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00:02The plane came flying out of the bottom of the cloud at 4,000 feet per minute.
00:06Pull up! Pull up!
00:07Nuremberg Air Service Flight 108 breaks apart
00:11while the pilots attempt to land at Dusseldorf Airport in Germany.
00:16All passengers and crew are killed.
00:21Because of the size of the accident site,
00:24we use the grid to identify the positions of every part of the wreckage.
00:31Investigators reconstruct the plane to determine what happened.
00:35There must be a thousand pieces in here.
00:41Over here.
00:42They uncover evidence of a one-in-a-million failure
00:45that should not have brought the plane down.
00:48The pilots had no chance to control the aircraft in a proper way.
00:54I think under these circumstances, there was nothing they could have done.
01:00D-D-D-D
01:04Pull up!
01:07I think one-seeing, one-seeing, one-seeing, one-seeing, one-seeing now,
01:09I cannot leave the plane, two-seeing now, one-seeing now...
01:171-0.
01:17Episode 47
01:23it's an hour before sunrise at Hanover Airport in West Germany
01:31Nuremberg air service flight 108 prepares for the first flight of the day
01:42in the cockpit is 36 year old captain Ralph Borsdorf
01:47how's the weather looking and 28 year old first officer Sybil hailman they each
01:53have 2,500 flying hours should be clear sailing both of them would be fairly
02:01typical what you would see a commuter operations people starting their careers
02:06and getting ready to move up the weather forecast predicts calm skies with only a
02:12slim chance of thunderstorms near their destination might get a bit rough on
02:17landing because of some turbulence and a chance thunderstorm but it's unlikely
02:21just 10% sounds good a 10% chance of thunder showers it's 10% chance you want
02:30to know about it but it's not something you're gonna put too much thought into
02:34before flight 108 can depart snow and ice that accumulated overnight are removed
02:44this flight was a full flight had 19 passengers on board all of those being business people it's a
02:5140-minute flight from Hanover to Dusseldorf a major business hub on the Rhine River
02:57we started the route in 1987 about six months before this flight and we had very
03:05big train connections between the east and western parts of Germany so from the
03:10very very beginning we had full airplanes flight 108 leaves Hanover at 7 15 a.m 15
03:19minutes behind schedule flaps retracted the pilots are flying a Fairchild swear engine Metroliner 3 it's a
03:35powerful turboprop plane designed for short commuter flights the Metro 3 airliner is a perfect
03:42scaled-down airliner it holds 19 people fast fuel efficiently all the creature comforts of a bigger
03:48airline from the very beginning I was impressed by the airplane it was extremely well-designed it was
03:57flexible it was fast they could pressurization so everything a pilot likes the airplane has
04:07it takes 10 minutes for flight 108 to reach its cruising altitude of 14,000 feet it will stay at
04:17that altitude for only 15 minutes well no rest for the wicked we'll have the descent checklist
04:27will you regional flying is generally an hour and a half or less leading to increased workload for the
04:35time that you are in the air check the radar the captain notices some weather on the radar thunderstorm
04:46could be rolling in after all maybe doesn't look particularly bad I'll check the atis
04:56just north there for eight is continuously broadcasts updated weather conditions at the
05:01destination airport dusting to for visibility 10 sky condition broken clouds at 1500 feet
05:11nothing but a thunderstorm we should be fine
05:16okay we'll continue with the approach
05:20their expectation was that the weather was getting better and any thinner showers hadn't really
05:24materialized good morning this is your captain speaking we have begun our descent into
05:30Dusseldorf please ensure your seatbelts are fastened should be landing in about 15 minutes
05:4430 miles from the airport Dusseldorf good morning requesting to send a 3000 nfd 108 first officer
05:53hailman contacts the Dusseldorf approach controller for landing instructions nfd 108 good morning to you
06:00you are cleared to 3000 feet and currently number three land copy to send a 3000 number three to land
06:10when ATC gives us a indication of where we are on the order for landing it helps us set up
06:15it helps
06:15us get ready it helps us know when you're gonna start putting flaps and gear down three minutes later
06:24localize your life flight one zero eight lines up with the runway's centerline
06:36establish on the localizer the first officer checks on the weather
06:45looks like a thunderstorm has moved right in front of us
06:50might be trouble
06:55thunderstorms have to be treated with respect that mean they can produce hail they can produce
06:58downdraft tailwinds overpowering what the airplane is capable of doing
07:05the captain decides to maneuver around the storm
07:14the problem was it's a big thunderstorm in the approach sector of Dusseldorf they shouldn't fly it
07:21through thunderstorms in the Dusseldorf control center nfd 108 please switch to tower control frequency
