All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S04E09.Hockey.Team.Tragedy.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: A Russian
passenger jet

crashes into the Volga River.

Rescuers are
stunned to discover

that the plane was carrying
some of the country's

most famous athletes.

I'm Galimov.

NARRATOR: The
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

hockey team is decimated.

Nearly the entire team is dead.

How can that
happen to a team of

such young, talented,
healthy guys

that had so much to offer?

NARRATOR: The president
of Russia demands answers.

The Russian
government was putting

pressure on the investigators
trying to get results.

Why didn't they lift off?

NARRATOR: Investigators
need to know--

Rotate.

NARRATOR: --why
the jet struggled

to get off the ground.

That can be the moment, the
split second when you might

have chosen life versus death.

Look what happened here.

NARRATOR: The reason is
almost too simple to believe.

What are you doing?

Ladies and gentlemen, we
are starting our approach.

We lost both engines.

Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Brace for impact!

NARRATOR: September 7th, 2011.

A Yak-42 jet descends
towards a Russian airport

on its way to pick up some
very important passengers.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: They were
reliable, Soviet-built

airplanes that could
land on shorter runways

and extend that airline
service to smaller airports.

NARRATOR: This charter
flight is operated

by Yak Service Airlines.

Only the crew is on board.

Flaps, 30.

NARRATOR: First
Officer Igor Zhivelov

is the airline's vice
president of flight operations.

In his nearly 30
years of flying,

he's racked up more than
13,000 hours in the air.

Flaps are 30.

NARRATOR: Beside him is
Captain Andrei Solomentsev,

one of his closest friends.

NARRATOR: Flight engineer
Vladimir Matyushin rounds out

the three-man cockpit crew.

Get down 3 green.

NARRATOR: Mechanic
Alexander Sizov

flies with the plane to make
sure it's in good working

order at all times.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: It's
important to get people

from A to B with,
obviously, safe operation

and in good service.

In the charter world, maybe
more so, because this is

the reputation of the company.

Will they call us again?

NARRATOR: The plane
is just moments

from landing in
Yaroslavl, a city

155 miles northeast of Moscow.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: Touch
down into Yaroslavl.

And it was a little
bit rough touch down,

a bounced landing followed.

Whoa.

Little hairy there.

I must be nervous.

The president may be watching.

NARRATOR: Yaroslavl's airport
is under tight security.

Some of Russia's
top politicians

are attending an
Economic Forum in town.

But it's not politicians
who are preparing

to board the plane, it's
another prestigious group

of passengers, the Lokomotiv
Yaroslavl hockey team,

one of the most beloved
sports teams in all of Russia.

MIKE FOUNTAIN: Their
fans were fantastic.

They were loud in
support of their team,

and they let you know when
you were the opposing team.

NARRATOR: Mike Fountain
is a former National

Hockey League goalie
who was played

against Lokomotiv in Russia.

It created quite
the atmosphere.

Whenever you went to that city,
it was-- it's a hockey town.

They loved it.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: Hockey
is a religion in Russia.

People love hockey.

People love hockey players.

They are celebrities.

They are stars.

NARRATOR: Alexander
Galimov off is

a right winger who has
played for Lokomotiv

his entire career.

Born in Yaroslavl,
he's a local hero.

Hey, coach.

This guy's like me
on the forecheck.

NARRATOR: Canadian
Brad McCrimmon

was an all-star NHL defenseman
and assistant coach.

Now at age 52, he's
looking forward

to his first
regular season game

as a head coach in Russia.

For a coach like Brad
McCrimmon with his record

of being an assistant
coach with the Red Wings

and his playing career,
for him to go over

to a team like Yaroslav with
the passion those fans have,

I guarantee you, he
was so excited to have

that opportunity to go
and win that first game.

NARRATOR: Some of
Russia's best players

are on this team, including
team captain Ivan Tkachenko.

I had the opportunity
to play against Ivan

Tkachenko for many years.

He was a fantastic
hockey player.

And he is one of those
guys that was always

in front of you in the
game, always getting

an opportunity to score.

