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British Midland Flight 92, a two-month-old Boeing 737-400, takes-off from Heathrow Airport in London, heading for Belfast. While on route the aircraft's left engine suffers a fan blade failure. The crew shut down the wrong engine and start to prepare for an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport. On approach to the airport the damaged left engine fails completely and then catches fire. With insufficient thrust to maintain altitude, the plane crashes 900 metres from the runway on the M1 motorway embankment at Kegworth, killing 47 people, though miraculously, the plane managed to clear the motorway itself, preventing any further casualties on the ground.
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00:01A new Boeing 737 flying 126 people on a short hop from London to Northern Ireland.
00:07It's one of the safest planes in the sky.
00:12Suddenly, a series of explosive noises and severe vibrations rock the plane.
00:18It crashes just meters from the safety of a runway.
00:2247 people die. Are they victims of a terrorist act?
00:26Or was this a freak accident?
00:29Now, using advanced computer simulations, we reveal what really went wrong on flight 092.
00:40Disasters don't just happen. They're a chain of critical events.
00:45Unravel the clues and count down those final seconds from disaster.
00:58Europe. England. London Heathrow.
01:06The world's busiest international airport.
01:11January 8th, 1989.
01:14It's a Sunday evening and many passengers are headed home after the Christmas and New Year holidays.
01:20The airport is packed.
01:24In Terminal 1, passengers check in for British Midland flight 092 to Belfast, Northern Ireland.
01:30It's a regular hour-long commuter shuttle.
01:35Security is tight.
01:38It's the height of the IRA's terrorist campaign against British targets.
01:43The IRA has killed 416 civilians in nearly 20 years of violence.
01:51Health care worker Gareth Jones started a new job in Belfast three weeks ago.
01:55I'll ask you one or two security questions.
01:58Security checks are a way of life.
02:02If you lived in Northern Ireland at the time, you got quite used to security.
02:06It was a period when there was heightened security there.
02:07You look after yourself, right? You look after Mother too.
02:11Bye.
02:15The IRA isn't the only reason for Heathrow's high security.
02:21Lockerbie, Scotland.
02:22Three weeks earlier, a terrorist bomb blows apart a Pan Am 747 flying from Heathrow to the US.
02:29The explosion kills all 259 people on board and 11 more on the ground.
02:35It's the worst ever terrorist attack on a US airliner.
02:40The authorities suspect it's the work of an Arab terrorist group.
02:51Today, the passengers on flight 092 are in the hands of 43-year-old Captain Kevin Hunt.
02:58He's one of British Midlands most experienced pilots with 25 years flying under his belt.
03:03Air conditioning and pressurization packs on flight.
03:06Flying with him, 39-year-old First Officer David McClelland.
03:10Tonight, they're flying an aircraft just two months old.
03:14It's one of Boeing's new 737-400 series.
03:19Boeing launched the aircraft a year earlier in a blaze of publicity.
03:24It boasts significant improvements over its predecessors.
03:28Its new CFM-56 engines are the most powerful of their kind.
03:32And the cockpit display features state-of-the-art technology, including computerized TV screens and LED dials, which replace the
03:40traditional mechanical gauges.
03:457.15 p.m.
03:48Balling cars, please.
03:51118 passengers board the brand-new plane and take their seats.
03:56Brake's released.
03:57We're going to start engines two and one on push.
04:00Captain Hunt starts up the two engines.
04:03The 400 series aircraft is still new to him.
04:06He's clocked just 23 hours.
04:10First Officer McClelland has 53 hours.
04:13Full pressure's rising.
04:15The seatbelt's on now, sir.
04:17To adjust the seatbelt, lift a buckle and pull the strap.
04:21In the main cabin, Gareth Jones has a window seat over the wing in an emergency exit row.
04:26Excuse me, sir. Hi, there.
04:28A flight attendant asks Gareth to read the safety card so that he knows how to open the over-wing
04:32exit door.
04:35Normally, it was pretty blasé about it, but it was pleasantly done and it would have been ill-mannered not
04:40to.
04:40Air traffic control clears flight 092 for take-off.
04:45Then 092 is clear for take-off.
04:472.7 right.
04:48Surface wind is 2.7 zero degrees.
04:51Weather conditions are perfect.
04:53Clear right to clearly meet your take-off on my 2.7 right pilot.
04:57Happy to go?
04:58Let's go.
04:59First Officer McClelland throttles the engines up.
05:07V1, rotate.
05:12Posted climb.
05:13And gear up.
05:15Gear up.
05:17No known.
05:217.52pm.
05:23British Midland Flight 092 is airborne and on its way to Belfast.
05:27Midland 92, roger.
05:28Maintain 6,000 feet with no speed.
05:29Okay, 6,000 feet.
05:30Check.
05:32Debbie Griffith, aged 24, is one of six cabin crew on board tonight.
05:38She was on standby, but managers called her in at short notice.
05:45She's been a flight attendant for two years.
05:47I love the job, basically, because I really enjoyed meeting the people.
05:51It was a great lifestyle for somebody of that age.
