All language subtitles for Mayday.S26E05.Peril.Over.Pakistan.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-Kitsune_track3_[eng]

Controllers in
Islamabad watch

as Airblue Flight 202 heads
straight towards a massive hill.

He's not turning.

They issue urgent warnings.

Turn left immediately!

...but fail
to prevent a disaster.

- Terrain ahead.
- We are going down!

Pull up.

It was the worst accident in
Pakistan's aviation history.

When investigators
listen to the CVR

they hear the pilots realise
they're in danger...

- Terrain ahead.
- Terrain, sir.

Pull up.

...took steps to avoid it...

Turning left.

...but were
unable to save the lives

of 152 people.

Why aren't we turning left?

The crew knew
what they had to do.

They reported
that they were doing

what they were supposed to do

and yet the aircraft continued
to fly in the wrong direction.

Mayday, mayday!

Pull up!

Airblue Flight 202

begins its early morning descent
towards Islamabad, Pakistan.

There are 146 passengers

and six crew on board
the Airbus A-3-21.

Airblue 202

expect arrival
to ILS runway 3-0,

followed by circling approach
to land runway 1-2.

Understood, it will
be ILS down to minima

and then left downwind.

Okay.

Captain Pervez Chaudhry

is one of the airline's
most experienced pilots.

Najam Qureshi
is a former Airblue pilot

who flew with Captain Chaudhry.

Captain Chaudhry had
a lifetime of experience

flying with the Pakistan
International Airline.

He had a very successful career

and he was pretty much
approaching

the end of his career.

Airblue 202
cleared to 39-hundred

for ILS approach
to runway three-zero

followed by circling
approach to land on 1-2.

First Officer Syed
Ahmed

has less commercial experience.

He is a former F-16
fighter pilot

and Squadron Leader
in Pakistan's Air Force.

Airblue 202,
cleared to 3-9-hundred

for ILS two-three-zero.

Cleared to descend
to 3-9-hundred.

He had about 300 hours on
the type so just brand new,

learning the differences between
the air force flying

and the commercial flying.

Pakistan's capital, Islamabad,

is a city of more
than 800,000 people.

It's surrounded by
the Himalayan foothills

to the north and northeast.

The mountainous terrain
means the only approach

to Islamabad's runway
is from the south.

Due to the wind direction today,

planes are landing on
Runway 1-2.

They must circle the airport

and make a visual approach
to the other end of the runway.

It is always safer
to land with a head wind

as compared to a tailwind.

When the winds change
beyond a certain limit

the air traffic controller
will switch the runways.

That will ensure the plane
lands in a head wind.

Thick clouds
envelop the airport,

making landings difficult.

China Southern is going around

and diverting back to Urumqi.

China Southern confirming,
diverting back to Urumqi.

Attention all landing aircraft,

China Southern is diverting
due to weather.

If at any point
you lose sight of the airfield,

you should abandon
the approach completely

and carry out the missed
approach procedure.

Flight 202

is now less than 10 minutes
from landing.

Gear down.

Gear down.

The plane reaches
the minimum altitude

to which the pilots can descend
without the runway in sight.

As soon as you see
the runway you turn right

and then after that

you're supposed to
keep the runway in sight.

Commencing right turn,
heading 3-5-2.

Call it in.

Airblue 202

maintaining 2-500

and turning right heading 3-5-2.

Airblue 202
confirming

at 2,500, turning
right heading 3-5-2.

Captain Choudhry
initiates the first turn

of the circling approach.

Airblue 202

continue on the circle
for landing on runway 1-2.

Caution, low clouds
and visibility.

Maintain visual
with the airport.

Even in the poor weather,

it's up to the pilots to decide

whether they should continue
the approach or not

depending whether they
have the runway in sight.

The controller
expects to see the lights

of the Airbus as it
flies past the airfield.

Radar,
I can't see Airblue 202,

what's his
current location, please?

He's approaching the No Fly
Zone north of the airfield.

Instruct him to turn
left immediately.

Flight 202 is much
further north than expected

and needs to turn left for
the approach to runway 1-2.

Airblue 202,
turn left heading 1-8-0.

Confirm he has visual
with the ground.

