1
00:00:04,068 --> 00:00:05,827
<i>Every time
you board a plane,</i>

2
00:00:05,931 --> 00:00:07,862
<i>you put your trust
in the pilots.</i>

3
00:00:09,620 --> 00:00:11,724
<i>And every time
pilots enter the cockpit,</i>

4
00:00:11,827 --> 00:00:13,793
<i>they put their trust
in computers.</i>

5
00:00:15,482 --> 00:00:19,448
<i>It's a complicated relationship
between man and machine.</i>

6
00:00:19,551 --> 00:00:21,827
<i>And when it doesn't
work perfectly,</i>

7
00:00:21,931 --> 00:00:23,827
<i>disaster can strike
in an instant.</i>

8
00:00:27,137 --> 00:00:28,103
We're going to turn over!

9
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:32,965
We didn't know
if we were gonna live or die.

10
00:00:35,793 --> 00:00:36,620
Autopilot!

11
00:00:40,206 --> 00:00:43,517
<i>Life and death decisions have
to be made in a moment.</i>

12
00:00:43,620 --> 00:00:46,965
<i>Confusion can kill passengers
and crew.</i>

13
00:00:47,068 --> 00:00:50,551
Flying in today's world is
a very complex task.

14
00:00:50,655 --> 00:00:53,827
<i>The pilot's always
the last line of defense.</i>

15
00:00:53,931 --> 00:00:55,482
<i>When the worst happens,</i>

16
00:00:55,586 --> 00:00:56,965
<i>the question is</i>

17
00:00:57,068 --> 00:00:58,689
<i>who's flying the plane?</i>

18
00:01:03,827 --> 00:01:04,931
Mayday, mayday.

19
00:01:26,862 --> 00:01:29,034
It's just after 8:30
<i>in the morning,</i>

20
00:01:29,137 --> 00:01:31,586
<i>in Sanford, Florida.</i>

21
00:01:31,689 --> 00:01:35,172
<i>These student pilots walk out
to ground school.</i>

22
00:01:35,275 --> 00:01:39,241
<i>Their topic today,
a</i> Cirrus <i>SR20.</i>

23
00:01:39,344 --> 00:01:41,586
This is one of the newer models.
We can tell

24
00:01:41,689 --> 00:01:42,724
just from looking at it

25
00:01:42,827 --> 00:01:44,586
because of the lights
on the wing-tips.

26
00:01:44,689 --> 00:01:46,758
They're called
recognition lights, or recogs.

27
00:01:46,862 --> 00:01:48,896
<i>Every year
dozens of students enroll</i>

28
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:50,793
at the Delta Connection Academy,

29
00:01:50,896 --> 00:01:54,103
<i>hoping to eventually become
pilots with major airlines.</i>

30
00:01:56,034 --> 00:01:59,241
<i>Their lives, and one day
the lives of the passengers
they fly</i>

31
00:01:59,344 --> 00:02:02,931
<i>depend on their deep</i>
understanding of their airplane.

32
00:02:03,827 --> 00:02:05,793
From this side right here,

33
00:02:05,896 --> 00:02:08,862
you can see
the propeller governor.

34
00:02:08,965 --> 00:02:10,517
<i>The majority
of our students</i>

35
00:02:10,620 --> 00:02:14,068
<i>come to us with zero
or very little flight time.</i>

36
00:02:14,172 --> 00:02:17,344
We want to run someone
through our entire program

37
00:02:17,448 --> 00:02:19,103
and end up placing them

38
00:02:19,206 --> 00:02:21,448
with one
of the regional carriers.

39
00:02:21,551 --> 00:02:24,931
The wing-tips here are called
corner wing-tips.

40
00:02:25,034 --> 00:02:27,689
They help to reduce
the induced drag.

41
00:02:27,793 --> 00:02:31,517
<i>These flight students
are getting started
on smaller aircraft.</i>

42
00:02:31,620 --> 00:02:33,310
<i>In the years to come,
they will move</i>

43
00:02:33,413 --> 00:02:34,931
<i>into large commercial jets</i>

44
00:02:35,034 --> 00:02:37,000
<i>boasting the latest
in technology.</i>

45
00:02:39,827 --> 00:02:41,586
<i>When you go back
to the Wright Brothers,</i>

46
00:02:41,689 --> 00:02:43,482
they had no automation

47
00:02:43,586 --> 00:02:45,413
and everything was
by muscle power,

48
00:02:45,517 --> 00:02:48,551
other than a small
internal combustion engine.

49
00:02:48,655 --> 00:02:51,172
<i>Everything that they did,
when they moved the wings,</i>

50
00:02:51,275 --> 00:02:53,689
<i>the elevators and the rudders,
they did manually.</i>

51
00:02:57,034 --> 00:02:58,517
<i>But in the last hundred years,</i>

52
00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:01,482
<i>technology has
revolutionized flying.</i>

53
00:03:01,586 --> 00:03:03,000
<i>Pilots share the cockpit</i>

54
00:03:03,103 --> 00:03:04,931
<i>with automated computer systems</i>

55
00:03:05,034 --> 00:03:08,241
<i>that control virtually
every aspect of flight.</i>

56
00:03:08,344 --> 00:03:09,724
It can do everything now

57
00:03:09,827 --> 00:03:11,241
up to and including
land the airplane.

58
00:03:11,965 --> 00:03:13,000
<i>Everything is set</i>

59
00:03:13,103 --> 00:03:15,724
<i>so that the autopilots
and automation systems</i>

60
00:03:15,827 --> 00:03:18,896
are tools for the pilot to use,
but they're not a replacement.

61
00:03:20,413 --> 00:03:21,620
<i>It's a critical lesson</i>

62
00:03:21,724 --> 00:03:23,896
<i>for student pilots to learn.</i>

63
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:25,448
<i>Safe flight is a balance</i>

64
00:03:25,551 --> 00:03:28,172
between automation and training.

65
00:03:28,275 --> 00:03:30,103
<i>If a pilot makes a mistake,</i>

66
00:03:30,206 --> 00:03:32,344
<i>or if
an instrument malfunctions,</i>

67
00:03:32,448 --> 00:03:35,551
<i>these flying computers can
turn into lethal machines</i>

68
00:03:35,655 --> 00:03:37,034
<i>that can't be controlled.</i>

69
00:03:41,103 --> 00:03:42,689
<i>Lima, Peru.</i>

70
00:03:42,793 --> 00:03:45,068
<i>October 2, 1996.</i>

71
00:03:47,310 --> 00:03:50,517
Aeroperu Flight 603
<i>prepares for take off</i>

72
00:03:50,620 --> 00:03:51,758
<i>for Santiago, Chile.</i>

73
00:03:53,931 --> 00:03:56,896
<i>The plane is
a four-year-old</i> Boeing <i>757,</i>

74
00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,965
<i>a highly sophisticated jet</i>

75
00:03:59,068 --> 00:04:01,344
<i>known for its reliability
and safety.</i>

76
00:04:03,172 --> 00:04:04,724
<i>The</i> 757 <i>is flown</i>

77
00:04:04,827 --> 00:04:07,689
by two of the national airline's
<i>best pilots.</i>

78
00:04:09,517 --> 00:04:11,137
<i>Captain Eric Schreiber,</i>

79
00:04:14,896 --> 00:04:16,862
<i>and First Officer
David Fernandez.</i>

80
00:04:19,482 --> 00:04:23,172
<i>There are 61 passengers
and nine crew members on board.</i>

81
00:04:25,862 --> 00:04:27,689
<i>The jet is among
a new generation</i>

82
00:04:27,793 --> 00:04:29,689
<i>of computer-controlled aircraft</i>

83
00:04:29,793 --> 00:04:31,068
<i>in which pilots are trained</i>

84
00:04:31,172 --> 00:04:33,172
to rely on a central data system

85
00:04:33,275 --> 00:04:35,068
<i>that is designed
to reduce errors,</i>

86
00:04:35,172 --> 00:04:37,000
<i>both mechanical and human.</i>

87
00:04:38,758 --> 00:04:41,000
Gear up.

88
00:04:41,103 --> 00:04:44,034
<i>Tonight, though,
within minutes of take-off,</i>

89
00:04:44,137 --> 00:04:46,448
<i>the flight begins
to go horribly wrong.</i>

90
00:04:48,310 --> 00:04:50,344
The altimeters are stuck.

91
00:04:50,448 --> 00:04:51,620
<i>The altimeter
indicates</i>

92
00:04:51,724 --> 00:04:54,896
<i>how high the aircraft is
flying over the ground.</i>

93
00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,689
<i>It reads zero, but the plane is
clearly airborne.</i>

94
00:05:00,620 --> 00:05:03,931
This is really new.
Keep V2 plus ten.

95
00:05:04,034 --> 00:05:07,034
<i>The</i> 757 <i>is equipped
with three altimeters.</i>

96
00:05:08,275 --> 00:05:10,103
<i>One for the pilot,</i>

97
00:05:10,206 --> 00:05:13,137
<i>one for the co-pilot
and one for backup.</i>

98
00:05:13,241 --> 00:05:15,103
<i>All three seem to be dead.</i>

99
00:05:17,931 --> 00:05:20,793
<i>As the two men try to solve
the first problem,</i>

100
00:05:20,896 --> 00:05:23,551
<i>they lose another
crucial instrument.</i>

101
00:05:23,655 --> 00:05:25,275
<i>The air speed indicator.</i>

102
00:05:25,379 --> 00:05:26,620
The speed.

103
00:05:26,724 --> 00:05:27,965
Eh?

104
00:05:28,068 --> 00:05:29,275
The speed.

105
00:05:29,379 --> 00:05:30,896
What's going on?
We're not climbing.

106
00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:32,827
No, I am climbing,
but the speed.

107
00:05:32,931 --> 00:05:34,862
Hold it. Maintain speed.

108
00:05:37,482 --> 00:05:40,379
<i>Bewildered by
the host of confusing warnings,</i>

109
00:05:40,482 --> 00:05:42,551
<i>Captain Schreiber decides
to land.</i>

110
00:05:46,758 --> 00:05:49,068
Lima tower, <i>Aeroperu 603.</i>

111
00:05:49,172 --> 00:05:50,689
We are in an emergency.

112
00:05:50,793 --> 00:05:52,517
<i>Aeroperu 603,</i> Lima.

113
00:05:52,620 --> 00:05:54,172
<i>We are declaring an emergency.</i>

114
00:05:54,275 --> 00:05:56,482
We have no basic instruments,
no altimeter,

115
00:05:56,586 --> 00:05:59,689
no air speed indicator.
Declaring emergency.

116
00:05:59,793 --> 00:06:01,310
<i>To add
to their problems,</i>

117
00:06:01,413 --> 00:06:04,448
<i>Schreiber and Fernandez
are flying at night over water,</i>

118
00:06:04,551 --> 00:06:06,551
with no visual reference points.

