1 00:00:01,267 --> 00:00:04,704 ♪ 2 00:00:04,771 --> 00:00:10,009 NARRATOR: US fighters scramble to intercept a fast-moving jet. 3 00:00:10,076 --> 00:00:13,113 WESLEY: Everybody knew that there was a major problem. 4 00:00:13,179 --> 00:00:15,949 COL. OLSON: Stand by. I can't quite see. 5 00:00:16,015 --> 00:00:18,418 NARRATOR: But this is not a combat mission. 6 00:00:18,485 --> 00:00:19,919 COL. OLSON: Our job is to try to figure out 7 00:00:19,986 --> 00:00:21,755 what's wrong with that airplane. 8 00:00:21,821 --> 00:00:23,757 NARRATOR: It's a midair emergency. 9 00:00:23,823 --> 00:00:25,959 WESLEY: 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, Jacksonville. 10 00:00:26,025 --> 00:00:27,360 Please acknowledge. 11 00:00:27,427 --> 00:00:31,765 NARRATOR: A private Learjet is hundreds of miles off course. 12 00:00:31,831 --> 00:00:33,800 COL. OLSON: There's some reason why that crew is not communicating 13 00:00:33,867 --> 00:00:36,302 with air traffic control, and we need to find that out. 14 00:00:36,369 --> 00:00:39,072 BOB: Can he see anything in the cockpit? 15 00:00:39,139 --> 00:00:42,375 BOB: The aircraft was flying toward a large metropolitan area. 16 00:00:42,442 --> 00:00:43,877 BOB: Get me someone from Learjet. 17 00:00:43,943 --> 00:00:47,013 I need to know how long this plane can stay in the air. 18 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:48,982 JIM: If it went down in those areas, 19 00:00:49,048 --> 00:00:50,517 there'd be mass casualties. 20 00:00:53,620 --> 00:00:54,621 MAN: Mayday, mayday. 21 00:01:05,665 --> 00:01:18,044 ♪ 22 00:01:18,111 --> 00:01:24,851 NARRATOR: It's 8:30 am at Orlando International Airport. 23 00:01:24,918 --> 00:01:27,854 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Nav lights? CPT. KLING: On. 24 00:01:27,921 --> 00:01:29,422 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Radios? 25 00:01:29,489 --> 00:01:31,124 NARRATOR: The pilots of a private Learjet 26 00:01:31,191 --> 00:01:33,493 run through their pre-flight checks. 27 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:35,562 CPT. KLING: Are set. 28 00:01:35,628 --> 00:01:39,032 NARRATOR: They're preparing for some high-profile passengers. 29 00:01:39,098 --> 00:01:42,302 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: And we're ready for taxi. 30 00:01:42,368 --> 00:01:49,642 CPT. KLING: Just in time. Here's the man himself. Good morning. 31 00:01:49,709 --> 00:01:52,245 NARRATOR: Pro golfer Payne Stewart is on his way to Dallas 32 00:01:52,312 --> 00:01:56,149 with some close business associates. 33 00:01:56,216 --> 00:01:57,650 PAYNE: Sure, the target area's wide, 34 00:01:57,717 --> 00:02:01,387 but you miss, the bunker's gonna eat you alive. 35 00:02:01,454 --> 00:02:04,123 MIKE: Payne Stewart is one of the most colorful characters 36 00:02:04,190 --> 00:02:06,292 in the game of golf. 37 00:02:06,359 --> 00:02:10,663 NARRATOR: At 42, Stewart is in the middle of a comeback year. 38 00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:12,732 He's just won the US Open, 39 00:02:12,799 --> 00:02:15,935 one of the most important dates on the tour, 40 00:02:16,002 --> 00:02:18,404 but he's almost as famous for his trademark wardrobe 41 00:02:18,471 --> 00:02:21,107 as he is for his golfing. 42 00:02:21,174 --> 00:02:23,042 MIKE: Payne Stewart was loud, he was outgoing, 43 00:02:23,109 --> 00:02:24,444 he was engaging. 44 00:02:24,511 --> 00:02:27,080 His dad always wore really colorful blazers 45 00:02:27,146 --> 00:02:29,582 and he always told Payne, you know, you want to stand out. 46 00:02:29,649 --> 00:02:32,151 So Payne said I'm gonna wear knickers, plus fours 47 00:02:32,218 --> 00:02:33,987 and a flat cap, 48 00:02:34,053 --> 00:02:36,022 so even people who didn't follow golf knew who he was 49 00:02:36,089 --> 00:02:38,057 by how he dressed. 50 00:02:38,124 --> 00:02:40,093 PAYNE: Let me show you my idea for that bunker. 51 00:02:40,159 --> 00:02:42,295 NARRATOR: Payne Stewart hopes his future in golf 52 00:02:42,362 --> 00:02:44,797 will go beyond playing the game. 53 00:02:44,864 --> 00:02:47,133 He has big plans for building a new course 54 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:48,468 at the Dallas university 55 00:02:48,535 --> 00:02:52,639 where he honed his skills as an amateur. 56 00:02:52,705 --> 00:02:54,307 MIKE: There were three other people with him in the plane 57 00:02:54,374 --> 00:02:56,042 in addition to the pilots. 58 00:02:56,109 --> 00:02:57,744 He had Van Ardan, who was his agent, 59 00:02:57,810 --> 00:02:59,846 along with Robert Fraley, also his agent, 60 00:02:59,913 --> 00:03:01,347 and Bruce Borland, who was a member of 61 00:03:01,414 --> 00:03:03,483 the Jack Nicklaus design group. 62 00:03:03,550 --> 00:03:07,320 PAYNE: This hole is gonna be tough. It's over 500 yards. 63 00:03:07,387 --> 00:03:10,056 NARRATOR: Stewart flies regularly on the Learjet, 64 00:03:10,123 --> 00:03:14,527 a plane that takes its name from the man who designed it. 65 00:03:14,594 --> 00:03:17,397 JIM: Bill Lear was working on a fighter jet design 66 00:03:17,463 --> 00:03:18,631 for the Swiss, 67 00:03:18,698 --> 00:03:20,767 and when they decided not to build that airplane, 68 00:03:20,833 --> 00:03:23,369 he took that design and brought it back to the US 69 00:03:23,436 --> 00:03:24,938 and built the Learjet. 70 00:03:28,942 --> 00:03:33,012 WESLEY: 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, you are cleared for takeoff. 71 00:03:33,079 --> 00:03:41,788 CPT. KLING: You ready? Okay. Here we go. And takeoff thrust. 72 00:03:41,854 --> 00:03:43,723 NARRATOR: Captain Michael Kling is well qualified 73 00:03:43,790 --> 00:03:46,359 to fly this high performance machine. 74 00:03:46,426 --> 00:03:49,862 He's a former Air Force pilot and flight instructor. 75 00:03:49,929 --> 00:03:51,531 JIM: A lot of pilots came out of the Air Force 76 00:03:51,598 --> 00:03:52,832 and started flying Learjets 77 00:03:52,899 --> 00:03:55,368 because it reminded them and gave them that performance 78 00:03:55,435 --> 00:03:56,736 that they were used to. 79 00:03:56,803 --> 00:04:04,944 It was like the Ferrari or the Porsche of business jets. 80 00:04:05,011 --> 00:04:06,179 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: V-one. 81 00:04:06,245 --> 00:04:07,880 NARRATOR: First Officer Stephanie Bellegarrigue 82 00:04:07,947 --> 00:04:10,583 has less than 100 hours in the Lear. 83 00:04:10,650 --> 00:04:13,319 She's keen to log more flight time. 84 00:04:13,386 --> 00:04:16,923 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Rotate. 85 00:04:16,990 --> 00:04:23,396 NARRATOR: At 9:19 am, the Learjet lifts off. 86 00:04:23,463 --> 00:04:24,897 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Good morning, Jacksonville. 87 00:04:24,964 --> 00:04:29,535 This is Learjet 4-7-Bravo-Alpha climbing to flight level 2-6-0. 88 00:04:29,602 --> 00:04:33,406 NARRATOR: The crew contacts Jacksonville air traffic control. 89 00:04:33,473 --> 00:04:34,907 WESLEY: Good morning 4-7-Bravo-Alpha. 90 00:04:34,974 --> 00:04:38,378 Climb and maintain flight level three-niner-zero. 91 00:04:38,444 --> 00:04:40,013 NARRATOR: Wesley Kutch was one of the controllers 92 00:04:40,079 --> 00:04:42,949 on duty that day. 93 00:04:43,016 --> 00:04:45,318 WESLEY: The crew of the Learjet was extremely professional, 94 00:04:45,385 --> 00:04:48,388 cheerful, nothing out of the ordinary at all. 95 00:04:48,454 --> 00:04:52,358 A typical hello, how are you, verify your altitude, 96 00:04:52,425 --> 00:04:54,027 course, et cetera. 97 00:04:54,093 --> 00:04:55,662 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Learjet 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, 98 00:04:55,728 --> 00:04:57,030 roger that, Jacksonville. 