1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:05,931 A luxury jet on its maiden voyage is jolted in midair. 2 00:00:06,034 --> 00:00:07,344 Declare an emergency. 3 00:00:07,448 --> 00:00:08,482 We have a wing tip. 4 00:00:08,586 --> 00:00:10,413 The plane has lost a part of its wing. 5 00:00:12,241 --> 00:00:15,034 It became clear that we were in very, very big trouble. 6 00:00:16,931 --> 00:00:19,724 The crew struggles to land the badly damaged plane. 7 00:00:19,827 --> 00:00:23,206 November-six-zero- zero-X-ray-Lima declaring an emergency. 8 00:00:23,310 --> 00:00:25,275 But the trouble isn't over when they hit the ground. 9 00:00:26,862 --> 00:00:30,482 The crew is detained, and questioned by police. 10 00:00:32,586 --> 00:00:35,724 Somehow, this small plane 11 00:00:37,758 --> 00:00:41,000 has triggered the worst crisis in Brazilian Aviation history. 12 00:01:09,137 --> 00:01:13,965 September 29th, 2006, in Sao Jose Dos Campos, Brazil. 13 00:01:16,758 --> 00:01:20,586 Three, two, one! Whoo-hoo! 14 00:01:20,689 --> 00:01:24,206 It's a big day at Embraer headquarters. 15 00:01:24,310 --> 00:01:28,551 The Brazilian aviation firm has just sold a brand new private jet 16 00:01:28,655 --> 00:01:31,103 to ExcelAire, a US charter company. 17 00:01:33,689 --> 00:01:36,620 The price tag, 25 million dollars. 18 00:01:39,206 --> 00:01:42,793 It's a beautiful airplane And it was a beautiful little ceremony 19 00:01:42,896 --> 00:01:47,103 that Embraer had in the hanger just before we got on the plane. 20 00:01:47,206 --> 00:01:51,206 And the guys from ExcelAire we particularly proud. 21 00:01:53,517 --> 00:01:55,965 The Legacy is a modified regional jet. 22 00:01:59,034 --> 00:02:00,965 The cabin, redesigned for comfort, 23 00:02:02,103 --> 00:02:04,862 it can seat up to 13 people 24 00:02:04,965 --> 00:02:06,896 and in its first four years of service, 25 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:12,344 Embraer has delivered almost 100 of these sleek business jets. 26 00:02:12,448 --> 00:02:15,724 ExcelAire will use the jet to fly customers around the world, 27 00:02:15,827 --> 00:02:21,448 but first, the company has to get the plane up to the United States. 28 00:02:21,551 --> 00:02:27,103 Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino will be at the controls for the jets maiden voyage. 29 00:02:27,206 --> 00:02:29,241 They've been down in Brazil for a couple of weeks 30 00:02:29,344 --> 00:02:31,655 getting familiar with the new plane. 31 00:02:31,758 --> 00:02:34,827 Joe Sharkey is a reporter for The New York Times. 32 00:02:34,931 --> 00:02:37,620 He's been offered a free ride home. 33 00:02:37,724 --> 00:02:39,862 We were delivering an airplane basically 34 00:02:39,965 --> 00:02:43,206 and my role was hitchhiker, and they kindly invited me along. 35 00:02:49,586 --> 00:02:52,793 The Legacy jet is heading to Manaus in northern Brazil. 36 00:02:52,896 --> 00:02:55,448 A stopover on its way to New York. 37 00:02:56,551 --> 00:02:58,137 Half an hour after takeoff, 38 00:02:58,241 --> 00:03:01,137 the Legacy is flying over the heart of Brazil. 39 00:03:01,241 --> 00:03:04,137 The countryside stretches out below. 40 00:03:04,241 --> 00:03:07,034 The view out of the window is spectacular. 41 00:03:08,344 --> 00:03:11,310 I glanced out and I was amazed... 42 00:03:11,413 --> 00:03:14,827 Just to the horizon. Nothing but treetops. 43 00:03:14,931 --> 00:03:16,862 And I just remember how pretty it seemed. 44 00:03:18,206 --> 00:03:20,241 At ten minutes to 4:00 in the afternoon, 45 00:03:20,344 --> 00:03:24,965 the Legacy jet makes contact with controllers at the Brasilia Area Control center 46 00:03:25,068 --> 00:03:27,758 still nearly 100 kilometers away. 47 00:03:27,862 --> 00:03:30,482 Brasilia-November- 600-X-ray-Lima, 48 00:03:30,586 --> 00:03:32,482 flight level 3-7-0, good afternoon. 49 00:03:41,310 --> 00:03:44,103 75% percent of the country's air traffic 50 00:03:44,206 --> 00:03:46,551 is handled by the controllers in this room. 51 00:03:50,862 --> 00:03:53,862 The traffic volume larger than any other Control Center in the country. 52 00:03:53,965 --> 00:03:57,241 One of the many planes they will be dealing with today is the Legacy jet. 53 00:03:58,758 --> 00:04:01,793 Every flight that's handled by Brasilia ACC 54 00:04:01,896 --> 00:04:04,034 appears on computer screens as a small circle 55 00:04:04,137 --> 00:04:06,034 moving in the direction of the plane. 56 00:04:08,068 --> 00:04:12,379 The computer also displays the plane's actual and planned altitudes. 57 00:04:12,482 --> 00:04:14,310 November-six- zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 58 00:04:15,655 --> 00:04:18,655 - Squawk ident. - Roger. 59 00:04:18,758 --> 00:04:22,689 Paladino sends out a signal. Controllers use it to confirm 60 00:04:22,793 --> 00:04:25,896 that the data on their screen is coming from the plane they think it is. 61 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:27,000 Radar surveillance. 62 00:04:36,448 --> 00:04:40,103 An hour later, the flight has settled into a familiar routine. 63 00:04:40,206 --> 00:04:41,758 The mood sort of settled down. 64 00:04:41,862 --> 00:04:46,517 Everybody was working and it was just a very, very calm and peaceful time. 65 00:04:46,620 --> 00:04:51,586 I was transcribing notes from one of the interviews from the Embraer tour. 66 00:04:53,517 --> 00:04:56,482 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 67 00:04:56,586 --> 00:04:58,724 But in the cockpit, Paladino is having trouble 68 00:04:58,827 --> 00:05:01,586 getting back in touch with air traffic controllers in Brasilia. 69 00:05:03,482 --> 00:05:05,689 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 70 00:05:08,137 --> 00:05:12,551 He can't raise controllers on the frequency he used almost an hour ago. 71 00:05:12,655 --> 00:05:13,896 He tries other channels. 72 00:05:17,620 --> 00:05:20,068 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 73 00:05:27,862 --> 00:05:31,689 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 74 00:05:31,793 --> 00:05:34,310 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 75 00:05:34,413 --> 00:05:38,344 After 12 attempts, Paladino finally gets in touch with Brasilia ACC. 76 00:05:38,448 --> 00:05:39,965 This time with a different controller 77 00:05:40,068 --> 00:05:42,758 who provides radio frequencies for future contacts. 78 00:05:42,862 --> 00:05:46,586 Contact one, two, three, decimal three, two. 79 00:05:49,793 --> 00:05:52,413 ...two, six... 80 00:05:52,517 --> 00:05:53,655 I'm sorry I did not get the last two. 81 00:05:55,448 --> 00:05:59,241 Sorry, say frequency one more time for November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 82 00:05:59,344 --> 00:06:01,655 The Legacy loses radio contact again. 83 00:06:04,896 --> 00:06:06,931 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 84 00:06:10,413 --> 00:06:13,620 As the pilots try to restore communication with Brasilia, 85 00:06:13,724 --> 00:06:15,827 the plane continues to power through the sky. 86 00:06:18,620 --> 00:06:20,586 It's just minutes before five o'clock. 87 00:06:26,620 --> 00:06:30,241 Suddenly, there was the loudest bang I've ever heard in my life. 88 00:06:30,344 --> 00:06:33,793 The concussion itself seemed to affect every atom in my body. 89 00:06:36,137 --> 00:06:37,689 What the hell is that? 90 00:06:37,793 --> 00:06:39,241 Just fly the airplane, dude. 91 00:06:39,344 --> 00:06:42,172 Declare an emergency. Sit down back there. 92 00:06:42,275 --> 00:06:44,724 No one is sure what's happened to the jet, 93 00:06:44,827 --> 00:06:48,655 but when Joe Sharkey looks out the window, he's stunned by what he sees. 94 00:06:48,758 --> 00:06:51,689 The end of the wing was chopped off and it was serrated. 