All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S07E07.Out.Of.Sight.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

East of Los Angeles,
a calm holiday weekend

is shattered by a
devastating explosion.

Airplane crash
just back in our backyard.

A neighborhood
is destroyed.

Frank!

Angelica!

I turned and saw my
house totally on fire.

All the houses behind
me were all on fire.

Where are they?

Where are they?

Fiery wreckage
is strewn for blocks.

Investigators must discover
why this airline crashed

and find a way to stop it
from ever happening again.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

We lost both engines.

Keep the mask
over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Mayday! Mayday!

Brace for impact!

I think I lost one.

Investigations started
in the tragic incident.

It's going to crash!

Los Angeles
International Airport, LAX,

is one of the
busiest in the world.

It's used by 40 million
passengers each year.

More than 1,500 planes
take off and land every day.

It's August 31, 1986,
Labor Day weekend.

Today, a junior air traffic
controller, Walter White,

will be handling
some of that traffic.

How's it going?

That was a big one...

White isn't a
full-fledged controller yet.

He has to put in
more time before he

gets his final certification.

Hey, Karl.
How's it going?

Hey. Slow, slow, slow.

It
was a long weekend.

And it was a beautiful
day in Los Angeles.

It's absolutely clear
outside, which we call

Chamber of Commerce type day.

You want to take a break?

Have a cigarette?

I could sit in for you.

That was
my normal assigned shift.

And Walter came in and asked
me if I wanted a break,

want to go smoke a cigarette.

And I said, sure.

Traffic was light.

It wasn't very busy.

It was Sunday morning.

Well, certainly,

any controller is looking
to get seasoning, if you will.

Three months,
four months, that's

a pretty new controller.

Los Angeles Approach,
good morning.

I mean, it wasn't my turn
for a break.

Walter wanted to
work the sector.

As I remember correctly,
he wanted to work it

for some proficiency time.

He hadn't worked it in a while.

ACL 60, can you see
the Runway 25 Left?

Roger, LA Approach.

Thank you.

Reduce speed to 200 then
descend and maintain 6,000.

200 descend and
maintain 6,000, thank you.

Have a nice day.

Several hundred
miles to the south,

passengers are boarding
an Aeromexico DC-9.

Dr. Donald Wong and his sons
are returning from a highly

successful fishing trip.

Jason... Jason,
I think we should

put it up in the kitchen.

They caught
an enormous sailfish...

Your mom will love it.

...which they
planned to display back home.

Labor Day weekend
was the last weekend

before school was to start.

Donald decided that it would
be fun to take the boys fishing

down in Mexico, to go deep sea
fishing, which he'd only done

one other time in his life.

This would be like
father-son bonding weekend.

And it was also the
first time that they

had traveled without me.

Just east of LA,
the suburban city of Cerritos

wakes up slowly.

In the 1970s, this
bustling community

had been one of the fastest
growing in Los Angeles County.

My husband had been

working out of town all week.

And he was coming
home for the weekend.

And that Sunday morning,
I decided let's just

stay home, not go to church.

I'm going to go out and
get your favorite things

for a good breakfast.

Javier, go and take a shower.

And I left to go
to the grocery store.

In the home was Alex...

he was 14... his twin
sister, Angelica...

She was asleep.

He was asleep still...

and Javier... that
was my 16-year-old...

and my husband.

As Estrada
leaves on her errand,

Aeromexico Flight 438 is
just 20 minutes from LA.

Captain Antonio Valdez-Prom
is acting as copilot

as they approach the city.

First Officer
Jose Valencia is piloting

this leg of their journey.

Ready when you are, Captain.

About 13
miles south of LAX,

it's the Torrance Airport.

Operating in the
mammoth shadow of LAX,

Torrance serves private
planes and amateur pilots.

It's one of several
small airports

that operate near
LA, a region that

has over 6,000 weekend fliers.

Fuel set.

Flap set.

At the end of a
busy summer, William Kramer;

his daughter,
Caroline; and wife

Kathleen are finally
taking to the skies.