119
00:06:07,724 --> 00:06:10,137
<i>Not being able
to trust their instruments,</i>

120
00:06:10,241 --> 00:06:12,689
<i>the pilots are flying blind.</i>

121
00:06:12,793 --> 00:06:14,896
<i>The airplane was controllable.</i>

122
00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,758
But you first have to diagnose
what's wrong.

123
00:06:18,862 --> 00:06:21,034
And It's very easy
from 20-20 hindsight

124
00:06:21,137 --> 00:06:23,965
sitting here in a chair
on a nice sunny day

125
00:06:24,068 --> 00:06:26,344
to say, "This is what
he should have done."

126
00:06:27,379 --> 00:06:30,344
<i>But, in the cold dark night</i>

127
00:06:30,448 --> 00:06:33,482
<i>with bells and whistles
going off, uh,</i>

128
00:06:33,586 --> 00:06:36,275
<i>it's very difficult to analyze</i>

129
00:06:36,379 --> 00:06:38,931
<i>conflicting information
that you're getting.</i>

130
00:06:40,758 --> 00:06:42,275
<i>Unable to trust
their instruments,</i>

131
00:06:42,379 --> 00:06:44,241
<i>the pilots have to depend
on information</i>

132
00:06:44,344 --> 00:06:45,931
<i>from the ground.</i>

133
00:06:46,034 --> 00:06:47,482
Can you give us
the air speed please,

134
00:06:47,586 --> 00:06:49,206
if you have us on the radar?

135
00:06:49,310 --> 00:06:51,862
<i>Yes.
Affirmative. As of ten seconds,</i>

136
00:06:51,965 --> 00:06:54,000
it seems that you're climbing
at level 6000

137
00:06:54,103 --> 00:06:55,689
at two-two miles south,

138
00:06:55,793 --> 00:06:57,689
on heading 1-9-5.

139
00:06:57,793 --> 00:06:59,000
Okay, we have that.

140
00:06:59,103 --> 00:07:00,965
We are on heading 1-9-0

141
00:07:01,068 --> 00:07:03,241
and we have 7000 feet
on the altimeter.

142
00:07:03,344 --> 00:07:05,275
Yes, correct. You are
now reaching 7000.

143
00:07:08,137 --> 00:07:10,413
<i>Even as they try
to return to the airport,</i>

144
00:07:10,517 --> 00:07:12,793
<i>the havoc
in the cockpit gets worse.</i>

145
00:07:14,379 --> 00:07:16,586
<i>Systems warn
that they are over speed.</i>

146
00:07:17,482 --> 00:07:18,551
Over speed.

147
00:07:18,655 --> 00:07:20,310
<i>They're flying too fast.</i>

148
00:07:20,413 --> 00:07:21,758
Extend the speed brakes.

149
00:07:26,620 --> 00:07:28,896
<i>Now the stall warning sounds.</i>

150
00:07:33,862 --> 00:07:35,758
<i>- And then...
Too low terrain.</i>

151
00:07:35,862 --> 00:07:38,206
- What's happening?
- "Too low terrain"?

152
00:07:38,310 --> 00:07:41,793
We have the terrain alarm.
We have the terrain alarm.

153
00:07:41,896 --> 00:07:43,931
<i>The Ground Proximity
alarm warns them</i>

154
00:07:44,034 --> 00:07:45,827
<i>that they're flying
dangerously low.</i>

155
00:07:45,931 --> 00:07:48,620
<i>...an indicator
of flight level
of 10,000 over the sea.</i>

156
00:07:48,724 --> 00:07:49,931
<i>Too low terrain.</i>

157
00:07:53,275 --> 00:07:55,206
<i>There is
no checklist for</i>

158
00:07:55,310 --> 00:07:59,068
if you have these seven
or eight warnings going off,

159
00:07:59,172 --> 00:08:01,482
which they did,
and they couldn't shut them off.

160
00:08:03,275 --> 00:08:05,448
<i>Altitude is 9700.</i>

161
00:08:05,551 --> 00:08:08,172
- Ninety-seven hundred?
- <i>Yes, correct.</i>

162
00:08:08,275 --> 00:08:09,689
Do you have
any visual reference?

163
00:08:09,793 --> 00:08:10,931
<i>Ninety-seven hundred?</i>

164
00:08:11,034 --> 00:08:13,517
But it is indicating
too low terrain.

165
00:08:13,620 --> 00:08:17,551
Are you sure you have us
on the radar at 50 miles?

166
00:08:17,655 --> 00:08:20,931
<i>The crew is bombarded
with conflicting warnings.</i>

167
00:08:21,034 --> 00:08:23,241
<i>They have no idea
which of them to believe.</i>

168
00:08:25,965 --> 00:08:28,586
<i>Suddenly they realize
the horrible truth.</i>

169
00:08:29,896 --> 00:08:32,827
We're hitting water! Pull it up!

170
00:08:32,931 --> 00:08:35,620
<i>They're flying
just meters above the water.</i>

171
00:08:37,586 --> 00:08:39,206
We're going to turn over!

172
00:08:44,034 --> 00:08:46,827
<i>Aeroperu 603,</i> Lima.

173
00:08:59,862 --> 00:09:02,896
<i>There are
no survivors from</i> Flight 603,

174
00:09:04,103 --> 00:09:05,241
<i>all because something caused</i>

175
00:09:05,344 --> 00:09:08,000
<i>the on-board computers
to go haywire.</i>

176
00:09:09,965 --> 00:09:12,172
<i>Searching through
the Pacific waters,</i>

177
00:09:12,275 --> 00:09:15,000
<i>investigators manage to find
the data recorders.</i>

178
00:09:16,551 --> 00:09:17,620
<i>It was clear to us</i>

179
00:09:17,724 --> 00:09:20,965
that they were
really experiencing a problem

180
00:09:21,068 --> 00:09:23,620
with air speed and altitude.

181
00:09:26,482 --> 00:09:27,896
<i>On the 757,</i>

182
00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,689
<i>devices called
Pitot-Static tubes measure</i>

183
00:09:30,793 --> 00:09:32,275
<i>the air speed and altitude.</i>

184
00:09:33,827 --> 00:09:36,965
<i>They are small external sensors
which relay that information</i>

185
00:09:37,068 --> 00:09:39,103
<i>to the plane's
computerized systems.</i>

186
00:09:46,482 --> 00:09:47,965
<i>Deep underwater,</i>

187
00:09:48,068 --> 00:09:50,586
<i>tape is discovered covering
the plane's sensors.</i>

188
00:09:54,448 --> 00:09:56,827
<i>How the tape got there
leads investigators</i>

189
00:09:56,931 --> 00:09:59,448
<i>back to the maintenance crew
at Lima airport.</i>

190
00:10:02,172 --> 00:10:06,068
<i>Just before</i> Aeroperu 603
<i>lifted off from Lima,</i>

191
00:10:06,172 --> 00:10:09,103
<i>maintenance workers had
cleaned the jet.</i>

192
00:10:09,206 --> 00:10:12,137
<i>A worker had covered
the static ports with tape</i>

193
00:10:12,241 --> 00:10:13,689
<i>to protect them.</i>

194
00:10:13,793 --> 00:10:15,827
<i>This is standard procedure.</i>

195
00:10:15,931 --> 00:10:18,034
<i>But when the maintenance
was complete,</i>

196
00:10:18,137 --> 00:10:21,724
<i>the worker forgot
to remove the tape.</i>

197
00:10:21,827 --> 00:10:25,793
<i>It was a small oversight
with tragic results.</i>

198
00:10:25,896 --> 00:10:27,793
<i>The inspector
who was supposed</i>

199
00:10:27,896 --> 00:10:31,241
to quality-check his work
did not do it.

200
00:10:31,344 --> 00:10:34,724
And the supervisor
out on the line that night

201
00:10:34,827 --> 00:10:36,137
was not there, he was sick.

202
00:10:36,241 --> 00:10:39,551
And there was a regular mechanic

203
00:10:39,655 --> 00:10:43,000
who was filling that role,
he did not see it.

204
00:10:44,931 --> 00:10:47,448
<i>In this case,
the Captain did the pre-flight.</i>

205
00:10:47,551 --> 00:10:50,655
<i>They do a walk-around looking
for just that kind of thing.</i>

206
00:10:52,068 --> 00:10:53,689
<i>The Captain did the pre-flight
that night</i>

207
00:10:53,793 --> 00:10:55,793
and he did not detect it either.

208
00:10:57,068 --> 00:10:58,965
Yes, correct. You're now
reaching 7000.

209
00:10:59,068 --> 00:11:00,931
<i>The blocked tubes
also explain</i>

210
00:11:01,034 --> 00:11:03,413
<i>why the air-traffic controllers
told the crew</i>

211
00:11:03,517 --> 00:11:05,620
<i>they were flying at 7000 feet.</i>

212
00:11:08,448 --> 00:11:10,551
<i>The information
on the plane's height isn't</i>

213
00:11:10,655 --> 00:11:13,068
<i>calculated by radar
on the ground,</i>

214
00:11:13,172 --> 00:11:15,827
<i>but by
the plane's on-board systems.</i>

215
00:11:17,034 --> 00:11:18,655
<i>From 7000 feet,</i>

216
00:11:18,758 --> 00:11:21,103
<i>the plane began
to slowly descend,</i>

217
00:11:21,206 --> 00:11:24,206
<i>but the on-board systems
couldn't detect it.</i>

218
00:11:24,310 --> 00:11:26,793
<i>And the air-traffic controller
had no way to know</i>

219
00:11:26,896 --> 00:11:30,275
<i>the altitude indicated
on his system was wrong.</i>

220
00:11:32,689 --> 00:11:35,965
<i>Blindsided by
bewildering readings
from their instruments,</i>

221
00:11:36,068 --> 00:11:37,965
<i>the crew was completely lost.</i>

222
00:11:39,137 --> 00:11:41,103
<i>They had no idea
where they were,</i>

223
00:11:41,206 --> 00:11:44,448
<i>how high they were flying
or how fast they were going.</i>

224
00:11:46,862 --> 00:11:49,034
We're hitting water! Pull it up!

225
00:11:49,137 --> 00:11:52,000
Climb! Climb, <i>Aeroperu 603.</i>
If you need to, pull up!

226
00:12:00,758 --> 00:12:02,931
Aeroperu <i>was
a deadly lesson</i>

227
00:12:03,034 --> 00:12:05,413
<i>about how dependent pilots
have become</i>

228
00:12:05,517 --> 00:12:07,517
<i>on their
automated flight systems,</i>

229
00:12:07,620 --> 00:12:11,103
<i>and how helpless they can be
when the systems are crippled.</i>

230
00:12:13,862 --> 00:12:16,000
<i>Student pilots need
to understand</i>

231
00:12:16,103 --> 00:12:17,344
<i>the complex technology</i>

232
00:12:17,448 --> 00:12:19,172
at the heart of their airplanes.

