All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S18E24.Whos.Flying.the.Plane.1080p.SMIT.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

[slow, bass-heavy music]

NARRATOR: Every time
you board a plane,

you put your trust
in the pilots.

Morning.

Good morning, sir.

NARRATOR: And every time
pilots enter the cockpit,

they put their
trust in computers.

It's a complicated relationship
between human and machine,

and when it doesn't
work perfectly,

disaster can strike
in an instant.

[dramatic music]

We're gonna turn over!

ROBOTIC VOICE: Terrain!

We didn't know if
we're gonna live or die.

Autopilot!

NARRATOR: Life and
death decisions

have to be made in a moment.

Confusion can kill
passengers and crew.

Flying in today's world
is a very complex task.

The pilot's always the
last line of defense.

NARRATOR: When
the worst happens,

the question is, who's
flying the plane?

WOMAN: Ladies and
gentlemen, we are starting.

PILOT: We lost both engines.

[radio chatter]

FLIGHT ATTENDANT:
Brace for impact!

[radio chatter]

MAN: It's gonna crash!

[mournful music]

NARRATOR: It's just
after 8:30 in the morning

in Sanford, Florida.

These student pilots walk
out to Ground School.

The topic today, a Cirrus SR20.

This is one of
the newer models.

We can tell just from looking
at it because of the lights

on the wingtips called
recognition lights, or recog.

NARRATOR: Every year,
dozens of students

enroll at the Delta
Connection Academy,

hoping to become pilots
with major airlines.

--before we alternate it.

And it's just--

NARRATOR: Their lives and
the lives of their passengers

will depend on their
deep understanding

of their airplane.

--on the alternator,
to keep it cool.

From this side right here, you
can see the propeller governor.

GARY BECK: The majority of our
students come to us with zero

or very little flight time.

We want to run someone
through our entire program

and end up placing them with
one of the regional carriers.

NARRATOR: These flight
students are getting

started on smaller aircraft.

In the years to come, they'll
move into large commercial jets

boasting the latest technology.

Today's pilots share the
cockpit with automated

computer systems that
can control virtually

every aspect of flight.

It can do everything
now up to and including

land the airplane.

Everything is set so that
the autopilots and automation

systems are tools
for the pilot to use,

but they're not a replacement.

NARRATOR: It's a critical lesson
for student pilots to learn.

When I push it to the right--

NARRATOR: Safe flight is a
balance between automation

and training.

If a pilot makes a mistake, or
if an instrument malfunctions,

modern aircraft can turn
into lethal machines

that can't be controlled.

[dramatic music]

Lima, Peru, October 2, 1996.

Aero Peru Flight 603
prepares for takeoff

for Santiago, Chile.

The plane is a
four-year-old Boeing 757,

a highly sophisticated jet known
for its reliability and safety.

Behind the controls, two
of the national airline's

best pilots, Captain
Eric Schreiber and First

Officer David Fernandez.

There are 61 passengers and
9 crew members on board.

The 757 is among a
new generation of

computer-controlled aircraft.

Its pilots are trained to
rely on its central data

system, designed
to reduce errors

both mechanical and human.

Gear up.

All right!

NARRATOR: But within
moments of takeoff,

this flight begins
to go horribly wrong.

[buzzer sounding]

The altimeters are stuck.

NARRATOR: The altimeter
indicates the aircraft's height

over the ground.

It reads zero, but the
plane is clearly airborne.

This is really new.

Keep the feed 2 plus 10.

NARRATOR: The 757 is equipped
with three altimeters--

one for the pilot, one for the
copilot, and one for backup.

All three seem to be dead.

As the two men try to
solve the first problem,

they lose another
crucial instrument--

the airspeed indicator.

The speed.

Hey?

The speed.

That's going on?

We're not climbing.

No, I am climbing,
but the speed.

Hold it.

Maintain speed.

[alarms sounding]

NARRATOR: Bewildered by the
host of confusing warnings,

Captain Schreiber
decides to land.

