All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S02E10.Cleared.for.Disaster.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

Sundance 518,
taxi across runway 24 left.

Contact ground...

February 1, 1991.

Los Angeles
International Airport--LAX.

246 heading
two seven zero,

contact Los Angeles departure.

Thank you.

U.S. Air 1493, you're cleared
to land 24 left.

Cleared to land,
24 left, 1493.

Traveling at
150 miles per hour,

U.S. Air flight 1493 descends
toward runway 24 left.

What the hell?

I pointed to the aircraft
and yelled U.S. Air's crashing.

The aircraft was
fully engulfed in flames.

But the full scope
of this tragedy

is far bigger than
anyone can imagine.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we are
starting our approach.

We lost both engines!

Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Mayday, mayday.

Brace for impact!

I think I lost one.

Investigation starting...

He's gonna crash!

At one of the busiest
airports in the world,

a Boeing 737 has just exploded
into flames upon landing.

I think
the thought process in the tower

was, it was 1991,

it was one of the first nights
of the First Gulf War,

and I think the thing that was
foremost in our mind

was maybe it was a bomb
that went off on the aircraft.

As firefighters
bring the blaze under control,

rescuers begin searching
for survivors.

About five minutes
after the incident occurred,

we got a call
from an emergency vehicle.

Amid the wreckage they have made

an alarming discovery--

one that forces
everyone involved

to re-examine every detail
of the last 15 minutes.

U.S. Air flight 1493

cruises toward Los Angeles
International Airport.

LAX is a central hub
for international travelers.

Just confirm
the visual approach

for U.S. Air 1493
is 24 left.

That's correct,
U.S. Air 1493.

For the approach,

captain Colin Shaw is managing
radio communications.

First officer David Kelly
is at the controls.

With 89 passengers on board,
the flight isn't quite full.

Well, I'd been
on a business trip

to Columbus, Ohio.

And I went from
the business meetings

to the Columbus Airport

and got on a U.S. Air flight

that was non-stop
to Los Angeles.

I planned a lot of good things
and good times for that weekend.

U.S. Air 1493,
expedite your descent

through 4,000 as much
as practical, if you would.

There will be traffic pass
above you on the south side.

As the Boeing 737
nears Los Angeles,

the approach controller
tells the pilots

to make a quick descent.

They will need to stay clear
of a flight passing above them.

Ok, I'll expedite
through four, U.S. Air 1493.

Landing at LAX can be
a challenge for pilots.

The airspace around the airport
is often thick with traffic.

On average, a plane arrives
or departs every 50 seconds.

Each of its four runways handles
both takeoffs and landings.

Taxiways intersect the runways
at dozens of locations.

The airport can be a maze
of stops and starts

for pilots following
instructions

issued by controllers.

You got
the left side in sight?

Yeah.

We're out of four.

U.S. Air 1493.

Thanks for your help.

Contact Los Angeles tower,
133.9.

Good night.

Good night.

Gear down.

Alright,
you gave three bells?

Yes, I did.

Perched 12 stories
above the ground,

tower controllers have
a hawk's eye view of traffic

coming and going
from the airport.

It was a busy night,
there was a lot of airplanes.

We had numerous arrivals
and departures

during that time of the night.

So it was a typical day.

Elliot Brann

is the clearance
delivery controller.

The primary duties of

the clearance
delivery controller

is issuing the routes of flight
and the flight plans

to the pilots as they come
out of the computer.

A flight strip is printed out,

so you get a piece of paper
with the call sign,

the type of aircraft,
route of flight.

I issue the clearance
to the pilot

and then I pass the strips,
the flight information

to the next controller.

Brann shares
flight information

with four other controllers:

Two ground controllers,

who handle planes moving between
the gates and the runways;

and two local controllers,

who are responsible for planes
taking off and landing.

Tonight, local controller
Robin Wascher

is overseeing the two
north runways at LAX--

24 left and 24 right.

She uses the flight strips
to keep track

of flights departing
and arriving.

U.S. Air 23,
taxi into position

and hold runway 24 left.

Position and hold,
24 left, U.S. Air 23.

49740 echo.

246, are you still
holding short of 47?

246, affirmative.

Alright, you're next.

Skywest 569, taxi up and hold
short of runway 24 left.

Roger, hold short.

U.S. Air flight 1493
is about eight miles from LAX.

The pilots configure
their plane for landing.

Speed brakes.

♪ still workin' for a livin' ♪

Alright.

Flaps a-goin' one.

Flaps.

