All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S05E03.Lost.in.Translation.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

Narrator: On a dark road
near Zurich, Switzerland...

Man: It was coming down
very fast.

Narrator:
A fireball lights up the sky.

Man: It was
a hell of an explosion.

Narrator: The crash
of a Swiss commuter plane

kills everyone on board.

Man: Give me that one there.

Narrator:
Air crash investigators

face an enormous challenge,

trying to piece together
what went wrong.

Man: That timing
can't be coincidence.

Man: 4-9-8 turn left
to Zurich East.

Man: Suddenly he loses control.

Pilot: Oh, nah, nah.

Man: What triggered it?

Narrator:
Evidence from the crash site

points to
a stunning possibility.

Man: You're not supposed
to take any kind of drugs

when we go flying.

Narrator: The pilot may not
have been in any shape to fly.

Flight Attendant:
Ladies and gentlemen,
we are starting our approach.

Pilot: We lost both engines!

Flight Attendant:
Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Pilot: Mayday, mayday.

Flight Attendant:
Brace for impact!

Controller: I think I lost one.

Man: Investigation starting...

Man: He's gonna crash!

Narrator:
Zurich International Airport.

Passengers on board
Crossair flight 498

are waiting to take off.

Narrator:
The flight to Dresden, Germany

is popular
with business travelers.

Man: Ciao. Ciao.
I'm sorry. I'm done.

Narrator: It's one of more
than 100 destinations

served by the fast-growing
Swiss Airline.

Slavomir Pjatak:
It's a regional airliner...

Very, very popular

for short hops
from town to town.

Pilot: Engine ready?

Narrator: Captain Pavel Gruzin
will fly the plane,

while Rastislav Kolesar
acts as first officer.

Rastislav Kolesar:
Checklist completed.

Pjatak: Rastislav Kolesar
loved flying very much.

Narrator: Former Crossair Pilot
Slavomir Pjatak

was a close friend of Kolesar.

Pjatak: You could see
sparks in his eyes

when he was speaking
about flying.

You know, he changed the look
in his face.

He was smiling, you know.

Really, he was very passionate
about flying.

Pavel Gruzin:
Set takeoff power.

Kolesar: Takeoff power set.

Narrator: The plane
they're flying this evening

is a SAAB 340.

Hans-peter Graf: A SAAB 340

is a Swedish-built
commuter airplane.

It had a digital autopilot.

It was able to fly
very accurately.

Kolesar: V-1.

Rotate.

Gruzin: Gear up.

Kolesar: Gear is up.

Graf: The airplane
was easy to handle

and smooth on the controls.

Narrator: The flight is
scheduled to take about an hour.

Graf: After, let's say, two
or three minutes flight time,

they should have been
in the clear, above the clouds,

to fly to their destination.

Narrator: At the last minute,

the controller makes a slight
change to their flight path.

Controller: 4-9-8
turn left to Zurich East.

Kolesar: Turning left
to Zurich East,

Crossair 4-niner-8.

Narrator: The new route

loops them south of the airport

and over a navigation beacon,

before going on to Dresden.

Kolesar: Long range navigation
setting is to...

Zurich East. Yeah.

Gruzin: Ok.

Narrator:
The plane begins to turn.

But there's something's wrong.

Kolesar: Turning...

Turning left to Zurich East.

We should left.

Gruzin: Oh, nah, nah.

Controller: Crossair 4-9-8
confirm you are turning left.

Kolesar: Please, stand by.

Narrator: The plane
should be turning left,

but instead
it's banking to the right.

Controller: Ok, continue right
to Zurich East.

Narrator: Captain Gruzin
struggles to control the plane,

but it's not working.

Kolesar: Left! Left!

Left!

Narrator:
They're falling out of the sky.

Thomas Moscheni:
I was driving home.

And then, on the left-hand side,

I seen something.

I was sure it's a plane.

It's coming down very fast.

Moscheni:
It was a hell of an explosion.

I'd been about
50 meters away from this.

And it was just one explosion,

and then always
a new smaller explosion.

I couldn't go too close there.

