All language subtitles for Air Disasters S17E04 Double Trouble 1080p PMTP WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: An emergency above
the French Alps strikes

Trans-Air Cargo Flight 671.

There was an enormous bang.

And the aircraft
almost inverted.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

NARRATOR: The crew needs to
land but are flying blind.

Kabo 671, we have
no radar contact.

They stood a very real
chance of hitting a mountain.

NARRATOR: Then they discover
something even more horrifying.

I saw nothing in the
number four engine position.

The wing was clean.

NARRATOR: Assuming the worst,
the first officer leaves

a clue for investigators.

MARTIN EMERY: I took the
photograph because I wasn't

sure what would happen next.

If somebody might find the
camera, they'll see the truth.

MAN: Mayday mayday

Pull up!

NARRATOR: Trans-Air Flight
671 is preparing for takeoff

at Luxembourg Airport.

Forecast says we'll get
some weather in an hour.

As we cross over
the Alps, typical.

NARRATOR: Captain
Ingemar Berglund

is a highly experienced
Swedish pilot

who has been flying Boeing 707
aircraft for over a decade.

MARTIN EMERY: The captain
had been a military pilot.

And he'd been on
air transport flying

for most of his working life.

His experience was pretty
vast in Africa and in Europe.

He knew the routes.

And he was a very good pilot.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
(OVER RADIO):

Kabo 671, you are cleared
for takeoff, runway 24.

671 clear for takeoff, roger.

NARRATOR: First
officer Martin Emery

is an accomplished British pilot
who has worked as an instructor

and an air traffic controller.

Ready to go.

BOB GRIMSTEAD:
The first officer had

about 10,000 hours, about half
of which was on the Boeing 707.

So he was very experienced too.

V1, 170, rotate.

NARRATOR: The Boeing 707 is a
long-range aircraft powered by

four Pratt & Whitney engines.

It was a very basic airplane,
very strong, very reliable,

and could carry 40 or 50
tons of freight.

NARRATOR: Assisting the pilots
is flight engineer Terry Boone.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: The Boeing 707
didn't have much in the way

of automated systems.

But this meant that there
was a whole panel sideways

in the flight deck in which the
flight engineer had to operate

every system manually.

He was probably one of the
most experienced Boeing 707

flight engineers in the world.

NARRATOR: Today's flight is
a seven hour journey from

Luxembourg to Kano, Nigeria.

Feels a little heavy today.

Well, did you see what's
loaded back there?

It's all oil well equipment.

Yeah, and not the light kind.

NARRATOR: Flight 671 is operated
by the newly formed Nigerian

company Trans-Air Limited.

Their client-- Kabo Air Cargo.

Trans-Air had only
been formed a few

weeks before this incident.

It was purely for
the oil industry

to transport a lot of
equipment down to Nigeria

for the oil works.

This was an extra special
flight in that it was carrying

equipment that would have helped
Nigeria in their modernizing.

NARRATOR: Kabo 671 levels off
at 29,000 feet.

MARTIN EMERY: The flight plan
indicated, with the weight

of the aircraft, we should
stay at a slightly lower

than normal flight level for
the first part of the flight

until we burned off fuel.

And then we could gain
a higher flight level.

How are the guys in the back?

Good, they made us coffee.

NARRATOR: Also on board
are a cargo supervisor

and a maintenance engineer.

Like them more every day.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: So
the five of them

were knowledgeable
about the 707.

They were knowledgeable
about this sort of ad hoc air

cargo work.

And although they hadn't met
until a fortnight previously,

I think they worked
well together as a team.

NARRATOR: Over the Alps,
the weather deteriorates.

Pretty much ground level up to
about 33,000 feet was in cloud.

And the cloud was rough
and turbulent.

I'm going to buckle up
until we're above it.

Good idea.

We engaged our
five-point seat harness,

rather than just the four-point
harnesses that we normally keep

on to a top of climb
and then moved our seats

forward to be really
guarding the controls

in this turbulent air.

It was getting quite rough.

Ask if we can go to 33.

Kabo 671, request
flight level 330.

