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Miami Beach, Florida.
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Sun, sand and calm blue seas.
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00:00:10,172 --> 00:00:13,655
But when a tourist points
his camera towards the sky,
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he captures a scene of horror.
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A plane is falling to the sea.
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We have a code 4.
Code 4.
A plane down in the water.
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00:00:24,689 --> 00:00:27,379
As soon as I saw this,
I realized, I'm like: Oh, no,
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this is Chalk's airplane
crashing.
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00:00:30,793 --> 00:00:33,965
The downed plane
is Chalk's Ocean Airways
Flight 101,
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bound for the Bahamas.
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Could it have been a collision
with an object?
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Could it have been a fire?
Could it have actually been
a criminal act?
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Let's notify the FBI.
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The incredibly rare video
may hold the answers.
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Can you enhance that for me?
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An airline renowned for safety
has made a fatal error.
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But it will take investigators
hundreds of hours
to finally uncover it.
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Bingo.
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Mayday, mayday.
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The Port of Miami,
December the 19th, 2005.
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Giant freighters
and ocean-going cruise ships
are a common sight.
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But there's another,
much smaller craft
that's often seen in this port.
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Chalk's Ocean Airways
flies seaplanes
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in and out
of this busy waterway.
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Today,
Flight 101 from Fort Lauderdale
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is making a brief stopover here
on its way to the Bahamas.
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- Feather propellers.
- Check.
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Shut down engine
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Shutting down engine
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Chalk's flies
to two regular destinations,
both in the Bahamas.
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Bimini, where Flight 101
is scheduled to land
this afternoon,
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and Paradise Island.
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Ladies and gentlemen,
this is your captain speaking.
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We're just making
a short stopover here in Miami
to pick up a couple passengers.
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We apologize for the delay.
We'll be on our way again soon.
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- How many are we picking up?
- Just two. But they're VIPs.
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For a small
community like Bimini,
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Chalk's seaplanes
are a lifeline.
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It's just so much easier
in the seaplane
to get to the north island,
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where most
of the populations is,
than going to the airport.
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So that was the main thing.
It was a convenience factor.
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- Welcome aboard.
Can I see your boarding passes?
- Certainly.
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Sergio Danguillecourt
is a Bacardi Rum executive.
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He's the great-great-grandson
of the company's founder.
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The family is well known
in the local Cuban community
for their anti-Castro politics.
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He and his wife are flying
to the Bahamas to buy a yacht.
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- The passengers settled in?
- We're all set.
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Good afternoon, folks.
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We'd like to welcome you
aboard Chalk's Ocean Airways
Flight 101 to Bimini.
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Our travel time to Bimini
will be 25 minutes.
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Hope you enjoy the flight.
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Let's have the Start-Up
Checklist, please.
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Roger.
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00:03:47,758 --> 00:03:50,517
Michele Marks
is in command of today's flight.
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She was promoted to captain
earlier this year.
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First Officer Paul DeSanctis
joined the airline
eight months ago.
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- Starter on.
- Starter on.
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This is his first flight
with Captain Marks.
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All clear to taxi?
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All clear.
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00:04:14,896 --> 00:04:17,724
The Grumman Mallard
is a twin-turboprop design.
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It has a V-shaped hull
and underwing pontoons.
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It's designed to carry
up to 17 passengers.
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The plane has
retractable landing gear,
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so it can operate
on either land or sea.
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Gear coming up.
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Takeoff on the Mallard,
depending on the days,
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it could be a lot of fun
or a real challenge.
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Weight and balance check.
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We're good.
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The Miami seaplane base
has no control tower.
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The crew has to keep a lookout
for boat traffic as they taxi
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through one of the busiest
ports in the world.
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Taking off out of Miami
in the shipping channel,
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it's kind of like trying
to take off
during rush-hour traffic.
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You've got boat traffic,
wave traffic, the wind,
the airplane to deal with,
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and everybody's going
different speeds,
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and you're trying
to get up and go,
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and navigate around everybody,
so it was always a handful.
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Flight 101
will take off from X44,
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a seaplane base near a channel
known as Government Cut.
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- Prepare for takeoff.
- Roger. Ready to take off.
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Both pilots have
their hand on the throttles.
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It's to prevent the captain
from inadvertently pulling back
if the plane hits a wave.
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Forty-five knots.
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Fifty knots.
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This is the moment
most passengers are paying for:
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The takeoff.
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Half speedboat, half plane,
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it's a unique thrill.
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Seventy-five knots.
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Eighty knots.
For the pilots,
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accelerating through the waves
is often the most difficult part
of the flight.
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The airplane itself was...
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really hard to fly
as far as on the water,
getting onto the step,
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which was what we call
getting on a plane.
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And in rough sea conditions
and in rough wave conditions,
it could be a real challenge.
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But this takeoff goes smoothly.
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Flight 101 is no longer a boat;
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it's now a plane
enroute to Bimini.
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It's 2:38 in the afternoon.
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The plane's flight path
takes it past South Beach...
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...where sunbathers and surfers
are out in force.
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Just less than a minute
into the flight,
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the Grumman Mallard is climbing
through 500 feet,
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well below the clouds.
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Then...
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...the plane rolls violently
and dives.
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The pilots barely have time
to register what's happening.
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Their struggles are in vain.
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By chance,
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a tourist from New York catches
Flight 101's final moments
on his camera.
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Sixty seconds after takeoff,
the plane slams into the ocean.
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Lucas Bocanegra is a lifeguard
stationed on South Beach,
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00:08:24,896 --> 00:08:27,137
near the Chalk's Ocean Airways
sea lane.
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As soon as I saw this,
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I realized... I'm, like: Oh, no,
this is Chalk's airplane
crashing.
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We have a code 4.
Code 4.
A plane down in the water.
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This is Lucas.
We're launching the jet-ski.
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The two lifeguards
are the first rescuers
to go looking for the plane.
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We drove as fast as we could
to the scene of the accident.
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00:09:04,344 --> 00:09:08,137
There were a lot of things
coming through my head.
I was nervous, scared,
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I was, uh,
kind of full of adrenaline.
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We wanted to go in
and try to rescue
as many people as we could,
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but at the same time,
we've never trained
for a situation like this.
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As soon as we turned
Government Cut
at those jetty rocks,
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we noticed it was very calm,
very quiet.
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It wasn't like the ocean side,
where it was, uh, very rough.
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There was no waves.
It was very, uh,
kind of very eerie.
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At first,
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Lucas Bocanegra finds no sign
of Flight 101
or any of the passengers.
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00:09:48,068 --> 00:09:52,241
Little by little, we started
seeing debris float up
onto the surface of the water.
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And we saw some chairs,
some luggage here and there.
And, uh...
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00:10:02,275 --> 00:10:04,965
suddenly we noticed
there was a body in the water.
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00:10:06,965 --> 00:10:10,310
As soon as we put the body
on our jet-ski,
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00:10:10,379 --> 00:10:14,034
we realized that,
from his injuries,
there was nothing we could do.
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00:10:18,241 --> 00:10:20,965
From there, it was just try
to recover as many bodies.
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You know, bring them back
for their families.
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News crews swarm the beach.