99 00:04:57,096 --> 00:05:00,900 Climb and maintain flight level three-niner-zero. 100 00:05:00,967 --> 00:05:03,002 NARRATOR: The controller clears the jet to keep climbing 101 00:05:03,069 --> 00:05:07,040 all the way to 39,000 feet. 102 00:05:07,106 --> 00:05:08,374 JIM: The Learjet generally flies higher 103 00:05:08,441 --> 00:05:11,744 than the commercial airliners. 104 00:05:11,811 --> 00:05:14,814 NARRATOR: By flying at high altitudes where the air is thin, 105 00:05:14,881 --> 00:05:17,450 the Lear saves on fuel. 106 00:05:17,517 --> 00:05:18,885 JIM: Well, you get a better economy, 107 00:05:18,951 --> 00:05:22,922 so you're getting from point A to point B, costing you less. 108 00:05:22,989 --> 00:05:25,625 NARRATOR: The flight plan calls for the plane to fly northwest 109 00:05:25,692 --> 00:05:27,860 towards Cross City, Florida, 110 00:05:27,927 --> 00:05:33,599 then turn west and fly direct to Dallas. 111 00:05:33,666 --> 00:05:35,535 Fourteen minutes after takeoff, 112 00:05:35,601 --> 00:05:38,204 the Learjet has traveled 80 miles. 113 00:05:38,271 --> 00:05:40,106 It's time to pass control of the plane 114 00:05:40,173 --> 00:05:42,375 to a new air traffic controller. 115 00:05:42,442 --> 00:05:43,443 WESLEY: Air traffic control 116 00:05:43,509 --> 00:05:46,345 is a series of what we call hand-offs, 117 00:05:46,412 --> 00:05:48,548 and that means that it's time for him 118 00:05:48,614 --> 00:05:51,651 to cross to somebody else's sector. 119 00:05:51,718 --> 00:05:57,223 WESLEY: 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, contact Jack Center at 135.65. 120 00:05:57,290 --> 00:05:58,691 NARRATOR: The pilots need to change 121 00:05:58,758 --> 00:06:02,195 to a different radio frequency to talk to the next controller. 122 00:06:02,261 --> 00:06:06,232 WESLEY: 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, please acknowledge. 123 00:06:06,299 --> 00:06:09,469 NARRATOR: There's no answer. 124 00:06:09,535 --> 00:06:11,137 WESLEY: There's nothing really unusual 125 00:06:11,204 --> 00:06:13,439 about missing a frequency change. 126 00:06:13,506 --> 00:06:15,541 It's early, just after takeoff. 127 00:06:15,608 --> 00:06:17,343 I assume they're trying to get everything buttoned up 128 00:06:17,410 --> 00:06:19,045 and taken care of. 129 00:06:19,112 --> 00:06:21,948 It really wasn't that alarming. 130 00:06:22,014 --> 00:06:27,220 WESLEY: 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, contact Jack Center on 135.65. 131 00:06:27,286 --> 00:06:29,355 WESLEY: In the back of your mind, all controllers know, 132 00:06:29,422 --> 00:06:33,159 I didn't get an acknowledgment for that frequency change, 133 00:06:33,226 --> 00:06:34,827 so you give it a moment. 134 00:06:34,894 --> 00:06:36,195 You go on about your business 135 00:06:36,262 --> 00:06:40,433 and then you come back to the aircraft. You try it again. 136 00:06:40,500 --> 00:06:43,903 WESLEY: 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, this is Jack Center. 137 00:06:43,970 --> 00:06:45,238 SUPERVISOR: What's up? 138 00:06:45,304 --> 00:06:49,208 WESLEY: It's that Learjet. It's not answering. 139 00:06:49,275 --> 00:06:51,944 SUPERVISOR: Maybe he's off frequency. 140 00:06:52,011 --> 00:06:53,079 WESLEY: There's a plethora of reasons 141 00:06:53,146 --> 00:06:55,148 where an aircraft can miss a call. 142 00:06:58,751 --> 00:07:01,954 SUPERVISOR: Let's see if it levels off when it's supposed to. 143 00:07:02,021 --> 00:07:03,122 NARRATOR: The Learjet has nearly reached 144 00:07:03,189 --> 00:07:10,029 its approved cruising altitude of 39,000 feet. 145 00:07:10,096 --> 00:07:11,864 WESLEY: They're still climbing. 146 00:07:11,931 --> 00:07:13,933 SUPERVISOR: Let me see their flight plan. 147 00:07:18,805 --> 00:07:20,873 WESLEY: When they climbed through 39,000 feet, 148 00:07:20,940 --> 00:07:25,945 everybody knew that there was a major, major problem. 149 00:07:30,483 --> 00:07:34,153 SUPERVISOR: They've got a turn coming at Cross City. 150 00:07:34,220 --> 00:07:37,089 WESLEY: Let's hope they make that turn. 151 00:07:37,156 --> 00:07:39,759 I'm gonna try again on the other frequency. 152 00:07:39,826 --> 00:07:43,095 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, Jacksonville. Please acknowledge. 153 00:07:43,162 --> 00:07:45,832 NARRATOR: At the same time, pilots of other planes in the area 154 00:07:45,898 --> 00:07:48,801 also try to contact the Learjet. 155 00:07:48,868 --> 00:07:52,004 PILOT: 4-7-Bravo-Alpha, come in. 156 00:07:52,071 --> 00:07:55,007 BOB: It's kind of a band of brothers thing, uh, among pilots 157 00:07:55,074 --> 00:07:57,577 that if something is beginning to go wrong 158 00:07:57,643 --> 00:08:01,347 perhaps you can step in safely and remedy a situation. 159 00:08:01,414 --> 00:08:03,883 If the Lear's radios were failing but not failed, 160 00:08:03,950 --> 00:08:05,685 then perhaps a relay could be set up 161 00:08:05,751 --> 00:08:08,855 to communicate with the aircraft from the ground. 162 00:08:08,921 --> 00:08:10,423 WESLEY: Any pilot, any pilot, 163 00:08:10,489 --> 00:08:13,559 do you have contact with the Learjet? 164 00:08:13,626 --> 00:08:17,296 PILOT: Negative. Nothing from the Learjet. 165 00:08:17,363 --> 00:08:18,397 NARRATOR: It's been 20 minutes 166 00:08:18,464 --> 00:08:21,634 since Payne Stewart's plane left Orlando. 167 00:08:21,701 --> 00:08:26,138 Controllers watch nervously as it approaches Cross City. 168 00:08:26,205 --> 00:08:28,441 It's a critical moment. 169 00:08:28,507 --> 00:08:30,443 They know that any second now the Learjet 170 00:08:30,509 --> 00:08:35,915 is supposed to turn west towards Dallas. 171 00:08:35,982 --> 00:08:38,184 WESLEY: The tension level was so high, 172 00:08:38,251 --> 00:08:40,753 you could hear a pin drop. 173 00:08:49,328 --> 00:08:52,465 WESLEY: Damn it. 174 00:08:52,531 --> 00:08:54,901 WESLEY: It's not making a course correction. 175 00:08:54,967 --> 00:08:56,969 There was something terribly wrong. 176 00:08:57,036 --> 00:09:01,274 ♪ 177 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:02,308 WESLEY: This is Jacksonville Center. 178 00:09:02,375 --> 00:09:04,944 I'm declaring an emergency. 179 00:09:05,011 --> 00:09:06,779 WESLEY: We're all kind of in shock and disbelief 180 00:09:06,846 --> 00:09:09,582 at this aircraft. 181 00:09:12,652 --> 00:09:14,120 BOB: Benzon here. 182 00:09:14,186 --> 00:09:16,188 NARRATOR: Experts at the National Transportation Safety Board 183 00:09:16,255 --> 00:09:19,392 are notified of the escalating emergency. 184 00:09:19,458 --> 00:09:24,463 BOB: Get me a map. 185 00:09:24,530 --> 00:09:26,265 BOB: Once the air traffic control system realized 186 00:09:26,332 --> 00:09:28,601 that the aircraft had gone rogue, so to speak, 187 00:09:28,668 --> 00:09:32,338 the next step is to try to figure out why. 188 00:09:32,405 --> 00:09:35,141 It's either being hijacked or it's malfunctioned. 189 00:09:35,207 --> 00:09:37,443 The crew has been incapacitated somehow. 190 00:09:37,510 --> 00:09:40,379 BOB: This is where they are now. 191 00:09:45,885 --> 00:09:48,154 NARRATOR: Controllers scramble F-16 fighters 192 00:09:48,220 --> 00:09:52,758 to track down the wayward Learjet. 193 00:09:52,825 --> 00:09:54,460 COL. OLSON: Is the crew incapacitated? 194 00:09:54,527 --> 00:09:56,262 Is there something wrong with the aircraft? 195 00:09:56,329 --> 00:09:58,364 There's some reason why that crew is not communicating 196 00:09:58,431 --> 00:09:59,899 with air traffic control, 197 00:09:59,966 --> 00:10:02,969 so our job is to go up and find out why. 198 00:10:09,375 --> 00:10:11,877 ♪ 199 00:10:11,944 --> 00:10:15,314 NARRATOR: The situation is growing more urgent. 200 00:10:15,381 --> 00:10:17,383 The runaway plane has been out of contact 201 00:10:17,450 --> 00:10:19,151 for more than an hour, 202 00:10:19,218 --> 00:10:21,620 and it's about to fly over the densely populated area 203 00:10:21,687 --> 00:10:25,524 around Memphis. 