Lima tower, Aero Peru 603.

We are in an emergency.

Aero Peru 603, Lima.

We are declaring an emergency.

We have no basic
instruments, no altimeter,

no airspeed indicator.

Declaring emergency.

NARRATOR: To add
to their problems,

Schreiber and Fernandez are
flying at night over water

with no visual reference points.

Unable to trust
their instruments,

the pilots are flying blind.

The airplane was
controllable, but you first

have to diagnose what's wrong.

And it's very easy
for 20/20 hindsight,

sitting here in a chair on
a nice sunny day, to say,

this is what he
should have done.

But in the cold, dark night,
with bells and whistles going

off, It's very difficult to
analyze conflicting information

that you're getting.

NARRATOR: As they try to
return to the airport,

the havoc in the
cockpit gets worse.

Systems warn that
they are over speed.

Over speed!

NARRATOR: They're
flying too fast.

Extend the speed brakes.

NARRATOR: Now, the
stall warning sounds.

And then?

What's happening?

Too low, terrain.

We have the terrain alarm.

We have the terrain alarm.

NARRATOR: The ground proximity
alarm warns that they're

flying dangerously low.

Terrain Terrain.

Too low, terrain.

There is no checklist for, If
you have these seven or eight

warnings going off--
which they did, and they

couldn't shut them off.

Hey, look!

NARRATOR: The
pilots are bombarded

with conflicting warnings.

They have no idea
what to believe.

Suddenly, they realize
the horrible truth.

We're hitting water!

Pull it up!

NARRATOR: They're just
feet above the water.

We're gonna turn over!

Aero Peru 603, Lima.

[chopper blades whirring]

NARRATOR: There are no
survivors from Flight 603,

all because something
caused the onboard computers

to go haywire.

From the Pacific Ocean,
investigators managed

to recover the data recorders.

It was clear to
us that they were

really experiencing a problem
with airspeed and altitude.

NARRATOR: On the
757, devices called

pitot static tubes measure
the airspeed and altitude.

They're small
external sensors which

relay that information to the
plane's computerized systems.

[electronic pinging]

The underwater search
for the sensors

finds them covered with tape.

The tape points to
the maintenance crew

at Lima Airport.

Just before Aero Peru
603 lifted off from Lima,

maintenance workers
had cleaned the jet.

A worker had covered
the static ports

with take to protect them.

This is standard.

But when the maintenance
was complete,

the worker forgot
to remove the tape--

a small oversight
with tragic results.

The inspector who is supposed
to quality check his work did

not do it, and the supervisor
out on the line that night

was not there.

He was sick.

And there was a regular mechanic
who was filling that role.

He did not see it.

In this case, the captain
did the pre-flight.

They do a walk around looking
for just that kind of thing.

The captain did the
pre-flight that night,

and he did not detect it either.

[tense music]

NARRATOR: Blindsided by
bewildering readings,

the pilots were completely lost.

Aero Peru 603--

NARRATOR: They had no
idea where they were,

how high they were flying,
or how fast they were going.

We're hitting water!

Pull it up!

Climb!

Climb, Aero Peru 603!

If you need to, pull up!

[mournful music]

NARRATOR: Aero Peru
was a deadly lesson

about how dependent pilots have
become on automated flight data

and how helpless they can
be without that information.

Even the most experienced
pilot can rely too heavily

on computerized flight
systems, and when he does,

disaster can be
just seconds away.

All right, gentlemen,
what we're going to do today

is practice rejected takeoffs.

It'll be engine
fire, engine failure,

or loss of directional control.

NARRATOR: At the Delta
Connection Flight School

in Sanford, Florida,
students are facing the worst

in the safety of a simulator.

No pilot can
graduate unless they

can deal with problems
they may never

have to face in the real world.

The course that I
teach, a week, typically--

they work as a crew, and they'll
get 26 hours in the simulator,

13 hours in each seat.