It was too hot.

Narrator: It's impossible even
to attempt to rescue anyone.

Moscheni: I couldn't see
anything from the plane,

just little small things.

This time I was quite sure
there's no...no survivors,

not at all.

Narrator: Flight 498
has slammed into the ground

just 4 miles from the airport.

All 10 passengers and crew
are dead,

including Pavel Gruzin
and Rastislav Kolesar.

Pjatak: At that very night

we just knew
that we lost a friend.

Narrator: The next morning,

investigators
are at the crash site.

They see little
that resembles an airplane.

Michael Flueckiger:
When I approached the scene,

I saw a smoking hole.

And I couldn't identify

a large piece of structure
of an aircraft.

Narrator: Michael Flueckiger

is with the Swiss accident
investigation board.

It's his job to find the clues
that can explain what happened.

Most of the plane
is buried in a deep crater.

The rest is broken
into small pieces

scattered across a field.

Flueckiger faces the biggest
challenge of his career.

Flueckiger:
We have really a mess.

And then you have also
the emotional part.

You don't know what
you're going to touch next.

It may be a piece
of a human body...

It may be a piece of
the aircraft or...

It was a hard job.

Narrator: The deep crater
tells Flueckiger

that the plane hit the ground
very fast at a very steep angle.

Flueckiger: A photo,
take this shot here.

If you can't see a bigger
structure of an aircraft

and you see a crater,

that leads you to the idea
that this aircraft has to be...

Come quite steep
into the ground.

Narrator: The pattern of debris

also reveals the direction
the plane was flying.

Flight 498
was turning the wrong way

at the time of the crash.

Human factors expert
Daniel Knecht

joins the investigative team.

Daniel Knecht: A crash
just after departure

is very uncommon.

So we were sure

that it must have been
something very unusual.

Let's get someone over
to the ATC,

find out what departure
they were flying.

Narrator: Investigators question
air traffic controllers

to learn more about
the unusual flight path.

Knecht: If you have a radar plot

and also some recordings
of air traffic communication,

then you have a first idea
what happened.

Man: Why weren't they flying
the standard departure?

Controller: Oh, I was just
trying to save them some time.

Narrator:
Controllers tell investigators

that they gave
flight 498 a shortcut

on the night of the crash.

Controller: 498 turn left
to Zurich East.

Narrator: The new heading

was a slightly shorter route
to Dresden.

Graf: ATC controllers,

they provide this kind of
shortcut whenever they can.

Kolesar: Turning left
to Zurich East.

Graf: And that makes
a difference

of about
three to four minutes,

which is very much appreciated
by the pilots

and everybody else.

Knecht: At first glance,

this communication
and also this radar plot

showed nothing unusual.

There was simply a takeoff,

and ATC was commanding
an early left turn.

Narrator:
But for some reason,

the crew didn't follow
the controller's instruction.

Controller: Crossair 498
confirm you are turning left.

Kolesar: Please, stand by.

Narrator:
The controller assumed

the pilot wanted to follow
a different route

and approved that decision.

Controller: Ok, continue right
to Zurich East.

Narrator: Moments later,

the plane fell into
a deadly spiral to the right.

If the spiral was caused
by a mechanical failure,

investigators need to know
as soon as possible.

A problem
with aircraft maintenance

or a design flaw
in one of the parts...

Kolesar: Left! Left!

Narrator: Could mean that
thousands of passengers

flying on the SAAB 340
are at risk every day.

At the crash site
of Crossair flight 498,

investigators
search for evidence

of a mechanical failure.

Witnesses report
seeing fire in the sky

moments before the plane
hit the ground.

Knecht: Show me
how high the plane was

when you saw the flames.

We had the impression

that there could have been
an in-flight fire

because there were
some people...

Were describing an aircraft
burning before impact.

Any sign of the black boxes?

Narrator: The answers
investigators need

may lie in the plane's
two flight recorders.

Kolesar: Turning left
to Zurich East.

Narrator: They capture
vital information

about what the pilots
say and do in the cockpit.

Kolesar: 4-niner-8.

