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On 6 August 1997, during final approach for a night landing in Guam, Korean Air Flight 801 crashes into a hill while attempting a missed approach, killing 228 people. The causes were pilot error and the instrument landing system at Guam airport being temporarily out of service for maintenance work.
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00:01the crew of a passenger jet search in vain for their airport look carefully rain is making it
00:08impossible to see it's like missed approach go around more than 200 passengers are on board
00:22as I turned around a huge fireball came out
00:29investigators search for clues could a vital missing piece of equipment be responsible
00:35for the crash I think the best way to describe that would have been irresponsible
00:42I know a lot of people could have walked off that plane that night nothing will change my views on
00:52there
00:52you
01:05you
01:05you
01:05you
01:05you
01:16Nimitz Hill, Guam
01:19Once the site of fierce American offensives during World War II
01:26For over 50 years there's been peace here
01:36Now the hill is peaceful, invaded by hunters
01:40And the normal quiet is broken by the roar of jumbo jets as they fly overhead
01:50Every night commercial pilots must fly over this tall rocky outcrop
01:54And land at Guam's Aganya International Airport
02:05Flights come from airports all across Asia
02:08Just past midnight on August 6th 1997
02:12Korean Airlines Flight 801 is on its way to Guam from Seoul, South Korea
02:1942-year-old captain Park Yong-chol is at the controls
02:25A former Korean Air Force pilot
02:28Park has been flying 747s for more than six years
02:33Just a few months ago he received a flight safety award from the president of Korean Air
02:38For successfully handling a 747 engine failure at low altitude
02:46Park is supposed to be flying to the United Arab Emirates tonight
02:49But a scheduling change has put him in command of this shorter flight to Guam
02:57In the cabin, Korean, Japanese and Western tourists are heading for Guam's pristine beaches
03:09Guam is a US territory run under US law
03:12The island is tiny, fewer than 600 square kilometres
03:16But there's enough sand to keep people coming
03:2524-year-old Sean Burke and his girlfriend, Wendy Bunton
03:29Are planning to make the most of Guam's beaches
03:32They're flying in from San Diego for a vacation
03:35Sean and Wendy were going to Guam to do some scuba diving, reef diving
03:41And at the same time they were going to visit her brother who was in the Navy over there
03:47He was a Navy doctor
03:50Flight 801 is taking Barry Small back to work
03:54He's returning to Guam from New Zealand for another six-month contract as a helicopter pilot
03:59But he does it with a heavy heart
04:04The night before I left, my father had a heart attack
04:08And I had to CPR him until the ambulance arrived
04:12And decided to cancel the contract so I could help him
04:18But he was insistent that you must carry on with your job
04:26The flight is still a couple of hours from Guam
04:29When the calm evening is brutally interrupted
04:42Watch the speed, it could be severe turbulence
04:47Make an announcement to have everyone in their seats with seatbelts on
04:50Ladies and gentlemen, this is your first officer speaking
04:54Even an experienced flyer like Barry Small is surprised
04:58There was no lead-up to this turbulence at the end
05:02Anybody that wasn't strapped down was going to be everyone, that's for sure
05:05The lockers were rattling and anything in those lockers was bound to break
05:11It was a horrendous shudder
05:20It's heavy turbulence
05:24But the crew ride it out
05:26Eventually, the flight returns to normal
05:29We're through it
05:31Let the passengers know
05:36Ladies and gentlemen, this is your first officer speaking
05:40We have cleared the turbulent area
05:47But it's left some of the passengers shaken
05:52It's okay, Rika, we'll be there soon
05:57Ma'am, if you don't mind, I'm going to move this duty-free up here for you
06:05The cabin crew cleans up
06:09And the passengers settle in for the rest of the trip
06:14Because of the 12-hour stopover in Seoul and no change of clothes
06:21It was getting rather uncomfortable in a tropical environment
06:24And I took my shoes off just to relax a little bit and feel more comfortable
06:34Captain Park and his crew begin looking ahead
06:39They know there's more unsettled weather coming
06:46Rain has been hitting Guam on and off all day
06:49In fact, August is the heart of the island's rainy season
06:52Small showers can pop up, making visibility unpredictable
06:58In that particular part of the world, they have what's called a top hat thunderstorm
07:02That is a very small thunderstorm that builds up all times of the day
07:06And it's very short live
