- hace 52 minutos
On 20 December 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 is en route to Cali, Colombia. The crew are asked if they would like to perform a straight-in approach to Cali. The pilots accept the offer, but as they are making the necessary changes, they inadvertently delete the waypoints from the flight plan in their flight management system, causing them to lose certainty of their exact position. Their mistakes cause the aircraft to fly into a mountain near Buga. Only four passengers and a dog survive.
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00:013,000 a year
00:03We're not getting any option
00:05We have the terrain alarm
00:06We are in an emergency
00:23Buenas noches, senor
00:24American 965 leaving 23
00:27In 1995, only days before Christmas
00:30An American Airlines Boeing 757
00:33Is on its final approach to Cali, Colombia
00:38Cali approach, American 965
00:42The pilots are calm and relaxed
00:44They don't know they've made a terrible mistake
00:49965, 9,000 feet
00:52They've strayed more than 10 miles off course
00:55And no longer have a clue where they are
01:00Oh, shit
01:01Hold up, baby
01:02In complete darkness
01:04The jet carrying 163 passengers and crew
01:07Is heading into mortal danger
01:09I think we knew that something imminent
01:13Was around the corner
01:15Up, baby
01:17More and more
01:18Up, up, up
01:28Flight 965 crashed into a 9,000 foot mountain
01:32The crash reverberated throughout the aviation industry
01:37How could one of the most technologically advanced aircraft in the world
01:41Equipped with a state-of-the-art navigational system
01:44And flown by some of the most skilled pilots
01:47Crash into the side of a mountain
02:07On December the 20th, 1995
02:10American Airlines Flight 965
02:13Is preparing to depart Miami International Airport
02:18Its destination is Cali, Colombia
02:21Flight 965 is scheduled to leave at 4.40pm
02:25But has already been delayed for 30 minutes at the gate
02:28To allow for connecting passengers
02:31Surely you're going to call us any second now
02:35The Dusans only just made it
02:38In Miami, they told us that we have to rush
02:41Because the plane is going to leave
02:44To Cali, very soon
02:48Definitely we were very happy
02:50Because we know we're going to fly that night
02:53So you made it
02:54Just in time
02:55Just in time
02:57You won't believe it
02:58Go from New Jersey to Miami
03:00We almost missed the flight
03:03Mercedes Ramirez
03:04Along with her mother and father
03:06Managed to get on the flight at the last minute
03:09We were on standby
03:11So we weren't sure if our names
03:13Were going to be called off
03:14To actually get on that flight
03:16We heard our names
03:17And we were excited
03:18Because we were like
03:19Yes, we got on the flight
03:21But it's very old American
03:26Flight 965 finally leaves the gate
03:28At 5.14pm
03:3034 minutes late
03:32But the problems aren't over yet
03:34As they taxi towards the runway
03:36The tower informs them
03:38Of yet another delay
03:41American 965, stand by
03:42Heavy seasonal traffic clogs the runways
03:45And they're forced to wait
03:46Another hour and 20 minutes
03:48On the tarmac
03:49That's all there is to it
03:52Wait and
03:57American 965
03:58Finally, two hours late
04:01Flight 965 is cleared for takeoff
04:03Fly the runway heading
04:05Clear for takeoff
04:07Merry Christmas
04:08Clear for takeoff
04:1027 right
04:11American 965
04:13You do a great job
04:14Good night
04:18Captain Nicholas Tafuri
04:20Aged 57
04:21Is in charge of flight 965
04:26He's one of American Airlines
04:28Premier pilots
04:29With more than 13,000 hours
04:31Of flying experience
04:32Over 2,000 of them
04:34In the 757
04:38He'd flown to Kali
04:39Only six days earlier
04:41200 the heading
04:43Climb to 16
04:45That's 16 American 965
04:51At the controls
04:52Is first officer
04:53Donnie R. Williams
04:54Aged 39
04:55Although he's been flying
04:57For American for nine years
04:58Flight 965
05:00Is his first trip to Kali
05:09It's the holiday season
05:11And the plane is filled
05:12With passengers
05:13Starting their Christmas celebrations
05:23Everybody on that plane
05:24Was either going back home
05:26For the Christmas holidays
05:27To visit their family
05:28So I think everybody
05:29Was just happy
05:30And excited to go back
05:32The day of the flight
05:34December the 20th
05:35Is a very special day
05:36For passenger Mercedes Ramirez
05:38Mercedes is a university student
05:40From Missouri
05:41It's her 21st birthday
05:43And this trip is a gift
05:45From her parents
05:46Usually we spent Christmas
05:47In Kansas City at home
05:49But they wanted to do
05:51Something special
05:52And we had never spent
05:53The holidays with our family