05:54Within minutes of take-off, the cabin crew start the drink service.
05:57With the hold-ups behind them, there's a light-hearted atmosphere.
06:01Passengers know they'll be on the ground in under one hour.
06:098.05pm.
06:11Thirteen minutes into the flight.
06:13The aircraft is climbing through 8,500 metres on its way to a cruising altitude of 10,600 metres.
06:20Then, without warning, a massive bang.
06:26The aircraft starts to vibrate violently.
06:30A routine flight turns into every air traveller's worst nightmare.
06:36Up on the flight deck, Captain Hunt and First Officer David McClelland feel the vibration.
06:41That's really strange. What's going on?
06:43Much worse, they smell smoke.
06:46I have it.
06:47What's going on?
06:48We've got a fire coming here.
06:49Tell ATC we need to start at this end.
06:54Smoke can only get into the cabin via the air conditioning ducts.
06:58And since the aircon is jet-powered on the 737, they deduce its engine trouble.
07:03Which one? Which one?
07:04And it sounds serious.
07:0820-year-old student, Kieran Dynan, is sitting over the wing, close to the engine.
07:13All he can hear is a loud, clattering sound.
07:17There was a very definite grinding noise.
07:19It sounded like pebbles going round in a washing machine.
07:24Just back from the cockpit, in row one, are business partners Nick Stevenson and Chris Thompson.
07:31They're on their way home to Belfast.
07:34They feel the vibration.
07:36It's so intense, they fear the aircraft is breaking up.
07:39It sounded to me as though there was somebody outside with a sledgehammer trying to get into the aircraft.
07:44Trying to beat their way through the fuselage.
07:48At that point, he simply stopped.
07:51Froze.
07:53Flight attendant Debbie Griffiths immediately thinks of the Lockerbie disaster.
07:58This instant sort of terror, if you like.
08:01And my first thought was, is there a bomb?
08:07A huge bang and heavy vibrations rock a British Midland flight en route to Northern Ireland.
08:14Sitting in a window seat over the wing, in row 14, is healthcare worker Gareth Jones.
08:21He's busy dealing with a panicking fellow passenger.
08:24The lady that was next to me, Theresa, was distressed.
08:28So I started to talk to her to try and calm her.
08:32Also to help me, because it wasn't stress free for me either.
08:37Gareth has good reason to be worried.
08:42His seat gives him a clear view of the plane's wing.
08:46And what he sees, fills him with foreboding.
08:51I could look out of the window and see a trail of spark-like emissions from where the engine would
08:57be.
08:57From their seats in the cockpit, Captain Hunt and First Officer McClelland can't see either of the two engines.
09:03So they don't know about the sparks.
09:06Like all pilots, they must rely on their cockpit instrument display to diagnose the problem.
09:12The new display on the 400 Series 737 is unfamiliar to them.
09:16But it's state-of-the-art technology.
09:21Hunter McClelland scan the screens and LED instruments.
09:25They diagnose an engine problem and shut down the faulty engine.
09:32The terrible clunking and vibration immediately cease.
09:37The 737 is now behaving normally again.
09:43You're approaching 1,000 to level.
09:45But safety rules call for the crew to land the plane as soon as possible.
09:50Let's get a turn going for East Midlands.
09:52Hunt is in luck.
09:54Air traffic control clears him for an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport, just 10 minutes flying time away.
10:00Air traffic control, fly heading 090, be vectoring for the ILS.
10:03Roger, Midland 92, descending flight level 120.
10:138.10pm.
10:24The captain goes on the intercom to calm his 118 passengers and to tell them he's shut down the malfunctioning
10:31engine.
10:35He says they'll be safely on the ground in 10 minutes.
10:41Gareth Jones is relieved to see that the problem engine has stopped throwing out sparks.
10:47He's convinced the captain now has everything under control.
10:538.17pm.
10:55The aircraft descends through 2,000 metres.
10:58They're 8 minutes from touchdown.
11:01So 160, please David.
11:03Flight level 40.
11:05One minute later, air traffic control tells Captain Hunt to make a right turn to line up with the runway.
11:11Midland 092, descend to altitude 3,000 feet.
11:15Midland 92, say altitude 3,000 feet.
11:18They're on final approach.
11:21The cabin crew take their seats for the remaining few minutes.
11:308.20pm.
11:37Another, even louder bang rocks the aircraft.
11:41The passengers realise that the noise must come from the plane's last remaining engine.
11:47The whole plane shook.
11:49It was like something touched the plane and stopped in mid-air.
11:52And at that point, frankly, my blood just let go.
11:56Now there are more vibrations, worse than ever.
12:00The vibration was incredible.
12:03It was almost impossible for me to focus on Chris, who was sitting in the seat beside me.
12:07And I remember thinking, if this keeps vibrating like this, the aircraft is going to fall apart.
12:14I can remember being absolutely terrified, not really knowing what was going on.
12:18Gear down.
12:19Gear down.
12:19And flat 15.
12:21Air traffic control clears Captain Hunt to descend to 600 metres.