Piper 4891 all
clear for takeoff.

Good morning, Piper 4891.

This is Torrance Tower.

You're cleared for takeoff
from Runway 5 Left.

They're heading
to Big Bear Lake...

You can take flight now.

Rolling tower.

...about
125 miles northeast.

A meticulous man,
William Kramer

is an executive for
an engineering company.

Six years ago,
at the age of 47,

Kramer bought his first
airplane, a stylish and swift

Piper Cherokee.

Wings West 5225,
Los Angeles Approach,

depart Seal Beach heading 320.

Expect a visual
approach Runway 25 Left.

Report airport in sight.

Thanks.

Walter White's
job as arrivals controller

is to make sure incoming planes
keep well clear of each other.

He's directing them to
land on one of two runways.

LA Approach, Runway 25 Left,
thank you.

Southeast of LAX, the
crew of Aeromexico Flight 498

is still a few minutes
from their first contact

with Walter White.

OK, just an hour to go.

We're in Big Bear Lake.

They're reporting visibility
of 14 miles today.

Pretty good.

As the Torrance
Airport recedes behind him,

Kramer begins climbing
to 9,800 feet on his way

northeast to Big Bear Lake.

Several miles away,
a half-full DC-9 from Mexico

is approaching Los Angeles
International Airport.

Just 6,500 feet below
them, Theresa Estrada

is driving home
with the groceries

for a holiday breakfast.

Her husband and three
children are waiting

just a few blocks away.

That's it.

Holiday's over.

PSA 1765.

One mile southbound.
Altitude unknown.

It's not
a busy morning.

And one by one, arrivals
controller Walter White

guides his planes in safely.

At 11:47 AM,
he gets his first call

from Aeromexico Flight 498.

Los Angeles Approach, good
morning. This is Aeromexico 498.

Aeromexico 498,
Los Angeles Approach,

25 Left, final approach course,
do you have information?

Aeromexico
Flight 498 is

now officially inside
what's known

as the Terminal
Control Area, or TCA.

Sometimes referred
to as the birdcage,

the TCA is a complex piece
of three-dimensional airspace

around the airport.

It's restricted
airspace that's normally found

around heavily congested
airports or hub airports where

the traffic density
is extremely high,

and you need to
control the access

into and out of that airspace.

Aeromexico 498,
traffic 10 o'clock, 1 mile

northbound, altitude unknown.

Roger, 498.

Aeromexico 498,
reduce speed to 190,

then descend
and maintain 6,000.

As
the Aeromexico plane descends,

William Kramer and his
family continue climbing.

I hope it's like this
when we get to Big Bear.

We should be
able to see the ocean by now.

Hun, take a look at the
map and look around the 45

and see if you can see any kind
of landmarks that we can use.

Oh, what am I looking for?

This is Aeromexico 498...

Walter White
is keeping his eye

on the Aeromexico jet
when his attention is

abruptly drawn to
another plane that's

just appearing on his radar.

It's not one he's expecting.

One approach, 66 Romeo

is on a flight from Fullerton.

Cruising altitude is 4,500.

We'd like following.

The pilot of
a small Grumman Tiger

asks White to help guide him
through the crowded terminal

control area.

Pilots are supposed to contact
LAX Approach before they

enter the controlled airspace.

This pilot could be in
the path of incoming traffic.

But before White can deal
with a private plane,

he gets a call from
the Aeromexico DC-9.

What speed do you want?

We're reducing to 290...

no, no, to 190.

Oh, OK, you can hold
what you have, sir.

White decides to give
the Aeromexico jet the runway

closest to their gate.

Change in plan, sir.

Stand by.

Roger, 498.

With
the DC-9 on hold,

White turns to the intruder.

Grumman 66 Romeo, squawk
4524, remain clear of the TCA.

White tells
the pilot of the Grumman

to use a unique radio channel.

But he seems confused.

45... what were the
other two numbers?

4524.

Grumman 66 Romeo,
are you at 4,500 now?

Negative, we're at
3,400 and climbing.

OK, you are right in the
middle of the TCA, sir.

