1 00:00:03,703 --> 00:00:05,505 NARRATOR: On approach during a thunderstorm. 2 00:00:05,572 --> 00:00:06,506 Both runways are wet. 3 00:00:06,573 --> 00:00:08,641 Severe turbulence. 4 00:00:08,708 --> 00:00:09,943 NARRATOR: American Airlines Flight 5 00:00:10,009 --> 00:00:12,779 1572 loses a valuable lifeline. 6 00:00:12,846 --> 00:00:14,280 TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): Be advised, 7 00:00:14,347 --> 00:00:15,648 the tower is closed. 8 00:00:15,715 --> 00:00:18,685 There's a leaky window in the tower. 9 00:00:18,752 --> 00:00:20,653 The tower had actually been abandoned. 10 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,589 This is a very unusual situation. 11 00:00:22,655 --> 00:00:25,458 NARRATOR: NTSB investigators learn that a supervisor 12 00:00:25,525 --> 00:00:28,261 went to the deserted tower. 13 00:00:28,328 --> 00:00:29,462 I told them they could land. 14 00:00:29,529 --> 00:00:31,464 Landing is at your discretion. 15 00:00:31,531 --> 00:00:33,099 The runway does appear to be clear. 16 00:00:33,166 --> 00:00:35,001 NARRATOR: Moments before touchdown, 17 00:00:35,068 --> 00:00:39,773 disaster strikes, and both of the plane's engines fail. 18 00:00:39,839 --> 00:00:42,142 What role did an out of service tower 19 00:00:42,208 --> 00:00:48,181 play in jeopardizing the lives of the 78 people on board? 20 00:00:48,248 --> 00:00:49,249 Tom, we're going down. 21 00:01:16,075 --> 00:01:18,711 NARRATOR: On a stormy November night, 22 00:01:18,778 --> 00:01:21,414 American Airlines Flight 1572 cruises 23 00:01:21,481 --> 00:01:24,451 35,000 feet above Pennsylvania. 24 00:01:27,687 --> 00:01:31,991 Smoother ride up here than at 33,000. 25 00:01:32,058 --> 00:01:34,727 NARRATOR: Captain Kenneth Lee, a former military pilot, 26 00:01:34,794 --> 00:01:39,165 has been flying with American Airlines for 10 years. 27 00:01:39,232 --> 00:01:41,401 That's for sure. 28 00:01:41,468 --> 00:01:43,203 NARRATOR: First Officer John Richards also 29 00:01:43,269 --> 00:01:45,371 flew with the military and has seven years of 30 00:01:45,438 --> 00:01:47,774 commercial aviation experience. 31 00:01:49,876 --> 00:01:51,778 This was a very experienced flight 32 00:01:51,845 --> 00:01:54,380 crew that was very comfortable with the aircraft 33 00:01:54,447 --> 00:01:56,649 they were flying. 34 00:01:56,716 --> 00:01:59,419 NARRATOR: They're flying the MD-83, 35 00:01:59,486 --> 00:02:02,789 a twin engine narrowbody jet. 36 00:02:02,856 --> 00:02:05,758 It has two turbofan engines mounted in the tail. 37 00:02:05,825 --> 00:02:09,562 It has a T tail and a swept main wing. 38 00:02:09,629 --> 00:02:12,232 It was one of the last aircraft that actually had 39 00:02:12,298 --> 00:02:15,502 a direct connection between the controls in the cockpit and 40 00:02:15,568 --> 00:02:16,970 the surfaces on the airplane. 41 00:02:19,606 --> 00:02:21,941 Better get the cabin ready for our descent. 42 00:02:26,312 --> 00:02:28,014 Hi. 43 00:02:28,081 --> 00:02:29,415 We're starting our descent now so you can lock the cabin 44 00:02:29,482 --> 00:02:30,383 up and prepare for landing. 45 00:02:30,450 --> 00:02:31,684 Will do. 46 00:02:37,557 --> 00:02:41,060 Please, fasten your seatbelt. 47 00:02:41,127 --> 00:02:43,830 NARRATOR: It's a short 2-hour flight from Chicago's O'Hare 48 00:02:43,897 --> 00:02:46,299 Airport to Bradley International Airport 49 00:02:46,366 --> 00:02:49,802 at Windsor Locks, Connecticut. 50 00:02:49,869 --> 00:02:52,639 There are five crew and 73 passengers 51 00:02:52,705 --> 00:02:55,808 on board, many of them returning home. 52 00:02:55,875 --> 00:02:57,710 Please, put your seat in the upright position. 53 00:03:02,649 --> 00:03:04,717 Flight started out rather routinely. 54 00:03:04,784 --> 00:03:07,320 It was the second day of a three-day leg 55 00:03:07,387 --> 00:03:08,821 trip for these guys. 56 00:03:08,888 --> 00:03:11,224 TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): American 1572, 57 00:03:11,291 --> 00:03:13,126 descend at pilot's discretion. 58 00:03:13,192 --> 00:03:15,461 Maintain flight level 190. 59 00:03:15,528 --> 00:03:18,031 Pilot's discretion to 190. 60 00:03:18,097 --> 00:03:20,934 American 1572. 61 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,503 Let's go down. 62 00:03:23,570 --> 00:03:26,673 NARRATOR: The flight is 25 minutes from landing. 63 00:03:26,739 --> 00:03:28,575 I'm gonna get the ATIS real quick. 64 00:03:30,143 --> 00:03:32,245 TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): Bradley Airport Information, 65 00:03:32,312 --> 00:03:34,047 Victor 03. 66 00:03:34,113 --> 00:03:36,950 NARRATOR: ATIS, or Automatic Terminal Information Service, 67 00:03:37,016 --> 00:03:39,452 provides pilots with important airport data, 68 00:03:39,519 --> 00:03:42,522 like weather and approaches. 69 00:03:42,589 --> 00:03:43,590 TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): Notice 70 00:03:43,656 --> 00:03:48,194 to airmen, runway 24 and 15. 71 00:03:48,261 --> 00:03:49,295 Both runways are wet. 72 00:03:49,362 --> 00:03:51,264 Severe turbulence. 73 00:03:51,331 --> 00:03:52,565 All right. 74 00:03:52,632 --> 00:03:54,434 Sounds like it's gonna be a bumpy ride. 75 00:03:54,500 --> 00:03:56,235 I'll tell the passengers. 76 00:03:56,302 --> 00:03:58,705 NARRATOR: They'll encounter some rough weather along the way, 77 00:03:58,771 --> 00:04:01,908 but nothing this experienced crew can't manage. 78 00:04:04,110 --> 00:04:06,746 Many times, I have experienced the same kind of winds 79 00:04:06,813 --> 00:04:09,015 and weather that this crew has had, 80 00:04:09,082 --> 00:04:11,551 and the winds will have a drastic effect on the airplane 81 00:04:11,618 --> 00:04:12,919 and pushing it around. 82 00:04:12,986 --> 00:04:14,821 The crew was very familiar with the weather 83 00:04:14,887 --> 00:04:18,925 and they were highly experienced enough to handle anything. 84 00:04:18,992 --> 00:04:20,727 KENNETH LEE: We've started our descent. 85 00:04:20,793 --> 00:04:23,096 And right now, they've reported some moderate turbulence 86 00:04:23,162 --> 00:04:25,632 on the descent, so it might get a little choppy. 87 00:04:29,836 --> 00:04:31,537 Just watch me the whole way. 88 00:04:31,604 --> 00:04:33,740 Yeah, man, you got it. 89 00:04:33,806 --> 00:04:36,609 NARRATOR: The pilots prepare for the landing. 90 00:04:36,676 --> 00:04:39,846 Any comments, just scream out. 91 00:04:39,912 --> 00:04:42,515 You're gonna get a lot of turbulence. 92 00:04:42,582 --> 00:04:45,518 You know how to land it. 93 00:04:45,585 --> 00:04:46,586 They support each other. 94 00:04:46,653 --> 00:04:48,187 They back each other up. 95 00:04:48,254 --> 00:04:51,057 If anything goes wrong or somebody does something wrong, 96 00:04:51,124 --> 00:04:54,927 the other one catches it and corrects it. 97 00:04:54,994 --> 00:04:59,732 NARRATOR: 50 miles from the airport, the weather worsens. 98 00:04:59,799 --> 00:05:01,334 That's a lot of rain. 99 00:05:01,401 --> 00:05:03,703 I can see that. 100 00:05:04,904 --> 00:05:06,873 The end route controllers had told them 101 00:05:06,939 --> 00:05:09,275 the weather was gonna be bad due to thunderstorms and wind 102 00:05:09,342 --> 00:05:10,843 shear. 103 00:05:10,910 --> 00:05:12,945 NARRATOR: Wind shear is a sudden change 104 00:05:13,012 --> 00:05:14,814 of wind speed or direction that can be 105 00:05:14,881 --> 00:05:16,683 dangerous close to the ground. 106 00:05:19,852 --> 00:05:24,657 American 1572, descend and maintain 4,000. 107 00:05:24,724 --> 00:05:26,259 Descending 4,000. 108 00:05:26,325 --> 00:05:28,628 1572. 