12:25Final approach, please.
12:26They must get the plane down and fast, before their last engine fails altogether.
12:33The thrust is going.
12:35Tell them we're going to put with the other engine.
12:37Then, everything goes silent.
12:46The plane's last engine has given out.
12:51The passengers now know they're going down.
12:56I actually can't remember the noise of wind going by the plane, just this sort of rushing sound.
13:03And the plane then dropped.
13:06It started just to go down, like going over the top of a roller coaster.
13:10I remember thinking to myself, well, there's nothing you can do about it.
13:14If him upstairs wants to take you now...
13:22Captain Hunt has lost both engines.
13:24With no forward thrust, the plane is now fighting a losing battle with gravity.
13:33Hunt orders the first officer to try to restore power.
13:37Start the other one.
13:38McClelland begins the re-ignition sequence.
13:40But they're losing height rapidly.
13:43Now the left engine catches fire.
13:46Fire.
13:47Shall I do the fire drill?
13:49Just let the other one go.
13:50She's not going.
13:51The 737 is dropping out of the sky.
13:57Captain Hunt's control column starts to shake violently.
14:01The ground proximity warning system tells him he's coming down too quickly.
14:08The pilots can see the airport runway lights less than two kilometers away.
14:13But there are more lights closer to the plummeting plane.
14:17The lights of the M1 motorway.
14:19The UK's major north-south artery.
14:22If they crash on the motorway, the death toll could be horrendous.
14:29Get it started. Why are you there?
14:31It's not going.
14:32But Captain Hunt is all out of options.
14:36The ground is coming up fast.
14:39Somebody on board said,
14:41Jesus, we're all going to die.
14:478.24pm.
14:48British Midland Flight 092 is just one minute from East Midlands Airport.
14:54Take flaps one, please.
14:56Speed 190.
14:56Captain Hunt can see the runway lights.
14:59But he's lost both engines.
15:01And one's on fire.
15:02His only hope, to keep the aircraft airborne long enough to crash land on the runway.
15:09The passengers haven't heard from the captain for 10 minutes.
15:12But they know they're going to crash.
15:18Stupid thoughts go through your head, like who's going to cut the grass.
15:22Part of your brain is saying, this plane's crashing.
15:25And part of it was saying, it can't be, because it doesn't happen.
15:30Now, Captain Hunt can see the village of Kegwith.
15:34Desperate to avoid crashing into it, he raises the nose to stretch the glide.
15:39The 737 passes over the village at an altitude of just 60 metres.
15:45Where have I noticed what I think was a church spar, which actually went by the window.
15:50And I sort of thought, the church spar could go past the window, I'm in a plane.
15:55But beyond Kegwith lies the M1 motorway.
16:03If Captain Hunt can get across this six-lane road, the safety of the runway is just 900 metres away.
16:10Get that. Just start the other one. Get it going.
16:12She's not going.
16:15But he can't keep the plane airborne any longer.
16:18He makes a final announcement to the terrified passengers.
16:22She's not going, Kevin.
16:23Prepare for crash landing.
16:25Prepare for crash landing.
16:27And he said, brace, brace, brace, prepare for crash landing.
16:29And the tone of his voice said it all.
16:31I can remember going into the brace position and just thinking, this is it.
16:36Just before the plane hit the ground, I remember thinking, nobody survives a plane crash.
16:40I wonder, will I?
16:40Just before the motorway...
16:57...30 metres before the motorway, the tail section hits the ground and bounces back into the air.
17:04The plane smashes through trees near the edge of the motorway.
17:10It was horrendous. It just seemed to go on forever.
17:14It sort of sucked the breath out of you.
17:17It careens across the road, destroying a light on the central reservation.
17:23The aircraft slams into the embankment on the far side of the M1 and breaks into three.
17:28I just remember being crushed and crushed and then nothing. Total silence.
17:34It comes to rest just 900 meters from the safety of the runway.
17:42Captain Hunt made it across the motorway, just.
17:47Incredibly, no cars are passing at the moment of the crash.
17:54Inside the wreckage of the 737's middle section, Gareth Jones and his fellow passenger Teresa are alive.
18:01They're sitting over the wing, the strongest part of the aircraft.
18:06Gareth is not even badly hurt.
18:09He cannot believe his luck.
18:11But the danger isn't over yet.
18:14When I opened my eyes, I could see the little bush that was on fire.
18:19And thought, hang on, this is dangerous.
18:23We're right over the wing. The wing's full of fuel.
18:26We'd better get out of this place pretty quick.
18:31It's a miracle the plane's 5,000 plus liters of aviation fuel haven't caught fire.
18:37But the fuel is now pouring out of the damaged wings.
18:39And one of the engines is still in flames.
18:45If the fuel ignites, Gareth and any other survivors will have little chance.
18:50Having lived through an air crash, they could still burn to death.
18:56Gareth desperately pulls the emergency door handle, but it won't open.
19:00Fortunately, I remembered Jamie's instructions on the card and grabbed the handle, pulled the door in and threw it out.