671, roger.

Climb to flight level 330.

Climb 330, 671.

The requested climb was
to go up another 4,000.

NARRATOR: One hour
into the flight,

just as the plane
reaches 33,000 feet--

MARTIN EMERY: There was an
enormous bang followed almost

immediately by another one.

And the aircraft absolutely
rolled to the right.

NARRATOR: The captain
uses all his strength

to level the plane.

MARTIN EMERY: Had the captain
not reacted as quickly

as he did, the
aircraft could have

rolled over, in fact, inverted.

Engine fire.

NARRATOR: Engines three and four
show signs of fire.

While the flight engineer
deals with the engine alarms,

the first officer
checks on the engines.

MARTIN EMERY: I saw
nothing in the number

four engine position.

Number four engine
has left the wing.

Mayday, mayday,
mayday, Kabo 671.

NARRATOR: With
reduced engine power

and an unbalanced configuration,
the flight drops out of the sky

in an uncontrolled descent.

The descent rate was horrific.

I think I saw 8,000 or
9,000 feet per minute.

NARRATOR: It's diving quickly
towards the French Alps

through heavy clouds.

They need to get
out of the mountains.

And they can't see outside
because of the thick cloud.

They need the air traffic
controller to give them

a direction in which to head
for a safe haven,

for a safe airport.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

Request descent
for radar landing.

The ground service
can follow your track

over the ground you're heading,
your height and speed,

from our transponder.

And they can point you to
the nearest available runway.

NARRATOR: But air traffic
control has bad news.

Kabo 671, we have
no radar contact.

Say your position please, sir.

NARRATOR: They can no longer
see Flight 671 on the radar.

With nobody able to give
them a direction to steer,

they stood a very real chance
of hitting a mountain.

NARRATOR: The plane's radar
transponder has failed.

I was considering
which direction we could

go to avoid the mountains.

It was very scary.

NARRATOR: The situation is dire
enough that the first officer

records the damage to the wing.

MARTIN EMERY: I wasn't sure
what would happen next.

I believe that if
anything ended,

like the flight
before we were ready,

somebody might find the camera.

And they'd have seen the truth.

NARRATOR: Flight 671 is
in an uncontrolled descent

over the French Alps.

With thick clouds
and no transponder

for the controller to guide
them, the crew is flying blind.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

Request descent
for radar landing.

NARRATOR: The flight
engineer attempts to get

the transponder working again.

He suspects there
is a power issue.

The reason the air
traffic control lost

the radar initially was
probably because the electrics

powering the radar
failed when the engine

number four fell off.

NARRATOR: The flight
engineer redirects

the power to engine one.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: He selected
the essential power selector

to engine number
one which had an

operative electrical generator.

NARRATOR: It works.

MARTIN EMERY: Request
descent radar landing.

Roger.

Turn left, heading
south to Marseilles.

NARRATOR: The controller
directs Flight 671

to Marseilles Airport,
75 miles away.

You turn left, 180.

OK.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: There
was immense relief

as they descended
out of the cloud

and finally could see the
mountains around them.

NARRATOR: But relief
is short lived

after the first officer
gives the right wing

a further inspection.

We've lost both engines
on the right wing.

What?

MARTIN EMERY: With a
five-point harness,

you are slightly restricted.

But I did manage to look
right over my right shoulder.

And both the engines
were off the wing.

The wing was clean, which
was a really big shock.

We've lost both engines.

Both engines?

BOB GRIMSTEAD: Just
about the worst thing

that can happen in an
airliner is to have an engine

depart from the aircraft.

The only thing worse than that
would be to have two engines

depart from your aircraft.

NARRATOR: With only the two
left engines functioning,

control of the plane
is compromised.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: When
you've lost both engines

from the right wing and
still have a lot of thrust

from the engines on the left
wing, it upsets that balance

and causes the airplane
to turn and to roll

very powerfully to the right.

Getting the airplane
to turn left

is a huge ask under
these circumstances.

Can you turn 180?

Yeah, I'm trying.

NARRATOR: Flying the
disabled plane is

testing the captain's strength.