109 00:05:28,695 --> 00:05:31,564 NARRATOR: Fight 1572 is the last plane flying 110 00:05:31,631 --> 00:05:33,032 into Bradley Airport tonight. 111 00:05:35,601 --> 00:05:38,971 Approaching 4,000. 112 00:05:39,038 --> 00:05:40,506 NARRATOR: The crew is making a difficult, 113 00:05:40,573 --> 00:05:42,809 non-precision approach. 114 00:05:44,177 --> 00:05:45,678 Well, a non-precision approach means that you 115 00:05:45,745 --> 00:05:48,681 don't have a navigation aid. 116 00:05:48,748 --> 00:05:51,284 There's more reliance on the crew to figure out the altitude 117 00:05:51,350 --> 00:05:54,387 and descend those altitudes correctly and avoid all 118 00:05:54,454 --> 00:05:57,056 the terrain that's below there. 119 00:05:57,123 --> 00:05:59,525 We're established on the inbound track 120 00:05:59,592 --> 00:06:02,361 for the VOR approach. 121 00:06:02,428 --> 00:06:03,262 Flaps five. 122 00:06:03,329 --> 00:06:05,064 Check. 123 00:06:06,666 --> 00:06:08,000 Flaps five. 124 00:06:08,067 --> 00:06:09,669 NARRATOR: This type of approach creates 125 00:06:09,736 --> 00:06:12,138 extra work for the pilots. 126 00:06:12,205 --> 00:06:14,741 The non-precision approach is the hardest of all 127 00:06:14,807 --> 00:06:17,443 the approaches to fly because it takes so much 128 00:06:17,510 --> 00:06:19,479 attention to fly the approach. 129 00:06:19,545 --> 00:06:22,315 It has to be set up correctly. 130 00:06:22,381 --> 00:06:25,284 TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): American 1572, be advised, 131 00:06:25,351 --> 00:06:28,154 the tower is closed at this time due to a problem with one 132 00:06:28,221 --> 00:06:29,856 of the windows. 133 00:06:29,922 --> 00:06:32,024 NARRATOR: The non-precision approach in rough weather 134 00:06:32,091 --> 00:06:36,362 aren't the only challenges facing the crew. 135 00:06:36,429 --> 00:06:37,764 Copy. 136 00:06:39,699 --> 00:06:42,034 There's a leaky window in the tower. 137 00:06:44,403 --> 00:06:46,973 NARRATOR: At larger airports, the control tower 138 00:06:47,039 --> 00:06:51,110 has two areas for managing incoming and outgoing flights, 139 00:06:51,177 --> 00:06:53,246 approach control, typically located 140 00:06:53,312 --> 00:06:57,083 on one of the lower floors, and tower control at the top. 141 00:07:00,219 --> 00:07:02,822 Mark Guiod is the air traffic manager at Bradley 142 00:07:02,889 --> 00:07:05,124 Airport for 12 years. 143 00:07:05,191 --> 00:07:07,059 Once they're within 5 miles of the airport, 144 00:07:07,126 --> 00:07:09,095 the approach controller turns them over to the tower, 145 00:07:09,162 --> 00:07:11,864 bring them in for landing and taxiing to the gate. 146 00:07:14,133 --> 00:07:16,335 NARRATOR: But a leaky window has shut down 147 00:07:16,402 --> 00:07:19,739 the tower, forcing the air traffic 148 00:07:19,806 --> 00:07:21,107 controller to leave her post. 149 00:07:24,243 --> 00:07:27,213 Tower controllers are the pilot's eyes on the ground. 150 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:29,749 They're the ones that ensure that the runway is 151 00:07:29,816 --> 00:07:31,417 sterile and clear for them to land 152 00:07:31,484 --> 00:07:35,388 on, that there are no obstructions, no other traffic. 153 00:07:35,454 --> 00:07:38,457 They also provide critical information in the late stages 154 00:07:38,524 --> 00:07:39,926 of the flight. 155 00:07:43,429 --> 00:07:45,298 Flaps 11, please. 156 00:07:45,364 --> 00:07:48,134 You got it. 157 00:07:48,201 --> 00:07:51,304 NARRATOR: The pilots must now rely on their own observations 158 00:07:51,370 --> 00:07:52,505 to land safely. 159 00:07:55,107 --> 00:07:58,211 The pilots were expecting someone 160 00:07:58,277 --> 00:08:00,913 to be able to be in the tower, the controller, 161 00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:03,216 to see the condition of the runway 162 00:08:03,282 --> 00:08:05,952 and to give them the information needed to see if anything 163 00:08:06,018 --> 00:08:08,788 during the thunderstorm had blown onto the runway 164 00:08:08,855 --> 00:08:12,124 so they could make a safe landing. 165 00:08:12,191 --> 00:08:13,626 NARRATOR: The approach controller is 166 00:08:13,693 --> 00:08:17,163 closely monitoring the flight. 167 00:08:17,230 --> 00:08:20,199 He notices the plane is veering off course. 168 00:08:20,266 --> 00:08:22,635 American 1572, it looks like you're 169 00:08:22,702 --> 00:08:24,904 a bit to the left of final. 170 00:08:27,340 --> 00:08:29,475 Yeah, it looks like we're left a bit. 171 00:08:29,542 --> 00:08:31,344 Copy. 172 00:08:31,410 --> 00:08:33,779 NARRATOR: 7 miles from the airport, Captain Lee 173 00:08:33,846 --> 00:08:35,948 gets the plane back on course. 174 00:08:39,485 --> 00:08:40,920 Set gear down. 175 00:08:43,856 --> 00:08:45,391 Gear down. 176 00:08:54,700 --> 00:08:56,469 I'm going up to the tower. 177 00:08:56,535 --> 00:08:59,272 NARRATOR: The supervisor in approach control volunteers 178 00:08:59,338 --> 00:09:03,409 to give the crew of Flight 1572 some guidance. 179 00:09:06,479 --> 00:09:09,682 American 1572, there is someone in the tower. 180 00:09:09,749 --> 00:09:10,917 It's not officially open, but you 181 00:09:10,983 --> 00:09:14,954 can change the tower frequency. 182 00:09:15,021 --> 00:09:17,290 It would have been a big relief to the crew 183 00:09:17,356 --> 00:09:19,792 to have someone in the tower, the controller 184 00:09:19,859 --> 00:09:21,827 up there to give them the information 185 00:09:21,894 --> 00:09:23,963 they need for the approach. 186 00:09:24,030 --> 00:09:26,699 Hey, tower, American 1572. 187 00:09:26,766 --> 00:09:31,103 We are 6 miles from runway 15. 188 00:09:31,170 --> 00:09:33,306 Landing is at your discretion. 189 00:09:33,372 --> 00:09:35,508 The runway does appear to be clear. 190 00:09:35,574 --> 00:09:38,044 PILOT (ON RADIO): Copy. 191 00:09:38,110 --> 00:09:42,014 Any landing is really at the pilot's discretion, 192 00:09:42,081 --> 00:09:43,582 but in this particular case, they 193 00:09:43,649 --> 00:09:46,686 needed to be extra vigilant because they did not have 194 00:09:46,752 --> 00:09:49,722 any official tower assistance. 195 00:09:49,789 --> 00:09:51,357 Flaps 40. 196 00:09:51,424 --> 00:09:55,094 NARRATOR: The pilots configure the aircraft for landing. 197 00:09:55,161 --> 00:09:57,563 Flaps and slats to 40-40. 198 00:09:57,630 --> 00:09:59,231 You are cleared to land. 199 00:10:04,937 --> 00:10:05,771 There's 1,000 feet. 200 00:10:05,838 --> 00:10:07,073 KENNETH LEE: OK. 201 00:10:10,209 --> 00:10:13,980 NARRATOR: Flight 1572 is just 60 seconds from touchdown. 202 00:10:17,616 --> 00:10:18,851 What the-- 203 00:10:18,918 --> 00:10:20,553 (screaming) 204 00:10:20,619 --> 00:10:23,823 Bells and whistles were going off, lights were flashing, 205 00:10:23,889 --> 00:10:25,391 and something had to be done. 206 00:10:31,197 --> 00:10:34,867 NARRATOR: 2 and 1/2 miles from Bradley Airport in Connecticut, 207 00:10:34,934 --> 00:10:38,337 American Airlines Flight 1572 has struck something 208 00:10:38,404 --> 00:10:40,873 while descending to the runway. 209 00:10:40,940 --> 00:10:44,243 The pilots must act quickly to avoid crashing. 210 00:10:44,310 --> 00:10:45,311 Go, go round. 211 00:10:45,378 --> 00:10:46,645 Going around. 212 00:10:50,149 --> 00:10:54,053 NARRATOR: They pulled the nose up in an attempt to recover. 213 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:55,321 Flaps 15. 214 00:10:55,388 --> 00:10:58,290 Positive rate, gear up. 215 00:10:58,357 --> 00:10:59,959 Gear up. 216 00:11:00,026 --> 00:11:03,662 The crew immediately began a go around procedure. 