Narrator: But so far,
there's no sign of them.

Flueckiger: We made a plan
to go layer by layer

and take the pieces,

and one day the FDR and CVR
may come up to light.

Gruzin: APR off.

Narrator: Meanwhile,
questions are raised

about the two pilots'
ability to communicate.

Kolesar: Climbing level 1-1-0.

Narrator: English wasn't
either pilot's first language.

Perhaps they were off course

because they didn't understand
the controller's command.

Gruzin: APR off.

Kolesar: It's coming.

Graf: One of the most
important things

in working together
in the cockpit is communication.

Kolesar: Long range
navigation setting is to...

Zurich East. Yeah.

Graf:
Fluency of a common language

is of utmost importance.

Narrator: Investigators study
the pilots' records.

Knecht:
They look very experienced.

Narrator:
The records are spotless.

Both men are well-qualified

and can speak enough English
to fly a plane.

Pjatak:
I flew with both of them.

I knew Rastislav's English
was very good.

I could talk to Pavel,

and he understood,
he responds very well.

Narrator: Investigators
are no closer to understanding

why the pilots
turned the wrong way

and lost control of the plane.

Knecht:
A steep right turn developed,

which led to a collision
with ground.

But there was no indication
about the reason for that.

Narrator: Search efforts
at the crash site

bring the team
a big step closer

to understanding
what happened in the cockpit.

They recover both black boxes.

The crucial recorders are sent
to the lab for analysis.

Meanwhile,
the rest of the wreckage

is taken to a hangar in Zurich.

Perhaps a mechanical failure

can explain why the plane
spiraled out of control.

Knecht: At this point
of the investigation,

a malfunction was a major
point of discussion

because it would have been
an explanation

for this loss of control.

Narrator: Investigators study
damaged parts from the engines.

Graf: If an airplane spirals
down from the skies,

a possible engine failure
is always...

Could be one of the reasons.

Narrator: The SAAB 340

is powered by
two turbo prop engines.

Flueckiger:
If you have two engines,

one each side of the aircraft,

and if, for instance,
the left engine

provides you with more power
than the right one,

the aircraft tends
to turn to the right.

Narrator:
If the right engine failed,

it could explain
the fatal spiral.

Flueckiger:
Spinning at high speed.

Narrator: But both engines
show distinct damage

that can mean only one thing.

Knecht: It was quite clear

in just a short time
after the accident

that the engines were running

and they were running
even on high speed.

Narrator: Engine failure
did not bring down flight 498.

Investigators dig through
the plane's maintenance records

in search of a solid lead.

Knecht:
I think I've got something.

You see here...

And here...

And again here.

Graf: The airplane had a history
of uncontrolled flap movement.

Narrator:
In the last 18 months,

crews lodged
more than 20 complaints

about the flaps
on this very plane.

Knecht:
It's a lot of complaints.

Flueckiger: 21 in 18 months.

That catched our interest.

Narrator:
Flaps are small surfaces

that extend from the back
of the wing during takeoff

to increase lift.

If the flaps on one wing
don't extend properly,

it can make the plane
hard to control.

Flueckiger: If something
is wrong with the system

and one flap is moving
faster than the other

or going further than the other,

you're inducing,
at this wing, more lift

but also more drag.

So that will tend you to roll

in this left
or right direction.

Narrator: Evidence of
a flap malfunction on flight 498

could be the break
investigators need.

They sort through fragments
of wing wreckage,

but it's no use.

The parts are too badly damaged
to provide any answers.

Flueckiger:
They were damaged in...

I don't remember
in how many pieces.

The actual flap was destroyed.

Narrator:
They won't know for sure

if the flaps malfunctioned

until they can study data
from the flight recorder.

But the wreckage
does allow investigators

to explore a different theory.

Witnesses reported
seeing a fire on board

before the plane hit the ground.

Flueckiger:
So that was quite interesting

that the eyewitnesses told us

that they saw the aircraft
in flames.

That made us curious,

so we need to go to the wreckage
and make an investigation.

Narrator: Flames leave
distinctive scorch marks

on the skin of a plane.