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00:10:30,586 --> 00:10:33,000
Chalk's Flight 101
plummeted into the channel
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00:10:33,068 --> 00:10:35,689
in full view of tourists
lining Miami Beach.
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00:10:35,758 --> 00:10:39,931
In a fraction of a second,
the whole plane was engulfed
in flames.
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00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,724
Black smoke
and then an explosion.
Pure fire in the sky.
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It was so surreal.
We couldn't believe
we actually witnessed that.
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00:10:49,344 --> 00:10:53,000
Chopper 4 over the wreckage
as Miami Beach Coast Guard
look for any survivors.
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But the effort is futile.
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00:10:59,655 --> 00:11:03,310
We retrieved
some of the bodies,
but we are unable to, uh,
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00:11:03,379 --> 00:11:05,206
find anyone that had survived.
149
00:11:07,758 --> 00:11:10,000
All 20 people
on board are dead.
150
00:11:11,482 --> 00:11:15,551
Including pilots Paul DeSanctis
and Michele Marks.
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00:11:19,482 --> 00:11:22,931
The residents of Bimini
are devastated
by the horrific news.
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00:11:25,896 --> 00:11:29,862
I was very sad for the crew
and the friends
that I had lost on the airplane.
153
00:11:30,620 --> 00:11:33,137
You never expect an accident
to actually happen.
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And to see that on television
like I did,
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it was very, very sad.
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00:11:41,862 --> 00:11:43,655
In Washington,
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00:11:43,724 --> 00:11:46,931
senior NTSB investigator
Bill English is put on the case.
158
00:11:49,034 --> 00:11:52,620
I was just in my office
doing some routine paperwork
for something else,
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00:11:52,689 --> 00:11:55,793
and the director stuck
his head around and the corner
and said,
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00:11:55,862 --> 00:11:58,620
"There's been an accident."
And I said, "Well, what is it?"
161
00:11:58,689 --> 00:12:00,137
And he mentioned
a Grumman Mallard.
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00:12:00,206 --> 00:12:03,000
So I immediately knew
it had to be Chalk's.
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00:12:06,103 --> 00:12:09,344
Within hours,
investigators
are at the crash site...
164
00:12:10,379 --> 00:12:12,551
...where 19 bodies
have been recovered.
165
00:12:13,275 --> 00:12:14,965
One is still missing.
166
00:12:16,206 --> 00:12:17,965
I was very familiar
with Chalk's Airways.
167
00:12:18,034 --> 00:12:19,862
I'm a seaplane-rated pilot
myself,
168
00:12:19,931 --> 00:12:23,103
and there is the reputation,
the legend of Chalk's Airways,
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the oldest
continuously operating airline.
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00:12:27,517 --> 00:12:29,931
Chalk's has
a long and rich history.
171
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,965
The airline was founded in 1917.
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00:12:33,620 --> 00:12:37,655
During the Prohibition era,
passenger lists included
notorious rumrunners.
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00:12:37,724 --> 00:12:39,793
And later,
Hollywood movie stars.
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00:12:41,275 --> 00:12:44,862
Chalk's planes even patrolled
for German U-boats
during World War II.
175
00:12:46,103 --> 00:12:49,000
The novelty
of flying at Chalk's
was just all that history,
176
00:12:49,068 --> 00:12:50,655
all the people that have gone.
177
00:12:50,724 --> 00:12:53,689
And it was really a great place
to work for that.
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00:12:54,758 --> 00:12:58,758
The Grumman Mallard
flying boat that crashed
was built in 1947.
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00:13:01,344 --> 00:13:03,931
Chalk's Ocean Airways
is the only airline
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00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,310
that uses Mallards
to transport passengers.
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00:13:08,482 --> 00:13:11,172
They're not really
a mainstream type of airplane,
182
00:13:11,241 --> 00:13:13,620
and so there's always
that nostalgia about them.
183
00:13:20,241 --> 00:13:23,034
Salvage crews find
the plane's black box.
184
00:13:23,103 --> 00:13:25,965
Investigators send it
to the NTSB in Washington.
185
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,517
The box promises to reveal
critical information
about what the pilots were doing
186
00:13:33,586 --> 00:13:36,793
in the seconds leading up
to the tragic mid-air disaster.
187
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,551
In any investigation,
188
00:13:43,620 --> 00:13:47,724
the flight-data recorder
and the cockpit voice recorder
are a great desire.
189
00:13:47,793 --> 00:13:51,310
The more data, the better.
We can always learn something.
190
00:13:57,448 --> 00:14:01,068
But Bill English
knows he isn't going to get
all the data he wants.
191
00:14:02,172 --> 00:14:03,586
Okay, thanks.
192
00:14:04,413 --> 00:14:06,655
The only recorder
onboard the Mallard
193
00:14:06,724 --> 00:14:09,379
was a cockpit voice recorder,
or CVR.
194
00:14:12,241 --> 00:14:14,793
Most airline aircrafts
have two flight recorders.
195
00:14:14,862 --> 00:14:18,000
The flight data recorder,
depending on the aircraft,
196
00:14:18,068 --> 00:14:21,758
will record all sorts of...
parameters of the flight:
197
00:14:21,827 --> 00:14:24,448
altitude, airspeed,
control positions and so on.
198
00:14:25,827 --> 00:14:29,241
The Chalk's airplane
was not equipped
with a flight-data recorder.
199
00:14:29,310 --> 00:14:31,724
It did have
a cockpit voice recorder.
200
00:14:33,241 --> 00:14:36,103
Though the lack
of flight data
is a big disappointment,
201
00:14:36,172 --> 00:14:40,344
media coverage of the crash
gives investigators
a very rare piece of evidence.
202
00:14:41,310 --> 00:14:44,206
Authorities revealed
that the final seconds
of Flight 101
203
00:14:44,275 --> 00:14:46,241
were captured on amateur video.
204
00:14:46,310 --> 00:14:49,586
The dramatic footage was shot
by a tourist on South Beach.
205
00:14:50,413 --> 00:14:52,241
Let's get a copy
of that video.
206
00:14:58,344 --> 00:14:59,896
Okay, let's see it.
207
00:15:01,206 --> 00:15:04,206
The video
only captured the final seconds
of the plane crash,
208
00:15:04,275 --> 00:15:08,241
but it confirms
eyewitness reports that a wing
ripped off in mid-air.
209
00:15:09,724 --> 00:15:12,034
Can you enhance that for me?
210
00:15:14,241 --> 00:15:17,827
The video showed the wing
just after separation
from the aircraft,
211
00:15:17,896 --> 00:15:21,000
the main part of the aircraft
fuselage, uh,
212
00:15:21,068 --> 00:15:22,827
rolling off
in the other direction,
213
00:15:22,896 --> 00:15:26,000
and the fire and smoke
starting from that.
214
00:15:29,137 --> 00:15:33,586
It was quite startling
that the wing would fall off
on this plane.
215
00:15:35,241 --> 00:15:36,724
It was a beautiful day,
216
00:15:36,793 --> 00:15:39,137
the water wasn't rough
on the takeoff;
217
00:15:39,206 --> 00:15:42,379
and all of a sudden,
this wing just dropped off.