217 00:11:03,729 --> 00:11:05,998 They raised the gear, raised the flaps, 218 00:11:06,065 --> 00:11:09,468 crammed the engines forward, and immediately after that, things 219 00:11:09,535 --> 00:11:11,203 went downhill very quickly. 220 00:11:11,270 --> 00:11:17,076 (alarm sounding) 221 00:11:17,143 --> 00:11:19,812 Left motor's failed. 222 00:11:19,879 --> 00:11:21,347 NARRATOR: Seconds after the pilots 223 00:11:21,414 --> 00:11:24,283 commence the go around, the plane's left engine 224 00:11:24,350 --> 00:11:26,252 loses power. 225 00:11:26,318 --> 00:11:29,522 That's the last thing you need to have happen is a power 226 00:11:29,588 --> 00:11:32,525 failure on one of the engines. 227 00:11:32,591 --> 00:11:35,661 There's the runway, straight ahead. 228 00:11:35,728 --> 00:11:38,631 OK, tell them we're going down. 229 00:11:38,697 --> 00:11:40,032 Tell them emergency. 230 00:11:40,099 --> 00:11:42,568 Hey, tower, call for emergency equipment. 231 00:11:42,635 --> 00:11:44,036 We're going down on the runway. 232 00:11:47,206 --> 00:11:50,109 Looks like we've got an emergency on 1572. 233 00:11:50,176 --> 00:11:51,911 Send the trucks. 234 00:11:51,977 --> 00:11:55,047 Emergency vehicles have been dispatched. 235 00:11:55,114 --> 00:11:58,350 NARRATOR: As the pilots prepare for an emergency landing, 236 00:11:58,417 --> 00:12:01,020 the situation worsens. 237 00:12:01,087 --> 00:12:03,622 The right engine also fails, turning 238 00:12:03,689 --> 00:12:07,059 the MD-83 into a 60-ton glider. 239 00:12:07,126 --> 00:12:09,595 They realized they had the second power failure, 240 00:12:09,662 --> 00:12:11,764 which made double trouble. 241 00:12:11,831 --> 00:12:13,532 NARRATOR: Without its engines, the plane 242 00:12:13,599 --> 00:12:17,103 has drifted further off course. 243 00:12:17,169 --> 00:12:21,040 Captain Lee tries to line it back up with the runway. 244 00:12:21,107 --> 00:12:23,242 You've got it, dude. You're gonna make it. 245 00:12:23,309 --> 00:12:27,246 NARRATOR: But they may not have enough lift to reach it. 246 00:12:27,313 --> 00:12:29,615 A stall is an aerodynamic effect. 247 00:12:29,682 --> 00:12:33,619 It's when the wings lose lift and the airplane 248 00:12:33,686 --> 00:12:34,920 loses directional control. 249 00:12:34,987 --> 00:12:36,956 The only way to fly out of a stall 250 00:12:37,022 --> 00:12:38,991 is max power, which they did not have. 251 00:12:44,463 --> 00:12:45,698 Hold on, guy. 252 00:12:49,435 --> 00:12:51,437 Hold it down, Lee. 253 00:12:51,504 --> 00:12:53,606 Hold it down. 254 00:12:53,672 --> 00:12:54,607 Hold it down. 255 00:12:54,673 --> 00:12:55,941 Hold it down. 256 00:12:58,477 --> 00:12:59,512 Hold it down. 257 00:12:59,578 --> 00:13:00,813 Hold it. 258 00:13:11,190 --> 00:13:12,458 God bless you. 259 00:13:12,525 --> 00:13:14,226 You made it. 260 00:13:19,832 --> 00:13:21,767 It was a miracle that the first officer 261 00:13:21,834 --> 00:13:23,169 saw the runway and the crew reacted so quickly. 262 00:13:23,235 --> 00:13:26,338 It was a very good reaction and certainly 263 00:13:26,405 --> 00:13:28,841 saved a lot of people's lives. 264 00:13:28,908 --> 00:13:32,511 NARRATOR: Flight 1572 has landed safely after 265 00:13:32,578 --> 00:13:34,079 a treacherous final approach. 266 00:13:37,249 --> 00:13:40,753 Everyone has survived, and remarkably, only one person 267 00:13:40,819 --> 00:13:42,121 has suffered a minor injury. 268 00:13:45,124 --> 00:13:47,626 The pilots are hailed as heroes for saving their plane 269 00:13:47,693 --> 00:13:49,195 and everyone on board. 270 00:13:51,997 --> 00:13:54,166 One of the key things about something like this 271 00:13:54,233 --> 00:13:57,770 is that you never stop flying the airplane. 272 00:13:57,836 --> 00:14:00,239 And those who do don't live to tell about it. 273 00:14:03,209 --> 00:14:04,944 NARRATOR: The events that nearly brought down Flight 274 00:14:05,010 --> 00:14:09,648 1572 are a complete mystery. 275 00:14:09,715 --> 00:14:12,685 What have we got so far? 276 00:14:12,751 --> 00:14:14,119 NARRATOR: It will be up to investigators 277 00:14:14,186 --> 00:14:16,455 from the National Transportation Safety Board, 278 00:14:16,522 --> 00:14:19,692 or NTSB, to find the answers. 279 00:14:19,758 --> 00:14:22,561 Bob Benson heads up the team. 280 00:14:22,628 --> 00:14:24,063 I was the investigator in charge 281 00:14:24,129 --> 00:14:27,866 with about a dozen NTSB people underneath me, 282 00:14:27,933 --> 00:14:31,270 plus many people from the industry. 283 00:14:31,337 --> 00:14:33,372 The aircraft hit the ground hard approaching 284 00:14:33,439 --> 00:14:34,873 the runway threshold. 285 00:14:37,243 --> 00:14:39,945 Maybe the engines had something to do with it. 286 00:14:40,012 --> 00:14:42,014 NARRATOR: Did a loss of engine power cause 287 00:14:42,081 --> 00:14:44,750 Flight 1572 to crash land 288 00:14:44,817 --> 00:14:46,885 in front of the runway threshold. 289 00:14:49,255 --> 00:14:51,090 When we first arrived at the accident site, 290 00:14:51,156 --> 00:14:52,992 our first order of business really 291 00:14:53,058 --> 00:14:54,727 was to kind of do a reconnaissance, 292 00:14:54,793 --> 00:14:57,763 look at the aircraft. 293 00:14:57,830 --> 00:15:01,200 This thing looks like it flew through a war zone. 294 00:15:01,267 --> 00:15:03,936 And during our initial examination, 295 00:15:04,003 --> 00:15:05,738 the aircraft was very, very damaged. 296 00:15:05,804 --> 00:15:09,241 It reminded me of something like a B-17 297 00:15:09,308 --> 00:15:13,412 that had gone through a raid on Schweinfurt in World War II. 298 00:15:13,479 --> 00:15:14,913 It was beat to heck. 299 00:15:17,182 --> 00:15:19,418 Branches sticking out of the landing gear, 300 00:15:19,485 --> 00:15:24,757 engine blades missing, battered flaps. 301 00:15:24,823 --> 00:15:28,694 The aircraft was unflyable. 302 00:15:28,761 --> 00:15:30,329 They definitely hit some trees. 303 00:15:30,396 --> 00:15:32,264 They sure did. 304 00:15:32,331 --> 00:15:34,800 And the engines definitely had power when 305 00:15:34,867 --> 00:15:36,935 they shredded those branches. 306 00:15:37,002 --> 00:15:39,138 NARRATOR: Mangled branches in the plane's engines 307 00:15:39,204 --> 00:15:42,141 indicate that they were working normally. 308 00:15:42,207 --> 00:15:45,311 The discovery raises another question. 309 00:15:45,377 --> 00:15:48,280 If the engines had power, why'd they hit the trees? 310 00:15:54,219 --> 00:15:56,555 The main question became why the aircraft 311 00:15:56,622 --> 00:16:01,193 was low enough to hit trees and still make it to the runway. 312 00:16:03,595 --> 00:16:06,365 If you're gonna analyze an action like this which is be 313 00:16:06,432 --> 00:16:09,068 categorized as a controlled flight into terrain, 314 00:16:09,134 --> 00:16:10,936 you have to understand where the airplane went 315 00:16:11,003 --> 00:16:12,805 and when it went there and why it went there. 316 00:16:27,086 --> 00:16:30,089 Where exactly did they hit the trees? 317 00:16:30,155 --> 00:16:34,193 NARRATOR: To understand why Flight 1572 struck trees, 318 00:16:34,259 --> 00:16:39,465 investigators try to identify the first point of impact. 319 00:16:39,531 --> 00:16:42,067 The trees they hit are on top of a ridge about 2 and 1/2 320 00:16:42,134 --> 00:16:43,969 miles northwest of the runway. 321 00:16:44,036 --> 00:16:46,305 We have a team out there now. 322 00:16:46,372 --> 00:16:50,109 Let's see if the trees or the ridge were marked on the chart. 323 00:16:50,175 --> 00:16:52,378 The approach chart itself, when you look at it, 324 00:16:52,444 --> 00:16:57,383 had the ridge marked with a small dot with the altitude. 