All right, Connection 500,
you're clear for takeoff.

Clear for takeoff,
runway 4, Connection 500.

[dinging alert]

NARRATOR: Right after
takeoff, the students

are faced with an emergency.

And we've got a left
engine oil pressure.

When you get one
of those warnings,

don't just punch it out.

Go ahead and acknowledge it
so both pilots are in the loop

and you're both
on the same page.

- All right.
- All right.

We've got the left
engine oil pressure.

I have flight controls

NARRATOR: They run
through the drill

again and again because
surviving in the air

depends on getting it
right in the simulator.

In an actual cockpit,
even a small inconvenience

can escalate into a desperate
struggle to save the airplane.

[dramatic music]

February 19, 1985.

China Airlines Flight 006
is tumbling through the sky.

No response Captain!

Airspeed 80 knots and falling.

NARRATOR: One of the
engines has failed.

No response.

NARRATOR: The instruments
seem to be making no sense.

People just popped up like
popcorn hitting the cabin.

We didn't know if we
were gonna live or die.

NARRATOR: The 747 falls more
than 6 miles in 2 minutes.

The pilots can barely
keep it airborne.

You know, this airplane
is totally out of control.

It is gonna crash.

NARRATOR: The jet nosedives
toward the Pacific Ocean.

Then, just moments away
from impact, the crew

regained control of the plane.

ACTOR AS PILOT: Oakland
Center, Dynasty 006.

We're declaring an emergency.

Dynasty 006, Oakland
Center, you are now cleared.

You are free to descend
at pilot's discretion.

NARRATOR: After surviving
a tremendous fall,

Captain Min-Yuan Ho makes
a smooth, textbook landing.

[triumphant music]

[cheering, applause]

I thought he was a hero.

He saved my life.

And we thought he was a hero.

And everything was fine.

NARRATOR: Two dozen passengers
have suffered minor injuries.

One crew member is
hospitalized and soon released.

But the 747 looks like it's
been through a war zone.

[mysterious music]

Parts of the entire
tail plane at the end

were ripped off, as though
a tornado had come through

or a crane had been in and
ripped pieces out of it.

NARRATOR: Investigators
soon realized

the damage to the plane wasn't
the cause of the problems

but the result of the
plane's wild plunge.

They pore over
maintenance records

and flight logs to try
to determine the cause

of the near-fatal incident.

Inside the plane, investigators
find a worn valve.

It led directly to the failure
of the jet's fourth engine.

But this shouldn't
have caused the plane

to fall through the sky.

The loss of thrust
on a four-engineer

plane is a minor event.

It's an event.

You have to take care of it.

But the airplane
will fly on three

engines with no difficulty.

I do not think I was fatigued.

NARRATOR: The captain
tells investigators

that while the air crew were
dealing with a faulty engine,

he left the
autopilot in control.

But on this 747, the autopilot
does not control the rudder.

Autopilots are set to
maintain stable flight.

If something goes wrong, the
system will try to correct it.

With more engine power
on the left wing,

the China Airlines jet
began turning right.

The autopilot reacted by
using the plane's ailerons

to try to keep the
747 flying straight.

But the ailerons
weren't up to the job.

The jet kept turning.

In order to keep it
from turning to the right,

the proper thing
to do would have

been to step on the rudder.

Now, it's possible that he'd
forgotten that the autopilot

didn't use the rudder.

He may have been assuming all
along that the autopilot was

just flying the airplane the
way a human being would have,

which it wasn't.

NARRATOR: Focused on his
malfunctioning engine,

Captain Ho left the
autopilot in control.

But without the
help of the rudder,

the ailerons were losing their
battle to keep the plane level.

The gentle turn got steeper.

The airplane started to
lose speed, and in the end,

it was really that little
error of airmanship--

the failure to step on
that left rudder pedal--

that triggered everything else.

We're banking right, captain.

Airspeed 230.

NARRATOR: Facing
mounting problems,

the captain finally
takes complete control

of his aircraft.

