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Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:00,980 --> 00:00:04,040 Above the remote Alaskan wilderness… 2 00:00:06,787 --> 00:00:08,547 two planes collide. 3 00:00:10,511 --> 00:00:11,786 Mayday. Mayday. 4 00:00:12,346 --> 00:00:14,566 A witness races to help. 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:19,299 All I saw was a whole bunch of people floating. 6 00:00:20,190 --> 00:00:21,786 Six people are dead. 7 00:00:22,180 --> 00:00:26,081 A mid-air collision is probably the most scary thing that could happen to you. 8 00:00:26,550 --> 00:00:29,990 NTSB investigators talk to the surviving pilot. 9 00:00:30,973 --> 00:00:33,533 Look, he was just there. I couldn't avoid him. 10 00:00:34,230 --> 00:00:36,960 When they examine the on-board alerting system… 11 00:00:37,135 --> 00:00:38,702 Why didn't he turn away? 12 00:00:38,786 --> 00:00:40,786 the mystery deepens. 13 00:00:40,870 --> 00:00:42,952 We're missing something. 14 00:00:43,036 --> 00:00:46,073 But then investigators get an unexpected glimpse, 15 00:00:46,156 --> 00:00:48,668 -Whoa. -into a key moment in time. 16 00:00:48,752 --> 00:00:51,279 It was eerie and disturbing to see the photos 17 00:00:51,363 --> 00:00:55,158 because they were taken in a person's last moments. 18 00:00:56,386 --> 00:00:58,002 Mayday! Mayday! 19 00:00:59,776 --> 00:01:00,923 [warnings blaring] 20 00:01:01,006 --> 00:01:02,373 PULL UP! 21 00:01:03,677 --> 00:01:08,016 [indistinct radio chatter] 22 00:01:22,115 --> 00:01:27,241 It's a busy day at Alaska's Misty Fjords floatplane base. 23 00:01:28,661 --> 00:01:31,618 Four cruise ship passengers have booked a sightseeing 24 00:01:31,701 --> 00:01:35,385 flight over Alaska's spectacular southeast coast. 25 00:01:37,035 --> 00:01:39,992 Okay, folks, get comfortable and fasten your seat belts. 26 00:01:42,365 --> 00:01:48,498 46-year-old Randy Sullivan is the owner of Mountain Air Services and its only pilot. 27 00:01:49,413 --> 00:01:52,506 Hey, looks like you're going to have the best view in Alaska. 28 00:01:52,589 --> 00:01:53,937 I can hardly wait. 29 00:01:55,025 --> 00:01:57,904 This will be Sullivan's second flight of the day. 30 00:02:00,460 --> 00:02:03,792 Just got a few things to do before we get started. 31 00:02:03,876 --> 00:02:08,256 Randy Sullivan has spent most of his career flying over Misty Fjords. 32 00:02:11,813 --> 00:02:16,139 Transponder on and broadcasting. Okay, guys, put your headsets on. 33 00:02:19,850 --> 00:02:25,930 Mountain Air was a small operator doing primarily sightseeing trips. 34 00:02:27,103 --> 00:02:29,216 Can you guys hear me okay? 35 00:02:29,300 --> 00:02:30,573 Okay, here we go. 36 00:02:31,702 --> 00:02:34,782 This would have been his entire life running this company, 37 00:02:34,866 --> 00:02:37,128 and he would have loved what he was doing. 38 00:02:39,443 --> 00:02:43,952 All right. Flight controls free and correct. 39 00:02:44,036 --> 00:02:48,430 Master fuel, check. Landing lights, check. 40 00:02:49,370 --> 00:02:53,896 Just after 12 noon, the Mountain Air floatplane is ready for takeoff. 41 00:02:58,453 --> 00:03:01,127 Okay, that's five minutes since last departure. 42 00:03:02,307 --> 00:03:07,113 Pilots space out their takeoffs since there's no air traffic control in this area. 43 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,023 Misty traffic, this is Beaver 52 Delta Bravo. 44 00:03:13,106 --> 00:03:15,913 Ready for a straight out. Any conflicting? Misty traffic. 45 00:03:16,813 --> 00:03:19,526 Sullivan radios other pilots in the area. 46 00:03:21,989 --> 00:03:24,436 In airspace like the Misty Fjords, 47 00:03:24,519 --> 00:03:27,062 the pilots all control themselves, 48 00:03:27,146 --> 00:03:32,536 and it's primarily a see and be seen situation. 49 00:03:32,619 --> 00:03:35,390 Without any air traffic control to keep you separated, 50 00:03:35,473 --> 00:03:37,859 you have to maintain that separation yourself. 51 00:03:47,193 --> 00:03:49,933 It's a textbook takeoff in light winds. 52 00:03:52,066 --> 00:03:57,093 Today's 40-mile flight will take passengers from Rudyerd Bay to Ketchikan. 53 00:03:59,013 --> 00:04:02,549 They'll cross high mountains and dramatic terrain. 54 00:04:02,633 --> 00:04:05,703 Misty Fjords is an absolutely beautiful area. 55 00:04:05,786 --> 00:04:10,219 It's towering mountains, glaciers, lakes, fjords, wildlife. 56 00:04:10,302 --> 00:04:13,944 And the best way to see a place like that of course is from an airplane, 57 00:04:14,028 --> 00:04:18,732 where you can get the full impact of the scenery and the immenseness of the area. 58 00:04:22,439 --> 00:04:28,319 Every year, more than 100,000 cruise ship passengers visit Alaska's Misty Fjords. 59 00:04:29,587 --> 00:04:32,570 The flight tours have become an essential experience 60 00:04:32,653 --> 00:04:35,307 for those who can afford the luxury price tag. 61 00:04:37,941 --> 00:04:39,867 If you look out to your left, 62 00:04:39,956 --> 00:04:43,356 you'll see cliffs that were carved smooth by the last great ice age. 63 00:04:45,036 --> 00:04:48,436 Randy Sullivan points out the highlights throughout the flight. 64 00:04:51,236 --> 00:04:55,005 Being a single pilot operation while you're doing the tours, 65 00:04:55,088 --> 00:04:57,712 you're multitasking with your customers all the time, 66 00:04:57,795 --> 00:05:00,835 trying to give them the best tour that you can give them. 67 00:05:00,918 --> 00:05:03,821 At the same time, you're also multitasking as a pilot, 68 00:05:03,904 --> 00:05:05,704 where you're trying to maintain your 69 00:05:05,787 --> 00:05:08,413 situational awareness of all the other aircraft, 70 00:05:08,497 --> 00:05:13,024 as well as you're a lot of times flying at very low level through the terrain, 71 00:05:13,107 --> 00:05:16,466 which adds one more bit of complexity to the entire operation. 72 00:05:17,702 --> 00:05:21,202 Mountain Air Services operates a de Havilland Beaver, 73 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:23,979 a single-engine prop plane. 74 00:05:27,136 --> 00:05:31,591 The Beaver was originally built for the United States Air Force in 1951, 75 00:05:32,856 --> 00:05:36,256 but many are now operated by northern bush pilots. 