07:08So it wouldn't hamper the pilot's ability to actually conduct the approach
07:11It's going to just obscure his view for some period of time
07:15While they're transiting through it
07:19Just past 1 in the morning
07:21Korean Air Flight 801 makes initial radio contact with Kurt Mayo
07:26The radar controller at Guam's airport
07:41The crew aren't the only ones preparing to land
07:44After more than 3 hours of flying through the night
07:47The passengers get ready for the airport
07:52I saw the lights of Guam
07:54And I knew exactly where the aircraft was
07:57Because I've been there many times before
08:01Captain Park has navigated Nimitz Hill nine times before
08:05But this time, there's a major difference
08:09At airports around the world
08:11Pilots land with the help of a glide slope
08:14An electronic system that helps planes safely touch down
08:22If pilots follow the directions given by the glide slope
08:25It guides them to the foot of the runway
08:28The glide slope beacon at Guam airport has been removed
08:32For extensive maintenance
08:35Without the airport transmitter
08:37Park's glide slope indicator in the cockpit is useless
08:42Landing without a glide slope is rare
08:44But it does happen
08:46In Guam, the transmitter is scheduled to be out of service
08:49For more than two months
08:51But impaired navigation is only part of the problem
08:54Captain Park is fighting exhaustion
08:58The Micas Classica is warped to the maximum
09:00Probably this way, hotel expenses are saved on cabin crews
09:04And they maximize flight hours
09:09Really sleepy
09:10Now, as the plane approaches Guam
09:13Clouds and rain block their way
09:16Captain, warm condition is no good
09:19It's raining a lot
09:21It's been several hours since Captain Park and his crew left Seoul
09:25Now the rain is making the late flight more difficult
09:30Tired and fighting the weather
09:32The captain begins the final approach to the airport
09:41August the 6th, 1997
09:44It's close to 1.30 in the morning
09:46On Korean Airlines Flight 801
09:49A tired captain is preparing to land at a Ganya airport on the island of Guam
09:55In the cabin, 237 passengers are getting ready to begin their holidays
10:00Or get back to work
10:02The flight, other than the turbulence, was totally normal
10:05We had our meals
10:06And it was just a totally normal flight in every way
10:11As the jet approaches Guam
10:13An erratic storm pushes rain and clouds between the plane and the airport
10:19It's hard to see
10:21The captain wants to make a small change in course to avoid the worst of the weather
10:26Request 20 mile deviation to the left as we are descending
10:30Guam centre, queer, 801
10:32Request deviation, 10 miles left of track
10:36Queen Air 801, roger
10:41Veering around cloud cover
10:43Captain Park-Yung Chol struggles to get a clear view of his approach
10:51And finally he sees what he's been looking for
10:54It's Guam
10:55Guam
10:56Good
10:57Today the weather radar helps us a lot
11:04Korean Air 801 cleared for ILS runway 6 left approach
11:08Glide slope unusable
11:10Air traffic controller Kurt Mayo reminds the crew that the airport's glide slope equipment is out of service
11:17It would normally help them find the runway
11:20But since it's under repair, it isn't sending out any signals
11:26Then, with the crew in the middle of their landing sequence, something unexpected happens
11:34The glide slope appears to come to life
11:37Is the glide slope working?
11:39The glide slope, yeah?
11:41Yes
11:42Yes, it's working
11:45Why is it working?
11:46It's a confusing moment
11:48Unsure what's happening, the crew continue to prepare for their landing
11:5260 check
11:53Gear down
11:54Check
11:57Approaching 1,400
11:58Since today's glide slope condition is not good, we need to maintain 1,440
12:03Please set it
12:07Sir
12:09At 40 minutes after 1 in the morning, Guam controller Kurt Mayo once again makes contact with the crew
12:16Korean Air 801, contact the Ganya Tower 118.1
12:20He passes the plane on to the airport tower and says goodbye in Korean
12:29It's the last time he'll ever talk to the crew of the jetliner
12:33The guy working here probably was a GI in Korea before
12:39Aganya Tower, Korean Air 801 to intercept the localizer, 6 left
12:45Korean Air 801, heavy Aganya Tower, runway 6, cleared to land
12:50Korean 801, roger, cleared to land, 6 left
12:55Flaps 30
12:57Flaps 30
12:59As the plane descends, clouds and rain close in again
13:02They've lost sight of the airport
13:04Look carefully
13:08Ladies and gentlemen, we're preparing for landing at Aganya International Airport in Guam
13:12Please return your seats into the upright position, fasten your seatbelt and prepare for landing
13:27As the plane flies closer to the ground, the crew expects they'll see the airport any second
13:33But the rain makes it hard to see anything
13:49Isn't the glide slope working?