325 00:16:57,449 --> 00:17:02,020 The chart has the top of the ridge at 819 feet. 326 00:17:02,087 --> 00:17:03,355 Once we began to look at the approach 327 00:17:03,422 --> 00:17:05,491 chart itself that the crew was using, 328 00:17:05,557 --> 00:17:09,962 we noted that the ridge line was just a mere dot with the number 329 00:17:10,028 --> 00:17:13,298 819 next to it and altitude. 330 00:17:13,365 --> 00:17:14,967 That dot could have been anything. 331 00:17:15,033 --> 00:17:16,969 It could have been a building, a giant tree. 332 00:17:17,035 --> 00:17:18,337 Other airlines use a slightly different 333 00:17:18,404 --> 00:17:20,873 chart that shows topographical features, 334 00:17:20,939 --> 00:17:23,742 including this ridge line. 335 00:17:23,809 --> 00:17:25,677 NARRATOR: Did Flight 1572 come in 336 00:17:25,744 --> 00:17:27,980 too low because there was a lack of detail 337 00:17:28,046 --> 00:17:29,415 on their approach chart? 338 00:17:31,517 --> 00:17:34,720 Do we have an altitude for the tree strike? 339 00:17:34,787 --> 00:17:37,423 I need an altitude for the first impact mark. 340 00:17:46,632 --> 00:17:50,102 INVESTIGATOR (ON RADIO): 771 feet. 341 00:17:50,169 --> 00:17:52,404 They shouldn't have been anywhere near those trees. 342 00:17:52,471 --> 00:17:55,207 NARRATOR: The team is surprised to discover that when Flight 343 00:17:55,274 --> 00:17:59,878 1572 hit trees, it was 48 feet below the altitude 344 00:17:59,945 --> 00:18:02,114 listed for the ridge line. 345 00:18:02,181 --> 00:18:04,316 They weren't just below the ridge. 346 00:18:04,383 --> 00:18:07,986 They dropped 309 feet below the minimum descent altitude. 347 00:18:14,460 --> 00:18:17,329 NARRATOR: The Minimum Descent Altitude, or MDA, 348 00:18:17,396 --> 00:18:20,766 is the lowest altitude a crew can descend to until they're 349 00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:22,301 able to see the runway. 350 00:18:24,470 --> 00:18:29,942 It's designed to keep planes above terrain or obstructions. 351 00:18:30,008 --> 00:18:32,411 Those altitudes are hard altitudes. 352 00:18:32,478 --> 00:18:35,147 When the FAA builds those altitudes in there, 353 00:18:35,214 --> 00:18:37,115 they have to take in consideration 354 00:18:37,182 --> 00:18:39,418 of all the clearances, the trees, 355 00:18:39,485 --> 00:18:43,021 the elevation to keep the airplane at a safe altitude. 356 00:18:43,088 --> 00:18:46,158 Why would they drop so low? 357 00:18:46,225 --> 00:18:48,694 Maybe there was something wrong with their altimeters. 358 00:18:52,464 --> 00:18:54,500 Investigators see the airplane descended too low, 359 00:18:54,566 --> 00:18:58,904 so the question is, did the crew have the correct indication? 360 00:18:58,971 --> 00:19:00,639 See if the static system is working. 361 00:19:00,706 --> 00:19:05,143 Pitot-static system was quite important because that system 362 00:19:05,210 --> 00:19:08,981 controls altitude, altimeters. 363 00:19:09,047 --> 00:19:11,350 It controls airspeed indicators. 364 00:19:11,416 --> 00:19:15,354 And it also controls the vertical velocity indications. 365 00:19:15,420 --> 00:19:18,023 NARRATOR: Did sensors provide incorrect data 366 00:19:18,090 --> 00:19:19,558 to the plane's altimeters? 367 00:19:26,198 --> 00:19:28,800 The MD-83 has three sets of sensors 368 00:19:28,867 --> 00:19:31,303 on the exterior fuselage. 369 00:19:31,370 --> 00:19:34,039 They measure air pressure to determine airspeed, 370 00:19:34,106 --> 00:19:37,643 altitude, and vertical speed. 371 00:19:37,709 --> 00:19:41,446 If one of the static sensors is leaking or obstructed, 372 00:19:41,513 --> 00:19:44,550 it can give pilots inaccurate information, 373 00:19:44,616 --> 00:19:50,222 making them think they're above or below their actual altitude. 374 00:19:50,289 --> 00:19:54,159 If the pitot tube is clogged, 375 00:19:54,226 --> 00:19:57,496 you lose those vital instruments, 376 00:19:57,563 --> 00:20:00,365 and that can happen from a variety of reasons. 377 00:20:02,668 --> 00:20:06,305 Pitot-static systems have caused problems before, 378 00:20:06,371 --> 00:20:10,609 problems severe enough to cause crashes. 379 00:20:10,676 --> 00:20:11,743 You ready? 380 00:20:11,810 --> 00:20:13,445 Yep. 381 00:20:13,512 --> 00:20:15,581 NARRATOR: The test forces air into the sensor 382 00:20:15,647 --> 00:20:19,318 to determine if the air pressure is being measured accurately. 383 00:20:26,224 --> 00:20:28,894 But it proves to be a dead end. 384 00:20:28,961 --> 00:20:31,697 The static system is working. 385 00:20:31,763 --> 00:20:36,735 Well, then, let's see what the controllers can tell us. 386 00:20:36,802 --> 00:20:39,071 It's always valuable to be able to speak to the air traffic 387 00:20:39,137 --> 00:20:41,206 controllers after an accident. 388 00:20:41,273 --> 00:20:42,941 Well, often, the air traffic controller 389 00:20:43,008 --> 00:20:48,747 is the last person to speak to the crew prior to an accident. 390 00:20:48,814 --> 00:20:51,750 Did the crew report anything unusual on their descent 391 00:20:51,817 --> 00:20:52,684 into Windsor Locks? 392 00:20:52,751 --> 00:20:53,952 No. 393 00:20:54,019 --> 00:20:55,554 No, it was a standard approach. 394 00:20:55,621 --> 00:20:59,057 But the weather conditions weren't great at the time. 395 00:20:59,124 --> 00:21:00,826 Were there any downdrafts? 396 00:21:00,892 --> 00:21:06,565 NARRATOR: Did strong winds push Flight 1572 into the trees? 397 00:21:06,632 --> 00:21:09,501 If an airplane encounters severe downdrafts, 398 00:21:09,568 --> 00:21:12,771 it could push the airplane down several hundred feet. 399 00:21:12,838 --> 00:21:16,408 NARRATOR: Wind shear poses a danger to aircraft. 400 00:21:16,475 --> 00:21:20,712 In 1985, a severe downdraft slammed Delta Airlines Flight 401 00:21:20,779 --> 00:21:24,950 191 into the ground more than a mile short of the runway 402 00:21:25,017 --> 00:21:28,153 in Dallas, Texas. 403 00:21:28,220 --> 00:21:30,689 137 people lost their lives. 404 00:21:33,692 --> 00:21:38,130 In 1994, a year before Flight 1572's close call 405 00:21:38,196 --> 00:21:42,801 in Connecticut, US Air Flight 1016 crashed into trees 406 00:21:42,868 --> 00:21:45,671 while attempting to land in a powerful thunderstorm 407 00:21:45,737 --> 00:21:47,472 in North Carolina. 408 00:21:47,539 --> 00:21:49,708 They plowed into a residential neighborhood, 409 00:21:49,775 --> 00:21:51,476 killing 37 people. 410 00:21:53,779 --> 00:21:56,348 Thunderstorms have incredible wind shear. 411 00:21:56,415 --> 00:21:59,618 They can have updrafts 200 miles an hour. 412 00:21:59,685 --> 00:22:02,587 And then, you know, about half a second later, 413 00:22:02,654 --> 00:22:04,256 after you pass through that, you get a downdraft 414 00:22:04,322 --> 00:22:07,159 at 200 miles an hour. 415 00:22:07,225 --> 00:22:10,328 There was a lot of wind around the airport all night. 416 00:22:10,395 --> 00:22:12,431 What about when this flight was coming through? 417 00:22:17,202 --> 00:22:18,804 There was some wind shear. 418 00:22:18,870 --> 00:22:21,173 NARRATOR: Investigators learned that airport sensors 419 00:22:21,239 --> 00:22:23,442 registered some downdrafts. 420 00:22:23,508 --> 00:22:25,944 We made sure to give them updates. 421 00:22:26,011 --> 00:22:27,446 Like I said, it was rough. 422 00:22:27,512 --> 00:22:28,847 So they knew what they were flying into? 423 00:22:28,914 --> 00:22:31,149 Yes. 424 00:22:31,216 --> 00:22:32,517 Given the weather conditions at the time 425 00:22:32,584 --> 00:22:34,586 and the unstable air, investigators 426 00:22:34,653 --> 00:22:38,290 were able to determine that there may have been downdrafts 427 00:22:38,356 --> 00:22:40,892 up to 300 to 400 feet per minute occurring 428 00:22:40,959 --> 00:22:42,294 at the time of this event. 