All language subtitles for Air Disasters S17E03 Stealth Bomber Down 1080p PMTP WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: One of the world's
most sophisticated warplanes

speeds down the runway at Guam.

FLIGHT DISPATCHER: 345 rotate.

Their mission that
day was to return home.

NARRATOR: But the
takeoff ends in disaster.

A billion dollar stealth
bomber goes up in flames.

We want to know what
the heck just happened.

NARRATOR: The entire
fleet is grounded.

This could be the end
of the B-2 Bomber program.

The plane goes full nose up.

NARRATOR: Investigators analyze
the flight second by second.

What about this?

NARRATOR: And discover
a hidden vulnerability

in the B-2's electronic armor.

There's no way a
pilot would understand

the system well enough to
realize what could happen.

What is going on?

You're good to go, sir.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: Major Ryan Link
and Captain Justin Grieve

are ending a four-month
deployment in Guam.

Better?

Yeah, it looks good.

OK.

Let's head home then.

Copy that.

NARRATOR: Andersen Air Force
Base is both a training

facility and a launching point
for US military operations

in the Western Pacific.

Generator one is on.

Engines ground idle.

25% confirmed.

Preflight checklist is complete.

GARRETT HARENCAK: Their mission
that day was to return home.

Our time was up in Guam,
and they were beginning

a 16-hour continuous
flight back to Knob

Noster, Missouri,
Whiteman Air Force

Base, which was our home base.

NARRATOR: They're one of
two crews returning home

today in a unique warplane.

The B-2 Bomber.

REBECCA GRANT: It was a
flying wing design and really

a marvel of engineering.

The Air Force ended up
spending $44 billion

to develop and then field
the fleet of B-2 Bombers.

NARRATOR: Developed in the
1980s during the Cold War,

the Stealth Bomber was designed
to defeat Soviet radar.

There are only 21 of
them in existence.

It can sneak in with much
less chance of being detected,

either by enemy
surface to air missile

defenses or enemy fighters.

Tower Death Five,
startup is complete.

You can activate
our flight plan.

Refueling number one.

Will be at ARCP
Charlie at 0735 Zulu.

Expecting to onload
51,000 pounds.

Control Point Charlie, copy?

NARRATOR: Today, the 7,000-mile
journey home from Guam will

require the crew to refuel near
the Hawaiian Islands and then

over California before
reaching Whiteman

Air Force Base in Missouri.

Major Link is a qualified
instructor on the B-2.

Captain Grieves, an
experienced pilot

with more than 2,500 hours of
military flying experience.

They are among only 300 pilots
qualified to fly the B-2.

The Aviators in the
B-2 at that time were

the absolute best of the best.

They were handpicked.

They were vetted extensively.

They were truly an
elite group of aviators.

NARRATOR: Grieve and Link are
second in line to take off.

The plane they're flying
is named Spirit of Kansas.

Every B-2 Bomber is named
after an individual state,

except for two.

There's a Spirit of America
and a Spirit of Kitty Hawk.

That's six plus one
cleared for takeoff.

Maintain 5,000.

Pitot Heat is on.

Clear right.

Good to line up.

NARRATOR: The pilots
must carefully

maneuver the massive
168-ton bomber

to the foot of the runway
to ensure they don't put

any dents in the B-2's shell.

We try to taxi
slowly because you're

a low observable platform.

So obviously, if you were
to scrape the airplane,

you'd degrade the capability
of the war fighting machine.

Dutch Five, go Channel Five.

Dutch Five, copy,
Channel Five.

That's five check five.

Our lead is airborne.

We go in 60.

NARRATOR: On this flight,
Captain Grieve

is the mission commander.

What's different is,
the captain,

like you would think
the aircraft commander,

is actually in the right seat.

And we call him a
mission commander.

And the pilot is
in the left seat.

Thrust time CT.

The very first time I flew the
B-2, I felt like I was a bird.

It was so smooth.

You just slightly touched
the flight controls,

and she does what you want.

100 knots.

What was that?

FCS Caution.

Stop or go?

Go.

Warning rescinded.