Flueckiger:
Give me that one there.

Narrator: If the plane caught
fire before the crash,

debris from the same part
of the aircraft

should show the same pattern
of soot marks,

much like neighboring pieces
of a jigsaw puzzle.

That's not the case

if the fire started when
the plane was already in pieces.

Flueckiger: If you have a fire
after the accident,

those pieces may be
already split up

and they don't match the...

The fire traces
don't match anymore.

Narrator:
It's a painstaking procedure.

Investigators must map
each piece of debris

to a precise location before
they can compare the burn marks.

In 1991, burn mark analysis

helped investigators
in Saudi Arabia

understand the crash
of Nation Air flight 2120.

After a wheel caught fire
on takeoff,

the dc-8 became
engulfed in flames.

None of the 261 people on board
survived.

Now Swiss investigators
struggle to determine

if an in-flight fire brought
down Crossair flight 498.

Flueckiger: It took us
also a long time

to find all the pieces.

Narrator:
The results are conclusive.

Flueckiger:
See here? And here?

The scorching
was definitely post-impact.

At the end, we could determine

that it had a post-impact fire,
that's for sure.

Narrator:
The witnesses are wrong.

There was no in-flight fire.

Flueckiger: Witnesses often
tell us some observations,

but it's not necessarily in
the right order chronologically.

That's, uh...that's
quite often the case.

Narrator: Crash site debris
soon produces another lead.

A pilot's flight bag was thrown
clear of the crater on impact.

It's quickly identified
as belonging to Captain Gruzin.

The contents are disturbing.

Knecht: There were some
personal items in there,

and with them
we found this medication.

No label or box with it?

It is quite uncommon

that you find some medication
in a pilot's bag.

Kolesar:
Turning left to Zurich East.

We should left.

Narrator: A drug-impaired pilot
could explain the accident.

Graf: It is always
of great concern

because we all know that
you're not supposed to take

any kind of drugs
when we go flying.

Narrator:
Investigators need to know

exactly what type of drug
they're dealing with

and whether Captain Gruzin took
any on the day of the crash.

Knecht:
Take this to the lab.

Narrator: Tests reveal that
the medication is phenazepam,

a powerful sedative
similar to valium

that's used to treat
anxiety disorders.

Knecht: In this case,

there was medication
which was very strong

and which can have an effect

on your capability
to fly an airplane.

Narrator: Daniel Knecht may have
finally found the reason

why 10 people died
on board flight 498.

Figuring out if the drug
was in the captain's system

will require tissue analysis.

That will take more time.

But valuable new information
has been recovered

from the plane's
flight data recorder.

Flueckiger:
See what this looks like.

Narrator:
Investigators use the data

to create a simulation

that replicates the plane's
motion during the flight.

They hope it will tell them

if malfunctioning wing flaps
led to the crash.

Gruzin: Set takeoff power.

Kolesar: Takeoff power set.

Flueckiger: A physical
examination of the flap panels

was not possible anymore,

so we needed to find
another way.

Narrator:
Flaps affect lift and drag.

If there was something
wrong with them,

it will show up
in the simulation.

Gruzin: APR off.

Controller: Crossair 4-9-8
climb to flight level 1-1-0.

Kolesar: Climbing level 1-1-0,
Crossair 4-niner-8.

Narrator:
The plane climbs normally.

Kolesar:
Climbing to 3,000 feet.

Narrator: There's no sign
of any flap malfunction.

Flueckiger: We could
rule that out at this point.

Kolesar: Bleeds are on.

Knecht: Their flaps were working
as they were designed.

Flueckiger: No problem at all.

We saw the engines were running,

we saw they have a good speed,
everything is climbing,

everything is going good.

And suddenly he switches
from a left turn to a right turn

and he loses control.

Gruzin: Oh, nah, nah.

Flueckiger:
It's like no one is flying.

The big question is why?
What happened?

What triggered it?

Kolesar: Left! Left!

Narrator:
Investigators travel to Moldova

to meet with
the captain's widow.