We're banking right, captain!

I'm disengaging autopilot.

[shouting]

NARRATOR: When the
autopilot snaps off,

the situation only gets worse.

Without the ailerons to
control the jet's bank,

the plane flips over.

It plunges into thick
clouds, and Captain Ho

is unable to get his bearings.

[screaming]

The crew have no
visual reference point.

They have no idea
which way is up.

They're totally dependent on
their attitude indicators.

But they don't think
they're working properly.

I've lost ADI.

The ADIs have malfunctioned.

It's going out of limits!

NARRATOR: The instruments
had not malfunctioned.

They told the crew an
unbelievable truth--

they were falling toward
the Pacific Ocean.

They simply didn't believe
what they were seeing,

and they thought they had lost
their altitude instruments.

They hadn't lost their
altitude instruments.

The airplane was,
in fact, embarking

on an aerobatic maneuver.

You can see the
stewardesses, all

these people who didn't
have their seat belt on,

they were flying.

[beeping]

NARRATOR: Only when the
plane drops below the clouds

does Captain Ho regain control--

I can see the horizon!

NARRATOR: --because he now
has a visual reference.

By the time Captain
Ho takes full control,

it's almost too late.

The near-fatal dive
highlights the need for pilots

to keep a sharp eye
on their computers.

You really are just sitting
there with your arms folded.

And this goes on for hour,
after hour, after hour.

And, understandably,
people become stupefied.

NARRATOR: But whatever
mistakes the flight crew made,

they did succeed in
their ultimate task.

The one big thing
they did right is they

saved the airplane.

And in principle, that's all
you ever need to do right.

You need to save the
airplane, and you

need to save the passengers.

And that's what they did.

NARRATOR: 10 years after
the China Airlines mishap,

another crew are baffled by
a more complicated autopilot

and fail to take control
until it's too late.

March, 1994, Siberia.

Search parties comb
through the wreckage

of Russian International
Airlines Flight 593.

All 75 people on board are lost.

The plane was one of the
newest in the fleet--

a European-built Airbus A310.

Listening to the
cockpit recording,

investigators are shocked
by what they hear.

CHILD (ON RECORDING):
I am turning it left!

MAN (ON RECORDING): OK, get out!

Get to the left or
get out of this--

[groans]

NARRATOR: The
voices of children.

MAN (ON RECORDING): [groans]

NARRATOR: They are
completely stunned--

CHILD (ON RECORDING): Help me!

NARRATOR: --when they
realize a child had

operated the flight controls.

Investigators begin
to piece together

an almost unbelievable story.

On the evening of
March 22, 1994,

Flight 593 begins its scheduled
10-hour journey to Hong Kong.

I think it's going
to be nice trip.

NARRATOR: Several hours into
the jet's flight, the aircraft

is cruising on autopilot.

On board are two
children taking their

first international flight--

Yana and Eldar Kudrinsky.

A family friend and fellow
pilot brings the children

in to see their father.

Hey!

Whoa, hi, dad.

This is First Officer
Igor Vasilyevich Piskaryov

NARRATOR: It's the beginning
of a deadly chain of events.

What do you think
of our new airplane?

It's very nice.

It's amazing!

NARRATOR: Flight 593 is
now more than 2,000 miles

east of Moscow, near
the middle of Siberia.

Secure in the knowledge that the
autopilot is flying the plane,

Captain Kudrinsky allows his
children to sit in the pilot's

seat and hold the controls.

Unlike the China Airlines
747, the more sophisticated

autopilot on this
jet can control

every part of the plane,
including the rudder.

Eldar's small pressure
on the controls

actually turns off
part of the autopilot.

Eldar is now manually
controlling the jet's ailerons.

Imperceptibly at first,
the plane begins to bank.

The autopilot is
still controlling

the plane's other functions.

[chatter]

NARRATOR: Only the ailerons
are in Eldar's hands,

but it's enough to affect
the plane's flight.