NARRATOR: In the
pre-season, Lokomotiv

has been on a hot streak--

winning seven of nine
pre-season games.

Fans believe this year,
they have a very good shot

at winning the Gagarin Cup.

MIKE FOUNTAIN: They want you to
win the championship that cup,

it's a big deal.

Hungry?

This year, we win it all.

Really?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: As a VP
with the airline,

first officer
Zhivelov has managed

to pull rank in order to
fly with some of his heroes.

For this flight,
captain Solomentsev

will take the controls
while Zhivelov

handles the radio calls.

Is the call sign Tunoshna?

Yaroslavl.

Yaroslavl 42434
request engine start.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL:
42434 cleared to start.

NARRATOR: The crew
starts the axe 3 engines.

Start number 3.

NARRATOR: And adjust the
plane stabilizer for takeoff.

How much for you, 9?

Maybe 8, I think.

8 and 1/2.

Lops and slots in position.

NARRATOR: The flight
is bound for Minsk,

two hours away in Belarus.

For the players, it's
the first of many flights

they will have to
make this season.

MIKE FOUNTAIN:
The hockey players

are the same over in
Russia as North America.

We've got the
jokesters on the team.

You've got the guys that
will maybe sit in the corner,

be a little more quiet.

You've got the guys
that maybe went

out a little too
much the night before

and has a story for you.

And it's kind of funny how
that is an international thing.

Checking the
flight's controls.

Start complete.

Thrust set.

NARRATOR: On
September 7th, 2011,

just before 4:00
in the afternoon,

the plane starts
down the runway.

Crew, we're taking off.

V1 is 190.

NARRATOR: The flight
engineer watches the gauges.

It's his job to advise
the captain when the plane

reaches takeoff speed.

The engine power
should determine

just how fast you get.

And if it's done properly, and
the flaps and slats are set

right, you will have the right
lift generated by the speed

to get you off
the ground safely,

as almost always happens.

Rotate.

The flight engineer
called rotate,

and the captain displace the
yoke to rotate the elevators

up to about 10 degrees.

This would have been
sufficient for creating

that takeoff attitude and
the airplane lifting off.

NARRATOR: But the plane
stays on the ground.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV:
Nothing happened.

The airplane did
not react in any way

to the displacement
of the yoke.

210.

Full power.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: The captain
calls for full power.

And again, nothing
happens to the aircraft.

NARRATOR: Some of the
passengers sense trouble.

MIKE FOUNTAIN: Planes
in Russia are not

up to European and North
American standards,

and it's a little
bit scary for North

American and European
players going over there.

NARRATOR: The runway
is 3,280 yards long.

The crew must lift off
before the 2,800 yard mark

or they won't be
able to stop safely.

You probably set
stabilizer too low.

Add some.

NARRATOR: Adjusting the
stabilizer doesn't help.

What's happening?

You'll be fine.

NARRATOR: The plane has enough
speed and should get airborne.

220.

NARRATOR: But instead
of lifting off,

the Yak-42 keeps going
past the end of the runway.

JAMES OBERG: Going off the
runway at the end of a takeoff

roll is always dangerous--
full tank of gas,

people are still confused,
you don't know how

far the clear spacing goes.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: This is a
nightmare for every pilot

because now they are
plane is not flying,

and yet you're moving
across the ground

at 142 miles an hour.

What are you doing?

NARRATOR: The crew
struggles desperately to get

the plane of the ground.

Finally, they succeed.

The plane is airborne
but not out of trouble.

Yak service flight 9633
isn't able to climb.

And the pilots lose control.

It crashes 500 yards from
the end of the runway.

Local police
patrolling the Volga

River are the first to reach
the wreckage of the Yak-42.

Star player Alexander Galimov
has survived the crash.

No, it's OK.

Help the others.

NARRATOR: Mechanic Alexander
Sizov is also alive.

Over here.

Help!

Please!

NARRATOR: Rescuers
are shocked to learn

the plane was carrying some of
Russia's most famous athletes.

Thank you.

I'm Galimov.

NARRATOR: Twisted wreckage
burns near the river's edge.

NARRATOR: Witness is
record the horrific scene

minutes after impact.

