Air Crash Investigation

Airplane ✈ mode

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Transcript

00:00The captain pulls up the nose and tries to climb.

00:15Captain Kevin Stables is preparing to pilot Emery Worldwide Flight 17.

00:21His first officer is George Land.

00:23They're hauling freight across the country aboard a 30-year-old DC-8 cargo plane.

00:32Hi there. Is that the load plan?

00:35Just before they're finished up and loading the last couple of containers,

00:39they would give us a list of all the freight containers

00:42and how much it weighed and what position on the airplane it was.

00:48There you go, boss.

00:49Then we'd take that information and we would calculate the weight and balance on the airplane

00:54and make sure that it was all correct.

01:00Airspeed's alive.

01:01Alive here.

01:0580 knots.

01:0680 knots.

01:10Elevator checks.

01:12Just another routine takeoff.

01:15V1.

01:20Rotate.

01:24But as the nose wheel leaves the ground,

01:28the DC-8 pitches upward much more steeply than it should.

01:33Watch the tail.

01:37They recognize that they have an issue during the course of the airplane actually starting to rotate as it lifts off the runway.

01:44V2.

01:46Positive rate.

01:48The sudden takeoff is quickly followed by an uncommanded left bank.

01:54I got it.

01:55You got it?

01:56Yeah.

01:57This is anything but routine.

02:02We're going back.

02:03What the hell?

02:04The center of gravity is way out of limits.

02:06They need to return to the airport as quickly as possible.

02:11Emory 17 emergency.

02:13Emory 17, say again?

02:15When a pilot declares an emergency, that really cues an air traffic controller to know that this isn't just an abnormal situation.

02:23This is a critical situation.

02:24The ground proximity warning begins to sound.

02:30We're sinking.

02:32We're going down, guys.

02:33All right, all right.

02:38Okay, we're going back up.

02:40The DC-8 starts climbing again.

02:43Roll out.

02:45Roll out.

02:47But the pilots are still struggling for control.

02:50Emory 17 extreme balance problem.

02:55Emory 17, roger.

02:58The airplane started to go into these big perturbations, dive and then climb, dive and then climb.

03:05They push their control columns all the way forward in a desperate effort to level the plane.

03:11Power.

03:12More?

03:13Yeah.

03:15Captain Stables and his crew have managed to get their crippled plane to within sight of the runway.

03:22It was working very well.

03:23He made it almost all the way around to the backside of the airport.

03:27They knew if they could get back to the airport, there was going to be crash fire rescue that would have been able then to help them.

03:35They've now got less than a mile to go.

03:38They're still trying to look ahead to figure out what needs to be done next.

03:42But they know that sooner or later, they've got to get on the ground.

03:54China Airlines Flight 120 is on final approach for landing.

03:59They're now less than a minute from the runway.

04:01It's a textbook landing.

04:02All that's left for the China Airlines pilots is to park the plane.

04:18Engine start levers.

04:20Engine start levers, cut off.

04:21With the engines off, they can finally relax.

04:26Hey, what is this?

04:30What's happening?

04:31Just when they thought they were safely parked.

04:34Cockpit ground.

04:35Number two engine fire.

04:37A radio call alerts them to an urgent danger.

04:41Their plane is on fire.

04:43Attention crew on station.

04:44Attention crew on station.

04:46Dynasty one two zero.

04:47We are calling a fire truck.

04:48Remain stand by.

04:50We have wheel fire.

04:52Please slap lever.

04:55The pilots know they need to get their passengers off the plane before flames reach the fuel tanks.

05:00But they can't open the cabin doors yet.

05:05Engine fire warning switches override.

05:08They must follow an evacuation checklist.

05:13Finally, the pilots are ready to open the doors.

05:16Evacuation required now.

05:18Required.

05:22No pushing, no pushing.

05:24Please keep moving forward.

05:26But it will take time for all 157 passengers to make it to the exit.

05:31George Ishizaki is watching the unfolding disaster from inside the airport terminal.

05:38I just happened to have my camcorder with me.

