All language subtitles for Mayday - S02E01 - Blow Out (Ripped from the Cockpit, British Airways Flight 5390) WEBDL-1080p_track3_[eng]

(narrator):
The world watches in horror

when an airliner is turned
into a weapon of terror.

- American 77,
being part of September 11,
2001,

was front-page news.

(narrator): A massive blast
tears apart a jumbo jet
and shocks the world.

- A TWA jet aircraft,
Flight 800,

has exploded in mid-air.

(narrator):
And a supersonic marvel
becomes a flying inferno.

- Oh, mon Dieu.
- It captured the attention
of the world,

because this was the first
major accident
involving this airplane.

(narrator):
Three devastating crashes make
headline news around the world.

The attention puts
intense pressure
on investigators

to uncover the true cause
of these deadly disasters.

- We don't care about blame,
we don't care about speculation.

We wanna know
what the hard facts really are.

- Mayday, mayday.

- It's going up!

(indistinct radio chatter)

(narrator): It's nearly 8 a.m.
at Dulles Airport
near Washington, DC.

American Airlines Flight 77
will soon be heading
to Los Angeles.

Thirty-nine-year-old
David Charlebois
is the First Officer.

- Any plans for the big day?

Gonna take in the ballgame
at Angels Stadium.

- Oh, yeah? That'll be great.

(narrator): The captain,
Charles Burlingame,
turns 52 tomorrow.

He's a former Navy Top Gun pilot
with years of experience
flying airliners.

- Can I help you with that?

(narrator): The Boeing 757
is less than half full
this morning.

There are only 58 passengers
and six crew on board.

- On the roll.

(narrator): At 8:20 a.m.,
American Airlines Flight 77
gets underway.

- V-1.

Rotate.

(narrator): The trip
from Washington to Los Angeles

is approximately 2,300 miles
across the country.

At 8:46, Flight 77 reaches
cruising altitude:

35,000 feet.

- American Airlines 77,
clear direct Falmouth.

- Clear direct Falmouth,
American 77.

(narrator):
The air-traffic controllers
guide the 757

to the next waypoint
enroute to Los Angeles.

- Alright.
Time for a bit more coffee.

(narrator): But 34 minutes
into the flight,

controllers notice
something odd.

- What are you guys doing?

(narrator): Flight 77
is veering off course.

- American 77, Center.

- At the point
where the controller noticed
the aircraft take a turn

that he did not instruct him
to do,

that's when he would become
concerned.

(narrator): Two minutes later...

- American, uh, 77, radio check.

(narrator): ...Flight 77
vanishes from their radars.

(phone ringing)
- Center.

(narrator): Then a phone call
from American Airlines
brings unbelievable news.

Thousands of people
are feared dead

after two planes crash
into the World Trade Center
towers in Manhattan.

The United States
is under attack.

- Almost everybody that saw
what happened said,

"This is not an accident."

(narrator): While the world
watches the horrifying news
in New York,

concern grows
over the missing 757.

- Supervisor.

(narrator): Controllers fear
they may have another
hijacked plane in the sky.

- I've got a target
tracking eastbound
at a high rate of speed.

(narrator): At 9:32,
more than half an hour after
losing contact with the plane,

controllers spot
a mysterious radar return.

If it is Flight 77,
it means the plane has turned
back towards Washington.

- It's gotta be our plane.

Center calling American 7-7.
American 7-7.

(narrator): But the 757
is ignoring all radio calls.

And at 9:35 a.m. ...

...the plane slams
into the Pentagon.

All 64 people on board are dead.

125 others inside the building
are killed.

(sirens wailing)

- We have watched the tragedy
of an outrageous act
of barbaric terrorism

carried out by fanatics
against both civilians
and military people.

- American 77 was...

front-page news
and changed America.

It stayed in the news
a very long time.

(narrator): The crash
of Flight 77 turns the Pentagon
into a federal crime scene.

The FBI is in charge
of this investigation.

Because the crime scene
is also an aviation crash site,

the National Transportation
Safety Board joins
the high-profile investigation.

Tom Haueter was one
of the first NTSB investigators
at the scene.

- The FBI's experts
on criminal investigations,

and that covers many areas,

they aren't necessarily
airplane experts.

