All language subtitles for Mayday - S02E06 - Missing Over New York (Deadly Delay) WEBDL-1080p_track3_[eng]

(automation): Pull up.
- Go around, Captain! Go around!

(narrator):
With the runway in sight,

a passenger jet smashes down
at catastrophic speed.

- Why did the crew go off
the end of the runway?

Was there a problem
with the airplane?

- Hang on to the sonofabitch!

(narrator): A Delta flight crew
battle a deadly storm

during their final approach
in Dallas.

- They didn't have any idea
of the severity
of what they were about to face.

- Speed! Oh, God! Go around!

(narrator): And tragedy strikes
in San Francisco

when a Boeing 777 lands short.

- Hang on!

- How could a couple
of highly trained,
experienced pilots

simply fly an airplane
into the ground
short of the runway?

(narrator):
Landing is a routine operation,

but also one of the most
dangerous stages of flight.

Investigators have to determine
what went wrong

when the safety of the runway
was in sight.

- If you're not prepared
to land the plane,
you shouldn't do it.

- Mayday, mayday!

- It's going up!

(indistinct radio chatter)

(narrator): It's early morning
on the Indonesian island
of Java.

A Boeing 737 flies
high overhead.

- Visibility: 8 kilometres.

27,000 feet.

- 27,000.

(narrator):
The crew of Garuda Flight 200
is preparing to land.

(chiming)

There are 133 passengers
on board this morning.

They're nearing the end
of a short flight

from the Indonesian capital
of Jakarta,

265 miles southeast
to the city of Yogyakarta.

The plane is 15 minutes
from touchdown.

- Okay, when we're cleared,
we approach runway 9,

course 088.

(narrator):
Captain Muhammad Marwoto Komar
has been with Garuda

for 21 years.

- Approach flaps: 40,
auto-brake: 2.

(narrator):
As they near the airport,

he briefs First Officer
Gagam Rachman

on the final steps needed
to get their plane
on the ground.

- Understood.

Approach briefing complete.

- Garuda 200,
you're cleared to approach
runway zero-niner.

Let me know when you have
the runway in sight.

- Gear down.

- Gear down.

(narrator): They are now
less than 3,000 feet
above the ground.

The runway is in sight.

- Flaps: 15.

(narrator):
But as the plane descends,

passengers notice
something isn't right.

The plane is going very fast
and is very low to the ground.

- Cleared to land.
Two miles out.

(automation): Pull up.
Too low. Terrain.

- Whoa. Go around, Captain!
Go around!

(automation): Too low.
Terrain. Terrain.

Pull up.

(screaming and grunting)

(narrator):
Passengers are thrown violently

as the plane bounces
a second time.

Even after a third impact,
the plane isn't stopping.

(screaming)
(alarm sounding)

(sirens wailing)

The 737 has come to a stop
in a swampy rice field
off the end of the runway.

But the disaster isn't over.

(screaming)

Inside the burning fuselage,
passengers struggle to get out.

And outside,
firefighters battle to reach
the swampy crash site.

If the fuel tanks ignite,
the plane could explode.

- Anytime you've got
the possibility of fuel,

you need fire suppression
right there, right now,

because you've got
massive flames at 1800°.

You've got a lethal situation.
(groaning)
(coughing)

- Give me a hand with this!

(grunting)

(coughing)

(narrator):
With an exit door finally open,
passengers make their escape.

Of the 140 passengers
and crew on board...

...21 people are dead.

- Clearly, you knew that people
were not gonna survive this.

It's almost a miracle
that so many did survive.

- There's a variety
of different scenarios

that go with any kind
of landing accident.

So from the challenges
of an investigator

with regard to trying to piece
these elements back together.

Why did the crew
go off the end of the runway?

Were they flying
the approach properly?

Was there a problem
with the airplane?

(narrator): At the crash site,

investigators from Indonesia's
National Transportation
Safety Committee,

or NTSC...

...face the enormous task
of determining what went wrong.

They're joined by members
of the Australian
Transport Safety Bureau,

including investigator
Alan Stray.

- What've you got so far?

We have to establish:
Where did it touch down?

Were there any runway marks?
Did it bounce? Did it skid?

Looks like they hit pretty hard.

(narrator): Investigators
quickly discover gouges

and shattered pieces
of landing gear on the runway,

clear signs that the plane
slammed down with unusual force.