95 00:06:51,793 --> 00:06:54,034 It looked like it had been chewed off. 96 00:06:54,137 --> 00:06:57,655 It became clear that we were in very, very big trouble. 97 00:06:57,758 --> 00:06:59,931 ExcelAire vice-president Ralph Michelli 98 00:07:00,034 --> 00:07:02,137 rushes to the window for a look at the damage. 99 00:07:02,241 --> 00:07:05,000 And I said to Ralph, "How bad is it?" 100 00:07:05,103 --> 00:07:07,793 And he looked at me and he said, "It's bad." 101 00:07:07,896 --> 00:07:10,000 With more experience flying this type of plane, 102 00:07:10,103 --> 00:07:13,344 co-pilot Paladino takes over control of the limping jet. 103 00:07:13,448 --> 00:07:15,103 Let me fly the thing, dude, all right? 104 00:07:15,206 --> 00:07:16,379 We are descending, I want to get down. 105 00:07:16,482 --> 00:07:18,448 Okay, it's yours, it's yours. 106 00:07:18,551 --> 00:07:21,000 The crew still can't make contact with controllers. 107 00:07:21,103 --> 00:07:23,241 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima, declaring an emergency. 108 00:07:24,448 --> 00:07:25,758 Do we have a wing tip? 109 00:07:25,862 --> 00:07:27,344 - No. - Damn it. 110 00:07:29,620 --> 00:07:32,931 The entire tip of the Legacy's wing is breaking up. 111 00:07:33,034 --> 00:07:36,034 That affects airflow and is making the plane hard to control. 112 00:07:36,758 --> 00:07:38,137 How you doing? Okay? 113 00:07:38,241 --> 00:07:39,689 As the plane begins to descend, 114 00:07:39,793 --> 00:07:43,034 passengers in the back are worried that the damaged wing is getting worse. 115 00:07:44,068 --> 00:07:47,724 Our main concern was that wing, 116 00:07:47,827 --> 00:07:49,517 but it had taken such a hit 117 00:07:49,620 --> 00:07:54,103 that the structural integrity of the wing was obviously in question. 118 00:07:54,206 --> 00:07:56,758 The leading edge was separated. 119 00:07:56,862 --> 00:08:00,517 With so much damage to the wing, the pilots can't turn sharply. 120 00:08:00,620 --> 00:08:04,413 Too much stress could rip the wing right off. 121 00:08:04,517 --> 00:08:07,586 We were in a position where we realized we were going to die, 122 00:08:07,689 --> 00:08:11,448 I thought of my wife and I thought, "Well, okay, one thing I can do, 123 00:08:11,551 --> 00:08:13,172 "is I can write a note to my wife," 124 00:08:13,275 --> 00:08:16,344 which I did, I took out my reporter's notebook and I wrote, 125 00:08:16,448 --> 00:08:19,620 you know, a short note saying that I loved her. 126 00:08:19,724 --> 00:08:22,931 Well, you know, just saying what I could. 127 00:08:23,034 --> 00:08:26,172 The Amazon is a bad place to have to land a plane. 128 00:08:26,275 --> 00:08:28,965 It's a dense jungle for as far as the eye can see. 129 00:08:29,068 --> 00:08:31,275 There's nothing down there but trees and I thought, 130 00:08:31,379 --> 00:08:34,758 "Where are they going to put this airplane down?" 131 00:08:34,862 --> 00:08:39,517 Just hours into its maiden voyage, the badly damaged jet is going down. 132 00:08:39,620 --> 00:08:43,620 Paladino and Lepore's flying will soon be analyzed and debated throughout Brazil. 133 00:08:43,724 --> 00:08:44,896 Chart. 134 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:46,758 The verdict against them will be harsh. 135 00:08:46,862 --> 00:08:49,551 Please answer. November-six- zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 136 00:08:52,896 --> 00:08:55,206 The crew of the Legacy jet searches desperately 137 00:08:55,310 --> 00:08:57,413 for a place to land their crippled plane. 138 00:08:57,517 --> 00:09:01,724 Captain Joseph Lepore finds a small military base on his chart. 139 00:09:01,827 --> 00:09:04,000 November-six- zero-zero-X-ray-Lima, we have an emergency. 140 00:09:07,482 --> 00:09:09,689 State your emergency. 141 00:09:09,793 --> 00:09:12,275 November-six- zero-zero-X-ray-Lima, declaring an emergency. 142 00:09:12,379 --> 00:09:14,620 We need to land at Sierra-Bravo-Charlie-Charlie. Is that your airport? 143 00:09:15,172 --> 00:09:16,827 Affirmative. 144 00:09:16,931 --> 00:09:18,586 Do you know how long the runway is? 145 00:09:18,689 --> 00:09:21,448 - Two-six-zero-zero meters. - Standby. 146 00:09:21,551 --> 00:09:23,620 Two-six-zero-zero, that's good, right? Eight thousand feet. 147 00:09:23,724 --> 00:09:25,551 Okay, we're coming in. We're declaring an emergency. 148 00:09:25,655 --> 00:09:27,620 This is November-six- zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 149 00:09:27,724 --> 00:09:29,482 - Did you see something? - Something hit us. 150 00:09:29,586 --> 00:09:32,862 Twenty-six hundred meters is more than long enough to land the Legacy, 151 00:09:32,965 --> 00:09:36,068 but the crew doesn't know how the plane will respond when it touches down. 152 00:09:36,758 --> 00:09:38,344 The canopy of green. 153 00:09:38,448 --> 00:09:41,551 There was a slash of brown about two miles away. 154 00:09:41,655 --> 00:09:45,172 I heard Joe say there is an airport. 155 00:09:45,275 --> 00:09:47,793 Sierra-Bravo, we see you. We're coming in. 156 00:09:47,896 --> 00:09:49,965 Finding an airport was a stroke of luck 157 00:09:50,068 --> 00:09:52,103 but the crews troubles are far from over. 158 00:09:52,206 --> 00:09:55,655 Now they have to get the damaged jet safely on the ground. 159 00:09:55,758 --> 00:09:59,448 Paladino and Lepore can't configure their plane for routine landing. 160 00:09:59,551 --> 00:10:02,034 Here we go. Hold it. Let's dump the flaps at the top of the flare, right? 161 00:10:02,137 --> 00:10:04,551 - So give me nine on the flare. - Nine. 162 00:10:04,655 --> 00:10:07,793 Extending flaps increases the size of the wing. 163 00:10:07,896 --> 00:10:11,965 Since a bigger wing can generate more lift, pilots can slow down to land. 164 00:10:12,068 --> 00:10:13,034 - You good? - Yeah, I'm good. 165 00:10:14,482 --> 00:10:15,931 With all the damage they have sustained, 166 00:10:16,034 --> 00:10:19,379 the crew doesn't want to put too much pressure on their wing. 167 00:10:19,482 --> 00:10:22,448 They won't be able to extend their flaps until the last moment. 168 00:10:22,551 --> 00:10:24,482 They'll have to land faster than usual. 169 00:10:24,586 --> 00:10:25,620 Everyone sit down back there. 170 00:10:28,586 --> 00:10:30,206 When you land under those sort of circumstances, 171 00:10:30,310 --> 00:10:32,931 you're landing faster than you normally would. 172 00:10:33,034 --> 00:10:36,862 And you get a real appreciation of just how fast an airplane is actually moving. 173 00:10:36,965 --> 00:10:39,206 Because, you know, you're coming down like gangbusters. 174 00:10:41,655 --> 00:10:44,896 I see these trees now, you know, at ground level. 175 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,413 Just sort of looked almost like a movie with one of those moving backgrounds. 176 00:10:52,724 --> 00:10:55,000 And I'm thinking, "I hope this runway doesn't run out." 177 00:10:56,620 --> 00:10:57,586 Got it. 178 00:10:58,827 --> 00:11:00,620 Paladino hits the brakes hard. 179 00:11:01,689 --> 00:11:03,172 Good, good. 180 00:11:04,275 --> 00:11:05,068 You got it. 181 00:11:06,413 --> 00:11:07,586 Hold it. 182 00:11:07,689 --> 00:11:09,620 Then finally, the plane begins to slow. 183 00:11:16,689 --> 00:11:17,689 Whoo! 184 00:11:21,620 --> 00:11:23,551 Good job. Oh, man. 185 00:11:26,517 --> 00:11:28,448 And then finally, we just did come to a halt. 186 00:11:28,551 --> 00:11:32,827 There's that beautiful silence that occurs when the engines are shut down. 187 00:11:32,931 --> 00:11:34,758 Everything was just quiet again. 