If not instruct him to climb
and execute a missed approach.

Airblue 202, confirm
you have airfield in sight.

The controllers had radar.

They could see what
the aircraft was doing.

They could see that
the aircraft was not doing

what the procedure
said they should be doing.

Ask again.

Airblue 202 please confirm
you have visual with the ground.

Airblue 202,
visual with the ground.

He's confirming visual.

He's not turning.

Controllers can
see that Flight 202

is rapidly approaching the hills
north of the airport.

In the cockpit
the pilots are struggling

to turn their plane away
from the mountains ahead.

Why aren't we turning left?

Why isn't it turning left?

Terrain Ahead.

Pull up. Terrain.

Terrain, sir.

Pull up.

Instruct him to turn
left immediately.

The controllers can't believe
what they're seeing.

Here's a guy with 25,000 hours

and he's flying directly
towards a mountain.

In the cabin
passengers have become aware

that something's not right.

They're approaching
the 5,000 foot Margalla Hills.

Terrain ahead. Pull up.

Sir, we are going down.
Sir, we are going down!

Message from
radar, turn left immediately.

Terrain ahead. Pull up...

We are going down!

Pull up.

Flight 202 has
crashed into the Margalla Hills,

seven miles from the airport.

The wreckage lies at an
altitude of nearly 3,000 feet.

It will be difficult for
rescuers to reach the site.

We couldn't get access to it

with a car or a truck.

Even with helicopters,
there was no place to set down.

So the only way to get
to the accident site

was with a long, slow climb.

It takes more than
half-an-hour for rescuers

and volunteers to make their way
up the steep hill

to the crash site
in hopes of finding survivors.

When crews do reach the site,

they find a scene
of complete devastation.

152 people died
in this accident.

It was the worst accident
in Pakistan's aviation history.

Why did a modern airplane fly
into well-known mountains

north of the airport
in Islamabad?

Investigators
arrive at the accident site

to study the wreckage
of Airblue Flight 202.

When an aircraft
flies into mountains,

there are really two areas
that we're looking at

in terms of the root cause.

One is a sudden
and unexpected loss of control.

The other would be the aircraft

has actually stayed
in control of the pilots,

and still somehow been
flown into a mountain.

An analysis of the engines

shows that they were fully
functional at the time of impact

and capable of producing
maximum thrust.

Okay, good work everyone.
Start heading back down.

Right. So the stabilizer was set
at 3.5 degrees nose up.

Landing gear was down.
Engines at climb power.

So configured for landing
but climbing at full power.

An examination
of the electrical

and mechanical components
that we could find,

there was no obvious damage
or mechanical failure.

They were trying to land here.

But then they slam
into the Margalla Hills,

seven miles north
of the runway.

How did they get
so far off course?

For an approach
that was supposed to be

a very tight approach because
of the existence of the hills,

that is extraordinary.

They were approaching from the
southeast for a landing here,

on runway 1-2.

Scattered clouds, rain.

Visibility was
at 3.5 kilometers.

Challenging conditions.

Could the cloudy conditions

have been a factor
in the accident?

When an aircraft flies
into high ground,

one thing that is almost
certainly a factor

is poor visibility,

uh, low cloud, fog,
call it what you will.

Visibility would have
been an issue.

But you don't need to
see the Margalla Hills

to know that they're there.

Everyone knows towards the
northeast of the runway

there are mountains.

They are clearly
marked on the maps.

- Terrain Ahead.
- Sir, we're going down!

Pull up. Pull up.

Can the controller
explain why the crew

of Flight 202
couldn't avoid the mountains?

Radar control informed him
he'd be doing the circling

approach to runway 1-2.

Airblue 202 expect
arrival at ILS 3-0,

followed by circling approach
to land runway 1-2.

And he understood
the approach.

Yes, sir. He did.

Understood.
It'll be ILS down to minima...

...and then left downwind.

And then?

That's when I assumed control,

as he began the right turn
to the circling approach.

The circling approach

involves four
carefully timed turns.

The first to the right
followed by a left turn

that takes the plane
parallel to the runway.

The two final turns line
the plane up for the landing

on runway 1-2.