76 00:05:36,919 --> 00:05:40,135 De Havilland Beaver was a uniquely designed airplane, 77 00:05:40,219 --> 00:05:44,138 and the takeoff and landing is absolutely incredible. 78 00:05:44,221 --> 00:05:46,504 That's what makes it so versatile in the bush, 79 00:05:46,587 --> 00:05:50,054 is that you can get it in and out of pretty much any little lake. Uh. 80 00:05:50,137 --> 00:05:55,067 If you're on wheels or skis, you can get it off short strips or short frozen lakes. 81 00:05:58,300 --> 00:06:02,696 Misty traffic, Beaver 2 Delta Bravo exiting Rudyerd, 82 00:06:02,780 --> 00:06:05,376 climbing through 1,900 westbound. 83 00:06:05,459 --> 00:06:10,266 Check that. 45 Mike Mike is just off the water now and well behind you. 84 00:06:13,913 --> 00:06:18,773 It's May, and this part of Alaska is enjoying exceptionally good weather. 85 00:06:20,276 --> 00:06:24,263 On the Alaska coast, the weather can change extremely rapidly. 86 00:06:24,347 --> 00:06:26,802 It can go from a beautiful clear day to just 87 00:06:26,885 --> 00:06:31,710 horrible weather within a very short period of time. 88 00:06:31,793 --> 00:06:35,668 When the days are good, all the aircraft are flying, 89 00:06:35,751 --> 00:06:38,952 everybody is out making hay while the sun shines. 90 00:06:39,035 --> 00:06:41,391 -Have a good cruise so far? -It's been great. 91 00:06:43,016 --> 00:06:46,246 The forecast for tomorrow is low clouds and rain. 92 00:06:47,467 --> 00:06:51,389 So today, Sullivan plans to operate a full day of flights. 93 00:06:52,096 --> 00:06:56,362 You all are pretty lucky. They call this place the Misty Fjord for a reason. 94 00:06:57,433 --> 00:06:59,083 Weather like this is pretty rare. 95 00:07:02,870 --> 00:07:07,483 Beaver 8 Golf Mike is 2,700 feet in the climb, exiting the bay. 96 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,807 We've got the Mountain Air Beaver ahead. 97 00:07:10,890 --> 00:07:12,643 We will fall in trail behind. 98 00:07:13,695 --> 00:07:17,052 Hey Dave, I've got you on display, but I don't have you visual. 99 00:07:17,135 --> 00:07:19,509 As long as you can see me, we're good. 100 00:07:19,593 --> 00:07:22,693 I got you above and ahead of me, Randy. Enjoy the ride. 101 00:07:24,647 --> 00:07:25,968 Oh, uh huh, uh 102 00:07:26,051 --> 00:07:30,301 even if we can't see each other the display lets us know where the other planes are. 103 00:07:30,385 --> 00:07:31,562 Cool. 104 00:07:31,645 --> 00:07:35,111 The traffic systems will enhance your ability for the see-and-avoid, 105 00:07:35,194 --> 00:07:38,175 because it will alert you of aircraft that you 106 00:07:38,258 --> 00:07:42,728 may have missed because of visibility issues, before you get too close. 107 00:07:44,180 --> 00:07:46,518 Coming up in about two minutes on your right, 108 00:07:46,601 --> 00:07:51,361 you're going to see one of the highlights of the trip, the majestic Mahoney Falls. 109 00:07:54,116 --> 00:07:58,467 20 minutes into the flight, the Beaver approaches the waterfall. 110 00:08:03,039 --> 00:08:06,033 Passengers are treated to a spectacular view. 111 00:08:15,403 --> 00:08:18,043 The Beaver and another aircraft collide. 112 00:08:19,256 --> 00:08:24,922 The Beaver basically came apart. It free-fell 3,000 feet from the sky. 113 00:08:27,203 --> 00:08:31,763 A retired fisherman on George Inlet is shocked by what he sees. 114 00:08:35,372 --> 00:08:38,932 Mayday. Mayday. This is Hotel Sea calling Coast Guard radio. 115 00:08:41,892 --> 00:08:44,546 Go ahead, state the nature of your emergency. 116 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:52,749 The second plane involved is a larger ten passenger de Havilland Otter. 117 00:08:52,832 --> 00:08:55,666 Two float planes down, George Inlet. 118 00:09:01,049 --> 00:09:05,752 The Otter was still largely intact. There was damage. 119 00:09:05,836 --> 00:09:12,756 The pilot obviously kept his cool and managed to control the aircraft. 120 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:21,845 I saw a, an Otter floatplane crash into the water with a huge splash and, 121 00:09:21,929 --> 00:09:26,138 I got closer and all I saw was a whole bunch of people 122 00:09:26,221 --> 00:09:32,361 floating in the, in an area 50, 60 yards. 123 00:09:33,139 --> 00:09:36,702 But there was one person um, that never made it out of the airplane. 124 00:09:38,170 --> 00:09:42,550 The ten survivors, including the pilot, are rushed to hospital. 125 00:09:44,283 --> 00:09:48,043 There are no survivors from the plane piloted by Randy Sullivan. 126 00:09:51,110 --> 00:09:56,033 How could two planes in one of the most popular tourist destinations on Earth, 127 00:09:56,117 --> 00:09:58,210 collide in mid-air? 128 00:10:05,626 --> 00:10:10,506 Within hours, the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, 129 00:10:10,590 --> 00:10:14,263 dispatches a team of investigators to search for wreckage. 130 00:10:17,496 --> 00:10:21,336 We still have to recover the planes, and then we have to look at those, 131 00:10:21,420 --> 00:10:23,493 and it, it takes some significant work to 132 00:10:23,577 --> 00:10:25,735 really understand how the two came together, 133 00:10:25,819 --> 00:10:29,759 but we have some great experts at the NTSB who are well versed in that. 134 00:10:30,999 --> 00:10:34,019 Aaron Sauer is named lead investigator. 135 00:10:35,780 --> 00:10:40,176 The wreckage area of the Beaver was scattered for about 3,000 feet. 136 00:10:40,260 --> 00:10:45,555 Uh, a portion of the main fuselage was located upside down in the saltwater. 137 00:10:45,638 --> 00:10:50,836 There was a lot of debris that was mixed into the terrain in that mountainous area. 138 00:10:50,919 --> 00:10:56,453 Vegetation was high. It was very difficult to navigate to try and recover 139 00:10:56,536 --> 00:10:59,600 as much of the debris from the Beaver that we could. 140 00:11:01,322 --> 00:11:06,502 The other aircraft, the Otter, is owned by the largest tour operator in the area, 141 00:11:06,585 --> 00:11:10,897 Taquan Air. It sank in 80 feet of water. 142 00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:13,395 The floats of the Otter were separated. 143 00:11:13,479 --> 00:11:16,449 They ended up washing ashore. 