FLOYD CARPENTER: In the B-2,
there's two different

kind of caution lights--

the red one and a yellow one.

In this case, it was yellow,
which is just precautionary.

A red caution light, you'd
probably abort the takeoff.

145 rotate.

NARRATOR: The Spirit of Kansas
lifts off the runway at Guam.

Almost immediately, the massive
bomber pitches up dramatically.

The next thing they know,
they're going straight up.

The momentum of that maneuver up
caused their pilots

to experience about 1.6 Gs.

The aircraft's no longer doing
what it's supposed to be doing.

Full power.

NARRATOR: The B-2
isn't gaining altitude.

It's still only 80 feet off
the ground and losing speed.

Make believe you're in
your automobile right now.

You turn left,
but the car turns right.

What is going on?

That's not the way
it's supposed to work.

That's the scenario
these pilots were in.

NARRATOR: The pilots
now feel their airplane

shaking violently and realize
it's on the verge of stalling.

From my 15 years
of flying the B-2,

the only time I felt the B-2
shake is in the simulator.

That's the only scenario where
you will feel that shake.

You never feel it otherwise.

NARRATOR: The plane's
left wing drops.

Grieve knows the plane
is heading for the ground.

There's only one thing
he can do to save his

and Major Link's lives.

They are trained to
have that gut feel of when

to pull the ejection handle.

And don't forget, the Air
Force wants these pilots

to eject and save themselves.

There is no shame in ejecting
ever, even

from a billion-dollar bomber.

NARRATOR: Grieve
doesn't have time

to think about his decision.

The B-2's left wing is now
scraping the ground.

We've got to get out.

NARRATOR: Explosives tear
a hole in the fuselage

above the cockpit,
and rockets eject

the pilots from the aircraft.

The Stealth Bomber hits the
ground and bursts into flames.

Alert one, alert one,
runway six Romeo.

Runway six Romeo.

I'm stunned.

The B-2 has gone through
19 years and three wars

without a crash.

This is unheard of.

NARRATOR: One of the world's
most advanced warplanes

has been incinerated
during a routine takeoff.

The whole world is left
wondering what went wrong.

For two straight days,
firefighters at Andersen Air

Force Base in Guam battle
the flaming wreckage of a B-2

Bomber, Spirit of Kansas.

With a price tag of more
than a billion dollars,

this is the most expensive
aviation accident of all time.

The crash at Guam did
shake us to the core

in that we want to know
what the heck just happened.

NARRATOR: Operations
of the entire B-2 fleet

are suspended, even before
an investigation is launched.

It's bad to have to stand down
the B-2 flying operations.

On the other hand,
they have no choice.

They have no idea what's
gone wrong inside that B-2,

and they have to
find out before they

risk any more B-2s in flight.

NARRATOR: The US
Air Force appoints

the well-respected
General Floyd Carpenter

to lead the investigation.

Because of the high-profile
nature of this accident,

I think they expect a
lot of media interest.

And so as a senior Brigadier
General, I was picked, I think,

to get the airplanes
back operational

and cleared to fly again.

You're never going
to believe this.

NARRATOR: Investigators
watched the accident

unfold on security video.

Great to have the video,
and we were able to glean

a lot of information from it.

NARRATOR: Video of the takeoff
shows that as the plane lifted

off, it pitched nose high.

Your first reaction, when you
see that airplane pitch up,

is like, what are they doing?

NARRATOR: The plane then drifts
left before the left wing

scrapes the ground.

FLOYD CARPENTER: The left wing
falls off and hits the ground.

And through that
whole thing, you're

thinking, where is the crew?

The first time you see it, you
probably don't realize the crew

actually ejects.

Can you take it
back for me, please?

Stop.

That's the pilots, one and two.

NARRATOR: The video shows
the pilots injecting just

as the plane hits the ground.

Both pilots have been taken
to the hospital for evaluation.

Justin Grieve has suffered
a serious back injury from

the forces of the ejection.

It was a waiting
process for us

and gathering all
the other information

while we waited to talk to
them and hear their side

of what really happened.

NARRATOR: Investigators study
the mechanical and computer

systems that control the jet.