05:55In Columbia
05:55So it was a big deal for us
05:58Since we flew standby
05:59I couldn't sit with both
06:02My mom and my dad
06:03All in one row
06:04So my mother and I
06:05Were seated next to each other
06:06I was by the window
06:07She was in the middle
06:08And then there was a passenger
06:10Who was about my age
06:11Who was in the aisle seat
06:12And then my father
06:13Was in another row
06:15Behind us
06:17And so
06:18Nothing out of the ordinary
06:19At all
06:20Just a normal flight
06:24Nineteen year old
06:25Mauricio Reyes
06:26Is sitting beside
06:26Mercedes' mother
06:28Reyes is a student
06:30At the University of Michigan
06:43Gonzalo Dusan
06:44Gonzalo Dusan and his wife
06:44Nancy
06:45And their two children
06:46Michelle and Gonzalo Jr
06:47Are seated nearby
06:55We were very excited
06:56Because the first time
06:58You know
06:58We were going with my family
06:59To pass you know
07:00Christmas
07:01Over there in Cali
07:02We wanted to see
07:04Our families
07:05Members
07:06You know
07:06Brothers
07:07Sisters
07:08You know
07:09To see our city again
07:18Two hours and 45 minutes
07:20Into the flight
07:21The plane is cruising
07:22At an altitude of 37,000 feet
07:25And on a pre-programmed
07:27Flight path
07:27Heading towards Cali's airport
07:2936 miles
07:34They're flying a Boeing 757
07:37A state-of-the-art airplane
07:38Equipped with highly sophisticated
07:40Computer systems
07:46When programmed
07:47With the appropriate data
07:48The onboard computer
07:50Known as the flight management system
07:52Can control the aircraft
07:53From take-off to landing
07:55It can be a pilot's best friend
07:57Or in the case of flight 965
08:04Their worst nightmare
08:14An awkward moment
08:15An hour before
08:16Their scheduled arrival
08:17In Cali
08:18Makes Mercedes Ramirez
08:19Change seats
08:20My mother had been talking
08:22To the college student
08:23Who was next to her
08:24And I think she was trying
08:26To kind of set me up
08:27With him
08:27Because she kept on saying
08:28Oh my daughter's in college
08:30And my daughter's this
08:30And my daughter's that
08:31So I was very embarrassed
08:33So I got up from my seat
08:35And moved to the row behind us
08:38And I sat with my father
08:41The seemingly trivial decision
08:43Will prove to be her lifesaver
08:54It's a clear moonless night
08:56With visibility more than six miles
08:59And that's just how it works
09:01That's our center
09:01But Captain Tafuri
09:02Is now getting concerned
09:03About their arrival time
09:05In Cali
09:05Debrief
09:06One hour sign in
09:07And you can't move that up at all
09:09Because it's an FAA thing
09:11FAA regulations require
09:13A minimum number of hours
09:14On the ground
09:15Before the cabin crew
09:16Can fly again
09:18The plane and its crew
09:20Are scheduled to leave
09:21Columbia the following morning
09:22But the unexpected delays
09:24In Miami
09:25Means the plane may be late
09:26Into Cali
09:27And not able to leave
09:28On time tomorrow
09:33When you want descent
09:34Let me know a few minutes early
09:37In case there's a language problem
09:39Okay?
09:39Sure
09:40Any further delays
09:42Will jeopardize their return flight
09:43The next day
09:50Well
09:51Let's see
09:52We've got 136 miles to the VOR
09:54And 32,000 feet to lose
09:57And slow down to boots
09:58So might as well get started
09:59If they land within the next 25 minutes
10:02They'll beat the deadline
10:04All right, sir
10:05And if you'd keep the speed up
10:08Upon the descent
10:09Did it help us too, okay?
10:11Okay
10:12Okay
10:13Okay, Gonzalo, let your sister sit beside the window
10:15Gonzalo de San's children quarrel over the window seat
10:18Not knowing that the consequences will be dire
10:21And I remember I told them before Cali
10:24When the plane started to lose altitude
10:27So we're going to see the valley
10:29The city
10:30Very nice
10:31With a lot of lights on it
10:32Because usually by December
10:34By Christmas time
10:35They decorate, you know, the mountains
10:38With different colors, lights and everything
10:40Then they start to fight for the window side
10:43And I was fighting
10:44And I was fighting
10:44With my brother
10:45Gonzalo de San's children
10:46We were fighting for the window
10:48Okay, Gonzalo de San's children
10:49Let your sister have a chance
10:50By the window
10:51And I'm like
10:52Oh, I want to see
10:53I want to see the lights
10:54I want to see the airport
10:55And he got mad
10:58Okay, we'll see with your cousin on
11:02Good boy, Gonzalo de San's children
11:05Okay, Richard, take a look at the lights
11:07Next up, I'm sitting
11:08Up, I'm sitting
11:09Up, I'm sitting
11:12So we're almost there
11:15Richard, can you see the lights outside the window?
