1 00:00:02,569 --> 00:00:05,438 Narrator: In 1956 Jack Parshall faces 2 00:00:05,505 --> 00:00:08,274 one of the most challenging air crash investigations 3 00:00:08,341 --> 00:00:10,410 of all time. 4 00:00:10,477 --> 00:00:13,313 Man: When you talk about an accident in the Grand Canyon, 5 00:00:13,380 --> 00:00:16,683 you're talking about both hostile, inaccessible, 6 00:00:16,750 --> 00:00:18,985 remote and dangerous. 7 00:00:21,020 --> 00:00:22,856 Jack Parshall: Hot enough to melt aluminum. 8 00:00:22,922 --> 00:00:25,258 Man: This was the age in which accident investigation 9 00:00:25,325 --> 00:00:26,960 began to grow up. 10 00:00:27,026 --> 00:00:29,362 Parshall: Now, let's see what we got on the DC-7. 11 00:00:29,429 --> 00:00:31,498 Pilot: Damn! 12 00:00:31,564 --> 00:00:34,100 Narrator: The world expects answers from Parshall. 13 00:00:34,167 --> 00:00:35,468 Parshall: Right there. 14 00:00:35,535 --> 00:00:38,571 Man: The consequences for getting it wrong in any respect 15 00:00:38,638 --> 00:00:41,040 could have tremendous negative ramifications 16 00:00:41,107 --> 00:00:43,176 for this fledgling industry. 17 00:00:43,243 --> 00:00:44,911 Narrator: Parshall makes a frightening discovery 18 00:00:44,978 --> 00:00:48,915 about commercial aviation: It isn't safe. 19 00:00:48,982 --> 00:00:50,683 Man: It's not a matter of the system being broken. 20 00:00:50,750 --> 00:00:52,652 Guys, we don't have a system. 21 00:00:55,522 --> 00:00:57,323 Pilot: Mayday, mayday! 22 00:01:20,814 --> 00:01:23,983 Narrator: At Los Angeles International Airport, 23 00:01:24,050 --> 00:01:28,388 United Airlines flight 718 is preparing to depart for Chicago. 24 00:01:30,657 --> 00:01:33,793 The DC-7 is the newest and fastest passenger plane 25 00:01:33,860 --> 00:01:35,528 in America-- 26 00:01:35,595 --> 00:01:37,897 the pride of the united fleet. 27 00:01:45,305 --> 00:01:46,406 Flight attendant: I'm sorry, sir, 28 00:01:46,473 --> 00:01:49,108 there's no smoking until after takeoff. 29 00:01:49,175 --> 00:01:51,544 Narrator: In 1956 airline travel 30 00:01:51,611 --> 00:01:54,814 is something few people have had a chance to experience. 31 00:01:54,881 --> 00:01:57,417 There are only 117 commercial aircraft 32 00:01:57,484 --> 00:02:00,153 in the entire state of California. 33 00:02:00,220 --> 00:02:04,524 Announcer: The girls were off, bound for New York. 34 00:02:04,591 --> 00:02:08,061 They were walking on air even before they got on board. 35 00:02:08,127 --> 00:02:09,696 John Nance: Flying had a panache about it. 36 00:02:09,762 --> 00:02:12,065 Now, part of this was because it cost a lot 37 00:02:12,131 --> 00:02:13,967 and there was a level of exclusivity about it. 38 00:02:14,033 --> 00:02:16,336 But there was also a level of civility about it. 39 00:02:16,402 --> 00:02:20,039 Announcer: Expertly prepared and tastefully served. 40 00:02:20,106 --> 00:02:22,542 Nance: It was a special deal. 41 00:02:22,609 --> 00:02:26,179 Narrator: A DC-7 can carry almost 100 passengers non-stop 42 00:02:26,246 --> 00:02:28,882 from coast to coast. 43 00:02:28,948 --> 00:02:31,384 Nance: It was no longer a situation where people said, 44 00:02:31,451 --> 00:02:33,353 well, you're going to go fly commercially? 45 00:02:33,419 --> 00:02:35,188 You're putting your life on the line. 46 00:02:35,255 --> 00:02:36,856 It was getting to be reliable. 47 00:02:36,923 --> 00:02:38,791 It was getting to be, if not ubiquitous, 48 00:02:38,858 --> 00:02:41,728 then fairly common. 49 00:02:41,794 --> 00:02:43,630 Bob Shirley: Chicago for dinner, gentlemen. 50 00:02:43,696 --> 00:02:46,099 Gerard Fiore: Dinner can't come soon enough for me. 51 00:02:56,776 --> 00:02:59,779 Flight attendant: Door closed and secure, guys. 52 00:03:02,582 --> 00:03:06,219 Narrator: The DC-7 is powered by four huge engines. 53 00:03:06,286 --> 00:03:08,922 Each one has 18 cylinders. 54 00:03:08,988 --> 00:03:13,159 The wright 33-50 turbo compound is a technical marvel. 55 00:03:13,226 --> 00:03:16,296 But it demands a lot of attention. 56 00:03:16,362 --> 00:03:18,197 Flight attendant: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, 57 00:03:18,264 --> 00:03:21,935 and welcome aboard United Airlines 718. 58 00:03:22,001 --> 00:03:24,637 Our captain today is Bob Shirley. 59 00:03:24,704 --> 00:03:27,206 You're in good hands. 60 00:03:27,273 --> 00:03:29,175 Narrator: 48-year-old Captain Bob Shirley 61 00:03:29,242 --> 00:03:32,111 has more than 17,000 flight hours. 62 00:03:32,178 --> 00:03:34,147 He's been on the plum L.A.-Chicago route 63 00:03:34,213 --> 00:03:36,215 for nearly a year. 64 00:03:36,282 --> 00:03:38,985 Clay lacy: Bob Shirley was an excellent pilot. 65 00:03:39,052 --> 00:03:41,287 Narrator: Clay lacy is a former united pilot 66 00:03:41,354 --> 00:03:44,657 who was with another crew flying out of Los Angeles that morning. 67 00:03:44,724 --> 00:03:47,994 Lacy: He was highly regarded as a pilot. 68 00:03:48,061 --> 00:03:52,732 And he had his own airplane and was a guy that loved aviation. 69 00:03:55,268 --> 00:03:57,070 Shirley: TWA's running a little late this morning, huh? 70 00:03:57,136 --> 00:03:58,605 Robert Harms: Mm-hmm. 71 00:03:58,671 --> 00:04:01,808 Narrator: The 36-year-old first officer, Robert Harms, 72 00:04:01,874 --> 00:04:05,445 is a world war ii veteran and a former flight instructor. 73 00:04:05,511 --> 00:04:06,613 Fiore: Well, we're on time, guys. 74 00:04:06,679 --> 00:04:08,214 Let's keep it that way. 75 00:04:08,281 --> 00:04:11,284 I'm three pages into the checklist. 76 00:04:11,351 --> 00:04:14,387 Narrator: The third member of the United Airlines cockpit crew 77 00:04:14,454 --> 00:04:17,757 is flight engineer Gerard Fiore. 78 00:04:17,824 --> 00:04:21,427 Fiore: Engine number one. 79 00:04:21,494 --> 00:04:23,663 Shirley: Rpm to 2100. 80 00:04:23,730 --> 00:04:26,232 Bob macintosh: The flight engineer was a busy fellow, 81 00:04:26,299 --> 00:04:30,136 and he fine-tuned the power plants individually 82 00:04:30,203 --> 00:04:32,138 and even by cylinder. 83 00:04:32,205 --> 00:04:34,173 Fiore: Checking magnetos. 84 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,342 Left. Both. 85 00:04:36,409 --> 00:04:40,346 Right. Both. 86 00:04:40,413 --> 00:04:43,383 Rpm is good for left and right. 87 00:04:43,449 --> 00:04:45,385 Macintosh: The proper heat, mixture controls 88 00:04:45,451 --> 00:04:48,121 and cowl flaps and so on, so forth 89 00:04:48,187 --> 00:04:51,391 to keep those power plants running at their best. 90 00:04:51,457 --> 00:04:53,559 Fiore: Cylinder head temps are in the zone. 91 00:04:53,626 --> 00:04:56,262 Shirley: Well, Dr. Fiore, we are blessed this morning. 92 00:04:58,231 --> 00:04:59,866 Fiore: She's all yours, captain. 93 00:04:59,932 --> 00:05:02,468 Narrator: While the united crew waits to taxi, 94 00:05:02,535 --> 00:05:04,337 the tower controller gives instructions 95 00:05:04,404 --> 00:05:05,805 to the plane ahead of them, 96 00:05:05,872 --> 00:05:08,574 a TWA's flight to Kansas City. 97 00:05:08,641 --> 00:05:10,643 Controller: TWA's 2 cleared for takeoff 98 00:05:10,710 --> 00:05:12,812 on runway 2-5-right. 99 00:05:12,879 --> 00:05:16,082 Jack Gandy: Roger, copy, cleared for takeoff 2-5-right. 100 00:05:22,588 --> 00:05:26,059 Controller: United flight 718 taxi to position and hold. 101 00:05:26,125 --> 00:05:29,295 You are next on runway 2-5-left. 102 00:05:29,362 --> 00:05:34,000 Harms: United 718 copy, taxi and hold runway 2-5-left. 103 00:05:34,067 --> 00:05:36,769 Narrator: The united flight is right on time this morning. 104 00:05:36,836 --> 00:05:38,504 Keeping to schedule is important 105 00:05:38,571 --> 00:05:40,973 in the small but growing air travel business, 106 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:42,175 where many flights carry 107 00:05:42,241 --> 00:05:44,744 at least some first-time passengers. 108 00:05:44,811 --> 00:05:47,513 Nance: As they kept adding flights, passengers kept coming. 109 00:05:47,580 --> 00:05:48,915 It was almost 110 00:05:48,981 --> 00:05:51,884 an "if you schedule it, they will come" situation. 111 00:05:54,721 --> 00:05:57,690 Controller: United flight 718 cleared for takeoff. 112 00:05:57,757 --> 00:06:00,026 Harms: Takeoff clearance obtained. 113 00:06:03,229 --> 00:06:05,698 Shirley: Takeoff thrust. 114 00:06:07,700 --> 00:06:09,702 Harms: 80 knots. 