Onlookers see no sign
of more survivors

through the thick black smoke.

Dmitry Pushkov is a
hospital pathologist

who rushes to the scene.

INTERPRETER: When we
arrived at the crash site,

the ground was burned black.

Small pieces of wreckage
and clothing fragments

were everywhere.

And in the middle of the field,
the bodies of the dead hockey

players were stacked.

The smell of kerosene
was very strong.

It tastes sweet.

I'll remember it forever.

NARRATOR: Within hours,
Russian investigators

are also at the scene.

They must figure out what
caused this accident.

Excuse me.

We'll be taking
charge here now.

NARRATOR: James Oberg is
an aviation consultant

and former NASA engineer.

The investigation team
had a lot of experience,

sadly because there have
been many accidents.

But that experience,
as it turned out,

turned out to be critical to
actually finding the cause

of this particular accident.

NARRATOR: Their first challenge
is to secure the site.

Get these people out of here.

INTERPRETER: News
of the tragedy

spread through the city,
and fans, as well as

regular people, wanted to see.

Few could believe it.

So they wanted to see
what happened and say

goodbye to the hockey players.

NARRATOR: Of the 45 people
who boarded the flight,

43 are dead,
including the pilots.

The Lokomotiv hockey team
has been all but wiped out.

INTERPRETER: This was a tragedy
for everyone in Yaroslavl.

Lots of people knew these guys,
not just as hockey players

but personally.

That's why everybody
took this loss very hard.

Hungry?

NARRATOR: Alexander Galimov and
the mechanic Alexander Sizov

are the only two survivors.

They are both put into
medically induced comas.

I knew that once I
checked the players list,

I knew I would know players
on that team, and it was-- it

was a, it was a tough feeling.

NARRATOR: The tragedy
is felt around the world

and is among the worst
in sports history.

I think the reaction
across the world

was first of shock, disbelief.

You know, how can
that happen to a team

of such young, talented,
healthy, good family guys

that had so much to offer.

NARRATOR: In Moscow,
fans are stunned

when a grim
announcement interrupts

the Kontinental Hockey
League season opening game.

MIKE FOUNTAIN: The
president of the KHL

actually stopped a game
that was in progress

after he heard about
the accident, which

was a very touching move.

NARRATOR: More than 20
people saw the plane's

failed takeoff attempt.

So, what happened?

NARRATOR: Because the
team is so well loved,

everyone wants answers.

Investigators focus
in on a key question,

why couldn't the Yak-42
lift off the runway?

Three factors are essential
for takeoff, first

is engine power.

You need enough thrust
to reach takeoff speed.

Second is lift.

The wing flaps must
be properly extended

to increase aerodynamic lift.

And finally, to achieve the
proper angle, the plane's

horizontal stabilizer
must be angled,

putting downward force on the
tail and lifting the nose.

Investigators
examined the wreckage,

trying to determine if
the plane was properly

configured for takeoff.

Well, it looks like
flaps were set at 20.

JAMES OBERG: On your
way down the runway,

if your flaps and slats
aren't set properly,

you may get too much drag.

It's a sweet spot
of the settings,

and they have to
be in that region.

If they are beyond
that region, they

will not do what you want.

In fact, they'll do
things you don't want.

NARRATOR: The flaps on the
wing seem to be correctly

extended for takeoff.

On the tail, the horizontal
stabilizer also appears

to be properly deflected.

It looks fine.

Everything appeared to be
normal in terms of the lift.

NARRATOR: Investigators
find nothing

to suggest the engines were
providing enough thrust to get

the plane of the ground.

JAMES OBERG: You would look at
the settings of the engines,

the quality of the jet fuel.

And those are the things
you would look at first,

and they did look
at them first.

NARRATOR: But the
team can't confirm

proper engine performance
until they have

the flight data recorder--

one of two black boxes that
records flight details.

But they've been submerged
in the Volga River,

and before they
can be analyzed,

they must be slowly and
carefully dried out.

OK, take them to
Moscow immediately.

NARRATOR: As investigators
try to determine

what caused the crash, they
have another big question--

why didn't pilots stop at
the first sign of trouble?