233
00:12:19,965 --> 00:12:21,413
<i>When something goes wrong,</i>

234
00:12:21,517 --> 00:12:24,482
<i>they need to know
who's in control,</i>

235
00:12:24,586 --> 00:12:26,724
<i>because even
an experienced pilot can</i>

236
00:12:26,827 --> 00:12:28,862
rely too heavily on his systems.

237
00:12:29,827 --> 00:12:31,551
<i>And when he does,</i>

238
00:12:31,655 --> 00:12:34,413
<i>disaster can be
just seconds away.</i>

239
00:12:38,724 --> 00:12:40,172
All right, gentlemen.
What we're going to do today is

240
00:12:40,275 --> 00:12:43,551
practice rejected take-offs
in preparation for the V1 cuts.

241
00:12:43,655 --> 00:12:45,655
It'll be engine fire,
engine failure

242
00:12:45,758 --> 00:12:47,586
or loss of directional control.

243
00:12:47,689 --> 00:12:49,413
<i>At the Delta
Connection flight school</i>

244
00:12:49,517 --> 00:12:50,931
<i>in Sanford, Florida,</i>

245
00:12:51,034 --> 00:12:53,551
<i>students are facing the worst</i>

246
00:12:53,655 --> 00:12:55,379
<i>in the safety of a simulator.</i>

247
00:12:56,689 --> 00:12:59,103
<i>No pilot can graduate
unless they can deal</i>

248
00:12:59,206 --> 00:13:03,068
<i>with problems they may never
have to face in the real world.</i>

249
00:13:03,172 --> 00:13:05,241
The course that I teach,
we typically,

250
00:13:05,344 --> 00:13:09,241
they work as a crew. They'll go
26 hours in the simulator,

251
00:13:09,344 --> 00:13:10,758
<i>thirteen hours in each seat.</i>

252
00:13:11,758 --> 00:13:15,068
Simulation can
now introduce problems

253
00:13:15,172 --> 00:13:16,862
that are hard
to introduce in the air.

254
00:13:16,965 --> 00:13:20,413
<i>Doing it with simulation
allows it to be repeated.</i>

255
00:13:20,517 --> 00:13:22,965
And then if you are ever faced
with the emergency,

256
00:13:23,068 --> 00:13:25,310
it becomes
almost a matter of routine.

257
00:13:25,413 --> 00:13:27,551
All right, <i>Connection 500,</i>
you're cleared for take-off.

258
00:13:27,655 --> 00:13:29,551
Clear for take-off.
Runway four. <i>Connection 500.</i>

259
00:13:35,068 --> 00:13:36,413
<i>Right after takeoff,</i>

260
00:13:36,517 --> 00:13:38,551
<i>the students are
faced with an emergency.</i>

261
00:13:38,655 --> 00:13:40,103
We've got a "Left engine
oil pressure."

262
00:13:41,551 --> 00:13:42,827
When you get
one of those warnings,

263
00:13:42,931 --> 00:13:44,689
don't just punch it out.
Go ahead and acknowledge it

264
00:13:44,793 --> 00:13:47,551
so both pilots are in the loop,
you're both on the same page.

265
00:13:47,655 --> 00:13:50,172
All right. We got
a "Left engine oil pressure".

266
00:13:50,275 --> 00:13:52,655
I'll take
flight controls, you run the,
uh, reference.

267
00:13:52,758 --> 00:13:54,344
I have
flight controls.

268
00:13:54,448 --> 00:13:57,448
<i>They run through
the drill again and again,</i>

269
00:13:57,551 --> 00:13:59,482
<i>because surviving
in the air depends</i>

270
00:13:59,586 --> 00:14:01,517
<i>on getting it right
in the simulator.</i>

271
00:14:03,034 --> 00:14:06,310
<i>In an actual cockpit,
even a small inconvenience can</i>

272
00:14:06,413 --> 00:14:08,310
<i>escalate into
a desperate struggle</i>

273
00:14:08,413 --> 00:14:09,827
<i>to save the airplane.</i>

274
00:14:13,379 --> 00:14:16,275
<i>February 19th, 1985.</i>

275
00:14:16,379 --> 00:14:20,517
<i>China Airlines</i> Flight 006 <i>is
tumbling through the sky.</i>

276
00:14:20,620 --> 00:14:21,931
No response, Captain!

277
00:14:23,379 --> 00:14:24,862
Air speed 80 knots and falling!

278
00:14:24,965 --> 00:14:26,689
<i>One of the engines has failed.</i>

279
00:14:26,793 --> 00:14:28,275
No response!

280
00:14:28,379 --> 00:14:30,689
<i>Their instruments
seem to be making no sense.</i>

281
00:14:32,344 --> 00:14:35,724
People just popped up
like popcorn, hitting the cabin.

282
00:14:35,827 --> 00:14:37,827
We didn't know if we were
gonna live or die.

283
00:14:38,689 --> 00:14:40,206
<i>The 747 falls</i>

284
00:14:40,310 --> 00:14:42,586
<i>more than ten kilometers
in two minutes.</i>

285
00:14:45,931 --> 00:14:47,931
<i>The pilots can
barely keep it airborne.</i>

286
00:14:49,896 --> 00:14:54,103
You know this airplane is
totally out of control.
It is going to crash.

287
00:14:56,482 --> 00:14:59,965
<i>The jet nose-dives
towards the Pacific Ocean.</i>

288
00:15:00,068 --> 00:15:02,344
<i>Then, just moments away
from impact,</i>

289
00:15:02,448 --> 00:15:04,758
<i>the crew regains
control of the plane.</i>

290
00:15:06,310 --> 00:15:07,482
<i>Oakland Center.</i>

291
00:15:07,586 --> 00:15:11,931
Dynasty 006. <i>We are
declaring an emergency.</i>

292
00:15:12,034 --> 00:15:16,068
<i>Dynasty 006,</i> Oakland Center.
You are now cleared.

293
00:15:16,172 --> 00:15:18,931
<i>You are free to descend
at pilot's discretion.</i>

294
00:15:20,758 --> 00:15:23,275
<i>After surviving
a tremendous fall,</i>

295
00:15:23,379 --> 00:15:26,724
<i>Captain Min-Yuan Ho makes
a smooth textbook landing.</i>

296
00:15:37,689 --> 00:15:40,379
<i>I thought he was
a hero. He saved our lives.</i>

297
00:15:40,482 --> 00:15:44,344
We thought he was a hero
and everything was fine.

298
00:15:44,448 --> 00:15:47,689
<i>Two dozen passengers
have suffered minor injuries.</i>

299
00:15:47,793 --> 00:15:50,724
<i>One crewmember is hospitalized
and soon released.</i>

300
00:15:53,379 --> 00:15:57,034
<i>But the 747 looks like it's
been through a war zone.</i>

301
00:16:00,034 --> 00:16:01,862
<i>Parts of the entire tailplane</i>

302
00:16:01,965 --> 00:16:03,724
<i>at the end were ripped off</i>

303
00:16:03,827 --> 00:16:05,931
as though a tornado had
come through,

304
00:16:06,034 --> 00:16:08,793
or a crane had been in
and ripped pieces out of it.

305
00:16:11,172 --> 00:16:13,482
<i>Investigators soon realize the damage</i>

306
00:16:13,586 --> 00:16:16,379
<i>to the plane wasn't
the cause of the problems,</i>

307
00:16:16,482 --> 00:16:19,862
<i>but had actually occurred
during the plane's wild plunge.</i>

308
00:16:23,620 --> 00:16:25,482
<i>They pore
through maintenance records</i>

309
00:16:25,586 --> 00:16:28,034
<i>and flight logs
to try to determine the cause</i>

310
00:16:28,137 --> 00:16:29,793
<i>of the near fatal incident.</i>

311
00:16:31,517 --> 00:16:32,551
<i>Inside the plane,</i>

312
00:16:32,655 --> 00:16:34,931
investigators find a worn valve.

313
00:16:37,448 --> 00:16:41,344
<i>It led directly to the failure
of the jet's fourth engine.</i>

314
00:16:41,448 --> 00:16:42,793
<i>But this shouldn't have caused</i>

315
00:16:42,896 --> 00:16:44,620
<i>the plane to fall
through the sky.</i>

316
00:16:47,413 --> 00:16:49,586
Engine four, flamed out.

317
00:16:49,689 --> 00:16:52,482
The loss of thrust
on a four-engine airplane is

318
00:16:52,586 --> 00:16:54,034
a minor event.

319
00:16:54,137 --> 00:16:56,379
<i>It's an event, you have
to take care of it,</i>

320
00:16:56,482 --> 00:16:58,965
<i>but the airplane will fly
on three engines</i>

321
00:16:59,068 --> 00:17:00,448
<i>with no difficulty.</i>

322
00:17:01,586 --> 00:17:04,241
I do not think I was fatigued.

323
00:17:04,344 --> 00:17:06,241
<i>The Captain tells
investigators that,</i>

324
00:17:06,344 --> 00:17:09,034
<i>while the crew was dealing
with the faulty engine,</i>

325
00:17:09,137 --> 00:17:11,965
<i>he left the autopilot
in control of the plane.</i>

326
00:17:12,896 --> 00:17:14,275
<i>But on this 747,</i>

327
00:17:14,379 --> 00:17:16,793
<i>the autopilot does not control
the rudder.</i>

328
00:17:19,310 --> 00:17:22,758
<i>Autopilots are set
to maintain stable flight.</i>

329
00:17:22,862 --> 00:17:25,758
<i>If something goes wrong,
the system tries to respond.</i>

330
00:17:27,068 --> 00:17:28,965
<i>With more engine power
on the left wing,</i>

331
00:17:29,068 --> 00:17:31,862
<i>the China Airlines jet began
turning right.</i>

332
00:17:33,413 --> 00:17:36,517
<i>The autopilot reacted by using
the plane's ailerons</i>

333
00:17:36,620 --> 00:17:40,034
<i>to try to keep
the 747 flying straight.</i>

334
00:17:40,137 --> 00:17:42,862
<i>But the ailerons weren't
up to the job.</i>

335
00:17:42,965 --> 00:17:45,413
<i>The jet kept turning.</i>

336
00:17:45,517 --> 00:17:47,103
In order to keep it
from turning to the right,

337
00:17:47,206 --> 00:17:49,758
the proper thing to do would
have been to step on the rudder.

338
00:17:49,862 --> 00:17:51,103
<i>Now it's possible
that he'd forgotten</i>

339
00:17:51,206 --> 00:17:53,793
<i>that the autopilot didn't
use the rudder.</i>

340
00:17:53,896 --> 00:17:55,172
He may have been
assuming all along

341
00:17:55,275 --> 00:17:57,137
that the autopilot was
just flying the airplane

342
00:17:57,241 --> 00:17:58,448
the way a human being would have

343
00:17:58,551 --> 00:17:59,586
which it wasn't.