429 00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:46,264 So if there was a downdraft, these guys would 430 00:22:46,331 --> 00:22:47,833 have been prepared for it? 431 00:22:47,899 --> 00:22:49,568 Oh, yes. 432 00:22:49,634 --> 00:22:52,237 It was possible that wind shear could have pulled 433 00:22:52,304 --> 00:22:55,607 the aircraft down into the trees, 434 00:22:55,674 --> 00:22:58,744 but a careful look at the weather at the time, 435 00:22:58,810 --> 00:23:02,681 after that, we determined that simply wasn't true. 436 00:23:02,748 --> 00:23:04,216 Was there anything else out of the ordinary 437 00:23:04,282 --> 00:23:06,718 that night besides the weather? 438 00:23:06,785 --> 00:23:10,155 Well, the tower was shut down for repairs at the time. 439 00:23:10,222 --> 00:23:11,923 Leaky window. 440 00:23:11,990 --> 00:23:14,659 One of our supervisors went up to make sure they landed OK. 441 00:23:14,726 --> 00:23:16,895 You mean the tower was down during their approach? 442 00:23:16,962 --> 00:23:18,230 Yes. 443 00:23:20,499 --> 00:23:21,867 I'd like to speak with the supervisor 444 00:23:21,933 --> 00:23:22,901 who was in the tower. 445 00:23:22,968 --> 00:23:24,836 Sure, of course. 446 00:23:24,903 --> 00:23:28,940 NARRATOR: Did Flight 1572 slam into trees due to a lack 447 00:23:29,007 --> 00:23:30,842 of guidance from the tower? 448 00:23:34,679 --> 00:23:36,314 Air traffic control work is demanding 449 00:23:36,381 --> 00:23:38,517 and it's a precise job. 450 00:23:38,583 --> 00:23:41,520 If-- if there are any major disruptions, 451 00:23:41,586 --> 00:23:44,623 either in the tower or on the radar scope, 452 00:23:44,689 --> 00:23:48,560 it could affect aircraft traffic greatly. 453 00:23:48,627 --> 00:23:50,128 Were there any signs the crew was 454 00:23:50,195 --> 00:23:52,230 having trouble during approach? 455 00:23:52,297 --> 00:23:53,799 Not really. 456 00:23:53,865 --> 00:23:57,402 It was all normal until they called in the emergency. 457 00:23:57,469 --> 00:23:59,905 Take me through what happened. 458 00:23:59,971 --> 00:24:03,775 They were already 6 miles out, lined up with the runway. 459 00:24:03,842 --> 00:24:07,312 The runway looked clear, so I told them they could land. 460 00:24:07,379 --> 00:24:10,415 PILOT (ON RADIO): We are 6 miles from runway 15. 461 00:24:12,050 --> 00:24:13,552 Landing is at your discretion. 462 00:24:13,618 --> 00:24:15,453 The runway does appear to be clear. 463 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:16,788 PILOT (ON RADIO): Copy. 464 00:24:19,858 --> 00:24:24,129 Did you give them an actual clearance for landing? 465 00:24:24,196 --> 00:24:25,430 The tower was closed. 466 00:24:25,497 --> 00:24:27,165 I could only give advisories. 467 00:24:27,232 --> 00:24:30,769 It's up to them to decide after that if they want to land. 468 00:24:30,836 --> 00:24:33,171 Advisories are just information provided 469 00:24:33,238 --> 00:24:35,774 to the pilot for their own use. 470 00:24:35,841 --> 00:24:38,777 They can listen to it, they can not listen to it. 471 00:24:38,844 --> 00:24:40,011 It's up to them. 472 00:24:40,078 --> 00:24:41,780 In this case, the tower was not open, 473 00:24:41,847 --> 00:24:43,281 so therefore, he didn't have authority 474 00:24:43,348 --> 00:24:45,817 to issue with any clearance. 475 00:24:45,884 --> 00:24:48,753 NARRATOR: Investigators still don't know if poor weather 476 00:24:48,820 --> 00:24:50,789 and a closed control tower caused 477 00:24:50,856 --> 00:24:57,295 the pilots to drop below the minimum descent altitude 478 00:24:57,362 --> 00:24:58,763 and into the trees. 479 00:25:09,774 --> 00:25:13,445 Let's start it at 12:53 when the crew contacts the tower. 480 00:25:15,647 --> 00:25:18,383 NARRATOR: Investigators turn to the cockpit voice recording 481 00:25:18,450 --> 00:25:22,821 of Flight 1572's final approach to determine 482 00:25:22,888 --> 00:25:26,691 why the plane dropped too low and flew into trees. 483 00:25:30,829 --> 00:25:33,098 TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): Landing is at your discretion. 484 00:25:33,164 --> 00:25:35,400 The runway does appear to be clear. 485 00:25:35,467 --> 00:25:39,638 And what are you showing right now for winds? 486 00:25:39,704 --> 00:25:43,642 170 at 24. 487 00:25:43,708 --> 00:25:45,243 PILOT (ON RADIO): Copy. 488 00:25:45,310 --> 00:25:47,913 He's checking the runway, giving them weather updates. 489 00:25:47,979 --> 00:25:49,781 Solid job so far. 490 00:25:49,848 --> 00:25:53,051 NARRATOR: The team listens to the supervisor giving the crew 491 00:25:53,118 --> 00:25:56,388 guidance to help them land. 492 00:25:56,454 --> 00:25:58,490 It was a good initiative for him to do that. 493 00:25:58,556 --> 00:26:00,825 It was something some people would not have done based 494 00:26:00,892 --> 00:26:02,661 on the fact that the tower itself 495 00:26:02,727 --> 00:26:05,997 was a bit of a precarious area. 496 00:26:06,064 --> 00:26:07,299 PILOT (ON RADIO): Flaps 40. 497 00:26:12,037 --> 00:26:14,072 Flaps and slats to 40-40. 498 00:26:14,139 --> 00:26:16,474 You are clear to land. 499 00:26:16,541 --> 00:26:17,676 OK. 500 00:26:17,742 --> 00:26:18,810 Give me 1,000 down. 501 00:26:18,877 --> 00:26:22,981 1,000 down. 502 00:26:23,048 --> 00:26:25,650 You got it. 503 00:26:25,717 --> 00:26:27,919 Stop that. 504 00:26:27,986 --> 00:26:29,454 1,000 feet a minute? 505 00:26:29,521 --> 00:26:30,655 There's no way. 506 00:26:30,722 --> 00:26:32,991 NARRATOR: As they neared the ground, 507 00:26:33,058 --> 00:26:35,393 the crew decided to make their final descent 508 00:26:35,460 --> 00:26:39,497 at 1,000 feet per minute, nearly double what is normal. 509 00:26:43,234 --> 00:26:45,203 That, in my mind, is quite excessive. 510 00:26:45,270 --> 00:26:48,473 He didn't have to descend that steeply. 511 00:26:48,540 --> 00:26:50,675 Especially on a non-precision approach where you have 512 00:26:50,742 --> 00:26:53,812 a minimum descent altitude that you should not be going below, 513 00:26:53,878 --> 00:26:57,415 the faster you're descending, the earlier you have to start 514 00:26:57,482 --> 00:26:59,150 leveling off or else you end up going below 515 00:26:59,217 --> 00:27:01,119 the target altitude by the time you 516 00:27:01,186 --> 00:27:05,190 correct and come back up again. 517 00:27:05,256 --> 00:27:07,292 According to the descent profile, 518 00:27:07,359 --> 00:27:10,595 they're 5 miles from the airport at 1,900 feet. 519 00:27:10,662 --> 00:27:14,532 NARRATOR: Using the radar beacon data from air traffic control, 520 00:27:14,599 --> 00:27:19,004 investigators track Flight 1572's cockpit conversation 521 00:27:19,070 --> 00:27:21,439 throughout the descent. 522 00:27:21,506 --> 00:27:26,144 At 1,000 feet per minute, they're below their MDA 523 00:27:26,211 --> 00:27:28,079 in less than a minute. 524 00:27:28,146 --> 00:27:29,914 Sure, that's fast, but the first officer should 525 00:27:29,981 --> 00:27:32,050 be calling out the altitudes. 526 00:27:32,117 --> 00:27:33,485 While the aircraft is descending, 527 00:27:33,551 --> 00:27:35,820 the pilot is supposed to monitor the airplane's 528 00:27:35,887 --> 00:27:37,655 MDA, minimum descent altitude. 529 00:27:37,722 --> 00:27:40,492 The first officer should call at 1,000 above the MDA 530 00:27:40,558 --> 00:27:44,729 to the captain, and then 100 foot to the MDA, 531 00:27:44,796 --> 00:27:47,365 and then the MDA altitude. 