The question then
is, what decisions

should the crew have made?

When would they have
known enough to choose

to abort the takeoff?

NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
a day after one

of his nation's
worst tragedies,

Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev

visits the crash site.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: It was
high profile because,

obviously, very famous club.

And any loss of life is
tragic, in aviation especially.

And as I mentioned before,
hockey is a main sport

in Russia, if you will.

And if you talk to Russian
people, they would tell you,

we lost we lost
part of a family.

NARRATOR: 2011 had
already been a dismal year

for Russian aviation--

the Yaroslavl accident was the
country's eighth fatal crash.

Less than three months earlier,
47 people died near an airport

403 miles north of Moscow.

RusAir flight 9605
slammed into a highway

while coming in for a
landing late at night.

The Yaroslavl disaster has
drawn critical attention

from around the world.

NARRATOR: President
Medvedev announces

that radical changes are
needed in Russian aviation.

The pressure on the team
to investigate this and find

the correct answer
to it is always high,

but when the president
of the country

comes out and says you're
going to do it right

because the country
needs an answer,

I'm sure they felt the whole
weight of their whole country

and of the families of all
the victims looming over them.

We need to work faster.

NARRATOR: Investigators
desperately

need to know what happened
during the final moments

of flight 9633.

They catch a break when they
learn that an airport security

camera off the
end of the runway

recorded the Yak-42 as
it finally lifted off.

The grainy image could
provide a crucial lead.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Can you play that again?

NARRATOR: The video shows
that the plane was properly

configured for takeoff.

But beyond that, it
holds no new information,

no clue as to what went wrong.

OK, they started here.

They lift it off here.

NARRATOR: The airport
runway wasn't the issue.

They had plenty of
room to take off.

They had about 2,800 plus
meters of runway available.

That's more than twice the
distance they should need.

NARRATOR: Something kept
the plane on the ground.

The question is, what.

They suspect the plane might
simply have been too heavy.

JAMES OBERG: Aside from being
harder to get in the air

if you weigh more,
anything that weighs more

is going to be
harder to accelerate.

NARRATOR: It's a
lesson that was

learned nearly
nine years earlier

in Charlotte, North Carolina.

All 21 people aboard
a commuter plane

died when it crashed and
burst into flames less

than a minute after takeoff.

The plane was 579 pounds
above the allowed maximum.

Weight was also considered a
key factor in the US Army's

deadliest peacetime crash.

On Arrow Air Flight
1285, the weight

of 248 soldiers equipped with
heavy gear was underestimated.

Their DC-8 fell
from the sky 2,900

feet beyond the
end of the runway

in Gander, Newfoundland.

Everyone on board was killed.

If the weight is
underestimated or not

calculated at all, you
don't-- you just don't have

that clear picture
of what exactly

to expect from the airplane.

They didn't
know their weight.

NARRATOR: Concerns mount
when investigators learned

that Yak's service
didn't have baggage

scales at Yaroslavl's airport.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV:
There was no way

to weigh the gear, the luggage,
and the cargo that would

be loaded in the airplane.

So it was estimated.

NARRATOR:
Investigators estimate

the weight of the team
and their hockey gear.

Ultimately, they find the
plane was not overloaded.

The weight is
under the limit.

NARRATOR: It may
not be the answer,

but it provides
an important clue.

It does not appear
that was a contributing

issue in this case, but it
shows that the crew was not

properly preparing the
information they would

need during the takeoff roll.

NARRATOR: Next, investigators
focus on the plane's

speed in the engines.

They determine the
speed needed for takeoff

was 133 miles per hour or
215 kilometers per hour.

Didn't they ever get to 215?

NARRATOR: If the engines
weren't working properly,

it could explain the disaster.

It's very fortunate that
the flight data recorders were

both recovered and
functional, and that

isn't a universal factor
in modern Russian aviation.

NARRATOR: The speed question
is resolved when investigators

check the FDR data.

They find that the engines
had powered the plane

well beyond takeoff speed.

Engines are working.

NARRATOR: Investigators
are baffled.

They can find no reason
for the failed takeoff.