The Boeing 707 has all
manual flying controls.

It's very heavy to fly when
everything's working well.

When you've lost two engines
on one side,

it's virtually at the limit
of physical capability

for the captain.

You want to dump fuel?

Yes, dump fuel.

NARRATOR: To keep
Flight 671 in the air,

the crew decides
to reduce its load.

This aircraft was carrying
a very heavy fuel load.

And it was imperative to
reduce that fuel load.

NARRATOR: But it requires
a precise calculation.

They need to leave themselves
enough fuel to reach

Marseilles and land safely.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: 112 tons
is the maximum safe weight

at which they can land.

If they're any heavier than
that and hit the ground hard,

then they would be sliding
along the runway on their belly,

shedding fuel and burning.

This is not a position
you want to be in.

NARRATOR: The process
is time consuming.

As Flight 671 completes its
left turn toward Marseilles,

Captain Berglund reduces
power in the two left engines.

BOB GRIMSTEAD:
They had to reduce the power

on the left engines
to give themselves

a chance of staying upright
and going in the direction they

wanted to go in.

NARRATOR: Reducing air
speed means an increase

in the angle of descent.

MARTIN EMERY: Unfortunately,
this of course

meant they then
descended more rapidly.

They have to land soon.

And they have to land
somewhere very nearby.

NARRATOR: Airspeed isn't
the crew's only concern.

Request the weather.

Give me the weather
for Marseilles, 671.

I really needed the
weather at Marseilles

to make a plan for
an approach to land

either direct or a circuit,
or whatever we could do.

NARRATOR: But air traffic
control isn't responding.

Request weather.

Mayday, mayday, mayday,
671 request weather.

MARTIN EMERY: It was quite
a tough call to actually get

the instant weather, at that
moment, at Marseilles airport,

that we needed right now.

NARRATOR: Making
matters worse, the fuel

dump is not going as expected.

Fuel tank number one
isn't discharging.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: It became
evident to the flight engineer

that the number one fuel
tank wasn't emptying.

This would cause a lateral
imbalance across the airplane,

which is not a good thing.

I've got limited maneuvering.

You dumping?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: The flight engineer
discovers that a circuit

breaker has popped.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: By pushing
the circuit breaker back in,

he was able to reactivate
the number one fuel pump

and get the fuel jettisoning
from all four tanks

simultaneously.

NARRATOR: Flight 671 is 30 miles
from the runway in Marseilles.

Mayday, mayday, mayday.

MARTIN EMERY: 671
requests weather.

It's raining on the airfield.

Two , 500 feet.

Three , 1,600 feet.

Three ,
2,000 feet.

No. No, no.

NARRATOR: Thunder clouds
and the risk of turbulence

will make a difficult
landing harder.

MARTIN EMERY: We were
pushed to even get there

with the height available.

With thunderstorm activity,
it was really a no go.

Kabo 671, what is our
distance to the runway?

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
(OVER RADIO):

22 miles for landing, sir.

MARTIN EMERY: We had no
plan B. At that point,

that was a nasty moment.

What we wanted was a runway.

And we wanted it quickly.

Hey, you see the airfield?

I don't see it.

NARRATOR: Flight 671
is in a rapid descent

with limited maneuverability
less than 9,000

feet above Southern France when
the crew finally gets a break.

MARTIN EMERY: I looked through
just cloud underneath us,

and I glimpsed some
ribbon black tarmac.

It was a runway.

Kabo 671, we have
an airfield ahead.

What is our airfield?

It's a military airfield at
your 12 o'clock for six miles.

Can we land there?

No, it's too short.

Too short.

How long is the runway
on this military airfield?

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
(OVER RADIO): 13,000 feet.

Oh, yeah, OK.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: The
runway at Istres is long.

It is France's
flight test center.

And it was also a space shuttle
alternate learning ground.

It's probably the biggest
airport in Europe.

Military airfield,
mayday, traffic 671.

NARRATOR: The first officer
makes contact with air traffic

control at Istres Airport.

671, this is Istres.

You are cleared for arrival,
runway 33.

