1 00:00:02,351 --> 00:00:03,936 The plane came flying out 2 00:00:03,936 --> 00:00:04,979 of the bottom of the cloud 3 00:00:04,979 --> 00:00:06,230 at 4,000 feet per minute. 4 00:00:06,230 --> 00:00:07,732 Pull up! Pull up! 5 00:00:07,732 --> 00:00:09,859 Nuremberg Air Service Flight One Zero Eight 6 00:00:09,859 --> 00:00:12,695 breaks apart while the pilots attempt to land 7 00:00:12,695 --> 00:00:16,199 at Dusseldorf Airport in Germany. 8 00:00:16,699 --> 00:00:19,952 All passengers and crew are killed. 9 00:00:20,828 --> 00:00:24,165 Because of the size of the accident site, 10 00:00:24,165 --> 00:00:28,044 we used a grid to identify the positions 11 00:00:28,044 --> 00:00:30,630 of every part of the wreckage. 12 00:00:30,630 --> 00:00:33,383 Investigators reconstruct the plane 13 00:00:33,383 --> 00:00:35,551 to determine what happened. 14 00:00:35,551 --> 00:00:38,679 There must be a thousand pieces in here. 15 00:00:40,932 --> 00:00:42,100 Over here. 16 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:44,143 They uncover evidence of a one-in-a-million 17 00:00:44,143 --> 00:00:48,523 failure that should not have brought the plane down. 18 00:00:48,523 --> 00:00:53,027 The pilots had no chance to control the aircraft 19 00:00:53,027 --> 00:00:54,153 in a proper way. 20 00:00:54,153 --> 00:00:55,780 I think under these circumstances, 21 00:00:55,780 --> 00:00:58,741 there was nothing they could have done. 22 00:01:00,410 --> 00:01:02,745 Mayday, Mayday. 23 00:01:04,330 --> 00:01:06,040 Pull up. 24 00:01:23,725 --> 00:01:25,643 {\an8}It's an hour before sunrise 25 00:01:25,643 --> 00:01:28,938 {\an8}at Hanover Airport in West Germany. 26 00:01:30,732 --> 00:01:33,943 {\an8}Nuremberg Air Service Flight One Zero Eight 27 00:01:33,943 --> 00:01:37,030 {\an8}prepares for the first flight of the day. 28 00:01:42,201 --> 00:01:47,623 In the cockpit is 36-year-old Captain Ralf Borsdorf. 29 00:01:47,623 --> 00:01:49,375 How is the weather looking? 30 00:01:49,375 --> 00:01:52,962 ...and 28-year-old First Officer Sibylle Heilmann. 31 00:01:52,962 --> 00:01:55,048 They each have twenty-five-hundred 32 00:01:55,048 --> 00:01:56,799 flying hours. 33 00:01:56,799 --> 00:01:58,801 It should be clear sailing. 34 00:01:59,635 --> 00:02:02,889 {\an8}Both of them would be fairly typical of what you would see 35 00:02:02,889 --> 00:02:06,476 {\an8}at commuter operations, people starting their careers 36 00:02:06,476 --> 00:02:07,852 {\an8}and getting ready to move up. 37 00:02:08,186 --> 00:02:11,856 The weather forecast predicts calm skies 38 00:02:11,856 --> 00:02:14,108 with only a slim chance of thunderstorms 39 00:02:14,108 --> 00:02:16,194 near their destination. 40 00:02:16,194 --> 00:02:17,695 It might get a bit rough on landing 41 00:02:17,695 --> 00:02:20,490 because of some turbulence and a chance of thunderstorm, 42 00:02:20,490 --> 00:02:22,742 but it's unlikely. Just 10%. 43 00:02:23,284 --> 00:02:25,661 Sounds good. 44 00:02:26,496 --> 00:02:29,123 A 10% chance of thundershowers, 45 00:02:29,123 --> 00:02:30,500 it's 10% chance. 46 00:02:30,500 --> 00:02:32,001 You want to know about it but it's not something 47 00:02:32,001 --> 00:02:33,878 you're going to put too much thought into. 48 00:02:34,295 --> 00:02:37,674 Before Flight One Zero Eight can depart, 49 00:02:37,674 --> 00:02:41,844 snow and ice that accumulated overnight are removed. 50 00:02:44,222 --> 00:02:46,182 This flight was a full flight. 51 00:02:46,182 --> 00:02:48,017 It had 19 passengers on board, 52 00:02:48,017 --> 00:02:49,977 all of those being business people. 53 00:02:49,977 --> 00:02:53,272 It's a 40-minute flight from Hanover 54 00:02:53,272 --> 00:02:58,403 to Dusseldorf, a major business hub on the Rhine River. 55 00:02:58,403 --> 00:03:01,280 {\an8}- We started the route in 1987, 56 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,741 about six months before this flight. 57 00:03:03,741 --> 00:03:06,619 We had very weak train connections between 58 00:03:06,619 --> 00:03:08,788 the East and Western parts of Germany. 59 00:03:08,788 --> 00:03:13,001 So from the very, very beginning we had full airplanes. 60 00:03:14,168 --> 00:03:18,715 Flight One Zero Eight leaves Hanover at 7:15 AM, 61 00:03:18,715 --> 00:03:21,718 15 minutes behind schedule. 62 00:03:21,718 --> 00:03:23,720 Flaps. 63 00:03:28,182 --> 00:03:29,559 Retracted. 64 00:03:30,059 --> 00:03:33,354 The pilots are flying a Fairchild Swearingen 65 00:03:33,354 --> 00:03:34,814 Metroliner III. 66 00:03:34,814 --> 00:03:38,401 It's a powerful turboprop plane designed for short, 67 00:03:38,401 --> 00:03:40,153 commuter flights. 68 00:03:40,153 --> 00:03:43,656 The Metro airliner is a perfect scaled down airliner. 69 00:03:43,656 --> 00:03:46,284 It hauls people fast, fuel efficiently, 70 00:03:46,284 --> 00:03:49,078 all the creature comforts of a bigger airline. 71 00:03:49,287 --> 00:03:54,167 From the very beginning, I was impressed by the airplane. 72 00:03:54,167 --> 00:03:56,836 It was extremely well designed, 73 00:03:56,836 --> 00:04:01,507 it was flexible, it was fast, it had good pressurization. 74 00:04:01,507 --> 00:04:04,927 So everything a pilot likes, the airplane had. 75 00:04:07,847 --> 00:04:10,933 It takes 10 minutes for Flight One Zero Eight 76 00:04:10,933 --> 00:04:15,605 to reach its cruising altitude of 14,000 feet. 77 00:04:16,773 --> 00:04:20,359 It will stay at that altitude for only 15 minutes. 78 00:04:22,612 --> 00:04:25,615 Well, no rest for the wicked. 79 00:04:25,615 --> 00:04:28,284 Pull out the descent checklist, will ya? 80 00:04:29,118 --> 00:04:33,664 Regional flying is generally an hour and a half or less, um, 81 00:04:33,664 --> 00:04:35,083 leading to increased workload 82 00:04:35,083 --> 00:04:37,335 for the time that you are in the air. 83 00:04:39,462 --> 00:04:41,339 Check the radar. 84 00:04:41,964 --> 00:04:45,176 The captain notices some weather on the radar. 85 00:04:46,094 --> 00:04:48,930 A thunderstorm could be rolling in after all. 86 00:04:48,930 --> 00:04:49,806 Maybe. 87 00:04:49,806 --> 00:04:51,891 It doesn't look particularly bad. 88 00:04:52,517 --> 00:04:54,310 I'll check the ATIS. 89 00:04:55,937 --> 00:04:57,397 Düsseldorf Airport... 90 00:04:57,397 --> 00:05:00,233 ATIS continuously broadcasts updated 91 00:05:00,233 --> 00:05:03,111 weather conditions at the destination airport. 92 00:05:03,111 --> 00:05:06,030 ...gusting 2-4, visibility, 10. 93 00:05:06,030 --> 00:05:10,993 Sky condition, broken clouds at 1,500 feet. 94 00:05:11,828 --> 00:05:14,831 Nothing about a thunderstorm. We should be fine. 95 00:05:15,498 --> 00:05:19,085 Okay, we'll continue with the approach. 96 00:05:20,336 --> 00:05:22,714 Their expectation was that the weather was getting better 97 00:05:22,714 --> 00:05:25,508 and that any thundershowers hadn't really materialized. 98 00:05:25,883 --> 00:05:28,761 Good morning, this is your captain speaking. 99 00:05:28,761 --> 00:05:31,180 We have begun our descent into Dusseldorf. 100 00:05:31,180 --> 00:05:33,766 Please ensure your seatbelts are fastened. 101 00:05:33,766 --> 00:05:36,686 We should be landing in about minutes. 102 00:05:44,110 --> 00:05:47,030 30 miles from the airport... 103 00:05:47,030 --> 00:05:50,575 Dusseldorf, good morning, requesting descend to 3,000 104 00:05:50,575 --> 00:05:52,201 NFD One Zero Eight. 