All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S09E03.High.Rise.Catastrophe.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

Pilot: Going down, 1862,
going down! Going down!

Narrator: A 747 cargo jet

plunges into
an apartment complex.

Man: No!

Man: Cut it like a knife.

Pilot: El al 1862,
mayday, mayday.

Narrator: Amid wild rumors...

Man: There was speculation

that a missile had struck
the aircraft.

Man: We need those black boxes!

Narrator: Crash investigators
search for the cause

of the Netherlands'
worst air disaster.

Man: There was a lot of pressure

to come up with some findings
as quickly as possible.

Man: The only trouble is

the investigators didn't know
the answers,

which were simply not available.

Narrator: Preventing an even
greater disaster

may now be a race against time.

Man: We were extremely worried
and concerned

that the next airplane might
have been a passenger airplane.

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
into this tragedy...

Man: He's gonna crash!

Narrator:
It's a quiet Sunday evening

at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

Yitzhak Fuchs:
Everybody ready for takeoff?

Arnon Ohad:
It's all looking good.

Narrator: An el al cargo jet
is fueled

and ready to depart
for Tel Aviv.

Fuchs: El al 1862, good evening.

Controller: Good evening,
el al 1862.

Line up in sequence 0-1 left.

Fuchs: Roger.

Narrator: The Boeing 747 is
loaded with 140 tons of freight.

The crew is under the command
of Yitzhak Fuchs.

Like all el al pilots,

he earned his wings
in the Israeli military.

Guri Palter: He was, uh, many
years in the company already

and flew for the air force
at first,

so I believe he had something

like 20,000, 25,000
hours of flying.

Ohad: How's our fuel?

Gedalya Sofer: Yeah.

More than enough
for a four-hour flight.

Narrator: Gedalya Sofer
is the flight engineer.

It's his job to monitor
the performance of the aircraft,

including the engines
and fuel consumption.

Palter: The flight engineer was
also very, very experienced,

very professional, flying
with the company many years.

I think he was about
to retire at that time.

Controller: El al 1862 is clear
for takeoff, 0-1 left.

Fuchs: Clear for takeoff,
0-1 left, roger.

Arnon, she's all yours.

Ohad: Thanks, Yitzhak.

Narrator: First officer
Arnon Ohad will be handling

the controls for this flight.

Ohad: On the roll.

Palter: The legs of the flight
are divided by both captains

and first officers
to get the same experience.

Narrator: The freighter's four
massive Pratt & Whitney engines

pump out 200,000 pounds
of thrust.

Fuchs: V-1.

Rotate.

David Learmount:
The visibility was good.

It was cool, but, um, there was
no, no weather to worry about.

Ohad: Gear up.

Fuchs: Gear up.

Learmount: It was a routine
flight back to base.

Narrator:
Flight 1862 will now head east

over the suburbs of Amsterdam's,

then turn south to fly
across central Europe

before landing in Tel Aviv.

Controller: El al 1862,
climb flight level 2-1-0.

Fuchs: Flight level 2-1-0,
roger.

Narrator: The controller clears
them for a climb to 21,000 feet.

Sofer: Engines are looking good.

Climb power's set.

Palter: It's quite normal
and routine

climbing out of the,
of the airport.

They were expecting to be home
in about four hours.

Narrator:
Everything seems normal

for the first seven minutes
of flight.

Ohad: What the hell?

Learmount: What happened
was not only dramatic,

it was completely sudden.

There was no warning whatsoever.

Narrator: The 747 is rolling
violently to the right,

and the crew has no idea why.

Fuchs: I have control.

Ohad: You have control.

Narrator: The captain takes over
flying the plane.

Palter: The, uh, wings are
banking to the right.

Fuchs: Sofer,
what can you tell me?

Sofer: Engines three and four
are out.

Narrator: Both engines on the
right wing have suddenly died.

Learmount: This is a very
dramatic situation.

The wing where the engines
have failed drops

and the other wing rises.

Ohad: We need to level off.

Fuchs: Working on it.

Narrator: The captain struggles
to bring the plane level.

Sofer: We're losing hydraulics
on system three.

No, three and four.

Narrator: Critical flight
controls are failing.

Learmount: The hydraulics power
the controls.

This is such a big airplane

that pilots can't control it
with muscle alone.

Fuchs: Full left rudder.