The nose wheel digging in
and fracturing

was indicative
of a very hard G-force
on that impact.

More skid marks here.

(narrator): It's also clear
that the plane hit the runway
more than once.

- So one... two... three,

then off the end of the runway.

(narrator): What caused
the pilots to perform
such a dangerous landing?

Investigators need to know
what happened
on board the aircraft.

Thankfully,
the plane's flight recorders
are quickly recovered

from the scorched wreckage.

- Alright.
Let's get these into the lab.

Without that data,
we're screwed.

(narrator): While they wait
for the flight data,

investigators look
into the mechanical systems
of the 737.

- Was there a mechanical
failure?

Looking at the performance
of the aircraft,

was it physically possible
for the aircraft to stop?

(narrator): The team focuses in
on the systems used
during landing,

including the wing flaps.

- The flap system
on a modern jetliner like a 737

create greater lift,

and that means
that we can approach an airport
or take off from an airport

with a much lower
and safer airspeed.

(narrator): They inspect
the mechanical rods,
or jackscrews,

that move the flaps.

- We measured
the screw-jack extension...

to establish
what the flap setting was.

(narrator):
What they find is astonishing.

- It doesn't look like the flaps
were all the way out.

(narrator): To provide
enough lift on landing,

the flaps of a 737 are usually
extended step by step,

from zero all the way
to 40 degrees

as the plane slows
and descends towards the runway.

However, the jackscrews show
a flap setting
of just five degrees,

not nearly enough
for a safe landing.

- We just could not believe
that the aircraft would've
landed with only five degrees.

(narrator):
Was there a malfunction
within the flap system

that caused
the terrifying landing?
(screaming)

Investigators hope the data
from the flight recorder
will shed some light

on how the plane was operating
before the crash.

- We were able
to get information
about the flap settings,

the speed on the approach,
the thrust-reverser deployment,

the dynamics of the approach
and landing itself.

Pull up the data for the flaps,
would you, please?

There.

The flaps were set
for five degrees.

Never more than five degrees.

(narrator): The data confirms
the flaps were not configured
properly for landing.

- To hear an airplane
that has been in an accident

because of overrunning
the runway

had a flap setting
of only five in a 737
is very disturbing.

(narrator): As they continue
to review the data,

investigators discover the 737
was coming in for landing
blazingly fast.

Flight 200 hit the ground
at over 250 miles an hour,

more than 100 miles an hour
faster than normal.

- We're not stopping!

- The speed of the aircraft
on short final and on touchdown

was so excessive...
there was no way
it was gonna stop.

(narrator): But why
did the pilots touch down

at such a catastrophically
high speed?

(narrator): After a painstaking
data-recovery process...
- Finally.

- ...investigators in Indonesia
are able to listen
to the cockpit voice recorder

from Garuda Flight 200.

- Fortunately,
the recorder specialists
at the laboratories,

uh, are a tenacious breed
and they do not give up easily.

(narrator): They hope
the recording will help explain

why the pilots failed
to configure the aircraft
properly for landing.

- Okay, let's hear it.

- Okay, when we're cleared,
we approach runway 9,
course 088.

- What you're doing is listening
for the atmosphere and the tone,

the ambiance if you like,
in the cockpit.

- Approach flaps: 40,
auto-brake: 2.

- Approach briefing complete.

- The captain certainly
doesn't sound stressed.

(narrator): Then the first hint
that something's wrong.

- Looks like we're not gonna hit
the glide slope.

(narrator): The plane is higher
than it should be
for this stage of the approach.

- Better get down
a little faster.

(narrator): To land smoothly,

planes need to lose enough speed
and altitude

to descend gradually and meet
the runway at a shallow angle.

But Flight 200 is too high
for a steady landing.

- He definitely has some work
to do if he hopes
to get on track.

- Check speed. Flaps: 15.

- Flaps: 5.

- The captain is calling
for flaps 15.

Why is he saying flaps 5?

- Flaps: 15.

(narrator):
The captain repeatedly tells
the first officer...

- Check speed. Flaps: 15!

- ...to increase the flaps.
- Check speed. Flaps: 15!

(narrator):
But the first officer never
moves them past five degrees.

- Okay.

First things first.

Why did the first officer
ignore the captain
and leave the plane at flaps 5?