105 00:05:52,201 --> 00:05:55,163 First Officer Heilmann contacts the Dusseldorf 106 00:05:55,163 --> 00:05:57,999 Approach Controller for landing instructions. 107 00:05:57,999 --> 00:06:00,460 NFD One Zero Eight, good morning to you. 108 00:06:00,460 --> 00:06:01,919 You are cleared to 3,000 feet, 109 00:06:01,919 --> 00:06:04,797 and currently number three to land. 110 00:06:06,340 --> 00:06:09,385 Copy, descend to 3,000 number three to land. 111 00:06:10,386 --> 00:06:12,889 When ATC gives us a indication of where we are 112 00:06:12,889 --> 00:06:15,099 in the order for landing, it helps us set up. 113 00:06:15,099 --> 00:06:16,476 It helps us get ready. It helps us know 114 00:06:16,476 --> 00:06:19,062 when you're going to start putting flaps and gear down. 115 00:06:19,687 --> 00:06:21,981 Three minutes later 116 00:06:23,691 --> 00:06:25,902 Localizer alive. 117 00:06:26,819 --> 00:06:29,572 Flight One Zero Eight lines up 118 00:06:29,572 --> 00:06:32,408 with the runway's centerline. 119 00:06:36,746 --> 00:06:39,040 Established on the localizer. 120 00:06:40,041 --> 00:06:42,835 The First Officer checks on the weather. 121 00:06:45,129 --> 00:06:48,925 It looks like a thunderstorm has moved right in front of us. 122 00:06:50,593 --> 00:06:52,887 It might be trouble. 123 00:06:54,430 --> 00:06:56,099 Thunderstorms have to be treated with respect. 124 00:06:56,099 --> 00:06:57,725 I mean, they can produce hail. 125 00:06:57,725 --> 00:07:00,937 They can produce downdrafts, tailwinds overpowering 126 00:07:00,937 --> 00:07:03,064 what the airplane is capable of doing. 127 00:07:04,982 --> 00:07:09,153 The Captain decides to maneuver around the storm. 128 00:07:14,283 --> 00:07:17,120 The problem was the big thunderstorm 129 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,956 in the approach sector of Dusseldorf. 130 00:07:19,956 --> 00:07:23,292 They shouldn't fly through thunderstorms. 131 00:07:24,502 --> 00:07:27,463 In the Dusseldorf Control Center... 132 00:07:27,463 --> 00:07:29,090 NFD One Zero Eight, 133 00:07:29,090 --> 00:07:31,008 please switch to tower control, frequency, 134 00:07:31,008 --> 00:07:32,969 1-1-8.3-0. 135 00:07:32,969 --> 00:07:35,346 The approach controller hands over 136 00:07:35,346 --> 00:07:38,224 Flight One Zero Eight to the tower. 137 00:07:38,766 --> 00:07:41,018 NFD One Zero Eight, confirm switch 138 00:07:41,018 --> 00:07:45,440 to tower control, frequency 1-1-8.3-0, bye. 139 00:07:49,318 --> 00:07:53,281 Moments later, Flight One Zero Eight 140 00:07:53,281 --> 00:07:55,950 disappears from radar. 141 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:02,915 Seven miles northeast of Dusseldorf Airport, 142 00:08:02,915 --> 00:08:05,877 a maintenance worker at a sewage treatment plant 143 00:08:05,877 --> 00:08:09,505 hears the sound of an approaching airplane. 144 00:08:10,173 --> 00:08:13,301 Flight One Zero Eight breaks out of the clouds 145 00:08:13,301 --> 00:08:14,761 in a steep dive. 146 00:08:14,761 --> 00:08:16,471 Five hundred... 147 00:08:16,471 --> 00:08:18,431 four hundred... 148 00:08:18,431 --> 00:08:19,640 three hundred... 149 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:21,434 Pull up! 150 00:08:23,394 --> 00:08:27,440 The plane pulls up just in time. 151 00:08:28,149 --> 00:08:29,567 The plane came flying out 152 00:08:29,567 --> 00:08:31,319 of the bottom of the cloud at 4,000 feet per minute. 153 00:08:31,319 --> 00:08:33,488 The G-force, it would have taken to overcome that, 154 00:08:33,488 --> 00:08:36,699 to pull the airplane nose back up, it was violent. 155 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:38,785 The sound of the engines 156 00:08:38,785 --> 00:08:41,120 recedes into the distance. 157 00:08:42,705 --> 00:08:44,332 That flight would have been sheer terror, 158 00:08:44,957 --> 00:08:46,501 sheer terror for people in the back, 159 00:08:46,501 --> 00:08:47,835 sheer terror up front. 160 00:08:47,835 --> 00:08:49,629 You went from having a visual reference to thinking 161 00:08:49,629 --> 00:08:50,838 you're good, to all of a sudden, 162 00:08:50,838 --> 00:08:52,715 you're back in the cloud again. 163 00:08:53,341 --> 00:08:56,886 A minute later, the plane returns. 164 00:08:57,512 --> 00:09:01,474 This time, Flight One Zero Eight spirals out of control... 165 00:09:02,767 --> 00:09:04,477 ...and breaks up. 166 00:09:04,477 --> 00:09:06,270 No. No, no! 167 00:09:06,270 --> 00:09:08,398 It's a horrifying sight. 168 00:09:08,398 --> 00:09:10,316 I can't imagine what the person watching that 169 00:09:10,316 --> 00:09:11,401 would be thinking. 170 00:09:11,401 --> 00:09:13,277 Two minutes before dawn, 171 00:09:13,277 --> 00:09:16,322 Flight One Zero Eight slams into an open field 172 00:09:16,322 --> 00:09:19,409 on the banks of the Ruhr River. 173 00:09:26,416 --> 00:09:30,545 The wreckage is scattered over a wide area. 174 00:09:32,004 --> 00:09:35,425 First responders make their way to the crash site. 175 00:09:36,008 --> 00:09:40,054 All 19 passengers and both pilots are dead. 176 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:45,351 The Metroliner itself is broken into thousands of pieces. 177 00:09:46,436 --> 00:09:51,733 You're seeing that parts are distributed throughout the area. 178 00:09:51,733 --> 00:09:53,735 You'll start collecting all the parts, 179 00:09:53,735 --> 00:09:55,486 mapping where they are 180 00:09:55,486 --> 00:09:58,948 and trying to put this puzzle back together again. 181 00:10:04,454 --> 00:10:07,206 Investigators from Germany's Air Accident 182 00:10:07,206 --> 00:10:10,251 Investigation Unit, or F-U-S 183 00:10:10,251 --> 00:10:13,421 begin mapping the wreckage of Flight One Zero Eight 184 00:10:13,421 --> 00:10:16,340 to determine what caused the accident. 185 00:10:16,340 --> 00:10:21,012 The first step was to identify the positions 186 00:10:21,012 --> 00:10:24,182 of every part of the wreckage. 187 00:10:24,182 --> 00:10:27,101 And because of the size of the accident site, 188 00:10:27,101 --> 00:10:31,397 we used a grid, and we were able to get the information 189 00:10:31,397 --> 00:10:36,360 where every piece was at the accident site. 190 00:10:37,695 --> 00:10:40,740 Much of the plane, along with its black boxes, 191 00:10:40,740 --> 00:10:42,867 are badly damaged. 192 00:10:43,785 --> 00:10:47,372 {\an8}The recorders in this aircraft aren't the new digital type 193 00:10:47,372 --> 00:10:51,042 {\an8}of recorders which record 300, 400 parameters. 194 00:10:51,042 --> 00:10:54,170 This was the old foil style recorders. 195 00:10:54,170 --> 00:10:57,465 You had altitude, airspeed, you had heading, 196 00:10:57,465 --> 00:10:59,967 some information, you had G loads, 197 00:10:59,967 --> 00:11:03,137 you didn't have the data we have today by a long shot. 198 00:11:04,138 --> 00:11:06,265 The black boxes and the debris 199 00:11:06,265 --> 00:11:08,976 are sent to a warehouse where investigators 200 00:11:08,976 --> 00:11:11,396 begin their analysis. 201 00:11:12,271 --> 00:11:16,025 Once the parts are recovered, taken to a facility, 202 00:11:16,025 --> 00:11:19,028 you can then clean where the fractures, 203 00:11:19,028 --> 00:11:20,405 where the separations are. 204 00:11:20,405 --> 00:11:25,326 You can look at where a part broke apart. 