1
00:00:01,006 --> 00:00:03,634
(narrator):
An Airbus A330 loses power
enroute to Hong Kong.

2
00:00:03,634 --> 00:00:07,429
- What the hell was that?
- We now have
two engines stalled.

3
00:00:07,471 --> 00:00:08,931
You know, my blood ran cold.

4
00:00:08,931 --> 00:00:13,102
(narrator): To survive,
the pilots must avoid ditching
in the Indian Ocean.

5
00:00:13,144 --> 00:00:14,562
(screaming)

6
00:00:14,603 --> 00:00:21,068
Soaring six miles in the air,
a British Airways 747 suffers
a mysterious engine flame-out.

7
00:00:21,068 --> 00:00:24,238
(exclamations)
- Mayday, mayday, mayday.

8
00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:26,949
- What the crew had
to deal with was mind-boggling.

9
00:00:26,991 --> 00:00:28,534
(narrator):
And with four engines down,

10
00:00:28,576 --> 00:00:34,123
China Airlines Flight 006
plummets thousands of feet
in just seconds.

11
00:00:34,123 --> 00:00:37,376
- Engines 1, 2 and 3
have lost thrust!
(alarm sounding)

12
00:00:37,376 --> 00:00:39,420
- This airplane
is totally out of control.

13
00:00:39,461 --> 00:00:43,757
(narrator):
In three terrifying events,
with all engines out...

14
00:00:44,216 --> 00:00:48,387
- That is one
of the most dire situations
any crew can be in.

15
00:00:48,387 --> 00:00:52,183
(narrator): ...can investigators
piece together
what really happened?

16
00:00:52,224 --> 00:00:54,894
- Stop. Would you look at that.

17
00:00:55,769 --> 00:00:57,938
- Mayday, mayday.

18
00:01:00,274 --> 00:01:02,276
- It's going up!

19
00:01:03,110 --> 00:01:05,571
(indistinct radio chatter)

20
00:01:21,962 --> 00:01:23,881
- Seatbelt, please. Thank you.

21
00:01:24,298 --> 00:01:29,470
(narrator):
Cathay Pacific Flight 780
cruises at 38,000 feet

22
00:01:29,511 --> 00:01:31,764
over the South China Sea.

23
00:01:31,764 --> 00:01:34,308
(chiming)
- This is your captain speaking.

24
00:01:34,350 --> 00:01:37,228
We'll be starting our descent
into Hong Kong shortly.

25
00:01:37,228 --> 00:01:39,813
(narrator): On a 4.5-hour flight
from Surabaya, Indonesia,

26
00:01:39,855 --> 00:01:43,734
the plane is just 30 minutes
from its destination
of Hong Kong.

27
00:01:43,734 --> 00:01:47,905
- It's a crisp morning;
clear skies, a light wind.

28
00:01:47,947 --> 00:01:50,241
It was a nice day to go flying.

29
00:01:50,241 --> 00:01:52,409
(narrator):
Captain Malcolm Waters

30
00:01:52,451 --> 00:01:54,787
is one of Cathay Pacific's
youngest captains.

31
00:01:54,787 --> 00:01:56,497
His first officer, David Hayhoe,

32
00:01:56,538 --> 00:02:00,167
is an ex-fighter pilot with
the Royal Australian Air Force.

33
00:02:00,751 --> 00:02:06,423
The Airbus A330 is powered
by two Rolls-Royce Trent-700
engines.

34
00:02:06,799 --> 00:02:11,553
Every aspect of flight operation
is aided by advanced computers.

35
00:02:11,553 --> 00:02:14,473
- The engineering and complexity
that goes into them,

36
00:02:14,515 --> 00:02:18,727
and the science that presents
the information,
they're incredible machines.

37
00:02:18,769 --> 00:02:22,815
(narrator): 165 miles
from Hong Kong Airport,

38
00:02:22,856 --> 00:02:25,192
the Airbus leaves
cruising altitude

39
00:02:25,234 --> 00:02:27,236
and begins its descent.

40
00:02:27,278 --> 00:02:29,571
- Airspeed's, uh, 295 knots.

41
00:02:29,571 --> 00:02:32,658
Rate of descent:
700 feet per minute.

42
00:02:32,658 --> 00:02:33,784
It's looking good.

43
00:02:33,784 --> 00:02:38,497
(narrator): The aircraft
is performing perfectly.
(rattling)

44
00:02:39,039 --> 00:02:42,209
And then something goes wrong.
(alarm sounding)

45
00:02:42,251 --> 00:02:44,086
- What the hell was that?

46
00:02:44,128 --> 00:02:47,881
I describe it
as a low, thumping noise
and airframe vibration,

47
00:02:47,881 --> 00:02:53,679
so, you know, David and myself
kind of looked at each other,
like: That's unusual.

48
00:02:53,721 --> 00:02:57,933
(narrator): The flight computer
alerts the pilots to a problem.

49
00:02:57,975 --> 00:03:00,936
(alarm sounding)
- Okay, let's see what we got.

50
00:03:02,855 --> 00:03:04,064
- Engine 2 stall.

51
00:03:04,064 --> 00:03:06,567
(narrator): The plane's
monitoring system indicates

52
00:03:06,608 --> 00:03:09,653
there's an issue
with the right engine,

53
00:03:09,695 --> 00:03:11,613
engine

54
00:03:12,197 --> 00:03:15,701
- Okay... thrust lever

55
00:03:15,701 --> 00:03:17,328
Confirm?

56
00:03:17,328 --> 00:03:18,954
- Confirm.

57
00:03:20,372 --> 00:03:23,959
(narrator):
Captain Waters reduces power
on the engine to idle

58
00:03:24,001 --> 00:03:26,420
to protect it from damage.
- Idle.

59
00:03:26,462 --> 00:03:31,258
(narrator):
The lowest possible level
while still keeping it running.

60
00:03:34,887 --> 00:03:38,932
It has an immediate effect.
The engine noises disappear.

61
00:03:40,142 --> 00:03:42,394
- That's better.

62
00:03:43,062 --> 00:03:45,064
(narrator): Without thrust
from the right engine,

63
00:03:45,105 --> 00:03:50,069
the pilots are now relying
exclusively on the left engine
to get them to Hong Kong.

64
00:03:50,110 --> 00:03:52,404
- A single-engine approach
is not a big deal.

65
00:03:52,446 --> 00:03:55,032
We practise it a lot
in the simulator.

66
00:03:55,532 --> 00:03:59,328
(narrator):
But as the flight crew prepares
for landing,

67
00:03:59,370 --> 00:04:03,374
the left engine, engine
also fails.

68
00:04:04,041 --> 00:04:05,751
(alarm sounding)

69
00:04:05,751 --> 00:04:09,838
- We were relying
on this one engine to get us
safely on the ground,

70
00:04:09,838 --> 00:04:16,345
and now it had exactly the same
symptoms and noises and sounds
as the other engine.

71
00:04:16,887 --> 00:04:18,931
Engine 1 stall.

72
00:04:19,556 --> 00:04:21,809
- Engine 1 stall confirmed.

73
00:04:21,809 --> 00:04:24,728
- Engine 1 to idle.
(alarm sounding)

74
00:04:28,565 --> 00:04:30,692
(alarm stopping)

75
00:04:31,068 --> 00:04:36,281
(narrator): Both engines
are now still running,
but producing no thrust.

76
00:04:37,950 --> 00:04:40,536
The plane is gliding.

77
00:04:41,912 --> 00:04:45,958
- Dammit! Our descent rate
is not looking good.

78
00:04:46,667 --> 00:04:52,840
(narrator): Without thrust,
they won't make it to Hong Kong
or any other airport.

79
00:04:59,638 --> 00:05:05,310
Despite several attempts,
the pilots cannot get
the engines to produce power.

80
00:05:09,106 --> 00:05:12,901
- We've only got
five, six minutes
before we're at sea level.

81
00:05:14,653 --> 00:05:16,738
I... felt fear.

82
00:05:17,114 --> 00:05:21,577
And you have
all those human responses
to fear.

83
00:05:21,952 --> 00:05:24,746
The hair standing up
on the back of your neck,

84
00:05:24,746 --> 00:05:27,416
the tightening of your stomach,
the dryness in your mouth.

85
00:05:27,708 --> 00:05:32,838
(narrator): The pilots confront
the grim prospect of ditching
in the South China Sea.

86
00:05:33,255 --> 00:05:36,133
- I'm calling a mayday.
- Do it.

87
00:05:37,259 --> 00:05:39,553
- Approach, mayday,
mayday, mayday.