13:51Wiper on
13:52Then a computerized voice fills the cockpit
13:56It's the ground proximity warning system, which tells the crew they're just 500 feet in the air
14:02But they still can't see the runway
14:11I've done this flight many, many times before
14:14And when I estimated we're about 30 seconds from landing, I bent down to put my shoes on
14:24200
14:25The plane is now just 200 feet above the ground, but still the crew can't see the runway
14:30They're quickly running out of time
14:32Let's make them miss the porch
14:35Not inside
14:37Not inside
14:38Miss the porch
14:41Go round
14:46Go round
14:47Go round
14:48Flaps
14:49Flaps
14:53Flaps
14:56Flaps
14:57Flaps
14:58Flaps
15:02Flaps
15:10Flaps
15:14Flaps
15:24I had no doubts this was still just a normal landing, and the aircraft went on and was
15:31decelerating quicker than normal, but nothing to really alarm me.
15:51The things were getting pretty serious then, the aircraft was starting to break apart.
15:58I forced myself up to look, and there was just bottles, bags, everything you could imagine
16:04was coming out.
16:07The only way I can really describe it is like about a thousand 737s landing all at once.
16:16On a wooded hillside in Guam, the shattered plane finally grinds to a halt.
16:45I was too scared to undo my seatbelt at that stage because I was waiting for the next bounce
16:52to go over another ravine or whatever was going to happen next.
17:04Miraculously, 11-year-old Rika Matsuda has survived and is virtually unhurt.
17:12But her mother is trapped and injured.
17:17Mama!
17:18Mama!
17:21Mama!
17:24Hello!
17:25Hello!
17:26Barry Small is also injured and terrified that fire is sweeping through the plane.
17:34The fire started in the front and proceeded from the front to the back towards me.
17:40There was no floor lighting or anything like that, but the fire was so intense there was
17:45no problems to see where I was going.
17:51Mama!
17:52Mama!
17:54Mama!
18:05If help doesn't arrive soon, those who survived the initial crash may be trapped inside the cabin.
18:20Korean Air 801 heavy tower, how do you hear?
18:25Everyone in the cockpit has been killed, but airport authorities still have no idea what's
18:31happened aboard flight 801.
18:38Hurd by the crash and desperate to escape the ruined plane, Barry Small stumbles towards an
18:44opening in the cabin.
18:46I got back these six seats and then there was about a six foot drop down to the ground.
18:52The undercarriage had gone completely.
18:55I came across an obstacle that I had to cross because it was the only part that wasn't burning.
19:20Rika's mother tells her daughter to get out of the burning plane.
19:23Go!
19:26Go!
19:27Go!
19:28Go!
19:28Go now!
19:28Get out of here!
19:31Go!
19:32Now go!
19:34Go!
19:34I must go!
19:36Go!
19:37You must go!
19:39Go!
19:39Go!
19:45The fire is spreading quickly.
19:47As passengers struggle to deal with a disaster, rescue workers don't even know the plane has gone down.
20:12The fire engulfed both the Asian gentleman and myself to the extent that it burnt my arms and my watch
20:22got that hot,
20:22it was mounting into my flesh, and I had to flick it off.
20:28Minutes earlier, Kurt Mayo had passed the passenger jet onto the local tower controllers.
20:33Now he learns it hasn't landed yet.
20:37Approach Aganya, did Korean Air come back to you?
20:39No.
20:41I cleared him to land, and I don't know where he's at.
20:44He didn't land?
20:46Negative.
20:49Oh my God.
20:56Within minutes, Guam Fire Chief Chuck Sanchez is en route.
21:00I was thinking, my God.
21:04747, where's it at?
21:05Is it on island? Is it on sea?
21:08What is the plan here?
21:29We both fell off the side of the container, and the Asian gentleman disappeared into the jungle.
21:35So I rolled over onto my back, and I managed to crawl with my elbows.
21:40There was still a bit of skin on my elbows left.
21:43Small has a badly broken right leg.
21:47He crawls away from the wreckage.
21:50Many more people remain trapped inside.
21:57Lying there, it just sounded like a battlefield.
22:00It was just like a movie.
22:02Things were exploding short of me, going over the top of me.