Learmount: The only way
you can get the aircraft

level and straight again

is to put the rudder on
with your left foot

and try and pick up
the right wing.

Ohad: Wings coming up.

Narrator: Captain Fuchs can
barely control the plane.

Controller: Speed bird 943,
climb flight level 2-8-0.

Narrator:
At Schiphol air traffic control,

the evening routine
is about to be shattered.

Ohad: El al 1862.

Mayday, mayday.
We have an emergency.

Palter: They realize right away

that they are
in a real bad situation.

Controller: El al 1862, do you
wish to return to Schiphol?

Ohad: Affirmative.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

Controller: Turn right
heading 2-6-0.

Narrator: The crew now has
a heading back to the airport.

But with hydraulics failing,

the captain is having
more and more difficulty

controlling the plane.

Ohad: Watch your pitch.

Narrator: Then, the crisis
gets much worse.

Ohad: We have a fire
in number three.

Narrator: A new warning
tells the crew

one of the engines is on fire.

Sofer: Shutting down
engine three.

Ohad: We have a fire
in engine three.

Controller: Roger.

Learmount: You've got to get
the fire out quickly,

because if fire starts,
that's serious,

because it will structurally
damage the airplane

very rapidly.

Ohad: Number three
fire extinguisher.

Fuchs: Pull it.

Narrator: The crew triggers
the fire extinguisher

and waits for it
to douse the flames.

Learmount: They had not only
to keep control

of this really stricken
airplane,

they also had to go
through the routine

for putting the fire out.

Ohad: Okay, we still have
a fire warning.

Narrator: The procedure
has no effect.

The crew can't see their engines
from the cockpit.

They have no idea how bad
the fire might be.

Palter: When it doesn't work

you are getting
into real pressure

to put the aircraft back on the,
on the ground very quick.

Fuchs: We need to land.

See if they can get us
down on runway 2-7.

Ohad: We have a fire
in engine three,

engine three and four
inoperative.

Request runway 2-7 for landing.

Narrator: The captain
knows the airport.

He wants to land on the longest
runway at Schiphol.

Controller: In that case,
heading 3-6-0, heading 3-6-0.

Ohad: Roger, 3-6-0.

Learmount: It's the pilot
who decides what can be done,

especially with an airplane

which is as badly stricken
as this one.

The air traffic controller's job
is to facilitate

that request from the air.

Controller: That'll give you
a right turn

to cross the localizer.

You only have seven miles to go
from current position.

Fuchs: Damn it!

Narrator: The crew is now facing
another huge challenge.

Fuchs: There's no way that we
can slow down at this distance.

We're gonna have to
go around again.

Ohad: Agreed.

Narrator: They're too close
to the airport

to slow down in time to land.

Captain Fuchs decides to make
a descending turn over
Amsterdam's

so he can lose speed
and altitude

before coming in to land.

Palter: They have no power on
the right side, no hydraulics.

Learmount: These pilots
had an airplane

which was scarcely flyable,
but they didn't know why.

Ohad: There's Schiphol
at our three o'clock.

Fuchs: Got it.

Narrator: The crew has to make
one final turn

to line up with the runway.

Controller: 1862, your speed is?

Ohad: Speed is 2-6-0.

Narrator: Despite the
unexplained damage to his plane,

Fuchs manages to guide the 747
toward the runway.

Palter: Very difficult
controlling the aircraft

in this situation,

but they controlled the aircraft
the full 360 degrees back.

Ohad: Speed's a little high.

Are we stable enough
to make the runway?

Fuchs: We'll see.

Narrator: The crew has no doubt.

This will be the riskiest
landing they've ever attempted.

Fuchs: Here we go.

Narrator: Flight 1862 is less
than three minutes from landing.

Fuchs: Alright.
Let's get the gear down.

Ohad: Gear down.
Three green.

Narrator: Amsterdam's airport
is tantalizingly close.

Fuchs: Reducing speed.

Narrator: Captain Yitzhak Fuchs
slows his plane

and calls for the flaps.

Fuchs: Flaps two.

Narrator: He wants to increase
the wings' surface area...

Ohad: Flaps two.

Narrator: ...to add lift
at the slower speed

he needs for landing.

Fuchs: Alright, nice and easy.

Easy...

Easy!

No, no, no, no!

Ohad: We're losing it.