19:09Before the crash, Gareth told fellow passenger Teresa that if they survived the impact, he would get her out.
19:14I remember sticking my head back in through the hatch and shouting, Teresa, give me a hand.
19:19And this little hand appeared out of the blackness.
19:22And I remember pulling her out through the door.
19:25Now Gareth climbs back into the plane to look for other survivors.
19:30He finds a horrifying scene.
19:34Twisted wreckage.
19:36Injured people shouting for help.
19:38And others who were ominously silent.
19:41There were people clearly struggling to get out and others that were not moving.
19:44And you knew what had happened to those that were not moving.
19:48That's one of the memories that will carry with me to my grave.
19:55In row one, in the plane's broken front section, business partners Nick Stevenson and Chris Thompson.
20:03Chris is unconscious and severely injured.
20:06But Nick is one of the luckier ones.
20:08He comes round quickly.
20:10The first thing I thought is, I'm alive.
20:12The second thing I thought is, there's going to be a fire.
20:14Get out.
20:16He doesn't have the strength to help Chris.
20:18He tries to get up, but a searing pain in his left leg stops him.
20:22And yet he knows he must overcome the pain to get out.
20:26You know, the survival thing just takes over the drive.
20:29It's incredible.
20:30I just knew I was going to get out.
20:32I had to get out.
20:34Nothing else was of any importance whatsoever.
20:36He reaches a break in the fuselage and shouts to passing drivers who've stopped to help.
20:41They said, yeah, we see you.
20:42You're okay.
20:43You know, we'll get you.
20:44Carried me down the embankment.
20:46Still trapped in the wreckage of the nose section, flight attendant Debbie Griffith.
20:52She's in a bad way, but her main fear is a fuel explosion.
20:57I was having real problems breathing and actually felt like I was dying.
21:00I was really sort of fighting to live.
21:03And I just expected the engines to go.
21:05And I can actually remember thinking, I hope the smoke gets to me quickly.
21:10And 20-year-old Kieran Dynan hangs right over the edge of the shattered midsection.
21:17He's badly injured and drifts in and out of consciousness.
21:21All the seats in front of me were gone.
21:23There's nothing.
21:24It was just debris and nothing.
21:298.30 p.m.
21:31Five minutes after the crash, the fire crews reach the aircraft.
21:36They start to douse the whole area with foam.
21:40The firemen shouted through, we've got the engines out.
21:44So at least then I knew that we're in with a fighting chance.
21:47Within two minutes, the engine fire is out.
21:50The rescue can begin.
21:53Now firefighters scour the plane for survivors.
21:56They have the grim task of checking which passengers are dead and which still have a spark of life.
22:08Last survivor from the wreckage of British Midland Flight 092.
22:12The time is 4.20 in the morning.
22:17Of the 126 people on board, the impact kills 39.
22:22Eight more die in hospital from their injuries.
22:25Among the survivors, the two pilots, David McClelland and Captain Hunt.
22:29Both are seriously injured by the impact.
22:32Captain Hunt is paralysed.
22:37The survivors have been describing what happened and praising the skill of the plane's pilots.
22:43But what could cause a brand new aircraft to simply fall out of the sky?
22:50Sabotage by terrorists is one possibility.
22:53It's just three weeks since a Pan Am 747 exploded in midair above the village of Lockerbie in Scotland.
22:59Killing 270 people.
23:03Did a terrorist bomb down this plane too?
23:10Now by rewinding the events of that fateful day and by going deep into the investigation,
23:16we can reveal what really happened on Flight 092.
23:22Advanced computer simulation will take us where no camera can go into the heart of the disaster zone.
23:35Eddie Trimble is the chief investigator from the UK's Air Accident Investigation Branch.
23:43He's worked on all the major air disasters in the UK over the last 30 years.
23:50When news of the Kegworth disaster breaks,
23:52Trimble's team of nine crash investigators is still in Lockerbie,
23:56scouring the wreckage of the downed Pan Am plane.
24:00Now he fears another terrorist outrage has claimed lives on British soil.
24:11Trimble arrives at the crash scene around midnight,
24:14just four hours after the accident.
24:21As the hours pass, he finds none of the telltale signs of damage from explosives.
24:28The team quickly rule out a terrorist attack as the cause of the crash.
24:31This is not another Lockerbie.
24:37Investigators now turn to the possibility of mechanical failure.
24:41Survivors report a double engine failure.
24:44It seems almost incredible, but the theory soon surfaces in news reports.
24:49The experts say the chances of both engines on a brand new airliner failing at the same time
24:55are 100 million to one.
24:56But that seems to be what happened last night.
24:59Eddie Trimble knows that if both engines failed almost simultaneously,
25:03the implications are enormous.
25:07There are 18 of the new 737s in service.
25:10Could they all be flying with a fatal flaw?
25:13The investigators need to find out.
25:15And fast.
25:19Chief investigator Eddie Trimble and his team of nine
25:22scour the crash site of British Midland Flight 092.