344
00:18:01,655 --> 00:18:03,862
<i>Focused on his malfunctioning engine,</i>

345
00:18:03,965 --> 00:18:06,448
<i>Captain Ho left
the autopilot in control.</i>

346
00:18:07,862 --> 00:18:09,931
<i>But without the help
of the rudder,</i>

347
00:18:10,034 --> 00:18:11,965
<i>the ailerons were
losing their battle</i>

348
00:18:12,068 --> 00:18:13,000
<i>to keep the plane level.</i>

349
00:18:13,827 --> 00:18:15,758
<i>The gentle turn got steeper.</i>

350
00:18:19,551 --> 00:18:23,206
The airplane started
to lose speed and, in the end,

351
00:18:23,310 --> 00:18:27,310
it was really that little error
of airmanship,

352
00:18:27,413 --> 00:18:30,344
<i>the failure to step
on that left rudder pedal,</i>

353
00:18:30,448 --> 00:18:31,965
<i>that triggered everything else.</i>

354
00:18:33,896 --> 00:18:38,000
We're banking right, Captain.
Air speed 230.

355
00:18:38,103 --> 00:18:39,620
<i>Facing mounting problems,</i>

356
00:18:39,724 --> 00:18:42,034
<i>the captain finally takes
complete control</i>

357
00:18:42,137 --> 00:18:43,586
<i>of his aircraft.</i>

358
00:18:43,689 --> 00:18:45,137
We're banking right, Captain.

359
00:18:45,241 --> 00:18:46,551
I'm disengaging autopilot.

360
00:18:54,103 --> 00:18:55,965
<i>When the autopilot snaps off,</i>

361
00:18:56,068 --> 00:18:58,413
<i>his situation only gets worse.</i>

362
00:18:58,517 --> 00:19:01,241
<i>Without the ailerons
to control the jet's bank,</i>

363
00:19:01,344 --> 00:19:02,517
<i>the plane flips over.</i>

364
00:19:03,413 --> 00:19:05,241
<i>It plunges into thick clouds</i>

365
00:19:05,344 --> 00:19:07,724
<i>and Captain Ho is
unable to get his bearings.</i>

366
00:19:11,068 --> 00:19:13,965
<i>The crew has
no visual reference point.</i>

367
00:19:14,068 --> 00:19:16,793
<i>They have no idea
which way is up.</i>

368
00:19:16,896 --> 00:19:19,448
<i>They are totally dependent
on their attitude indicators,</i>

369
00:19:20,758 --> 00:19:22,896
<i>but they don't think
they're working properly.</i>

370
00:19:23,965 --> 00:19:24,965
I've lost ADI!

371
00:19:25,068 --> 00:19:26,758
The ADIs have malfunctioned!

372
00:19:26,862 --> 00:19:28,275
It's going out of limits!

373
00:19:30,413 --> 00:19:32,896
<i>But the instruments
had not malfunctioned.</i>

374
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,758
<i>They told the crew
an unbelievable truth.</i>

375
00:19:35,862 --> 00:19:38,344
<i>They were falling
towards the Pacific Ocean.</i>

376
00:19:41,793 --> 00:19:43,896
<i>They simply didn't
believe what they were seeing,</i>

377
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,137
<i>and they thought they had lost
their attitude instruments.</i>

378
00:19:48,241 --> 00:19:49,896
They hadn't lost
their attitude instruments.

379
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:51,586
<i>The airplane was, in fact,</i>

380
00:19:51,689 --> 00:19:53,758
<i>embarking on
an aerobatic manoeuvre.</i>

381
00:19:53,862 --> 00:19:55,413
You could see the stewardesses,

382
00:19:55,517 --> 00:19:57,965
all the people who didn't
have their seatbelts on,

383
00:19:58,068 --> 00:19:58,965
they were flying.

384
00:20:07,724 --> 00:20:10,413
<i>It's only when
the plane finally breaks free
of the clouds</i>

385
00:20:10,517 --> 00:20:13,586
<i>that Captain Ho is
able to regain control
of his plane...</i>

386
00:20:14,344 --> 00:20:16,275
I can see the horizon!

387
00:20:16,379 --> 00:20:18,620
<i>...because he now has
a visual reference.</i>

388
00:20:25,103 --> 00:20:27,620
<i>By the time
Captain Ho takes full control,</i>

389
00:20:27,724 --> 00:20:28,965
<i>it was almost too late.</i>

390
00:20:31,034 --> 00:20:32,896
<i>The near fatal dive highlights</i>

391
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:34,655
<i>the need for pilots to avoid</i>

392
00:20:34,758 --> 00:20:36,827
<i>relying too much
on their computers.</i>

393
00:20:42,344 --> 00:20:44,448
So, what automation has done,
in a sense, is

394
00:20:44,551 --> 00:20:46,896
taken pilots and taken them

395
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,448
from being hands-on, kind of,
controllers of the machine

396
00:20:50,551 --> 00:20:52,517
to monitors
of what the automation is

397
00:20:52,620 --> 00:20:53,862
doing to the machine.

398
00:20:53,965 --> 00:20:55,862
You really are just sitting
there with your arms folded,

399
00:20:55,965 --> 00:20:59,413
and this goes on for hour
after hour after hour,

400
00:20:59,517 --> 00:21:02,896
and, understandably,
people become stupefied.

401
00:21:06,068 --> 00:21:08,448
<i>But whatever mistakes
the flight crew made,</i>

402
00:21:08,551 --> 00:21:11,827
<i>they did succeed
in their ultimate task.</i>

403
00:21:11,931 --> 00:21:17,310
The one big thing they did right
is they saved the airplane.

404
00:21:17,413 --> 00:21:20,827
<i>And, in principle, that's all
you ever need to do right.</i>

405
00:21:20,931 --> 00:21:22,379
You need to save the airplane

406
00:21:22,482 --> 00:21:23,827
and you need to save
the passengers.

407
00:21:23,931 --> 00:21:25,103
And that's what they did.

408
00:21:26,965 --> 00:21:28,482
<i>Student pilots practice</i>

409
00:21:28,586 --> 00:21:31,137
<i>emergencies again
and again to ensure</i>

410
00:21:31,241 --> 00:21:34,275
<i>that, when disaster strikes,
they handle it correctly.</i>

411
00:21:36,034 --> 00:21:39,689
<i>Automation is an enormous aid
to long-distance flying.</i>

412
00:21:39,793 --> 00:21:41,689
<i>But if a crew doesn't
fully understand</i>

413
00:21:41,793 --> 00:21:43,413
<i>how their plane works,</i>

414
00:21:43,517 --> 00:21:45,413
<i>they can quickly get
into a situation</i>

415
00:21:45,517 --> 00:21:47,068
<i>from which they cannot escape.</i>

416
00:21:48,172 --> 00:21:50,000
Autopilot engaged.

417
00:21:50,103 --> 00:21:51,310
Autopilot engaged.

418
00:21:54,724 --> 00:21:57,379
<i>Ten years</i>
after the China Airlines mishap,

419
00:21:57,482 --> 00:22:01,586
<i>another crew is baffled</i>
by a more complicated autopilot,

420
00:22:01,689 --> 00:22:04,724
<i>and fails to take control
until it's too late.</i>

421
00:22:15,827 --> 00:22:19,827
<i>March 1994, Siberia.</i>

422
00:22:19,931 --> 00:22:21,965
<i>Search parties comb
through the wreckage</i>

423
00:22:22,068 --> 00:22:25,172
<i>of Russian International
Airlines Flight 593.</i>

424
00:22:26,206 --> 00:22:28,896
All 75 people on board are dead.

425
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,310
<i>The plane was one
of the newest in the fleet,</i>

426
00:22:34,413 --> 00:22:37,206
<i>a European-built Airbus A310.</i>

427
00:22:40,448 --> 00:22:42,448
Listening to the cockpit voices,

428
00:22:42,551 --> 00:22:45,034
<i>investigators are shocked
by what they hear.</i>

429
00:22:45,137 --> 00:22:47,310
- <i>I am
turning it left!</i>
- <i>Okay, get out!</i>

430
00:22:47,413 --> 00:22:48,862
<i>Get it to the left!
The ground is right there!</i>

431
00:22:48,965 --> 00:22:51,620
<i>Children's voices
in the cockpit.</i>

432
00:22:51,724 --> 00:22:53,448
<i>They are stunned
when they realize</i>

433
00:22:53,551 --> 00:22:56,344
<i>these children had
operated the flight controls.</i>

434
00:23:00,724 --> 00:23:02,448
<i>The children were
the son and daughter</i>

435
00:23:02,551 --> 00:23:05,724
<i>of the pilot in command,
Captain Yaroslav Kudrinsky.</i>

436
00:23:07,758 --> 00:23:09,655
<i>Investigators begin
to piece together</i>

437
00:23:09,758 --> 00:23:11,724
<i>an almost unbelievable story.</i>

438
00:23:14,931 --> 00:23:18,517
<i>On the evening
of March 22nd, 1994,</i>

439
00:23:18,620 --> 00:23:20,172
<i>Flight 593 begins</i>

440
00:23:20,275 --> 00:23:22,758
<i>its scheduled ten-hour journey
to Hong Kong.</i>

441
00:23:26,517 --> 00:23:28,379
<i>Several hours
into the jet's flight,</i>

442
00:23:28,482 --> 00:23:30,827
<i>the aircraft is
cruising on autopilot.</i>

443
00:23:33,655 --> 00:23:35,344
<i>On board are two children</i>

444
00:23:35,448 --> 00:23:37,689
<i>taking their first
international flight,</i>

445
00:23:37,793 --> 00:23:39,689
<i>Yana and Eldar Kudrinsky.</i>

446
00:23:42,068 --> 00:23:44,482
<i>A family friend
and fellow pilot brings</i>

447
00:23:44,586 --> 00:23:46,827
<i>the children in
to see their father.</i>

448
00:23:46,931 --> 00:23:50,931
- Hi, Dad.
- This is First Officer
Igor Vasilyevich Piskaryov.

449
00:23:51,034 --> 00:23:53,448
<i>It's the beginning
of a deadly chain of events.</i>

450
00:23:53,551 --> 00:23:55,206
What do you think
of our new airplane?

451
00:23:55,310 --> 00:23:56,689
It's very nice.

452
00:23:56,793 --> 00:23:58,413
It's amazing.

