1 00:00:03,344 --> 00:00:06,448 In the dark of night over the Red Sea 2 00:00:06,551 --> 00:00:09,310 a pilot struggles to control his passenger jet. 3 00:00:09,413 --> 00:00:14,551 Retard power. Retard power. Retard power. 4 00:00:14,655 --> 00:00:16,758 The plane seems to have a life of its own. 5 00:00:20,206 --> 00:00:23,724 Pull up, pull up. 6 00:00:27,172 --> 00:00:30,655 Something's wrong with the plane. 7 00:00:30,758 --> 00:00:32,689 I heard a scream, a noise. 8 00:00:32,793 --> 00:00:34,241 After that I didn't hear anything. 9 00:01:03,724 --> 00:01:05,310 The sands of Egypt hide 10 00:01:05,413 --> 00:01:06,965 thousands of years of history. 11 00:01:10,655 --> 00:01:12,482 Monuments to ancient civilizations 12 00:01:12,586 --> 00:01:13,758 dominate the landscape. 13 00:01:21,758 --> 00:01:23,586 But for sun loving Europeans, 14 00:01:23,689 --> 00:01:25,827 Egypt is also a resort destination, 15 00:01:25,931 --> 00:01:30,103 where the most important sand is on the beach. 16 00:01:36,137 --> 00:01:37,448 The town of Sharm el-Sheikh 17 00:01:37,551 --> 00:01:40,068 is several hundred kilometers south east of Cairo. 18 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,758 Perched on the Red Sea, it's a natural destination 19 00:01:45,862 --> 00:01:48,448 for people looking for a little rest and relaxation. 20 00:01:48,551 --> 00:01:54,310 Sharm-el Sheikh is quite popular with Europeans. 21 00:01:54,413 --> 00:01:58,931 The reason is where can you get a very warm sea 22 00:01:59,034 --> 00:02:01,068 with a five-hour flight? 23 00:02:01,172 --> 00:02:02,310 You have the Red Sea 24 00:02:02,413 --> 00:02:05,517 which is crystal clear, beautiful mountains. 25 00:02:05,620 --> 00:02:07,413 It's just extraordinary. 26 00:02:07,517 --> 00:02:13,482 The city's popularity is growing. 27 00:02:13,586 --> 00:02:15,482 More than four million people a year 28 00:02:15,586 --> 00:02:17,000 use Sharm el-Sheikh's airport. 29 00:02:21,896 --> 00:02:24,000 In the early days of 2004, 30 00:02:24,103 --> 00:02:27,034 tourists aren't the only ones drawn to the local beaches. 31 00:02:29,068 --> 00:02:31,896 British Prime Minister Tony Blair is also in the region 32 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,103 visiting Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. 33 00:02:46,896 --> 00:02:49,793 Just after two in the morning on January the 3rd, 34 00:02:49,896 --> 00:02:52,206 many vacationers are still out on the town... 35 00:02:55,172 --> 00:02:57,689 but fifty-three-year-old Captain Khedr Abdullah 36 00:02:57,793 --> 00:02:59,275 is just starting his day. 37 00:03:03,758 --> 00:03:05,448 He's renowned for his punctuality. 38 00:03:08,448 --> 00:03:11,862 A former officer in the Egyptian Air Force, Khedr is now a highly 39 00:03:11,965 --> 00:03:15,413 respected Captain with the charter company, Flash Airlines. 40 00:03:20,344 --> 00:03:24,413 He always liked to pack his own suitcase. 41 00:03:24,517 --> 00:03:25,827 He wouldn't let me do it for him. 42 00:03:25,931 --> 00:03:29,862 He always said I would like to prepare my own 43 00:03:29,965 --> 00:03:32,620 things to make sure I don't forget anything. 44 00:03:32,724 --> 00:03:34,655 He was very precise on what he wanted 45 00:03:34,758 --> 00:03:35,862 and what he would take with him. 46 00:03:35,965 --> 00:03:44,724 Captain Khedr meets up with 47 00:03:44,827 --> 00:03:48,000 his twenty-five-year-old First Officer, Amr El-Shafy. 48 00:03:50,620 --> 00:03:51,931 Together, they'll fly out of 49 00:03:52,034 --> 00:03:53,655 Sharm el-Sheikh heading for Paris. 50 00:03:56,206 --> 00:03:58,655 El-Shafy is young enough to be the Captain's son. 51 00:04:03,275 --> 00:04:05,344 The early morning flight isn't for everyone. 52 00:04:06,689 --> 00:04:08,965 Pascal Mercier and his family are supposed to be 53 00:04:09,068 --> 00:04:11,275 on the Flash jet but changed their plans. 54 00:04:11,379 --> 00:04:16,896 I was booked on the Flash Airline Flight. 55 00:04:18,482 --> 00:04:22,827 When my agency told me that I had to wake up very early 56 00:04:22,931 --> 00:04:25,758 and then get to change planes in Cairo, 57 00:04:25,862 --> 00:04:27,137 I said this is really stupid. 58 00:04:27,241 --> 00:04:29,793 I mean my daughter was like two years old 59 00:04:29,896 --> 00:04:34,586 and the other ones were like six and eight so really 60 00:04:34,689 --> 00:04:38,034 I didn't feel comfortable about changing planes and so on. 61 00:04:38,137 --> 00:04:43,965 For other tourists, the cheap tickets that 62 00:04:44,068 --> 00:04:46,655 Flash offers are worth the trouble of getting up early. 63 00:04:49,344 --> 00:04:50,793 France Thullier was able to 64 00:04:50,896 --> 00:04:52,724 bring his entire family to Egypt. 65 00:04:54,655 --> 00:04:55,586 They need the break. 66 00:04:57,758 --> 00:05:01,965 My brother-in-law had just lost his father, 67 00:05:02,068 --> 00:05:04,413 so he brought his children, his mother, 68 00:05:04,517 --> 00:05:06,724 and his wife there just to have a good time, 69 00:05:09,206 --> 00:05:11,931 not to see the sites or anything, 70 00:05:12,034 --> 00:05:13,896 just to have a good time. 71 00:05:15,344 --> 00:05:17,862 That's what Sharm El-Sheikh is known for. 72 00:05:17,965 --> 00:05:26,655 Fatima is also heading back to Paris 73 00:05:26,758 --> 00:05:28,275 after a vacation in Sharm. 74 00:05:29,448 --> 00:05:31,241 The mother of five is flying alone. 75 00:05:32,896 --> 00:05:35,413 Before takeoff, she calls her nephew in France. 76 00:05:42,655 --> 00:05:43,448 Hi. 77 00:05:43,551 --> 00:05:46,344 I was asleep when she called. 78 00:05:46,448 --> 00:05:48,931 I didn't really want to get into a conversation with her. 79 00:05:50,275 --> 00:05:52,034 She was someone who called you for everything. 80 00:05:53,275 --> 00:05:55,241 She needed to be reassured. 81 00:05:55,344 --> 00:05:59,448 So even though she had a five or six-hour flight ahead of her, 82 00:05:59,551 --> 00:06:00,896 she just wanted to make sure that 83 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:02,655 I would be there to pick her up at the airport. 84 00:06:02,758 --> 00:06:08,206 In all, 1-hundred and 48 passengers 85 00:06:08,310 --> 00:06:10,724 and crew settle into their seats aboard the jet. 86 00:06:13,448 --> 00:06:17,344 It's five am. In the cockpit, 87 00:06:17,448 --> 00:06:20,206 Ashraf Abdel Hamid is the third member of the crew. 88 00:06:21,862 --> 00:06:23,793 He's training as a First Officer, 89 00:06:23,896 --> 00:06:26,758 although he has worked for years piloting corporate jets. 90 00:06:30,068 --> 00:06:31,965 None of the crewmembers are happy with the poor 91 00:06:32,068 --> 00:06:33,620 quality of the weather information they're 92 00:06:33,724 --> 00:06:35,586 getting from the local Air Traffic Controller. 93 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:39,172 They didn't say sky clear, 94 00:06:39,275 --> 00:06:43,034 they said clouds and sky clear. How? The two are opposite. 95 00:06:43,137 --> 00:06:44,620 Ask them about ceiling. 96 00:06:44,724 --> 00:06:47,103 No ceiling and clouds and sky clear. 97 00:06:47,206 --> 00:06:50,517 Maybe it's scattered? Maybe he mean's scattered. 98 00:06:50,620 --> 00:06:51,586 Good morning. 99 00:06:51,689 --> 00:06:54,172 The Captain is also frustrated that 100 00:06:54,275 --> 00:06:55,724 one of his instruments isn't working. 101 00:06:58,068 --> 00:07:00,241 Although the engineer agrees there's a problem, 102 00:07:00,344 --> 00:07:02,103 it's not serious enough to fix. 103 00:07:04,793 --> 00:07:07,310 The men laugh it off at the expense of the first officer. 