144 00:11:16,532 --> 00:11:18,840 But ultimately, they were able to get divers 145 00:11:18,923 --> 00:11:21,844 down, locate the wreckage almost immediately, 146 00:11:21,927 --> 00:11:25,516 and they were able to successfully get that aircraft up on that barge. 147 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:38,383 Um, tag the Beaver wreckage, and when the Otter comes, we're going to put it there. 148 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:44,896 The small sightseeing planes were not required to carry black boxes. 149 00:11:44,990 --> 00:11:48,743 Keep an eye out for avionics, cameras, phones, anything with photos or, 150 00:11:49,865 --> 00:11:52,876 data that will help us piece this together. 151 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,820 Without recorders, the investigation becomes much more difficult. 152 00:11:57,860 --> 00:12:01,457 So without the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, 153 00:12:01,540 --> 00:12:04,342 we had to look for other sources of data. 154 00:12:04,426 --> 00:12:05,956 Hey, help me move this. 155 00:12:10,020 --> 00:12:12,987 As the team surveys the Beaver wreckage, 156 00:12:13,070 --> 00:12:17,047 they find evidence that can help them piece together the violent collision. 157 00:12:18,410 --> 00:12:24,484 These are sawtooth marks, from a propeller striking the right wing. 158 00:12:26,057 --> 00:12:29,196 We wanted to understand what angle did we have. 159 00:12:29,776 --> 00:12:33,042 That was very important for us to understand 160 00:12:33,902 --> 00:12:39,415 in order to recreate the collision and aid us in the investigation. 161 00:12:41,270 --> 00:12:43,220 The pattern's in the inboard direction. 162 00:12:45,220 --> 00:12:47,957 So the Otter came from behind and to the right. 163 00:12:49,430 --> 00:12:54,504 The discovery begins to unveil what happened in the skies over Misty Fjord. 164 00:12:56,077 --> 00:13:01,191 The collision angle was important for us because what it told us is both airplanes 165 00:13:01,274 --> 00:13:04,103 weren't necessarily on a head-on collision course. 166 00:13:04,186 --> 00:13:10,157 They were more or less headed to the same location with a shallow degree of angle. 167 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,340 The collision was more of a sideswipe. 168 00:13:14,893 --> 00:13:18,158 Both planes took off from Rudyerd Bay here 169 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,851 and headed to their cruise ship in Ketchikan. 170 00:13:24,403 --> 00:13:26,051 The Beaver left first, 171 00:13:28,350 --> 00:13:31,045 and a few minutes later, the Otter departed. 172 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:36,190 With a basic understanding of how the two planes collided, 173 00:13:36,273 --> 00:13:40,135 investigators try to pinpoint where the accident occurred. 174 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,013 We had one witness… 175 00:13:48,653 --> 00:13:51,940 who was located, here. 176 00:13:52,955 --> 00:13:56,123 We had a witness that was hunting in the area 177 00:13:56,206 --> 00:13:59,046 that didn't see the collision but heard the 178 00:13:59,129 --> 00:14:02,931 collision, which then in turn gave us an idea 179 00:14:03,014 --> 00:14:07,213 of where exactly did this happen up in a point in sky. 180 00:14:08,380 --> 00:14:13,693 Based on his account the collision happened, somewhere in here. 181 00:14:15,433 --> 00:14:19,556 Investigators now know exactly where the accident occurred, 182 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:21,501 but they still don't know why. 183 00:14:22,308 --> 00:14:27,646 Maybe, they were converging on this point. 184 00:14:28,574 --> 00:14:32,499 The planes collided very near the scenic Mahoney Falls. 185 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:35,306 It is certainly possible. 186 00:14:37,049 --> 00:14:38,546 It has happened before. 187 00:14:39,980 --> 00:14:44,616 A similar mid-air collision happened over Arizona in 1986. 188 00:14:46,250 --> 00:14:50,416 A Twin Otter and a helicopter collided over the Grand Canyon, 189 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:52,328 killing 25 people. 190 00:14:53,150 --> 00:14:57,110 Both aircraft were also approaching a popular scenic attraction. 191 00:14:58,090 --> 00:15:02,317 Air tour flights have a higher rate of mid-air collisions, statistically speaking, 192 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:08,247 because they operate in areas with dense traffic around various scenic landmarks. 193 00:15:08,330 --> 00:15:13,470 And in addition, they operate without air traffic control separation. 194 00:15:16,740 --> 00:15:18,490 What was the weather like that day? 195 00:15:19,819 --> 00:15:21,242 I'll check it out. 196 00:15:22,970 --> 00:15:27,315 Did Alaska's rapidly changing weather play a role in the accident? 197 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:31,943 So weather conditions in any accident are important 198 00:15:32,026 --> 00:15:35,307 to understand the environment that these pilots are operating in. 199 00:15:35,390 --> 00:15:37,550 Are the weather conditions cloudy? 200 00:15:37,633 --> 00:15:39,982 Does that limit their ability to see? 201 00:15:40,065 --> 00:15:44,537 Does it limit their ability to react to certain situations? 202 00:15:46,463 --> 00:15:49,683 These are from a weather camera, eight miles from the accident. 203 00:15:50,966 --> 00:15:53,856 Investigators review weather reports for nearby 204 00:15:53,939 --> 00:15:56,380 George Inlet at the time of the accident. 205 00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,439 A few scattered clouds, 206 00:16:00,910 --> 00:16:03,593 -but much higher than they were flying. -Mmhm 207 00:16:04,990 --> 00:16:09,473 The weather conditions in Ketchikan on the day of the accident were beautiful. 208 00:16:09,556 --> 00:16:11,791 So at that point, we knew that the conditions 209 00:16:11,874 --> 00:16:15,022 were not going to be a factor in this accident. 210 00:16:15,106 --> 00:16:18,013 Something else prevented these guys from seeing each other. 211 00:16:29,830 --> 00:16:30,975 What if… 212 00:16:34,423 --> 00:16:39,669 the pilots didn't have enough time to look out the window for other traffic? 