204 00:10:25,591 --> 00:10:27,026 BOB: Get me someone from Learjet. 205 00:10:27,093 --> 00:10:29,996 I need to know how long this plane can stay in the air. 206 00:10:30,062 --> 00:10:32,932 BOB: The aircraft was flying toward a large metropolitan area. 207 00:10:32,999 --> 00:10:34,300 The question became, well, 208 00:10:34,367 --> 00:10:37,203 if it went out of control or ran out of gas over Memphis, 209 00:10:37,269 --> 00:10:39,739 what would happen? 210 00:10:43,909 --> 00:10:45,678 NARRATOR: Learjet investigator Jim Tidball 211 00:10:45,745 --> 00:10:49,448 is immediately recruited to the team. 212 00:10:49,515 --> 00:10:51,417 JIM: Where is it right now? 213 00:10:51,484 --> 00:10:52,952 NARRATOR: His first task is to determine 214 00:10:53,019 --> 00:10:58,524 how far the plane can get with the amount of fuel on board. 215 00:10:58,591 --> 00:11:01,727 JIM: I need performance data on the 35 ASAP. 216 00:11:01,794 --> 00:11:03,129 JIM: When the airplane didn't make its turn, 217 00:11:03,195 --> 00:11:05,398 it continued on towards Memphis, 218 00:11:05,464 --> 00:11:08,968 and after Memphis it was headed toward St. Louis, 219 00:11:09,035 --> 00:11:11,504 and after St. Louis again towards Minneapolis. 220 00:11:11,570 --> 00:11:14,306 Those are all major metropolitan areas. 221 00:11:14,373 --> 00:11:18,377 If it went down in those areas, there'd be mass casualties. 222 00:11:18,444 --> 00:11:21,080 NARRATOR: A small private jet on a routine flight 223 00:11:21,147 --> 00:11:24,150 has turned into a national emergency. 224 00:11:27,553 --> 00:11:29,755 LOU WATERS: We have a developing story, as you may have heard. 225 00:11:29,822 --> 00:11:31,791 There is a civilian Learjet... 226 00:11:31,857 --> 00:11:33,659 NARRATOR: News of a rogue Learjet flying 227 00:11:33,726 --> 00:11:37,730 hundreds of miles off course has captivated the nation. 228 00:11:43,035 --> 00:11:46,739 BOB: Turn that up, would you? 229 00:11:46,806 --> 00:11:47,973 NEWS ANCHOR: The air force is simply saying... 230 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,809 NARRATOR: NTSB investigators keep a close eye 231 00:11:49,875 --> 00:11:52,812 on the media coverage. 232 00:11:52,878 --> 00:11:54,947 BOB: We began assembling our launch team 233 00:11:55,014 --> 00:11:57,450 and monitoring the situation on television, 234 00:11:57,516 --> 00:12:00,052 like a lot of folks in the United States. 235 00:12:00,119 --> 00:12:03,589 NEWS ANCHOR: It did take a full load of fuel on with it. 236 00:12:03,656 --> 00:12:08,694 BOB: So it became a kind of a weird situation for us. 237 00:12:08,761 --> 00:12:11,964 ♪ 238 00:12:12,031 --> 00:12:16,735 NARRATOR: There's some good news. 239 00:12:16,802 --> 00:12:21,941 The plane has cleared Memphis air space. 240 00:12:22,007 --> 00:12:24,743 WESLEY: At least it didn't hit the city. 241 00:12:24,810 --> 00:12:29,381 NARRATOR: But the crisis is far from over. 242 00:12:29,448 --> 00:12:31,951 Controllers still have no idea why the plane 243 00:12:32,017 --> 00:12:33,953 is not responding, 244 00:12:34,019 --> 00:12:38,023 and there are more urban centers in the Learjet's path. 245 00:12:43,662 --> 00:12:45,798 If it doesn't change course soon, 246 00:12:45,865 --> 00:12:50,402 the fighter jets may be forced to take drastic measures. 247 00:12:50,469 --> 00:12:52,171 JIM: If the decision came out that they were 248 00:12:52,238 --> 00:12:54,173 to take the airplane out 249 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,942 instead of allowing it to go towards a metropolitan area, 250 00:12:57,009 --> 00:13:00,212 that decision would have to come from the White House. 251 00:13:00,279 --> 00:13:01,413 WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFERENCE: The FAA began tracking 252 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,382 an aircraft in distress. 253 00:13:03,449 --> 00:13:06,652 The president was made aware of this situation this morning 254 00:13:06,719 --> 00:13:09,221 in a meeting with his economic advisors. 255 00:13:14,226 --> 00:13:20,900 ♪ 256 00:13:20,966 --> 00:13:23,536 JIM: Okay. I think I got something. 257 00:13:23,602 --> 00:13:26,005 NARRATOR: Jim Tidball has come up with a rough calculation 258 00:13:26,071 --> 00:13:29,675 of where the plane will run out of fuel. 259 00:13:29,742 --> 00:13:32,578 JIM: ATC kept giving the team real-time data 260 00:13:32,645 --> 00:13:35,414 as to where the airplane was, the heading that it was flying, 261 00:13:35,481 --> 00:13:39,118 et cetera, so we always knew where the airplane was, 262 00:13:39,185 --> 00:13:42,421 and, calculating the fuel burn at those altitudes, 263 00:13:42,488 --> 00:13:45,624 we could figure how far it was gonna go. 264 00:13:45,691 --> 00:13:51,463 JIM: My best guess is South Dakota, possibly North Dakota. 265 00:13:51,530 --> 00:13:55,334 I can't say more than that. 266 00:13:55,401 --> 00:14:01,473 ♪ 267 00:14:01,540 --> 00:14:03,175 BOB: Let's hope he's right. 268 00:14:03,242 --> 00:14:05,344 With any luck they won't hit anything. 269 00:14:05,411 --> 00:14:08,180 BOB: That's the scary part of the whole equation here. 270 00:14:08,247 --> 00:14:11,784 Is it gonna hit a house? Is it gonna go down in a town? 271 00:14:11,850 --> 00:14:15,854 Big Midwest, but anything could be possible. 272 00:14:20,092 --> 00:14:22,394 In the air, the F-16 pilots have caught up 273 00:14:22,461 --> 00:14:27,233 with the rogue plane. 274 00:14:27,299 --> 00:14:29,635 COL. OLSON: Stand by. I can't quite see. 275 00:14:29,868 --> 00:14:32,371 COL. OLSON: Once we made the intercept, our job is to figure out 276 00:14:32,438 --> 00:14:33,539 what's going on with the airplane. 277 00:14:33,606 --> 00:14:35,608 We'll visually look at the airplane. 278 00:14:39,044 --> 00:14:40,679 COL. OLSON: No damage. 279 00:14:40,746 --> 00:14:41,981 COL. OLSON: There was no panels missing. 280 00:14:42,047 --> 00:14:43,983 There was no gas leaking, for instance. 281 00:14:44,049 --> 00:14:46,051 There was no other, any other fluids leaking. 282 00:14:46,118 --> 00:14:49,755 There was no obvious exterior damage. 283 00:14:49,822 --> 00:14:51,724 NARRATOR: The fighter pilots are desperate for some way 284 00:14:51,790 --> 00:14:54,093 to communicate with the Learjet's crew, 285 00:14:54,159 --> 00:14:56,729 so they attempt a risky aerial maneuver. 286 00:14:56,795 --> 00:14:58,931 COL. OLSON: Alright, I'm gonna try and wake them up. 287 00:14:58,998 --> 00:15:01,800 COL. OLSON: Maybe, you know, by flying through their jet wash 288 00:15:01,867 --> 00:15:05,204 or the turbulence that's caused by the lead fighter 289 00:15:05,271 --> 00:15:08,707 in this case, it would get some reaction out of them. 290 00:15:08,774 --> 00:15:17,850 ♪ 291 00:15:17,916 --> 00:15:20,586 You're hoping you get some movement. 292 00:15:20,653 --> 00:15:25,324 NARRATOR: But it's no use. The Lear does not respond. 293 00:15:25,391 --> 00:15:28,093 BOB: Can he see anything in the cockpit? 294 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,396 COL. OLSON: Stand by. I'm gonna go take a closer look. 295 00:15:30,462 --> 00:15:32,865 NARRATOR: But Colonel Olson isn't giving up. 296 00:15:32,931 --> 00:15:36,835 Even though his F-16 is designed to fly at much higher speeds, 297 00:15:36,902 --> 00:15:42,341 he wrestles it closer to get a better look. 298 00:15:42,408 --> 00:15:44,443 COL. OLSON: Flying an F-16 at low air speeds can be difficult, 299 00:15:44,510 --> 00:15:46,512 especially at high altitudes. 300 00:15:56,922 --> 00:15:58,123 It was very strange sitting next to them 301 00:15:58,190 --> 00:16:02,895 wondering what's going on inside the aircraft. 302 00:16:02,961 --> 00:16:06,465 NARRATOR: The windows of the aircraft provide an ominous clue. 303 00:16:06,532 --> 00:16:12,938 COL. OLSON: No movement, and the window's covered in frost. 