07:30one one eight decimal three zero the approach controller hands over flight one zero eight to the tower
07:38and empty one zero eight confirm switch to tower control frequency one one eight decimal three zero by
07:49moments later flight one zero eight disappears from radar
07:59seven miles north east of Dusseldorf airport a maintenance worker at a sewage treatment plant here's the sound of an
08:07approaching airplane flight one zero eight breaks out of the clouds in a steep dive
08:23the plane pulls up just in time
08:28the plane came flying out of the bottom of the cloud at 4 000 feet per minute the g-force
08:32it would have taken to overcome that to pull the airplane nose back up
08:35uh it was violent the sound of the engines recedes into the distance
08:42that flight would have been sheer terror sheer terror for the people in the back sheer terror up front
08:47you know you went from having a visual reference to thinking you're good to all of a sudden you're
08:50back in the cloud again a minute later the plane returns this time flight one zero eight spirals out of
09:00control and breaks up no no no it's a horrifying sight I can't imagine what the person watching me
09:10that would be thinking two minutes before dawn flight one zero eight slams into an open field on the banks
09:17of
09:17the Ruhr River
09:26the wreckage is scattered over a wide area first responders make their way to the crash site
09:35all 19 passengers and both pilots are dead
09:40the metroliner itself is broken into thousands of pieces
09:46you're seeing that parts are distributed throughout the area you'll start collecting all the parts
09:53mapping where they are and trying to put this puzzle back together again
10:04investigators from germany's air accident investigation unit or fus begin mapping the wreckage of flight one zero eight
10:13to determine what caused the accident the first step was to identify as a positions of every part of the
10:23wreckage and because of the size of the accident site we use the grids and we were able to get
10:30the information
10:31where every piece was at the accident site
10:37much of the plane along with its black boxes are badly damaged
10:43the recorders in this aircraft aren't the new digital type recorders which record 300 400 parameters
10:50this was the old foil style recorders you had altitude airspeed you had heading some information at g-loads
10:59you didn't have the data we have today by a long shot
11:03the black boxes and the debris are sent to a warehouse where investigators begin their analysis
11:12once the parts are recovered taken to a facility you can then clean where the fractures where the separations are
11:20you can look at where a part broke apart
11:25the wings the engines the tail sections separated from the aircraft
11:33investigators try to confirm witness statements that the plane broke up before it crashed
11:41this piece looks compressed like it came from a high energy impact
11:48but this piece is intact
11:52what that indicates is this intact piece of wreckage did not go to the accident site with the rest of
11:59the airplane
12:01for sure an inflate breakup
12:04the team is now convinced that flight 108 broke up before hitting the ground
12:10the question is what led to that is there any evidence of a pre-existing failure that would have led
12:16to the accident
12:19hey can you bring that piece over to the table
12:23did a design flaw or some kind of failure create a fatigue crack causing the wings to break off before
12:31impact
12:33even though the airplane is fairly new
12:36even though the airplane is fairly new you don't rule out anything
12:37was there a flaw in manufacturing
12:39was there a full drilled where it shouldn't have been drilled
12:42was there some other issue that would cause a crack
12:45to start growing very early in the aircraft's life
12:49this doesn't look like a fatigue crack at all
12:54it can only mean one thing
12:58overload fracture
13:04overload fractures can occur because the airplanes exceeded speed limits
13:08flight control inputs are severe
13:12severe turbulence can cause overload
13:14and sometimes you have a combination of all three coming together
13:19hey can you get the lights
13:21what pushed this plane past its structural limits
13:26investigators examine the plane's flight path for clues
13:34nothing unusual here
13:38the flight path from departure
13:40in route to arrival for landing
13:43seemed normal
13:46what happened at this part
13:47the end of the flight
13:53oh
13:54look at that
13:55they discover that the pilots flew an erratic flight path before the plane crashed
14:02that would certainly cause a structural overload
14:05agreed
14:08the crew was on approach
14:10and now suddenly goes through some very tight maneuvers
14:15and you piece that together
14:17with the wreckage you found
14:19and where it was found
14:21and that gives you a much better idea of what led to the accident
14:27investigators speak to the controller who oversaw the approach of flight 108
14:32to determine what might have caused the unusual flight path
14:36tell me about the night of the crash
14:39uh... there was
14:41thunderstorm activity
14:43from about
14:44740
14:45until just after 8am
14:47mm-hmm
14:49did your other flights run into any trouble?