Pilots must keep
the runway in sight

for the duration
of this approach.

After about a minute

I expected to see him fly by,

but he never did.

I asked the crew
if they had the runway in sight,

and they confirmed
that they did.

Airblue 202 please confirm
you have visual with the ground.

Airblue 202,
visual with the ground.

But he kept flying
further and further

away from the airport,

directly towards the hills.

After breaking off
from the approach,

they are supposed to
turn after 30 seconds.

Instead they kept going
for almost two minutes.

We tried to stop him
several times.

But it was too late.

Message from radar,
turn left immediately!

We couldn't prevent...

what happened.

It's all here,
on the radar track.

The crew knew
what they had to do.

They reported
that they were doing

what they were supposed to do,

and yet the aircraft continued
to fly in the wrong direction.

Terrain ahead.

Pull up.

How could
the pilots have ended up

so dangerously off course?

Investigators
look into the background

of Flight 202's pilots

to determine if the approach
into Islamabad was mishandled.

The Captain had years of
experience with major airlines.

Captain Chaudhry
has been flying

for more than 40 years.

He has accumulated more
than 25,000 flying hours

throughout his career

but only about 1,000 of those
were on the Airbus.

The first officer, however,
is a whole different story

First Officer Syed Ahmed

had far fewer hours
than the Captain.

The former fighter pilot
had recently joined the airline

and had accumulated
only 286 hours

on Airbus A-3-20 airplanes.

Two very different pilots.

One nearing the end
of his career

with thousands of hours
of experience,

and the other just starting
off his commercial career.

But neither of them
had a ton of experience

with the Airbus A-3-21.

Did the pilots'
lack of experience

on this type of plane
play a role in the accident?

Experience is generally
considered to be an asset.

The only potential downside
is that of course,

if you've got a lot
of experience

of one particular thing,

it actually might be more
difficult to learn

how to operate this new
type of aircraft.

Okay, so they're supposed
to perform their approach

within this area.

Anything beyond this is outside

the airport's 4.3 mile
protection zone.

Okay, let's see his track.

Investigators
examine Flight 202's radar track

to see how the pilots
set up their approach.

Alright.

So they make
their first turn here,

and then head straight out
of the protection zone.

And this left
turn takes them directly

into the Margalla Hills.

The radar track
shows the that the pilots

flew closer and closer

to the mountains
surrounding Islamabad.

Wouldn't they have
gotten a warning

that they were
approaching the hills?

Yes, sir.

It should have sounded
60 seconds before impact.

The Enhanced Ground
Proximity Warning System

looks downward to see the height
that you're at above ground,

but it also looks ahead

to see any terrain
that you're flying towards.

If they got a warning,

why didn't they try to pull up
or turn to avoid it?

Did the pilots of
Flight 202 get any warning

of an impending collision?

The crew would have
been given pictures

on their navigation display
of the approaching terrain,

and they would have been
given aural warnings.

So, since they flew
directly into the terrain,

has the Enhanced Ground
Proximity Warning System

completely failed?

Don't leave me in suspense.

Did they get any
Ground Proximity warnings?

They sure did.

The cockpit data shows

that in the final minute
of the flight,

the crew got
21 separate warnings

about the rising terrain ahead.

Okay, so that answers that.

Over 21 times, we saw
'Terrain, terrain, pull up.

Terrain ahead, pull up.'

There's no way that
the captain missed that warning.

The Enhanced Ground
Proximity Warning System

was working properly.

Terrain Ahead.

If the warning
system was operating,

why would the pilots ignore it

and allow
the accident to happen?

If you hear a full
'terrain pull up' warning

from the EGPWS, the reaction
should be immediate.

It should be
to apply full power,

pull the nose
of the aircraft up,

get it moving
away from the ground.

And that should be done
before any questions are asked.

Why didn't the
crew of Airblue Flight 202

act on terrain warnings

and steer their plane
away from the mountains?

Islamabad, Airblue 202...

Investigators
listen to the cockpit

voice recording.

...what are current
conditions, please.

Airblue 202,

visibility is now
3.5 kilometers with rain.

Wind 1-6 knots
zero five zero degrees...

...Runway 1-2 currently in use.