532 00:27:47,432 --> 00:27:48,666 OK. 533 00:27:48,733 --> 00:27:50,668 Let's listen to the first officer's call outs. 534 00:27:56,274 --> 00:27:57,742 PILOT (ON RADIO): There's 1,000 feet. 535 00:27:57,809 --> 00:27:59,010 Good. 536 00:27:59,077 --> 00:28:01,780 He made the 1,000 foot call out. 537 00:28:01,846 --> 00:28:06,785 NARRATOR: But they don't hear any more call outs after that. 538 00:28:06,851 --> 00:28:10,588 The first officer called out the 1,000 foot above the MDA. 539 00:28:10,655 --> 00:28:15,560 He did not call out the 100 foot above the MDA. 540 00:28:15,627 --> 00:28:18,296 NARRATOR: Investigators then hear something unusual. 541 00:28:21,833 --> 00:28:22,767 1,080 is your-- 542 00:28:22,834 --> 00:28:24,235 Right. 543 00:28:26,337 --> 00:28:28,540 You're going below your-- your-- 544 00:28:35,113 --> 00:28:37,248 Hang on. 545 00:28:37,315 --> 00:28:39,184 Was that the minimum descent altitude call out? 546 00:28:39,250 --> 00:28:42,587 I think it was supposed to be. 547 00:28:42,654 --> 00:28:44,556 NARRATOR: The team discovers that the first officer 548 00:28:44,622 --> 00:28:48,493 mishandled the remaining call outs. 549 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,363 The first officer started to call out for the MDA, 550 00:28:52,430 --> 00:28:55,333 but never finished his sentence. 551 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:57,802 So he makes half a call at their minimums. 552 00:28:57,869 --> 00:29:01,573 And then doesn't say anything else until they're below it. 553 00:29:01,639 --> 00:29:04,742 And by then, they've hit the trees. 554 00:29:04,809 --> 00:29:07,846 NARRATOR: Why did the pilots make such a critical error 555 00:29:07,912 --> 00:29:09,347 so close to landing? 556 00:29:12,183 --> 00:29:14,552 Let's talk to the pilots. 557 00:29:14,619 --> 00:29:16,921 In this particular case, we were very fortunate to have 558 00:29:16,988 --> 00:29:18,690 a live crew to interview. 559 00:29:18,756 --> 00:29:21,126 We wanted to determine exactly what they were thinking 560 00:29:21,192 --> 00:29:24,195 about during the accident. 561 00:29:27,765 --> 00:29:30,635 Walk me through your actions 4 miles from the airport 562 00:29:30,702 --> 00:29:34,038 as you approached minimum descent altitude. 563 00:29:34,105 --> 00:29:35,306 Look, the weather was rough. 564 00:29:35,373 --> 00:29:37,208 We were two hours late departing. 565 00:29:37,275 --> 00:29:39,444 I was monitoring the instruments. 566 00:29:44,749 --> 00:29:45,850 1,080 is your-- 567 00:29:45,917 --> 00:29:46,851 Right. 568 00:29:50,021 --> 00:29:51,823 OK, and then what? 569 00:29:51,890 --> 00:29:57,195 As we got closer to the minimum descent altitude, 570 00:29:57,262 --> 00:30:00,798 I looked outside for the airport, 571 00:30:00,865 --> 00:30:03,301 and when I looked back, we were below minimums. 572 00:30:07,372 --> 00:30:08,706 You're going below your-- 573 00:30:11,709 --> 00:30:13,678 During that time he was looking out, 574 00:30:13,745 --> 00:30:17,081 he was not monitoring the flight gauges as 575 00:30:17,148 --> 00:30:18,416 closely as he should have been. 576 00:30:18,483 --> 00:30:20,518 In this case, the appropriate procedure 577 00:30:20,585 --> 00:30:24,489 would have had the first officer glued to the altimeter 578 00:30:24,556 --> 00:30:28,459 and the compass and other instruments in the cockpit 579 00:30:28,526 --> 00:30:32,096 until the captain said, I see the runway. 580 00:30:32,163 --> 00:30:33,932 Why didn't you call for a go around? 581 00:30:33,998 --> 00:30:35,033 Well, there was no time. 582 00:30:35,099 --> 00:30:36,467 We immediately hit the trees. 583 00:30:39,137 --> 00:30:40,338 What the-- 584 00:30:44,275 --> 00:30:45,677 It was a stressful night. 585 00:30:47,979 --> 00:30:50,615 There could be a-- a bit of task saturation in there. 586 00:30:50,682 --> 00:30:54,018 This went from an easy, kind of relaxed flight 587 00:30:54,085 --> 00:30:57,255 with a little bit of weather difficulty to, oh my gosh, 588 00:30:57,322 --> 00:30:59,490 everything's going wrong really, really fast. 589 00:31:04,295 --> 00:31:05,964 Something doesn't add up. 590 00:31:06,030 --> 00:31:08,499 The first officer couldn't have been at his minimum seconds 591 00:31:08,566 --> 00:31:10,802 before hitting the trees. 592 00:31:10,868 --> 00:31:13,304 Maybe there was an issue with the altimeter settings. 593 00:31:15,807 --> 00:31:17,875 NARRATOR: Pilots must calibrate the altimeters based 594 00:31:17,942 --> 00:31:21,346 on outside air pressure, which can change dramatically 595 00:31:21,412 --> 00:31:24,015 in extreme weather conditions. 596 00:31:24,082 --> 00:31:27,318 Pilots frequently recalibrate the altimeters to maintain 597 00:31:27,385 --> 00:31:29,454 an accurate altitude reading. 598 00:31:31,623 --> 00:31:32,857 Altimeter settings are very important. 599 00:31:32,924 --> 00:31:34,659 You can't do an approach in bad weather 600 00:31:34,726 --> 00:31:36,728 unless you know what the altitude of your airplane is. 601 00:31:36,794 --> 00:31:39,397 Let's see what settings they used. 602 00:31:45,136 --> 00:31:46,771 There's a lot of rain. 603 00:31:46,838 --> 00:31:48,072 I can see that. 604 00:31:48,139 --> 00:31:50,708 In this case, because of this storm that was going 605 00:31:50,775 --> 00:31:53,678 through that area, the pressure was falling rapidly, 606 00:31:53,745 --> 00:31:55,246 and when that happens, your altimeter setting 607 00:31:55,313 --> 00:31:56,781 goes down quickly. 608 00:31:56,848 --> 00:31:58,650 It means if you don't reset your altitude, 609 00:31:58,716 --> 00:32:01,119 then your airplane is flying lower than you think it is. 610 00:32:10,728 --> 00:32:12,597 Here. 611 00:32:12,664 --> 00:32:17,368 The dispatcher updated them with an altimeter setting of 29.23. 612 00:32:17,435 --> 00:32:20,305 NARRATOR: NTSB investigators check whether the pilots 613 00:32:20,371 --> 00:32:23,374 of American Airlines Flight 1572 properly 614 00:32:23,441 --> 00:32:25,910 set the altimeter during the stormy approach 615 00:32:25,977 --> 00:32:28,713 into Bradley Airport. 616 00:32:28,780 --> 00:32:29,681 What time was that? 617 00:32:29,747 --> 00:32:31,516 12:30 AM. 618 00:32:35,420 --> 00:32:38,289 That was 25 minutes before they hit the trees. 619 00:32:38,356 --> 00:32:40,458 And with the changing weather conditions, 620 00:32:40,525 --> 00:32:44,529 they must have received an update from Bradley ATC. 621 00:32:44,595 --> 00:32:48,232 One thing that the crew considers and expects 622 00:32:48,299 --> 00:32:51,936 from the tower, our air traffic, is the update of the weather 623 00:32:52,003 --> 00:32:54,172 as quick as possible so they can also 624 00:32:54,238 --> 00:32:57,408 amend what they need to do. 625 00:32:57,475 --> 00:33:02,547 OK, they first contacted approach control at 12:43. 626 00:33:02,613 --> 00:33:07,452 Bradley approach, American 1572, we are at 11,000 feet. 627 00:33:07,518 --> 00:33:10,321 NARRATOR: Investigators expect the approach controller to give 628 00:33:10,388 --> 00:33:12,990 the crew a weather update, including 629 00:33:13,057 --> 00:33:16,361 the altimeter pressure setting. 630 00:33:16,427 --> 00:33:18,363 The approach control issue the altimeter setting 631 00:33:18,429 --> 00:33:20,965 on initial contact when an arriving aircraft 632 00:33:21,032 --> 00:33:22,467 enters their airspace. 633 00:33:22,533 --> 00:33:26,938 The altimeter is displayed as a digital display 634 00:33:27,004 --> 00:33:29,140 in the control tower as well. 635 00:33:29,207 --> 00:33:30,274 TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): American 636 00:33:30,341 --> 00:33:33,010 1572, Bradley approach, roger. 