Moments later, the Airbus
is banking at 45 degrees.

The force of the turn pushes
everyone into their seats.

Guys!

[shouting]

NARRATOR: The increased G-Force
makes it difficult to reach

the controls.

Call it!

Call the control column!

NARRATOR: Eldar is the
only one with both hands

on the controls.

To the left, go back!

NARRATOR: The speed
of the turn is

pushing him back in his seat.

To the other side!

The other way!

Turn it to the left!

I am turning to the left!

OK, get out!

NARRATOR: But Eldar can't leave.

His body feels twice
its normal weight.

[alarm beeping]

Suddenly, an alarm sounds.

The autopilot is shutting down.

When the jet reaches
such an extreme position,

the autopilot is designed
to completely disengage.

It's a safety feature to put
the pilot back in control.

But, in this case, a teenager
is in the captain's seat.

The plane begins to
dive toward the ground .

Get it to the left!

There's the ground!

NARRATOR: It plummets
at an incredible speed,

more than 650 feet per second.

For the passengers, it's
as if an elevator suddenly

falls out from under them.

Get off, get off!

NARRATOR: Captain
Kudrinsky fights his way

back to the pilot's
seat, but it's

too late to save Flight 593.

[mournful music]

As in the China
Airlines incident

almost a decade before,
the Russian crew didn't

know their autopilot's limits.

But in this case,
they couldn't regain

control until it was too late.

Tragically, the accident began,
not with a mechanical failure,

but with an
inexplicable decision

by an experienced pilot.

I've never heard of anything
like that before or since.

It was very unprofessional
on the part of the captain.

The first officer also
bears some responsibility

for not raising major
objections immediately.

To allow someone
unqualified to sit

in the seat of a commercial
airliner is unthinkable.

NARRATOR: That
mistake was compounded

because the pilots
didn't fully understand

their computerized systems.

We've gone into a
zone, a holding pattern.

NARRATOR: Paul Mauro is
an instructor at the Delta

Connection Academy in Florida.

His job is to put
students in extremely

uncomfortable situations and
then get them to land safely.

Upset recovery is where we
take a student-- or any pilot--

and we try to get them
the ability to recover

their aircraft from an
unusual attitude or an upset,

such as weak turbulence, wind
shear, unintentional stall.

We're going to do
a low-level pass

and bring it right down
to the edge of the runway.

And then, just
about halfway down,

we're going to break
up and demonstrate

how quickly we can
get the aircraft

into a nose-high situation.

At that point,
we're experiencing--

in that first portion
of the pull-up,

we're experiencing the
max G-load in that turn.

We're hitting just about 6,
6 and 1/2 Gs for that pull.

6 Gs, you're experiencing
6 times your body weight.

I weigh 200 pounds, so six
times that, at that point,

I feel like I weigh
1,200 pounds to my body.

It feels like I'm being
squeezed completely

all over my entire body.

It feels like your face is
kind of peeling down over you,

and it's just a--

once you get used to
it, it's kind of fun.

NARRATOR: In a
tightly-controlled situation,

with an instructor
in the next seat,

a student pilot
learns to cope with

intense physical sensations
that can disorient and confuse.

Pilots have to endure
these sensations,

and even ignore them.

Trusting what your
body is telling you

can have deadly results.

January 3, 2004-- a Flash
Airlines charter flight

is preparing to depart from
the popular tourist resort

of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

148 people are on board.

The captain is 53-year-old
Khadr Abdullah, a former officer

in the Egyptian Air Force.

He has over 7,000 hours
of flying experience.

CONTROL TOWER: Clouds
and sky, clear.

NARRATOR: In the
darkness before dawn,

Captain Khadr and his crew
execute a smooth takeoff.

They're flying manually with
the autopilot turned off.

But while climbing, the
flight plan is already

beginning to fall apart.

Turning right, sir.

What?

Aircraft is turning right.

Turning right?

How, turning right?

Autopilot.

Autopilot is in command.