We're just overhead.

What's the wind?

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER
(OVER RADIO):

Wind it is 330 10 knots,
gusting 1 to 4 knots.

We'll make a left-hand
pattern from the west.

Yeah.

MARTIN EMERY: The French
military air traffic

controller was one of my gang.

I thought he was great.

We turn left to land.

Yes.

NARRATOR: As they
start their turn,

the crew lowers
the plane's flaps

in preparation for landing.

The wheels were
down and locked.

And the flaps were coming
down, so Captain Berglund

could have more roll control.

NARRATOR: But when the
flaps are extended--

--disaster strikes.

MARTIN EMERY: There was
another big explosion which

tried to roll us right again.

Turn left.

Turn left to land.

Turn left.

I'm trying.

Turn left to land.
Left turn.

Yeah.

We missed the runway.

Oh, god.

NARRATOR: They're unable
to line up for landing.

671, we have fire on board.

I confirm, fire on board.

I could hear the fire.

But I didn't say anything.

We need another runway.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER (OVER
RADIO): Take runway 14.

Wind is 320, 10 knots,
clear, direct.

NARRATOR: After failing to
make a hard left for a landing

on runway 33, the crew attempts
to circle back and land

on the runway's opposite
end, known as 15.

The captain doesn't
have the strength

to make the turn on his own.

But the first officer
has an idea.

MARTIN EMERY: I said,
"I'll take the power."

Then, Captain Berglund
said to me, "Be careful."

I said, "I will.

I promise."

NARRATOR: The first officer
adjusts the throttles to help

steer the plane to the runway.

I'm bringing back number
one, advancing number two.

It actually turned
the airplane left.

And he could fly it
going towards the runway,

which was a miracle.

Truly was.

NARRATOR: It's a
race against time

to get the plane on the ground
before the wing is incinerated.

Good descent.

You are on axis.

NARRATOR: Flight 671 is
flying 50 knots faster

than normal landing speed.

MARTIN EMERY: Captain
did a perfect landing,

kept it just left
of the center line.

And we were safely on the
ground at a great speed,

but we were on the ground.

NARRATOR: If they
don't brake soon,

they will overshoot the runway.

Without hydraulics, they have
only the plane's emergency

brake to reduce speed.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: There was
no anti-skid protection.

That would have meant that
the tires would start scuffing

and bursting, which
would then reduce

their ability to slow down.

Stopping was the only
thing that mattered.

You want both thrust reverses?

The flight engineer wanted to
use reverse thrust on the two

left engines, because
that was the only way

he could see of slowing down.

No, cut the engines.

The first officer didn't
want him to do that,

because that would
pull the airplane

off to the left of the runway.

I've just lost engine two.

As a compromise,
they used reverse thrust

on the inboard left engine,
the number two engine, which

did help reduce their
galloping speed,

but pulled the airplane
off the runway to the left.

The aircraft did come
to a halt in the mud.

We're on fire.
Evacuate.

Evacuate.

MARTIN EMERY: I realized
that we were on fire.

And it was burning and
belching smoke and flame.

We needed to get down,
get out, and get away.

NARRATOR: With two missing
engines, a wing on fire,

and no brakes, Flight 671
has landed in Istres, France

with its cargo and crew safe.

To actually have two of the
four engines fall off the wing,

virtually unheard of in
the history of aviation.

NARRATOR: The heroic
escape from death

makes headlines
around the world.

As French investigators
arrive, they're faced

with an important question.

What caused two engines
to fall off a plane?

BOB GRIMSTEAD: Losing two
engines is a huge thing,

so the investigators had quite
a big task to establish what had

happened, and more
importantly, why and how

to prevent it happening again.

NARRATOR: The damaged 707
is moved to a hangar

to be examined by
the BEA, France's

air investigation authority.

The level of damage
on this aircraft

was very close to looking like
a total structural failure.

I've got something.

NARRATOR: Investigators make an
early discovery about the fire

on board the plane.

These wires from the cable
loom short circuited.

That, plus a fuel leak
from near the engine

three area caused the fire.

Good work.

