Original subtitles

First Officer: Airfield in sight.

Runway in sight.

Narrator: Two pilots

within a few feet of making a safe landing...

crash short of the runway in Colombia.

Woman: Our number-one priority was the passengers

and getting everyone to safety.

Brian Williams: A 737 broke apart upon hitting the ground.

[Siren]

Narrator: Investigators search for a possible cause

but find no useful evidence.

Investigator: and we still can't explain why.

Narrator: It's not until they scrutinize

the entire chain of events

that they finally catch a break.

Investigator: That's it.

Investigator: What?

First Officer: Climb, captain!

Flight Attendant: ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

Pilot: We lost both engines!

Flight Attendant: Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency Descent.

Pilot: Mayday, mayday!

Flight Attendant: Brace for impact!

Controller: I think I lost one.

Man:...Investigation starting into this tragedy...

Man: He's gonna crash!

Narrator: Just after midnight, Aires Flight 8250

is carrying a planeload of tourists and locals

from Bogota

to the small Colombian island of San Andréés,

an ocean playground in the Caribbean Sea.

Camilo Pineros: So much for grabbing dinner on the ground.

Wilson Gutierrez: Yeah, it's gonna be a late night.

Narrator: Captain Wilson Gutierrez

is a veteran pilot with almost 20 years of flying experience.

Gutierrez: At least we're finally up in the air.

Narrator: First Officer Camilo Pineros

has flown for Aires for three years,

With a full year on the airline's new Boeing 737.

Pineros: It looks like there's some weather ahead of us.

Gutierrez: Let's keep an eye on it.

Narrator: There are signs of a thunderstorm in the distance.

For the next hour and 30 minutes,

the 737 will fly northwest

to San Andréés

at a cruising altitude

of 36,000 feet.

[Bottles Clinking]

Passengers are restless

after an unexpected four-hour delay getting off the ground.

Flight Attendant: We should be landing just before 2 a.m.

Narrator: Flight attendant Adriana Cardenas Medina

is working hard to settle passengers,

many heading to the small island for a holiday.

[Speaking Spanish]

Cardenas medina, Translated: The flight was running late

because it was coming from Cali,

and it was late due to poor weather.

They said it was running two hours behind,

but it actually ended up being twice that.

[Speaking Spanish]

Narrator: Just over 40 minutes into the flight,

the captain sees the storm clouds ahead

are building.

John Cox: Airlines operate 24 hours a day,

so pilots fly in all kinds of conditions,

both daylight, dark, good weather, bad weather.

As a professional pilot, you deal

with these environmental challenges constantly.

[Chime]

Cardenas Medina: Prior to beginning our descent

into San Andreés,

we began to experience some light turbulence.

Flight Attendant: ladies and gentlemen,

please return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts.

Cardenas Medina: It was raining.

There was lightning, a lot of lightning,

and the turbulence started to intensify.

Narrator: Now past the halfway point of the trip,

the captain is increasingly concerned

with the possibility of heavy storms

gathering over their destination.

Gutierrez: It doesn't look like we're gonna get any relief

from this storm.

Pineros: Yeah, lots of activity tonight.

Narrator: Closer to San Andréés,

the already bumpy ride is getting worse and worse

for the passengers.

Cardenas Medina: Normally you go through a patch,

and then it stops.

In this instance,

there was lightning bolt after lightning bolt,

and the plane shook hard

and the turbulence would not stop.

[Thunder]

Gutierrez: Check it out, Camilo.

It's building all around the island.

Will this bad weather be on San Andréés?

Narrator: Less than 20 minutes away from the airport,

the weather on the ground appears to be changing rapidly.

Gutierrez: Get a report from San Andreés for me.

Pineros: Okay, I'll ask.

Narrator: The San Andreés air traffic controller

is also keeping a close eye on changes to the weather.

Pineros: San Andreés, good morning,

Aires 8250.

Controller: Go ahead.

Pineros: We want to know how the weather is

at the airport, please.

Controller: Okay, Aires 8250,

wind calm, visibility more than 10 kilometers,

scattered clouds at 1,500 feet.

There's some bad weather near the airfield,

but right now there's no rain.

Narrator: Despite the turbulent weather along the way,

conditions in San Andreés seem to be much better.