Autopilot, autopilot!

Full autopilot, commander!

[screaming]

[tense music]

[grunting]

Oh, god!

[groans]

[crashing thud]

[driving music]

NARRATOR: The morning
after the Flash

Air flight's horrific
crash, investigators

find no survivors.

Soon after, French and American
teams join the investigation.

It takes two weeks to recover
the cockpit voice and flight

data recorders from the Red Sea.

Investigators explored
dozens of possibilities,

including the idea the
crash was caused by vertigo.

Vertigo is a
physiological condition,

and it's based on the inner ear.

Over a dark ocean without
a defined visual horizon,

no ground lights,
the pilot may not

be able to perceive visually
whether he was flying up,

down, left or right.

And if the fluid in his
inner ear was moving,

or he tilted his head, that
may induce a sensation--

a physiological sensation-- that
may cause the pilot to believe

the airplane is flying
straight and level

when it's actually turning.

Roger, when
ready, in sha'Allah,

left turn to establish
306 Sharm 0R.

NARRATOR: As the plane
banks over the Red Sea

after takeoff, it slowly
begins to go off course,

but the pilot says nothing.

It seems that he's unaware of
the changes to the flight path.

It is actually a very
high workload situation.

And when there are no visual
cues outside because it's

a moonless night and you're
over featureless territory

with no lights in
it, you really,

as a professional pilot, should
be totally aware of the fact

that this is a
situation in which

you could get disorientated.

NARRATOR: The recorded flight
data indicate the pilot turned

his control wheel to the right.

Turning right, sir.

What?

Aircraft is turning right.

How, turning right?

NARRATOR: In this
particular instance,

not only are you trying
to fly the airplane

and understand situationally
what's happening,

but you're going through
the mental gymnastics

because your
expectations are one way.

Meanwhile, you have
the first officer

who's telling him something
that's totally different.

[screaming]

Even with all the conflicting
information he was getting,

investigators discover
that Captain Khadr almost

recovered control of his plane.

It is interesting that the
recovery starts as the airplane

turns towards the coastline.

The lights on the
shore would have given

the pilots a clear
and unmistakable view

of the aircraft's attitude.

This is the moment that the
disorientation disappears,

and this is the moment
that the recovery begins.

Sadly, there isn't enough
time to save the aircraft.

NARRATOR: The tragic fact
remains that Captain Khadr had

all the information he
needed to save the plane

right in front of him.

The thing that is important
when you're experiencing

spacial disorientation
or vertigo

is to put absolute implicit
trust in your instruments

that they are telling
you the truth,

and that whatever
your sensation is is

a limitation of human beings.

Trust the instruments.

NARRATOR: It's a lesson
that's hammered home every day

at the Delta Connection Academy.

Relying on your instruments,
trusting your automation,

is one of the most fundamental
lessons of flight training.

These switches are on.

Insert the ignition key,
clear the propeller area,

and then start the engine.

[engine chugging]

NARRATOR: Every safe
flight, from small planes

to jumbo jets, depends on pilot
and plane working together.

But even if the technology
of a well-built modern jet

is crippled, a skilled pilot
can still land it safely.

August 24, 2001, Air
Transat Flight 236

is carrying 306
passengers and crew.

Bound for Portugal, the
Airbus is in serious trouble

over the Atlantic Ocean.

You can literally
hear a pin drop.

The exterior was no sound in
that plane, in that cabin,

at all.

The

NARRATOR: Airplane is so silent
because it's run out of fuel.

A state of the art jet is
now a very heavy glider.

List of functions we've lost.

We have no more stabilizer,
no more and yellow hydraulics,

no AVR 2 and 3, no
anti-skid reversers--

NARRATOR: The technology
that normally keeps planes

flying has deserted the crew.

The jet is 6 miles in
the sky without the most

essential instruments.

Captain Robert
Piché and co-pilot

Dirk DeJager have to find a way
to get it safely back to Earth.