They focus on
how the crew set up for landing.

- It'll be runway 1-2.
- Yes, and visibility is crap.

The weather was marginal,

and marginal weather makes you
nervous because you don't know

whether you're going to be
able to see anything at all.

And the captain clearly was
nervous about this approach.

Did the Captain proceed

with an approach he
wasn't comfortable with?

Set waypoints
for runway 1-2...

...Radial 0-2-6, 5 miles abeam.

Wait. Stop.

Why is he asking him to
input a course to the runway?

This is supposed to
be a visual approach.

It didn't make any
sense for the captain

to be entering waypoints into
the flight management system.

The circling approach is by
definition a visual approach.

So, there is no way

that any pilot
would normally do this.

Then, just two
miles from the airport,

the pilots of Airblue flight 202

hear of a flight
landing ahead of them.

Be advised that a PIA 7-3-7

has landed on runway 1-2 safely.

Commencing right turn
heading 3-5-2.

That could have caused
the pilot to say,

'Hey, if they can get in,
we can get in too.'

Wait, stop, stop.

So he starts his turn
later than usual,

half a mile from the runway.

Instead of breaking off
early, they had to continue on

because of the low visibility
and low ceilings.

And they did not
break off to the right

until the last possible point,

which was at the end
of the runway.

Concerned with poor visibility,

Captain Chaudhry makes
a baffling decision.

Switching to NAV Mode

for managed approach
to Runway 1-2.

There he goes switching to
NAV Mode. He can't be visual.

Carrying out
the circling approach

using the auto-pilot
to navigate

is a violation of procedures.

As soon as you
select the NAV mode

the plane starts to fly
the pre-programmed waypoints.

And at this point Captain
Chaudhry's no more

flying the visual approach.

Okay, sir...

But, are you visual?

I have a visual.

Chaudhry insists
he can see the runway

but investigators are
certain he could not.

They can't see
the airfield any longer

because they've just
got to the far side of it.

There is no airfield in sight.

So instead of turning left to
fly parallel with the runway,

he keeps flying
in this direction

moving further and further
from the airport.

Sir, we're reaching
higher ground.

Terrain ahead.

Terrain ahead.

Sir, there's terrain ahead.

Sir, turn left.

Terrain ahead.

It should be turning.

Terrain ahead.

As the Captain
struggles to turn away

from the hills,

controllers become concerned.

Airblue 202 confirm
you have airfield in site.

Uh, wha... what should
I tell him, sir?

Terrain ahead.

Tell him... tell him.

Pull up.

The crew doesn't reply
straight away.

Probably because the first
officer knows full well

that, no, they don't have visual
contact with the airfield.

But he waits for his captain
to tell him what to say.

Airblue 202

please confirm you have
visual with the ground.

Terrain ahead. Pull up.

Airblue 202,
visual with the ground.

In the end, the
crew tells air traffic control

that they are in visual
contact with the ground.

Now, that's not untrue.

But it's not the same thing as
being visual with the airfield.

It feels more like a reply

designed to get air traffic
control off their backs.

Sir, we are approaching
terrain ahead.

Yes, I know.
We are turning left.

- Pull up.
- Pull... pull up, sir.

- Stop, stop.
- Sir, pull up!

The Captain says
he's turning left.

But he keeps flying
directly towards the hills.

Investigators
are unable to explain

why Captain Chaudhry
could not alter his course

and steer away
from the mountains.

- Terrain Ahead.
- Sir. Turn left!

The final minute of the CVR

reveals a picture
of chaos and confusion.

Pull... pull up, sir.
Sir, pull up!

They're applying power,
trying to climb.

Terrain Ahead.

Sir, pull up, sir!

Investigators
hear First Officer Ahmed

pleading with
his Captain to pull up.

Why aren't we turning left?

Pull up.

Terrain Ahead. Pull up.

Terrain, sir!

Terrain ahead.

Sir, we are going down!

Pull up.

Message from radar,
turn left immediately!

Pull up.

- Sir, we are going down!
- Pull up.

All they had to do was
turn away from those hills.

Despite reacting
to the terrain warnings,

the pilots could not steer their
plane away from the mountains.

I think they knew
what was happening.