Controller: Aires 8250, descend 3,000 feet.

Clear for approach, runway zero-six.

Pineros: Roger, continue descending to 3,000.

Narrator: In the cabin,

passengers are growing concerned by the intensity of the storm.

Flight Attendant: This shouldn't last long.

[Thunder]

Cardenas Medina: We told them

that we were in an intense weather system

and that we would be out of it shortly.

But we never actually got out of it.

[Thunder]

Controller: Aires 8250,

there is a thunderstorm over the airport right now.

Pineros: Okay, Roger, thank you.

Gutierrez: Gear down.

Controller: Aires 8250,

there is a little drizzle over the runway.

Gutierrez: A little what?

Pineros: Drizzle.

Gutierrez: Ah. Okay. Give them the announcement.

Pineros: Cabin crew to their stations for landing.

Flight Attendant: Please raise your table.

Narrator: As the storm continues to build,

Aires 8250 is about to begin its final approach.

Gutierrez: Okay, flaps 5.

Pineros: Wet runway. Three on the auto-brake?

Gutierrez: Let's leave it on two.

Narrator: The crew configures the plane for landing.

The weather in San Andréés is changing fast.

Controller: Aires 8250,

there is now heavy rain at the airfield,

and visibility reduced to five kilometers.

Pineros: Visibility down to five kilometers.

Gutierrez: Oh, man.

Cox: When you see particularly weather that's deteriorating,

it causes you to be a little bit more cautious

because the trend is not going in a positive direction.

Cardenas Medina: The rain became even more intense,

the turbulence more intense,

and the thunder was more frequent.

[Thunder]

Narrator: In deteriorating conditions

and just seven miles from landing,

the captain confirms the procedure

in the event they have to abort the landing

at the last minute.

Gutierrez: In case we miss the approach,

we go right, correct?

Pineros: Yes. Correct, sir.

Cox: As you get closer to your destination

and you start getting the latest weather,

the thing that you're thinking about

is, okay, how are we gonna position the airplane to land

in these conditions?

And if we don't land, what are we gonna do next?

Narrator: Only minutes away from landing,

the pilots run through their final checks.

Gutierrez: Landing checklist.

Pineros: Speed brakes?

Gutierrez: Armed.

Pineros: Landing gear?

Gutierrez: Down.

Pineros: Flaps?

Gutierrez: 30.

Pineros: Checklist complete.

Cardenas Medina: We were about five minutes from landing.

I started to see lights in the ocean from the island.

Narrator: But less than 2 1/2 minutes from touchdown,

visibility has reduced dramatically.

Controller: Aires 8250, do you have the runway in sight?

Gutierrez: Negative. Pineros: Not yet.

Narrator: Seconds later...

Pineros: Airfield in sight, runway in sight, Aires 8250.

Narrator:...the clouds over San Andreés lift.

[Thunder]

Gutierrez: In sight landing.

Pineros: Check. We're all set for landing.

Computer: 500.

Narrator: 500 feet from the ground,

the crew spots the runway.

The captain lines up his plane.

Controller: Aires 8250, winds at 60 degrees at 15 knots.

Narrator: Then the wind picks up.

Gutierrez: 15 knots, head on.

In case of wind shear, we use maximum thrust for a go-around.

Don't touch flaps or gear.

Pineros: Agreed. Yes, sir.

Narrator: Caught in a sudden deluge,

visibility decreases again.

Computer: 50.

Pineros: Look out, captain!

Narrator: The first officer now realizes

they are too low to make a safe landing.

Computer: 40.

Pineros: Can you make it?

Computer: 30.20.

Computer: Terrain. Terrain.

Pineros: Climb, captain!

Narrator: The captain pulls back on his control column.

But it's too late.

[Screaming]

Cardenas Medina: We felt a hard and sudden crash.

[Screaming]

Narrator: At 1:47 a.m., Aires 8250 slams into the ground

with 131 passengers and crew on board.

Controller: There's been an accident.

Narrator: Aires 8250 has crashed

just short of touchdown in San Andréés

and broken into three pieces.

[People Crying And Coughing]

Inside the front section of the airplane,

flight attendant Adriana Cardenas Medina

has survived the horrific crash.

