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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,650 narrator: the fatal crash of delta airlines flight 191 2 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,830 to support fujita's theory. 3 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:25,040 as the airplane approaches the rain column, 4 00:30:25,070 --> 00:30:28,410 a downdraft hits the airplane, which pushes it down, 5 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:33,010 causing it to instantly lose airspeed and crash. 6 00:30:33,050 --> 00:30:36,020 traditionally, pilots are alerted to these situations 7 00:30:36,050 --> 00:30:39,020 because they can see the rain column ahead of them. 8 00:30:39,050 --> 00:30:43,520 but sometimes the cool air columns can be invisible. 9 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:46,760 hinton: one of the very dangerous aspects of microbursts, 10 00:30:46,790 --> 00:30:48,900 particularly in the high plains region of the country, 11 00:30:48,930 --> 00:30:51,170 for all this precipitation is that it's possible 12 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:54,270 to evaporate before it reaches the surface. 13 00:30:54,300 --> 00:30:57,070 that's particularly dangerous because there's no visible rain. 14 00:30:57,110 --> 00:30:59,810 the pilot may see clear skies, a clear path, but there could be 15 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:03,010 a very dangerous microburst in front of the aircraft. 16 00:30:12,060 --> 00:30:14,160 finally provides the missing evidence 17 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:10,450 forces the aviation community to immediately push for research 18 00:31:10,490 --> 00:31:12,220 into new technology 19 00:31:12,250 --> 00:31:16,960 that could warn pilots of microbursts in the area. 20 00:31:16,990 --> 00:31:19,160 the solution is a radar beam 21 00:31:19,190 --> 00:31:22,260 that detects changes in wind speed and direction 22 00:31:22,300 --> 00:31:24,060 that is now installed in the nose 23 00:31:24,100 --> 00:31:26,570 of every commercial aircraft. 24 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,740 it gives the cockpit crew a warning 25 00:31:28,770 --> 00:31:30,810 before entering a microburst. 26 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:32,370 hinton: so this is a radar system. 27 00:31:32,410 --> 00:31:36,310 the transmitter that generates essentially the microwave energy 28 00:31:36,340 --> 00:31:37,980 the aircraft that's going to exit 29 00:31:38,010 --> 00:31:39,810 is sending it through a wave guide 30 00:31:39,850 --> 00:31:42,550 down through this system and back out to the radome, 31 00:29:33,990 --> 00:29:36,560 setting off a deafening explosion. 32 00:28:44,970 --> 00:28:49,280 and can last between 5 to 15 minutes. 33 00:28:49,310 --> 00:28:51,680 fujita suggests that these downdrafts 34 00:28:51,710 --> 00:28:56,690 could be to blame for a series of airplane crashes. 35 00:28:56,720 --> 00:29:00,820 hinton: a downdraft is basically air flowing downward. 36 00:29:00,860 --> 00:29:02,460 and it can also be the microburst, 37 00:29:02,490 --> 00:29:04,690 which was the killer type of downdraft 38 00:29:04,730 --> 00:29:06,830 for transport aircraft for many years, 39 00:29:06,860 --> 00:29:09,400 which is induced by precipitation. 40 00:29:09,430 --> 00:29:12,870 narrator: the idea is hotly disputed for the best part of a decade 41 00:29:12,900 --> 00:29:18,410 until, on august 2, 1985, tragedy strikes. 42 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,480 in the midst of a thunderstorm, delta flight 191 descends 43 00:29:24,510 --> 00:29:28,320 towards dallas-fort worth international airport. 44 00:29:28,350 --> 00:29:30,350 less than a mile from the runway, 45 00:29:30,390 --> 00:29:33,960 the jet inexplicably plummets into two water tanks, 46 00:31:42,580 --> 00:31:44,420 which is then steered left, right or up or down 47 00:29:36,590 --> 00:29:39,130 137 people die. 48 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:42,000 20 more sustain serious injuries. 49 00:29:42,030 --> 00:29:44,970 [sirens] 50 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,000 as nasa engineer david hinton explains, 51 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:49,400 the crash turns out to be 52 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,210 one of the most significant in aviation history. 53 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:55,380 hinton: delta 191 was a very important event, 54 00:29:55,410 --> 00:29:56,880 a very tragic event, 55 00:29:56,910 --> 00:30:01,320 and it occurred just as the federal aviation administration, 56 00:30:01,350 --> 00:30:03,620 national aeronautics and space administration, 57 00:30:03,650 --> 00:30:07,390 the airline industry was beginning a program to solve, 58 00:30:07,420 --> 00:30:09,360 tackle and solve this problem. 59 00:30:09,390 --> 00:30:12,030 narrator: but delta airlines flight 191 60 00:33:30,290 --> 00:33:32,330 under clear skies. 61 00:32:54,620 --> 00:32:56,360 as to what the wind is doing it's simply not available 62 00:32:56,390 --> 00:32:59,490 at that moment in that location. 63 00:32:59,530 --> 00:33:02,500 narrator: in rainstorms, downdrafts and microbursts 64 00:33:02,530 --> 00:33:04,700 can be potentially fatal. 65 00:33:04,730 --> 00:33:07,300 but on the day steve fossett disappears, 66 00:33:07,340 --> 00:33:09,140 there are no storms. 67 00:33:09,170 --> 00:33:10,610 could there be something unique 68 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:13,810 about the mountainous region of the sierra nevada 69 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:18,250 that creates a similar effect? 70 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:21,350 the downdraft that brought down the delta airlines flight 71 00:33:21,380 --> 00:33:23,220 happened in the middle of a storm 72 00:33:23,250 --> 00:33:25,820 and on perfectly flat terrain. 73 00:33:25,850 --> 00:33:27,690 but steve fossett has crashed 74 00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,260 into the high mountains of the sierra nevada 75 00:32:53,150 --> 00:32:54,590 perfect information; doesn't have 76 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:37,130 the question is can these microbursts strike without rain? 77 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:43,610 the first clue that they might dates from 1933 78 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:48,110 when two german glider pilots make an extraordinary discovery. 79 00:33:48,140 --> 00:33:50,310 when hans deutschmann and wolf hirth 80 00:33:50,340 --> 00:33:53,250 glide next to a mountain range in germany, 81 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:55,680 they discover that when a mountain drops away 82 00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:57,150 to a hot plain, 83 00:33:57,180 --> 00:34:01,860 there is a surprising phenomenon. 84 00:34:01,890 --> 00:34:03,960 when winds blow into the mountain, 85 00:34:03,990 --> 00:34:06,490 the air is pushed up and over the peak. 86 00:34:06,530 --> 00:34:10,000 the cool air drops quickly towards the ground. 87 00:34:10,030 --> 00:34:11,800 in the punishing heat of the plains 88 00:34:11,830 --> 00:34:13,870 surrounding the sierra nevadas, 89 00:34:13,900 --> 00:34:17,510 the air is rapidly heated and rises back up. 90 00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:20,290 there were people who thought it might not be feasible 91 00:31:44,450 --> 00:31:47,690 to project the radar beam where we would like it to go. 92 00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:50,760 then a reflected beam is picked up by the same antenna. 93 00:31:50,790 --> 00:31:53,500 so they transmit, listen, transmit, listen; 94 00:31:53,530 --> 00:31:54,900 it's a pulse system. 95 00:31:54,930 --> 00:31:57,300 picked up again by the signal, by the radome 96 00:31:57,330 --> 00:31:59,570 through the wave guide back into a receiver. 97 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,100 narrator: but many in the aviation community 98 00:32:02,140 --> 00:32:05,340 are possible. don't think these radar systems 99 00:32:05,370 --> 00:32:08,910 hinton: delta 191, as tragic as it was, 100 00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:10,450 led to a tremendous urgency 101 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:12,750 to develop the solutions to the problem. 102 00:32:12,780 --> 00:32:14,280 at the time of that accident 103 00:32:14,320 --> 00:32:16,080 this system for wind shear detection 104 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:17,690 was simply not available. 105 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:44,940 it can hit the ground and spread out in all directions, 106 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:21,890 to put in a small radome, 107 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,960 all the processing and the quality of the beam 108 00:32:23,990 --> 00:32:26,490 required to extract the wind shear. 109 00:32:26,530 --> 00:32:28,960 this program developed these radars 110 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:30,260 that are now installed, 111 00:32:30,300 --> 00:32:32,970 so the problem has been solved 112 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,640 because of the urgency with which the faa, nasa, 113 00:32:35,670 --> 00:32:41,280 the airlines and others put into developing this solution. 114 00:32:41,310 --> 00:32:44,010 narrator: but even with this new technology installed, 115 00:32:44,050 --> 00:32:46,710 pilots still have to remain vigilant. 116 00:32:46,750 --> 00:32:48,920 hinton: one cannot be certain 117 00:32:48,950 --> 00:32:51,220 about the currents over a mountain. 