188 00:11:44,068 --> 00:11:45,586 For more than 25 minutes, 189 00:11:45,689 --> 00:11:49,655 the business jet had flown with part of its wing torn off. 190 00:11:49,758 --> 00:11:51,551 There's also damage to the plane's tail. 191 00:11:52,965 --> 00:11:55,068 Somehow, high over the rainforest, 192 00:11:55,172 --> 00:11:56,827 something tore into the plane. 193 00:12:02,275 --> 00:12:05,413 The bizarre day takes another strange twist. 194 00:12:05,517 --> 00:12:07,482 Because they have landed at a military base, 195 00:12:07,586 --> 00:12:10,344 soldiers confiscate the passports of everyone on board. 196 00:12:14,620 --> 00:12:19,000 And that's the point at which I realized that we were in custody. 197 00:12:19,103 --> 00:12:22,275 But I don't think the others on the airplane 198 00:12:22,379 --> 00:12:25,931 had the immediate sense that this was a custodial situation. 199 00:12:30,965 --> 00:12:32,344 Along with the two pilots, 200 00:12:32,448 --> 00:12:35,103 the jet's passengers are taken to the nearby airbase. 201 00:12:42,793 --> 00:12:46,931 N-six-zero-zero-XL raise your altitude to eight-point-zero-zero. 202 00:12:47,034 --> 00:12:52,206 The emergency onboard the Legacy jet has thrown Brasilia ACC into turmoil 203 00:12:52,310 --> 00:12:55,034 but it's not the only problem controllers there are facing. 204 00:12:57,034 --> 00:13:00,517 Another plane they're expecting to see hasn't shown up. 205 00:13:00,620 --> 00:13:04,000 GOL Flight 1907 should be on radar in Brasilia. 206 00:13:06,241 --> 00:13:10,931 The missing flight is a Boeing 737 with 154 people on board. 207 00:13:15,793 --> 00:13:19,034 It's been in the air for two hours and should be nearing Brasilia 208 00:13:20,724 --> 00:13:23,896 but controllers there can't find any trace of that plane. 209 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,758 Manaus. There isn't any GOL. 210 00:13:26,862 --> 00:13:28,827 - There isn't any GOL with us here. - It's on its way. 211 00:13:28,931 --> 00:13:31,344 They check its status with controllers in Manaus 212 00:13:31,448 --> 00:13:33,655 who were last in contact with the plane. 213 00:13:35,482 --> 00:13:39,448 Anxiety was high and controllers were confused about what to say. 214 00:13:39,551 --> 00:13:41,689 They did not know what was happening. 215 00:13:44,137 --> 00:13:45,793 Deep in the Amazon, 216 00:13:45,896 --> 00:13:49,517 those who were on the ExcelAire jet are also struggling to figure out what happened. 217 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:51,448 We hit something, man. That's all I know. 218 00:13:51,551 --> 00:13:53,034 Maybe it was a condor. 219 00:13:53,137 --> 00:13:56,172 Are you kidding? It was 37,000 feet. 220 00:13:57,655 --> 00:13:58,724 Well, maybe it was a military jet. 221 00:14:00,413 --> 00:14:02,413 No, I think a plane must have exploded. 222 00:14:02,517 --> 00:14:03,655 And we flew through the debris field. 223 00:14:03,758 --> 00:14:05,551 No, there would have been more impact. 224 00:14:08,172 --> 00:14:10,793 As they're trying to piece together the day's strange events, 225 00:14:10,896 --> 00:14:12,655 the group gets some shocking news. 226 00:14:17,862 --> 00:14:20,413 A GOL flight has crashed. 227 00:14:20,517 --> 00:14:22,000 It's the plane that's been missing. 228 00:14:24,379 --> 00:14:25,965 I just heard 229 00:14:26,068 --> 00:14:28,862 737 went down in the Amazon right where we were. 230 00:14:32,413 --> 00:14:33,275 What? 231 00:14:34,862 --> 00:14:36,172 It was like a thunderclap. 232 00:14:36,275 --> 00:14:39,206 The world changed immediately. 233 00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:42,034 Joe and Jan were just stricken. 234 00:14:42,137 --> 00:14:45,379 I don't think I've ever seen two more anguished men in my life. 235 00:14:48,034 --> 00:14:51,724 The GOL flight crashed right where the Legacy lost a piece of its wing. 236 00:14:51,827 --> 00:14:53,172 It can't be a coincidence. 237 00:15:04,724 --> 00:15:07,965 Approximately 100 kilometers from the military base, 238 00:15:08,068 --> 00:15:10,862 the wreckage of GOL Flight 1907 has been found. 239 00:15:15,241 --> 00:15:16,931 The greatest difficulty involved the fact 240 00:15:17,034 --> 00:15:19,965 that the plane fell straight down. 241 00:15:20,068 --> 00:15:23,103 When it hit the ground the trees covered it up, making it hard to get to. 242 00:15:27,344 --> 00:15:30,103 The shattered remains of the plane litter the jungle floor. 243 00:15:36,241 --> 00:15:39,068 The news hits controllers in Brasilia extremely hard. 244 00:15:43,275 --> 00:15:45,275 They had just realized that the worst thing 245 00:15:45,379 --> 00:15:47,620 that could happen in their control happened. 246 00:15:49,655 --> 00:15:53,206 People were crying. A lot of people had to be dragged out of the room. 247 00:15:53,310 --> 00:15:55,310 Things were not under control in the room. 248 00:15:58,793 --> 00:16:00,551 Over the next several days, 249 00:16:00,655 --> 00:16:02,896 troops pour over the scene of the GOL crash. 250 00:16:05,517 --> 00:16:07,448 The dense jungle slows their progress. 251 00:16:14,034 --> 00:16:17,034 To walk about one kilometer in the forest took us about an hour. 252 00:16:24,241 --> 00:16:28,620 A makeshift helicopter landing pad is carved out of the jungle. 253 00:16:28,724 --> 00:16:32,034 It's becoming increasingly clear that no one has survived. 254 00:16:33,586 --> 00:16:36,586 One hundred and fifty-four people are killed. 255 00:16:36,689 --> 00:16:40,275 At the time, it's the worst crash in the history of Brazilian aviation. 256 00:16:42,241 --> 00:16:45,103 What had happened in the skies above the Amazon? 257 00:16:45,206 --> 00:16:47,137 Investigators face a mammoth job. 258 00:16:53,310 --> 00:16:57,551 Colonel Rufino Ferreira is in charge of the investigation into the GOL crash. 259 00:17:00,862 --> 00:17:04,068 An investigator always has to keep an open mind. 260 00:17:04,172 --> 00:17:06,965 You can't start with any pre-conceived ideas. 261 00:17:07,068 --> 00:17:09,413 When we arrived at the location of the accident, 262 00:17:09,517 --> 00:17:14,379 the only thing we knew for sure was that we had found plane that was missing. 263 00:17:14,482 --> 00:17:18,655 The wreckage of the GOL jet is spread over more than two kilometers. 264 00:17:18,758 --> 00:17:21,034 The widespread debris tells investigators 265 00:17:21,137 --> 00:17:23,965 that the plane ripped apart before crashing to the ground. 266 00:17:28,068 --> 00:17:32,000 The aircraft disintegrated during the fall. It hit the ground in pieces. 267 00:17:38,206 --> 00:17:42,068 There was practically no damage caused by the impact with the ground. 268 00:17:42,172 --> 00:17:43,482 The plane had already fallen apart. 269 00:17:50,620 --> 00:17:54,068 On October 2nd, just three days after the crash, 270 00:17:54,172 --> 00:17:57,344 the plane's flight data recorder is found. 271 00:17:57,448 --> 00:18:01,965 Most of the cockpit voice recorder is also recovered, except for one critical part. 272 00:18:06,137 --> 00:18:08,758 In this accident, the impact was so strong that the modules separated 273 00:18:08,862 --> 00:18:09,862 from the recorder. 274 00:18:12,275 --> 00:18:15,103 Modern voice recorders don't use tape. 275 00:18:15,206 --> 00:18:19,275 Conversations are recorded digitally onto a memory module. 276 00:18:19,379 --> 00:18:23,034 But that part of the GOL CVR has broken free. 277 00:18:23,137 --> 00:18:26,482 Without it, the rest of the cockpit voice recorder is useless. 278 00:18:31,068 --> 00:18:33,379 While the search for the module continues, 279 00:18:33,482 --> 00:18:34,793 Ferreira looks at the information 280 00:18:34,896 --> 00:18:37,206 from the 737's flight data recorder. 281 00:18:41,482 --> 00:18:44,655 He learns that the plane was flying at 37,00 thousand feet. 282 00:18:46,413 --> 00:18:50,827 It was on course and flying level at its assigned altitude. 