Perfect.

What about the actuator?

We had so much the
aircraft already available,

actuators, engines.

All of those things are
what you're really looking

for in this type of accident.

NARRATOR: They
quickly determined

that all of the plane's
flight control surfaces

were functioning on takeoff.

Pretty quickly, we were
able to rule out that the fact

that the engines
were not a problem.

The hydraulics
weren't a problem.

The flight controls
were not a problem.

I pulled these from the video.

Up.

Up.

Up.

It's a beautiful
sunny morning.

Why does the bomber pitch its
nose up and crash in a fireball

on the runway at Guam?

Is this a weight
and balance issue?

In any deployment
like that, it's

not uncommon to load
aircraft with spare parts

or other equipment that
you might want to get

home and not wait to ship home.

Some classified material
going back to Whiteman.

Personal belongings.

Gear.

So the center of gravity
became a big issue for us.

Could it have been that?

Not enough to disrupt
their balance, sir.

NARRATOR: The B-2 is
capable of carrying

40,000 pounds of weaponry.

But Spirit of Kansas
wasn't carrying

any bombs or other
heavy cargo that

could have shifted on takeoff.

FLOYD CARPENTER: We found
out that there really

wasn't a lot of equipment.

There were no munitions
being carried.

So everything was in balance
as it should have been.

And so the center of gravity
was ruled out pretty quick.

NARRATOR: Investigators looked
more closely at the takeoff

roles of both B-2s on the day
of the accident for clues

as to why Spirit of
Kansas couldn't get

airborne like the
plane just ahead of it,

Spirit of South Carolina.

OK.

Pause it right here.

OK.

So South Carolina lifts
off just past that taxiway.

Right about here.

Because we did
have video, we were

able to look at the takeoff
roll of the lead aircraft

compared to the second aircraft.

And stop.

OK.

Our guys lift off just
past that runway light,

which is this guy right here.

Look at that.

We found out that
Spirit of Kansas

took off 1,500 feet shorter
than its lead aircraft.

What is going on?

Again, video
helped us understand

that the takeoff
roll was shorter,

but didn't understand why.

NARRATOR:
The investigators turned

to data from the bomber's
flight recorder for answers.

The plane is still
on the ground

546 feet above sea level.

Not 682.

So the altitude is off
by 136 feet.

Now, sir, there is no way
he got up to 145 knots

using only this much runway.

Agreed.

Something happened that caused
this airplane to pitch up,

but so far we've ruled out
all the easy stuff.

And so now we start looking
into other situations

that could have caused
the aircraft to do what it did.

Now here, sir.

The nose is lifting
off the ground,

but the plane registers a
pitch down of minus 8 degrees.

Now, obviously, this plane
is not pitching down,

but the computer thinks it is.

That is why it tried
to lift the nose

higher and higher and higher.

Until it stalled.

Once we got the performance
parameters of the aircraft,

then we were able to
determine that the airplane

thought that it was negative
8 degrees angle of attack.

Then you start going back
to say, why did it think that.

NARRATOR: The heart
of the B-2 Bomber

is its sophisticated onboard
computer, known as its flight

control system or FCS.

Without it, it would be
impossible for pilots

to make all the calculations
necessary to keep

the unusual aircraft flying.

You don't have a tail.

Think about that.

You don't have any kind
of vertical empennage.

It's just a big flying wing.

NARRATOR:
Accurate data is crucial.

On a B-2, pilots tell
the computer what they want

the plane to do, and
the computer determines

how to accomplish that.

The flight computers move
the surfaces of this airplane

in a way that's not
intuitive to any pilot

of any other aircraft.

Simply put, it'd be
nearly impossible to fly

this airplane safely
without flight computers.

So their speed, climb angle,
and altitude are all off.

How does that happen
on this plane?

NARRATOR: Investigators need
to determine why the Stealth

Bomber was getting faulty data.

Let's see what the pilots
can tell us.

We weren't looking
to blame them

or point the finger at them.

But there were tough
questions to ask.

NARRATOR: Three weeks
after the accident,

the pilots of Spirit
of Kansas agreed to be

interviewed by investigators.