When the engines came
away from the wing,

they tore with them
electrical wiring.

Some of that wiring still
had power available.

NARRATOR: When the flaps
were extended, leaking fuel

made contact with live
wires and ignited.

Let's get this cleaned up,
get a better look at what tore

the engine loose from the wing.

NARRATOR: Investigators
are counting

on the plane's
flight data recorder

to provide more information.

OK, let's see
what it can tell us.

Looks like engines
three and four

were producing thrust
right up until here.

9:10:50 AM, one hour
into the flight.

NARRATOR: The FDR data reveals
that both engines stopped

working almost concurrently.

The flight data
recorder basically

show the engines
operating as normal

when they left the aircraft.

NARRATOR: To you understand
why two perfectly functioning

engines detached
from the 707's wings,

investigators need to
find the missing engines.

Here's the flight path.

This is where they
probably fell off.

I'll send a search and
recovery team out there.

NARRATOR: 24 hours into the
investigation, the engines

of Flight 671 are
located on a mountainside

near Séderon, France,
55 miles northeast

of where the plane landed.

Investigators found the engines
about 800 meters apart.

That's very close.

NARRATOR: Their locations also
suggest the engines detached

at almost the same time.

While the team waits for
the engines to be recovered,

they turn to the crew
for further insight.

We were climbing
to 33,000 feet

to avoid some pretty
bad turbulence.

Suddenly, there
were loud sounds.

I saw engine four was missing.

You reported the engines
missing at two different times.

Is it possible
you were mistaken?

It's possible.

The harness I was wearing kept
me from getting a good look

out the window at first.

You said you were climbing
to avoid turbulence.

How bad was it?

It was severe.

I wouldn't want to go
through that again.

They'd flown through extremely
heavy turbulence of a level

not normally encountered.

So there were two cumulonimbus
clouds here and here.

And they went up
past 33,000 feet.

NARRATOR: Investigators
examine the weather conditions

at the time of the incident.

Looks like there was also a
90-knot jet stream over here.

NARRATOR: They discover
that Flight 671

flew through two
weather conditions

when they reached 33,000 feet.

Those two
conditions would have

generated severe turbulence.

But you'd think it could
withstand the turbulence.

NARRATOR: Did two colliding
weather conditions

tear the engines off the 707?

Well, let's see what
the engines can tell us.

Hey, boss.

NARRATOR: Close
examination of the engines

gives investigators
an important new clue.

See this dent on engine four?

Shape and diameter match
a dent on engine three.

So does this white paint.

You could tell from
the shape of the damage,

and from transfer of white
paint from one engine

to the other engine,
that the number

three had struck the number
four engine and separated it.

NARRATOR: Investigators
now need to find out what

caused engine three to detach.

Looks like a clean break
of all four fittings.

NARRATOR: Each engine
is attached to a pylon.

The pylon is then bolted to the
wing using four large fittings.

During flight 671, all four
fittings broke on engine three.

Now three of the four
fittings broke like this one.

You can see from the surface,
they broke from stress.

This mid spar fitting
is different.

There's some distortion here.

It likely broke from
a fatigue fracture.

JOE EPPERSON: You could see some
characteristics surface-wise,

coloration-wise, that were
consistent with a fatigue

cracking.

NARRATOR: Over time, the
inboard mid spar fitting

on engine three was
weakened because of a crack

caused by metal fatigue.

When it snapped off
in severe turbulence,

the other fittings broke too.

As a metallurgist,
I want to take

a closer look at these things.

OK, let's see what we got.

NARRATOR: To establish a
detailed history of Flight

671's broken mid spar fitting,
investigators use an electron

microscope to examine it.

I can see multiple
arrest lines.

With each takeoff and landing,
the crack grows a little bit.

And it leaves a mark.

And each little
stress cycle makes

the crack a little bigger.

These are likely
from the flights

the plane flew since
Trans-Air put it back

in service a few weeks ago.

But what about before that?

NARRATOR: As the team
continues examining

the cracked mid spar fitting,
they make an unusual finding.

It looks like corrosion.