22:08Things were landing beside us on fire.
22:11It's just indescribable.
22:21There's only one way for emergency crews to get down to the wreck site.
22:25Along a single access road that runs beside Nimitz Hill.
22:31As they race to the accident scene, rescue workers discover a major obstacle.
22:36A pipeline has been ripped out of the ground by the crash, and thrown across the road.
22:41There's no way around it.
22:45Having heard about the crash, the island's governor, Carl Guterres, has joined the rescue team.
22:50Engine Company 7, get this thing out of the way.
22:53You guys, get the medic kits and come with me.
22:58We reached the closest point of approach to the crash site, which was up the hill.
23:03And probably about another 150 yards downhill.
23:08Gentlemen, turn on whatever lights you got to guide us down this path, and let's do it.
23:21We started running and just listening to the screams.
23:24So we can guide ourselves, because there was just nothing but overgrowth on the side of the road.
23:32At one point, I stopped him and I go, Governor, sir, I need you to make some serious decision in
23:38this operation.
23:38I don't think I want you to move further.
23:42I'd like for you to stay on this side, and I don't want you to get hurt.
23:45Let us do this job.
23:47He goes, no, I want to help you guys.
23:52At the site of the crash, flames are devouring the wreckage.
24:01Hampered by his broken leg, Small can only look on as people cry out for help.
24:11I lay at that bank for the whole night during that time, hearing people call out in a foreign language,
24:19which initially sounded like good, healthy calls for help.
24:25Then turn into screams as the fire got more intense.
24:30And after a period of time, the fire even grew worse, and the screams faded away.
24:39Finally, almost an hour after the accident, Sanchez's crew reaches the site.
24:47I split them up into two rescue and search units.
24:51I need half of you guys to start from the tail end, and I need the other half to start
24:54from the front end of this plane.
24:56And let's meet in the middle, and let's do what we can to help the survivors here.
25:06Guam's governor, Carl Guterres, sees Rika Matsuda all alone and crying out for her mother.
25:30I did not dare let her go.
25:32It's something that I almost like there was a bond between me and that young little girl.
25:38And I found out later that she was 11, but she looked really smaller than 11 years old.
25:44Fire chief Chuck Sanchez finds Barry Small in the sword grass.
25:51He gave me his fire jacket and put under my head to comfort me.
26:00Later on, he was very distressed that he had to come back and get it back because he was getting
26:04burnt, dragging people and bodies out of the aircraft.
26:12We were cutting trees to use for splint.
26:16We were taking off our protective gears to cover the survivors.
26:34It's clear to rescue personnel that for many, they've arrived too late.
26:39But Sanchez isn't giving up. He sends a team to search further into the wreckage.
26:44Group two, start at the tail and work forward. Go.
26:53All I heard was this largest explosion, man, right where they were at.
27:02Then I go, did we lose our people?
27:10A Boeing 747 has crashed on a rugged hillside in Guam just a few miles short of the airport.
27:17There were 254 people on board.
27:21Rescue workers comb through the wreckage when an explosion rips through the remains of the plane.
27:32No radio transmission at all. We lost all transmission and then finally somebody came out.
27:38Sir, we're okay. We survived the explosion. Everybody's accounted for.
27:48It's not until the dawn finally comes that rescue workers can see the extent of the damage.
27:56The plane has spilled down the mountain and broken into several large pieces.
28:03Only 26 people survived the disaster.
28:16Friends and family are desperate for any news.
28:24Many bodies are badly burned.
28:27Although most of the passengers are Korean, Sean Burke and his girlfriend Wendy Bunton are among a few Americans on
28:34the flight.
28:42Thousands of kilometres away, news of the crash reaches Sean's parents.
28:48When she hears about the crash, Sean Burke's stepmother doesn't know if Sean is alive or dead.
28:54He could have been burned in the crash.
28:57He could be unconscious in a local hospital there.
29:01And we just wanted to go over and bring him back.
29:05So, I mean, because that kept going through our minds that he possibly could be laying on the hillside.
29:36Since Guam is an American territory, the responsibility for investigating the crash falls to the National Transportation Safety Board.
29:45Greg Fyfe is the lead investigator.
29:48Greg Fyfe is the lead investigator.
29:49When he arrives on the site, he has to contend with more than just the carnage of the plane crash.
29:59Grieving family members surround the scene, making it especially difficult for investigators to work.
