All language subtitles for Air Disasters S17E02 Peril Over Portugal 1080p PMTP WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: Martinair
Flight 495 is minutes

from landing at Faro, Portugal.

CORTEN HOVE: The left engine
was making rattling sound.

All of a sudden, we
heard an enormous bang.

It was total destruction.

NARRATOR: 56 people are dead.

Wow. Look at this.

NARRATOR: Investigators quickly
find some intriguing evidence

at the crash site.

AL DICKINSON: There was
a two inch deep cut down

the left side of the runway.

This is very strange.

NARRATOR: The landing gear
is completely severed.

JOHN COX: If the
aircraft were overweight

it could exceed
the design limit,

causing it to break and shear.

These guys for 71,000
pounds underweight.

It wasn't too heavy.

So what went wrong?

PILOT (ON RADIO): Mayday!

Mayday!

Pull up!

NARRATOR: Martinair
Flight 495 is nearing

Portugal's southern coast.

Approach, Martinair 495.

Good morning.

NARRATOR: The captain is
56-year-old H.W. van Staveren.

74 DME, and out
of 240 for level 70.

NARRATOR: A, highly
experienced pilot

and flight instructor he's been
with Martinair for 24 years.

Descending to level 70.

NARRATOR: The first officer is
31-year-old R.J. Clemenkowff.

He's been flying with the
Dutch company for three years.

The youngest member of the team
is 29-year-old flight engineer

Gary Glans.

It was our last flight
before the Christmas holidays.

Everyone was in a good mood.

My job as a flight engineer--

I'm responsible for the
aircraft, in general,

to make sure that everything
is operating properly,

and overall trying
to be a third set

of eyes for the flying pilots.

NARRATOR: The crew
is flying a DC-10,

a three engine wide body jet.

In the '90s, the DC-10 was
one of the type of aircraft most

used for operators worldwide.

NARRATOR: They're now less
than half an hour from landing.

There are 13 crew members
and 327 passengers on board.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: Most are residents
of the Netherlands.

We were heading for a
vacation for a week in the South

of Portugal, in Algarve,
going to warmer wetter

than the Netherlands was, and
fleeing the busy year we had.

NARRATOR: Flight 495 near
the end of a 2 and 1/2

hour trip from Amsterdam
to Portugal's Faro Airport.

Eight letter word
for apple sources.

Hmm.

-Orchards.
-Oh.

CORTEN HOVE: I was
traveling with Yvonne, then

my girlfriend, now my wife.

I was lucky we could
sit at the front row,

so I had a lot of leg
space to move around.

Oh.

It's raining cats
and dogs over there.

NARRATOR: As they descend
towards Faro Airport,

the pilots expect to
encounter some bad weather.

GARY GLANS: We knew that we
were going to encounter rain

showers, thunderstorms, or
something that you have to be

incredibly aware of,
and ensure that they

don't affect your flight path.

We do everything to
avoid 'em, because they

can produce unexpected
wind changes,

microbursts, wind shears.

NARRATOR: When a thunderstorm
moves over an active runway,

the potential for
wind shear can make

it too dangerous for
an aircraft to land.

GARY GLANS: It wasn't
something that we felt

was going to be a major issue.

It was just
something to monitor.

NARRATOR: If the
weather worsens,

they can divert north to Lisbon.

But right now it
isn't necessary.

PILOT: Martinair
461, runway visual.

NARRATOR: Just minutes ahead,
another Martinair flight

is landing at Faro.

Clear to land, runway 11.

NARRATOR: The weather
report indicates the closest

thunderstorm is
approximately seven miles

to the west of the runway.

Knowing other airplanes
were flying that same approach

and nobody had reported
any significant issues made

us feel we were safe
to continue onwards.

495 is turning inbound.

NARRATOR: Eight miles
out, Martinair 495

starts its final
approach to runway 11.

GARY GLANS: The captain chose
to be the pilot monitoring,

so he could oversee
the whole approach

and let the first officer focus
on just flying the aircraft.

