1 00:00:01,311 --> 00:00:02,864 This is the story of one of the most 2 00:00:03,072 --> 00:00:05,074 tragic incidents in aviation history. 3 00:00:05,557 --> 00:00:08,249 Of how a jumbo jet goes berserk, 4 00:00:08,353 --> 00:00:12,115 plunging up and down at 7,300 meters. 5 00:00:13,461 --> 00:00:15,636 Of how an innocent mistake made years earlier 6 00:00:15,739 --> 00:00:18,156 puts over 500 lives at risk, 7 00:00:18,259 --> 00:00:21,090 and how investigators literally stumble on the reason 8 00:00:21,193 --> 00:00:23,644 behind the biggest single air crash in history. 9 00:00:26,543 --> 00:00:30,237 Japan Airlines 123 is uncontrollable. 10 00:00:30,340 --> 00:00:31,859 Next... 11 00:00:34,586 --> 00:00:35,966 3000. 12 00:00:37,209 --> 00:00:38,417 We're not getting any oxygen. 13 00:00:38,521 --> 00:00:40,695 We have the terrain alarm. 14 00:00:40,799 --> 00:00:42,697 We are in an emergency. 15 00:00:56,332 --> 00:00:59,093 This may be the last video ever taken 16 00:00:59,197 --> 00:01:01,406 of Japan Airlines Flight 123. 17 00:01:01,509 --> 00:01:04,512 It's late summer, and millions are traveling home 18 00:01:04,616 --> 00:01:06,894 for a traditional Japanese holiday. 19 00:01:10,449 --> 00:01:11,209 Something exploded? 20 00:01:15,282 --> 00:01:18,250 Put the oxygen masks on, please! 21 00:01:18,354 --> 00:01:20,045 Japan Air 123. Request-- 22 00:01:22,220 --> 00:01:24,636 The plane is only 12 minutes into its flight 23 00:01:24,739 --> 00:01:26,534 when terror strikes... 24 00:01:28,398 --> 00:01:30,642 It's out of control, plunging up and down, 25 00:01:30,745 --> 00:01:32,644 hundreds of meters at a time. 26 00:01:33,783 --> 00:01:36,165 And it's headed straight into the mountains 27 00:01:36,268 --> 00:01:37,407 that surround Mount Fuji , 28 00:01:37,511 --> 00:01:39,478 the tallest mountain in Japan. 29 00:01:40,307 --> 00:01:43,241 On the ground, Japan Airlines staff search frantically 30 00:01:43,344 --> 00:01:44,552 for the cause of the problem. 31 00:01:45,933 --> 00:01:49,523 In Tokyo, Air traffic controllers try to guide the plane to safety, 32 00:01:49,626 --> 00:01:52,733 while the pilots resort to desperate measures 33 00:01:52,836 --> 00:01:54,390 to keep the plane aloft... 34 00:02:00,534 --> 00:02:02,087 Tokyo, Japan. 35 00:02:02,191 --> 00:02:04,400 August 12, 1985. 36 00:02:04,503 --> 00:02:06,678 In most of Japan it's the eve of Obon, 37 00:02:06,781 --> 00:02:09,681 when people traditionally honour their ancestors 38 00:02:09,784 --> 00:02:13,167 often returning to their place of birth for family reunions. 39 00:02:17,999 --> 00:02:19,656 Tokyo's Haneda Airport is crowded 40 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,176 with thousands trying to get home. 41 00:02:23,384 --> 00:02:26,180 On the tarmac, jumbo jets are lining up. 42 00:02:26,284 --> 00:02:29,356 Air travel is so popular here that Japan Airlines 43 00:02:29,459 --> 00:02:32,980 has to use 747s even for its short internal flights. 44 00:02:36,017 --> 00:02:38,537 Tokyo Area Control handles all aircraft 45 00:02:38,641 --> 00:02:40,539 over central Japan, 46 00:02:40,643 --> 00:02:43,059 including those on their way to and from 47 00:02:43,301 --> 00:02:46,614 the city's two big airports, Haneda and Narita. 48 00:02:47,477 --> 00:02:49,099 It's six o'clock in the evening, 49 00:02:49,203 --> 00:02:51,585 but the rush won't be over for hours. 50 00:02:53,276 --> 00:02:55,830 Crowded passenger lists and busy controllers 51 00:02:55,934 --> 00:02:58,350 make it a typical holiday weekend. 52 00:02:58,454 --> 00:03:00,594 Roger, approved as your request. 53 00:03:00,697 --> 00:03:05,323 456, turn right on the heading 2-5-0. 54 00:03:05,426 --> 00:03:08,429 Climb and maintain flight level 2-4-0. 55 00:03:11,881 --> 00:03:16,230 At Haneda Airport, Japan Airlines flight 123 is boarding. 56 00:03:21,511 --> 00:03:24,342 Among the passengers is young Yumi Ochiai. 57 00:03:24,445 --> 00:03:26,896 She's actually a flight attendant for Japan Airlines, 58 00:03:26,999 --> 00:03:28,932 but today she's off duty. 59 00:03:37,389 --> 00:03:41,048 Yumi takes a seat four rows from the back of the plane. 60 00:03:45,535 --> 00:03:49,090 At 6:12 in the evening Flight 123 takes off, 61 00:03:49,298 --> 00:03:51,817 heading for the industrial city of Osaka, 62 00:03:51,921 --> 00:03:54,406 400 kilometres to the west. 63 00:03:55,821 --> 00:03:59,515 It's filled almost to capacity, 509 passengers, 64 00:03:59,618 --> 00:04:01,862 and a crew of 15. 65 00:04:01,965 --> 00:04:04,865 Japan Air 123, contact Tokyo Departure. 66 00:04:04,968 --> 00:04:07,523 Roger. Japan Air 123. 67 00:04:07,626 --> 00:04:11,285 Captain Masami Takahama is 49 years 68 00:04:11,389 --> 00:04:14,323 old and one of the airline's senior training captains. 69 00:04:14,426 --> 00:04:16,842 On this flight he'll be handling the radio, 70 00:04:16,946 --> 00:04:19,086 and keeping an eye on the first officer, 71 00:04:19,328 --> 00:04:21,226 who is sitting in the captain's seat. 72 00:04:21,330 --> 00:04:23,539 Yutaka Sasaki is flying the plane; 73 00:04:23,642 --> 00:04:26,231 he's hoping for promotion to captain. 74 00:04:26,335 --> 00:04:29,269 Hiroshi Fukuda, a veteran flight engineer, 75 00:04:29,372 --> 00:04:31,443 is the third man on the flight deck. 76 00:04:33,583 --> 00:04:36,621 Tokyo Departure, Japan Air 123. 77 00:04:36,724 --> 00:04:39,520 Passing eight... ah, 800. 78 00:04:40,107 --> 00:04:44,353 JAL 123's route will take it south over Enshu Bay, 79 00:04:44,456 --> 00:04:46,665 then south-west along the coast, 80 00:04:46,769 --> 00:04:50,497 until finally taking a sharp right turn to land in Osaka. 81 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:52,947 The flight will take 54 minutes. 82 00:04:56,572 --> 00:04:58,988 Flight 123 is leaving Tokyo behind, 83 00:04:59,091 --> 00:05:02,371 climbing to 7,300 meters. 84 00:05:02,716 --> 00:05:04,994 12 minutes into this short flight, 85 00:05:05,097 --> 00:05:07,893 the plane's black box shows that all is going well. 86 00:05:07,997 --> 00:05:10,275 Hello Pat, what's the problem? 87 00:05:10,379 --> 00:05:11,966 Someone wants to go to the restroom. 88 00:05:12,070 --> 00:05:13,382 Shall I let him? 89 00:05:13,485 --> 00:05:15,936 The plane's black box records a routine request 90 00:05:16,039 --> 00:05:16,937 from a passenger. 91 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:18,732 He wants to use the bathroom 92 00:05:18,835 --> 00:05:20,975 before the seatbelt light is turned off. 93 00:05:21,079 --> 00:05:24,151 An ordinary request on a routine day. 94 00:05:37,716 --> 00:05:38,683 Something exploded! 95 00:05:45,552 --> 00:05:46,967 Air is rushing out of the cabin. 96 00:05:47,070 --> 00:05:49,659 The oxygen masks drop down automatically 97 00:05:49,763 --> 00:05:50,902 when the air pressure falls. 98 00:05:58,737 --> 00:06:00,601 The explosion... 99 00:06:00,705 --> 00:06:02,534 the sudden loss of pressure in the cabin. 100 00:06:02,638 --> 00:06:04,709 There must be a hole in the aircraft. 101 00:06:04,812 --> 00:06:07,608 - Gear door? - Check gear... gear. 102 00:06:07,712 --> 00:06:09,886 - What? - Check gear, gear. 103 00:06:10,784 --> 00:06:13,442 The pilot's first thought is that the landing gear doors 104 00:06:13,545 --> 00:06:15,098 have blown off. 105 00:06:15,202 --> 00:06:16,445 Squawk 7-7? 106 00:06:17,687 --> 00:06:19,724 7-7-0-0 is the emergency code. 107 00:06:19,827 --> 00:06:23,210 When the crew radios this code to the ground, 108 00:06:23,313 --> 00:06:25,833 air traffic control will know the plane is in trouble. 109 00:06:30,251 --> 00:06:33,427 Every plane on the controller's screen carries a label, 110 00:06:33,531 --> 00:06:35,084 giving the plane's identity. 111 00:06:35,187 --> 00:06:38,501 Suddenly, the label beneath Flight 123 changes. 112 00:06:38,605 --> 00:06:42,402 Someone in the cockpit has keyed in the emergency signal. 113 00:06:47,303 --> 00:06:49,305 Fasten your seatbelts. 114 00:06:50,340 --> 00:06:52,170 The plane's crew members are baffled. 