283 00:18:50,931 --> 00:18:54,551 Then, without warning, the plane pitched over and plummeted toward the ground. 284 00:18:55,862 --> 00:18:58,551 Whatever happened, it was sudden and catastrophic. 285 00:19:00,655 --> 00:19:05,379 The data recorder tells Ferreira that the plane spun 11 times before it hit the ground. 286 00:19:10,310 --> 00:19:12,896 Manaus, I can't see GOL. 287 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:14,586 There isn't any GOL with us here. 288 00:19:14,689 --> 00:19:16,172 It's on its way. 289 00:19:16,275 --> 00:19:19,241 - So it's already in my area? - For over half an hour. 290 00:19:19,344 --> 00:19:22,068 Police investigators want to know what Air Traffic Controllers 291 00:19:22,172 --> 00:19:25,275 can tell them about GOL Flight 1907's final minutes. 292 00:19:25,965 --> 00:19:27,413 There was no Mayday. 293 00:19:27,517 --> 00:19:31,034 In fact, we never had contact with the GOL jet. 294 00:19:31,137 --> 00:19:34,448 Controllers say there was no warning that the jet was in trouble. 295 00:19:34,551 --> 00:19:37,344 It simply vanished. 296 00:19:37,448 --> 00:19:41,965 Colonel Ferreira studies Air Traffic Control data from the day of the accident. 297 00:19:42,068 --> 00:19:43,793 There is no sign of the GOL flight. 298 00:19:45,448 --> 00:19:48,689 But the readings from the smaller Legacy jet capture his attention. 299 00:19:52,482 --> 00:19:54,172 It seems to be flying erratically. 300 00:19:55,310 --> 00:19:57,724 Instead of keeping to a single altitude, 301 00:19:57,827 --> 00:20:00,689 the radar shows it flying up and down dangerously. 302 00:20:11,379 --> 00:20:14,620 Perhaps the private jet pilots were testing out their new plane 303 00:20:14,724 --> 00:20:16,482 by climbing and descending quickly. 304 00:20:19,068 --> 00:20:22,827 They may have collided with the GOL jet as a result of their reckless flying. 305 00:20:24,344 --> 00:20:26,931 When that information leaks out to the country's newspapers, 306 00:20:27,034 --> 00:20:29,620 it makes front page news. 307 00:20:29,724 --> 00:20:34,827 Population thought it was unjust that a smaller aircraft 308 00:20:34,931 --> 00:20:38,551 was able to make an emergency landing 309 00:20:38,655 --> 00:20:40,482 while the larger aircraft 310 00:20:40,586 --> 00:20:44,275 with 154 people just fell into the Amazon and everyone died. 311 00:20:47,551 --> 00:20:50,896 Neither Lepore nor Paladino are officially charged 312 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:55,206 but they are confined to a hotel room in Brazil while the investigation continues. 313 00:21:04,689 --> 00:21:09,586 Ferreira interviews the two pilots about what they did and what they saw. 314 00:21:09,689 --> 00:21:14,379 Look we are proceeding northwest on course to Manaus at 37,00 feet. 315 00:21:14,482 --> 00:21:18,000 - Okay? We attempting to contact Brasilia Control... - Were you changing altitude? 316 00:21:18,379 --> 00:21:19,206 No. 317 00:21:22,517 --> 00:21:23,586 I was on the plane. 318 00:21:23,689 --> 00:21:25,793 Had the plane been flying erratically 319 00:21:25,896 --> 00:21:28,206 or doing loop-de-loops or whatever it was, 320 00:21:28,310 --> 00:21:32,137 I think I would have had a pretty good story for The New York Times. 321 00:21:32,241 --> 00:21:35,862 Did you say you were flying at 37,00 feet? 322 00:21:35,965 --> 00:21:37,241 Yes, that's right. 323 00:21:37,344 --> 00:21:39,310 Flight level three-seven-zero. We never moved from that. 324 00:21:46,206 --> 00:21:47,896 When he reviews the information 325 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,000 from the Legacy's flight data recorder, 326 00:21:50,103 --> 00:21:53,310 Ferreira confirms the pilot's story. 327 00:21:53,413 --> 00:21:56,758 Although the ground radar shows the Legacy flying wildly, 328 00:21:56,862 --> 00:22:01,172 the data from the plane shows that it didn't change altitude at all. 329 00:22:01,275 --> 00:22:04,000 But there is something shocking about the Legacy's path. 330 00:22:08,517 --> 00:22:11,310 The business jet was flying north to Manaus, 331 00:22:11,413 --> 00:22:13,551 the GOL flight south from Manaus. 332 00:22:22,034 --> 00:22:25,896 Ferreira can see that both planes were flying at the same altitude. 333 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:30,931 Thirty-seven thousand feet. He makes a horrifying discovery. 334 00:22:31,034 --> 00:22:33,896 For some reason, the two planes were on a collision course. 335 00:22:37,068 --> 00:22:40,172 Air traffic is typically routed along specific corridors 336 00:22:40,275 --> 00:22:41,379 through the sky. 337 00:22:41,482 --> 00:22:43,034 Essentially, highways in the air. 338 00:22:44,310 --> 00:22:46,344 But planes traveling in opposite directions 339 00:22:46,448 --> 00:22:49,896 are supposed to be separated by at least 1,000 feet. 340 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:50,862 HANS-PETER GRAF: The airway system, 341 00:22:52,482 --> 00:22:56,551 for instance, between Brasilia and Manaus is very simple. 342 00:22:56,655 --> 00:23:02,482 It makes airplanes fly northbound, maintaining even levels 343 00:23:02,586 --> 00:23:05,724 and airplanes flying southbound maintaining odd levels. 344 00:23:09,413 --> 00:23:12,758 But somehow the Legacy Jet and the GOL 737 345 00:23:12,862 --> 00:23:16,586 were traveling down the same ariel highway in opposite directions. 346 00:23:18,344 --> 00:23:21,482 For long minutes, they were heading straight for each other. 347 00:23:21,586 --> 00:23:24,724 It seems more and more likely that the two planes collided. 348 00:23:38,448 --> 00:23:41,931 At the crash site, workers find support for this incredible theory. 349 00:23:43,551 --> 00:23:45,551 The left wing of the GOL flight is recovered. 350 00:23:48,379 --> 00:23:54,137 Investigators discover that about halfway along the wing, it's sliced clean through. 351 00:23:54,241 --> 00:23:57,724 None of the other wreckage is sliced this way. 352 00:23:57,827 --> 00:24:01,344 The precise nature of the cut tells Ferreira that this is not damage 353 00:24:01,448 --> 00:24:03,068 that was caused by impact with the ground. 354 00:24:05,827 --> 00:24:07,862 The damage on the left wing clearly shows 355 00:24:07,965 --> 00:24:10,275 that it was caused by a collision with another plane. 356 00:24:14,793 --> 00:24:19,206 The badly damaged wing would have sent the 737 into a spiral dive. 357 00:24:19,310 --> 00:24:21,310 The pilots would have had no way of controlling it. 358 00:24:26,689 --> 00:24:30,551 The sudden spiral motion would have pulled the plane apart. 359 00:24:30,655 --> 00:24:33,344 It's the reason the wreckage is spread over such a wide area. 360 00:24:35,172 --> 00:24:37,310 Ferreira finds the most conclusive evidence 361 00:24:37,413 --> 00:24:39,482 of a collision on the Legacy's damaged wing. 362 00:24:45,482 --> 00:24:47,965 On the Legacy, we found very small pieces of paint 363 00:24:48,068 --> 00:24:49,655 that came from the GOL wing. 364 00:24:57,068 --> 00:25:02,241 Together the planes had a combined speed of 1,600 kilometers an hour. 365 00:25:02,344 --> 00:25:07,655 At that speed, the wing tip of the small jet easily sliced through the 737. 366 00:25:07,758 --> 00:25:11,620 Colonel Ferreira now understands what caused the GOL jet to crash. 367 00:25:11,724 --> 00:25:13,517 But he doesn't know why. 368 00:25:13,620 --> 00:25:18,344 How had the two jets ended up in the exact same airspace without anybody noticing. 369 00:25:25,620 --> 00:25:30,689 Investigators in Brazil now realize that they are dealing with something very unusual. 370 00:25:30,793 --> 00:25:33,896 A mid-air collision is a very rare event in aviation. 371 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,551 And it should not have happened with two very modern new aircrafts. 