Now the pilots
radio the LAX tower

for landing instructions.

U.S. Air 1493,
inside roman.

Wings, 5006,
ground--tower.

Robin Wascher is busy
with other planes.

She doesn't respond
to their radio call.

Skywest 569,
taxi into position

and hold runway 24 left.

Traffic will cross downfield.

Ok, 24 left,
position and hold, Skywest 569.

Wings West 5006, tower.

2166,
going to approach, 164.5.

30.

Green light.

Detent.

Gear.

Flaps.

Landing clearance remains.

Just four miles
from the airport,

the U.S. Air jet still
doesn't have the ok to land.

Sundance 518,
taxi across runway 24 left,

contact ground, .65
when you're off the runway.

Good night.

Captain Shaw contacts
the tower for the second time

in less than a minute.

He needs Wascher's permission
to land.

U.S. Air 1493
for the left side, 24 left.

246 heading 270,
contact Los Angeles departure.

Good night.

But she's still
focused on other planes.

Out of a thousand feet.

Flight 1493 is now
one minute from the runway.

It's what pilots call
"short final."

Sometimes due to other
priorities that take place,

an aircraft might not get
a landing clearance

until short final.

Thank you,
U.S. Air 1493,

you're cleared to land 24 left.

Cleared to land,
24 left, 1493.

Looks real good.

You're coming out of
500.

What the hell?

The U.S. Air 737
has barely touched down.

It erupts in flames and crashes

through Los Angeles
International Airport.

I saw U.S. Air touch down,

and as he got about mid,

about a third way
down the runway at taxiway 45,

the aircraft was fully engulfed
in flames.

The supervisor ran past me
to pick up the crash phone

and alert the emergency vehicles
to respond.

Aboard the flight,
sheer terror.

There was a tremendous
crunching sensation.

And there was this extraordinary
shower of sparks

that shot by my window.

Good god.

Rosa Reynoso
is a plainclothes officer

with the airport police.

We see
the aircraft engulfed in fire.

My partner and I were probably
about 500 yards from it.

Alert 33, runway 24l.

Affirmative, alert 33.

The initial moments were
very scary, very chaotic.

I remember just thinking
to myself, oh, god,

please get some more
people out here.

Get me fire, get me officers,
get me somebody,

because this is not good.

In the tower

there's no time to dwell
on what's happening.

Other aircraft are still
coming in to land.

Controllers must direct them
to safety.

Wings west 5212,
winds 240 at eight,

you are cleared to land,
runway 24 right.

Use caution.

We just had an aircraft
go off the runway in flames.

The cabin
of flight 1493

is filling with toxic smoke.

Some passengers rush to a door
at the rear of the plane.

I probably got seven
or eight rows down the aisle,

and then I encountered
a cluster of passengers

standing in the, in the aisle,
not moving.

I thought to myself,

there must be an opening
in the front of the plane

that allowed for this tremendous
quantity of smoke

to roll into the plane
so quickly.

And so I stumbled forward
to the cockpit area,

and there was tremendous fire
on both sides of the plane.

I said to myself, my gosh,

there's no way you're going to
get out of this airplane, David,

you're trapped.

Outside, some
have escaped the plane.

Rosa Reynoso is
the first emergency responder

to arrive at the scene.

The fire was intense,
it was very, very hot.

I mean, almost singeing us.

She needs to act fast

to help passengers away
from the burning wreckage.

The passengers were
trying to escape the plane

from the emergency exit doors.

However, the fire had
engulfed the doors,

so some of the people
that were fine

jumped out of the plane
and into the fire.

More emergency
personnel arrive within minutes.

Most passengers
are jumping out of that door.

Some people were on fire.

Some of them were scratched,
cut up.

Some of them had broken legs.

It was pretty traumatic.

And I think you just
start operating on,

knowing that you have to do
the right thing,

and, and try and save
these people.

David Koch is still inside.

I suddenly saw
a crack of light,

and my god, it was a miracle.

The crack opened up,

and I suddenly realized that

I had opened the galley door.

But now he faces
another hurdle.

He can't even see the ground
through the fire and smoke.

And I said to myself,
what the hell, and jumped out.

I landed on the ground
and then started crawling

on my hands and knees
away from the airplane.

I had a great sense of guilt.

Why did I not go back into
the airplane and say follow me?

And I think if I'd gone
back into the cabin,

I might have passed out

and fallen
on the floor and died.

And that's how I've come
to terms with the fact that,

I, uh, I got out but didn't
help anybody else out.

