Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Scorched wreckage is all

that's left after a fatal air disaster in Illinois.

TOM HAUETER: It was really a molten mess to be frank.

NARRATOR: Witnesses recount a stunning detail.

I could hear passengers shouting out.

NARRATOR: Everyone who died survived the initial impact.

You evacuate.

I'll shut down.

NORA MARSHALL: To know that they survived an accident

and weren't able to get out is hard.

Open the door!

PAUL WALKER: I tried everything that I could do in the world,

and I could not get that door to unlatch.

NARRATOR: Investigators face a tragic and puzzling question.

Why didn't that door open?

Hurry!

Oh God.

I'm sorry, Kate.

I was literally their last hope.

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!

He's going to crash!

NARRATOR: It's late afternoon.

The crew of United Express Flight 5925

is nearing the end of a long workday.

Doors and windows are closed and locked.

Load's checked.

NARRATOR: Captain Kate Gathje and First Officer Darren

McCombs have been on the job for 12 hours,

piloting a string of commuter flights across the Midwest.

Battery is on.

Avionics are off.

NARRATOR: They're about to start their final leg,

a short 20-minute flight.

There are 10 passengers in the cabin,

but on a short hop like this, no flight attendants.

The pre-flight announcement is automated.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Welcome aboard.

Before we begin our flight, we'd

like to review some important safety features.

Please observe this--

PAUL WALKER: The automated message, it's human nature.

Most of us really aren't paying that much of attention.

When it's a recording, it's like a commercial

in the background.

Who's really paying attention at all?

AUTOMATED VOICE: There are four exits aboard this aircraft,

please take a few moments to familiarize--

NARRATOR: The Beechcraft 1900C is

a twin engine turboprop often used

as a regional commuter plane.

V1.

V2.

Positive rate.

NARRATOR: This is the eighth takeoff

of the day for the pilots.

Gears up.

Lights are up.

NARRATOR: Starting in Quincy, Illinois,

they've puddle-jumped from one airport

to the next across three states.

They switched planes in Chicago and now they're on their way

back to where they started, Quincy.

PAUL WALKER: takeoffs and landings is

very challenging for a pilot.

You're increasing your chance of an accident much more than,

let's say, a captain on a major airline who's

flying a large airliner or in flying to Asia,

he takes off once, 14 hours later, he lands once

and he gets two days off and he comes home.

In those last three days, the commuter pilot's

done 30 landings.

Climb power set.

Checks complete.

NARRATOR: 30-year-old Kate Gathje was born to fly.

Her family runs a flight school in Minnesota,

where she made her first solo flight when she was just 16.

She's recently been promoted to captain,

a big step towards her dream of flying for the majors.

What's the winds down there?

NARRATOR: First Officer McCombs is

nearly 24 years old with nearly 2,000 hours of flight time.

For this final leg, he's at the controls

and the captain is handling the radio.

PAUL WALKER: That's done a lot to get the first officers more

experience and get them up to speed

so that they can transition into being

a full-time captain.

Winds are 060 at 8, 12 miles visibility.

NARRATOR: Their final destination is Quincy Regional

Airport where Paul Walker is working as chief pilot

for a flight school.

PAUL WALKER: It's not real busy,

but it's not completely quiet either.

You're able to see anything from a little single place

home-built airplane to a C-5 Galaxy sitting on the ramp.

NARRATOR: There are three intersecting

runways at Quincy.

Most planes take off and land on runway 13 or runway

number 4.

The small airport is one of thousands across the country

without a control tower.

That means there are no controllers to direct traffic,

pilots must communicate directly with each other

during takeoff and landing.

It's now 9 minutes before touchdown.

About 30 miles to the North of the field.

Inbound for landing runway 13 at Quincy.

Any traffic in the area, please advise.

NARRATOR: Captain Gathje radios in on an open frequency

used by all pilots at Quincy.

All right.

Power is set.

At an airport like Quincy that is non-towered,

you cannot be too vigilant when you're flying an airplane.

You have to have a situational awareness

to realize what's probably going to be coming next

and where other aircraft are.