304 00:16:13,005 --> 00:16:15,574 JIM: When the report came back that the windshield 305 00:16:15,641 --> 00:16:18,844 seemed to be iced over on the inside 306 00:16:18,911 --> 00:16:21,480 and that the cabin windows were all dark, 307 00:16:21,547 --> 00:16:24,049 that gave us cause for concern. 308 00:16:26,652 --> 00:16:28,253 COL. OLSON: If the people are conscious, they'd be trying to 309 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,622 scrape away that condensation so they could see. 310 00:16:30,689 --> 00:16:34,426 So if you see no attempt to get rid of that condensation, 311 00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:35,828 your mind goes, what's the condition 312 00:16:35,894 --> 00:16:39,665 of the crew and the passengers that are on board that aircraft? 313 00:16:39,732 --> 00:16:42,868 NARRATOR: The grim reality of the situation sets in. 314 00:16:42,935 --> 00:16:44,269 BOB: The frosted-over windscreen 315 00:16:44,336 --> 00:16:48,173 and the darkened cockpit and cabin indicated 316 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:52,511 that the crew is probably no longer with us. 317 00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:58,417 NARRATOR: The Learjet is now a ghost plane. 318 00:16:58,484 --> 00:17:00,786 BOB: Can we narrow down the crash site any more? 319 00:17:00,853 --> 00:17:03,856 NARRATOR: With no hope for the passengers and crew, 320 00:17:03,922 --> 00:17:08,026 the only focus now is on where the plane will come down. 321 00:17:08,093 --> 00:17:10,562 BOB: As NTSB investigators, we're very interested in 322 00:17:10,629 --> 00:17:12,231 where the aircraft would crash obviously, 323 00:17:12,297 --> 00:17:15,067 because we had to get there as soon as we could. 324 00:17:15,134 --> 00:17:18,670 NARRATOR: But all they can do is wait and watch. 325 00:17:18,737 --> 00:17:22,508 MIKE: To hear the news of Payne likely being on that plane 326 00:17:22,574 --> 00:17:26,712 was very shocking. It didn't seem real. 327 00:17:26,779 --> 00:17:28,113 He was just winning the US Open 328 00:17:28,180 --> 00:17:32,451 and grabbing Phil Mickelson's face and hoisting a trophy up. 329 00:17:38,557 --> 00:17:41,193 NARRATOR: After nearly four hours in the air, 330 00:17:41,260 --> 00:17:45,531 the Learjet is approaching Aberdeen, South Dakota. 331 00:17:45,597 --> 00:17:53,305 BOB: Got it. It could go down any time. 332 00:17:53,372 --> 00:17:54,773 NARRATOR: According to calculations, 333 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:59,711 the jet is almost out of fuel. 334 00:17:59,778 --> 00:18:03,549 At 10 minutes past 12:00, it happens. 335 00:18:03,615 --> 00:18:05,050 COL. OLSON: One of the engines just flamed out, 336 00:18:05,117 --> 00:18:08,020 and it started turning. 337 00:18:08,086 --> 00:18:12,491 I said something like, "Look out, the aircraft is turning." 338 00:18:12,558 --> 00:18:13,959 We don't know where this aircraft is gonna go, 339 00:18:14,026 --> 00:18:18,697 but it's starting to move. 340 00:18:18,764 --> 00:18:22,234 NARRATOR: The Learjet carrying Payne Stewart and five other people 341 00:18:22,301 --> 00:18:25,003 is falling from the sky. 342 00:18:25,070 --> 00:18:29,408 COL. OLSON: They're going down. They're going down. 343 00:18:29,475 --> 00:18:33,745 BOB: Where's it gonna hit? 344 00:18:33,812 --> 00:18:37,449 NARRATOR: The F-16 attempts to follow. 345 00:18:37,516 --> 00:18:40,519 But the plane disappears into the clouds. 346 00:18:45,724 --> 00:18:48,727 It drops below the radar. 347 00:19:01,740 --> 00:19:03,809 COL. OLSON: Center, I've got a crash site. 348 00:19:10,015 --> 00:19:16,288 ♪ 349 00:19:16,355 --> 00:19:17,456 WESLEY: We all felt like 350 00:19:17,523 --> 00:19:19,291 we were pretty much just kicked in the guts, 351 00:19:19,358 --> 00:19:23,362 couldn't do anything, so it was a pretty bad day. 352 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:29,635 NARRATOR: Payne Stewart's Learjet 353 00:19:29,701 --> 00:19:33,205 has slammed into a hay field in South Dakota. 354 00:19:33,272 --> 00:19:35,641 There are no survivors. 355 00:19:35,707 --> 00:19:38,977 COL. OLSON: You have human beings on that aircraft. They have a life. 356 00:19:39,044 --> 00:19:41,346 They have a family. They have a connection. They have a story. 357 00:19:41,413 --> 00:19:43,515 You're part of the end of their story unfortunately, 358 00:19:43,582 --> 00:19:47,586 so when you look back on it, it's a very, very sad deal. 359 00:19:50,122 --> 00:19:59,331 ♪ 360 00:19:59,398 --> 00:20:00,766 JIM: It's over. 361 00:20:00,832 --> 00:20:02,200 JIM: I think there was a sense of relief 362 00:20:02,267 --> 00:20:04,770 when the airplane actually did go down in a rural area 363 00:20:04,836 --> 00:20:10,609 that it did not impact a major metropolitan area. 364 00:20:10,676 --> 00:20:12,344 NEWS ANCHOR: This is where the plane went down 365 00:20:12,411 --> 00:20:15,180 after its 1,500-mile four-hour flight 366 00:20:15,247 --> 00:20:17,349 halfway across the nation. 367 00:20:17,416 --> 00:20:24,723 On board, golfer Payne Stewart, two-time US Open champ. 368 00:20:24,790 --> 00:20:26,491 MIKE: The guys get to know each other really well. 369 00:20:26,558 --> 00:20:28,360 It is a tight-knit community with the media, 370 00:20:28,427 --> 00:20:30,462 with the players, with the families, 371 00:20:30,529 --> 00:20:34,199 and for someone from that family to be taken away 372 00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:37,269 in such tragic fashion was really saddening. 373 00:20:42,107 --> 00:20:43,775 NARRATOR: In Brown County, South Dakota, 374 00:20:43,842 --> 00:20:48,180 the crash has shaken local residents. 375 00:20:48,246 --> 00:20:50,716 WITNESS: And after a few flips and flops and everything 376 00:20:50,782 --> 00:20:52,551 it went straight down, 377 00:20:52,618 --> 00:20:56,555 and it took probably 12 seconds to hit the ground. 378 00:20:56,622 --> 00:21:05,731 ♪ 379 00:21:05,797 --> 00:21:07,933 NARRATOR: For crash investigators, the first step 380 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:13,772 is to survey the impact area and lay out a search grid. 381 00:21:13,839 --> 00:21:17,576 INVESTIGATOR: Nice and slow. We don't want to miss a thing. 382 00:21:17,643 --> 00:21:19,511 JIM: The grid-type search was a way to proceed 383 00:21:19,578 --> 00:21:23,315 so we knew where we had been, what we had covered, 384 00:21:23,382 --> 00:21:26,518 and then we could move on to the next grid section. 385 00:21:26,585 --> 00:21:29,287 To us it was very important so we knew where we could walk, 386 00:21:29,354 --> 00:21:32,190 where we couldn't walk. 387 00:21:32,257 --> 00:21:34,860 NARRATOR: The 500-mile an hour impact hasn't just smashed 388 00:21:34,926 --> 00:21:40,565 the wreckage, it's driven most of it into the ground. 389 00:21:40,632 --> 00:21:41,900 JIM: The aircraft at the accident site 390 00:21:41,967 --> 00:21:43,835 was completely destroyed and in pieces, 391 00:21:43,902 --> 00:21:48,774 and there were a lot of very small pieces. 392 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:50,108 BOB: My first impression was 393 00:21:50,175 --> 00:21:57,349 we're gonna have a little trouble gathering evidence here. 394 00:21:57,416 --> 00:22:03,488 ♪ 395 00:22:03,555 --> 00:22:05,290 NARRATOR: At the Learjet crash site, 396 00:22:05,357 --> 00:22:08,060 investigators dig through layers of earth. 397 00:22:08,126 --> 00:22:11,430 They search every inch of soil for wreckage. 398 00:22:11,496 --> 00:22:13,432 BOB: It almost became an archaeological dig, 399 00:22:13,498 --> 00:22:18,904 kind of unlayering the thing as we went down through the earth. 400 00:22:18,970 --> 00:22:20,939 JIM: A good investigator can't make decisions 401 00:22:21,006 --> 00:22:23,642 based on initial information. 402 00:22:23,709 --> 00:22:25,711 You have to have all the data 403 00:22:25,777 --> 00:22:28,380 before you can do an adequate job. 404 00:22:28,447 --> 00:22:30,215 NARRATOR: As key pieces are recovered, 405 00:22:30,282 --> 00:22:33,485 investigators map out the position of the plane. 