115 00:06:09,769 --> 00:06:12,371 Shirley: Check. 116 00:06:12,438 --> 00:06:14,974 Harms: 120 knots. 117 00:06:16,309 --> 00:06:17,577 V-1. 118 00:06:17,643 --> 00:06:19,112 Rotate. 119 00:06:20,847 --> 00:06:22,448 Narrator: At 9:04 in the morning 120 00:06:22,515 --> 00:06:25,752 flight 718 lifts off from Los Angeles. 121 00:06:27,220 --> 00:06:31,924 The trip to Chicago should take about 6 hours. 122 00:06:31,991 --> 00:06:34,360 Captain Shirley must follow an assigned corridor 123 00:06:34,427 --> 00:06:37,029 through the airspace around Los Angeles. 124 00:06:37,096 --> 00:06:40,266 After that he's free to fly wherever he wants, 125 00:06:40,333 --> 00:06:43,102 as long as he reports in, passing a series of waypoints 126 00:06:43,169 --> 00:06:45,171 along the route to Chicago. 127 00:06:45,238 --> 00:06:47,974 Nance: If you had to divert, it was no real big deal. 128 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:49,675 We did not have the sophistication 129 00:06:49,742 --> 00:06:51,811 of the radar equipment we have today. 130 00:06:51,878 --> 00:06:54,280 Back in the '50s there was a big sky out there, 131 00:06:54,347 --> 00:06:56,182 and that was kind of the way everybody thought of it. 132 00:06:56,249 --> 00:06:58,651 There weren't that many airplanes up there. 133 00:07:02,789 --> 00:07:04,123 Shirley: The engines sound good, Mr. Fiore. 134 00:07:04,190 --> 00:07:05,525 How are the temps? 135 00:07:05,591 --> 00:07:08,127 Fiore: They're holding steady, skipper. 136 00:07:08,194 --> 00:07:10,296 Still running a little rich. 137 00:07:10,363 --> 00:07:12,265 Lacy: We were very interested in those days 138 00:07:12,331 --> 00:07:14,534 in pleasing the passengers. 139 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,037 Shirley: Well, time for some introductions. 140 00:07:18,104 --> 00:07:20,573 Harms: Knock yourself out. 141 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,042 Shirley: Good morning, folks, Captain Bob Shirley here. 142 00:07:23,109 --> 00:07:24,944 It is a beautiful, bright day. 143 00:07:25,011 --> 00:07:27,613 We're almost at our cruising altitude of 21,000 feet, 144 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,017 which is almost exactly four miles. 145 00:07:31,083 --> 00:07:32,919 Lacy: If only 10% of the people had flown, 146 00:07:32,985 --> 00:07:34,987 we were certainly trying to get more people to fly, 147 00:07:35,054 --> 00:07:39,892 so we tried to make it a fun, interesting experience. 148 00:07:42,762 --> 00:07:44,897 Narrator: 54 minutes into the flight, 149 00:07:44,964 --> 00:07:48,167 the DC-7 reaches its second waypoint. 150 00:07:48,234 --> 00:07:54,073 Harms: United 718, we're at needles, 9:58, 21,000 feet, 151 00:07:54,140 --> 00:07:57,443 clear skies, course direct to Durango. 152 00:07:57,510 --> 00:08:01,747 Estimate crossing the painted desert line at... 153 00:08:01,814 --> 00:08:03,049 Shirley: 10:31. 154 00:08:03,115 --> 00:08:04,851 Harms: 10:31. 155 00:08:04,917 --> 00:08:06,219 Narrator: The crew will next check in 156 00:08:06,285 --> 00:08:07,520 when they cross a point on the map 157 00:08:07,587 --> 00:08:10,323 known as the painted desert line. 158 00:08:12,592 --> 00:08:14,427 Shirley: I'll try to get you some spectacular views 159 00:08:14,493 --> 00:08:15,561 in the next half hour, 160 00:08:15,628 --> 00:08:18,164 so I'd stay glued to those windows. 161 00:08:18,231 --> 00:08:19,932 We're just crossing into Arizona. 162 00:08:19,999 --> 00:08:22,335 On the right you can see Lake Havasu. 163 00:08:22,401 --> 00:08:24,270 Up where we are it's about ten below zero, 164 00:08:24,337 --> 00:08:27,440 so don't go rolling down those windows now. 165 00:08:31,210 --> 00:08:33,279 Narrator: Cruising at 21,000 feet, 166 00:08:33,346 --> 00:08:38,718 the crew spots thunderclouds ahead and adjusts their course. 167 00:08:38,784 --> 00:08:41,621 Lacy: Back in those days, if we'd see a thunderstorm ahead 168 00:08:41,687 --> 00:08:43,122 or a line of thunderstorms, 169 00:08:43,189 --> 00:08:47,360 we'd turn and try and go between two of the cells. 170 00:08:47,426 --> 00:08:50,963 And without radar we didn't have to tell anybody, 171 00:08:51,030 --> 00:08:54,100 we'd just steer around it. 172 00:08:54,166 --> 00:08:55,401 Shirley: Folks, we've got a little weather, 173 00:08:55,468 --> 00:08:56,669 so it could get a bit bumpy. 174 00:08:56,736 --> 00:08:58,304 Nothing to worry about, just keep your eyes peeled 175 00:08:58,371 --> 00:08:59,639 and you'll get a spectacular view 176 00:08:59,705 --> 00:09:02,041 no matter where you're sitting. 177 00:09:02,108 --> 00:09:04,143 How are we doing on your side, Bob? 178 00:09:04,210 --> 00:09:05,811 Harms: Thunderhead five miles south. 179 00:09:05,878 --> 00:09:07,580 We're clear of it. 180 00:09:07,647 --> 00:09:08,881 Shirley: Damn! 181 00:09:12,084 --> 00:09:15,254 Narrator: Shocked passengers have no idea what's gone wrong. 182 00:09:15,321 --> 00:09:17,456 Shirley: Oh, god! Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank! 183 00:09:17,523 --> 00:09:19,492 Come on, baby! Come on! 184 00:09:27,733 --> 00:09:30,503 United dispatcher: United dispatch to united 718, 185 00:09:30,569 --> 00:09:32,471 do you copy? 186 00:09:34,807 --> 00:09:38,144 Narrator: Flight 718 is overdue to check in. 187 00:09:38,210 --> 00:09:41,147 Calls from dispatch go unanswered. 188 00:09:42,481 --> 00:09:45,117 United dispatcher: United dispatch to united 718, 189 00:09:45,184 --> 00:09:47,219 do you copy? 190 00:09:50,923 --> 00:09:54,961 Narrator: Air traffic control headquarters in Salt Lake City. 191 00:09:55,027 --> 00:09:56,762 Controller: C.A. Salt Lake. 192 00:09:56,829 --> 00:09:58,731 Narrator: Controllers here don't normally communicate 193 00:09:58,798 --> 00:10:00,866 directly with flight crews. 194 00:10:00,933 --> 00:10:03,703 They get flight information by phone from airline dispatchers 195 00:10:03,769 --> 00:10:07,873 who are in radio contact with their pilots. 196 00:10:07,940 --> 00:10:10,576 At 10:51, they get a disturbing call 197 00:10:10,643 --> 00:10:12,445 from United Airlines dispatch. 198 00:10:12,511 --> 00:10:14,146 Controller: Salt Lake. 199 00:10:14,213 --> 00:10:15,448 Understand. 200 00:10:15,514 --> 00:10:18,751 United 718 20 minutes overdue at painted desert. 201 00:10:24,490 --> 00:10:27,827 Narrator: Moments later, another dispatcher calls. 202 00:10:27,893 --> 00:10:31,263 More disturbing news. 203 00:10:31,330 --> 00:10:32,798 TWA's dispatcher: Salt Lake TWA's. 204 00:10:32,865 --> 00:10:36,869 I'm getting no response from flight 2. 205 00:10:36,936 --> 00:10:38,971 Controller: Understand, TWA's flight 2 206 00:10:39,038 --> 00:10:41,240 20 minutes overdue at painted desert. 207 00:10:41,307 --> 00:10:45,478 We have had no contact here. 208 00:10:45,544 --> 00:10:48,714 Narrator: Controllers now know that two planes flying from L.A. 209 00:10:48,781 --> 00:10:51,917 Have not reported crossing a scheduled waypoint-- 210 00:10:51,984 --> 00:10:55,821 the painted desert line. 211 00:10:55,888 --> 00:10:59,959 United flight 718 and TWA's flight 2 to Kansas City 212 00:11:00,026 --> 00:11:05,931 were both expected to reach that waypoint at 10:31. 213 00:11:05,998 --> 00:11:07,099 Controller: C.A.A. Salt Lake. 214 00:11:07,166 --> 00:11:10,836 TWA's flight 2, do you copy? 215 00:11:10,903 --> 00:11:14,407 Nance: In the absence of a radar beam hitting an airplane, 216 00:11:14,473 --> 00:11:16,175 if the airplane disappears 217 00:11:16,242 --> 00:11:18,310 you're not gonna know that anything is wrong 218 00:11:18,377 --> 00:11:20,079 until probably the second time 219 00:11:20,146 --> 00:11:22,381 that they fail to hit a reporting point. 220 00:11:22,448 --> 00:11:23,682 They're supposed to get on the radio 221 00:11:23,749 --> 00:11:25,718 and report their position. 222 00:11:25,785 --> 00:11:27,953 Controller: TWA's 2. C.A.A. Salt Lake. 223 00:11:28,020 --> 00:11:29,755 Do you copy? 224 00:11:31,490 --> 00:11:36,862 Narrator: TWA's flight 2 is carrying 70 people. 225 00:11:36,929 --> 00:11:40,433 There are another 58 aboard the united flight. 226 00:11:42,268 --> 00:11:44,336 Controllers and dispatchers can only wait 227 00:11:44,403 --> 00:11:47,573 for some response to learn their fate. 228 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,010 Lacy: I had a trip that morning in a DC-6 229 00:11:51,077 --> 00:11:53,212 from Los Angeles to Denver. 