30:12As an accident investigator, you have to keep your emotions in check.
30:16It's like being a doctor in an ER room.
30:19You see this devastation, you see this tragedy unfolding in front of you.
30:24You hear about all of the sad stories, especially when there are kids and innocent people involved.
30:32And as an accident investigator, you have to keep those emotions in check because you have to remain objective.
30:37You have to remain emotionless to be able to do your job effectively.
30:42And we had a whole building full of people just like us.
30:46They were all grieving and crying out.
30:49It was just horrible.
31:06One of the first things we did was we went out on site and we did what we call a
31:10site survey.
31:11We had to really get an understanding of what we were dealing with as far as the wreckage
31:15and how we were going to conduct the on-scene investigation.
31:20During the preliminary investigation, Feith finds that large sections of the plane are almost completely intact.
31:29The airplane landed relatively under control.
31:32That is, that the pilot basically landed the airplane into the trees and into that terrain.
31:38Unfortunately, it was three miles from the airport.
31:41Investigators find a number of items that survived the crash and the fire that followed,
31:46including the landing chart the crew was using as it approached Guam airport.
31:51Investigators also find Captain Park's travel bag and in it discover a small plastic pill container.
31:58Captain Park had been prescribed a variety of drugs, including pills containing benzodiazepine,
32:04a class of drugs often used as a sedative.
32:08The pills and tissue samples from Captain Park's remains are sent for analysis.
32:13The landing chart becomes part of a growing pile of evidence.
32:19Using information from the jet's flight data recorder, investigators recreate the plane's flight path.
32:25The relatively gentle slope of its descent supports Feith's belief that the jet all but landed on the hillside.
32:32But the flight path shouldn't look like this.
32:39Korean Air 801 cleared for ILS runway 6 left approach.
32:44Glide slope unusable.
32:46Korean Air 801 roger, clear for ILS runway 6 left.
32:50The crew had been told that the glide slope at the airport wasn't working.
32:54It meant that the captain had to take more manual control of his plane.
33:00It's now up to the pilot to fly an established procedure called a step down,
33:05where he starts at an altitude of say 2,000 feet.
33:09When he gets to a particular point located by what they call DME or distance measuring equipment,
33:16he then starts a descent to another prescribed altitude.
33:21If the crew was following the step down procedure, its flight path would resemble a set of stairs.
33:28But after the first step, the plane enters a long, slow descent.
33:34If you don't hit those step downs and those altitudes are prescribed to give you terrain clearance,
33:40if you don't fly that as depicted on the approach chart,
33:43you run the risk of flying into an obstruction or high terrain.
33:50The plane's cockpit voice recorder has also been recovered from the debris.
33:55Feith and his team begin to analyze it, hoping to better understand what happened in the cockpit.
34:04Set, 560 feet.
34:06On two separate occasions, Captain Park gave orders to descend long before he was supposed to.
34:13But there are other clues on the tape as well.
34:15The cockpit voice recorder provided us, the investigators, quite a bit of information.
34:21One of the key elements that we found was that the flight crew appeared to be tired.
34:26Really sleepy.
34:28This was a chartered flight, so it would have put them on what we call backside of the clock flying.
34:33That is, they wouldn't be normally flying during the day, they are now flying at night.
34:37And typically your body says you should be asleep when it's dark outside.
34:42The sedatives could have made a difficult situation even worse.
34:47But when the lab results come back, they're conclusive.
34:50While he had the pills with him, there are no traces of them in Captain Park's system.
34:57When lead investigator Greg Feith returns to the cockpit voice recorder, he focuses on the captain's discussion of the glide
35:04slope.
35:05Is the glide slope working? The glide slope, yeah?
35:10Yes. Yes, it's working. Why is it working?
35:20He started to see the glide slope needle move a little bit and started to question the other crew members
35:25as to whether or not the glide slope was actually working or not.
35:30It's early in the morning. After a long flight, Captain Park is tired, perhaps confused and distracted by the unexpected
35:38readings on his glide slope.
35:40It became very apparent listening to the cockpit voice recorder that in fact he got fixated.
35:46But Feith still doesn't understand why Park's glide slope appeared to be working.
35:50Was there a problem on this plane? Or is the equipment susceptible to problems that could affect other jets as
35:57well?
35:59To find out, he brings in navigation expert Nelson Spornheimer.
36:05I spent some time looking at the transcript, trying to determine what the navigation issues were, why a good airplane
36:13was in the wrong place.