05:42I thought, oh my God, what is happening?

05:48The plane has been burning for close to three minutes.

05:52It could explode at any moment.

05:53Captain.

05:54All passengers are evacuated.

05:55You're the last one.

05:56Typically, the captain will stay until everybody is off and he will verify that the airplane is empty.

06:08The pilots have put their passengers' safety first.

06:13But now, it may be too late for them.

06:16We're going to have to climb up through the window.

06:17You first.

06:19Sir.

06:20All 737 cockpits are equipped with an emergency escape rope.

06:25It's designed to help pilots exit through the side window.

06:28But it's no easy maneuver.

06:35Then.

06:36Fire on an airplane can quickly become lethal.

06:51Incredibly, on Flight 120, all 165 people on board have escaped unharmed.

06:56I've never heard of any evacuation where somebody wasn't hurt.

07:01To get this many people off in such a dire circumstance in a very short period of time with no injuries is miraculous.

07:09We have a developing story, as you may have heard.

07:13There is a civilian Learjet.

07:15News of a rogue Learjet flying hundreds of miles off course has captivated the nation.

07:21The FAA began tracking an aircraft in distress.

07:27The president was made aware of this situation this morning in a meeting with his economic advisors.

07:33Ben's in here.

07:34Experts at the National Transportation Safety Board are notified of the escalating emergency.

07:42Give me a map.

07:44Okay.

07:46Once the air traffic control system realized the aircraft had gone rogue, so to speak, the next step is to try to figure out why.

07:52It's either being hijacked or it's malfunctioned.

07:56The crew has been incapacitated somehow.

08:01Controllers scramble F-16 fighters to track down the wayward Learjet.

08:07Jim Tidball has come up with a rough calculation of where the plane will run out of fuel.

08:13My best guess is South Dakota.

08:16Possibly North Dakota.

08:19I can't say more than that.

08:20Let's hope he's right.

08:23With any luck, they won't hit anything.

08:29In the air, the F-16 pilots have caught up with the rogue plane.

08:36The windows of the aircraft provide an ominous clue.

08:40No movement and windows covered in frost.

08:45The Learjet is now a ghost plane.

08:48Can we narrow down the crash site anymore?

08:54With no hope for the passengers and crew.

08:57The only focus now is on where the plane will come down.

09:00According to calculations, the jet is almost out of fuel.

09:04At 10 minutes past 12, it happens.

09:05The Learjet carrying Payne Stewart and five of the people is falling from the sky.

09:22They're going down.

09:23They're going down.

09:24They're going down.

09:25Where's it going to hit?

09:29The F-16 attempts to follow.

09:34But the plane disappears into the clouds.

09:37It drops below the radar.

09:41Center, I've got a crash site.

09:54Center, I've got a crash site.

10:07Payne Stewart's Learjet has slammed into a hay field in South Dakota.

10:11There are no survivors.

10:16Amid growing confusion in the cockpit, the pilots of flight 2120 still don't know that there's smoke in the cabin.

10:23All they're dealing with is just all the alarm bells going off to indicate that equipment is failing left, right and center.

10:31But mechanic Jean-Paul Phillipe realizes they're in serious trouble.

10:36An onboard fire has the potential to consume the entire aircraft in seconds.

10:41So things are rapidly spinning out of control.

10:50Okay, let's get squared away and see what we've got here, please.

10:56In the cabin, it's becoming almost impossible to breathe.

11:01And Cheddar is still 11 miles away.

11:06You've lost all hydraulics.

11:08The odds on making it back to the airport are getting slimmer.

11:14Damn it.

11:15I've got no ailerons.

11:17Davage can't steer the plane with no hydraulics.

11:23Okay, hang on. I've got it.

11:25Captain Allen struggles with his control.

11:27Hang on. I've got it.

11:28But it too could fail at any moment.

11:31Let's get lined up before things get any worse.

11:34Okay, sir, we're at 2,000 feet now, declaring an emergency.

11:39We are having flight control problems.

11:42Roger, Roger. I thought you were Saudi 738.