406 00:22:33,552 --> 00:22:35,954 They want to find the tail and, with it, 407 00:22:36,021 --> 00:22:38,023 the cockpit voice recorder. 408 00:22:38,090 --> 00:22:41,226 JIM: As we were looking through the debris in the crater, 409 00:22:41,293 --> 00:22:44,329 we started finding pieces that were close 410 00:22:44,396 --> 00:22:47,099 to the cockpit voice recorder. 411 00:22:47,165 --> 00:22:49,034 We knew we were looking in the right area. 412 00:22:49,101 --> 00:22:53,138 We felt confident that we'd find the CVR. 413 00:22:53,205 --> 00:22:54,606 NARRATOR: Meanwhile, Bob Benzon 414 00:22:54,673 --> 00:22:56,942 of the National Transportation Safety Board 415 00:22:57,008 --> 00:23:00,212 is piecing together what they know so far. 416 00:23:00,278 --> 00:23:03,014 BOB: Okay. Let's see what we got. 417 00:23:03,081 --> 00:23:05,183 NARRATOR: The lengthy pursuit of the flight has given him 418 00:23:05,250 --> 00:23:08,220 an unusual head start on the case. 419 00:23:08,286 --> 00:23:09,755 BOB: For an investigator to realize 420 00:23:09,821 --> 00:23:12,624 that an accident's going to occur before it happened 421 00:23:12,691 --> 00:23:14,292 is very unusual. 422 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:16,661 It's a strange feeling, a sad feeling 423 00:23:16,728 --> 00:23:18,563 to know an accident's going to occur 424 00:23:18,630 --> 00:23:22,334 and you pack your bags early for once instead of later. 425 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:24,169 ♪ 426 00:23:24,236 --> 00:23:26,371 BOB: The engines were okay. 427 00:23:26,438 --> 00:23:29,074 BOB: The F-16 folks were gathering data, 428 00:23:29,141 --> 00:23:30,375 like both engines were running. 429 00:23:30,442 --> 00:23:32,244 They could see two contrails. 430 00:23:32,310 --> 00:23:33,745 It had some electrical power 431 00:23:33,812 --> 00:23:38,650 because navigation and rotating beacon lights were going on. 432 00:23:38,717 --> 00:23:44,723 BOB: The electrical was working. So what else do we know? 433 00:23:47,025 --> 00:23:49,127 NARRATOR: The F-16 pilots also noticed 434 00:23:49,194 --> 00:23:51,997 some unusual fluctuations in the Learjet's altitude 435 00:23:52,063 --> 00:23:54,666 before it crashed. 436 00:23:54,733 --> 00:23:58,503 COL. OLSON: Stand by. I'm gonna take a closer look. 437 00:23:58,570 --> 00:24:00,405 NARRATOR: The Learjet was bobbing up and down 438 00:24:00,472 --> 00:24:04,142 in a steady rhythm known as porpoising. 439 00:24:04,209 --> 00:24:06,411 BOB: That probably was because the autopilot 440 00:24:06,478 --> 00:24:08,814 was set in a climb mode, 441 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,982 and the aircraft was attempting to climb 442 00:24:11,049 --> 00:24:13,084 as high as it possibly could, 443 00:24:13,151 --> 00:24:15,320 but aerodynamically there's a limit to that, 444 00:24:15,387 --> 00:24:18,190 and so it would get up to its very maximum ceiling 445 00:24:18,256 --> 00:24:22,661 and then go down and try to go back up and go down again. 446 00:24:22,727 --> 00:24:26,665 NARRATOR: No pilot would deliberately fly a plane this way. 447 00:24:26,731 --> 00:24:29,301 BOB: I think they were unconscious or worse 448 00:24:29,367 --> 00:24:31,937 when the jets got the visual. 449 00:24:32,003 --> 00:24:36,474 NARRATOR: There's another lead Benzon urgently wants to pursue. 450 00:24:36,541 --> 00:24:46,084 ♪ 451 00:24:46,151 --> 00:24:52,123 COL. OLSON: No movement, and the window's covered in frost. 452 00:24:52,190 --> 00:24:56,394 BOB: The F-16 folks told us that there was a large area of frost 453 00:24:56,461 --> 00:24:59,764 in fact covering 90 percent more of the front windscreens 454 00:24:59,831 --> 00:25:02,234 of the aircraft on the inside. 455 00:25:02,300 --> 00:25:04,402 That obviously indicates that at some point 456 00:25:04,469 --> 00:25:06,838 things got very, very cold inside, 457 00:25:06,905 --> 00:25:10,876 so it wasn't an answer to all our questions, 458 00:25:10,942 --> 00:25:12,410 but it led us quickly to think 459 00:25:12,477 --> 00:25:17,349 that there may have been a pressurization problem on board. 460 00:25:17,415 --> 00:25:22,420 ♪ 461 00:25:22,487 --> 00:25:24,122 NARRATOR: Investigators may be a step closer 462 00:25:24,189 --> 00:25:28,293 to finding answers. 463 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:30,829 They've recovered the cockpit voice recorder... 464 00:25:30,896 --> 00:25:32,063 INVESTIGATOR: Good work. 465 00:25:32,130 --> 00:25:35,500 NARRATOR: ...the only recording device on board. 466 00:25:35,567 --> 00:25:38,303 JIM: The CVR was pretty smashed when we recovered it, 467 00:25:38,370 --> 00:25:41,873 and there was concern that we'd get nothing off of it. 468 00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:48,914 ♪ 469 00:25:48,980 --> 00:25:53,785 BOB: I only hope we hear something that tells us what went wrong. 470 00:25:53,852 --> 00:25:56,655 JIM: It was sent back immediately to the NTSB lab, 471 00:25:56,721 --> 00:26:00,158 and they did a fantastic job of piecing this thing together 472 00:26:00,225 --> 00:26:02,894 and getting data out of the CVR. 473 00:26:02,961 --> 00:26:06,464 BOB: Okay. Let's hear it. 474 00:26:06,531 --> 00:26:07,632 NARRATOR: The recording captures sounds 475 00:26:07,699 --> 00:26:10,769 during the last 30 minutes of flight. 476 00:26:10,835 --> 00:26:15,607 As they listen, investigators make a disturbing discovery. 477 00:26:15,674 --> 00:26:19,210 No one on board is talking at all. 478 00:26:19,277 --> 00:26:22,881 JIM: It was eerie because the airplane is flying 479 00:26:22,948 --> 00:26:25,984 and there is no voice whatsoever. 480 00:26:26,051 --> 00:26:29,621 But there are other sounds and, if they can be identified, 481 00:26:29,688 --> 00:26:32,090 they could provide vital clues. 482 00:26:32,157 --> 00:26:33,258 BOB: Turn that up, please. 483 00:26:36,127 --> 00:26:38,296 BOB: We can hear warnings in the cockpit, buzzers, 484 00:26:38,363 --> 00:26:39,698 things like that, 485 00:26:39,764 --> 00:26:41,633 so even though no voices are heard, 486 00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:45,070 there is valuable stuff on those. 487 00:26:45,136 --> 00:26:50,709 BOB: That's the cabin altitude warning. 488 00:26:50,775 --> 00:26:54,479 We are definitely looking at a loss of pressure accident. 489 00:26:54,546 --> 00:26:57,315 NARRATOR: The recording confirms Benzon's hunch. 490 00:26:57,382 --> 00:27:02,921 The plane suffered some sort of decompression failure. 491 00:27:02,988 --> 00:27:09,527 The higher the altitude, the lower the air pressure gets. 492 00:27:09,594 --> 00:27:11,029 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Good morning, Jacksonville. 493 00:27:11,096 --> 00:27:16,067 This is Learjet 4-7-Bravo-Alpha climbing to flight level 2-6-0. 494 00:27:16,134 --> 00:27:19,738 NARRATOR: Above 10,000 feet, the air outside is so thin 495 00:27:19,804 --> 00:27:21,940 that the cabin air must be pressurized so that 496 00:27:22,007 --> 00:27:27,078 pilots and passengers can get enough oxygen to breathe. 497 00:27:27,145 --> 00:27:28,246 Pressurization prevents 498 00:27:28,313 --> 00:27:33,685 the life-threatening condition called hypoxia. 499 00:27:33,752 --> 00:27:35,387 Dr. Mitchell Garber is an expert 500 00:27:35,453 --> 00:27:39,557 on just how quickly hypoxia can incapacitate a pilot. 501 00:27:39,624 --> 00:27:42,994 DR. GARBER: You've got maybe four or five seconds' worth 502 00:27:43,061 --> 00:27:45,497 of actual oxygen in your brain 503 00:27:45,563 --> 00:27:50,035 and then another 12 to 15 seconds in your circulation. 504 00:27:50,101 --> 00:27:52,137 Once all that is gone, 505 00:27:52,203 --> 00:27:54,272 things are going to go very horribly awry for you 506 00:27:54,339 --> 00:27:55,707 very, very quickly. 