Look at that sunset, man.

That's gorgeous.

NARRATOR: As they begin their descent with no tower

to guide them, Captain Gathje's radio

communications are critical, but she's used to it.

Uncontrolled airports are a commuter

pilot's bread and butter.

PAUL WALKER: Well, there's rules

and there's regulations under proper procedures

to fly in and out of airports without towers,

non-towered airports.

There is still control, but there's just not somebody

there sitting watching.

LAURA BROOKS (ON RADIO): King Air 1127, delta's taxiing out.

Takeoff on runway 4.

They're using 4.

NARRATOR: A King Air A90, a much smaller twin turboprop,

is taxiing out to runway 4.

The pilot is Neal Reinwald, a retired TWA captain.

Today, he's instructing Laura Brooks.

OK, let's review procedures before takeoff.

What's our takeoff weight?

NARRATOR: A far less experienced pilot,

Brooks is looking to build up her flight

hours on multi-engine planes.

It's her first time in a King Air.

You'll be using 13 still, right?

Yeah, unless it doesn't look good.

PAUL WALKER: Aviation, just as when you drive a vehicle,

is a see and be seen world.

Pilots are taught to look out the windows,

and this works well every day all over the world.

King Air 1127, delta holding short of runway 4

to taking the runway for departure.

NARRATOR: The commuter plane is now 90 seconds to touchdown.

The King Air is in position and holding.

Position hold is when an aircraft

pulls onto the end of the runway,

turns, points down the runway prepared for takeoff,

and just what it says, holds its position.

5-mile final for runway 13 at Quincy.

You're down.

3 green.

Fuel check.

OK.

Navigation is set, and radar is set for takeoff.

PAUL WALKER: For Captain, it was a nice day.

The winds were light.

He's thinking about, OK, we got a nice, easy flight home.

The first officer's going to do some flying.

I'm going to do some instructing.

NARRATOR: As the commuter plane descends--

AUTOMATED VOICE: 500.

NARRATOR: --an automated voice in the cockpit

gives the pilots their altitude.

On short final for runway 13.

AUTOMATED VOICE: 400.

The aircraft going to hold in position on runway 4 or you

guys are going to take off? AUTOMATED VOICE: 300.

LARRY BEDFORD (ON RADIO): 7646 Juliet,

holding for departure on runway 4--

AUTOMATED VOICE: 200.

LARRY BEDFORD (ON RADIO): --behind on the King Air.

OK, we'll get through your intersection

in just a second, sir.

We appreciate that.

Finals are complete.

NARRATOR: At the same moment, flight

instructor Paul Walker is in a hangar at Quincy airport.

PAUL WALKER: I'd walked about 10, 15 feet inside the door.

While all this had been going on,

the King Air had been starting taxiing out.

Max reverse.

Oh, Christ!

What the hell?

We heard this explosion that-- that rattled the walls

and the windows shook.

I ran for the door.

And as I came outside, what I saw

looked like a mushroom cloud from when you see the films

of the atomic bombs going off.

I thought the King Air had had some sort of malfunction

and crashed on takeoff.

NARRATOR: But the disaster unfolding in Quincy, Illinois,

is far worse than Paul Walker imagines.

At Quincy Airport, Paul Walker rushes toward burning

wreckage on the runway.

I would say I was at the crash site in less

than a minute and a half.

NARRATOR: As he draws closer to the fire,

Walker makes a bone-chilling discovery.

It's not only the King Air engulfed in flames,

two planes are on fire.

I could see through the smoke the Beech 1900 said United

Express on it, at which time I had the most sickening feeling

in the world that that airplane could be completely full

of people.

You evacuate.

I'll shut down.

NARRATOR: The lives of 4 pilots and 10 passengers

are now at risk with no firefighters

at the tiny airport to help with the rescue.

TOM HAUETER: Well, as an investigator,

always was worried about, is this going to happen and when?

And we've been lucky many times.

At Quincy, the luck ran out.

Open the door!

Please!

Someone help!