205 00:11:26,035 --> 00:11:28,913 The wings, the engines, 206 00:11:28,913 --> 00:11:32,250 the tail sections separated from the aircraft. 207 00:11:33,167 --> 00:11:36,546 Investigators try to confirm witness' statements 208 00:11:36,546 --> 00:11:40,258 that the plane broke up before it crashed. 209 00:11:41,634 --> 00:11:43,928 This piece looks compressed, 210 00:11:43,928 --> 00:11:47,181 like it came from a high energy impact. 211 00:11:48,766 --> 00:11:52,061 But this piece is intact. 212 00:11:52,687 --> 00:11:55,690 What that indicates is that this intact piece of 213 00:11:55,690 --> 00:11:58,985 wreckage did not go to the accident site 214 00:11:58,985 --> 00:12:00,903 with the rest of the airplane. 215 00:12:02,071 --> 00:12:04,198 For sure an in-flight break up. 216 00:12:04,198 --> 00:12:06,242 The team is now convinced 217 00:12:06,242 --> 00:12:08,745 that Flight One Zero Eight broke up 218 00:12:08,745 --> 00:12:10,747 before hitting the ground. 219 00:12:11,205 --> 00:12:13,249 The question is what led to that? 220 00:12:13,249 --> 00:12:16,044 Is there any evidence of a pre-existing failure 221 00:12:16,044 --> 00:12:18,379 that would have led to the accident? 222 00:12:19,464 --> 00:12:22,633 Hey, can you bring that piece over to the table? 223 00:12:23,801 --> 00:12:27,055 Did a design flaw or some kind of failure 224 00:12:27,055 --> 00:12:29,182 create a fatigue crack, 225 00:12:29,182 --> 00:12:32,393 causing the wings to break off before impact? 226 00:12:34,187 --> 00:12:36,606 Even though the airplane is fairly new, 227 00:12:36,606 --> 00:12:37,940 you don't rule out anything. 228 00:12:37,940 --> 00:12:40,151 Was there a flaw in manufacturing? 229 00:12:40,151 --> 00:12:43,154 Was there a hole drilled where it shouldn't have been drilled? 230 00:12:43,154 --> 00:12:46,282 Was there some other issue that would cause a crack 231 00:12:46,282 --> 00:12:50,036 to start growing very early in the aircraft's life? 232 00:12:50,036 --> 00:12:53,081 This doesn't look like a fatigue crack at all. 233 00:12:55,291 --> 00:12:58,086 It can only mean one thing. 234 00:12:58,711 --> 00:13:01,297 Overload fracture. 235 00:13:01,297 --> 00:13:02,507 Yeah. 236 00:13:04,592 --> 00:13:06,969 Overload fractures can occur 237 00:13:06,969 --> 00:13:09,305 'cause the airplane's exceeded speed limits, 238 00:13:09,305 --> 00:13:11,974 uh, flight control inputs are severe, 239 00:13:11,974 --> 00:13:15,186 uh, severe turb-turbulence can cause overload 240 00:13:15,186 --> 00:13:17,313 and sometimes you have a combination 241 00:13:17,313 --> 00:13:19,107 of all three coming together. 242 00:13:20,108 --> 00:13:22,026 Hey, can you get the lights? 243 00:13:22,026 --> 00:13:23,820 What pushed this plane 244 00:13:23,820 --> 00:13:25,988 past its structural limits? 245 00:13:26,322 --> 00:13:27,907 Investigators examine 246 00:13:27,907 --> 00:13:30,701 the plane's flight path for clues. 247 00:13:34,706 --> 00:13:36,541 Nothing unusual here. 248 00:13:38,501 --> 00:13:43,631 The flight path from departure en route to arrival 249 00:13:43,631 --> 00:13:46,008 for landing seemed normal. 250 00:13:46,551 --> 00:13:49,554 What happened to this part, the end of the flight? 251 00:13:53,933 --> 00:13:56,310 Oh! Look at that. 252 00:13:56,310 --> 00:13:58,813 They discover that the pilots flew 253 00:13:58,813 --> 00:14:02,692 an erratic flight path before the plane crashed. 254 00:14:03,359 --> 00:14:06,738 That would certainly cause a structural overload. 255 00:14:07,029 --> 00:14:08,531 Agreed. 256 00:14:09,032 --> 00:14:11,284 The crew was on approach 257 00:14:11,284 --> 00:14:15,663 and now suddenly goes through some very tight maneuvers. 258 00:14:15,663 --> 00:14:20,209 And you piece that together with the wreckage you found 259 00:14:20,209 --> 00:14:22,545 and where it was found and that gives you 260 00:14:22,545 --> 00:14:26,758 a much better idea of what led to the accident. 261 00:14:26,758 --> 00:14:30,636 Investigators speak to the controller who oversaw 262 00:14:30,636 --> 00:14:32,972 the approach of Flight One Zero Eight 263 00:14:32,972 --> 00:14:36,934 to determine what might have caused the unusual flight path. 264 00:14:37,518 --> 00:14:40,188 Tell me about the night of the crash. 265 00:14:40,188 --> 00:14:46,110 Uh, there was thunderstorm activity from about 7:40 266 00:14:46,110 --> 00:14:47,737 until just after 8 AM. 267 00:14:47,737 --> 00:14:49,947 Mmhm. 268 00:14:49,947 --> 00:14:52,283 Did your other flights run into any trouble? 269 00:14:52,283 --> 00:14:56,204 They reported moderate icing and turbulence, 270 00:14:56,204 --> 00:14:58,623 but everyone else landed without incident. 271 00:14:58,623 --> 00:14:59,832 Okay. 272 00:14:59,832 --> 00:15:02,794 No go-arounds? No missed approaches? 273 00:15:02,794 --> 00:15:05,630 - No. - Okay. 274 00:15:06,130 --> 00:15:08,132 Uh, but, about six miles out, 275 00:15:08,132 --> 00:15:10,635 a 737 got hit by lightning. 276 00:15:14,472 --> 00:15:17,767 Dusseldorf approach, Lufthansa 1-3-5-4, 277 00:15:17,767 --> 00:15:21,062 we just experienced a lightning strike at 3,000 feet, 278 00:15:21,062 --> 00:15:24,565 six miles final. No immediate issues. 279 00:15:24,565 --> 00:15:27,777 Lufthansa 1-3-4-5, Dusseldorf approach, roger. 280 00:15:27,777 --> 00:15:30,863 Let me know if you require further assistance. 281 00:15:30,863 --> 00:15:33,324 Typically when we're concerned about thunderstorms 282 00:15:33,324 --> 00:15:34,492 in the airport vicinity, 283 00:15:34,492 --> 00:15:36,160 it's not much about the lightning 284 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:37,662 it's more about the winds and the wind shears 285 00:15:37,662 --> 00:15:39,705 that can be powerful enough to push the airplane 286 00:15:39,705 --> 00:15:40,832 into the ground. 287 00:15:40,832 --> 00:15:43,334 Since airplanes are made of aluminum, 288 00:15:43,334 --> 00:15:46,629 which conducts electricity, most lightning strikes 289 00:15:46,629 --> 00:15:48,631 flow over the skin of the fuselage 290 00:15:48,631 --> 00:15:51,217 and safely exit through the tail. 291 00:15:51,217 --> 00:15:53,469 I remember one occurrence of flying, 292 00:15:53,469 --> 00:15:55,179 the aircraft got hit by lightning. 293 00:15:55,179 --> 00:15:58,599 There was a sudden flash outside the fuselage. 294 00:15:58,599 --> 00:16:04,188 You could hear it and the airplane kept on going. 295 00:16:04,188 --> 00:16:07,608 And there was no associated damage to the aircraft 296 00:16:07,608 --> 00:16:09,277 and we continued on. 297 00:16:09,277 --> 00:16:11,946 Did you report the lightning strike to Flight One Zero Eight? 298 00:16:11,946 --> 00:16:13,156 Yes. 299 00:16:13,156 --> 00:16:15,783 NFD One Zero Eight, the preceding landing 300 00:16:15,783 --> 00:16:19,412 experienced a lightning strike about miles final. 301 00:16:19,704 --> 00:16:23,041 Dusseldorf approach, we copy and are looking outside, 302 00:16:23,041 --> 00:16:25,209 NFD One Zero Eight. 303 00:16:26,377 --> 00:16:29,881 For flight crews, it is not abnormal, 304 00:16:29,881 --> 00:16:31,215 to deal with thunderstorms 305 00:16:31,215 --> 00:16:33,968 and to deal with the probability of some lightning. 306 00:16:33,968 --> 00:16:36,179 This flight was very, very usual. 