453
00:24:01,275 --> 00:24:05,310
<i>Flight 593 is now
over 2000 miles east of Moscow,</i>

454
00:24:05,413 --> 00:24:07,068
<i>near the middle of Siberia.</i>

455
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,172
<i>Secure in the knowledge
that the autopilot is</i>

456
00:24:11,275 --> 00:24:12,551
<i>flying the plane,</i>

457
00:24:12,655 --> 00:24:15,206
<i>Captain Kudrinsky allows
his children to sit</i>

458
00:24:15,310 --> 00:24:17,965
<i>in the pilot's seat
and hold the controls.</i>

459
00:24:21,448 --> 00:24:24,103
<i>Unlike the China Airlines 747,</i>

460
00:24:24,206 --> 00:24:27,413
the more sophisticated autopilot
<i>on this jet can control</i>

461
00:24:27,517 --> 00:24:30,034
<i>every part of the plane,
including the rudder.</i>

462
00:24:32,793 --> 00:24:36,379
<i>Eldar's small pressure
on the controls
actually turns off</i>

463
00:24:36,482 --> 00:24:38,482
<i>part of the autopilot.</i>

464
00:24:38,586 --> 00:24:40,689
<i>Eldar is now
manually controlling</i>

465
00:24:40,793 --> 00:24:43,137
<i>the jet's ailerons.</i>

466
00:24:43,241 --> 00:24:46,758
<i>Imperceptibly at first,
the plane begins to bank.</i>

467
00:24:48,931 --> 00:24:50,586
<i>No one in the cockpit responds</i>

468
00:24:50,689 --> 00:24:53,275
<i>to the gradual change
in direction.</i>

469
00:24:53,379 --> 00:24:56,344
<i>And the very design
of the plane hides the fact</i>

470
00:24:56,448 --> 00:24:58,517
<i>that the jet is
on the brink of disaster.</i>

471
00:24:58,620 --> 00:25:00,620
Yes, it is.

472
00:25:00,724 --> 00:25:02,586
Another peculiarity of the plane

473
00:25:02,689 --> 00:25:05,310
is that it has no alarm
signaling the disengaging

474
00:25:05,413 --> 00:25:07,310
of the autopilot
in the list channel,

475
00:25:11,344 --> 00:25:13,448
while our Russian planes have

476
00:25:13,551 --> 00:25:15,655
an alarm sounding
in such an event.

477
00:25:18,172 --> 00:25:19,896
<i>The Autopilot is
still controlling</i>

478
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,241
<i>the plane's other functions.</i>

479
00:25:22,344 --> 00:25:25,206
<i>Only the ailerons are
in Eldar's hands.</i>

480
00:25:25,310 --> 00:25:27,620
<i>But it's enough
to affect the plane's flight.</i>

481
00:25:33,724 --> 00:25:37,482
<i>Moments later, the Airbus is
banking at 45 degrees.</i>

482
00:25:43,448 --> 00:25:46,344
<i>The force of the turn pushes
everyone into their seats.</i>

483
00:25:50,724 --> 00:25:51,586
Guys!

484
00:25:58,482 --> 00:26:00,724
<i>The increased G-force
makes it difficult</i>

485
00:26:00,827 --> 00:26:02,241
<i>to reach the controls.</i>

486
00:26:02,344 --> 00:26:05,689
Okay, hold it.
Hold the control column.

487
00:26:05,793 --> 00:26:09,344
<i>Eldar is the only one</i>
with both hands on the controls.

488
00:26:11,620 --> 00:26:14,413
<i>The speed of the turn is
pushing him back in his seat.</i>

489
00:26:14,517 --> 00:26:17,172
- The other way!
- Turn it to the left.

490
00:26:17,275 --> 00:26:18,551
I am turning it left!

491
00:26:18,655 --> 00:26:19,655
Okay, get out!

492
00:26:21,413 --> 00:26:23,241
<i>But Eldar can't leave.</i>

493
00:26:23,344 --> 00:26:25,827
<i>His body feels
twice its normal weight.</i>

494
00:26:31,172 --> 00:26:33,379
<i>Suddenly, an alarm sounds.</i>

495
00:26:33,482 --> 00:26:35,517
<i>The autopilot is shutting down.</i>

496
00:26:37,965 --> 00:26:40,655
<i>When the jet reaches
such an extreme position,</i>

497
00:26:40,758 --> 00:26:43,517
<i>the autopilot is designed
to completely disengage.</i>

498
00:26:44,517 --> 00:26:45,827
<i>It's a safety feature,</i>

499
00:26:45,931 --> 00:26:48,068
<i>to put the pilot
back in complete control.</i>

500
00:26:50,965 --> 00:26:54,068
<i>But in this case, a teenager is
in the captain's seat.</i>

501
00:26:57,344 --> 00:27:00,758
<i>The plane begins
to dive towards the ground.</i>

502
00:27:00,862 --> 00:27:03,172
Get it to the left!
There's the ground!

503
00:27:03,275 --> 00:27:05,862
<i>The plane dives
at an incredible speed,</i>

504
00:27:05,965 --> 00:27:09,379
<i>plunging over 200 meters
per second.</i>

505
00:27:09,482 --> 00:27:11,000
<i>For the passengers,
it's like having</i>

506
00:27:11,103 --> 00:27:13,206
<i>an elevator suddenly fall out
from under them.</i>

507
00:27:15,206 --> 00:27:17,517
Get out.
Get out.

508
00:27:17,620 --> 00:27:19,275
<i>Captain Kudrinsky
fights his way</i>

509
00:27:19,379 --> 00:27:20,482
<i>back to the pilot's seat.</i>

510
00:27:22,413 --> 00:27:24,965
<i>But it's too late
to save</i> Flight 593.

511
00:27:36,172 --> 00:27:37,793
<i>As in
the China Airlines incident</i>

512
00:27:37,896 --> 00:27:40,034
<i>almost a decade before,</i>

513
00:27:40,137 --> 00:27:42,620
<i>the Russian crew was
confused by their automation.</i>

514
00:27:43,931 --> 00:27:46,620
<i>But in this case,
they couldn't regain control</i>

515
00:27:46,724 --> 00:27:48,758
<i>until it was too late.</i>

516
00:27:48,862 --> 00:27:52,068
<i>The accident began,
not with a mechanical problem,</i>

517
00:27:52,172 --> 00:27:55,620
<i>but with a simple decision made
by a very experienced pilot.</i>

518
00:27:55,724 --> 00:27:58,172
I've never heard
of anything like that

519
00:27:58,275 --> 00:27:59,862
before or since.

520
00:27:59,965 --> 00:28:03,206
<i>It was very unprofessional
on the part of the captain.</i>

521
00:28:03,310 --> 00:28:06,310
<i>The First Officer also bears
some responsibility</i>

522
00:28:06,413 --> 00:28:09,551
<i>for not raising
major objections immediately.</i>

523
00:28:09,655 --> 00:28:12,896
To allow someone unqualified
to sit in the seat

524
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,413
of a commercial airliner
is unthinkable.

525
00:28:18,137 --> 00:28:20,793
<i>The crew's mistake was
compounded because they didn't</i>

526
00:28:20,896 --> 00:28:23,206
<i>fully understand
their computerized systems.</i>

527
00:28:23,310 --> 00:28:25,310
We've gone into a zone.
A holding pattern.

528
00:28:27,103 --> 00:28:28,275
<i>Ten years later,</i>

529
00:28:28,379 --> 00:28:31,965
<i>another experienced pilot gets
confused by his instruments.</i>

530
00:28:33,206 --> 00:28:35,551
<i>And this time,
the situation is complicated</i>

531
00:28:35,655 --> 00:28:39,275
<i>by a common sensation
pilots are trained to ignore.</i>

532
00:28:45,310 --> 00:28:47,137
<i>Paul Mauro is
an instructor</i>

533
00:28:47,241 --> 00:28:49,310
<i>at the Delta Connection Academy
in Florida.</i>

534
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,586
<i>His job is to put students</i>

535
00:28:52,689 --> 00:28:55,310
<i>in extremely uncomfortable
situations</i>

536
00:28:55,413 --> 00:28:58,172
<i>and then get them
to land safely.</i>

537
00:28:58,275 --> 00:29:00,862
Upset recovery is where we take
a student, or any pilot,

538
00:29:00,965 --> 00:29:03,551
and we try to get them
the ability to recover

539
00:29:03,655 --> 00:29:06,000
their aircraft from
an unusual attitude or an upset,

540
00:29:06,103 --> 00:29:10,862
such as wake turbulence,
wind shear, unintentional stall.

541
00:29:10,965 --> 00:29:13,000
We're going to do
a low-level pass

542
00:29:13,103 --> 00:29:15,034
and bring her right down
to the edge of the runway

543
00:29:15,137 --> 00:29:16,413
and then,
just about halfway down,

544
00:29:16,517 --> 00:29:17,896
we're going to break up
and demonstrate

545
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:19,965
how quickly we can
get the aircraft

546
00:29:20,068 --> 00:29:21,344
into a nose-high situation.

547
00:29:24,034 --> 00:29:25,068
At that point
we're experiencing,

548
00:29:25,172 --> 00:29:27,241
in that first portion
of the pull up,

549
00:29:27,344 --> 00:29:29,206
we're experiencing
the max G load in that turn.

550
00:29:29,310 --> 00:29:32,068
We're hitting just about six,
six and a half Gs for that pull.

551
00:29:32,172 --> 00:29:34,793
At six Gs you're experiencing
six times your body weight.

552
00:29:34,896 --> 00:29:37,172
I weigh 200 pounds.
So six times that,

553
00:29:37,275 --> 00:29:40,310
at that point I feel like
I weigh 1200 pounds to my body.

554
00:29:40,413 --> 00:29:42,551
It feels like I'm being
squeezed completely,

555
00:29:42,655 --> 00:29:44,793
all over my entire body.
It feels like my face is

556
00:29:44,896 --> 00:29:46,655
kind of peeling down over you.

557
00:29:46,758 --> 00:29:49,448
And it's just a... once you get
used to it, it's kind of fun.

558
00:29:52,724 --> 00:29:55,275
<i>In a tightly-controlled situation,</i>

559
00:29:55,379 --> 00:29:57,241
<i>with an instructor
in the next seat,</i>

560
00:29:59,655 --> 00:30:03,206
<i>a student pilot learns to cope</i>
with intense physical sensations

561
00:30:03,310 --> 00:30:05,379
<i>that can disorient and confuse.</i>

562
00:30:06,620 --> 00:30:08,758
<i>Pilots have to overcome
these sensations</i>

563
00:30:08,862 --> 00:30:10,103
<i>and even ignore them.</i>

564
00:30:12,344 --> 00:30:14,758
<i>Trusting what your body is
telling you can</i>

565
00:30:14,862 --> 00:30:16,275
<i>have deadly results.</i>

566
00:30:22,103 --> 00:30:24,482
<i>January 3rd , 2004.</i>

567
00:30:26,068 --> 00:30:29,137
<i>A Flash Airlines charter flight
is preparing to depart</i>

568
00:30:29,241 --> 00:30:32,344
<i>from the popular tourist resort
of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.</i>

569
00:30:34,551 --> 00:30:37,275
<i>One hundred and forty-eight
people are on board.</i>

570
00:30:37,379 --> 00:30:39,310
Good morning,
ladies and gentlemen.