Narrator: The plane is once
again rolling to the right,

and this time it's worse.

Learmount: The pilot realized
that by going slower

he was having even more control
problems than he already had.

Controller: El al, further right
heading 3-1-0, heading 3-1-0.

Narrator: Controllers
urge the pilots

to correct their course
to the runway.

Fuchs: I can't hold it!
I can't hold it!

Ohad: Uh, we have
a controlling problem.

Learmount: They realized
that their aircraft

was uncontrollable.

Fuchs: No, no, no!
Come on!

Ohad: Going down.

Going down, 1862, going down.

Going down.

Fuchs: Come on!

Palter: Hit the building and,
and cut it like a knife.

Narrator: El al 1862 has slammed

into an 11-story
apartment block.

The Bijlmermeer
apartment complex,

home to thousands of people,
is engulfed in flames.

Henk Van Rooij: You prepare
yourself for a lot of things,

but this was more than
I ever expected.

Narrator: Henk Van Rooij
is one of hundreds

of Amsterdam firefighters
who rush to the crash site.

Van Rooij: When I arrived there
and I looked at the site,

and there was a big hole in it,
and there was a massive fire.

It's the biggest fire
I've ever seen in my life.

Narrator: The intensity
of the inferno is overwhelming.

Van Rooij: The cargo plane
was fueled up in Schiphol

with 80 tons of kerosene.

Narrator: Rescuers race to pull
the injured to safety.

In the chaos, it's hard to know

how many victims
there actually are.

Van Rooij: I was expecting
200 people dead, just killed,

and 600 people injured.

Narrator: The next morning,
daylight reveals

the overwhelming scale
of the disaster.

Pim Van Santen: It was traumatic
to see the damage

and what it did to the people
living there.

Narrator: The plummeting jet
has cut the apartment block

completely in two.

There's almost nothing
left of the plane.

No one aboard has survived.

Learmount: It was quite clear
that a lot of lives

had been lost on the ground,
let alone in the air.

Narrator: Though the exact
number isn't yet known,

dozens are dead.

The eyes of the world soon focus

on the Netherlands' worst ever
aviation disaster.

Learmount: The spectacular
nature of this accident

was such that, you know, all
the cameras were quickly there.

Narrator: The Dutch government
assigns Pim Van Santen

to the crash investigation.

Van Santen: How soon can
I get my team in here?

Thank you.

Narrator: He's well aware
that his entire nation

will soon be demanding answers.

Van Santen:
There was a lot of pressure,

both from the public,
from the press,

to come up with some findings
as quickly as possible.

Narrator: Van Santen faces
a frustrating delay.

He's not allowed to examine
the debris

until rescuers complete
their search for victims

in the demolished building.

Van Santen: We're just waiting.

They're, they're clearing out
the bodies.

We were basically walking around
and getting as close as possible

without disturbing
the rescue people.

Narrator: For now, vital
evidence remains out of reach.

Van Santen: Go ahead, please.

Narrator: With the crash site
off limits,

Van Santen turns to recordings

made by Schiphol
air traffic control

on the night of the accident.

Ohad: El al 1862,
mayday, mayday.

We have an emergency.

Controller: El al 1862, do you
wish to return to Schiphol?

Narrator: It's not as detailed
as the cockpit recording,

but does capture
the conversations

between controllers
and the el al crew.

Van Santen: You hear
those people speaking,

and that makes it very,
for me, at least,

made it very emotional.

You hear people speaking,

but you also know
that they are dead.

Ohad: Uh, we have
a controlling problem.

Narrator: The recording reveals

just how quickly
the disaster unfolded.

Controller: El al, further right
heading 3-1-0, heading 3-1-0.

Narrator: It captures
the terrible moment

when the crew lost control
of their plane.

Ohad: Going down, 1862,
going down.

Narrator: But what triggered
the crisis remains a mystery.

Van Santen: This isn't
getting us anywhere.

We need to find those
flight recorders.

We didn't hear anything

which was really directing us
at the actual cause.

The only thing what was obvious

was that the airplane was
no longer controllable.

Narrator: Van Santen
pins his hopes

on recovering the plane's
black boxes.

Every 747 carries
a flight data recorder

and a cockpit voice recorder
in the tail.

They capture detailed
information about everything

the pilots say and do
during the flight.

But finding those recorders
won't be easy.