As the search
for survivors continues,

firefighters make
a stunning find.

This is rescue 1.

We've got a propeller
down here in the wreckage.

The discovery of a propeller

has horrifying implications.

There's two planes
down here.

As soon as we found out
that information,

we started actively looking

to see what aircraft,
if any, were missing.

So we started looking
at the flight strips

that were already departed,

and then we looked at the ones
that were still pending.

And then we called
the departure control,

radar controller to find out
which ones they've talked to

in the last five, six minutes.

What about
Skywest 5569?

No, we haven't
heard from them.

Skywest 569,
taxi into position,

hold runway 24 left.

Ok, 24 left,
position and hold.

Skywest 569.

Staff can account
for all the aircraft

except for Skywest 5569,

a Fairchild Metroliner
bound for Palmdale, California.

Emergency personnel
find parts of the smaller plane

strewn across runway 24 left.

There were 12 people
on board the flight.

None have survived.

What's left of their plane
is crushed between U.S. Air 1493

and an abandoned building
near the runway.

My first thought
was, oh, my God,

there's someone else under there
and we didn't even realize it.

There's even more
loss of life

on board the larger plane.

20 are dead.

Two others are mortally wounded.

First officer Kelly
has survived,

but captain Shaw has not.

The disaster thrusts LAX
into the media spotlight.

America's runways,

according to the
nation's pilots,

the most dangerous part
of the flight.

In the months and
years leading up to the crash,

increasing traffic was becoming
a safety concern

at Los Angeles
International Airport.

The most close calls--

Los Angeles
International Airport.

33 near collisions
over the last 4 years.

That's one
every month and a half.

The accident confirms
safety issues

need to be addressed.

The National Transportation
Safety Board

sends its "go" team
to LAX to investigate.

It was kind of
a horrific scene.

The front end of the airplane
was, was impaled

on the captain's side
against the building.

And with close inspection,

we could see parts of
another aircraft underneath.

Investigators can see
that the two planes collided

at an intersection
on runway 24 left.

The scenario
of the accident

resulted in two planes being
on the runway at the same time.

The runway was occupied,

and that's something
that should never happen

when a landing clearance
is granted.

Reducing collisions
on U.S. Runways is a priority

for investigators from the NTSB.

We had
runway incursions

on the most wanted list
from 1990,

here at the Safety Board,

and it's a major concern
for the whole industry.

A runway incursion is simply

when an inappropriate object is,

is out on a runway
that's going to be used

for a takeoff or landing.

Some of the world's
worst airline disasters

have taken place on runways.

In march 1977,
on the Island of Tenerife,

583 people died

when two Boeing 747s
collided on the runway.

Runway incursions occur

due to some failure

in the existing system.

Something has happened.

Some directive
has not been followed,

some inattention is present

in the scenario
of a runway incursion.

Which one of these
planes was cleared for 24 left?

Investigators
need to find out

why there were two planes on
runway 24 left at the same time.

One of
the principal objectives

was to immediately see
if we could find out

what error had taken place

that would allow
that situation to occur.

Part of that answer
may lie in the wreckage.

But 24 hours after the crash,

the investigation
is at a near standstill.

There's too much fuel
on board the 737.

Crawling through the wreckage
would be dangerous.

The aircraft had

about 6,000 pounds,

maybe 1,000 gallons
of fuel on board.

How long is this going to take?

The Saturday was spent
defueling the aircraft,

and that's a very slow process.

That took almost all day
before the Fire Department

could declare that
the scene was safe.

With airplane parts
littering the airport,

LAX is running at half capacity.

Two of the four runways
are shut down...

Causing chaos for travelers.

When the NTSB team finally
gets access to the wreckage,

they're under enormous pressure
to act quickly.

They must gather all
the information they need

so the Airport
can be fully reopened.

Their investigation
has a dual purpose.

They must figure out
what caused the collision.

They also want to know why
so many passengers got trapped

and died in
the burning aircraft.

We're not sure
what went on,

we don't have a recording of it,

but there were some altercations

with people trying to get ahead
of other people.

Making matters worse,
one of the emergency exit doors

is inside the plane,
partially blocking the exit.

If you follow
the instructions on the card,

the exit card, it will tell you
to throw that exit out.

This did not take place,
so the right over-the-wing exit

was, I would say, partially
obstructed by that large hatch.

The NTSB concludes

that a reduced number
of exit doors

made it impossible for many
of the passengers to escape.

With no way out,
they were overcome

by toxic smoke
as it filled the cabin.