88
00:05:39,553 --> 00:05:45,058
Cathay 780 had engine 1 stall
and engine 2 stall.

89
00:05:45,601 --> 00:05:47,436
- Cathay 780, understood.

90
00:05:48,562 --> 00:05:51,690
- The seas looked very rough.
It was a lot of whitecaps.

91
00:05:51,690 --> 00:05:54,276
The swells would be
one to two metres.

92
00:05:54,318 --> 00:05:57,029
I felt that our engines
would act as two big scoops

93
00:05:57,029 --> 00:05:58,864
and would pitch the aircraft
down quite violently,

94
00:05:58,906 --> 00:06:03,452
and that would probably result
in us cartwheeling
and breaking apart.

95
00:06:04,328 --> 00:06:06,288
This cannot be happening.

96
00:06:06,788 --> 00:06:11,835
(narrator): First Officer Hayhoe
begins preparing
to ditch the plane.

97
00:06:16,715 --> 00:06:19,426
Then Captain Waters
gets an idea.

98
00:06:19,426 --> 00:06:22,471
- Okay... try slow movements.

99
00:06:22,471 --> 00:06:24,765
Go slowly. Just...

100
00:06:24,765 --> 00:06:26,808
ease in fuel.

101
00:06:27,434 --> 00:06:28,852
Easy does it.

102
00:06:29,311 --> 00:06:33,190
I was just pinching the side
of the thrust lever
just to move it a millimetre.

103
00:06:33,190 --> 00:06:36,902
Each time I pinched it,
it would just go up
a millimetre.

104
00:06:37,986 --> 00:06:41,406
(narrator): Incredibly,
it seems to be having an effect.

105
00:06:41,406 --> 00:06:43,909
- Rotation increasing
in engine 1.

106
00:06:43,951 --> 00:06:45,536
- It's working.

107
00:06:45,869 --> 00:06:50,457
The rotation of the fan
was increasing from...

108
00:06:50,457 --> 00:06:52,793
28% to 29 to 30 to 32

109
00:06:52,793 --> 00:06:57,381
as I moved this
very, very slowly and gently up.

110
00:06:59,341 --> 00:07:05,639
(narrator): Captain Waters
realizes that the engine won't
go any higher than 74% power.

111
00:07:06,181 --> 00:07:07,432
- That'll have to do.

112
00:07:07,474 --> 00:07:11,478
- We got a thrust setting
that resulted in us being able
to fly level.

113
00:07:11,812 --> 00:07:14,565
We weren't descending any more
and...

114
00:07:14,565 --> 00:07:17,359
that was, like, a huge relief.

115
00:07:17,568 --> 00:07:19,236
(narrator):
With one engine working,

116
00:07:19,236 --> 00:07:23,782
the pilots can now attempt
a landing at Hong Kong Airport.

117
00:07:28,203 --> 00:07:30,581
But there's no margin for error.

118
00:07:30,622 --> 00:07:33,834
- You see that?
Altitude is holding.

119
00:07:33,875 --> 00:07:35,460
- Fantastic.

120
00:07:35,502 --> 00:07:37,379
Okay, approach preparation.

121
00:07:37,379 --> 00:07:42,092
- We did have an engine
that was now functioning,
but I didn't trust it.

122
00:07:42,884 --> 00:07:44,720
Let's do this.

123
00:07:45,304 --> 00:07:47,264
- Okay, flaps 1.

124
00:07:47,931 --> 00:07:51,393
- Gear down.
- Gear down.

125
00:07:52,352 --> 00:07:57,816
(narrator): The safest plan
is to get the plane 5,500 feet
from the ground,

126
00:07:57,816 --> 00:08:00,193
then pull engine 1 back to idle,

127
00:08:00,235 --> 00:08:03,614
reducing speed and altitude...

128
00:08:04,364 --> 00:08:08,035
...in preparation
for a gentle glide
onto the runway.

129
00:08:08,035 --> 00:08:13,415
- Cathay 780,
we have both runways available
for your approach.

130
00:08:14,333 --> 00:08:16,835
- Final items... okay.

131
00:08:18,795 --> 00:08:21,632
(narrator): But just one minute
from touchdown...

132
00:08:25,427 --> 00:08:27,262
- It's overspeed.

133
00:08:27,679 --> 00:08:29,681
(narrator):
An overspeed warning sounds,

134
00:08:29,681 --> 00:08:33,143
a signal the aircraft is flying
too fast.

135
00:08:34,519 --> 00:08:36,897
They should be slowing down.

136
00:08:39,775 --> 00:08:42,486
- Speed checked: 240.

137
00:08:43,654 --> 00:08:45,030
800 feet.

138
00:08:45,072 --> 00:08:48,241
- You know, my blood ran cold.
It just looked completely wrong,

139
00:08:48,283 --> 00:08:51,953
and I was very uneasy that
things were out of my control

140
00:08:51,995 --> 00:08:54,289
and that there was something
that I was missing.

141
00:08:54,289 --> 00:08:56,541
(narrator): Then he sees it.

142
00:08:57,042 --> 00:09:00,379
Engine 1 is still running
at high speed,

143
00:09:00,420 --> 00:09:02,714
too high to land safely.

144
00:09:02,756 --> 00:09:05,801
- I had that whole feeling again
of fear.

145
00:09:05,842 --> 00:09:07,594
Anger.
It was a scary moment.

146
00:09:07,594 --> 00:09:11,473
(narrator): The pilots
have no choice but to risk
a high-speed landing

147
00:09:11,473 --> 00:09:14,601
on a runway
at the edge of the ocean.

148
00:09:14,976 --> 00:09:18,313
- It was our one chance
to get this on the ground,

149
00:09:18,355 --> 00:09:21,233
and we had to make
the best go at it.

150
00:09:22,442 --> 00:09:24,861
(automation): Too low. Terrain.

151
00:09:25,070 --> 00:09:27,239
Too low. Terrain. Pull up.

152
00:09:27,656 --> 00:09:30,742
(narrator): Going 100 knots
faster than normal...

153
00:09:30,909 --> 00:09:35,747
(automation): Pull up.
(narrator): ...Captain Waters
pushes the nose down,

154
00:09:35,789 --> 00:09:38,041
forcing the Airbus
onto the runway.

155
00:09:38,041 --> 00:09:42,129
- Brace!
(narrator): At the end...
lies open water.

156
00:09:49,261 --> 00:09:50,887
- The aircraft
did not wanna land.

157
00:09:50,929 --> 00:09:54,641
And I remember thinking:
Wow, this is it.
'Cause it was very violent.

158
00:09:54,683 --> 00:09:56,518
(screaming)

159
00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,740
- Full reverse!
(dramatic music)

160
00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:11,908
(narrator):
The crew deploys reverse thrust

161
00:10:11,908 --> 00:10:16,538
and applies full braking power
to avoid overshooting
the runway.

162
00:10:16,538 --> 00:10:19,040
- No

163
00:10:19,082 --> 00:10:21,793
- Immediately,
I just step on the brakes,
hold 'em,

164
00:10:21,793 --> 00:10:23,170
toe brakes to the floor.

165
00:10:23,211 --> 00:10:26,757
(narrator):
Just one faulty engine
is providing reverse thrust.

166
00:10:27,382 --> 00:10:31,887
Will it be enough
to stop the plane
from careering into the sea?

167
00:10:37,517 --> 00:10:38,894
- Full reverse!

168
00:10:38,935 --> 00:10:42,189
(narrator): Cathay Pacific
Flight 780 screeches to a halt

169
00:10:42,189 --> 00:10:47,360
just a few thousand feet
from the end
of the airport's runway.

170
00:10:48,570 --> 00:10:50,572
- I can't believe it.

171
00:10:50,947 --> 00:10:52,574
- We made it.

172
00:10:52,616 --> 00:10:54,326
Nice one.

173
00:10:55,118 --> 00:10:57,537
- It was just this humongous
relief.

174
00:10:58,205 --> 00:11:03,919
I was so happy that, um,
you know, we were gonna go home
and see our families.

175
00:11:06,129 --> 00:11:07,464
(sirens wailing)

176
00:11:07,506 --> 00:11:11,510
(narrator): The passengers
and crew evacuate safely,

177
00:11:11,510 --> 00:11:13,929
with only a few minor injuries.

178
00:11:17,265 --> 00:11:22,103
Hong Kong's Civil Aviation
Department immediately launches
an investigation.

179
00:11:22,145 --> 00:11:23,146
- Thank you.