25:27They desperately need clues to explain what could cause
25:30both the 737s' jet engines to fail.
25:35Accounts of the plane's final moments are coming in from eyewitnesses.
25:39They report flames in the left-hand engine.
25:47Trimble starts to probe the left-hand engine.
25:50It's not an easy job.
25:51The crash impact seriously damaged it.
25:54But he soon finds something that's clearly not crash-related.
25:59The fan blades.
26:00Most of them are severely damaged or fractured.
26:04Trimble concludes that the fan blade fracture threw debris deep inside the engine.
26:09The resulting damage was fatal.
26:16He must send the left engine for further tests
26:18to discover what caused the fan blade to fracture in the first place.
26:24Now Trimble and his team turn to the right-hand engine,
26:27the one the cockpit voice recordings reveal is the first to malfunction.
26:32They carry out an inspection of its internal mechanisms.
26:36After hours of examination,
26:39Trimble reaches a terrible but inescapable conclusion.
26:44I thought, gosh, it really does look as though
26:49they may have shut down a good engine.
26:56Trimble realizes that when the left-hand engine starts to go wrong,
27:00the flight crew inexplicably shuts down the perfectly good right-hand engine.
27:06Now the whole focus of the investigation shifts.
27:09It's not a terrorist bomb or double-engine failure
27:13that killed 47 people on flight 092.
27:19It's a catastrophic human error.
27:25This astonishing discovery rocks the aviation world.
27:29How could such experienced pilots
27:31shut down the wrong engine on a brand-new aircraft?
27:39Trimble knows that the plane is one of the new 737-400 series
27:43launched a year earlier.
27:47First officer McClelland has flown just 53 hours on the 400 series.
27:52Captain Hunt even fewer, only 23 hours.
27:57Could the pilot's unfamiliarity with some aspect of the new design
28:00have caused the fatal error?
28:05To find out, Trimble must probe every twist and turn of events
28:09on flight 092.
28:12Using the cockpit voice recordings,
28:15he starts to analyze every decision the pilots took on the flight deck.
28:18OK, we're just turning off the local lights.
28:20Tell them we're fully established.
28:21Ending 092 is fully established.
28:248.05 p.m., just under 20 minutes before the crash.
28:29On the left engine, a fan blade fractures.
28:33The broken piece lodges inside the engine casing.
28:38The damage to the fan blade
28:40throws the finely calibrated engine out of balance.
28:45The engine now starts to shudder violently,
28:47setting up a vibration that rocks the whole plane.
28:52The fracture fatally damages the left-hand engine.
28:55It's now just a matter of time before it fails altogether.
29:00The flight crew feel the vibration
29:02and smell smoke escaping through the damaged engine seals
29:05into the air conditioning ducts.
29:10They wrongly assume there's a fire in one of their two engines.
29:16Captain Hunt asks which is the problem engine.
29:19Which one?
29:20Which one?
29:21The cockpit voice recorder reveals the first act
29:23in a terrible chain of events.
29:27First officer McClellan starts to say left.
29:31It's the left.
29:31But then changes his mind.
29:34No, no, it's the right one.
29:35Eddie Trimble needs to find out why McClellan hesitates
29:39and then gets it wrong.
29:42He knows that the pilots can't physically see the engines.
29:46They must rely on their instrument display
29:48to diagnose the problem.
29:50The cockpit display on the new 400 series
29:53boasts LED dials and screens
29:56in place of traditional mechanical instruments.
29:58Did Hunter McClellan have trouble
30:00interpreting its unfamiliar instrument display?
30:05Okay, we'll throttle it back.
30:07The new display has a meter
30:09to monitor unusual vibration on each engine.
30:12These should allow the pilots to see,
30:14at a glance, which engine is in trouble.
30:17The meters have always been a feature
30:19of the 737 cockpit display,
30:21but on the 400 series, they look very different.
30:26On the new 737,
30:28the engine vibration meter has an LED needle.
30:32It swings around the outside of the dial
30:34instead of the inside as in earlier versions.
30:37And it's only the size of a 20 pence piece.
30:42Trimble learns that Hunter McClellan
30:44went on a one-day course
30:45to learn about the new 400 series.
30:48But he finds that neither of them
30:50received any simulator training
30:52on the engine instrument system
30:54or EIS.
30:56Neither of the pilot
30:57had had the opportunity
30:58to fly a simulator
31:01and learn how to interpret the EIS,
31:05whether in normal operation
31:07or, very importantly,
31:09during abnormal operation.
31:13The crew's unfamiliarity
31:15with the new plane
31:15means they lose their first opportunity
31:18to diagnose the problem correctly.
31:20But it's still a mystery
31:22why they reached the conclusion
31:24that it's the right-hand engine
31:25that's malfunctioning.
31:28The cockpit voice recordings
31:30give Trimble another clue.
31:32Can you smell that?
31:34What is that?
31:35It's just going to be something.
31:37You can smell something.
31:39When the pilots smell smoke
31:40from the damaged engine,
31:41they know the only way
31:42it can reach the cockpit
31:43is by the air conditioning system.