637 00:33:33,077 --> 00:33:37,482 Expect VOR runway 15 approach. 638 00:33:37,548 --> 00:33:41,352 NARRATOR: But the update is never provided. 639 00:33:41,419 --> 00:33:43,654 Approach did not update their altimeter 640 00:33:43,721 --> 00:33:47,658 setting, even though the pressure was dropping rapidly. 641 00:33:47,725 --> 00:33:50,261 There's nothing at all from approach right up until he 642 00:33:50,328 --> 00:33:53,264 passes them off to the tower. 643 00:33:53,331 --> 00:33:54,866 Why wouldn't the approach controller 644 00:33:54,932 --> 00:33:56,768 give them a weather update? 645 00:33:56,834 --> 00:33:57,702 Good question. 646 00:33:57,769 --> 00:34:00,605 Let's ask him. 647 00:34:00,671 --> 00:34:04,208 One thing that puzzled investigators was why the air 648 00:34:04,275 --> 00:34:06,611 traffic controllers in the Bradley tower 649 00:34:06,677 --> 00:34:10,581 didn't keep the pilots updated with the current altimeter 650 00:34:10,648 --> 00:34:11,883 setting. 651 00:34:11,949 --> 00:34:12,950 You mentioned before that the weather 652 00:34:13,017 --> 00:34:13,951 was quite active that night. 653 00:34:14,018 --> 00:34:15,253 Yes. 654 00:34:15,319 --> 00:34:16,621 It was changing quickly all night. 655 00:34:16,687 --> 00:34:18,189 What was the airport's altimeter setting 656 00:34:18,256 --> 00:34:19,924 at the time of the accident? 657 00:34:19,991 --> 00:34:21,726 Let me see. 658 00:34:23,828 --> 00:34:26,564 29.15. 659 00:34:26,631 --> 00:34:29,167 NARRATOR: Investigators learn that the altimeter pressure 660 00:34:29,233 --> 00:34:31,436 setting at the time of the accident 661 00:34:31,502 --> 00:34:35,506 was not the setting the pilots were originally given. 662 00:34:35,573 --> 00:34:39,744 Why didn't the crew receive an updated setting? 663 00:34:39,811 --> 00:34:41,813 Um. 664 00:34:41,879 --> 00:34:44,115 29.15. 665 00:34:51,289 --> 00:34:53,791 I didn't think to give it to them. 666 00:34:56,627 --> 00:35:01,466 Sometimes things that you do over and over and over again 667 00:35:01,532 --> 00:35:07,538 become too routine, and late at night, when there's not 668 00:35:07,605 --> 00:35:10,074 a whole lot going on, sometimes, those are the things 669 00:35:10,141 --> 00:35:12,009 that drop through the cracks. 670 00:35:12,076 --> 00:35:14,278 We wondered about that-- 671 00:35:14,345 --> 00:35:17,215 that excuse a little bit, but it's what he said. 672 00:35:17,281 --> 00:35:18,950 So in essence, the pilots did not 673 00:35:19,016 --> 00:35:20,852 have the current altimeter setting 674 00:35:20,918 --> 00:35:22,520 when they flew the approach. 675 00:35:24,388 --> 00:35:25,957 We got the altimeter setting 676 00:35:26,023 --> 00:35:28,593 from the time of the accident. 677 00:35:28,659 --> 00:35:31,195 NARRATOR: Comparing the two altimeter settings will 678 00:35:31,262 --> 00:35:33,865 reveal how much lower the plane was flying 679 00:35:33,931 --> 00:35:36,767 than it should have been. 680 00:35:36,834 --> 00:35:39,604 0.08. 681 00:35:39,670 --> 00:35:42,306 The difference in the altimeter setting from what 682 00:35:42,373 --> 00:35:44,275 they had put on their instruments 683 00:35:44,342 --> 00:35:48,045 to what reality was about 0.08 inches of mercury, 684 00:35:48,112 --> 00:35:50,548 which equates to 76 feet. 685 00:35:50,615 --> 00:35:53,818 Because of the pilot's outdated setting, 686 00:35:53,885 --> 00:35:57,788 they thought they were 76 feet higher than they actually were. 687 00:35:57,855 --> 00:36:00,858 NARRATOR: The discovery is eye-opening. 688 00:36:00,925 --> 00:36:04,795 Once you get close to the ground, 76 feet is a big deal. 689 00:36:04,862 --> 00:36:07,231 Once you're coming across the minimum descent altitude 690 00:36:07,298 --> 00:36:10,067 and you're keeping the airplane level at the minimum descent 691 00:36:10,134 --> 00:36:13,271 altitude, 76 feet is critical. 692 00:36:13,337 --> 00:36:15,206 The question is, would they have hit anything 693 00:36:15,273 --> 00:36:19,076 had they been 76 feet higher? 694 00:36:19,143 --> 00:36:21,178 Well, we know they struck the trees 695 00:36:21,245 --> 00:36:24,148 at an altitude of 771 feet. 696 00:36:24,215 --> 00:36:26,117 Add 76 feet to that. 697 00:36:26,183 --> 00:36:27,151 They wouldn't have hit anything. 698 00:36:27,218 --> 00:36:28,586 No impact. 699 00:36:28,653 --> 00:36:32,023 If they had the correct altimeter setting, 700 00:36:32,089 --> 00:36:33,624 even though they went below the MDA, 701 00:36:33,691 --> 00:36:37,662 they still would have been 76 feet higher 702 00:36:37,728 --> 00:36:40,731 and we probably wouldn't be talking about this right 703 00:36:40,798 --> 00:36:43,467 now because they would have missed the trees. 704 00:36:43,534 --> 00:36:45,202 That doesn't explain why they were 705 00:36:45,269 --> 00:36:49,874 309 feet below the minimum descent altitude. 706 00:36:49,941 --> 00:36:52,009 76 feet of that are on ATC. 707 00:36:52,076 --> 00:36:55,846 The other 233 feet are pilot error. 708 00:36:55,913 --> 00:36:59,216 This was out of the control of the pilots to a certain extent, 709 00:36:59,283 --> 00:37:02,453 but going below the MDA should have 710 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:05,356 been caught by both the first officer and the captain. 711 00:37:05,423 --> 00:37:07,592 This is what created the accident. 712 00:37:14,699 --> 00:37:17,368 In the end, it came down to the crew's decision. 713 00:37:17,435 --> 00:37:19,203 NARRATOR: Investigators now understand 714 00:37:19,270 --> 00:37:23,674 what happened to Flight 1572. 715 00:37:23,741 --> 00:37:25,676 The outdated altimeter setting and the rough weather 716 00:37:25,743 --> 00:37:28,012 meant that the crew had almost no room for error 717 00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:29,580 on the approach. 718 00:37:29,647 --> 00:37:31,248 And when they were descending too fast 719 00:37:31,315 --> 00:37:33,351 and passed their minimum descent altitude, 720 00:37:33,417 --> 00:37:34,885 there was no way they could recover 721 00:37:34,952 --> 00:37:36,420 before hitting the trees. 722 00:37:37,888 --> 00:37:41,959 NARRATOR: Only one question remains unanswered. 723 00:37:42,026 --> 00:37:45,963 In spite of hitting the trees, how did they make that landing? 724 00:37:58,809 --> 00:38:00,111 Here's the FDR readout. 725 00:38:03,014 --> 00:38:06,884 NARRATOR: NTSB investigators turn to Flight 1572's flight 726 00:38:06,951 --> 00:38:10,087 data recorder to learn how the crew 727 00:38:10,154 --> 00:38:15,393 managed to recover their jet after they struck the trees. 728 00:38:15,459 --> 00:38:20,698 So they hit the trees and they immediately pull the flaps back 729 00:38:20,765 --> 00:38:24,201 to 15 and go to max thrust. 730 00:38:24,268 --> 00:38:26,804 NARRATOR: The data shows that the crew quickly configured 731 00:38:26,871 --> 00:38:29,640 the plane for a go around. 732 00:38:29,707 --> 00:38:30,608 Go, go around. 733 00:38:30,675 --> 00:38:31,909 Go around. 734 00:38:38,549 --> 00:38:39,483 Flaps 15. 735 00:38:39,550 --> 00:38:40,351 Positive rate. 736 00:38:40,418 --> 00:38:43,087 Gear up. 737 00:38:43,154 --> 00:38:45,189 Gear up. 738 00:38:45,256 --> 00:38:48,592 Then, just as they begin their go around, 739 00:38:48,659 --> 00:38:50,261 they lose their left engine. 740 00:38:55,466 --> 00:39:01,672 The aircraft actually ingested trees, the tops of the trees 741 00:39:01,739 --> 00:39:04,575 into the engines. 742 00:39:04,642 --> 00:39:06,877 Left motor's failed. 743 00:39:06,944 --> 00:39:08,646 Followed by their right engine. 