Open the door!

NARRATOR: Another pilot comes to help Walker on the runway.

Where's the door?

PAUL WALKER: It appeared to me to be

that he was just in shock.

Hey, I hear people in there.

We have to get inside that plane.

The main door, it's over here.

NARRATOR: United Express pilot Mike

Rowe was supposed to fly the 1900

on its next scheduled flight.

The main exit, an airstair door,

is directly behind the cockpit.

PAUL WALKER: I grabbed the handle

and attempted to open the door.

The heat was just very intense.

Obviously, the most heat I have ever felt in my life.

Tremendous amount of smoke.

The aircraft was rapidly being consumed by the fire.

When I wiggled the handle a little bit,

somebody on the inside wiggled it the other way.

I can't get it open.

Open the door.

Help!

NARRATOR: As he hears the captain's desperate cries,

Walker suddenly realizes--

Oh, God.

It's you.

Hang in there, Kate.

NARRATOR: --he's met Kate Gathje before.

Open the door.

PAUL WALKER: When I came around the wing of the commuter,

I did not expect there'd be someone in it

that I actually knew.

Please help!

The fact that you actually know

somebody in that situation at that time

just added more to it.

Hang in there, Kate.

Just hurry.

Open the door.

OK, OK, hang on.

Here.

You have to push the button before turning the handle.

PAUL WALKER: The other gentleman

goes up and pushes the button.

I thought, aha, I didn't push the button.

Oh, God, I can't.

NARRATOR: Mike Rowe rushes to get more help,

leaving Paul Walker yanking desperately on the door

of the burning plane.

PAUL WALKER: When I went back to the door the second time,

there was no doubt in my mind I was

going to get that door open.

I'm 6 foot 3 20 years ago and thought I was

10 foot tall and bulletproof.

I tried everything that I could do in the world,

and I could not get that door to unlatch.

Oh, God.

I'm sorry, Kate.

I can't do this.

I'm going to get help.

PAUL WALKER: Leaving the airplane

was one of the more difficult things

I've ever done in my life.

When I looked at the captain, there

was part of me that knows that she knew that by the time

I got back it would be--

it would be too late, that-- that I

was literally their last hope.

Please!

NARRATOR: Moments later, all hope for the crash survivors

is lost.

PAUL WALKER: It was easily less than 2 minutes

from the time I was standing by the left wing

till it exploded.

I felt like I failed.

NARRATOR: Despite Paul Walker's heroic efforts,

4 pilots and 10 passengers are dead.

It's one of the worst runway accidents

in North American history.

PAUL WALKER: Over the years, I've

come to rationalize it in my mind that, you know,

there were 10 or 12 people at the airport.

And of 10 or 12 people, only 2 of us went to the crash scene,

and I was the first one to it, and I

was the last one to leave.

And that's helped me.

At least I tried.

I may have failed, but I tried.

NARRATOR: It's a tragedy the likes of which

the small city of Quincy has never seen.

And in Minnesota, the Gathje family is devastated.

REPORTER: Kate's dreams of someday

flying the big jets began right in her own backyard.

That's where her family's flying school is.

I think Katie did everything she could have to get out

of that situation and to protect the people she

had in her plane.

NARRATOR: By early morning, a team

of investigators from the National Transportation

Safety Board gets to work.

Tom Haueter is lead investigator.

It's his job to determine how a seemingly routine landing

ended with so many deaths.

TOM HAUETER: You could sort of make out airplanes

that it was very burnt.

You could see wingtips.

You could see parts.

He said, yes, those are two airplanes,

but it was really a molten mess to be frank.

NARRATOR: With no survivors from either plane,

investigators must rely on physical evidence

to tell them what went wrong.

They put down an awful lot of rubber.

NARRATOR: Skid marks on runway 13

reveal that the United Express pilot

hit the brakes hard 475 feet before the point of impact.

TOM HAUETER: There's just these two massive black lines

going from just after touchdown to where

the two planes collided.

So he was on the brakes the whole time.

Certainly, flat spot of the tires, in my opinion,

probably blew the tires in the process.