571
00:30:39,413 --> 00:30:41,862
On behalf of Captain Khedr
and his entire crew,

572
00:30:41,965 --> 00:30:44,172
we welcome you
on board Flash Airlines

573
00:30:44,275 --> 00:30:46,551
<i>Boeing 737-300.</i>

574
00:30:48,379 --> 00:30:51,379
<i>The captain is
53-year-old Khedr Abdullah,</i>

575
00:30:51,482 --> 00:30:53,793
<i>a former officer
in the Egyptian Air Force.</i>

576
00:30:55,103 --> 00:30:58,758
<i>He has over 7000 hours
flying experience.</i>

577
00:30:58,862 --> 00:31:00,413
Clouds and sky clear.

578
00:31:03,103 --> 00:31:04,931
<i>In the darkness
before dawn,</i>

579
00:31:05,034 --> 00:31:07,000
<i>Captain Khedr
and his crew execute</i>

580
00:31:07,103 --> 00:31:09,344
<i>a smooth take-off.</i>

581
00:31:09,448 --> 00:31:11,517
<i>Flying manually,
they haven't yet engaged</i>

582
00:31:11,620 --> 00:31:12,827
<i>the plane's autopilot.</i>

583
00:31:13,793 --> 00:31:15,482
<i>But while still climbing,</i>

584
00:31:15,586 --> 00:31:18,344
<i>the flight plan is already
beginning to fall apart.</i>

585
00:31:18,448 --> 00:31:19,517
Turning right, sir.

586
00:31:19,620 --> 00:31:22,862
- What?
- Aircraft is turning right.

587
00:31:22,965 --> 00:31:25,137
Turning right?
How turning right?

588
00:31:31,068 --> 00:31:32,000
Overbank!

589
00:31:32,620 --> 00:31:33,448
Autopilot!

590
00:31:34,896 --> 00:31:36,034
Autopilot's in command.

591
00:31:37,034 --> 00:31:39,137
Autopilot! Autopilot!

592
00:31:41,379 --> 00:31:42,551
No autopilot, commander.

593
00:31:57,068 --> 00:31:58,517
No, God!

594
00:32:12,586 --> 00:32:13,862
<i>In the morning light,</i>

595
00:32:13,965 --> 00:32:17,586
<i>investigators find no one has
survived the horrific accident.</i>

596
00:32:19,275 --> 00:32:20,620
The plane had just taken off

597
00:32:20,724 --> 00:32:23,275
and it looked very strange

598
00:32:23,379 --> 00:32:26,068
why this accident happened
so quickly after take-off.

599
00:32:27,379 --> 00:32:29,655
<i>French and American investigators join</i>

600
00:32:29,758 --> 00:32:31,379
<i>Egyptian authorities
in the search.</i>

601
00:32:33,206 --> 00:32:35,931
<i>It takes two weeks
just to find and recover</i>

602
00:32:36,034 --> 00:32:38,000
<i>the cockpit voice
and flight data recorders.</i>

603
00:32:42,137 --> 00:32:45,103
<i>Investigators explore
dozens of possibilities,</i>

604
00:32:45,206 --> 00:32:48,241
<i>including the idea</i>
the crash was caused by vertigo.

605
00:32:49,793 --> 00:32:51,655
Vertigo is
a physiological condition

606
00:32:51,758 --> 00:32:53,689
and it's based on the inner ear.

607
00:32:53,793 --> 00:32:55,103
<i>Over a dark ocean,</i>

608
00:32:55,206 --> 00:32:57,448
<i>without a defined
visual horizon,</i>

609
00:32:57,551 --> 00:32:58,689
<i>no ground lights,</i>

610
00:32:58,793 --> 00:33:02,448
the pilot may not be able
to perceive visually

611
00:33:02,551 --> 00:33:06,172
whether he was flying up,
down, left or right.

612
00:33:06,275 --> 00:33:09,206
And if the fluid
in his inner ear was moving,

613
00:33:09,310 --> 00:33:10,724
or he tilted his head,

614
00:33:10,827 --> 00:33:12,827
<i>that may induce a sensation,</i>

615
00:33:12,931 --> 00:33:14,758
a physiological sensation,

616
00:33:14,862 --> 00:33:16,551
that may cause
the pilot to believe

617
00:33:16,655 --> 00:33:17,965
<i>the airplane is
flying straight and level</i>

618
00:33:18,068 --> 00:33:19,482
<i>when it's actually turning.</i>

619
00:33:21,137 --> 00:33:22,896
Roger when ready. <i>Inshallah.</i>

620
00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,068
Left turn to establish 306.

621
00:33:25,172 --> 00:33:26,103
Sharm VOR.

622
00:33:29,482 --> 00:33:31,724
<i>As the plane banked
over the Red Sea,</i>

623
00:33:31,827 --> 00:33:33,931
<i>it slowly began
going off course.</i>

624
00:33:41,103 --> 00:33:43,137
<i>But the pilot says nothing.</i>

625
00:33:43,241 --> 00:33:44,620
<i>It seems that he's unaware</i>

626
00:33:44,724 --> 00:33:46,827
<i>of the changes
to his flight path.</i>

627
00:33:46,931 --> 00:33:49,689
It is actually
a very high work-load situation.

628
00:33:49,793 --> 00:33:52,172
And when there are
no visual cues outside

629
00:33:52,275 --> 00:33:54,724
because it's a moonless night,

630
00:33:54,827 --> 00:33:56,586
and you're
over featureless territory

631
00:33:56,689 --> 00:33:58,586
<i>with no lights in it,</i>

632
00:33:58,689 --> 00:34:01,586
you, really,
as a professional pilot, should

633
00:34:01,689 --> 00:34:05,931
be totally aware of the fact
that this is a situation

634
00:34:06,034 --> 00:34:09,241
in which you could
get disorientated.

635
00:34:11,379 --> 00:34:15,137
<i>Precisely what
the captain perceived
is unknown.</i>

636
00:34:15,241 --> 00:34:17,896
<i>What is known is that
his control wheel slowly inched</i>

637
00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:19,241
<i>towards the right.</i>

638
00:34:21,206 --> 00:34:23,034
Turning right, sir.

639
00:34:23,137 --> 00:34:25,586
- What?
- Aircraft is turning right.

640
00:34:26,620 --> 00:34:27,896
How turning right?

641
00:34:29,827 --> 00:34:31,517
In this particular instance,

642
00:34:31,620 --> 00:34:33,551
not only are you trying
to fly the airplane

643
00:34:33,655 --> 00:34:36,000
and understand situationally
what's happening,

644
00:34:36,103 --> 00:34:37,862
but you're going through
the mental gymnastics

645
00:34:37,965 --> 00:34:40,000
because your expectations
are one way.

646
00:34:40,103 --> 00:34:41,413
<i>Meanwhile, you have
the first officer,</i>

647
00:34:41,517 --> 00:34:43,413
<i>who's telling him something
that's totally different.</i>

648
00:34:45,551 --> 00:34:47,517
<i>Even with
all the conflicting information</i>

649
00:34:47,620 --> 00:34:49,931
<i>he was getting,
investigators discover</i>

650
00:34:50,034 --> 00:34:53,000
<i>that Captain Khedr almost
recovered control of his plane.</i>

651
00:34:55,344 --> 00:34:57,793
It is interesting
that the recovery starts

652
00:34:57,896 --> 00:35:00,241
as the airplane turns
towards the coastline.

653
00:35:00,344 --> 00:35:02,310
<i>The lights on the shore would
have given the pilot</i>

654
00:35:02,413 --> 00:35:07,310
<i>a clear and unmistakable view
of the aircraft's attitude.</i>

655
00:35:07,413 --> 00:35:10,689
This is the moment that
the disorientation disappears

656
00:35:10,793 --> 00:35:13,896
and this is the moment
that the recovery begins.

657
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,793
Sadly there isn't enough time
to save the aircraft.

658
00:35:19,206 --> 00:35:20,655
<i>The tragic fact remains</i>

659
00:35:20,758 --> 00:35:23,413
<i>that Captain Khedr had
all the information he needed</i>

660
00:35:23,517 --> 00:35:25,758
<i>to save the plane
right in front of him.</i>

661
00:35:27,344 --> 00:35:30,206
The thing that is important
when you're experiencing

662
00:35:30,310 --> 00:35:32,862
spatial disorientation
or vertigo is

663
00:35:32,965 --> 00:35:36,034
to put absolute implicit trust
in your instruments,

664
00:35:36,137 --> 00:35:38,034
that they are
telling you the truth.

665
00:35:38,137 --> 00:35:40,482
<i>And that whatever
your sensation is, is</i>

666
00:35:40,586 --> 00:35:43,724
<i>a limitation of human beings.
Trust the instruments.</i>

667
00:35:46,551 --> 00:35:48,965
<i>It's a lesson
that's hammered home every day</i>

668
00:35:49,068 --> 00:35:51,586
at the Delta Connection Academy.

669
00:35:51,689 --> 00:35:54,758
<i>Brian Patrycia is one of dozens
of students here who wants</i>

670
00:35:54,862 --> 00:35:56,931
<i>to fly
commercial passenger jets.</i>

671
00:35:58,241 --> 00:36:00,482
<i>It's a goal
that's still years away.</i>

672
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:03,724
It should take me
between five to six years

673
00:36:03,827 --> 00:36:07,448
at a regional airline before
I move onto the major airlines.

674
00:36:07,551 --> 00:36:09,379
<i>It's
a typical journey.</i>

675
00:36:09,482 --> 00:36:12,034
<i>Senior crewmembers
for international carriers</i>

676
00:36:12,137 --> 00:36:15,931
<i>often have thousands of hours
of flying under their belt.</i>

677
00:36:16,034 --> 00:36:17,931
<i>But each one of them started
with none.</i>

678
00:36:19,689 --> 00:36:20,965
There's a very old saying
that says,

679
00:36:21,068 --> 00:36:23,655
"As soon as you feel
like you are no longer learning

680
00:36:23,758 --> 00:36:25,172
with aviation, get out of it,"

681
00:36:26,068 --> 00:36:27,000
because it's gonna hurt you.

682
00:36:27,965 --> 00:36:29,103
Training is ongoing.

683
00:36:29,206 --> 00:36:34,137
Recurrent training is
an integral part of safe flying.

684
00:36:34,241 --> 00:36:37,896
<i>The reason we have
the safe level of flight
that we do today is,</i>

685
00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,413
<i>in a very large part,
because of the adequacy</i>

686
00:36:40,517 --> 00:36:42,965
<i>and completeness
of the training.</i>

687
00:36:43,068 --> 00:36:44,620
<i>Relying on your instruments,</i>

688
00:36:44,724 --> 00:36:46,862
<i>trusting your automation is one</i>

689
00:36:46,965 --> 00:36:49,551
<i>of the most fundamental lessons
of flight training.</i>

690
00:36:51,241 --> 00:36:53,448
Insert the ignition key,

691
00:36:53,551 --> 00:36:55,379
clear the propeller area,
and then start the engine.