744 00:39:08,713 --> 00:39:12,316 (alarm blaring) 745 00:39:13,284 --> 00:39:16,420 Here, you have a scenario where something devastating 746 00:39:16,487 --> 00:39:18,255 just happened, we just plowed through some trees in the top 747 00:39:18,322 --> 00:39:20,424 of a ridge 2 and 1/2 miles away from the runway, 748 00:39:20,491 --> 00:39:25,162 and losing capabilities on this aircraft by the second. 749 00:39:25,229 --> 00:39:27,998 They've got the nose way up, they're losing speed, 750 00:39:28,065 --> 00:39:30,034 and both their engines are gone. 751 00:39:30,101 --> 00:39:32,970 That's a recipe for a stall if I've ever seen one. 752 00:39:33,037 --> 00:39:35,873 All of a sudden, they were starting to lose airspeed. 753 00:39:35,940 --> 00:39:37,174 They were in a nose high attitude, 754 00:39:37,241 --> 00:39:40,277 and that's the worst time that can happen. 755 00:39:40,344 --> 00:39:42,279 Airspeed is what makes the airplane fly. 756 00:39:42,346 --> 00:39:44,749 If there isn't enough air moving over the wings, 757 00:39:44,815 --> 00:39:46,817 the wings stop flying. 758 00:39:46,884 --> 00:39:50,087 And that is what's referred to as a stall. 759 00:39:50,154 --> 00:39:53,624 There's the runway straight ahead. 760 00:39:53,691 --> 00:39:55,993 Fortunately, the first officer saw the runway. 761 00:39:56,060 --> 00:39:58,629 They had to get the airplane on the ground in a hurry 762 00:39:58,696 --> 00:40:00,564 because it would not be able to keep on flying 763 00:40:00,631 --> 00:40:02,466 with the engine power they had. 764 00:40:02,533 --> 00:40:03,768 OK. 765 00:40:03,834 --> 00:40:04,702 Tell them we're going down. 766 00:40:04,769 --> 00:40:06,270 Tell them emergency. 767 00:40:06,337 --> 00:40:08,906 So now, he's gotta reconfigure the aircraft again. 768 00:40:08,973 --> 00:40:11,008 And remember, this is all happening in seconds. 769 00:40:11,075 --> 00:40:14,278 He's gotta focus on trying to save whatever altitude 770 00:40:14,345 --> 00:40:17,848 and airspeed he has left to make it across the fence 771 00:40:17,915 --> 00:40:19,150 into the runway environment. 772 00:40:19,216 --> 00:40:21,085 This is a critical stage of flight 773 00:40:21,152 --> 00:40:23,287 now because he doesn't have power. 774 00:40:23,354 --> 00:40:25,489 All he can do is trade altitude for airspeed. 775 00:40:25,556 --> 00:40:29,593 And we know their flaps were all the way down at 40. 776 00:40:29,660 --> 00:40:30,694 Flaps 40. 777 00:40:30,761 --> 00:40:32,830 All the way down. 778 00:40:32,897 --> 00:40:34,198 They're all the way down. 779 00:40:34,265 --> 00:40:36,200 He's gotta generate something else that's 780 00:40:36,267 --> 00:40:38,669 gonna get him across the fence, and that's 781 00:40:38,736 --> 00:40:41,071 when he drops 40 degrees flaps. 782 00:40:41,138 --> 00:40:43,574 The drag from the flaps slows them down, 783 00:40:43,641 --> 00:40:47,111 but for the first few seconds, it balloons them up. 784 00:40:47,178 --> 00:40:50,381 40 degrees of flaps change the curve of the wing, 785 00:40:50,447 --> 00:40:54,318 which increases the lift of the wing and gives him that-- 786 00:40:54,385 --> 00:40:59,456 that extra little bounce to get a little bit further. 787 00:40:59,523 --> 00:41:01,525 If he had not had done that or if he would have delayed it 788 00:41:01,592 --> 00:41:06,964 a little bit, the accident could have been totally catastrophic. 789 00:41:07,031 --> 00:41:09,099 You've got it, dude. You're gonna make it. 790 00:41:11,902 --> 00:41:14,371 They glide down to the runway. 791 00:41:14,438 --> 00:41:17,074 Unfortunately, they didn't have quite enough airspeed 792 00:41:17,141 --> 00:41:19,276 and altitude, so they landed early, 793 00:41:19,343 --> 00:41:23,080 kind of scooted and flopped onto the pavement of the runway. 794 00:41:30,521 --> 00:41:34,458 They made mistakes going into the tree strike, if you will, 795 00:41:34,525 --> 00:41:40,297 and yet, did a brilliant job landing the aircraft. 796 00:41:40,364 --> 00:41:42,433 That's an incredible show of airmanship. 797 00:41:49,540 --> 00:41:53,377 The crew's actually excellent cockpit resource management 798 00:41:53,444 --> 00:41:55,946 in the very difficult situation that occurred 799 00:41:56,013 --> 00:41:58,015 after they hit the ridge line. 800 00:41:58,082 --> 00:42:02,219 They cooperated, they didn't panic. 801 00:42:02,286 --> 00:42:04,922 The way these two pilots worked together was-- 802 00:42:04,989 --> 00:42:06,590 was remarkable. 803 00:42:06,657 --> 00:42:08,592 And one of the last things that's on the tape that kind 804 00:42:08,659 --> 00:42:12,096 of really gives you a chill is-- is after they make the runway, 805 00:42:12,162 --> 00:42:14,398 the first officer says-- 806 00:42:14,465 --> 00:42:16,533 God bless you. You made it. 807 00:42:19,436 --> 00:42:22,473 This is an accident that probably is not well known 808 00:42:22,539 --> 00:42:25,476 to a lot of people, and that's because the aircraft 809 00:42:25,542 --> 00:42:29,146 was able to end up on a runway and nobody was killed. 810 00:42:31,682 --> 00:42:34,051 NARRATOR: The captain's impressive recovery doesn't 811 00:42:34,118 --> 00:42:37,154 make up for the crew's errors. 812 00:42:37,221 --> 00:42:39,957 The NTSB's final report concludes 813 00:42:40,024 --> 00:42:42,159 that the probable cause of this accident 814 00:42:42,226 --> 00:42:45,396 was the crew flying below the minimum descent altitude 815 00:42:45,462 --> 00:42:47,731 before they could see the runway. 816 00:42:49,700 --> 00:42:53,137 We think, in essence, the main factor involved in-- 817 00:42:53,203 --> 00:42:55,072 in the accident was the fact that the pilots 818 00:42:55,139 --> 00:42:58,142 did not monitor the altitudes they 819 00:42:58,208 --> 00:43:00,444 were flying through correctly. 820 00:43:00,511 --> 00:43:02,279 They-- they should have leveled off at a point, 821 00:43:02,346 --> 00:43:05,182 and they simply did not do so. 822 00:43:05,249 --> 00:43:06,951 NARRATOR: Following the accident, 823 00:43:07,017 --> 00:43:11,021 American Airlines increased the MDA requirement by 100 feet 824 00:43:11,088 --> 00:43:12,656 and visibility requirement by half 825 00:43:12,723 --> 00:43:18,095 a mile for non-precision approaches to Bradley airport. 826 00:43:18,162 --> 00:43:20,464 It's a lot of rain. 827 00:43:20,531 --> 00:43:24,034 NARRATOR: The NTSB also recommends that in conditions 828 00:43:24,101 --> 00:43:26,136 where pressure is falling rapidly, 829 00:43:26,203 --> 00:43:29,006 controllers should issue altimeter setting updates 830 00:43:29,073 --> 00:43:31,542 as frequently as possible. 831 00:43:31,608 --> 00:43:34,812 The approach controller issues the current altimeter setting. 832 00:43:34,878 --> 00:43:35,846 That didn't happen either. 833 00:43:35,913 --> 00:43:37,314 Right? 834 00:43:37,381 --> 00:43:38,649 What's important to understand, though, 835 00:43:38,949 --> 00:43:42,953 in terms of responsibility is that the captain 836 00:43:43,020 --> 00:43:44,555 is the final authority on the flight. 837 00:43:44,621 --> 00:43:47,057 It's ultimately the captain's responsibility to ensure 838 00:43:47,124 --> 00:43:48,692 the safety of the flight. 839 00:43:48,759 --> 00:43:52,062 In this case, he did not ensure that he had the most 840 00:43:52,129 --> 00:43:54,398 current altimeter setting. 841 00:43:54,465 --> 00:43:56,767 This accident was important to me 842 00:43:56,834 --> 00:44:01,238 because it was one of the few where nobody was killed, 843 00:44:01,305 --> 00:44:04,208 nobody was hurt, and yet, the safety Board 844 00:44:04,274 --> 00:44:06,510 came up with some pretty good recommendations 845 00:44:06,577 --> 00:44:10,214 to mitigate some of the factors that existed.