The plane had to have
been exposed to moisture

over a long period of time.

All right, well, it looks
like the previous owner

had the plane in storage for 13
months prior to the incident.

Where was it stored?

Um, in a field in England.

REX PARKINSON:
Steel will corrode

if it's in a salty atmosphere
or a very moist atmosphere.

This particular aircraft
was stored at airfields

which weren't far from the sea.

That explains the corrosion.

How about those--
those little marks?

NARRATOR: Near the
bottom of the fitting,

they discover several
telltale marks.

Those are corrosion pit marks.

Corrosion pits are tiny holes
that appear in metal

after water has gained
access to that metal

and caused corrosion
to take place.

And the pit can be the start
of a long crack.

JOE EPPERSON: And in this case,
there were corrosion pits that

grew into one crack
and eventually

fractured the mid spar fitting.

So when did these pit
marks start to develop?

Well, it's hard
to pinpoint exactly.

Given their distance
from the arrest lines,

it suggests that the pitting
started even before the plane

went into storage.

JOE EPPERSON: The crack
doesn't occur in storage.

The oxidation does.

So that tells us the cracking
occurred before storage, or

probably years before storage.

These fittings were a
time bomb waiting to blow.

So how did the
maintenance team miss it?

This just arrived from
Trans-Air, maintenance records.

Oh, let's have a look.

NARRATOR: Investigators
want to know

if poor maintenance on Flight
671 contributed to the crash.

REX PARKINSON: You start to
look at the age of the parts

that failed, and what
was the maintenance

requirements for those
parts, and did they

play a role in the accident.

NARRATOR: In the 1990s,
Nigerian airlines,

like Trans-Air,
gained a reputation

for poor maintenance.

For a while, Nigerian
airways were, in fact, banned

from United Kingdom airspace.

According to this,
Trans-Air didn't do

mid spar maintenance check.

Trans-Air had only owned
that airplane for a very

small amount of time.

So it's unlikely that
they've performed

any maintenance on it.

So maybe Trans-Air
inherited the problem

before it was owned by them.

Looks like the previous owner
did two maintenance checks--

one on October 10, 1991,
when the plane was

in storage, and the
other in May 1990,

before it went into storage.

NARRATOR: The team learns
that the plane passed

two maintenance checks
in a two year period

prior to the incident.

If the metal fatigue
started before the storage,

the maintenance check should
have caught the problem.

GUY HIRST: There were certain
cracks that should have

been picked up, which weren't.

NARRATOR: Then, one month
into the investigation,

another 707 loses an engine.

The incident is similar to
what happened to Flight 671.

During takeoff from Miami
International Airport,

the number three engine
is torn off the wing

and then hits engine four.

REX PARKINSON: With
the Miami accident,

the pilots managed
to land the aircraft

safely, with no one
being hurt.

NARRATOR: The NTSB investigates
and discovers

that a broken mid spar fitting
also caused the engine

to fall off the wing.

This was, perhaps,
history repeating itself.

Is that from the NTSB?

Yep.

NARRATOR: French investigators
review the NTSB's

preliminary report,
curious about the Miami

plane's maintenance history.

Maintenance on
the 707 in Miami

was performed 328 flights
before the accident.

Which is well within the
600 flight recommendation

by the FAA.

NARRATOR: They discovered
that the plane had also passed

maintenance checks and reported
no fatigue cracking

or corrosion.

In both the Miami accident
and the French accident,

the mid spar fitting had failed
in a very similar way

and had also been maintained
as specified by the FAA

and Boeing Aircraft Company.

Perhaps they weren't
maintaining properly.

At the time,
the mid spar fittings

were required to be inspected
in a close, visual examination.

Basically, you gain
access to the fitting,

you wipe it off the best you
can, and what you can see

is what you examine.

NARRATOR: Was there a problem
with the inspection process?

Investigators
interview a maintenance

supervisor about
how engine fittings

are approved for flight.

So how do you inspect
the fitting?

Well, you're
supposed to carry out

a close visual inspection
for cracks on the exposed

surfaces of the fitting.

And--

And?