11:45Only now does the controller realize that the troubled aircraft is the nation air flight.

11:49Turn left right now heading 080.

11:55Expect runway 34 left.

11:57By this time, it's pandemonium inside the cabin.

12:01Passengers are being engulfed by flames.

12:06And bodies are starting to fall from the aircraft fuselage.

12:10The plane is right over Jeppe, a city of 2 million people.

12:17Bodies were falling out of the aircraft 11 miles from the airport.

12:21Okay, sir, we're having trouble turning.

12:23We are having flight control problems.

12:25We will try to turn left.

12:27We are having flight control problems.

12:29In the situation, it would have made certainly controlling the aircraft for an approach in landing very, very difficult.

12:37How much further?

12:4110 miles.

12:421700 feet.

12:46Choking for air, some passengers try to open the doors.

12:49At this speed, it's impossible.

12:51No, no!

12:55Jetta 2-1-2-0, clear to that runway 34 left.

12:58Okay, we're coming straight in.

13:01We'll land on the left.

13:03Require emergency vehicles immediately.

13:05We have a fire.

13:06We will be ground evacuating.

13:08Jetta 2-1-2-0, clear to land any runway.

13:11Clear to land.

13:14There it is.

13:15It's two miles out.

13:16All right.

13:17Let's get on the ground.

13:21I've lost elevators.

13:23Christ, I have no control.

13:26Landing gear down.

13:27Bending gear down.

13:40The fiery explosion and sudden impact with the ground has all but obliterated Flight 2120.

13:46247 passengers and 14 crew members are dead.

13:57This is the worst accident ever for a Canadian airline.

14:00And the deadliest crash of a DC-8 in history.

14:09How much fuel have we used?

14:11Flight engineer Gilles Jardineau keeps a vigilant eye on fuel consumption.

14:15We've got 800 kilos.

14:17Concorde burns through it at an astonishing rate.

14:21In the short taxi to the runway, the plane's four engines have already used as much fuel as the average car uses in six months.

14:32Booking a seat on the famed jet requires deep pockets.

14:36The return fare to New York costs more than $9,000.

14:39It was not something unaffordable for those people we had on board.

14:44Some of them, I'll tell you, they didn't even know how much they were paying.

14:50Air France 4590, runway 26R, cleared for takeoff.

14:554590, cleared for takeoff.

14:5826R.

15:01The tower controller today is Gilles Lojolin.

15:04I was stationed in the southern control tower, which has a very good view over the two runways that we use.

15:13This day was the same as usual. I gave him the takeoff clearance.

15:28Four greens.

15:30V1.

15:31The first officer tells the captain they've reached V1, or decision speed.

15:37They're now going too quickly to abort the takeoff.

15:40You cannot stop anymore. You have to go on. You have to continue takeoff, whatever happens.

15:53Watch out!

15:55Suddenly, the plane begins veering left.

15:57Stop!

15:59The flight engineer urges the captain to abort the takeoff.

16:04But it's too late to stop.

16:06Captain Marti lifts the supersonic jet into the air.

16:11Gilles Lojolin realizes he's now watching a disaster.

16:20This was a very unexpected situation to see flames on an aircraft that is departing on the runway.

16:27We don't have time to lose, so immediately I've pushed the red button, which is a button for alert.

16:314590, you have flames behind you.

16:39Roger!

16:41The plane is engulfed in flames.

16:46Failure! Engine two!

16:49Engine fire procedure!

16:51Captain Marti struggles for control as the engineer shuts down the burning engine.

16:56And activates a fire extinguisher.

16:59What's the airspeed?

17:00The plane's airspeed is now dangerously low.

17:04Airspeed, airspeed!

17:06Something is happening.

17:12Something that is not covered by training.

17:18Something that in pilot career you don't want to face.

17:21First officer Marcot wants to head for a nearby airport.

17:26La Bourget! La Bourget!

17:29But the crew can't outfly the fire that is rapidly consuming their plane.

17:36The supersonic marvel of modern aviation.