104 00:07:07,413 --> 00:07:10,448 It was probably caused by Amr making a heavy landing. 105 00:07:10,551 --> 00:07:22,310 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. 106 00:07:22,413 --> 00:07:25,034 On behalf of Captain Khedr and his entire crew, 107 00:07:25,137 --> 00:07:28,551 we welcome you on board Flash Airlines' Boeing 737-300. 108 00:07:28,655 --> 00:07:41,103 It's still hours before dawn 109 00:07:41,206 --> 00:07:42,448 when the plane lifts off. 110 00:07:46,758 --> 00:07:48,310 The Flash Airlines flight will head 111 00:07:48,413 --> 00:07:52,206 out over the Red Sea before turning toward Cairo. 112 00:07:58,448 --> 00:08:01,034 The jet climbs through a pitch black night. 113 00:08:02,551 --> 00:08:05,000 Without a moon to light the scene, it's hard 114 00:08:05,103 --> 00:08:07,931 for the passengers to see much of anything out their windows. 115 00:08:12,931 --> 00:08:14,965 In the cockpit, the simple turn 116 00:08:15,068 --> 00:08:17,793 over the Red Sea is taking a bizarre twist. 117 00:08:20,517 --> 00:08:21,586 See what the aircraft just did? 118 00:08:22,724 --> 00:08:23,931 Captain Khedr doesn't like 119 00:08:24,034 --> 00:08:25,448 the way his plane is behaving. 120 00:08:31,482 --> 00:08:34,448 Turning right sir. What? 121 00:08:34,551 --> 00:08:35,586 Aircraft is turning right. 122 00:08:35,689 --> 00:08:38,896 Turning right? How turning right? 123 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,103 The plane is supposed to be 124 00:08:41,206 --> 00:08:43,862 turning left on its way to Cairo. 125 00:08:43,965 --> 00:08:46,206 Instead, it's turning in the opposite direction. 126 00:08:50,758 --> 00:08:53,896 Okay. Come out. 127 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:56,758 The Captain tries to get his plane back on course 128 00:08:56,862 --> 00:08:58,793 but his situation just gets worse. 129 00:08:58,896 --> 00:09:06,620 Overbank. 130 00:09:06,724 --> 00:09:07,793 Knowing he's in trouble, 131 00:09:07,896 --> 00:09:10,620 the Captain tells the first officer to engage the autopilot. 132 00:09:10,724 --> 00:09:13,724 Autopilot. Autopilot! 133 00:09:13,827 --> 00:09:15,206 But it doesn't work. 134 00:09:16,517 --> 00:09:22,758 No autopilot commander. 135 00:09:22,862 --> 00:09:25,965 The 737 is now flying almost completely on its side. 136 00:09:26,068 --> 00:09:31,137 Something's wrong with the plane! 137 00:09:31,241 --> 00:09:32,000 The plane gains speed 138 00:09:32,103 --> 00:09:34,137 as it spirals towards the Red Sea. 139 00:09:35,620 --> 00:09:38,586 Just minutes after takeoff, the plane is out of control. 140 00:09:40,379 --> 00:09:41,862 Diving toward the water, 141 00:09:41,965 --> 00:09:45,551 it's traveling at more than 7-hundred kilometers an hour. 142 00:09:45,655 --> 00:09:48,137 Everyone on board is running out of time. 143 00:09:48,241 --> 00:09:56,793 Just minutes after takeoff, an early morning 144 00:09:56,896 --> 00:09:59,551 flight has become a desperate battle for survival. 145 00:10:02,793 --> 00:10:04,896 A passenger jet filled with French families 146 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:06,827 is plunging towards the Red Sea. 147 00:10:11,517 --> 00:10:13,965 Everyone on board can feel the tremendous speed 148 00:10:14,068 --> 00:10:15,448 and gut-wrenching turns. 149 00:10:21,344 --> 00:10:23,275 The enormous G-Forces are making it 150 00:10:23,379 --> 00:10:26,275 difficult for Captain Khedr Abdullah to fly the plane. 151 00:10:30,241 --> 00:10:33,034 Ashraf Abdel Hamid, the third member of the flight crew, 152 00:10:33,137 --> 00:10:35,344 tells the Captain to slow the plane down. 153 00:10:35,448 --> 00:10:40,448 Retard power, retard power, retard power! 154 00:10:40,551 --> 00:10:42,172 The plane is traveling 155 00:10:42,275 --> 00:10:44,931 so fast it's threatening to tear itself apart. 156 00:10:46,758 --> 00:10:48,758 After flying almost upside down, 157 00:10:48,862 --> 00:10:52,000 the crew is finally beginning to bring their plane under control. 158 00:11:02,206 --> 00:11:04,344 Then, they hear the ground proximity warning. 159 00:11:06,827 --> 00:11:09,068 They're getting dangerously close to the Red Sea. 160 00:11:18,137 --> 00:11:26,034 Pull up, pull up, pull up, pull up, pull up, pull up. 161 00:11:26,137 --> 00:11:27,793 Pascal Mercier and his family 162 00:11:27,896 --> 00:11:29,517 are staying at a beachfront hotel. 163 00:11:29,620 --> 00:11:37,724 My daughter woke up suddenly screaming like hell, 164 00:11:37,827 --> 00:11:39,931 screaming like if something happened. 165 00:11:43,586 --> 00:11:45,137 I didn't hear the crash but maybe she did. 166 00:11:45,241 --> 00:11:47,724 It's okay sweetie. 167 00:11:53,620 --> 00:11:55,620 It's just before five in the morning, 168 00:11:55,724 --> 00:11:58,068 minutes after the plane took off from the airport. 169 00:11:59,862 --> 00:12:02,241 It's disappeared from local radar screens. 170 00:12:09,068 --> 00:12:12,551 By the time the sun rises, the crash site is found, - 171 00:12:12,655 --> 00:12:14,379 but there's little for rescuers to do. 172 00:12:17,068 --> 00:12:18,586 The plane shattered on impact. 173 00:12:21,827 --> 00:12:24,068 A post card is found saying simply, 174 00:12:24,172 --> 00:12:26,172 I think this card will arrive after me. 175 00:12:29,034 --> 00:12:31,206 Pieces of debris litter the surface 176 00:12:31,310 --> 00:12:33,793 but most of the plane has sunk beneath the waves. 177 00:12:35,448 --> 00:12:37,758 There are no survivors. 178 00:12:37,862 --> 00:12:41,586 All 1-hundred and 48 people on board the plane are dead. 179 00:12:41,689 --> 00:12:48,068 Flight 604 was to land at Charles De Gaulle 180 00:12:48,172 --> 00:12:49,655 airport in Paris in the morning. 181 00:12:55,206 --> 00:12:58,310 As family and friends wait, officials list the plane 182 00:12:58,413 --> 00:13:02,137 as delayed and then slowly break the news of the accident. 183 00:13:05,655 --> 00:13:07,965 They asked me, are you waiting for 184 00:13:08,068 --> 00:13:10,103 someone from Sharm el-Sheikh? 185 00:13:10,206 --> 00:13:14,000 You say yes. Then they say to you could you come with us? 186 00:13:14,103 --> 00:13:16,103 We're going to take you to a hotel. 187 00:13:16,206 --> 00:13:19,620 At the hotel, we'll explain it all to you. 188 00:13:19,724 --> 00:13:23,000 It was very strange 189 00:13:23,103 --> 00:13:27,000 since we were greeted in a hotel and we passed people who 190 00:13:27,103 --> 00:13:30,379 were leaving happy because they were looking for the same 191 00:13:30,482 --> 00:13:34,655 information as us but their families were not on the list. 192 00:13:36,551 --> 00:13:38,586 They came with a paper in hand. 193 00:13:38,689 --> 00:13:41,448 Here, yes, Madame Hjiaj, Fatima. 194 00:13:42,862 --> 00:13:45,137 We apologize that you have to learn it this way 195 00:13:45,241 --> 00:13:46,586 but she's dead. 196 00:13:46,689 --> 00:13:51,586 Later, on his voice mail, 197 00:13:51,689 --> 00:13:55,310 Mohammed Hjiaj hears Fatima's message sent during the flight. 198 00:13:55,413 --> 00:13:59,379 I heard a scream, a noise. 199 00:13:59,482 --> 00:14:01,896 After that I didn't hear anything. 200 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,551 Captain Khedr's wife 201 00:14:07,655 --> 00:14:09,275 hears about the crash from her son. 202 00:14:09,379 --> 00:14:18,827 My son called me from abroad and told me that 203 00:14:18,931 --> 00:14:22,137 he heard there was an accident in Flash Airlines. 