- It's very perplexing.
If you got professional pilots,
we can make mistakes,

but usually that's why we've got
two people up there,
so one catches the other.

(automation): Pull up.
(alarm sounding)
(exclamations)

(narrator):
When investigators revisit
the speed of the landing,

they understand why
the first officer was reluctant
to increase the flap setting.

- Way too fast... for flaps 15.

(narrator): The plane
is travelling 35 knots faster

than is designed
for flaps at 15 degrees.

Wind drag could tear the flaps
right off the wings

if the flaps are extended
past five degrees.

- The first officer
was exactly right
in not putting them down.

- But why didn't
the first officer say something?

Tell the captain to slow down?

(Nance): It's very clear
the co-pilot should've said,
"Captain, I got the airplane."

But what it tells me here
is that this co-pilot

did not feel he could speak up
one way or another.

(automation): Pull up.
(alarm sounding)

(narrator):
The captain's behaviour
continues to stun investigators.

- Landing checklist completed,
right?

- Landing checklist?

- There were 15 ground-proximity
alerts and warnings

during that final stage
of the approach.

When a crew member hears that,
there should be instant action.

(narrator):
But instead of reacting,

the captain becomes fixated
on the landing checklist.

Stray and his team begin
to question the quality
of the crew's training.

- Fixation is when we are...

focused on, uh,

completing a task...

to the exclusion of other things
that may be going on around us.

(narrator):
Investigators theorize
that the captain

is completely fixated
on descending
to the proper altitude.

(automation): Pull up.
- Landing checklist completed,
right?

(automation): Pull up.
- In the case of a pilot
fixating on a runway,

he or she can blank out
the rest of the advice,

the ground-proximity warning
system, everything.

(narrator): Pilot training
is designed to combat fixation,

ensuring that pilots
in a crisis situation

can break the spell and take in
the information they need.

Better training might have
helped the first officer

overcome his reluctance
to correct
the captain's mistake.

(automation): Pull up.
- Go around, Captain. Go around!
(automation): Pull up.

- Go around!
(automation): Pull up.

- Landing checklist completed,
right?
(automation): Pull up.

- Without question,
if the captain wasn't going
to respond by going around,

which is what he should've done
instantly on hearing
"whoop-whoop, pull up,"

the co-pilot should've said,
"I've got it,"
and done the same thing.

(alarm sounding)

(narrator): In 2008,
Captain Marwoto Komar
faced charges,

and was found guilty
of negligence,

but the conviction
was overturned on appeal.

In their final report,

investigators call
for improved pilot training

with added focus on approach
and landing procedures.

In the aftermath
of the Garuda 200 disaster,

the airline overhauls
its training
and safety protocols,

and today it is a safer airline
than it's ever been.

- The takeaway
is that the organization
has a responsibility

to provide the pilots with
the best-available training,

flying the best-available
equipment,

and then having a process
to ensure...

that even when no one's looking,
they're doing the right thing.

(narrator): But sometimes,

even the best-trained pilots
can be taken by surprise
on landing

when faced with an unpredictable
force of nature.

(narrator):
It's a scorching-hot day

at Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport,

with the temperature reaching
101° Fahrenheit.

The intense heat
triggers thunderstorms
that surround the airport.

Delta Airlines Flight 191
heads in for landing at DFW.

- Weather's 6,000 scattered,
21,000 scattered.

Visibility: 10,
temperature: 101.

Wind calm.

- A hundred and one?
- A hundred-and-one degrees.
Yes, sir.

(narrator): Captain Ed Connors
and First Officer Rudy Price

are two of Delta Airlines'
most experienced pilots.

Second Officer Nick Nassick
is one of Delta's most highly
regarded flight engineers.

They're flying
a six-year-old L-1011 Tristar.

There are 152 passengers
and 11 crew members on board.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
we are starting our approach
to DFW.

(narrator): The crew begins
their final descent into
the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

(ATC): Attention,
all aircraft listening,

there's a little rain shower
just north of the airport.

(narrator): While continuing
with their approach procedures,

First Officer Price notices
the upcoming storm.

- We're gonna get
our airplane washed.

(narrator): Less than six miles
from the runway,

the controller tells the crew
to expect a stiff but manageable
crosswind of up to 15 knots.

(ATC): ...at 5. Gusts: 15.
- Tower.

Delta 191 heavy,
out here in the rain.
Feels good.

(narrator): First Officer Price
is at the controls.