507 00:27:57,175 --> 00:28:00,178 NARRATOR: The evidence paints a chilling picture. 508 00:28:05,183 --> 00:28:06,885 BOB: The cabin altitude warning horn 509 00:28:06,951 --> 00:28:09,454 was blaring for the entire 30 minutes 510 00:28:09,521 --> 00:28:11,556 minus a few seconds at the end. 511 00:28:11,623 --> 00:28:13,558 ♪ 512 00:28:13,625 --> 00:28:15,160 NARRATOR: The mystery now is, 513 00:28:15,226 --> 00:28:20,131 why did Payne Stewart's Learjet lose vital cabin pressure, 514 00:28:20,198 --> 00:28:27,605 and why didn't the emergency alarm prevent the catastrophe? 515 00:28:27,672 --> 00:28:37,382 ♪ 516 00:28:37,449 --> 00:28:38,950 INVESTIGATOR: Not much to go on. 517 00:28:39,017 --> 00:28:40,251 NARRATOR: The search of the crash site 518 00:28:40,318 --> 00:28:43,354 turns up very little of the pressurization system, 519 00:28:43,421 --> 00:28:46,024 just a couple of damaged valves. 520 00:28:46,091 --> 00:28:48,460 BOB: The positive thing to do is work with what you have. 521 00:28:48,526 --> 00:28:49,828 You go to war with what you have, 522 00:28:49,894 --> 00:28:52,330 not with what you wish you had. 523 00:28:52,397 --> 00:28:55,533 NARRATOR: The flow control valve regulates how much air is drawn 524 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,269 from the engines into the cabin. 525 00:28:58,336 --> 00:29:02,740 A problem with this valve could cause a depressurization. 526 00:29:02,807 --> 00:29:04,542 BOB: Even though components are heavily damaged, 527 00:29:04,609 --> 00:29:06,744 it's part of our training and our job 528 00:29:06,811 --> 00:29:08,213 to try as hard as we can 529 00:29:08,279 --> 00:29:12,083 to determine what the component was doing prior to the crash. 530 00:29:12,150 --> 00:29:15,153 BOB: Well, let's see what this can tell us. 531 00:29:18,857 --> 00:29:20,258 NARRATOR: Benzon examines the valve 532 00:29:20,325 --> 00:29:24,929 under a high-powered microscope. 533 00:29:24,996 --> 00:29:32,570 He makes an important discovery: small scratches in the metal. 534 00:29:32,637 --> 00:29:34,005 BOB: At impact, parts hit parts, 535 00:29:34,072 --> 00:29:37,175 and internal components hit internal components, 536 00:29:37,242 --> 00:29:39,811 and those cause witness marks. 537 00:29:39,878 --> 00:29:41,946 You could almost consider it to be a snapshot 538 00:29:42,013 --> 00:29:46,317 of what would happen at impact. 539 00:29:46,384 --> 00:29:49,053 BOB: Bingo. 540 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:51,923 BOB: The witness marks indicated quite definitely 541 00:29:51,990 --> 00:29:55,293 that the valve was closed during the horrendous impact 542 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,563 of the aircraft and the ground. 543 00:29:58,630 --> 00:30:00,832 NARRATOR: With the flow control valve closed, 544 00:30:00,899 --> 00:30:04,769 there would have been no air flow to maintain cabin pressure. 545 00:30:06,070 --> 00:30:08,439 CPT. KLING: We've got a cabin altitude warning. 546 00:30:08,506 --> 00:30:11,109 BOB: The discovery that the flow control valve was closed 547 00:30:11,176 --> 00:30:12,877 was a big deal for us. 548 00:30:12,944 --> 00:30:16,948 Now we were getting close to why the accident occurred. 549 00:30:17,015 --> 00:30:18,383 NARRATOR: Setting the valve correctly 550 00:30:18,449 --> 00:30:20,885 is a routine part of every takeoff. 551 00:30:20,952 --> 00:30:23,755 BOB: Either the thing broke 552 00:30:23,821 --> 00:30:26,824 or the crew took off without setting it. 553 00:30:35,700 --> 00:30:37,368 INVESTIGATOR: Let's see what these turn up. 554 00:30:37,435 --> 00:30:39,270 NARRATOR: To check for mechanical failure, 555 00:30:39,337 --> 00:30:41,873 investigators need more pieces from the mechanism 556 00:30:41,940 --> 00:30:44,475 that opens and closes the valves. 557 00:30:44,542 --> 00:30:47,545 They step up search efforts at the crash site. 558 00:30:47,612 --> 00:30:50,381 BOB: We bought and rented metal detectors, 559 00:30:50,448 --> 00:30:52,951 and people were out there on their hands and knees 560 00:30:53,017 --> 00:30:54,752 sifting through dirt with screens 561 00:30:54,819 --> 00:30:56,521 to try to find these components. 562 00:31:00,625 --> 00:31:05,129 NARRATOR: Investigators fill crates with recovered parts. 563 00:31:05,196 --> 00:31:08,166 BOB: Any more wreckage from the pressurization system? 564 00:31:08,233 --> 00:31:12,937 NARRATOR: But the valve mechanism is never recovered. 565 00:31:13,004 --> 00:31:14,272 JIM: When we find a clue 566 00:31:14,339 --> 00:31:18,076 and we can't follow it all the way to the end, 567 00:31:18,142 --> 00:31:21,246 it gets very frustrating for investigators. 568 00:31:21,312 --> 00:31:23,381 We know we've got a piece of the evidence, 569 00:31:23,448 --> 00:31:25,216 but not all the evidence. 570 00:31:25,283 --> 00:31:28,186 ♪ 571 00:31:28,253 --> 00:31:30,722 BOB: Play it from the top. 572 00:31:30,788 --> 00:31:33,458 I want to hear something she said before takeoff. 573 00:31:33,524 --> 00:31:36,294 NARRATOR: Benzon turns to air traffic control recordings 574 00:31:36,361 --> 00:31:41,966 that captured all radio calls with the Learjet's crew. 575 00:31:42,033 --> 00:31:44,168 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Orlando tower, 4-7-Bravo-Alpha. 576 00:31:44,235 --> 00:31:47,205 Requesting taxi. 577 00:31:47,272 --> 00:31:48,940 NARRATOR: He hopes the recordings can tell him 578 00:31:49,007 --> 00:31:52,543 when the Learjet began to decompress. 579 00:31:52,610 --> 00:31:56,214 The air used to pressurize the plane comes from the engines, 580 00:31:56,281 --> 00:31:59,984 so it can feel a bit hot. 581 00:32:00,051 --> 00:32:02,086 That's why some pilots wait until the last minute 582 00:32:02,153 --> 00:32:05,590 before opening the airflow valve. 583 00:32:05,657 --> 00:32:07,292 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: V-one. 584 00:32:07,358 --> 00:32:10,328 NARRATOR: Did they forget to do this? 585 00:32:10,395 --> 00:32:11,396 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Rotate. 586 00:32:17,368 --> 00:32:19,003 WESLEY: Good morning 4-7-Bravo-Alpha. 587 00:32:19,070 --> 00:32:23,274 Climb and maintain flight level three-niner-zero. 588 00:32:23,341 --> 00:32:27,078 ♪ 589 00:32:27,145 --> 00:32:28,346 NARRATOR: If they did forget to open 590 00:32:28,413 --> 00:32:30,448 the crucial valve at takeoff, 591 00:32:30,515 --> 00:32:32,717 they would have been affected by a lack of oxygen 592 00:32:32,784 --> 00:32:38,289 as soon as they climbed past 10,000 feet. 593 00:32:38,356 --> 00:32:40,425 DR. GARBER: The progression of hypoxia symptoms 594 00:32:40,491 --> 00:32:43,094 is probably most pronounced in the mental arena, 595 00:32:43,161 --> 00:32:45,797 in our ability to think, our ability to make determinations. 596 00:32:45,863 --> 00:32:49,200 It's one of the reasons it's so critical. 597 00:32:49,267 --> 00:32:51,669 NARRATOR: Benzon listens carefully to the voices. 598 00:32:51,736 --> 00:32:54,839 He wants to compare how the pilots sound on the ground 599 00:32:54,906 --> 00:32:56,541 with how they sound at higher altitudes 600 00:32:56,607 --> 00:33:00,478 where there's less oxygen. 601 00:33:00,545 --> 00:33:02,146 BOB: It was important for us to try to figure out 602 00:33:02,213 --> 00:33:04,949 at what altitude, what point in the flight really, 603 00:33:05,016 --> 00:33:08,386 something began to go wrong. 604 00:33:08,453 --> 00:33:10,755 BOB: So far, so good. 605 00:33:10,822 --> 00:33:12,890 Play me something from later, 606 00:33:12,957 --> 00:33:15,293 after they climb past 10,000 feet. 607 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:16,527 NARRATOR: Changes in their voices 608 00:33:16,594 --> 00:33:19,697 could reveal when the pressure failed. 