And why didn't they lift off?

The airplane should fly.

The plane wants to fly.

In fact, at 210
kilometers per hour

with the stabilizers
set at 7 degrees,

the Yak-42 will
rotate on its own.

NARRATOR: On
September 10th, 2011,

Russian prime minister
Vladimir Putin

attends a memorial for
the Lokomotiv players,

along with 40,000
grieving fans.

Two days later,
Alexander Galimov,

the only team member
to survive the crash,

dies from his injuries.

The Yaroslavl tragedy
has now claimed 44 lives.

As the nation mourns
their young athletes,

all eyes are on the air
crash investigation team.

The Russian government
was putting pressure

on the investigators
trying to get results,

to get to the truth, what
exactly was happening.

NARRATOR: Investigators
scour the flight data

recording, again, for clues.

Finally, they spot
something unusual.

Look at the acceleration.

NARRATOR: Despite full
power from the engines,

the Yak-42 did not accelerate
as quickly as it should.

During the takeoff roll
when the aircraft should

be continuously accelerating,
it was actually slowing down

toward the end of the roll.

And slowing down is a bizarre,
unusual, and potentially

fatal development.

NARRATOR: A strange
deceleration.

It could finally be
the lead investigators

need to explain the crash
to their grieving country.

The team pores over
the possible cause

of the Russian
plane's deceleration.

Suddenly, an idea.

Could the brakes be on?

Crew, we're taking off.

NARRATOR: It's a
bizarre possibility

but could explain the
plane's unusual behavior.

Something was
breaking the aircraft

at a time when everything else
was trying to speed it up.

NARRATOR: To test their
theory, investigators

head to the Gromov
flight Research

Institute near Moscow.

The length of the
runway at Gromov

is probably around
5,000 meters or so.

It's very long.

It is suited for test flying.

NARRATOR: A test pilot will
recreate the flight exactly

using data from the FDR.

First, they tried the flight
with no brakes applied.

We have rotation speed.

NARRATOR: The test plane
lifts off easily using just

a quarter of the long runway.

Then they try the flight again.

This time put the brake on.

They gradually
applied the wheel brakes

to slow the
aircraft down as you

are attempting to take off.

NARRATOR: With the brakes
on, the plane still

has enough power to take
off, but the distance

needed to reach takeoff
speed more than doubles.

JAMES OBERG: What the
flight test indicated

was that the four sets of
brakes in the landing gear

were activated
and were actively

slowing down the aircraft as
it's rolling down the runway.

NARRATOR: The test
flight evidence

is compelling it
now seems almost

certain that the
Yak-42 powered down

the runway with its brakes on.

Rotate.

NARRATOR: The puzzling
question is why.

A bizarre situation.

And explaining it
was a real challenge.

NARRATOR: Investigators
listened to the cockpit voice

recording from flight 9633.

OK, go ahead.

NARRATOR: They hope the crew's
conversation can help explain

how and why the plane's brakes
were activated during takeoff.

Brakes.

Check on the
left, functional.

Check on the left, functional.

NARRATOR: They
hear the crew check

the brakes before takeoff.

The brake test was fine.

NARRATOR: It appears
that the crew

had no concerns
about their brakes

at the start of the flight.

Investigators now wonder if the
braking system malfunctioned

and activated the brakes
in error after the plane

began to move.

From the media coverage, we
know that there were problems

with the braking system.

It's definitely
a possibility.

NARRATOR: Digging into the
history of brake malfunction

on the Yak-42, the
investigative team

makes a disturbing find.

There have been at least
five previous incidents

involving faulty brakes.

But things got
really, really south

after the collapse
of the Soviet Union,

and a lot of safety
measures and normal training

and talented people all
went by the wayside.

NARRATOR: To better
understand what went wrong

with the brakes,
investigators send the wheel

assemblies out for testing.

While they wait
for results, they

shift their focus to another
unanswered question--

Why they keep trying to
get in the air long after?

In hindsight, it was clear
they should not have.

NARRATOR: Perhaps
the cockpit recording

will explain the crew's
decision to continue

their troubled takeoff.

Full power.