They ask her why her husband
was carrying tranquilizers.

Man: I'm sorry. I know
this is a difficult time.

Narrator:
She explains that her husband

was under a lot of stress.

Knecht: She knew that he was
taking his medication,

and it was, I think,
also due to the situation

that he was separate from her,

living in Switzerland.

Narrator: The captain
was working far from home

and sending money
to his family in Moldova.

Knecht: He was not very happy
to be separate from his family,

from his spouse,

from all the people he knew.

He was in another country,

able to speak English,

but not German or French.

And I think
this was not easy for him.

Narrator: But was Captain Gruzin
unhappy enough

to risk taking a tranquilizer

before piloting
a commercial flight?

Investigators hope
the tissue analysis

will tell them
if the captain was impaired

when he took off
from the Zurich Airport.

The results are inconclusive.

Though he had traces
of the sedative in his system,

the tests can't reveal if it was
enough to affect his flying.

Knecht:
We were not able to rule out

this effect in the accident,

but we were also not sure

that this medication
had an effect for sure.

Narrator: But investigators
aren't giving up.

Gruzin: Oh, nah, nah.

Narrator: There may be
another way to determine

if the captain was impaired.

Kolesar: Left! Left!

Narrator:
A friend of Captain Gruzin

is brought in to help
with the investigation.

Knecht: So, just have a listen
and see how he sounds to you.

Narrator: He's asked
to listen to conversations

captured on
the cockpit voice recorder.

Gruzin: Change heading.

Kolesar: Checklist completed.

Gruzin: Set takeoff power.

Narrator:
He listens for any hint

about how the captain
was feeling,

any sign that he was impaired
when the plane took off.

Kolesar: Takeoff power set.

Knecht: The tone
or the pronunciation,

all those things
are very important.

For example, if you have people
who are under medication,

if pronunciation
is not so clear,

this could be a clue.

Gruzin: APR off.

Knecht: How about that?

Keep listening. Be sure.

Kolesar: Bleeds are on.

Narrator:
But the captain's friend

hears nothing
out of the ordinary.

Gruzin's voice
sounds completely normal.

There's no sign at all
that he's impaired by drugs.

Knecht: The behavior...

All the discussion
was very calm.

Ok. One more time.

Narrator: Investigators
are running out of leads.

Kolesar: Checklist completed.

Narrator: The cockpit recording
seems to offer little, until...

Gruzin: Set takeoff power.

Knecht: Hold on.
Kolesar: Takeoff power set.

Knecht: Play it back.

Narrator:
They hear an odd sound.

Gruzin: Set takeoff power.

Kolesar: Takeoff power set.

Knecht: Sounds like
cell phone interference.

We had some indication
on the CVR

that there was a cell phone
working in the airplane.

Narrator: In the year 2000,

there's a potential new threat
to aviation safety.

Narrator: More and more people
are carrying mobile phones,

and their effect on planes
is unknown.

When a mobile phone is in use,

it transmits a signal
to the mobile phone tower

and can create interference.

The signal has been
captured as a buzz

on the cockpit voice recorder.

Kolesar: Takeoff power set.

Narrator: Investigators
wonder if interference

could also have affected
the plane's instruments.

Knecht: There are malfunctions

where you don't have
any indication

about the malfunction.

The instrument is showing
a normal indication.

This kind of malfunction
is very difficult to detect.

Controller: Crossair 4-9-8,
climb to flight level 1-1-0.

Kolesar: Climbing level 1-1-0,
Crossair 4-niner-8.

Narrator: Commercial pilots

rely almost entirely
on their instruments

to tell them their plane's
position in the sky.

Pjatak: The main instrument to
follow is artificial horizon--

an instrument that gives you
the idea of climb or descent

and also the indication
of bank--left or right bank.

Narrator:
If mobile phone interference

affected the artificial horizon,

it might explain
why the pilots didn't know

they were turning the wrong way.

Gruzin: Oh, nah, nah.

Narrator: Investigators learn
that a Slovenian Airliner

was forced to make
an emergency landing

after mobile phone signals

caused the plane's electronics
to malfunction,

triggering a false alarm
indicating an onboard fire.