14:52they reported moderate icing and turbulence
14:55but everyone else landed without incident
14:58okay
14:59no go arounds
15:01no missed approaches
15:02no
15:03okay
15:03no
15:06uh... but about 6 miles out
15:08a 737 got hit by lightning
15:14uh...
15:14Düsseldorf Approach
15:15Lufthansa 1354
15:17we just experienced a lightning strike at 3000 feet
15:20six miles final
15:22no immediate issues
15:24Lufthansa 1354 Düsseldorf Approach
15:27Roger
15:27let me know if you require further assistance
15:30typically when we're concerned about thunderstorms in the airport vicinity
15:34uh... it's not much about the lightning
15:35it's more about the winds and the wind shears that
15:37can be powerful enough to push the airplane into the ground
15:40since airplanes are made of aluminum which conducts electricity
15:44most lightning strikes flow over the skin of the fuselage
15:48and safely exit through the tail
15:50I remember one occurrence of flying
15:53the aircraft got hit by lightning
15:54there was a sudden flash outside the fuselage
15:58you could hear it
16:00and
16:02the airplane kept on going
16:04and there was no associated damage to the aircraft
16:07and we continued on
16:09did you report the lightning strike to flight 108?
16:11yes
16:14nfd108
16:14the preceding landing experienced a lightning strike
16:17about six miles final
16:19Düsseldorf Approach
16:21we copy and are looking outside
16:22nfd108
16:26for flight crews
16:27it is not abnormal to deal with thunderstorms
16:31and to deal with the probability of some lightning
16:33this flight was very very usual
16:36okay
16:37great
16:39thank you for your time
16:41if it wasn't the weather that caused the pilots to push the plane past its structural limit
16:46what did
16:51will flight 108's black boxes provide clues as to why the plane broke up mid flight
17:00it's not looking good
17:02how so
17:07flight data recording
17:08and the cockpit voice recording both stopped two minutes before the plane crashed
17:13at the exact same time
17:15that the plane started flying erratically
17:19a total power failure?
17:22the CVR and the FDR get their power from two separate sources
17:27so the fact that both these recorders stopped at the same time
17:31indicates whatever happened affected both electrical systems
17:35not just the one
17:37the Metroliners electrical system is powered by two generators
17:41in the event of a power failure two batteries act as a backup system
17:48but
17:49if it was a total power failure
17:51that means the backup system failed as well
17:55how is that even possible?
17:58from the perspective and the explanations coming from the manufacturer
18:02the possibility of a total electrical loss was very low
18:06but during the course of the investigation
18:09we understood more and more
18:11that it could be that the flight crews had a total electrical loss
18:17investigators consider the effects of a total power failure
18:21they would have lost most of their instruments
18:23well except their vertical speed indicator
18:27the altitude and the third attitude indicator
18:32our Metroliners have been installed with a third
18:36independent artificial horizon
18:40it used bleed air coming from the engine
18:43and as long as the engine was running
18:45the artificial horizon was working as well
18:48totally independent from electricity
18:51the standby non-electrical artificial horizon
18:55could have been used by the crew
18:56to help keep the aircraft level and straight
19:03and then the complexity of this accident gets into
19:06why didn't the crew effectively use that standby?
