- 6 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:02Just moments after taking off from a remote island in Norway.
00:10Something's wrong.
00:11The pilots of Videro Flight 839 lose control of their plane.
00:15Oh, God!
00:17It plunges into the Norwegian Sea, killing everyone on board.
00:24In the wreckage, investigators find damage to a critical part.
00:29The upper end is broken.
00:32It didn't make a great deal of sense.
00:36And when they learn another Videro Flight nearly met the same fate at the same airport...
00:42Looks like they lost control of the plane for two minutes.
00:46We're going over.
00:51They discover a controversial decision that put lives at risk.
00:57I wish that we had put our foot down and said no more.
01:01Mayday, mayday.
01:06Full stop.
01:34Videro flight 836 is heading to the airport.
01:37Heading to a remote outpost on the Lofoten archipelago in the Norwegian Sea.
01:43Lofoten is one of the most beautiful places in Norway.
01:49It's a place where a Norwegian would want to go on holiday to experience untouched nature, and especially the beautiful
01:57mountains.
02:01Tonight's flight is carrying 11 passengers.
02:04Most are Norwegians traveling to the islands from the mainland.
02:11Videro 836. Runway 25 free. Winds variable 1021 at 260 degrees. Visibility 2500 meters.
02:22Copy that. Videro 836.
02:29Videro is Norway's largest regional airline. It serves remote communities across the country.
02:37Since the 1960s and 70s, it was a push in Norway to build regional airports in rural areas.
02:46It's made people feel less isolated, and it made traveling a lot easier.
02:54The plane is heading first to the small island of Vare, and then southwest to Rust, before returning to the
03:01mainland city of Boda.
03:06Approach checklist.
03:0912 miles from the airport, the crew prepares for landing.
03:14The crew was experienced, but this was the first time the captain had flown in to Vare.
03:20Optimeters.
03:24Set.
03:26They're flying a de Havilland Twin Otter.
03:30It's a twin-turboprop utility aircraft, a workhorse for getting in and out of small remote airports.
03:40The best airplane in the world.
03:44It's an incredibly sturdy aircraft, very pilot-friendly.
03:50We have a long, mountainous coast, and for that, the twin otter was perfect.
03:59Landing lights.
04:02On.
04:04Videro Flight 836 is now minutes from landing at Vare.
04:08And seatbelt.
04:11Already on.
04:13But the airport is notorious for unpredictable winds.
04:18Vare translated means the weather island.
04:22The airport was located to the north of the island, between the mountain and the sea.
04:29It's a very demanding flying environment, because the weather changes all the time, so the pilots have to adapt to
04:37that.
04:39Set flaps.
04:43Flaps set.
04:45With the runway in sight, the pilots begin to line up for landing.
04:50But just as the plane turns, it's rocked by turbulence.
05:01I have control.
05:03You have control.
05:08When flying at Vare, you will experience turbulence, and you will be tossed around.
05:18This isn't getting better.
05:20Go around.
05:25He obviously decided that the situation was not good to land, so he went around, and it was a great
05:30call on his part.
05:33Flaps up.
05:35As the captain powers out of the landing, the plane is hit with a powerful downdraft and extreme turbulence.
05:47You get sort of a tunnel vision when you're in a situation like that, and you pull out all your
05:54resources, and you try to counteract the situation that you're in.
06:01For two minutes, the captain struggles to level the plane.
06:08He was in extreme turbulence.
06:10You're momentarily out of control.
06:12You may or may not regain control.
06:24We're going over.
06:26The force of the wind becomes so great that the plane rolls over, speeding towards the mountains.
07:01only 250 feet from the ground.
07:04The captain levels the plane and pulls out of the dive.
07:15I just can't believe that he recovered at such a low altitude.
07:23Put in headings for roast.
07:30Vitero, 836 has aborted landing.
07:34Redirecting to roast.
07:35Copy that, Vitero, 836. Stay safe.
07:39Everyone okay back there?
07:48Vitero, flight 836, escapes disaster.
07:52No one on board is injured.
07:58I'm still shaking my head at that one.
08:00That was an ace pilot.