Grumman 66 Romeo,
I suggest in future,

you look at your TCA chart.

You just had an aircraft pass
right off your left above you

at 5,000.

And we run a lot of jets
right through there at 3,500.

Well, what do you
suggest I do now?

As the
crew of Aeromexico

Flight 498 continues to
close in on the airport...

Ignition, landing lights...

...their DC-9 is
rocked by a violent shudder.

There are bugs.

What was that?

Aeromexico 498,
Los Angeles Approach.

First Officer
Valencia tries desperately

to control their dive.

Aeromexico 498,
Los Angeles Approach.

This can't be!

I saw a huge explosion, just

the red, vibrant colors of
fire,

just huge explosion,

like the way a bomb
might hit the ground.

White is
getting no response

from the Aeromexico jet.

Aeromexico 498,
Los Angeles Approach.

And now he can't
find it on his radar screen.

I'm sitting there

talking with the two
departure controllers

and not really thinking.

I hear Walter say
something like...

I think I lost one.

Aeromexico 498,
Los Angeles Approach.

That immediately

got everybody's attention.

So we looked at the
radars and could hear

him calling, Aeromexico 498.

Called them several
times on the radio.

Where was Aeromexico?

At this point,
we weren't absolutely

sure what had happened.

White calls to
an incoming jet for help.

American 333 heavy,

I want you to take
a look around 11 o'clock.

I just lost contact
with a DC-9.

Let me know if you see
anything down there, please.

11 o'clock,
5 miles, what altitude?

He was last assigned 6.

He's no longer on my radar
scope, American 333 heavy.

OK, I see a very large smoke
screen off on the left side

of the aircraft,
about 11 o'clock.

I went down
the street to go to my house

and I saw a woman's
head, her body

had been cut in a diagonal.

And she was just laying there.

There was nothing but debris
and fires sporadically

all over the place.

And I could see fire in
the whole neighborhood.

Nearby, an engine
from a local fire station

had been on a training
exercise led by

Fire Captain Larry Hambleton.

All of a
sudden, one of the firemen

tapped me on the
shoulder and said,

there's a big column of smoke,
you know, off to our left.

So I picked up the mic and
made a guess at the address.

Responding to a large
fire north of 91,

north of Carmenita.

They came back and
said, well, we've got

a report of an airliner down.

So I upgraded the response
to basically triple

what I initially asked for.

I'm calling for a third
alarm and two air squads east

of 183 and Germany.

As we approached,

I realized that in addition

to the aircraft
parts in the street,

there were people, body parts,

which changed the complexion
of the whole thing.

Set up a perimeter.

That's as good as it gets.

Don't press it. Let's go!

Hello!

Hello!

Can anybody hear me?

At Los
Angeles Approach,

Walter White, deeply
shaken by the crash,

is relieved of duty.

I remember watching

Walter get up and walk out
of the room by himself.

And, you know,
something inside of me

was just saying
this is not right.

This is not right.

Somebody's got to go with him.

Tony, he can't go out alone.

I could have been sitting
there just as easy as him.

And I don't know if
I'd have done anything

different than he did.

If you're out there,
you'll see a large plume

of white and black smoke.

And that's the air crash
site, about three miles

west of not far...

Helicopter news
crews are quickly on the scene.

...the field that
they're using for medevac...

medevacing...

There was a lot of
fire in front of me.

And my house is just
totally on fire.

Frank!

Angelica!

Javier!

Angelica!

And I saw my neighbor...

Where are they?

I said to her, Rose,
where is my family?

What happened?

And she goes, oh, honey,
your family's in here.

They're over here.

We're looking for you.

And within myself,
all I could do

is thank God that they
were safe and sound.

She took me into her home.

- And I saw Alex.
-Alex?

-Ma!
-Alex!

What happened?

Where's Angelica?

I don't know...

Where's Angelica?

I don't know.

Where's Javier?
Where's Papa?

I don't know, Mama.

I'm sorry.

I don't know, Ma.

And he started crying right
away and said, Mom, I'm sorry.