31:46Can you smell that?
31:47There's a fog coming through.
31:48In Captain Hunt's experience,
31:50the air conditioning on a 737
31:52is powered by the right-hand engine.
31:54Which one is it?
31:55No, no.
31:56It's the right one.
31:56That is where the smoke is coming from.
31:58Well, probably back.
31:59Probably back.
32:01But Boeing has made another change
32:03to the latest 737.
32:06On the new planes,
32:08the air conditioning is powered
32:09not just by the right engine,
32:11but also by the left-hand engine.
32:158.07 p.m.
32:19Misled by the smoke,
32:20the pilots miss their second chance
32:22to diagnose the left-hand engine
32:24as the problem.
32:26Now, 1st Officer McClelland
32:28throttles back
32:29and shuts down
32:30the perfectly functioning
32:31right-hand engine.
32:36Everything seems to return to normal.
32:41The heavy vibration and banging
32:43has stopped.
32:46Ladies and gentlemen,
32:47this is Captain Captain Hunt.
32:49As you've been aware
32:50in the cabin,
32:51we've had some smoke.
32:53A relieved Captain Hunt
32:54even goes on the intercom
32:55to tell passengers
32:56what he's done.
33:01But Hunt's mention
33:03of the right engine
33:04confuses many passengers.
33:07Student Kieran Dynan
33:09recalls seeing sparks and flames
33:11coming out of the engine
33:12on the left-hand side of the plane.
33:15I thought it was strange.
33:16Why has he turned off
33:17the good engine?
33:18When it's so, so obvious
33:20this engine is all on fire.
33:23But Captain Hunt
33:24and the 1st Officer
33:25cannot physically see
33:26either of the two engines
33:28from the flight deck.
33:29Someone from the passenger cabin
33:31would have to tell him
33:32which engine is in trouble.
33:36Investigators want to know
33:37why Kieran Dynan
33:38and other worried passengers
33:40don't raise the alarm.
33:41I remember thinking
33:43he still must know
33:45what he's doing
33:45because he's the professional.
33:49Trimble and his team
33:50conclude that this trust
33:51in the captain
33:52prevents anyone on board
33:53from raising the alarm.
33:55But the investigators
33:56still face a big mystery.
34:00Why does the aircraft
34:01seem to return
34:02to normal function
34:03after the pilots
34:04turn off the wrong engine?
34:08To solve this mystery
34:10Eddie Trimble
34:11and his engineering specialists
34:12delve deep into the workings
34:14of the 737's jet engines.
34:18All 737's
34:20have an auto throttle
34:21a form of cruise control
34:22that maintains
34:23the desired airspeed
34:24by automatically sending
34:26the right amount of fuel
34:27to the engines.
34:29To shut down the engine
34:311st Officer McClelland
34:32must disengage
34:33the auto throttle.
34:34This returns the plane
34:36to full manual operation
34:37and allows him
34:38to start throttling
34:39back the engine.
34:42Trimble suspects
34:43that this routine step
34:44holds the key
34:45to the mystery.
34:48He turns to the plane's
34:50black box
34:50to try to find out
34:51exactly what's going on
34:53inside the computer
34:54controlled engines
34:55at the critical moment.
34:59What Trimble discovers
35:01about the behavior
35:02of the auto throttle
35:03explains why
35:04the plane appears
35:05to fly normally
35:05on a badly damaged engine.
35:07It's a major breakthrough.
35:10The investigation team
35:12can now unravel
35:13exactly what happened
35:14aboard Flight 092
35:15in the final
35:16fateful seconds
35:18from disaster.
35:238.05 PM.
35:26When the fan blade
35:27fractures on the left engine,
35:28its fragments damage
35:29the engine severely,
35:31causing a reduction
35:32friction in fan speed.
35:34The auto throttle reacts
35:35by pumping more fuel
35:37to the stricken engine
35:38trying to maintain
35:39the fan speed.
35:40This causes the damaged engine
35:42to shudder violently
35:43and throw out sparks.
35:45These ignite surplus fuel
35:47causing the flames
35:48seen by the passengers.
35:538.07 PM.
35:558.07 PM.
35:57It's the left.
35:58It's the right one.
35:59Misled by the smoke
36:00coming through
36:01the air conditioning,
36:02the crew
36:02misdiagnose
36:03the problem engine.
36:06Captain Hunt
36:07orders the fully functioning
36:08right-hand engine
36:09to be shut down.
36:11OK, throttle it back.
36:13First officer McClelland
36:14disengages the auto throttle
36:16and instantly pulls back
36:18the thrust lever
36:18on the right engine.
36:20The minute he does so,
36:22the vibration stops
36:23and the smell of smoke
36:25disappears.
36:27Eddie Trimble
36:28now knows why.
36:31Data from the black box
36:33reveals that when the pilots
36:34disconnect the auto throttle
36:35in order to shut down
36:37the right engine,
36:37both engines
36:39return to manual throttle.