08:04In the city of Boda, officials from Vitero Airlines cancel all flights into Vare while they try and piece together
08:12what happened with flight 836.
08:16As part of an internal investigation, the pilot is interviewed.
08:21We were lining up for approach.
08:24Turbulence was getting worse and worse.
08:28I have control.
08:32It was obvious we couldn't land.
08:35I applied power to the engines and we climbed to about 1,800 feet, where we got hit with a
08:42massive downdraft.
08:57I battled that plane.
09:00Trying to keep it away from the mountains.
09:03Come on!
09:08Come on!
09:11Eventually, I was able to level out, climb to a safe altitude, and turn for a roost.
09:20It would be terrifying for them, I'm sure.
09:25I've heard stories about that airport.
09:30And they're true.
09:34The pilots were not very happy.
09:38We realized this had been a serious incident, and we had to tighten the operational requirement at the island to
09:47make that a safer.
09:51The first action taken by Vitero officials is to reduce the maximum wind speeds for take-off and landing at
09:59Vare Airport from 20 to 15 knots.
10:03Vitero asks the Civil Aviation Authority to install anemometers, devices that monitor and transmit wind speeds.
10:11Two are installed at each end of the airstrip, and one is installed on the mountain.
10:16The mountain is its own weather maker.
10:19It can cause winds to change in direction, change in speed, which are conducive to making some serious turbulence.
10:29It's called terrain-induced turbulence.
10:32When winds hit the mountains on Vare, they tend to accelerate over the top and drop down towards the airstrip.
10:39This creates powerful downdrafts and crosswinds.
10:43The sudden changes in wind speeds and direction can create wind shear and cause a pilot to lose control.
10:52This was a difficult place to operate when the wind was flying over the mountains and down onto the airport.
10:59And we had to tighten those restrictions quite severely and quickly.
11:07But will the restrictions at Vare be enough to ensure the safety of future flights?
11:19It's been 15 months since Vitero Flight 836 had their close call at Vare Airport.
11:26Vitero Flight 839 has just landed at Vare and is refuelling before heading back to the mainland for Easter weekend.
11:34On to go for a second.
11:35Anti-collision light.
11:39On.
11:40Aft and forward boost.
11:42On.
11:44Captain Ida Nils-Pearson is the pilot in command.
11:49Ida was a very level-headed fellow.
11:53He was a top-rated pilot.
11:55And he'd been with us for years.
11:59Start switch.
12:00Left engine.
12:02The first officer is Arndt Vidar Grunerflotte.
12:06On. Right engine.
12:09Right engine. On.
12:14The first officer was fairly new.
12:17I think he'd been with us for only about a year.
12:23Look at that windsock. It's flapping like mad.
12:28Welcome to Hooray.
12:31Buckle up, folks. It's going to be a bit bumpy getting out of here.
12:35There are three passengers on board, including a young couple.
12:40All right. Vitero 839, ready to taxi.
12:43Vitero 839, roger.
12:45No known traffic, runway free, wind variable, middle direction 250 at 21, max 57.
12:53QNH, Niner 88.
12:56Copy, Niner 88.
12:59The captain, he was a local pilot. He knew the weather.
13:03He knew the limitations of the aircraft, knew the limitations of the airport.
13:10As they line up at the end of the runway, the crew performs the before takeoff checklist.
13:17Flaps set 10.
13:19Set 10.
13:22Heading set to 280.
13:24Let's make it 320.
13:27Just get clearance. It's calm now. We should get going.
13:31Copy that.
13:33Tower. Vitero 839 requesting clearance.
13:36Vitero 839.
13:38Vodot control clears.
13:39Vitero 839 direct Vodot at 5,000 feet and squawk 0135.
13:45Copy.
13:46Vitero 839.
13:47Vitero 839.
13:48Here we go.
13:55Wind has varied.
13:57210 to 290 degrees.
14:01The gusts of 34.
14:03Yeah, roger.
14:04We are rolling.
14:0670 knots.
14:0980 knots.
14:15Rotate.
14:17At 2.43, Vitero flight 839 takes off from Vare and heads for the mainland.