118 00:32:51,250 --> 00:32:53,120 the pilot of an aircraft 119 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,600 but this doesn't stand out to me 120 00:24:24,010 --> 00:24:25,680 into the twilight zone. like you're going 121 00:24:25,710 --> 00:24:29,050 relatively benign conditions you're, you're going from 122 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:33,220 to unexpectedly not so benign conditions, 123 00:24:33,250 --> 00:24:35,260 and this is in the dark. 124 00:24:35,290 --> 00:24:38,090 [thunder] 125 00:24:38,130 --> 00:24:40,960 narrator: kelly redmond now examines weather data 126 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:46,700 for september 3, 2007: the day steve fossett disappeared. 127 00:24:46,740 --> 00:24:50,740 could he have been trapped in similarly disastrous conditions? 128 00:24:50,770 --> 00:24:52,770 looking at here is a map redmond: what i'm 129 00:24:52,810 --> 00:24:57,380 of what the conditions were on september 3rd of 2007. 130 00:24:57,410 --> 00:25:01,280 september is not a month of very strong storms, typically. 131 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:06,560 and they show that the flow, uh, over the sierra nevada 132 00:25:06,590 --> 00:25:09,830 was moderate winds out of the southwest 133 00:25:09,860 --> 00:25:11,930 to the, to the northeast. 134 00:24:22,810 --> 00:24:23,980 you know, you sort of feel 135 00:25:13,630 --> 00:25:16,160 as being particularly strikingly strong 136 00:25:16,200 --> 00:25:18,470 like you see in the winter months. 137 00:25:18,500 --> 00:25:21,000 narrator: the weather data shows that steve fossett 138 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:23,970 taxied down the runway on a clear day. 139 00:25:24,010 --> 00:25:25,640 other pilots flying that day 140 00:25:25,670 --> 00:25:30,080 also reported that it was a beautiful day to fly. 141 00:25:30,110 --> 00:25:31,780 but even on clear days, 142 00:25:31,810 --> 00:25:35,680 small meteorological anomalies can strike. 143 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,090 kelly finds new significant evidence 144 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:40,420 in the weather data for that day. 145 00:25:40,460 --> 00:25:42,220 redmond: there was a little hitch in the wind direction, 146 00:25:42,260 --> 00:25:44,390 which sort of indicates that a little impulse 147 00:25:44,430 --> 00:25:46,730 might have been moving through in the atmosphere. 148 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:48,300 the kind of thing you normally wouldn't catch 149 00:23:39,300 --> 00:23:41,740 narrator: the archive is also a critical tool 150 00:23:02,630 --> 00:23:04,970 tolby: some weather is more predictable than others. 151 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,870 we knew today that there was going to be thunderstorms 152 00:23:06,900 --> 00:23:08,170 in the area. 153 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:10,510 where exactly those are going to be at any one point 154 00:23:10,540 --> 00:23:12,440 is really challenging. 155 00:23:12,470 --> 00:23:14,710 narrator: could these unpredictable storms 156 00:23:14,740 --> 00:23:17,280 be behind some of the hundreds of plane crashes 157 00:23:17,310 --> 00:23:19,980 in the sierra nevadas? 158 00:23:20,020 --> 00:23:22,780 at the nevada desert research institute, 159 00:23:22,820 --> 00:23:27,090 climatologist dr. kelly redmond has access to 60 years 160 00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:30,590 of historical weather data for the united states. 161 00:23:30,630 --> 00:23:34,000 kelly redmond: we store weather and climate data from the past 162 00:23:34,030 --> 00:23:36,100 because it turns out it has tremendous value. 163 00:23:36,130 --> 00:23:39,270 the past is, is a guide for the future. 164 00:25:48,330 --> 00:25:50,900 much attention to. or wouldn't pay 165 00:23:41,770 --> 00:23:43,940 for air crash investigators. 166 00:23:43,970 --> 00:23:47,710 it can reveal local weather conditions at the precise time 167 00:23:47,740 --> 00:23:51,650 some of the most famous disappearances occurred. 168 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:56,620 kelly locates the weather data for february 18, 1969, 169 00:23:56,650 --> 00:24:00,520 crashed. the day the gambler's special 170 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:02,690 he discovers that it's highly likely 171 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,960 that the weather played a critical role in the disaster. 172 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,900 redmond: so these darks colors here are 70, 80, 90% humidity. 173 00:24:11,930 --> 00:24:14,570 so this means that the clouds 174 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:16,740 were probably pretty prevalent at the time, 175 00:24:16,770 --> 00:24:18,540 and once they got into 'em it'd be pretty hard to get, 176 00:24:18,570 --> 00:24:20,580 to get back out of them. 177 00:24:20,610 --> 00:24:22,780 [wind howling] 178 00:27:59,830 --> 00:28:04,400 doing is, uh, trying to pinpoint theodore fujita: what i'm really 179 00:27:13,650 --> 00:27:15,920 and they create a wave cloud, 180 00:27:15,950 --> 00:27:19,120 um, beneath that the winds can get really turbulent, 181 00:27:19,150 --> 00:27:20,320 and those kind of winds 182 00:27:20,360 --> 00:27:24,030 are really, really challenging to predict. 183 00:27:24,060 --> 00:27:27,630 narrator: most of us have experienced turbulence during air flights. 184 00:27:27,660 --> 00:27:30,200 but most aircraft navigate through these winds 185 00:27:30,230 --> 00:27:32,630 without any serious problems. 186 00:27:36,470 --> 00:27:41,310 but in 1977 a meteorologist, dr. theodore fujita, 187 00:27:41,340 --> 00:27:44,580 proposes a previously unknown weather phenomenon 188 00:27:44,610 --> 00:27:47,120 that he thinks might transform bad weather 189 00:27:47,150 --> 00:27:50,180 into something potentially deadly. 190 00:27:50,220 --> 00:27:52,550 fujita is known as "mr. tornado" 191 00:27:52,590 --> 00:27:55,790 for his work on the detailed behavior of twisters. 192 00:27:55,820 --> 00:27:57,930 announcer: aeronautics and space report. 193 00:27:10,850 --> 00:27:13,610 tolby: when the really strong winds come over the sierra 194 00:28:04,430 --> 00:28:08,470 which particular thunderstorms might produce tornadoes. 195 00:28:08,500 --> 00:28:10,810 with tornadoes reveals narrator: fujita's work 196 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,140 that when hot and cold air are mixed in a rainstorm, 197 00:28:14,180 --> 00:28:17,450 intense, localized downdrafts can be caused 198 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:19,750 by the rapidly cooling air. 199 00:28:19,780 --> 00:28:21,480 david hinton: what theodore fujita found 200 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:23,790 from flying small planes in areas 201 00:28:23,820 --> 00:28:26,820 that had been hit by tornadoes and severe storms, 202 00:28:26,850 --> 00:28:30,290 he found patterns in blown-down trees 203 00:28:30,330 --> 00:28:33,130 that were not appropriate for a tornado. 204 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,700 so he coined the term "microburst." 205 00:28:35,730 --> 00:28:37,400 microburst downdraft. 206 00:28:37,430 --> 00:28:38,670 narrator: fujita's theory is 207 00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:41,570 that when rain-cooled air sinks suddenly, 208 00:26:29,740 --> 00:26:31,840 we send up a balloon twice a day; 209 00:25:50,930 --> 00:25:52,870 this seems to me a kind of a typical thing 210 00:25:52,900 --> 00:25:54,940 that happens in mountains, 211 00:25:54,970 --> 00:25:58,470 where weather can change very dramatically, very suddenly, 212 00:25:58,510 --> 00:26:00,340 especially in the lee of a large range 213 00:26:00,380 --> 00:26:02,310 like the sierra nevada 214 00:26:02,340 --> 00:26:04,380 where there was, uh, a wind system 215 00:26:04,410 --> 00:26:06,750 coming through at the time. 216 00:26:06,780 --> 00:26:09,120 narrator: such localized changes in wind direction 217 00:26:09,150 --> 00:26:13,150 are invisible to the naked eye, but they can be lethal. 218 00:26:16,290 --> 00:26:19,330 meteorologist zach tolby knows all too well 219 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,660 about erratic localized wind conditions 220 00:26:21,700 --> 00:26:24,000 in the sierra nevada. 221 00:26:24,030 --> 00:26:25,470 tolby: are we clear for a balloon launch? 222 00:26:25,500 --> 00:26:27,240 okay, thanks. bye. 223 00:34:17,540 --> 00:34:21,040 as the warm air hits the cooler air at high altitude, 224 00:26:31,870 --> 00:26:34,540 once at 4 a.m. and once at 4 p.m. 225 00:26:34,580 --> 00:26:37,750 we do this along with about 800 other sites worldwide 226 00:26:37,780 --> 00:26:42,520 and about 90 sites around the united states and north america. 227 00:26:42,550 --> 00:26:46,550 narrator: these regular readings help to calculate the weather forecast. 228 00:26:46,590 --> 00:26:48,120 key to their accuracy 229 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,890 is the behavior of wind in the upper atmosphere. 230 00:26:51,930 --> 00:26:53,130 tolby: the measurements from the balloon 231 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:54,400 tell us a lot about wind. 232 00:26:54,430 --> 00:26:58,770 they actually physically measure the wind with a gps. 233 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,970 narrator: the balloon data reveals that wind speed and direction 234 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:04,870 can vary considerably at different altitudes. 