NARRATOR: Skid marks on the intersecting runway

tell a similar story.

It seems both planes braked hard and swerved,

but couldn't stop from colliding.

How did this happen?

It was also a clear day with good weather.

So everything looks like this accident

shouldn't have occurred.

So trying to put it together, what happened on this day,

where did the faults come into play that caused

these airplanes to collide at the intersection of

two runways.

NARRATOR: Haueter studies the wreckage

trying to piece together a detailed picture

of the fatal collision.

OK, let's figure this thing out.

Most of the wreckage is destroyed or badly scorched,

but a few key pieces tell the tale.

Well, we have some missing paint and a good-sized dent.

This is definitely from the collision.

OK.

NARRATOR: The nose of the King Air is dented,

and its blue paint has been scraped away.

And here, this is the prop for the United,

which means that blue paint came from the King Air.

TOM HAUETER: So you can look at the paint transfer marks

and you have a pretty good idea that the angle the airplanes

came together.

This is a sideswipe.

It looks like they tried to squeak past each other,

but then their noses touched and then they

just got tangled up together.

TOM HAUETER: They essentially hit side to side.

Max reverse.

NARRATOR: Investigators calculate the United

Express plane touched down with a speed of 120 miles per hour.

Oh, Christ.

What the hell?

NARRATOR: By the time the crew saw the plane on runway 4,

it was too late.

The King Air is accelerating towards the same point

at about 115 miles per hour.

It takes just 7 seconds for the two planes to collide.

The team now knows how the two planes met,

but they still have no idea what caused the crash.

TOM HAUETER: Why did these two airplanes come together?

Is there something in the aircraft, something

the pilots did?

NARRATOR: To fully understand the tragedy at Quincy,

Haueter needs answers to those critical questions.

The town of Quincy, Illinois, is in mourning.

14 people are dead after a fiery crash.

NTSB investigators are under the gun.

Amidst the charred debris, they make

a major find, the cockpit voice recorder

from United Express 5925.

TOM HAUETER: The cockpit voice recorder

is very important in a situation like this.

What was the crew saying?

What were they thinking?

When both the crew are fatal, the only thing you have

is a CVR to tell you exactly what happened at that moment.

NARRATOR: They rush the CVR to NTSB

headquarters in Washington.

Investigators are hoping the data

inside has survived the fire.

As head of the operations group,

David Ivey focuses his attention on pilot behavior.

DAVID IVEY: This accident is probably

one of the most unusual that I had investigated in my career.

NARRATOR: Somehow, the pilots didn't see each other coming

despite the clear skies.

On short final for runway 13.

TOM HAUETER: Why did all this, on such

a clear night with no restrictions to

visibility, occur?

NARRATOR: While Ivey waits for word

on the all important cockpit voice recorder,

he gets what he can from witnesses.

Hi, Dave.

I'm Paul.

Come on in.

Have a seat.

PAUL WALKER: I had personally never been around a crash

investigation of any type.

I was very impressed with it.

What they came in and did, just a very class act,

very professional.

I raced out there as fast as I

could after I heard the crash.

NARRATOR: Walker didn't see the collision,

but he provides investigators with a chilling

detail about the accident.

I could see Kate.

She was crying out for help.

Hurry!

Quickly!

I can't.

Open the door.

I could hear passengers shouting out too.

NARRATOR: There's no doubt passengers on board Flight

5925 survived the collision, but the aircraft

had two over wing emergency exits

on the right and another on the left

as well as the main door Walker tried to open.

So why couldn't anyone escape the smoke filled plane?

Hurry, hurry!

Get the door open!

OK, hang on.

DAVID IVEY: The fact that they all perished in this accident

was overwhelmingly a tragedy, but I felt the obligation

to find out why this occurred.

NARRATOR: Investigators now face a dual challenge,

figuring out why two planes collided on the runway

and why none of the crash survivors got out alive.

I can't get it open.

Open the door!

NARRATOR: Nora Marshall is an expert

in crash survival factors.

