All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S07E03.Fire.Fight.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

Smoke fills a passenger plane

6 miles in the sky.

We're on mayday.
We're going down.

Electrical systems
shut down as the smoke spreads.

The crew tries desperately
to land their stricken plane.

We're going to make
an emergency landing.

Put your head on your lap.

We're going to
need fire trucks.

(on radio)
They're standing by for you.

What seemed like
a small problem at first

has become
a life or death struggle

for everyone on board
Air Canada flight 797.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

We lost both engines!

Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Mayday, mayday.

Brace for impact!

I think I lost one.

Investigation starting...

He's gonna crash!

Early evening
June 2, 1983,

suppertime aboard
Air Canada flight 797.

Captain Donald Cameron

has been working
for Air Canada for 17 years

and has flown
almost 5,000 hours in a DC-9,

but it doesn't mean
he gets to eat first.

How's your sea food? Nice?

Before he can dig in,

his first officer Claude Ouimet
will have to finish.

-Good.
-

The jet
is in the middle of a flight

from Dallas, Texas, to Montreal
with a stopover in Toronto.

The heavy cloud cover below
hides some light showers,

but at their cruising altitude
of nearly 33,000 feet,

the view is clear and bright.

The DC-9 is only half-full today

with 41 passengers scattered
throughout the plane.

Can I have some tea, please?

24-year-old Diane Fadley

is an active member of the
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

We have a
number of different

fundraising activities.

And once a year, they
have a large conference.

And at this time, it
happened to be in Toronto.

Raymond Chalifoux
is 23 and recently married.

An engineer,
he's returning home

from his first ever
business trip.

It was
a little bit frightening,

both for me and for my wife.

I was supposed to
be gone 4, 5 days.

So first time we were separated
for a long period of time.

So it was kind of
insecuring for me, yeah.

And a few rows further up

sits a growing legend in
the world of folk music.

Stan Rogers is just 33,
but his career is beginning

to take off
outside of his native Canada.

I think
Stan's best known songs

celebrate ordinary people.

The songs are really
about ordinary people

rising to the occasion and
becoming heroes on their own.

Just before 7:00,

the plane is a little more
than halfway to Toronto.

-
-What was that?

It's right there. I see it.

Right there.

Yeah.

Three circuit
breakers have popped out.

Like fuses, they protect
delicate electrical circuits

in the plane from
becoming overloaded.

-Like a machine gun.
-Yeah? Zap, zap, zap.

The three breakers

are for the flushing
motor in the toilet

at the rear of the plane.

Cameron decides to give
them a few minutes

before he tries
to reset them again.

You know, sometimes
it works and overheats.

And then the breaker popped
and then it cools off.

And then you push the breaker
and everything is fine.

So put the snag in the
logbook and that's it.

Someone must have pushed a rag
down a toilet or something.

Jammed it and it overheated.

Cameron thinks that something

must be stopping the motor
from working properly,

but it's not an emergency.

Toilets get blocked
all the time.

Several minutes pass

as the plane continues
on its way to Toronto.

Flight attendants
Laura Kayama and Judi Davidson

are busy serving
up dinner in the cabin.

In the cockpit, it's captain
Cameron's turn for dinner.

But first, he wants to reset
the three circuit breakers.

Without them,
the toilet won't work.

The rest of the flight could get

uncomfortable
for the passengers.

Pops as I push it.

He's given
it more than 8 minutes,

but whatever is wrong
with the washroom,

it isn't fixing itself.

In the cabin,
one of the passengers

complains about
a disturbing odor.

Yeah, that is a strange smell.

Let me take a look.

Connie Kirsch, a Texan headed

for a business meeting
in Toronto,

is seated
at the back of the plane.

I had smelled a peculiar smell

where I was sitting.

And I-- it struck me as odd.

Actually, it was a wiry smell.

It wasn't a smoke smell.

A wisp of smoke is
leaking out of the washroom.

The smoke and the acrid
smell of burning plastic

takes Davidson by surprise.

This is much more than
just a clogged toilet.

Other passengers are
beginning to notice the smoke

and the suffocating smell.

Sergio, there's a
problem in the washer.