218
00:15:42,448 --> 00:15:45,620
It must've been absolutely, uh, devastating.
219
00:15:52,586 --> 00:15:56,241
However,
the video can't reveal
why the wing came off.
220
00:15:57,931 --> 00:16:00,793
Answers to that question
may lie at the crash site,
221
00:16:00,862 --> 00:16:05,103
where salvage crews
are finishing their recovery
of the wreckage of Flight 101.
222
00:16:07,896 --> 00:16:11,827
The right wing is found separate
from the plane,
but largely intact.
223
00:16:14,758 --> 00:16:18,620
Wings falling off aircraft,
in a modern-day situations,
224
00:16:18,689 --> 00:16:21,965
is a very rare, extreme event,
225
00:16:22,034 --> 00:16:24,620
and there's only been
a few cases of them
226
00:16:24,689 --> 00:16:27,586
in the past 20 or 30 years.
227
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:35,862
In Washington,
another type of examination
is already underway.
228
00:16:38,793 --> 00:16:40,551
At the NTSB lab,
229
00:16:40,620 --> 00:16:44,000
technicians are busy
analyzing the Mallard's
cockpit-voice-recorder tape.
230
00:16:45,344 --> 00:16:47,724
The cockpit voice recorder,
CVR,
231
00:16:47,793 --> 00:16:49,448
which does
what it sounds like,
232
00:16:49,517 --> 00:16:52,448
records the pilots' voices
talking to each other
or on the microphones.
233
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,068
But the tape is a jumble
of voices and sounds.
234
00:17:03,137 --> 00:17:05,862
Technicians can't retrieve
any useful information.
235
00:17:09,586 --> 00:17:11,827
It turned out
that the erase-head function -
236
00:17:11,896 --> 00:17:16,793
it's just like a tape recorder
most people are familiar with -
it didn't erase the old stuff.
237
00:17:16,862 --> 00:17:21,000
So every subsequent flight
kept getting recorded over
and over and over again,
238
00:17:21,068 --> 00:17:23,482
and just became a muddled sound,
239
00:17:23,551 --> 00:17:27,482
and it wasn't, uh,
wasn't audible to us,
or useful.
240
00:17:28,620 --> 00:17:30,206
It's another setback.
241
00:17:39,551 --> 00:17:43,448
Okay, let's revisit this again
because we're running out
of options here.
242
00:17:43,517 --> 00:17:47,000
Investigators have
fewer and fewer tools
to work with.
243
00:17:47,517 --> 00:17:49,103
Bill English considers
the possibility
244
00:17:49,172 --> 00:17:52,172
that Flight 101 hit turbulence
so violent
245
00:17:52,241 --> 00:17:54,000
that it tore the plane apart.
246
00:17:55,758 --> 00:17:59,137
But the weather
on the day of the crash
doesn't support that theory.
247
00:18:01,034 --> 00:18:04,379
There were no storms
that could've caused
such severe turbulence.
248
00:18:06,931 --> 00:18:10,172
Clearly, something else
had torn this plane apart.
249
00:18:14,103 --> 00:18:17,862
There's a possibility
the Mallard collided
with something in the water
250
00:18:17,931 --> 00:18:19,448
before takeoff.
251
00:18:21,620 --> 00:18:24,413
Seaplanes don't take off
of a conventional runway.
252
00:18:24,482 --> 00:18:29,206
They're in water,
where there could be things
like logs or other debris,
253
00:18:29,275 --> 00:18:32,241
which could potentially cause
structural issues
with an aircraft.
254
00:18:37,344 --> 00:18:40,310
But before they can reach
a conclusion on that theory,
255
00:18:40,379 --> 00:18:43,310
investigators consider
some other intriguing evidence.
256
00:18:45,068 --> 00:18:49,689
It's an urgent advisory
issued by the Federal
Aviation Administration,
257
00:18:49,758 --> 00:18:51,241
or FAA.
258
00:18:51,310 --> 00:18:53,413
It warns that,
due to a faulty part,
259
00:18:53,482 --> 00:18:57,137
the propellers on the Mallard
could come off during flight.
260
00:18:57,206 --> 00:18:58,724
You're kidding me.
261
00:18:59,931 --> 00:19:02,655
Something...
such as a blade separation,
262
00:19:02,724 --> 00:19:06,448
losing part of the propeller,
could cause a great structural
load on the aircraft.
263
00:19:10,586 --> 00:19:12,827
English now has a solid lead.
264
00:19:13,344 --> 00:19:16,862
But his team is still missing
the evidence they need
to prove their case.
265
00:19:21,724 --> 00:19:25,103
The entire island
is devastated
by the loss of life
266
00:19:25,172 --> 00:19:26,965
as investigators searching
for answers
267
00:19:27,034 --> 00:19:29,413
wait for more wreckage
to be pulled from the sea.
268
00:19:31,931 --> 00:19:34,310
In the aftermath
of the crash,
269
00:19:34,379 --> 00:19:38,862
Chalk's Ocean Airways grounds
its remaining fleet
of four Grumman Mallards.
270
00:19:45,344 --> 00:19:47,965
At the NTSB's
Miami command post,
271
00:19:48,034 --> 00:19:52,551
they're working to identify
various plane fragments
and other debris from the crash.
272
00:19:55,172 --> 00:19:58,379
We started out
with the wing itself
that separated,
273
00:19:58,448 --> 00:20:02,413
the spar,
which is the main part
of the structure of the wing,
274
00:20:02,482 --> 00:20:04,482
and any of the other
fractured surfaces,
275
00:20:04,551 --> 00:20:07,034
looking for obvious
initiation factors.
276
00:20:08,413 --> 00:20:10,379
They carefully examine
the propellers,
277
00:20:10,448 --> 00:20:15,413
looking for evidence
that might confirm suspicions
raised by the FAA advisory.
278
00:20:19,724 --> 00:20:21,413
But it's another dead end.
279
00:20:23,689 --> 00:20:25,896
We were able to determine
all the blades were attached,
280
00:20:25,965 --> 00:20:30,344
and the bending that we saw
was the expected pattern
from proper operation
281
00:20:30,413 --> 00:20:32,551
when those blades hit the water.
282
00:20:34,275 --> 00:20:36,689
Once again,
they're back to square one.
283
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,827
This is what I want you
to look at.
284
00:20:41,896 --> 00:20:44,482
Investigators focus
their attention
on the fractured wing.
285
00:20:45,655 --> 00:20:48,172
They've noticed sooting
on parts of it.
286
00:20:49,482 --> 00:20:51,551
It's evidence
of a very rapid fire.
287
00:20:54,206 --> 00:20:57,206
We want to find anything
that could be
the initiating factor
288
00:20:57,275 --> 00:20:58,793
for the wing separation.
289
00:20:58,862 --> 00:21:01,862
Could it have been a collision
with an object?
Could it have been a fire?
290
00:21:01,931 --> 00:21:04,137
Could it have actually been
a criminal act?
291
00:21:04,931 --> 00:21:07,965
The burn marks
raise a sinister possibility:
292
00:21:08,034 --> 00:21:10,275
An explosion. A bomb.