36:15And to investigate the apparent confusion on the part of the crew who thought that the glide slope was working
36:24at least part of the time.
36:27Spornheimer sends a team of investigators to Guam.
36:30They fly over the island, trying to determine whether radio signals from a nearby military base could have acted on
36:37the plane, making it seem like the glide slope was working.
36:40Glide slope receivers can respond to non-glide slope signals, particularly when the intended glide slope signal is absent.
36:48If there are spurious signals on the channel, and they contain the right information, they can cause intermittent movements of
36:56the glide slope needle.
36:58Set 560 feet.
37:01But the signals wouldn't be sustained.
37:03Like a light switch turning quickly on and off, the glide slope indicator would give periodic indications that it was
37:10working, but not for long.
37:12My conclusion was that spurious signals, whether they be from other transmitters or failed ground equipment, such as personal walkie
37:25-talkies, could not cause a sustained warning flag movement.
37:30If the glide slope wasn't fully operating, why did Park believe it was?
37:35And even if he did believe it was working, why did he crash into Nimitz Hill?
37:39Isn't the glide slope working? Wipe her on.
37:44As investigators continue to try to piece together the causes of the crash, Barry Small is trying to understand why
37:51he and 25 others survived.
37:54I went to touch my shoes, we hit the ground, and I was accidentally in the perfect crash position by
38:02some sort of miracle.
38:05An airline engineering apprentice and helicopter pilot, Small understands airplanes.
38:11I do firmly believe there are some changes that could be made to aircraft.
38:17Small believes that the way crossbars are built into aircraft seats caused one of his legs to break, but luck
38:24saved his other leg.
38:26My right leg went forward and crashed into the bar in front of the seat and broke.
38:32My left leg was saved by my carry bag stocking my leg going forward and hit that bar.
38:38Still able to walk on his one good leg, small escapes, while others remain trapped inside.
38:51Since she's young, Rika Matsuda's legs are shorter than a normal adult.
38:56Sitting normally, her legs wouldn't have been pressed against the crossbar on impact, so she was able to escape the
39:02plane.
39:02Go now, get out of here.
39:04While her mother died.
39:09Small is also convinced that the flames that first spread through the cabin of Korean Air Flight 801 were preventable.
39:16They estimate that those top lockers had over 462 litres of burnable alcohol on board.
39:26Had the plane been full, it could be at least twice that amount.
39:30During the crash, Small believes that the duty free alcohol mixed with oxygen in the plane's ceiling.
39:37The combination ignited with deadly results.
39:40It's a fire he thinks could have been prevented.
39:49Why have this risked alcohol and oxygen?
39:53I thought, you know, if aircraft's about safety, this is just a blatant breaking of the rules of safety as
40:02far as I'm concerned.
40:04As he continues to recover from the accident, Small is determined to prevent what had happened to him from happening
40:11to others.
40:12He decides to push for changes on how seats are made and how duty free alcohol is stored.
40:21For NTSB investigator Greg Feith, the biggest question still remains.
40:26How did an experienced pilot, one recently honoured by his company for his safety record, crash his plane five kilometres
40:35short of the airport?
40:42As the investigation continues, he discovers that the landing chart the crew was using was more than six months old
40:49and out of date.
40:52It's an indication that the crew could have been better prepared for the landing.
41:05When he reviews the training practices for Korean Airlines, Feith uncovers more gaps in the information that the crew received.
41:14We found that the Korean Airlines flight crew had all of their training based on airports with approaches where the
41:20DME was always co-located at the airport.
41:25DME is distance measuring equipment, electronic beacons that tell pilots where they are in relation to the airport.
41:33Often the final beacon is found at the foot of the runway.
41:38That was not the case in Guam.
41:40The airport was in fact five kilometres further on.
41:46Struggling to see through the rain, Park was unable to find the airport.
41:52Distracted by the unexpected glide slope readings, Park used the final beacon as a guide, expecting it to take him
41:59right to the runway.
42:00Let's make a missed approach.
42:02Let's make a missed approach.
42:03Not in sight.
42:05Not in sight.
42:06Missed approach.
42:09Go around.
42:11Go around.
42:14Perhaps.
42:16It's clear that flight A01 flew an approach about three miles premature.
42:23In other words, the descent was about three miles early.
42:25It was a nominal approach otherwise just to the wrong location.