115 00:06:52,273 --> 00:06:54,552 They know only that there's been a loud noise, 116 00:06:54,655 --> 00:06:56,346 some sort of explosion, 117 00:06:56,450 --> 00:06:58,176 a subsequent drop in cabin pressure, 118 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:00,385 and a growing loss of control. 119 00:07:01,697 --> 00:07:04,354 Yet their instruments offer no clues to the mystery. 120 00:07:04,458 --> 00:07:06,080 Engines? 121 00:07:06,184 --> 00:07:07,496 All engines okay. 122 00:07:07,599 --> 00:07:10,947 Ominously, the pilots can't get the plane to respond. 123 00:07:11,154 --> 00:07:12,708 It's dropping! 124 00:07:12,811 --> 00:07:14,364 Right turn. Right turn. 125 00:07:14,468 --> 00:07:15,573 Hydraulic pressure? 126 00:07:15,676 --> 00:07:17,195 It's dropping. 127 00:07:17,298 --> 00:07:20,198 The plane's flight controls are powered by hydraulic pressure. 128 00:07:20,301 --> 00:07:23,063 The elevator, which makes the plane go up and down, 129 00:07:23,166 --> 00:07:25,583 the rudder and ailerons, which make it turn. 130 00:07:25,686 --> 00:07:28,758 On a big modern jet all these are too heavy to operate 131 00:07:28,862 --> 00:07:30,588 with cables and levers. 132 00:07:30,933 --> 00:07:33,418 Instead, they are controlled by hydraulic fluid 133 00:07:33,522 --> 00:07:36,145 which flows in pipes around the aircraft. 134 00:07:36,248 --> 00:07:38,492 It's the lifeblood of the plane. 135 00:07:40,218 --> 00:07:41,564 Tokyo, Japan Air 123. 136 00:07:41,668 --> 00:07:43,186 Request immediate-- 137 00:07:43,290 --> 00:07:44,567 Trouble. 138 00:07:44,671 --> 00:07:47,190 Request return back to Haneda. Over. 139 00:07:47,294 --> 00:07:48,985 Roger approved as you request. 140 00:07:49,192 --> 00:07:51,712 Turn right, heading 0-9-0. 141 00:07:51,816 --> 00:07:53,576 Put the mask on securely. 142 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,303 Put the band around your head, like this. 143 00:07:56,406 --> 00:07:57,580 - Don't bank so much. - Yes. 144 00:07:57,684 --> 00:08:01,860 Crew members please help out with the oxygen bottles. 145 00:08:01,964 --> 00:08:04,345 Prepare the oxygen bottles. Please! 146 00:08:04,449 --> 00:08:05,864 Don't bank so much. 147 00:08:05,968 --> 00:08:08,177 Turn it back. - It won't go back. 148 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,006 Nothing seems to be working. 149 00:08:10,248 --> 00:08:12,146 All the controls are dead. 150 00:08:12,250 --> 00:08:15,287 They're 7,300 meters up in the air, 151 00:08:15,391 --> 00:08:18,498 traveling at nearly 540 kilometers an hour, 152 00:08:18,601 --> 00:08:20,948 and unable to control the plane. 153 00:08:21,811 --> 00:08:24,434 In the growing uncertainty of the situation, 154 00:08:24,538 --> 00:08:27,507 the pilots know they need to get down fast. 155 00:08:28,335 --> 00:08:30,164 The controller is puzzled. 156 00:08:30,268 --> 00:08:33,754 Instead of making the anticipated 180 degree turn back to the airport, 157 00:08:33,858 --> 00:08:38,207 the plane now veers off its course but not towards Haneda. 158 00:08:40,312 --> 00:08:41,659 No, no. 159 00:08:41,762 --> 00:08:45,594 123. Negative, negative, negative. 160 00:08:45,870 --> 00:08:48,320 Please confirm that you are declaring emergency, 161 00:08:48,424 --> 00:08:50,322 that's right? - That's affirmative! 162 00:08:50,426 --> 00:08:52,566 Request the nature of your emergency? 163 00:08:52,670 --> 00:08:54,499 Hydraulic pressure all lost. 164 00:08:54,603 --> 00:08:56,536 - All lost! - No, look 165 00:08:57,398 --> 00:08:59,021 - All lost? - Yes. 166 00:08:59,884 --> 00:09:03,508 The company, please, make a request to the company, please. 167 00:09:03,612 --> 00:09:04,923 Do we want to make a fuss? 168 00:09:05,027 --> 00:09:08,686 The crew seems paralyzed and don't radio the airline, 169 00:09:08,789 --> 00:09:10,204 or answer the tower. 170 00:09:10,308 --> 00:09:13,104 The officials on the ground don't know 171 00:09:13,345 --> 00:09:15,071 that the plane has lost its hydraulic power, 172 00:09:15,313 --> 00:09:17,695 but their screens tell them it's flying erratically 173 00:09:17,798 --> 00:09:20,352 and is possibly out of control. 174 00:09:20,939 --> 00:09:22,562 Right turn, descend. 175 00:09:23,528 --> 00:09:25,185 Look at his altitude. 176 00:09:25,288 --> 00:09:27,325 Up and down, up and down. 177 00:09:27,428 --> 00:09:29,189 But now uncontrol... 178 00:09:29,292 --> 00:09:31,674 Put your heart into it or it'll stall. 179 00:09:31,778 --> 00:09:35,920 The hydraulics failure has caused a serious problem. 180 00:09:36,023 --> 00:09:40,027 For the last few minutes, the plane has begun flying in an alarming pattern. 181 00:09:40,614 --> 00:09:43,893 First it climbs steeply, then tips over 182 00:09:43,997 --> 00:09:47,310 and goes into a terrifying dive of 1,200 meters 183 00:09:47,414 --> 00:09:49,658 only to level off and begin to climb again. 184 00:09:49,761 --> 00:09:53,144 This repeats itself over and over again. 185 00:09:53,385 --> 00:09:56,526 The pilots cannot understand this bizarre behaviour. 186 00:09:56,630 --> 00:09:59,322 And they are powerless to stop it. 187 00:10:10,851 --> 00:10:14,683 Tokyo area control, August 12, 1985. 188 00:10:15,753 --> 00:10:18,272 The controller receives an emergency signal 189 00:10:18,376 --> 00:10:22,276 from a jumbo jet that left Haneda airport 13 minutes ago. 190 00:10:22,380 --> 00:10:24,831 Tokyo, Japan Air 123. 191 00:10:24,934 --> 00:10:26,315 Request immediate-- 192 00:10:26,418 --> 00:10:29,663 Trouble. Request return back to Haneda. Over. 193 00:10:29,767 --> 00:10:31,527 Put the oxygen mask! 194 00:10:31,631 --> 00:10:35,358 In the cabin, confusion and panic spread like wildfire. 195 00:10:35,462 --> 00:10:37,291 There has been an explosion, 196 00:10:37,395 --> 00:10:39,742 and now some passengers are gasping for air. 197 00:10:39,846 --> 00:10:42,676 Seatbelts, please! 198 00:10:42,780 --> 00:10:44,471 Hydraulic pressure has dropped! 199 00:10:44,574 --> 00:10:47,612 The plane's precious hydraulic fluid is gone. 200 00:10:47,716 --> 00:10:50,650 That's why the flight controls aren't working properly. 201 00:10:51,478 --> 00:10:53,618 Don't bank so much! Turn it back. 202 00:10:53,722 --> 00:10:54,999 It won't go back! 203 00:10:55,102 --> 00:10:58,485 Airline personnel are trained to take charge in a crisis, 204 00:10:58,588 --> 00:11:02,454 and passenger Yumi Ochiai helps out even though off-duty. 205 00:11:03,179 --> 00:11:05,043 At Tokyo Control, 206 00:11:05,147 --> 00:11:07,874 the controller is now joined by his supervisor. 207 00:11:09,185 --> 00:11:11,705 123, he's declared an emergency, 208 00:11:11,809 --> 00:11:13,465 says it's uncontrollable. 209 00:11:13,569 --> 00:11:14,881 He says he wants to go back to Haneda, 210 00:11:14,984 --> 00:11:17,607 but his heading is all wrong. He can't seem to turn. 211 00:11:17,711 --> 00:11:19,955 Get him to Nagoya. That would be the easiest. 212 00:11:20,058 --> 00:11:21,646 It's a straight line. 213 00:11:22,543 --> 00:11:26,513 The best solution would be for the plane to switch course to Nagoya Airport, 214 00:11:26,616 --> 00:11:29,689 which is 128 kilometres straight ahead. 215 00:11:31,518 --> 00:11:33,831 But they'd need to start descending immediately 216 00:11:33,934 --> 00:11:35,625 if they're going to land there. 217 00:11:40,630 --> 00:11:41,804 Right. 218 00:11:41,908 --> 00:11:45,428 Your position 72. 7-2 miles to Nagoya. 219 00:11:45,532 --> 00:11:46,878 Can you land at Nagoya? 220 00:11:46,982 --> 00:11:49,674 Negative. Request back to Haneda. 221 00:11:51,434 --> 00:11:52,608 It's a longer runway. 222 00:11:55,024 --> 00:11:57,544 The Captain wants to try to get back to Haneda. 223 00:11:57,647 --> 00:12:02,066 It's a large airport and ideally suited for a jumbo 747 224 00:12:02,169 --> 00:12:03,239 in an emergency. 225 00:12:03,481 --> 00:12:05,725 But it's in the opposite direction. 226 00:12:06,967 --> 00:12:08,589 If he can get it down... 227 00:12:08,693 --> 00:12:10,902 123, can you descend? 228 00:12:11,006 --> 00:12:12,732 Roger, now descending. 