14:26The return flight to Boda will take less than 30 minutes.
14:34Flaps up.
14:3710 seconds after takeoff, a strange noise catches the pilot's attention.
14:46You don't want anything unusual to happen in that phase of the flight since you are very close to the
14:53ground.
14:55They struggle to keep the plane level.
15:00Steady.
15:06Something's wrong.
15:16And then, the nose of the plane drops and the captain can't do anything to raise it.
15:22No.
15:24No, no, no.
15:25No!
15:29No!
15:30No!
15:31No!
15:31No!
15:33No!
15:34No!
15:34Oh God!
15:36Just 63 seconds after lifting off, Vitero flight 839 slams into the sea.
15:52Vitero 839.
15:54This is Vare Tower.
15:55Do you copy?
15:57Vitero 839.
15:59This is Vare Tower.
15:59Vare information on 119.4.
16:09Vitero 839.
16:12Vare information on 119.4.
16:146.
16:156.5 kilometers northwest of the airport.
16:20The wreckage was found three days after the accident.
16:24Harsh sea conditions made it a challenge.
16:31The bodies of the three passengers and the first officer are recovered.
16:36Captain Pearson's remains are never found.
16:41The accident caused a lot of grief.
16:45Vare is a small island where everyone know each other, so everyone felt they had lost someone close to them.
16:53Investigators from the Norwegian Accident Commission for Civil Aviation, or HSL, soon arrive on the island.
17:02The purpose of the Vitero investigation was to find out what happened during that incident.
17:13I was manager air safety for Boeing Canada to Havilland Division, and I traveled to Vare to assist with the
17:21investigation.
17:23The airfield was spectacular, but I was somewhat surprised in the closeness of the mountain range, which paralleled the entire
17:32runway.
17:37Investigators start by interviewing the controller, who briefs pilots on the local weather.
17:42Sorry about that.
17:43That's fine.
17:43Can you walk me through what happened the day of the accident?
17:46Normal day, by our standards.
17:49They landed at 14.30, refueled, changed passengers, and asked to taxi out.
17:55The whole turnaround was less than 15 minutes.
17:58What were the winds when they took off?
18:00It was gusting when they were parked, but eased off to 34 on the west end.
18:05The winds were coming from every direction. It's pretty common.
18:09Did the pilots have any hesitation about taking off?
18:12No, not at all.
18:13And what about the takeoff?
18:16The controller explains that after the plane passed the tower, it turned and then disappeared into the clouds.
18:26What was the cloud ceiling at the time?
18:291,000 feet.
18:30I received a distress signal, and a few seconds later, I heard a bang.
18:37That was fast.
18:38They were airborne for just over a minute.
18:42Did they call mayday or relay any information about mechanical issues?
18:48Nothing.
18:51That was helpful.
18:55Could there have been a structural failure or loss of power which caused Flight 839 to crash so quickly into
19:02the sea?
19:09Investigators survey the wreckage of Videro Flight 839 for any signs that would explain a crash so soon after takeoff.
19:16Nose and cockpit completely crushed.
19:21Both wings, engines, undercarriage, and tail section severed from the fuselage on impact and carried forward.
19:34High energy impact.
19:38With the nose buckled the way it was, and the left wingtip buckled, we had a pretty good idea of
19:46how the aircraft impacted the sea.
19:52The wreckage tells investigators the plane entered the water nose first at high speed.
20:04The team considers whether engine failure caused the high speed impact.
20:08The manufacturer provides their report.
20:11No fire damage.
20:13Both engines appeared to be running at high RPM and torque at the time of impact.
20:20The engine manufacturer determined that the engines were running, and they were ruled out very, very quickly.
20:28With engine failure ruled out, they wonder whether any parts that control the plane's pitch or steering failed, causing it
20:37to plunge into the sea.
20:41The right elevator sheared in half, maybe due to impact.
20:48The elevator is a control surface on the twin otter's tail that adjusts pitch.
20:57Investigators discover something unusual in the elevator connecting rod.
21:06The elevator connecting rod moves the elevators up and down on the tail.