235 00:27:04,910 --> 00:27:07,580 at the boundaries between these different layers, 236 00:27:07,610 --> 00:27:10,810 the wind can interact in very unexpected ways. 237 00:42:02,570 --> 00:42:06,010 of climbing at 300 feet per minute. 238 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:25,300 the national transportation safety board concludes 239 00:41:25,330 --> 00:41:27,470 that a downdraft was responsible 240 00:41:27,500 --> 00:41:32,110 inexplicable loss of control. for steve fossett's otherwise 241 00:41:32,140 --> 00:41:33,540 how else could a pilot 242 00:41:33,570 --> 00:41:36,740 who routinely calculated the dangers of the wind 243 00:41:36,780 --> 00:41:38,510 fall prey to it? 244 00:41:38,550 --> 00:41:40,380 flight instructor bill schroeder 245 00:41:40,410 --> 00:41:43,750 final report. agrees with investigation's 246 00:41:43,780 --> 00:41:46,890 in the sierra nevadas, winds can rush down 247 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:49,520 at 400 feet per minute or more 248 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:53,660 and then bounce back up again even faster. 249 00:41:53,690 --> 00:41:58,100 schroeder: he was in a 400, 500 foot per minute, possibly more. 250 00:41:58,130 --> 00:41:59,670 his aircraft was only capable, 251 00:41:59,700 --> 00:42:02,540 at that density altitude where he was flying, 252 00:41:19,730 --> 00:41:22,160 after a five-month investigation, 253 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:08,110 so he didn't have the power. 254 00:42:08,140 --> 00:42:11,410 he could not get out of the downdraft. 255 00:42:11,450 --> 00:42:14,820 narrator: while filming, bill's plane is suddenly hit 256 00:42:14,850 --> 00:42:16,850 by an invisible downdraft. 257 00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:18,590 to get a li... schroeder: see, we're starting 258 00:42:18,620 --> 00:42:22,590 oh, probably a 200, 300 foot per minute downdraft here, 259 00:42:22,620 --> 00:42:24,830 right at this location here. 260 00:42:24,860 --> 00:42:28,600 narrator: today bill is high enough to ride out the downdraft-- 261 00:42:28,630 --> 00:42:31,900 but at lower altitudes, closer to the mountain ridge, 262 00:42:31,930 --> 00:42:33,970 even the most experienced pilots 263 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:37,540 will struggle with the rapid loss of speed. 264 00:42:37,570 --> 00:42:40,010 up here just a little bit. schroeder: i'm going to climb 265 00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:44,680 and paying close attention to it all i'm doing is i'm aware of it 266 00:42:44,710 --> 00:42:46,880 and getting myself into a position 267 00:40:33,450 --> 00:40:35,550 and trying to keep the plane aloft-- 268 00:39:48,500 --> 00:39:51,810 to actually visualize what's happening. 269 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,180 narrator: the model aircraft is being flown 270 00:39:54,210 --> 00:39:56,580 by a member of the facility. 271 00:39:56,610 --> 00:39:58,880 to prevent the airplane from crashing, 272 00:39:58,910 --> 00:40:02,480 it is held loosely in position by restraining wires. 273 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:04,950 the remote pilot is having no problems 274 00:40:04,990 --> 00:40:06,650 flying through headwinds 275 00:40:06,690 --> 00:40:08,890 modified to approximate the conditions 276 00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:13,660 steve fossett had been flying in. 277 00:40:13,690 --> 00:40:16,460 when a powerful wind suddenly, there's trouble 278 00:40:16,500 --> 00:40:21,000 starts battering the airplane, and the pilot loses control. 279 00:40:23,540 --> 00:40:26,010 mathers: we can certainly see in this particular experiment 280 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:29,940 that the plane was not able to overcome downward velocity. 281 00:40:29,980 --> 00:40:33,410 so even though we had a pilot operating the controls 282 00:42:46,910 --> 00:42:49,250 where if i should have to turn, 283 00:40:35,580 --> 00:40:37,880 using as much climb rate as possible-- 284 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:39,550 he was still not able to overcome 285 00:40:39,590 --> 00:40:43,120 and was still dropping in altitude. 286 00:40:43,160 --> 00:40:45,060 narrator: by slowing down the footage 287 00:40:45,090 --> 00:40:47,860 we see how the plane engine isn't powerful enough 288 00:40:47,900 --> 00:40:51,800 to overcome the wind forcing it towards the ground. 289 00:40:51,830 --> 00:40:54,570 the forces recreated here are no greater 290 00:40:54,600 --> 00:40:58,000 than those possibly faced by steve fossett. 291 00:41:06,210 --> 00:41:08,550 steve fossett was a skilled pilot 292 00:41:08,580 --> 00:41:12,620 who broke more than 100 aviation records around the world. 293 00:41:12,650 --> 00:41:14,560 but he crashed flying his airplane 294 00:41:14,590 --> 00:41:16,820 in the sierra nevada mountains, 295 00:41:16,860 --> 00:41:19,690 a place he knew like the back of his hand. 296 00:45:10,660 --> 00:45:13,230 who have crashed in the sierra nevadas, 297 00:44:30,450 --> 00:44:31,890 knowing the likely cause 298 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:34,760 is cold comfort to surviving relatives, 299 00:44:34,790 --> 00:44:36,260 like william ogle, 300 00:44:36,290 --> 00:44:39,990 whose father disappeared over the sierra nevada ridge. 301 00:44:40,030 --> 00:44:41,800 for 40 years, ogle: i've been dealing with it 302 00:44:41,830 --> 00:44:44,260 and they may not find his wreck, 303 00:44:44,300 --> 00:44:45,700 to deal with it. and i'll continue 304 00:44:45,730 --> 00:44:48,900 but that's just something that i've accepted. 305 00:44:51,540 --> 00:44:53,510 narrator: the nevada triangle has been home 306 00:44:53,540 --> 00:44:58,280 to thousands of lost airplanes over the last 60 years. 307 00:44:58,310 --> 00:45:00,210 the missing evidence concludes 308 00:45:00,250 --> 00:45:01,980 that some of the airplane crashes 309 00:45:02,020 --> 00:45:07,690 can be attributed to the testing of military airplanes. 310 00:45:07,720 --> 00:45:10,620 but for steve fossett and hundreds of other pilots 311 00:44:27,450 --> 00:44:30,420 narrator: but until all the missing aircraft are discovered, 312 00:45:13,260 --> 00:45:17,030 the culprit is mother nature herself. 313 00:45:21,400 --> 00:45:23,400 and although technological advances 314 00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:26,040 have made flying safer than ever, 315 00:45:26,070 --> 00:45:28,810 the sierra nevadas will always pose a threat 316 00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:31,080 to those who fly through them. 317 00:45:31,110 --> 00:45:33,450 schroeder: you really have to treat the winds in the mountains 318 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:35,080 with respect. 319 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:37,850 narrator: the winds in these mountains don't discriminate 320 00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:42,760 between the most experienced pilot and the novice. 321 00:45:42,790 --> 00:45:45,660 schroeder: regardless of how professional, 322 00:45:45,690 --> 00:45:50,360 how much training, how much experience a pilot has, 323 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:52,400 they can still get in trouble. 324 00:45:52,430 --> 00:45:55,170 and so we have to be very vigilant when we're flying, 325 00:45:55,200 --> 00:46:00,140 especially here in the mountains. 326 00:43:44,370 --> 00:43:48,180 the head of the civil air patrol came and sought me out. 327 00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:53,850 the left toward lower terrain. i'm going to be turning to 328 00:42:53,890 --> 00:42:57,420 narrator: steve fossett was no stranger to these downdrafts. 329 00:42:57,460 --> 00:43:01,100 but on that particular day, he was flying too low 330 00:43:01,130 --> 00:43:03,100 and too close to the mountains, 331 00:43:03,130 --> 00:43:06,670 and that was a deadly miscalculation. 332 00:43:06,700 --> 00:43:09,300 downdrafts also explain the mysterious force 333 00:43:09,340 --> 00:43:11,070 that came out of the blue 334 00:43:11,110 --> 00:43:15,340 and so nearly took the lives of jim nowlin and his passengers. 335 00:43:15,380 --> 00:43:19,180 is pushing on you nowlin: it's almost like a hand 336 00:43:19,210 --> 00:43:21,650 and stealing away your airspeed. 337 00:43:26,890 --> 00:43:29,660 in spite of all the hours i'd spent flying 338 00:43:29,690 --> 00:43:32,360 over and around the sierra, 339 00:43:32,390 --> 00:43:36,900 uh, i had never encountered that kind of a downdraft. 340 00:43:36,930 --> 00:43:41,000 i probably used up 99% of my luck in that one time. 341 00:39:45,130 --> 00:39:48,470 smoke within the airflow we're going to try today to use 342 00:43:48,210 --> 00:43:50,310 in search and rescue and he's been involved 343 00:43:50,340 --> 00:43:52,950 for i think he said 45 years, 344 00:43:52,980 --> 00:43:54,880 and he said he wanted to shake my hand 345 00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:58,050 because it was the first chance he ever got to do that, 346 00:43:58,090 --> 00:44:00,090 to shake the hand of someone who'd gone down 347 00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:04,420 in the sierra like that. 348 00:44:04,460 --> 00:44:07,660 that anything ever happened. it's the only trace 349 00:44:07,690 --> 00:44:09,460 till now, and i, i haven't touched it 350 00:44:09,500 --> 00:44:13,970 this probably came off but it's, uh, i would say 351 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,840 one of the, uh, wingtip moldings. 352 00:44:16,870 --> 00:44:19,840 and, uh, yeah, this is the only sign 353 00:44:19,870 --> 00:44:21,880 that anything ever happened here. 354 00:44:21,910 --> 00:44:25,350 no sense leaving it here. [laughs] 355 00:36:26,900 --> 00:36:30,270 but for airplanes they can be treacherous. 