229 00:12:12,835 --> 00:12:15,286 But the Black Box shows that he doesn't descend. 230 00:12:15,493 --> 00:12:18,841 Without control of the aircraft, they can't. 231 00:12:20,912 --> 00:12:23,156 In the thin atmosphere at this altitude, 232 00:12:23,259 --> 00:12:25,606 the passengers are finding it difficult to breathe. 233 00:12:26,228 --> 00:12:29,300 People without oxygen masks may soon become unconscious. 234 00:12:32,199 --> 00:12:33,753 The situation worsens as some of the masks 235 00:12:33,856 --> 00:12:36,756 at the back of the plane run out of oxygen. 236 00:12:40,518 --> 00:12:42,589 It's been five minutes since the explosion 237 00:12:42,692 --> 00:12:45,799 and a flight attendant is finally able to call the cockpit 238 00:12:45,903 --> 00:12:48,353 with news about what's happened to the plane. 239 00:12:51,425 --> 00:12:52,633 Oh... 240 00:12:53,220 --> 00:12:54,704 Yes, what is it? 241 00:12:55,671 --> 00:12:57,431 Is it in the rear? 242 00:12:57,535 --> 00:12:59,261 The flight attendant tells the engineer 243 00:12:59,364 --> 00:13:01,815 that the explosion has occurred in the rear of the plane 244 00:13:01,919 --> 00:13:04,576 and may have come from the baggage compartment. 245 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:06,613 So it's the baggage compartment. 246 00:13:06,716 --> 00:13:09,167 The furthest to the rear. 247 00:13:09,271 --> 00:13:12,136 Listen, the baggage compartment right at the back has collapsed. 248 00:13:12,239 --> 00:13:13,862 I think we'd better descend! 249 00:13:13,965 --> 00:13:17,348 They need to get down quickly before the passengers become unconscious. 250 00:13:17,451 --> 00:13:20,351 But the captain seems to be struck by a strange paralysis. 251 00:13:20,454 --> 00:13:22,249 All the passengers are using their masks. 252 00:13:22,353 --> 00:13:23,768 Shall we descend a little? 253 00:13:25,666 --> 00:13:27,703 The captain does not reply. 254 00:13:27,807 --> 00:13:30,464 It's possible that by now he and his crew 255 00:13:30,568 --> 00:13:33,813 are suffering from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain. 256 00:13:34,641 --> 00:13:36,332 The R5, Pat? 257 00:13:36,885 --> 00:13:40,578 At this altitude the oxygen in their blood starts to fall. 258 00:13:41,441 --> 00:13:43,823 First their judgement may become impaired. 259 00:13:44,927 --> 00:13:46,826 Eventually they may lose consciousness. 260 00:13:46,929 --> 00:13:50,830 The R5, Pat? Yes, I understand. 261 00:13:52,003 --> 00:13:54,695 Captain, the R5 masks have stopped. 262 00:13:56,663 --> 00:13:59,597 At the R5 door, the situation is becoming critical. 263 00:13:59,700 --> 00:14:02,220 The oxygen supply has failed. 264 00:14:05,603 --> 00:14:07,432 The cabin crew have to give the passengers 265 00:14:07,536 --> 00:14:09,538 whiffs of oxygen from a gas bottle. 266 00:14:13,645 --> 00:14:15,613 Still, the captain and his crew seem to be 267 00:14:15,716 --> 00:14:17,304 drowning in confusion. 268 00:14:18,547 --> 00:14:20,583 I think we'd better make an emergency descent. 269 00:14:20,687 --> 00:14:22,068 Yes. 270 00:14:22,309 --> 00:14:24,173 Shall we use our masks too? 271 00:14:24,277 --> 00:14:25,174 We'd better. 272 00:14:25,278 --> 00:14:27,797 I think it'd be better to use oxygen masks. 273 00:14:27,901 --> 00:14:29,247 Yes. 274 00:14:29,351 --> 00:14:31,594 But they don't put on their masks. 275 00:14:31,698 --> 00:14:33,562 No one knows why. 276 00:14:33,665 --> 00:14:35,875 It might be indecision or hypoxia 277 00:14:35,978 --> 00:14:37,600 beginning to cloud their judgment. 278 00:14:41,570 --> 00:14:43,606 At Japan Airlines in Tokyo, 279 00:14:43,710 --> 00:14:46,402 Flight Operations have been alerted to the emergency 280 00:14:46,506 --> 00:14:49,371 but are as mystified as everyone else on the ground. 281 00:14:50,579 --> 00:14:53,823 All they know is that over 500 lives are at stake. 282 00:14:54,617 --> 00:14:57,310 It's their job to try to diagnose the problem 283 00:14:57,413 --> 00:15:00,313 and come up with a solution while the plane is in the air. 284 00:15:00,416 --> 00:15:01,624 This is Japan Air Tokyo. 285 00:15:01,728 --> 00:15:04,800 Tokyo Control said they received an emergency call from you at-- 286 00:15:04,904 --> 00:15:08,390 Listen, right now the R5 door has broken. 287 00:15:10,047 --> 00:15:12,704 Roger. Is the captain returning to Tokyo? 288 00:15:12,808 --> 00:15:15,259 - What? - Can you return to Haneda? 289 00:15:15,362 --> 00:15:19,332 Ah, just a moment, we're making an emergency descent. 290 00:15:19,435 --> 00:15:21,921 We'll contact you again in a little while. 291 00:15:22,024 --> 00:15:23,474 Keep monitoring us, please. 292 00:15:23,577 --> 00:15:24,924 Roger. 293 00:15:25,648 --> 00:15:28,928 The R5 door... Could it have come off? 294 00:15:30,101 --> 00:15:31,378 If the door has come off, 295 00:15:31,482 --> 00:15:33,760 that could mean an explosive decompression of the cabin 296 00:15:33,863 --> 00:15:35,555 as the air rushes out. 297 00:15:35,658 --> 00:15:38,730 Passengers may have been sucked out kilometers above the ground. 298 00:15:39,628 --> 00:15:41,595 But there's a worse possibility. 299 00:15:41,699 --> 00:15:43,977 If the door hit the tail of the aircraft, 300 00:15:44,081 --> 00:15:45,496 it could have damaged it. 301 00:15:45,599 --> 00:15:47,774 The tail keeps the plane stable; 302 00:15:47,877 --> 00:15:50,570 its rudder and elevators make the plane go up and down, 303 00:15:50,673 --> 00:15:52,468 or side to side. 304 00:15:52,572 --> 00:15:54,367 If the tail is damaged, 305 00:15:54,470 --> 00:15:57,094 Flight Operations will be powerless to assist them. 306 00:16:01,167 --> 00:16:04,998 In Tokyo, news that a Japan Airlines jumbo jet 307 00:16:05,102 --> 00:16:07,414 is in trouble has leaked almost immediately. 308 00:16:07,518 --> 00:16:09,899 Japanese television is already breaking into 309 00:16:10,003 --> 00:16:12,730 regular programming with live interviews. 310 00:16:12,833 --> 00:16:15,767 Someone saw the crippled jet fly overhead. 311 00:16:15,871 --> 00:16:18,184 I knew the plane was in trouble, 312 00:16:18,425 --> 00:16:20,427 he is saying, it was swaying back and forth, 313 00:16:20,531 --> 00:16:22,912 then it disappeared in a cloud. 314 00:16:25,053 --> 00:16:28,642 Flight 123's meandering route has put it in range 315 00:16:28,746 --> 00:16:30,990 of an American Air Force Base at Yokota, 316 00:16:31,093 --> 00:16:32,992 on the northern outskirts of Tokyo. 317 00:16:35,442 --> 00:16:38,514 An American controller there has overheard the conversations 318 00:16:38,618 --> 00:16:41,828 between the plane and Tokyo Air Traffic Control. 319 00:16:42,104 --> 00:16:45,832 He wants to help, to offer Yokota runway for landing. 320 00:16:45,935 --> 00:16:48,800 Japan Air 123, Japan Air 123, 321 00:16:48,904 --> 00:16:51,665 Yokota approach, if you hear me contact Yokota. 322 00:16:55,048 --> 00:16:58,189 The pilots are preoccupied and don't respond. 323 00:16:58,914 --> 00:17:01,606 Since they've lost all normal control of the plane, 324 00:17:01,710 --> 00:17:04,954 they're now testing the throttles to see what happens. 325 00:17:05,058 --> 00:17:08,027 They can make the plane go faster or slower. 326 00:17:08,130 --> 00:17:11,064 At least they have speed at their command. 327 00:17:11,168 --> 00:17:13,239 As they experiment, they find that 328 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:15,758 if they push the throttles forward when the plane is diving 329 00:17:15,862 --> 00:17:18,037 making the engines go faster, 330 00:17:18,140 --> 00:17:20,418 it actually makes the plane come out of the dive 331 00:17:20,522 --> 00:17:22,662 and brings the nose up. 332 00:17:25,044 --> 00:17:27,460 And if they pull back the throttles when it's climbing, 333 00:17:27,563 --> 00:17:29,013 slowing the engines, 334 00:17:29,117 --> 00:17:31,015 the nose tips and begins to dive. 335 00:17:32,085 --> 00:17:35,226 These actions are the opposite of what a pilot would normally do. 336 00:17:35,468 --> 00:17:37,090 But it seems to work, 337 00:17:37,194 --> 00:17:40,611 and they begin to flatten out the mad, rollercoaster ride. 338 00:17:41,888 --> 00:17:43,786 Then, a second experiment. 