17:40No!

17:45Slams into an airport hotel.

17:47Oh, mon dieu!

17:49I could see a kind of big, like a big mushroom of smoke.

17:55I think until the very last moments where I was thinking that something will save the situation.

18:06August 7th, 1997.

18:09Fine Air Cargo Flight 101 prepares to take off from Miami to the Dominican Republic.

18:17At 12.30 p.m., when Flight 101 taxis to its runway,

18:28First Officer Petrosky recites a familiar drill.

18:32Okay, standard fine air procedure.

18:34If there's a problem prior to V-1, which is 130 knots, the pilot in command will abort the airplane.

18:39Treat anything after V-1 as an in-flight emergency.

18:42Sounds good.

18:43At 12.34 p.m., the tower makes contact.

18:48Fine Air 101, fly heading 270, cleared for takeoff.

18:54Clear takeoff 27 right.

18:57Fine Air 101 heavy.

19:01Okay, full spooled and stable.

19:05Max power.

19:06Okay, coming up on 60 knots.

19:11Power set.

19:1580.

19:19V-1.

19:21Rotate.

19:22The plane lifts off the runway.

19:23Easy.

19:24Easy.

19:25Easy.

19:26Easy.

19:27Easy.

19:28Easy.

19:29Easy.

19:30Easy.

19:31Easy.

19:32Easy.

19:33Easy.

19:34You're up.

19:36You're up.

19:40You're up.

19:50The air traffic controller is alarmed by what he now sees.

19:52He's alarmed by what he now sees.

20:00What's going on? Whoa! Whoa!

20:02The crew fights to get the plane under control.

20:08Too low, gear. Too low. Too low, terrain.

20:16Too low, terrain. Pull up.

20:23No!

20:35Where's your emergency?

20:37Yes, sir. There's been a plane crash at 72nd and 25th.

20:42It's the unthinkable. A plane crash in the heart of Miami.

20:46The plane's three-man crew and security guard are confirmed dead.

20:53Can you go, please? Thank you.

20:58Cathay Pacific Flight 780 is cruising at 38,000 feet over the South China Sea.

21:03Captain Malcolm Waters and his crew are nearing the end of a four-and-a-half-hour flight from Indonesia to Hong Kong.

21:13165 miles from Hong Kong Airport, the Airbus leaves cruising altitude and begins its descent.

21:20And then something goes wrong.

21:24The flight computer is alerting the pilots to a problem.

21:28Okay, let's see what we got.

21:33Engine two stall.

21:35The plane's monitoring system indicates there's an issue with the right engine.

21:40Engine number two.

21:41With no explanation for the incident, Captain Waters reduces power on the engine to idle to protect it from damage.

21:54Idle.

21:55The lowest possible power level while still keeping it running.

22:03The pilots prepare to land the Airbus with only one engine.

22:07Everything is set for an emergency landing.

22:09But then, another alert and more vibrations.

22:20Engine one stall.

22:22Engine one stall confirmed.

22:24Things have gone from bad to worse.

22:26The monitoring system indicates they've just lost the other engine.

22:33The one they were counting on to get the plane to Hong Kong.

22:41The monitoring system tells the pilots to put the malfunctioning engine number one into idle.

22:48They are a minute from touchdown.

22:52Then, another alert.

22:56It's over speed.

23:02It's an over speed warning.

23:04A signal the aircraft is flying too fast.

23:07Captain Waters can't figure it out.

23:10They should be slowing down.

23:12He rechecks the controls.

23:16Then, he sees it.

23:18Engine number one, which he throttled back minutes earlier, is still running at 74% power.

23:26High thrust.

23:28Too high to land safely.

23:30Too low.

23:32Terrain.

23:34Too low. Terrain.

23:36Their speed is over 100 miles per hour faster than normal.

23:39So fast, the flight computer doesn't recognize that the pilots are trying to land.

23:42Captain Waters pushes the nose down, forcing the airboss onto the runway.

23:52The airboss is getting close to the end of the runway.