Why no one escaped Flight 5925 is a puzzle

she wants to solve.

The thing that stands out in my mind

is that these people had a chance, if the exits

had opened, to survive.

NARRATOR: Right away, Marshall is struck

by how little fire damage the left side of the plane

has sustained.

NORA MARSHALL: The left side of the airplane

was not part of the original fire.

So we knew there was an opportunity

for people to get out the airstair

door or the left wing exit.

So why didn't that happen?

NARRATOR: Autopsy reports on the passengers and crew only

add to the mystery.

In every case, the cause of death was smoke inhalation.

There are no physical injuries severe enough

to have caused death.

NORA MARSHALL: The fact that there was no blunt force

trauma indicates that the passengers and the crew

would have been capable of moving to an exit,

and that's a critical fact.

NARRATOR: Marshall painstakingly

tracks the final positions of the bodies

and uses them to recreate the passengers'

movements after the collision.

NORA MARSHALL: And there were actually

more of the remains in the forward cabin,

and there were fewer remains in the back.

So it allowed us to know that people from the back

had moved forward in the cabin before being overcome.

NARRATOR: The most likely explanation?

The terrified passengers rushed for the main door,

forgetting about the over wing exits.

TOM HAUETER: In moments of panic,

people normally tend to go to the door they came in from.

People rarely think about the over wing exits,

especially in these smaller aircraft.

It immediately becomes the question of,

why wasn't the door opened?

OK, guys.

Thanks.

So what position was it in when you first got there?

Like-- like this.

NARRATOR: The air stair door now becomes the focus

of Marshall's investigation.

Yeah, I'm 100% sure that's it.

NARRATOR: As the first person to reach the door,

Paul Walker's testimony is key.

He's certain he found the handle in the 6

o'clock or open position.

NORA MARSHALL: Finding the handle in the 6 o'clock

position suggested to me that the first officer

had moved the handle to the open position.

NARRATOR: It's the first officer's responsibility

to open the exit doors.

Someone help!

NARRATOR: Emergency procedures call

for the captain to shut down the airplane while

the evacuation is underway.

I can't get it open.

Open the door!

NARRATOR: First Officer McCombs'

body was found between the main door

and the left over wing exit.

The position makes sense to Marshall.

NORA MARSHALL: Crew members are taught,

if your door doesn't open, don't waste a lot of time,

get to another exit.

And I believe where we found him indicates that he

was moving to another exit.

NARRATOR: But in the overpowering smoke and heat,

First Officer McCombs never made it to another exit.

NORA MARSHALL: Had the airstair door opened right away,

it may have allowed everybody off the airplane.

NARRATOR: 12 lives might have been saved

if only the door had opened.

Please!

NORA MARSHALL: To know that they survived an accident

and weren't able to get out is hard.

It's very hard.

With the handle like this, the door should open.

NARRATOR: The focus now shifts to the mechanics

of the door itself.

OK.

NARRATOR: Fire in the cabin severely

damaged the door frame, but the main components

have all been recovered.

OK, let's see what this can tell us.

NARRATOR: The locking mechanism is simple with three

cam locks on each side.

A single cable connects the door handle to the cams.

When the handle turns, the cable rotates all the cams

to lock or unlock the door.

The cams have to rotate about 150

degrees from the locked position for the door

to be open.

We found that the cams were all either

locked or partially locked.

NARRATOR: What could have prevented them from unlocking?

What have we here?

NARRATOR: Marshall discovers the locking cable

is fractured.

This could be the smoking gun she's been looking for.

NORA MARSHALL: With the cable having been snapped,

you would want to understand that,

because if it was not intact, it wasn't

going to rotate the cams.

NARRATOR: But confirming the theory requires more analysis.

If she can prove that the cable snapped on impact,

Marshall will have solved the mystery

of the jammed door that cost 12 people their lives.

I can't get it open!

NARRATOR: Lab tests on the cable

that locks and unlocks the main door are a disappointment.

The critical component did not break on impact.