NARRATOR: They descend
into the rain clouds,

confident the
nearest thunderstorm

is still miles away.

You've got to be kidding me.

CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): 495,
report at minimums or runway

in sight.

Runway surface
conditions are flooded.

Roger, 495.

NARRATOR: With wet
runway conditions,

the crew configures
the plane to make what's

called a positive landing.

A positive touchdown is
when the main wheels penetrate

the water layer on the runway
and improve the stopping

ability of the aircraft.

Gear down.

Gear down.

GARY GLANS: With
a wet runway, you

do want to touch down
at a positive firm rate

rather than trying to float
down for a softer touchdown.

Altimeters?

Set three times.

NARRATOR: Four miles from
touchdown, the pilots

make their final checks.

Spoilers?

Fine.

Flaps, slats.

5-0, land.

CORTEN HOVE: The left engine
was making quite a noise

and a rattling sound every
time it gave full power.

The plane was pitching
up and pitching down.

So that was not reassuring.

Martinair 495,
clear to land runway 11.

The wind, 150, 15 knots,
maximum 2-0.

Cleared to land.

NARRATOR: Flight 495
is less than a minute

from touching down when the
weather gets much worse.

Windshield anti-ice.

I can't see anything.

I'm on it.

Wipers are on fast.

It's OK.
It's OK.

I was just squeezing her hands
firmer and firmer with Yvonne.

It was dead quiet, the plane.

NARRATOR: The plane is now just
a few seconds from landing.

CORTEN HOVE: All of a sudden
we heard an enormous bang.

I fell out of the chair, and
then I saw the kitchen splinter

into pieces.

I was pretty sure we
were going to be crushed.

NARRATOR: Flight 495
slides more than 350 feet

off the runway at Faro Airport.

Firefighter and rescue
crews raced to the site.

Incredibly, many of the
passengers and the flight crew

survived.

There were people screaming,
and crying, and running.

CORTEN HOVE: I didn't
see my girlfriend.

My first thought was, oh, I
won't ever see Yvonne again.

NARRATOR: Those lucky enough to
escape search for loved ones.

CORTEN HOVE: All of a sudden,
I heard my name.

Then I saw in the distance,
I saw Yvonne standing there.

We found each other.

NARRATOR: The injured are
taken to nearby hospitals.

GARY GLANS: Of the
340 people on board,

54 passengers and two
cabin crew members

are dead, making this one
of Portugal's worst aviation

disasters in more than a decade.

A detailed
investigation is now

underway into why this
plane hit the tarmac

and burst into flames.

See if we can find
the flight recorders.

Got it.

NARRATOR: Investigators from
Portugal's General Directorate

of Civil Aviation
and from the American

NTSB arrived to
inspect the wreckage

of Martinair Flight 495.

A DC-10 is a big
aircraft and there

were pieces of it all around.

The right wing had dislodged
from the rest of the aircraft.

The wing structure is
the strongest structure

on whole aircraft, so it had to
have a major amount of stress

to make that wing depart.

It's amazing so many survived.

PEDRO MATOS: The wreckage
showed that the aircraft

was mostly destroyed by fire.

80% to 90% of the
people who died,

died from the post-impact fire.

AL DICKINSON: We
were very concerned.

Because if you have
something that's

suspect on an aircraft that's
being flown all over the world,

you want to find it.

That's great.
Nice work.

Let's hope we get the
data back quickly.

NARRATOR: Investigators
recover the black boxes

containing the
flight data recorder

and cockpit voice recorder.

PEDRO MATOS: We needed to try
to understand what happened

in the final moments of the
flight in terms of speeds,

in terms of decisions,
and also what

happened just before touchdown.

Well, look at this.

NARRATOR: A quarter of a mile
from the runway threshold,

investigators discover
the aircraft's

initial point of impact.

There was a two inch
deep cut down the left side

of the runway.