692
00:37:03,896 --> 00:37:07,862
<i>Every safe flight,</i>
from small planes to jumbo jets,

693
00:37:07,965 --> 00:37:10,620
<i>depends on pilot
and plane working together.</i>

694
00:37:12,379 --> 00:37:15,310
<i>But even if
a jet's technology is crippled,</i>

695
00:37:15,413 --> 00:37:17,517
modern planes are so well built,

696
00:37:17,620 --> 00:37:20,172
<i>pilots can
still bring them safely down.</i>

697
00:37:23,965 --> 00:37:27,310
<i>August 24th, 2001.</i>

698
00:37:27,413 --> 00:37:29,482
<i>Air Transat</i> Flight 236 <i>is</i>

699
00:37:29,586 --> 00:37:32,310
<i>carrying 306 passengers
and crew.</i>

700
00:37:34,137 --> 00:37:37,103
<i>Bound for Portugal,</i>
the Airbus is in serious trouble

701
00:37:37,206 --> 00:37:39,344
<i>high above the Atlantic Ocean.</i>

702
00:37:39,448 --> 00:37:41,827
You could
literally hear a pin drop.

703
00:37:41,931 --> 00:37:45,241
The exterior... there was
no sound in that plane,
in that cabin at all.

704
00:37:47,068 --> 00:37:48,551
<i>The airplane is
so silent</i>

705
00:37:48,655 --> 00:37:51,172
<i>because it's run out of fuel.</i>

706
00:37:51,275 --> 00:37:54,620
<i>A state-of-the-art jet is
now a very heavy glider.</i>

707
00:37:54,724 --> 00:37:57,620
Functions we've lost,
we have no more stabilizer.

708
00:37:57,724 --> 00:38:00,793
- Blue
and yellow hydraulic.
- No ADR two and three,

709
00:38:00,896 --> 00:38:02,103
no anti-skid, no reversers.

710
00:38:02,206 --> 00:38:04,896
<i>The technology that</i>
normally keeps planes flying has

711
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,551
<i>deserted the crew.</i>

712
00:38:06,655 --> 00:38:09,034
<i>The jet is 10 kilometers
in the sky</i>

713
00:38:09,137 --> 00:38:11,137
<i>without the most essential instruments.</i>

714
00:38:12,448 --> 00:38:16,137
<i>Captain Robert Piche
and Co-Pilot Dirk De Jager have</i>

715
00:38:16,241 --> 00:38:18,724
<i>to find a way
to get it safely back to Earth.</i>

716
00:38:21,413 --> 00:38:23,896
<i>For the first four hours
of their journey from Canada</i>

717
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,827
<i>to Portugal,
the flight is unremarkable.</i>

718
00:38:26,931 --> 00:38:28,724
We're getting
to our next checkpoint.

719
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,931
<i>Every 30 minutes
across the Atlantic,</i>

720
00:38:32,034 --> 00:38:33,793
<i>the crew had
checked their position</i>

721
00:38:33,896 --> 00:38:36,724
<i>and their fuel consumption
against their flight plan.</i>

722
00:38:36,827 --> 00:38:41,000
...two tons on the right,
11.2 tons on the left.

723
00:38:41,103 --> 00:38:42,896
<i>Despite the computerized systems,</i>

724
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,482
<i>some procedures like checking
the fuel on board are</i>

725
00:38:45,586 --> 00:38:46,896
<i>done by hand.</i>

726
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,517
Fuel check complete. Level's
normal for the distance flown.

727
00:38:50,206 --> 00:38:51,482
All right.

728
00:38:56,068 --> 00:38:58,000
<i>But then,
a small alarm breaks</i>

729
00:38:58,103 --> 00:38:59,931
<i>the air of routine
in the cockpit.</i>

730
00:39:03,448 --> 00:39:06,275
Look, we're getting
a warning signal.

731
00:39:07,586 --> 00:39:11,310
Oil temp low
and oil pressure high
on number two.

732
00:39:11,413 --> 00:39:12,793
<i>The computer display shows</i>

733
00:39:12,896 --> 00:39:16,655
<i>that the oil temperature is low
in engine number two.</i>

734
00:39:16,758 --> 00:39:20,034
<i>But it also shows
that the oil pressure is high.</i>

735
00:39:20,137 --> 00:39:21,931
Look in the QRH
for more information.

736
00:39:22,034 --> 00:39:26,689
A low oil temperature indication
<i>is normally indicative</i>

737
00:39:26,793 --> 00:39:29,103
<i>of bad readings, a bad sensor.</i>

738
00:39:29,206 --> 00:39:32,689
Oil temperatures don't decrease,
<i>normally, they increase.</i>

739
00:39:32,793 --> 00:39:36,137
A low oil temperature would be
of no concern.

740
00:39:36,241 --> 00:39:40,862
The high oil pressure is
a very strange indication.

741
00:39:40,965 --> 00:39:42,620
Uh, it's... it's very rare.

742
00:39:42,724 --> 00:39:45,344
<i>In fact I've never
actually heard of one.</i>

743
00:39:45,448 --> 00:39:47,758
<i>The oil readings are
so unusual,</i>

744
00:39:47,862 --> 00:39:51,344
<i>the pilots believe they might
indicate a computer error.</i>

745
00:39:51,448 --> 00:39:54,793
<i>But Captain and First Officer
keep monitoring the oil levels.</i>

746
00:39:58,689 --> 00:40:01,137
<i>Thirty minutes
after the first alarm goes off,</i>

747
00:40:01,241 --> 00:40:04,103
<i>another warning sounds
inside the Airbus.</i>

748
00:40:04,206 --> 00:40:05,517
"Fuel imbalance warning."

749
00:40:06,344 --> 00:40:07,689
I haven't seen that before.

750
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:11,793
Follow all ECAM action.
I have Air Traffic Control.

751
00:40:15,344 --> 00:40:17,034
<i>In the Airbus 330,</i>

752
00:40:17,137 --> 00:40:20,379
<i>most of the fuel is contained
in large tanks on the wings.</i>

753
00:40:21,275 --> 00:40:22,586
<i>The computer had detected</i>

754
00:40:22,689 --> 00:40:25,793
that the fuel level on the right
<i>is significantly lower</i>

755
00:40:25,896 --> 00:40:26,965
<i>than the level on the left.</i>

756
00:40:29,068 --> 00:40:30,689
<i>The flight manual recommends</i>

757
00:40:30,793 --> 00:40:34,586
<i>transferring fuel through
a special cross feed valve.</i>

758
00:40:34,689 --> 00:40:37,344
<i>Fuel will then flow
from one tank to the other.</i>

759
00:40:39,275 --> 00:40:42,068
<i>Once you begin
the cross-feeding procedure</i>

760
00:40:42,172 --> 00:40:44,000
<i>to correct the fuel imbalance,</i>

761
00:40:44,103 --> 00:40:48,241
restorative action should
commence quite quickly.

762
00:40:48,344 --> 00:40:50,103
In other words,
the situation would

763
00:40:50,206 --> 00:40:53,275
not continue to get worse.

764
00:40:53,379 --> 00:40:56,275
<i>Even though the crew
is following proper procedures,</i>

765
00:40:56,379 --> 00:40:58,793
<i>the situation does get worse.</i>

766
00:40:58,896 --> 00:41:01,827
The fuel quantity isn't rising
in the tanks of the right wing.

767
00:41:01,931 --> 00:41:04,965
- Check fuel quantity.
- It's very low, hold on.

768
00:41:05,068 --> 00:41:07,310
It's much less fuel
than we should have.
It looks like a fuel leak.

769
00:41:10,482 --> 00:41:12,482
Check again.

770
00:41:12,586 --> 00:41:16,862
The systems monitor hundreds
and hundreds of sensors.

771
00:41:16,965 --> 00:41:21,000
And, you know,
they can be affected by...

772
00:41:21,103 --> 00:41:24,896
you know, such mundane things
as a little bit of frost or ice

773
00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,413
on a sensor can...
cause it to present bad data.

774
00:41:31,482 --> 00:41:34,206
<i>But, in fact,
the reading is accurate.</i>

775
00:41:34,310 --> 00:41:37,000
<i>There's a serious leak
in one of the engines,</i>

776
00:41:37,103 --> 00:41:38,862
<i>and Piche has been transferring</i>

777
00:41:38,965 --> 00:41:42,172
<i>precious fuel
into the leaking tank.</i>

778
00:41:42,275 --> 00:41:45,137
<i>The fact is confirmed
when Co-Pilot DeJager completes</i>

779
00:41:45,241 --> 00:41:46,620
<i>another fuel check.</i>

780
00:41:47,482 --> 00:41:49,034
According to all the gauges,

781
00:41:49,137 --> 00:41:50,620
all the tanks
on the right wing are way below

782
00:41:50,724 --> 00:41:53,241
the level they should be,
according to the flight plan.

783
00:41:53,344 --> 00:41:56,517
And... there's hardly anything
in the other ones.

784
00:41:56,620 --> 00:41:58,862
- What about the trim tank?
- There's nothing there either.

785
00:42:03,620 --> 00:42:05,241
<i>With every passing second,</i>

786
00:42:05,344 --> 00:42:08,068
<i>the leak drains the tanks
of their remaining fuel</i>

787
00:42:09,551 --> 00:42:10,758
<i>until, finally...</i>

788
00:42:11,793 --> 00:42:13,517
<i>the jet is running on empty.</i>

789
00:42:16,758 --> 00:42:19,827
We're losing engine number two.
I don't believe this.

790
00:42:19,931 --> 00:42:21,896
Okay, maximum thrust
on number one.

791
00:42:25,137 --> 00:42:27,034
Um, what's going on?

792
00:42:27,137 --> 00:42:30,448
Try to transfer fuel
from center tank
and the trim tank.

793
00:42:30,551 --> 00:42:33,241
Transferring. Fuel quantity is
reaching zero.

794
00:42:34,275 --> 00:42:36,000
This can't be.

795
00:42:36,103 --> 00:42:39,068
We are not going to go
completely dry
on this airplane.

796
00:42:41,655 --> 00:42:44,724
<i>But, in fact,
the Air Transat has
run out of fuel</i>

797
00:42:44,827 --> 00:42:48,310
<i>some 12000 meters
over the Atlantic Ocean.</i>

798
00:42:48,413 --> 00:42:52,379
<i>No fuel means no power
to control the plane.</i>

799
00:42:52,482 --> 00:42:55,206
<i>But the jet has
one last trick up its sleeve,</i>

800
00:42:55,310 --> 00:42:57,896
<i>one last source of power.</i>

801
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:00,758
<i>The crew deploys
a rarely-used back-up system.</i>

802
00:43:00,862 --> 00:43:04,068
It's called a Ram air turbine.
It will deploy

803
00:43:04,172 --> 00:43:06,758
from underneath the fuselage
near the wing fairing.