While some investigators analyze
wreckage at the crash site,

others focus on
air traffic control.

First and foremost

we look at the communications.

Then we also look at the
procedures within the facility

and how those were applied.

And were they indeed followed?

To learn more, the
NTSB collects the audiotapes

of the controllers'
communications with the planes.

Investigators wonder
what instructions

were given to the pilots

in the moments leading up
to the crash.

They also want to know what
the flight crews were saying

during those crucial seconds.

Did the pilots follow
their instructions?

The cockpit voice recorders
should provide investigators

with the answer.

But then Bob Macintosh
gets some bad news

about the Skywest Metroliner.

No voice recorder?

Great.

At the time
of the crash,

commuter planes
were not required

to carry cockpit
voice recorders.

This means the only Skywest
conversations caught on tape

are radio communications
recorded in the Control Tower.

Using the air traffic control
tapes and just one CVR,

investigators try to find out

which of the two aircraft
in the collision

was actually cleared
to use runway 24 left.

The answer will raise
alarming questions

about the safety
of all passengers

flying to and from LAX.

246 east,
holding short of 47.

The investigation
into the deadly collision

on runway 24 left

focuses on Robin Wascher's
conversations

with the two planes involved.

Investigators begin
with the smaller plane.

Minutes before the accident,
the pilots of the Metroliner

waited for permission
to take off.

Skywest 569,
taxi into position

and hold runway 24 left.

Traffic will be crossing
downfield.

We use the tapes
to try to visualize

like a local controller would

where the aircraft would be
on the runway.

The pilots
of the Skywest Metroliner

turned their plane
onto the runway

and stopped at intersection 45.

They had to wait
for another plane

to cross the runway downfield.

Ok, 24 left,
position and hold, Skywest 569.

Ok,
stop it right there.

From the air traffic
control tapes,

the NTSB can tell that
the pilots of the Metroliner

followed all their instructions
correctly.

All right,
let's keep going.

Responsibility for
the accident must lie elsewhere.

Investigators probe
the tapes further.

They look at Wascher's
communications

with the U.S. Air pilots.

U.S. Air 1493,
for the left side, 24 left.

Thank you,
U.S. Air 1493,

you're cleared to land, 24 left.

U.S. Air 1493
was cleared to land

on the same runway
during the time

that Skywest 569
was still sitting in position

on that same runway.

Cleared to land,
24 left, 1493.

Skywest 569,
right at intersection 45.

How long's
it been there?

One minute
and seven seconds.

The air traffic
control tapes reveal

that Robin Wascher instructed
both the Skywest Metroliner

and the U.S. Air flight

to use runway 24 left
at the same time.

What the hell?

When we're examining
the recorded

voice communications,

what we try to do is

to put ourselves in the position
of the controller.

What would she have seen?
What would she have heard?

What would she have done?

Investigators
need to know

what Robin Wascher was doing
at the time of the crash.

They look at the other flights
that she had under her control.

Wings west 5006,
taxi across runway 24 left.

They learn that in

the moments
before the collision,

Wascher began to lose track
of some of those flights.

Is that
for Philippine 102?

No, sir, hold short.

Wings West 5006,
taxi across runway 24 left.

Wings West 5006

was an aircraft

that was on the north side
of runway 24 left,

who wanted to cross
to the south side.

Wings West 5006,
ground--tower.

And when she was
ready to cross the aircraft,

the crew did not respond.

Wascher spent nearly
a full minute of her time

trying to re-establish
radio contact

with the flight
crossing the runway.

Can I hear
the rest of that exchange?

Wings West 5006,
on frequency again.

Changed radios,
sorry about that.

They advised her
that they had inadvertently been

on another frequency.

5006,
you're back with me.

Yeah, we didn't mean
to switch radios .

We're on now.

And that created
a distraction

for the local controller.

Ok, I thought I lost you.

Sorry, we thought
we lost you.

We apologize.

Not a problem.

But investigators
discover that that flight

wasn't the only aircraft
Robin Wascher was fixated on

in the moments before the crash.

Tower, Wings West 5072
is ready for takeoff.

Wings West 5072?

With U.S. Air 1493

less than a minute
from touchdown,

Wascher hears from another
Wings West aircraft,

flight 5072.

When Wings West 5702
called to say

that he was ready for departure,

it was obvious to us
that she didn't understand

who this aircraft was.

Wings West 5072,
are you at 47 or full length?

We're at full length.

Ok, hold short.

Roger, holding short.

Investigators need
to hear from Wascher herself.