11:19Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking
11:23We have begun our descent for landing at Cali
11:26It's a lovely evening
11:28As we'd expected
11:29We'll pass a shower or two on the way
11:33This lovely evening is about to end
11:36In 30 seconds, the pilots will make the first of a series of mistakes
11:40Which will result in the death of nearly everyone on board
11:59American Airlines Flight 965 is on its final descent
12:03Roughly 63 miles from Cali
12:12Cali's Aragon Airport is situated at the end of a long valley
12:19On both sides of the valley are towering mountain ranges
12:23That stretch to almost 14,000 feet
12:25It's a formidable sight
12:45To guide the plane on its proper pre-programmed flight path
12:49The aircraft must pass over a series of waypoints
12:53These are generally radio beacons at fixed positions along the route
12:58The plane's computer picks up the signal from these beacons
13:01One after the other
13:02And guides it safely to the destination
13:07Flight 965 is now approaching the waypoint called Tolua
13:12Tolua is a radio beacon at the head of the valley which leads to Cali
13:17After passing Tolua, they should fly down the valley
13:20And pass over the final waypoint called Rozo
13:24Then they fly past the airport, turn right and land from the south
13:55Cali air traffic controller Nelson Rivera
13:57Rivera will oversee the final approach of flight 965
14:00But he has a problem
14:04Insurgents opposed to the Colombian government
14:06Have blown up the radar installation
14:10Rivera has no way of knowing where planes are
14:13Until they radio their position
14:19Without radar, the air traffic controller must rely on the flight crew
14:23To provide the aircraft's distance to the runway
14:25The DME is 6-3
14:28The DME is the distance measuring equipment in the Boeing cockpit
14:32Roger, American 965 is cleared to Cali
14:36Descend and maintain one, 5,000 feet
14:40Altimeter 3-0-0-2
14:43Report to Tolua
14:44Okay, understood
14:46Clear direct to Cali, VOR, report to Tolua
14:50Affirmative
14:51It's a misunderstanding
14:53Captain Tafuri thinks he's being told to fly direct to Cali and forget all about Tolua
14:58But the controller needs him to report when he passes Tolua so that he knows where the plane is
15:04To me the word directly means that he was authorized to go directly to Cali
15:11That there was no delay
15:14Therefore, he had to inform us of his position in Tolua because we don't have radar
15:19I needed him to inform me of that exact location
15:25Tafuri punches direct to Cali in his computer
15:29Since the plane no longer has to pass over them
15:32All the way points between his present position and Cali will now be erased
15:36Including Tolua, the one he's now approaching
15:40Direct Cali for you in there
15:42Okay, thank you
15:48Flight attendants, please prepare for landing
15:51Thank you
15:59And I remember they they give us the order to to put the the back of the seat straight
16:05I remember that and everybody was not so happy because we were very close to the city
16:2411 minutes before their estimated time of arrival
16:27Go ahead, please
16:29Sir, the wind is gone
16:31Air traffic control asks the flight crew if they'd like to land on runway 19
16:35You want to shoot the 19 straight?
16:37Instead of their planned approach to runway 01
16:40You don't have to scramble to get down
16:41We can do it
16:43Uh, yes, sir
16:44We'll need a lower altitude right away, though
16:46Roger
16:46The American 965 is cleared to VOR DME
16:50Okay
16:50The pilots are pleased
16:53Runway 19 is a straight-in approach from the north
16:56They won't have to lose precious time by circling the airport
17:02But there isn't much time
17:03They need to start getting the plane down quickly
17:09Williams deploys the speed brakes
17:12The brakes are flaps on the top of the wings
17:15When they're raised, they reduce lift and increase the plane's rate of descent
17:20Approach runway 19
17:24This split-second decision to land on runway 19
17:28Sets off a chain of events that will end in disaster
17:31Arrival will report VOR
17:33Thank you, sir
17:34Report Tuluwa
17:35The OR
17:37Report Tuluwa
17:38I've got to give you a Tuluwa first of all
17:40You want to go right to Cal or to Tuluwa?