So it hit here and
veered off to the right.

It's deep.

It must have come down hard.

PEDRO MATOS: The scratches
we saw on the runway revealed

to us that the plane
had landed very hard,

so that's why the
marks were deep.

Maybe one of the
engines failed.

PEDRO MATOS: Why did
the plane land so hard?

Was it a problem
with the landing

gear or was it a
problem with speeds

or was it a problem
with the engines?

So we need to investigate that.

Is that all of them?

Let's see what we've got.

AL DICKINSON: You always
look at the engines,

and there was
substantial damage.

We had to determine
was there some kind

of malfunction in the engine.

NARRATOR: Investigators
examine a key component

from the engine's
oil block called

a magnetic chip detector.

A magnetic chip detector is a
small, cylinder shaped device

located inside the
engine's oil filter.

When an engine part wears,
pieces or chips of broken metal

adhere to a magnet as they
pass through the oil filter.

JOHN COX: It's known
as making metal.

Why is there more metal on
this detector than expected?

What part of the
engine is wearing?

The alloys are
slightly different.

They wear at different rates.

So they can tell by
laboratory analysis

what part of the engine is
wearing and how rapidly.

These look clean.

No chips.

NARRATOR: There's no
evidence of metallic debris

inside the oil system.

The engines look fine.

From the tests
conducted on the engines,

it was concluded
that the engines did

not contribute to the accident.

AL DICKINSON: At this
point in the investigation,

we really didn't have a good
idea of what to look for next.

We just had to keep going.

This is very strange.

NARRATOR: They soon realize that
part of the right landing gear

is broken.

The fact that part of the
right landing gear fractured

is very unusual.

It's almost impossible
to make it fail.

The forces necessary to shear
the landing gear like that

is massive.

NARRATOR: Landing
gear is designed

and tested to be
able to withstand

the shock of a 200-ton landing.

It should never fracture.

Well, we had to confirm
whether there was something

wrong with that gear
in the metal used

or maybe the maintenance on it--

anything that could cause
the gear to fail in any way.

And if it was a design
problem, that's a big deal.

NARRATOR: The landing
gear failing on impact

would explain this
tragic accident.

Did we get this piece
of landing gear in yet?

Not yet.

I'll put a rush in.

PEDRO MATOS: The
landing gear collapsed.

That was perhaps the
most important question

that we had to deal with.

NARRATOR: While investigators
wait for the right landing gear

of Flight 495, they
consider what could

have caused it to fracture.

Maybe the plane was too heavy.

If the aircraft were
overweight and made a very firm

touchdown, then
the loads imparted

could exceed the design limit,
causing it to break and shear.

Let's check the load manifest.

The plane and the cargo
were roughly 280,000 pounds.

There was 340 people on board.

Let's call it 53,000 pounds.

The fuel?

Fuel was 20,000 pounds.

So total weight on landing was
353,000 pounds, give or take.

Max weight is 424,000 pounds.

So these guys were
71,000 pounds underweight.

It wasn't too heavy.

NARRATOR: The
weight of the plane

is not what caused the landing
gear to fail on touchdown.

What about weight
distribution?

AL DICKINSON: You have to have
the baggage and the weight

distributed properly,
so the aircraft will fly

the way the pilots want it to.

By the book.

It was properly
loaded, properly

stored, properly locked down.

So it wasn't really an issue.

NARRATOR: With weight
and balance ruled out,

investigators are
finally able to test

the right landing gear itself.

Service records
are up to date.

Let's see if the steel
wasn't strong enough.

PEDRO FERNANDES:
Another thing they

were looking for is any
pre-existing weaknesses

on the steel.

If this occurred in the
manufacturing process,

it could affect the
aircraft in operations

all around the world.

NARRATOR: They
performed something

called a Vickers hardness test.

JOHN COX: The Vickers hardness
test is an industry standard

test to evaluate the strength
of a particular component

or piece of metal.