Flueckiger: It can influence
the aircraft systems,

more or less send you messages
that are not true.

Narrator: There's no question

there were
mobile phones on board.

Crossair pilots
even carry one in the cockpit

to communicate
with the ground crew.

Investigators set up a series
of tests in an identical plane.

Flueckiger:
Ok. All set here.

So, go to the back
and trigger a signal.

Narrator: They look for any sign
that a mobile phone signal

can affect
vital flight instruments.

Flueckiger:
With this test equipment,

you can emulate
a cellular phone.

And we went close
to the avionics racks.

We tried to stimulate
the system.

Man: Nothing yet.

Flueckiger: Try again.

Narrator:
There are mobile phones

on nearly every plane
in the sky.

If mobile interference really is
the cause of the crash,

investigators need to know
before it happens again.

Investigators obtain
the mobile phone records

of every passenger on the plane.

They check to see if anyone
on board used their phone

in the critical
last moments of the flight.

Knecht: Nothing yet.

You?

Graf: Cell phones
normally don't do any damage

or any harm to aircraft systems

because they're
very well shielded

from such
electronic interference.

Narrator:
The onboard testing confirms

that mobile signals can create
electronic interference

in the cockpit.

Flueckiger: There it is.

Narrator:
But can that interference

cause flight instruments
to malfunction?

After repeated testing....

Flueckiger: Try again.

Narrator: Investigators can find
nothing to support that theory.

Flueckiger:
We didn't have any evidence

that the cellular phone
was a problem.

Narrator:
The phone records show...

Man: Ciao.

Narrator: That all mobile phone
calls to and from the plane

ended before takeoff.

Man: Ciao.

Knecht: During the flight,
we had no communication

between one of the cell phones
and ground stations.

Narrator: It now seems

that other than the noise
captured on the CVR

when the plane
was still on the ground...

Mobile phones had no effect
on the flight at all.

None of the crash theories
are panning out.

Investigators re-examine
the best evidence they have:

The pilots' comments
recorded in the cockpit...

Gruzin: Gear up.

Narrator: And the information
from the flight data recorder.

Kolesar: Gear is up.

Gruzin: APR off.

Controller: Crossair 4-9-8
climb to flight level 1-1-0.

Kolesar: Climbing level 1-1-0,
Crossair 4-niner-8.

Gruzin: APR off.

Kolesar: It's coming.

Narrator: They listen for
anything that can tell them

how the instruments
were working that night.

Knecht: Right here the turn
is starting to get very steep.

Kolesar:
Turning left to Zurich East.

We should left.

Gruzin: Oh, nah, nah.

Narrator: A sudden reaction
from the captain

provides a clue.

Knecht: That timing
can't be coincidence.

Narrator: Investigators know

that the captain's
flight display

changes in appearance

the moment a turn
gets too steep.

Flueckiger:
The system is designed

that if you go into
an abnormal bank or pitch angle,

it removes unnecessary
information

to make the recovery
easier for the pilot.

Knecht: This was
just at the moment

when the captain was commenting
this, "oh, nah, nah."

Narrator: The timing
of the captain's remark

convinces investigators that
his instruments were working

but that he didn't understand

what the gauges
were telling him.

Knecht: People who are confused

are not detecting
this confusion at the moment.

Kolesar: Left! Left!

Left!

Knecht: I think the problem was

that he was not aware
what was going on.

Narrator:
The troubling question:

How could a qualified pilot
become so confused

that he didn't
know the difference

between left and right?

The search for an answer
takes investigators to Russia,

where Captain Gruzin
learned to fly.

Man: Thank you for seeing us.

Narrator: They meet with
Russian aviation experts.

Crossair recruits many pilots
from the former Soviet Union.

If Russian training is faulty,
lives could be at risk.

Pjatak: Crossair
was expanding dramatically

with no resource of own pilots

from Switzerland
or neighboring countries,

so it was very easy for pilots

to transfer
to Crossair airplanes.

Narrator:
They study the pilots' histories

before they moved to Crossair.