Flight Attendant: Are you okay?

Narrator: Bruised and battered, passengers near the front

start lining up toward the aircraft's main door

and the emergency slide.

But now a new problem.

The main exit door is jammed.

Cardenas Medina: My co-worker and I tried to open the door,

but it would not open.

A passenger helped us to open it.

Narrator: The flight attendants work as quickly as possible

to get all 125 passengers off the plane.

Cardenas Medina: Our number-one priority was the passengers

and getting everyone to safety,

so we were all focused on that.

[Sirens]

Narrator: In the aftermath of the recovery,

one passenger is dead

after being hit in the chest by a tray table.

A second passenger, who was severely injured on impact,

dies in the hospital two weeks later.

[Speaking Spanish]

Cardenas Medina: When you think of boarding an aircraft,

you imagine leaving it in the same manner,

not forcibly or in pain, fear, frustration.

It's something you can never imagine happening.

Narrator: The crash and destruction of flight 8250

is quickly becoming a major international news story.

Williams: A plane crashed this morning in Colombia.

The 737 broke apart upon hitting the ground.

Narrator: The Colombian Aeronautical Authority

needs to find out what brought down

one of the most widely used passenger planes on Earth.

Julian Echeverri

is one of the first investigators on the scene.

Julian Echeverri: Huh.

Broken into three pieces.

He was definitely lined up for a landing.

Narrator: From the orientation of the wreckage,

investigators can tell that Flight 8250

was lined up perfectly with the runway at San Andréés.

[Speaking Spanish]

Echeverri, Translated: When we first looked at the debris,

we observed that the initial impact

was approximately 40 meters from the start of Runway Zero-Six.

It was a low-angle impact at a relatively high speed.

Narrator: Very quickly,

both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders are recovered.

Echeverri: Excellent work.

Let's hope they provide some answers.

Narrator: But until the recordings can be analyzed,

investigators will need to rely

on the wreckage at the crash site

to explain the cause of the accident.

The team studies the debris trail

that extends 160 feet from the runway's threshold.

Echeverri: Landing gear extended.

It snapped off.

Lined up and configured,

but somehow they hit the ground hard,

meters from the runway.

Investigators can't understand

why the jet got so close to the runway

but ended up short.

While wreckage crews transport the debris to a nearby facility

for analysis,

investigators wonder what role the severe weather played

in the accident.

Echeverri: What if the storm brought them down?

Narrator: The team studies meteorological reports

from the night of the crash.

Echeverri: The meteorological condition during the accident

was one of the things we considered

in this investigation.

Man: Based on the first information

that we received...

Echeverri: Turn that up, would you?

Man:...a lightning bolt struck the airplane

and caused the tragedy that we're all aware of.

Echeverri: They're saying it's lightning?

We'll see.

Narrator: Echeverri and his team

know that accidents caused by lightning

are virtually unheard of.

Cox: Lightning strikes,

although they're very spectacular

and can visually impair you just with that bright flash,

they really don't pose a great threat

to the airplane during landing.

Narrator: Investigators need to know

if there was lightning near the 737

as it approached San Andréés.

Echeverri: There was video evidence

from a closed-circuit television camera

which recorded the final moments prior to the accident.

It sure looks like lightning.

And the timing fits.

There was a big flash in the video,

which led us to think that the aircraft

could have been struck by lightning.

Narrator: The team studies the static wicks

from the accident plane.

Static wicks are located

on the trailing edges of airplane wings

and help discharge any build-up of static energy.

Echeverri: If the plane was struck by lightning,

they should be melted or burned.

Narrator: But they are not.

Investigators can find no signs of a direct lightning hit

On the aircraft's surfaces.

Echeverri: During the inspection of the debris,

which was carefully performed,

we found no traces of interaction with lightning.

They're clean.

Narrator: But Echeverri

still has a lot of unanswered questions

about the weather at the time of the accident.

Echeverri: It looks like it was a big storm.

[Speaking Spanish]

The conditions in which the aircraft

interacted with the terrain

before arriving at runway zero-six

raised the possibility of an encounter with wind shear

in that last minute.

Narrator: Wind shear is a phenomenon

in which the wind's direction or speed

changes extremely abruptly.