23:56Finally, the aircraft comes to a halt just a short distance from the water's edge.

23:59They've used up more than 8,800 feet, over a mile and a half of runway.

24:06Once the aircraft did stop, there's a look of what the hell just happened.

24:17It's a rough ride aboard a 737 on descent in New Orleans.

24:26A violent thunderstorm has caught the pilots off guard.

24:30As the flight attendants, you take their seats.

24:33Flight attendants, please take their seats.

24:34737 on descent in New Orleans a violent thunderstorm has caught the pilots off

24:39guard as a flight attendants to take their seats

24:52suddenly less than 17,000 feet from the ground the flight becomes all the more

24:57terrifying the plane has enough speed to glide but not for long it will rapidly

25:08lose altitude as it does the crew has only one option left I guess I'm gonna

25:14have to make a ditching here sir they must take their chances and put the

25:17plane down on the water tackle 110 Roger whatever you need to do sir and that was

25:24about the last communication with the tower then we were like 1,500 feet when

25:31that was going on Dardano plans to put the plane down in the canal directly ahead of

25:37him okay there put it down softly

25:47the 737 can only stay in the air for another minute as Dardano looks for a

25:54safe stretch of canal to drop the plane in another option appears look look at

25:59that one over there and then Lopez saw the levee parallel to the canal that we

26:05were making the approach on you put it down on the grass yes boss the levee is

26:11much shorter and narrower than a runway but it looks safer than the water that's

26:16where we're going to go in you've got it my friend okay put the gear down

26:27alright but captain Dardano is still flying towards the water to have any hope of

26:33landing on the levee he needs to make a sudden and dramatic course correction that

26:38requires a risky maneuver known as a side slip so we just had to do a little bit

26:44side slip to get into position to to make a perfect landing

26:49it's a movement for small planes and gliters not a 47-ton Boeing 737 but it's a

26:56risk he has to take

26:59only 700 feet separate the plane from the ground without engines the pilots have

27:11no thrust reversers to slow the plane when it touches down Dardano has an

27:15additional challenge with only one eye he's unable to gauge depth as he speeds

27:21towards the narrow rain soaked strip of grass there's a high cement wall in front

27:26of the levee and a steep embankment on the left there may not be enough room to land

27:31watch out for the wing on that side I see it

27:36come on

27:39here I have you baby, here I have you

27:44The landing was spectacular.

28:12The plane landed so smoothly, there wasn't even a bit of turbulence.

28:19A perfect landing.

28:23January 2009, U.S. Airways Flight 1549 departs New York's LaGuardia Airport.

28:30There are 150 passengers on board, bound for Charlotte, North Carolina.

28:36The aircraft took off uneventfully and very shortly after takeoff they lost all engines as a result of birds.

28:43I caught something out of the corner of my eye and slightly to our right but still ahead of us was a line of birds.

28:50And they were very, very close, too close for us to maneuver around.

28:55After quickly assessing the situation, Captain Sully Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles realized that without engine power, they're not going to make it to any nearby airport.

29:08We're going to be in the Hudson.

29:15Brace for impact.

29:16You need to be aware of your brace position.

29:19In many, many accidents, the cabin crew are trying desperately to get the passengers into the brace position,

29:25but because the passengers haven't read the safety features card, they don't know what that means.

29:29Get your hands down and stay down.

29:36Proper brace position is knees together, feet flat on the floor, body bent as far forward as possible,

29:42with arms wrapped under the legs or braced against the seat in front of you.

29:47Your body's going to be thrown forward, so if you can get yourself into that position beforehand,

29:53the amount of movement back and forth is going to be reduced and the level of injury will be less.

29:58In the cabin, the passengers prepare for the inevitable.

30:05All the passengers really started kind of pulling together, and somebody yelled out as we were going down.

30:12Be ready at the doors.

30:14The folks at the door says, we're ready.

30:17Clay Presley does what all passengers should.

30:20He stays calm and tries to think ahead.

30:23So I started thinking about, if we're going to crash, I know I need to figure out where the exit rows are.