293
00:21:18,482 --> 00:21:23,068
This now falls outside
the NTSB's area of expertise
and authority.
294
00:21:23,724 --> 00:21:25,344
Let's notify the FBI.
295
00:21:32,068 --> 00:21:36,000
The FBI helps us in many
of our investigations,
296
00:21:36,068 --> 00:21:38,965
and we'll utilize
some of their experts
297
00:21:39,034 --> 00:21:41,793
to rule out terrorism
or a criminal act.
298
00:21:43,482 --> 00:21:47,206
If it was a bomb
that brought down Flight 101,
299
00:21:47,275 --> 00:21:51,172
a likely target would've been
one of the 18 passengers.
300
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,103
Thanks for coming in.
We're gonna need your help
on this.
301
00:21:56,172 --> 00:22:00,034
One name stands out
on the passenger manifest:
302
00:22:00,103 --> 00:22:02,620
Sergio Danguillecourt.
303
00:22:03,344 --> 00:22:06,862
- Welcome aboard.
Can I see your boarding passes?
- Certainly.
304
00:22:06,931 --> 00:22:10,758
There are rumours
on the internet that the crash
was an assassination plot
305
00:22:10,827 --> 00:22:12,758
and Danguillecourt
was the target.
306
00:22:16,517 --> 00:22:19,310
His family made a fortune
in pre-Castro Cuba.
307
00:22:20,655 --> 00:22:23,965
They were so opposed
to Fidel Castro's regime
308
00:22:24,034 --> 00:22:26,586
that they had allegedly
supported clandestine attempts
309
00:22:26,655 --> 00:22:28,793
to overthrow
his Communist government.
310
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,379
This is your copy. Alright?
Now, there's something
I wanted to show you.
311
00:22:36,344 --> 00:22:40,275
We can't tell if it's just soot
or it's explosive residue.
312
00:22:41,482 --> 00:22:43,931
A bomb will leave
chemical traces
313
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,517
and distinctive patterns
in the torn metal.
314
00:22:47,551 --> 00:22:51,137
FBI technicians are specially
trained to detect them.
315
00:22:59,896 --> 00:23:04,034
The samples from the wreckage
will be tested at FBI labs
in Quantico, Virginia.
316
00:23:13,206 --> 00:23:15,310
Four days after the accident,
317
00:23:15,379 --> 00:23:18,758
salvage crews are still
bringing in wing fragments
found at the crash site.
318
00:23:27,551 --> 00:23:30,965
So we need everything
that looks like it'd come
from the right wing.
319
00:23:36,827 --> 00:23:38,896
Can we get some light over here?
320
00:23:45,068 --> 00:23:47,000
Overstress.
321
00:23:47,068 --> 00:23:50,931
Most of the damage they see
is from overstress fractures,
322
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,965
areas where the metal
was literally ripped apart
when the wing tore off.
323
00:23:57,068 --> 00:23:58,931
Come here.
324
00:24:00,482 --> 00:24:02,068
That's the same.
325
00:24:03,379 --> 00:24:06,275
When metal is suddenly stressed
to the point of breaking,
326
00:24:06,344 --> 00:24:09,172
the fracture leaves
a very distinctive rough edge.
327
00:24:10,310 --> 00:24:14,413
It's easy to distinguish it
from fractures that have
developed slowly over time.
328
00:24:16,896 --> 00:24:20,413
Cut this from here to here
and get it to Clint
in Washington.
329
00:24:23,344 --> 00:24:26,379
As we started to examine
the right wing, spar,
330
00:24:26,448 --> 00:24:31,482
and other components on scene
at the Coast Guard station
or the seaplane base,
331
00:24:31,551 --> 00:24:33,620
this was a visual examination
there.
332
00:24:33,689 --> 00:24:37,758
We didn't have
the sophisticated lab tools
that we have at headquarters.
333
00:24:38,655 --> 00:24:41,862
They identify parts
to be shipped to the lab
in Washington,
334
00:24:41,931 --> 00:24:46,655
where they hope closer
inspection will reveal exactly
what went wrong with the wing.
335
00:24:46,724 --> 00:24:48,275
Hey, Clint?
336
00:24:48,344 --> 00:24:51,758
Clint, we're sending you as much
of the wing as we have your way.
337
00:24:51,827 --> 00:24:53,310
Yeah, okay.
338
00:24:57,413 --> 00:24:59,379
Yeah, I'm still waiting
for that report.
339
00:24:59,448 --> 00:25:02,862
The results
from the FBI explosives test
come in.
340
00:25:07,172 --> 00:25:10,344
A mid-air bombing assassination
could explain everything.
341
00:25:17,413 --> 00:25:20,758
But there is no explosive
residue on the wreckage.
342
00:25:20,827 --> 00:25:23,448
Okay, so that rules that out.
343
00:25:29,379 --> 00:25:31,896
Structural failure
is now the chief suspect
344
00:25:31,965 --> 00:25:34,000
in the downing
of Chalk's Flight 101.
345
00:25:36,137 --> 00:25:38,241
Well, that's all that's left.
346
00:25:38,310 --> 00:25:39,793
That's tomorrow.
347
00:25:42,758 --> 00:25:45,896
It was obvious the airplane
had a catastrophic
structural failure.
348
00:25:45,965 --> 00:25:48,655
So we needed to find out
the cause,
349
00:25:48,724 --> 00:25:51,034
the initiating factor
of that structural failure.
350
00:25:53,310 --> 00:25:55,793
He needs to know
more about the long history
351
00:25:55,862 --> 00:25:57,689
of this particular
Grumman Mallard.
352
00:25:59,413 --> 00:26:02,241
It's very typical
in any accident investigation:
353
00:26:02,310 --> 00:26:04,689
We want to look
at the maintenance history
of an aircraft.
354
00:26:04,758 --> 00:26:08,758
For an aircraft
that's 60 years old,
that's even more so important.
355
00:26:09,931 --> 00:26:14,103
It takes days
to comb through the 28 boxes
of old records.
356
00:26:15,482 --> 00:26:19,172
We want to make sure
we can develop an entire history
of this aircraft,
357
00:26:19,241 --> 00:26:22,034
what sort of chronic problems
may have shown up
358
00:26:22,103 --> 00:26:23,724
in the maintenance
of the aircraft,
359
00:26:23,793 --> 00:26:26,137
and what types of work
had been done on any...
360
00:26:26,206 --> 00:26:29,379
any of the factors that looked
likely to be involved.
361
00:26:38,275 --> 00:26:42,034
Clint Crookshanks
is a structures investigator
for the NTSB.
362
00:26:43,206 --> 00:26:44,827
When we go
into an investigation,
363
00:26:44,896 --> 00:26:46,655
we try to go in
with a very open mind
364
00:26:46,724 --> 00:26:49,862
and look at the wreckage
and let it tell the story
for what happened.
365
00:26:53,137 --> 00:26:57,827
We wanted to look at every piece
that broke on the right wing
366
00:26:57,896 --> 00:27:01,275
to determine if this was a...
age-related failure
367
00:27:01,344 --> 00:27:05,413
or if it was something
that was caused
by a structural overload.