180
00:11:23,730 --> 00:11:28,401
(narrator): Because the plane's
Trent-700 engines were made
by British company Rolls-Royce,

181
00:11:28,401 --> 00:11:34,991
Anne Evans, of the British Air
Accidents Investigation Branch,
joins the investigation.

182
00:11:35,242 --> 00:11:37,744
- This Trent-700
is a very common engine

183
00:11:37,786 --> 00:11:40,831
fitted to a lot of airplanes
all over the world.

184
00:11:41,206 --> 00:11:44,167
So if there's
an engineering problem
with a particular design,

185
00:11:44,167 --> 00:11:46,086
then we want
to find that quickly.

186
00:11:46,503 --> 00:11:51,174
(narrator): Investigators look
to the plane's flight-data
recorder for answers.

187
00:11:51,675 --> 00:11:55,554
They start with the A330's
engine functions.

188
00:11:57,180 --> 00:11:59,558
- Stop. What's going on here?

189
00:11:59,933 --> 00:12:03,186
(narrator): Right away,
they notice something unusual.

190
00:12:03,228 --> 00:12:06,273
- Thrust levers are moving,
but fuel flow's flat-lining.

191
00:12:06,523 --> 00:12:10,694
(narrator):
Right after the pilots tried
to restore power to the engines

192
00:12:10,694 --> 00:12:13,029
by pushing the throttle up,

193
00:12:13,029 --> 00:12:15,907
the fuel flow remained the same.

194
00:12:16,449 --> 00:12:17,784
- Nothing happens.

195
00:12:18,118 --> 00:12:23,248
The engines just are
not responding at all.
They're just remaining at idle.

196
00:12:23,290 --> 00:12:24,666
Dammit!

197
00:12:25,417 --> 00:12:31,923
(narrator): Investigators wonder
if a fuel-flow problem caused
Flight 780's engine trouble.

198
00:12:32,632 --> 00:12:33,717
- Thank you.

199
00:12:33,758 --> 00:12:37,178
(narrator):
Evans turns to the plane's
in-depth data logs.

200
00:12:37,554 --> 00:12:41,308
They explain in detail
the error messages...
- Engine 2 stall.

201
00:12:41,308 --> 00:12:44,644
(narrator): ...that appeared
on the monitoring system
throughout the flight.

202
00:12:44,644 --> 00:12:47,230
- "Engine 2
control system fault."

203
00:12:47,606 --> 00:12:49,649
(narrator): Anne Evans discovers
that early in the flight,

204
00:12:49,649 --> 00:12:56,072
the computers detected a problem
in a key part of the fuel system
called the main metering valve.

205
00:12:56,114 --> 00:12:57,741
- So the warnings
that were coming up

206
00:12:57,741 --> 00:13:04,497
were warnings to do
with the main metering valve
supplying fuel to the engine.

207
00:13:04,915 --> 00:13:08,043
(narrator):
The main metering valve
is made up of a piston

208
00:13:08,084 --> 00:13:10,128
that slides within a cylinder.

209
00:13:10,128 --> 00:13:12,088
When the pilots move
the thrust levers,

210
00:13:12,130 --> 00:13:18,762
it increases or decreases
the flow of fuel to the A330's
turbofan engines.

211
00:13:21,264 --> 00:13:24,684
When investigators
cut the valve open
to study it...

212
00:13:24,726 --> 00:13:26,269
- That's not normal, is it?

213
00:13:26,269 --> 00:13:29,814
(narrator):
...they find something
they've never seen before.

214
00:13:29,856 --> 00:13:33,902
- What we saw seemed
like very, very fine powder.

215
00:13:33,902 --> 00:13:38,114
Even finer than caster sugar.
Very, very small particles.

216
00:13:38,573 --> 00:13:41,534
(narrator): Microscopic analysis
reveals that the powder

217
00:13:41,534 --> 00:13:45,664
is a type of superabsorbent
polymer, or SAP,

218
00:13:45,705 --> 00:13:47,165
made up of tiny spheres.

219
00:13:47,165 --> 00:13:51,127
- These are organic compounds
designed to absorb water.

220
00:13:51,127 --> 00:13:55,173
That gave us a clue
as to where they'd come from.

221
00:13:56,132 --> 00:13:58,677
(narrator): The powder is used
in refuelling trucks

222
00:13:58,677 --> 00:14:02,389
to prevent water from getting
into the aircraft's fuel tanks.

223
00:14:02,681 --> 00:14:06,977
The refuelling trucks pump fuel
from underground tanks and pipes

224
00:14:07,018 --> 00:14:10,939
through a filter on the truck
and into the aircraft.

225
00:14:11,856 --> 00:14:14,067
If the fuel is contaminated
with water,

226
00:14:14,067 --> 00:14:19,322
the powder in the filter
absorbs it by forming a gel
inside the filter.

227
00:14:19,781 --> 00:14:23,243
But the waterlogged gel
is supposed to stay
in the filter.

228
00:14:23,368 --> 00:14:25,662
It should never end up
in the fuel.

229
00:14:25,662 --> 00:14:27,622
- It is so commonly used
within the industry

230
00:14:27,622 --> 00:14:30,000
for this purpose
of filtering out water.

231
00:14:30,041 --> 00:14:34,796
What we didn't understand was:
How did it get on board
the aircraft?

232
00:14:38,842 --> 00:14:40,510
This one looks
somehow collapsed.

233
00:14:40,510 --> 00:14:43,304
(narrator): Investigators
recover the filters
from the truck

234
00:14:43,304 --> 00:14:47,600
used to refuel Flight 780
at Surabaya Airport.

235
00:14:48,476 --> 00:14:53,106
And when they examine
a sample of the filter
under a microscope,

236
00:14:53,148 --> 00:14:56,234
investigators make
a puzzling find.

237
00:14:56,276 --> 00:14:59,863
- It looks like...
sodium crystals?

238
00:15:00,321 --> 00:15:03,199
(narrator): The powder spheres
are encrusted with salt.

239
00:15:03,199 --> 00:15:06,369
- Had salt water got
into the fuel system?

240
00:15:07,370 --> 00:15:09,497
This one's straight
from the manufacturer.

241
00:15:09,998 --> 00:15:15,045
(narrator): When Anne's team
conducts tests on fresh filters,
exposing them to salt water...

242
00:15:15,086 --> 00:15:18,173
- Well, would you look at that.

243
00:15:18,173 --> 00:15:19,799
(narrator):
...the filters collapse,

244
00:15:19,799 --> 00:15:22,177
just like the ones used
to fuel Flight 780,

245
00:15:22,177 --> 00:15:27,348
allowing both the salt crystals
and white powder spheres
to pass through.

246
00:15:27,390 --> 00:15:31,519
- What was important
was that we demonstrated
we could generate spheres.

247
00:15:32,062 --> 00:15:36,524
(narrator): Investigators
now believe salt water
collapsed the fuel filters,

248
00:15:36,524 --> 00:15:41,696
leading to powder contamination
in the fuel system
of Flight 780.

249
00:15:42,113 --> 00:15:44,115
But one critical question
remains.

250
00:15:44,115 --> 00:15:48,453
- So how did salt water get
into the fuel system?

251
00:15:49,329 --> 00:15:52,499
(narrator):
After a careful review
of the fuel system

252
00:15:52,499 --> 00:15:54,042
at Surabaya Airport,

253
00:15:54,084 --> 00:15:56,753
investigators make
a stunning discovery.

254
00:15:57,087 --> 00:16:00,256
The fuel system is located
close to the sea.

255
00:16:00,256 --> 00:16:02,467
And during a recent upgrade,

256
00:16:02,467 --> 00:16:07,347
the open fuel pipes
were possibly exposed
to groundwater.

257
00:16:09,474 --> 00:16:15,772
Investigators now believe
they know what happened
to Cathay Pacific Flight 780.

258
00:16:18,191 --> 00:16:21,820
The underground fuel supply,
contaminated with salt water,

259
00:16:21,820 --> 00:16:25,824
broke down a filter,
releasing a powder
into the fuel.

260
00:16:26,533 --> 00:16:28,493
The powder jammed
the metering valves,

261
00:16:28,535 --> 00:16:31,704
preventing enough fuel
from reaching the engines.

262
00:16:36,584 --> 00:16:39,504
- Engine 1 stall.
(alarm sounding)

263
00:16:40,088 --> 00:16:41,840
- We had fuel contamination,

264
00:16:41,881 --> 00:16:45,552
and that contamination
throughout the fuel system

265
00:16:45,593 --> 00:16:48,096
led to the seizure
of both main metering valves,

266
00:16:48,138 --> 00:16:53,685
such that the pilot
no longer had control
over the power of the engines.