(narrator): While recovery teams
race to find
the plane's black boxes,

FBI agents gain valuable details
about how the plane was turned
into a weapon of terror.

- Everyone to the back
of the plane! Now!

(narrator): Some passengers
managed to make phone calls
from the air

describing their ordeal.

(people screaming)

Those phone calls reveal
that the hijackers were equipped
with box cutters and knives.

They forced the pilots
to leave the cockpit.

- Please, stay calm.
Everybody move to the back.

- Prior to the 9/11 terrorist
attacks,

all flight crews were told
to cooperate with the hijackers
and bide for time.

(narrator): But how did
terrorists get weapons past
security at a modern airport?

And how were they able to fly
a sophisticated airliner
straight into the Pentagon?

At the crash site,
the exhaustive search effort
has paid off.

Agents recover
the plane's two black boxes.

If their data
can be successfully downloaded,

it might reveal what was going
on in the cockpit
when controllers lost contact.

- Center calling American 7-7.
American 7-7.

(narrator): While investigators
wait for the black-box data,

they scan Flight 77's
passenger manifest,

checking to see if any
suspicious names are listed.

- It didn't take too long
to figure out
who the hijackers were.

(narrator): The trail leads
to five attackers.

But how did they get past
airport security?

- The computer-assisted
passenger pre-screening system

flags you if you have
certain suspicious indicators.

(narrator): Investigators wonder
if the pre-screening system
failed.

They study the records
for Flight 77,

and discover that the screening
system flagged three
of the five hijackers

for extra security checks.

Yet they still got through.

- Customer service and...

moving people
through the airport

was the top priority,
not security.

(narrator): A review
of airport security video

shows one of the hijackers
set off an alarm.

(beeping)
- Metal detector caught
the weapon.

(narrator):
An officer scans the suspect
with a handheld detector.

(beeping)
When nothing shows up,
he's allowed through.

None of the hijackers
get a rigorous inspection,

and all five board the flight
without issue.

- At the time, the bar was set
very low for individuals
coming through the checkpoint.

Knives of no greater
than four inches in blade length
were allowed on board,

at the time, under FAA policy.

(narrator): But getting on board
was only the first step.

- Everyone to the back
of the plane! Now!

(narrator): The big mystery
to solve now

is how the hijackers were able
to carry out the rest
of their murderous plan.

(narrator): While the news
from 9/11 dominates
international headlines,

FBI agents unearth a trail
of documents connected
to American 77's hijackers.

They come up
with a crucial lead.

One of the suspects,
Hani Hanjour,

spent several years
training to become
a commercial airline pilot.

- He ended up doing
flight training in Arizona,

and was kind of unusual
in his flight training,

'cause he flunked
a lot of checks along the way.

(narrator):
As part of his preparation,

Hanjour also practised
on small private aircraft.

- Turn right, American 77.

(narrator): But flying
a sophisticated airliner
is very different

from piloting
a small private plane.

How did the hijackers steer
a 757 towards a target
35,000 feet below?

Investigators hope
the plane's flight data
will provide some answers.

- Unfortunately, the cockpit
voice recorder was too damaged,

and no information
could be recovered from it.

But we were able to read out
the flight data recorder.

- Banking left nice and smooth.
It must be the autopilot.

(narrator): The data reveals
how the hijackers managed
to turn the 757 around.

- This heading should take us
back to DC.

(narrator): They relied
on the plane's automation.

- You don't need to be a pilot
at all when the autopilot's on.

He can put a heading
into the autopilot,
airspeeds into the autopilot.

Everything can be done
for him very smoothly.

- Descending now.

(narrator): But the autopilot
isn't pre-programmed to fly

to the precise location
of the Pentagon.

- It's just ahead.
Autopilot off.

(narrator):
Eight minutes from impact,

the hijacker must fly
the aircraft by hand.

- It's quite clear,
looking at the data,

this is somebody who has never
handled a big airplane before.

- This guy is really struggling.
- Keep it steady!

- We're way too high!
We're never gonna hit it!

(narrator): To shed altitude,
they make a sharp diving turn
to the right.

- The aircraft can only come
out of the sky so fast
without breaking up.

So he makes a circle
to get the aircraft lower

and get it into position
to hit the Pentagon.