NARRATOR: A
pyramid-shaped diamond

is pressed into the steel,
leaving an indent, or a dimple.

You can measure the depth
and the diameter of the dimple,

and derive the
metallurgical strength

of what you're testing.

Hardness value is 658, so
the steel was strong enough.

NARRATOR: Investigators
find no weakness

in the metal used to make
the plane's landing gear.

PEDRO FERNANDES: It was
determined there was nothing

wrong with the landing gear.

Whatever went wrong, it
happened before the aircraft

touched the runway.

NARRATOR: There are still no
clues that can help explain

why the landing gear fractured.

The next step in
the investigation

was to look at how the crew was
operating during the last phase

of the landing.

This is interesting.

NARRATOR: Official
statements made by the pilots

may shed some light
on the final moments

of Martinair Flight 495.

After the accident,
the investigators

came to all three of us.

We had closed sessions.

The captain said
the flight was normal.

The approach was normal.

"At 200 feet, we were
on the center line."

So they should have been OK.

Mm-hmm.

But a few seconds later,
the captain sees lightning.

"I suddenly felt
a high sink rate.

It all happened so fast.

The aircraft actually
fell out of the sky."

NARRATOR: According
to the captain,

he saw lightning just
seconds before the aircraft

began to lose altitude rapidly.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Sink rate.

GARY GLANS: The airplane
felt like God took his hands,

rammed it into the ground.

Well, get this.

The first officer stated,
"The weather was bad

and it was raining heavily.

It was gusty and
very turbulent."

NARRATOR: Investigators
wonder if sudden wind

changes could have contributed
to the crash of Flight 495.

The flight crew indicated
to the investigators

that they were in an area
with a lot of wind shear,

a very dynamic
weather condition.

They were in turbulence.

Things were changing
very rapidly.

NARRATOR: Did the pilot
encounter wind shear

on final approach?

The team interviews the
air traffic controller

to better understand
the conditions

the pilots were experiencing.

Can you tell me what
happened with Flight 495?

Everything seemed
perfectly normal.

They were on their
final approach

and confirmed they had
the runway in sight.

Then I cleared them to land.

CONTROLLER (ON RADIO): Martinair
495, clear to land runway 11.

The wind, 150, 15 knots,
maximum 20.

The controllers were
quite confident that they

performed well at the tasks.

So they didn't find that
they did anything wrong,

and they gave the
correct information.

Did they report any
issues with the plane?

No, not at all.

What about the weather?

There was rain.

But other planes were taking off
and landing without difficulty.

PILOT (ON RADIO): Martinair
461, runway visual.

NARRATOR: Just minutes before
the crash, the controller

was in contact with an
aircraft that took off

and another that landed
on the same runway.

Clear to land runway 11.

NARRATOR: Neither flight
reported extreme weather

over the runway.

What about wind shear?

Did the runway sensors
pick up anything?

NARRATOR: Faro Airport is
equipped with two anemometers

that measure both wind
speed and direction, located

on runway 29 and runway 11.

If the anemometers detect a
sudden change in wind speed

of 15 knots or greater,
a wind shear warning

is automatically triggered.

Yes, there were
wind shear warnings.

But they happened after the
aircraft had already crashed.

NARRATOR: If Flight 495 was
hit by an extreme gust of wind

before it crashed to
the runway, the system

would have detected it.

It didn't.

PEDRO MATOS: There was a
conflicting information

between what the crew
said and what the air

traffic controller reports.

NARRATOR: The crew's
statements don't

match with the controller's
account of the weather.

Thank you.

AL DICKINSON: The best thing
to substantially what went on

was to take a really deep look
at what the pilots were saying

to each other in the cockpit.

NARRATOR: A week after
the crash of Flight

495, data from the
cockpit voice recorder

is ready to be reviewed.

FIRST OFFICER CLEMENKOWFF:
Plenty approach with 50 flaps.

You call approaching
minimums in field in sight.