230 00:11:53,279 --> 00:11:56,048 We got over Bryce Canyon about the same time 231 00:11:56,115 --> 00:11:59,018 that air rank was calling united 718... 232 00:11:59,085 --> 00:12:02,154 Controller: C.A.A. Salt Lake. Do you copy? 233 00:12:02,221 --> 00:12:03,756 Lacy: ...maybe twice a minute. 234 00:12:03,823 --> 00:12:06,258 They were trying to get a hold of 'em. 235 00:12:06,325 --> 00:12:10,596 And I remember slim, who was Bob Shirley's boss, 236 00:12:10,663 --> 00:12:12,932 he says, "oh, that Bob isn't listening 237 00:12:12,998 --> 00:12:15,401 to the radio," you know. 238 00:12:15,468 --> 00:12:16,969 Narrator: More than an hour has passed 239 00:12:17,036 --> 00:12:19,839 since the planes were last due to check in. 240 00:12:19,905 --> 00:12:22,741 Controllers send out a bulletin asking local authorities 241 00:12:22,808 --> 00:12:25,878 to keep an eye out for the two missing planes. 242 00:12:25,945 --> 00:12:27,646 Nance: Painted desert, that's where you expected 243 00:12:27,713 --> 00:12:30,282 to hear from at least one of those two airplanes. 244 00:12:30,349 --> 00:12:32,351 When neither of them were heard from, 245 00:12:32,418 --> 00:12:35,621 that's the time that the hair is going to begin to stand up 246 00:12:35,688 --> 00:12:38,257 on the back of the heads of the controllers. 247 00:12:39,625 --> 00:12:41,127 Narrator: Two commercial airliners 248 00:12:41,193 --> 00:12:46,665 are still missing somewhere over the Arizona desert. 249 00:12:46,732 --> 00:12:48,567 Macintosh: Finding an aircraft in those days, 250 00:12:48,634 --> 00:12:50,903 before we had the various locator beacons, 251 00:12:50,970 --> 00:12:55,708 before we had the radar systems that we have today, 252 00:12:55,774 --> 00:12:59,512 indeed was looking for a needle in a haystack. 253 00:13:03,949 --> 00:13:05,551 Narrator: The next morning news comes 254 00:13:05,618 --> 00:13:07,353 from authorities in Arizona 255 00:13:07,419 --> 00:13:09,955 confirming everyone's worst fears. 256 00:13:10,022 --> 00:13:13,592 Controller: They found them? 257 00:13:13,659 --> 00:13:15,728 Narrator: The remains of two different planes 258 00:13:15,794 --> 00:13:19,198 have been spotted in Arizona's Grand Canyon. 259 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:23,435 Nance: There was a gentleman named Palen Hudgins 260 00:13:23,502 --> 00:13:24,770 who was an air tour pilot 261 00:13:24,837 --> 00:13:27,006 who had heard that there were missing airplanes, 262 00:13:27,072 --> 00:13:28,474 and he was flying along 263 00:13:28,541 --> 00:13:31,010 looking at anything he could see down there. 264 00:13:31,076 --> 00:13:35,114 And he sees some smoke coming up from char butte. 265 00:13:35,181 --> 00:13:37,583 Narrator: The twisted wreckage of united 718 266 00:13:37,650 --> 00:13:38,984 lies on a rocky ledge 267 00:13:39,051 --> 00:13:42,721 688 feet up the sheer canyon wall. 268 00:13:42,788 --> 00:13:45,658 The air tour pilot spots the second crash site 269 00:13:45,724 --> 00:13:50,696 on the floor of the canyon about one mile away. 270 00:13:50,763 --> 00:13:53,632 Nance: He banks around, comes in for a closer look, 271 00:13:53,699 --> 00:13:56,502 and there is the most distinctive structure 272 00:13:56,569 --> 00:13:59,505 in commercial aviation at the time: 273 00:13:59,572 --> 00:14:01,941 The tail of a constellation with the three prongs. 274 00:14:02,007 --> 00:14:04,910 There's just no mistaking that. 275 00:14:04,977 --> 00:14:06,779 Macintosh: We had one aircraft up on a bluff. 276 00:14:06,845 --> 00:14:09,181 We had pieces down in crevasses, 277 00:14:09,248 --> 00:14:13,185 engines and parts lying in various places. 278 00:14:16,155 --> 00:14:18,324 Narrator: The immediate priority is to get rescuers 279 00:14:18,390 --> 00:14:22,895 into one of the least accessible places in North America. 280 00:14:22,962 --> 00:14:24,463 Richard Rodriguez: When you talk about an accident 281 00:14:24,530 --> 00:14:25,898 in the Grand Canyon, 282 00:14:25,965 --> 00:14:29,201 you're talking about both hostile, inaccessible, 283 00:14:29,268 --> 00:14:32,137 remote and dangerous. 284 00:14:32,204 --> 00:14:34,373 Narrator: Richard Rodriguez is a former investigator 285 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,375 with the civil aeronautics board. 286 00:14:36,442 --> 00:14:39,478 Rodriguez: You're 1,000 feet above riverbed, for instance, 287 00:14:39,545 --> 00:14:41,413 depending upon where you are. 288 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,984 So it's a very dangerous place to work. 289 00:14:47,586 --> 00:14:50,689 Narrator: When rescuers finally reach the crash area, 290 00:14:50,756 --> 00:14:55,327 they first find the scattered remains of TWA's flight 2. 291 00:14:55,394 --> 00:14:57,263 Reaching the wreckage of the other plane 292 00:14:57,329 --> 00:15:00,766 will be even more difficult. 293 00:15:00,833 --> 00:15:02,368 Reporter: These are mountaineers 294 00:15:02,434 --> 00:15:04,937 from Denver's rocky mountain rescue club. 295 00:15:05,004 --> 00:15:06,772 Near the rim of the Grand Canyon gorge 296 00:15:06,839 --> 00:15:08,440 they collect their gear. 297 00:15:08,507 --> 00:15:11,277 These mountaineers will attempt to scale the steep walls 298 00:15:11,343 --> 00:15:12,711 from the floor of the canyon 299 00:15:12,778 --> 00:15:14,380 in order to reach an abutment 300 00:15:14,446 --> 00:15:16,015 on which rests the shattered wreckage 301 00:15:16,081 --> 00:15:18,884 of the United Airlines DC-7. 302 00:15:21,020 --> 00:15:22,488 Narrator: It's not long before rescuers 303 00:15:22,554 --> 00:15:25,024 come to a grim conclusion. 304 00:15:25,090 --> 00:15:29,161 Everyone aboard both planes is dead. 305 00:15:29,228 --> 00:15:32,598 It is now up to investigators from the civil aeronautics board 306 00:15:32,665 --> 00:15:35,267 to piece together what happened. 307 00:15:38,604 --> 00:15:40,172 Ed Herlihy: The Grand Canyon is a graveyard 308 00:15:40,239 --> 00:15:43,509 for 128 passengers and crew of two airliners 309 00:15:43,575 --> 00:15:46,412 which crashed on peaks little more than a mile apart. 310 00:15:46,478 --> 00:15:47,880 The impact reduced the wreckage 311 00:15:47,946 --> 00:15:50,282 to carbonized smears of paint and metal. 312 00:15:50,349 --> 00:15:52,351 None survived. 313 00:15:55,921 --> 00:15:57,189 Narrator: The sudden loss of two 314 00:15:57,256 --> 00:15:59,325 of America's most modern airplanes 315 00:15:59,391 --> 00:16:01,694 shocks a country that has come to think of air travel 316 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,563 as luxurious and safe. 317 00:16:04,630 --> 00:16:06,999 Nance: We were not familiar as a people 318 00:16:07,066 --> 00:16:10,402 with having massive tragedies like this and a huge body count, 319 00:16:10,469 --> 00:16:12,037 especially in this fledgling thing 320 00:16:12,104 --> 00:16:13,505 called commercial aviation. 321 00:16:13,572 --> 00:16:16,008 We were used to an airplane crashing every now and then. 322 00:16:16,075 --> 00:16:17,409 It was a fairly common occurrence, 323 00:16:17,476 --> 00:16:20,779 but not two very safe airliners. 324 00:16:24,049 --> 00:16:25,451 Narrator: Air accident investigators 325 00:16:25,517 --> 00:16:29,621 are shuttled to the crash site by helicopter. 326 00:16:29,688 --> 00:16:32,057 Rodriguez: The investigator, of course, is driven 327 00:16:32,124 --> 00:16:34,960 by a desire to know what caused the accident 328 00:16:35,027 --> 00:16:36,328 for the simple reason 329 00:16:36,395 --> 00:16:40,566 that we want to prevent it from ever happening again. 330 00:16:40,632 --> 00:16:42,034 Narrator: The team's lead investigator 331 00:16:42,101 --> 00:16:44,603 is well suited for the job. 332 00:16:44,670 --> 00:16:47,573 Jack Parshall is an aviation legend, 333 00:16:47,639 --> 00:16:51,710 not only an experienced pilot, but a crash survivor himself. 334 00:16:51,777 --> 00:16:53,312 Nance: This was one of the pioneers. 335 00:16:53,379 --> 00:16:55,013 This is a guy who's flown airmail. 336 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,049 He's done it all over the years, 337 00:16:57,116 --> 00:16:59,651 and he's also had four crashes of his own. 338 00:16:59,718 --> 00:17:02,388 You would want somebody exactly like this on the job 339 00:17:02,454 --> 00:17:05,224 of trying to piece together the dynamics of a crash 340 00:17:05,290 --> 00:17:08,360 as well as piece together the metal. 