I'm the only one
that came out alive.

And all I could do was hug him.

Pieces
of fuselage have

torn through nearby homes,
setting them on fire.

I'm at the scene
of the incident at the block.

We have three homes...

Hello?

Is there anybody in here?

As I surveyed the houses
and the crash site around me,

it was a very
surreal experience

to stand right there and
not see another living soul.

I have got wreckage
all over the place.

There are no survivors,
just fatalities.

Let's go to work, guys.

There are
five homes on fire.

Copy.

Air Force 73,
can you confirm...

I don't think I ever
saw a whole human being.

I gave them the job
of finding body parts

and wrapping them
or covering them

with a yellow rescue blankets.

No matter where it was,
ever so small or whatever,

you know, a hand
or a torso or a leg

or whatever, that
became life to us.

It was treated with respect.

Oh boy, a little
corner of this neighborhood

has just been torn apart.

Yellow sheets
mark the bodies.

I count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11 bodies right now.

Oh, gosh.

This neighborhood has just
been devastated, just flat...

16 houses have
been damaged, many of them

completely destroyed.

At Los Angeles
International Airport,

Mary Wong is waiting for her
husband and two young sons.

I went to the airport

to pick them up
around noon and waited

in that area outside of
customs and waited and waited.

And probably... you know,
you're thinking customs

might take a little while.

But about maybe
12:20 or 12:30,

I started seeing a man walk
around with a pack on his back

with a green cross.

We were taken up to
a lounge upstairs.

And on the elevator up,
I looked at the man.

And I said, they're dead.

So I just know they're gone.

In Cerritos,
emergency workers are shocked

by another grisly discovery.

In the playground
of a local school,

they find the wreckage
of a Piper Cherokee Archer.

Remarkably intact,

the plane's canopy
is sliced off.

Its three occupants are found
still belted into their seats.

William Kramer and
his family are dead.

All the passengers and crew
on Aeromexico Flight 498

are also dead.

In addition, 15 people on
the ground have been killed.

It's a
horrifying situation.

I've got...

Two planes have
crashed into a

California neighborhood.

Investigators from the National
Transportation Safety Board

arrive that night.

They include experts in human
performance, flight systems,

and air traffic control.

From the beginning,
investigators

are focused on the
fact that there

are two planes on the ground.

It suggests a disturbing
conclusion that this

was a midair collision.

The idea that this
had been a midair collision

was already conveyed
to us before we

even launched out of Hangar
6 back when we got to work.

They saw two
wreckages coming down.

And that's the way
it got conveyed to us.

With that idea in
mind, John White and his team

must painstakingly
examine the wreckage.

It's more of now documenting
where the major pieces were

and then looking at the pieces
to see if you can determine

how the aircraft...
what angle the aircraft

may have come together at.

Propeller marks
in the tail of the DC-9

and paint from
the Piper Cherokee

reveal how the planes crashed.

It
looks like the Piper

collided at the tail
section of the DC-9.

And the horizontal
stabilizer came off.

And once that happened,
you could no longer

control the pitch of the DC-9.

The descending
DC-9 and the climbing

Cherokee met at
a 90-degree angle.

Their combined speed
was 280 miles an hour.

The impact tore off the
airliner's tail section.

Discovering how the planes
collided is the first step.

The more important question
to be answered is, why?

To piece together the tragedy,
investigators examined

the DC-9's
flight data recorder.

It helps them pinpoint the
exact location and altitude

of Aeromexico Flight 498.

The DC-9 was inside
the terminal control area,

the controlled airspace
of the Los Angeles Airport.

It was right where it
was supposed to be.

But the Kramers' Cherokee
was also inside the TCA.

With all of the jets
taking off and landing at LAX,

private planes must first get
permission to enter this area.

Piper 4891.

All clear
for takeoff, Torrance.

William Kramer
was a newcomer to Los Angeles.

Rolling tower.

But
investigators learned

that he was well aware of
the limits imposed by the TCA.

He knew that it was
restricted airspace.

And in the cockpit of Kramer's
Cherokee, the confirmation.