You look outside.

Wet runway.

Here are the wipers.

Roger.

NARRATOR: As the crew
prepares for the approach,

they become aware of weather
conditions at Faro Airport.

You have to make
a positive landing.

Yes.

OK.

So, obviously, they're worried
about the runway conditions.

NARRATOR: In a positive
landing, the aircraft

touches down firmly enough
to penetrate the water,

allowing the wheels to grip the
tarmac and slow the airplane.

They want to put it down
hard to avoid hydroplaning

and running out of runway.

So what went wrong?

NARRATOR: Did the pilots
somehow botch their plan

as they approached the runway?

CAPTAIN STAVEREN
(ON RECORDING): 500.

FIRST OFFICER CLEMENKOWFF
(ON RECORDING): Cleared.

CAPTAIN STAVEREN (ON
RECORDING): Speed a bit low?

Speed is low.

Low.

OK.

Now speed is an issue.

JOHN COX: Going
onto a wet runway,

the air speed control
is very, very important,

so that you don't have too
much and the airplane floats,

but that you don't
have too little

and you end up impacting
the runway quite hard.

All right.
Let's hear more.

CAPTAIN STAVEREN (ON
RECORDING): Speed is OK.

Windshield anti-ice!
I can't see anything.

I'm on it.

Wipers are on fast.

NARRATOR: As the plane
gets closer to the ground,

the crew contends with
stormy conditions.

CAPTAIN STAVEREN (ON
RECORDING): A bit low.

Low!

FIRST OFFICER CLEMENKOWFF
(ON RECORDING): Yes.

Throttles!

Why does the captain
yell, "Throttles?"

For the captain to
say this at this moment,

it raises a question.

Did they have an issue in
the final phase of landing?

All right.

Let's look at the
descent profile.

NARRATOR: If Flight 495 flew
in on the right trajectory,

the FDR will confirm it.

Here you go.

JOHN COX: The
flight data recorder

gives objective,
clear data on what

the airplane
was actually doing.

Was the airplane being
flown at the proper speed?

The changes in the airspeed--
were they indicative

of a severe weather condition?

And how were the pilots
responding to those changes?

Autopilot is on.

OK.

So they're descending
at the standard angle,

and they dip here and recover.

Looks fine.

At 200 feet, which is about
20 seconds from landing,

they were on a
normal glide path.

Something happened between
that and touchdown.

Let's look at
the airspeed data.

So it looks like they're flying
steady at 145 knots until here.

Then airspeed jumps

and then drops all the way
to 139 knots.

NARRATOR: Investigators
spot evidence

of airspeed fluctuations during
the last minute of the flight.

AL DICKINSON: These
fluctuations in airspeed

can be caused by wind gusts
as they got closer to landing.

Speed is a bit low.

Speed is low.

Speed is OK.

NARRATOR: Was the
captain concerned

their speed wasn't fast
enough to compensate

for the strong headwind?

These fluctuations
seem too extreme

to be caused by
the 20-knot winds

reported by the controller.

We need a full
analysis of the weather

conditions on final approach.

NARRATOR: Investigators asked
the Netherlands Aerospace

Laboratory to perform an
in-depth weather study

to determine if the winds
were stronger than what

was reported to Flight 495.

What about auto throttle data?

Let's take a look.

Hmm.

Yeah, the fluctuations in
auto throttles correspond

to the airspeed fluctuations.

If there is an increase in air
speed, the auto throttle system

will decrease the power
that is being commanded--

the amount of thrust that
the engines are producing.

If the airspeed falls low,
the auto throttle system

will command increase thrust
to bring the airplane up

to the commanded airspeed.

NARRATOR: The auto
throttles were

indeed adjusting for the
dramatic changes in airspeed.

Wow. Look at that, 102% power.

NARRATOR: Investigators
discover a very

high surge in engine
power 3/4 of a mile

from the runway threshold.

The 102% command by
the auto throttle system

is a massive amount of power.