For the first four
hours of their journey

from Canada to Portugal,
the flight is unremarkable.

We're getting to
our next checkpoint.

NARRATOR: Every 30 minutes
across the Atlantic, the crew

check their position and
their fuel consumption

against their flight plan.

11.2 tons on the right,
11.2 tons on the left.

NARRATOR: Despite the
computerized systems,

some procedures, like
checking the fuel on board,

are done by hand.

Fuel check complete.

Levels normal for
the distance flown.

NARRATOR: All right.

But then, a small
alarm breaks the air

of routine in the cockpit.

[tone]

Look, we're getting
a warning signal.

Oil temp low and oil
pressure high in number two.

NARRATOR: The computer display
shows that the oil temperature

is low in engine number two.

Oil pressure is within
normal limits on number one.

NARRATOR: But it also shows
that the oil pressure is high.

I'll look in the QRH
for more information.

A low oil
temperature indication

is normally indicative of
bad readings and bad sensor.

Oil temperatures don't
decrease, normally.

They increase.

A low oil temperature
would be of no concern.

The high oil pressure is
a very strange indication.

It's very rare.

In fact, I've never
actually heard of one.

MAN (ON RADIO): --oil
levels and see what happens.

NARRATOR: The oil
readings are so unusual,

the pilots believe they might
indicate a computer error.

236, standing by.

NARRATOR: But the
captain and first officer

keep monitoring the oil levels.

30 minutes after the
first alarm goes off,

another warning sounds
inside the Airbus.

Fuel imbalance warning.

I haven't seen that before.

Follow all ECAM action.

I have air traffic control.

NARRATOR: In the Airbus
330, most of the fuel

is contained in large
tanks on the wings.

The computer is detecting that
the fuel level on the right

is significantly lower
than the level on the left.

Looking it up in the QRH.

NARRATOR: The flight
manual recommends

transferring fuel through
a special cross-feed valve.

Fuel will then flow from
one tank to the other.

Once you begin a cross-feeding
procedure to correct a fuel

imbalance, a restorative action
should commence quite quickly.

In other words,
the situation would

not continue to get worse.

NARRATOR: The crew are
following proper procedures,

but the situation gets worse.

Fuel quantity isn't rising
in the tanks of the right wing.

Check fuel quantity.

Looks very low.

Hold on, that's much less
fuel than we should have.

It looks like a fuel leak!

Check again.

NARRATOR: But in fact,
the reading is accurate.

There is a serious fuel
leak in the right wing,

and Piché has been
transferring precious

fuel into the leaking tank.

The fact is confirmed
when copilot DeJager

completes another fuel check.

According to all the gauges,
all the tanks in the right wing

are way below the level
they should be according

to the flight plan
and there's hardly

anything in the other ones.

What about the trim tank?

There's nothing there either.

NARRATOR: With every
passing second,

the leak drains the tanks
of their remaining fuel

until, finally, the jet
is running on empty.

We're losing
engine number two.

I don't believe this.

OK, maximum thrust
on number one.

What's going on?

Uh-oh!

Try to transfer fuel from
center tank and the trim tank.

Transferring.

Fuel quantities reaching zero.

This can't be!

We're not gonna go completely
dry on this [bleep] airplane.

NARRATOR: But in
fact, the Air Transat

has run out of fuel some 6
miles over the Atlantic Ocean.

No fuel means no power
to control the plane.

The jet has one last
trick up its sleeve,

one last source of power.

The crew deploy a
rarely-used backup system.

It's called a ram air turbine.

It will deploy from
underneath the fuselage

near the wing fairing.

And it's a small
propeller that deploys

out the bottom of the fuselage,
and it spins in the wind.

And that small
propeller will provide

very limited electrical
and hydraulic

systems to run the aircraft.

In other words,
although it's a glider,

at least it's a
controllable glider.

NARRATOR: When it took
off, this Air Transat jet

was a state of the art marvel.