Echeverri: 60-degree winds at 15 knots.

The wind was picking up.

Narrator: Could intense winds at the base of the runway

have played a role in the crash?

Echeverri: We need to look at wind shear.

Narrator: The team learns

that just two minutes before the crash,

as the storm built,

winds near the runway were gusting.

Digging further into the flight data...

Echeverri: So, lots of headwind.

But almost no downdraft.

Narrator: Investigator Julian Echeverri

discovers the powerful winds were hitting the plane head on,

not from above.

Echeverri: Not enough to slam them to the ground.

[Speaking Spanish]

During the landing,

there was an increase in wind speed,

but in this case, it was a horizontal increase.

There was no trace in the flight data

of a vertical change of wind

That would have caused the aircraft to lose altitude.

Narrator: All investigators uncover

is a moderate headwind at the time of the crash...

a discovery that leads nowhere.

Echeverri: So, we'll rule out weather for now.

[Speaking Spanish]

The fact that it was not wind shear

made us focus on operational aspects

that may have led to this accident.

What about the aircraft itself?

[Thunder]

Narrator: Investigators now wonder

if an engine malfunction led to the crash of Aires flight 8250.

Echeverri: The blades are bent

in the opposite direction of the rotation.

Narrator: That tells investigator Julian Echeverri

that the engines were working when they hit the ground.

Echeverri: Let's move on.

Narrator: Measurements of the flap settings

show they were in the correct position for landing.

Gutierrez: Okay, flaps 5.

Pineros: Wet runway. Three on the auto-brake?

Gutierrez: Let's leave it on 2.

Echeverri: Flaps right where they should be.

Narrator: In fact,

investigators find nothing to indicate a mechanical cause

for the crash of Aires 8250.

[Speaking Spanish]

Echeverri: We observed the flight control surfaces.

We observed the flap configuration,

the cockpit switches.

Engines, rudder, control surfaces,

you name it... they all check out.

There weren't any system malfunctions

or engine or GPS problems

that would have caused the aircraft to land

before the start of the runway.

Narrator: Lieutenant Colonel Ever Sabogal

from the Colombian Air Force joins the investigative team.

[Speaking Spanish]

Ever sabogal, Translated: The conditions that they had,

conditions of extremely bad weather,

a particularly dark night...

They had a lot of lightning all around them,

and they were feeling pressure to land.

Were they prepared to land in these stormy conditions?

Narrator: Investigators now need to find out

if the storm took the pilots by surprise.

If it did,

that might have led them to make errors in their approach.

[Thunder]

Cox: The critical part is,

what's the weather gonna be when we get there?

It's less critical of what it is right now.

So as you get very close to the airport,

that's when you want to make sure

that you have a good understanding

of the weather that you're about to deal with

in the final approach segment of the flight.

Echeverri: Can I show you this?

Narrator: The team already knows

the weather was changing quickly just before the crash.

But they need to determine

if the air traffic controller kept them up to date.

Controller: I updated them regularly

once they were in my airspace.

Pineros: San Andreés, good morning, Aires 8250.

Controller: Go ahead.

Pineros: We want to know how the weather is

at the airport, please.

Controller: Okay, Aires 8250,

wind calm, visibility more than 10 kilometers,

scattered clouds at 1,500 feet.

There's some bad weather near the airfield,

but right now there's no rain.

Every time the weather changed even a bit, I told them.

Gutierrez: Gear down.

Controller: Aires 8250,

there is a little drizzle over the runway.

Gutierrez: A little what?

Pineros: Drizzle. Gutierrez: Ah.

Narrator: Minutes later,

it turned into a full-blown storm.

Controller: Aires 8250, there is now heavy rain at the airfield,

and visibility reduced to five kilometers.

Echeverri: Did they seem concerned about the weather?

Controller: No, they didn't sound overly concerned.

I was very careful to tell them everything.

Cox: The controllers are very good

about reading up changing weather conditions,

particularly wind and visibility,

which is the two most critical factors

as they get very close to the airport,

but the decision to land or not to land

rests with the captain,

and he or she is responsible to make the decision

whether the conditions are safe to land or not.

Controller: Aires 8250, do you have the runway in sight?