I couldn't find
the flight progress strip.

They hope to learn why

she didn't recognize a flight

that was under her control.

I couldn't find the strip,

so I asked my supervisor
to help me.

Francita...

I need a strip
for Wings West 5072.

She explains that
as the pilots of the Metroliner

waited on the runway
for permission to take off,

she was searching for another
flight's progress strip.

Before she could get
back on track,

U.S. Air flight 1493 crashed
into the back of the Metroliner.

What the hell?

NTSB investigators
now know that human error

played a major role
in the collision at LAX.

Remarkably, when she cleared
the U.S. Air flight to land,

Robin Wascher simply forgot
about the Metroliner

waiting on the runway.

This situation that occurred

is a situation that no
controller wants to go through.

You train your whole career
for this not to happen,

and when it does happen, it's,

you can't even describe the
feelings that you go through.

A situation like this could
potentially happen to anybody.

We are all human.

After the accident,
Wascher left her job at LAX

and never worked as
an air traffic controller again.

But investigators believe
there are likely more causes

to this accident
than one person's fatal error.

Any time that you do
an investigation,

it's easy to point the blame
at one individual.

What you want to do is to say:

Why did this occur,

and what can we do
to prevent a reoccurrence?

Answers to those
questions begin to emerge

as the NTSB examines
the daily routine

in the Control Tower

in the weeks before
the accident.

It was one of those

"you don't know
you have a problem

until you have a problem."

It turns out another
disaster was narrowly averted

seven months before
the collision.

A landing DC-10 flew
just over an Airbus

waiting on the runway
to take off at LAX.

Los Angeles Airport
has always been known

as one of the number one
runway incursion Airports

in the system.

And changes were overdue.

Controllers at LAX
produced documentation

showing that immediately
after that close call,

they alerted officials that the
Control Tower was understaffed.

They also explained that regions
around the northern runways

were invisible to controllers

because their view was blocked
by a light tower.

The view that
the air traffic controller

was presented with

had an obstruction,

a light pole
that produced a glare.

And it was a light that lit up
the Airport ramp.

Robin Wascher
may not have been able

to see the Skywest Metroliner
as it sat out on the runway.

NTSB investigators look at other
tools she could have used

to detect the forgotten plane.

Surface radar
is generally used

during periods
of low visibility.

It is a tool by which
the local controller,

should they so choose,

be able to visually confirm
on that scope

that an aircraft is indeed
where it says it is.

Ground radar displays
all aircraft and ground vehicles

moving around the Airport.

But on the night
of the accident,

that system wasn't working.

You're holding short,
is that correct, sir?

Yes, ma'am,
we're holding short.

It was in constant
out-of-service, in-service,

out-of-service,
in-service,

and gave the management
a lot of trouble.

The system
was not very reliable,

and we did lodge complaints
to have it fixed

and to upgrade the system
as soon as we could.

Investigators learn

that just four days
before the accident,

officials at LAX
had formally asked the FAA

to treat the failing
ground radar

with the highest priority.

The radar drive
and some of the drive mechanism

had some ring gears
and spur gears,

that they had to go
to machine shops

and literally, make that part

because it would wear out
on a regular basis

trying to rotate the antenna.

We looked
into this particular problem

and learned that Los Angeles
had been slated

to receive a new system in 1988.

However, that date had slipped,
and at that time,

they were not sure
when they were going to get

a new radar system.

With the ground radar
system out of commission

and with her view of the runway
impeded by blinding lights,

Robin Wascher's chances of
discovering her error were slim.

Investigators
turn their attention

to the cockpit
of the U.S. Air flight.

They wonder why the pilots
didn't see the Metroliner

out on the runway
and abort their landing.

Well, most of us
in the pilot community

would recognize that it's
our job to scan that runway

and find aircraft
that might be out there

or anything else
prior to landing.

Like all planes,
the Metroliner is equipped

with lights to make it
more visible at night.

There are strobe lights
on the wingtips and the tail,

navigation lights on the wings

and a colored
anti-collision beacon

on top of the vertical
stabilizer.

We were concerned
about the Skywest lighting

and had to look
at the flight operations manual,

and we found that the operating
procedure for that company

was to turn on the strobe lights

only after clearance
for takeoff.

So no other lights
were required?

Ok, thank you.

The Metroliner
wasn't yet cleared for takeoff.

So the only lights
that would have been lit

while it waited on the runway

were the navigation lights
on the wings

and the anti-collision beacon
on the tail.