204 00:14:27,517 --> 00:14:31,413 I was in disbelief for a while until it became reality. 205 00:14:34,413 --> 00:14:36,965 It was a very big shock for me. 206 00:14:37,068 --> 00:14:42,241 In resort hotels, 207 00:14:42,344 --> 00:14:45,517 workers check the empty rooms of those who were on Flight 604. 208 00:14:51,172 --> 00:14:52,724 But one of the rooms is occupied. 209 00:14:54,310 --> 00:14:55,517 Mister Mercier. 210 00:14:55,620 --> 00:14:59,344 This guy from the hotel, the hotel staff began to cry. 211 00:15:00,448 --> 00:15:03,103 He was really shocked, happily shocked to see us. 212 00:15:03,206 --> 00:15:05,379 He thought we were on the flight with everybody else. 213 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,517 They're, they're here. 214 00:15:12,620 --> 00:15:15,586 In my hotel eighty-two people were on that flight, 215 00:15:15,689 --> 00:15:16,620 eighty-two people. 216 00:15:19,724 --> 00:15:22,103 It was really, really strange. 217 00:15:23,275 --> 00:15:29,068 Really, really heavy, but we were really lucky. 218 00:15:29,172 --> 00:15:38,068 There had been no Mayday call from the plane, 219 00:15:38,172 --> 00:15:39,827 no warning to Air Traffic Control 220 00:15:39,931 --> 00:15:40,965 that something was wrong. 221 00:15:43,310 --> 00:15:45,172 With the plane crashing just minutes after 222 00:15:45,275 --> 00:15:48,172 it left the airport, there are immediate concerns that 223 00:15:48,275 --> 00:15:49,862 a bomb had brought the jet down. 224 00:15:49,965 --> 00:15:56,310 The plane had just taken off and it looked very strange 225 00:15:56,413 --> 00:15:59,206 why this accident happened so quickly after takeoff. 226 00:15:59,310 --> 00:16:03,655 When investigators examine the plane's flight 227 00:16:03,758 --> 00:16:06,896 path, they discover it would have gone directly over the 228 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,551 town where Egyptian Leader Hosni Mubarak kept a vacation home. 229 00:16:14,275 --> 00:16:16,310 It's also close to the house where British prime 230 00:16:16,413 --> 00:16:18,758 minister Tony Blair and his family were staying. 231 00:16:20,241 --> 00:16:22,137 Blair and his family were supposed to leave 232 00:16:22,241 --> 00:16:24,689 from the same airport that day. 233 00:16:24,793 --> 00:16:26,275 Security around the prime minister 234 00:16:26,379 --> 00:16:27,620 is immediately heightened. 235 00:16:31,758 --> 00:16:33,310 Two days after the crash, 236 00:16:33,413 --> 00:16:35,000 authorities receive a phone call. 237 00:16:39,827 --> 00:16:42,896 Terrorists from Yemen claim responsibility for the crash. 238 00:16:45,517 --> 00:16:48,034 They say it is a protest against a French law banning 239 00:16:48,137 --> 00:16:51,137 the Muslim headscarf, the hijab, in public schools. 240 00:16:57,724 --> 00:17:00,448 But in spite of the phone call and the rumors swirling 241 00:17:00,551 --> 00:17:03,793 around Egypt, investigators quickly rule out terrorism. 242 00:17:03,896 --> 00:17:07,379 If you have a wreckage 243 00:17:07,482 --> 00:17:09,586 distributed in a very large area, 244 00:17:09,689 --> 00:17:13,896 that means the plane was disintegrating in the air, 245 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,620 and due to an explosion 246 00:17:15,724 --> 00:17:19,137 it would be disintegrating in a wide area. 247 00:17:19,241 --> 00:17:22,275 In this case, there were very, very few pieces 248 00:17:22,379 --> 00:17:26,275 and all located in a very small area. 249 00:17:26,379 --> 00:17:29,103 So this indicated that the plane was intact 250 00:17:30,413 --> 00:17:32,448 and went into the water intact. 251 00:17:32,551 --> 00:17:36,137 If it wasn't terrorism, 252 00:17:36,241 --> 00:17:39,103 what had ripped the plane from the sky so quickly? 253 00:17:42,275 --> 00:17:44,793 Investigators face an enormous challenge. 254 00:17:48,137 --> 00:17:50,965 The plane has sunk below the surface of the Red Sea. 255 00:17:53,241 --> 00:17:56,689 Divers have to fight off sharks that are drawn to the carnage. 256 00:17:59,137 --> 00:18:02,413 The rescue teams find few bodies intact. 257 00:18:02,517 --> 00:18:05,620 The aircraft and most of the 1-hundred and 48 passengers 258 00:18:05,724 --> 00:18:08,655 and crew have sunk over 1-thousand meters 259 00:18:08,758 --> 00:18:10,137 to the bottom of the Red Sea. 260 00:18:12,275 --> 00:18:15,103 The first task of investigators is to find the aircraft's 261 00:18:15,206 --> 00:18:18,862 flight data and cockpit voice recorders, the black boxes. 262 00:18:20,517 --> 00:18:23,275 If they survived the crash, they will now be on the seabed. 263 00:18:28,517 --> 00:18:31,103 But this part of the Red Sea has never been charted. 264 00:18:33,517 --> 00:18:35,758 With so many French tourists involved, 265 00:18:35,862 --> 00:18:38,413 the French government offers to help in any way it can. 266 00:18:38,517 --> 00:18:44,448 The French immediately responded by sending a boat 267 00:18:44,551 --> 00:18:49,931 specially equipped with a robot to search the bottom of the sea. 268 00:18:50,034 --> 00:18:53,344 But the wreckage is too deep. 269 00:18:55,172 --> 00:18:58,310 The sub that the French boat has can't survive the enormous 270 00:18:58,413 --> 00:19:00,862 pressure at the bottom of the sea. 271 00:19:00,965 --> 00:19:05,034 The investigators desperately need another submarine, 272 00:19:05,137 --> 00:19:06,793 but they're running out of time. 273 00:19:06,896 --> 00:19:09,586 The black box transmits a radio signal, 274 00:19:09,689 --> 00:19:13,172 but the battery only lasts for thirty days. 275 00:19:13,275 --> 00:19:16,344 If investigators can't find it within a month, 276 00:19:16,448 --> 00:19:19,965 the mystery of flight 604 may never be solved. 277 00:19:20,068 --> 00:19:24,034 Getting to the black boxes before the timed 278 00:19:24,137 --> 00:19:29,034 pingers stopped transmitting was always a very worrisome 279 00:19:29,137 --> 00:19:31,379 aspect to all the investigation team. 280 00:19:31,482 --> 00:19:33,758 Everybody was working twenty-four hours, 281 00:19:33,862 --> 00:19:36,620 round the clock to try to salvage these 282 00:19:36,724 --> 00:19:38,034 and try to locate them first. 283 00:19:38,137 --> 00:19:41,413 While the recovery effort continues, 284 00:19:41,517 --> 00:19:43,034 family and friends of the victims 285 00:19:43,137 --> 00:19:44,793 begin to mourn those who died. 286 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,551 They pressure investigators to solve the mystery. 287 00:19:51,137 --> 00:19:54,448 It's the biggest air disaster involving French 288 00:19:54,551 --> 00:19:57,379 nationals, the biggest in the history of civil aviation. 289 00:19:57,482 --> 00:20:03,068 American, French and Egyptian experts join forces. 290 00:20:04,517 --> 00:20:07,724 While waiting for the plane's black boxes to be recovered, 291 00:20:07,827 --> 00:20:10,793 they also begin focusing on Flash Airlines itself. 292 00:20:13,689 --> 00:20:15,172 Flying just two planes, 293 00:20:15,275 --> 00:20:17,793 it was one of a number of low-cost charter companies 294 00:20:17,896 --> 00:20:19,931 that had been competing for customers in Europe. 295 00:20:22,965 --> 00:20:25,689 In the last ten years, there had been a rapid expansion 296 00:20:25,793 --> 00:20:28,344 of budget airlines throughout this part of the world. 