OK, Captain.

How about we take
it from the top.

We started up at 9:15.

A few minutes later, Major Link
saw the calibration message

during startup.

NARRATOR: The pilots
tell investigators

that they received
an unusual computer

message shortly after startup.

I've never seen that.

Me neither.

Hey, Chief, we're seeing
an Airdata Cal message.

Can you send someone up
here to clear that up?

NARRATOR: Airdata Cal stands
for Airdata Calibration.

In the simplest terms,
the Airdata Calibration

gives the aircraft its
orientation to the universe.

NARRATOR: There are 24 sensors
flush-mounted near the nose

of the B-2 that constantly
measure air pressure.

The plane's computer uses those
readings to calculate altitude,

airspeed, and angle of attack.

All 24 systems
have memory in them,

and they're measuring themselves
against all the others.

And so if they get
out of balance,

if one is reading
too low or too high,

it calls for an
Airdata Calibration,

and the pilots see that.

When that occurs,
they call out maintenance.

OK.

Let's see what we can do
to clear this for you.

Can you put it in
maintenance mode for me?

That's good.

You're good to go, sir.

Thank you.

So they have these 24 sensors.

They make sure they're
communicating correctly.

And if they do, they
let it go forward.

Pitot heat is on.

NARRATOR: Less than
an hour later--

Clear right.

Good to line up.

NARRATOR: --the pilots
maneuver the massive bomber

to the start of the runway.

OK.

Go on.

Everything was 100% routine
until we had 100 knots.

That's when we got
the FCS Master Caution.

You got a Master Caution while
you were still on the ground?

Yes, sir.

Just a flicker.

100 knots.

Before I could even push the
button, it rescinded itself.

What was that?

FCS Caution.

After 100 knots to our
decision rotate speed,

we will abort for safety
of flight items.

We define safety of flight as,
we are unable to control

this airplane or there's
something on the runway

you're going to hit.

Stop or go?

Go.

Warning rescinded.

In that scenario, if I
was the pilot in command,

I would continue.

Why?

It's not safety of flight.

145 rotate.

When we hit 145, I called
for Major Link to rotate.

Then it all, very quickly,
went to hell.

They lift off.

The flight control
computer senses a problem,

so it pitches up.

The pilots try to go nose down.

Full power.

They go max power, but the
airplane is trying to stall.

JUSTIN GRIEVE: Major Link was
trying to push it back down,

but it wasn't working.

He wasn't having any
effect on the plane.

We were basically just
along for the ride.

And then the left wing just
drops, and I know we're done.

We've got to get out.

Then I pulled the handles.

If the airplane did not
perform as advertised,

it was time for them to get
out and give the aircraft back

to the taxpayers.

Thank you for your time today,
Captain.

Thank you, sir.

They were extremely forthcoming
in their testimony.

They survived it, but
they had no understanding

of what happened either.

NARRATOR: Investigators need to
know more about the calibration

that Grieve reported
in his testimony.

It's not part of the plane's
regular startup procedure.

If a sensor provides a reading
that differs significantly

from the others,
a recalibration is

done that tells the wayward
sensors how much they're

off in order to bring them back
into agreement with the others.

These three weren't
just off by little.

They are way off.

And they need a very
big adjustment to get

them in line with the rest.

And we're not sure why, sir.

100 knots.

A Master Caution alarm that
flickered on for a few seconds

just before takeoff becomes
a key piece of the puzzle.

At that point,
we really didn't

know how they're related,
but we figured they might be.

There was too much coincidence
starting to happen

that pointed to these things.

What was that?

FCS Caution.

The recalibrated
sensors started

providing faulty airdata again.

NARRATOR: Six seconds later--

Stop or go?

Go.

NARRATOR: --the flight
computer resolved

the discrepancy
between the sensors

and canceled the warning.

What is going on with
this plane's sensors?

To have a mystery flaw
in the B-2

puts the 509th and the Air
Force under a lot of pressure.

They have to find out exactly
what went wrong with the flight

controls in order to return
that fleet to safe operations,

and the world will
be watching them.