(narrator):
In the final seconds,
they accelerate to top speed,

almost to the point of break-up.

(automation): Terrain. Terrain.
- The airplane's overspeed
warnings are probably going off.

He doesn't care.

(screaming)

(narrator):
Investigators now understand

the deadly flight path
of American 77.

They have no doubt
the attack was planned
down to the last detail.

Investigators speculate
that a flight attendant
was forced

to hand over the keys
to the cockpit.

- Open the door
or we'll cut your throat.

(exclaiming)
- Okay. Okay.

(narrator): There was no time
for the pilots
to warn authorities.

Once inside the cockpit,
investigators believe

that hijacker Hani Hanjour
took control of the plane.

- You have to let me back
in the cockpit.
- Stay where you are now or die!

- I've got a target
tracking eastbound
at a high rate of speed.

(narrator):
By the time controllers spot
Flight 77's radar return,

the plane is only five minutes
from DC.

- There's nothing
the controllers could've done.

- Allahu Akbar!

(indistinct radio chatter)
(sirens wailing)

- 9/11 shook us to our core.

Anybody that was of age
during that time...
it has marked our generation.

(narrator): The 9/11 attacks
bring about the most profound
changes ever

to commercial aviation,

both in the U.S.
and around the world.

Just two months
after the attacks,

the U.S. government creates
the Transportation Security
Administration, or TSA.

It establishes strict new rules
on what passengers can carry
on planes.

Airports start screening
passengers with full-body
scanning machines.

There are also major changes
to cockpit security.

- The most important takeaway
is this: We must,

absolutely must deny access
to the cockpit

to anybody who would use
the airplane as a weapon.

And we have been marvellously
successful in building
that kind of defence system.

(narrator):
But not all front-page stories
are criminal cases.

(exclaiming)
An explosion on a passenger jet
sends investigators

on a four-year search
for answers.

- People couldn't understand
how a modern jetliner
could just blow up in flight.

TWA 800 was a front-page story
on the news for over 18 months.

(narrator):
It's a hot summer evening

at John F. Kennedy Airport
in New York.

Trans World Airlines Flight 800
is delayed due
to a baggage problem.

212 passengers are on board
the Boeing 747 enroute to Paris.

- We gonna start placing bets
on when we actually push off?

(narrator):
Captain Ralph Kevorkian
is an experienced pilot

on his second training flight
as a 747 captain.

- Twenty dollars on us getting
outta here before sundown.

- I'll take that bet.
(laughter)

(narrator):
First Officer Steve Snyder
has flown for TWA

for more than 30 years.

After over an hour,

the luggage issue
is finally resolved.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
from the flight deck,
we've been cleared to go.

We'll be pushing back
from the gate shortly.
(applause)

Takeoff thrust.

(narrator): At 8:19 p.m.,
TWA Flight 800 is airborne,

steadily climbing
to 15,000 feet.

- Climb thrust.

- Power set.

(narrator):
But 11 minutes into the flight,
disaster strikes.

(exclaiming)

- Talk to me!
What do you have for us--

(screaming)

- The front of the airplane
that broke off,

the centrifugal force
had to be just horrendous
as the nose fell down.

(narrator): What's left
of the plane continues skyward,
engulfed in flames.

- Went up at least
another 1,000 feet,

maybe 1,500 feet, you know,
and flames pouring off it.

(screaming)

- We now know
that a TWA aircraft, Flight 800,

has exploded in mid-air,
apparently landing
in the Atlantic Ocean tonight.

(narrator): Debris litters
the water nearly 75 miles
east of Manhattan.

There are no survivors.

A media swarm descends
as recovery efforts
are underway.

The large debris field
tells investigators

that the plane
likely came apart in mid-air.

- Me and my cousin Joe,
we was over by the dock
over there.

He said, "Yo, Darren,
look up in the air.
There's a big ball of fire."

(narrator):
The high-profile crash
of TWA 800

leaves the nation in shock.

Did a bomb take down the plane?

- It was so horrific,
so many people were lost.

747s do not normally
come apart in the air.

So there's something
extraordinary
that happened here.

(narrator):
The NTSB's lead investigator,
Al Dickinson,

faces an urgent task.

- It was extremely important
for us to find out
what happened,

because there were so many 747s
flying at that time.