297 00:20:29,931 --> 00:20:32,827 Offering inexpensive, no-frills service 298 00:20:32,931 --> 00:20:35,103 they fought for a piece of the holiday market. 299 00:20:37,275 --> 00:20:39,758 Seaside resorts like Sharm el-Sheikh were 300 00:20:39,862 --> 00:20:41,862 one of the many destinations they serve. 301 00:20:41,965 --> 00:20:47,793 Now one of the ways in which 302 00:20:47,896 --> 00:20:50,931 they provide this extremely cheap travel 303 00:20:51,034 --> 00:20:54,275 is by operating their airplanes twenty-four hours a day. 304 00:20:54,379 --> 00:20:57,931 Operating on such tight schedules means 305 00:20:58,034 --> 00:20:59,793 the planes are flown constantly. 306 00:21:01,965 --> 00:21:04,620 Former Flash passengers step forward to complain 307 00:21:04,724 --> 00:21:05,758 about other flights. 308 00:21:07,655 --> 00:21:08,862 There are a lot of stories. 309 00:21:08,965 --> 00:21:12,965 I was flying home after a vacation... 310 00:21:13,068 --> 00:21:20,896 A year before the crash, while flying 311 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,413 from Sharm el-Sheikh to Bologna, one passenger recalls 312 00:21:24,517 --> 00:21:27,448 seeing flames pouring from a Flash Airline's jet. 313 00:21:31,172 --> 00:21:35,206 Hey! Hey! The engine's on fire! Look! 314 00:21:42,310 --> 00:21:44,137 The flaming aircraft is forced to make 315 00:21:44,241 --> 00:21:45,448 an emergency landing. 316 00:21:49,344 --> 00:21:52,344 Investigators learn that in 2002, 317 00:21:52,448 --> 00:21:55,068 the Swiss Aviation Authority performed a surprise 318 00:21:55,172 --> 00:21:57,758 inspection on the same plane that would later crash. 319 00:22:00,827 --> 00:22:02,931 The pilots' oxygen masks are missing. 320 00:22:05,034 --> 00:22:06,724 There aren't enough oxygen tanks. 321 00:22:08,137 --> 00:22:11,448 Some of the cockpit instruments aren't working. 322 00:22:11,551 --> 00:22:14,034 It's enough for the Swiss to ground the flight for eight 323 00:22:14,137 --> 00:22:16,379 hours until the company repairs the plane. 324 00:22:18,620 --> 00:22:19,758 A few days later, 325 00:22:19,862 --> 00:22:23,206 Flash Airlines was banned from flying in Switzerland. 326 00:22:23,310 --> 00:22:25,724 Another ban occurred in Poland. 327 00:22:25,827 --> 00:22:28,965 In Norway, Tour operators stopped contracting with Flash. 328 00:22:31,482 --> 00:22:33,000 It's a rare event for an airline to be 329 00:22:33,103 --> 00:22:34,827 banned from operating into a country. 330 00:22:34,931 --> 00:22:37,620 They must have done something dramatically wrong, 331 00:22:37,724 --> 00:22:39,482 especially when it comes to safety. 332 00:22:39,586 --> 00:22:41,965 With mounting concerns 333 00:22:42,068 --> 00:22:44,482 about the safety record of Flash Airlines, 334 00:22:44,586 --> 00:22:47,068 investigators comb through the company's paperwork. 335 00:22:49,551 --> 00:22:51,655 They discover that the most recent maintenance 336 00:22:51,758 --> 00:22:54,620 records for the plane that crashed were never duplicated. 337 00:22:56,379 --> 00:22:58,241 They've gone missing with the aircraft. 338 00:22:58,344 --> 00:23:03,137 The lack of having copies of the technical log 339 00:23:03,241 --> 00:23:06,275 and all of them being on board, of course this is 340 00:23:06,379 --> 00:23:11,310 a violation and uh civil aviation here issued uh 341 00:23:11,413 --> 00:23:15,965 very clear instructions that this should not happen. 342 00:23:16,068 --> 00:23:19,517 The French authorities agree that there 343 00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:21,689 are serious questions about Flash. 344 00:23:22,827 --> 00:23:25,379 They now ban the company from flying in France. 345 00:23:27,965 --> 00:23:29,655 While there are concerns about the state 346 00:23:29,758 --> 00:23:31,379 of the company's planes, 347 00:23:31,482 --> 00:23:34,482 there are no such issues when it comes to the crew of flight 604. 348 00:23:37,344 --> 00:23:41,137 Captain Khedr was considered not only a flying ace but a national 349 00:23:41,241 --> 00:23:43,896 war hero for his performance in the Yom Kippur war. 350 00:23:46,724 --> 00:23:49,724 During his career he not only flew sophisticated fighter 351 00:23:49,827 --> 00:23:53,413 jets, but also a variety of large cargo aircraft. 352 00:23:55,103 --> 00:23:57,448 He had over 7-thousand hours of flying 353 00:23:57,551 --> 00:24:01,206 experience as well as 2-thousand hours as a flight instructor. 354 00:24:03,758 --> 00:24:07,068 All the evidence shows that Captain Khedr was a model pilot. 355 00:24:11,103 --> 00:24:13,827 With the aircraft and its black box data recorders still 356 00:24:13,931 --> 00:24:17,344 hidden deep under the Red Sea, investigators wonder, 357 00:24:17,448 --> 00:24:19,620 was this a case of a superb pilot 358 00:24:19,724 --> 00:24:21,586 fighting to save a decrepit plane? 359 00:24:24,655 --> 00:24:25,275 See what the aircraft did? 360 00:24:25,379 --> 00:24:34,965 On a moonless January night, 361 00:24:35,068 --> 00:24:40,034 a Flash Airlines 737 spiraled wildly into the Red Sea. 362 00:24:40,137 --> 00:24:43,034 All 1-hundred and 48 people on board were killed. 363 00:24:45,172 --> 00:24:48,413 Investigators trying to find out why the plane went down have 364 00:24:48,517 --> 00:24:51,206 uncovered a history of safety problems with the airline. 365 00:24:53,068 --> 00:24:54,793 But trying to prove that there was anything 366 00:24:54,896 --> 00:24:56,931 wrong with the plane that crashed is difficult. 367 00:24:58,448 --> 00:25:01,310 Much of the wreckage has sunk deep beneath the waves. 368 00:25:02,724 --> 00:25:04,344 Investigators have been unable 369 00:25:04,448 --> 00:25:06,000 to find the flight's black boxes. 370 00:25:06,103 --> 00:25:10,689 Whenever an airplane crashes into the water there's 371 00:25:10,793 --> 00:25:13,137 always a fear by investigators that the cockpit voice 372 00:25:13,241 --> 00:25:16,413 recorder and the flight data recorder may not be recovered. 373 00:25:16,517 --> 00:25:18,517 Those two boxes in and of themselves give 374 00:25:18,620 --> 00:25:21,344 the investigator a very good picture and without them 375 00:25:21,448 --> 00:25:24,137 could make the investigation process very, very difficult. 376 00:25:24,241 --> 00:25:29,068 Finally, after several days of searching, 377 00:25:29,172 --> 00:25:30,758 a breakthrough. 378 00:25:30,862 --> 00:25:33,379 A French research ship hears the locator signals 379 00:25:33,482 --> 00:25:35,103 given off by the black boxes. 380 00:25:37,862 --> 00:25:41,655 A remotely operated sub drops down over 1-thousand meters. 381 00:25:43,586 --> 00:25:45,310 The violence of the crash has spread 382 00:25:45,413 --> 00:25:47,172 the wreckage over a wide area. 383 00:25:49,034 --> 00:25:52,448 Two weeks after the crash, both the cockpit voice recorder 384 00:25:52,551 --> 00:25:54,034 and the flight data recorder 385 00:25:54,137 --> 00:25:55,896 are recovered from the bottom of the sea. 386 00:25:59,034 --> 00:26:01,896 Investigators finally have some hard evidence. 387 00:26:10,103 --> 00:26:12,137 The Egyptian, French and American team 388 00:26:12,241 --> 00:26:14,379 examines the critical devices in Cairo. 389 00:26:19,241 --> 00:26:21,103 After the two black boxes are found, 390 00:26:21,206 --> 00:26:22,689 the salvage effort wraps up. 391 00:26:26,758 --> 00:26:29,275 Other than a select number of small pieces, 392 00:26:29,379 --> 00:26:31,620 the rest of the plane is too deep to recover. 393 00:26:35,758 --> 00:26:37,620 The cost to continue would be too great. 