Captain Gruzin was 41 years old.

He had over 8,000 hours
total flying time

and almost 1,900 hours
on the SAAB 340.

The 35-year-old first officer,
Rastislav Kolesar,

had more than 1,100 hours
on the plane.

Pjatak:
He was a very capable pilot

and well organized.

Narrator: Both pilots
were highly qualified.

There seems to be no reason
to suspect pilot error...

Until the Russian investigators
suggest a stunning theory

that could change everything.

They tell investigators about
a troubling cluster of accidents

caused by Russian-trained pilots
becoming confused

by a crucial flight instrument.

Knecht: This was
very surprising for us

because this problem
was not well known at this time

in the western part of aviation.

Narrator:
Pilots in the Soviet Union

were trained to fly
using an artificial horizon

that looks very different from
the one used in western planes.

Kolesar: Turning left
to Zurich East,

Crossair 4-niner-8.

Narrator: In the west,

the airplane symbol
in the middle remains stable

as the background moves.

Soviet horizons
work in the opposite way.

The airplane symbol
shows the motion,

and the horizon
is fixed in place.

Man: It's easy to see how
a pilot might get confused.

Narrator: A left turn
on a Soviet display

looks very similar
to a right turn

on a western display.

Knecht: There were
two different philosophies

of artificial horizons
in the western aviation system

and in the eastern
aviation systems.

And these two systems,

they can lead
to a certain confusion.

Narrator: As countries
in Eastern Europe

began buying
more western planes,

that confusion proved deadly.

15 crashes
involving spiral dives.

Knecht: This discovery
was really crucial

for a probable cause
of this accident.

Narrator: Under stress

and possibly under the influence
of a tranquilizer,

Captain Gruzin may have
fallen back on what he learned

when he first became a pilot.

Kolesar: No!

Pjatak: What you learn at your
first very initial training,

it goes back
to your reptile brain,

is where you really store it
in the long-term memory basis.

That's what you remember,

and you go back
to your basic training.

Narrator: In his confusion,

he became convinced
he was in a steep left turn.

He was turning right
to try to correct that problem.

Knecht: If you were
driving in Switzerland,

driving on the right side
of the street,

if I go to the united kingdom,

I will be able to drive
without a problem.

But perhaps in a roundabout
or when I am under pressure

and I have to decide
in a few seconds what to do,

I will fall back

in the mode I was trained
several years before,

and I will choose
the wrong direction.

Narrator:
The air traffic controller

only added to his confusion.

Controller: Crossair 4-9-8
confirm you are turning left.

Narrator: The instruction
may have seemed

like confirmation
that the plane was turning left,

even though it was not.

Graf: He said, "4-9-8
confirm you're turning left."

How much does that help
to a crew?

Kolesar: Please, stand by.

Graf: The only thing he could
have done, in my opinion,

is to say either,
"Crossair 4-9-8 turn left,

heading...whatever,"

or "Crossair 4-9-8
I see you in a right turn."

Kolesar: Left! Left!

Graf: What he actually said
didn't help anybody.

Narrator: The captain's
constant attempt

to level the plane he believed
to be turning sharply left

actually put the aircraft
into a deadly spiraling dive

to the right.

Investigators also discover
another important difference

between Russian
and western aviation.

Man: That is a lot
of hand-flying.

Narrator: Russian pilots
have a different approach

to the use of the autopilot.

Kolesar: Long range
navigation setting is to...

Zurich East, yeah.

Narrator: The autopilot
can fly the plane...

Gruzin: Ok.

Narrator: Even if both pilots

have their attention
on other tasks.

Pjatak: Eastern philosophy
from the previous Soviet Union

would be to fly the aircraft
as long as possible

with hand-flying,

just to prove the ability
of the pilot to fly.

And that's really different
from the western philosophy.

Narrator:
The Captain of Crossair 498

was flying by hand.

The autopilot was not engaged.

Graf: If the captain

had engaged the autopilot
after takeoff,

the accident
would not have happened.