339 00:17:43,890 --> 00:17:47,618 By applying more thrust to the engines on the left side of the aircraft, 340 00:17:47,721 --> 00:17:50,655 they manage to slowly turn the plane right, 341 00:17:50,759 --> 00:17:52,968 in the general direction of Tokyo. 342 00:17:55,004 --> 00:17:56,937 But then their luck runs out. 343 00:17:57,041 --> 00:17:59,112 In the frantic juggling of throttles, 344 00:17:59,216 --> 00:18:00,734 the pilots get out of step. 345 00:18:00,838 --> 00:18:03,496 It drives the 747 into a frenzy. 346 00:18:05,739 --> 00:18:09,260 Gear down! Gear down! Put the gear down. 347 00:18:10,158 --> 00:18:12,953 Lowering the landing gear should slow the plane down 348 00:18:13,057 --> 00:18:14,472 and make it more stable. 349 00:18:14,576 --> 00:18:15,611 Doesn't work. 350 00:18:18,373 --> 00:18:20,202 Shall I lower it with the alternate? 351 00:18:20,306 --> 00:18:24,137 For safety, 747s employ an electrically run system 352 00:18:24,241 --> 00:18:25,690 separate from the hydraulics, 353 00:18:25,794 --> 00:18:29,211 that can lower the landing gear in an emergency. 354 00:18:29,315 --> 00:18:32,973 While the engines are turning, they still have electric power. 355 00:18:33,733 --> 00:18:37,185 Lowering the landing gear helps stabilize the plane. 356 00:18:37,288 --> 00:18:39,739 The drag of the undercarriage has a dampening effect 357 00:18:39,842 --> 00:18:41,534 on the pitching motion. 358 00:18:41,637 --> 00:18:44,675 But it also destroys the directional control they were getting 359 00:18:44,778 --> 00:18:47,712 by applying more power to one side of the aircraft. 360 00:18:49,335 --> 00:18:52,407 Close to Mount Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, 361 00:18:52,510 --> 00:18:54,961 the plane makes an abrupt turn to the right 362 00:18:55,203 --> 00:18:57,343 and begins a terrifying dive. 363 00:19:01,692 --> 00:19:04,867 The plane is falling at 900 meters a minute, 364 00:19:04,971 --> 00:19:07,560 twice the normal rate of descent. 365 00:19:09,251 --> 00:19:10,563 We're going down. 366 00:19:11,667 --> 00:19:12,634 Heavy. 367 00:19:12,737 --> 00:19:13,773 Is the wheel pushed all the way? 368 00:19:13,876 --> 00:19:15,637 All the way. It's all the way. 369 00:19:15,740 --> 00:19:17,777 - Ah, heavy. - Is the gear down? 370 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:19,399 Gear's down! 371 00:19:21,194 --> 00:19:23,058 There's no need for alarm! 372 00:19:23,300 --> 00:19:25,716 The plane's Black Box records the flight attendant 373 00:19:25,819 --> 00:19:28,201 still trying to calm the passengers. 374 00:19:31,342 --> 00:19:34,449 Japan Air 123, uncontrollable! 375 00:19:34,552 --> 00:19:36,209 He's gonna hit the mountain. 376 00:19:36,313 --> 00:19:39,764 Tokyo Control, Tokyo control, good day to you sir, this is... 377 00:19:39,868 --> 00:19:43,389 All station, all station, except Japan Air 123: 378 00:19:43,492 --> 00:19:45,391 keep silent until further advised. 379 00:19:45,494 --> 00:19:47,047 ...uncontrollable! 380 00:19:47,289 --> 00:19:48,428 Understood. 381 00:19:48,532 --> 00:19:51,190 Do you wish to contact-- - Stay with us, please. 382 00:19:52,674 --> 00:19:54,262 Stay with us. 383 00:19:55,780 --> 00:19:58,611 Just as suddenly the plane comes out of its dive. 384 00:19:58,714 --> 00:20:01,407 They've dropped over 3000 meters. 385 00:20:01,786 --> 00:20:04,306 They're now in amongst towering mountains, 386 00:20:04,410 --> 00:20:06,929 but at least there's more oxygen at this altitude... 387 00:20:07,689 --> 00:20:09,415 The pilots have been fighting the plane 388 00:20:09,518 --> 00:20:12,418 for an intense 22 minutes since the explosion. 389 00:20:14,489 --> 00:20:15,904 This may be hopeless! 390 00:20:16,007 --> 00:20:17,768 The hydraulic fluid is all gone! 391 00:20:17,871 --> 00:20:19,356 It's uncontrollable. 392 00:20:19,459 --> 00:20:21,323 Hey, mountain! Look out! Turn right. 393 00:20:21,427 --> 00:20:23,222 - Yes. - Right. 394 00:20:23,325 --> 00:20:25,051 Right! Right! 395 00:20:25,293 --> 00:20:27,467 We're going to hit the mountain. Max power. 396 00:20:27,571 --> 00:20:30,090 Applying maximum power in order to lift the nose 397 00:20:30,298 --> 00:20:31,782 is their only option. 398 00:20:32,610 --> 00:20:33,818 We're going to hit it. 399 00:20:33,922 --> 00:20:38,858 Right! Right! Power! Power! 400 00:20:38,961 --> 00:20:39,997 I'm trying! 401 00:20:43,034 --> 00:20:45,313 In their efforts to control the plane, 402 00:20:45,416 --> 00:20:47,038 they've allowed the speed to drop too much. 403 00:20:48,039 --> 00:20:50,352 To escape the mountain they need maximum power 404 00:20:50,456 --> 00:20:52,906 to generate more speed and more lift. 405 00:20:53,010 --> 00:20:54,563 We're gaining speed. 406 00:20:54,667 --> 00:20:55,771 Stick with it. 407 00:20:55,875 --> 00:20:57,566 Stick with it! 408 00:20:58,464 --> 00:21:00,293 It's pushed all the way. 409 00:21:01,743 --> 00:21:03,089 We're losing altitude. 410 00:21:03,848 --> 00:21:05,643 Don't lower the nose! 411 00:21:05,747 --> 00:21:07,611 It's lowering. 412 00:21:07,714 --> 00:21:08,957 We're going down. 413 00:21:11,477 --> 00:21:14,134 The passengers grasp the seriousness of the situation. 414 00:21:14,376 --> 00:21:16,344 Many of them prepare for the end. 415 00:21:17,862 --> 00:21:20,486 But increasing power to avoid the mountains 416 00:21:20,589 --> 00:21:23,868 has caused the plane to resume its wayward up and down motions. 417 00:21:25,974 --> 00:21:27,527 Raise the nose! 418 00:21:27,631 --> 00:21:29,460 Having run out of options, the crew is forced to repeat 419 00:21:29,564 --> 00:21:32,808 the same futile procedures, over and over. 420 00:21:32,912 --> 00:21:37,088 They've been fighting the plane for nearly 30 minutes now. 421 00:21:38,814 --> 00:21:41,334 Japan Air 123. Japan Air 123, Yokota... 422 00:21:41,438 --> 00:21:44,682 The air traffic controllers, Japanese and American, 423 00:21:44,786 --> 00:21:47,961 are desperate to help to give Flight 123 any information 424 00:21:48,065 --> 00:21:50,412 or reassurance they can. 425 00:21:50,516 --> 00:21:52,932 Request radar vector to Haneda. 426 00:21:53,035 --> 00:21:54,692 Roger, understood. 427 00:21:54,796 --> 00:21:56,798 Keep heading 0-9-0. 428 00:21:56,901 --> 00:21:59,835 But frustratingly the plane continues heading off 429 00:21:59,939 --> 00:22:02,735 to the north-west, away from both Haneda airport 430 00:22:02,838 --> 00:22:04,599 and Yokota Air Base. 431 00:22:04,702 --> 00:22:08,016 Now, with every rise and fall of the plane, 432 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:09,949 they're barely above the mountain tops. 433 00:22:10,052 --> 00:22:12,400 Can you control the aircraft now? 434 00:22:15,403 --> 00:22:18,820 An ominous silence descends on area control. 435 00:22:18,923 --> 00:22:24,860 Japan Air 123, switch radio frequency to 119.7. 436 00:22:24,964 --> 00:22:28,105 119.7, please. 437 00:22:29,693 --> 00:22:32,592 They try changing radio frequency. 438 00:22:36,907 --> 00:22:41,532 If you can, change frequency to 119.7. 439 00:22:43,189 --> 00:22:45,364 There is no reply. 440 00:22:46,606 --> 00:22:50,886 If you read, come up on 119.7, we are all ready. 441 00:22:59,067 --> 00:23:01,518 Japan Air 123, 442 00:23:01,621 --> 00:23:06,005 yes, we've selected 119.7. 443 00:23:06,108 --> 00:23:08,456 What is our position? 444 00:23:08,559 --> 00:23:14,600 Your position... Uh, 45 miles northwest of Haneda. 445 00:23:14,945 --> 00:23:16,533 In the tensions of the moment, 446 00:23:16,636 --> 00:23:18,431 the controller is a bit confused 447 00:23:18,535 --> 00:23:21,469 and mistakes the plane's distance from Haneda. 448 00:23:21,572 --> 00:23:23,678 Northwest of Haneda. 449 00:23:23,781 --> 00:23:25,887 How many miles? 450 00:23:25,990 --> 00:23:28,096 Yes, that is correct. 451 00:23:28,199 --> 00:23:32,790 On our radar, you're 55, 5-5 miles northwest. 