213 00:16:41,605 --> 00:16:45,322 Or maybe the pilots were trying to give their customers the best view. 214 00:16:47,310 --> 00:16:49,796 What prevented the pilots from seeing each 215 00:16:49,879 --> 00:16:52,856 other as they converged on the scenic waterfall? 216 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:58,246 Flying an aircraft full of tourists can be a very challenging task. 217 00:16:58,329 --> 00:17:02,226 You have a number of people that all want to ask questions. 218 00:17:02,309 --> 00:17:05,129 They all want to see different things, especially in a 219 00:17:05,218 --> 00:17:08,297 area like the Misty Fjords, where there is so much to see. 220 00:17:09,082 --> 00:17:13,416 It is a lot for a pilot to do all at the same time. 221 00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:16,343 Well the local pilots certainly were concerned. 222 00:17:17,270 --> 00:17:18,713 Enough to create this. 223 00:17:21,396 --> 00:17:24,301 Investigators discover a set of guidelines 224 00:17:24,385 --> 00:17:29,279 agreed upon by tour operators to enhance safety over Misty Fjords. 225 00:17:30,020 --> 00:17:32,229 The letter of agreement between the operators 226 00:17:32,312 --> 00:17:36,317 was intended to help them coordinate their routes of flight, 227 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:39,557 and their call-outs, so that they could become better aware 228 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:43,567 of where they would each be operating and avoid each other. 229 00:17:44,309 --> 00:17:48,131 The companies were aware of this hazard of mid-air collisions, 230 00:17:48,215 --> 00:17:50,375 and that they were attempting to implement 231 00:17:50,459 --> 00:17:54,112 some procedural mitigations against this hazard. 232 00:17:56,797 --> 00:18:00,011 It looks like most aircraft flying tours 233 00:18:00,094 --> 00:18:04,612 also had on board an ADS-B traffic warning system. 234 00:18:06,426 --> 00:18:11,006 ADS-B, or Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, 235 00:18:11,090 --> 00:18:15,010 is a traffic alerting system that transmits a plane's GPS 236 00:18:15,093 --> 00:18:19,233 location and altitude to ground stations and other aircraft. 237 00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:22,490 If two airplanes get too close to each other, 238 00:18:22,573 --> 00:18:24,977 an alert is issued in both cockpits. 239 00:18:25,060 --> 00:18:27,870 When your traffic system tells you you've got a conflict, 240 00:18:27,953 --> 00:18:30,206 it's going to have your attention immediately. 241 00:18:30,290 --> 00:18:34,203 It will only tell you that there's a problem when there is. 242 00:18:34,287 --> 00:18:38,324 It looks like the Otter had an alerting system installed on board. 243 00:18:38,408 --> 00:18:40,242 What about the Beaver? 244 00:18:40,326 --> 00:18:43,686 Yeah, it had a system installed on it as well. 245 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:50,897 It was important for us to understand which aircraft had which equipment 246 00:18:50,980 --> 00:18:54,447 as far as alerting capability traffic displays. 247 00:18:55,690 --> 00:18:57,667 Okay, here's the Otter's system. 248 00:18:58,686 --> 00:19:01,131 Investigators first examine the Otter, 249 00:19:01,215 --> 00:19:04,726 the aircraft that collided with the smaller plane to its left. 250 00:19:06,646 --> 00:19:12,694 The Otter uses GPS and a radio transponder to broadcast its altitude and position. 251 00:19:13,681 --> 00:19:18,873 A color screen inside the cockpit plots other nearby aircraft on a moving map. 252 00:19:19,958 --> 00:19:21,916 What does the Beaver have? 253 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,787 Well, the Beaver pilot had a different system. 254 00:19:24,870 --> 00:19:27,440 It had a tablet to display traffic info. 255 00:19:29,770 --> 00:19:34,506 So we knew that both aircraft were equipped with some level of traffic display. 256 00:19:34,590 --> 00:19:38,173 So the question was, were they able to function as designed? 257 00:19:49,083 --> 00:19:50,906 Let's see what we got. 258 00:19:51,730 --> 00:19:54,540 Investigators review whether ground stations 259 00:19:54,623 --> 00:19:57,866 received any GPS transmissions from the aircraft, 260 00:19:57,950 --> 00:19:59,650 detailing their locations. 261 00:20:00,383 --> 00:20:01,333 There's the Beaver. 262 00:20:04,110 --> 00:20:08,406 Misty traffic. Beaver 2 Delta Bravo exiting Rudyerd. 263 00:20:08,490 --> 00:20:10,610 Climbing through 1,900 westbound. 264 00:20:13,990 --> 00:20:15,276 And there's the Otter. 265 00:20:16,447 --> 00:20:20,254 All right, folks, if you look outside your windows down at the hills below, 266 00:20:20,337 --> 00:20:22,014 you might just see some wildlife. 267 00:20:26,733 --> 00:20:30,679 Both airplanes were broadcasting their position, but they still hit each other. 268 00:20:30,762 --> 00:20:31,776 Doesn't make sense. 269 00:20:34,657 --> 00:20:36,607 Maybe the system didn't issue an alert. 270 00:20:38,579 --> 00:20:39,929 The Otter pilot would know. 271 00:20:42,470 --> 00:20:44,686 Seems like so many of these investigations 272 00:20:44,769 --> 00:20:48,460 when you have a mid-air are just not survivable. 273 00:20:48,551 --> 00:20:54,518 And so it was, it was very fortunate to be able to talk to the pilot. 274 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:01,951 Tell me about the flight. 275 00:21:02,034 --> 00:21:05,906 Investigators interview the Otter pilot, Lou Beck, 276 00:21:05,990 --> 00:21:08,040 who has just been released from hospital. 277 00:21:09,370 --> 00:21:10,470 Passengers were happy. 278 00:21:11,273 --> 00:21:12,353 Air was smooth. 279 00:21:14,063 --> 00:21:16,460 Was it busy out there? 280 00:21:18,510 --> 00:21:20,600 Visually I, I never saw anyone else. 281 00:21:22,010 --> 00:21:24,607 What about the traffic alerting system? 282 00:21:24,690 --> 00:21:26,096 It was on. 283 00:21:26,180 --> 00:21:30,056 I saw targets on the screen but, they were well south of me. 284 00:21:33,066 --> 00:21:34,709 Okay. 285 00:21:34,792 --> 00:21:36,842 Got one three miles out. 286 00:21:36,926 --> 00:21:38,756 Three o'clock. 287 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:41,369 Opposite direction. 288 00:21:41,453 --> 00:21:42,986 No conflict. 289 00:21:44,992 --> 00:21:48,668 I flew a longer route, than the other planes. 