372 00:25:37,655 --> 00:25:39,758 The situation becomes more complicated 373 00:25:39,862 --> 00:25:42,517 when investigators study a critical document. 374 00:25:42,620 --> 00:25:44,241 The Legacy's flight plan. 375 00:25:44,344 --> 00:25:47,275 Flight plans are filed by using a standard form 376 00:25:47,379 --> 00:25:49,758 which is the same all over the world. 377 00:25:49,862 --> 00:25:53,000 The form will contain the flight number 378 00:25:53,103 --> 00:25:57,827 as well as requested flight level or altitude. 379 00:25:59,758 --> 00:26:01,034 According to this document, 380 00:26:01,137 --> 00:26:02,896 when it collided with the GOL flight, 381 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,862 the executive jet wasn't expected to be at 37,000 feet. 382 00:26:06,965 --> 00:26:08,896 The Legacy's flight plan called for the jet 383 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:12,000 to fly at 37,000 feet only until it reached Brasilia. 384 00:26:12,103 --> 00:26:14,551 Then descend to 36,000. 385 00:26:16,241 --> 00:26:20,379 But the collision took place 850 kilometers northwest of Brasilia. 386 00:26:20,482 --> 00:26:22,241 Well past point where the Legacy 387 00:26:22,344 --> 00:26:24,413 was supposed to descend. 388 00:26:24,517 --> 00:26:26,896 So why hadn't the Legacy followed its flight plan? 389 00:26:30,068 --> 00:26:34,896 The flight plan calls for you to descend to three-six-zero at Brasilia. 390 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:36,034 Why didn't you? 391 00:26:36,137 --> 00:26:37,482 We weren't told to. 392 00:26:37,586 --> 00:26:39,448 Before we took off, we were cleared for three-seven-zero 393 00:26:39,551 --> 00:26:40,448 all the way to Manaus. 394 00:26:41,103 --> 00:26:42,310 That's what we did, sir. 395 00:26:42,413 --> 00:26:44,034 I don't know where you are getting the information from. 396 00:26:44,137 --> 00:26:46,000 We followed the rules. 397 00:26:46,103 --> 00:26:48,655 We were not told to descend, and we did not descend. 398 00:26:54,068 --> 00:26:57,758 Colonel Ferreira needs to check the story that the crew is telling. 399 00:26:57,862 --> 00:27:00,655 He wants to know exactly what they were told by controllers 400 00:27:00,758 --> 00:27:03,310 when they took off from Sao Jose Dos Campos. 401 00:27:03,413 --> 00:27:05,586 November-six- zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 402 00:27:05,689 --> 00:27:08,517 ATC permission for Manaus flight level three-seven-zero. 403 00:27:12,172 --> 00:27:15,655 The Legacy's last instruction was to fly all the way to Manaus 404 00:27:15,758 --> 00:27:17,620 at 37,000 feet. 405 00:27:17,724 --> 00:27:22,103 The pilots obeyed that instruction even though it differed from their flight plan. 406 00:27:22,206 --> 00:27:26,068 Air Traffic Control always can deviate from the flight plan 407 00:27:26,172 --> 00:27:31,068 because they have best knowledge of the actual traffic situation. 408 00:27:31,172 --> 00:27:35,793 Leaving Manaus, the GOL jet was also cleared to fly at 37,00 feet. 409 00:27:38,413 --> 00:27:41,413 Both planes were assigned the same altitude by controllers 410 00:27:41,517 --> 00:27:43,068 at opposite ends of the country. 411 00:27:43,172 --> 00:27:44,034 ...decimal two. 412 00:27:47,689 --> 00:27:51,379 Once we were certain that both planes were flying at the same altitude, 413 00:27:51,482 --> 00:27:54,068 we knew for sure there would be a lot to investigate 414 00:27:54,172 --> 00:27:56,068 on the side of Air Traffic Control. 415 00:28:00,620 --> 00:28:03,206 Ferreira turns his attention to conversations 416 00:28:03,310 --> 00:28:05,758 between controllers in Brasilia and the Legacy jet. 417 00:28:07,172 --> 00:28:09,068 The cockpit voice recorder from the Legacy 418 00:28:09,172 --> 00:28:11,586 gives investigators a remarkably detailed look 419 00:28:11,689 --> 00:28:13,275 into what happened on the private jet. 420 00:28:15,482 --> 00:28:18,620 The brand new Legacy jet has a state of the art recorder 421 00:28:18,724 --> 00:28:20,620 that captures two hours of conversation. 422 00:28:26,310 --> 00:28:27,275 The CVR was probably the most important component 423 00:28:27,379 --> 00:28:28,310 in the investigation. 424 00:28:33,310 --> 00:28:34,758 At ten minutes to 4:00, 425 00:28:34,862 --> 00:28:38,172 the crew is told to change radio frequencies and get in touch 426 00:28:38,275 --> 00:28:39,931 with the controller monitoring their flight. 427 00:28:40,034 --> 00:28:43,000 Change frequency to one-two-five-zero-five. 428 00:28:43,103 --> 00:28:45,931 Decimal one, I'm sorry, one-two-five-zero-five, good day. 429 00:28:46,517 --> 00:28:47,551 Good day. 430 00:28:48,620 --> 00:28:50,068 At this point, the Legacy jet 431 00:28:50,172 --> 00:28:52,689 is approaching Brasilia, but the crew never receives 432 00:28:52,793 --> 00:28:54,758 any instructions regarding their altitude. 433 00:28:54,862 --> 00:28:58,655 Brasilia-November-six-hundred- X-ray-Lima level three-seven-zero, 434 00:28:59,310 --> 00:29:00,482 good afternoon. 435 00:29:00,586 --> 00:29:02,172 November-six-hundred- X-ray-Lima. 436 00:29:02,275 --> 00:29:06,965 When the Legacy overflew Brasilia at flight level three-seven-zero, 437 00:29:07,068 --> 00:29:09,620 according to the flight plan it should have been 438 00:29:09,724 --> 00:29:11,724 descending to three-six-zero. 439 00:29:11,827 --> 00:29:14,931 But Air Traffic Controllers simply forgot 440 00:29:15,034 --> 00:29:20,275 to give the order to the Legacy to descend to three-six-zero. 441 00:29:20,379 --> 00:29:23,793 The pilots would have assumed they were meant to stay at three-seven-zero, 442 00:29:23,896 --> 00:29:25,689 37,000 feet. 443 00:29:29,172 --> 00:29:30,586 No airplane should ever change altitude 444 00:29:30,689 --> 00:29:31,965 without receiving instructions from Air Traffic Control. 445 00:29:34,896 --> 00:29:38,379 To discover why controllers didn't give that crucial instruction, 446 00:29:38,482 --> 00:29:41,103 Colonel Ferreira takes a closer look at the technology 447 00:29:41,206 --> 00:29:43,724 used to monitor the traffic over Brazil. 448 00:29:43,827 --> 00:29:47,448 So can you call up the Legacy jet screen for me? 449 00:29:49,965 --> 00:29:52,758 On the radar's screen we see the altitude, 450 00:29:52,862 --> 00:29:55,724 speed and the transponder information of each plane. 451 00:30:00,344 --> 00:30:02,275 Each flight has an individual code 452 00:30:02,379 --> 00:30:04,379 assigned to it that helps controllers track it. 453 00:30:06,034 --> 00:30:08,689 Underneath that, there are two separate numbers. 454 00:30:08,793 --> 00:30:11,655 On the left, the plane's actual altitude. 455 00:30:11,758 --> 00:30:16,793 On the right, the altitude the plane is supposed to be at according to its flight plan. 456 00:30:16,896 --> 00:30:21,137 So here the number changes to three-six-zero. 457 00:30:25,931 --> 00:30:28,517 As the Legacy jet passed over Brasilia, 458 00:30:28,620 --> 00:30:32,310 the number on the right, the planned altitude, changed. 459 00:30:32,413 --> 00:30:35,655 The computerized system automatically updated it. 460 00:30:35,758 --> 00:30:37,965 According to the flight plan, at this point 461 00:30:38,068 --> 00:30:41,965 the plane was supposed to descend to 36,000 feet, three-six-zero. 462 00:30:42,965 --> 00:30:44,517 To my knowledge, 463 00:30:44,620 --> 00:30:50,241 only Brazilian Air Traffic Control system is using this kind of design. 464 00:30:51,517 --> 00:30:54,448 In other parts of the world, 465 00:30:54,551 --> 00:30:56,379 this update has to be done manually. 466 00:30:56,482 --> 00:30:58,896 The computer changed a single number 467 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,413 which led to a critical error. 