394 00:26:42,137 --> 00:26:43,724 Without the wreckage itself, 395 00:26:43,827 --> 00:26:46,172 investigators concentrate on what they do have. 396 00:26:48,206 --> 00:26:50,793 They hope the black boxes will recreate the final 397 00:26:50,896 --> 00:26:52,379 minutes of the doomed plane. 398 00:26:52,482 --> 00:27:02,310 One of the things we did to depict 399 00:27:02,413 --> 00:27:06,068 the path of the aircraft was we created an animation based on 400 00:27:06,172 --> 00:27:08,551 the data we got from the flight data recorder and from radar. 401 00:27:08,655 --> 00:27:11,827 The flight data recorder paints 402 00:27:11,931 --> 00:27:13,275 a devastating picture. 403 00:27:16,310 --> 00:27:19,275 Shortly after takeoff, the plane began heading left, 404 00:27:19,379 --> 00:27:20,551 just as it was supposed to. 405 00:27:22,827 --> 00:27:25,862 But then it quickly started banking in the other direction. 406 00:27:28,103 --> 00:27:30,517 The cockpit voice recorder shows that the turn caught 407 00:27:30,620 --> 00:27:31,689 the captain off guard. 408 00:27:31,793 --> 00:27:39,931 Turning right sir. What? How turning right? 409 00:27:40,034 --> 00:27:46,689 Analyzing the cockpit voice recorder showed that 410 00:27:46,793 --> 00:27:51,620 the pilots were experiencing definitely some kind 411 00:27:51,724 --> 00:27:55,241 of an abnormality, a problem that they could not understand. 412 00:27:55,344 --> 00:27:58,310 The investigators sift through the flight 413 00:27:58,413 --> 00:28:01,758 data to find some explanation for the jet's bizarre movement. 414 00:28:04,827 --> 00:28:06,724 Perhaps some mechanical fault was forcing 415 00:28:06,827 --> 00:28:07,827 the plane off course. 416 00:28:11,413 --> 00:28:13,379 And there is an indication that something was 417 00:28:13,482 --> 00:28:15,724 wrong with the Flash jet before it took off. 418 00:28:17,275 --> 00:28:19,482 On the runway, the captain and the ground engineer 419 00:28:19,586 --> 00:28:21,482 discussed an electrical malfunction. 420 00:28:23,103 --> 00:28:25,655 But it's impossible to tell from the cockpit voice recorder 421 00:28:25,758 --> 00:28:27,275 exactly what the problem was. 422 00:28:28,620 --> 00:28:34,482 We can't be sure which equipment was being 423 00:28:34,586 --> 00:28:37,034 referred to by the aircraft captain and the engineer 424 00:28:37,137 --> 00:28:40,000 when they were discussing faulty equipment. 425 00:28:40,103 --> 00:28:42,689 Not enough parts were brought up from the bottom of the sea 426 00:28:42,793 --> 00:28:44,793 to be able to determine that. 427 00:28:44,896 --> 00:28:48,931 And tragically, 428 00:28:49,034 --> 00:28:51,275 the ground engineer was also on the flight. 429 00:28:51,379 --> 00:28:59,517 We believe from the data we're looking at on the 430 00:28:59,620 --> 00:29:03,896 flight data recorder, that there's a very high possibility 431 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,379 that the plane was tending to turn to the right by itself. 432 00:29:07,482 --> 00:29:11,896 But exactly what had gone wrong? 433 00:29:14,758 --> 00:29:17,655 A thorough accident investigation can take years. 434 00:29:20,965 --> 00:29:25,068 But in the case of Flash Flight 604 there are unique challenges. 435 00:29:25,172 --> 00:29:29,413 The problem with accident investigation is that it's 436 00:29:29,517 --> 00:29:32,655 very time consuming and resource intensive especially 437 00:29:32,758 --> 00:29:35,689 when we don't have an airplane to physically look at. 438 00:29:35,793 --> 00:29:38,517 You want to be absolutely sure about the facts, conditions 439 00:29:38,620 --> 00:29:42,103 and circumstances before you publish that information. 440 00:29:42,206 --> 00:29:46,275 Family and friends of the victims are becoming 441 00:29:46,379 --> 00:29:47,862 more and more frustrated. 442 00:29:49,413 --> 00:29:51,758 As the months pass, they demand answers. 443 00:29:54,827 --> 00:29:58,137 We were led to protest outside the Egyptian embassy 444 00:29:58,241 --> 00:30:00,000 because we had no news. 445 00:30:00,103 --> 00:30:02,206 Eleven months after the disaster, 446 00:30:02,310 --> 00:30:04,517 we had no message, no information. 447 00:30:04,620 --> 00:30:10,000 Shortly after the protest, 448 00:30:10,103 --> 00:30:13,000 Egyptian investigators release a Factual Report. 449 00:30:17,620 --> 00:30:19,310 It contains all of the information 450 00:30:19,413 --> 00:30:21,344 from the black boxes. 451 00:30:21,448 --> 00:30:23,862 But the report does not reach any conclusions 452 00:30:23,965 --> 00:30:25,586 about why the jet crashed. 453 00:30:26,758 --> 00:30:29,103 Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. 454 00:30:29,206 --> 00:30:34,413 With a situation as complicated as this one, 455 00:30:34,517 --> 00:30:37,931 the investigators don't yet have any answers. 456 00:30:38,034 --> 00:30:40,172 The only thing they can do is to keep looking. 457 00:30:45,620 --> 00:30:48,655 Investigators discuss several possible scenarios that 458 00:30:48,758 --> 00:30:51,655 could have been responsible for the plane's erratic course. 459 00:30:51,758 --> 00:30:57,137 You look into every hypothetical scenario that 460 00:30:57,241 --> 00:31:02,344 would create a similar profile and then you see 461 00:31:02,448 --> 00:31:06,172 if this profile fit the data that you have put together. 462 00:31:06,275 --> 00:31:12,310 Fifty different theories are examined 463 00:31:12,413 --> 00:31:13,655 in minute detail. 464 00:31:13,758 --> 00:31:19,793 In the process of looking into all 465 00:31:19,896 --> 00:31:22,241 the possible hypothetical scenarios 466 00:31:22,344 --> 00:31:26,655 we proceeded by eliminating those that did not fit the data. 467 00:31:26,758 --> 00:31:31,034 Investigators travel to the United States 468 00:31:31,137 --> 00:31:34,586 to test the most likely ideas in a sophisticated simulator. 469 00:31:40,551 --> 00:31:42,413 If they can force the simulator to repeat 470 00:31:42,517 --> 00:31:44,448 the movements of the Flash Jet, 471 00:31:44,551 --> 00:31:47,310 they might be able to figure out why the plane crashed. 472 00:31:51,068 --> 00:31:52,965 The results are brought back to Cairo. 473 00:31:54,482 --> 00:31:57,310 There are only four mechanical faults that could have 474 00:31:57,413 --> 00:31:59,586 produced the flight path of the doomed jet. 475 00:32:01,586 --> 00:32:04,517 Investigators believe the key to the crash is to find out 476 00:32:04,620 --> 00:32:06,965 why the plane began turning off course. 477 00:32:07,068 --> 00:32:13,379 These four scenarios were all related to what 478 00:32:13,482 --> 00:32:16,034 would cause an uncommanded bank. 479 00:32:18,103 --> 00:32:21,758 So we were left with these as causes 480 00:32:21,862 --> 00:32:23,000 that we could not rule out. 481 00:32:25,310 --> 00:32:26,793 Two of the scenarios involved 482 00:32:26,896 --> 00:32:28,827 the spoilers on the plane's right wing. 483 00:32:32,379 --> 00:32:35,000 Spoilers lift up from the top surface of the wing. 484 00:32:37,275 --> 00:32:40,551 By producing drag, or spoiling the airflow, 485 00:32:40,655 --> 00:32:45,448 they slow the plane down. 486 00:32:45,551 --> 00:32:47,068 If the pilot's control wheel, 487 00:32:47,172 --> 00:32:49,931 or the cables that connect it to the spoiler jammed, 488 00:32:51,793 --> 00:32:53,758 it could have forced the plane off course. 489 00:32:57,172 --> 00:32:59,965 Problems with the spoilers are one explanation 490 00:33:00,068 --> 00:33:02,793 but there's no physical proof. 