356 00:35:48,900 --> 00:35:52,470 there's a nice little bump. 357 00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:55,370 parallel to the mountains; there's that line of clouds 358 00:35:55,400 --> 00:35:57,770 about a quarter of the distance we're gonna get 359 00:35:57,810 --> 00:35:59,940 between the top of the mountain and the middle of the cloud. 360 00:35:59,970 --> 00:36:04,110 where the best lift will be. that'll be the, 361 00:36:04,150 --> 00:36:06,350 the area underneath these clouds; 362 00:36:06,380 --> 00:36:07,620 there can be a rotor, 363 00:36:07,650 --> 00:36:09,280 it can be really turbulent getting up into it, 364 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:11,290 and if we get up above those clouds 365 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:15,360 and get into the actual wave, it'll be very smooth, 366 00:36:15,390 --> 00:36:18,990 very smooth conditions, just no turbulence at all. 367 00:36:19,030 --> 00:36:22,030 feels like you're not moving. 368 00:36:22,060 --> 00:36:24,100 narrator: for a glider, mountain waves 369 00:36:24,130 --> 00:36:26,870 offer the thrill of extreme sport. 370 00:35:44,230 --> 00:35:48,860 to be able to use it for your advantage. 371 00:36:30,300 --> 00:36:32,510 holtz: power pilots may not fly in these conditions 372 00:36:32,540 --> 00:36:35,040 just because they have not experienced them. 373 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,150 in this much wind. they're not used to flying 374 00:36:38,180 --> 00:36:40,450 narrator: and the winds closest to the mountains 375 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:43,720 can be the most lethal for airplanes. 376 00:36:46,150 --> 00:36:48,460 to better understand the mountain wave, 377 00:36:48,490 --> 00:36:50,930 climatologist kelly redmond explains 378 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:52,930 that we first need to understand 379 00:36:52,960 --> 00:36:55,360 unique topography. the sierra nevada's 380 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:57,800 redmond: one factor about the sierra is they, 381 00:36:57,830 --> 00:36:59,500 they come up gradually on the west side 382 00:36:59,530 --> 00:37:02,600 and they drop very steeply on the east side. 383 00:37:02,640 --> 00:37:05,170 and so when the air is climbing the slope on the west side, 384 00:37:05,210 --> 00:37:08,180 at a fairly gentle slope. it's kind of climbing at a, 385 00:35:05,750 --> 00:35:07,620 so you... some of it's moving up and down, 386 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,010 the process is repeated, 387 00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:28,850 creating waves of hot and cold air. 388 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,350 as a glider pilot, russell holtz 389 00:34:31,390 --> 00:34:34,090 regularly seeks out this strange phenomenon 390 00:34:34,120 --> 00:34:38,130 in the sierra nevadas, known as a "mountain wave." 391 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,560 russell holtz: this area is, has some of the best weather, 392 00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:42,600 best conditions for soaring. 393 00:34:42,630 --> 00:34:46,570 we can get really high, we can go really far. 394 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:49,440 narrator: some gliders, like russell's, have no engines, 395 00:34:49,470 --> 00:34:53,210 so they need a tow plane to reach the right altitude. 396 00:34:55,780 --> 00:34:59,310 then they are released. 397 00:34:59,350 --> 00:35:02,850 once set free they rely purely on the rising wind currents 398 00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:04,150 to keep them up. 399 00:35:04,190 --> 00:35:05,720 holtz: almost always the air's in motion, 400 00:37:08,210 --> 00:37:11,080 and then it has an abrupt break that's shaped like this. 401 00:35:07,660 --> 00:35:09,960 if a glider stays in the, uh, up part, 402 00:35:09,990 --> 00:35:11,230 in the air that's moving up, 403 00:35:11,260 --> 00:35:13,790 then we can stay up indefinitely. 404 00:35:13,830 --> 00:35:18,370 same thing you see birds doing. 405 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:21,300 narrator: in clear skies, currents are invisible, 406 00:35:21,340 --> 00:35:24,100 so glider pilots have to be extremely aware 407 00:35:24,140 --> 00:35:28,280 of their surroundings. 408 00:35:28,310 --> 00:35:29,780 holtz: and all the data you're gathering-- 409 00:35:29,810 --> 00:35:33,250 via clouds, your wind drift, what you're feeling, 410 00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:36,580 what the instruments are saying, 411 00:35:36,620 --> 00:35:39,090 so all that you try to put into a mental model 412 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:41,960 of what the air is doing... 413 00:35:41,990 --> 00:35:44,190 the more you know about the safer it is 414 00:39:01,120 --> 00:39:04,390 with the almost identical power-to-weight ratio. 415 00:38:27,860 --> 00:38:29,690 we're using the facility 416 00:38:29,720 --> 00:38:32,360 in a way that we never envisioned before. 417 00:38:32,390 --> 00:38:35,660 narrator: andrew mathers and his team have rigged up a replica 418 00:38:35,700 --> 00:38:38,970 inside the wind tunnel. of steve fossett's plane 419 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:40,100 a remote-controlled aircraft; mathers: it's 420 00:38:40,130 --> 00:38:42,100 it's actually 1/8 scale. 421 00:38:42,140 --> 00:38:44,840 uh, it has almost the same physical properties 422 00:38:44,870 --> 00:38:46,240 as the super decathlon 423 00:38:46,270 --> 00:38:48,680 that steve fossett was flying at the time. 424 00:38:48,710 --> 00:38:52,350 um, it has very similar scale model wing span length. 425 00:38:52,380 --> 00:38:55,050 the fuselage is hung underneath it's a high wing design, so 426 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:57,420 so that gives it similar center of gravity, 427 00:38:57,450 --> 00:38:59,490 similar flying properties. 428 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:01,090 a single-prop aircraft as well it's 429 00:38:25,750 --> 00:38:27,820 doing something a little unique. andrew mathers: but today we're 430 00:39:04,430 --> 00:39:06,630 narrator: they have studied the meteorological records 431 00:39:06,660 --> 00:39:10,260 to recreate the precise wind speed and direction 432 00:39:10,300 --> 00:39:13,970 in the region where steve fossett lost his life. 433 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:17,000 mathers: okay, fans coming up to 50%. 434 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,970 narrator: with 106 fans, each individually controlled, 435 00:39:21,010 --> 00:39:23,380 the team are hoping to reproduce the effects 436 00:39:23,410 --> 00:39:27,050 of the invisible and unpredictable downdrafts 437 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:31,550 that researchers now think make the nevada triangle so deadly. 438 00:39:31,590 --> 00:39:34,890 mathers: achieve the flow that we wanted, we're configuring our fans to 439 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:36,790 which was a combination of forward flow 440 00:39:36,820 --> 00:39:39,030 as well as downwash. 441 00:39:39,060 --> 00:39:41,090 different combinations of fans uh, so we're using 442 00:39:41,130 --> 00:39:45,100 to achieve what we want to. 443 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:42,740 and some of it comes over, and it comes down 444 00:37:11,110 --> 00:37:13,450 it has an abrupt break where it can go downhill, 445 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:15,920 and this can cause lots of different wave phenomena 446 00:37:15,950 --> 00:37:17,890 in the atmosphere. 447 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:20,120 narrator: studying the flow of water in a riverbed 448 00:37:20,150 --> 00:37:22,360 can help visualize just how turbulent 449 00:37:22,390 --> 00:37:25,760 these downhill winds can become. 450 00:37:25,790 --> 00:37:27,630 redmond: if you think of that whole line 451 00:37:27,660 --> 00:37:29,760 of, uh, rock underneath the water, 452 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:31,600 a mountain range. it's sort of like 453 00:37:31,630 --> 00:37:32,870 there's not a lot going on 454 00:37:32,900 --> 00:37:34,770 in the upstream side of the mountain. 455 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:36,270 but on the downstream side 456 00:37:36,300 --> 00:37:38,570 is where most of the action is occurring. 457 00:37:38,610 --> 00:37:40,610 we see different types of flow coming over, 458 00:22:58,430 --> 00:23:02,600 but predicting where and when they occur is far from easy. 459 00:37:42,780 --> 00:37:48,080 and it jumps up, and it gets very turbulent. 460 00:37:48,120 --> 00:37:49,480 narrator: the river's downstream 461 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,220 is the mountain equivalent of a downdraft. 462 00:37:52,250 --> 00:37:54,960 they occur below the crest of the mountain. 463 00:37:54,990 --> 00:37:57,960 the winds accelerate as they come over the ridge, 464 00:37:57,990 --> 00:38:01,960 clinging to the surface as they race down the slope. 465 00:38:04,100 --> 00:38:08,070 are these powerful downdrafts, unique to the sierra nevadas, 466 00:38:08,100 --> 00:38:10,610 responsible for steve fossett's crash 467 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:15,210 and hundreds of others in the nevada triangle? 468 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:17,110 scientists at the windeee dome, 469 00:38:17,140 --> 00:38:20,010 hexagonal wind tunnel facility, the world's first 470 00:38:20,050 --> 00:38:23,320 usually study the effects of wind on fixed structures 471 00:38:23,350 --> 00:38:25,720 like buildings and bridges. 