Now, it's falling from
the sky, and the pilots

have to hope this last
piece of technology

will help them get
down in one piece.

[dark music]

A passenger plane
has run out of fuel.

The Air Transat jet is now
an enormous glider with more

than 300 people on board.

The crew have diverted their
flight from its destination

in Portugal.

They're now heading
for a military base

on the tiny island of
Terceira in the Azores.

I saw flight attendants
with life jackets

in their hand running
down the aisles.

And, obviously, that
was a sign of fear.

What was happening
was the first question

that popped in my mind.

NARRATOR: If
Captain Robert Piché

can't make it to
the airport, his

only other option is the ocean.

But Piché doesn't
want to risk it.

Planes aren't designed to
survive landing on water.

In 1996, a Boeing
767 ran out of fuel

off the coast of East Africa.

[wistful music]

Its last moments
were caught on video.

Of the 175 people on board the
Ethiopian Airways jet, only 50

survived.

[tense music]

Without vital
controls, Captain Piché

and co-pilot Dirk DeJager
have to rely on each

other like never before.

The thought that a commercial
airliner is going to find

itself out of fuel with all
the safeguards and all the

redundancies is hard to fathom.

This crew faced it together.

Slats out and locked.

NARRATOR: The very
design of the plane

prevents it from
dropping like a stone.

Even without engines, the
plane's forward momentum

gives it some lift.

It's falling fast,
but it's still flying.

Can you give me a
landing speed, please?

No engine, no flaps, ideal
approach speed is 170 knots.

We're too fast!

Yes.

But the runway is very long.

NARRATOR: But at the
end of the runway,

there's a very steep cliff.

Using the power available
from the ram air turbine,

Captain Piché forces
the plane to turn

steeply to burn off some speed.

[siren sounding]

The plane was almost on
like a 45-degree angle.

I thought it was just gonna--

we were just gonna flip over
and just nosedive straight down.

Oh!

Everybody, I
need you to brace!

[screaming]

WOMAN: Hang on!

[groaning]

The tires have blown!

[sirens wailing]

Oh my god!

[groaning, screaming]

NARRATOR: After
bursting eight tires,

the plane finally stops in
the middle of the runway.

Yeah!
We are safe!

We made it!

Everyone on board survives.

[cheering]

He got that plane
down safely, only blew

out eight of the 12 tires--

[laughs] --and saved 300 people.

He saved 300 people's lives.

NARRATOR: Piché and
DeJager have flown

the Airbus without
power farther than

any passenger jet in history.

News of their
remarkable achievement

spreads around the world.

You don't have time, really,
to think about anything else

than taking care of the safety
of your passengers, you know?

That's your main goal.

And since we didn't
have any engine,

the other main goal was to
make the landing safely.

So at that time, I guess,
the experience came in.

NARRATOR: Investigators discover
that the leak on board the jet

had been set in motion when the
right engine had been replaced

five days before the crash.

We have to realize that
there was a small mistake made

in terms of changing the pump.

We installed it, but then
some pipes, so to speak,

were needed to be
connected to the pump,

and there was a mismatch.

NARRATOR: The small
mistake had crippled

this highly engineered machine.

But its very design left the
pilots enough control to steer

the plane away from disaster.

[chatter]

[bell dinging]

Very proud.

Now we have a pilot.

[cheers, applause]

NARRATOR: At the
Delta Connection

Academy in Sanford,
Florida, another student

has earned his wings.

After 14 months of training,
he's one step closer

to becoming a commercial pilot.

We don't take everybody
here at the Academy.

We want people that are
motivated, that want to come,

that have a passion for flying.

It's a career that you've got to
want deep inside to accomplish.

Otherwise, you'll
never make it through.

NARRATOR: To be
successful today,

pilots have the added burden
of understanding their

complicated onboard computers.

The lives of countless
people depend on it.

Automated systems
make flying more

predictable and dependable, but
it's the marriage of computers

and crew that ultimately makes
flying one of the safest ways

to travel.