yet amazingly everyone survived
41:57but flight 358 wasn't the only jet to go off the end of a runway in 2005
42:07worldwide there were 37 other runway overruns and the causes of all these accidents were remarkably similar
42:15there are a number of causal factors that occur again and again in runway overrun accidents the weather conditions
42:22the state of the runway surface it can be wet it can be icy it can have snow on it speed in excess of a normal
42:34approach speed for the aircraft that does not then bleed off as the aircraft attempts to land
42:41and these factors occur again and again in runway overrun accidents unlike the crash at toronto some overruns
42:48are deadly this southwest airlines flight in chicago slid off its runway several months after the air france
42:55crash a small child was killed in a car that was driving on the nearby highway many older airports
43:02in particular in big cities which have expanded out towards the airport in the course of their growth
43:08are constrained in the area that they can use
43:11the air france is for
43:12the air france is contaminated snow ice standing water that will degrade the stopping performance of the airplane
43:24add to that a tailwind component which was existent at the time that air france landed
43:31that in combination with the contaminated runway
43:34can jeopardize the landing performance and in fact increase it probably by 50 percent the international
43:42civil aviation organization recommends that every airport have a 300 meter safety zone at the end of
43:47runways that handle international flights canadian standards are a little less strict they call for a
43:5460 meter overrun area and recommend another 90 meters on top of that runway 24 left meets the low end of those
44:02recommendations there was another runway over an accident to the runway in toronto which was very closely
44:11aligned with the runway that is there at the moment in 1978 when a dc9 an air canada dc9 rejected a
44:19takeoff and ran into the ravine well the plane started to break and then there was just nothing and then we
44:27dropped over the edge there's about a 50 foot drop i guess at the end of the runway we just went over
44:33the top and then there was a heck of a bang and people and seats all over the place two people died
44:40in the 1978 accident a coroner's inquest after the crash recommended that the gully be filled in but it
44:47never was it's a steep ravine it has about a 50 foot drop off and when you take a large complicated and
44:53fragile piece of machinery like a commercial aircraft and you drop it 50 feet then it tends to break
45:01there is a possible solution to runway overruns but it's not being used in toronto or many other
45:07international airports it's called emas or engineered material arresting systems
45:15it's a form of artificial stone or artificial gravel which has a certain depth
45:21and anybody who's ridden the bicycle into a gravel pit knows that the bicycle stops very quickly and
45:28it can be almost impossible to pedal it out and the same thing happens to airplanes several airports in
45:35the u.s use the system but most international airports do not it's very much more effective
45:41than friction breaking and it's certainly incomparably more effective than thrust reverse and spoilers
45:48and any one of these systems when properly engineered can stop a large airplane no matter
45:55what the runway surface conditions in a very short distance we have to evacuate now
46:04but one vital air safety guideline was met when flight 358 crashed in spite of the smoke and the
46:10spreading fire the crew of the crippled plane made sure that all the passengers escaped in just 90 seconds
46:18it's just a miracle that all of those people were able to evacuate the airplane as quickly as they
46:25did before the airplane was consumed the air france flight was particularly noteworthy and that everybody
46:33got out essentially unscathed i know there were some injuries but but everyone got out so i think it
46:40was noteworthy and it was very good evacuation from that perspective captain alan rosay may never fly for
46:49air france again his injuries required extensive physical therapy after the crash at the time he was
46:56less than three years from retirement every morning captain rosay relives the experience coming face to face with
47:04the flames the noise the crash and it made him sad to end his career on that note having destroyed this plane
47:11that's the worst possible fate for a pilot the worst outcome the copilot frederic no is suspended for
47:18three months after the accident by early the next year he's back on duty with air france there are reports
47:25that after he helped captain rosay out of the cockpit he was the last person off the plane
47:35the passengers deal with the crash in their own ways
47:41well i went through uh nightmares almost every single night
47:46uh flashbacks during the day i couldn't sleep i couldn't eat
47:51you know i questioned myself why am i here it's frightening you know to to be in such a state
47:58and it has taught me to be strong
48:05we really need to take seriously uh those safety commands and evacuation information because you never
48:13know it was a perfect flight there's not any indications that anything can go wrong and it's
48:19right at the very last second that everything happens um so it's thank goodness i'm here to be able
48:30to talk about it now open the door open the door there's a lot of negative in the accident and there's
48:41a lot of positive the negative is oh my god you know i'm gonna die oh my god it's horrible oh i have
48:47these nightmares and you know yes i'm traumatized and all my kids are traumatized however you have the
48:53positives and the positives are gee i'm alive you know i have been given a second chance i have been
49:02given a second life and all of us my wife and my children myself we all experience the same positive
49:14effects of the crash which is we have to give back we have to do something for others we have to extend
49:20our heart out our compassion to people who who need it it's almost therapeutic for us you know the
49:27more you do for others the better you're going to feel so for me i figured you know if i can extend
49:34my heart out to others maybe it's going to help me as well
49:50you
Recommended
1:09:18
|
Up next
56:38
1:02:51
2:04:04
44:03
42:15
0:46
2:11
2:55
Be the first to comment