267
00:16:54,185 --> 00:16:57,605
(narrator): Investigators
believe Captain Waters
was able to restore

268
00:16:57,647 --> 00:16:59,065
some thrust in engine

269
00:16:59,065 --> 00:17:03,862
only because
its fuel-metering valve
wasn't yet completely jammed.

270
00:17:03,903 --> 00:17:06,865
Only a small trickle of fuel
was getting through.

271
00:17:06,865 --> 00:17:09,117
- Slowly, slowly. Come on.

272
00:17:09,117 --> 00:17:13,204
- Rotation increasing
in engine 1.
- It's working.

273
00:17:13,955 --> 00:17:17,458
(narrator): Once the spheres
jammed the valve,
it was stuck open...

274
00:17:17,500 --> 00:17:20,044
(automation): Pull up. Terrain.
- Ugh!

275
00:17:20,628 --> 00:17:25,466
(narrator): ...forcing
Captain Waters to make
the risky high-speed landing.

276
00:17:28,845 --> 00:17:30,638
- No

277
00:17:31,347 --> 00:17:36,352
(narrator): Expert piloting
brought Flight 780
safely to the ground.

278
00:17:36,394 --> 00:17:39,522
(exclamations)
- I can't believe it.

279
00:17:40,732 --> 00:17:43,693
(narrator): Since the accident,
there have been efforts

280
00:17:43,693 --> 00:17:47,739
to improve the regulation
of aviation fuel-handling
and storage.

281
00:17:48,031 --> 00:17:54,370
Manufacturers have designed
the filters to prevent collapse
and powder contamination.

282
00:17:55,496 --> 00:17:58,666
The crew's heroic efforts
in the face of engine failure

283
00:17:58,708 --> 00:18:04,005
save Cathay Flight 780
from all-but-certain disaster.

284
00:18:05,798 --> 00:18:10,887
Total engine failure
is an ultra-rare occurrence
on modern airliners.

285
00:18:11,262 --> 00:18:12,931
- Seatbelt, please. Thank you.

286
00:18:13,348 --> 00:18:18,478
(narrator): Fortunately,
the fast-thinking flight crew
of Flight 780 had some control

287
00:18:18,519 --> 00:18:20,480
of their jet's engines,

288
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,983
allowing them to bring
the plane to safety.

289
00:18:26,361 --> 00:18:27,820
But 28 years earlier,

290
00:18:27,862 --> 00:18:33,493
a bizarre incident puts
the pilots of British Airways
Flight 9 to the ultimate test.

291
00:18:33,493 --> 00:18:36,287
- Oh, my Lord, look at engine 4!

292
00:18:36,537 --> 00:18:37,747
- It's the same on my side.

293
00:18:37,789 --> 00:18:41,167
- When you have
an uncontrollable
and unpredictable event

294
00:18:41,167 --> 00:18:42,794
that puts your airplane at risk,

295
00:18:42,835 --> 00:18:45,838
that takes a whole different set
of skills to resolve.

296
00:18:46,965 --> 00:18:49,717
- Dad! The engine's on fire!

297
00:18:49,759 --> 00:18:53,680
- They've all gone...
All four engines have failed!

298
00:18:59,143 --> 00:19:01,688
(narrator): June the 24th, 1982.

299
00:19:02,105 --> 00:19:06,150
British Airways Flight 9
cruises high over Indonesia.

300
00:19:06,526 --> 00:19:11,656
In a few hours, the plane
and all 263 people on board

301
00:19:11,656 --> 00:19:15,243
are scheduled to land in Perth,
Australia.

302
00:19:15,910 --> 00:19:18,913
Captain Eric Moody commands
the flight.

303
00:19:19,289 --> 00:19:23,251
He's one of the first
ever trained on the 747.

304
00:19:23,501 --> 00:19:25,586
- Roger, check with Jakarta.

305
00:19:27,588 --> 00:19:29,048
- Jakarta Control,

306
00:19:29,048 --> 00:19:32,593
Speedbird 9 over Halim
at level 3-7-0.

307
00:19:32,635 --> 00:19:33,845
(ATC): Speedbird 9...

308
00:19:33,886 --> 00:19:36,681
(narrator):
First officer Roger Greaves
has been co-pilot

309
00:19:36,723 --> 00:19:38,182
for more than six years.

310
00:19:38,599 --> 00:19:42,562
Barrie Townley-Freeman
has been a flight engineer
on these aircraft

311
00:19:42,562 --> 00:19:44,188
for a little longer.

312
00:19:44,230 --> 00:19:46,899
- I'd not flown
with Eric before,

313
00:19:46,899 --> 00:19:48,192
or Barrie.

314
00:19:48,192 --> 00:19:51,404
That was the first time
we'd actually met,

315
00:19:51,446 --> 00:19:52,739
on that, uh, that flight.

316
00:19:52,780 --> 00:19:55,908
Alright, Roger, it's all clear.
Just keep your eyes open.

317
00:19:55,950 --> 00:19:59,329
I'll be back in a moment.
Just gotta use the loo.

318
00:20:01,581 --> 00:20:03,916
(narrator):
But while he's gone...

319
00:20:04,625 --> 00:20:08,046
...conditions in the cockpit
become unusual.

320
00:20:08,296 --> 00:20:09,964
- We started to get these...

321
00:20:10,006 --> 00:20:13,009
pinpricks of light
on the windscreen.

322
00:20:15,678 --> 00:20:19,390
It smelt like sort
of a sulfuric electrical smell,

323
00:20:19,390 --> 00:20:22,393
and I went on that flight deck
expecting to hear

324
00:20:22,435 --> 00:20:25,938
that we had
some electrical smoke
somewhere on the aircraft,

325
00:20:25,980 --> 00:20:28,066
but nothing was further
from the truth.

326
00:20:28,066 --> 00:20:29,942
Anything on radar?

327
00:20:29,942 --> 00:20:32,737
- No, it's clear, not a cloud.

328
00:20:35,073 --> 00:20:37,700
Oh, my Lord, look at engine 4!

329
00:20:40,953 --> 00:20:42,747
It's lit up somehow.

330
00:20:43,081 --> 00:20:46,042
Captain, Captain,
have a look at

331
00:20:47,460 --> 00:20:49,003
- It's the same on my side.

332
00:20:49,003 --> 00:20:55,009
(narrator): The pilots notice
that the plane's engines are lit
by a brilliant white glow.

333
00:20:56,219 --> 00:20:59,680
But it's the flight's passengers
that first spot flames.

334
00:20:59,722 --> 00:21:02,183
- Dad! The engine's on fire!

335
00:21:02,642 --> 00:21:06,521
- There were huge flames
coming out of the back
of the engines,

336
00:21:06,562 --> 00:21:10,566
40 feet long,
shooting out of the back
of all the engines.

337
00:21:10,566 --> 00:21:13,444
What's going to happen?
(alarm sounding)

338
00:21:13,945 --> 00:21:16,364
(narrator):
As fire engulfs the engines,

339
00:21:16,406 --> 00:21:19,867
one of them revs loudly
and flames out.

340
00:21:19,992 --> 00:21:21,494
- Engine failure,

341
00:21:21,494 --> 00:21:27,250
- Once one engine fails,
you call for the drill
to shut that one down.

342
00:21:28,418 --> 00:21:31,546
(narrator):
Then the unthinkable happens.

343
00:21:31,838 --> 00:21:33,714
- Number 2 engine's gone.

344
00:21:34,382 --> 00:21:38,428
- Alright, then.
Begin the engine shutdown.
- No, wait!

345
00:21:38,886 --> 00:21:42,765
They've all gone.
All four engines have failed!

346
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,898
(narrator):
Somehow, all four engines
have completely stopped working.

347
00:21:52,191 --> 00:21:54,193
- Roger, declare emergency.

348
00:21:54,652 --> 00:21:57,447
- Mayday, mayday, mayday.
Speedbird 9.

349
00:21:57,447 --> 00:22:00,032
We have lost all four engines.

350
00:22:00,032 --> 00:22:01,784
(narrator):
Without engine power,

351
00:22:01,784 --> 00:22:05,079
the 747 is now
an enormous glider.

352
00:22:05,580 --> 00:22:07,874
- One of the nightmares
for a commercial airman

353
00:22:07,915 --> 00:22:09,625
is the idea
of losing all your power.

354
00:22:09,667 --> 00:22:14,172
A 747 can glide 120 miles
from high altitude,
but at the end,

355
00:22:14,172 --> 00:22:17,717
you're gonna come in contact
with the surface of the earth
one way or another.

356
00:22:17,717 --> 00:22:20,678
- Alright, begin restart drill.
- Set.