Judi says there's a fire.

Ok, I'll be right there.

Chief flight
attendant Sergio Benetti

is in charge of the cabin crew.

As a precaution, we're
moving everyone a few rows up.

The smoke is
noxious and overpowering.

Benetti can't see any flames.

He sprays the fire extinguisher
into the tiny washroom,

trying to coat every surface.

As soon as I saw
that fire extinguisher,

something went
through my mind,

there is definitely
something wrong.

The guy seemed to have
the thing under control.

So he's going to do his job

and things will be
business as usual.

It's 7:02,

just 11 minutes since

the circuit breakers
first popped out.

Laura Kayama brings captain
Cameron the disturbing news.

Excuse me, captain.

There's a fire in the
washroom in the back.

They just went back
to go put it out.

You want me to go back?

Yeah, go.

A fire on board
an aircraft is one

of the worst situations
any crew can face.

The plane is some 6 miles high.

What starts as a spark
can turn deadly

in a few short minutes,

but at the moment,
Cameron doesn't know

how bad the situation is.

You got to remember in 1983

people were allowed
to smoke in the aircraft.

And there had been
a number of incidents

of this sort in--
in the industry.

So it-- it didn't
alarm me that much.

Ouimet finds the situation

is worse than he expected.

I didn't see any flames
when I opened the door before,

but I sprayed it really good
with the fire extinguisher.

Do you would think it was
a cigarette in the garbage?

No, not really.

-Ok.
-

Can't get back there.

Smoke's too heavy.

I think we'd better go down.

But flight
attendant Sergio Benetti

has a very different
assessment of the situation.

You don't have to worry.

I think the smoke's easing up.

It's a confusing
moment for captain Cameron.

Some components
do fail from time to time,

but are not severe
or serious enough

to cause an emergency descent.

That's a pretty serious thing.

When Ouimet and Benetti

were at the back of the plane,
the smoke seemed thick,

but now it appears
to be subsiding.

Ok, it's starting
to clear now.

But I'll go back and
check if that's ok.

Yeah, that's ok.

Take these goggles.

I'll leave my mask on.

Go back wherever you can,

but don't get yourself
incapacitated.

No problem. No problem.

If it's just
a broken toilet motor,

Cameron can still
make it to Toronto.

But if it's more serious,

he'll have to land immediately

before the small inconvenience

becomes a deadly problem.

The crew is growing concerned.

They've already moved passengers

toward the front of the jet

as far as possible
from the creeping smoke.

Captain Donald Cameron
is waiting for an update

from the back of the plane
when suddenly,

he's got a new problem.

The master warning light is on.

Electrical systems
throughout the plane,

including some in the
cockpit, begin to fail.

The airplane basically

lost all its
sophisticated navigation

and latitude information.

So I was left very
suddenly with, I think,

three-engine inches
instruments per engine

and four flight instruments,
which were very primitive.

They were what you
might have flown

a world war ii bomber with.

With his electrical
system starting to shut down,

Cameron calls the
nearest ground control.

,
this is Air Canada 797.

(on radio) Air Canada
797, Indianapolis Center.

Go ahead.

Yeah, we've got an
electrical problem here.

We may be off
communication shortly. Standby.

Co-pilot Claude Ouimet

is at the back of the plane.

The washroom door handle
has become hot to the touch.

He doesn't even risk opening it.

Faced with
a potential fire on board,

the crew has no choice
but to land their plane

as soon as possible.

I don't like
what's happening.

I think we'd better go down.

We're going to be making
an emergency descent.

-Brief the cabin crew.
-Yes, sir.

As soon as
the decision is made,

-another warning light goes on.
-

They've just lost
most of their emergency power.

We're talking about multiple
failure here,

and it's-- it's starting
to be complicated.

So we're going down, and,
obviously, we have to land.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

A small
problem has snowballed

into an all-out emergency.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

This
is Louisville control, over.

Air Canada 797, we
have a fire on board.

We are going down.

Can
you possibly make Cincinnati?

Roger that.

Cincinnati is 28 miles away.

They can make it.

Captain Cameron begins an
initial descent to 4,900 feet.