(narrator): The NTSB will lead
the investigation.

- Yeah, you can take that
just down over there.

(narrator): But the FBI launches
its own parallel
criminal inquiry.

- Nice to see you.
- Just wish it was under
better circumstances.

(narrator): The FBI believes
the mid-air explosion
could be linked to terrorism.

- I'm sure this was a bomb,

and that we'll find
the evidence of that
in this wreckage.

Just keep me posted.
- Alright.

(narrator): Three years earlier,
in 1993,

terrorists drove a bomb
into the World Trade Center.

And just one year prior,

Timothy McVeigh bombed
the Federal Building
in Oklahoma.

NTSB investigators
carefully search the wreckage
for any sign of foul play.

- No pitting.

- No cratering.

Nothing.

(narrator): Investigators know
the plane exploded in mid-air,

but they are convinced
this was not a terrorist act.

- In a way,
it made the Safety Board's job
much more difficult,

because we had to now determine
what happened
if there was no bomb or missile

that caused the airplane
to come down.

- Alright, let's get to it.

(narrator): But news reports
continue to fuel
the FBI's terrorism theory.

The pressure is on the NTSB
to find the cause
and provide answers

to grieving families.

- Excuse us.

(narrator): Seven days
into the investigation,

the ocean salvage team makes
a major find: the black boxes.

- Recovering the CVR and the FDR

is very important
in every investigation.

The trouble is,
you never know
what you're gonna get.

(narrator):
Technicians in Washington
recover the data.

- TWA 800...

(narrator):
But it gives investigators
little to go on.

- ...leaving 1-3,000.

(narrator):
They hear no cockpit alarms
or signs of panic from the crew.

- ...climb and maintain 1-5,000.

- Normal conversations
in the cockpit,

normal readouts
on the flight data recorder,

up until the point
where a sharp noise was heard
and then nothing after that.

(narrator): With no help
from the flight data,

investigators scour
the wreckage for clues.

- Give me a hand with this.

- The wreckage recovery
started to, uh,
teach us some things.

(narrator): They uncover a piece
with significant scorching.

Where it's found
tells investigators

it was one of the first pieces
to come off the plane.

But what part of the plane
did it came from?

- A piece of spanwise beam
from the centre wing fuel tank.

- I think this could be it.

(narrator): It's a discovery
that changes the direction
of the entire investigation.

- The explosion must've started
somewhere inside the fuel tank.

(narrator):
To prove their theory
that an exploding fuel tank

took down TWA 800...
- We're gonna put all this
back together again.

(narrator): ...the NTSB decide
to attempt something
that has never been done before.

- We're gonna rebuild
the entire plane.

(narrator): Piecing together
the shattered 747

will be the only way
to convince the world
it was not a terrorist attack.

But investigators
still don't know
what sparked the blast.

- If you find evidence
of an explosion in a fuel tank,

you have to look
for what could cause...

an explosion to start,
and you work backwards.

- We need to prove three things.
The fuel was flammable...

The explosion
has to be powerful enough
to rupture the tank.

And finally,
something created a spark
to ignite the fuel.

(narrator): Jet fuel
in its liquid form
is not flammable,

but when heated,
the fuel starts to vaporize.

When combined with oxygen
already present in the tank,

this vapour can become
highly flammable.

At 14,000 feet,

jet fuel needs to reach
96° Fahrenheit
to become combustible.

Investigators examine
the design schematics
of the aircraft.

An intriguing detail
catches their eye.

- The placement
of the air-conditioning units
were underneath the centre tank,

and those generate
a fair amount of heat.

(narrator): On the day
of the fatal flight,

the air-conditioning units
were working extra hard

to keep the cabin cool
on a hot evening.

Could heat from the units
have boosted the temperature

inside the tanks
to a dangerously high level?

- We had to prove
that the temperature inside
the tank would be flammable,

because if we couldn't
prove that,
how was it gonna explode?

- Only one way to find out.

(narrator): Investigators decide
to recreate the fatal flight.

But it puts them
in the same dangerous
situation...

- Air conditioning on.
(narrator): ...that took down
TWA Flight 800.

- Alright, let's start it up.

(narrator): Investigators
perform a risky flight test.

They need to prove the fuel
on board TWA Flight 800
became flammable.