468 00:31:01,517 --> 00:31:04,241 Without much experience with the computerized system, 469 00:31:04,344 --> 00:31:06,931 the controller mistook the new planned altitude 470 00:31:07,034 --> 00:31:08,413 for the plane's actual altitude. 471 00:31:14,689 --> 00:31:16,344 The system changed it automatically 472 00:31:16,448 --> 00:31:19,586 from authorized altitude to the planned altitude 473 00:31:19,689 --> 00:31:23,137 which made the controller believe the Legacy was flying at three-six-zero. 474 00:31:31,344 --> 00:31:34,379 Police investigators talk with the controller who was on duty 475 00:31:34,482 --> 00:31:37,482 when the number changed on the screen. 476 00:31:37,586 --> 00:31:41,620 It was shortly after that I went on break. Lucivando relieved me. 477 00:31:43,172 --> 00:31:46,000 He tells police about a critical mistake on his part. 478 00:31:48,758 --> 00:31:50,551 You have five aircraft. 479 00:31:50,655 --> 00:31:52,379 The Legacy is at three-six-zero. 480 00:31:55,034 --> 00:31:58,551 Before leaving, he handed his flights off to another controller, 481 00:31:58,655 --> 00:32:00,931 telling him where he thought the Legacy was flying. 482 00:32:03,448 --> 00:32:06,517 I believed it was at three-six-zero, and that is what I told him. 483 00:32:09,586 --> 00:32:10,965 When the new controller took over, 484 00:32:11,068 --> 00:32:13,931 the one being relieved gave him the Legacy's altitude information 485 00:32:14,034 --> 00:32:17,931 according to the flight plan. Three-six-zero. 486 00:32:18,034 --> 00:32:20,793 But the jet was actually flying 1,000 feet higher 487 00:32:20,896 --> 00:32:24,482 right in the path of the GOL flight. 488 00:32:24,586 --> 00:32:28,413 Colonel Ferreira studies transcripts of conversations on board the Legacy, 489 00:32:28,517 --> 00:32:31,448 and finds that the crew was having their own difficulties during the flight. 490 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:34,310 How much longer, guys? 491 00:32:34,413 --> 00:32:36,241 That is a good question, Ralph. 492 00:32:36,344 --> 00:32:40,482 The crew seems unfamiliar with some of the jet's advanced systems. 493 00:32:40,586 --> 00:32:43,310 Still working out the kinks on how to work this flight management system. 494 00:32:45,724 --> 00:32:47,586 Where's the one that gives us total time? 495 00:32:50,344 --> 00:32:54,620 My impression is that the pilots were trying to learn 496 00:32:54,724 --> 00:32:57,275 their aircraft systems during the flight. 497 00:32:57,379 --> 00:33:00,448 Investigators also uncover a breakdown in communications. 498 00:33:04,172 --> 00:33:06,724 Brasilia-November-six-hundred- X-ray-Lima, 499 00:33:06,827 --> 00:33:08,758 flight level three-seven-zero, good afternoon. 500 00:33:09,896 --> 00:33:12,000 November-six-zero-zero- X-ray-Lima. 501 00:33:12,896 --> 00:33:14,551 - Squawk ident. - Roger. 502 00:33:14,655 --> 00:33:15,931 After a brief conversation between 503 00:33:16,034 --> 00:33:18,241 the Legacy jet and Brasilia ACC, 504 00:33:18,344 --> 00:33:20,827 Colonel Ferreira notices something extremely unusual. 505 00:33:20,931 --> 00:33:23,620 Radar surveillance. Radar surveillance. 506 00:33:23,724 --> 00:33:27,206 For almost an hour, the Legacy pilots don't talk to anyone on the ground. 507 00:33:30,034 --> 00:33:32,379 They stayed 57 minutes without attempting 508 00:33:32,482 --> 00:33:34,620 any contact with Air Traffic Control, 509 00:33:34,724 --> 00:33:37,137 which seems like a lot of time. 510 00:33:37,241 --> 00:33:41,344 After 57minutes, they tried to call 12 times without success. 511 00:33:49,482 --> 00:33:52,103 Brasilia-November-six-zero- zero-X-ray-Lima. 512 00:33:55,517 --> 00:33:58,000 Paladino did try to get hold of ground control, 513 00:33:58,103 --> 00:33:59,241 but he couldn't get through. 514 00:34:03,103 --> 00:34:05,172 Brasilia-November-six-zero- zero-X-ray-Lima. 515 00:34:07,482 --> 00:34:10,793 He then tried the backup frequencies listed on his navigation charts. 516 00:34:11,931 --> 00:34:15,655 Brasilia-November-six-zero- zero-X-ray-Lima. 517 00:34:15,758 --> 00:34:18,862 Brasilia-November- six-zero-zero-X-ray-Lima. 518 00:34:18,965 --> 00:34:21,448 His only contact, a single garbled message. 519 00:34:25,344 --> 00:34:26,862 Sorry, say frequency one more time 520 00:34:26,965 --> 00:34:28,827 for November-six-zero- zero-X-ray-Lima. 521 00:34:31,689 --> 00:34:34,103 Both pilots and Air Traffic Controller 522 00:34:34,206 --> 00:34:37,793 should have been more concerned of maintaining two way contact 523 00:34:38,758 --> 00:34:39,827 all the time. 524 00:34:39,931 --> 00:34:40,896 This is their duty. 525 00:34:42,103 --> 00:34:45,034 Brasilia-November-six-zero- zero-X-ray-Lima. 526 00:34:45,137 --> 00:34:47,344 Had pilots and controllers spoken, 527 00:34:47,448 --> 00:34:50,137 they might have discovered that the Legacy was flying north 528 00:34:50,241 --> 00:34:52,482 in a corridor reserved for southbound traffic. 529 00:34:57,137 --> 00:35:00,896 As the public learns about the mistakes in the Air Traffic Control center, 530 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:03,103 there is growing pressure to make some changes. 531 00:35:04,896 --> 00:35:07,862 We wanted to understand what had happened to these people. 532 00:35:07,965 --> 00:35:10,655 Inside the control room, the controller should have been able 533 00:35:10,758 --> 00:35:12,793 to see on their radar screens 534 00:35:12,896 --> 00:35:17,241 that these two airplanes were flying in a collision course. 535 00:35:17,344 --> 00:35:20,206 Brazilian Air Traffic Control is one of the last in the world 536 00:35:20,310 --> 00:35:22,862 to be run largely by the country's military. 537 00:35:22,965 --> 00:35:24,724 Since they're run by the military, 538 00:35:24,827 --> 00:35:27,206 they're run by the Brazilian Air Force. 539 00:35:27,310 --> 00:35:31,034 We did not have complete access to information except for what was released. 540 00:35:32,551 --> 00:35:34,793 As fingers are pointed at controllers, 541 00:35:34,896 --> 00:35:39,448 many of them come forward with stories of overwork and poor training. 542 00:35:39,551 --> 00:35:42,241 They complained that they weren't well trained in English language 543 00:35:42,344 --> 00:35:45,758 which is the international aviation language. 544 00:35:45,862 --> 00:35:49,275 Also, they had complaints about their equipment. 545 00:35:49,379 --> 00:35:52,793 In fact, the controller who incorrectly reported the Legacy's altitude 546 00:35:52,896 --> 00:35:54,551 had been on the job for only a year. 547 00:35:59,827 --> 00:36:02,827 A valuable piece of the puzzle is still missing. 548 00:36:02,931 --> 00:36:05,034 Investigators still don't know what happened 549 00:36:05,137 --> 00:36:06,931 during the final minutes of the GOL flight. 550 00:36:10,206 --> 00:36:13,413 Soldiers have been scouring the Amazon jungle with metal detectors 551 00:36:13,517 --> 00:36:15,448 looking for the plane's missing memory module. 552 00:36:23,034 --> 00:36:25,620 Almost a month after the crash, they find it. 553 00:36:31,448 --> 00:36:33,896 Colonel Ferreira hopes to hear some reason 554 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,551 why the GOL crew wasn't able to avoid colliding with an oncoming jet. 555 00:36:40,034 --> 00:36:44,448 GOL one-niner-zero-seven, contact Brasilia ACC 556 00:36:44,551 --> 00:36:48,896 on one-two-five-decimal-two. A good flight. 557 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,620 Thanks very much, Brasilia one-two-decimal-two, 558 00:36:52,413 --> 00:36:54,068 GOL one-niner-seven. 