341 00:17:08,427 --> 00:17:11,263 Parshall: Alright, let's figure out what's what. 342 00:17:11,330 --> 00:17:13,399 Start mapping this out. 343 00:17:13,465 --> 00:17:14,700 Narrator: The pieces on the ground 344 00:17:14,767 --> 00:17:19,004 will tell Parshall what happened in the air. 345 00:17:19,071 --> 00:17:20,339 Shirley: Folks, we've got a little weather, 346 00:17:20,406 --> 00:17:22,441 so it could get a bit bumpy. 347 00:17:22,508 --> 00:17:24,643 How are we doing on your side, Bob? 348 00:17:24,710 --> 00:17:26,812 Harms: Thunderhead five miles south. 349 00:17:26,879 --> 00:17:28,280 Narrator: Could a sudden thunderstorm 350 00:17:28,347 --> 00:17:30,282 have produced turbulence violent enough 351 00:17:30,349 --> 00:17:33,385 to knock both planes out of the sky? 352 00:17:33,452 --> 00:17:34,620 Shirley: Damn! 353 00:17:41,059 --> 00:17:42,594 Narrator: Jack Parshall doesn't have any 354 00:17:42,661 --> 00:17:44,196 of the advanced technology 355 00:17:44,263 --> 00:17:45,998 or the considerable body of knowledge 356 00:17:46,064 --> 00:17:50,702 that modern-day investigators have come to rely on. 357 00:17:50,769 --> 00:17:52,738 Nance: It was night and day between the tools 358 00:17:52,805 --> 00:17:56,141 that the national transportation safety board has now 359 00:17:56,208 --> 00:17:57,709 and what they had then. 360 00:17:57,776 --> 00:17:59,711 Just, it literally was a different world. 361 00:17:59,778 --> 00:18:01,346 They had very little. 362 00:18:01,413 --> 00:18:03,148 Narrator: Broken fragments of the plane 363 00:18:03,215 --> 00:18:04,550 and his own expertise 364 00:18:04,616 --> 00:18:07,352 are all he has to solve this mystery. 365 00:18:07,419 --> 00:18:09,054 Parshall: Here's what left of the cockpit. 366 00:18:09,121 --> 00:18:11,957 Nance: There were no black boxes like there are today. 367 00:18:12,024 --> 00:18:14,426 It really was a "by the seat of your pants" situation. 368 00:18:14,493 --> 00:18:16,495 And, in fact, this was the age 369 00:18:16,562 --> 00:18:19,531 in which accident investigation began to grow up. 370 00:18:19,598 --> 00:18:22,701 Parshall: Hot enough to melt aluminum. 371 00:18:22,768 --> 00:18:24,603 Narrator: At the TWA's crash site 372 00:18:24,670 --> 00:18:28,273 Parshall finds evidence of an intense post-crash fire. 373 00:18:28,340 --> 00:18:32,144 But that doesn't tell him what brought the plane down. 374 00:18:32,211 --> 00:18:34,680 Parshall: Where's the Connie's tail from here? 375 00:18:37,616 --> 00:18:40,285 Okay. Let's take a look. 376 00:18:43,489 --> 00:18:44,623 Narrator: Investigators locate 377 00:18:44,690 --> 00:18:47,860 the constellation's distinctive triple tail 378 00:18:47,926 --> 00:18:51,430 about 1,500 feet from the rest of the plane. 379 00:18:53,332 --> 00:18:56,869 Parshall: Well, well, well. 380 00:18:56,935 --> 00:18:58,904 Narrator: The distance tells Parshall that the tail 381 00:18:58,971 --> 00:19:02,107 came off the plane before it hit the ground. 382 00:19:06,245 --> 00:19:09,481 If he can figure out why the tail came off in midair, 383 00:19:09,548 --> 00:19:14,586 he'll be one step closer to finding the cause of the crash. 384 00:19:14,653 --> 00:19:17,155 Parshall: Check this out. 385 00:19:17,222 --> 00:19:19,291 Narrator: The wreckage of TWA's flight 2 386 00:19:19,358 --> 00:19:23,161 shows clear evidence of a catastrophic impact. 387 00:19:23,228 --> 00:19:26,131 The plane's skin has been shredded. 388 00:19:26,198 --> 00:19:30,068 Parshall also finds small streaks of blue paint. 389 00:19:32,070 --> 00:19:36,408 Parshall: We're going to need this brought up to the hangar. 390 00:19:36,475 --> 00:19:37,676 Narrator: On the canyon floor 391 00:19:37,743 --> 00:19:40,045 over 2,000 feet from the constellation 392 00:19:40,112 --> 00:19:42,114 lies a piece of the other plane. 393 00:19:42,180 --> 00:19:45,083 The DC-7's wingtip is streaked with red paint 394 00:19:45,150 --> 00:19:47,719 and is nowhere near the rest of the plane. 395 00:19:47,786 --> 00:19:50,055 It also came off in midair. 396 00:19:50,122 --> 00:19:53,258 Nance: It was a smoking gun. 397 00:19:53,325 --> 00:19:56,562 When you find red on an airplane that has no red, 398 00:19:56,628 --> 00:19:58,063 that pretty well proves the point 399 00:19:58,130 --> 00:19:59,431 that something happened up there 400 00:19:59,498 --> 00:20:00,933 that was not part of that airplane 401 00:20:00,999 --> 00:20:02,701 as it took off from Los Angeles. 402 00:20:02,768 --> 00:20:05,070 This was one of the things that cinched the deal. 403 00:20:05,137 --> 00:20:06,338 Narrator: The evidence points 404 00:20:06,405 --> 00:20:09,942 to an incredibly rare, almost unheard-of event. 405 00:20:10,008 --> 00:20:13,612 Parshall: They definitely swapped some paint up there. 406 00:20:13,679 --> 00:20:15,581 Narrator: It wasn't severe weather that brought down 407 00:20:15,647 --> 00:20:19,418 two planes from two of America's largest airlines. 408 00:20:19,484 --> 00:20:21,553 Shirley: Damn! What's he doing there? 409 00:20:21,620 --> 00:20:23,622 Narrator: It was a midair collision. 410 00:20:23,689 --> 00:20:25,090 Nance: For a DC-7 crew to look up 411 00:20:25,157 --> 00:20:28,360 and see a white constellation right in their face, 412 00:20:28,427 --> 00:20:31,063 first of all there's going to be a nanosecond or two 413 00:20:31,129 --> 00:20:35,901 of absolute, complete disbelief. 414 00:20:35,968 --> 00:20:36,969 Shirley: Oh, god! 415 00:20:37,035 --> 00:20:38,337 Bank, bank, bank, bank! 416 00:20:38,403 --> 00:20:39,771 Come on, baby! Come on! 417 00:20:39,838 --> 00:20:42,574 Nance: Muscle memory kicks in for any experienced pilot. 418 00:20:42,641 --> 00:20:44,176 And that's when the yoke gets grabbed 419 00:20:44,242 --> 00:20:46,044 and thrown in whatever direction, 420 00:20:46,111 --> 00:20:48,981 raising the wing, trying to get out of the way. 421 00:20:52,117 --> 00:20:56,154 But the dynamics at that point in time are too late. 422 00:21:01,393 --> 00:21:03,562 Narrator: The collision over the Grand Canyon 423 00:21:03,629 --> 00:21:05,631 is one of the most significant accidents 424 00:21:05,697 --> 00:21:08,066 in the history of commercial aviation. 425 00:21:08,133 --> 00:21:09,835 Macintosh: It was an earthshaking event 426 00:21:09,901 --> 00:21:12,004 that took place there that day. 427 00:21:16,208 --> 00:21:19,111 Narrator: What Jack Parshall uncovers through his investigation 428 00:21:19,177 --> 00:21:22,648 could affect commercial aviation across the country. 429 00:21:22,714 --> 00:21:25,550 Already certain there's been a midair collision, 430 00:21:25,617 --> 00:21:26,852 he now needs to figure out 431 00:21:26,918 --> 00:21:31,256 exactly how the two planes collided and why. 432 00:21:31,323 --> 00:21:34,192 Parshall: Can we get that piece over there, please? 433 00:21:39,865 --> 00:21:41,566 Thanks, guys. 434 00:21:41,633 --> 00:21:42,901 Narrator: Parshall has to recreate 435 00:21:42,968 --> 00:21:44,936 the final moments of the two flights 436 00:21:45,003 --> 00:21:48,073 based on bent metal and streaks of paint. 437 00:21:51,243 --> 00:21:52,844 Macintosh: It was one heck of a challenge 438 00:21:52,911 --> 00:21:54,546 to match those two aircraft up 439 00:21:54,613 --> 00:21:59,951 and come to a deduced conclusion as to what happened. 440 00:22:00,018 --> 00:22:02,921 They start to look at models in a midair collision 441 00:22:02,988 --> 00:22:05,924 to put things together and figure out 442 00:22:05,991 --> 00:22:07,659 could this wing have interfered 443 00:22:07,726 --> 00:22:11,930 with this horizontal stabilizer, et cetera? 444 00:22:11,997 --> 00:22:15,100 Parshall: Now, let's see what we got on the DC-7. 445 00:22:15,167 --> 00:22:17,636 Macintosh: To try and build a scenario that matches 446 00:22:17,703 --> 00:22:20,539 some of the minute clues that they may have 447 00:22:20,605 --> 00:22:24,776 like impact marks, like paint transfer marks. 448 00:22:33,985 --> 00:22:35,620 Parshall: Take a picture, please. 449 00:22:35,687 --> 00:22:38,023 Narrator: The paint transfer evidence tells Parshall 450 00:22:38,090 --> 00:22:42,694 that the DC-7's left wing hit the constellation from behind. 