30:28If the water comes in, you need to be able to hold your breath long enough to get to those four or five rows and get the doors open if you can.

30:36But before anyone can escape, they must first survive a high-speed impact.

30:45It looked like the airplane was going right for the bottom of the Hudson River.

30:48Then the airplane popped up, and it was just sort of gently rocking in the waves.

31:01In an instant, the $75 million plane has become an unlikely boat floating down the Hudson River.

31:12It's now filling with freezing water.

31:14That water was cold.

31:16It was very cold.

31:17That's why your feet are freezing.

31:19You land in the Hudson in the middle of the winter, the water is going to be very cold, and you're going to suffer from hypothermia very quickly.

31:26Their feet and their hands will get numb.

31:28They're going to be useless.

31:34Passengers nearest the exits open the doors.

31:40I just jumped up very quickly and started making my way to the emergency door.

31:43And so I worked my way out onto the wing just a few steps to start with.

31:49Fortunately, they had slide rafts rather than just slides.

31:52So what they were able to do was evacuate passengers into the slide rafts.

31:57In the end, all 150 passengers and the entire crew of Flight 1549 are brought to safety.

32:05Another example of how serious aviation accidents often end well.

32:09Asiana Flight 214 is nearing the end of an overnight flight from Seoul, Korea to San Francisco.

32:17Ben Levy is a frequent flyer returning home.

32:21I fly pretty often for business or visiting my family.

32:24I'm already from France, and so, you know, I fly long distance a lot.

32:28I fly in and out of SFO a lot.

32:30So I know the airport very well.

32:33Many of the other 291 passengers are Chinese, including a group of teenagers.

32:38On their way to summer camp in the United States.

32:43Isiana 214 heavy runway 28 left cleared to land.

32:49Landing checklist complete.

32:51Cleared to land.

32:52On glide path.

32:54The pilots check a set of lights beside the runway that can help guide them to a safe landing.

33:00Check.

33:01The plane is less than a minute from the runway.

33:05When Ben Levy realizes something is wrong.

33:08I remember noticing that there's a small pier that extends out of the runway.

33:15And I'm like, wow, we're very low.

33:18And I dismiss the thought thinking, well, what can go wrong?

33:22There's all the technology on board to make sure that those guys don't mess up.

33:25Don't mess up.

33:27In the cockpit.

33:29Speed.

33:30A crisis hits.

33:32I've got control.

33:37Oh, God, go around.

33:38The captain pulls up the nose and tries to climb.

33:44Oh, God.

33:48Oh, God.

33:49Oh, God.

33:59Hang on.

34:00Hang on.

34:01The brutal impact has torn the tail off the body of the plane.

34:18An engine is burning.

34:20If fire spreads to the fuel tanks, the plane could explode.

34:24Let's see if we can open this door.

34:25Good job.

34:29But getting down to the ground will not be easy.

34:33I'm expecting at that point to see a slide open.

34:36Right? The whole, like, hey, you open the door, the slide is going to open.

34:40And there's no slide.

34:43Whoa.

34:45Okay.

34:46Help each other.

34:48Come on.

34:50Luckily, some crumpled pieces of the fuselage have formed a makeshift set of stairs.

34:56Ben Levy stays by the door to help the other passengers climb down.

35:00Come on.

35:03At San Francisco International Airport, runway 28L is a disaster zone.

35:09Fire crews battle to keep flames from consuming the fuselage of Asiana Flight 214.

35:19With rescuers now on board to help the injured, Ben Levy finally heads to safety.

35:25If you were there, again, you can see a blood Aqui.

35:26I've said, I can see a flyer.

35:28It's very young.

35:29You can see a bullet.

35:30Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.

35:31It's fine.

35:32Okay.

35:33It's been a great day.

35:34It's been a great day.

35:35And there's a great day.

35:37It's been a great day.

35:38It was a great day.

35:39It was a great day.

35:40You had a great day.

35:41It's been a nice day.

35:43You had a great day.

35:44I know.

35:45Last time I've mentioned.

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