472 00:07:27,730 --> 00:07:30,470 studying the sierra nevada phenomenon, 473 00:06:51,230 --> 00:06:53,300 but at least the findings give hope 474 00:06:53,330 --> 00:06:58,370 is more likely accidental. that ogle's disappearance 475 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,270 as the number of crashed airplanes 476 00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:02,040 unearthed by fossett's manhunt 477 00:07:02,070 --> 00:07:04,210 continues to grow alarmingly, 478 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,080 the press dub the area "the nevada triangle." 479 00:07:08,110 --> 00:07:10,680 the news is no surprise 480 00:07:10,710 --> 00:07:14,320 to aviation archaeologist pat macha. 481 00:07:14,350 --> 00:07:16,420 pat macha: the nevada triangle, the name 482 00:07:16,450 --> 00:07:18,960 came from the steve fossett search. 483 00:07:18,990 --> 00:07:21,060 suddenly this element of mystery, 484 00:07:21,090 --> 00:07:22,390 why can't we find him, 485 00:07:22,430 --> 00:07:25,260 other wrecks in this area. oh, there's so many 486 00:07:25,290 --> 00:07:27,700 narrator: pat macha has spent 50 years 487 00:06:48,690 --> 00:06:51,190 doesn't match his father's airplane. 488 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:33,470 and he is not surprised by the comparison. 489 00:07:33,500 --> 00:07:35,870 the bermuda triangle is infamous-- 490 00:07:35,910 --> 00:07:39,880 yet within it, there have only been about 30 unsolved cases 491 00:07:39,910 --> 00:07:42,450 of aircraft or marine disappearances 492 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:44,650 since the late 1800s. 493 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:47,980 the so-called nevada triangle falls within an area 494 00:07:48,020 --> 00:07:52,120 between three cities: reno, las vegas and fresno. 495 00:07:52,150 --> 00:07:55,720 and within it there have been far more disappearances. 496 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:57,260 macha: there weren't dozens 497 00:07:57,290 --> 00:07:59,560 but hundreds and hundreds of aircraft 498 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,400 over the years in the mountains. 499 00:08:03,430 --> 00:08:05,670 if we marked all of the crash sites, 500 00:08:05,700 --> 00:08:08,270 this map could not hold all the pins. 501 00:08:08,300 --> 00:08:11,470 it would be so loaded you wouldn't believe it. 502 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:11,650 charles ogle, a businessman 503 00:05:34,650 --> 00:05:36,450 by air and on foot. 504 00:05:36,490 --> 00:05:39,590 and although they find no sign of steve fossett, 505 00:05:39,620 --> 00:05:41,920 they do find plenty of evidence 506 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,690 that the skies above the sierra nevadas 507 00:05:44,730 --> 00:05:46,300 could be treacherous. 508 00:05:46,330 --> 00:05:47,860 schroeder: while we were searching for steve fossett, 509 00:05:47,900 --> 00:05:51,770 we found several other aircraft that had crashed in the areas 510 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:53,170 that were reported missing, 511 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,540 but the planes had never been found. 512 00:05:55,570 --> 00:05:58,210 families had gone for years and years 513 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,680 without knowing what happened to their relatives. 514 00:06:01,710 --> 00:06:04,550 narrator: one of those family members is william ogle, 515 00:06:04,580 --> 00:06:08,050 whose father charles disappeared 43 years earlier. 516 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,090 reporter: the year was 1964. 517 00:08:11,510 --> 00:08:16,210 narrator: pat has documented more than 2,000 wrecks in the area. 518 00:06:11,690 --> 00:06:13,960 and ex-military pilot from california, 519 00:06:13,990 --> 00:06:18,190 flew a single-engine plane out of oakland headed for reno. 520 00:06:18,230 --> 00:06:21,160 narrator: for decades, william and his family wondered-- 521 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:24,470 did he abandon them, or was there an accident? 522 00:06:24,500 --> 00:06:27,900 43 years on and the search for fossett's plane 523 00:06:27,940 --> 00:06:30,570 raises the possibility that ogle 524 00:06:30,610 --> 00:06:33,840 is also a victim of the sierra nevadas. 525 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:36,610 could one of the wrecks be his father's? 526 00:06:36,650 --> 00:06:38,820 william ogle: it would be nice to sort of have the closure 527 00:06:38,850 --> 00:06:41,820 so that you know that he didn't just run off. 528 00:06:41,850 --> 00:06:44,150 i mean, an accident, something happened. 529 00:06:44,190 --> 00:06:47,060 narrator: unfortunately it is bad news. 530 00:06:47,090 --> 00:06:48,660 the plane's registration number 531 00:10:32,210 --> 00:10:34,750 and was familiar with the terrain. 532 00:09:51,310 --> 00:09:53,780 what is uncommon is that there were five lost 533 00:09:53,810 --> 00:09:55,980 in the search for one. 534 00:09:56,010 --> 00:09:58,350 the following summer narrator: it's not until 535 00:09:58,380 --> 00:10:00,420 that the wreckage of the gambler's special 536 00:10:00,450 --> 00:10:02,450 is discovered near mount whitney, 537 00:10:02,490 --> 00:10:06,060 when the receding snow reveals the scale of the tragedy. 538 00:10:06,090 --> 00:10:09,590 macha: the nature of this impact was terrible. 539 00:10:09,630 --> 00:10:12,600 and the aircraft disintegrated. 540 00:10:12,630 --> 00:10:14,960 narrator: the wreck is found on the east-facing cliff 541 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:16,400 on mount whitney. 542 00:10:16,430 --> 00:10:20,740 there are no signs of mechanical or electrical malfunction. 543 00:10:20,770 --> 00:10:22,970 the official investigation concludes 544 00:10:23,010 --> 00:10:26,780 that the cause of the crash is bad visibility. 545 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,180 but like fossett, the pilot was vastly experienced 546 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:51,270 this is not uncommon, however. 547 00:10:34,780 --> 00:10:36,750 one month after it starts, 548 00:10:36,790 --> 00:10:41,860 plane is called off. the search for steve fossett's 549 00:10:41,890 --> 00:10:43,360 schroeder: it was abandoned because of the fact 550 00:10:43,390 --> 00:10:45,900 that we just had searched so long, so many areas, 551 00:10:45,930 --> 00:10:48,000 covered these areas not just once, twice, 552 00:10:48,030 --> 00:10:51,800 three or four times, and we weren't getting anything. 553 00:10:51,830 --> 00:10:54,200 narrator: disappearance it seems that steve fossett's 554 00:10:54,240 --> 00:10:56,810 will have to join the growing list of mysteries 555 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,440 within the nevada triangle. 556 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,280 the hunt to explain the staggering number of accidents 557 00:11:02,310 --> 00:11:03,710 continues. 558 00:11:03,750 --> 00:11:06,020 and just like the bermuda triangle, 559 00:11:06,050 --> 00:11:08,180 the nevada triangle is generating 560 00:11:08,220 --> 00:11:10,850 some extreme theories. 561 00:09:05,630 --> 00:09:07,900 or early the next morning. 562 00:08:16,250 --> 00:08:18,250 over the last 50 years, 563 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,420 every month. that's close to three crashes 564 00:08:21,450 --> 00:08:23,090 yet it is only rarely 565 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:27,620 that these plane crashes attract headlines. 566 00:08:27,660 --> 00:08:29,320 one of the exceptions 567 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:33,960 is the 1969 hawthorne nevada airlines flight 708, 568 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,130 the so-called gambler's special. 569 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:42,470 macha: the story of the gambler's special 570 00:08:42,510 --> 00:08:46,010 is a very interesting case. 571 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,810 there was the hawthorne nevada airlines, 572 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,750 and they had two dc-3 aircraft, and they would fly routinely 573 00:08:52,780 --> 00:08:57,590 from long beach to burbank to hawthorne, nevada. 574 00:08:57,620 --> 00:09:01,190 and people could fly up there, they could party and gamble 575 00:09:01,220 --> 00:09:05,590 and then fly back home late that night and, 576 00:05:31,980 --> 00:05:34,620 narrator: for more than a month they comb the mountains 577 00:09:07,930 --> 00:09:11,470 narrator: but on february 18, 1969, 578 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:13,000 the commercial airliner, 579 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:17,240 carrying 32 passengers and 3 crew members, disappears. 580 00:09:17,270 --> 00:09:20,380 macha: radio contact was lost. 581 00:09:20,410 --> 00:09:24,680 the aircraft did not arrive in, at burbank as scheduled. 582 00:09:24,710 --> 00:09:27,820 so a search was immediately launched. 583 00:09:27,850 --> 00:09:30,350 narrator: but the tragedy turns into a disaster 584 00:09:30,390 --> 00:09:34,490 when five of the search aircraft also crash into the mountains. 585 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,660 the country is shaken by the rising death toll. 586 00:09:37,690 --> 00:09:40,400 macha: the press, uh, really latched on to that story 587 00:09:40,430 --> 00:09:44,070 because it was so interesting and compelling. 