Investigators find
a map of the Los Angeles

terminal control area.

Investigators make
another puzzling discovery.

They learned that the Kramers'
proposed flight plan

would have taken them
from Torrance to Long Beach,

then up to Ontario,
and finally to Big Bear Lake

at a cruising altitude
of nearly 10,000 feet.

That plan would have kept
them well out of the TCA.

The fact of the matter is

that the Cherokee
flew into the TCA

and hit the DC-9 in restricted
airspace without a clearance.

So how had
Kramer flown into danger?

And why hadn't
he let anyone know?

On the ground in Cerritos,
one possible answer emerges.

Heart disease runs
in Kramer's family.

And the initial autopsy
results show a major blockage.

Are you all right, Bill?

Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.

Kramer
may have suffered

a heart attack on
the flight, leaving

the plane without a pilot.

Samples of
William Kramer's heart tissue

are sent to the Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology

for testing.

If he suffered a heart attack,
it might explain why he

didn't call in to LA Approach.

It's totally possible

that he could have
had the heart attack,

fell back, pulled
the airplane up.

And that's why he didn't
try and avoid the DC-9.

But no matter
why Kramer was flying

in restricted airspace,

air traffic controller
Walter White

should have
been able to see him.

Kramer's plane should have
appeared on White's radar.

Before being questioned
by investigators,

White reviews the radio
calls from that morning.

He needs to be sure of
what he said and what he saw.

Richard Wentworth was
one of the investigators

who talked to White.

At any time did you see the
Piper Cherokee on your scope?

No. No, sir.

The Piper's target
was not displayed.

It is my belief that it
was not on my radar scope.

He was positive
that the aircraft

was not there for him to see.

NTSB investigators aren't

satisfied with White's memory.

While the radar data
is being analyzed,

news arrives from the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology

about William Kramer's heart.

Are you all right, Bill?

Results from a
detailed study of his body

show that while he had
advanced heart disease,

William Kramer was not
fighting a heart attack

before the collision.

Investigators must find
another explanation

for why the Kramers' flight

went into the Los Angeles
terminal control area.

While he had submitted
a flight plan,

small planes like
Kramer's Cherokee

don't have sophisticated
instruments.

Like most private pilots,
Kramer was navigating

by landmarks like freeways.

That meant keeping an eye
both on the landscape below

and the airspace around him.

And that's
definitely the 405.

Where is it again?

Right there.

John Andrews
is an aviation expert

who testified about
the circumstances

of the Cerritos disaster.

The
pilot of the Piper

was navigating by
visual landmarks,

possibly attempting to
follow parallel to a freeway.

And that he had become
confused about which freeway

he should have been following.

New to California,
perhaps bewildered

by the tangle of
freeways below him,

Kramer may have flown into
the terminal control area

without knowing it.

Investigators are
now confident they

can explain why Kramer was
inside the controlled airspace

of the TCA.

But when he finally gets a
look at the air traffic control

radar record,
Richard Wentworth is

convinced that
Walter White should have

been able to see the Piper.

We
were able to determine

that the aircraft that
collided with Aeromexico

was there to be seen.

So why hadn't White
reacted to the Kramers' plane

if it was on his radar?

When junior air
controller Walter White

came to work at LA Airport
on the day of the crash,

the arrival station was being
controlled by Karl Grundmann.

Hey, Karl.

-How's it going?
-Hey.

Slow. Slow. Slow.

Grundmann believes
that long-standing radar

problems were the reason White
didn't see the Kramers' plane.

Controllers have been
complaining about the radars

for a long time.

-All yours, buddy.
-All right, thanks a lot.

We had reported
problems with the radar

not picking up
targets several times.

When radar
signals strike a target,

they bounce back
to the receiver.

But if buildings or mountains
interrupt the radar,

the return signal
can disappear.

You may lose one target.

You may lose two targets.

It may not be presented
for one sweep.

Did you see the Piper
Cherokee on your scope?

No, sir.

But that doesn't mean
that the target isn't there.