19:10but even with limited instruments
19:12who's to say they could have even seen them?
19:14oh good point
19:16the lights that illuminated the instruments
19:17may not have been working
19:19huh
19:22you need those instruments and if you can't see them
19:24then you don't know if you're up or down
19:25you're flying blind at this point
19:39to confirm the unlikely finding of a total electrical failure
19:44the team examines light bulbs from flight 108's instrument panel
19:50if the light bulb was on when the plane hit the ground
19:53the hot and pliable filament inside would be stretched
19:58but if the light was off
20:00the cold, brittle filament
20:03would break upon impact
20:07all these filaments are broken
20:11the outcome was that we found no bulb
20:16which was under electrical power
20:19during the impact of the aircraft
20:23investigators now have conclusive evidence
20:26of a sudden total power failure
20:30but what could have caused it?
20:34the controller did tell us that another plane got struck by lightning
20:40maybe this one did too
20:43a lightning strike outside of the aircraft
20:46could lead to a problem with the electrical system inside of the aircraft
20:51if the electrical field of a lightning strike is very very high
20:55could be induced into the aircraft
21:01investigators search for evidence of lightning
21:04striking the fuselage of flight 108
21:10there must be a thousand pieces in here
21:14it's a painstaking process
21:16lightning could have struck anywhere
21:19lightning marks on the skin
21:21would look like a circle
21:23you'll see the paint burned
21:25you may see some localized melting of the metal in that particular area
21:35over here
21:40what do you got?
21:42I found it
21:45huh
21:45once you've found a piece of metal a lightning strike
21:48it's like okay where does it go on the airplane?
21:51what's in the proximity of this?
21:53is it next to the electronics?
21:56is it next to hydraulics?
21:57where is this lightning strike occurring?
22:00the only way to determine where the mystery piece comes from
22:04is to reconstruct sections of the airplane
22:09no
22:11at the time of this accident
22:14reconstructions were fairly typical
22:15mainly didn't have as much data as we have now
22:18so reconstructing it made sense
22:30I think I've got it
22:32investigators match the piece of the plane to the left side of the fuselage
22:36forward of the wing
22:37this is where the lightning strike
22:40yes
22:41but could a lightning strike in front of the left wing
22:45actually cause a total electrical failure?
22:49there are power system lines running right behind where the lightning struck
22:54can't be a coincidence
22:57is it possible that that lightning strike
22:59entered the electrical wires on the other side
23:02and therefore led to the loss of electrical power
23:06so that would have been the real focus of the investigation at this point
23:16investigators examine what remains of flight 108's electrical wiring
23:21in search of evidence that the lightning strike jumped from the fuselage to the electrical system
23:29you would look for the insulation material on the outside has been burned away
23:34is there melting inside the wires evidence that somehow electrical energy got through the insulation barrier
23:42into the wiring
23:43and then was starting actually melting the wires locally
23:49how odd
23:50no signs of arcing
23:56we checked the wiring
23:58we checked the electronic components
24:00available from the wreckage
24:02for some indication for electrical overload
24:13finding any lightning damage to the wiring?
24:15not yet
24:16it's very possible once the lightning gets into the fuselage
24:20you may not see any direct impact in that area
24:25it flows into the aircraft
24:27and so even wiring that's close by may appear to be unaffected
24:32but now this high energy has gotten into the airplane
24:36and the question is where does it go?