Well, cracks can start on
the inside of the fitting.

So why is that a problem?

Well, it's a problem
because you can't see

inside unless you remove
the engine and the pylon

from the wing.

NARRATOR: It's a
troubling discovery.

The mid spar fitting is
normally inspected by removing

a panel on the pylon.

But the entire fitting cannot
be seen from the access panel.

The engine and pylon need to
be removed to check for cracks

on the inside of the fitting.

Boeing did not
require disassembly

of the mid spar fitting.

Their risk assessment
basically said, it's not

worth it on this old airframe.

So there could
be 707s out there

with cracks in this fitting
that no one could see?

Yeah.

As an investigator,
you always have

to wonder how many more engines
are going to fall off of 707s.

Listen to this.

NARRATOR: Investigators
of Flight 671

do a deep dive into the history
of the Boeing 707's mid spar

fitting.

There have been reports of
more than 35 cracked mid spar

fittings on the 797.

These planes are at the
end of their life cycle.

797 in Miami had flown
over 50,000 hours.

The Trans-Air 707 had
flown more than 60,000 hours.

This was an old fitting, on
an old airplane, that had been

designed a very long time ago.

When they didn't know how
these materials would age,

the consequence of this
and perhaps not the best

maintenance or inspection
meant that eventually

this fitting just gave up.

NARRATOR: By 1992,
most 707s were considered

too old to fly
passengers and were

converted to freight transport.

We need to make sure
this doesn't happen again.

NARRATOR: Investigators
conclude that a hidden fracture

in the mid spar fitting almost
took the lives of the five men

on Trans-Air Flight 671.

The fate of the plane
is sealed when

a maintenance inspection fails
to catch the fatigue crack.

Ask if we can go to 33.

NARRATOR: The 707 is pushed
to its breaking point

when two weather events collide.

JOE EPPERSON:
The in-flight turbulence

was the last little bit that
was necessary to cause fracture.

Basically, it was the last straw
that held this pylon together.

NARRATOR: The weakened mid
spar fitting finally breaks

and both engines are lost.

If not for the
heroics of the crew,

the plane would have crashed.

The 707 is not an
easy airplane to fly

when everything is going well.

It's a very difficult
airplane to fly

when things are going wrong.

I've got limited maneuvering.

You dumping?

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Captain
Berglund's skill and stamina

prove remarkable as
he physically keeps

the plane stable until landing.

From the beginning of
the incident to when they

finally landed on the runway--

24 minutes.

24 minutes that
most pilots wouldn't

have had all those things happen
to them in his entire career.

He was just one fantastic pilot.

Kabo 671, we have
no radar contact.

Say your position, please, sir.

NARRATOR: Throughout
the harrowing flight,

Flight Engineer Boone
troubleshoots and fixes

key systems.

GUY HIRST: The flight
engineer looked at his panel

and came up with the
solution as to why

the radar wasn't working.

You turn left, 180.

OK

Hey, you see the airfield?

NARRATOR: And First Officer
Emery's quick thinking

and intuition proved vital.

Kabo 671, we have
an airfield ahead.

What is that airfield?

It was an absolute
genius decision

to land at a military base
with a long runway.

It shows an awful lot about that
spirit of pilots and survival,

that they somehow
coalesce together.

And they all use their
own individual skills.

NARRATOR: The BEA recommends
that inspections

of the current mid spar fittings
be modified to enable

the detection of hidden
cracks or be replaced

by reinforced fittings.

JOE EPPERSON: The FAA decided
to mandate replacement

of the mid spar fittings with
a new and improved mid spar

fitting, which did not
require inspections that were

ineffective in the first place.

NARRATOR: In 1992, the
crew of Trans-Air Cargo 671

received the Hugh
Gordon-Burge Award

for Outstanding Airmanship.

BOB GRIMSTEAD: This flight
was a heroic achievement

where the crew have recovered
from a virtually

impossible situation.

And they deserve
the awards they got.

MARTIN EMERY: So a lot of
luck, and a bit of teamwork,

and a bit of shouting, and a bit
of action, but a happy landing.