NARRATOR: Investigators
listen for the captain

to announce their abort
speed, also known as V1.

Once the airplane
approaches a V1 speed,

a captain of the
aircraft needs to make

a decision to either continue
takeoff or abort takeoff.

NARRATOR: But as they
approach the critical speed.

Crew, we're taking off.

V1 is 119.

NARRATOR: The recording
reveals a disturbing exchange.

We need 200 for V1.

No, Vr is 200.

We hear the captain
announcing 190 kilometers

per hour as a V1 speed,
and he's corrected

by the flight engineer.

NARRATOR: No air crew should
be debating critical speeds

during a takeoff run.

They didn't know
the abort speed.

NARRATOR: The
abort speed should

have been determined before
the plane even started to move.

OK, let me hear the briefing.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: The
departure briefing is very

important part of the flight.

It is done and conducted
by the captain.

It has to be recorded on
the cockpit voice recorder.

The heading 300.

Transition altitude
is 700 meters take--

NARRATOR: A captain
typically informs

his crew of the proper
abort speed in a briefing

before takeoff.

Prior to reaching
we

will the takeoff.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV: When he
comes down to the V1 speed,

it's impossible to distinguish
what exactly he's saying.

NARRATOR: Investigators
suspect the crew did

not hear a V1 speed either.

Prior to reaching a
speed of ..

NARRATOR: The three
men never agreed

on the speed at
which they could no

longer safely abort takeoff.

If you don't have your
pre-planned criteria set up,

like the V speed, like other
factors in the aircraft,

you don't have a
one measurable gate

that can tell you at this point
that you're good or not good.

Rotate.

Had they rejected
takeoff 3 to 5 seconds

after attempting
to rotate, they

would have still stopped
in the clear way,

and everybody would
have just walked away.

NARRATOR: Instead, they tried
to troubleshoot the problem--

You probably set
the stabilizer to low.

Add some.

NARRATOR: --until they
run out of runway.

Calculations show
that from the time

the pilots first
attempted to lift off,

they had five seconds to
decide whether to stop.

They had time to stop.

They allowed themselves
to get to the point

where they no longer
wanted to abort

and would rather have
continued on, which they did.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV:
In the cockpit,

there was a feel
that the airplane

is going to get airborne
any second now, any second.

A little bit more,
a little bit more

speed, a little more speed
and we're going to lift off.

NARRATOR:
Investigators conclude

that continuing the takeoff
was a fatal error by the crew.

They can only
speculate why they did.

Perhaps the pilots
felt pressure

to get their
prestigious passengers

to their destination on time.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV:
The crew, of course,

was trying to do
their best and preform

this mission-- take
them for their opening

game of the season.

If you have a
maintenance delay,

doesn't quite look good.

And your company, will
they call you again?

I don't know, maybe not.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile, results
from the brake system analysis

are in.

There's no evidence
of mechanical failure.

The brakes were fine.

They calculated that
having them actually

fail independently,
accidentally, all together,

the odds were literally
a billion to one,

which will never happen.

NARRATOR: The finding moves
the investigation closer

to a disturbing conclusion--

one of the pilots must have
applied the brakes himself.

We need to take a
closer look at the crew.

NARRATOR: Investigators
are in a tough position.

The public will not want
to hear that the crew

could have been at fault.

JAMES OBERG: There is a
very common cultural thread

in Russia of blaming the
people present for something

that goes wrong.

It helps to insulate
those who put them there

or those decisions put them
there, keeps them blameless.

NARRATOR: The Russian flight
crew had a solid reputation.

It would be hard for people
to believe one of them

accidentally hit the brakes.

Many eyebrows got raised
within the Russian

airline industry.

We know that the first officer
was very distinguished pilot,

and he had almost 13,000
hours as a first officer

and a captain.

NARRATOR: A review of the
crew's flight records offers

up a clue--

both pilots
routinely trained on

and flew two different
versions of the Yak plane.

The Yak-40 is a much
older regional jet that

carries up to 32 passengers.

The larger Yak-42, which
the hockey team was on,

debuted in 1980.