36:42Sensors inside
36:43the damaged left engine
36:44detect that it's spinning
36:45slower than normal
36:46which triggers a reduction
36:48in fuel flow.
36:49With the fuel flow
36:50now at a level
36:51the engine can handle,
36:52the vibration of flames
36:54disappear.
36:57Now the left engine
36:58appears to be
36:59functioning normally
36:59when in fact
37:00it's fatally damaged.
37:04The crew naturally think
37:05they've shut down
37:06the correct engine.
37:07What they don't realise is
37:09that it is disconnecting
37:10the auto throttle
37:11that solves the problem,
37:12not, as they believe,
37:14closing down
37:14the right-hand engine.
37:16That particular effect
37:18of the auto throttle
37:19was the clincher
37:21which caused
37:22both pilots
37:24to believe
37:25that in retarding
37:27the right engine
37:28they had identified
37:29the engine
37:31which was malfunctional.
37:36It's a revelation
37:37to the investigators
37:38that the behaviour
37:39of the 737's
37:41auto throttle
37:41might mislead pilots
37:43during an engine malfunction.
37:46And investigators
37:47are about to discover
37:48how a last
37:49terrible twist of fate
37:50snatches away
37:51the final chance
37:52to save flight 092.
37:59Eddie Trimble
38:00has one piece
38:01of the puzzle
38:01still to fit.
38:03Why did the flight crew
38:04not notice
38:05that they'd shut down
38:06the wrong engine
38:06in the 20 minutes
38:07they had
38:08between the initial crisis
38:09and crashing?
38:13Trawling through
38:13every nuance
38:14in the cockpit voice recordings,
38:16Trimble finds
38:17a poignant moment.
38:2112 minutes
38:22and 15 seconds
38:23to disaster.
38:24The plane
38:25seems to be
38:26back to normal
38:27but Captain Hunt's
38:28training tells him
38:29that after an
38:29in-flight crisis
38:30it's essential
38:31to review all decisions
38:33to make sure
38:33no mistakes were made.
38:35What did we actually get?
38:36We got
38:38vibration.
38:39But just as he
38:40starts his review
38:41air traffic control
38:43interrupts him.
38:44The surface wind
38:44is indicating
38:45westerly at 5 knots.
38:47They clear Captain Hunt
38:48to descend to 1,200 metres
38:49for landing
38:50in 12 minutes' time.
38:51He does not resume
38:53the review of events
38:54with his first officer.
38:56Had he continued
38:58he may have spotted
38:59his error.
39:01But tragically
39:02the crew
39:02missed their last chance
39:04to prevent the crash.
39:084 minutes
39:09and 40 seconds
39:10to go.
39:11We can arm approach now.
39:14We'll take
39:15flaps one please.
39:16Speed 190.
39:17The pilots
39:18increase throttle
39:19to the left engine
39:20to control their descent.
39:22What they don't realise
39:24is this act
39:24will deal the engine
39:25its fatal blow.
39:29Increasing the fan speed
39:30throws more debris
39:32from the fractured fan blade
39:33deep into the engine.
39:35Thrust is going.
39:37We're losing the thrust.
39:38Okay.
39:39Tell them we've got to
39:39pump the other engine.
39:39It's now tearing itself apart
39:41and the runway
39:42is still 21 kilometres away.
39:47One minute to go.
39:49The engine loses all power.
39:51It now catches fire.
39:55Got fire in the number one engine.
39:58No, forget that.
40:00Just start the other one.
40:00Get it going.
40:01Captain Hunt
40:02has run out of time.
40:04He's lost both engines.
40:05In desperation
40:07he tries to restart
40:08the right hand engine
40:09with a windmill start
40:10using the plane's speed
40:11to spin up the engine blades.
40:17She's not going.
40:18Get it out.
40:19She's not going.
40:20Life's low.
40:21She's not going.
40:21Life's low.
40:22But it's too late.
40:24Their airspeed
40:25is too low.
40:27Hunt pulls the nose up
40:29to stretch the glide.
40:31He keeps the aircraft
40:33in the air long enough
40:34to clear the village
40:35of Kegworth.
40:36But Captain Hunt
40:37knows it's all over.
40:42Ten seconds from impact.
40:45Captain Hunt
40:46makes his final announcement.
40:48We're not going, Kegworth.
40:49We're not going, Kegworth.
40:49Prepare for crash landing.
40:50Prepare for crash landing.
40:58At 8.24 and 43 seconds,
41:01British Midland Flight 092
41:02crashes into the motorway embankment
41:05at 185 kilometres per hour.
41:14Midland 092,
41:15this is East Midland's radar,
41:16do you read?
41:17Midland 092,
41:19this is East Midland's radar,
41:19do you read?
41:21Midland 092,
41:22East Midland's, do you read?
41:25The plane comes to a stop
41:27just 900 metres
41:29from the airport runway.
41:31But five months
41:33after the crash,
41:34there's a final twist
41:35in the tale.
41:35A shocking discovery
41:37that grounds
41:37more than 30 of Boeing's
41:39brand new 737-400 aircraft
41:41worldwide.