451 00:22:42,761 --> 00:22:45,630 Macintosh: It was obvious that the DC-7 452 00:22:45,697 --> 00:22:49,501 had probably overrun the constellation 453 00:22:49,568 --> 00:22:52,104 from the right rear side. 454 00:22:57,075 --> 00:22:59,711 Macintosh: Had come apart, literally, 455 00:22:59,778 --> 00:23:00,979 knocked the tail off. 456 00:23:01,046 --> 00:23:02,347 Narrator: The constellation plummets 457 00:23:02,414 --> 00:23:07,319 towards the Grand Canyon more than 17,000 feet below. 458 00:23:07,385 --> 00:23:10,489 United 718 has lost half of its left wing 459 00:23:10,555 --> 00:23:12,958 but not all of its engines. 460 00:23:13,024 --> 00:23:13,825 Shirley: What's our damage? 461 00:23:13,892 --> 00:23:14,826 Fiore: Number one engine is out. 462 00:23:14,893 --> 00:23:16,928 Shirley: Airspeed? Harms: 260. 463 00:23:16,995 --> 00:23:19,197 Shirley: Come on, level out. 464 00:23:19,264 --> 00:23:20,599 Fiore: 8,000 now. 465 00:23:20,665 --> 00:23:24,703 Lacy: If anyone survives a midair collision, it's luck, 466 00:23:24,770 --> 00:23:27,339 because it depends on what the damage to their airplane. 467 00:23:27,405 --> 00:23:31,510 You have to have enough left to control the airplane. 468 00:23:34,713 --> 00:23:36,548 Narrator: Less than a minute after the collision, 469 00:23:36,615 --> 00:23:40,252 TWA's flight 2 slams into the canyon floor. 470 00:23:40,318 --> 00:23:42,687 In the DC-7, Bob Shirley and his crew 471 00:23:42,754 --> 00:23:44,623 struggle to avoid the same fate. 472 00:23:44,689 --> 00:23:46,825 Shirley: Come on, pull up! Pull up! 473 00:23:46,892 --> 00:23:48,860 Rodriguez: This airplane is gonna be rolling 474 00:23:48,927 --> 00:23:50,395 rapidly to the left. 475 00:23:50,462 --> 00:23:52,497 And it has no control. 476 00:23:57,202 --> 00:23:59,237 Narrator: Parshall now understands the mechanics 477 00:23:59,304 --> 00:24:03,909 of how the two planes collided. 478 00:24:03,975 --> 00:24:08,780 But he still doesn't know why their flight paths crossed. 479 00:24:08,847 --> 00:24:11,082 They were supposed to be flying different routes 480 00:24:11,149 --> 00:24:12,784 at different altitudes. 481 00:24:12,851 --> 00:24:16,054 They should not have been in the same place at the same time. 482 00:24:16,121 --> 00:24:19,424 Shirley: Damn! What's he doing there? 483 00:24:19,491 --> 00:24:23,128 Narrator: Parshall now needs to know how that happened. 484 00:24:23,195 --> 00:24:25,664 Reporter: Today the only three bodies found 485 00:24:25,730 --> 00:24:27,465 from the United Airlines plane 486 00:24:27,532 --> 00:24:29,467 were brought up by helicopter. 487 00:24:29,534 --> 00:24:31,670 Here army, C.A.B. And airline officials 488 00:24:31,736 --> 00:24:33,505 talk over future operations 489 00:24:33,572 --> 00:24:35,674 as this somber announcement is made, 490 00:24:35,740 --> 00:24:37,042 that next Monday 491 00:24:37,108 --> 00:24:40,212 a single reverent burial service in three faiths 492 00:24:40,278 --> 00:24:42,347 is planned at flagstaff, Arizona, 493 00:24:42,414 --> 00:24:46,952 for the unidentified victims of the two planes. 494 00:24:47,018 --> 00:24:48,687 Nance: This crash in the Grand Canyon 495 00:24:48,753 --> 00:24:51,957 startled everybody and galvanized the country. 496 00:24:56,895 --> 00:25:00,966 I would just imagine that Parshall was very cognizant 497 00:25:01,032 --> 00:25:02,601 of the fact that this was probably 498 00:25:02,667 --> 00:25:05,737 the most critical investigation he had ever been involved with 499 00:25:05,804 --> 00:25:09,674 and that the consequences for getting it wrong in any respect 500 00:25:09,741 --> 00:25:12,143 could have tremendous negative ramifications 501 00:25:12,210 --> 00:25:13,678 for this fledgling industry. 502 00:25:13,745 --> 00:25:15,113 Radio announcer: Investigators continue climbing 503 00:25:15,180 --> 00:25:16,715 through the wreckage of two passenger planes 504 00:25:16,781 --> 00:25:21,353 that collided over the Grand Canyon. 505 00:25:21,419 --> 00:25:24,990 Narrator: Jack Parshall reviews the plane's flight plans. 506 00:25:25,056 --> 00:25:28,493 Parshall: So they both start the day at lax. 507 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:32,764 Controller: United flight 718, taxi to position and hold. 508 00:25:32,831 --> 00:25:35,500 Parshall: Let's see, 718 was cleared 509 00:25:35,567 --> 00:25:37,402 green airway five out of L.A. 510 00:25:37,469 --> 00:25:41,973 Direct to palm springs junction, to needles, 511 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:47,345 then on to painted desert line here at 21,000 feet. 512 00:25:47,412 --> 00:25:50,649 TWA's was cleared amber airway five, 513 00:25:50,715 --> 00:25:54,052 green airway two direct to Daggett 514 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:59,958 and crossing painted desert line at 19,000 feet. 515 00:26:00,025 --> 00:26:01,927 Man: Neither one of them should have been over the canyon. 516 00:26:01,993 --> 00:26:03,595 Narrator: It's clear both planes diverted 517 00:26:03,662 --> 00:26:06,464 from their original flight plan, 518 00:26:06,531 --> 00:26:09,067 but Parshall knows that's not uncommon. 519 00:26:09,134 --> 00:26:10,669 Rodriguez: What you would find pilots doing 520 00:26:10,735 --> 00:26:14,506 is they would file a flight plan along the airways, 521 00:26:14,572 --> 00:26:18,243 and once you get airborne and you're more or less 522 00:26:18,310 --> 00:26:20,812 out of the heavy congested area of an airport, 523 00:26:20,879 --> 00:26:24,082 then you re-file your, what you really want to do, 524 00:26:24,149 --> 00:26:25,784 which is direct here, direct there, 525 00:26:25,850 --> 00:26:29,120 direct someplace else. 526 00:26:29,187 --> 00:26:31,723 Narrator: With no cockpit voice recorder to help them, 527 00:26:31,790 --> 00:26:34,159 investigators turn to radio dispatch recordings 528 00:26:34,225 --> 00:26:35,627 and transcripts. 529 00:26:35,694 --> 00:26:37,395 The radio calls between the pilots 530 00:26:37,462 --> 00:26:39,130 and their company dispatchers 531 00:26:39,197 --> 00:26:40,899 may hold clues about the routes 532 00:26:40,966 --> 00:26:43,601 the two planes actually took that day. 533 00:26:43,668 --> 00:26:47,038 Harms: United 718, we're at palm springs junction. 534 00:26:49,607 --> 00:26:53,411 United 718, we're at needles, 9:58, 535 00:26:53,478 --> 00:26:56,881 21,000 feet, clear skies. 536 00:26:56,948 --> 00:27:00,151 Parshall: That's the last one they reported. 537 00:27:00,218 --> 00:27:02,287 Harms: Course direct to Durango. 538 00:27:02,354 --> 00:27:05,991 Estimated crossing the painted desert line at... 539 00:27:06,057 --> 00:27:07,726 Shirley: 10:31. 540 00:27:07,792 --> 00:27:10,695 Harms: 10:31. 541 00:27:10,762 --> 00:27:12,364 Parshall: They had 33 minutes to get there. 542 00:27:12,430 --> 00:27:14,199 So how come they never made it? 543 00:27:14,265 --> 00:27:15,734 Narrator: To answer that question, 544 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:17,369 Parshall needs to learn more 545 00:27:17,435 --> 00:27:19,637 about the movements of the other plane 546 00:27:19,704 --> 00:27:22,340 now lying at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. 547 00:27:24,642 --> 00:27:28,380 Parshall: Let's see what TWA's did. 548 00:27:28,446 --> 00:27:32,650 Controller: TWA's 2 cleared for takeoff on runway 2-5-right. 549 00:27:32,717 --> 00:27:38,123 Gandy: Roger, copy, cleared for takeoff 2-5-right. 550 00:27:38,189 --> 00:27:39,991 Narrator: TWA's flight 2 took off 551 00:27:40,058 --> 00:27:42,060 three minutes ahead of the united flight 552 00:27:42,127 --> 00:27:44,996 in a different direction. 553 00:27:45,063 --> 00:27:50,201 It was to fly northeast towards its first checkpoint, Daggett. 554 00:27:50,268 --> 00:27:52,504 Gandy: TWA's 2 en route Kansas City 555 00:27:52,570 --> 00:27:56,374 passing Daggett at 19,000. 556 00:27:56,441 --> 00:28:00,311 Controller: Roger TWA's 2. One-nine-thousand at Daggett. 557 00:28:02,514 --> 00:28:05,617 Narrator: The TWA's pilot was Jack Gandy. 558 00:28:05,683 --> 00:28:08,019 With 15,000 hours as captain, 559 00:28:08,086 --> 00:28:11,456 he was nearly as experienced as united's Bob Shirley. 560 00:28:11,523 --> 00:28:13,224 Gandy knew these skies well. 561 00:28:13,291 --> 00:28:16,461 He'd flown this route nearly 200 times. 