OK.

So let's start at the top.

Why the need to recalibrate
in the first place?

It was a procedure that a
lot of pilots had never seen

and maintainers didn't
do very often.

NARRATOR: Investigators
look for any abnormalities

in the mission
that might have had

an effect on the B-2's sensors.

Huh.

So they got delayed by a day.

What had happened was,
Whiteman Air Force Base

in Missouri had a
severe snowstorm.

It was snowing quite heavily.

Visibility was near zero.

So what we did is we delayed the
mission to come home 24 hours.

NARRATOR: The Spirit of
Kansas was left on the tarmac

while the pilots waited
to resume their mission.

OK.

So the jet was left outside for
24 hours because of the delay.

So what?

Check the weather.

Second to last page.

Holy smokes.

That is one hell
of a lot of rain.

NARRATOR: Weather records show
that a tropical rainstorm

settled over the air base
the night before the accident.

Tell me a rainstorm didn't

take down a $2 billion
airplane.

Decisions were made, and these
B-2s were left outside in this

particularly heavy rainstorm.

OK.

Let's fly these two.

NARRATOR: Investigators
run tests on B-2 sensors

to determine the effect
rain may have had on them.

And stop.

You've got to be kidding me.

NARRATOR: Tests confirmed
that the sensors exposed

to the heaviest rainfall
got saturated

and needed recalibrating.

Even prior to that, when it
was in test and development,

we'd never experienced that
much rain on the system,

so no one really knew how
that would adversely affect

the operations of the B-2.

NARRATOR: The reason no one
realized how heavy rain affects

the B-2 is that
it's almost always

parked inside a hangar at
Whiteman Air Force Base

overnight.

Even if it's flying a mission
over Afghanistan or Libya,

it returns to Missouri.

The B-2's occasional
deployment to Guam

presented different
weather conditions.

Could heavy rain be the simple
explanation for this accident?

REBECCA GRANT: This
would not have happened

in a desert environment.

This would not have
happened at Whiteman.

But Guam is very unique.

They left the B-2 parked
out all night in the rain.

The moisture got in there.

See, something
just doesn't add up.

They did the recalibration.

You're good to go, sir.

But they still ended
up with faulty data.

That nearly killed them.

Yeah.

Full power.

NARRATOR: A state-of-the-art
military jet put itself

into a stall because
it was getting faulty

data about its climb angle.

Investigators still
don't know why.

The B-2 is always
operated under

so much pressure and scrutiny.

If they can't figure out
what went wrong that morning

on Guam, honestly,
this could be the end

of the B-2 Bomber program.

OK.

So they recalibrate at 0934.

Nearly an hour later,
the Master Caution lights

up because of an airdata issue.

So what happens in
those 56 minutes?

NARRATOR: Investigators
review what the pilots

told them about the flight.

Routine taxi.

They hit the Pitot Heat, wait
for the timer, and they're off.

So what about this?

NARRATOR: There are
small heaters connected

to each of the plane's sensors.

Just before takeoff,
the pilots activate the heaters

so the sensors
don't freeze up when

the plane reaches
cooler temperatures

at higher altitudes.

We can't take off, advance the
power and go down the runway,

until we put the Pitot Heat on.

Pitot Heat is on.

It's essential that those
sensors are getting heated.

NARRATOR: Investigators
wonder if the Pitot

Heat could have affected
the recalibrated sensors.

Clear right.

Good to line up.

FLOYD CARPENTER: We didn't
know enough to really put them

together, and so we
had to go get better

understanding of the system.

And we did that
through engineers

that actually built the system.

When he saw the frequency
of our calibrations,

he was surprised and concerned.

And then, they
turn on Pitot Heat

when they get to the runway.

And then, he was
really concerned

when he saw and understood,
like he only could,

that with moisture
in the system,

and the data that we were
putting into it to fix it,

could cause such a problem.

NARRATOR: On the
day of the accident,

turning on the Pitot Heat
had a consequence

that no one anticipated.

Recalibrating the sensors
brought the three wet ones

in line with the others.

But turning on the
Pitot Heat boiled

away the moisture, bringing the
sensors back out of alignment.