- It was a bit disconcerting,
because we were, in a sense,

in an aircraft
that was identical
to the accident flight.

Now, if you're gonna ask me
whether I would do it again,
I'd probably say no.

(narrator): When the test flight
reaches the same altitude
as TWA 800...

- Holy crow.

This is off the charts!

(narrator):
...the temperature readings
in the tank are terrifying.

The air-conditioning packs
heat the fuel
to 127° Fahrenheit,

30° above the flashpoint.

- Okay. Let's get back down
to the ground.

So we've proved flammability.

Now for the second challenge:
Can the tank rupture?

(narrator):
They rig up a scale model
of the centre wing fuel tank.

- Gentlemen. Level's good?

(narrator): They fill the tank
with the same ratio
of jet fuel,

and heat it to the same
temperature as on TWA 800.

Investigators then ignite
the fuel.

The results are clear.

The explosion creates
double the amount of force
necessary to rupture the tank.

- The tank
simply wasn't strong enough

to contain the full scale
of this explosion.

(narrator): NTSB investigators
need one last critical element
of proof.

- The final question
that we had to answer was:

What caused the spark?

(narrator): Investigators take
a closer look at the aircraft's
electrical system.

After hours of examining
the 180 miles of wiring,

they notice
a disturbing pattern.

- The condition of these wires
is abysmal.

(narrator): High-voltage
and low-voltage wires
are mixed together,

making it possible
for strong currents to travel
where they shouldn't.

- If you have cross-currents
into these wires,

something drastic
could easily happen.

(narrator): The condition
of the aging wires

leads investigators
to a logical conclusion.

- This was certainly
a short-circuit.

It was more than enough
to create a short-circuit

that would go into the fuel tank
and ignite the vapours.

- And now...

...we have all the conditions
for a fuel-tank explosion.

(narrator): The full sequence
of events is now clear.

While idling at the gate
for an hour,

the air-conditioning system
heats the fuel
in the centre wing tank.

The liquid turns to vapour,
as its temperature rises
above the ignition point.

In the plane's
aging electrical system,

some wires are so worn
that they short-circuit.

In the blink of an eye,

deadly voltage
reaches the fuel probe
inside the centre wing tank.

- And then it blew up.

- Talk to me!
What do you have for us--

(narrator): The NTSB's
ambitious reconstruction
of TWA 800 is finally complete.

It confirms the investigators'
fuel-tank explosion theory,

finally putting
any bomb-conspiracy theories
to rest.

- I was really pretty proud
of the definitive nature

in which we were able to show
where the airplane break-up
began.

(narrator):
After more than four years
of investigation,

the NTSB recommends,
in its official report,

that all Boeing 747s undergo
a review and repair
of older wiring.

They also call
for additional insulation

between the fuel tanks
and the air-conditioning system.

- There was a lot
of design challenges,

there were a lot
of certification challenges,

and these recommendations
went forward to both the FAA
and Boeing,

but it was all hardware-related.

(narrator): Despite the constant
speculation in the news,

the NTSB persevere
in finding the true cause.

(crowd cheering)
Just four years later,

investigators face
a similar challenge

when another devastating crash
makes international news.

Charles de Gaulle Airport,
Paris.

One of the busiest airports
in Europe
and the only place in France

to catch sight of the world's
most famous passenger plane:

Concorde.

- Concorde flying
was a real show.

I mean, everybody was watching.

It was spectacular.

(ATC): Air France 4590,
do you want Whiskey-10 or Romeo?

(ding)
- I need all the runway, eh?

(ATC): Okay. Taxi for Romeo,
Air France 4590.

(narrator): Today,
Captain Christian Marty
will be flying the Concorde.

- Clear on the right?

- On the right is clear.

(narrator):
First Officer Jean Marcot
will monitor the instruments.

With more than 23,000
flight hours between them,

Captain Marty
and First Officer Marcot

are among the world's
most elite pilots.

- Air France 4590,
runway 26 right,

clear for takeoff.

- Everybody ready?
- Yes.

(narrator): The Concorde
is a technological marvel.

It's the world's
only supersonic airliner.

(ding)
- Four greens.

(narrator):
Its takeoff speed is 198 knots,

40 knots faster than a 747.