42:29We think that based on fatigue and some of their training, that in fact when the flight crew crashed the
42:36airplane, when the counter got to zero, they thought the airport should be there.
42:41A fully loaded 747 weighs more than 200,000 kilograms.
42:47Like an enormous ocean liner, it can't change course quickly.
42:56Blinded by rain and relying on their equipment, the crew of Korean Air Flight 801 thought they were heading straight
43:03at the runway.
43:06When they realized something was wrong, it was too late.
43:15As the investigation continues, Fythe and his team make a startling discovery.
43:21Equipment that would have given the crew more time to react had been disabled on purpose.
43:32In August of 1997, the crash of Korean Air Flight 801 took the lives of more than 200 people.
43:46The final accident investigation report is published more than two years after the crash.
43:52It lays blame on the Korean Airlines' training methods and the crew's over-reliance on the jet's automation.
44:00But it also has sharp words reserved for the FAA, the body that regulates air travel in the United States.
44:11Because of an FAA decision, a critical piece of technology that could have saved Flight 801 was intentionally disabled.
44:23The minimum safe altitude warning system, or M-SOAR, is a standard piece of equipment at major American airports.
44:32But in Guam, the FAA had made a critical alteration to the way it was used.
44:40M-SOAR uses radar to watch the planes as they come into the airport.
44:44If they're too low, a warning is given to air traffic controllers, who can then relay it to the crew.
44:50But in Guam, the system kept giving nuisance readings to controllers.
44:57The controllers kept getting these nuisance warnings.
45:00They redesigned the software and moved the limitations of the M-SOAR further away from the airport,
45:06where it afforded no one a level of protection.
45:10Instead of watching the planes as they neared the airport,
45:13the system in Guam now tracked them when they were more than 80 kilometers away over the ocean.
45:21I think the best way to describe that would have been, and should be, irresponsible.
45:26Because you've taken this system that was designed as a level of protection,
45:31not only for the controller, but you've taken the protection away from the flying public.
45:37For the passengers and crew of Flight 801, the lack of the M-SOAR system sealed their fate.
45:44If the system had been working, the crash could have been avoided.
45:48Without it, the crew had no warning at all.
45:56The two pilots didn't want to die.
45:59They had families.
46:00No one wanted to die.
46:04We still do not blame them.
46:09The bottom line is, nobody wanted to be in that situation.
46:13It was just something that happened.
46:17For Barry Small, the years since the crash of Flight 801 have been emotional and frustrating.
46:23The Civil Aviation Authority in his homeland of New Zealand
46:27has acknowledged the potential danger posed by duty-free liquor on board.
46:32But so far, no policies have been changed.
46:36His desire to modify airplane seat design has also been ignored.
46:42I have taken several steps to put this idea forward.
46:47And in a lot of cases, it's initially met with enthusiasm.
46:53But it eventually ends up in the too hard basket.
46:57And when I try to approach seat design people, no one wants to hear about it.
47:07Sean Burke was never officially identified as a victim of Flight 801.
47:13Wendy Bunton was positively identified.
47:16But DNA samples only proved that a white male was on the plane near her.
47:23Bill and I never gave up hope that Sean had survived the crash.
47:30Even after we came home for, I would say, a year or two.
47:35Every time the phone rang, every time somebody knocked on the door,
47:39we expected a phone message saying,
47:42Hi, Dad, this is your son Sean.
47:47Eventually, several years after the crash,
47:50Barry Small was able to give Kathy Burke and her husband
47:53some sense of finality and an enduring image of their son.
47:57When we met him and he wanted to tell us that in the 12-hour layover in Seoul,
48:05he was wandering around and finally heard two people speaking English.
48:10And he said they were so much in love that he did not want to interrupt their conversation.
48:18For Sean's father, the deep sorrow of the crash will never completely leave.
48:24For me, the grief of Sean's loss never ends.
48:29Hasn't gotten better, hasn't got worse.
48:32Just another day.
48:37For everybody else, it's gone.
48:39I expect people to move on.
48:43But I'll be this way till the day I'm with him again.
48:58For Barry Small there is anger too, but also incredible gratitude for surviving.
49:06So many people have told me that I survived for a reason.
49:11I've been searching for that reason for nine years now.
49:16And I truly believe if someone would listen to my story about the oxygen and alcohol
49:24and the improvement of the seats,
49:27that I could justify in my own mind that I don't have to feel guilty about surviving.
49:48Thank you very much.