307 00:16:36,179 --> 00:16:37,930 Okay. 308 00:16:37,930 --> 00:16:40,224 Great. Thank you for your time. 309 00:16:41,059 --> 00:16:44,145 If it wasn't the weather that caused the pilots 310 00:16:44,145 --> 00:16:46,939 to push the plane past its structural limit, 311 00:16:46,939 --> 00:16:48,691 what did? 312 00:16:52,403 --> 00:16:55,198 Will Flight One Zero Eight's black boxes 313 00:16:55,198 --> 00:17:00,578 provide clues as to why the plane broke up mid-flight? 314 00:17:01,996 --> 00:17:03,706 It's not looking good. 315 00:17:03,706 --> 00:17:05,667 How so? 316 00:17:07,543 --> 00:17:11,130 The flight data recording and the cockpit voice recording 317 00:17:11,130 --> 00:17:13,883 both stop two minutes before the plane crashed, 318 00:17:13,883 --> 00:17:17,053 at the exact same time that the plane 319 00:17:17,053 --> 00:17:18,846 started flying erratically. 320 00:17:20,181 --> 00:17:22,767 A total power failure? 321 00:17:23,685 --> 00:17:27,855 {\an8}The CVR and FDR get their power from two separate sources. 322 00:17:27,855 --> 00:17:31,025 So the fact that both these recorders stopped 323 00:17:31,025 --> 00:17:33,277 at the same time indicates whatever happened 324 00:17:33,277 --> 00:17:36,989 affected both electrical systems not just the one. 325 00:17:37,615 --> 00:17:39,992 The Metroliner's electrical system 326 00:17:39,992 --> 00:17:42,286 is powered by two generators. 327 00:17:42,286 --> 00:17:45,373 In the event of a power failure two batteries 328 00:17:45,373 --> 00:17:48,376 act as a back-up system. 329 00:17:48,835 --> 00:17:50,336 But... 330 00:17:50,336 --> 00:17:52,422 if it was a total power failure 331 00:17:52,422 --> 00:17:55,633 that means the back-up system failed as well. 332 00:17:56,259 --> 00:17:58,469 How is that even possible? 333 00:17:58,886 --> 00:18:01,305 From the perspective and the explanations 334 00:18:01,305 --> 00:18:02,807 coming from the manufacturer, 335 00:18:02,807 --> 00:18:07,437 the possibility of a total electrical loss was very low. 336 00:18:07,437 --> 00:18:09,981 But during the course of the investigation, 337 00:18:09,981 --> 00:18:13,568 we understood more and more that it could be that 338 00:18:13,568 --> 00:18:16,988 the flight crew had a total electrical loss. 339 00:18:17,822 --> 00:18:20,324 Investigators consider the effects 340 00:18:20,324 --> 00:18:22,243 of a total power failure. 341 00:18:22,243 --> 00:18:24,704 They would have lost most of their instruments. 342 00:18:24,704 --> 00:18:29,500 Well, except their vertical speed indicator, the altitude, 343 00:18:29,500 --> 00:18:31,961 and the third attitude indicator. 344 00:18:33,463 --> 00:18:37,592 {\an8}Our Metroliners have been installed with a third 345 00:18:37,592 --> 00:18:41,554 {\an8}independent artificial horizon. 346 00:18:41,554 --> 00:18:44,223 It used bleed air coming from the engine, 347 00:18:44,223 --> 00:18:46,309 and as long as the engine was running, 348 00:18:46,309 --> 00:18:49,187 the artificial horizon was working as well, 349 00:18:49,187 --> 00:18:51,689 totally independent from electricity. 350 00:18:52,815 --> 00:18:54,609 The standby non-electrical 351 00:18:54,609 --> 00:18:57,195 artificial horizon could have been used by the crew 352 00:18:57,195 --> 00:19:01,908 to help keep the aircraft level and straight. 353 00:19:03,451 --> 00:19:07,371 And then the complexity of this accident gets into, 354 00:19:07,371 --> 00:19:10,541 why didn't the crew effectively use that standby? 355 00:19:10,541 --> 00:19:12,835 But even with the limited instruments, 356 00:19:12,835 --> 00:19:15,046 who's to say they could have even seen them. 357 00:19:15,046 --> 00:19:16,673 Oh, good point. 358 00:19:16,673 --> 00:19:18,508 The lights that illuminated the instruments 359 00:19:18,508 --> 00:19:20,968 might not have been working. Huh. 360 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:24,931 You need those instruments and if you can't see them, 361 00:19:24,931 --> 00:19:26,724 then you don't know if you're up or down. 362 00:19:26,724 --> 00:19:28,601 You're flying blind at this point. 363 00:19:40,655 --> 00:19:43,241 To confirm the unlikely finding 364 00:19:43,241 --> 00:19:45,201 of a total electrical failure, 365 00:19:45,201 --> 00:19:47,328 the team examines light bulbs 366 00:19:47,328 --> 00:19:50,415 from Flight One Zero Eight's instrument panel. 367 00:19:51,165 --> 00:19:54,127 If the light bulb was on when the plane hit the ground, 368 00:19:54,127 --> 00:19:58,673 the hot and pliable filament inside would be stretched. 369 00:19:59,674 --> 00:20:01,009 But if the light was off, 370 00:20:01,009 --> 00:20:06,514 the cold, brittle filament would break upon impact. 371 00:20:08,307 --> 00:20:10,727 All these filaments are broken. 372 00:20:12,854 --> 00:20:17,483 The outcome was that we found no bulb 373 00:20:17,483 --> 00:20:21,696 which was under electrical power during the impact 374 00:20:21,696 --> 00:20:22,864 of the aircraft. 375 00:20:23,990 --> 00:20:27,118 Investigators now have conclusive evidence 376 00:20:27,118 --> 00:20:30,413 of a sudden, total power failure. 377 00:20:32,248 --> 00:20:34,375 But what could have caused it? 378 00:20:35,376 --> 00:20:38,963 The controller did tell us that another plane 379 00:20:38,963 --> 00:20:41,466 got struck by lightning. 380 00:20:41,924 --> 00:20:44,218 Maybe this one did too. 381 00:20:44,552 --> 00:20:47,388 A lightning strike outside of the aircraft 382 00:20:47,388 --> 00:20:50,391 could lead to a problem with the electrical system 383 00:20:50,391 --> 00:20:51,809 inside of the aircraft. 384 00:20:51,809 --> 00:20:55,563 If the electrical field of a lightning strike is very, 385 00:20:55,563 --> 00:21:01,069 very high, it could be induced into the aircraft. 386 00:21:02,403 --> 00:21:04,697 Investigators search for evidence of 387 00:21:04,697 --> 00:21:09,577 lightning striking the fuselage of Flight One Zero Eight. 388 00:21:11,579 --> 00:21:14,499 There must be a thousand pieces in here. 389 00:21:15,416 --> 00:21:17,543 It's a painstaking process. 390 00:21:17,543 --> 00:21:20,254 Lightning could have struck anywhere. 391 00:21:20,254 --> 00:21:22,048 Lightning marks on the skin, 392 00:21:22,048 --> 00:21:24,133 they look like a circle. 393 00:21:24,133 --> 00:21:25,885 You'll see the paint burned. 394 00:21:25,885 --> 00:21:28,930 You may see some localized melting of the metal 395 00:21:28,930 --> 00:21:30,139 in that particular area. 396 00:21:36,270 --> 00:21:37,438 Over here. 397 00:21:41,275 --> 00:21:42,443 What do you got? 398 00:21:42,443 --> 00:21:44,445 I found it. 399 00:21:45,696 --> 00:21:46,906 Huh... 400 00:21:46,906 --> 00:21:48,991 Once you've found a piece of metal with a lightning strike 401 00:21:48,991 --> 00:21:51,411 its like okay, where does it go in the airplane? 402 00:21:51,411 --> 00:21:53,496 What's in the proximity of this? 403 00:21:53,496 --> 00:21:56,624 Is it next to the electronics? 404 00:21:56,624 --> 00:21:58,584 Is it next to hydraulics? 405 00:21:58,584 --> 00:22:01,295 Where is this lightning strike occurring? 406 00:22:01,295 --> 00:22:03,673 The only way to determine 407 00:22:03,673 --> 00:22:07,176 where the mystery piece comes from is to reconstruct 408 00:22:07,176 --> 00:22:09,846 sections of the airplane. 