17:43I thought he said the Rozo won a ramp
17:45Yeah, he did
17:45We got time to pull that out
17:47Events begin to unravel very quickly in the cockpit
17:50The pilots have to locate the new charts for the approach to 1-9
17:54Enter the new route into the computer and still fly the plane
17:58And Tuluwa won Rozo
18:00Yeah, there it is
18:01See, that comes off Tuluwa
18:02They're getting totally confused
18:04The controller keeps asking them to report when they've passed Tuluwa
18:08But having erased it from their computer, they have no idea where it is
18:13Captain Tafuri asks the tower if they can forget Tuluwa
18:17And fly directly to Rozo, their last waypoint before the runway
18:46The controller is still asking them to report passing the Tuluwa beacon
18:51Without radar, he doesn't realize that they're already past it
18:54And are speeding down the valley towards the airport
18:59Captain Tafuri now makes another fateful decision
19:03Having decided that they're going to head for the Rozo waypoint instead
19:06He punches R into his computer
19:09The computer database responds by offering a list of more than 10 waypoints to choose from
19:15All beginning with R
19:17Normally the nearest one, Rozo, would be at the top of the list
19:20But tonight it's not
19:23Captain Tafuri doesn't notice
19:27And pushes the execute button
19:38At over 300 miles per hour
19:40And descending at a rate of approximately 1,300 feet per minute
19:44Flight 965 begins to veer off on a new and deadly course
19:56I never imagined that they were deflecting the route in addition to losing altitude
20:01Because I didn't have radar
20:09In the cockpit of Flight 965, the pilots are completely unaware of what they've done
20:14They're busy studying charts as their plane crosses the mountains into unknown territory
20:27For more than a minute, American Airlines Flight 965 has been turning off its proper course
20:33And into the mountains
20:35Captain Tafuri and First Officer Williams suddenly notice that their aircraft
20:40Is taking them somewhere that they don't want to go
20:43Let's go right to Tuluwa first of all, okay
20:47Yeah, where are we headed?
20:49Uh, 17-7
20:50Captain Tafuri is floundering in the pitch darkness
20:54If he could only find the Tuluwa waypoint, he could get his bearings
20:58He switches from one computer system to another
21:01And then manually enters the radio frequency for the Tuluwa beacon
21:04Okay, I'm getting it
21:0617-7 just doesn't seem right on mine, I don't know why
21:10Left turn, so you want a left turn back around to ULQ
21:14Nah, hell no, let's press on to
21:16We're, we're, um, press on to where though?
21:19Tuluwa
21:19Hopelessly lost, and less than two minutes from impact
21:22Tafuri decides to press on with his doomed approach
21:26Let's, uh, go to Cali first of all, okay
21:30We're fucked up here, didn't we?
21:32Yeah
21:32Go direct CLO, how do we get fucked up here?
21:37Come to the right right now
21:38Come to the right right now
21:40The pilots don't know it, but when the plane veered off course
21:44It crossed over the mountains
21:47They're now in another valley, parallel with the one they should be flying down
21:57Passengers are completely unaware that in less than 60 seconds
22:00The aircraft traveling more than 210 miles an hour is going to crash
22:05We're almost there
22:07Is that fucking Tuluwa I'm not getting for some reason?
22:11See, I can't, okay, now, no
22:13Tuluwa's fucked up
22:14Okay, yeah
22:16But I can put it in the box if you want Tuluwa
22:18Let's just go to the extended centerline of, uh
22:22Which is Rozo?
22:23Rozo
22:23Why don't you just go direct to Rozo then, all right?
22:26Okay, let's
22:27I'm gonna put that over to you
22:29They decide to give up on Tuluwa
22:31And make straight for the airport
22:34They don't realize that there's now a wall of mountains between them and Cali
23:03He didn't answer
23:07He never answered again
23:11Easy does it, easy does it
23:14I could feel that we were just violently just going up
23:24And I felt like I was in a rollercoaster ride or something
23:28And the turbulence was absolutely horrible
23:31And by that time people were screaming
23:33And everybody knew on the flight that something was very wrong
23:46Instinctively I reached over and I grabbed my father's hand
23:49And I put my head in my lap
23:55In my mind I just kept on thinking
23:58Come on, just straighten it out, straighten it out
24:00These were the last words on the cockpit voice recorder
24:09No?
24:11Yes!
24:12Yes!
24:19OK.
24:34No, no, no, no.
24:51American 965, this is Cali, approach. Can you hear me?
24:56At 9.42 p.m., on its final approach to runway 19, American 965, can you hear me?
25:03American Airlines flight 965 seemingly vanishes without a trace.