368
00:27:06,655 --> 00:27:08,241
As with most aircraft,
369
00:27:08,310 --> 00:27:10,827
the Mallard's wings
are built from aluminum alloy.
370
00:27:12,172 --> 00:27:14,448
The spars run the length
of each wing.
371
00:27:15,655 --> 00:27:19,000
In between the spars
are stringers
that give added support.
372
00:27:20,137 --> 00:27:23,137
Together, these parts
make up the wing box,
373
00:27:23,206 --> 00:27:25,310
which also doubles
as a fuel tank.
374
00:27:26,034 --> 00:27:29,068
And then the skin is overtop
of all that structure
375
00:27:29,137 --> 00:27:33,931
to kind of give a smooth,
aerodynamic look to the wing.
376
00:27:34,620 --> 00:27:38,482
All of these together work
to carry the flight loads
377
00:27:38,551 --> 00:27:40,793
that the wing
is designed to carry.
378
00:27:40,862 --> 00:27:43,379
Once you compromise one piece
of that structure,
379
00:27:43,448 --> 00:27:46,586
the ability to carry
the normal flight loads
has been compromised.
380
00:27:47,655 --> 00:27:48,896
Thanks.
381
00:27:52,137 --> 00:27:55,413
Over the years,
the wing box had been repaired
many times.
382
00:27:56,517 --> 00:28:00,482
Chalk's mechanics had patched up
areas damaged by corrosion...
383
00:28:01,310 --> 00:28:03,896
...which is not unusual
for an aging aircraft,
384
00:28:03,965 --> 00:28:05,862
especially a seaplane.
385
00:28:06,586 --> 00:28:10,275
The fact that they land
on water means that
their takeoff and landing loads
386
00:28:10,344 --> 00:28:12,862
are different than you would
have on a land-based airplane.
387
00:28:12,931 --> 00:28:14,655
Also, they're always in water,
388
00:28:14,724 --> 00:28:18,413
and the corrosive effects
of water are going to happen
more readily on those airplanes.
389
00:28:18,482 --> 00:28:22,137
But when investigators examine
the rest of the Chalk's fleet,
390
00:28:22,206 --> 00:28:26,103
they find that the Mallards
are in far worse shape
than they imagined.
391
00:28:27,172 --> 00:28:29,137
Corrosion repairs.
392
00:28:30,482 --> 00:28:32,793
Corrosion. Corrosion,
393
00:28:32,862 --> 00:28:34,758
corrosion, corrosion.
394
00:28:35,551 --> 00:28:37,206
Corrosion repairs.
395
00:28:38,896 --> 00:28:40,310
Lots of 'em.
396
00:28:42,689 --> 00:28:45,896
The accident airplane
and the other airplanes
in Chalk's fleet
397
00:28:45,965 --> 00:28:47,827
were rife
with maintenance issues.
398
00:28:47,896 --> 00:28:50,068
Corrosion was rampant
on all the airplanes.
399
00:28:50,137 --> 00:28:55,206
There was evidence
of shoddy maintenance practices
on all of their other airplanes.
400
00:28:56,448 --> 00:28:58,965
Many, many of the repairs...
401
00:28:59,034 --> 00:29:03,448
exhibited extremely poor
workmanship and quality;
402
00:29:03,517 --> 00:29:06,103
double,
triple drilling of holes;
403
00:29:06,172 --> 00:29:09,517
excessive grinding of corrosion,
404
00:29:09,586 --> 00:29:12,000
uh, scars on the material.
405
00:29:12,068 --> 00:29:15,413
And this involved
the structural repairs
406
00:29:15,482 --> 00:29:19,724
that were made to the aircraft
over the past few years.
407
00:29:21,517 --> 00:29:25,206
Crookshanks's
attention is drawn to a section
of the lower right wing.
408
00:29:26,068 --> 00:29:28,068
There is a metal patch,
409
00:29:28,137 --> 00:29:31,275
called a doubler,
on the surface
of the wing's skin.
410
00:29:33,448 --> 00:29:37,034
A doubler is simply
a sheet of metal
that goes overtop of the skin,
411
00:29:37,103 --> 00:29:42,413
and it acts as a load transfer,
it acts as a second piece
of skin to patch the crack.
412
00:29:42,482 --> 00:29:45,344
It's kind of like a patch
on a pair of jeans.
413
00:29:47,275 --> 00:29:49,068
This is a big repair job.
414
00:29:49,793 --> 00:29:51,793
You sure we don't have anything
on this?
415
00:29:56,034 --> 00:29:57,827
It's an intriguing discovery.
416
00:29:59,448 --> 00:30:03,758
The patch is located
exactly where the wing broke off
from the rest of the plane.
417
00:30:08,448 --> 00:30:11,517
When he takes a closer look
at this section of the wing,
418
00:30:11,586 --> 00:30:15,137
Crookshanks notices
the edges are smooth and shiny,
419
00:30:15,206 --> 00:30:18,655
totally unlike the rough edges
he's been seeing
on other debris.
420
00:30:20,103 --> 00:30:21,724
We gotta see
what's under this.
421
00:30:22,482 --> 00:30:25,172
This crack
is not from overstress.
422
00:30:26,655 --> 00:30:31,793
Instead, Crookshanks suspects
it developed over many years
as the result of metal fatigue.
423
00:30:34,034 --> 00:30:38,724
Metal fatigue is a process
by which any piece of metal,
424
00:30:38,793 --> 00:30:40,551
a wing spar or anything,
425
00:30:40,620 --> 00:30:42,896
is repetitively loaded
and unloaded.
426
00:30:42,965 --> 00:30:46,689
You can think of it as bending
a paperclip back and forth,
and everyone's done this,
427
00:30:46,758 --> 00:30:49,000
and after a while,
it eventually breaks.
428
00:30:49,068 --> 00:30:51,034
Metal fatigue in the wings
429
00:30:51,103 --> 00:30:54,758
is caused by the stress
of flight over the lifetime
of the aircraft.
430
00:30:55,931 --> 00:30:59,724
In the case of this aircraft,
every time it took off,
the wing is loaded.
431
00:30:59,793 --> 00:31:02,862
That's lift
that gets the airplane
up into the air.
432
00:31:02,931 --> 00:31:05,344
Every time it lands,
the wing is now unloaded,
433
00:31:05,413 --> 00:31:08,103
and there's no more stress
on the wing structure anymore.
434
00:31:08,172 --> 00:31:10,827
That's just like bending
that paperclip back and forth.
435
00:31:13,724 --> 00:31:18,137
Crookshanks is eager
to find out what's underneath
the metal patch.
436
00:31:26,758 --> 00:31:29,068
Okay, let's see
what this doubler's hiding.
437
00:31:32,034 --> 00:31:34,344
They find
even more metal fatigue.
438
00:31:35,724 --> 00:31:38,000
Deep cracks cut across the wing.
439
00:31:40,689 --> 00:31:42,724
The extent of the damage
is staggering.
440
00:31:44,517 --> 00:31:46,310
A crack 40 centimetres long.
441
00:31:47,310 --> 00:31:48,793
Man, oh, man.
442
00:31:54,689 --> 00:31:56,586
Investigating further,
443
00:31:56,655 --> 00:31:59,000
Crookshanks makes
another disturbing find.