452 00:23:32,894 --> 00:23:34,999 We are ready for your approach anytime. 453 00:23:35,103 --> 00:23:37,726 Yokota is also available for landing. 454 00:23:37,830 --> 00:23:39,970 Let us know your intentions, over. 455 00:23:40,073 --> 00:23:42,973 At Haneda Airport, emergency services are being mobilized 456 00:23:43,076 --> 00:23:46,425 for the plane, wherever it can touch down. 457 00:23:47,356 --> 00:23:49,255 Yes, roger. 458 00:23:49,358 --> 00:23:51,499 They say we're 25 miles west of Kumagaya. 459 00:23:51,602 --> 00:23:55,813 Suddenly, the plane goes into a steep dive, the worst yet. 460 00:23:55,917 --> 00:24:00,162 Stop the flap! Power! Flap up. Flap up! 461 00:24:00,266 --> 00:24:04,650 The plane is falling at 5,500 metres a minute. 462 00:24:04,753 --> 00:24:06,548 Raise the nose! 463 00:24:13,935 --> 00:24:15,730 Flap up! Flap up! 464 00:24:16,455 --> 00:24:17,456 It's stuck! 465 00:24:20,942 --> 00:24:22,461 Raise the nose! 466 00:24:22,564 --> 00:24:24,186 Raise the nose! 467 00:24:39,961 --> 00:24:41,203 Raise the nose! 468 00:24:48,348 --> 00:24:52,905 Japan Air 123, Japan Air 123, can you hear me? 469 00:24:53,561 --> 00:24:56,633 Japan Air 123, Japan Air 123, do you read? 470 00:24:56,736 --> 00:24:59,981 - Japan Air 123... - Japan Air 123... 471 00:25:01,258 --> 00:25:04,503 Japan Air 123 is gone. 472 00:25:16,756 --> 00:25:17,895 At Tokyo Control, 473 00:25:17,999 --> 00:25:20,829 they've lost contact with a Japan Airlines jumbo jet 474 00:25:20,933 --> 00:25:22,831 full of passengers. 475 00:25:22,935 --> 00:25:25,385 An American plane flying in the area 476 00:25:25,489 --> 00:25:28,250 has been listening in to the drama of Flight 123 477 00:25:28,354 --> 00:25:30,805 and reports seeing flames in the mountains 478 00:25:30,908 --> 00:25:33,221 some hundred kilometers west of Tokyo. 479 00:25:36,914 --> 00:25:39,468 One of the C130 pilots later said 480 00:25:39,572 --> 00:25:42,471 that they even guided a rescue helicopter to the scene, 481 00:25:44,335 --> 00:25:46,924 and American marines stood by ready to rappel down 482 00:25:47,028 --> 00:25:48,512 to the burning wreckage. 483 00:25:48,616 --> 00:25:50,272 But before they could do so, 484 00:25:50,376 --> 00:25:52,309 they were ordered to return to base. 485 00:25:56,658 --> 00:25:59,799 Rivalry between the various Japanese emergency forces 486 00:25:59,903 --> 00:26:02,630 is reported to have caused confusion and delays 487 00:26:02,733 --> 00:26:05,564 as the victims of the crash wait for help. 488 00:26:08,670 --> 00:26:11,155 During the night, the Japanese self-defense force 489 00:26:11,259 --> 00:26:12,743 arrives on the scene. 490 00:26:12,847 --> 00:26:16,644 A helicopter flown by Captain Isuzu Omori finds the crash site. 491 00:26:16,747 --> 00:26:18,646 The pilot radios in. 492 00:26:19,716 --> 00:26:21,096 Mineokayama. 493 00:26:21,338 --> 00:26:22,581 Victor 1-0-7. 494 00:26:22,684 --> 00:26:24,479 I see something... 495 00:26:24,583 --> 00:26:27,482 I see flames in about 10 spots over an area 496 00:26:27,586 --> 00:26:29,864 of about 300 meters square. 497 00:26:29,967 --> 00:26:32,763 Victor 1-0-7. Mineokayama. 498 00:26:32,867 --> 00:26:34,696 Is there any sign of survivors? 499 00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:37,837 Victor 1-0-7. No sign of survivors. 500 00:26:37,941 --> 00:26:39,701 Visibility poor. 501 00:26:39,805 --> 00:26:41,461 Too much smoke. 502 00:26:41,565 --> 00:26:44,637 Victor 1-0-7. Can you land to investigate? 503 00:26:44,741 --> 00:26:46,535 Not a chance. 504 00:26:46,639 --> 00:26:50,470 It's a 45-degree slope down there, nowhere to put down. 505 00:26:50,574 --> 00:26:52,645 And there's fire everywhere. 506 00:27:01,689 --> 00:27:03,725 Seeing no sign of survivors, 507 00:27:03,829 --> 00:27:06,141 and unwilling to risk a landing at night, 508 00:27:06,383 --> 00:27:08,488 Captain Omori returns to base. 509 00:27:15,530 --> 00:27:19,499 Meanwhile, a team of rescuers is on its way by road. 510 00:27:19,603 --> 00:27:22,502 But since they don't expect to find anyone alive, 511 00:27:22,606 --> 00:27:24,504 they spend the night in a village 512 00:27:24,608 --> 00:27:26,783 68 kilometers from the crash site. 513 00:27:37,621 --> 00:27:42,005 At the crash site, the passengers of flight 123 lie dying... 514 00:27:56,053 --> 00:27:57,330 The next morning... 515 00:27:57,434 --> 00:28:00,851 the last minutes of Flight 123 start to become clear. 516 00:28:01,541 --> 00:28:04,475 The 747 sliced a path through the trees 517 00:28:04,579 --> 00:28:06,512 near the top of Mount Osutaka, 518 00:28:06,615 --> 00:28:09,101 one of the mountains north of Mount Fuji. 519 00:28:09,929 --> 00:28:11,759 The plane finally hit a ridge 520 00:28:11,862 --> 00:28:14,934 several hundred meters further on, and exploded. 521 00:28:17,178 --> 00:28:19,732 The wreckage and passengers then tumbled down 522 00:28:19,836 --> 00:28:21,769 the steep side of the mountain. 523 00:28:24,806 --> 00:28:27,084 It's now 14 hours after the crash, 524 00:28:27,188 --> 00:28:30,985 and the Japanese Self-Defense Force rescue team arrives at the scene. 525 00:28:36,645 --> 00:28:40,926 They are confronted with the worst single aircraft accident in history. 526 00:28:53,801 --> 00:28:55,906 They are shocked to find a survivor. 527 00:28:59,634 --> 00:29:03,500 It's the offduty flight attendant, Yumi Ochiai, 528 00:29:03,603 --> 00:29:06,537 still hanging on to life. 529 00:29:16,513 --> 00:29:18,584 And she is not the only one. 530 00:29:18,687 --> 00:29:21,035 Rescuers find a 12-year-old girl 531 00:29:21,138 --> 00:29:24,901 wedged in the branches of a tree and airlift her to safety. 532 00:29:34,048 --> 00:29:37,430 Incredibly, two more passengers are alive, 533 00:29:37,534 --> 00:29:39,881 a young mother and her 8-year-old daughter. 534 00:29:40,779 --> 00:29:42,919 It's nothing short of a miracle. 535 00:29:47,682 --> 00:29:49,891 But how have these four survived? 536 00:29:49,995 --> 00:29:52,514 The human body is believed to be able to stand 537 00:29:52,618 --> 00:29:56,208 a forward deceleration of up to 25 times the force of gravity. 538 00:29:59,694 --> 00:30:01,627 But investigators report that from the speed 539 00:30:01,730 --> 00:30:03,560 at which the aircraft hit the ground, 540 00:30:03,663 --> 00:30:06,390 those at the front of the plane experienced a sudden stop 541 00:30:06,494 --> 00:30:08,703 of over 100 G's. 542 00:30:18,126 --> 00:30:21,923 The four survivors are hurried to a hospital in Fujioka City. 543 00:30:26,583 --> 00:30:28,965 Investigators will soon discover that all four 544 00:30:29,068 --> 00:30:32,106 of the surviving passengers were seated in the last seven rows. 545 00:30:32,209 --> 00:30:34,694 This is how they survived. 546 00:30:34,798 --> 00:30:36,904 In the back of the 747, 547 00:30:37,007 --> 00:30:38,906 the impact forces were much less. 548 00:30:39,907 --> 00:30:43,048 Sheer luck had protected them from the flying debris. 549 00:30:45,533 --> 00:30:48,881 Yumi Ochiai has a broken pelvis and a fractured arm. 550 00:30:48,985 --> 00:30:51,677 She tells a disturbing story of what happened 551 00:30:51,780 --> 00:30:54,335 as she lay on the mountain, awaiting rescue 552 00:30:54,438 --> 00:30:57,717 and that many more passengers survived the crash. 553 00:30:57,821 --> 00:31:02,067 After the crash I heard harsh panting and gasping noises 554 00:31:02,274 --> 00:31:03,896 from many people. 555 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,520 I heard it coming from everywhere all around me. 556 00:31:07,624 --> 00:31:10,247 There was a boy crying "mother." 557 00:31:10,351 --> 00:31:13,837 I clearly heard a young woman saying, "Come quickly." 558 00:31:13,941 --> 00:31:19,360 Suddenly, I heard a boy's voice, "Okay, I'll hang on," he said. 559 00:31:19,463 --> 00:31:22,639 It sounded like the voice of a boy of about school age. 560 00:31:22,742 --> 00:31:26,850 In the darkness I could hear the sound of a helicopter. 