City officials have ordered
the crash debris

to be trucked to dump sites
around Amsterdam.

Van Santen: The city wanted to
have the crash site cleaned

as quickly as possible,

because for the people
living there

who may have lost relatives,

it was extremely traumatic
to see this,

these buildings and parts
of the airplane.

Robert Benzon: Dig in, guys.

We need those black boxes.

Narrator: Robert Benzon is
a veteran investigator

with the U.S. National
transportation safety board.

He joins the team and
knows just how crucial

the voice and data recorders
can be.

Benzon: We use those extensively

along with examination
of wreckage

to nail down almost
to an nth degree

what happened sometimes.

Narrator: Investigators face
a difficult search

through a tangled mess
of pulverized aircraft parts

and building debris.

Benzon: Hang on.

That's an engine part.

Goes over there.

You'd be surprised how much
building debris,

pipes and things, can actually
look like airplane parts.

It gets confusing.

Narrator: While investigators
sort through

the mountains of debris,

witness reports
provide a stunning lead.

Learmount:
The earliest information

that I think
the investigators had,

which gave them clues that
there was more to this crash

than just the pilots
losing power on two engines,

was that witnesses saw things
happening to the airplane,

and they reported this.

Narrator: Just minutes
before the crash,

they saw what looked like
two jet engines

falling into lake Gooimeer,
east of the airport.

Learmount: For an engine to fall
off the wing of an airplane,

it's not unheard of,
but it's very, very unusual.

Fuchs: Sofer,
what can you tell me?

Sofer: Engines three and four
are out.

Van Santen: Losing two engines
for us was...

We've never heard
of that before.

Two engines in this lake.

Let's find them, please.

Benzon: Two engines
were missing,

and that became the focus
of the investigation.

Narrator: Divers immediately
take to the water

in search of the fallen debris.

What they find could
solve this mystery.

Meanwhile, across Amsterdam,
rumors begin to spread,

speculation about what could
have torn two engines

from a 747.

Benzon: Well, the fact that the
aircraft was an Israeli company,

el al, led to early speculation

that there may have been some
kind of terrorist involvement.

Narrator:
The history of conflict

between Israel
and its Arab neighbors

suggests a terrifying
possibility.

Benzon: There was early
speculation

that a missile had struck
the aircraft.

Narrator: Other rumors hint
the 747 might have been carrying

explosive military cargo
for the Israeli army,

cargo not listed
on the official manifest.

Learmount: Oh, el al, must have
been sabotage, must have been.

Might have been a missile.

They were going for absolutely
every possible explanation.

The people standing
in front of the cameras

had to have something to say,
so they said it.

Narrator: Within hours,

the search of lake Gooimeer
pays off.

Investigators recover
one of flight 1862's

right side engines.

A look at the serial number
reveals it's engine number four.

The 747's engines are numbered
from left to right.

Number four is the outermost
engine on the right wing.

Searchers also recover debris

from the forward edge
of the right wing,

control surfaces
that are crucial

for controlling the plane.

Van Santen: Um, we've got...

Benzon: The loss of leading edge
components, flaps and slats,

led us to believe
that the aircraft

was extremely difficult
to fly safely.

Narrator: The mystery now
is what caused

the engines to fall off.

Was it terrorism,
a mechanical failure

or something else?

Investigators rush the recovered
wreckage to a forensic lab

and test it
for explosive residue.

Benzon: You have to look
at every single part

to either rule it in or out.

Narrator: But there's no
evidence of any explosion.

Benzon: And we looked
at every single part

and ruled out a missile.

Narrator: One thing
is now certain.

The el al disaster has nothing
to do with terrorism.

But with engine three
still missing,

the case is far
from being solved.

Benzon: Finding both engines
was a virtual necessity.

We had other parts
of the aircraft, of course,

that went into
the apartment complex,

but they were heavily damaged,

so we needed all the parts
of the puzzle

that we could possibly locate.

Van Santen: Take a look at this.

Narrator: News of another
recent accident

adds grave urgency
to the search.

Van Santen: I think the whole
fleet could be in danger.

Narrator: Investigators
learn of another 747

that lost two engines
and crashed

just nine months earlier.

Benzon: It quickly became
apparent that a similar accident

occurred in, in Taiwan
to a China Airlines 747,

very similar in fact.