444
00:32:03,172 --> 00:32:06,793
Three machine holes
in the skin
forward of the leading edge.
445
00:32:06,862 --> 00:32:09,448
All three appear
to be stop drill holes.
446
00:32:13,517 --> 00:32:16,068
The holes indicate
that Chalk's mechanics
had been trying
447
00:32:16,137 --> 00:32:18,413
to stop the crack
from spreading further.
448
00:32:22,896 --> 00:32:24,448
Years earlier,
449
00:32:24,517 --> 00:32:27,689
a mechanic had spotted the crack
on the lower surface
of the wing.
450
00:32:33,620 --> 00:32:37,137
He repaired it
by drilling a hole
in the path of the crack.
451
00:32:37,206 --> 00:32:39,275
It's called a stop drill hole.
452
00:32:40,344 --> 00:32:41,827
The end of a crack,
453
00:32:41,896 --> 00:32:46,068
you could see
even with the naked eye,
is sharp, it comes to a point.
454
00:32:46,137 --> 00:32:48,862
That tends to want
to develop a crack more.
455
00:32:48,931 --> 00:32:50,931
By drilling a hole
at the end of the crack,
456
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:52,724
that would spread out
the stress,
457
00:32:52,793 --> 00:32:56,620
and the idea is to stop
the growth of the crack there.
458
00:32:59,448 --> 00:33:02,000
But the stop drill holes
didn't work.
459
00:33:04,379 --> 00:33:07,103
An attempt was made
to repair that skin
on three different occasions
460
00:33:07,172 --> 00:33:09,241
by stop drilling.
461
00:33:09,310 --> 00:33:13,965
Even as mechanics
put in more holes,
the crack kept growing.
462
00:33:15,620 --> 00:33:17,896
After the third stop drill,
463
00:33:17,965 --> 00:33:20,137
an attempt was made
to further repair the wing
464
00:33:20,206 --> 00:33:23,241
by attaching doublers
on the interior and exterior
surface of the skin.
465
00:33:24,517 --> 00:33:27,620
But the doublers
didn't work either.
466
00:33:27,689 --> 00:33:30,655
The crack on the plane's skin
continued to grow.
467
00:33:34,172 --> 00:33:37,413
Investigators now know
the right wing was damaged
468
00:33:37,482 --> 00:33:39,551
long before the day
of the accident.
469
00:33:47,448 --> 00:33:50,758
What they don't understand
is why the crack
could not be stopped.
470
00:33:51,896 --> 00:33:54,413
Approved?
But a glimmer
of an answer comes
471
00:33:54,482 --> 00:33:57,034
when they learn the plane
was sending out warning signs
472
00:33:57,103 --> 00:33:59,310
of a deeper,
more serious problem.
473
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,379
The Chalk's airplane
involved in the accident
474
00:34:02,448 --> 00:34:06,034
was showing evidence
of chronic fuel leaks
for many years.
475
00:34:07,241 --> 00:34:08,793
According to the log,
476
00:34:08,862 --> 00:34:12,827
fuel leaks from the right wing
were repaired again and again.
477
00:34:12,896 --> 00:34:14,551
But they kept happening.
478
00:34:15,034 --> 00:34:17,103
The crews started to notice
repeated fuel leaks
479
00:34:17,172 --> 00:34:19,413
during standard operations,
480
00:34:19,482 --> 00:34:23,758
and we tried to bring it up
to the attention of management
just for our concerns.
481
00:34:25,448 --> 00:34:29,103
Just two days before the crash,
it happened again.
482
00:34:29,965 --> 00:34:32,275
While doing routine maintenance
on the Mallard,
483
00:34:32,344 --> 00:34:35,310
a mechanic came across fuel
dripping from the right wing.
484
00:34:38,310 --> 00:34:41,034
They always addressed
the problem with trying
to reseal the fuel tanks,
485
00:34:41,103 --> 00:34:43,517
or trying to fix whatever
problem they thought they had.
486
00:34:43,586 --> 00:34:45,655
It always seemed to be
a reoccurring issue.
487
00:34:47,758 --> 00:34:50,413
The procedure
for plugging a leak
488
00:34:50,482 --> 00:34:53,586
was to apply a chemical sealant
to the inside
of the empty fuel tank.
489
00:34:57,344 --> 00:34:59,413
The sealant would take a day
to dry.
490
00:35:00,758 --> 00:35:03,827
Then the plane
could be refuelled
and returned to service.
491
00:35:07,551 --> 00:35:09,206
The leaks should've been a clue
492
00:35:09,275 --> 00:35:13,517
that the crack
in the wing skin
was just the tip of the iceberg,
493
00:35:13,586 --> 00:35:16,241
that there was a much more
dangerous problem
494
00:35:16,310 --> 00:35:17,931
with the wing's
interior structure.
495
00:35:18,931 --> 00:35:21,275
Fuel leaks
in this particular aircraft
496
00:35:21,344 --> 00:35:24,551
are indicative of a problem
with the wing structure.
497
00:35:24,620 --> 00:35:29,689
In fact, Grumman put out a...
service bulletin back in 1963
498
00:35:29,758 --> 00:35:33,344
that warned mechanics
chronic fuel leaks
are an indicator
499
00:35:33,413 --> 00:35:36,103
of a structural issue
with the aircraft.
500
00:35:39,379 --> 00:35:42,310
Okay, let's what we got here.
501
00:35:44,758 --> 00:35:48,241
Crookshanks examines
the pieces that make up
the right fuel tank.
502
00:35:49,551 --> 00:35:51,068
Some kind of sealant.
503
00:35:52,310 --> 00:35:54,586
He wonders
why the fuel leaks persisted
504
00:35:54,655 --> 00:35:57,137
in spite of the constant efforts
to repair them.
505
00:35:58,827 --> 00:36:01,724
Hand me that scraper, please.
Thank you.
506
00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,827
Beneath the layers of sealant,
he finds his answer.
507
00:36:12,896 --> 00:36:14,862
Bingo.
508
00:36:14,931 --> 00:36:18,172
Cracks in a critical support beam
called a Z-stringer.
509
00:36:18,241 --> 00:36:21,724
It's the piece
that the plane's skin
was directly attached to.
510
00:36:21,793 --> 00:36:25,413
Alright. Will you finish
cleaning this off,
then get some pictures, okay?
511
00:36:25,482 --> 00:36:27,000
Thank you.
512
00:36:31,620 --> 00:36:33,137
Crookshanks finds evidence
513
00:36:33,206 --> 00:36:36,310
that Chalk's mechanics had tried
to repair the stringer.
514
00:36:37,275 --> 00:36:42,000
It appears that they did
some grinding on this Z-stringer
to remove a fatigue crack.
515
00:36:45,482 --> 00:36:48,827
However, they never went back in
and reinspected that area.
516
00:36:50,758 --> 00:36:54,000
Instead, they only applied
chemical sealant to the area
517
00:36:54,068 --> 00:36:55,620
to make it leak-proof.
518
00:36:57,068 --> 00:36:59,379
And in the process,
concealed the damage.