561 00:31:26,954 --> 00:31:28,783 I couldn't see any light, 562 00:31:28,887 --> 00:31:32,235 but I could hear the sound and it was quite near too. 563 00:31:32,338 --> 00:31:36,066 "We'll be saved", I thought, and waved frantically. 564 00:31:36,964 --> 00:31:39,276 But the helicopter went further away. 565 00:31:39,380 --> 00:31:42,038 "Don't go" I waved desperately. 566 00:31:42,279 --> 00:31:43,315 "Help". 567 00:31:43,418 --> 00:31:44,730 But it faded... 568 00:31:44,833 --> 00:31:48,907 I could no longer hear the voices of the boy or the young woman. 569 00:31:52,531 --> 00:31:55,465 It's clear now that many died in the cold night air, 570 00:31:55,568 --> 00:31:56,742 waiting for rescue. 571 00:32:00,988 --> 00:32:03,438 The crash of this jumbo jet would normally be 572 00:32:03,542 --> 00:32:05,337 a strictly Japanese affair. 573 00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:08,512 But it sets aviation alarm bells ringing around the world. 574 00:32:09,341 --> 00:32:12,965 Only weeks earlier an Air India 747 had gone down 575 00:32:13,069 --> 00:32:16,313 in the Atlantic, killing 329 people. 576 00:32:16,658 --> 00:32:18,729 Now, another 520 dead. 577 00:32:19,627 --> 00:32:21,836 Was there something wrong with the 747, 578 00:32:21,940 --> 00:32:23,872 the world's biggest jet? 579 00:32:24,943 --> 00:32:27,704 Could there be some unknown design fault? 580 00:32:28,049 --> 00:32:31,742 There were some 600 747s flying worldwide. 581 00:32:31,846 --> 00:32:35,643 A problem with the plane would have grave consequences for aviation. 582 00:32:38,853 --> 00:32:41,821 Ron Schleede, a top investigator 583 00:32:41,925 --> 00:32:44,376 with America's National Transportation Safety Board, 584 00:32:44,479 --> 00:32:47,068 the NTSB, was assigned the case. 585 00:32:47,724 --> 00:32:49,898 So, it was a very big concern on our part, 586 00:32:50,002 --> 00:32:53,661 uh, about whether there was a problem with the 747, 587 00:32:53,764 --> 00:32:55,525 an airworthiness problem. 588 00:32:55,628 --> 00:32:59,391 And so we had to jump on this very quickly to learn what had happened. 589 00:32:59,943 --> 00:33:02,670 At the Washington Headquarters of the NTSB, 590 00:33:02,773 --> 00:33:05,190 the chairman was extremely concerned 591 00:33:05,431 --> 00:33:08,193 at the potential consequences for world aviation. 592 00:33:08,434 --> 00:33:11,851 He wrote a personal note to his opposite number in Japan, 593 00:33:11,955 --> 00:33:15,441 begging him to invite the NTSB to join the investigation 594 00:33:15,545 --> 00:33:16,995 as "guests". 595 00:33:18,824 --> 00:33:20,895 During the late 70s and 80s, 596 00:33:20,999 --> 00:33:24,726 Ron Schleede was involved with many of the major foreign investigations 597 00:33:24,830 --> 00:33:26,211 for NTSB. 598 00:33:26,935 --> 00:33:29,455 He's familiar with the sensitivities of working 599 00:33:29,559 --> 00:33:31,940 with foreign governments and heads to Tokyo 600 00:33:32,044 --> 00:33:34,046 where he'll meet the rest of his team: 601 00:33:34,150 --> 00:33:37,498 representatives from Boeing, the plane's manufacturer, 602 00:33:37,601 --> 00:33:41,467 and an engineer from America's Federal Aviation Administration. 603 00:33:41,571 --> 00:33:43,055 When I arrived in Tokyo, 604 00:33:43,159 --> 00:33:46,645 the atmosphere in Japan was, uh, extremely stressful. 605 00:33:46,748 --> 00:33:50,338 The news media were everywhere. 606 00:33:50,442 --> 00:33:52,513 There was a tremendous amount of anger. 607 00:33:54,722 --> 00:33:58,450 Once in Japan, Schleede found that the local Japanese police 608 00:33:58,553 --> 00:34:00,417 had taken over the investigation 609 00:34:00,521 --> 00:34:02,419 and were treating it like a crime scene, 610 00:34:02,523 --> 00:34:05,491 diligently observing his teams' every move. 611 00:34:09,461 --> 00:34:11,877 Everyone was considered suspicious. 612 00:34:11,980 --> 00:34:15,432 Japanese airline personnel, Boeing personnel, 613 00:34:15,536 --> 00:34:16,882 were considered suspicious. 614 00:34:16,985 --> 00:34:19,505 They weren't even allowed to go to the accident site. 615 00:34:22,129 --> 00:34:24,510 Schleede had to wait for two days 616 00:34:24,614 --> 00:34:27,927 before the Japanese authorities would allow him to visit the site. 617 00:34:29,860 --> 00:34:32,691 I was able to convince the Japanese to allow us 618 00:34:32,794 --> 00:34:36,522 to take Boeing people to the site with the stipulation 619 00:34:36,626 --> 00:34:39,698 that the Boeing people stick, stuck very close to us 620 00:34:39,801 --> 00:34:42,770 and, uh, we supervised them while they were on scene. 621 00:34:42,873 --> 00:34:45,013 They could not operate on their own 622 00:34:46,670 --> 00:34:48,914 Schleede found that to gain access to the site, 623 00:34:49,017 --> 00:34:52,504 the Japanese had quickly constructed helicopter landing pads. 624 00:34:58,199 --> 00:35:01,582 It was an amazing site to look up at this mountain 625 00:35:01,685 --> 00:35:04,861 and see what looked like wreckage from an airplane at a distance, 626 00:35:04,964 --> 00:35:07,760 but you could not recognize any part of an airplane. 627 00:35:09,003 --> 00:35:11,902 There were scores of helicopters in the air, 628 00:35:12,006 --> 00:35:14,491 landing and taking off every couple of minutes. 629 00:35:23,845 --> 00:35:27,021 Amidst the wreckage of JAL 123, 630 00:35:27,125 --> 00:35:30,162 Schleede found that some families of the victims 631 00:35:30,266 --> 00:35:33,683 had managed to scramble to the remote mountain site on foot, 632 00:35:33,786 --> 00:35:36,617 and build shrines to their loved ones. 633 00:35:38,205 --> 00:35:42,312 From above, flowers rained down on the investigators. 634 00:35:43,002 --> 00:35:46,316 I recall these big white, I believe they were Chinook helicopters, 635 00:35:46,420 --> 00:35:51,183 flying over and, uh, there were families aboard the helicopters 636 00:35:51,287 --> 00:35:53,358 looking at the accident site. They were quite high 637 00:35:53,461 --> 00:35:55,808 and they were dropping flowers, flower petals 638 00:35:55,912 --> 00:35:57,776 down onto the accident site. 639 00:36:00,917 --> 00:36:05,370 The one thing that we found when we got to the accident site 640 00:36:05,473 --> 00:36:08,338 was that many of the passengers had a lot of time 641 00:36:08,442 --> 00:36:10,340 to think about the end. 642 00:36:10,444 --> 00:36:14,620 And they found many, many notes written on pieces of paper, 643 00:36:14,724 --> 00:36:17,209 anything they can get their hands on. 644 00:36:18,452 --> 00:36:22,041 My darling wife, life with you has been wonderful. 645 00:36:22,835 --> 00:36:26,632 Our children have grown up to be people I'm proud of. 646 00:36:26,736 --> 00:36:29,877 I never dreamed that the dinner we had last night 647 00:36:29,980 --> 00:36:32,259 would be our last together. 648 00:36:34,295 --> 00:36:37,056 Passengers were able to think and realize 649 00:36:37,298 --> 00:36:38,886 that they were out of control. 650 00:36:38,989 --> 00:36:41,923 And maybe gonna crash, so they wrote notes to their loved ones 651 00:36:42,027 --> 00:36:45,410 and left them in the back of the seats or in their pockets. 652 00:36:57,007 --> 00:36:59,631 But what could have caused this disaster? 653 00:37:00,390 --> 00:37:02,392 Neither the heartrending letters, 654 00:37:02,496 --> 00:37:04,325 nor the tangled wreckage, 655 00:37:04,429 --> 00:37:07,846 yet yield any answer to what happened to flight 123. 656 00:37:08,916 --> 00:37:11,436 Still the main thing the investigators have to go on 657 00:37:11,539 --> 00:37:14,162 are the words on the plane's cockpit voice recorder, 658 00:37:14,266 --> 00:37:16,337 those of the plane's Flight Engineer, 659 00:37:16,441 --> 00:37:19,029 who had said that door R5 was "broken". 660 00:37:19,789 --> 00:37:22,654 They believe that the door had somehow come off in flight, 661 00:37:22,757 --> 00:37:26,589 crashed into the tail, and damaged the plane's flying surfaces: 662 00:37:26,692 --> 00:37:28,694 the horizontal stabiliser, 663 00:37:28,798 --> 00:37:30,696 which makes the plane go up and down, 664 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,699 the rudder, which controls side to side movement. 