491 00:33:02,896 --> 00:33:06,137 And while there were maintenance problems with Flash planes, 492 00:33:06,241 --> 00:33:08,379 none of them had to do with the jet's spoilers. 493 00:33:10,655 --> 00:33:12,896 The team searches for another explanation. 494 00:33:16,172 --> 00:33:20,137 Another potential cause of the crash is the plane's ailerons. 495 00:33:20,241 --> 00:33:22,068 This part of a plane's wing controls 496 00:33:22,172 --> 00:33:23,793 the angle of a plane's turn. 497 00:33:25,448 --> 00:33:27,310 A malfunctioning aileron could have caused 498 00:33:27,413 --> 00:33:28,862 the plane to roll to the right. 499 00:33:30,724 --> 00:33:32,724 Again, if the crew couldn't fix the problem, 500 00:33:32,827 --> 00:33:35,172 the plane would have begun to spiral into the sea. 501 00:33:38,344 --> 00:33:41,172 While so-called aileron trim runaway would create 502 00:33:41,275 --> 00:33:44,551 a flight path like the one seen during the crash, 503 00:33:44,655 --> 00:33:47,758 once again there's no physical proof to support the theory. 504 00:33:49,206 --> 00:33:51,103 And typically, aileron trim runaway 505 00:33:51,206 --> 00:33:53,344 can be physically overcome by pilots. 506 00:33:53,448 --> 00:33:58,724 All he would have had to do was overpower using more 507 00:33:58,827 --> 00:34:02,137 force to move the control wheel in an opposite direction. 508 00:34:02,241 --> 00:34:03,310 Overbank. 509 00:34:03,413 --> 00:34:05,862 When they listen to the cockpit voice recorder, 510 00:34:05,965 --> 00:34:07,931 the investigators are puzzled by the constant 511 00:34:08,034 --> 00:34:10,000 discussion of the plane's autopilot. 512 00:34:12,724 --> 00:34:17,620 The Captain asked for the autopilot to be turned on but 513 00:34:17,724 --> 00:34:20,758 it had no effect and the plane began to plummet to the sea. 514 00:34:23,586 --> 00:34:25,103 And earlier in the cockpit recording, 515 00:34:25,206 --> 00:34:28,103 investigators uncover another curious exchange. 516 00:34:32,448 --> 00:34:35,275 Captain Kehdr began the initial turn over the Red Sea 517 00:34:35,379 --> 00:34:38,931 manually but decided to let the autopilot take over. 518 00:34:39,034 --> 00:34:41,896 Autopilot. 519 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,793 The flight data recorder shows that the 520 00:34:44,896 --> 00:34:48,034 autopilot was indeed turned on as the plane climbed. 521 00:34:50,068 --> 00:34:53,206 Not yet. 522 00:34:53,310 --> 00:34:55,517 But then the Captain appears to change his mind. 523 00:35:05,206 --> 00:35:08,241 The plane's flight data recorder shows that the autopilot 524 00:35:08,344 --> 00:35:10,344 was only activated for three seconds. 525 00:35:13,068 --> 00:35:16,344 But investigators wonder if the autopilot had malfunctioned 526 00:35:16,448 --> 00:35:18,137 and stayed in command of the jet. 527 00:35:19,965 --> 00:35:22,482 The automated system could have continued to control 528 00:35:22,586 --> 00:35:24,896 the plane, flying it to the right, 529 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,551 even after the pilots thought it had been disengaged. 530 00:35:27,655 --> 00:35:31,103 The malfunction of the autopilot of course took 531 00:35:31,206 --> 00:35:32,275 a lot of work from us 532 00:35:32,379 --> 00:35:35,896 because it was nearly impossible to show that it did not 533 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,275 happen and quite impossible to show that it did happen. 534 00:35:40,379 --> 00:35:46,137 So but it was always a very prominent possibility because 535 00:35:46,241 --> 00:35:50,896 it would give a very, very close scenario to what was happening. 536 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:54,275 Perhaps most puzzling of all 537 00:35:54,379 --> 00:35:57,241 though is that no matter what happened to the plane, 538 00:35:57,344 --> 00:36:00,379 it appeared to be under control just before it crashed. 539 00:36:01,758 --> 00:36:03,000 Moments before impact, 540 00:36:03,103 --> 00:36:05,689 the Captain was seemingly back in command of his airplane. 541 00:36:06,965 --> 00:36:10,379 If there had been some crippling mechanical problem, 542 00:36:10,482 --> 00:36:12,000 why did it seem to disappear? 543 00:36:19,793 --> 00:36:21,620 Some members of the team want to consider 544 00:36:21,724 --> 00:36:25,862 something besides mechanical fault, the pilots themselves. 545 00:36:25,965 --> 00:36:30,724 I think the major concern for the United States 546 00:36:30,827 --> 00:36:33,482 was that the Human Factors elements of this accident 547 00:36:33,586 --> 00:36:34,758 weren't thoroughly explored. 548 00:36:34,862 --> 00:36:38,310 Perhaps the high esteem given to Egyptian 549 00:36:38,413 --> 00:36:39,965 pilots was getting in the way. 550 00:36:40,068 --> 00:36:46,448 In Egypt, pilots are very respected 551 00:36:46,551 --> 00:36:49,724 and in particular Air Force pilots are very highly regarded. 552 00:36:49,827 --> 00:36:52,517 For the past 26 years, the country's president has 553 00:36:52,620 --> 00:36:54,517 been a highly decorated Air Force officer. 554 00:36:55,724 --> 00:36:56,758 In an environment like this, 555 00:36:56,862 --> 00:36:59,448 the pilot is somewhat immune to suspicion. 556 00:36:59,551 --> 00:37:01,517 When something goes wrong the natural tendency 557 00:37:01,620 --> 00:37:02,655 is to blame the equipment. 558 00:37:02,758 --> 00:37:07,034 And on this flight, the pilot was a war hero 559 00:37:07,137 --> 00:37:09,206 with thousands of hours of experience. 560 00:37:12,379 --> 00:37:14,862 Studying the flight data recorders again, 561 00:37:14,965 --> 00:37:17,310 the investigators discover something peculiar. 562 00:37:20,379 --> 00:37:23,344 Even before the plane's bizarre turn to the right, 563 00:37:23,448 --> 00:37:26,758 three things all seem to happen at the same time. 564 00:37:26,862 --> 00:37:28,827 Instead of a smooth left turn, 565 00:37:28,931 --> 00:37:32,068 the plane begins to come out of its turn early. 566 00:37:32,172 --> 00:37:34,068 The nose starts to rise, 567 00:37:34,172 --> 00:37:36,793 and the plane's airspeed decreases noticeably. 568 00:37:38,206 --> 00:37:40,551 But during this time, the pilot says nothing. 569 00:37:42,103 --> 00:37:45,172 It seems that he's unaware of the changes to his flight path. 570 00:37:45,275 --> 00:37:50,275 I've flown out of Sharm el-Sheikh at nighttime 571 00:37:50,379 --> 00:37:53,413 and in the same type of aircraft and in no way should 572 00:37:53,517 --> 00:37:56,310 the pilot allow the airspeed to drop by as much as 30 knots 573 00:37:56,413 --> 00:37:59,620 or the bank angle to change beyond five degrees without 574 00:37:59,724 --> 00:38:02,655 clearly stating the reasons for the change in the flight path. 575 00:38:02,758 --> 00:38:07,034 Some investigators consider a provocative 576 00:38:07,137 --> 00:38:10,896 theory that might explain this seemingly bizarre behaviour. 577 00:38:12,586 --> 00:38:15,655 Perhaps Captain Khedr had been affected by vertigo. 578 00:38:15,758 --> 00:38:24,103 Vertigo is a physiological condition that would exist with 579 00:38:24,206 --> 00:38:28,068 any person, not just pilots, and it's based on the inner ear. 580 00:38:28,172 --> 00:38:31,620 Over a dark ocean without a defined visual horizon, 581 00:38:31,724 --> 00:38:35,103 no ground lights, the pilot may not be able to perceive 582 00:38:35,206 --> 00:38:40,310 visually whether he was flying up, down, left or right. 