25:11American 965, this is Cali, approach. Can you hear me?
25:19I never experienced anything like this before.
25:25This was the first time that I lost a plane and the crew was not responding.
25:32It is very difficult to grasp the moment.
25:34When the plane didn't answer, I looked outside from the control tower.
25:42I could see from there the sky.
25:46I started to look for the plane.
25:48The night was clear and I thought I could see the plane coming.
25:52But in this case, I never saw the plane.
25:58Moments after the plane's scheduled arrival, airport monitors indicate a seven-minute delay.
26:05Friends and family wait with anticipation for the arrival of their loved ones.
26:17As the revised arrival time comes and goes, rumours begin to circulate throughout the terminal
26:23that air traffic control has lost contact with flight 965.
26:32In an instant, joy turns to shock as cries that the plane has crashed spread throughout the terminal.
26:48Locals living near the town of Bulga, north of Cali, report hearing a massive explosion.
26:59Rescue teams race to the town, which lies near the base of a local mountain range that stretches as high
27:05as 10,000 feet.
27:13It's now 3 a.m., almost six hours after the crash.
27:18The first elements of the search and rescue team are trekking up the side of El Deluvio Mountain.
27:28There are no roads. It's completely cut off.
27:49In the midst of tons of twisted and torn metal
27:54lies 21-year-old Mercedes Ramirez.
27:57Her last memory prior to impact is grabbing her father's hand
28:01and the deafening sound from the back of the plane of the tail section's striking trees.
28:09The next memory I have is the next day, it's daylight, I wake up and I see the sunlight around
28:17me and I don't know where I am and what's around me looks like a landfill, like a trash dump.
28:25And so, as I'm laying there, I'm thinking, where in the world am I?
28:31Mercedes is critically injured with severe internal injuries and a shattered leg.
28:37Help!
28:39Is anybody out there?
28:46Help me!
28:4719-year-old college student Mauricio Reyes also survives the impact and responds to Mercedes' cry for help.
28:55Can you move?
28:57Can you move?
28:58I can try. I'm not sure. My leg is bent. Passport, please.
29:03OK.
29:03Please help me.
29:04OK, hold on.
29:06Hold on.
29:10OK.
29:11Help me, please.
29:12OK.
29:14The only way for me to get out was having to drag myself over people.
29:18And I remember this lady who I had to drag myself over and I'll never forget her.
29:30Looking back, I think, oh my goodness, that was someone's mom or that was someone's sister or someone's wife.
29:38But at that time, she was just an object that I needed to get over to get out.
29:47Can you move? Can you stand up?
29:49I think my leg is broken.
29:51OK, we'll try.
29:53One, two, three.
29:56And when he lifted me was when the first time I actually felt pain.
30:01It just felt like an electrical current going up, up and down my leg.
30:05So he laid me back down and then he went off to try to find help.
30:10OK?
30:11OK.
30:12Just stay here.
30:13OK.
30:14OK.
30:14OK.
30:16OK.
30:17Help!
30:19Is anybody out there?
30:22While I was laying there, more of the thoughts that were coming into my mind was,
30:27Why me?
30:29Why did this happen to me?
30:33At first light, the Colombian Air Force starts searching for the crash site.
30:38They were unable to leave earlier because they had no night vision equipment.
30:52On the ground, rescue teams which had been climbing throughout the night are approaching the summit of El Deluvio.
31:00There we go.
31:01Let's go.
31:01All up, let's go.
31:04Okay, let's go.
31:16¡Suscríbete al canal!
31:34Then, when I hear the sound of the helicopters, I realise something happened.
31:42I started to feel panic.
31:44Help me! Someone, please help me!
31:50Daddy, I'm here. Papa.
31:52Michelle.
31:54Gonzalo de San's six-year-old daughter, Michelle, still strapped in her seat,
31:59answers her father's desperate call for help.
32:01Keep talking to me, OK?
32:05Michelle.
32:05So, I realised that my daughter was alive too.
32:10Then, I started to crawl to try to look for where the voice of my daughter is coming from.
32:16Michelle, please, I'm coming. Where are you?
32:19De San struggles to crawl through the broken and twisted cabin to reach his daughter,
32:24but she's pinned beneath the wreckage.
32:26Ow! Ow! My leg hurt.
32:29When the plane crashed, my legs, I had my seatbelt on, and I guess the crash was so deep that
32:36my legs, like, speared into the ground.
32:40OK.
32:40I tried to move myself, but my legs hurt. They hurt really bad. I couldn't pick myself up.
32:45Daddy, it hurt.