He realizes the storm is more
than just a little rain.

- There's lightning
coming out of that one.

- Where?
- Right ahead of us.

- A thousand feet.
I'll call 'em out to you.
- Alright.

(narrator):
One minute away from landing,

Price carefully guides
the aircraft towards the runway.

Without warning, the intensity
of the storm increases.

Driving rain pounds the L-1011.

All of a sudden,
their airspeed picks up.

- Watch your speed.

(narrator): Price needs
to slow the plane down

so they don't overshoot
the runway.

They're only 600 feet
off the ground.

- There it is!

(narrator): Suddenly,
the plane drops sharply.

(screaming)

It's as though
an invisible force
is pushing it to the ground.

- Push it up! Push it way up!
Way up!

- Way up!
- Way up!

(narrator):
The pilots' efforts are futile.

One mile short of the runway,
the plane plows into a field,

travelling more than 200 miles
an hour.

At that moment, the controller
catches sight of Delta 191.

- He's gonna crash!
Delta, go around!

- He cartwheeled into the tank
in just an instant,
and then, of course,

there was a wall of fire.
(sirens wailing)

In the tower, it's just quiet,

and you just sit there...
stunned,

wishing you could do anything
to take it back.

(narrator): When firefighters
and rescue workers arrive,

they discover
27 people have survived.

But Captain Connors,

First Officer Price
and Second Officer Nassick
are killed,

along with five
other crew members

and a devastating
128 passengers.

- I was on a Delta flight
behind that flight.

You could see this horrific fire
and burning wreckage
just out the plane window.

And we came into the gate
where that plane
was supposed to have come.

And at that time,
families could go to the gates.

It was a sight
I will never forget.

(narrator):
Investigators from the National
Transportation Safety Board,

or NTSB,
arrive at Dallas-Fort Worth,
determined to find the cause.

- One of our field investigators
would've been on scene,

trying to locate
the flight-data recorder
and the cockpit voice recorder,

which is, you know,

a very important part
of the investigation.

(narrator): Thankfully,
both flight recorders
are recovered quickly,

and immediately sent
for analysis.

Investigators hope the data
will reveal what caused
Flight 191 to crash

into a water tank
off the end of the runway.

- This flight-data recorder
gave us several parameters
we didn't have before -

engine power,
longitudinal acceleration -

and those parameters
really enabled us to do

a more in-depth analysis.

(narrator):
The device also records
external elements,

like temperature, wind speed,
altitude and air pressure.

When they review the data,

investigators discover
an alarming weather pattern
logged on the recorder.

- Then it shifts to a downdraft.

(narrator):
In a matter of seconds,

the plane is hit
with three strong winds
from the front,

above and then behind.

- There you have it.

(narrator):
Bud Laynor immediately
recognizes the weather pattern.

The plane flew
through a microburst.

A microburst is a violent shaft
of air falling
from a storm cloud.

On the day of the crash,
it had been extremely hot,
and hot air rises.

When that hot air
meets the cold, moist air
in the storm clouds,

it cools instantly and rushes
violently back to Earth.

- If you're at the kitchen sink
and you turn on the water,

and it goes straight down
and it splashes out
in all directions.

And that's kind of what
a microburst is,

except that it is extremely...
bad news

if you're an airplane
flying through it
at low altitude.

(narrator):
The plane first faces
a strong headwind,

which lifts the plane skyward.

Then it's hit by a downdraft,
slamming it toward the ground.

Finally, the microburst delivers
its most dangerous punch:
the tailwind.

- And you would get
a rapid descent,

a loss of lift and a rapid
descent towards the ground,

and easily crash the airplane.

(narrator):
It's clear that the 136 people
on Flight 191

are the latest victims of
the intense weather phenomenon.

- Unbelievable.

(narrator):
But one mystery still remains.

- Altimeters?
- How did such an experienced
crew fall victim to a storm...

- You're in good shape.

- ...they were all trained
to overcome?

(narrator):
When NTSB investigators
compare the actions

of Flight 191's pilots
to the force
of the microburst...

- A thousand feet.

- ...they uncover details
of a fight to the death.
- I'll call 'em out to you.

- A fight that the Delta pilots
almost won.
- Watch your speed.

(narrator): The increase
in airspeed from the headwind

prompts First Officer Price
to reduce power to his engines.