The crew has switched to
emergency battery power,

but many of the
plane's instruments

aren't functioning.

So all we had left
was DC EMER power,

and that's only good
for radios, basically.

It's not only instruments,

Cameron finds that a
critical piece of his plane

isn't working properly.

The horizontal stabilizer on
the tail of his DC-9 is frozen,

set for cruising
at almost 33,000 feet.

Cameron uses the part
that's still working,

the elevators to
make the plane dive.

But like a car that's
lost power steering,

the aircraft resists.

As Cameron pushes
on the controls,

they push back with a
pressure equal to 44 pounds.

The airplane became very heavy

and that took my
total concentration

to fly the airplane.

An acrid, bitter
smoke is creeping forward

from the back of the plane
and seeping in from the seams

in the fuselage ceiling.

It hovers like a cloud

over the passengers' heads.

Incredibly harsh smoke,

that was really
irritating your throat.

You had to take really,
really small, small breaths.

Otherwise, you would choke.

I could see it rise.

It was traveling along
those luggage racks,

you know, coming forward.

Seat belts.

The smell of
burning plastic fills the air.

Dropping oxygen masks

could make the situation worse.

I could have deployed
the oxygen masks

to the passengers,
but it's forbidden.

You're only allowed to
use the oxygen masks

in the case of a massive--

a massive decompression

or loss of cabin pressure,

not for fire.

I was crying and scared.

I wasn't hysterical.

The gentleman
sitting next to me

explained to me that
if I would not cry

and if I could, you
know, conserve my--

not breathe so fast, that it
would conserve the oxygen,

would help us, and not to worry
that the flight attendants,

they really know how to handle
these sort of situations.

As the
electrical malfunctions

rippled through the plane,
the pa system shuts down.

Flight attendants struggle
to shout directions,

but it's getting more and
more difficult to breathe.

In 1983, it's not standard
procedure to tell passengers

how to open the emergency
doors, but in this case,

the two flight attendants
are taking no chances.

...As far
away from the plan as possible.

As smoke begins
entering the cockpit,

the captain's situation
is becoming critical.

For the first time, Ouimet talks
to the Cincinnati airport.

Approach Air Canada 797.

We're on mayday.
We are going down.

Air Canada
797, Cincinnati approach.

Planned runway 36 IOS and the
equipment has been alerted.

Do you have time to give me
the nature of the emergency?

We have
a fire in the washroom.

We're filling up
with smoke right now.

Say type of aircraft,

number of people on board
and amount of fuel.

We'll copy that later.

We don't have time.

Gregory Karam is
the approach tower controller.

He's the lifeline for
the struggling jet.

He can't see the
plane on radar yet,

but he knows it's in trouble.

Almost 07:13,
Karam catches sight

of flight 797 on his radar.

Air Canada 797,
you are now fully identified.

This will be a no gyro radar
approach for runway 27 left.

Descend now to 3,500 feet.

Your position is now 12 miles
southeast of the airport.

The crew needs to
be guided in from the ground.

Struggling to see
through the dense smoke,

they could easily
veer off course.

Karam will talk them down,

watching them every step
of the way.

In the cabin,
the smoke and heat

are becoming unbearable.

My thought was, well,
we're going to crash,

they won't be able to
identify myself because

I didn't have my papers with me.

So I stood up, I took my
wallet in the compartment

and put my jacket on so that
they could identify my body.

Where's the airport?

12 o'clock and 8 miles,
Air Canada.

(on radio)
Ok, we're trying to locate it.

We're going to
need fire trucks.

They're standing by for you.

Can you give me the number
of people and amount of fuel?

(on radio)
We don't have time.

It's getting worse in here.

Understood, sir.

Turn left now.

You are one 1/2 mile
north of final approach.

Finally, the
crew sees the airport.

Ok, we have the airport.

The tower has you in sight.

You need not acknowledge
further transmission

from the Air Canada 797.

-You are cleared to land.
-

You are four miles
from the airport.

Good luck.

In a thick haze
of smoke and soot,

flight attendants Laura Kayama
and Judi Davidson

feel their way along
the aisle

trying to reassure
the passengers .

They can't get
past the 12th row.