Gutierrez: Negative.

Pineros: Not yet.

Airfield in sight, runway in sight, Aires 8250.

Cox: And this is appropriate

because it's really only the pilots

that can see the exact conditions

that the airplane is in

and the visibility they have to be able to see the runway

and land safely on it.

Pineros: Look out, captain!

Narrator: Investigators now have the flight data

from Aires flight 8250.

Cox: The digital flight data recorder

records hundreds or thousands of different parameters,

and it tells you everything that the airplane's doing,

whether the landing gear is up or down,

the altitude, airspeed,

and numerous other functions of the systems within the airplane.

Narrator: The team is looking for clues

that might indicate how the pilots handled the plane

in the thunderstorm.

Sabogal: Here. 45 minutes before reaching the airport,

They switched to vertical speed mode.

Echeverri: That's a questionable choice.

Narrator: The investigators notice

that the pilots selected an autopilot mode

called vertical speed.

Controller: Aires 8250, descend 3,000 feet,

Clear for approach, runway zero-six.

Narrator: In vertical speed mode,

the crew must manually select their rate of descent.

Sabogal: This mode requires a lot of work

because you have to be constantly calculating

your altitude versus your distance.

Cox: The Boeing procedures

are typically to utilize automation,

use the autopilot during approaches,

particularly in bad weather.

For these pilots to have reverted to a manual system

where they turn the autopilot off

is against the Boeing recommendation.

Narrator: Investigators check the plane's rate of descent.

Sabogal: Look at this.

They were descending to the runway

at 1,100 feet per minute.

Echeverri: According to the manufacturer,

rate of descent shouldn't exceed 900 feet per minute.

Narrator: It's an important clue.

Cox: If they are in excess of a thousand feet per minute,

then it is unstable approach.

Narrator: The team now has determined

the plane was dropping too fast,

and they have a theory as to why.

Sabogal: They must have been trying to get

a visual fix of the runway as soon as possible.

Cox: By bringing the airplane down early,

the hope is that you'll see the runway earlier.

You'll be underneath the clouds,

and your visibility will be improved

the lower you get.

Narrator: But that strategy didn't work

for the crew of the Aires flight.

The question is why not?

The investigators can now compare the approach

the crew should have flown

to the one they actually did fly.

Sabogal: They should have stayed on the glide path.

Echeverri: But instead,

they come in too low the entire way.

Sabogal: And they didn't even try

to get back on the glide path.

He played instead the entire time

with the vertical speed.

They didn't have an angle or a constant path,

and that made it so that they were always below it.

They were never on the right path

for the type of approach that they made.

Didn't they know they were coming in too low?

Echeverri: Wouldn't the PAPI lights have told them that?

Narrator: PAPI lights,

or precision approach path indicators,

are color-coded lights along the side of the runway

That tell pilots if they're too high or too low

on their approach.

The airport's PAPI lights were fully operational that night,

yet the plane still came in low.

[Speaking Spanish]

Echeverri: Why would a person operating an aircraft

make that type of approach

even when the visual aids are indicating

the correct path to the runway?

Narrator: The team hopes the cockpit voice recorder

can provide answers to all their unanswered questions.

They focus on the final approach.

Gutierrez: Landing checklist.

Pineros: Speed brakes.

Gutierrez: Armed.

Pineros: Landing gear. Gutierrez: Down.

Pineros: Flaps. Gutierrez: 30.

Pineros: Checklist complete.

Gutierrez: We're too low.

Controller: Aires 8250, do you have the runway in sight?

Gutierrez: Negative.

Pineros: Not yet.

Airway in sight, runway in sight, Aires 8250.

Gutierrez: In sight landing.

Pineros: Check. We're all set for landing.

Sabogal: Stop.

Did you catch that?

Go back 30 seconds.

Pineros: Checklist complete.

Gutierrez: We're too low.

Controller: Aires 8250, do you have the runway in sight?

Sabogal: Stop.

The captain realizes they're below the glide path.

But there's no discussion about it,

no go-around.

Echeverri: They just keep going.

Sabogal: Why?

Continue.

On the final approach,

the captain simply continues to fly,

Focused on trying to reach the runway.

Gutierrez: 15 knots, head on.