Power he'll desperately need
in just a few seconds.

- You're gonna lose it
all of a sudden.
There it is.

- The captain knew
the characteristics
of a microburst.

He'd obviously been given
an introduction to windshear

and microburst characteristics
in his flight training.

(narrator):
But when Connors and Price
are hit with the tailwind,

there is very little
they can do.

Only 500 feet off the ground,

they have insufficient speed
and altitude
with which to manoeuvre.

- Push it up! Way up!

(narrator): Then suddenly,
the microburst delivers
another blow:

a fierce crosswind that forces
their plane to bank dangerously
to the right.

(automation): Pull up.
- Hang onto the sonofabitch!

(narrator):
Combined with the other winds,
the crew is defenseless.

- TOGA!

TOGA!

- TOGA is Take-Off
Go-Around mode.

Let's abandon the approach.
We're no longer gonna try
to land this airplane.

(narrator):
The skill and experience
of the pilots are no match

for this fierce microburst.

It's too big,
its winds too powerful
and unpredictable.

Making matters worse,

investigators discover the storm
at the foot of the runway
arrives virtually unannounced.

Once trained weather observers
see it on the radar,

it's too late to warn the crew
of Delta 191.

- It's small,
it's the length of a runway,
roughly,

and it doesn't last very long,
so...

it's something
that can happen so quickly

that many accidents
have occurred because nobody
knew it was there.

(narrator):
Investigators conclude
that the Delta crash was caused

by the pilots' decision
to continue their approach
into the storm.

A decision that was made
because the crew wasn't warned
about the hazard.

After the crash of Delta 191,

the Federal Aviation Authority
install Terminal Doppler Weather
Radar at high-risk airports,

including Dallas-Fort Worth.

Doppler Radar detects
the direction and speed
of precipitation and wind flow.

- Doppler Radar,
which is on the ground,

is incredibly effective
in detecting microbursts.

And in fact, it can detect
about 98% of a microburst.

- Even though we've learned
a lot of information

from accidents
involving thunderstorms,

things can still go wrong
on a clear and sunny day,

only feet from the runway.

- Ladies and gentlemen,
this is your captain speaking.
Hope you had a pleasant flight.

We'll be on the ground
in about 30 minutes.

(narrator): Asiana Flight 214
is nearing the end
of an overnight flight

from Seoul, Korea,
to San Francisco.

The Boeing 777 is carrying
291 passengers
and 16 crew members.

- Is that the Golden Gate?

(narrator): Captain Lee Kang Kuk
takes in the sights

as he guides the plane
towards the airport.

- The Golden Gate's over there.
That bridge goes to Oakland.

- Ah. Okay.

(narrator): Lee Jung Min,
also a captain,

is serving
as First Officer today.

- Runway in sight.

- Okay. Gear down, sir.

- Gear down.

(narrator): In the cabin,
the flight attendants prepare
passengers for landing.

- Asiana 214 heavy,
runway 28 left, cleared to land.

- Landing checklist complete.

Clear to land. On glidepath.

- Check.

(narrator): The plane is less
than a minute from the runway

when a passenger notices
something alarming.

- There's a small pier
that extends out of the runway,

and I'm, like:
Wow, we're very low.

(narrator): In the cockpit...
- Speed!
- ...a crisis hits.

(automation): Terrain. Pull up.
- I've got control!

(automation): Pull up. Pull up.
- Oh, God!

Go around!

(narrator):
The captain pulls up the nose
and tries to climb.

(screaming)

(automation): Terrain.
Terrain. Pull up.
- Ah!

- Ah!

Just wondering
how it's gonna end,
how it's gonna stop,

and when it's gonna stop.
(all screaming)

- Hang on! Hang on!

(screaming and exclamations)

(narrator): In the cockpit,
the pilots have survived,

but they have no idea
of the extent of the damage.

The brutal impact
has torn the tail
off the body of the plane.

- Control, come in.

It's Asiana 214.

Initiating evacuation checklist.

We need help out here.

- Asiana 214 heavy,
emergency vehicles
are responding.

(woman): Oh, my God,
that's scary.

(narrator): Eyewitness video
captures the dramatic scene

as hundreds of people flee
the cabin from only a few exits.

- Come on. Get out.

(narrator): Asiana Flight 214
has crashed on one of
the airport's busiest runways.

Nearly 50 people
are seriously injured.