With more powerful
turbofan engines,

it can carry three
times as many passengers

and fly longer routes.

Both pilots were
more experienced

on the older Yak-40,
but they also regularly

flew the newer Yak-42.

At most airlines, pilots are
not allowed to switch from one

type of plane to another.

It is improper and incorrect
to train a pilot to fly two

airplanes at the same time.

NARRATOR: It's beginning to
look like the crew's habit

of flying two different but
similar planes may have led

to confusion in the cockpit.

Focusing in on
the brake pedals,

investigators spot a small
but potentially

significant difference.

I want to see those pedals.

NARRATOR: On the
older Yak-40, a pilot

rests his foot on the brake.

On the newer Yak-42, he must
put his heel on the floor.

JAMES OBERG: They are flying
back and forth these two

different kinds of
aircraft which happened

to have different
ways of putting

their feet on the brake pedal.

And that was when the
a-ha started to appear.

NARRATOR: A pilot accustomed
to flying the older Yak might

have placed his whole foot on
the pedal, and as a result,

could have activated
the brakes.

If you rest your feet on the
Yak-42 pedals just like you

would in Yak-40, it
is possible to create

a pressure on the
top part of the pedal

and activate the wheel brakes.

It is possible.

NARRATOR: It's a promising
theory, but questions remain.

Investigators can't understand
why a pilot wouldn't

notice his mistake right away.

You would have to put about
10, 15, 20 pounds of pressure

onto the pedals, and that
is a significant weight.

You would think a
person would feel that.

NARRATOR: They find a clue in
the crew's medical records.

First officer Igor
Zhivelov had secretly been

treated for a nerve condition.

He should not have
been certified to fly.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV:
The first officer

had a neurological condition
where the extremities

sort of lose sensitivity.

He was losing the
sensations in his legs.

It was a medical development.

It was a slow development.

It didn't make him
fall down, but it

made him less aware of feedback
from feelings in his feet.

VICTOR ERMOLAEV:
So the argument

was made that the
first officer could

have been pressing
on the brake pedals

without even realizing it.

Look.

Look what happened here.

NARRATOR: Then,
investigators make

another startling discovery.

Full power.

NARRATOR: The brakes didn't
just slow the plane down,

they also prevented lift off.

It's going to pitch
you down because you

are being pushed by engines
that are above the brakes.

It's going to give the
aircraft a nose down pitch.

NARRATOR: By
engaging the brakes

and the rotating wheels,
the crew was actually

forcing the nose down.

The effect was
like glue, sticking

the plane to the runway.

You probably set
stabilizer too low.

Add some.

NARRATOR: The combined errors
meant the plane was doomed--

Full power.

NARRATOR: --as soon
as it was airborne.

At that point, the braking
force of contact of the tires

with the runway now stops.

And all the other
forces that you've

been putting into the
aircraft-- pulling back

on the yoke, elevator trim,
flaps just to get the nose up,

they are now no longer
counteracted by the nose

down force of the braking.

The aircraft immediately
goes into to nose up,

a high pitch rate, 20 degrees
up in about two seconds.

And you can't stay in the air.

NARRATOR: The sudden
nose up attitude

causes the wings to
quickly lose lift.

Drag increases.

The speed drops.

The plane goes into a stall.

And you're just a big hunk
of metal, and fuel, and flesh

just falling through the air.

NARRATOR: Digging further
into the pilot's records,

investigators make another
astonishing discovery.

Oh, whoa.

So he didn't complete
the training?

JAMES OBERG: In the training
reports of the two pilots,

it was discovered
that, in many cases,

they had been certified as
having accomplished certain

flight tasks and
flight challenges

such as poor visibility,
bad weather flying,

when they hadn't.

When the captain
went through training,

then it was sort
of put on hold,

and then went through
training again,

and then switched employers.

But the training was
done inconsistently

with breaks in between.

Some of the training
documentation

for the first officer
was not even available.

How much for you

Maybe 8 I think.

8.5?

NARRATOR: The crew
while highly experienced

lacked the correct
training to fly the Yak-42.

The federal air
transport agency

immediately suspends
the operating license

of Yak Service Airlines.