519
00:37:01,896 --> 00:37:04,206
Chalk's made repeated efforts
to repair the airplane
520
00:37:04,275 --> 00:37:06,689
by stop-drilling
the wing-skin cracks,
521
00:37:06,758 --> 00:37:09,551
adding doublers
overtop of the cracks,
522
00:37:09,620 --> 00:37:13,586
but they never addressed
the root of the problem,
which is the cracked Z-stringer.
523
00:37:13,655 --> 00:37:18,379
The reason they couldn't address
the Z-stringer is it was covered
in fuel-tank sealant.
524
00:37:20,068 --> 00:37:23,827
The broken Z-stringer
weakened the entire wing.
525
00:37:23,896 --> 00:37:25,896
Now with every takeoff
and landing,
526
00:37:25,965 --> 00:37:28,344
the plane's skin was absorbing
the forces.
527
00:37:29,413 --> 00:37:32,068
Over time,
the skin began to crack,
as well.
528
00:37:35,689 --> 00:37:37,620
The final outcome
was inevitable.
529
00:37:38,965 --> 00:37:42,137
The fatigue cracking
reached critical length,
530
00:37:42,206 --> 00:37:44,689
and the wing separated
from the airplane.
531
00:38:01,517 --> 00:38:03,413
Investigators conclude
that a hidden crack
532
00:38:03,482 --> 00:38:05,793
in a key component
of the right wing
533
00:38:05,862 --> 00:38:08,689
led to the devastating crash
of Flight 101.
534
00:38:13,827 --> 00:38:16,413
Chalk's failure to identify
such a serious problem
535
00:38:16,482 --> 00:38:20,379
now forces investigators
to re-examine
the airline's long history.
536
00:38:23,724 --> 00:38:25,482
Chalk's Ocean Airways
had an image
537
00:38:25,551 --> 00:38:28,068
as one of the safest airlines
in the world.
538
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,241
Despite the age of their fleet,
539
00:38:31,310 --> 00:38:36,000
the airline had
an outstanding record of safety
dating back almost 90 years.
540
00:38:37,344 --> 00:38:38,896
Chalk's safety record
was great.
541
00:38:38,965 --> 00:38:41,965
They had never lost a passenger
in all their years of operation.
542
00:38:42,827 --> 00:38:46,413
Chalk was an old,
established company,
543
00:38:46,482 --> 00:38:49,827
but it seems to me
that somewhere along the line,
544
00:38:49,896 --> 00:38:53,103
the management
and the quality of the work done
545
00:38:53,172 --> 00:38:56,448
had slipped quite a bit
from in the past years.
546
00:38:57,827 --> 00:39:00,620
What have you got
on the financial state
of this company?
547
00:39:01,931 --> 00:39:03,793
Investigators are beginning to suspect
548
00:39:03,862 --> 00:39:06,275
that the company's reputation
for safety
549
00:39:06,344 --> 00:39:09,965
may have been undermined
in recent years
by money problems.
550
00:39:10,586 --> 00:39:12,310
Financial issues
in an airline,
551
00:39:12,379 --> 00:39:13,965
especially a small carrier
like this,
552
00:39:14,034 --> 00:39:15,758
can manifest themselves
in many ways.
553
00:39:15,827 --> 00:39:18,689
Personnel are sometimes
one of the first things to go.
554
00:39:19,517 --> 00:39:22,965
A search
of Chalk's financial history
uncovers some trouble.
555
00:39:24,862 --> 00:39:27,689
In the 1980s,
Chalk's went through
a string of owners
556
00:39:27,758 --> 00:39:30,241
before going bankrupt in 1999.
557
00:39:34,172 --> 00:39:37,206
The airline was revived
by a Miami businessman,
558
00:39:37,275 --> 00:39:38,896
but it kept losing money.
559
00:39:43,517 --> 00:39:45,448
Just a few months
before the crash,
560
00:39:45,517 --> 00:39:48,103
the last attempt to sell
the business fell through.
561
00:39:50,931 --> 00:39:52,448
Not doing so well.
562
00:39:53,896 --> 00:39:56,827
It wasn't a secret
that we were having
financial difficulty.
563
00:39:56,896 --> 00:40:00,724
The pilots had taken pay cuts
and the captains
had taken concessions,
564
00:40:00,793 --> 00:40:03,724
and we downsized a lot
as far as personnel.
565
00:40:03,793 --> 00:40:06,689
It wasn't just personnel
that felt the pinch.
566
00:40:07,862 --> 00:40:12,344
It was difficult for Chalk's
to find spare parts
and do some of their repairs.
567
00:40:12,413 --> 00:40:16,034
Chalk's had a number
of other un-flyable aircraft
that they owned
568
00:40:16,103 --> 00:40:18,655
that they would cannibalize
for spare parts.
569
00:40:19,413 --> 00:40:23,758
There were only maybe 50
or 55 aircraft that were built.
570
00:40:23,827 --> 00:40:27,310
In that case,
the original manufacturer,
Grumman,
571
00:40:27,379 --> 00:40:29,896
was no longer in production
of that aircraft,
572
00:40:29,965 --> 00:40:31,931
they no longer supplied parts.
573
00:40:33,068 --> 00:40:34,896
The airline's
deteriorating health
574
00:40:34,965 --> 00:40:38,448
and the shortage of spare parts
had a direct impact on safety.
575
00:40:40,172 --> 00:40:45,827
There's so much regulation
and there's so much necessity
to make the airplane fly,
576
00:40:45,896 --> 00:40:50,965
it's hard to skimp
on maintenance
and not impact reliability.
577
00:40:51,034 --> 00:40:52,689
And if you don't have
reliability,
578
00:40:52,758 --> 00:40:54,724
then you're just spiralling
downhill.
579
00:40:55,965 --> 00:40:59,655
But no matter
how tight the finances were,
as a commercial airline,
580
00:40:59,724 --> 00:41:04,000
Chalk's should've been closely
monitored by the Federal
Aviation Administration.
581
00:41:08,551 --> 00:41:12,862
In fact, the FAA did assign
an inspector to work closely
with Chalk's.
582
00:41:15,413 --> 00:41:17,034
The FAA inspector,
583
00:41:17,103 --> 00:41:19,862
which is called a Principal
Maintenance Inspector,
584
00:41:19,931 --> 00:41:23,517
was responsible
for the oversight
of the maintenance program
585
00:41:23,586 --> 00:41:25,896
as carried out by Chalk.
586
00:41:27,379 --> 00:41:29,827
The inspector was aware
the plane was suffering
587
00:41:29,896 --> 00:41:31,793
from chronic fuel leaks.
588
00:41:33,758 --> 00:41:36,206
And yet, inexplicably,
589
00:41:36,275 --> 00:41:38,344
he gave Chalk's
a clean bill of health
590
00:41:38,413 --> 00:41:40,758
just two months
before the crash.
591
00:41:47,827 --> 00:41:49,379
What was this guy doing?
592
00:41:53,344 --> 00:41:55,896
Investigators are at a loss
to explain
593
00:41:55,965 --> 00:41:59,448
why the FAA inspector
didn't pick up on warning signs
594
00:41:59,517 --> 00:42:01,517
the Chalk's seaplane
was giving off.