Six were thrown out
of the back of the plane
when the tail broke off.

Two of them are dead.

- The challenges
in the Asiana 214 investigation
were... myriad.

You would think: Oh, okay,
most everyone survived.

This shouldn't be
a problematic investigation.

But it was.

(narrator): Investigators
at the National Transportation
Safety Board

quickly pull together a team.

Senior investigator Bill English
leads the high-profile
investigation.

- Everyone's on standby
as of right now.

So the 777 had been in service
for about 20 years
at the time of this accident,

and this was the first
fatal accident of a 777
in that entire time.

(narrator):
The investigators arrive
at the horrific crash site

the following morning.

Before searching
the scorched wreckage,

they equip themselves
with protective gear to shield
them from the toxic fumes.

- Okay, here we go.

(narrator):
For NTSB investigator Roger Cox,

the hunt for evidence
is worth the risk.

- It was a tricky accident site.

Uh, we had to be properly
garbed up to make sure

that we weren't affected
too much

by the dangerous wreckage
that was there.

(narrator):
Cox gathers the pilots' charts
and personal effects,

hoping to find clues
about what the pilots were doing

in the final stages
of the flight.

- That's everything
I could find.

(narrator):
Many of the documents
are in Korean.

They'll need to be translated
before they can be
fully analyzed.

Meanwhile, at NTSB headquarters,

photos of the crash zone
provide investigators
with a crucial lead.

- Where it impacted on the rocks
of the seawall

pretty much tells us
it was too low.

It landed well short
of where it should have.

(narrator): The team hopes
the data recovered

from the 777's flight recorders

will help explain why the plane
crashed into the seawall.

(screaming)

- We were able to see
all the basic things,
like airspeed, altitude,

the configuration
of the airplane.

We were also able to see
all the inputs
that the crew made.

(narrator): English carefully
plots the data.

Most of it looks
completely normal.

But then he spots
something unexpected.

- This is where
they bring it back to idle.

(narrator): One minute
before the crash, engine power
suddenly drops to idle.

- Right here.
- Ahem.

(narrator): The sudden change
in power settings
makes no sense.

Normally, the last moments
of flight are when pilots
need more power

to overcome drag
from the landing gear
and wing flaps.

And data from earlier
in the flight

shows the engines
were functioning properly.

- We could see that the engines
were making proper power

all the way
through the approach.

(narrator): The question now:

What was the crew doing
to control engine power

in the critical final moments
of flight?

- Speed.

- How did the pilots operate
the airplane?
(alarm sounding)

Why did they do what they did
that got the airplane too low?
(automation): Terrain. Terrain.

(narrator): Investigators turn
their focus squarely
on the actions of the pilots.

- "Gear down, sir."

(narrator): Understanding
every nuance of the cockpit
voice recording is crucial.

They listen as the pilots
prepare for a visual approach
and landing.

- Missed approach 3,000 feet.

- Landing checklist complete.

Clear to land. On glidepath.

(narrator): They combine
what they hear with the data
from the flight recorder

that shows how the pilots
were manipulating the controls.

- This seems a little high.

(narrator):
As the crew nears the runway,

the recording hints
at the first sign of trouble.

The rate of descent is too slow.

They risk overshooting
the runway.

- I will descend more.

(narrator): What the recording
reveals next is stunning.

To speed up the rate of descent,

the captain switches
the autopilot

to Flight Level Change Mode.

But he makes
a dangerous mistake.

- He made an entry
to the autopilot that, at first,

actually made
the airplane climb.

Obviously,
he didn't want to do that.

(narrator):
Instead of descending,

the new mode instructs the plane
to climb

to its preset go-around altitude
of 3,000 feet.

- The autopilot mode
switches here,
starts all the confusion.

The pilot flying is supposed
to actually select things

with the auto-flight system
and call out what he's doing.

And the pilot monitoring
is supposed to verify

that the change
has actually occurred.

No callouts.
How's anyone supposed to know
what he's doing?

(narrator):
To bring his plane back down,

the captain immediately pulls
the throttles back to idle...

...stripping the plane
of crucial airspeed
they need for landing.

- It's low.

(narrator):
Investigators now understand
how the engines got to idle.

- Yeah.

(narrator): But why would
an experienced captain make the
mistake of leaving them there?

(automation): Pull up.
- Oh, God! Go around!
(alarm sounding)

(narrator): And why did the crew
not notice they were dangerously
low until it was too late?