559 00:36:56,413 --> 00:36:59,034 There are no alarms before the collision, 560 00:36:59,137 --> 00:37:03,068 no warning that they were flying straight for another jet. 561 00:37:03,172 --> 00:37:07,517 Pilots rely on Air Traffic Controllers to keep other planes out of their path. 562 00:37:07,620 --> 00:37:10,000 They spend much of their time monitoring their instruments, 563 00:37:10,689 --> 00:37:12,275 not the skies ahead. 564 00:37:12,379 --> 00:37:14,068 At the speed they're traveling, 565 00:37:14,172 --> 00:37:17,034 they'd only have to look away for a few seconds to miss an approaching plane. 566 00:37:20,034 --> 00:37:21,827 There were no issues of communication 567 00:37:21,931 --> 00:37:25,724 and no misunderstanding between the pilots and the Air Traffic Control. 568 00:37:33,241 --> 00:37:35,137 Keep calm. 569 00:37:36,655 --> 00:37:39,206 They had no idea what had just happened to their plane 570 00:37:39,310 --> 00:37:41,758 and fought until the end to regain control. 571 00:37:48,931 --> 00:37:50,275 For less than a minute, 572 00:37:50,379 --> 00:37:52,034 the pilots struggle for control 573 00:37:52,137 --> 00:37:53,275 - but there's nothing they can do. - Keep calm! 574 00:37:56,620 --> 00:37:58,655 But why were there no warnings? 575 00:37:58,758 --> 00:38:00,931 Both planes were equipped with a safety feature 576 00:38:01,034 --> 00:38:04,310 designed to prevent exactly this type of accident. 577 00:38:04,413 --> 00:38:06,931 Ferreira now needs to know why that system failed. 578 00:38:10,172 --> 00:38:13,068 Earlier in the investigation, strange radar images 579 00:38:13,172 --> 00:38:16,862 suggested that the Legacy pilots were flying wildly over the Amazon. 580 00:38:18,103 --> 00:38:20,413 Now those suspicions have vanished 581 00:38:20,517 --> 00:38:23,310 but Ferreira revisits the fluctuating radar data 582 00:38:23,413 --> 00:38:26,068 to understand why neither plane knew the other was coming. 583 00:38:27,655 --> 00:38:31,068 You see, the altitude is very insignificant. 584 00:38:31,172 --> 00:38:34,103 To try to understand this last piece of the puzzle, 585 00:38:34,206 --> 00:38:36,517 Colonel Ferreira returns to the radar display 586 00:38:36,620 --> 00:38:40,000 that Air Traffic Controllers saw the day of the crash. 587 00:38:40,103 --> 00:38:44,137 Instead of displaying just the expected altitude and the actual altitude, 588 00:38:44,241 --> 00:38:45,655 the letter "Z" appears between them. 589 00:38:48,206 --> 00:38:50,586 The "Z" on the Air Traffic Controller's screen 590 00:38:50,689 --> 00:38:55,344 Indicates that the airplane he's looking at has lost its transponder. 591 00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:01,000 Modern commercial aircraft are equipped with transponders. 592 00:39:01,965 --> 00:39:03,482 Like small radio stations, 593 00:39:03,586 --> 00:39:06,586 they broadcast information on the plane's altitude and flight number. 594 00:39:08,413 --> 00:39:11,551 This information is received by computers on the ground 595 00:39:11,655 --> 00:39:14,344 and instantly displayed on the screens of Air Traffic Controllers. 596 00:39:15,827 --> 00:39:18,137 In Brasilia, if the transponder fails, 597 00:39:18,241 --> 00:39:21,655 so-called primary radar takes over automatically. 598 00:39:21,758 --> 00:39:25,689 Signals are sent out from the ground but hit the target and return. 599 00:39:25,793 --> 00:39:28,931 Those readings are wildly inaccurate. 600 00:39:29,034 --> 00:39:33,310 Primary radar only is passive indication 601 00:39:33,413 --> 00:39:36,793 of anything that is flying through the air space. 602 00:39:36,896 --> 00:39:39,896 The difference of the actual altitude 603 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,344 in the primary radar system might differ. 604 00:39:44,241 --> 00:39:45,344 Several thousand feet. 605 00:39:49,586 --> 00:39:52,310 The inaccuracy of the radar tracking the Legacy jet 606 00:39:52,413 --> 00:39:55,241 explains why its altitude appeared to be rising and falling. 607 00:39:56,344 --> 00:39:58,724 Investigators discover that the transponder 608 00:39:58,827 --> 00:40:02,310 wasn't sending out signals for more than 50 minutes before the crash. 609 00:40:03,517 --> 00:40:06,310 But controllers didn't notify the pilots. 610 00:40:06,413 --> 00:40:08,896 That may be because they didn't notice the subtle change. 611 00:40:13,241 --> 00:40:15,482 The way in which the information is displayed 612 00:40:15,586 --> 00:40:18,724 to the controller does not visually alert him to the change. 613 00:40:18,827 --> 00:40:20,448 There are no flashing lights 614 00:40:20,551 --> 00:40:23,241 that would tell the controller that the plane has lost its transponder. 615 00:40:32,137 --> 00:40:35,724 There's an even more critical role played by the transponder. 616 00:40:35,827 --> 00:40:38,862 It doesn't just beam information to controllers on the ground 617 00:40:38,965 --> 00:40:41,206 but to other planes as well. 618 00:40:41,310 --> 00:40:45,068 All commercial aircraft are equipped with a warning system called TCAS, 619 00:40:45,172 --> 00:40:46,862 the Traffic Collision Avoidance System. 620 00:40:48,103 --> 00:40:53,862 TCAS gives a relative position of other airplanes 621 00:40:55,172 --> 00:40:58,137 within range of your own airplane. 622 00:40:58,241 --> 00:41:00,275 TCAS picks up a signal from an oncoming 623 00:41:00,379 --> 00:41:04,482 plane's transponder and issues a warning if it's too close. 624 00:41:04,586 --> 00:41:07,827 If either plane's transponder is off, the system won't work. 625 00:41:12,517 --> 00:41:15,413 What the hell is that? 626 00:41:15,517 --> 00:41:19,655 Ferreira discovers that the Legacy's transponder was working early in the flight 627 00:41:19,758 --> 00:41:21,724 and after the collision. 628 00:41:21,827 --> 00:41:24,551 But for more than 50 critical minutes, it was silent. 629 00:41:34,551 --> 00:41:38,172 How had a state of the art jet just off the factory floor 630 00:41:38,275 --> 00:41:40,000 developed problems with its transponder. 631 00:41:46,275 --> 00:41:49,896 The failure of the transponder certainly contributed to this accident. 632 00:41:53,862 --> 00:41:56,206 And we had to find out what caused it to fail. 633 00:42:05,689 --> 00:42:09,275 Investigators examine the Legacy jet's transponder unit. 634 00:42:09,379 --> 00:42:13,000 They discover that the system which controls it had a troubled history. 635 00:42:15,034 --> 00:42:20,172 It had been installed on a different plane but removed because it wasn't working. 636 00:42:20,275 --> 00:42:24,103 It was repaired and then placed on the jet that was sold to ExcelAire. 637 00:42:25,862 --> 00:42:28,517 Investigators have the system tested 638 00:42:28,620 --> 00:42:30,758 but even with its suspicious past, 639 00:42:30,862 --> 00:42:34,586 after the crash, they can find no obvious problems with the plane's transponder. 640 00:42:46,931 --> 00:42:50,827 Now this is the layout now of the standard one on the Legacy jet. 641 00:42:50,931 --> 00:42:52,689 Colonel Ferreira does notice 642 00:42:52,793 --> 00:42:55,724 something potentially dangerous about the design of the Legacy's cockpit. 643 00:42:57,482 --> 00:43:00,965 If a pilot uses the built-in footrest during flight, 644 00:43:01,068 --> 00:43:03,413 his toes can come in contact with the buttons 645 00:43:03,517 --> 00:43:04,655 on the transponder. 646 00:43:05,862 --> 00:43:08,758 Show me what it looks like in standby mode. 647 00:43:08,862 --> 00:43:11,517 And when the transponder does go into standby, 648 00:43:11,620 --> 00:43:13,517 it would be difficult for a pilot to notice. 649 00:43:15,034 --> 00:43:17,137 There's no alarm. 650 00:43:17,241 --> 00:43:19,931 A small yellow warning light is the only indication 651 00:43:20,034 --> 00:43:21,586 that the transponder isn't on. 652 00:43:23,206 --> 00:43:27,103 It was not easy for the pilots to detect that 653 00:43:27,206 --> 00:43:32,655 because it's not hooked up with the central warning and alert system. 