588 00:09:44,100 --> 00:09:45,670 the search in the first place, 589 00:09:45,700 --> 00:09:48,870 and then to lose so many searchers in the process. 590 00:02:20,860 --> 00:02:22,530 a couple of things make it very special around here. 591 00:01:27,670 --> 00:01:29,570 to discover the deadly truth 592 00:01:29,610 --> 00:01:33,810 behind the area that has been dubbed "the nevada triangle." 593 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,490 the sierra nevada mountain range stretches 400 miles 594 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,460 across the state line between california and nevada. 595 00:01:49,490 --> 00:01:52,830 most famous parks: it houses three of america's 596 00:01:52,860 --> 00:01:56,200 yosemite, sequoia and kings canyon. 597 00:01:56,230 --> 00:02:00,270 people from all over flock to enjoy the stunning scenery, 598 00:02:00,300 --> 00:02:03,010 from the emerald green waters of lake tahoe 599 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:05,380 to the rugged forests. 600 00:02:05,410 --> 00:02:07,040 but for thrill-seekers, 601 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:11,380 the most dramatic and compelling aspects of the sierra nevadas 602 00:02:11,410 --> 00:02:13,950 are the skies above them. 603 00:02:16,950 --> 00:02:18,590 bill schroeder: i started flying in the sierra nevadas 604 00:02:18,620 --> 00:02:20,820 about 1970. 605 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:27,640 sophisticated wind chamber and in the world's most 606 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:24,230 number one, it's challenging, 607 00:02:24,260 --> 00:02:27,260 and i think that pilots need to be challenged. 608 00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:28,800 the other thing i like about flying here 609 00:02:28,830 --> 00:02:30,870 is just the beauty of the area. 610 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:32,670 you know, you get up in the early morning 611 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:34,640 and come out here when it's nice and cool, 612 00:02:34,670 --> 00:02:37,940 clear, visibility totally unlimited. 613 00:02:37,970 --> 00:02:39,880 you can take a turn to the right, 614 00:02:39,910 --> 00:02:41,310 take a turn to the left, and what do you have? 615 00:02:41,340 --> 00:02:43,280 just beautiful mountains. 616 00:02:43,310 --> 00:02:46,150 narrator: but on september 3, 2007, 617 00:02:46,180 --> 00:02:48,620 the disappearance of a famous pilot 618 00:02:48,650 --> 00:02:53,220 would throw a spotlight on the mountains' terrible secret. 619 00:02:53,260 --> 00:02:55,630 reporter: aviation officials are looking for adventure pilot 620 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:47,260 man: while we were searching for steve fossett 621 00:00:09,860 --> 00:00:13,500 one of the most beautiful and dramatic places in america. 622 00:00:13,530 --> 00:00:15,400 a land of extremes-- 623 00:00:15,430 --> 00:00:19,100 from snow-covered mountain peaks to scorching deserts. 624 00:00:19,140 --> 00:00:22,270 but these mountains hold a terrible secret. 625 00:00:22,310 --> 00:00:25,410 is pushing on you man: it's almost like a hand 626 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:27,080 and stealing away your airspeed. 627 00:00:27,110 --> 00:00:30,550 narrator: a mysterious force that has taken countless lives 628 00:00:30,580 --> 00:00:32,420 over the past 60 years. 629 00:00:32,450 --> 00:00:34,620 man: if we marked all of the crash sites, 630 00:00:34,650 --> 00:00:37,050 this map could not hold all the pins. 631 00:00:37,090 --> 00:00:38,220 [applause] 632 00:00:38,250 --> 00:00:39,690 narrator: but it takes the disappearance 633 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,860 of billionaire steve fossett in 2007 634 00:00:42,890 --> 00:00:45,760 before the extent of the mystery becomes clear. 635 00:02:55,660 --> 00:02:57,960 and world record holder steve fossett. 636 00:00:47,300 --> 00:00:51,200 we found several other aircraft that had crashed in the areas 637 00:00:51,230 --> 00:00:55,670 that were reported missing, but the planes had never been found. 638 00:00:55,710 --> 00:00:58,780 man: there are literally hundreds of plane crashes 639 00:00:58,810 --> 00:01:00,380 in the surrounding area. 640 00:01:00,410 --> 00:01:02,210 it's an intriguing mystery. 641 00:01:02,250 --> 00:01:05,280 man: instruments fail, compasses go haywire, 642 00:01:05,320 --> 00:01:07,350 and in the worst-case scenario 643 00:01:07,380 --> 00:01:10,090 the ignitions of jet engines fail. 644 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,520 narrator: so why have so many pilots lost their lives 645 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,390 and others vanished without a trace? 646 00:01:16,430 --> 00:01:18,090 and what is the missing evidence 647 00:01:18,130 --> 00:01:20,600 that could explain the disappearances? 648 00:01:20,630 --> 00:01:24,270 we explore the phenomenon on the ground, in the air, 649 00:04:51,740 --> 00:04:55,010 to call in a flight plan-- that fossett doesn't even bother 650 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,640 for a civilian in peacetime america. 651 00:04:16,670 --> 00:04:18,640 reporter: aircraft are continuing to criss-cross 652 00:04:18,670 --> 00:04:21,440 over an area of about 17,000 square miles 653 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:22,880 of northwest nevada. 654 00:04:22,910 --> 00:04:25,180 narrator: aviation safety expert bill schroeder 655 00:04:25,210 --> 00:04:27,680 was one of the lead coordinators on the search. 656 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:31,450 he recalls how the terrain made their job incredibly tough. 657 00:04:31,490 --> 00:04:33,890 to find aircraft schroeder: it's very difficult 658 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,460 that go into canyons, that go in between the trees. 659 00:04:36,490 --> 00:04:38,130 to search. from the air it's really hard 660 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,060 narrator: when fossett says goodbye to his wife that morning, 661 00:04:41,100 --> 00:04:44,700 he refers to his flight as "a sunday drive." 662 00:04:44,730 --> 00:04:49,070 he takes off from a private airport 60 miles south of reno. 663 00:04:49,110 --> 00:04:51,710 the sunday drive is so routine 664 00:04:10,700 --> 00:04:14,000 the biggest and most expensive search ever undertaken 665 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,410 an error that will seriously hamper the search teams. 666 00:04:58,450 --> 00:05:01,720 schroeder: a person of his stature in aviation-- 667 00:05:01,750 --> 00:05:03,350 tell somebody i don't know why he didn't 668 00:05:03,390 --> 00:05:05,890 exactly where he was going to be going, 669 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,120 i really don't know. 670 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:11,160 narrator: with no idea of the direction fossett took, 671 00:05:11,190 --> 00:05:15,200 the teams are forced to search over 30,000 square miles, 672 00:05:15,230 --> 00:05:18,000 an area equivalent to the state of maryland. 673 00:05:18,030 --> 00:05:20,440 schroeder: we had our air national guard involved 674 00:05:20,470 --> 00:05:22,170 in the search as well, 675 00:05:22,210 --> 00:05:25,380 to see if, uh, if they could find anything on the dry lakes. 676 00:05:25,410 --> 00:05:27,380 we had other pilots, believe it or not, 677 00:05:27,410 --> 00:05:29,380 that decided they were going to help, 678 00:05:29,410 --> 00:05:31,950 and no one could find him. 679 00:03:34,530 --> 00:03:36,300 i've wanted it for a long time. 680 00:02:57,990 --> 00:03:01,100 narrator: billionaire adventurer steve fossett takes off 681 00:03:01,130 --> 00:03:02,700 from a private airstrip 682 00:03:02,730 --> 00:03:05,670 about 30 miles south of carson city, nevada, 683 00:03:05,700 --> 00:03:08,000 in a single-engine airplane. 684 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,310 he never returns. 685 00:03:10,340 --> 00:03:11,910 man: we are not going to rest 686 00:03:11,940 --> 00:03:15,580 until we bring this to what we feel is a successful conclusion. 687 00:03:15,610 --> 00:03:17,980 narrator: fossett is an experienced aviator 688 00:03:18,010 --> 00:03:21,380 who lives to break aviation records. 689 00:03:21,420 --> 00:03:24,420 in 2002 he becomes the first person 690 00:03:24,450 --> 00:03:28,060 to fly solo across the world in a hot air balloon, 691 00:03:28,090 --> 00:03:29,590 and a few years later, 692 00:03:29,630 --> 00:03:32,830 he does the same in a single-engine aircraft. 693 00:03:32,860 --> 00:03:34,500 steve fossett: so this is a prime record. 694 00:11:10,890 --> 00:11:13,320 ufo enthusiast bill birnes 695 00:03:36,330 --> 00:03:38,400 narrator: to commemorate the historic event, 696 00:03:38,430 --> 00:03:40,070 both aircraft are housed 697 00:03:40,100 --> 00:03:43,740 national air and space museum. at the smithsonian's 698 00:03:43,770 --> 00:03:47,010 how could a man with more than 100 world flying records 699 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:48,380 to his name 700 00:03:48,410 --> 00:03:52,020 disappear on a routine flight in his own back yard? 701 00:03:52,050 --> 00:03:55,620 the mystery captures the attention of the world's media. 702 00:03:55,650 --> 00:03:57,120 schroeder: i think it became a big story 703 00:03:57,150 --> 00:03:59,290 because of the fact of his reputation. 