409 00:22:10,054 --> 00:22:11,431 No. 410 00:22:11,889 --> 00:22:15,601 At the time of this accident uh, reconstructions 411 00:22:15,601 --> 00:22:17,061 were fairly typical, 412 00:22:17,061 --> 00:22:20,273 mainly because we didn't have as much data as we have now. 413 00:22:20,273 --> 00:22:23,651 So reconstructing it made sense. 414 00:22:30,742 --> 00:22:32,577 I think I've got it. 415 00:22:32,577 --> 00:22:35,163 Investigators match the piece of the plane 416 00:22:35,163 --> 00:22:37,331 to the left side of the fuselage, 417 00:22:37,331 --> 00:22:38,624 forward of the wing. 418 00:22:38,624 --> 00:22:41,669 This is where the lightning struck. 419 00:22:42,837 --> 00:22:45,798 But could a lightning strike in front of the left wing 420 00:22:45,798 --> 00:22:49,677 actually cause a total electrical failure? 421 00:22:49,677 --> 00:22:53,097 There are power system lines running right behind 422 00:22:53,097 --> 00:22:54,766 where the lightning struck. 423 00:22:54,766 --> 00:22:57,268 It can't be a coincidence. 424 00:22:57,769 --> 00:23:00,396 Is it possible that that lightning strike 425 00:23:00,396 --> 00:23:03,232 entered the electrical wires on the other side 426 00:23:03,232 --> 00:23:06,861 and therefore led to the loss of electrical power? 427 00:23:06,861 --> 00:23:09,280 So that would have been the real focus 428 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,574 of the investigation at this point. 429 00:23:16,537 --> 00:23:19,248 (narraamine what remains of 430 00:23:19,248 --> 00:23:22,710 Flight One Zero Eight's electrical wiring in search of 431 00:23:22,710 --> 00:23:26,297 evidence that the lightning strike jumped from the fuselage 432 00:23:26,297 --> 00:23:29,050 to the electrical system. 433 00:23:30,468 --> 00:23:34,097 {\an8}You would look for the insulation material 434 00:23:34,097 --> 00:23:35,848 {\an8}on the outside's been burned away. 435 00:23:35,848 --> 00:23:38,017 Is there melting inside the wires, 436 00:23:38,017 --> 00:23:41,145 evidence that somehow electrical energy 437 00:23:41,145 --> 00:23:44,857 got through the insulation barrier into the wiring, 438 00:23:44,857 --> 00:23:49,320 uh, and then started actually melting the wires locally. 439 00:23:50,530 --> 00:23:52,323 How odd. 440 00:23:52,865 --> 00:23:54,826 There's no signs of arcing. 441 00:23:57,745 --> 00:23:59,372 We checked the wiring. 442 00:23:59,372 --> 00:24:01,082 We checked the electronic components 443 00:24:01,082 --> 00:24:05,003 available from the wreckage for some indication 444 00:24:05,003 --> 00:24:07,130 for electrical overload. 445 00:24:13,845 --> 00:24:16,389 Flight Investigator Find any lightning damage to the wiring? 446 00:24:16,389 --> 00:24:17,557 Not yet. 447 00:24:17,557 --> 00:24:19,600 It's very possible once the lightning 448 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:23,062 gets into the fuselage you may not see 449 00:24:23,062 --> 00:24:26,607 any direct impact in that area. 450 00:24:26,607 --> 00:24:30,361 It flows into the aircraft and so even wiring 451 00:24:30,361 --> 00:24:33,239 that's close by may appear to be unaffected. 452 00:24:33,239 --> 00:24:37,034 But now this high energy is gone into the airplane 453 00:24:37,034 --> 00:24:39,078 and the question is where does it go? 454 00:24:39,078 --> 00:24:41,789 Maybe I can find something in here. 455 00:24:42,540 --> 00:24:47,045 After we found no evidence for damage 456 00:24:47,045 --> 00:24:50,298 in the wiring based on the lightning strike, 457 00:24:50,298 --> 00:24:53,468 we had to do a deeper investigation 458 00:24:53,468 --> 00:24:55,470 within the systems. And that means 459 00:24:55,470 --> 00:25:01,225 we had to look for damages in the avionic components. 460 00:25:03,019 --> 00:25:06,481 The team now focuses on even smaller components of 461 00:25:06,481 --> 00:25:10,818 the electrical system: the diodes. 462 00:25:10,818 --> 00:25:13,571 Let's check this out. 463 00:25:16,741 --> 00:25:20,453 A diode is an electrical component that allows current 464 00:25:20,453 --> 00:25:22,663 to flow in one direction only, 465 00:25:22,663 --> 00:25:26,292 preventing reverse current flow that could damage circuits 466 00:25:26,292 --> 00:25:28,669 or create malfunctions. 467 00:25:31,005 --> 00:25:33,299 If the diode is working properly, 468 00:25:33,299 --> 00:25:36,386 there should be resistance to high current flow 469 00:25:36,386 --> 00:25:39,514 in one direction and not the other. 470 00:25:43,434 --> 00:25:46,604 Only 15 ohms. Almost nothing. 471 00:25:46,938 --> 00:25:48,356 Now the reverse. 472 00:25:55,905 --> 00:25:58,408 Also 15 ohms. 473 00:25:59,158 --> 00:26:02,537 But investigators discover low resistance 474 00:26:02,537 --> 00:26:05,248 to current flow in both directions. 475 00:26:05,248 --> 00:26:07,375 It's shorted. 476 00:26:11,421 --> 00:26:14,048 The outcome of our investigation of the diodes 477 00:26:14,048 --> 00:26:19,012 was that all diodes, um, were open in both directions. 478 00:26:19,012 --> 00:26:22,432 That means the diodes were shorted. 479 00:26:22,432 --> 00:26:25,476 The question now was why. 480 00:26:25,893 --> 00:26:31,023 We decided to take these to a manufacturer and ask them, 481 00:26:31,023 --> 00:26:33,901 uh, to do a deeper investigation. 482 00:26:36,112 --> 00:26:37,613 Results are in. 483 00:26:37,613 --> 00:26:40,742 To better understand why the diodes shorted, 484 00:26:40,742 --> 00:26:44,787 they examine test results provided by the manufacturer. 485 00:26:47,415 --> 00:26:49,417 Oh. That's interesting. 486 00:26:49,417 --> 00:26:52,420 It looks like cracks in the center of the diode. 487 00:26:55,465 --> 00:26:58,426 Once you've see that a diode has failed 488 00:26:58,426 --> 00:27:01,554 then you can do tests and research on a good diode 489 00:27:01,554 --> 00:27:03,973 to see how much energy it would take 490 00:27:03,973 --> 00:27:06,392 basically to fry that diode. 491 00:27:07,518 --> 00:27:10,521 Voltage tests are done to determine if the cracks 492 00:27:10,521 --> 00:27:12,273 in the diodes were the result of 493 00:27:12,273 --> 00:27:15,526 a lightning strike or something else. 494 00:27:16,402 --> 00:27:18,404 A thousand volts. 495 00:27:18,780 --> 00:27:21,741 Investigators learn that when more than 1,000 volts 496 00:27:21,741 --> 00:27:24,952 are applied to a working diode, it will crack. 497 00:27:24,952 --> 00:27:28,664 A lightning bolt can carry hundreds of millions of volts, 498 00:27:28,664 --> 00:27:31,376 more than enough energy to crack the diode. 499 00:27:31,376 --> 00:27:33,461 It must have been lightning. 500 00:27:34,587 --> 00:27:36,172 The damage of the diodes, 501 00:27:36,172 --> 00:27:41,135 uh, only can be produced by high voltage. 502 00:27:42,637 --> 00:27:47,225 Could it be possible that high voltage would be produced 503 00:27:47,225 --> 00:27:48,935 within the aircraft? 504 00:27:48,935 --> 00:27:50,603 And the answer was no. 505 00:27:50,603 --> 00:27:54,816 It could be only produced by the lightning strike. 506 00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:59,362 Basically, the lightning hit the aircraft, 507 00:27:59,362 --> 00:28:01,697 flowed through the system. 508 00:28:01,697 --> 00:28:06,536 It impacted the diodes which fried them, cracked them, 509 00:28:06,536 --> 00:28:08,830 took them offline and that shut down 510 00:28:08,830 --> 00:28:12,417 the electrical systems on the aircraft. 