The smoke and the heat
are overwhelming.

Fighting the
reluctant controls,

captain Cameron's strength
is being pushed to the limit.

797,
the tower has you in sight.

Squinting
through the smoke,

the crew of flight 797
lands hard.

At 07:20, the Air Canada
plane is on the ground.

It's less than 30 minutes

since the first sign
of any trouble

on board flight 797.

When we touched the ground,

I assumed that we're safe now.

Now let's get out
of this airplane.

But inside the plane,
the smoke isn't letting up.

Passengers are undoing
their seatbelts

and trying
desperately to escape.

Got up out of my seat,

and I remember putting my
hands up on someone's back,

and it was like
waiting in a line.

And I knew that was one line I
didn't want to wait very long.

So I turned around and
went the other direction

not knowing I was actually
heading towards

the front of the plane.

Sergio Benetti is
the first one to the door.

-
-

He's helping gasping
passengers escape.

Go. Go. Go.

The cabin is
pitch black and burning hot.

In the cockpit, the crew
quickly shuts the plane down.

The first officer escapes
through the emergency window.

It's a 16-foot
jump to the ground.

Passengers have
opened three of the wing exits,

but even with the doors open,

the exits are all but invisible.

The smoke is too thick.

I saw a light,

and it was the door
that had opened.

Someone had opened the door.

I realized what it was.

I ran to the door
and held my health--

I just put my face out
so I could breathe.

Passengers
who have found the exit

slide off the wing
and stumble to safety.

Go. Go. Go.

On the ground,
Laura Kayama and Judi Davidson

frantically move passengers
away from the deadly plane.

Fire rescue vehicles
surround the plane.

They douse the plane's
exterior

and the ground beneath with foam

fearing a fuel fire or worse,
an explosion.

Don!

Through the cockpit window--

you got to get out!

--Ouimet met
can see captain Cameron

sitting in his
seat looking dazed

and slumped towards the wheel.

First thing that
got my attention

was to see Don's face
in the window

and realize that he was not
completely conscious.

I couldn't
get out of my seat.

I'd start and I'd get my
ass up in the air like that,

and I'd be pushed back by--
I have no idea.

It was an invisible force, but
it was probably smoke and fire.

Desperately trying
to save the captain's life,

Ouimet tells firefighters
to cover him with foam.

It was this soapy,

ice cold mixture
that drenched me.

It works.

Cameron stirs and climbs out
through the cockpit window.

Stop. There he is. Don!

Barely 90 seconds
have passed

since the plane landed
when suddenly

the whole interior
of flight 797 ignites.

-
-

The flames roll
through the cabin like a train.

Captain Donald Cameron
is the last person

to get out of the plane alive.

We knew there were
people in the airplane.

Unfortunately at that point,
that was-- that was finished.

The cabin fire breaks
to the top of the fuselage.

Black smoke
can be seen for miles.

Flight attendant
Laura Kayama begins to count.

I will remember
these words forever.

She told us to line up so that
she could count the survivors.

If there were survivors,
obviously, they were dead.

14, 18, 19, 22.

Including the crew,

there had been 46 people
aboard the plane,

but there aren't 46
people on the runway.

I really
thought that if the pilot

could land the plane,
we would all get off.

But I knew when
I looked around,

I didn't think we
were all there.

The passengers
who escaped the plane

suffer from smoke inhalation
and minor injuries,

but most are not badly hurt.

It was almost like

if you got off the plane,

nothing was wrong.

I mean, there was
maybe a sprained ankle,

maybe someone had a
broken arm or something.

You made it and you
were completely fine,

or you didn't make it.

I guess it was
around midnight,

I decided to call Air Canada.

I said, I'm trying to find
out if a friend of mine

was on this flight
in Cincinnati.

And she said, are you
a member of the family?

I said, no, I'm
just a close friend.

And she said, do you know
if his wife is alone?

And I said, well, yes.

And she said, well, she
may need somebody with her.

Stan Rogers,
the rising musical star,

didn't make it off the plane.

Cincinnati ground, this
is captain of the Air Canada

flight that's on fire here.

Captain Cameron radioed

Cincinnati ground control

from an emergency vehicle
near his plane.