704 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,460 reputation as an aviator, as an adventurer 705 00:04:03,490 --> 00:04:06,400 that suddenly just disappeared, 706 00:04:06,430 --> 00:04:08,800 kind of shocked the world. and i think that's what 707 00:04:08,830 --> 00:04:10,670 narrator: fossett's disappearance triggers 708 00:19:24,980 --> 00:19:27,680 where i could maneuver the airplane to some degree, 709 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,950 the ground rising quickly below him. 710 00:18:49,980 --> 00:18:51,610 you know, nowlin: it's almost like, 711 00:18:51,650 --> 00:18:56,790 a hand is pushing on you and stealing away your airspeed. 712 00:18:56,820 --> 00:19:00,320 in aviation there are two things that are irreplaceable: 713 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:02,460 that's airspeed and altitude. 714 00:19:02,490 --> 00:19:04,190 if you have the right combination of the two, 715 00:19:04,230 --> 00:19:06,530 then you can handle most anything. 716 00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:08,560 if you have one or the other taken away from you, 717 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:11,600 then you're in trouble. 718 00:19:11,630 --> 00:19:13,270 i mean, it slowed me up so much 719 00:19:13,300 --> 00:19:17,970 the airplane was no longer capable of flying. 720 00:19:18,010 --> 00:19:20,540 the last thing i really remember was there's some tall trees 721 00:19:20,580 --> 00:19:22,810 back behind us over there 722 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:24,950 i still had enough airspeed 723 00:18:43,710 --> 00:18:47,010 but seconds later, he loses airspeed, 724 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:29,280 and i was bound and determined 725 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,890 i was going to stay out of those trees. 726 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:33,260 narrator: luckily for jim, 727 00:19:33,290 --> 00:19:37,330 he and his passengers all survive without serious injuries 728 00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:40,930 and are rescued within hours of the crash. 729 00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:42,900 but could his experience cast light 730 00:19:42,930 --> 00:19:45,930 on the fate of steve fossett? 731 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,170 in october 2008, 732 00:19:50,210 --> 00:19:54,110 over a year after the search for fossett's plane is called off, 733 00:19:54,140 --> 00:19:56,610 a hiker makes a discovery. 734 00:19:56,650 --> 00:19:58,550 man: i said, "oh, my gosh, what's that?" 735 00:19:58,580 --> 00:20:00,620 and in the dirt with the pine needles, 736 00:20:00,650 --> 00:20:03,120 in the dirt i see like an i.d. card. 737 00:20:03,150 --> 00:20:04,650 reporter: tonight at the command post, 738 00:17:57,490 --> 00:18:00,360 jim nowlin's story is typical. 739 00:17:20,820 --> 00:17:26,390 but of course makes no mention of any ufo-related research. 740 00:17:26,430 --> 00:17:30,700 merlin: i think sometimes people prefer to believe the mystery. 741 00:17:30,730 --> 00:17:33,270 literally tell me i've had people 742 00:17:33,300 --> 00:17:34,870 that the more they learned 743 00:17:34,900 --> 00:17:37,510 about what was actually going on at area 51, 744 00:17:37,540 --> 00:17:40,710 the less interested they were. 745 00:17:40,740 --> 00:17:42,340 narrator: military accidents can account 746 00:17:42,380 --> 00:17:44,310 for a lot of the crashed aircraft 747 00:17:44,350 --> 00:17:47,220 found in the vicinity of area 51-- 748 00:17:47,250 --> 00:17:48,850 for the crashes but they don't account 749 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:50,990 in the sierra nevada mountains. 750 00:17:51,020 --> 00:17:53,190 most of the crashes and disappearances 751 00:17:53,220 --> 00:17:55,520 in that area of the nevada triangle 752 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:57,460 are civilian aircraft. 753 00:20:04,690 --> 00:20:06,150 officials are waiting for daybreak 754 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,270 on a sunny spring day in may 2013, 755 00:18:04,300 --> 00:18:08,900 jim nowlin is taking his friends out for a ride in his airplane. 756 00:18:08,940 --> 00:18:13,110 jim nowlin: my friend had set it up many weeks in advance 757 00:18:13,140 --> 00:18:15,640 as a birthday present for his girlfriend 758 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:17,510 to do a tour around lake tahoe, 759 00:18:17,550 --> 00:18:19,050 many of those. which i've done many, 760 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,890 most of my life, i'd been flying over the sierra 761 00:18:22,920 --> 00:18:26,690 was going to be any issues. so i didn't really think there 762 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,030 well, when we took off it was bumpy-- 763 00:18:31,060 --> 00:18:34,660 nothing that i considered at all unsafe. 764 00:18:34,700 --> 00:18:38,900 turbulence over the years. i've been in some pretty good 765 00:18:38,930 --> 00:18:41,140 narrator: jim flies out of the mild turbulence 766 00:18:41,170 --> 00:18:43,670 and back into calm weather conditions. 767 00:22:12,450 --> 00:22:15,150 and a lot of times for us that's daytime heating, 768 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,420 at the national weather service in reno, nevada, 769 00:21:43,450 --> 00:21:45,920 believes that the unpredictable weather conditions 770 00:21:45,950 --> 00:21:47,460 over the mountains 771 00:21:47,490 --> 00:21:50,460 are the key to unraveling the nevada mystery. 772 00:21:50,490 --> 00:21:52,160 tolby: the sierra nevada is unique 773 00:21:52,190 --> 00:21:54,200 to an ocean, because it's very close 774 00:21:54,230 --> 00:21:57,000 and we get strong storms out of the eastern pacific 775 00:21:57,030 --> 00:21:58,670 during the wintertime. 776 00:21:58,700 --> 00:22:01,470 narrator: and when those storms hit the unusual geography 777 00:22:01,500 --> 00:22:03,270 of the sierra nevadas, 778 00:22:03,310 --> 00:22:06,810 the huge fluctuations in altitude and temperature 779 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,110 can intensify the storm. 780 00:22:09,140 --> 00:22:10,550 tolby: the thunderstorms form 781 00:22:10,580 --> 00:22:12,410 in the atmosphere, when there's instability 782 00:21:38,410 --> 00:21:40,480 narrator: zach tolby, a meteorologist 783 00:22:15,180 --> 00:22:16,520 which creates that instability, 784 00:22:16,550 --> 00:22:18,590 and the cooler air up, up in the atmosphere, 785 00:22:18,620 --> 00:22:22,260 and so as that warm air rises and then condenses, 786 00:22:22,290 --> 00:22:24,130 it accelerates up. 787 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:28,660 narrator: with its peak soaring to over 14,000 feet above sea level, 788 00:22:28,700 --> 00:22:31,500 mount whitney is the highest point in the u.s.a. 789 00:22:31,530 --> 00:22:33,570 outside of alaska. 790 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,970 yet at the foot of the mountain lays death valley-- 791 00:22:37,010 --> 00:22:40,880 at 282 feet below sea level. 792 00:22:42,510 --> 00:22:44,750 as the cool stormy air from the ocean 793 00:22:44,780 --> 00:22:47,180 flows over the high mountain peaks, 794 00:22:47,220 --> 00:22:52,020 it is met by the hot, humid air rising from death valley. 795 00:22:52,050 --> 00:22:55,360 the combination causes sudden and intense storms. 796 00:22:55,390 --> 00:22:58,390 [thunder] 797 00:20:48,030 --> 00:20:49,600 whatever brought him down, 798 00:20:06,190 --> 00:20:07,460 so that ground crews can try 799 00:20:07,490 --> 00:20:09,560 to confirm the sightings from the air 800 00:20:09,590 --> 00:20:11,760 of possible wreckage of an airplane, 801 00:20:11,790 --> 00:20:17,100 probably the long lost missing plane of pilot steve fossett. 802 00:20:17,130 --> 00:20:19,670 narrator: a few days later, investigators reach 803 00:20:19,700 --> 00:20:21,970 the mangled wreckage of fossett's plane 804 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,670 outside of mammoth lakes, california, 805 00:20:24,710 --> 00:20:28,680 just 65 miles south from where he took off. 806 00:20:28,710 --> 00:20:30,710 man: what we have learned thus far 807 00:20:30,750 --> 00:20:35,150 is indicative of a high-impact crash 808 00:20:35,180 --> 00:20:40,760 which appears to be consistent with a non-survivable accident. 809 00:20:40,790 --> 00:20:42,820 narrator: the initial investigation reveals 810 00:20:42,860 --> 00:20:44,930 that at the time of his crash 811 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,000 his plane was in perfect working order. 812 00:17:17,290 --> 00:17:20,790 the dossier details testing of advanced aircraft, 813 00:20:49,630 --> 00:20:53,970 or mechanical failure. it wasn't alien technology 814 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,400 the nevada triangle has claimed another pilot 815 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,040 in mysterious circumstances. 816 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,450 with no clues emerging from steve fossett's wreckage, 817 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,550 the ntsb pursues a new culprit: the weather. 818 00:21:09,580 --> 00:21:11,590 and it turns out, the weather here 819 00:21:11,620 --> 00:21:15,820 is among the most complex and unpredictable in america. 820 00:21:18,830 --> 00:21:22,200 the sierra nevadas are 400 miles of granite 821 00:21:22,230 --> 00:21:24,270 that vary in elevation. 822 00:21:24,300 --> 00:21:27,870 there are hundreds of peaks higher than 12,000 feet, 823 00:21:27,900 --> 00:21:32,880 and at those heights, weather can change very rapidly. 824 00:21:32,910 --> 00:21:35,580 zach tolby: we just issued a severe thunderstorm warning 825 00:21:35,610 --> 00:21:38,380 for central washoe county. 826 00:13:17,610 --> 00:13:20,420 they need to keep their new venture top-secret, 827 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,210 and crashes in the area. 828 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,450 birnes: why are there so many plane crashes in this area, 829 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:45,650 the nevada triangle? 