665 00:37:35,874 --> 00:37:39,981 But then, a piece of news that destroys that theory, totally. 666 00:37:41,500 --> 00:37:43,985 The door had not come off. 667 00:37:44,089 --> 00:37:46,816 It is found by the investigators amidst the wreckage. 668 00:37:49,508 --> 00:37:51,648 The flight engineer was wrong. 669 00:37:52,373 --> 00:37:55,480 Ah, right now the R5 door is broken. 670 00:37:55,859 --> 00:37:58,310 The warning light on his panel led him to believe 671 00:37:58,414 --> 00:38:00,554 that the door had failed in flight. 672 00:38:01,865 --> 00:38:04,765 But the alarm may well have been set off by a short circuit 673 00:38:04,868 --> 00:38:07,699 in the electrical system caused by the ceiling collapsing 674 00:38:07,802 --> 00:38:09,356 in the explosion. 675 00:38:11,530 --> 00:38:15,672 It was not a broken door that caused Flight 123 to crash. 676 00:38:15,776 --> 00:38:18,572 The investigators would have to look elsewhere. 677 00:38:21,402 --> 00:38:25,993 Lift the flaps! Power! Power! Power! Flaps up... 678 00:38:26,096 --> 00:38:27,788 Flap up! Flap up! 679 00:38:27,891 --> 00:38:28,927 It's up! 680 00:38:31,136 --> 00:38:34,312 Raise the nose! Raise the nose! 681 00:38:47,808 --> 00:38:50,500 Japan Airlines Flight 123 682 00:38:50,604 --> 00:38:54,435 has crashed into Mt Osutaka, taking hundreds of lives. 683 00:38:54,539 --> 00:38:59,060 Investigators are worried about a hidden fault in the Boeing 747. 684 00:38:59,164 --> 00:39:02,616 They need to find the cause of this crash quickly. 685 00:39:03,479 --> 00:39:05,998 A photograph taken by an amateur photographer 686 00:39:06,102 --> 00:39:08,207 provides the first clue to the mystery 687 00:39:08,449 --> 00:39:10,486 of why the plane became unflyable. 688 00:39:11,210 --> 00:39:13,351 There's something odd about the image. 689 00:39:13,454 --> 00:39:16,077 Photographic technicians put it on a computer 690 00:39:16,181 --> 00:39:18,804 and work hard to enhance the photograph, 691 00:39:18,908 --> 00:39:21,324 to sharpen up its blurred lines. 692 00:39:21,428 --> 00:39:24,362 Finally, they get a clear enough picture. 693 00:39:24,465 --> 00:39:28,158 The whole, huge tail fin of the airplane is missing. 694 00:39:28,883 --> 00:39:30,816 It's what keeps the plane steady. 695 00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,751 Since most of the plane's hydraulic fluid lines pass through the fin, 696 00:39:34,855 --> 00:39:37,961 it starts to make sense why they lost hydraulic pressure 697 00:39:38,065 --> 00:39:40,170 and control of the plane. 698 00:39:44,036 --> 00:39:46,522 hen, a Japanese Navy ship, 699 00:39:46,625 --> 00:39:48,938 steaming across the bay south of Tokyo, 700 00:39:49,041 --> 00:39:52,424 came upon the plane's tail fin floating on the sea. 701 00:39:52,528 --> 00:39:54,909 It's at the very spot where the plane had first 702 00:39:55,013 --> 00:39:56,704 reported an emergency. 703 00:39:59,051 --> 00:40:01,122 Investigators are now certain 704 00:40:01,226 --> 00:40:03,987 that the starting point of the accident must have something to do 705 00:40:04,091 --> 00:40:05,920 with the tail of the aircraft. 706 00:40:12,202 --> 00:40:14,515 They review the known facts. 707 00:40:16,655 --> 00:40:19,796 Something had caused the ceiling at the back of the plane to collapse; 708 00:40:19,900 --> 00:40:23,421 there had been an explosive decompression of the aircraft. 709 00:40:26,769 --> 00:40:29,565 Whatever it was also ripped off the tail fin, 710 00:40:29,668 --> 00:40:31,981 and the main hydraulic lines with it, 711 00:40:32,084 --> 00:40:33,776 making the plane uncontrollable. 712 00:40:33,879 --> 00:40:36,537 - This may be hopeless! - The hydraulic fluid is all gone! 713 00:40:36,641 --> 00:40:38,056 All lost! 714 00:40:38,677 --> 00:40:42,025 Explosion, decompression, loss of the tail fin 715 00:40:42,129 --> 00:40:43,924 and hydraulic failure: 716 00:40:44,027 --> 00:40:46,305 the investigators need to find out what links 717 00:40:46,547 --> 00:40:48,169 these four elements together. 718 00:41:07,913 --> 00:41:10,640 Routinely, the investigators begin by looking back 719 00:41:10,744 --> 00:41:12,539 into the plane's history. 720 00:41:12,642 --> 00:41:14,679 And they make an intriguing discovery... 721 00:41:14,782 --> 00:41:18,441 the plane had been in another accident, seven years earlier. 722 00:41:18,545 --> 00:41:21,686 The pilot landed the plane with its nose too high. 723 00:41:21,789 --> 00:41:25,483 The tail struck the ground, and scraped along the runway. 724 00:41:27,036 --> 00:41:30,211 There'd been a repair to the rear part of the airplane, 725 00:41:30,315 --> 00:41:32,559 including the rear pressure bulkhead. 726 00:41:32,662 --> 00:41:35,009 All modern jets, uh, aircraft, when they climb 727 00:41:35,113 --> 00:41:37,046 they have to be pressurized to keep the cabin 728 00:41:37,149 --> 00:41:39,600 to a reasonable level for the passengers. 729 00:41:39,704 --> 00:41:42,016 So, let's take a 747. 730 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:44,432 When a 747 is on the ground, 731 00:41:44,536 --> 00:41:47,021 it's actually somewhat oval shaped 732 00:41:47,125 --> 00:41:51,267 and as it climbs and pressurizes, it becomes more circular. 733 00:41:51,923 --> 00:41:55,236 The rear pressure bulkhead is like a huge metal umbrella 734 00:41:55,340 --> 00:41:58,170 lying on its side, at the very back of the plane. 735 00:41:58,274 --> 00:42:02,209 Its purpose is to stop pressurized air escaping from the cabin 736 00:42:02,312 --> 00:42:04,314 out through the tail of the aircraft. 737 00:42:06,765 --> 00:42:09,768 It must to be very, very heavy and strong 738 00:42:09,872 --> 00:42:11,736 because the forces are tremendous. 739 00:42:11,839 --> 00:42:14,497 They're over eight PSI differential. 740 00:42:14,601 --> 00:42:16,568 Very-- A lot of pressure. 741 00:42:16,672 --> 00:42:20,814 The design of a 747 aft pressure bulk head 742 00:42:20,917 --> 00:42:22,850 was what they call a dome. 743 00:42:22,954 --> 00:42:27,165 And it was designed to take the pressure 744 00:42:27,268 --> 00:42:29,581 with a lot less heavy metal. 745 00:42:29,685 --> 00:42:32,619 And it's a typical design, it's a pressure dome. 746 00:42:33,205 --> 00:42:36,208 Seven years earlier, Japan Airlines called in Boeing 747 00:42:36,312 --> 00:42:38,763 to repair the cracked bulkhead. 748 00:42:38,866 --> 00:42:42,870 Boeing engineers spliced a new panel into the damaged bulkhead. 749 00:42:43,699 --> 00:42:47,737 But at the accident site of flight 123 in 1985, 750 00:42:47,841 --> 00:42:50,257 Ron Schleede stumbled across a piece of wreckage 751 00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:52,708 that unraveled the whole mystery... 752 00:42:52,811 --> 00:42:55,849 It was a piece of this new panel that had been spliced 753 00:42:55,952 --> 00:42:57,678 into the bulkhead. 754 00:42:57,782 --> 00:43:00,025 The repair had, in fact, not been done correctly. 755 00:43:00,129 --> 00:43:04,029 There was only one row of rivets holding that joint together. 756 00:43:04,133 --> 00:43:06,963 Where there should have been two rows of rivets 757 00:43:07,067 --> 00:43:08,206 holding the joint together. 758 00:43:09,483 --> 00:43:13,004 To explain to the Japanese investigators what he discovered, 759 00:43:13,107 --> 00:43:16,973 Ron Schleede sketched out how the repair should have been made, 760 00:43:17,077 --> 00:43:19,010 and the mistake that had been made. 761 00:43:19,113 --> 00:43:21,460 It was a catastrophic error. 762 00:43:21,702 --> 00:43:24,809 The rivets were carrying twice the force they should have been. 763 00:43:25,326 --> 00:43:29,641 One of the FAA engineers there did some calculations for us 764 00:43:29,745 --> 00:43:33,162 based on the earlier repair of the bulkhead 765 00:43:33,265 --> 00:43:37,028 and his theory was that if repair wasn't done correctly, 766 00:43:37,131 --> 00:43:40,790 for example if they had not put the rivets in properly 767 00:43:40,894 --> 00:43:45,346 and they had only one row of rivets holding the bulkhead together versus two, 768 00:43:45,450 --> 00:43:48,315 as designed, that it possibly could-- 769 00:43:48,418 --> 00:43:49,834 It would fail prematurely. 