He has a sobering message.

It seems there are 23 people
left on board the aircraft.

Is there a scheduled
carrier that runs into here

that could
maybe give aid and shelter

to our stranded passengers?

It's pretty cold out here.

What began as a
simple electrical problem

has taken the lives
of 23 people.

What caused the deadly fire?

What went so horribly wrong?

Now the burnt shell of a DC-9

sits on the runway at the
greater Cincinnati airport.

It is one of the most disturbing

airplane disasters in years.

Within the hour, investigators

from the National
Transportation Safety Board

are on the scene.

The first grim task
of the investigators

is to recover the
bodies of the dead,

21 Canadians and 2 Americans.

Many are burned
beyond recognition.

Almost all of the
victims are found

in the front half
of the plane

between the wings
and the cockpit.

Some are still strapped
into their seats.

Others are found in the aisles.

And even though
all the passengers

had been moved up
earlier in the flight,

2 bodies are found near
the rear beyond the wings.

Because of
the dense smoke in the cabin,

the passengers couldn't see
well enough to find the exits.

And two passengers went
beyond the over wing exits

and succumbed to
the environment.

Investigators take
blood samples from the bodies.

They find deadly levels
of certain chemicals

that were produced
as the plane burned.

When we did
toxicological studies,

we were able to
determine that there were

some significant high levels
of cyanide and fluoride

in the blood, as well
as carbon monoxide.

It's not
known if the toxic fumes

killed the passengers.

All that's certain
is that they were unable

to escape before the
flames tore through the plane.

With the bodies removed from
the cabin of flight 797,

investigators begin digging
through the wreckage

to try and find
the cause of the fire.

Among them, are
members of the FBI.

They were investigating

to determine whether terrorism
might have been a factor.

So they were on scene right
away looking at the aircraft

to make that determination.

The FBI examines
pieces of the plane's floor,

samples of water
from the washroom,

even a plastic vial
found on the floor.

The FBI became
involved very early

because of the possibility
of a crime taking place

takes precedent
over a accident.

They were looking
for anything

that would have to do with
an incendiary device

or small explosive device
or anything

that could be fused
to start a fire.

They determined that
there was no evidence

of any crime being committed.

It was probably
accidental ignition.

And so they then left and
NTSB took over the accident.

Having discounted
the possibility

that the fire was
deliberately set

investigators consider
the next obvious cause,

a cigarette.

When smoking on planes
was still allowed,

the most common source
of fires in a washroom

was the trash container.

Investigators examine
the trash container

and find that the
top is burned away,

but the trash chute
and the container

behind and below the sink
are intact.

Inside the container
are remnants of paper,

scorched but not burned.

The fire could not
have started here.

With the most obvious
potential causes discounted,

investigators begin to
comb through the wreckage,

looking for what
headstarted the fire.

Studying the history
of the plane,

hill uncovers some
startling facts.

In the year before
the accident,

76 separate maintenance
issues had been written up

in the plane's logbook.

All were dealt with,
but, still,

it's an unusually high number
of problems.

The plane's troubled
history didn't end there.

Four years earlier, the rear
bulkhead had failed,

causing an explosive
decompression.

The crew had to make
an emergency landing.

It knocked
out a lot of electrical cable

and hydraulics and
stuff like that.

And the guy did a hell of a
job bringing it back to Boston.

The plane was repaired

and put back into service,

but hill
focuses on the wires

that had to be stitched
together after the accident.

A bad repair job could have
been the cause of the fire.

There were wires
that ran through there

that had been cut,
spliced back together.

Investigators study
all the wire splices

they can find on flight 797

that weren't destroyed
in the fire,

but they find no evidence of
arcing or short circuiting.

It's another dead end.

Investigators turn
their attention

to the cockpit voice recorder

and the popping
circuit breakers.

What was that?

It's right there. I see it.

Look, there.

Yeah.

-Like a machine gun.
- Yeah. Zap, zap, zap.

The circuit
breakers trip as a precaution.

When they begin to overheat,

the circuit breakers turn off,

cutting electrical current
to the motor.

It's a safety feature so the
motor won't cause a fire.