830 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:49,250 well, one theory is this: that because ufos, 831 00:12:49,290 --> 00:12:50,950 either the ones we're testing 832 00:12:50,990 --> 00:12:53,360 from here, or the ones that don't come 833 00:12:53,390 --> 00:12:57,160 fly around in this electromagnetic envelope, 834 00:12:57,190 --> 00:13:00,300 instruments fail, compasses go haywire, 835 00:13:00,330 --> 00:13:02,400 and in the worst-case scenario, 836 00:13:02,430 --> 00:13:05,870 the ignitions of jet engines fail. 837 00:13:05,900 --> 00:13:08,800 narrator: the mysterious reputation of area 51 838 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,240 has its roots in the 1950s, 839 00:13:11,270 --> 00:13:14,980 when the cia partners with the lockheed aviation company 840 00:13:15,010 --> 00:13:17,580 to build and test aircraft. 841 00:12:37,340 --> 00:12:40,010 is the reason behind aircraft disappearances 842 00:13:20,450 --> 00:13:26,320 so they choose this remote location in the nevada desert. 843 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,920 named simply by its map coordinates, 844 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,730 area 51 sparks the imagination 845 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,800 of many conspiracy theorists in the united states 846 00:13:34,830 --> 00:13:37,030 and around the world. 847 00:13:40,100 --> 00:13:43,510 peter merlin is a well-known aeronautical historian 848 00:13:43,540 --> 00:13:47,240 who has been studying area 51 for 30 years. 849 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,050 he also thinks that the heavily guarded base 850 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:54,080 is behind many of the crashed planes littering the area. 851 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:55,380 watched right now peter merlin: we're being 852 00:13:55,420 --> 00:13:57,890 by area 51 security. 853 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:02,930 they detected us coming in using road sensors that are magnetic 854 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:07,060 to detect any metal object coming by, like a truck. 855 00:14:07,100 --> 00:14:10,000 the whole time now he'll be watching us 856 00:11:58,100 --> 00:12:02,200 because a flying saucer or a flying wedge-shaped object 857 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:17,160 believes that the high number of crashed aircraft in the area 858 00:11:17,190 --> 00:11:19,760 is due to the fact that the triangle's footprint 859 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,400 includes the secret base known as area 51. 860 00:11:24,430 --> 00:11:26,770 bill birnes: so right over those mountains over there, 861 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:31,270 the famous, the historic, the mysterious area 51. 862 00:11:31,310 --> 00:11:34,740 the legend is that all the way back from the 1950s, 863 00:11:34,780 --> 00:11:37,380 at least through middle 1990s, 864 00:11:37,410 --> 00:11:41,850 you could be shot on sight if you crossed the border. 865 00:11:41,880 --> 00:11:44,450 narrator: the high level of secrecy surrounding the base 866 00:11:44,490 --> 00:11:46,620 attracts plenty of controversy-- 867 00:11:46,660 --> 00:11:48,560 controversy that can be traced back 868 00:11:48,590 --> 00:11:51,190 to the so-called roswell incident. 869 00:11:51,230 --> 00:11:54,660 birnes: in july 1947, some people say 870 00:11:54,700 --> 00:11:58,070 that human history changed 871 00:14:10,030 --> 00:14:11,400 as long as we're out here, 872 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,240 crashed outside of roswell. 873 00:12:05,270 --> 00:12:07,710 initially when the army saw the material, 874 00:12:07,740 --> 00:12:09,280 they didn't know what they had. 875 00:12:09,310 --> 00:12:12,820 all they knew was it wasn't from this world. 876 00:12:12,850 --> 00:12:14,250 then they decided 877 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:16,720 what it is ourselves, if we can't figure it out 878 00:12:16,750 --> 00:12:18,520 of the top engineers, let's get some 879 00:12:18,550 --> 00:12:21,320 the top scientists, the top metallurgists, 880 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:26,200 in complete secrecy. let's bring them to area 51 881 00:12:26,230 --> 00:12:29,670 narrator: in 1994 the pentagon releases a report 882 00:12:29,700 --> 00:12:31,700 exposing the roswell incident 883 00:12:31,730 --> 00:12:34,640 as no more than a downed weather balloon. 884 00:12:34,670 --> 00:12:37,310 but bill still believes that alien technology 885 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:33,840 the sightings of the unusual winged aircraft 886 00:15:45,730 --> 00:15:48,460 like air-to-air combat or air-to-ground combat. 887 00:15:48,500 --> 00:15:50,900 all of these are exceedingly hazardous. 888 00:15:50,930 --> 00:15:55,440 to have lots of crashes. it's not at all surprising 889 00:15:55,470 --> 00:15:57,270 narrator: one of those early crashes 890 00:15:57,310 --> 00:16:01,440 is the lockheed u-2 spy plane in 1957. 891 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:04,910 it is the first airplane ever tested in area 51 892 00:16:04,950 --> 00:16:08,220 and very likely the source of the initial rumors 893 00:16:08,250 --> 00:16:12,490 that link area 51 to captured alien technology. 894 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:14,220 the u-2 spy plane program 895 00:16:14,260 --> 00:16:18,490 is partially declassified in 1998 by the cia. 896 00:16:18,530 --> 00:16:21,100 although not mentioning area 51, 897 00:16:21,130 --> 00:16:25,200 the file contains details of an incident in the 1950s, 898 00:16:25,230 --> 00:16:26,700 when the prototype flies 899 00:16:26,740 --> 00:16:30,810 at altitudes no one believes possible. 900 00:15:41,820 --> 00:15:45,700 where combat planes are used in mock exercises 901 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,050 prompt many reports of unidentified flying objects 902 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:38,810 in the area. 903 00:16:38,850 --> 00:16:41,950 what the locals are actually seeing isn't alien, 904 00:16:41,980 --> 00:16:44,920 but a marvel of human ingenuity. 905 00:16:44,950 --> 00:16:47,420 the history of area 51 merlin: i've been researching 906 00:16:47,460 --> 00:16:49,530 for more than 30 years. 907 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,860 any evidence whatsoever i've never seen 908 00:16:51,890 --> 00:16:55,260 to do with extraterrestrials. to suggest there's anything 909 00:16:55,300 --> 00:16:59,800 built right here on earth. it's all advanced technology 910 00:17:01,740 --> 00:17:05,640 narrator: in 2013, after decades of being called 911 00:17:05,670 --> 00:17:09,440 "the most famous military institution that doesn't exist," 912 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:13,750 the cia finally releases hundreds of declassified papers 913 00:17:13,780 --> 00:17:17,250 confirming the existence of area 51. 914 00:15:01,850 --> 00:15:03,290 there's an f-4e 915 00:14:11,430 --> 00:14:15,340 to the border of area 51. 'cause we're very close 916 00:14:15,370 --> 00:14:19,780 narrator: but merlin has no time for talk of alien technology. 917 00:14:19,810 --> 00:14:22,710 merlin: i think the idea of aliens being involved 918 00:14:22,750 --> 00:14:27,150 with any plane crashes in this area is just rubbish. 919 00:14:27,180 --> 00:14:30,390 narrator: merlin is drawn to this part of the nevada triangle 920 00:14:30,420 --> 00:14:34,490 for evidence that points to a far less exotic explanation. 921 00:14:37,990 --> 00:14:41,200 merlin: this is definitely wreckage from an f-4 phantom ii. 922 00:14:41,230 --> 00:14:43,870 from the side of the aircraft; we're looking at a part 923 00:14:43,900 --> 00:14:47,540 from one of the engines. it's the air intake 924 00:14:47,570 --> 00:14:51,270 and there's a piece up here that's got a part number 925 00:14:51,310 --> 00:14:54,380 an f-4 part number. that's very definitely 926 00:14:54,410 --> 00:14:57,050 narrator: peter merlin has been hunting downed aircraft here 927 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:58,610 for decades. 928 00:14:58,650 --> 00:15:01,820 to the crash site of an f-4d. merlin: we're very close 929 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:09,830 narrator: the sierra nevadas. 930 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:06,220 in tempait mountain across the valley. 931 00:15:06,260 --> 00:15:08,990 there's an f-16 down in rachel. 932 00:15:09,020 --> 00:15:12,560 uh, british harrier crashed over the mountains there. 933 00:15:12,590 --> 00:15:14,100 uh, in railroad valley 934 00:15:14,130 --> 00:15:17,100 that collided in mid-air. you've got two f-15s 935 00:15:17,130 --> 00:15:20,470 all of this took place during routine testing and training. 936 00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:22,440 and these are just the crashes i can think of 937 00:15:22,470 --> 00:15:23,940 off the top of my head. 938 00:15:23,970 --> 00:15:26,540 there are dozens more just in the local area 939 00:15:26,580 --> 00:15:28,410 and hundreds in the surrounding desert. 940 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:29,780 narrator: he thinks the reason 941 00:15:29,810 --> 00:15:33,550 for the high number of military crashes is obvious. 942 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,790 merlin: this is a place where high-tech airplanes are tested, 76227

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