A blind spot is only
an instantaneous thing.

It's not a continuous thing.

I think I lost one.

There were also
holes that were just

because the radar was old.

It was just not as accurate
as it might have been.

It was not
state-of-the-art equipment,

that's for darn sure.

There's
an effect called flicker.

When a computer
becomes overloaded,

the scope will flicker.

Every now and then, targets
will drop out or can drop out.

We reviewed that data.

We had no evidence that
there were any malfunctions

of any systems in Los Angeles.

There is another
possible explanation.

If the Cherokee had
appeared on the radar,

White still could
have missed it.

Investigators focus
on the other plane

in the sky that day...

the Grumman Tiger.

Private planes are
required to contact

air traffic control
if they are entering

the terminal control area.

But the Tiger was
already deep into the TCA

before it radioed Walter White.

One approach, 66 Romeo was

on a flight from Fullerton.

Cruising altitude is 4,500.

We'd like following.

Grumman 66 Romeo,
are you at 4,500 now?

Negative, we're at
3,400 and climbing.

OK, you are right in the
middle of the TCA, sir.

There was an aircraft that
was east of the airport,

which he became involved in.

That was what they
called a violator.

Grumman 66
Romeo, I suggest in future,

you look at your TCA chart.

You just had an aircraft...

The problem with
the conversation

between the controller
and the pilot of the Grumman.

is that it went on too long.

Why were you so
mesmerized by the Grumman?

I thought he posed a risk.

This occurred

during a critical time
at which the two aircraft

to the southwest
of his display,

which was the Aeromexico
and the Cherokee, were merging.

But even if
the Cherokee signal did

appear on White's radar,
and even if he had seen it,

investigators discover that
White still would not have had

all the information he needed.

Radar signals only
show controllers

that a plane is in range.

Transponders on planes can
broadcast other information,

including height and speed.

But at the site of
the Cherokee wreckage,

investigators
discover the plane's

transponder is a basic model.

It only sends out information
on the plane's direction.

It provides no information
about the plane's altitude.

Grumman 66 Romeo, squawk 45...

Investigators believe
that White's divided attention,

perhaps made worse by
an older radar system,

explains why
air traffic control

never warned
the DC-9 of the danger

posed by Kramer's Cherokee.

Landmarks that we might
be able to use as a visual.

But there's
another mystery

that hasn't been solved.

Studying the
radar records from the day,

NTSB investigators are
startled by what they find.

Neither the crew of
the DC-9 nor the pilot

of the smaller Cherokee
took any evasive action

before the crash.

Both pilots appear completely
unaware of each other.

Definitely the 405...

Why hadn't the pilots
of either airplane reacted?

Visibility was over 12 miles.

How could two planes collide
in the clear blue sky?

To try to get a better
sense of what was happening

inside the Aeromexico
cockpit, investigators

listened to the airplane's
cockpit voice recorder.

Los Angeles Approach,
this is Aeromexico 498...

The flight
crew had put Walter White

on their overhead speakers.

The microphone for the
cockpit voice recorder was

right beside the speakers.

Los Angeles Approach,

- depart Seal Beach...
-Seat belts.

...heading 320.

Much of what
the pilot said was

-drowned out by White's voice.
- .

Reduce speed to 200 then

- descend and maintain 6,000.
-BPR bugs, altimeter bugs.

The radar information
paints a puzzling picture.

It indicates that
for more than a minute,

the Kramers' Cherokee
was there to be

seen by the Aeromexico crew.

And if the Kramers had looked
out their right side window,

they would also have
seen the Aeromexico jet.

But neither plane
altered its course.

Neither plane took any action
to avoid the deadly collision.

Investigators believe that if
William Kramer was indeed lost

and using the
highways as a guide,

he might never have seen
the approaching DC-9.

The window he would
have been looking out

was the pilot's window.

No, no, no, no, no.

But the
DC-9 was coming

from the other direction.

For the crew of the DC-9, the
very size of the much smaller

Cherokee could have prevented
them from seeing the plane

before it was too late.