32:46OK, OK, Michelle. I'm going to get some water for you soon and bring it back, OK?
32:51Then, I tried to crawl more to try to get out.
32:56Despite a severe back injury, De San manages to crawl towards a small open section of the fuselage.
33:04I saw a hole behind me, and I said, inside me, I said, God, help me to get up from
33:11here.
33:13Help us!
33:17Over here!
33:19Help us!
33:22When I get up from the fuselage of the plane, I remember my son talking to me.
33:28Papa, Papa, I'm here!
33:28Papa, I'm here!
33:31Gonzalito!
33:36And he, he said, Father, Father, help me.
33:41Gonzalito!
33:43Despite a desperate search, Gonzalo Du San is unable to locate his son amongst the wreckage.
33:48Gonzalito!
33:55Gonzalo Du San is unable to locate his son.
33:55Realizing there's no way to get off the mountain by foot, the survivors of Flight 965 are still unsure if
34:02they will ever make it.
34:04The temperatures have fallen dramatically, and without protective clothing, they could die of exposure in a matter of hours.
34:12Stay awake for Papa, OK?
34:15OK, Michelle?
34:22Since first light, the Colombian Air Force has been searching for the crash site without success.
34:34With each passing minute, the four survivors, all gravely injured, take one step closer to death.
34:51Jim!
34:53Shortly after daybreak, the crew of a Blackhawk chopper spots the crash site.
35:00I could see the helicopters perfectly from where I was at, and even though I could see them perfectly, I
35:07didn't know if they could, if they could see me.
35:15When I saw the helicopter very close to the trees, to the top of the trees, I started to move
35:21in the blanket.
35:22I started to move in the blanket, then I said, oh, they saw me, they saw me, they saw me,
35:27they saw me, they saw me, they're coming for us.
35:34More than eight hours after impact, and after enduring life-threatening injuries and near-freezing temperatures,
35:41the survivors of Flight 965 are about to be rescued.
35:47People finally know that we're here, and they're finally here to rescue us, after so many hours of being stuck
35:53on that side of that mountain.
35:55So, seeing them was one of the greatest things ever.
36:10They came, and they threw a rope, and the people started to descend, and, you know, I was so happy
36:17because I feel, you know, that they, they're going to help us.
36:28The first thing I told them, my son is alive.
36:30My son is alive, but I don't know where he is.
36:33Help me to find him, please help me to find him.
36:36And my daughter is alive, I told them.
36:39She's inside, she's inside the fuselage.
36:42As the rescue team divided up, one went into the fuselage to free Michelle.
36:48Another scoured the site for Gonzalo Dusan, Jr.
36:54Gonzalo is found hanging in the branch of a nearby tree.
36:58He's been suspended in the air above the crash site for more than eight hours.
37:02His condition is grave.
37:11Mauricio Reyes is the first to be airlifted off the mountain.
37:23But low cloud cover grounds the chopper and delays the removal of the remaining survivors.
37:41Fearing that Michelle Dusan may not survive the wait, volunteers decided to take a calculated risk.
37:49They fashioned a makeshift stretcher out of a piece of the wreckage, and began to evacuate Michelle off the mountain
37:56by foot.
38:00Shortly after Michelle Dusan left the crash site, the weather clears, and the remaining survivors are airlifted to a base
38:07camp halfway down the mountain,
38:09and then to hospital for emergency medical treatment.
38:18More than 13 hours after the crash of Flight 965, Michelle Dusan is the last survivor to emerge from the
38:25jungle of El Deluvio alive.
38:29Surgeons attempt to save the life of her brother, Gonzalo, Jr., but he dies on the operating table from massive
38:36internal injuries.
38:38I don't think that there is any medical explanation or scientific explanation.
38:44There is no explanation that out of 159 people that were strong and, like, tough,
38:55that me, a little girl, a six-year-old girl could survive out of so many people that were so
39:01much stronger than me.
39:03I just thank God so much.
39:06Of the 163 passengers and crew on board Flight 965, only four survived the crash.
39:14Experts will later label the accident a non-survivable event.
39:19All of the survivors were seated within two rows of one another, just above the wing.
39:24Huge girders carrying the wings make this the strongest part of the plane.
39:29Despite this, Mercedes Ramirez lost both her parents on her 21st birthday.
39:35December 20th, 1995.
39:39My life changed forever and has never been the same ever since.
39:46There is 160 people on that flight who, the moment that plane hit that mountain,
39:52all their hopes and dreams were instantly lost.
39:56But for some reason, I've been given a second chance at life,
40:01and so I'm going to try to make the best of it.