In case of wind shear, we use maximum thrust for a go-around.

Don't touch flaps or gear.

Pineros: Agreed. Yes, sir.

Sabogal: Everything sounds okay.

Computer: 50.

Pineros: Look out, captain!

Computer: 40.30.20.

Pineros: Climb, captain!

Sabogal: The first officer knows something isn't right.

Echeverri: But the captain doesn't respond.

Sabogal: Why not?

Computer: Terrain. Terrain. Pull up.

Narrator: The investigation

finally has a solid lead to follow.

Investigators are baffled

by the captain's actions on board flight 8250.

They question him about what happened

on the approach to San Andréés.

Gutierrez: I didn't think anything went wrong

until the crash.

It was stormy.

It must have been the lightning or the wind.

[Speaking Spanish]

Sabogal: They never questioned

the type of approach that they made.

They never doubted that their procedure was adequate,

and they said it was probably the wind

that caused their accident.

Narrator: But when the captain is asked

about his use of the PAPI lights,

his answer provides the first big break in the investigation.

Gutierrez: I'm not sure what the PAPI lights were showing.

I was focused on the green lights at the threshold,

like I always do.

Pineros: Airfield in sight, runway in sight, Aires 8250.

Gutierrez: In sight landing.

Pineros: Check. We're all set for landing.

Sabogal: They were concentrated

On the green lights at the start of the runway,

and they ignored the information of the PAPI lights.

Echeverri: Instead of landing in the touchdown zone,

which is here,

the captain says that he always lands here,

on the threshold.

[Speaking Spanish]

We noticed in his statement

a recurring flight technique

that involved pointing the nose of the aircraft at the runway

for approaches and landings.

Cox: The thinking of some pilots has been,

"I want on the runway as early as possible

so that I can make sure that we get stopped

if there's a problem with the brakes."

So they deliberately land short of the touchdown zone.

Sabogal: Possibly,

that's what the pilot was doing the whole time...

looking for the green lights and trying to make it.

Narrator: Investigators ask the captain

Why he performed the landing this way.

Gutierrez: That's my training.

I was just doing what we've always done.

Echeverri: We saw that the crew decided to make an approach

using their own criteria,

not the criteria recommended by the manufacturer.

Narrator: Investigators need to know

what led the crew to do this.

They dig into their backgrounds.

Sabogal: Check this out.

He's only been flying the 737 for eight months.

Echeverri: 12 years before that, he flew turboprops.

Narrator: The file reveals that Captain Gutierrez

recently switched from commanding Dash 8 turboprops

to the much larger 737 jets.

The discovery provides a new clue.

Sabogal: That's it.

Echeverri: What?

Sabogal: He was flying like he was in a turboprop.

Echeverri: Not a 737.

Cox: The investigators found

that the higher rate of descent that they flew in the 737

was much more like the profile that you would expect

in the turboprop that they had flown previously.

Sabogal: In accumulating so much experience in the turboprops,

you develop habits,

and when one translates this to the cockpit of jets,

one starts to battle with all the tools

that make your trip secure.

We gotta find out if these guys were properly trained

to fly a 737.

Narrator: Aires started as a small regional airline

flying turboprops around central Colombia.

Then in 2009, the year before the crash,

Aires underwent a huge expansion,

adding nine 737s to its fleet.

Normally, the industry practice

is to hire experienced 737 pilots

to fly the new jets.

But that's not what Aires did.

Sabogal: Okay, thanks very much.

They didn't hire any new pilots for the 737s.

They just transitioned the turboprop pilots into them.

Echeverri: That's a big leap.

Sabogal: In turboprops, everything is much easier.

It's a slower plane.

It reacts faster.

It raises up easily.

A turboprop is very forgiving.

A jet doesn't forgive.

Narrator: What did Aires do

to safely transition their pilots onto the new 737s?

The investigators take a closer look

at the crew's training records.

Sabogal: The captain switched over to a 737

after only five weeks of training.

Echeverri: The first officer only trained for two weeks.

Narrator: The team concludes

the pilots didn't have enough training

to properly prepare them to fly the 737.

[Speaking Spanish]

Sabogal: The most important thing about the transition

is to undo those concepts that one has

of flying turboprops

and really just start over.