Pops as I push it.

Investigators need
to know if the breakers

were tripped by a fire that
had already started,

or was the motor
itself the problem?

The NTSB builds a mock up
of the plane's washroom

and forces the flush
motor to seize.

They want to see if it
could have started the fire.

The seized motor
reaches a temperature

of 802 degrees Fahrenheit.

It's hot, but it's not
enough to ignite

parts of the washroom
around the motor.

As they listen to the
cockpit voice recorder,

investigators uncover
a puzzling clue.

3 minutes before the
circuit breakers popped,

the recorder picked
up another noise.

It was the sound
of electrical arcing,

like static,
repeated eight times.

The noises weren't
audible to the crew.

Hidden from view on any
airplane is a river of wiring.

Investigators focus
on a cable

coming from a generator
below the washroom floor.

Insulation had
rubbed off two wires,

making it possible for
sparks to be produced,

sparks that could start a fire.

There was evidence that there
was some electrical arcing,

but it could have occurred
after the insulation

had burned on those wires.

In spite of countless
hours of investigation

and numerous tests,
in the end,

the NTSB can't pinpoint
the exact cause of the fire.

There simply isn't
enough evidence.

Just because of the
vast amount of damage

that was done in that
concentrated area

around the laboratory where
the fire burnt

for a long period of time

and possibly destroyed
any of the evidence

of where the fire
actually ignited.

Even if they'll never know

the exact cause of the fire,

investigators try
to understand how

it could cause so much damage.

There had been heat and smoke,

but no one had seen any flames

until an explosion
ripped through the jet.

When you have a fire that
has incomplete combustion,

when it has a lack of oxygen,

they will produce
combustible gases.

Those gases then can collect,

especially in the crown
of an aircraft.

The fire had
burned out of sight

behind the washroom walls

and the smoke,
hot gases and fumes

intensified and spread
inside the wall space

from the washroom through
to the cabin walls.

Those spaces acted as a sort
of chimney for the gases

and smoke that the
fire was creating.

Although the fire remained
concealed behind the walls

and ceiling panels,
the smoke and hot gases

entered the cabin
through every seam,

gathering in the upper
space in the cabin

and pressing down
on the passengers.

The inaccessible
areas and the cabin area

are all linked together
through small cracks

and crevices and small openings.

The plane is one
big pressure vessel

with everything being
the same,

equilibrated at the same
pressure.

So smoke and gases
in those areas

would fairly quickly
start to permeate

into the passenger cabin.

When the doors were
open during the evacuation,

an unlimited supply of oxygen

was suddenly available
to feed the fire.

The more intense the heat,

the more oxygen hungry
a fire becomes.

The gases ignited with
the force of an explosion.

Once you have a flashover,
you produce heat, toxic gases,

and you burn up all the
oxygen in the cabin,

and it becomes non-survivable.

The technical part of
the investigation is complete,

but there are still
a lot of questions

about how the crew
responded to the fire.

The first officer said,
it's starting to clear now.

And at that point,
I reckoned that the fire

was under control.

Could they have done
more to prevent the tragedy

on board flight 797?

NTSB investigators are unable

to definitively pinpoint
the cause of the fire,

but after reviewing
all the information they have,

they're ready
to release their report.

The report on the lethal fire
aboard Air Canada flight 797

is published a year
after the accident.

It's a landmark in
aircraft safety,

but it immediately makes
for controversial headlines.

The NTSB points out that
the source of the smoke

was never identified, either
by the flight attendants

or the first officer.

The captain was never told

nor did he inquire as
to the precise location

and extent of the fire, which
had been reported to him.

And with that in
mind, what type of fire

did you believe that you had?

A bin fire.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

And the report
asks a hypothetical question.

Air Canada 797, we
have a fire on board.

We are going down.

Can
you possibly make Cincinnati?

Roger that.

If he'd begun
to descend sooner,

could the captain have landed

at Standford Field Airport
in Louisville, Kentucky?

It was a few minutes closer.

The report and the
media attention it gets

are devastating to captain
Cameron and his crew.

Soon after the
report is released,

there is an outcry among
pilots in the industry.