511 00:28:13,793 --> 00:28:17,505 The odds of lightning taking out an entire electrical system 512 00:28:17,505 --> 00:28:19,966 are next to impossible. 513 00:28:19,966 --> 00:28:22,427 And yet, that's what happened. 514 00:28:24,053 --> 00:28:26,681 But this doesn't explain why the crew 515 00:28:26,681 --> 00:28:29,726 flew into the thunderstorm in the first place. 516 00:28:30,184 --> 00:28:31,936 Okay. 517 00:28:32,687 --> 00:28:36,524 The primary rule is if you see a thunderstorm 518 00:28:36,524 --> 00:28:39,485 no matter what its size you avoid it. 519 00:28:39,485 --> 00:28:43,448 You go around, you divert, you hold, 520 00:28:43,448 --> 00:28:44,991 you do whatever you can. 521 00:28:44,991 --> 00:28:47,326 You do not want to fly through a thunderstorm. 522 00:28:54,167 --> 00:28:57,086 examine Nuremberg Air Service'ss 523 00:28:57,086 --> 00:29:01,174 Flight Operations Manual to understand why the pilots of 524 00:29:01,174 --> 00:29:04,677 Flight One Zero Eight ended up in a thunderstorm. 525 00:29:04,677 --> 00:29:07,096 I don't get it. It clearly states, 526 00:29:07,096 --> 00:29:08,639 "flights in or near thunderstorms 527 00:29:08,639 --> 00:29:09,932 should be absolutely avoided". 528 00:29:10,391 --> 00:29:13,144 So why didn't they do the sensible thing 529 00:29:13,144 --> 00:29:15,188 and go around the storm? 530 00:29:15,188 --> 00:29:18,566 At that time they had several possibilities. 531 00:29:18,566 --> 00:29:23,112 One possibility was just to prepare if they would fly 532 00:29:23,112 --> 00:29:25,531 through the thunderstorm, what could happen, 533 00:29:25,531 --> 00:29:27,492 what they have to do, what they have to prepare. 534 00:29:27,492 --> 00:29:31,788 Another possibility could have been just to divert 535 00:29:31,788 --> 00:29:33,456 to another airport. 536 00:29:34,165 --> 00:29:35,917 Let's have a listen to what the pilots were saying 537 00:29:35,917 --> 00:29:38,002 about the storm. 538 00:29:42,090 --> 00:29:44,133 Check the radar. 539 00:29:44,550 --> 00:29:46,386 A thunderstorm could be rolling in after all. 540 00:29:46,386 --> 00:29:48,471 Halfway through the flight, 541 00:29:48,471 --> 00:29:51,641 the crew learns there's adverse weather ahead. 542 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:54,852 Maybe. 543 00:29:54,852 --> 00:29:56,979 It doesn't look particularly bad. 544 00:29:58,856 --> 00:30:00,817 I'll check the ATIS. 545 00:30:01,651 --> 00:30:03,695 The crew checks Dusseldorf 546 00:30:03,695 --> 00:30:05,238 airport's weather service. 547 00:30:05,238 --> 00:30:07,698 ...information Bravo at zero seven zero... 548 00:30:07,698 --> 00:30:10,493 But there's no indication of a thunderstorm. 549 00:30:10,493 --> 00:30:13,121 Once they got the ATIS, their expectation bias 550 00:30:13,121 --> 00:30:14,872 was that the weather was getting better. 551 00:30:14,872 --> 00:30:18,001 ...broken clouds at 1,500 feet. 552 00:30:18,501 --> 00:30:21,379 Nothing about a thunderstorm. We should be fine. 553 00:30:21,879 --> 00:30:24,716 The Captain considers the information 554 00:30:24,716 --> 00:30:26,592 and makes his decision. 555 00:30:27,677 --> 00:30:31,681 Okay, we'll continue with the approach. 556 00:30:33,474 --> 00:30:35,852 They just assume best case scenario 557 00:30:35,852 --> 00:30:37,395 and don't do a proper briefing. 558 00:30:37,395 --> 00:30:39,605 As professional pilots, we always brief each other 559 00:30:39,605 --> 00:30:42,233 based off the worst conditions. You never know if that 10% 560 00:30:42,233 --> 00:30:44,485 probability of thunderstorms actually happens. 561 00:30:44,485 --> 00:30:46,779 And if it does happen and it's too late, 562 00:30:46,779 --> 00:30:48,781 you don't have time to brief it. 563 00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:53,786 NFD One Zero Eight... 564 00:30:53,786 --> 00:30:55,246 11 minutes later, 565 00:30:55,246 --> 00:30:57,957 the situation becomes more critical. 566 00:30:57,957 --> 00:31:01,002 ...the preceding landing experienced a lightning strike 567 00:31:01,002 --> 00:31:03,004 about six miles final. 568 00:31:03,296 --> 00:31:05,298 If I were the crew and I were on approach 569 00:31:05,298 --> 00:31:06,632 and proceeding traffic in front of me 570 00:31:06,632 --> 00:31:08,551 were to get struck by lightning, at that point 571 00:31:08,551 --> 00:31:10,219 I would initiate a missed approach, 572 00:31:10,219 --> 00:31:11,637 go around and hold somewhere and figure out 573 00:31:11,637 --> 00:31:13,222 what we're going to do because the weather 574 00:31:13,222 --> 00:31:15,266 at that point is moving on to the approach path 575 00:31:15,266 --> 00:31:16,601 and you need to take that pretty seriously. 576 00:31:16,601 --> 00:31:19,312 But that's not what the pilots do. 577 00:31:19,312 --> 00:31:22,565 Dusseldorf approach, we copy and are looking outside, 578 00:31:22,565 --> 00:31:24,567 NFD One Zero Eight. 579 00:31:28,821 --> 00:31:31,741 Hey, did you hear what happened to Walter last weekend? 580 00:31:31,741 --> 00:31:34,494 Yeah, I'm not surprised. 581 00:31:34,494 --> 00:31:35,995 Hold on. 582 00:31:35,995 --> 00:31:39,082 They should to be talking about deviating or a go around here 583 00:31:39,082 --> 00:31:40,667 not someone's weekend. 584 00:31:40,667 --> 00:31:42,377 They should have been deciding where they were going 585 00:31:42,377 --> 00:31:43,628 to go and what they were going to do 586 00:31:43,628 --> 00:31:45,338 instead of going down this rabbit hole. 587 00:31:45,338 --> 00:31:47,215 But they just thought the other person is comfortable with it 588 00:31:47,215 --> 00:31:48,341 and we'll continue going, 589 00:31:48,341 --> 00:31:49,801 if they're comfortable, I'm comfortable. 590 00:31:49,801 --> 00:31:53,054 Investigators continue listening to the CVR 591 00:31:53,054 --> 00:31:55,598 as the pilots prepare for landing. 592 00:32:11,114 --> 00:32:13,533 - You're left of the centerline. - What? 593 00:32:13,533 --> 00:32:16,786 You're left of the centerline. You need to turn right. 594 00:32:16,786 --> 00:32:19,372 {\an8}The captain started deviating to the left, 595 00:32:19,372 --> 00:32:21,958 {\an8}apparently without telling the first officer of his plan. 596 00:32:21,958 --> 00:32:24,711 I don't want to go in there. I'm trying to get around it. 597 00:32:24,711 --> 00:32:27,797 We're too close to the runway. You can't change course now. 598 00:32:29,215 --> 00:32:30,174 It sounds like the Captain 599 00:32:30,174 --> 00:32:31,592 is trying to deviate around the storm. 600 00:32:31,592 --> 00:32:35,096 And the First Officer isn't on the same page. 601 00:32:35,638 --> 00:32:37,515 It's a bad idea to try and re-intercept the approach 602 00:32:37,515 --> 00:32:38,808 when you're already unstabilized. 603 00:32:38,808 --> 00:32:40,852 It's just a bad idea. You just do a go-around. 604 00:32:40,852 --> 00:32:42,562 Huh. 605 00:32:47,942 --> 00:32:50,737 Okay, I hear you. 606 00:32:53,156 --> 00:32:55,867 Again, no discussion of their options. 607 00:32:55,867 --> 00:32:57,118 Oh... 608 00:32:57,118 --> 00:32:59,746 There's some tension in the cockpit. 609 00:32:59,746 --> 00:33:02,373 There's some issue between 610 00:33:02,373 --> 00:33:04,208 the Captain and the First Officer. 611 00:33:04,208 --> 00:33:07,962 We don't know exactly what it was but... 612 00:33:07,962 --> 00:33:13,676 clearly this was not conducive to the crew working together 613 00:33:13,676 --> 00:33:16,262 to determine what was the best course of action. 