Jets are planes that require a lot of anticipation.

They require a lot of concentration.

They require you to understand what a computer is doing.

Narrator: Investigators now conclude

the captain likely reverted back to his turboprop habits

while trying to land at the San Andréés airport.

Sabogal: So just as he would in a turboprop,

he aims for the threshold.

Echeverri: But he crashes short of that.

Sabogal: And we still can't explain why.

Narrator: Investigators now know that the captain of Aires 8250

was purposefully trying to land his airplane

on the threshold of the runway...

Gutierrez: In sight landing.

Pineros: Check. We're all set for landing.

Narrator:...the same way he used to land in a turboprop.

Computer: 500.

Controller: Aires 8250, winds at 60 degrees at 15 knots.

Gutierrez: 15 knots, head on.

Narrator: But that still doesn't explain

why the crew crashed short of the runway.

The last piece of the puzzle is elusive.

The investigators listen to the cockpit recording once more,

hoping to hear something they missed.

Computer: 50.

Pineros: Look out, captain!

Computer: 40.

30.

Pineros: Can you make it?

Computer: 20.

Pineros: Climb, captain!

Sabogal: So, from the point he gets a visual of the runway,

the captain does nothing to correct his altitude

right up to the crash.

Echeverri: Not even when the first officer

Gives him warnings.

Sabogal: So what's going on in his head?

Cox: When the investigators looked at the flight profile

and they realized that it ended up impacting the ground

short of the runway,

without ever really arresting itself

and trying to hop up to the runway

or make, uh, power adjustments until the very last minute...

The next question is, what is this consistent with?

This is a classic undershoot accident

in just about every sense.

It's a classic black hole illusion accident.

Narrator: The black hole illusion occurs on dark nights

when there are no ground lights

between an airplane and the runway threshold.

The contrast between the lights and the total darkness

creates an illusion

that deceives pilots into thinking

the runway is closer than it really is,

causing them to put the plane down too early.

Sabogal: This creates the visual illusion,

like in a black hole,

where you completely lose your depth perception.

Echeverri: It was a nighttime approach

on an island with no noticeable difference

between land and water...

and only the runway lights as reference.

When doing this manually and visually,

the risk for entering a black hole illusion increases.

Sabogal: You have rain causing poor visibility.

Some lights on the right, very few.

The runway lights.

That's about it.

It's a black hole illusion.

Gutierrez: In case of wind shear,

we use maximum thrust for a go-around.

Don't touch flaps or gear.

Pineros: Agreed. Yes, sir.

Sabogal: In this case,

the black hole effect was made worse

By another effect

that was generated by the lights of the aircraft with the rain.

Why?

Because when the lights of the plane go on,

you start to see the rain falling.

The wipers start up and they also distract you,

and the brain has to play with all that

and be able to identify where the runway is.

You take all the problems the Aires 8250 had,

and it still doesn't necessarily

give you a plane crash.

But throw a black hole on there, and it makes sense.

Narrator: The black hole illusion

is the final piece of the puzzle.

Sabogal: That's why the crew was constantly below the flight path

without being aware of it,

and they never made it to the runway.

Narrator: The Colombian Aeronautical Authority

issues a series of recommendations,

including a revision of Aires Airlines' procedures

For visual landings.

[Thunder]

Sabogal: In this accident, there is no one reason.

There are many reasons that brought them to this...

the type of approach, the kind of training.

Computer: 40.

Pineros: Can you make it?

Echeverri: I think one of the most important recommendations

from this investigation was strengthening crew training,

especially for those transitioning

from turboprop to jet.

Narrator: For flight attendant Adriana Cardenas Medina,

the memory of the doomed flight still haunts her.

Cardenas Medina: My life became a struggle.

I was left with irreparable physical injuries

and with psychological trauma,

which I will probably never fully overcome.

What I experienced was outside of the norm

and was totally devastating.

Narrator: For investigators,

The crash of Aires 8250 is a cautionary tale

about the dangers of an under-trained crew.

[Siren]

Echeverri: The most important recommendation we gave

was about ensuring and strengthening the crew training

and following manufacturers' instructions

so that they can prevent these types of accidents.

[Beeping]