357
00:22:20,678 --> 00:22:21,929
- Battery.
- Check. On.

358
00:22:21,929 --> 00:22:25,141
(narrator): The flight crew
tries to restart the engines.

359
00:22:25,183 --> 00:22:28,269
- Standby power.
- On.
- Anything?

360
00:22:28,519 --> 00:22:29,812
Anything?
- No!

361
00:22:29,812 --> 00:22:31,731
(narrator): Plunging towards
the Indian Ocean,

362
00:22:31,772 --> 00:22:34,150
the crew has to get
their engines going.

363
00:22:34,150 --> 00:22:35,651
- Come on.

364
00:22:37,487 --> 00:22:39,947
- Again, gentlemen.
- Alright, from the top.
Battery.

365
00:22:39,947 --> 00:22:42,825
- Check. On.
(narrator):
Without engine power,

366
00:22:42,867 --> 00:22:45,161
the cabin's air pressure
decreases,

367
00:22:45,161 --> 00:22:47,246
releasing the oxygen masks.

368
00:22:47,246 --> 00:22:49,624
(exclamations)

369
00:22:50,791 --> 00:22:54,170
Captain Eric Moody
is running out of options.

370
00:22:54,462 --> 00:22:56,130
- Come on. Anything?
- No.

371
00:22:56,130 --> 00:22:58,966
- We hadn't had any success
with the drill at all,

372
00:22:59,008 --> 00:23:01,469
uh, despite all the efforts
we were putting in.

373
00:23:01,469 --> 00:23:04,931
But it was the only thing
we had left to cling onto.

374
00:23:05,681 --> 00:23:07,058
(narrator): Descending steadily,

375
00:23:07,058 --> 00:23:10,603
the flight crew prepares
to ditch the Boeing 747
in the Indian Ocean.

376
00:23:10,645 --> 00:23:16,776
- Alright, then.
- I knew it was so difficult
to land airplanes on the sea,

377
00:23:16,817 --> 00:23:18,945
even when you had
everything going for you.

378
00:23:18,945 --> 00:23:22,782
Uh, and I thought:
Well, we haven't got
much going for us here.

379
00:23:22,823 --> 00:23:25,284
I'd never done it before.
(beeping)

380
00:23:25,284 --> 00:23:26,744
(narrator): As a precaution,

381
00:23:26,786 --> 00:23:31,666
Captain Moody decides
to turn the plane back
to the closest airport, Halim,

382
00:23:31,707 --> 00:23:33,751
just outside Jakarta.

383
00:23:33,751 --> 00:23:35,294
If they must ditch,

384
00:23:35,294 --> 00:23:38,381
the chances
of a successful rescue
are higher

385
00:23:38,381 --> 00:23:40,758
if the plane is closer to land.

386
00:23:41,384 --> 00:23:43,803
- Start lever?
- Cut off.
- Fuel pressure?

387
00:23:43,803 --> 00:23:46,472
(indistinct)
- Stand by. Ignition on.

388
00:23:46,847 --> 00:23:49,976
(narrator):
And then, as suddenly
as it stopped working,

389
00:23:49,976 --> 00:23:52,812
the fourth engine
roars back to life.

390
00:23:53,104 --> 00:23:55,189
- Engine 4 back online!

391
00:23:56,983 --> 00:24:00,194
- The noise a Rolls-Royce engine
makes when it starts up,

392
00:24:00,194 --> 00:24:02,196
well, it was wonderful
to hear it.

393
00:24:02,238 --> 00:24:04,907
(narrator): As the plane falls
past 4,000 metres,

394
00:24:04,949 --> 00:24:08,536
another engine coughs
and comes back to life.

395
00:24:08,578 --> 00:24:10,288
- Engine 3 back online!

396
00:24:10,830 --> 00:24:14,208
(narrator): It's followed
quickly by the final two.

397
00:24:14,208 --> 00:24:15,960
- I can't believe it.

398
00:24:16,002 --> 00:24:18,921
Engines 1 and 2
both back online!

399
00:24:20,214 --> 00:24:24,594
(narrator): The crippled jet
is back under full power.
(cheering)

400
00:24:24,635 --> 00:24:27,096
- Oh, my God, Mum!
(applause)

401
00:24:27,096 --> 00:24:30,433
- Jakarta, Speedbird 9.
We are back in business.

402
00:24:30,433 --> 00:24:34,103
(narrator): The crew calls
for an emergency landing
in Jakarta.

403
00:24:34,103 --> 00:24:35,479
- Twelve thousand.

404
00:24:35,521 --> 00:24:39,233
- Let's get this thing
on the ground
as quick as you can.

405
00:24:44,196 --> 00:24:46,657
- Fifty feet.

406
00:24:47,074 --> 00:24:48,743
Thirty feet.

407
00:24:49,785 --> 00:24:51,245
- Reverse.

408
00:24:53,623 --> 00:24:55,750
(laughter)

409
00:24:55,750 --> 00:24:59,837
The airplane just landed itself.
It seemed to anyway.

410
00:24:59,879 --> 00:25:01,839
It kissed the earth.
It was beautiful.

411
00:25:01,839 --> 00:25:05,259
- Wow. That's... that's amazing.
(chuckling)

412
00:25:06,344 --> 00:25:11,390
(narrator): Flight 9
and its passengers and crew
are safely on the ground,

413
00:25:11,432 --> 00:25:15,936
but no one knows what happened.
(cheering)

414
00:25:18,105 --> 00:25:19,982
The next morning,
the flight crew returns

415
00:25:19,982 --> 00:25:23,569
to Halim Airport in Jakarta
to inspect their plane.

416
00:25:24,070 --> 00:25:28,449
The pilots and investigators
are shocked
by what they discover.

417
00:25:28,449 --> 00:25:31,077
- The airplane had lost
its sheen,

418
00:25:31,118 --> 00:25:35,581
and in some places,
it had been sandblasted
quite well,

419
00:25:35,623 --> 00:25:38,501
and all the decals and the paint
had come off.

420
00:25:38,501 --> 00:25:41,921
There really was very little
to see

421
00:25:41,962 --> 00:25:43,839
until they stripped
the engines down.

422
00:25:44,006 --> 00:25:49,887
(narrator): The flight crew
and investigators have never
seen anything like this before.

423
00:25:50,721 --> 00:25:57,103
And their surprising discovery
changes aviation-safety
procedures forever.

424
00:25:57,603 --> 00:26:02,108
(Ferguson): This was an event
which was unique
in aviation history.

425
00:26:05,986 --> 00:26:11,242
(narrator): The engines
from British Airways Flight 009
are sent to their manufacturer,

426
00:26:11,283 --> 00:26:13,869
Rolls-Royce, in the UK.

427
00:26:14,453 --> 00:26:16,872
Engineer Malcolm Grayburn
and his team

428
00:26:16,872 --> 00:26:22,169
are tasked with figuring out
what caused them all
to mysteriously flame out...

429
00:26:22,211 --> 00:26:25,506
- Dad! The engine's on fire!

430
00:26:26,090 --> 00:26:28,634
(narrator):
...and come back to life.

431
00:26:29,343 --> 00:26:32,346
- We did do a forensic analysis
of the engines.

432
00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,975
(narrator): Grayburn is stunned
by what he discovers.

433
00:26:36,475 --> 00:26:39,311
The engines were choked
with fine dust,

434
00:26:39,353 --> 00:26:40,938
pieces of rock and sand.

435
00:26:40,938 --> 00:26:46,068
On close study,
he discovers that the debris
is volcanic ash.

436
00:26:47,111 --> 00:26:49,780
The evidence points
to a clear suspect.

437
00:26:50,489 --> 00:26:54,118
On the night of the flight,
the Mount Galunggung volcano,

438
00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:58,080
located just 100 miles
southeast of Jakarta,

439
00:26:58,122 --> 00:27:00,416
erupted unexpectedly.

440
00:27:00,875 --> 00:27:05,045
The enormous ash cloud
rose nine miles high,

441
00:27:05,045 --> 00:27:08,257
right into the path
of British Airways Flight 009.

442
00:27:08,257 --> 00:27:13,679
Never before
had a volcanic cloud
seriously affected an airplane.

443
00:27:13,721 --> 00:27:15,514
- Mayday, mayday, mayday.

444
00:27:15,514 --> 00:27:18,017
We have lost all four engines.

445
00:27:18,476 --> 00:27:23,105
(narrator): A turbofan jet
engine works by sucking in
enormous amounts of air.

446
00:27:23,105 --> 00:27:27,234
The air is then
highly pressurized
by the engine's compressor.