290 00:21:48,752 --> 00:21:51,435 Took me away from most of the regular traffic. 291 00:21:51,518 --> 00:21:53,577 But you still ended up at the waterfall. 292 00:21:53,660 --> 00:21:54,867 I did. 293 00:21:54,950 --> 00:21:56,958 That's when all hell broke loose. 294 00:21:58,227 --> 00:21:59,406 Okay, folks. 295 00:21:59,490 --> 00:22:00,741 In a few seconds, 296 00:22:00,824 --> 00:22:02,817 we're going to arrive at the beautiful- 297 00:22:04,464 --> 00:22:07,111 Look, he was just there. I couldn't avoid him. 298 00:22:08,100 --> 00:22:09,364 Hang on, everyone. 299 00:22:12,796 --> 00:22:15,199 Was there any alert from the traffic system? 300 00:22:15,283 --> 00:22:16,356 Nothing. 301 00:22:16,439 --> 00:22:19,427 After the impact, I just went into survival mode. 302 00:22:20,767 --> 00:22:22,629 Brace for impact! 303 00:22:22,713 --> 00:22:24,287 Brace, brace, brace! 304 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:39,686 The pilot seemed very attentive to mid-air collisions as a hazard. 305 00:22:39,770 --> 00:22:44,177 He was aware of the cockpit display of traffic information in the cockpit, 306 00:22:44,260 --> 00:22:49,407 and he recalled looking at it to scan for traffic before the collision. 307 00:22:49,490 --> 00:22:55,038 Look I just want to reiterate that the, alert system did not sound an alert. 308 00:22:56,240 --> 00:22:57,214 Thank you. 309 00:22:58,390 --> 00:22:59,654 This was very helpful. 310 00:23:01,881 --> 00:23:06,324 Investigators are now confident the collision happened without a warning 311 00:23:06,407 --> 00:23:08,367 to alert the Otter pilot. 312 00:23:09,625 --> 00:23:12,116 The question is, why? 313 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:13,431 Hang on, everyone! 314 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:21,890 Let's have a look at the Otter's traffic alerting system. 315 00:23:23,013 --> 00:23:27,717 Investigators use the ground station data to recreate what the Otter pilot 316 00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:30,237 would have seen on his traffic alerting system 317 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:32,909 moments before crashing into the Beaver. 318 00:23:34,570 --> 00:23:36,717 It's painting targets. 319 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,147 There's the Beaver approaching. 320 00:23:39,230 --> 00:23:42,371 The alert should happen any second now. 321 00:23:42,454 --> 00:23:47,807 As the Beaver gets within two and a half miles, an alert should sound. 322 00:23:47,896 --> 00:23:50,143 It's not doing anything. There's no alert. 323 00:23:57,576 --> 00:24:01,447 It was very surprising to us that the cockpit display of traffic in the Otter 324 00:24:01,530 --> 00:24:04,417 didn't provide traffic alerts, 325 00:24:04,500 --> 00:24:08,867 because that's a really important defense against mid-air collisions. 326 00:24:08,950 --> 00:24:11,710 There is something not right with the alerting function. 327 00:24:15,439 --> 00:24:19,693 Okay, folks. In a few seconds, we're going to arrive at the beautiful- 328 00:24:24,156 --> 00:24:29,869 The NTSB must now figure out why a critical piece of safety equipment failed. 329 00:24:36,242 --> 00:24:39,801 Traffic alerting system, was installed… 330 00:24:41,485 --> 00:24:43,655 in 1999. 331 00:24:45,550 --> 00:24:47,970 One of the first in the country. 332 00:24:48,053 --> 00:24:52,453 They take a closer look at the de Havilland Otter's traffic alerting system. 333 00:24:53,540 --> 00:24:58,126 Looks like the FAA paid for it as part of an experimental program. 334 00:24:59,580 --> 00:25:02,527 The capstone project that the FAA sponsored 335 00:25:02,610 --> 00:25:06,783 was a program to reduce mid-air collision accidents in Alaska. 336 00:25:07,949 --> 00:25:10,737 In 2015, 337 00:25:10,820 --> 00:25:14,895 the Otter got an upgrade from the FAA. 338 00:25:14,979 --> 00:25:16,446 What kind of upgrade? 339 00:25:19,869 --> 00:25:21,190 Take a look. 340 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,323 They swapped out a Garmin transceiver for a Ranger 978. 341 00:25:27,406 --> 00:25:31,853 Yes, and take a look at what wasn't included in the upgrade. 342 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,207 When the traffic system was upgraded on the Otter, 343 00:25:36,290 --> 00:25:38,839 its alerting function was removed. 344 00:25:41,203 --> 00:25:43,803 The FAA considered the traffic alerting 345 00:25:43,886 --> 00:25:48,440 audio capability to be classified as immature 346 00:25:48,523 --> 00:25:51,277 and no longer part of the upgraded system. 347 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:53,406 That was a head-scratcher for our team. 348 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:57,655 But even if the Otter pilot didn't receive an alert, 349 00:25:57,738 --> 00:26:01,044 the Beaver pilot should have received one on his system. 350 00:26:02,380 --> 00:26:07,881 In this part of the world, alerting systems are neither mandated nor regulated. 351 00:26:07,965 --> 00:26:11,737 Planes can have different systems or none at all. 352 00:26:11,820 --> 00:26:16,686 The Beaver pilot had been utilizing an iPad that was using an application 353 00:26:16,769 --> 00:26:21,736 for navigating and understanding where traffic would be in his surrounding area. 354 00:26:23,668 --> 00:26:26,786 The pilot, paid for his own system. 355 00:26:26,870 --> 00:26:32,157 And so he would have had a fully functional system including alerting capabilities. 356 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:33,546 According to this, 357 00:26:34,619 --> 00:26:35,493 yes. 358 00:26:36,679 --> 00:26:39,790 I think it's clear the Beaver pilot was concerned about safety. 359 00:26:39,873 --> 00:26:44,563 He had gone at his own expense and installed ADS-B equipment 360 00:26:44,646 --> 00:26:48,399 in his airplane that was not required per regulation. 361 00:26:49,390 --> 00:26:53,598 Did the Beaver's system also fail to alert the pilot? 362 00:26:56,385 --> 00:27:00,962 Investigators use the ground station data to recreate what the Beaver pilot 363 00:27:01,045 --> 00:27:04,478 would have seen and heard in the cockpit leading up to the crash. 364 00:27:06,700 --> 00:27:08,035 The center is the Beaver. 