It would be similar
to the amount of power

that you would use for takeoff--

too much power to
try to land with.

And then here
power drops to 40%.

NARRATOR: The team
discovers that the power

dropped to a minimum, or engine
idle, shortly thereafter.

That's way too fast for
the auto throttle system

to perform on its own.

For the engines to decelerate
as quickly as they did means

that the levers were
moved faster than the auto

throttle clutches can
physically move them.

The only way the throttles
would move that quick

would be if the
pilot was manually

adjusting them down to 40%.

GARY GLANS: The
auto throttle system

could make large corrections.

And you have to make manual
adjustments if the throttles

aren't keeping up.

JOHN COX: The first officer,
who was the flying pilot,

made the decision to override
the auto throttle system

and to pull the power way back.

And, in fact, he pulled it all
the way back to flight idol.

With so little power they
would have dropped like a rock.

According to the data,
they were

dropping 1,000 feet per minute.

AL DICKINSON: 1,000 feet is well
beyond the operational limit

of 600 feet per
minute for the DC-10.

NARRATOR: As a consequence
of the reduced power,

the plane hit the
runway with enough force

to crack the landing gear.

I've never experienced
a landing as hard as that.

I crushed my teeth in my mouth.

It was hard beyond compare.

NARRATOR: Investigators are
left with a key question.

Why would the crew
reduce power by so much,

so far from the
runway threshold?

This is the Dutch
weather report.

NARRATOR: Investigators turned
to a weather analysis prepared

by the Netherlands
aerospace laboratory

to determine if the weather
affected the crew's actions

during their final approach.

Looks like the weather
was worse than we thought.

Really?

They hit no less than
three separate micro bursts

in the last minute of flight.

Wow. OK.

NARRATOR: A microburst
is a column of air

that descends from rain
clouds, hits the ground,

and fans out horizontally.

It leads to significant
fluctuations

in a plane's airspeed.

When exactly?

The first one was at 700 feet.

The second was between
600 and 300 feet.

And the last one was
between 200 and 110 feet.

Now, this last one
was the worst.

The wind speed jumped from the
reported 20 knots to 40 knots.

Wow.

That would have triggered
a wind shear alert if one

was installed on the plane.

Then the wind shifts from
a headwind to a tailwind.

GARY GLANS: So a wind shear
from headwind to a tailwind

is the worst type of wind shear,
because a headwind improves

your angle of attack to
ensure that the aircraft has

good lift.

When the wind switches
around to a tailwind,

you lose that
aerodynamic performance.

If you don't have the thrust
to compensate for it right away

the aircraft will drop.

Let's compare this to
the auto throttle data.

They line up.

Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: For every
microburst there's

a corresponding increase
in engine power,

as the auto throttles try to
maintain the plane's speed.

The auto throttle
was going up and down.

It was struggling
very hard to fight

against those heavy down bursts.

The down burst
causes a decrease

in stability, which
means turbulence induced

roll and pitch oscillations.

Would have been a bumpy ride.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: As they pass
through each microburst,

the auto throttles
were adjusting

to the shifts in wind gusts.

PEDRO MATOS: In
the final moments,

the approach was under
extreme weather conditions.

There were a lot of
oscillations in speed,

and that created a lot
of stress for the pilot

flying at that time.

The first officer
likely would have

been overwhelmed by
the unexpected change

in the weather.

And knowing that he needed
to make a positive landing

at the runway threshold, he
sees the power spike to 102%

and takes corrective action.

NARRATOR: In order to get
the plane on the ground,

the first officer
overrides the auto throttle

and reduces the power to idle.

Investigators now see just how
unfortunate his timing was.

He cut the power at
the exact same time

that last down burst hit them.

Throttles!

NARRATOR: The
captain tries to stop

the plane's
uncontrolled descent...

...but he's too late.

The captain should
have stepped in sooner.

AL DICKINSON: He
should have recognized

something was not right.