447
00:27:27,234 --> 00:27:31,030
This tightly packed air
is mixed with fuel and ignited.

448
00:27:31,655 --> 00:27:35,868
The force of this reaction
propels the jet through the sky.

449
00:27:38,579 --> 00:27:40,581
- The temperature
in the combustion chamber,

450
00:27:40,623 --> 00:27:44,418
where this ash
is flowing through,
are around 2000° Centigrade,

451
00:27:44,418 --> 00:27:50,424
and so the volcanic ash we know
melts at about 1300, 1400°.

452
00:27:50,883 --> 00:27:54,470
(narrator):
But when the liquid ash
reached deeper into the engine,

453
00:27:54,512 --> 00:27:58,265
it cooled slightly,
turning into a sticky,
molten goo.

454
00:27:58,557 --> 00:28:01,894
It attached itself to the engine
and began choking it.

455
00:28:02,311 --> 00:28:08,400
- We got a fundamental
disturbance of the airflow
in the main core of the engine,

456
00:28:08,442 --> 00:28:10,986
which caused the engine
to backfire.

457
00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:12,905
- Engine failure,

458
00:28:12,947 --> 00:28:15,533
(narrator): But if the engines
were choked with ash,

459
00:28:15,574 --> 00:28:18,744
how did they suddenly
roar back to life?

460
00:28:19,203 --> 00:28:21,705
- Engine 3 back online!
(revving)

461
00:28:21,747 --> 00:28:23,541
(narrator):
What Grayburn discovers next

462
00:28:23,582 --> 00:28:27,002
is that a remarkable piece
of chemistry saved the plane.

463
00:28:27,419 --> 00:28:31,423
- As soon as you came out
of the volcanic ash,
everything cooled down,

464
00:28:31,465 --> 00:28:34,385
it was enough for this stuff
to break off

465
00:28:34,385 --> 00:28:36,720
and allow the engines
to restart.

466
00:28:36,762 --> 00:28:38,931
(revving)

467
00:28:38,931 --> 00:28:40,391
- I can't believe it!

468
00:28:40,432 --> 00:28:43,435
Engines 1 and 2
both back online!

469
00:28:44,270 --> 00:28:49,149
(narrator):
The pilots of Flight 009
are celebrated as heroes

470
00:28:49,149 --> 00:28:50,943
for overcoming
total engine failure

471
00:28:50,985 --> 00:28:54,488
and guiding their plane
and its passengers to safety.

472
00:28:54,822 --> 00:29:01,287
But their miraculous discovery
also provokes a giant leap
forward in aviation safety.

473
00:29:01,620 --> 00:29:03,747
- Now, more than 30 years later,

474
00:29:03,789 --> 00:29:05,332
there's a worldwide system
in place

475
00:29:05,374 --> 00:29:09,670
to warn pilots
when there's a risk
of volcanic ash in the air

476
00:29:09,712 --> 00:29:12,089
so the aircraft can avoid
this kind of hazard.

477
00:29:12,089 --> 00:29:15,467
It has worked wonderfully
over the last few years.

478
00:29:16,051 --> 00:29:20,055
- Here you go, gentlemen.
- Hey, there she is.
Hey! Melissa.

479
00:29:20,055 --> 00:29:23,017
(narrator):
But total engine failure
happens again

480
00:29:23,058 --> 00:29:25,477
just three years later.

481
00:29:26,353 --> 00:29:30,691
China Airlines Flight 006
cruises on autopilot

482
00:29:30,733 --> 00:29:33,986
39,000 feet above the Pacific.

483
00:29:34,028 --> 00:29:36,030
- It was a routine
commercial flight.

484
00:29:36,071 --> 00:29:39,867
I sat there and read some books,
went to sleep.

485
00:29:40,492 --> 00:29:43,996
(narrator): While many
of the 251 passengers doze,

486
00:29:44,038 --> 00:29:48,709
the plane nears its destination
of Los Angeles, California.

487
00:29:49,209 --> 00:29:52,796
In the cockpit,
the experienced three-man
flight crew,

488
00:29:52,796 --> 00:29:54,965
led by Captain Min-Yuang Ho,

489
00:29:54,965 --> 00:29:59,011
has amassed
more than 38,000 flight hours.

490
00:29:59,511 --> 00:30:02,556
But as the crew prepares
for an easy landing...

491
00:30:02,973 --> 00:30:05,309
- Engine 4 is giving us
weak thrust.

492
00:30:05,726 --> 00:30:09,271
(narrator):
...the flight engineer
spots something troubling.

493
00:30:10,105 --> 00:30:12,858
There's a problem
with one of the engines.

494
00:30:13,317 --> 00:30:17,321
When the engine is throttled,
it doesn't respond.

495
00:30:17,571 --> 00:30:19,156
- We're losing speed.

496
00:30:19,615 --> 00:30:24,036
(narrator):
Then the strange situation
suddenly gets much worse.

497
00:30:24,036 --> 00:30:26,246
- Engine 4 flamed out.

498
00:30:26,705 --> 00:30:30,334
(narrator): Engine 4
stops working completely.

499
00:30:30,876 --> 00:30:33,212
- Take a look
at engine-out procedures.

500
00:30:33,212 --> 00:30:36,006
Work out a three-engine
cruise altitude.

501
00:30:36,048 --> 00:30:37,716
- Yes, Captain.

502
00:30:38,050 --> 00:30:42,054
(narrator):
Without the fourth engine,
the plane slows down.

503
00:30:42,304 --> 00:30:44,640
- Airspeed: 240.

504
00:30:45,265 --> 00:30:47,768
- Reignite engine 4.

505
00:30:47,810 --> 00:30:49,353
- Yes, Captain.

506
00:30:49,687 --> 00:30:52,272
(narrator): At 39,000 feet,
there isn't much oxygen,

507
00:30:52,314 --> 00:30:56,360
so the chances
of a successful relight
are slim.

508
00:31:02,032 --> 00:31:03,659
- No response, Captain.

509
00:31:03,701 --> 00:31:06,495
(narrator): As the crew tries
to restart their engine,

510
00:31:06,537 --> 00:31:09,331
their plane slowly begins
to roll to the right.

511
00:31:09,331 --> 00:31:13,252
- We're banking right, Captain.
Airspeed: 230.

512
00:31:14,044 --> 00:31:18,007
(narrator):
As the plane loses speed,
it's in danger of stalling.

513
00:31:19,425 --> 00:31:22,469
- Altitude, hold off. Nose down.

514
00:31:22,469 --> 00:31:24,430
(narrator):
Hoping to increase his speed,

515
00:31:24,471 --> 00:31:28,308
Captain Ho tries pushing
the plane's nose down.

516
00:31:28,934 --> 00:31:31,770
Nothing the crew does
seems to help.

517
00:31:31,770 --> 00:31:35,441
Their jet is banking
more and more steeply.

518
00:31:35,899 --> 00:31:38,068
- I'm disengaging autopilot.

519
00:31:39,486 --> 00:31:41,530
(screaming)

520
00:31:44,533 --> 00:31:48,370
(narrator):
Captain Ho takes manual control
of the aircraft.

521
00:31:48,412 --> 00:31:52,833
But he struggles as the plane
veers into thick cloud.

522
00:31:55,669 --> 00:31:57,421
He can't see the horizon.

523
00:31:57,421 --> 00:32:00,591
Instruments that normally
would help him
keep the plane level

524
00:32:00,632 --> 00:32:02,259
don't seem to be working.

525
00:32:02,301 --> 00:32:04,803
- I've lost ADI!
(alarm sounding)

526
00:32:04,803 --> 00:32:07,264
- The ADIs have malfunctioned.

527
00:32:07,806 --> 00:32:10,350
- It's going out of limits!

528
00:32:10,768 --> 00:32:13,937
(narrator): Just minutes after
engine

529
00:32:13,979 --> 00:32:17,066
the China Airlines flight
suddenly stalls

530
00:32:17,066 --> 00:32:20,110
and begins falling from the sky.

531
00:32:25,991 --> 00:32:29,411
(narrator): A 747 jumbo jet
is flipping upside down.

532
00:32:29,453 --> 00:32:34,500
China Airlines Flight 006
plunges towards
the Pacific Ocean.

533
00:32:34,500 --> 00:32:38,378
- People just popped up
like popcorn, hitting the cabin.

534
00:32:38,420 --> 00:32:40,339
(screaming)

535
00:32:42,549 --> 00:32:48,597
(narrator): In the cockpit,
the flight engineer struggles
against the plane's wild motion

536
00:32:48,639 --> 00:32:50,557
to restart his fourth engine.
(beeping)

537
00:32:50,557 --> 00:32:56,855
The G-forces are so powerful
that the flight engineer is
pinned to the control pedestal.