583 00:38:40,413 --> 00:38:44,206 And if the fluid in his inner ear was moving or he tilted 584 00:38:44,310 --> 00:38:47,862 his head, that may induce a sensation, a physiological 585 00:38:47,965 --> 00:38:51,206 sensation that may cause the pilot to believe the airplane 586 00:38:51,310 --> 00:38:53,482 is flying straight and level when it's actually turning. 587 00:38:53,586 --> 00:38:58,000 The plane's flight path is ideal 588 00:38:58,103 --> 00:38:59,965 for creating a sense of vertigo. 589 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:05,000 The Flash Airline jet took off into a moonless night. 590 00:39:07,034 --> 00:39:09,241 Captain Khedr was flying manually, 591 00:39:09,344 --> 00:39:11,379 and began to turn as he was climbing. 592 00:39:13,689 --> 00:39:15,068 Heading out over dark water, 593 00:39:15,172 --> 00:39:17,862 it would be very difficult using just his senses 594 00:39:17,965 --> 00:39:20,413 for Captain Khedr to know exactly where he was. 595 00:39:20,517 --> 00:39:22,620 Roger when ready, god willing. 596 00:39:22,724 --> 00:39:25,448 Left turn to establish Three Zero Six Sharm VOR. 597 00:39:25,551 --> 00:39:29,034 It is actually a very high workload situation 598 00:39:29,137 --> 00:39:31,689 and when there are no visual cues outside 599 00:39:31,793 --> 00:39:35,413 because it's a moonless night and you're over featureless 600 00:39:35,517 --> 00:39:40,103 territory with no lights in it, you really as a professional 601 00:39:40,206 --> 00:39:44,310 pilot should be totally aware of the fact that this is 602 00:39:44,413 --> 00:39:48,931 a situation in which you could get disorientated. 603 00:39:49,034 --> 00:39:51,655 It's a classic, it's happened so many times, 604 00:39:51,758 --> 00:39:54,724 it's killed so many people in the last ten years. 605 00:39:54,827 --> 00:39:57,931 When the plane was supposed to be turning 606 00:39:58,034 --> 00:40:01,827 slowly left, the control wheel began inching towards the right. 607 00:40:04,448 --> 00:40:06,275 Perhaps the Captain was making the turn 608 00:40:06,379 --> 00:40:07,655 without even being aware of it. 609 00:40:07,758 --> 00:40:12,586 When you study the movement 610 00:40:12,689 --> 00:40:14,620 of the aircraft control surfaces, 611 00:40:14,724 --> 00:40:16,551 it appears that something was guiding 612 00:40:16,655 --> 00:40:18,000 Captain Khedr to the right. 613 00:40:18,103 --> 00:40:20,448 Now that could have been a false horizon 614 00:40:20,551 --> 00:40:22,206 or something he'd seen outside of his window. 615 00:40:22,310 --> 00:40:24,068 See what the aircraft just did? 616 00:40:24,172 --> 00:40:27,862 Or perhaps he believed he was actually correcting 617 00:40:27,965 --> 00:40:29,482 a problem with the plane itself. 618 00:40:29,586 --> 00:40:34,517 He thinks he's gained his flight path again and, 619 00:40:34,620 --> 00:40:36,586 all of a sudden, at this moment, 620 00:40:36,689 --> 00:40:38,448 he receives contradictory information. 621 00:40:38,551 --> 00:40:42,241 Turning right, sir. What? 622 00:40:42,344 --> 00:40:43,448 Aircraft is turning right. 623 00:40:43,551 --> 00:40:45,655 The contradictory information 624 00:40:45,758 --> 00:40:47,379 adds to the pilot's confusion. 625 00:40:49,793 --> 00:40:51,551 He believes he's fixing a problem 626 00:40:51,655 --> 00:40:54,103 when he's told his problems have just started. 627 00:40:54,206 --> 00:40:57,103 In this particular instance, 628 00:40:57,206 --> 00:40:59,827 not only are you trying to fly the airplane and understand 629 00:40:59,931 --> 00:41:02,344 situationally what's happening but you are going through 630 00:41:02,448 --> 00:41:05,689 the mental gymnastics because your expectations are one way. 631 00:41:05,793 --> 00:41:07,724 Meanwhile, you have the first officer who's telling him 632 00:41:07,827 --> 00:41:09,068 something that's totally different. 633 00:41:09,172 --> 00:41:10,655 Aircraft is turning right. 634 00:41:13,103 --> 00:41:15,034 Egyptians investigators agree that 635 00:41:15,137 --> 00:41:16,896 Captain Khedr may have suffered some 636 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,137 form of disorientation during the flight. 637 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:22,103 But they don't believe 638 00:41:22,206 --> 00:41:24,137 it was the only problem the crew was dealing with. 639 00:41:27,137 --> 00:41:29,551 I don't really have a very clear indication 640 00:41:29,655 --> 00:41:31,896 that it was disorientation but it's possible. 641 00:41:33,206 --> 00:41:35,241 There was a recovery from disorientation. 642 00:41:35,344 --> 00:41:38,827 The time to find out the problem and take the corrective 643 00:41:38,931 --> 00:41:43,068 action needed was more than the time left before impact. 644 00:41:43,172 --> 00:41:46,517 No matter what role disorientation 645 00:41:46,620 --> 00:41:49,896 played in the crash, investigators are about to learn 646 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:52,551 that the crew wasn't properly trained to deal with it. 647 00:41:56,172 --> 00:41:59,241 Flash Airlines never provided the pilots with basic 648 00:41:59,344 --> 00:42:02,206 information that could have saved their lives. 649 00:42:02,310 --> 00:42:12,620 It's been two years 650 00:42:12,724 --> 00:42:15,896 since an Egyptian charter plane smashed into the Red Sea. 651 00:42:16,965 --> 00:42:19,310 1-hundred and 48 people were killed. 652 00:42:20,586 --> 00:42:23,586 Investigators trying to figure out why Flash Airlines 653 00:42:23,689 --> 00:42:27,000 flight 604 crashed face immense challenges. 654 00:42:29,241 --> 00:42:31,448 Most of the wreck is still deep under water. 655 00:42:35,448 --> 00:42:38,586 By carefully examining the plane's black boxes, 656 00:42:38,689 --> 00:42:41,241 the investigators believe that disorientation may have 657 00:42:41,344 --> 00:42:42,689 played a role in the accident. 658 00:42:46,482 --> 00:42:49,241 The pitch-black night and the featureless sea caused 659 00:42:49,344 --> 00:42:51,931 the pilot to become confused about what was happening. 660 00:42:54,344 --> 00:42:57,241 But mechanical problems may also have plagued the plane. 661 00:42:58,862 --> 00:43:01,448 As they continue to try to solve the mystery, 662 00:43:01,551 --> 00:43:03,724 investigators make a startling discovery. 663 00:43:06,068 --> 00:43:08,517 Officials at Flash Airlines reveal that they hadn't 664 00:43:08,620 --> 00:43:12,034 provided the pilots with Crew Resource Management training 665 00:43:12,137 --> 00:43:14,206 although it was a requirement for the company. 666 00:43:15,793 --> 00:43:16,931 It might have helped the crew 667 00:43:17,034 --> 00:43:19,137 deal with their horrifying situation. 668 00:43:19,241 --> 00:43:26,310 Crew Resource Management is a program where pilots 669 00:43:26,413 --> 00:43:29,862 are trained to work together rather than as individuals. 670 00:43:29,965 --> 00:43:33,413 Had the pilots of Flash Air 604 received a formal CRM 671 00:43:33,517 --> 00:43:36,172 training program, the outcome of this flight 672 00:43:36,275 --> 00:43:37,655 may have been substantially different. 673 00:43:37,758 --> 00:43:41,758 American investigators believe the very junior 674 00:43:41,862 --> 00:43:43,931 First Officer may have felt the plane 675 00:43:44,034 --> 00:43:46,896 was in trouble before the Captain did, but failed 676 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:50,068 to offer suggestions to his much more experienced co-worker. 