NORA MARSHALL: The cable had broken

and the metallurgist determined that that was a result of heat

and stress from the post-crash fire.

Hurry, hurry!

OK, OK, hang on.

NARRATOR: In other words, the critical cable

didn't break until after the fire killed everyone on board.

What jammed the door is still a mystery.

NORA MARSHALL: Then we're back to,

OK, why didn't the door open?

NARRATOR: The plane's manufacturer advises Marshall

that the airstair door on the 1900C

will not open if there's even a small amount

of slack in the locking cable.

NORA MARSHALL: If there was a 1/4 inch of slack

or greater in the cable, that the cams would not rotate.

Slack in the cable?

Is that what happened?

NARRATOR: It's a slim margin of error,

and it leads to a new theory.

NORA MARSHALL: During the collision, the door frame

or the door itself could have been deformed in a way

that would introduce slack.

NARRATOR: A tragedy of small fairs, a damaged door,

a bit of slack in a cable might have been the difference

between life and death.

Oh God, I'm sorry, Kate.

I'm going for help.

I can't do this.

NARRATOR: If he had more time, First Officer McCombs

might have reached the over wing exit,

which could have saved lives.

TOM HAUETER: We're used to accidents

where people are so badly injured they can't get out.

Here all the indications are everybody survived the impact

and could have gotten out had they

had a little bit more time.

NARRATOR: But the doors would never

have been an issue if there hadn't been an accident.

Why the two planes collided on a clear autumn evening

remains the biggest mystery.

OK, let's go.

NARRATOR: There was no cockpit voice

recorder in the King Air.

Smaller planes don't require one,

but investigators hope to find some answers in the cockpit

recording from flight 5925.

DARREN MCCOMBS (ON RADIO): What's the winds down there?

Oh, that's First Officer McCombs.

KATE GATHJE (ON RADIO): Winds are 060 at 8,

12 miles visibility.

Stop.

And that's Captain Gathje.

TOM HAUETER: Getting the CVR back in this case

was very important.

It allowed us to understand what

was the tone of the cockpit, what were they doing,

was anything missed trying to understand the sequence

of events that occurred.

KATE GATHJE (ON RADIO): About 30 miles

to the North of the field.

Inbound for landing runway 13 at Quincy.

So far so good.

TOM HAUETER: As the Beech 1900 approached Quincy,

it made all the required radio calls.

Quincy traffic were approaching the area,

we're this far out, Quincy traffic,

we're now this far out.

13 at Quincy.

Any traffic in the area, please advise.

NARRATOR: Captain Gathje gives other pilots

a chance to let her know if they want to use the runway.

She gets no response.

More than 3 minutes pass before Laura Brooks radios

in from the King Air.

LAURA BROOKS: King Air 1127, delta's taxiing out.

Takeoff on runway 4.

It sounds like the students handling the radio calls.

They're using 4.

Stop.

See, that tells me they heard the King Air.

They know it was approaching the runway,

and they were watching for it.

NARRATOR: Kate Gathje is making all the right calls,

but it isn't clear if the pilots in the King Air

heard any of them.

We'll be inbound to enter on the left base for runway 13

at Quincy.

Any other traffic, please advise.

No response?

Where's the King Air?

NARRATOR: It's more than two minutes

before Laura Brooks makes her second and final transmission.

King Air 1127, holding short of runway 4.

Taking the runway for departure.

NARRATOR: Less than a minute to touchdown,

the King Air is still holding.

Captain Gathje double checks whether the King

Air intends to stay put on runway 4

while she lands on 13.

The aircraft going to hold in position on runway 4

or you guys going to take off?

AUTOMATED VOICE: 300.

NARRATOR: What investigators hear next

comes as a complete surprise.

7646 Juliet, holding for departure on runway 4.

AUTOMATED VOICE: 200.

Who the hell is answering her?

That's not the King Air.

NARRATOR: It's a stunning development.

There was a radio call from a second plane

waiting to take the runway.

That little communication was critical to what

happened on this accident.

Hi, yes.

I need some help tracking down a pilot who was at Quincy

airport on November 19.