The captain really should have
taken over and landed himself.

NARRATOR: Investigators suspect
the sudden change in weather,

combined with the pilot's
decision to cut power too

early, caused the aircraft
to land with more force

than it was built to withstand.

But one question
remains unanswered.

If the winds were gusting
at 40 knots a half mile

from the runway, wouldn't
the winds at the runway

be gusting stronger
than the 20 knots

reported by the controller?

NARRATOR: The team returns
with their findings

to the air traffic
controller who

oversaw Martinair Flight 495.

You reported that
the winds on runway 11

were gusting up to 20 knots.

That's correct.

But that doesn't seem right.

The Dutch weather study
confirmed that there were three

microbursts in the
last minute of flight

with gusts much
higher than that.

Can you show me the
actual data for runway 11?

According to the raw data,
the winds were

actually gusting at 35 knots.

Well, that sounds
more like it.

But how could you
have underreported

the wind conditions?

We receive wind data every
30 seconds from this device.

It must have been switched
to runway 29...

...instead of runway 11.

NARRATOR: Investigators discover
that air traffic controllers

at Faro Airport had mistakenly
selected the wind reading on

runway 2 instead of runway 11.

JOHN COX: Airports
are large places.

So when you have anemometers on
opposite ends of the airport,

you would expect
that frequently there

would be a difference
in direction

in velocity of a reported wind.

CONTROLLER: Martinair 495,
clear to land runway 11.

The wind 150, 15 knots.

Maximum 20.

Clear to land.

The controller's information
that they provided to the crew

was not representative
of what was actually

occurring on the runway.

PEDRO MATOS: Wet
runway, crosswinds--

that's a completely
different picture.

If the pilots were aware,
they would have gone around.

NARRATOR: Investigators
have figured out

what brought down Flight 495.

495 is turning inbound.

CONTROLLER: 495, copy.

Report at minimums
or runway in sight.

Runway surface
conditions are flooded.

Roger, 495.

Gear down.

Gear down.

NARRATOR: With the runway
at Faro underwater,

the crew plans a
positive touchdown

at the runway threshold.

CONTROLLER: Clear
to land, runway 11.

The wind, 150, 15 knots,
maximum 20.

NARRATOR: But they're
unaware of the severity

of the weather conditions.

-I can't see anything.
-I'm on it.

NARRATOR:
They're hit by a series

of unexpected microbursts,
causing the engine power

to shoot up automatically.

Concerned that the
excess power is

too great for a
positive landing,

the first officer reduces
the power to idle just

as the last microburst occurs.

That makes them vulnerable
to strong winds,

and the aircraft dropped
from 150 feet.

NARRATOR: Flight 495
slams to the ground

at 1,000 feet per minute.

The danger of being slow
and encountering a downdraft

is you may not be able
to recover in time.

And that can be disastrous.

PEDRO FERNANDES: They could
have come with a higher speed.

They could have performed
a missed approach.

But the truth is, the flight
crew tried their best.

This wasn't an accident
where we can

see negligence or gross error.

NARRATOR: In the aftermath of
their report into the crash

of Martinair Flight 495,
investigators make

a series of recommendations.

This accident was going
to be yet another example

of inappropriate wind shear
recovery being

applied in a timely fashion.

So this says additional
pilot training.

This says wind shear detection
systems on airplanes.

This says a more aggressive
approach to go-arounds

in unstable conditions.

NARRATOR: Shortly
after the crash,

Faro Airport
modernized their wind

sensors and displays to comply
with international regulations.

JOHN COX:
The critical information

that controllers provide to
pilots needs to be accurate.

So these are some of the
lessons that the industry

learned and implemented
following this accident.

GARY GLANS: You know,
one of the things

I was told when I was
becoming a pilot is

never let your guard down.

You can be having a
beautiful, wonderful flight.

And in the blink of an eye,
things can change.

It's just ingrained
in my mind, always

be ready for the unexpected.