677 00:43:51,137 --> 00:43:53,344 What? Aircraft is turning right. 678 00:43:53,448 --> 00:43:55,482 Nor did he attempt to take control of the plane. 679 00:43:55,586 --> 00:43:56,689 Right. 680 00:43:56,793 --> 00:43:58,172 Formal CRM training 681 00:43:58,275 --> 00:44:00,137 would have empowered the first officer, 682 00:44:00,241 --> 00:44:01,896 who had the best situational awareness 683 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:03,827 and the most information about the position 684 00:44:03,931 --> 00:44:07,000 of the airplane to take command of the airplane when he saw that 685 00:44:07,103 --> 00:44:10,241 the captain wasn't taking the appropriate corrective action. 686 00:44:10,344 --> 00:44:17,586 An earlier conversation in the cockpit, 687 00:44:17,689 --> 00:44:21,034 before take off, may reveal why the young First Officer 688 00:44:21,137 --> 00:44:23,241 would have been reluctant to challenge the Captain. 689 00:44:23,344 --> 00:44:27,517 Yesterday we were coming in at dusk 690 00:44:27,620 --> 00:44:28,965 and the sun was two two. 691 00:44:29,068 --> 00:44:31,793 I felt I could hardly see the runway 692 00:44:31,896 --> 00:44:34,724 and he's already saying in sight. 693 00:44:34,827 --> 00:44:36,931 What in sight? Age, sir. 694 00:44:37,034 --> 00:44:39,689 It may not have meant to be insulting but it 695 00:44:39,793 --> 00:44:42,344 may have reinforced the First Officer's feeling that he 696 00:44:42,448 --> 00:44:44,620 was the student and the Captain was the teacher. 697 00:44:44,724 --> 00:44:52,000 I am unable to raise my eyes and he says in sight. 698 00:44:52,103 --> 00:44:57,827 Where in sight? MAX: It is going to serve as negative feedback. 699 00:44:57,931 --> 00:45:00,965 The young first officer is bound to hesitate. 700 00:45:01,068 --> 00:45:03,275 He doesn't want to be wrong again. 701 00:45:03,379 --> 00:45:05,724 He doesn't want to lose the respect of an Air Force general. 702 00:45:09,344 --> 00:45:12,310 In a crew, an effort must be made to bring together 703 00:45:12,413 --> 00:45:16,206 people who are able to co-pilot, not a crew in which one person 704 00:45:16,310 --> 00:45:19,068 pilots and the other person looks on without saying a word. 705 00:45:19,172 --> 00:45:21,896 But the Captain 706 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,103 and the co-pilot weren't alone in the cockpit. 707 00:45:25,689 --> 00:45:28,344 A third crewmember with more experience than the first 708 00:45:28,448 --> 00:45:29,689 officer was also there. 709 00:45:31,413 --> 00:45:36,620 He too never said anything until the final seconds of the flight. 710 00:45:36,724 --> 00:45:39,586 Otherwise, how will we know when we clear the cloud? 711 00:45:39,689 --> 00:45:44,896 We hear him speak very clearly and very openly 712 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:47,931 all during the time before the engines start up. 713 00:45:48,034 --> 00:45:50,586 He was in conversation with the first officer and with the 714 00:45:50,689 --> 00:45:53,551 captain so this experienced person, 715 00:45:53,655 --> 00:45:55,793 being very quiet all through, 716 00:45:55,896 --> 00:45:59,379 we believe that he, if he saw any of the crew members 717 00:45:59,482 --> 00:46:03,931 doing something that he should not be doing, or uh not doing 718 00:46:04,034 --> 00:46:07,551 something that he should be doing would have said something. 719 00:46:07,655 --> 00:46:10,103 Retard power, retard power. 720 00:46:10,206 --> 00:46:12,448 But the only words he said was retard 721 00:46:12,551 --> 00:46:16,793 the throttles at the later stage of the event, 722 00:46:16,896 --> 00:46:19,793 shows that that's the only thing he saw that should be done. 723 00:46:19,896 --> 00:46:24,379 Even if the co-pilot had taken control sooner, 724 00:46:24,482 --> 00:46:28,034 there's no way to know if he could have saved the jet. 725 00:46:28,137 --> 00:46:32,206 Whatever took place on flight 604 happened quickly. 726 00:46:32,310 --> 00:46:35,034 And since the plane had just taken off, the crew had 727 00:46:35,137 --> 00:46:37,724 little time to react before they crashed into the sea. 728 00:46:43,689 --> 00:46:45,896 The final report on the Flash Airlines crash 729 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:47,241 was released in March 2006. 730 00:46:50,206 --> 00:46:51,827 There are no clear answers. 731 00:46:53,310 --> 00:46:56,448 Egyptian officials say that any of four mechanical problems 732 00:46:56,551 --> 00:46:57,827 could have caused the crash. 733 00:47:00,172 --> 00:47:03,068 They say disorientation may have played a role 734 00:47:03,172 --> 00:47:05,206 but it's not the reason behind the accident. 735 00:47:07,310 --> 00:47:10,000 American investigators refuse to blame the plane. 736 00:47:11,724 --> 00:47:14,482 Instead, they say the problem lies with the airline, 737 00:47:14,586 --> 00:47:16,862 which didn't sufficiently train their crews. 738 00:47:16,965 --> 00:47:21,241 The pilots are responding based on skills, abilities, 739 00:47:21,344 --> 00:47:24,137 knowledge and what they got out of training. 740 00:47:24,241 --> 00:47:27,068 If the training was deficient, that's a company responsibility. 741 00:47:27,172 --> 00:47:30,103 Two months after the crash, 742 00:47:30,206 --> 00:47:32,000 Flash Airlines went out of business. 743 00:47:33,482 --> 00:47:36,413 And as a result of the Flash 604 tragedy, 744 00:47:36,517 --> 00:47:39,758 new rules came into place to ensure that in the future 745 00:47:39,862 --> 00:47:43,172 aircraft safety violations will be judged more harshly. 746 00:47:43,275 --> 00:47:49,655 The Flash Airlines crash gave the final political 747 00:47:49,758 --> 00:47:56,172 impetus to a move to create a European black list where 748 00:47:56,275 --> 00:48:04,137 if one state banned an airline then all the other European 749 00:48:04,241 --> 00:48:07,896 states would automatically ban that airline also. 750 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:12,724 The Egyptian investigation 751 00:48:12,827 --> 00:48:15,034 concluded with an important recommendation. 752 00:48:15,137 --> 00:48:20,551 We have recommended that some kind of training or 753 00:48:20,655 --> 00:48:22,965 awareness program should be made to be 754 00:48:23,068 --> 00:48:28,586 able to have the pilot observe another being disoriented 755 00:48:28,689 --> 00:48:34,206 early and what he should do, to first maintain a safe flight, 756 00:48:34,310 --> 00:48:36,655 second to pull the pilot, pull the pilot 757 00:48:36,758 --> 00:48:39,275 from his disorientation back to orientation. 758 00:48:39,379 --> 00:48:42,655 Was there a mechanical problem 759 00:48:42,758 --> 00:48:43,965 at the heart of the crash? 760 00:48:45,206 --> 00:48:47,206 Investigators will likely never know. 761 00:48:48,827 --> 00:48:52,517 With so much of the plane still at the bottom of the Red Sea, 762 00:48:52,620 --> 00:48:55,172 questions will always remain for investigators 763 00:48:55,275 --> 00:48:57,758 and everyone else who was affected by the crash. 764 00:49:06,551 --> 00:49:12,137 I lost my nephews and my niece. They were just kids. 765 00:49:12,241 --> 00:49:14,448 What future would they have had? 766 00:49:14,551 --> 00:49:18,137 How can you put a price on that? What a waste? 767 00:49:18,241 --> 00:49:28,862 The families will never be able to fully mourn, 768 00:49:28,965 --> 00:49:31,931 me included because we'll never know what's really happened.