609 00:33:19,764 --> 00:33:21,265 DR. GARBER: You may get slurred speech 610 00:33:21,332 --> 00:33:22,967 as you do with intoxication. 611 00:33:23,034 --> 00:33:27,538 You may get slower speech as you do with intoxication. 612 00:33:27,605 --> 00:33:28,906 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Good morning Jacksonville. 613 00:33:28,973 --> 00:33:34,946 This is 4-7-Bravo-Alpha climbing to flight level 2-6-0. 614 00:33:35,012 --> 00:33:37,014 BOB: She sounds the same to me. 615 00:33:41,486 --> 00:33:45,556 So everything's fine up to that last radio call. 616 00:33:45,623 --> 00:33:48,593 BOB: Transmissions from the first officer were clear, 617 00:33:48,659 --> 00:33:54,766 so we knew at that altitude things were going fine. 618 00:33:54,832 --> 00:33:59,971 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Radios... CPT. KLING: Are set. 619 00:34:00,037 --> 00:34:01,406 NARRATOR: The timing tells Benzon 620 00:34:01,472 --> 00:34:04,909 that the crew set the valve correctly at takeoff. 621 00:34:04,976 --> 00:34:07,912 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Cabin air switch. 622 00:34:07,979 --> 00:34:09,814 CPT. KLING: Normal. 623 00:34:09,881 --> 00:34:13,217 BOB: Something happened between the last radio call here 624 00:34:13,284 --> 00:34:17,522 and when they lost radio contact here. 625 00:34:17,588 --> 00:34:20,425 BOB: We had good transmissions from the flight crew, 626 00:34:20,491 --> 00:34:26,264 clear, without oxygen masks on at an altitude of 28,000 feet, 627 00:34:26,330 --> 00:34:28,332 and four minutes later as the aircraft 628 00:34:28,399 --> 00:34:31,068 was passing through 36,000 feet, 629 00:34:31,135 --> 00:34:34,272 air traffic control could not contact them. 630 00:34:34,338 --> 00:34:35,473 So that led us to believe 631 00:34:35,540 --> 00:34:37,442 that something pretty darned important happened 632 00:34:37,508 --> 00:34:42,513 between those two altitudes in that four-minute window. 633 00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:44,081 ♪ 634 00:34:44,148 --> 00:34:46,651 NARRATOR: Something must have happened to close the cabin air valve, 635 00:34:46,717 --> 00:34:47,885 but it's impossible to say 636 00:34:47,952 --> 00:34:52,623 whether it was human error or mechanical failure. 637 00:34:52,690 --> 00:34:56,294 BOB: Because of the chaotic nature of airplane accidents, 638 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:58,796 you don't have a lot of clues sometimes, 639 00:34:58,863 --> 00:35:01,866 but that doesn't mean that we stop investigating. 640 00:35:01,933 --> 00:35:09,307 ♪ 641 00:35:10,408 --> 00:35:11,809 CPT. KLING: Cabin altitude warning. 642 00:35:11,876 --> 00:35:13,711 NARRATOR: There's another baffling mystery. 643 00:35:13,778 --> 00:35:17,582 The Learjet is equipped with emergency oxygen masks. 644 00:35:17,648 --> 00:35:20,184 CPT. KLING: Masks on. FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Masks on. 645 00:35:20,251 --> 00:35:22,553 NARRATOR: No matter what caused the loss of pressure, 646 00:35:22,620 --> 00:35:24,589 the oxygen masks should have given the crew 647 00:35:24,655 --> 00:35:28,326 enough air to breathe until they could land the plane. 648 00:35:28,392 --> 00:35:30,628 BOB: If a crew happened to get an altitude warning, 649 00:35:30,695 --> 00:35:32,930 gosh, the first thing any flight crew should do 650 00:35:32,997 --> 00:35:35,566 would be to don an oxygen mask. 651 00:35:35,633 --> 00:35:37,969 CPT. KLING: I can't breathe. Can you breathe? 652 00:35:38,035 --> 00:35:41,539 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: A little bit. 653 00:35:47,078 --> 00:35:48,846 NARRATOR: Could the emergency oxygen system 654 00:35:48,913 --> 00:35:51,482 have somehow failed? 655 00:35:51,549 --> 00:35:52,750 ♪ 656 00:35:52,817 --> 00:35:56,254 Benzon scours the Learjet's maintenance records. 657 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:58,556 BOB: Looks like everything was working fine. 658 00:35:58,623 --> 00:36:00,992 NARRATOR: He discovers that on several previous flights 659 00:36:01,058 --> 00:36:06,864 the Learjet's crew used the masks without any problems. 660 00:36:06,931 --> 00:36:09,500 BOB: We did determine that the oxygen was on board 661 00:36:09,567 --> 00:36:11,836 and the crew could have used it. 662 00:36:11,903 --> 00:36:13,204 So now the question became, 663 00:36:13,271 --> 00:36:19,277 why didn't they use supplemental oxygen? 664 00:36:19,343 --> 00:36:21,345 BOB: Time to take a new approach. 665 00:36:26,684 --> 00:36:28,419 Set us to climb, please. 666 00:36:28,486 --> 00:36:30,254 NARRATOR: Investigators need to learn more 667 00:36:30,321 --> 00:36:32,423 about what happened on board the Learjet 668 00:36:32,490 --> 00:36:36,460 after the crew's last radio call. 669 00:36:36,527 --> 00:36:39,330 They hope a simulation of the flight will help. 670 00:36:40,831 --> 00:36:43,234 BOB: There goes the cabin altitude warning. Start the clock. 671 00:36:43,301 --> 00:36:46,237 DR. GARBER: You've got maybe 15 seconds to do something 672 00:36:46,304 --> 00:36:48,272 once you become in a environment 673 00:36:48,339 --> 00:36:51,208 that's almost eliminated with oxygen. 674 00:36:51,275 --> 00:36:54,111 BOB: Emergency checklist. Got it. 675 00:36:54,178 --> 00:36:56,614 NARRATOR: Benzon scans the same type of checklist binder 676 00:36:56,681 --> 00:37:00,151 used by the Learjet pilots. 677 00:37:00,217 --> 00:37:02,653 What he's about to discover could finally unravel 678 00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:07,024 the mystery and reveal why Payne Stewart's Learjet 679 00:37:07,091 --> 00:37:10,094 tumbled from the skies over South Dakota. 680 00:37:17,401 --> 00:37:19,503 DR. GARBER: I think all of us sort of had in our heads 681 00:37:19,570 --> 00:37:21,305 the checklist will have 682 00:37:21,372 --> 00:37:23,341 once you hear the altitude warning horn 683 00:37:23,407 --> 00:37:27,244 or any other indication of a decompression event, 684 00:37:27,311 --> 00:37:28,813 that you're gonna put your oxygen mask on 685 00:37:28,879 --> 00:37:31,916 as the first and immediate action item. 686 00:37:31,983 --> 00:37:34,051 NARRATOR: The simulated loss of cabin pressure 687 00:37:34,118 --> 00:37:37,355 leads Benzon to an astounding discovery: 688 00:37:37,421 --> 00:37:39,624 The first item on the emergency checklist 689 00:37:39,690 --> 00:37:42,760 is not "Put on oxygen masks." 690 00:37:42,827 --> 00:37:44,629 BOB: "At 10,000 plus or minus 500 feet, 691 00:37:44,695 --> 00:37:47,098 cabin altitude control pressure to the outflow valve 692 00:37:47,164 --> 00:37:48,599 is trapped." 693 00:37:48,666 --> 00:37:51,969 BOB: Some of the wording at first glance was quite confusing, 694 00:37:52,036 --> 00:37:54,238 and I imagine it would be very confusing 695 00:37:54,305 --> 00:37:57,241 if you were under a distressed situation 696 00:37:57,308 --> 00:38:00,211 and trying to figure out exactly what the checklist meant. 697 00:38:00,277 --> 00:38:01,379 BOB: "This deactivates the automatic mode 698 00:38:01,445 --> 00:38:03,481 and stops cabin altitude from rising higher 699 00:38:03,547 --> 00:38:06,317 if the failure is in the automatic control system." 700 00:38:06,384 --> 00:38:09,020 I can't believe we still haven't put our oxygen masks on. 701 00:38:09,086 --> 00:38:13,691 BOB: We were surprised, because it implied pretty strongly 702 00:38:13,758 --> 00:38:17,128 that you need to trouble-shoot a pressurization problem, 703 00:38:17,194 --> 00:38:21,232 and if you can't fix it, then you don your oxygen masks, 704 00:38:21,298 --> 00:38:26,470 and that's counterintuitive to us. That was backwards, in fact. 705 00:38:26,537 --> 00:38:30,608 The first step should have been don oxygen masks. 706 00:38:30,675 --> 00:38:36,781 BOB: Okay. Shut it down. I think I know what happened. 