Thrust time CT.

So the data that was
put in on the calibration

now is invalid again,
and the flight

computers are now
trying to resolve

the issue with these sensors.

NARRATOR: But the discovery
doesn't explain another key

event during the short flight.

What was that?

FCS Caution.

NARRATOR: Why did the faulty
airdata warning disappear

six seconds after it came on?

Stop or go?

Go.

Warning rescinded.

It's seconds from takeoff.

NARRATOR: US Air
Force investigators

look into the logic guiding
the B-2s flight computer.

So it has to make the choice.

GARRETT HARENCAK: That flight
data computer needs a solution.

And what we mean by that is,
it can't spend even a second

or a millisecond
wondering where it is

and what needs to be done.

NARRATOR: The B-2's
flight computer

is constantly receiving
four separate data

streams from all 24 sensors.

If there's a discrepancy in
the values of those channels,

the computer is programmed to
select any two of the channels

to proceed.

It just chose wrong.

Yeah, we should fix that.

So now it's voting as to throw
out bad data, what they think

is bad data, keep the good data,
and it resolves the issue.

The light goes away.

The flight computers
are now good to go.

And so the pilots are now, OK.

Well, that must have
just been a glitch.

Let's keep going.

Stop or go?

Go.

Warning rescinded.

NARRATOR: The flight
computer chose

the two channels that included
the faulty sensor data.

145 rotate.

NARRATOR: 12 seconds later,
the plane

pitched up abnormally because
of the faulty airdata readings.

Once they rotated the aircraft
on speed as they thought

and left the ground,
they were along

for the ride at that point.

NARRATOR: But if recalibrating
the plane's sensors

before turning on the Pitot Heat
can be catastrophic, why was

that the official procedure?

So hardly any at all then?

NARRATOR: Investigators
learned that recalibrations

are rarely done while the B-2
is at its home base in Missouri.

But during a deployment
in Guam in 2006,

maintenance personnel
were performing

frequent recalibrations.

Copy that.

I'm on my way.

FLOYD CARPENTER: They knew
there was a challenge,

but they didn't
know what it was.

And they did speculate
that because of the weather

in Guam, raining a lot
more than at home,

that it might be an issue
of moisture.

NARRATOR: Technicians in Guam
spoke to an engineer in the US

who suggested a procedure
to remedy the frequent Airdata

Calibrations.

Yeah.

Then we have to do an
onboard recalibration.

They were able to talk to
an engineer that said, well,

before you do a
data calibration,

try turning on the
Pitot Heat and burning

that water out of the system,
and see

if that'll take care of it.

I haven't tried that.

Good idea, though.

NARRATOR: The technician
passed on the suggestion

to the B-2 pilots in Guam.

TECHNICIAN: Try turning on
your Pitot Heat for 40 seconds

instead.

PILOT: Copy.

Apparently, that should do it.

Yeah, but our guys
didn't do that.

Can you think of a reason why?

NARRATOR: Investigators learned
from technicians at Whiteman

Air Force Base that the
procedure for activating Pitot

Heat in response to an Airdata
Calibration message

was not officially adopted.

Really?

Why the heck not?

NARRATOR: Some crews
knew about it.

Some did not.

The pilots back at Whiteman
who were not

there never heard of it,
and the maintainers

had never heard of it.

There's nothing.

There's nothing anywhere
about using Pitot Heat when

a calibration message appears.

You're good to go, sir.

Neither Ryan Link,
Justin Grieve,

nor the maintainer assigned
to their plane,

was ever told about the moisture
issue or the informal procedure

for rectifying it.

Better?

Yeah, it looks good.

The maintainers that morning
were following

the tech orders which
tell them exactly

what to do in the preflight.

But for some reason,
this new workaround

to compensate for
the moisture just

hadn't made it into the manual,
and that's

a little bit of a tragedy.

So these three are wrong.

What if they had used Pitot
Heat instead of recalibrating?

It would have burned
off the excess moisture

and solve the problem.

No faulty airdata.
No accident.