562 00:28:16,528 --> 00:28:20,198 Gandy: Good morning, TWA's dispatch, TWA's 2. 563 00:28:20,265 --> 00:28:21,599 We've got a little bit of weather here 564 00:28:21,666 --> 00:28:23,201 we want to get on top of. 565 00:28:23,268 --> 00:28:29,174 Be a good man and ask Salt Lake to clear us to 21,000. 566 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,476 TWA's dispatcher: Roger, TWA's 2, requesting clearance 567 00:28:31,543 --> 00:28:34,212 at 21,000 feet. 568 00:28:36,881 --> 00:28:39,751 Parshall: So TWA's asked for 21,000. 569 00:28:39,818 --> 00:28:42,587 So Salt Lake clears them? 570 00:28:42,654 --> 00:28:46,991 Man: No. Request denied due to conflicting traffic. 571 00:28:50,161 --> 00:28:53,264 Controller: Advisory, TWA's 2, unable to approve 21,000 572 00:28:53,331 --> 00:28:56,301 due to traffic. 573 00:28:56,367 --> 00:28:58,002 TWA's dispatcher: That's a no-go on 21,000. 574 00:28:58,069 --> 00:28:59,938 United 718 is there. 575 00:29:00,004 --> 00:29:03,475 Narrator: Captain Gandy wants to avoid the clouds in his path, 576 00:29:03,541 --> 00:29:09,581 and in 1956 he has another way to accomplish that. 577 00:29:09,647 --> 00:29:11,883 Gandy: Let's just get on top of this stuff. 578 00:29:11,950 --> 00:29:15,854 Narrator: He uses visual flight rules, or VFR. 579 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:17,188 Gandy: Roger that. 580 00:29:17,255 --> 00:29:20,692 Advise Salt Lake I'm going to VFR and 1,000 on top. 581 00:29:20,758 --> 00:29:21,759 TWA's dispatcher: Salt Lake. 582 00:29:21,826 --> 00:29:24,996 TWA's 2 requesting 1,000 on top. 583 00:29:25,063 --> 00:29:27,432 Controller: Maintain at least 1,000 on top. 584 00:29:27,499 --> 00:29:33,471 Advise TWA's 2 his traffic is united 718 direct Durango. 585 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,143 Narrator: The TWA's crew was cleared to fly 586 00:29:38,209 --> 00:29:40,178 a thousand feet above the clouds 587 00:29:40,245 --> 00:29:44,616 but warned to look out for united 718. 588 00:29:44,682 --> 00:29:47,619 Lacy: Well, they used to have a procedure 589 00:29:47,685 --> 00:29:49,921 to operate a thousand feet on top. 590 00:29:49,988 --> 00:29:53,391 It meant you stayed a thousand feet away from clouds. 591 00:29:53,458 --> 00:29:57,795 But you stayed in the clear, and you were supposed to be VFR 592 00:29:57,862 --> 00:30:00,165 looking around for traffic. 593 00:30:00,231 --> 00:30:03,468 Parshall: So at Daggett he asked for 1,000 on top. 594 00:30:03,535 --> 00:30:04,836 That's all fine. 595 00:30:04,903 --> 00:30:06,504 So where does that get him? 596 00:30:06,571 --> 00:30:10,542 Man: His next report is from Mojave at 9:59. 597 00:30:13,645 --> 00:30:19,217 Gandy: TWA's 2 passing Lake Mojave 1,000 on top at 21,000. 598 00:30:19,284 --> 00:30:22,353 Estimate painted desert at 10:31. 599 00:30:22,420 --> 00:30:25,657 Narrator: Half an hour after requesting 1,000 on top, 600 00:30:25,723 --> 00:30:28,693 Gandy reports his actual altitude. 601 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:31,729 Parshall: 21,000 feet. 602 00:30:31,796 --> 00:30:33,698 Now they're both there. 603 00:30:33,765 --> 00:30:35,667 Rodriguez: They could fly at any altitude they wanted 604 00:30:35,733 --> 00:30:38,770 as long as it was a thousand feet separation 605 00:30:38,836 --> 00:30:40,071 from those clouds. 606 00:30:40,138 --> 00:30:41,606 So they took a thousand on top 607 00:30:41,673 --> 00:30:44,709 and then selected to fly at 21,000 feet. 608 00:30:44,776 --> 00:30:48,012 Narrator: Investigators now understand how the TWA's flight 609 00:30:48,079 --> 00:30:52,116 ended up at the same altitude as united 718. 610 00:30:52,183 --> 00:30:53,885 As for why both planes diverted 611 00:30:53,952 --> 00:30:57,355 from their scheduled routes at the same time... 612 00:30:57,422 --> 00:31:00,058 Shirley: Damn! What's he doing there? 613 00:31:02,794 --> 00:31:04,529 Come on, pull up! Pull up! 614 00:31:04,596 --> 00:31:07,799 Narrator: ...the answer is the crash site itself... 615 00:31:15,807 --> 00:31:19,177 An awe-inspiring natural wonder. 616 00:31:19,244 --> 00:31:20,778 Shirley: Let's give them a look, shall we? 617 00:31:20,845 --> 00:31:22,447 Harms: Aye, captain. 618 00:31:22,513 --> 00:31:24,048 Lacy: It was common of making 619 00:31:24,115 --> 00:31:25,617 a few turns over the Grand Canyon 620 00:31:25,683 --> 00:31:27,352 to show people the Grand Canyon. 621 00:31:27,418 --> 00:31:29,787 I mean, that happened every flight 622 00:31:29,854 --> 00:31:34,592 because the Grand Canyon's such a spectacular site. 623 00:31:34,659 --> 00:31:38,096 Announcer: Wonderful sites to see way down below. 624 00:31:38,162 --> 00:31:40,064 The Grand Canyon, for instance, 625 00:31:40,131 --> 00:31:42,500 one of the seven wonders of the world. 626 00:31:45,303 --> 00:31:46,771 Nance: Sightseeing in terms 627 00:31:46,838 --> 00:31:49,207 of what you could show to the passengers 628 00:31:49,274 --> 00:31:52,910 was something that really lit up the senior flight crew. 629 00:31:52,977 --> 00:31:54,279 I can actually show you something 630 00:31:54,345 --> 00:31:55,713 that nobody else can show you. 631 00:31:55,780 --> 00:31:57,415 I can dazzle you with things that you, 632 00:31:57,482 --> 00:31:59,183 as an ordinary human being who doesn't fly, 633 00:31:59,250 --> 00:32:00,485 would never see. 634 00:32:00,551 --> 00:32:01,552 Shirley: Just keep your eyes peeled 635 00:32:01,619 --> 00:32:02,487 and you'll get a spectacular view 636 00:32:02,553 --> 00:32:05,556 no matter where you're sitting. 637 00:32:05,623 --> 00:32:07,125 How are we doing on your side, Bob? 638 00:32:07,191 --> 00:32:08,893 Harms: Thunderhead about five miles south. 639 00:32:08,960 --> 00:32:10,128 We're clear of it. 640 00:32:10,194 --> 00:32:12,063 Shirley: Okey-dokey. We've got some room. 641 00:32:12,130 --> 00:32:14,465 Lacy: You were free, if you wanted to deviate a little bit 642 00:32:14,532 --> 00:32:17,168 for sightseeing, that you could. 643 00:32:17,235 --> 00:32:20,972 It wasn't dangerous, nothing dangerous about 'em. 644 00:32:21,039 --> 00:32:22,173 Shirley: Damn! 645 00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:26,944 Narrator: But on June 30, 1956, it proves fatal. 646 00:32:27,011 --> 00:32:28,513 Shirley: Oh, god! 647 00:32:28,579 --> 00:32:30,415 Narrator: Jack Parshall needs to find out 648 00:32:30,481 --> 00:32:34,652 how such a common practice killed 128 people. 649 00:32:36,621 --> 00:32:39,557 Rodriguez: From the very beginning of aviation 650 00:32:39,624 --> 00:32:41,526 we had the concept of "see and avoid" 651 00:32:41,592 --> 00:32:43,328 or "see and be seen." 652 00:32:43,394 --> 00:32:45,797 The responsibility for separation of aircraft 653 00:32:45,863 --> 00:32:49,033 was still the pilot's responsibility. 654 00:32:49,100 --> 00:32:51,402 Narrator: Parshall knows that united hit TWA's 655 00:32:51,469 --> 00:32:55,807 on the right side coming from behind. 656 00:32:55,873 --> 00:32:58,910 One of the pilots failed to see and avoid. 657 00:32:58,976 --> 00:33:01,879 Parshall needs to figure out which one. 658 00:33:01,946 --> 00:33:03,448 Shirley: What's he doing there? 659 00:33:03,514 --> 00:33:05,583 Narrator: The answer will lead to sweeping changes 660 00:33:05,650 --> 00:33:08,753 in the rules governing commercial aviation. 661 00:33:13,257 --> 00:33:14,525 Parshall: Alright. Let's see what Captain Shirley 662 00:33:14,592 --> 00:33:15,793 could see out there. 663 00:33:15,860 --> 00:33:18,629 Narrator: Using a scale model of a DC-7 cockpit 664 00:33:18,696 --> 00:33:21,232 and airspeed estimates for both planes, 665 00:33:21,299 --> 00:33:23,501 Parshall tries to calculate the distance 666 00:33:23,568 --> 00:33:25,036 at which the united pilots 667 00:33:25,103 --> 00:33:27,739 could have first spotted the constellation. 668 00:33:27,805 --> 00:33:31,275 Macintosh: What were the views of the flight crew members 669 00:33:31,342 --> 00:33:33,177 from each one of the aircraft? 670 00:33:33,244 --> 00:33:34,846 Could they have seen each other? 671 00:33:34,912 --> 00:33:37,281 Did they try and avoid each other? 672 00:33:37,348 --> 00:33:40,017 Parshall: So if they ended up like this, 673 00:33:40,084 --> 00:33:41,919 let's go back a couple of minutes. 