707 00:38:36,847 --> 00:38:38,482 ♪ 708 00:38:38,549 --> 00:38:40,117 NARRATOR: Investigators now have a theory 709 00:38:40,184 --> 00:38:44,221 about what went wrong on board the Learjet. 710 00:38:44,288 --> 00:38:48,459 BOB: Everything is fine till about 24,000 feet. 711 00:38:48,526 --> 00:38:52,530 Then something causes the plane to lose pressure. 712 00:38:58,335 --> 00:39:01,972 CPT. KLING: We've got a cabin altitude warning. 713 00:39:02,039 --> 00:39:07,011 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Emergency checklist. Uh. 714 00:39:07,078 --> 00:39:11,082 BOB: They reach for their checklist and start to troubleshoot. 715 00:39:11,148 --> 00:39:13,451 CPT. KLING: What does the checklist say? 716 00:39:13,517 --> 00:39:15,686 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: "At 10,000 plus or minus 500 feet, 717 00:39:15,753 --> 00:39:17,855 cabin altitude control pressure to the outflow valve 718 00:39:17,922 --> 00:39:19,256 is trapped." 719 00:39:19,323 --> 00:39:23,194 BOB: They picked up a checklist, read it, were confused by it, 720 00:39:23,260 --> 00:39:26,130 and the oxygen masks were sitting there unused. 721 00:39:26,197 --> 00:39:28,833 CPT. KLING: Could it be the bleed air? 722 00:39:28,899 --> 00:39:32,603 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: "This deactivates the automatic mode 723 00:39:32,670 --> 00:39:36,640 and stops cabin altitude from rising higher 724 00:39:36,707 --> 00:39:40,845 if the failure is in the automatic control system." 725 00:39:40,911 --> 00:39:44,882 CPT. KLING: Uh, what failure? 726 00:39:44,949 --> 00:39:48,719 NARRATOR: Hypoxia sets in with devastating speed. 727 00:39:48,786 --> 00:39:53,724 After 15 seconds, the crew would be confused and disoriented. 728 00:39:53,791 --> 00:39:56,894 CPT. KLING: Uh, read that again. 729 00:39:56,961 --> 00:39:58,662 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Uh, okay. Uh... 730 00:39:58,729 --> 00:40:00,331 DR. GARBER: A lot of it depends on how rapid 731 00:40:00,397 --> 00:40:02,066 the onset of hypoxia is, 732 00:40:02,133 --> 00:40:04,802 and a lot of it depends on the individual, 733 00:40:04,869 --> 00:40:07,238 but things that we tend to see fairly commonly 734 00:40:07,304 --> 00:40:09,006 and probably the most important one 735 00:40:09,073 --> 00:40:12,510 is the difficulty in thinking. 736 00:40:12,576 --> 00:40:17,848 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: "At 10,000... the control pressure..." 737 00:40:17,915 --> 00:40:19,517 DR. GARBER: Thought patterns becoming more confused 738 00:40:19,583 --> 00:40:21,719 and less deliberate. 739 00:40:21,786 --> 00:40:26,557 You actually start to lose consciousness. 740 00:40:26,624 --> 00:40:28,959 And if you don't get oxygen delivered back to you, 741 00:40:29,026 --> 00:40:33,364 eventually you're going to die from oxygen starvation. 742 00:40:33,430 --> 00:40:35,933 BOB: But before they can solve the problem, 743 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:38,469 the crew loses consciousness. 744 00:40:42,273 --> 00:40:45,976 BOB: The Lear checklist in a sense, a very real sense, 745 00:40:46,043 --> 00:40:51,448 could lead a crew astray. 746 00:40:51,515 --> 00:40:57,087 BOB: Without those masks on, they wouldn't stand a chance. 747 00:40:57,154 --> 00:41:01,959 ♪ 748 00:41:04,495 --> 00:41:07,298 DR. GARBER: Instead of a loud warning horn, 749 00:41:07,364 --> 00:41:10,000 maybe a statement from the airplane that says 750 00:41:10,067 --> 00:41:14,238 "Put on your oxygen mask" would be more effective, 751 00:41:14,305 --> 00:41:15,573 rather than having people 752 00:41:15,639 --> 00:41:17,975 who are having to try and figure out what the sound is 753 00:41:18,042 --> 00:41:19,577 having to deal with the sound itself 754 00:41:19,643 --> 00:41:20,778 and then having to try and figure out 755 00:41:20,845 --> 00:41:23,848 what they're supposed to do about it. 756 00:41:25,950 --> 00:41:27,551 ♪ 757 00:41:27,618 --> 00:41:30,020 NARRATOR: In the aftermath of the Learjet tragedy, 758 00:41:30,087 --> 00:41:31,822 Payne Stewart's family and friends, 759 00:41:31,889 --> 00:41:34,124 along with golf fans across the nation, 760 00:41:34,191 --> 00:41:36,560 come together in mourning. 761 00:41:36,627 --> 00:41:39,630 PRESIDENT CLINTON: I am profoundly sorry 762 00:41:39,697 --> 00:41:43,100 for the loss of Payne Stewart, 763 00:41:43,167 --> 00:41:47,371 who has had such a remarkable career and impact on his sport. 764 00:41:47,438 --> 00:41:50,007 TIGER WOODS: I knew Payne as a carefree guy 765 00:41:50,074 --> 00:41:56,413 who was nice to everybody and was very open-hearted. 766 00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:59,216 MIKE: Payne wouldn't have wanted a lot of mourning 767 00:41:59,283 --> 00:42:02,653 over his death, however it happened. He was an upbeat guy. 768 00:42:02,720 --> 00:42:05,923 He was a happy guy who just loved living life, 769 00:42:05,990 --> 00:42:08,325 being with his family, having a good time, 770 00:42:08,392 --> 00:42:10,094 and he wouldn't want people mourning. 771 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:12,162 He wanted people celebrating his life 772 00:42:12,229 --> 00:42:15,866 and being there for his family. 773 00:42:15,933 --> 00:42:19,737 ♪ 774 00:42:19,803 --> 00:42:23,407 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: V-one. Rotate. 775 00:42:23,474 --> 00:42:24,875 NARRATOR: Investigators are never able 776 00:42:24,942 --> 00:42:27,444 to determine conclusively what caused the plane 777 00:42:27,511 --> 00:42:29,346 to lose pressure. 778 00:42:29,413 --> 00:42:30,614 BOB: The decompression could have been caused 779 00:42:30,681 --> 00:42:33,450 by a leaky seal on a door, 780 00:42:33,517 --> 00:42:38,522 a small leak about the size of a pencil 781 00:42:38,589 --> 00:42:40,357 in the side of the aircraft, 782 00:42:40,424 --> 00:42:44,328 a malfunction within the system. So we don't know. 783 00:42:44,395 --> 00:42:45,829 But whatever the reason, 784 00:42:45,896 --> 00:42:47,865 the crew would likely have recovered 785 00:42:47,932 --> 00:42:50,000 if they'd put their masks on. 786 00:42:50,067 --> 00:42:53,203 DR. GARBER: The NTSB in its report ultimately concluded 787 00:42:53,270 --> 00:42:57,541 that had they received oxygen in a timely manner, 788 00:42:57,608 --> 00:42:59,009 it's likely that we would not be talking about 789 00:42:59,076 --> 00:43:01,011 this particular accident today. 790 00:43:02,313 --> 00:43:04,248 CPT. KLING: We've got a cabin altitude warning. 791 00:43:04,315 --> 00:43:05,716 FO. BELLEGARRIGUE: Emergency checklist. 792 00:43:05,783 --> 00:43:07,551 NARRATOR: Following the investigation, 793 00:43:07,618 --> 00:43:12,623 the NTSB recommends important changes to aviation checklists. 794 00:43:12,690 --> 00:43:15,993 BOB: We asked very strongly that that checklist 795 00:43:16,060 --> 00:43:18,762 that we suspected got the crew in trouble, the checklist 796 00:43:18,829 --> 00:43:23,834 be changed to make it clearer and more useful in an emergency. 797 00:43:26,470 --> 00:43:28,806 NARRATOR: The FAA is quick to respond. 798 00:43:28,872 --> 00:43:33,043 "Put on oxygen masks" is now the first item on the checklist, 799 00:43:33,110 --> 00:43:38,482 not just for Learjets, but for every similar plane in the sky. 800 00:43:38,549 --> 00:43:41,085 BOB: We were pleased with the results. 801 00:43:41,151 --> 00:43:43,053 The checklist was changed. 802 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:44,521 Again, not only for the Lear, 803 00:43:44,588 --> 00:43:49,326 but the FAA insisted that other aircraft, other business jets 804 00:43:49,393 --> 00:43:54,198 recheck their checklists to make sure they made sense. 805 00:43:54,264 --> 00:43:57,668 JIM: I think the most important takeaway for me 806 00:43:57,735 --> 00:44:03,340 is to understand your emergency checklists. 807 00:44:03,407 --> 00:44:07,244 There are emergency checklists for a reason,