538
00:32:56,897 --> 00:32:58,857
- Ignition negative!
(beeping)

539
00:32:58,899 --> 00:33:01,860
(narrator):
But his attempt is unsuccessful.

540
00:33:02,402 --> 00:33:05,739
Then, the situation
suddenly gets a lot worse.

541
00:33:05,781 --> 00:33:08,867
- Engines 1, 2 and 3
have lost thrust!

542
00:33:10,702 --> 00:33:13,831
(groaning)
No response, Captain!

543
00:33:13,831 --> 00:33:16,500
- Altitude: 370!

544
00:33:16,542 --> 00:33:19,169
360! 350!

545
00:33:21,255 --> 00:33:24,758
(narrator): In the cabin,
the G-forces are punishing.

546
00:33:25,968 --> 00:33:28,971
(screaming)
- I closed my eyes.

547
00:33:28,971 --> 00:33:30,889
I thought I was gone.

548
00:33:32,057 --> 00:33:34,393
- Airspeed 80 knots and falling!

549
00:33:34,434 --> 00:33:36,812
(beeping)
No response!

550
00:33:37,729 --> 00:33:39,231
The engines are flamed out!

551
00:33:39,773 --> 00:33:44,361
(narrator): The stress
of the dive tears the landing
gear doors off the plane.

552
00:33:44,403 --> 00:33:47,114
(woman sobbing)
In less than a minute,

553
00:33:47,114 --> 00:33:50,367
the plane drops
almost 20,000 feet.
(screaming)

554
00:33:50,409 --> 00:33:52,953
- Emergency! Emergency!

555
00:33:54,621 --> 00:33:58,417
(narrator):
The plane suddenly breaks free
from the clouds.

556
00:33:58,417 --> 00:34:00,127
- I can see the horizon!

557
00:34:00,127 --> 00:34:01,545
- Altitude: 10,000 feet!

558
00:34:01,545 --> 00:34:05,632
(narrator): The captain uses
the horizon as a reference
to level the plane

559
00:34:05,674 --> 00:34:09,261
just 30 seconds
before they hit the ocean.

560
00:34:11,388 --> 00:34:15,017
Now the G-forces
suddenly change direction.

561
00:34:18,812 --> 00:34:21,607
Passengers are pressed
to the floor,

562
00:34:21,607 --> 00:34:24,902
feeling five times
their normal weight.

563
00:34:25,277 --> 00:34:27,779
- You know,
the G-force was so strong.

564
00:34:27,779 --> 00:34:30,073
And... I weigh 200 pounds,

565
00:34:30,073 --> 00:34:33,327
so my weight
was almost 1,200 pounds.

566
00:34:38,207 --> 00:34:40,834
(narrator):
It's a race against time.

567
00:34:42,419 --> 00:34:45,672
(beeping)
And finally...
- ADI's coming back.

568
00:34:45,714 --> 00:34:48,967
(narrator):
...the plane starts to win.

569
00:34:50,135 --> 00:34:52,304
- ADI's coming in.

570
00:34:52,846 --> 00:34:55,349
(narrator): As mysteriously
as the incident began,

571
00:34:55,349 --> 00:34:57,809
three of the plane's engines
regain power.

572
00:34:57,809 --> 00:35:00,687
- Engines 1, 2 and 3
are coming back.

573
00:35:01,855 --> 00:35:04,024
Engine 4 still negative.

574
00:35:04,608 --> 00:35:07,361
(beeping)
- Reignite engine 4.
- Yes, Captain.

575
00:35:07,402 --> 00:35:12,991
(narrator): Once again,
the flight engineer tries
to reignite the fourth engine.

576
00:35:14,076 --> 00:35:15,786
(beeping)

577
00:35:15,827 --> 00:35:18,038
But now...
(revving)

578
00:35:18,872 --> 00:35:20,666
- Engine 4 reignited.

579
00:35:21,458 --> 00:35:26,338
(narrator): For the first time
in minutes, the plane
is flying under control.

580
00:35:33,178 --> 00:35:35,180
- They saved the airplane.

581
00:35:35,222 --> 00:35:37,641
That was a masterpiece
of flying.

582
00:35:37,641 --> 00:35:40,978
- Ladies and gentlemen,
this is the captain speaking.

583
00:35:41,019 --> 00:35:43,230
(sighing)
Is anyone hurt?

584
00:35:43,230 --> 00:35:46,233
(exclamations)
Do we have a doctor on board?

585
00:35:46,233 --> 00:35:49,444
(narrator): Captain Ho declares
an emergency...

586
00:35:50,028 --> 00:35:53,198
...and diverts the flight
to San Francisco.

587
00:35:54,283 --> 00:35:57,035
(all cheering)

588
00:36:05,877 --> 00:36:08,547
- He made one of the best
landings I've ever seen.

589
00:36:08,547 --> 00:36:11,633
I mean, it was just...
a perfect touchdown.

590
00:36:12,634 --> 00:36:17,889
(narrator): On the ground,
the full extent of the damage
to the plane shocks everyone.

591
00:36:17,889 --> 00:36:22,561
- Parts of the entire tail plane
at the end were ripped off,

592
00:36:22,602 --> 00:36:24,396
as though a tornado
had come through.

593
00:36:24,438 --> 00:36:26,898
(narrator): Two-dozen passengers
have minor injuries.

594
00:36:26,940 --> 00:36:32,821
A near-disaster was avoided,
but what had gone wrong
in the first place?

595
00:36:36,950 --> 00:36:42,039
The National Transportation
Safety Board is on site
that very day.

596
00:36:44,166 --> 00:36:47,711
The cockpit voice recorder
is sent to Washington.

597
00:36:47,711 --> 00:36:52,049
But it's designed
to tape over itself
every 30 minutes.

598
00:36:52,090 --> 00:36:53,925
None of what happened
in the cockpit

599
00:36:53,925 --> 00:36:57,054
during the terrifying plunge
from the sky remains.

600
00:36:57,095 --> 00:36:58,513
- Without a cockpit voice
recorder,

601
00:36:58,513 --> 00:37:02,642
we had to reconstruct
what the crew said
and how they interpreted things,

602
00:37:02,642 --> 00:37:05,771
and what was going on
in the cockpit
to the best of our abilities,

603
00:37:05,812 --> 00:37:08,565
with the other data
that was available to us.

604
00:37:08,565 --> 00:37:10,859
(narrator): But the plane's
flight-data recorder,

605
00:37:10,901 --> 00:37:13,111
which suffered
intense electrical damage,

606
00:37:13,111 --> 00:37:18,784
has several gaps in the data log
that have to be painstakingly
reconstructed.

607
00:37:19,785 --> 00:37:24,706
In the meantime,
investigators begin by
inspecting the plane's engines.

608
00:37:25,165 --> 00:37:28,001
Despite the horrific dive
through the sky,

609
00:37:28,001 --> 00:37:32,506
engines 1, 2 and 3 are found
to be in working order.

610
00:37:32,923 --> 00:37:37,511
Engine 4,
the first engine to fail,
gets special scrutiny.

611
00:37:37,552 --> 00:37:40,555
- They believed that the engine
had flamed out,

612
00:37:40,555 --> 00:37:43,892
or that there was something
seriously wrong with the engine.

613
00:37:44,393 --> 00:37:47,813
(narrator): After examining
every inch of engine 4,

614
00:37:47,813 --> 00:37:51,191
investigators determine
that it was faulty.

615
00:37:52,401 --> 00:37:56,488
- Engine 4 is giving us
weak thrust.
(narrator): And at 39,000 feet,

616
00:37:56,530 --> 00:38:01,785
it wasn't able to produce
adequate thrust to keep
the faulty engine running.

617
00:38:02,202 --> 00:38:03,703
- Engine 4 flamed out.

618
00:38:03,745 --> 00:38:07,999
- The loss of thrust
on a four-engine airplane
is a minor event,

619
00:38:07,999 --> 00:38:12,254
and the airplane will fly
on three engines
with no difficulty.

620
00:38:12,254 --> 00:38:14,923
(narrator):
Investigators are puzzled.

621
00:38:14,965 --> 00:38:18,844
If the 747
was never in immediate danger,

622
00:38:18,885 --> 00:38:22,639
is it possible that the plane's
swift plunge

623
00:38:22,639 --> 00:38:25,392
began somewhere other
than in the engines?