24:38maybe I can find something in here
24:41after we found no evidence for damage in the wiring based on the lightning strike
24:49we had to do a deeper investigation within the systems
24:54and that means we had to look for damages in the avionic components
25:02the team now focuses on even smaller components of the electrical system
25:07the diodes
25:10let's check this out
25:15a diode is an electrical component that allows current to flow in one direction only
25:21preventing reverse current flow that could damage circuits or create malfunctions
25:30if the diode is working properly
25:32there should be resistance to high current flow in one direction and not the other
25:42only 50 ohms
25:44almost nothing
25:45now the reverse
25:55also 50 ohms
25:58but investigators discover low resistance to current flow in both directions
26:04it's shorted
26:11the outcome of our investigation of the diodes was that all diodes were open in both directions
26:17that means the diodes were shorted
26:21the question now was why
26:24we decided to take these to a manufacturer and ask them to do a deeper investigation
26:35results are in
26:36to better understand why the diodes shorted
26:40they examine test results provided by the manufacturer
26:45oh that's interesting
26:48looks like cracks in the center of the diode
26:54once you've seen that a diode has failed
26:57then you can do tests and research on a good diode to see how much energy it would take basically
27:03to fry that diode
27:06voltage tests are done to determine if the cracks in the diodes were the result of a lightning strike or
27:13something else
27:15a thousand volts
27:18investigators learn that when more than a thousand volts are applied to a working diode it will crack
27:24a lightning bolt can carry hundreds of millions of volts more than enough energy to crack the diode
27:30it must have been lightning
27:33the damage of the diodes
27:35the damage of the diodes only can be produced by high voltage
27:41could it be possible that high voltage would be produced within the aircraft
27:47and the answer was you know
27:49it could be only produced by the lightning strike
27:56basically the lightning hit the aircraft
27:58flowed through the system
28:00it impacted the diodes
28:03which fried them
28:04cracked them
28:05took them offline
28:06and that shut down the electrical systems on the aircraft
28:12the odds of lightning taking out an entire electrical system are next to impossible
28:18and yet that's what happened
28:23but this doesn't explain why the crew flew into the thunderstorm in the first place
28:28ok
28:31the primary rule is if you see a thunderstorm no matter what its size you avoid it
28:38you go around
28:40you divert
28:41you hold
28:42you do whatever you can
28:44you do not want to fly through a thunderstorm
28:53investigators examine Nuremberg Air Service's flight operations manual
28:58to understand why the pilots of flight 108 ended up in a thunderstorm
29:03I don't get it
29:05it clearly states flights in or near thunderstorm should be absolutely avoided
29:08so why didn't they do the sensible thing and go around the storm
29:14at that time they had several possibilities
29:17one possibility was just to prepare if they would fly through the thunderstorm
29:23what could happen what they have to do what they have to prepare
29:27another possibility could have been just to divert to another airport
29:33let's have a listen to what the pilots were saying about the storm
29:41check the radar
29:43thunderstorm could be rolling in after all
29:45halfway through the flight the crew learns there's adverse weather ahead
29:51maybe
29:54doesn't look particularly bad
29:58I'll check the ATIS
30:00the crew checks Dusseldorf Airport's weather service
30:04information Bravo at 070
30:06but there's no indication of a thunderstorm
30:09once they got the ATIS their expectation bias was that the weather was getting better
30:14broken clouds at 1500 feet
30:17nothing but a thunderstorm we should be fine
30:21the captain considers the information and makes his decision
30:26okay
30:28we'll continue with the approach
30:32they just assume best-case scenario and don't do a proper briefing
30:37as professional pilots we always brief each other based off the worst conditions
30:40you never know if that 10% probability of thunderstorms actually happens
30:43and if it does happen and it's too late you don't have time to brief it
30:51NFD 108
30:53eleven minutes later the situation becomes more critical
30:57preceding landing experienced a lightning strike about six miles final
31:02if I were the crew and I were on approach and uh...
31:05preceding traffic in front of me were to get struck by lightning
31:07at that point I would initiate a missed approach
31:09go around and hold somewhere and figure out what we're going to do
31:11because the weather at that point is moving on to the approach path
31:14you need to take that pretty seriously
31:15but that's not what the pilots do
31:19Düsseldorf approach we copy and are looking outside
31:21NFD 108
31:28hey did you hear what happened to Walter last weekend
31:30yeah
31:31not surprised
31:33hold on
31:35they should be talking about deviating or go around here
31:38not someone's weekend
31:40they should have been deciding where they were going to go
31:42and what they were going to do instead of going down this rabbit hole
31:44they just thought the other person's comfortable with it and will continue going
31:47if they're comfortable
31:47I'm comfortable
31:49investigators continue listening to the CVR as the pilots prepare for landing
32:10you're left of the center line
32:11what?