365 00:27:09,485 --> 00:27:12,721 The Otter is at three miles out now. 366 00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,853 There is no alert, warning of the approaching Otter. 367 00:27:23,170 --> 00:27:24,493 We're missing something. 368 00:27:25,620 --> 00:27:31,377 Determining why neither of the traffic alerting systems in, in the airplanes 369 00:27:31,460 --> 00:27:34,517 warned the pilots about the impending collision was, 370 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:38,016 something that we had to sort out in order to figure out, 371 00:27:38,100 --> 00:27:39,800 why the collision happened. 372 00:27:45,736 --> 00:27:49,081 Is that everything? Thank you. 373 00:27:51,350 --> 00:27:55,816 With the Beaver's ADS-B system destroyed in the crash, 374 00:27:55,900 --> 00:27:59,686 the NTSB turns to the only evidence that remains, 375 00:27:59,770 --> 00:28:03,966 salvaged parts of the Otter's traffic alerting system. 376 00:28:04,049 --> 00:28:06,784 Hey, check this out. 377 00:28:09,716 --> 00:28:10,693 It's turned off. 378 00:28:11,985 --> 00:28:16,912 A key component was not operating at the time of the crash. 379 00:28:16,995 --> 00:28:18,123 That is odd. 380 00:28:19,890 --> 00:28:25,770 There was a critical piece of equipment on board the Otter called the GSL 71. 381 00:28:27,110 --> 00:28:31,774 The GSL 71 is a control panel for the alerting system. 382 00:28:31,857 --> 00:28:36,197 It broadcasts the plane's altitude to aircraft and ground stations. 383 00:28:39,047 --> 00:28:42,213 Let's see exactly how these components work. 384 00:28:43,987 --> 00:28:49,136 Investigators examine the role of each component of the Otter's traffic systems 385 00:28:49,219 --> 00:28:54,047 to consider the consequences of having the GSL 71 turned off. 386 00:28:56,750 --> 00:28:59,142 Well this is not a simple setup. 387 00:29:01,179 --> 00:29:03,152 So a surprising thing about, 388 00:29:03,235 --> 00:29:08,173 the system on the Otter was that it was a mixture of new and old parts. 389 00:29:08,257 --> 00:29:09,571 Look at this. 390 00:29:14,750 --> 00:29:18,436 If the GSL 71 is off, 391 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:25,446 altitude information, will not, be broadcast to other aircraft. 392 00:29:27,403 --> 00:29:32,008 If the Otter wasn't broadcasting, then the Beaver would not have gotten an alert. 393 00:29:33,082 --> 00:29:36,046 Investigators get their biggest lead yet. 394 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,003 Because the GSL 71 was off, 395 00:29:40,087 --> 00:29:45,532 other aircraft had no idea what altitude the Otter was currently operating at. 396 00:29:47,430 --> 00:29:52,163 Was that airplane above them? Below them? Same altitude? Unsure. 397 00:29:57,823 --> 00:30:01,770 When was the last time the Otter, transmitted altitude data? 398 00:30:03,770 --> 00:30:07,103 Investigators review when the Taquan Air Otter 399 00:30:07,186 --> 00:30:10,336 last broadcast its altitude to ground stations. 400 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:14,149 April 29th. 401 00:30:21,326 --> 00:30:27,879 The last inspection and maintenance was on, April 30th. 402 00:30:29,316 --> 00:30:31,746 The day after its last broadcast. 403 00:30:32,589 --> 00:30:37,922 The team considers whether the GSL 71 was turned off for maintenance 404 00:30:38,006 --> 00:30:41,815 two weeks before the crash, and never turned on again. 405 00:30:42,932 --> 00:30:45,046 We spoke to maintenance personnel, 406 00:30:45,130 --> 00:30:50,772 but, during the course of interviews, we never really were able to 407 00:30:50,855 --> 00:30:54,875 completely understand why the unit was in the "OFF" position. 408 00:30:56,863 --> 00:31:00,236 Since the Otter wasn't broadcasting its altitude, 409 00:31:00,330 --> 00:31:02,756 the Beaver never received an alert. 410 00:31:04,429 --> 00:31:06,748 Why didn't the Otter pilot check if he was 411 00:31:06,831 --> 00:31:09,777 broadcasting his altitude on the day of the crash? 412 00:31:12,684 --> 00:31:15,744 I have some additional questions for you. 413 00:31:18,411 --> 00:31:22,045 Were you aware that the control panel was off? 414 00:31:24,663 --> 00:31:26,591 No. 415 00:31:26,674 --> 00:31:28,304 Why not? 416 00:31:28,387 --> 00:31:33,761 I saw other aircraft on the display screen, so that told me the system was working. 417 00:31:34,793 --> 00:31:39,010 Investigators discover that the pilot didn't fully understand how 418 00:31:39,093 --> 00:31:42,299 all the components of the traffic surveillance system worked. 419 00:31:43,513 --> 00:31:44,439 No conflict. 420 00:31:45,438 --> 00:31:49,486 We learned that there had been other pilots in the airplane 421 00:31:49,570 --> 00:31:54,018 preceding the accident with the accident pilot who apparently 422 00:31:54,101 --> 00:31:57,953 didn't catch that the GSL 71 was in the "OFF" position either. 423 00:31:58,037 --> 00:32:00,974 I think on one of those flights he actually had the 424 00:32:01,057 --> 00:32:04,988 chief pilot of the company with him and the GSL 71 425 00:32:05,071 --> 00:32:08,631 was still in the "OFF" position and we know that because the data wasn't 426 00:32:08,714 --> 00:32:11,146 streamed, the pressure altitude wasn't streamed. 427 00:32:12,244 --> 00:32:18,134 Did you check to see if the GSL unit was on during your pre-flight checklist? 428 00:32:20,576 --> 00:32:25,849 No. It, wasn't a piece of equipment that I ever touched or concerned myself with. 429 00:32:26,636 --> 00:32:30,662 They review the company's pre-flight checklist with the Otter pilot, 430 00:32:30,745 --> 00:32:35,447 to understand why a crucial part of the alerting system wasn't turned on. 431 00:32:37,177 --> 00:32:38,651 Radio set. 432 00:32:40,430 --> 00:32:41,904 Altimeter set. 433 00:32:43,566 --> 00:32:45,254 Fuel checked. 434 00:32:47,163 --> 00:32:49,083 It's not on my pre-flight checklist. 435 00:32:56,311 --> 00:32:57,151 Okay. 436 00:32:59,355 --> 00:33:00,188 Thank you. 437 00:33:02,316 --> 00:33:04,969 Investigators determine the Otter pilot 438 00:33:05,052 --> 00:33:09,422 wouldn't have checked the status of the GSL 71. 439 00:33:09,505 --> 00:33:10,946 In an airline environment, 440 00:33:11,029 --> 00:33:14,242 something as critical as that would definitely be on a checklist. 