624
00:38:27,018 --> 00:38:29,146
(all screaming)

625
00:38:35,235 --> 00:38:38,488
(narrator): The crew
of China Airlines Flight 006

626
00:38:38,488 --> 00:38:42,325
are brought in
for intensive interviews
by the NTSB.

627
00:38:42,742 --> 00:38:46,121
- I heard the captain...
(narrator): Without a cockpit
voice recorder,

628
00:38:46,163 --> 00:38:48,457
investigators rely
on the pilots' statements

629
00:38:48,498 --> 00:38:53,920
to piece together
how a manageable problem
became a near-catastrophe.

630
00:38:53,962 --> 00:38:56,339
- I've lost ADI!
(alarm sounding)

631
00:38:56,339 --> 00:38:58,508
- The ADIs have malfunctioned!

632
00:38:58,675 --> 00:39:00,343
- It's going out of limits!

633
00:39:00,343 --> 00:39:03,680
- When we started banking right,

634
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:06,892
engine 4 was already flamed out.

635
00:39:07,350 --> 00:39:09,269
We started to descend faster,

636
00:39:09,269 --> 00:39:11,938
and engines 1, 2 and 3
also failed.

637
00:39:11,980 --> 00:39:16,234
(alarm sounding)
Engines 1, 2 and 4
have lost thrust!

638
00:39:18,487 --> 00:39:22,282
(narrator):
But the pilots' stories
don't match the flight data,

639
00:39:22,282 --> 00:39:25,202
which clearly shows
that engines 1, 2 and 3

640
00:39:25,243 --> 00:39:28,163
were running perfectly
the entire flight.

641
00:39:29,539 --> 00:39:31,875
They never lost thrust.

642
00:39:32,918 --> 00:39:39,424
What could possibly have caused
the plane to flip, twist,
and hurtle towards the sea?

643
00:39:40,383 --> 00:39:42,385
(screaming)

644
00:39:43,136 --> 00:39:48,225
After months of analyzing
the flight data
and pilot interviews,

645
00:39:48,225 --> 00:39:50,936
the NTSB can finally
piece together

646
00:39:50,977 --> 00:39:54,981
the series of events
that led to this near-disaster.

647
00:39:57,108 --> 00:40:01,821
Just after 10:00 Pacific time,
the flight engineer spots
the engine trouble.

648
00:40:01,863 --> 00:40:05,534
- Engine 4 is giving us
weak thrust.

649
00:40:06,409 --> 00:40:09,454
(narrator):
He struggles to fix the problem.

650
00:40:10,163 --> 00:40:14,334
But investigators discover
he misses a basic step.

651
00:40:14,668 --> 00:40:18,046
He leaves the engine's
bleed-air valve open.

652
00:40:18,463 --> 00:40:24,511
The bleed-air valve regulates
the flow of compressed air
from the engines into the cabin.

653
00:40:25,554 --> 00:40:27,472
When an engine
isn't working properly,

654
00:40:27,472 --> 00:40:29,349
the valve is supposed
to be closed

655
00:40:29,391 --> 00:40:32,727
so the engine can use
all available air to restart.

656
00:40:33,144 --> 00:40:38,692
- It's... a little puzzling
that the flight engineer
didn't shut off bleed air.

657
00:40:38,692 --> 00:40:42,070
The end result
is that the engine,
which is slow to start,

658
00:40:42,112 --> 00:40:43,780
won't start at all.

659
00:40:44,322 --> 00:40:49,244
(narrator): Unwittingly,
the flight engineer has started
a ticking clock.

660
00:40:49,286 --> 00:40:53,373
Engine 4 is slowly losing
its ability to stay lit.

661
00:40:53,373 --> 00:40:55,125
- We're losing speed.

662
00:40:55,750 --> 00:40:59,421
(narrator):
With more engine power
on the left wing than the right,

663
00:40:59,462 --> 00:41:01,673
the China Airlines flight
begins turning.

664
00:41:01,673 --> 00:41:04,718
- The proper thing to do
would've been to step
on the rudder.

665
00:41:04,759 --> 00:41:07,220
That would've produced a, uh...

666
00:41:07,554 --> 00:41:12,517
...twisting force, so to speak,
that would've overcome
the imbalance of the engines.

667
00:41:12,559 --> 00:41:16,104
(narrator): Instead of adjusting
the rudder himself,

668
00:41:16,104 --> 00:41:19,983
Captain Ho continues to let
the autopilot fly the jet.

669
00:41:23,111 --> 00:41:25,989
But the autopilot isn't designed
to move the rudder.

670
00:41:26,031 --> 00:41:30,869
The autopilot can adjust
the ailerons and spoilers
on the plane's wings,

671
00:41:30,869 --> 00:41:32,495
but these flaps
aren't strong enough

672
00:41:32,495 --> 00:41:35,874
to overcome the imbalance
that the plane is experiencing.

673
00:41:35,915 --> 00:41:38,918
- I'm disengaging autopilot.

674
00:41:40,337 --> 00:41:42,380
(screaming)

675
00:41:43,965 --> 00:41:48,470
(narrator): By the time
Captain Ho takes manual control
of the plane,

676
00:41:48,470 --> 00:41:51,222
it's already banking alarmingly
to the right.

677
00:41:51,222 --> 00:41:53,099
- I've lost ADI!

678
00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:55,727
(narrator):
While he fights for control,

679
00:41:55,769 --> 00:42:01,358
the 747 flips onto its back
and enters a vertical nosedive.

680
00:42:02,609 --> 00:42:06,571
Moments later,
as G-Forces rapidly increase,

681
00:42:06,613 --> 00:42:10,158
the flight engineer
makes another enormous mistake.

682
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:12,661
- We started to descend faster,

683
00:42:12,661 --> 00:42:16,331
and engines 1, 2 and 3
also failed.
(beeping)

684
00:42:16,331 --> 00:42:19,376
Engines 1, 2 and 3
have lost thrust!

685
00:42:20,126 --> 00:42:22,879
(narrator): But the engines
are perfectly fine.

686
00:42:24,005 --> 00:42:28,093
Investigators now know
the throttles
were deliberately set to idle

687
00:42:28,134 --> 00:42:31,054
in an attempt to slow
the jet's furious fall,

688
00:42:31,054 --> 00:42:35,433
something the flight engineer
doesn't notice
in the chaotic dive.

689
00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:41,940
- If he had not seen the captain
pull the power to idle
on the... the engines,

690
00:42:41,981 --> 00:42:48,321
he would reasonably assume
that the fact that they went
to idle was a problem,

691
00:42:48,321 --> 00:42:50,323
rather than intentional.

692
00:42:52,534 --> 00:42:56,955
(narrator): An investigation
that starts with faulty engines
reveals that, in fact,

693
00:42:56,955 --> 00:43:03,503
a chain of mistakes by the crew
puts Flight 006 just moments
from certain death.

694
00:43:03,837 --> 00:43:07,757
- The crew didn't behave
as they should've behaved.
Pilot error.

695
00:43:08,299 --> 00:43:11,177
(narrator):
But whatever mistakes
the flight crew made...

696
00:43:11,177 --> 00:43:12,345
- ADI's coming in.

697
00:43:12,345 --> 00:43:15,432
(narrator):
...they still achieve
the ultimate goal.

698
00:43:15,473 --> 00:43:18,852
- The one big thing
they did right...

699
00:43:19,310 --> 00:43:22,105
...is they saved the airplane.

700
00:43:24,566 --> 00:43:27,444
- China Airlines 006
is an extreme example

701
00:43:27,485 --> 00:43:31,656
of why high-altitude-upset
recovery training
is so important.

702
00:43:31,698 --> 00:43:35,660
It became a learning experience
based on what this crew did.

703
00:43:35,994 --> 00:43:39,080
(narrator): When an aircraft
loses engine power...

704
00:43:39,789 --> 00:43:43,960
...the response must be quick,
concise and efficient.

705
00:43:44,002 --> 00:43:46,045
- I can't believe it.
- We made it.

706
00:43:46,087 --> 00:43:49,382
- When you've got
an engine problem,
when you've lost an engine...

707
00:43:49,424 --> 00:43:51,718
- Dad! The engine's on fire!

708
00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:57,223
- ...the only thing you have
to rely on is literally
your training as a pilot.

709
00:43:57,223 --> 00:43:58,641
- I can see the horizon!

710
00:43:58,641 --> 00:44:02,854
- And it makes all
the difference in the world.
(tires squealing)

711
00:44:02,896 --> 00:44:05,732
(cheering)
(exclamations)

712
00:44:37,347 --> 00:44:39,557
Subtitling: difuze