40:07The successful evacuation of the survivors led to the gruesome task of recovering the bodies of the 159 souls
40:15who perished on the slopes of Mount Deluvio.
40:21Investigators now descend on the crash site to try to find out
40:25how one of the most sophisticated airliners, equipped with state-of-the-art technology,
40:30could veer off course and crash more than 35 miles from the airport.
40:38The investigation was led by Aeronautica Civil, Colombia's equivalent of the FAA.
40:47Assisting the Colombians were investigators from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board,
40:53including Dave Ivey.
40:54The wreckage and debris report indicated that the airplane
40:59actually impacted the eastern side of the mountain
41:04as it was trying to proceed back west to get into the valley.
41:09And the main body of the wreckage cleared the mountain top,
41:16or the ridge, I should say,
41:18and landed over on the western side, which is inside the valley area.
41:27Also following the investigation was Dave Simmon,
41:30an airline captain who knew the Kali approach well.
41:34In the days that followed the crash, the industry was shocked.
41:38They were shocked because they didn't know
41:41how could a sophisticated airplane like the 757,
41:45flown by a well-respected international carrier like American Airlines,
41:51with well-trained crews, get so far off course,
41:54nobody could figure out how did it happen, why did it happen.
42:04Sabotage and mechanical malfunction were soon ruled out.
42:09Attention began to focus on the action of the flight crew.
42:16The discovery of the black boxes enabled the investigators
42:20to follow the final moments of American Airlines Flight 965.
42:27There is never one single item that,
42:31or error that typically brings an airplane down.
42:34There's an error chain, and a chain is made up of many links.
42:37The airplane was en route to Kali.
42:40As they were approaching from a distance out,
42:44the controller offered them a straight-in landing.
42:47Are you able to approach the runway one-liner?
42:49Would you like to shoot the one-nine straight in?
42:52Uh, yeah, we'll have to scramble to get down.
42:54We can do it.
42:55When they first accepted the approach,
42:58the first officer remarked that we do need to get down
43:02in a hurry in order to accomplish this.
43:05Uh, yes, sir, we'll need a lower altitude right away, though.
43:08At the time the crew accepted the approach to runway one-nine,
43:12they were too high, too fast, and too close in
43:16to safely make this approach.
43:19To lose altitude, the first officer deploys the speed brakes.
43:23This action will come back to haunt the flight crew
43:25in the final segment of the flight.
43:29The fact that they accepted that runway
43:31put the crew in a rushed and hurried manner.
43:35Give me a Tuluwa, first of all.
43:36You want to go right to Cal or to Tuluwa?
43:39I thought he said the Raza 1 arrival.
43:40Yeah, he did.
43:42We got time to pull that out.
43:43The flight crew now needs to study the approach charts
43:46and reprogram the computer.
43:49Meanwhile, the airplane is moving
43:50at more than five miles per minute.
43:52And when you start to rush and you can't prepare
43:55in an adequate amount of time,
43:58then additional errors start to occur.
44:02Because they're rushed and in a hurry and scrambling,
44:06they then make a dangerous request.
44:11Can American Airlines 965 go direct to Rosso
44:15and then do the Rosso arrival, sir?
44:18Affirmative.
44:19Take the Rosso 1 and runway 19er.
44:22When the controller said affirmative,
44:25take the Rosso 1,
44:27he meant use the Rosso 1 arrival procedure.
44:32Although the crew thought he meant to go direct to Rosso.
44:37That's not a good idea
44:38because to proceed direct to Rosso
44:41is the last point just before the runway.
44:46And Rosso is the last point before landing,
44:50not the first point that you should be targeting.
44:53And this miscommunication really dealt with
44:56the pilot believing one thing
44:57and the air traffic controller believing another.
45:00That was another link, in my view,
45:03that was part of the error chain.
45:05Where are we?
45:07The crew looks at their charts in front of them
45:11and they see the fixed Rosso
45:13and it is identified by the letter R.
45:16So they naturally put R into the computer
45:19thinking it will take them directly to Rosso.
45:22The computer offers a list of R's to choose from.
45:25But unbeknownst to the pilots,
45:28none of them is Rosso.
45:30Habit has shown,
45:31and the system is designed to place
45:34the one that is closest to your airplane first.
45:38And so here was an R that showed up first
45:42and he selected that.
45:45A map display in front of the pilot
45:47shows the proposed course to the waypoint he selected.
45:50It will take the plane left into the mountains.
45:54According to American Airlines' procedure,
45:58prior to executing an input such as this
46:02to select the R,
46:04you confirm with the other pilot,
46:06does this look correct to you?