21:12It's activated when the pilot pushes or pulls on the control column.
21:18The upper end is broken.
21:20What would cause such a vital part to break?
21:24You shouldn't have any preconceived notions as to why the part failed.
21:31Let's get this elevator rod to metallurgy.
21:33I want to know how it failed.
21:38Did the part fail because there was a manufacturing defect?
21:43Did it fail because there was a tool mark on it?
21:47You should let the part tell you the story.
21:52While investigators wait for the metallurgical results, they research the plane's history,
21:57looking for any clues into what might have caused the elevator connecting rod to fail.
22:03The twin otter DHC-6300 was purchased by Vidro in 1977.
22:10The last alien inspection was carried out the day of the accident.
22:14Maintenance all in accordance with current regulations.
22:16So not a maintenance issue.
22:23The investigators went through all the maintenance documentation, all the inspections was completed, and no deviations was found.
22:34With maintenance ruled out as a cause for the failure of the elevator connecting rod, investigators review the results of
22:42a metallurgical examination performed on the rod.
22:46There's no pre-existing cracks.
22:49There's banding here and here.
22:53Banding is created because you have a repeated load that is applied on and off to your part.
22:59And every time the load is applied, you have a crack that grows a little bit more, and it creates
23:07a rainbow on the fracture surface.
23:10The report also reveals the banding occurred because of sideways bending on the rod.
23:18This was highly unusual.
23:20There's never any side loads on that rod.
23:24It just moves up and down.
23:26So it didn't make a great deal of sense.
23:31Investigators examined schematics of the tail section of the twin otter to determine what would bend the elevator connecting rods
23:39sideways, causing it to break.
23:41So what if this elevator broke in flight?
23:46It would swing freely and uncontrollably.
23:51It would definitely cause the rod to bend.
23:59If the right elevator separated from its mounts in flight, it would swing in every direction, putting sideways pressure on
24:07the rod and ultimately causing it to break.
24:12First the elevator, then the rod.
24:18It's the only thing that makes sense.
24:21It's kind of like the cart before the horse.
24:23The control rod would not have seen any loads had the elevator not broken.
24:31What would cause the elevator to break in flight?
24:35The cockpit voice recorder can shed some light on that.
24:45Okay, let's start with the takeoff roll.
24:49Norwegian investigators listened to the cockpit voice recorder for clues as to how the right elevator on Videro flight 839
24:57might have come loose, bending the connecting rod.
25:0170 knots.
25:0370 knots.
25:0480 knots.
25:06Rotate.
25:07It was amazing that the cockpit voice recorder was in the aircraft in the first place because it was not
25:14mandatory at the time.
25:1670 knots.
25:19Claps up.
25:28Did you hear that clattering noise?
25:32Strange.
25:38Steady.
25:46something's wrong stop there it is again is that the elevator play it back again
26:00when i listened to the cbr there was nothing that i could pinpoint as being the source
26:08of the clattering sound
26:15could it have been the elevator breaking it was possible but we really just don't know
26:21do you hear the propellers 55 seconds into the flight investigators hear the sound of propellers
26:28rotating out of sync this occurs when there's a change in the aircraft's pitch turbulence
26:38has to be a sudden gust of wind or change in wind direction would cause the propellers to adjust
26:47to compensate for the changing attitude of the aircraft
26:53investigators discover that videro 839 was struck by severe turbulence shortly after takeoff
27:00the crash happens just 10 seconds later
27:09no no no no oh god
27:24so where were they exactly when they were struck by severe turbulence
27:28a standard operating procedure calls for a rate of ascend of 1000 to 1200 feet per minute
27:34so they would have hit turbulence right after they entered clouds at about 1000 feet
27:43and that mountain ridge there is just over a thousand feet
27:47that looks like terrain induced turbulence
27:54the quicker you could get away from the mountains the better it was
28:01how bad could those winds have been
28:06investigators learn of the near crash of the other videro plane flight 836 on approach to varay 15 months
28:14earlier looks like they lost control of the plane for two minutes even when inverted
28:26at what altitude did they lose control about 1800 feet just after he aborted the landing on runway 25 due
28:37to winds
28:40both flights encountered dangerous winds at or above the mountain ridges
28:46were any measures put into place to prevent this from happening again