674 00:33:41,986 --> 00:33:43,421 Macintosh: Those are the kinds of things 675 00:33:43,488 --> 00:33:47,625 that that investigator in charge I'm sure was asking himself 676 00:33:47,692 --> 00:33:49,527 and getting his team together 677 00:33:49,594 --> 00:33:51,696 to try and deduce from the evidence. 678 00:33:51,763 --> 00:33:53,664 Parshall: I'm gonna need you over there. 679 00:33:53,731 --> 00:33:55,533 Narrator: Investigators begin to suspect 680 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:57,268 that there may be serious problems 681 00:33:57,335 --> 00:34:00,872 with the whole idea of see and avoid. 682 00:34:00,938 --> 00:34:03,508 Parshall: Alright, keep going. 683 00:34:03,574 --> 00:34:05,309 Keep going. 684 00:34:05,376 --> 00:34:07,612 Nance: Let me tell you one of the dirty little truths 685 00:34:07,678 --> 00:34:11,015 of commercial aviation from the '50s all the way to now. 686 00:34:11,082 --> 00:34:13,251 We have been under "see and avoid," 687 00:34:13,317 --> 00:34:16,554 but you can't see in most cases even to avoid. 688 00:34:16,621 --> 00:34:19,223 And that's because the windows are very small. 689 00:34:19,290 --> 00:34:21,025 Parshall: Alright, keep going. 690 00:34:21,092 --> 00:34:22,627 A little bit further. 691 00:34:22,693 --> 00:34:23,861 Keep going. 692 00:34:23,928 --> 00:34:24,896 Stop! 693 00:34:24,962 --> 00:34:28,065 Come back half a step. Right there. 694 00:34:28,132 --> 00:34:30,735 That's where Shirley would have first seen the Connie's. 695 00:34:30,802 --> 00:34:33,704 Narrator: Since the DC-7 was behind the constellation, 696 00:34:33,771 --> 00:34:36,374 it was Captain Shirley's responsibility to avoid it. 697 00:34:36,441 --> 00:34:38,376 Shirley: Oh, god! Bank, bank, bank! 698 00:34:38,443 --> 00:34:40,778 Come on, baby! Come on! 699 00:34:40,845 --> 00:34:42,413 Narrator: Parshall wants to find out 700 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,248 if he had enough time to do that. 701 00:34:44,315 --> 00:34:45,650 Macintosh: There are basic rules, 702 00:34:45,716 --> 00:34:48,619 and those basic rules are to indeed 703 00:34:48,686 --> 00:34:50,555 if you see an impending situation, 704 00:34:50,621 --> 00:34:53,090 the overtaking aircraft will give way 705 00:34:53,157 --> 00:34:54,959 to the aircraft in front. 706 00:34:55,026 --> 00:34:57,829 Narrator: The six pilots in both planes were preoccupied 707 00:34:57,895 --> 00:35:00,498 with the demanding job of flying their aircraft. 708 00:35:00,565 --> 00:35:03,534 Lacy: In a piston plane you had the throttles, 709 00:35:03,601 --> 00:35:07,605 you had the propeller, rpm, to adjust your rpm. 710 00:35:07,672 --> 00:35:08,873 Shirley: The engines sound good, Mr. Fiore. 711 00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:10,341 How are the temps? 712 00:35:10,408 --> 00:35:12,977 Fiore: They're holding steady, skipper. 713 00:35:13,044 --> 00:35:14,512 Still running a little rich. 714 00:35:14,579 --> 00:35:16,247 Lacy: There's really a lot more to do, 715 00:35:16,314 --> 00:35:21,519 a lot more to do flying a piston airplane. 716 00:35:21,586 --> 00:35:23,488 Man: That'd be 53 miles. 717 00:35:23,554 --> 00:35:26,624 Narrator: Parshall's test shows that in theory the constellation 718 00:35:26,691 --> 00:35:28,860 would have been visible to the DC-7 crew 719 00:35:28,926 --> 00:35:33,197 when it was 53 miles away. 720 00:35:33,264 --> 00:35:35,233 The numbers suggest that Captain Shirley 721 00:35:35,299 --> 00:35:38,302 had two full minutes to avoid a collision. 722 00:35:38,369 --> 00:35:42,139 That's more than enough time to safely change course. 723 00:35:42,206 --> 00:35:43,608 Shirley: Damn! 724 00:35:43,674 --> 00:35:44,542 Oh, god! 725 00:35:44,609 --> 00:35:46,210 Come on, baby! Come on! 726 00:35:46,277 --> 00:35:49,413 Narrator: Parshall needs to know why that didn't happen. 727 00:35:52,316 --> 00:35:53,551 The answer becomes clear 728 00:35:53,618 --> 00:35:55,319 when he reviews the radio recordings. 729 00:35:55,386 --> 00:35:58,122 Gandy: Good morning, TWA's dispatch, TWA's 2. 730 00:35:58,189 --> 00:35:59,557 We've got a little bit of weather here 731 00:35:59,624 --> 00:36:01,025 we want to get on top of. 732 00:36:01,092 --> 00:36:05,029 Be a good man and ask Salt Lake to clear us to 21,000. 733 00:36:05,096 --> 00:36:09,867 Narrator: On June 30th the skies over Arizona were not clear. 734 00:36:12,970 --> 00:36:14,505 Shirley: Folks, we've got a bit of weather over the canyon, 735 00:36:14,572 --> 00:36:17,842 so it could get a bit bumpy, nothing to worry about. 736 00:36:17,909 --> 00:36:18,976 How are we doing on your side, Bob? 737 00:36:19,043 --> 00:36:20,811 Harms: Thunderhead about five miles south. 738 00:36:20,878 --> 00:36:21,612 We're clear of it. 739 00:36:21,679 --> 00:36:22,580 Shirley: Okey-dokey. 740 00:36:22,647 --> 00:36:23,981 We've got some room. 741 00:36:24,048 --> 00:36:25,049 Nance: They were flying, 742 00:36:25,116 --> 00:36:26,384 I hate to say "fat, dumb and happy," 743 00:36:26,450 --> 00:36:28,319 but in effect that's a phrase we use 744 00:36:28,386 --> 00:36:30,821 when you think everything's Copacetic. 745 00:36:32,924 --> 00:36:35,626 Narrator: When he factors cloud cover into the equation, 746 00:36:35,693 --> 00:36:39,130 Parshall reaches a stunning conclusion. 747 00:36:39,196 --> 00:36:41,966 The crew of flight 718 had just seconds 748 00:36:42,033 --> 00:36:45,202 to recognize and avoid the plane ahead of them. 749 00:36:47,305 --> 00:36:48,739 Parshall: Boom. 750 00:36:48,806 --> 00:36:51,642 Narrator: The collision was unavoidable. 751 00:36:51,709 --> 00:36:55,313 Rodriguez: You have seconds to respond, to identify, 752 00:36:55,379 --> 00:36:59,250 to develop or formulate an evasive maneuver 753 00:36:59,317 --> 00:37:00,418 and execute it 754 00:37:00,484 --> 00:37:02,086 and for the aircraft to respond 755 00:37:02,153 --> 00:37:05,056 to any control inputs that you put in there. 756 00:37:05,122 --> 00:37:09,393 Nance: There was no indication in the heads 757 00:37:09,460 --> 00:37:11,762 of any of the pilots on either of those two flight decks 758 00:37:11,829 --> 00:37:14,632 that they were in proximity of anybody else in a dangerous way 759 00:37:14,699 --> 00:37:16,901 until they came around a cloud 760 00:37:16,968 --> 00:37:19,003 and all of a sudden the DC-7 crew 761 00:37:19,070 --> 00:37:21,606 has a Connie's right in their face. 762 00:37:21,672 --> 00:37:23,407 And the Connie's crew, I'm sure that they, 763 00:37:23,474 --> 00:37:26,344 to the moment of death, had no idea whatever hit 'em. 764 00:37:35,786 --> 00:37:38,656 Narrator: When Jack Parshall sits down to report his findings, 765 00:37:38,723 --> 00:37:42,193 he faces intense pressure. 766 00:37:42,259 --> 00:37:46,497 The reputation of an industry hinges on what he has to say. 767 00:37:46,564 --> 00:37:47,665 Macintosh: We're really there 768 00:37:47,732 --> 00:37:49,567 to try and prevent the next accident, 769 00:37:49,634 --> 00:37:52,536 a recurrence of similar circumstances 770 00:37:52,603 --> 00:37:54,405 that set up an accident. 771 00:37:54,472 --> 00:37:57,375 But certainly with the high death toll, 772 00:37:57,441 --> 00:37:59,877 128 people died that day, 773 00:37:59,944 --> 00:38:03,881 two major airlines of America running into each other, 774 00:38:03,948 --> 00:38:06,784 there was a call to find out who was guilty, 775 00:38:06,851 --> 00:38:08,686 who was to blame. 776 00:38:08,753 --> 00:38:10,221 Narrator: The obvious conclusion 777 00:38:10,287 --> 00:38:13,691 is that the pilots were to blame. 778 00:38:13,758 --> 00:38:15,426 TWA's dispatcher: That's a no-go on 21,000. 779 00:38:15,493 --> 00:38:17,828 United 718 is there. 780 00:38:17,895 --> 00:38:19,263 Narrator: A lot of people want to lay the blame 781 00:38:19,330 --> 00:38:22,299 on TWA's Captain, Jack Gandy. 782 00:38:25,236 --> 00:38:26,570 Gandy: Roger that. 783 00:38:26,637 --> 00:38:30,675 Advise Salt Lake I'm going to VFR and 1,000 on top. 784 00:38:30,741 --> 00:38:32,977 Narrator: It was Gandy's decision to switch altitudes 785 00:38:33,044 --> 00:38:36,180 that put his plane in the path of united 718. 786 00:38:40,284 --> 00:38:42,553 But a strict interpretation of the rules 787 00:38:42,620 --> 00:38:46,323 would put the blame on united pilot Captain Bob Shirley. 788 00:38:46,390 --> 00:38:48,759 Shirley: Damn! What's he doing there? 