In some cases, when
the small aircraft

is closing very rapidly, by
the time the aircraft becomes

large enough for you
to easily see it,

it's almost too late
to avoid the collision.

The design
of the cockpit windshield

may also have contributed
to the disaster.

Hey, Maria. Anything...

It's
possible that during part

of the approach, at least
for one of the pilots,

the aircraft was actually
behind the center post.

And unless the pilot moved
his head back and forth

to clear that airspace, unless
he had a reason to do that,

it's possible the aircraft
was obscured during part

of the time in which he
might have had a chance

of seeing the other aircraft.

Ignition.

The
disaster over Cerritos

revealed several
tragic weaknesses

in the air traffic control
system.

One of the most
glaring was that pilots

could not be relied on to
see and avoid each other.

They would need new technology
to keep a midair collision

from happening again.

The NTSB report
makes it clear that there

are glaring problems
across the air traffic system.

And these concerns
must be addressed

before inevitably there
is another midair disaster.

The FAA, which
regulates the airline

industry in the
United States, acted

swiftly to improve safety.

A new kind of transponder is
required for smaller planes,

the kind that might
have helped air traffic

controllers recognize
that a private aircraft posed

a danger.

A new system called
Mode C Intruder

was also developed to warn
air traffic controllers.

Mode C intruder

is an automated program
that is now incorporated in

all our major radar facilities,
that if an aircraft should

inadvertently intrude, the
controller will now be given

a visual and an
oral alert, thus

giving him time to provide a
timely warning to the pilot.

check.

Seat belts, engine...

Even for
the most diligent pilot,

the old strategy of see and
avoid had serious limitations.

Those limitations would
be addressed with the most

important innovation of all.

The major
technological innovation

that came out of
the Cerritos midair

was the congressional mandate
that all air carrier aircraft

operating within
the United States

would be outfitted with
TCAS, Traffic Collision

and Avoidance System.

John Andrews
worked in the team

that developed TCAS.

The TCAS Collision
Avoidance System,

which was under
development, quite possibly

could have prevented
this accident.

TCAS gives the pilot
a traffic advisory

at 45 seconds before
the potential collision.

Hey, Maria.

Everything OK back there?

And then at
approximately 25 seconds

or so before the
potential collision,

a resolution advisory
is given to actually tell

the pilots to climb or
descend to avoid the altitude

of the other aircraft.

See.

Today, commercial
airlines around the world

use TCAS.

The pilot of the Grumman Tiger,
the so-called third pilot,

whose actions may have
played a part in the crash,

was eventually
charged for flying

into controlled airspace in a
careless and reckless manner.

For Walter White, the effect
of the disaster over Cerritos

could not be overcome.

Walter came back to the TRACON.

And I think it was probably
a month or so later.

And I can't give you exactly
how long he stayed there.

But it wasn't very long.

And he just got up and
said no, no, thank you.

And as far as I know, he
didn't talk to airplanes again.

Within a
year of the incident,

the old radars at
LAX were replaced.

In Cerritos,
a memorial garden now

marks the day of the disaster.

Mary Wong has since remarried.

But the pain of returning home
that day will never go away.

There's nobody here.

The house is empty.

Derek was already living in
an apartment in San Diego.

And here I was.

I was no longer
a mother except to Derek.

And I was no longer a wife.

And so it shattered
my whole world.

Days after
the disaster, Mary Wong

met one of the
few people who could

fully understand her loss.

I went to the
memorial service.

And it was very important to
me to try to meet somebody else

who had gone through this.

And I knew from reading
stories that Theresa had lost

her husband and two children.

And so I saw someone there
who I thought was Theresa.

She says, are you
Theresa Estrada?

And I said, yes, I am.

She says, well,
my name is Mary Wong.

And she says...

I said I lost my
husband and children also.

I just wanted to grab her
and hug her because she was

feeling what I was feeling.

So we had an
immediate connection.

And we've maintained
our friendship

over these 20 years.

Everyone
who flies today

has been affected by the
midair collision over Cerritos.

The disaster led to
historic improvements

in aviation safety.