NARRATOR: Tom Haueter is now on the hunt for a mystery pilot.

He was right there when it happened.

So we wanted to talk to him.

What did you know?

What did you see?

What was going on?

She knew the King Air was there.

She announced her intentions.

How did the King Air not get that she

was coming in to land?

King Air 1127, delta's taxiing out.

Takeoff on runway 4.

They're using 4.

NARRATOR: It's clear the United Express crew knew

the location of the King Air.

It's not clear if the King Air crew ever heard Captain

Gathje, but her plane would have been

clearly visible in the sky.

Did something prevent the King Air pilots from seeing it?

Computer simulations show that posts

in the King Air's windscreen might have

obstructed the pilot's view.

I think we need to put ourselves in a real plane.

NARRATOR: But to be sure, Ivey wants to return

to the scene of the crash.

I don't think there's anything better than a pair

of eyes in a real situation that

is as similar or as close to what occurred

during the accident sequence.

NARRATOR: David Ivey tries out both pilot

seats in the King Air while in position on runway 4.

He watches as a Beech 1900C sea approaches

with its landing lights on.

DAVID IVEY: It flew downwind, made a left turn

to a final approach.

And we were looking at what we could see,

the lights, how visible was the airplane.

I can see clear as day.

DAVID IVEY: It was readily visible the entire time.

There were no obstructions due to the window

post, whether it was forward or the aft window post.

NARRATOR: Landing aircraft always have the right of way.

It seems inconceivable that a pilot would roll

onto an intersecting runway knowing another plane was

on final approach.

DAVID IVEY: It's incumbent upon you to look both directions

before you get out there.

We learned that as children crossing the street,

look both ways.

NARRATOR: Ivey comes to an astonishing conclusion,

the King Air pilots must not have

checked for incoming planes before starting

down the runway.

You look at something as basic a scene avoid,

which pilots are taught from day one,

how could that go missing?

Oh, Christ.

What the hell?

NARRATOR: David Ivey turns his attention to King Air pilot

Neal Reinwald combing through his FAA records

and talking to people he's worked with.

DAVID IVEY: He had been an Air Force reserve pilot.

He had been a pilot for Trans World Airlines.

His resume looked tremendous.

NARRATOR: Why would such an experienced pilot

taxi onto a runway while another plane is landing.

Ivey keeps digging and soon makes a stunning discovery.

DAVID IVEY: We found out that he failed a check ride.

He was given another check and he failed that,

and they removed him from a pilot position

to flight engineer, which is a non-flying pilot.

He failed two checks.

This guy's skills were slipping.

NARRATOR: After his demotion, Reinwald retired from TWA,

but he stayed active as a charter

pilot and flight instructor.

Six months before this accident,

Reinwald was an instructor on a training flight

that landed with the landing gear is still up.

DAVID IVEY: Did some damage to the prop, the engine

and to the fuselage.

NARRATOR: Reinwald was assigned remedial training

after the incident, training that

was still underway when he boarded the King

Air for his final flight.

OK, Laura, let's go home.

NARRATOR: Students describe him as

skilled and confident, a real go-getter,

but with a tendency to rush.

On the day of the fatal crash, witnesses say he

seemed in a hurry to get home.

DAVID IVEY: I think impatience was part of the problem.

Get-there-itis, that's a term we use a lot.

King Air 1127, delta's taxiing out.

Takeoff on runway 4.

NARRATOR: Student pilot Laura Brooks was handling

radio calls in the King Air.

She was totally new to the King Air.

NARRATOR: Reinwald may have been preoccupied

with his flight lesson, unaware of the commuter plane

approaching from his left.

What's our takeoff weight?

PAUL WALKER: When you're instructing,

it can take you out of the situational awareness.

8,117 pounds.

PAUL WALKER: You might be trying to teach

them how to program something.

You might be discussing with them about.

Power settings before takeoff.

There's so many different things

you could be discussing.

TOM HAUETER: Whether they were engaged

in conversation about the aircraft, we don't know.

But there was no announcement of takeoff, which is unusual.