595
00:42:03,689 --> 00:42:06,965
The fact that Chalk
was an old, established carrier,
596
00:42:07,034 --> 00:42:08,586
maybe they just accepted:
597
00:42:08,655 --> 00:42:12,655
Well, there's only two
or three planes,
it's a small operation...
598
00:42:13,344 --> 00:42:15,655
...they only fly
during the nice weather,
599
00:42:15,724 --> 00:42:17,517
and, uh...
600
00:42:17,586 --> 00:42:19,655
they're good old boys
over there,
601
00:42:19,724 --> 00:42:21,310
they know what they're doing.
602
00:42:21,379 --> 00:42:24,137
In effect,
the FAA didn't step back
603
00:42:24,206 --> 00:42:26,413
and take a look at that forest
for the trees
604
00:42:26,482 --> 00:42:30,137
and find out
just what's going on
in the maintenance program
605
00:42:30,206 --> 00:42:32,551
with these Chalk's aircraft.
606
00:42:33,758 --> 00:42:36,724
The FAA may not have found fault
with Chalk's,
607
00:42:36,793 --> 00:42:40,793
but it turns out
that several people
very close to the airline did.
608
00:42:43,103 --> 00:42:47,103
We did talk to this group
of pilots who had left Chalk's
prior to the accident.
609
00:42:47,931 --> 00:42:50,586
And every single one of them
did have some story
610
00:42:50,655 --> 00:42:53,931
about maintenance aspects
on their aircraft.
611
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:57,931
Whether it had to do
with fuel leaks
or other maintenance aspects,
612
00:42:58,000 --> 00:42:59,758
they all had some...
613
00:42:59,827 --> 00:43:04,068
level of concern about the way
Chalk's was taking care
of these very old airplanes.
614
00:43:06,172 --> 00:43:08,517
In fact,
the pilots were so concerned,
615
00:43:08,586 --> 00:43:11,034
that in the year
leading up to the crash,
616
00:43:11,103 --> 00:43:14,620
many of them met
to discuss the problem
of declining maintenance.
617
00:43:15,586 --> 00:43:19,310
The captains of the company
decided it would be best for us
to get together as a group,
618
00:43:19,379 --> 00:43:23,275
discuss the issues that we had,
to try to get
our concerns addressed.
619
00:43:23,344 --> 00:43:24,896
One major issue
that had happened,
620
00:43:24,965 --> 00:43:28,137
we had an elevator cable
that had snapped in flight,
621
00:43:28,206 --> 00:43:31,448
and the crew luckily was able
to get the airplane down
622
00:43:31,517 --> 00:43:34,172
using power
and different settings
and shifting people.
623
00:43:34,241 --> 00:43:38,241
But in most scenarios,
that would've been an accident
in itself.
624
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:41,172
In aviation,
there's error chains
that they talk about,
625
00:43:41,241 --> 00:43:44,586
and if you keep compiling
one link after another,
626
00:43:44,655 --> 00:43:47,551
it's only a matter of time
before an accident will occur.
627
00:43:47,620 --> 00:43:49,896
And from my point of view,
628
00:43:49,965 --> 00:43:53,827
I thought that if they kept
going down the same road
that they were going down,
629
00:43:53,896 --> 00:43:55,758
something could happen.
630
00:43:57,379 --> 00:44:01,344
Eventually,
Captain Weber decided
he'd seen enough close calls.
631
00:44:02,275 --> 00:44:04,965
My turning point,
and why I decided
to leave Chalk's,
632
00:44:05,034 --> 00:44:08,793
was I just had seen too many
things in the recent months,
633
00:44:08,862 --> 00:44:12,310
too many mechanical issues
that were major issues
in my mind.
634
00:44:12,379 --> 00:44:14,827
And I had three engine failures
myself that year.
635
00:44:14,896 --> 00:44:17,103
And I had a wife at home
that was pregnant.
636
00:44:17,172 --> 00:44:21,862
I had lost I guess my confidence
in the company's ability
or the airplane,
637
00:44:21,931 --> 00:44:23,482
and I had just had enough.
638
00:44:27,413 --> 00:44:30,931
The NTSB's report
on the crash of Flight 101
639
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,448
harshly criticizes the FAA
640
00:44:33,517 --> 00:44:37,103
for not detecting growing
maintenance and financial
problems at Chalk's.
641
00:44:41,586 --> 00:44:45,655
Had the maintenance program
or the FAA stepped back
and said,
642
00:44:45,724 --> 00:44:50,206
"These aircraft need more
than just a one-time fix,
643
00:44:50,275 --> 00:44:52,482
they need something
much deeper than this,"
644
00:44:52,551 --> 00:44:54,758
the accident probably
would not have happened.
645
00:44:56,310 --> 00:45:00,827
It also uncovers
a loophole in the FAA's
aging aircraft regulations,
646
00:45:00,896 --> 00:45:03,896
which require extra inspections
for older planes.
647
00:45:06,413 --> 00:45:08,931
But those rules didn't apply
to Mallards.
648
00:45:11,896 --> 00:45:15,344
The Grumman Mallard
was manufactured in 1947.
649
00:45:15,413 --> 00:45:17,931
It only carried 17 passengers,
650
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,793
and it was not
a transport-category airplane.
651
00:45:20,862 --> 00:45:24,068
Therefore, it was exempt from
the supplemental inspections.
652
00:45:24,137 --> 00:45:27,724
What we have here
is the FAA has made
an aging airplane safety rule
653
00:45:27,793 --> 00:45:30,931
and they've exempted the oldest
airplanes in the fleet.
654
00:45:33,068 --> 00:45:38,000
The NTSB recommends
that the FAA expand
its oversight of aging planes.
655
00:45:41,931 --> 00:45:44,344
When we determine
the probable cause
of an air crash,
656
00:45:44,413 --> 00:45:46,206
the point is to do this
657
00:45:46,275 --> 00:45:49,586
so that similar accidents
won't happen again
in the future.
658
00:45:50,137 --> 00:45:52,689
I think we've used this accident
659
00:45:52,758 --> 00:45:54,896
to point towards...
660
00:45:54,965 --> 00:45:57,586
the industry and the FAA
661
00:45:57,655 --> 00:46:00,310
to make sure they take a look
at the overall picture
662
00:46:00,379 --> 00:46:02,620
of what's going on
at an air carrier.
663
00:46:07,137 --> 00:46:10,620
Flight 101 spelled the end
of Chalk's Ocean Airways.
664
00:46:19,758 --> 00:46:22,000
A few months after the report
was released,
665
00:46:22,068 --> 00:46:23,931
the airline shut down.
666
00:46:27,689 --> 00:46:31,206
There was a lot of history
and a lot of family, community,
667
00:46:31,275 --> 00:46:34,103
involved with the passengers
as well as the people
in the airline.
668
00:46:35,620 --> 00:46:39,379
So to see the whole airline
and everything else kind of go
down with the airplane
669
00:46:39,448 --> 00:46:42,275
is additionally emotional...
670
00:46:42,344 --> 00:46:45,655
for everybody
that ever worked there
or ever loved the airplanes.
671
00:46:59,724 --> 00:47:01,827
difuze