If information had been shared
from previous deployment

2006 to 2008, this accident
could have been prevented.

Hey, Chief, we're seeing
an Airdata Cal message.

Can you send someone up
here to clear that up?

The maintenance personnel
that came out to the aircraft

hat day of the accident
did everything exactly right.

They were just doing the
procedure they were taught.

I mean, it doesn't seem
like anybody understood what

these recalibrations could do.

NARRATOR: The investigation has
uncovered a catastrophic gap

in the B-2 crew's understanding
of a link between calibrating

sensors and flight controls.

145 rotate.

There's no way a pilot
or a maintainer

would understand
the system well enough

to realize what could
have happened when

they did that data calibration.

NARRATOR: That lack
of understanding

left the crew
of Spirit of Kansas

vulnerable to the effects
of the faulty data.

Investigators now
wonder if there

is something the pilots could
have done to save their plane.

18 seconds to get
this plane under control.

Was it even possible?

NARRATOR: Investigators
re-examine the crash sequence

to see if the pilots of the
B-2 Bomber, Spirit of Kansas,

could have prevented their
aircraft from crashing at Guam.

145 rotate.

Certainly, no B-2 pilot
wanted to be

the first to eject from a B-2.

The plane goes full nose up.

He pushes full forward
and goes full power.

The plane starts yawing
and rolling left.

He applies right stick.

He's fighting.

NARRATOR: Investigators
determined

that Major Link took the correct
action to save the B-2 Bomber.

But because of its low
altitude and slow speed,

disaster was unavoidable.

GARRETT HARENCAK: Ultimately,
this was a no-win situation

for the crew.

As we determined with hundreds
and hundreds of simulations

afterwards, no one could have
flown this aircraft out

of that situation.

NARRATOR: The data also shows
just how close the pilots

came to losing their lives.

They are seconds
away from impact,

and they still hadn't
pulled the handle.

If they had delayed even
a fraction of a second

later to eject, they most
likely would not have survived.

NARRATOR: The video
of the accident

shows that the plane's left wing
was already scraping the ground

when the pilots ejected.

We've got to get out.

They are heroes in the sense
that these guys waited till

the very last possible second.

I don't know of many
other people that

can say that they waited
till the wingtip

hit the ground before ejecting.

Can you imagine that?

GARRETT HARENCAK: All
pilots in the Air Force

are good or maybe even great,
but these guys

were truly outstanding.

And they were very, very close,
despite everything, to actually

saving that aircraft.

NARRATOR: One of the
most sophisticated

warplanes on Earth was
brought down by a combination

of poor weather--

Who would have guessed
that a bit of moisture

would have led to all this?

--and poor communication,
which left Grieve and Link

without an understanding
of how recalibrating

their sensors could lead to a
serious flight control issue.

100 knots.

This accident didn't happen
because of bad data.

Not because of bad software.

Not because of bad weather.

Not because of bad
decision-making.

145 rotate.

FLOYD CARPENTER: It happened
because of bad communication.

REBECCA GRANT: Well, in the end,
safety is everything.

It doesn't matter if it's
an airliner, a fighter jet

a space plane,
or a stealth bomber.

Full power.

REBECCA GRANT:
Safety is critical,

and safety depends
on communication.

NARRATOR: The Air Force
investigation underscores

the need for pilots to be kept
informed about the technology

controlling their airplanes.

Do you really, really
want to leave the defense

of your families, your children,
your grandchildren,

to a computer?

Or do you want to leave it
to the greatest asset

that we have?

And that is the human brain.

NARRATOR: In spite of being
involved in the most expensive

aviation disaster in history,
Major Ryan Link

and Captain Justin Grieve
went on to have

successful military careers.

The B-2 fleet was back in the
air two months after the crash.

The flight computer
was redesigned

to prevent faulty airdata.

The procedure for using Pitot
Heat instead of recalibrating

the sensors is documented
in Air Force manuals

and technical documents.

There hasn't been an issue
with faulty airdata since.

TONY MONETTI: Northrop
produced an amazing aircraft.

And I commend them
and the maintainers

and the aviators
that continue to make

the B-2 the envy of the world.