(automation): Terrain. Pull up.

(narrator): NTSB investigators
are anxious to interview
the pilot

who was flying Asiana Flight 214

when it crashed
onto a San Francisco runway.

- I'll try to help if I can.

(narrator): The captain explains
he was worried about landing
in San Francisco.

- I was a bit nervous.

(narrator):
On the day of the crash,

the electronic runway equipment
designed to help guide pilots
in for landing was down.

- I thought
that was very unusual coming
from an experienced pilot,

because no one really needs
an electronic glide slope
on a clear day

to be able to land an airplane.
It's a fundamental skill.

- Other pilots were making
that landing.

I thought I should be able
to make it too.

- Why did he not ask
the other guy for help?

I think he just didn't want
to admit the weakness.

- It's low.

(narrator):
The captain tells investigators
he doesn't understand

why the plane didn't have
enough power on landing.

- I know I made some mistakes,

but I was certain
that the auto-throttle
would control the speed.

(narrator):
Like other modern jets,

the 777 can automatically
increase or decrease
engine power

through a system
known as the auto-throttle.

- He was confident
the auto-throttle

was actually gonna take care
of speed for him...

...that the auto-throttles
would wake up,

advance the thrust
and keep them safe.
(automation): Up. Up.

(narrator): But investigators
discover the auto-throttle
never corrected the speed.

- Oh! Go around!
(automation): Terrain. Pull up.

(narrator): Did the critical
automated system fail in flight?

When they conduct
an exhaustive search

of the plane's
computerized functions...

...the team makes
a surprising discovery.

- We could see
some strange things happening
with automation inputs

while that airplane
was on short final.

(narrator): When they replicate
the sequence of inputs
made by the captain,

including changing
the autopilot mode...

...and then reducing
the thrust...

(beep)
- Bingo! That does it.

- ...the unusual combination
of commands

switches off
the 777's auto-throttle system,

leaving the engines at idle.

- By doing that,
that sent the signal
to the auto-throttle system

that he wanted control
of the power.

So at that point, in effect,
the airplane was basically
just gliding.

(narrator): Investigators
finally understand

why the auto-throttle
did not re-engage

and boost engine thrust
on landing.

- Oh, God!
(automation): Pull up.
- Go around!

(narrator):
But it doesn't explain why
the captain was so uncertain

about autopilot function
and why the crew
were so slow to react.

- Twenty-two-thousand hours
between them.

You'd think
they'd notice the speed.

(narrator):
The translated documents
retrieved from the cockpit

provide some crucial answers.

They reveal
that Captain Lee Kang Kuk

was training
on the Boeing 777...

- Is that the Golden Gate?

- ...after flying
the Airbus A320,

an aircraft
with a very different style
of automation.

- Check.
- He was a little bit stressed,

because it was...

a training flight
and he was being monitored
by this more senior pilot.

(narrator): But why did
the experienced first officer
wait until it was too late

before taking control
of the plane?

(automation): Pull up.
- I've got control!

(narrator):
If he had intervened sooner...

- Positive rate.
- ...he would almost certainly
have prevented the accident.

When they continue looking
through company records,

investigators discover
the first officer

had never before supervised
a training flight like this one.

- It's low.

(narrator):
His inexperience most likely
led him to wait too long...

(alarm sounding)
- Speed!

- ...before taking over
the controls.

In their final report
on the crash of Asiana 214,

investigators list pilot error
as the probable cause,

but they also cite
the complexities
of the automation system

as a contributing factor.

- I am not confident
that the majority of pilots,
777 pilots at the time,

would've been able to predict
the modes that the airplane
would end up in.

(narrator): The report calls
for better pilot training,

more intuitive designs
of aircraft automation,

and better cockpit alarms
to warn pilots if their speed
gets too low.

- Modern jets are very,
very, very efficient,

which means that they're hard
to slow down.

So getting the airplane
on the proper speed

is one of the biggest challenges
that jet pilots face.

(narrator):
If pilots aren't prepared
when the runway is in sight,

a routine landing
can quickly become a tragedy.

- A stabilized approach says:
I know we can make it.

If you're a pilot and ever say,
"I think we can make it,"
you better be doing a go-around,

because those are the last words
I've heard on so many cockpit
voice recordings.

Subtitling: difuze