804
00:43:06,862 --> 00:43:10,172
<i>And it's... a small propeller</i>

805
00:43:10,275 --> 00:43:12,103
that deploys out the bottom
of the fuselage

806
00:43:12,206 --> 00:43:14,275
and it spins in the wind.

807
00:43:14,379 --> 00:43:19,275
And that small propeller will
provide very limited electrical

808
00:43:19,379 --> 00:43:22,724
and hydraulic systems
to run the aircraft.

809
00:43:22,827 --> 00:43:25,068
In other words,
although it's a glider,

810
00:43:25,172 --> 00:43:27,793
at least it's
a controllable glider.

811
00:43:27,896 --> 00:43:30,241
<i>When it took off,
this Air Transat jet was</i>

812
00:43:30,344 --> 00:43:32,482
<i>a state-of-the-art marvel.</i>

813
00:43:32,586 --> 00:43:35,551
<i>Now it's falling from the sky,</i>

814
00:43:35,655 --> 00:43:38,724
<i>and the crew has
to hope this last piece
of technology will</i>

815
00:43:38,827 --> 00:43:41,034
help them get down in one piece.

816
00:43:45,448 --> 00:43:48,482
<i>A passenger plane has
run out of fuel.</i>

817
00:43:48,586 --> 00:43:51,827
<i>The Air Transat jet is
now an enormous glider</i>

818
00:43:51,931 --> 00:43:53,931
<i>with more than 300 people
on board.</i>

819
00:43:55,103 --> 00:43:56,724
<i>They crew have
diverted their flight</i>

820
00:43:56,827 --> 00:43:59,137
<i>from its destination
in Portugal.</i>

821
00:43:59,241 --> 00:44:01,620
<i>The plane is now heading
for a military air base</i>

822
00:44:01,724 --> 00:44:05,724
<i>on the tiny island
of Terceira in the Azores.</i>

823
00:44:05,827 --> 00:44:08,206
I saw flight attendants
with life-jackets in their hand

824
00:44:08,310 --> 00:44:09,517
running down the aisles.

825
00:44:09,620 --> 00:44:13,000
Obviously, that was
a sign of fear.

826
00:44:13,103 --> 00:44:15,379
"What, you know, what was
happening?" was

827
00:44:15,482 --> 00:44:17,724
the first question that popped
in my mind.

828
00:44:17,827 --> 00:44:21,448
<i>If Captain
Robert Piche can't make it
to the airport,</i>

829
00:44:21,551 --> 00:44:24,068
<i>his only other option is
the ocean.</i>

830
00:44:24,172 --> 00:44:26,103
<i>But Piche doesn't
want to risk it.</i>

831
00:44:26,206 --> 00:44:29,068
<i>Planes aren't designed
to survive landing on water.</i>

832
00:44:32,482 --> 00:44:36,000
<i>In 1996, a Boeing 767 ran out
of fuel</i>

833
00:44:36,103 --> 00:44:38,482
<i>off the coast of East Africa.</i>

834
00:44:38,586 --> 00:44:41,103
<i>Its last moments were
caught on amateur video.</i>

835
00:44:49,517 --> 00:44:54,172
<i>Of the 175 people on board
the Ethiopian Airways jet,</i>

836
00:44:54,275 --> 00:44:55,793
<i>only 50 survived.</i>

837
00:44:59,206 --> 00:45:00,758
<i>Without vital controls,</i>

838
00:45:00,862 --> 00:45:03,724
<i>Captain Piche
and Co-Pilot Dirk DeJager have</i>

839
00:45:03,827 --> 00:45:06,103
<i>to rely on each other
like never before.</i>

840
00:45:08,827 --> 00:45:11,620
<i>The thought that
a commercial airliner's gonna</i>

841
00:45:11,724 --> 00:45:13,206
find itself out of fuel

842
00:45:13,310 --> 00:45:14,655
with all the safeguards

843
00:45:14,758 --> 00:45:17,379
and all the redundancies is
hard to fathom.

844
00:45:17,482 --> 00:45:20,172
This crew faced it together.

845
00:45:20,275 --> 00:45:21,620
Slats out and locked.

846
00:45:23,275 --> 00:45:25,482
<i>The very design
of the plane prevents it</i>

847
00:45:25,586 --> 00:45:27,103
<i>from dropping like a stone.</i>

848
00:45:29,068 --> 00:45:30,310
<i>Even without engines</i>

849
00:45:30,413 --> 00:45:34,068
<i>the plane's forward momentum
gives it some lift.</i>

850
00:45:34,172 --> 00:45:37,448
<i>It's falling fast,
but it's still flying.</i>

851
00:45:37,551 --> 00:45:39,551
Can you give me
a landing speed, please?

852
00:45:39,655 --> 00:45:41,137
No engine. No flaps.

853
00:45:41,241 --> 00:45:46,000
Ideal approach speed is
170 knots. We're too fast.

854
00:45:46,103 --> 00:45:48,655
Yes. But the runway is
very long.

855
00:45:51,517 --> 00:45:54,551
<i>But at the end
of the runway is
a very steep cliff.</i>

856
00:45:56,344 --> 00:45:59,206
<i>Using the power available
from the Ram air turbine,</i>

857
00:45:59,310 --> 00:46:02,310
<i>Captain Piche forces the plane
to turn steeply,</i>

858
00:46:02,413 --> 00:46:04,379
<i>trying to burn off some speed.</i>

859
00:46:12,413 --> 00:46:17,034
The plane was almost on a,
like a 45 degree angle.
I thought it was just gonna...

860
00:46:17,137 --> 00:46:18,172
it was just gonna flip over

861
00:46:18,275 --> 00:46:19,517
and just nose-dive
straight down.

862
00:46:22,482 --> 00:46:25,034
Everybody,
I need you to brace.

863
00:46:28,103 --> 00:46:29,379
Hang on.

864
00:46:35,241 --> 00:46:36,068
The tires have blown!

865
00:46:47,793 --> 00:46:49,517
Oh, my God!

866
00:46:58,103 --> 00:47:00,137
<i>After bursting
eight tires,</i>

867
00:47:00,241 --> 00:47:03,379
<i>the plane finally stops
in the middle of the runway.</i>

868
00:47:03,482 --> 00:47:05,689
<i>Everyone on board survives.</i>

869
00:47:07,103 --> 00:47:08,379
<i>He got
that plane down safely</i>

870
00:47:09,448 --> 00:47:11,724
and only blew out eight
of the 12 tires.

871
00:47:12,827 --> 00:47:14,137
And saved 300 people.

872
00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:16,655
He saved 300 people's lives.

873
00:47:18,482 --> 00:47:21,896
<i>Piche and DeJager have</i>
flown their Airbus without power

874
00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:24,931
<i>further than any passenger jet
in history.</i>

875
00:47:25,034 --> 00:47:28,931
<i>News of their
remarkable achievement spreads
around the world.</i>

876
00:47:29,034 --> 00:47:30,862
You don't have time really
to think about anything else

877
00:47:30,965 --> 00:47:35,034
than taking care of the safety
of your passenger, you know?

878
00:47:35,137 --> 00:47:38,344
That's your main goal and since
we didn't have any engine,

879
00:47:38,448 --> 00:47:41,000
<i>the other main goal was
to make the landing safely.</i>

880
00:47:41,103 --> 00:47:43,206
<i>So, at that time, I guess
the experience came in.</i>

881
00:47:45,275 --> 00:47:48,103
<i>Investigators discover
that the leak on board the jet</i>

882
00:47:48,206 --> 00:47:50,793
<i>had been set in motion
when the right engine had been</i>

883
00:47:50,896 --> 00:47:53,448
<i>replaced five days
before the crash.</i>

884
00:47:55,448 --> 00:47:59,793
We have to realize that
there was a small mistake made,

885
00:47:59,896 --> 00:48:01,586
uh, in terms
of changing the pump.

886
00:48:01,689 --> 00:48:03,724
<i>We installed it, uh...</i>

887
00:48:03,827 --> 00:48:08,000
but then some pipes,
so to speak, were needed

888
00:48:08,103 --> 00:48:10,586
to be connected to the pump,
and there was a mismatch.

889
00:48:10,689 --> 00:48:12,517
<i>The small mistake
had crippled</i>

890
00:48:12,620 --> 00:48:15,724
<i>this highly-engineered machine.</i>

891
00:48:15,827 --> 00:48:18,448
<i>But its very design left
the pilots enough control</i>

892
00:48:18,551 --> 00:48:20,896
<i>to steer the plane away
from disaster.</i>

893
00:48:32,448 --> 00:48:34,448
Brett Rowe, private pilot.

894
00:48:37,137 --> 00:48:38,724
<i>At the Delta Connection Academy</i>

895
00:48:38,827 --> 00:48:40,379
<i>in Sanford, Florida,</i>

896
00:48:40,482 --> 00:48:43,034
<i>another student has
earned his wings.</i>

897
00:48:43,137 --> 00:48:46,275
<i>After 14 months of training,
he's one step closer</i>

898
00:48:46,379 --> 00:48:48,103
<i>to becoming a commercial pilot.</i>

899
00:48:48,206 --> 00:48:51,206
We don't take everybody
here at the Academy.

900
00:48:51,310 --> 00:48:53,551
We want people
that are motivated,

901
00:48:53,655 --> 00:48:57,103
that want to come,
that have a passion for flying.

902
00:48:57,206 --> 00:48:59,310
<i>It's a career that you've got</i>

903
00:48:59,413 --> 00:49:01,827
to want deep inside
to accomplish.

904
00:49:01,931 --> 00:49:04,620
Otherwise you'll never
make it through.

905
00:49:04,724 --> 00:49:06,551
<i>Accidents have
reinforced the need</i>

906
00:49:06,655 --> 00:49:09,275
<i>for pilots to understand
the complicated relationship</i>

907
00:49:09,379 --> 00:49:11,862
<i>between crew and computers.</i>

908
00:49:11,965 --> 00:49:14,517
<i>The lives of countless people
depend on it.</i>

909
00:49:15,586 --> 00:49:17,137
Pilots take the responsibility

910
00:49:17,241 --> 00:49:20,655
for their passengers very,
very, very seriously.

911
00:49:20,758 --> 00:49:22,413
<i>We're responsible from the time</i>

912
00:49:22,517 --> 00:49:24,034
<i>that that passenger enters
the airplane</i>

913
00:49:24,137 --> 00:49:26,379
<i>until they leave
at the destination.</i>

914
00:49:26,482 --> 00:49:29,000
<i>The pilot's always
the last line of defense.</i>

915
00:49:30,034 --> 00:49:31,413
<i>Automated systems make</i>

916
00:49:31,517 --> 00:49:33,793
<i>flying more predictable
and dependable.</i>

917
00:49:36,241 --> 00:49:38,241
<i>But it's the marriage
of computers and crew</i>

918
00:49:38,344 --> 00:49:42,241
that ultimately makes flying one
<i>of the safest ways to travel.</i>