32:13you're left of the center line you need to turn right
32:16the captain started deviating to the left
32:18apparently without telling the first officer of his plan
32:21I don't want to go in there
32:22I'm trying to get around it
32:23we're too close to the runway
32:24you can't change course now
32:28sounds like the captain is trying to deviate around the storm
32:30and the first officer isn't on the same page
32:34it's a bad idea to try and re-intercept the approach when you're already unstabilized
32:37it's just a bad idea
32:39you just do a go around
32:47okay
32:48I hear you
32:52again
32:53no discussion of their options
32:56there's some tension in the cockpit
32:58there's some issue between the captain and the first officer
33:03we don't know exactly what it was
33:06but clearly this was not conducive to the crew working together to determine what was the best course of action
33:15so now
33:17the captain turns the plane directly into the thunderstorm
33:24hold on tight
33:25here it comes
33:33neither crew knew what the other one was doing
33:35they hadn't briefed for the weather
33:37they didn't have the plane set up for flying around in the vicinity of thunderstorms
33:41and they just kept going
33:49why wasn't this crew on the same page
33:56the understanding of the investigation team at that time
34:00was the communication between both pilots was not in a way as it should be
34:07what'd you find
34:09well
34:11investigators examine personnel records for insight into the pilots working relationship
34:19the captain had a total of 2,473 flight hours
34:25but only 277 hours in the Metro 3
34:30that's not a lot of experience on type
34:33no it's not
34:35the FO
34:37had
34:37basically the same number of flight hours
34:42but
34:44over
34:451300 hours
34:46in the Metro
34:50investigators discover that the first officer had much more experience on the Metro liner than the captain
34:57oh
34:59with the crew having such an imbalance in the time
35:01the first officer is going to feel like
35:02they could be the captain that they got passed over for the upgrade
35:05they have more experience on the routes
35:06they have more experience on the plane
35:07more experience with the airline
35:09even in this case
35:12she probably didn't trust his handling of the aircraft
35:16that's never good in a cockpit
35:20did the pilots imbalance in experience make it difficult for them to cope with the lightning strike
35:31so they start making their descent here
35:35investigators examine how the pilots of flight 108 flew the plane as they entered the thunderstorm
35:41and then
35:42a minute before they lose power
35:44they start ascending again
35:46why would that happen?
35:49let's hear what happens here
36:01okay, glide alive
36:04quarter flaps
36:09selected
36:11three minutes from the airport
36:13the captain begins configuring the aircraft for landing
36:16and half flaps
36:22half flaps, please
36:24as they descend towards the runway
36:26the captain rushes his flap settings
36:30the plane is now climbing instead of descending
36:33the captain requested the next flap setting, half flaps
36:38the airplane then ballooned up
36:41climbed in altitude
36:42400 feet
36:43I'm not sure that was so good
36:46the captain trims the plane's nose down
36:49to counteract the increase in altitude
36:52in response to the 400 foot climb
36:54the captain trims the airplane
36:56rather than just putting a few bits of electric trim in
36:59he holds the electric trim
37:00pitching the nose down quite substantially
37:03he then adds even more nose down trim
37:06he then adds even more nose down trim
37:11we're still slightly high
37:19okay, descending
37:24with all the trim the captain has added
37:26the plane is in a nose-heavy position when the lightning strikes
37:30the plane is in a nose-heavy position when the lightning strikes
37:42so now the captain loses the ability to recover
37:45when the lightning strike happens
37:47he loses electrical power
37:49so he may have a lot more heavier flight controls
37:52than he was prepared for
37:55and when the lightning strikes
37:57the instrument lighting fails
37:59making the instruments impossible to read
38:02there's no emergency procedure in the Metroliner manual
38:06that tells you what to do if all your batteries fall offline
38:09you're a test pilot and at that point you use your pilot experience
38:12one of the things to do was for the non-flying pilot
38:15to get a flashlight to illuminate the standby instrument
38:19to help the flying pilot out
38:22the flashlights weren't found
38:23we don't know if they were on the aircraft or not
38:26the power failure cuts off their ability to see
38:29and to communicate with each other
38:31they couldn't hear each other
38:33we've lost electrical power
38:38we have nothing
38:40you've got a crew that can't communicate
38:41because you've lost the intercom system
38:43you've got a headset on
38:44and the Metro is a very noisy cockpit
38:45so you can't hear the other person
38:47and what they're saying to you
38:48if they couldn't see their instruments
38:50or hear one another
38:52could the pilot still fly their plane?