614 00:33:16,262 --> 00:33:20,350 So, now the Captain turns the plane 615 00:33:20,350 --> 00:33:23,352 directly into the thunderstorm. 616 00:33:25,313 --> 00:33:28,274 - Hold on tight, here it comes. - Um-hm. 617 00:33:34,572 --> 00:33:36,324 Neither crew knew what the other one was doing. 618 00:33:36,324 --> 00:33:37,992 They hadn't briefed for the, uh, weather. 619 00:33:37,992 --> 00:33:39,619 They didn't have the plane set up for flying around 620 00:33:39,619 --> 00:33:43,414 in the vicinity of thunderstorms and they just kept going. 621 00:33:50,296 --> 00:33:52,715 Why wasn't this crew on the same page? 622 00:33:57,678 --> 00:34:00,431 The understanding of the investigation team 623 00:34:00,431 --> 00:34:02,558 at that time was the communication 624 00:34:02,558 --> 00:34:06,562 between both pilots was not in a way as it should be. 625 00:34:08,356 --> 00:34:09,732 What'd you find? 626 00:34:09,732 --> 00:34:10,942 Well... 627 00:34:10,942 --> 00:34:14,570 Investigators examine personnel records 628 00:34:14,570 --> 00:34:17,949 for insight into the pilots' working relationship. 629 00:34:20,201 --> 00:34:25,289 The Captain had a total of 2,473 flight hours 630 00:34:25,289 --> 00:34:31,170 but only 277 hours in the Metro III. 631 00:34:31,170 --> 00:34:34,007 That's not a lot of experience on type. 632 00:34:34,007 --> 00:34:35,883 No, it's not. 633 00:34:36,384 --> 00:34:42,390 The FO had basically the same number of flight hours 634 00:34:42,682 --> 00:34:49,772 but over 13 hundred hours in the Metro. 635 00:34:50,857 --> 00:34:53,776 Investigators discover that the First Officer 636 00:34:53,776 --> 00:34:56,988 had much more experience on the Metroliner 637 00:34:56,988 --> 00:34:58,197 than the Captain. 638 00:34:59,991 --> 00:35:01,868 With the crew having such an imbalance in the time, 639 00:35:01,868 --> 00:35:03,995 the first officer is going to feel like they could be 640 00:35:03,995 --> 00:35:06,330 the captain, that they got passed over for the upgrade. 641 00:35:06,330 --> 00:35:07,665 They have more experience on the routes, 642 00:35:07,665 --> 00:35:09,042 they have more experience on the plane, 643 00:35:09,042 --> 00:35:10,168 more experience with the airline, 644 00:35:10,168 --> 00:35:11,627 even in this case. 645 00:35:13,087 --> 00:35:16,549 She probably didn't trust his handling of the aircraft. 646 00:35:16,549 --> 00:35:19,969 That's never good in a cockpit. 647 00:35:21,429 --> 00:35:24,348 Did the pilots' imbalance in experience 648 00:35:24,348 --> 00:35:26,351 make it difficult for them to cope 649 00:35:26,351 --> 00:35:28,144 with the lightning strike? 650 00:35:32,565 --> 00:35:35,360 their descent here.making 651 00:35:35,693 --> 00:35:38,404 Investigators examine how the pilots of 652 00:35:38,404 --> 00:35:40,823 Flight One Zero Eight flew the plane 653 00:35:40,823 --> 00:35:42,408 as they entered the thunderstorm. 654 00:35:42,408 --> 00:35:45,203 And then, a minute before they lose power, 655 00:35:45,203 --> 00:35:47,038 they start ascending again. 656 00:35:47,038 --> 00:35:49,165 Why would that happen? 657 00:35:49,999 --> 00:35:52,960 Let's hear what happens here. 658 00:36:01,844 --> 00:36:04,931 Okay, glide alive. 659 00:36:05,473 --> 00:36:07,350 Quarter flaps. 660 00:36:10,311 --> 00:36:12,021 Selected. 661 00:36:12,021 --> 00:36:14,232 Three minutes from the airport, 662 00:36:14,232 --> 00:36:17,777 the Captain begins configuring the aircraft for landing. 663 00:36:17,777 --> 00:36:19,529 And half flaps. 664 00:36:22,740 --> 00:36:24,742 Half flaps, please. 665 00:36:25,201 --> 00:36:27,412 As they descend towards the runway, 666 00:36:27,412 --> 00:36:30,373 the Captain rushes his flap settings. 667 00:36:31,207 --> 00:36:35,086 The plane is now climbing instead of descending. 668 00:36:35,086 --> 00:36:37,964 The captain requested the next flap setting, 669 00:36:37,964 --> 00:36:39,590 half flaps. 670 00:36:39,590 --> 00:36:42,593 The airplane then ballooned up, 671 00:36:42,593 --> 00:36:44,762 climbed in altitude 400 feet. 672 00:36:44,762 --> 00:36:47,056 I'm not sure that was so good. 673 00:36:47,432 --> 00:36:50,351 The Captain trims the plane's nose down 674 00:36:50,351 --> 00:36:53,312 to counteract the increase in altitude. 675 00:36:53,312 --> 00:36:55,732 In response to the 400-foot climb, 676 00:36:55,732 --> 00:36:57,066 the Captain trims the airplane. 677 00:36:57,066 --> 00:36:59,986 Rather than just putting a few bits of electric trim in, 678 00:36:59,986 --> 00:37:01,320 he holds the electric trim, 679 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,990 pitching the nose down quite substantially. 680 00:37:04,532 --> 00:37:08,411 He then adds even more nose-down trim. 681 00:37:12,206 --> 00:37:14,792 We're still slightly high. 682 00:37:20,131 --> 00:37:22,675 Okay, descending. 683 00:37:25,094 --> 00:37:27,346 With all that trim the Captain has added, 684 00:37:27,346 --> 00:37:29,766 the plane is in a nose heavy position 685 00:37:29,766 --> 00:37:31,392 when the lightning strikes. 686 00:37:42,445 --> 00:37:46,449 So now the Captain loses the ability to recover. 687 00:37:46,449 --> 00:37:48,701 When the lightning strike happens, 688 00:37:48,701 --> 00:37:50,286 he loses electrical power. 689 00:37:50,286 --> 00:37:53,664 So he may have a lot more heavier flight controls 690 00:37:53,664 --> 00:37:55,792 than he was prepared for. 691 00:37:55,792 --> 00:37:58,002 And when the lightning strikes, 692 00:37:58,002 --> 00:38:00,046 the instrument lighting fails, 693 00:38:00,046 --> 00:38:02,840 making the instruments impossible to read. 694 00:38:03,716 --> 00:38:06,677 There's no emergency procedure in the Metroliner manual, 695 00:38:06,677 --> 00:38:08,096 uh, that tells you what to do 696 00:38:08,096 --> 00:38:09,639 if all your batteries fall offline. 697 00:38:09,639 --> 00:38:12,141 Uh, you're a test pilot, and at that point, 698 00:38:12,141 --> 00:38:13,518 you use your pilot experience. 699 00:38:13,518 --> 00:38:15,311 One of the things to do was for 700 00:38:15,311 --> 00:38:18,773 the non-flying pilot to get a flashlight to illuminate 701 00:38:18,773 --> 00:38:22,985 the standby instrument to help the flying pilot out. 702 00:38:22,985 --> 00:38:24,737 The flashlights weren't found, 703 00:38:24,737 --> 00:38:26,989 we don't know if they were on the aircraft or not. 704 00:38:26,989 --> 00:38:30,326 The power failure cuts off their ability to see 705 00:38:30,326 --> 00:38:32,161 and to communicate with each other. 706 00:38:32,161 --> 00:38:34,163 They couldn't hear each other. 707 00:38:34,789 --> 00:38:37,417 We've lost electrical power. 708 00:38:39,919 --> 00:38:41,337 We have nothing! 709 00:38:41,337 --> 00:38:42,588 You've got a crew that can't communicate 710 00:38:42,588 --> 00:38:44,298 because you've lost the intercom system. 711 00:38:44,298 --> 00:38:45,383 You've got a headset on, 712 00:38:45,383 --> 00:38:46,926 and the Metro's a very noisy cockpit, 713 00:38:46,926 --> 00:38:48,011 so you can't hear the other person 714 00:38:48,011 --> 00:38:49,303 and what they're saying to you. 715 00:38:49,303 --> 00:38:51,681 If they couldn't see their instruments 716 00:38:51,681 --> 00:38:53,099 or hear one another, 717 00:38:53,099 --> 00:38:56,602 could the pilots still fly their plane? 