441 00:33:14,325 --> 00:33:17,227 And so, the fact that it wasn't might, 442 00:33:17,310 --> 00:33:20,610 lead him to think that it wasn't super critical or, 443 00:33:20,693 --> 00:33:24,230 it would just not have risen to the level of something that he would 444 00:33:24,314 --> 00:33:26,243 pay attention to each and every time. 445 00:33:29,463 --> 00:33:32,052 What did you learn from the Otter pilot? 446 00:33:32,135 --> 00:33:34,343 He didn't know the unit was turned off. 447 00:33:35,889 --> 00:33:38,594 It wasn't on his pre-flight checklist. 448 00:33:40,076 --> 00:33:43,638 You have to be so diligent at all times when you're flying the aircraft, 449 00:33:43,721 --> 00:33:46,144 especially in a busy, busy area like that. 450 00:33:46,227 --> 00:33:49,889 As good as the traffic systems can be, they can sometimes fail. 451 00:33:50,927 --> 00:33:55,563 The team now knows why neither traffic system alerted the pilots. 452 00:33:56,343 --> 00:33:59,689 It still doesn't explain why the pilots didn't see each other 453 00:33:59,773 --> 00:34:01,509 on a perfectly clear day. 454 00:34:02,943 --> 00:34:08,324 See-and-avoid is, the system by which pilots are taught to avoid one another 455 00:34:08,407 --> 00:34:12,007 when air traffic control is not providing positive separation. 456 00:34:13,027 --> 00:34:16,300 It is considered a last line of defense, and it involves 457 00:34:16,383 --> 00:34:21,516 systematically scanning different parts of the sky visible through the windscreen 458 00:34:21,599 --> 00:34:25,104 to ensure that there aren't any other aircraft on a collision course. 459 00:34:28,659 --> 00:34:31,265 Okay, let's check out the pilot's field of view. 460 00:34:32,430 --> 00:34:36,747 NTSB investigators consider exactly what the pilots could see 461 00:34:36,831 --> 00:34:39,023 from the cockpits of their airplanes. 462 00:34:43,077 --> 00:34:48,180 So the Beaver pilot would have been doing his scans. 463 00:34:48,264 --> 00:34:49,633 Looking left. 464 00:34:51,279 --> 00:34:53,159 No problem. 465 00:34:53,242 --> 00:34:54,910 Looking right. 466 00:34:56,900 --> 00:35:01,268 Hmm, there was a passenger in the front seat restricting his view. 467 00:35:04,070 --> 00:35:08,416 And the Otter was to the right coming from behind. 468 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:15,818 The passenger sitting in your seat might have been able to see it but, 469 00:35:15,902 --> 00:35:17,342 not the pilot. 470 00:35:18,315 --> 00:35:20,745 What about looking back through the cabin? 471 00:35:23,766 --> 00:35:24,886 I don't think so. 472 00:35:25,722 --> 00:35:29,046 The windows are too small, and passengers are in the way. 473 00:35:31,390 --> 00:35:34,002 There's no way he could have seen, 474 00:35:34,086 --> 00:35:36,753 the Otter approaching from behind and to the right. 475 00:35:38,233 --> 00:35:40,590 The Beaver has issues with visibility because 476 00:35:40,673 --> 00:35:43,276 of the structural design of the airplane. 477 00:35:43,359 --> 00:35:47,819 You have door posts and window posts and overhead structure, et cetera, 478 00:35:47,903 --> 00:35:50,091 that does obscure your view. 479 00:35:50,175 --> 00:35:54,438 And of course, in the old days, that wasn't really a huge concern, 480 00:35:54,521 --> 00:35:57,578 because of course, there was a lot less airplanes in the sky. 481 00:35:58,437 --> 00:36:04,727 The Otter pilot, might have had a perfect view to the left and straight ahead. 482 00:36:06,597 --> 00:36:08,277 Let's figure that out. 483 00:36:13,723 --> 00:36:18,416 So, the Otter pilot said he was lining up the waterfall to his right. 484 00:36:18,500 --> 00:36:23,426 So, this, was the pilot's field of view. 485 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:29,488 Investigators consider what the Otter pilot could see at the time of the crash. 486 00:36:31,206 --> 00:36:36,406 So let's assume, that he was looking to his right, say about two o'clock. 487 00:36:37,172 --> 00:36:41,459 Eh, but the pilot was adamant that he was still doing his full visual scans, 488 00:36:41,542 --> 00:36:43,682 left and right, up and down. 489 00:36:45,406 --> 00:36:50,980 So what would he see if he looked to his left towards the Beaver? 490 00:36:54,450 --> 00:37:00,671 Using a 3D scan of an Otter cockpit, the team recreates the pilot's view out of 491 00:37:00,754 --> 00:37:03,856 the left windshield in the moments before the collision. 492 00:37:06,849 --> 00:37:08,994 This is just minutes before the collision. 493 00:37:10,507 --> 00:37:12,973 The Beaver is still three miles away, 494 00:37:14,517 --> 00:37:17,519 roughly in this area of the windscreen. 495 00:37:17,603 --> 00:37:21,088 The Beaver is little more than a speck on the horizon. 496 00:37:22,495 --> 00:37:26,984 It's hard to pick out the Beaver against the dark mountains in the distance. 497 00:37:27,068 --> 00:37:29,294 When two objects are converging, 498 00:37:29,378 --> 00:37:31,563 there is little relative motion in a pilot's 499 00:37:31,647 --> 00:37:34,600 visual field to attract a pilot's attention. 500 00:37:35,163 --> 00:37:36,790 Okay. 501 00:37:36,874 --> 00:37:40,034 We've got one three miles out, three o'clock. 502 00:37:41,023 --> 00:37:43,356 Opposite direction. 503 00:37:43,439 --> 00:37:44,845 No conflict. 504 00:37:47,578 --> 00:37:50,125 The Beaver's an eighth mile away. 505 00:37:50,209 --> 00:37:52,662 Still don't see it. 506 00:37:52,746 --> 00:37:57,962 The window post, called an A pillar, obstructs the view of the beaver. 507 00:37:58,046 --> 00:38:00,476 Okay, we're coming up on the moment of impact. 508 00:38:03,659 --> 00:38:05,828 The Beaver came out of nowhere. 509 00:38:05,912 --> 00:38:08,499 I didn't see it until impact. 510 00:38:08,583 --> 00:38:11,410 The Otter's ADS-B system doesn't have the 511 00:38:11,493 --> 00:38:14,502 alerting capability to warn of the other plane. 512 00:38:16,006 --> 00:38:18,919 And the pilot's view of it is obstructed. 513 00:38:20,135 --> 00:38:25,255 Okay, folks, in a few seconds, we're going to pass our famous Mahon- 514 00:38:29,478 --> 00:38:32,620 The animation was fascinating because, 515 00:38:32,704 --> 00:38:38,054 it showed how almost perfectly the Beaver was obscured by the window post 516 00:38:38,137 --> 00:38:41,252 in the cockpit of the Otter from the pilot's perspective. 