I think they knew
that they had to turn left.

For some reason, the aircraft
didn't turn left.

Will flight 202's
Flight Data Recorder

explain why Captain Chaudhry
didn't, or couldn't,

turn and avoid the mountains?

Can we see
the altitude please?

The minimum altitude
is 2,500 feet.

Investigators can
see that Chaudhry

dialed in an altitude
below what's permitted.

There's only one reason
it would drop below that.

Commencing right
turn. Heading 3-5-2.

There's no
earthly reason for doing it

because the minimums are there
for a very good reason.

The only reason why they
ever break the minimums

is because they can't
see the ground properly,

and they want to get
closer to it.

Can we see the flight path?

You see. He's way off course,

in heavy fog,
and has clearly lost visual.

Let's see
the auto-pilot modes.

So, he asks the automation
to take over.

More than
four miles off course,

Captain Chaudhry makes
his biggest error

by switching modes
on his autopilot.

The captain switched from
heading mode to NAV mode.

And the aircraft turned left
to heading of three zero zero...

Towards the mountain.

The Airbus now
makes a left turn

towards a pre-determined
waypoint,

bringing the flight dangerously
close to the mountains.

He's approaching the No Fly
Zone north of the airfield.

From this point on,
air traffic control

continued to urge
the flight to turn left

because they knew they were
in the vicinity

of the high
mountainous terrain.

Terrain ahead. Pull up.

Airblue 202 turn
left heading 1-8-0.

Why aren't we turning left?

Pull up.

Can we see what he's
selecting?

He's dialing in a left turn.

Captain Chaudhry
uses his heading knob

to turn the plane sharply left,
away from the hills.

But the plane, it keeps
flying in the same direction.

It's not turning.

He's still in NAV.

Investigators
realize that the captain

forgot his plane
was in navigation mode

and not heading mode,

which is required
to turn the aircraft.

If the aircraft is
flying in NAV mode,

it will keep on flying
on its predetermined course,

whether or not the crew
change the heading select.

Why aren't we turning left?

Pull up.

Captain Chaudhry doesn't realize

that his inputs are futile.

Pull up. Pull up.

In order to get from
NAV mode into heading mode,

you pull the knob out
and that engages heading mode.

He forgot to pull it out.

He realizes his error
and pulls the knob here

at 40 seconds before impact.

Ah.

When Captain Chaudhry

tries to correct his error,

he only makes
a bad situation worse.

Sir, turn left.

Why isn't it turning left?

Captain Chaudhry
has dialed in

so many left turns,

that his last input
is now to the plane's right.

The Airbus takes the shortest
route to get to that heading,

directly towards
the Margalla Hills.

He's in heading mode
for the rest of the flight.

The investigation saw
that the captain was so reliant

on the automation that he was
trying to turn the aircraft

to the left,

asking why the aircraft
wasn't turning to the left,

but he didn't even
use his side stick

and actually turn the aircraft
to the left manually.

Why aren't we turning left?

Terrain Ahead.

Investigators
now know why Captain Chaudry

was unable to turn left
and avoid the mountains.

But one question remains:

Why didn't the first officer
recognize the mistakes

and do something
to correct them?

Sir, we're going down!

Pull up.

100 knots.

Check.

Investigators find
a possible explanation

for the first officer's
puzzling behaviour...

V1...

...at the very start
of Flight 202.

Rotate.

... as it took off
for Islamabad.

The flight starts
with the pilots

working efficiently as a crew.

Positive rate.

Gear up.

Gear up.

The take-off
from Karachi is textbook.

From initial
push back start up

and all the way to take off
everything seemed normal.

We are clear to climb
to flight level...

Explain to me why that is blue

but the other symbols
are white.

The pilots'
cordial relationship

soon changes.

Sir?

There, on your display.
Why is that symbol blue

but the others are white?

You should know why that is.

I believe it's because
the flight plan differs

from the current route.

No, that's wrong.

It's because it's the one
being navigated towards. Basic.

Do you know how
to modify this point?

From the main menu...

Oh you don't need to
return to the main menu.

You can do it on the screen.

What did they teach you in that
so-called training of yours?