41:43June 1989,
41:45five months
41:46after the Kegworth crash,
41:47two more
41:48Boeing 737-400
41:49series aircraft
41:50suffer identical
41:52fan blade fractures
41:53in flight.
41:54In both cases,
41:55the pilots read the signs
41:56correctly
41:56and land safely.
41:58The Civil Aviation Authority
42:00has tonight grounded
42:01all Britain's
42:02Boeing 737-400 aircraft.
42:06Aviation authorities
42:07around the world
42:08ground all planes
42:09with the same type of engine
42:10for urgent inspection.
42:14CFM, the engine's
42:15manufacturer,
42:16discovers a design
42:17fault in the fan blades.
42:19Running at maximum power
42:20above 7,600 metres,
42:22the low air density
42:24sets off a previously
42:25undetected vibration
42:26in the blades.
42:27The resulting stress
42:29can lead to fractures.
42:32It emerges that the engine
42:34was never tested in flight.
42:37The 737-400 aircraft
42:39and its engines
42:40are an upgrade
42:41of the 300 series.
42:43The engine was only
42:44bench tested
42:45in a laboratory.
42:46A flight test
42:47was not mandatory.
42:49If it had been,
42:51the potentially catastrophic
42:52vibration effects
42:53on the blades
42:54might have been detected.
42:56The engine manufacturer
42:58has to redesign
42:58the engine
42:59and refit
43:0099-400 series aircraft.
43:05Aviation regulations
43:06now require manufacturers
43:07to flight test
43:08all new engines.
43:12Just over 18 months
43:14after the Capeworth air crash,
43:15the Air Accident Investigation Board
43:17publishes its report.
43:19It concludes
43:20that although the pilots
43:21made an error
43:21in shutting down
43:22the wrong engine,
43:23there were mitigating factors.
43:26Have we go?
43:27Let's go.
43:28The pilots had received
43:29no flight simulator training
43:31for the 737-400.
43:33series.
43:36That meant
43:37the first time
43:38they faced an emergency,
43:39it was for real.
43:42The vibration meters
43:43weren't prominent enough.
43:46And if a member
43:47of the cabin crew
43:48had alerted the captain
43:49to the flames
43:49coming from the left engine,
43:51which he couldn't see
43:52from the cockpit,
43:52the crash
43:53could have been averted.
43:55But for the survivors,
43:56the flight crew
43:57are heroes.
43:59It was just very,
44:00very sad
44:01that it was so close
44:03to have made it.
44:05And, you know,
44:06to have those two pilots
44:07put at such risk
44:08and to have worked so hard
44:10to have got so close,
44:12it's upsetting.
44:14The lessons learned
44:16from the Kegworth crash
44:17have had a wider impact
44:18on aviation safety.
44:22Boeing redesigned
44:23cockpit displays
44:24for new aircraft,
44:25making them easier
44:26to interpret.
44:28Simulator training
44:29is now mandatory
44:30if the design
44:31of an aircraft
44:32changes substantially.
44:35And airline training
44:37around the world
44:37now emphasizes
44:38and encourages
44:39full communication
44:40between cabin
44:41and flight crews,
44:42particularly during
44:43an in-flight emergency.
44:50Of the 126 passengers
44:53and crew on board,
44:5447 lost their lives.
44:57For the survivors,
44:59nothing can erase
45:00the memory
45:00of that dreadful night.
45:03But they have
45:03rebuilt their lives.
45:08Chris Thompson
45:08and Nick Stevenson
45:09both recovered
45:10from their injuries.
45:12They're still in business
45:13together
45:13in Northern Ireland.
45:17Kieran Dinan
45:18is now married
45:19with a young daughter.
45:22You know,
45:22you're still worried
45:23about things,
45:23but I don't worry
45:24about things
45:24like you used to anymore.
45:25I think all my bad luck
45:26came at once
45:27and nothing ever
45:29as bad
45:29is going to happen again.
45:31Debbie Griffith
45:32left the airline industry
45:33to train as a nurse.
45:35You can't go through
45:36a plane crash
45:37without changing.
45:39It's made me live
45:39for the moment.
45:40I've always been
45:41fairly happy-go-lucky,
45:43but I've never felt bitter.
45:45I've never thought,
45:46why me?
45:46Why not me?
45:47I'm nothing special.
45:49Gareth Jones'
45:50physical injuries
45:51on the night
45:52were minor,
45:52but the emotional scars
45:54are still with him.
45:56You did feel dirty
45:58afterwards,
45:58that, you know,
45:59why me?
45:59Why did I survive?
46:00What had I done
46:01that was special?
46:03And to a degree,
46:04that lives me
46:05to this day.
46:06I don't know
46:06why I escaped
46:08apart from
46:09picking a lucky seat.
46:14The Boeing 737
46:16is still the world's
46:17most popular aircraft.
46:19Today,
46:20a 737
46:21takes off
46:21somewhere in the world
46:22every five seconds.
46:24Its safety record
46:25is one of the best
46:27in aviation.
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