NTSB investigators
then use a helicopter

to put themselves in the
position of the U.S. Air pilots

as they were making the approach
to runway 24 left.

We went up
and we actually

flew that final approach

in order to verify what we,

what we thought might be
the condition of obscuration.

They positioned
a Metroliner on the runway

in the same spot where
the collision occurred.

And sure enough,
we could not see that,

that aircraft parked out there
at spot 45 and 47.

You just couldn't see it.

Looks real good.

The investigation determines

the lights on the
Metroliner

were the same color and
brightness as the runway lights.

The plane may have been
all but invisible

to the pilots of U.S. Air 1493.

You're coming out of 500.

The anti-collision
beacon in particular

would have been lost
in a sea of lights.

When the National Transportation
Safety Board

releases its report,

controller error
is determined to be a cause

of the runway collision.

We're in the business

of determining why
something happened.

You may call it a cause or
causes or contributing factors,

but our job ends when
the next accident is prevented.

Preventing accidents
on the runways of LAX

would prove to be
a much greater challenge

than investigators
could imagine.

The collision
between U.S. Air flight 1493

and a Skywest Metroliner
alarms the public.

The accident seems to prove

that controllers can not safely
handle the increasing traffic

at Los Angeles
International Airport.

The NTSB investigation points
to Robin Wascher's failure

to maintain awareness
of the flights under her control

as one cause of the accident.

But the report also points
to a failing system

in the air traffic control
facilities at LAX.

In the months and years
following the accident,

improvements are made
to air traffic facilities

in an attempt to make
the Airport a safer place.

The failing ground radar system

is finally replaced
with a newer model.

Today,
at Los Angeles tower,

we have the newest system
out there.

Each arrival or departure,

they're taxiing on the taxiways
or on the runways,

have a call sign and
type aircraft associated with it

so you have positive
identification

of all aircraft at all times.

New policies governing

the way flight progress strips
are handled in the tower

are put in place.

Ground controllers
now organize the strips

before they make their way
to the local controller.

The extra set of eyes reduces
the local controller's workload.

Five years after the crash,

a new air traffic Control Tower
is built at LAX.

The tower is 16 stories higher,
3 times larger

and offers controllers clear,
unobstructed sight lines.

New regulations concerning
aircraft lighting

are also put in place.

It becomes mandatory for pilots
to turn on all their lights

before they move out
onto a runway.

But despite the improvements,

the rate of runway incursions
at LAX only goes up.

Throughout the 90's
and even into the 2000's,

I would describe it
as a common event.

LAX certainly was one
of the worst Airports we had

for number of incursions.

Ten years
after the accident,

more serious runway incursions
were happening at LAX

than at any other Airport
in the United States.

They had double-digit
runway incursions

and serious runway incursions
almost every year,

and in fact in 2007,

they actually had
21 runway incursions.

In an attempt to
reduce the problem

once and for all,

the Federal Aviation
Administration begins work

on a new system of runway lights

to keep planes apart
on the ground.

The runway status
light system

is a series of runway
entrance lighting

that we put at taxiways
or takeoff hold lighting

that we actually put
on the runway itself.

The system
is fully automatic.

It uses a series of red lights

embedded in the runways
and taxiways.

The lights warn pilots if there
is conflicting traffic.

The runway
status lights illuminate red,

it tells a pilot
that it is unsafe,

or a vehicle driver,

that it is unsafe to either
cross or enter that runway.

And it triggers because there is

an aircraft landing
or departing,

there's some other traffic
on the runway.

The runway status lights

seems to be one of the most
effective systems we have

for preventing runway incursions

and certainly the serious
runway incursions.

In April 2009,
the technology was installed

at Los Angeles
International Airport.

Prototypes of the system
have also been installed

at Dallas-Fort Worth
and San Diego.

By 2011, runway status lights
will be a key feature

at dozens of airports
across the United States.

The equipment we're using

at Los Angeles tower today

is much better than
the equipment that we used

back in 1991.

It's been upgraded,
it's much more reliable,

and it gives the controllers
the tools they need

to make sure that
the runways are clear

and to keep the aircraft moving.

Though new technology
can never guarantee 100% safety,

the improvements at LAX

have restored public confidence
in the Airport,

even among those who survived
flight 1493.

I spent a couple of days
in intensive care

at a local hospital,

and I had nightmares,
by the way,

following my release
from the hospital

for quite a number of days.

But I'm doing fine now.

I have no problem with getting
on airplanes and flying,

and I've got great confidence
in the airline system.