28:50after flight 836's missed approach flight order 17 was put into place
28:56so they made this change landings and departures must not be planned or executed with variable winds above 15 knots
29:05so they reduced the maximum allowable wind speeds for takeoff and landing
29:11so they're primitive winds above 15 knots
29:12we drove established some very significant wind restrictions using some very experienced crew to develop them
29:21but there was still unpredictability
29:25anemometers were also installed at both ends of the runway
29:31and on the mountain ridge
29:37it's good to have an anemometer on top of a mountain just gives the pilot more information
29:42for the landing so what were the mountain winds at the time of flight 839
29:54there is no anemometer data for the mountain
30:01if it doesn't provide data it's absolutely no use
30:06investigators contact the civil aviation authority to determine why there weren't any
30:12mountain anemometer wind readings at the time of the crash of vidro flight 839 thank you
30:22the anemometer was taken down
30:27they learned that the anemometer on the mountain wasn't reliable because of the icy conditions a
30:33year after being installed it was removed from the mountain for repair it's worse it was never
30:42reinstalled it was officially taken out of service three days before the accident
30:53the removal of the anemometer is a degradation safety
30:58it's information that a pilot would certainly require for an airport like that
31:04okay so what wind information were the pilots actually getting and when
31:13investigators listened to the cvr recording of vidro flight 839 before it landed at vare
31:20i'm gonna bank west of the island to avoid more turbulence getting up drafts already copy that
31:27vidro 839 runway free wind east side 270 degrees at max 23 understood vidro 839
31:4123 knots that's eight knots above the limit they shouldn't even have landed the
31:46inbound flight in the first place what about when they're on the ground
32:00look at that wind sock it's flapping like mad welcome to vare
32:09the pilot was talking a lot about the wind and they were discussing that the wind was coming from
32:16all directions
32:18839 roger no known traffic runway free wind variable middle direction 250 at 21 max 57
32:29did you say again max 57 yeah max 57
32:38copy
32:4357 knots
32:4757 knots is more than 65 miles per hour
32:52yeah the manual says that the twin otter must not be operated on the ground in winds above 50 knots
33:01well he is sticking his neck out on the line and i'm not quite sure why he did that
33:08were the winds that strong when they took off
33:13they go through their pre-takeoff checklist and then
33:19just get clearance it's calm now we should get going copy that
33:24the captain says it's calm what's he basing that on wind socks the rains had stopped
33:30maybe it looked like the weather was clearing
33:35if a shower was approaching you could expect variable winds
33:39but when the shower passed you could expect a lull in the wind
33:48according to the transcript they get their next wind report as they're about to take off
33:56wind has varied 210 to 290 degrees with gusts of 34
34:02yeah roger we are rolling
34:08they took off in a 34 knot wind that's more than double the limit
34:14if the winds were gusting at 57 knots on the ground
34:17who knows how strong the winds were coming off the mountain
34:22strong enough to break the elevator
34:29when he hit the lip of the mountain i bet he encountered 60 70 80 knot winds
34:38it obviously caused severe to extreme turbulence
34:42steady
34:44the team concludes the winds were strong enough to break the right elevator from its mounts
34:49causing the connecting rod to break making both elevators unusable
34:56something's wrong
34:58they ignored vitro's wind limits on the ground
35:02and they had no wind limits
35:04in the dangerous area around the mountain
35:08why were they so eager to leave
35:12this was easter weekend and there is an incentive to get home
35:21there was clearly some concern but they went
35:33to understand why the captain of flight 839 took off in winds that exceeded
35:39company limits investigators interview other vidro pilots about wind restrictions at varay
35:46what has been your experience at varay
35:50i don't like it none of the pilots do the wind reports aren't reliable
35:58you could actually sit on the tarmac get one wind indication
36:02move towards the runway and get another
36:06move towards the river
36:07even though the maximum wind speeds were reduced from 20 knots to 15
36:10well they were but they brought it back up to 20
36:17nine months after the incident with the first vidro flight
36:21the wind restrictions were reversed
36:26why would they do that
36:28my guess too many cancellations