789 00:38:48,826 --> 00:38:51,996 Nance: In a perfectly sterile analysis of this, 790 00:38:52,063 --> 00:38:53,297 the overtaking aircraft, 791 00:38:53,364 --> 00:38:54,632 the one who's overtaking the other aircraft, 792 00:38:54,699 --> 00:38:56,567 has the legal responsibility 793 00:38:56,634 --> 00:38:59,570 of avoiding the aircraft they're overtaking. 794 00:38:59,637 --> 00:39:01,105 Parshall: Right there. 795 00:39:01,172 --> 00:39:02,873 Narrator: But Parshall's calculations have shown 796 00:39:02,940 --> 00:39:04,608 there was no way for Captain Shirley 797 00:39:04,675 --> 00:39:06,744 to avoid the collision. 798 00:39:12,550 --> 00:39:14,185 Nance: I think it's not only fair to say 799 00:39:14,251 --> 00:39:17,254 that these two crews were following the rules 800 00:39:17,321 --> 00:39:18,689 and doing everything the way 801 00:39:18,756 --> 00:39:20,357 that they understood it should be done... 802 00:39:20,424 --> 00:39:23,360 Parshall: 21,000 feet. 803 00:39:23,427 --> 00:39:26,964 Now they're both there. 804 00:39:27,031 --> 00:39:30,067 Nance: ...but that this was the way society in aviation 805 00:39:30,134 --> 00:39:33,137 viewed the right way to do it at the time. 806 00:39:38,642 --> 00:39:42,580 Narrator: There is one last possible culprit: 807 00:39:42,646 --> 00:39:44,048 The air traffic controller 808 00:39:44,115 --> 00:39:47,852 who told TWA's about the united flight 809 00:39:47,918 --> 00:39:51,989 but didn't advise the DC-7 crew about the constellation. 810 00:39:53,891 --> 00:39:56,327 Controller: Maintain at least 1,000 on top. 811 00:39:56,393 --> 00:40:01,065 Advise TWA's 2 his traffic is united 718. 812 00:40:01,132 --> 00:40:03,567 Nance: There was an attempt to throw blame in all directions-- 813 00:40:03,634 --> 00:40:05,803 very human, very understandable. 814 00:40:05,870 --> 00:40:07,271 By the same token, 815 00:40:07,338 --> 00:40:10,074 when it came to the blame put on the air traffic controllers, 816 00:40:10,141 --> 00:40:11,942 it was very misplaced. 817 00:40:12,009 --> 00:40:13,511 Narrator: With no radar coverage, 818 00:40:13,577 --> 00:40:17,414 air traffic controllers could not visually track flights. 819 00:40:17,481 --> 00:40:20,684 It was impossible for them to advise every company dispatcher 820 00:40:20,751 --> 00:40:24,655 on the precise location of every plane in the sky. 821 00:40:24,722 --> 00:40:27,324 Macintosh: I think if we try and pin the issue down 822 00:40:27,391 --> 00:40:29,693 to who was to blame, 823 00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:33,564 we're probably looking at this accident 824 00:40:33,631 --> 00:40:36,167 in an inappropriate way. 825 00:40:36,233 --> 00:40:38,402 Narrator: It has become clear to Parshall 826 00:40:38,469 --> 00:40:41,839 that no one person is to blame for the midair collision. 827 00:40:41,906 --> 00:40:43,274 Macintosh: Those two aircraft 828 00:40:43,340 --> 00:40:45,342 were put in the proximity of each other 829 00:40:45,409 --> 00:40:48,145 by the rules and the regulations. 830 00:40:48,212 --> 00:40:51,182 Narrator: The real cause of the crash is something much bigger, 831 00:40:51,248 --> 00:40:56,720 something that goes to the very heart of aviation in America. 832 00:40:56,787 --> 00:40:58,322 Jack Parshall concludes 833 00:40:58,389 --> 00:41:01,258 that blame for the Grand Canyon disaster 834 00:41:01,325 --> 00:41:05,529 lies not with the pilots, 835 00:41:05,596 --> 00:41:09,466 not with the controllers, 836 00:41:09,533 --> 00:41:14,405 but with a completely inadequate air traffic control system. 837 00:41:14,471 --> 00:41:16,273 Nance: The subtext in that report 838 00:41:16,340 --> 00:41:18,142 had to be very delicately placed 839 00:41:18,209 --> 00:41:20,611 in front of the congress and the American public, 840 00:41:20,678 --> 00:41:22,146 but the subtext is very clear, 841 00:41:22,213 --> 00:41:24,114 and that is, you know, it's not a matter 842 00:41:24,181 --> 00:41:25,349 of the system being broken. 843 00:41:25,416 --> 00:41:27,017 Guys, we don't have a system. 844 00:41:27,084 --> 00:41:29,687 This is a great non-system of air traffic control. 845 00:41:29,753 --> 00:41:31,522 And until we get a handle on that, 846 00:41:31,589 --> 00:41:34,058 we are not going to be able to rise to the level 847 00:41:34,124 --> 00:41:36,660 of assurance of separation in any degree 848 00:41:36,727 --> 00:41:39,363 that the public is obviously expecting. 849 00:41:41,465 --> 00:41:45,169 Narrator: The Grand Canyon crash and Jack Parshall's report 850 00:41:45,236 --> 00:41:48,806 provoke dramatic changes in American aviation. 851 00:41:48,873 --> 00:41:52,209 Macintosh: As a result of the event in the Grand Canyon, 852 00:41:52,276 --> 00:41:54,011 something new was born. 853 00:41:54,078 --> 00:41:56,146 There was a new awareness 854 00:41:56,213 --> 00:42:01,585 to the public's right, desire and interest in air travel. 855 00:42:01,652 --> 00:42:07,524 And that was fostered by lots of very innovative designs 856 00:42:07,591 --> 00:42:09,760 in traffic collision avoidance systems 857 00:42:09,827 --> 00:42:14,031 that are present in today's environment. 858 00:42:14,098 --> 00:42:17,067 Narrator: The main outcome of the Grand Canyon collision 859 00:42:17,134 --> 00:42:22,506 is that the united states now has a nationwide radar system. 860 00:42:22,573 --> 00:42:25,009 Controllers can now track the movements of planes 861 00:42:25,075 --> 00:42:27,912 in even the most remote parts of the country. 862 00:42:27,978 --> 00:42:29,713 Nance: The only way you're going to assure 863 00:42:29,780 --> 00:42:31,048 that this will never happen again 864 00:42:31,115 --> 00:42:33,050 is if you've got somebody 865 00:42:33,117 --> 00:42:35,586 positively controlling whoever's up there 866 00:42:35,653 --> 00:42:37,688 to where they cannot get too close to each other. 867 00:42:37,755 --> 00:42:39,690 They can't change altitudes at the right time. 868 00:42:39,757 --> 00:42:41,392 You can't mix the traffic. 869 00:42:41,458 --> 00:42:42,927 And that meant radar coverage 870 00:42:42,993 --> 00:42:45,496 across the entirety of the country. 871 00:42:45,562 --> 00:42:47,331 Narrator: Despite all the advances, 872 00:42:47,398 --> 00:42:51,235 air traffic controllers still face challenges: 873 00:42:51,302 --> 00:42:53,804 More planes in the sky 874 00:42:53,871 --> 00:42:57,074 flying faster and higher than ever before. 875 00:43:03,113 --> 00:43:05,416 And though extremely rare, 876 00:43:05,482 --> 00:43:08,185 midair collisions still do occur. 877 00:43:30,274 --> 00:43:33,210 In response, aviation officials are developing a system 878 00:43:33,277 --> 00:43:37,181 that could transform air traffic control in America. 879 00:43:37,247 --> 00:43:39,616 The next generation air transportation system, 880 00:43:39,683 --> 00:43:43,053 or Nextgen, will use GPS satellites 881 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:44,888 to give pilots the precise location 882 00:43:44,955 --> 00:43:47,057 of the traffic around them. 883 00:43:49,426 --> 00:43:51,595 By the year 2020 pilots will know 884 00:43:51,662 --> 00:43:55,099 exactly how close they are to all other aircraft 885 00:43:55,165 --> 00:43:58,736 without air traffic controllers having to tell them. 886 00:43:58,802 --> 00:44:00,504 Macintosh: Hopefully the next generation 887 00:44:00,571 --> 00:44:02,373 of air traffic control 888 00:44:02,439 --> 00:44:06,410 will look back on that event of the Grand Canyon 889 00:44:06,477 --> 00:44:08,712 and will try and get ahead of it 890 00:44:08,779 --> 00:44:13,317 before such another tragedy does recur. 891 00:44:13,384 --> 00:44:16,954 Narrator: As the era of romantic air travel fades into history, 892 00:44:17,021 --> 00:44:20,758 the lessons learned from the Grand Canyon disaster remain. 893 00:44:20,824 --> 00:44:24,328 Flying can always be made safer. 894 00:44:24,395 --> 00:44:26,196 Nance: I'm reminded constantly 895 00:44:26,263 --> 00:44:28,065 anytime I study an older accident 896 00:44:28,132 --> 00:44:29,400 of something that was said 897 00:44:29,466 --> 00:44:31,368 by George Santayana in 1917, 898 00:44:31,435 --> 00:44:32,703 an American philosopher 899 00:44:32,770 --> 00:44:35,205 who said those wonderful words: 900 00:44:35,272 --> 00:44:36,607 He who cannot remember the past 901 00:44:36,673 --> 00:44:36,840 is condemned to repeat it.