- V1.

(narrator): They've reached V1,
also known as "decision speed."

They're now going too quickly
to abort the takeoff.

- Watch out!

(narrator): Suddenly,
the plane begins veering left.

- Stop!
(alarm sounding)

(narrator):
They are running out of runway.
(alarm sounding)

Captain Marty has to lift
the jet into the air.

- 4590, you have flames
behind you.
- Roger!

Watch the airspeed.
(alarm sounding)
(indistinct chatter)

(screaming)

(narrator): The plane has lost
two of its engines.

- No time!

(narrator):
The crew can't out-fly the fire

that is rapidly consuming
their plane.

- No!
(narrator): The supersonic
marvel of modern aviation...

...crashes
into an airport hotel.

All 109 passengers and crew
on board Concorde are dead.

Four more people
have been killed on the ground.

- Everyone had a dream
of flying on the Concorde.

And when you saw
those horrific pictures,

you had the... sinking feeling
that this might be the end

of supersonic travel
for a while.

(narrator):
The crash of the Concorde makes
headline news around the world.

And all eyes
are on French investigator
Alan Bouillard,

who leads the inquiry
into what caused
the first fatal crash

in its 31-year history.

(in French):

We were dealing
with a very complicated plane

that had been completely
destroyed by fire.

There were very few pieces left.

(narrator): Bouillard's team
begin their investigation
on runway 26 right.

- It looks
like they were bleeding fuel.

(in French): We became
interested in the runway,

because the event happened
during the acceleration
for takeoff.

(in French): First of all,
it was obvious that there were
traces of fire

that were still visible
on the runway,

as well as traces of fuel
and many airplane parts.

So we had to collect
all these parts to preserve them
for the investigation.

(narrator): The two black boxes
are recovered
from the crash site.

They're rushed to the lab
to see if their data
survived the fire.

Among the runway debris,
something captures
Bouillard's attention.

- Well, I know this is a piece
of the fuel tank.

- Among the first pieces
recovered from the site...

...was a part that was
quickly identified as being
from one of the fuel tanks.

(narrator):
Concorde has 13 fuel tanks:

one in the tail section,

and 12 more that combine to fill
almost the entire Delta wing.

It means at least one
of the plane's 13 fuel tanks
ruptured during takeoff.

- It must've been
a massive fuel leak.

That's the only way to explain
a fire like that.

(narrator):
But what could've caused
such a massive leak?

Fortunately,
technicians have salvaged
the cockpit voice recording.

- Okay, let's get going.

(narrator): Bouillard hopes
the pilots' cockpit conversation
will shed some light

on the puzzling collection
of leads.

- Four greens.

- V1.

(narrator):
But just before liftoff,
there's a loud noise.

- Watch out!
- That sounded like some kind
of explosion.

(narrator): Bouillard knows
the precise moment
the deadly fire began,

but he still doesn't know
what caused it.

- Failure! Engine 2!
(alarm sounding)

(narrator): Because Concorde
includes American-made tires...

- I would love to get a look
at that runway debris.

(narrator): ...the National
Transportation Safety Board
sends Bob MacIntosh

to join the team.

Among the debris
found on the runway,

there are large, torn pieces
of aircraft tire,

some weighing
more than nine pounds.

- Looks like a blowout.

There's a whole lot of structure
and rubber belt around the tire

that's probably gonna separate,
and that's, of course,

a potential for damage.

(narrator):
Concorde's tires are reinforced
with a strong rubber belt

and filled
with high-pressure nitrogen.
(beeping)

When they rupture,
they can act like small bombs.

- Maybe a piece of the tire
flew up and burst the fuel tank
here in the wing.

(narrator):
So what could've caused
a relatively new tire to erupt?

- We uncovered many incidents
where tires were punctured
or destroyed,

and in some cases,
the rims, as well.

(narrator):
Investigators take a closer look
at the debris from the runway.

- Maybe something cut...
into the tire.

(narrator): They discover
a strange metal strip.

(in French):
The shape of the metal strip
that we found

was exactly the same shape
as the tire debris.

- I want to know what this is
and where it came from.

- It didn't look like anything
that came from an aircraft
to me.

(narrator):
But metallurgical tests
show it was made

of lightweight titanium
often used in aircraft parts.