38:56they have aileron and rudder controls
38:58which aren't electrical
39:00the engines are still running
39:03the runway is about seven miles away
39:07they should have been able to use the controls
39:09they did have to land the plane
39:12they still had control over the ailerons
39:14over the rudder
39:15it was difficult but technically still flyable
39:18but without the ability to see their instruments
39:21they'd have no way of knowing where they were
39:27seconds later
39:28flight 108 is diving towards the ground
39:33the pilots had no chance to control the aircraft in a proper way
39:39because the light for the third artificial horizon was not there
39:44and they had no visual ground contact
39:47and I think under these circumstances
39:49it's nearly impossible to control the aircraft
39:56Investigators finally understand how a lightning strike caused a fatal crash
40:09You're left of the center line
40:10It starts with a poorly functioning crew
40:14You're left of the center line, you need to turn right
40:17I don't want to go in there, I'm trying to get around it
40:19We're too close to the runway, you can't change course now
40:23Okay, I hear you
40:25Instead of giving him the advice or the two crew mentality
40:29that we're not where we should be, we shouldn't be here
40:31the first officer chose to go the other route
40:33which was shut down and only make the minimum calls
40:35which were deviation calls
40:37Half laps please
40:43The pilots decide to fly their nose-heavy aircraft into a thunderstorm
40:48A powerful lightning strike
40:54We've lost electrical power
40:57Causes a total power failure
40:59We have nothing!
41:02And the disoriented crew
41:03Where are we?
41:05I can't tell
41:06Loses control of the plane
41:11500
41:13400
41:15300
41:15Pull up, pull up, pull up
41:21After you've been struck by lightning
41:22you've got winds that are gusting all over the place
41:25It starts to become a pretty violent situation pretty quick
41:28The combination of turbulence
41:30and the pilots blind actions lasting more than a minute
41:34sends the plane into extreme turns and banks
41:39Are we banking?
41:41Can't tell
41:41What's the airspeed?
41:42Don't worry about the speed, just pull
41:44You think you can trust your senses, but you can't
41:46You don't know if you're banking to the left
41:48You don't know if you're banking to the right
41:49You can't tell if you've got a nose low or a nose high
41:52You can think you do, you can think you trust it
41:54At the end of the day, your gut instinct will be wrong
41:57The plane is so overloaded with the G-forces in these turns
42:04It broke up
42:07Yeah
42:16Pull up, pull up
42:17I'm crying
42:20You're looking at a G-load that literally ripped the engine pylon off the wing
42:24That literally broke the wing spar
42:25The strongest part of the airplane
42:27Broke it like a toothpick
42:28That way exceeded what the aircraft manufacturer ever designed that airplane to go through
42:49The main conclusion of the report by Germany's air accident investigation unit is clear
42:55The crew flew into a thunderstorm, even though they could have flown around it
43:02You have two fairly experienced pilots that they never ever should have been in that situation
43:07There were red flags throughout
43:09If anything can be learned from this one, you got to speak up on a two crew airplane
43:12You can't let the other person take you to the scene of the crash
43:16In their recommendations, the FUS reiterates the need for training and manuals that clearly describe how to operate in and
43:25near thunderstorms
43:27This is a very different crew than we see today, who are well-trained in cockpit resource management, who work
43:35together as a crew
43:36And the systems change for the better, and the airplanes are much better
43:42As for Nuremberg Air Service, the company soon replaced the remaining Metroliners in its fleet
43:48I made myself one of the last flight with the Metroliner
43:52I had some tears in my eyes because I think it wasn't the aircraft's fault
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