Narrator: It suddenly seems
possible that the 747

may have a deadly design flaw.

Benzon: That scares everybody,

because there were a thousand
747s out there at the time.

Van Santen: We were extremely
worried and concerned

that if this was a pattern,
that the next airplane

might have been
a passenger airplane.

Narrator: Thousands of lives
could be at risk.

Investigators must work quickly

to find out what brought down
flight 1862.

The crash of a 747
near the heart of Amsterdam

has shocked people
all across that city.

The Netherlands' queen Beatrix
tours the devastation,

sharing in her nation's grief.

At least 43 people are dead.

Learmount: A lot of people died,

but it could have been
much worse than that.

Narrator: Pressure builds
to find evidence.

With engine three still missing,

investigators call in
the Dutch navy

to search lake Gooimeer
using sonar.

Van Santen: It is not
very deep there,

maybe four or five meters,

but that is deep enough to
make it difficult to find.

Narrator: Three days
into the investigation,

a major breakthrough.

Searchers find a black box
in the debris.

It's the flight data recorder.

Benzon: Okay.

Let's see what the lab
can do with this.

Narrator: It should contain
detailed information

about the operation
of the engines,

but getting at that data
may be impossible.

The huge impact
has taken a heavy toll

on the critical
recording device.

Benzon: The FDR survived
the accident,

but it certainly wasn't intact.

Narrator:
The tape is badly damaged.

Benzon: The tape had shattered
upon impact in a couple places.

Narrator: But Van Santen
and his team are determined.

They ship the recorder
to Washington,

where NTSB experts will try
to repair the damage.

More than a week after the
Netherlands' worst air disaster,

there's still no sign
of the second black box,

the cockpit voice recorder.

Benzon: Any luck?

Narrator:
It looks like investigators
will have to solve this mystery

without one of their best tools.

Benzon: You have to remember
there was a giant pile of rubble

mixed in with an entire 747.

It never showed up.

My guess is that it probably
was burned into a little cinder.

Narrator: Underwater searchers
are having better luck.

They've found and recovered
engine number three.

Investigators now have
both the engines

from the right side
of the plane.

But a close examination
of the newly recovered engine

only adds to the mystery.

Van Santen: Visual exam shows
no sooting, no signs of fire.

Ohad: We have a fire
in number three.

Benzon: In spite of what the
flight crew said over the radio,

there were absolutely
no evidence of sooting,

melted metal, things like that
inside the engines.

Sofer: Shutting down
engine three.

Narrator: Whatever went wrong,

it not only caused the engines
to separate from the wing,

it also triggered a false
fire alarm that misled the crew.

Benzon: All they had to go on
were lights and indications

in the cockpit.

I don't think they ever knew

that they were missing
two engines.

Narrator: Investigators hope
an unusual streak of paint

found on the cowling
of engine three

will help explain
what really happened.

They take a sample of the paint
for testing.

Van Santen: Let's see
if the lab can tell us

where this came from.

Narrator: While they wait
for lab results,

investigators turn their
attention to the fittings

that attach the engines
to the wing.

Known as pylons, they're
designed to be strong enough

to support the massive engines
during all the rigors of flight.

Learmount: If the airplane
is in turbulence in the sky

and the whole airplane
is being shaken,

the engines are being
shaken as well,

so the pylons have to be
very, very strong.

Fuchs: V-1.

Narrator: Investigators know
flight 1862 powered away safely

from the runway.

Fuchs: Rotate.

Narrator: They wonder, did
the 747 hit something in the air

that somehow damaged the two
right side engine mounts?

Air force radar scans
from the night of the crash

reveal some intriguing data.

Van Santen: So these blue areas
are all flocks of birds?

Wow.

Narrator: There were unusually
large flocks of birds

around the airport
the night of the crash.

Van Santen: One of the scenarios
was that there was bird impact.

In October, November, we have
lots of geese flying around

Schiphol airport,
and these are big birds.

Narrator: Bird strikes can do
incredible damage.

Ohad: What the hell?

Narrator: Finally, there might
be an explanation...

Fuchs: I have control.

Ohad: You have control.

Narrator: ...for what tore two
engines off el al flight 1862.

To test the bird strike theory,

the team turns
to the science of light.

When exposed
to ultraviolet light,

blood and other organic remains
will glow green.

Van Santen: Looks clean.