46:09965 to 9,000 feet.
46:11This clearly was not done.
46:13If it had been,
46:14they would have seen a dotted line
46:16showing a provisional path
46:18from the nose of the airplane
46:20turning and going back
46:21to about their 7 o'clock position.
46:25Captain Tafuri hastily presses the execute button.
46:29In aviation, we call that fast-fingered Freddy.
46:32When you don't confirm anything,
46:33you're in a big hurry
46:34to punch something in the computer
46:35and you don't confirm
46:37where it's really going to take you.
46:46Unfortunately, the crew does not know
46:50that R stands for another fix
46:53that is 132 miles away
46:57behind them
46:58at about their 7 o'clock position
47:00and that's where the airplane starts to go to.
47:11The flight crew of American Airlines 965
47:14has unwittingly directed their aircraft
47:17off its intended course
47:18and into mortal danger.
47:21Where are we?
47:22The plane was simply doing
47:23what it was programmed to do.
47:26In this case,
47:27it's to fly to Bogota,
47:29130 miles away.
47:32More than a minute into the turn,
47:33the pilots are unaware
47:35that the plane is flying away from Kali
47:37and is heading dangerously off course.
47:40The first officer's getting the charts out.
47:43The captain's getting the charts out.
47:45They're trying to tune radios.
47:48No one's flying the airplane.
47:50No one's watching what happens
47:51and they assume that the automation
47:53is going to take care of them.
47:55Sometimes it will,
47:57but in this case, it didn't.
47:58Uh, where are we?
48:01We're going out to...
48:03Let's go right to Tuluwa,
48:04first of all, okay?
48:06Yeah, where are we headed?
48:08Uh, 17-7, ULQ.
48:10I don't know what's with the ULQ.
48:12What happened here?
48:13There's an old saying in aviation,
48:15never point an airplane someplace
48:17that your brain hasn't been
48:19five minutes earlier.
48:20The American 9CX-5, these things now?
48:23Uh, what did you want, sir?
48:25Distance, DME.
48:27In this case, the airplane got in front of them.
48:30It was flying what was selected.
48:33And in fact, it was flying
48:35beyond the pilot's recognition
48:38of where it was supposed to be traveling.
48:41The pilots had lost
48:42what's referred to as situational awareness.
48:46Left turn, so you want a left turn back around the ULQ.
48:48No, hell no, let's press onto...
48:49Well, we're pressing where, though?
48:51Tuluwa.
48:52Uh, that's a right U.
48:53Once they became unsure of their position,
48:57once they became confused and disoriented,
49:00that's the time to click off the automation
49:03and to basically abandon the approach,
49:07climb to the minimum safe altitude,
49:09and to go to Cali.
49:10All right, let's go to Director Cali.
49:16Instead of abandoning the approach
49:18and gaining altitude,
49:20Flight 965 continued its deadly descent.
49:27When the warning sounded
49:28that the plane was about to crash into the ground,
49:31First Officer Williams disengaged the autopilot
49:34within one second,
49:35but forgot to retract the speed brakes
49:37which had been deployed earlier.
49:39Three, nine, six, five, this is Cali approach.
49:42Can you hear me?
49:50According to the official report,
49:52had they remembered to lower the speed brakes,
49:55the plane could have cleared the mountain
49:56with room to spare.
49:58This accident is known as a CFIT accident,
50:02which means controlled flight into terrain.
50:04By that I mean the airplane was controlled by the crew
50:07and it was a perfectly normal functioning airplane
50:10and the crew flew the airplane into the mountain.
50:14It's one of the leading causes of accidents
50:16over the last hundred years
50:19and still is a problem.
50:23Both these pilots were experienced pilots
50:25flying the 757 for American Airlines.
50:28And both these pilots were good pilots.
50:31And I think it's like anything else.
50:34Two good pilots were led astray by a problem
50:37that they were trying to figure out.
50:41And at the time,
50:42they failed to do the basic thing,
50:45fly the airplane.
50:48A court eventually ruled
50:50that the pilots of Flight 965
50:51had shown willful misconduct
50:53during the approach to Cali Airport.
50:57Survivor Mercedes Ramirez,
50:59who lost both her parents,
51:00continues to deal with the crash.
51:03I think this was a classic textbook case
51:06of everything you should not do
51:09when flying a plane.
51:12Hopefully it's a wake-up call to pilots
51:15that no matter how many times
51:16you've flown to a city,
51:18you just have to be alert and aware
51:21because every little move that you make,
51:23you have the lives of people in your hands.
51:55We'll see you next time.
51:55We'll see you next time.