It's covered
in a reddish-orange adhesive
used in aviation repairs.

But it doesn't match
any known pieces
of the Concorde.

Investigators work
to narrow down
which plane it comes from.

(in French):

We searched by elimination.

We knew that it was a strip
of metal that didn't come
from the Concorde.

(narrator): Investigators pour
over aircraft schematics.

- What is this?

(narrator): The metal strip
looks like it could be
from the engine of a DC-10.

- Certainly,
there was a great deal
of anticipation.

Could this be really from a,
uh, a DC-10?

(narrator): Investigators search
through the flight records
for runway 26 right,

and make a crucial discovery.

A DC-10 took off just minutes
before the Concorde.

Investigators are convinced
the thin strip of metal
fell from that DC-10...

- V1.
... where it ruptured
a massive Concorde tire...

...that fatally burst
the fuel tank.

The investigators' theory
may explain

one of the most shocking
aviation disasters
the world has ever seen.

Now all they have to do
is prove it.

(narrator): Investigators test
their theory that a metal strip

could've burst
the brand-new Concorde tire.

Using an identical tire,
they run over a replica
of the metal strip with a weight

equal to flight load: 25 tons.

They get their answer.

- You can't ask for better proof
than that.

(narrator): However,
if a piece of flying debris
ruptured the tank,

the tank should be bent
from the outside in.

But the tank fragment
from the runway is bent
in the opposite way.

Investigators face
an unprecedented mystery.

What punctured
the Concorde's fuel tank
from the inside?

- The only thing
in the fuel tank is the fuel.

Maybe what burst the tank...
is the fuel itself.

(narrator):
When a high-speed projectile
hits a container full of liquid,

it can set off
a tsunami-like wave

powerful enough
to rupture the container

at a different point
from where it was struck.

- Set it so the fuel tanks
are completely full.

(narrator): Bouillard hopes
a computer simulation will show
if that's what happened.

- Okay...
let's watch what happens.

Fire.

(narrator): Investigators work
to recreate the exact moment

the tire fragment hit
the fuel tank.

But conditions
have to be just right.

- Fire!

(narrator): And when they are...

- We've got it! Well done.

(narrator):
...firing a piece of tire
at the tank

can make it burst
from the inside out.

- It was a revelation
to all of us, and indeed,
a very plausible explanation.

(in French): We were convinced
that from the moment the plane
rolled over the metal strip,

a catastrophe was inevitable.

(narrator): When the tire blows
and the fuel ignites,

the crew faces
an unprecedented dilemma.

At V1 speed, the massive jet
needs more than a mile to stop.

(alarm sounding)
(woman): There's a fire!

(narrator): But there's only
1,000 yards of runway left.

The pilots have no choice
but to put the burning plane
in the air.

(in French):

Aborting the takeoff
at 180 knots
would also have led

to the total destruction
of the aircraft.

- Watch the airspeed.

(narrator): The crew fights hard
to keep the plane flying
right up to the very end.

- No!

(narrator): The accident report
makes a number
of recommendations

to make Concorde safer.

Engineers design stronger tires
that can better withstand

the plane's high speed
and immense weight.

Fuel tanks are reinforced
with Kevlar to prevent leaks.

Airport authorities
also implement a better system
for monitoring runways

and removing debris.

- What is puzzling
is that you had a piece
of metal on the runway.

It turns out to trigger...

one of the most
catastrophic crashes
in aviation history.

(narrator):
The Concorde does fly again.

But the return of the world's
only supersonic plane
doesn't last long.

Two years later,
with rising costs
and failing profits,

the Concorde is retired.

It makes its last flight
on November the 26th, 2003.

- It was such front-page news,
because people were sad.

I think the public realized
it was probably the end
of an era.

(narrator):
When tragedy strikes,

whether in the middle
of an ocean
or in the heart of a city,

aviation disasters grip
the public's attention

and make headlines
around the world.

- What people really
want to know is that somebody's
got the facts,

and its being addressed,
so it doesn't happen again.

(narrator):
But even in the midst
of a media frenzy,

investigators persevere
and solve critical cases.

- We don't care about blame,
we don't care about speculation.

We want to know
what the hard facts are,

and we want to follow it
wherever it leads.

Subtitling: difuze