They resent its implied
criticism of flight 797's crew

and the suggestion
that they could

have begun their descent
5 minutes sooner.

Several months later,

the Air Line Pilots Association
submits a petition

that defends
Cameron and the crew.

It makes an impact.

The NTSB releases
a revised report,

including the petition by the
Air Line Pilots Association.

In the petition,
first officer Ouimet

writes an impassioned
defense of landing the plane

where and when they did.

The issue wasn't
only the distance

to the nearest airport, but
the required rate of descent.

As it was, the plane
barely made the descent

to the greater
Cincinnati airport.

Still, the National
Transportation Safety board's

revised summary doesn't pull
all its punches,

pointing a finger
at captain Cameron.

The report states
that the time taken

to evaluate the
nature of the fire

and to decide to initiate
an emergency descent

contributed to the
severity of the accident.

20 years later, this
statement still stings.

I'm glad they were all-- the
people that got off got off.

I'm very sorry that the
people that didn't get off

didn't get off because we
spent a lot of time

and effort getting them there.

That really bothered me.

All I know is that I
did the best I could.

14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.

Along with the comments

and the performance of the crew,

the NTSB recommends
a host of safety improvements.

Perhaps if the
flight had been full,

someone would have noticed
the smell of smoke sooner.

But what the washroom
of flight 797

could have used
was a smoke detector.

They weren't standard
throughout the industry,

but after flight 797, attitudes
and regulations changed.

Even though flight attendants
did receive some training

in dealing with
fires aboard a plane,

it didn't go far enough.

But what was more obvious,
the flight attendants

weren't properly
equipped to attack fires.

Without full face
masks and oxygen,

they couldn't be
expected to fight fire

while holding their breath.

In the years after
flight 797,

attendants receive better
equipment and training.

The cabin crew had also
made split second decisions

that helped save lives.

Seat belts.

Moving passengers
further up the plane

and handing out wet towels
minimized the effects

of the toxic smoke.

Their decision to tell
passengers to open

the emergency exits
over the wings

was not standard procedure,

but it let some passengers
escape more quickly

and was eventually
adopted as a routine practice.

Finally, it became obvious

from the location
of some of the bodies

that passengers died because
of precious seconds lost

trying to find the exits
in the pitch black.

What would have
made a difference?

Track lighting on the floors

and bumps along
the overhead bins

that identify the
rows with emergency exits,

features that would
eventually become standard.

As a direct result of 797,

a number of rules were changed,

including a
more stringent test for seats,

a heat release and
smoke requirement

for cabin interior panels,

requirement for smoke detectors
in lavatories,

and halon fire
extinguishers in the cabin.

We're going to make
an emergency landing.

Put your head on your lap.

Stay in that position.

But the changes were too late

for those who died
on flight 797,

like the man sitting
beside Connie Kirsch.

Months after the crash,

his wife tracked Connie down.

She said, I just
understand my husband

was the one that was
next to you,

and I just wanted to know,
how was he?

What was his spirits?

And I said, he was
in great spirit.

He was very nice.

He let me sit next to him

and explained to me
how to breathe.

That was really difficult.

Stan Rogers was
another victim of flight 797.

He would never be
able to fulfill

the promise of his life
and growing career.

I loved his generosity
and his loyalty as a friend.

As an artist, he was perhaps
one of the best songwriters

this country has ever produced.

And it was really an
incredible pleasure and honor

to be working with him.

He still gets lots
and lots of airplay.

And so his-- his legend grows.

Sometime after the accident,

two Air Canada employees

show up at Diane Fadley's
door in Dallas.

They brought my bible.

It's dark because it
was burned and singed,

but it's a paperback bible

and it did not
completely burn up.

This is just a reminder to me

that god was with me.

And I believe he protected me,

and, you know,

he was there with me.

Captain Cameron and his crew

eventually received
six separate awards

for their heroic
actions on flight 797,

including recognition from
the Royal Canadian Air Force,

but they're all still
haunted by the nightmare.

You feel responsible.

There's no-- no question.

You feel guilt. You're
willing to give your license.

You-- you feel very--

very small.

It's just a shame we
didn't get everybody off.

Still bothers me.