718 00:38:56,602 --> 00:38:59,230 They have aileron and rudder controls 719 00:38:59,230 --> 00:39:01,107 which aren't electrical. 720 00:39:01,774 --> 00:39:03,818 The engines are still running. 721 00:39:04,444 --> 00:39:07,864 The runway is about seven miles away. 722 00:39:08,239 --> 00:39:10,283 They should have been able to use the controls 723 00:39:10,283 --> 00:39:12,660 they did have to land the plane. 724 00:39:13,578 --> 00:39:16,372 They still had control over the ailerons, over the rudder. 725 00:39:16,372 --> 00:39:19,042 It was difficult, but technically still flyable. 726 00:39:19,042 --> 00:39:21,627 But without the ability to see their instruments, 727 00:39:21,627 --> 00:39:24,297 they'd have no way of knowing where they were. 728 00:39:27,884 --> 00:39:30,720 Seconds later, Flight One Zero Eight 729 00:39:30,720 --> 00:39:33,181 is diving towards the ground. 730 00:39:35,224 --> 00:39:39,187 The pilots had no chance to control the aircraft 731 00:39:39,187 --> 00:39:41,147 in a proper way because the light 732 00:39:41,147 --> 00:39:45,276 for the third artificial horizon was not there 733 00:39:45,276 --> 00:39:47,570 and they had no visual ground contact. 734 00:39:47,570 --> 00:39:50,406 And I think under these circumstances 735 00:39:50,406 --> 00:39:54,535 it's nearly impossible to control the aircraft. 736 00:39:56,746 --> 00:39:59,290 Investigators finally understand 737 00:39:59,290 --> 00:40:03,670 how a lightning strike caused a fatal crash. 738 00:40:10,218 --> 00:40:12,762 - You're left of the centerline. - What? 739 00:40:12,762 --> 00:40:15,431 It starts with a poorly functioning crew. 740 00:40:15,431 --> 00:40:18,017 You're left of the centerline. You need to turn right. 741 00:40:18,017 --> 00:40:20,395 I don't want to go in there. I'm trying to get around it. 742 00:40:20,395 --> 00:40:22,688 We're too close to the runway. You can't change course now. 743 00:40:23,231 --> 00:40:26,067 Okay, I hear you. 744 00:40:26,317 --> 00:40:28,027 Instead of giving him the advice 745 00:40:28,027 --> 00:40:31,280 or the two-crew mentality that we're not where we should be, 746 00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:33,533 we shouldn't be here, the First Officer 747 00:40:33,533 --> 00:40:35,326 chose to go the other route, which was shut down and 748 00:40:35,326 --> 00:40:37,787 only make the minimum calls, which were deviation calls. 749 00:40:37,787 --> 00:40:40,415 Half-flaps please. 750 00:40:44,460 --> 00:40:48,381 The pilots decide to fly their nose heavy aircraft 751 00:40:48,381 --> 00:40:50,717 into a thunderstorm. 752 00:40:53,386 --> 00:40:55,471 A powerful lightning strike... 753 00:40:55,471 --> 00:40:58,141 We've lost electrical power. 754 00:40:58,599 --> 00:41:01,060 ...causes a total power failure. 755 00:41:01,060 --> 00:41:02,478 We have nothing! 756 00:41:02,478 --> 00:41:05,314 And the disoriented crew... 757 00:41:05,314 --> 00:41:07,400 - Where are we? - I can't tell. 758 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:09,944 ...loses control of the plane. 759 00:41:12,155 --> 00:41:13,906 Five hundred... 760 00:41:13,906 --> 00:41:16,117 four hundred... 761 00:41:16,117 --> 00:41:17,827 three hundred... Pull up! 762 00:41:17,827 --> 00:41:19,704 Pull up! Pull up! 763 00:41:21,998 --> 00:41:23,750 After you've been struck by lightning, 764 00:41:23,750 --> 00:41:25,710 you've got winds that are gusting all over the place. 765 00:41:25,710 --> 00:41:28,796 It starts to become a pretty violent situation pretty quick. 766 00:41:28,796 --> 00:41:32,759 The combination of turbulence and the pilots' blind 767 00:41:32,759 --> 00:41:34,719 actions lasting more than a minute, 768 00:41:34,719 --> 00:41:38,806 sends the plane into extreme turns and banks. 769 00:41:40,892 --> 00:41:42,018 Are we banking? 770 00:41:42,018 --> 00:41:43,603 - Can't tell. - What's the airspeed? 771 00:41:43,603 --> 00:41:45,563 Don't worry about the speed, just pull. 772 00:41:45,563 --> 00:41:47,648 You think you can trust your senses, but you can't. 773 00:41:47,648 --> 00:41:49,400 You don't know if you're banking to the left. 774 00:41:49,400 --> 00:41:50,777 You don't know if you're banking to the right. 775 00:41:50,777 --> 00:41:52,820 You can't tell if you've got your nose low or your nose high. 776 00:41:52,820 --> 00:41:55,615 Uh, you can think you do. You can think you trust it. 777 00:41:55,615 --> 00:41:57,909 At the end of the day, your gut instinct will be wrong. 778 00:41:58,659 --> 00:42:02,121 The plane is so overloaded with the G-forces 779 00:42:02,121 --> 00:42:03,956 in these turns... 780 00:42:04,957 --> 00:42:07,460 it broke up. 781 00:42:07,835 --> 00:42:09,629 Yeah. 782 00:42:17,303 --> 00:42:18,846 Pull up! Pull up! 783 00:42:18,846 --> 00:42:19,972 I'm trying. 784 00:42:21,057 --> 00:42:23,226 You're looking at a G load that literally ripped 785 00:42:23,226 --> 00:42:25,103 the engine pylon off the wing, 786 00:42:25,103 --> 00:42:26,521 that literally broke the wings apart 787 00:42:26,521 --> 00:42:28,064 on the strongest part of the airplane, 788 00:42:28,064 --> 00:42:29,649 broke it like a toothpick. 789 00:42:29,649 --> 00:42:32,318 It way exceeded what the aircraft manufacturer 790 00:42:32,318 --> 00:42:33,945 ever designed that airplane to go through. 791 00:42:50,128 --> 00:42:53,548 The main conclusion of the report by Germany's Air 792 00:42:53,548 --> 00:42:56,092 Accident Investigation Unit is clear, 793 00:42:56,092 --> 00:42:58,594 the crew flew into a thunderstorm 794 00:42:58,594 --> 00:43:01,806 even though they could have flown around it. 795 00:43:02,807 --> 00:43:04,892 You have two fairly experienced pilots 796 00:43:04,892 --> 00:43:07,437 that they never ever should have been in that situation. 797 00:43:07,729 --> 00:43:09,772 There were red flags throughout. 798 00:43:09,772 --> 00:43:11,691 If anything can be learned from this one, 799 00:43:11,691 --> 00:43:13,484 you gotta speak up on a two crew airplane. 800 00:43:13,484 --> 00:43:14,610 You can't let the other person 801 00:43:14,610 --> 00:43:16,362 take you to the scene of the crash. 802 00:43:17,447 --> 00:43:18,990 In their recommendations, 803 00:43:18,990 --> 00:43:22,910 the F-U-S reiterates the need for training and manuals 804 00:43:22,910 --> 00:43:25,288 that clearly describe how to operate 805 00:43:25,288 --> 00:43:28,207 in and near thunderstorms. 806 00:43:28,875 --> 00:43:32,712 This is a very different crew than we see today 807 00:43:32,712 --> 00:43:35,506 who are well-trained in cockpit resource management, 808 00:43:35,506 --> 00:43:37,383 who work together as a crew. 809 00:43:37,383 --> 00:43:40,178 And the systems changed for the better 810 00:43:40,178 --> 00:43:42,221 and the airplanes are much better. 811 00:43:42,847 --> 00:43:44,974 As for Nuremberg Air Service, 812 00:43:44,974 --> 00:43:48,394 the company soon replaced the remaining Metroliners 813 00:43:48,394 --> 00:43:49,854 in its fleet. 814 00:43:49,854 --> 00:43:53,232 I made myself one of the last flights with the Metroliner. 815 00:43:53,232 --> 00:43:54,650 I had some tears in my eyes 816 00:43:54,650 --> 00:43:57,612 because I think it wasn't the aircraft's fault. 817 00:44:05,995 --> 00:44:08,081 Subtitling: difuze