Oh, Christ.

What the hell?

They weren't looking at the big picture

of where they were at and what was going

on around them in the world.

NARRATOR: The story of the Quincy crash

has one final twist, an incredible coincidence

involving the mystery pilot investigators have

been desperately waiting to hear from.

So tell us what happened.

NARRATOR: A Piper Cherokee waits to take

off moments before the crash.

At the controls is rookie pilot Larry Bedford.

We were in the run up area behind the King Air.

Any traffic in the area, please advise.

NARRATOR: Bedford hears both the King Air and the commuter

plane's transmissions--

KATE GATHJE (ON RADIO): King Air 1127.

NARRATOR: --but he isn't always sure who's talking.

Both pilots were female.

The aircraft going to hold in position on runway 4

or you guys going to take off?

NARRATOR: When the King Air doesn't

respond to Captain Gathje's question, Bedford steps in.

7646 Juliet, holding--

TOM HAUETER: There was no reason for the pilot

of the Cherokee, who's not on the active runway,

who's not going to take off, to have made that call.

He did not use his type of airplane.

If he had said Cherokee, that would have

served as a clarifying point.

7646 Juliet, holding for departure on runway

4 behind on the King Air.

DAVID IVEY: Holding behind the King Air

was the statement he said he made.

LARRY BEDFORD (ON RADIO): Holding

for departure at runway 4--

AUTOMATED VOICE: 200.

LARRY BEDFORD (ON RADIO): --behind the King Air.

There was a mechanical device in that Beech 1900

that at the appointed time said 200.

Departure on runway 4--

AUTOMATED VOICE: 200.

LARRY BEDFORD (ON RADIO): --behind the King Air.

DAVID IVEY: And that masked the word "behind" the King Air.

NARRATOR: Captain Gathje thinks the call

is coming from the King Air.

OK, we'll get through the intersection

in just a second, sir.

AUTOMATED VOICE: 100.

We appreciate that.

TOM HAUETER: Unfortunately for the commuter aircraft crew,

they believed they were now safe to land because the King

Air would hold for them.

Finals are complete.

TOM HAUETER: They thought they were good to go.

Oh, Christ.

What the hell?

NARRATOR: A split second mechanical message

combined with a rookie's confusing radio call caused

a fatal misunderstanding.

The final NTSB report concludes that the crew of United

Express Flight 5925 acted appropriately

in their approach and landing.

Probable cause of the accident

was the failure of the pilots in the King Air A90

to effectively monitor the common traffic

advisory frequency or to properly scan for traffic.

NARRATOR: The investigation also

concludes that Neal Reinwald may not

have placed sufficient importance

on the basics of safe flying.

TOM HAUETER: The collision was certainly avoidable.

Had the King Air saw the other airplane,

they probably would have aborted their takeoff.

So it was preventable several times.

But as the airplanes are closer and closer together,

those timing ran out.

Contributing to the loss of life

was the failure of the airstair door in the Beech 1900C

to open.

Open the door!

NARRATOR: But the failure of a single door on an airplane

with three other exits should not result in the death

of everyone on board.

TOM HAUETER: It's critical of passengers

listen to safety briefings--

AUTOMATED VOICE: Welcome aboard.

TOM HAUETER: --to understand where is the closest exit,

where is it behind you, to think about how you get

out of this if you have to.

NARRATOR: In the wake of the accident,

training is improved to emphasize

the importance of clear communication,

especially at airports with no tower.

PAUL WALKER: The FAA has been dealing with this issue,

I think, in a very good manner, trying

to get people to realize the awareness of it.

The most dangerous place to be in an airplane

is around an airport.

TOM HAUETER: There have been a lot of basic changes

since the Quincy accident.

And I think they've worked.

We haven't had action like this since.

However, we can't rest on our laurels.

The pilots who are flying the commuter airplanes

in an uncontrolled airspace like a Quincy,

they have no memory of what happened at Quincy.

So it's important to remind them occasionally.

We have to keep our corporate memory going.

And that becomes very critical.