36:35after vidro lowered the wind limits cancellations increased
36:40that led to negative press and anger from local residents
36:46the decision to cancel flights became very unpopular
36:52it was so unpredictable at varay
36:58did pilots feel pressure to complete the flights
37:02yeah but not from the airline
37:07i had situation where the weather turned into a hurricane
37:10and it could not take off and i got a real work over from some of the passengers
37:17investigators research the impact those wind related cancellations had on vidro's operations
37:26the pressure was piling on from the public
37:30cancellations tripled in the last 12 months
37:35compared to other airports in europe
37:37varay had a lot of cancellations
37:39and the flights were often cancelled quite early
37:42when the wind was strong
37:44but when the flights was supposed to arrive
37:47it could be no wind at all
37:50which made people question all the cancellations
37:54almost all the cancellations were being caused by winds
37:57because of that bad press
37:59which gets the attention of the government
38:05the government paid the company to fly there
38:09the company wrote the government and said
38:12it was extremely difficult to operate there
38:14and the reply from the government was
38:17if you don't fly there we will have to take the money away
38:21out of curiosity
38:23how many cancellations were there on departure from varay
38:33none
38:36basically it's get home itis
38:38if they're at the airport
38:40pilots are going to tell themselves
38:42they're capable of taking off as well
38:45you know there's still one thing i don't get
38:50the conditions were so treacherous
38:53why was this airport even built there in the first place
39:04so why was this location chosen for the airport
39:09investigators consult officials about the viability of varay airport
39:14to determine if passengers and crew were placed at risk unnecessarily
39:21we had two possible locations for the airport at the island
39:26this one was chosen despite the difficulties with wind conditions near the mountain ridge
39:37okay and what testing went into the decision
39:42we had done test flights at varay prior to the decision of building the airport there
39:47and they had experienced very windy conditions and did not recommend building the airport there
39:59so if vitro was against it then why did it go ahead
40:03we knew that the wind conditions at varay would be so difficult it would affect regularity
40:11but that advice was ignored by the meteorology specialists that the authorities had consulted when it came to put the
40:22airport on the island
40:24maybe some of the decisions that were made were more politically motivated than were practical
40:35investigators now know the factors that led to the deaths of three passengers and two pilots on board vidro flight
40:43839
40:44first up you have an airport next to a mountain resulting in dangerous winds
40:50lower wind limits are imposed but the result is an increase in cancellations
40:56which forces the limits to change again
40:59limits go back up and then finally the unreliable wind data which results in wind reports being ignored
41:08by pilots
41:14rules are established for a reason if you don't follow the rules you're taking a big risk
41:22wind has varied 210 to 290 degrees the gusts of 34
41:30yeah roger we are rolling
41:32yeah roger
41:38vidro flight 839 enters turbulent airspace when the winds coming off the mountain were extreme
41:46the force of the winds causes the right elevator to break free
41:50yeah roger
41:55something's wrong
41:56bending the connecting rod until it fails
42:04no
42:05no no no no
42:10it was subject to aerodynamic loads that exceeded the structure strength of the tail
42:21it must have been absolutely terrifying because you would pull the control column without any reaction at all
42:31oh god
42:43the norwegian accident commission for civil aviation recommends new regulations for the distribution of wind information to crews and urges
42:53vidro to ensure their pilots follow established restrictions
42:58the captain
42:59the captain wanted to get the job done
43:01and he probably got away with it other times
43:05but this time it didn't work out
43:11other recommendations are made for varay airport but ultimately it is deemed too dangerous and the airport never reopens to
43:20commercial traffic
43:24by the airport was open only four years which makes it one of the shortest lived airports in the world
43:35i wish that we have put our foot down and said no more
43:43i wish the company had done the same
43:48i wish the government and the experts had listened to our warnings earlier
43:57then we might have had our colleagues still alive
44:04the Confederateителя
44:04the Confederate
44:04the
44:04the
44:04the
44:04the
44:04the
44:38You
Comments