The fleet was grounded, and
Yak Service, as a company,

was closed.

It was the people who had
set up that disaster by not

properly training them, by
not properly assigning them,

and by a whole series
of regulatory failures

and procedural failures
that set up this accident.

NARRATOR: There
is one last thing

investigators want to examine.

The flight recorders
reveal a puzzling exchange

between the captain and
first officer just seconds

before impact.

What are you doing?

Full power!

NARRATOR: The team pores
over this exchange,

trying to make sense of it.

What you're doing?

Full power!

NARRATOR: They know from
the flight data there was

a momentary drop
in engine thrust,

along with a brief
deflection in the elevators.

Investigators
synchronize the data

with the cockpit recording,
and a tragic picture emerges.

After rolling off the runway,
the captain moves his controls

to abort the takeoff.

The flight engineer
follows his lead

and decreases engine power.

The flight engineer
thinks they have aborted,

they are going to abort.

He sees a clue from the action
of the pilot on the yoke

and puts the engines
to neutral, actually

powers down the engines.

What are you doing?

NARRATOR: But the first officer
disagrees, and the captain

reverses his decision.

Full power!

NARRATOR: He
orders the engineer

to put the engines back at full
power and tries to take off.

Running a safe
cockpit requires there

to be a distinct
chain of command,

and the captain is in charge.

But the problem
with Yak Services

was that the first officer was
actually, bureaucratically,

his boss because he was the
director of flight services.

It was their last chance.

JAMES OBERG: Even a
momentary hesitation

as to who's in charge
and whose word goes,

that, in a case like
this, can be the moment,

the split second when you might
have chosen life versus death.

NARRATOR: Two months
after the crash,

investigators release
an initial report

outlining the causes.

The pilot's inadvertent
braking is listed

as a main factor in the crash.

But the real blame, as the
accident investigation came

to conclusion
properly in my mind,

was that the people who put
the crew in that position

were the ones to blame.

NARRATOR: The charter
airline Yak Service

is also severely criticized.

The crew is doing things
that you could have predicted

in advance they
would have done,

and they were not doing things
you could have predicted they

wouldn't have done because
of the nature of the crew

training, their background,
their experience, everything

that you could expect the pilot
to do under those conditions.

NARRATOR: The sole
survivor of the crash,

mechanic Alexander Sizov,
requires ongoing treatment.

He no longer flies.

After suffering one of the
worst tragedies in sports

history, Lokomotiv
Yaroslavl cancels

their entire 2011 season.

The beauty of the Russian
hockey system, I would say,

is that they do
have a great feeder

program with those
younger kids coming up.

They have a team
called Yaroslavl Two

that is the next
generation that would

be ready to make the step.

NARRATOR: The next
year, the team

makes a triumphant return.

Once again, the
city of Yaroslavl

has hopes of winning the cup.

The Lokomotiv fans
would also come

to understand the true
character of their late team

captain, Ivan Tkachenko.

For years, Ivan had
been anonymously

donating millions of rubles
to seriously ill children.

Minutes before takeoff, he
made his last donation to

a 16-year-old cancer patient.

For some, there's hope that the
Yaroslavl disaster will lead

to safer air travel in Russia.

MIKE FOUNTAIN: Through my
years of playing there,

plane crashes were just,
oh, Mike, it's Russia.

That was the attitude
of the players I played

with in the organization.

It's just Russia.

And hopefully, unfortunately,
a tragedy like this

can hopefully maybe
wake some people up.

There is a push
from the government

to clean up the industry
from the small operators that

are not quite being controlled,
if you will, or inspected

properly on a regular basis.

NARRATOR: The crash
of flight 9633

shed a harsh light on
commercial aviation in Russia.

Many believe that
what's required now

is a strong effort to
maintain a culture of safety

throughout the nation's
aviation industry.

JAMES OBERG: There's hope
we can establish control,

but it requires
constant vigilance.

That's not something
that procedures can fix.

Only a cultural
change can fix it.

And getting it, getting
that cultural change

is devilishly difficult.
But if you don't do it,

then you pay--

you pay a devil's ransom.