770 00:43:50,351 --> 00:43:53,596 The FAA engineer calculated that the faulty repair 771 00:43:53,700 --> 00:43:56,910 to the bulkhead would fail after 10,000 flights. 772 00:44:01,777 --> 00:44:03,917 From the moment the repair was done, 773 00:44:04,020 --> 00:44:06,298 it was simply a matter of time. 774 00:44:10,406 --> 00:44:14,652 The investigators found that a simple human error had led to this. 775 00:44:18,069 --> 00:44:19,691 Raise the nose! 776 00:44:25,490 --> 00:44:28,079 On a summer's evening in 1985, 777 00:44:28,182 --> 00:44:31,841 Japan Air 123 lifts off from Haneda Airport. 778 00:44:32,566 --> 00:44:37,536 It is its 12,319 take off since the repair of the damaged bulkhead, 779 00:44:37,778 --> 00:44:40,401 a repair that the investigators calculated 780 00:44:40,505 --> 00:44:42,956 would only hold for 10,000 flights. 781 00:44:47,443 --> 00:44:50,722 As the plane climbs to 7,300 meters, 782 00:44:50,826 --> 00:44:53,345 the air outside gets thinner and thinner. 783 00:44:53,449 --> 00:44:56,245 But the air inside the cabin is pressurized, 784 00:44:56,348 --> 00:44:58,109 for the passengers comfort. 785 00:44:58,212 --> 00:45:02,044 The difference of pressure between the passenger cabin on one side of the bulkhead 786 00:45:02,147 --> 00:45:04,322 and the unpressurized tail on the other 787 00:45:04,425 --> 00:45:06,807 stretches the bulkhead and its faulty repair 788 00:45:06,911 --> 00:45:08,740 to the breaking point. 789 00:45:09,845 --> 00:45:12,399 In a test which duplicated these conditions, 790 00:45:12,502 --> 00:45:16,299 cracks began to appear and lengthen around the rivet holes, until... 791 00:45:19,302 --> 00:45:20,510 The bulkhead snaps; 792 00:45:23,030 --> 00:45:26,309 in an instant pressurized air from the cabin blows a hole 793 00:45:26,413 --> 00:45:28,864 in it two to three meters square... 794 00:45:31,073 --> 00:45:33,592 ...bringing down the ceiling around the rear toilets. 795 00:45:34,421 --> 00:45:38,287 The highly pressurized air blasts its way into the tail fin of the aircraft, 796 00:45:38,390 --> 00:45:40,358 and simply blows it off. 797 00:45:43,982 --> 00:45:46,295 From that moment on, the plane is doomed. 798 00:45:46,398 --> 00:45:49,091 The pilots don't know and will never know 799 00:45:49,194 --> 00:45:52,025 that most of the tail of their aircraft is missing, 800 00:45:52,128 --> 00:45:53,820 blown off into the sea below 801 00:45:53,923 --> 00:45:56,063 along with the crucial hydraulic lines that allow them 802 00:45:56,167 --> 00:45:57,789 to control the plane. 803 00:46:00,930 --> 00:46:02,794 It all finally makes sense: 804 00:46:02,898 --> 00:46:05,486 without the stabilizing influence of the tail 805 00:46:05,590 --> 00:46:08,973 and with the loss of ability to control the rudder and flaps, 806 00:46:09,076 --> 00:46:11,147 the pilots cannot control the plane. 807 00:46:11,838 --> 00:46:14,012 The giant aircraft now oscillates 808 00:46:14,116 --> 00:46:17,153 in a terrifying motion called the 'phugoid cycle.' 809 00:46:19,017 --> 00:46:21,330 As the nose drops into a shallow dive, 810 00:46:21,433 --> 00:46:24,126 the plane gathers speed, which generates lift. 811 00:46:24,229 --> 00:46:27,267 The nose rises again and the plane begins to climb 812 00:46:27,370 --> 00:46:29,303 until it loses speed, 813 00:46:29,407 --> 00:46:31,961 tips over and begins to fall again. 814 00:46:32,065 --> 00:46:35,689 The whole cycle repeats itself over and over again. 815 00:46:35,931 --> 00:46:40,211 Flight 123 is now plunging up and down in terrifying dives, 816 00:46:40,314 --> 00:46:43,386 sometimes several hundred meters at a time. 817 00:46:43,490 --> 00:46:46,010 It really can be considered a miracle that the pilots 818 00:46:46,113 --> 00:46:49,392 were able to keep the airplane flying for 30 minutes or more, 819 00:46:49,496 --> 00:46:52,775 after having lost all their hydraulics and flight controls. 820 00:46:52,879 --> 00:46:56,503 But it kept circling and eventually worked its way into the mountains, 821 00:46:56,606 --> 00:47:00,093 and it became impossible for them to land. 822 00:47:00,196 --> 00:47:02,992 There was no real alternative for them at all 823 00:47:03,096 --> 00:47:05,167 except to fly as long as they could 824 00:47:05,270 --> 00:47:07,514 and hope for some miracle which never occurred. 825 00:47:07,617 --> 00:47:09,240 Lower the nose, lower the nose! 826 00:47:09,343 --> 00:47:11,138 Yes! 827 00:47:11,242 --> 00:47:13,485 Gear down! Gear down! 828 00:47:15,936 --> 00:47:18,352 To understand what the pilots were up against, 829 00:47:18,456 --> 00:47:21,873 four handpicked flight crews were placed in a simulator 830 00:47:21,977 --> 00:47:24,082 and confronted with the same situation. 831 00:47:25,946 --> 00:47:28,431 Not one of them could land the plane. 832 00:47:28,535 --> 00:47:32,366 The pilots of flight 123 managed to keep their plane in the air 833 00:47:32,470 --> 00:47:35,956 for 30 minutes much of it among high mountains, 834 00:47:36,060 --> 00:47:38,648 an amazing feat of flying. 835 00:47:40,685 --> 00:47:45,103 Back in Tokyo, as the cause of the JAL accident was identified, 836 00:47:45,207 --> 00:47:48,727 Ron Schleede had to break the news to his colleague from Boeing, 837 00:47:48,935 --> 00:47:51,558 one of the top designers of the 747. 838 00:47:52,214 --> 00:47:56,011 The simple truth was that a single row of rivets had been used, 839 00:47:56,114 --> 00:47:58,358 when a double row was required. 840 00:47:58,461 --> 00:48:02,189 And when we, uh, described our findings to him, 841 00:48:02,293 --> 00:48:06,297 you can imagine this Boeing man became very, very upset. 842 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:09,921 Uh, personally, uh, was crying 843 00:48:10,025 --> 00:48:13,166 because of the fact that his airplane that he designed 844 00:48:13,269 --> 00:48:15,340 and then the people that did the repair, 845 00:48:15,444 --> 00:48:17,964 it was Boeing people that designed and did the repair 846 00:48:18,067 --> 00:48:22,278 had made an improper repair that caused the airplane to crash. 847 00:48:23,003 --> 00:48:26,110 The Japanese police wanted to bring criminal charges against Boeing 848 00:48:26,213 --> 00:48:28,181 for its part in the tragedy, 849 00:48:28,284 --> 00:48:31,011 but the prosecutors decided not to go ahead. 850 00:48:31,529 --> 00:48:34,118 Boeing's reputation was damaged. 851 00:48:34,221 --> 00:48:37,121 But if they could derive any comfort at all from this tragedy, 852 00:48:37,224 --> 00:48:40,296 it was that there was no inherent fault in the 747. 853 00:48:41,090 --> 00:48:44,369 The plane continues on to become one of the most successful 854 00:48:44,473 --> 00:48:46,371 civil aircraft of all time. 855 00:48:50,410 --> 00:48:53,516 However, Japan Airlines, the innocent party, 856 00:48:53,620 --> 00:48:55,898 had no such comfort. 857 00:48:56,002 --> 00:48:59,350 After I left the scene and came home, 858 00:48:59,453 --> 00:49:02,836 it was my understanding that one of the senior Japanese Airlines 859 00:49:03,078 --> 00:49:06,702 maintenance managers actually committed suicide. 860 00:49:08,221 --> 00:49:10,602 The Japanese Airlines president resigned, 861 00:49:10,706 --> 00:49:12,604 the bookings slumped. 862 00:49:12,708 --> 00:49:16,401 Rumours abounded in Japan that the airline was indeed guilty, 863 00:49:16,505 --> 00:49:20,060 and that Boeing was just taking the rap for a valuable customer. 864 00:49:22,235 --> 00:49:24,823 It has taken years for Japan Airlines to recover 865 00:49:25,031 --> 00:49:26,411 from this experience, 866 00:49:26,515 --> 00:49:29,621 the worst single plane crash in history. 867 00:50:12,837 --> 00:50:14,252 difuze