654 00:43:34,413 --> 00:43:36,000 But the pilots of the Legacy jet 655 00:43:36,103 --> 00:43:39,862 do not remember using the plane's footrest. 656 00:43:39,965 --> 00:43:42,517 Still working out the kinks on how to work this flight management system. 657 00:43:43,620 --> 00:43:44,758 Time... 658 00:43:44,862 --> 00:43:47,068 Investigators suspect that one of the pilots 659 00:43:47,172 --> 00:43:50,034 may have turned the transponder off by mistake. 660 00:43:53,689 --> 00:43:55,827 The most probable scenario is that by accident, 661 00:43:55,931 --> 00:43:59,103 one of the pilots temporarily turned off the equipment 662 00:43:59,206 --> 00:44:02,068 as he tried to familiarize himself with the technology on board. 663 00:44:04,275 --> 00:44:07,344 However, the transponder went off. At a critical moment, 664 00:44:07,448 --> 00:44:09,689 the crew had no last-ditch safety system 665 00:44:09,793 --> 00:44:12,655 to warn them that they were flying right at a 737. 666 00:44:14,482 --> 00:44:17,827 Even though TCAS system on the GOL plane was working, 667 00:44:17,931 --> 00:44:20,965 there was no signal from the approaching jet for it to receive. 668 00:44:24,103 --> 00:44:27,310 Closing in on each other at 1,600 kilometers an hour, 669 00:44:27,413 --> 00:44:29,241 the pilots never saw each other coming. 670 00:44:31,965 --> 00:44:34,068 Brazil's Air Traffic Control system 671 00:44:34,172 --> 00:44:38,275 would undergo some radical changes as a result of the collision. 672 00:44:38,379 --> 00:44:40,689 But those changes would not come without a fight. 673 00:44:45,103 --> 00:44:48,448 The investigation into the crash of GOL Flight 1907 674 00:44:48,551 --> 00:44:52,103 has uncovered dangerous problems with Brazil's Air Traffic Control system. 675 00:44:54,206 --> 00:44:56,655 Brasilia-November- six-hundred-X-ray-Lima, 676 00:44:56,758 --> 00:44:58,482 level three-seven-zero. Good afternoon. 677 00:44:58,586 --> 00:45:00,275 Two planes were assigned to fly 678 00:45:00,379 --> 00:45:02,620 at the same altitude in the same airspace. 679 00:45:04,034 --> 00:45:05,517 Radar surveillance. 680 00:45:05,620 --> 00:45:08,241 Overworked and inexperienced controllers in Brasilia 681 00:45:08,344 --> 00:45:12,344 neglected to instruct the Legacy jet to descend to 36,000 feet. 682 00:45:15,206 --> 00:45:16,620 You have five aircraft. 683 00:45:16,724 --> 00:45:19,000 The Legacy is at three-six-zero. 684 00:45:19,103 --> 00:45:22,793 Then they mistook the Legacy's planned altitude for its actual altitude. 685 00:45:24,448 --> 00:45:25,931 To make matters worse, 686 00:45:26,034 --> 00:45:29,068 the Legacy pilots, unfamiliar with Brazilian airspace, 687 00:45:29,172 --> 00:45:31,620 were unable to make contact with controllers on the ground. 688 00:45:38,241 --> 00:45:40,275 And somehow the transponder 689 00:45:40,379 --> 00:45:43,310 which broadcasts their location in the sky, went silent... 690 00:45:46,413 --> 00:45:48,758 ...which controllers in Brasilia failed to notice. 691 00:45:55,172 --> 00:45:56,758 Keep calm. 692 00:46:04,862 --> 00:46:05,793 Keep calm. 693 00:46:18,137 --> 00:46:22,000 A multi-billion dollar ATC system designed to keep planes apart 694 00:46:22,103 --> 00:46:25,172 had failed to detect two planes on a collision course. 695 00:46:34,517 --> 00:46:37,482 One by one, a series of human errors occurred 696 00:46:37,586 --> 00:46:41,482 and all of the defense systems that exist to avoid these errors were defeated. 697 00:46:46,724 --> 00:46:49,310 A month after the crash of the GOL passenger plane, 698 00:46:49,413 --> 00:46:52,344 controllers begin a work to rule campaign. 699 00:46:52,448 --> 00:46:54,689 They want to draw attention to problems with the system. 700 00:46:56,275 --> 00:46:58,275 Once they did start working to the rules 701 00:46:58,379 --> 00:46:59,965 and not stretching them anymore, 702 00:47:00,068 --> 00:47:03,758 this triggered what we called the aviation crisis in Brazil. 703 00:47:03,862 --> 00:47:07,655 At a certain point, maybe 40% of flights in all of Brazil 704 00:47:07,758 --> 00:47:09,068 had over an hour delays. 705 00:47:10,689 --> 00:47:12,965 Following the crash and the work slowdown, 706 00:47:13,068 --> 00:47:14,310 changes start being made. 707 00:47:17,137 --> 00:47:21,206 There has been a lot of changes in Brazilian aviation after the accident. 708 00:47:21,310 --> 00:47:24,103 Specifically with regards to Air Traffic Control. 709 00:47:24,206 --> 00:47:28,482 Because the Air Force had to admit that they had a shortage of controllers, 710 00:47:28,586 --> 00:47:32,103 and also there's a higher degree of accountability. 711 00:47:35,689 --> 00:47:37,000 In the United States, 712 00:47:37,103 --> 00:47:38,896 the Federal Aviation Administration 713 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:41,586 issues two recommendations as a result of the tragedy. 714 00:47:43,068 --> 00:47:45,517 Pilots flying Legacy jets are warned of the possibility 715 00:47:45,620 --> 00:47:47,586 that putting their feet up in the cockpit 716 00:47:47,689 --> 00:47:51,206 could accidentally turn off the transponder. 717 00:47:51,310 --> 00:47:53,896 And manufacturers are told that an alarm should sound 718 00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:55,586 if the TCAS system shuts off. 719 00:48:00,551 --> 00:48:02,896 The controllers who are involved in the crash 720 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:06,517 are charged with varying degrees of manslaughter. 721 00:48:06,620 --> 00:48:10,655 But those criminal charges worry people who were closely involved with the disaster. 722 00:48:17,931 --> 00:48:21,068 An investigation like ours which focuses on prevention 723 00:48:21,172 --> 00:48:24,413 suffers huge setbacks when there is pressure to lay charges. 724 00:48:28,137 --> 00:48:32,275 By blaming people, we might be creating a culture 725 00:48:32,379 --> 00:48:37,172 where people will not come forth and be honest about failures and mistakes. 726 00:48:37,275 --> 00:48:41,068 And when we try to hide that, things get swept under the carpet. 727 00:48:41,172 --> 00:48:42,551 And soon enough, they'll come out again. 728 00:48:45,482 --> 00:48:47,172 No controller leaves his home in the morning 729 00:48:47,275 --> 00:48:49,379 thinking he's going to crash a plane. 730 00:48:49,482 --> 00:48:52,862 And so the criminalization only interferes with investigations 731 00:48:52,965 --> 00:48:54,793 that can prevent further accidents. 732 00:48:58,275 --> 00:49:00,482 More than two months after the crash, 733 00:49:00,586 --> 00:49:04,551 the crew of the Legacy jet is finally allowed to return to the United States. 734 00:49:05,931 --> 00:49:07,827 Joe and Jan barely got out of the country. 735 00:49:07,931 --> 00:49:09,620 There was an attempt to hold them 736 00:49:09,724 --> 00:49:12,724 under what I thought was a cobbled together 737 00:49:12,827 --> 00:49:19,034 initial criminal charge of "failing to ensure the safety of Brazilian skies". 738 00:49:19,137 --> 00:49:23,206 While we are grateful for the safe return of Joe and Jan 739 00:49:23,310 --> 00:49:24,655 and everyone aboard the Legacy, 740 00:49:25,724 --> 00:49:27,689 we are all saddened by this tragedy 741 00:49:27,793 --> 00:49:29,275 which took many innocent lives. 742 00:49:30,689 --> 00:49:32,620 More than a year after the accident, 743 00:49:32,724 --> 00:49:38,103 the Legacy jet that survived a mid-air collision was still at the airfield in the Amazon. 744 00:49:38,206 --> 00:49:43,551 Its maiden voyage cut short by a tragic series of technological and human errors.