Narrator: But they can find
no green fluorescence

on any part of either engine.

The investigation is
back to square one.

Van Santen:
Bird impact was ruled out.

Fire was ruled out.

So basically then
the conclusion was

it must have been
something else.

So we know that...

Learmount: The media of course
are putting pressure on them

to answer questions.

The only trouble is
the investigators

didn't know the answers, either.

Narrator: Then the investigation
takes a dramatic turn.

Lab results reveal the paint
found on engine three

came from
the cone-shaped spinner

at the front of another engine.

Van Santen:
Get everyone together.

I think I know what happened.

Narrator: Van Santen believes
there's only one scenario

that can explain
the bizarre finding.

Van Santen: Say this is
engine three.

Paint transfer is right there.

No way engine four
could come forward,

but if engine three
came off first,

it could fly back, and the
spinner would hit right here.

Benzon:
As in an automobile accident,

if you find the paint
of one color

on a device made
of another color,

uh, there's an indication
that they struck each other.

Van Santen: In other words,

engine three knocked engine four
off the plane.

Narrator: The four-ton engine
would have hit with the force

of a small bulldozer.

Fuchs: Sofer,
what can you tell me?

Sofer: Engines three and four
are out.

Narrator:
It's a critical discovery,

but it leaves a huge question
unanswered.

Why did engine three fall off
in the first place?

To try to solve that mystery,

investigators need to find
the lugs and bolts

that connected that
engine to the wing.

Learmount: In terms of finding
the evidence,

the physical parts
of the airplane,

so that you could find out
what broke and how it broke,

was going to be difficult.

Narrator: The engine fittings
could have fallen to earth

at any point during
the midair crisis,

or they could be buried in
the rubble from the crash site.

Van Santen: You'll never have
any guarantee

that you will find
all the parts,

which are needed to determine
this most likely cause.

Narrator: Almost three weeks
after the crash,

the investigation has hit
a major hurdle.

Though it's clear why the el al
crew declared a mayday...

Ohad: Mayday, mayday, mayday.

Narrator: Investigators still
can't explain

what started the deadly
chain of events.

Then, they get a lucky break.

A painstaking search
through the crash debris

has recovered some
key components from the fitting

that held engine three
to the plane,

including one of four
crucial bolts, or fuse pins,

that secure the pylon
to the wing

and support the weight
of the engine.

Van Santen: There was luck
involved, definitely,

and that was really for us

the point where pieces
are falling into place.

Narrator: Investigators study
the pieces in search of clues.

A metallurgical scan leads
to a stunning discovery.

There's a four-millimeter crack

on the inside
of the hollow fuse pin.

Benzon: We discovered that it
had pre-existing fatigue cracks.

If there's a micro crack in it,

it weakens the entire structure
and makes it easier to break.

Narrator: Investigators theorize
that as soon as one pin failed,

the entire engine fitting
broke apart.

They suspect the crack is the
result of simple wear and tear.

Every takeoff and landing puts
stress on the crucial pin.

Fuchs: Rotate.

Narrator: Eventually,
a tiny crack formed.

Sofer: Climb power's set.

Narrator: Over time,
the crack grew worse and worse.

Benzon: It can grow slowly and
slowly and slowly for years

until finally the part breaks.

Fuchs: I have control.

Benzon: Fatigue cracking is,
is almost like

a ticking time bomb going off.

Narrator: There could be
many more of those time bombs.

Investigators studying
the engine mount

from the China Airlines crash

determine that it, too, failed
from metal fatigue.

Learmount: These fuse pins were
developing fatigue problems

at a certain rate
which was much faster

than anybody had anticipated.

Narrator: Just one final
question remains

for Van Santen and his team.

The 747 has four engines.

Even with two engines gone,

the el al jet had enough power
to fly back to the airport.

Palter: Of course it's
an emergency, half the power,

but the aircraft is
designed to do it,

and we are practicing it
in the simulator

every time that we are
making simulator.

Narrator: Why was captain Fuchs
able to descend

to within sight of the runway...

Fuchs: No, no, no!

Come on!

Ohad: Going down!

Narrator:
...but not able to land?

NTSB technicians have been able
to repair the damaged tape

from the flight data recorder.

Investigators scour the data
searching for answers.