517 00:38:41,336 --> 00:38:45,316 And, it wasn't until the last half second or so that it sort of 518 00:38:45,399 --> 00:38:49,555 blossomed from behind the post and, became a red flash. 519 00:38:51,043 --> 00:38:53,717 But they can't be completely certain. 520 00:38:55,606 --> 00:38:57,987 It's hard to know for sure. 521 00:38:58,070 --> 00:39:01,649 His perspective is going to change 522 00:39:01,732 --> 00:39:04,507 depending on where his seat is set 523 00:39:04,590 --> 00:39:06,731 and where his head is. 524 00:39:06,814 --> 00:39:09,483 Investigators need more information. 525 00:39:11,186 --> 00:39:16,036 We can, change sight lines we can, adjust angles, 526 00:39:16,120 --> 00:39:18,609 we can adjust views, 527 00:39:18,693 --> 00:39:22,600 but we do not have the ability to say that that was in fact 528 00:39:22,683 --> 00:39:27,180 the pilot's position at any point in time during that flight. 529 00:39:31,925 --> 00:39:36,651 The team performs a study using 27 different eye positions 530 00:39:36,734 --> 00:39:40,240 to evaluate how the A pillar would have blocked the Beaver 531 00:39:40,323 --> 00:39:42,541 from the Otter pilot's view. 532 00:39:42,624 --> 00:39:44,622 The Beaver's mostly hidden. 533 00:39:44,706 --> 00:39:46,532 Except for here. 534 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:53,359 It's hard to be 100% certain without, knowing the pilot's exact seat position. 535 00:39:57,482 --> 00:40:01,399 What about the cameras that, we recovered from the wreckage? 536 00:40:01,483 --> 00:40:03,666 Maybe there's something on them. 537 00:40:03,750 --> 00:40:04,763 We'll check on that. 538 00:40:06,296 --> 00:40:10,853 Based on it being an air tour operation, being in 2019, 539 00:40:10,936 --> 00:40:16,279 fortunately we were able to locate quite a bit of still imagery and video. 540 00:40:17,903 --> 00:40:20,170 Okay let's see what we've got. 541 00:40:22,012 --> 00:40:25,129 After several weeks of painstaking work, 542 00:40:25,212 --> 00:40:29,552 investigators review images taken by the Otter passengers. 543 00:40:33,443 --> 00:40:35,524 No, there's nothing here. 544 00:40:37,022 --> 00:40:40,491 There are no pictures taken near the time of the collision. 545 00:40:41,470 --> 00:40:44,356 Let's check out the photos taken from the Beaver. 546 00:40:47,889 --> 00:40:48,782 Whoa. 547 00:40:50,090 --> 00:40:54,800 They find a photo of the Otter taken by a passenger in the Beaver. 548 00:40:55,550 --> 00:40:59,723 It was eerie and disturbing to see the photos taken by the passengers. 549 00:41:00,779 --> 00:41:02,536 Let's take a closer look. 550 00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:11,600 The photo of the approaching Otter was taken seconds before impact. 551 00:41:18,042 --> 00:41:20,173 It was a moving experience. 552 00:41:20,256 --> 00:41:24,032 You knew it was going to be the last moments for some of those people. 553 00:41:26,649 --> 00:41:27,615 Um, zoom in. 554 00:41:29,096 --> 00:41:34,491 But can it answer the question of whether the Otter pilot could see the Beaver? 555 00:41:34,574 --> 00:41:36,934 I can see into the Otter cockpit. 556 00:41:38,190 --> 00:41:41,426 It's the break the investigators needed. 557 00:41:41,510 --> 00:41:44,687 Uh, try to zoom in a little bit more. 558 00:41:44,770 --> 00:41:48,282 The photo captures the Otter's exact position. 559 00:41:48,366 --> 00:41:51,546 The A pillar is blocking the pilot's head. 560 00:41:51,629 --> 00:41:54,955 If we can't see the Otter pilot's head from this perspective, 561 00:41:55,039 --> 00:41:57,180 he wouldn't have seen the Beaver. 562 00:41:57,263 --> 00:42:02,494 Investigators are now certain that for almost three minutes before the collision, 563 00:42:02,577 --> 00:42:04,922 the Otter's windshield structure blocked 564 00:42:05,005 --> 00:42:07,670 the pilot's view of the approaching Beaver. 565 00:42:07,753 --> 00:42:11,271 It's crucial for us to understand that at that point, 566 00:42:11,354 --> 00:42:16,830 the Otter pilot had very limited chance of avoiding that collision due to his 567 00:42:16,919 --> 00:42:20,099 sight being obscured by that aircraft structure. 568 00:42:22,159 --> 00:42:26,145 Investigators now understand why the Mountain Air Beaver 569 00:42:26,228 --> 00:42:28,552 and the Taquan Air Otter collided. 570 00:42:31,110 --> 00:42:35,536 Okay, folks, in a few seconds, we're going to pass our famous Mahon- 571 00:42:37,043 --> 00:42:40,310 Neither pilot could see nor be alerted to 572 00:42:40,393 --> 00:42:42,936 how close their aircraft were to each other. 573 00:42:43,020 --> 00:42:44,313 Hang on, everyone! 574 00:42:46,729 --> 00:42:47,946 Brace for impact! 575 00:42:50,979 --> 00:42:54,442 You just can't afford not to have a traffic system. 576 00:42:54,526 --> 00:42:59,330 When it's so busy as that in terrain like that, when the pilot is so darn busy, 577 00:42:59,413 --> 00:43:02,056 he needs all the help he can get. 578 00:43:02,140 --> 00:43:08,729 The NTSB's final report highlights the limitation of see-and-avoid for pilots, 579 00:43:08,813 --> 00:43:12,303 and recommends new rules for preventing the downgrading 580 00:43:12,386 --> 00:43:15,657 or disabling of traffic alerting systems. 581 00:43:15,740 --> 00:43:20,316 This accident in a nutshell to me is about the rolling back of safety protections 582 00:43:20,413 --> 00:43:23,514 without anybody taking a critical look at what they were doing. 583 00:43:25,170 --> 00:43:30,836 The NTSB recommends regulations requiring mandatory air traffic alerting 584 00:43:30,919 --> 00:43:34,430 for air tour operators in high traffic areas. 585 00:43:35,534 --> 00:43:38,900 I have worked a number of mid-air collisions during my career 586 00:43:38,983 --> 00:43:43,774 here at the NTSB, and this accident was very preventable. 587 00:43:44,856 --> 00:43:49,006 There are limitations as all of us all well know with the 588 00:43:49,090 --> 00:43:54,146 concept of see-and-avoid and the technology that exists today should be 589 00:43:54,229 --> 00:43:58,480 in these aircraft to help reduce these number of collisions that take place. 590 00:43:58,564 --> 00:44:00,026 UNOFFICIAL SUBS BY STER 53313

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