Captain Chaudhry
is heard quizzing

and berating his First Officer.

This wasn't normal behaviour.

It seems it was only really
for the purpose

of putting his
first officer in his place,

making sure he knew
who was in charge

and to do as he was told.

What's he doing?

If you don't know how to use
the Flight Management System...

... then what use
are you in the cockpit?

You might as well go back
and help the girls serve tea.

Yes. Sorry, sir.

What about maximum
thrust available for climb?

Can you at least
tell me what that is?

This has been going on for
nearly an hour now. Torture.

Radio ahead to Islamabad for
the weather.

Do you know how
to use the radio?

Yes.

Captain Chaudhry is
a very experienced pilot.

He should know that
this is not how we behave

on the flight deck
of an airliner.

Investigators
wonder why Captain Chaudhry

would act so aggressively
towards his First Officer.

He was recently treated
for diabetes and hypertension

but deemed fit to fly.

Anything?

Pilots who flew with him
said he was demanding,

sometimes difficult.

But nothing at this level.

Maybe it had more
to do with him.

Could the First
Officer's background

have affected his Captain's
attitude towards him?

In Pakistan there
has been a hidden rivalry

between air force pilots
and the people

who are in
the commercial side already.

They feel that ex-air force guys

they are taking away
their opportunities.

Investigators believe

that the Captain's
abusive behaviour

might explain one of
the mysteries of this tragedy,

why First Officer Ahmed
never took control of the plane.

All the first officer
had to do

was to take manual control
of the aircraft

and fly it away
from the mountain.

Investigators
scrutinize First Officer Ahmed's

actions leading up
to the crash of Flight 202.

His first officer tells the
captain to pull up three times

and to turn left twice.

But he never says
he's taking control.

If I were
the first officer,

I would take over the control,

pull back on the side stick

to create the max
performance maneuver,

apply TOGA thrust
and keep climbing

till I'm clear of the hills.

The team believes
the Captain's behaviour

earlier in the flight
explains why the First Officer

allowed him to mishandle
the approach.

If you don't know how to use
the Flight Management System

then what use are you
in the cockpit?

We have the captain's
behaviour,

which was so overbearing,
so autocratic,

so nasty

that it served to completely
shatter the self-confidence

of the first officer.

First Officer Ahmed

allows procedures
to be set aside...

Switching to NAV Mode for
managed approach to Runway 1-2.

Okay... Sir.

...and then
fails to take control

when his captain flies the plane
directly towards the mountains.

He was so worn down by
the Captain's harsh behaviour

that he just couldn't
stand up to him.

He became a bystander.

The first officer
clearly knows

that what they're
doing is wrong.

He knows that his captain
is disoriented,

that the aircraft
is on a collision course

with a mountain,
and yet, somehow,

he doesn't have it
in him to intervene.

Terrain ahead. Pull up.

Sir, we are going down.
Sir, we are going down!

Three and a half
minutes after the start

of the approach...

We are going down!

...the Airbus
slams into the Hills...

...killing everyone on board.

This is one
of the most extraordinary

accidents I've seen.

There were no technical
factors in this accident.

There was nothing wrong with the
aircraft,

there was nothing wrong
with the engines.

It was all a matter
of human misjudgment

and human error.

If he doesn't try
the approach in NAV mode,

there's no accident.

All the warning signs
were there,

telling him what to do.

It should have been
easy to recover.

Very.

If he hadn't taken his First
Officer out of the picture,

a different outcome.

Absolutely incredible.

It's hard to believe that
somebody of his experience

would make so many errors
and mishandling of the aircraft.

Uh, it... I just...
it just defies logic.

The final report

into the crash
of Airblue Flight 202

makes several recommendations
to Pakistani airlines

including better briefings on
the circling approach procedures

and better crew
management training.

This accident shows
that cockpit management

and the atmosphere
in the cockpit

that's set by the captain

is just as important
as an operating aircraft

and operating engines.

And in 2018
the airport in Islamabad

is replaced with a more modern
airport with two runways

that are well away
from the hills

that claimed the lives
of the 152 people

on board Flight 202.

As I learned more,
I really felt extremely bad.

I felt very sad about that loss.

It was a preventable accident.

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