Benzon: It gave us
a wealth of data--

airspeed, altitude, what
control surfaces were doing,

what hydraulic systems
were still operating,

a myriad, myriad of things.

Narrator:
With the new information...

Fuchs: Rotate.

Narrator: ...investigators hope
finally to understand

why el al flight 1862
never made it back to safety.

Pim Van Santen pieces together
the fatal flight.

Van Santen: Okay,
let's get started.

Narrator: He combines
flight data...

Controller: El al 1862...

Van Santen: Engines are working
fine at takeoff.

Narrator: ...with the recordings
captured in the tower.

Fuchs: ...1-0. Roger.

Sofer: Engines are looking good.

Climb power's set.

Van Santen: Then right here
the pylon fails.

Engine three breaks away.

Ohad: What the hell?

Benzon: The sound had to be
very, very loud,

perhaps a half a second or so
when both pylons failed.

Van Santen: Engine three
moves sideways,

tears off the leading edge

and damages hydraulic lines
before hitting engine four.

Sofer: We're losing hydraulics
on system three.

No, three and four.

Ohad: We need to level off.

Fuchs: Working on it.

Van Santen:
They have a lot of damage,

but they're still
controlling the plane.

Learmount: When you've lost half
of your hydraulic power,

that makes the controls heavier

and slower
than they were before.

Ohad: El al 1862,
mayday, mayday.

We have an emergency.

Van Santen: The damage also
causes a false alarm.

Ohad: We have a fire
in engine three.

Engine three and four
inoperative.

Van Santen:
There never was any fire.

They would have an indication
in the cockpit

that they would have a fire,

but they couldn't verify that
by looking at the engines,

because you can't see them.

They put out their flaps
to slow down.

Fuchs: Flaps two.

Narrator: The flaps are designed
to add lift

at the lower speeds
needed for landing.

Van Santen: The flaps don't go
out on the right side.

Narrator: With the plane's
right side hydraulics

so badly damaged,

the right wing flaps can't
extend as they should.

Van Santen: When the speed
drops, so does the wing.

Fuchs: Easy.

No, no, no, no.

Ohad: We're losing it!

Benzon: More lift on the left,
less on the right,

causing a roll to the right,
and as the aircraft slowed down,

this rolling tendency got harder
and harder to counteract.

Fuchs: I can't hold it!
I can't hold it!

Narrator: It's a lethal
imbalance of aerodynamic force.

Fuchs: No, no, no!
Come on!

Ohad: Going down.

Van Santen: We could see
that the airplane

went into an uncontrolled
rolling motion.

Fuchs: Come on!

Ohad: Going down, 1862,
going down.

Going down.

Van Santen: As soon as they
extended their flaps,

it was all over.

Narrator: In the aftermath, some
wonder what might have happened

if the el al crew had known
their true situation...

That there could be
no engine fire,

because they had no engines
at all on the right side.

Ohad: There's Schiphol
at our three o'clock.

Fuchs: Got it.

Narrator: Their only option
would have been a desperate one,

choosing not to deploy their
flaps on final approach.

It would have meant trying
a high-risk landing

at nearly 350 miles an hour.

Learmount: The likelihood
of the airplane

and the crew surviving a landing
at that speed,

which is more than
twice the speed

that airplanes normally land at,

the likelihood of their
surviving was practically zero.

Van Santen: 43 dead because
of one small part.

Narrator: Investigators conclude
that the accident

that killed 43 people

is the result
of the faulty fuse pin.

Benzon: It's very rare for the
failure of one tiny, little part

like a fuse pin to actually
bring down an airplane.

Narrator: The Dutch-led team
immediately calls on Boeing

to redesign the critical
engine fastener.

Van Santen: They very quickly
went back to the drawing board.

Narrator: New, stronger
fuse pins are installed

on every single 747
around the world.

Benzon: Boeing stepped up
to the plate,

did a massive redesign
of the pylons,

very expensive at the time,

but to its credit, the company
knew they had a problem,

and they fixed it.

Learmount: The safety record

of subsequent generations
of airplanes

says that problem
has been solved.

Narrator: Today in Amsterdam,

there's no sign
of the jagged wreckage

that once scarred the
Bijlmermeer apartment complex,

but the painful memories
of the el al disaster

will never be erased.

Palter: The aircraft,
the building,

everything can be rebuilt
or restored,

but lives are
the most important things,

so this is a tragedy.