Knecht: We would never have
talked about this flight

because the airplane would have
simply flown to Zurich East

and reached Dresden
about one hour later.

Narrator: But there's
another troubling question.

There were two pilots
on board that day.

Even if the captain
was confused by his instrument,

why didn't the first officer
notice the problem

and take steps
to save the plane?

Knecht: If somebody sees
something going wrong,

then he should intervene.

Pass me the specs
for the Crossair fleet,

would you, please?

Narrator: Investigators wonder
what could have prevented

first officer Kolesar from
noticing his captain's mistake.

Kolesar: Climbing level 1-1-0,
Crossair 4-niner-8.

Narrator:
It was the first officer's job

to monitor the instruments.

Gruzin: APR off.

Kolesar: It's coming.

Narrator: But he had an extra
challenge during flight 498.

Controller: 4-9-8 turn left
to Zurich East.

Kolesar: Turning left
to Zurich East,

Crossair 4-niner-8.

Narrator: The plane's
computerized navigation system

was a new addition
to the cockpit.

Cockpit design
is a complicated process.

Pilots need to be able
to reach everything easily...

As well as monitor
a vast array of instruments,

including the artificial horizon

located directly
in front of them.

Flueckiger: The SAAB 340
is not a huge aircraft.

You don't have space
to place everything

in an optimum area,

so it's a challenge
to organize the cockpit.

Narrator: Investigators wonder
if an awkward cockpit design

made it difficult
for the first officer

to see what was going on.

To find out, they conduct
an unusual experiment.

Knecht: Ok, let's begin.

Kolesar: V-1.

Narrator:
They reconstruct the flight

to see exactly where
the first officer was looking

when things started to go wrong.

Gruzin: Gear up.

Knecht: Looking at
the gear handle.

Kolesar: Gear is up.

Gruzin: APR off.

Controller: Crossair 4-9-8
climb to flight level 1-1-0.

Kolesar: Climbing level 1-1-0,
Crossair 4-niner-8.

Pjatak: After-takeoff procedure
for SAAB 340

requires from a pilot
which is not flying

to do most of his job
either head down or head up.

He would either
follow the overhead panel

to put the switches
in a proper position,

or would look down
to turn the knobs

and try to settle
the center pedestal panel.

Gruzin: Set climb power.

Kolesar: Coming.

Narrator:
His duties keep his gaze away

from the artificial horizon.

Knecht: Now he's looking here.

Now I can look up.

Narrator:
By the time the first officer

could see what was happening,

the plane was already
in a steep right bank.

Kolesar: Turning left
to Zurich East.

Graf: If you do not pay
attention, when you look back,

you will probably find
an attitude you didn't expect.

Researchers found out
that it takes 4 to 18 seconds

to have an idea
what the airplane is doing,

what kind of attitude
the airplane actually is,

and what kind of action
has to be taken

to recover from it.

Kolesar: We should left.

Controller: Crossair 4-9-8
confirm you are turning left.

Kolesar: Please, stand by.

Knecht:
It was clearly detectable

that stress was increasing.

Kolesar: No!

Narrator:
The first officer's stress

shows he knew
there was a serious problem.

The captain thought his plane
was turning left.

He didn't understand

what his first officer
was trying to tell him.

Kolesar: Left!

Graf: Their English was
basically aviation English...

Graf: And it is hard
to communicate fluently

and to communicate concerns
well enough.

Knecht:
All he had to say was, "stop.

You're turning the wrong way."

It is normal in aviation

that you have an exchange of
people from different countries,

and I think that's
a nice part of aviation--

that it's international.

But you have to analyze
their cultural background.

You have to give them
the tools they need

to do their job safely.

Narrator: After the crash
of flight 498,

the airline
improved training

for pilots from
former Soviet bloc countries.

They now get three months
of extra instruction.

They also must pass
an English-proficiency test.

Flueckiger:
Everybody's working hard

to make good aircraft

with good trained people,

good aircraft systems.

Narrator: Finally,
all Swiss crews are now required

to engage the autopilot
immediately after takeoff,

ensuring that they can
pay proper attention

to the progress of the flight.