All language subtitles for Air Disasters S18E14 A Wounded Bird 1080p PMTP WEB-DL DDP5 1 H 264-maldini_track3_[eng]

FLIGHT ATTENDENT (ON INTERCOM):
Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

We lost both engines.

MAN: Mayday.

Mayday.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT:
Brace for impact!

MAN: He's gonna crash!

NARRATOR: It was
just a small commuter

plane buzzing back and forth
from one town to another--

a journey of 86 minutes,
one of many that day.

No one could ever have imagined
that it would end like this--

in drama and in death.

Yet, in 1995, two pilots
with 26 passengers

aboard defied gravity for
more than nine minutes

when they lost
the use of a wing,

struggling home
like a wounded bird.

Help me.

Help me.

Help me hold it.

Help me hold it!

Brace positions!

Keep your heads down, everyone!

Hold on!

This is gonna be rough!

NARRATOR: But when
their plane makes

a miraculous crash landing
with all passengers alive,

their ordeal isn't over.

What awaits them is
even more horrifying.

It's getting hot in here!

Get me out!

Tell my wife.

I love her!

I have never
before or since dealt

with so much physical
devastation, and emotional

upheaval, and so much sorrow.

NARRATOR: Atlanta
Airport in Georgia

has become one of the
busiest in the world.

In 1995, it was the home
of a very successful

regional airline,
Atlantic Southeast,

serving the Southeastern
United States

with a fleet of 83 turboprops.

Most of them were
Brasilias, built

by the Brazilian firm Embraer.

The Brasilia is a high
performance aircraft

with state of the art
avionics and a top speed

of 378 miles per hour.

Today, after 18,000
successful flights,

this Brasilia will take
off for the last time.

Take off check--

below the line I've
got your lights.

NARRATOR: Captain Ed
Gannaway and First

Officer Matt Warmerdam have just
flown in from Macon, Georgia.

Turn the lights on.

NARRATOR: Going through
the departure checklist,

they are now ready for
their second flight

of the day, flight ASA 529
to Gulfport, Mississippi.

Hi.

Hi, honey.

Hi, there.

Hi.

Oh, here you are, Mom.

NARRATOR: Flight attendant
Robin Fech has been with ASA

for just over two years.

Her cabin is a cramped
space, only 31 feet long.

Most of her 26 passengers are
seasoned business travelers,

ranging in age from 18 to 69.

Among them are six engineers,
two deputy sheriffs,

a minister, two Air
Force personnel, and even

an aspiring flight attendant.

For them, the short trip
to Gulfport, Mississippi

is a routine journey.

But they are half an hour late
on their schedule already.

OK.

Power is set.

Autofeather is armed.

NARRATOR: Captain
Ed Gannaway, who's

been with ASA for seven years,
comes from a family of pilots.

He's a skilled and
accomplished captain.

V1.

VR.

Pause right.

Gear up.

DISPATCHER (ON RADIO): AC
529, contact departure.

Fly heading 060 now.

We'll see you.

NARRATOR: The two
men have been flying

together for four months.

060, switching.

See ya.

NARRATOR: At 6'3"
and 200 pounds,

Matt Warmerdam is a tight fit in
the Brasilia's cramped cockpit.

I think all pilots
would agree that

the Brasilia was a constant
love-hate relationship.

It was, at the
time, the fastest,

sleekest turboprop around.

And it was also very
tricky to master.

The thing was built
like a Sherman tank.

ACTOR AS MATT WARMERDAM
(ON RADIO): Hey, Robin.

Hi.

It'll just be a couple
more minutes like this.

It's gonna smooth out.

OK.

Just a couple more minutes
and I'll be able to get up?

Yes, ma'am.

All right.

Thank you.

ACTOR AS MATT WARMERDAM
(ON RADIO): See you.

NARRATOR: David McCorkell
is a frequent flier

and works in the
software business.

He is on his way to
an important meeting.

Good afternoon,
ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome aboard
Atlantic Southeast

Airlines flight 529, service
to Gulfport, Mississippi.

NARRATOR: Chuck Pfisterer,
a nervous flier,

works for a paper
company, and is

on his way to visit a new mill.

DISPATCHER (ON RADIO):
AC 529, climber

maintain flat level 200.

200, AC 529.

20.

NARRATOR: The
Brasilia, on autopilot,

is climbing towards its cruising
altitude of 24,000 feet.

24.

24.

NARRATOR: But the plane will
never make it to this altitude.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Autopilot.

Engine control.

Oil.

The sound of that
was tremendous.

It was as if someone
had taken a baseball bat

and hit an aluminum garbage
can as hard as they could.

It was just a--

a gigantic crashing sound.

And the airplane immediately
lurched to the left.

DAVID MCCORKELL: I
heard a loud bang.

And that's what, you
know, just shot me awake.

Not knowing really
what happened, I--

I looked over and
noticed everyone

looking left out the window.

CHUCK PFISTERER: What I
saw was very alarming.

The outer skin of the
engine had been ripped off

or, as I determined
later, had peeled

back because of some force.

I could see the--

the components of
the engine itself.

And I could see fluid
leaving the engine

and exiting the
back of the wing.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Autopilot.

NARRATOR: Warning lights
and chimes go off, signaling

trouble in the left engine.

The autopilot trips
off as a result,

and Gannaway takes
control of the plane.

Autopilot.

Engine Control.

Oil.

NARRATOR: The plane is
falling 5,500 feet a minute--

the equivalent of over
90 feet every second.

Oil from the destroyed
engine is seeping

into the air conditioning pack,
bringing smoke into the cabin.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Autopilot.

Engine control.

Pack off.

We've got the left engine out.

Left power lever, flight idle.

NARRATOR: Unaware that the
left engine is destroyed,

the pilot tries to
adjust its propeller

to improve the plane's lift.

Left condition lever.

Left condition lever, feather.

NARRATOR: Warmerdam attempts
to feather the propeller, which

means changing the
angle of the blades

in order to minimize
air resistance.

The warning light indicates
fire in the left engine.

Left condition
lever, fuel shut off.

NARRATOR: No matter
what Gannaway

does, the plane is still
pulling violently to the left.

He struggles to counteract it
by pushing hard to the right,

using both rudder
and control column.

I need some help here.

I need some help on this!

NARRATOR: The force of
the crippled wing pulling

to the left is relentless.

Without the efforts
of the pilots

to keep the plane
stable, it would

roll into a spin and spiral
down into the ground,

killing everyone on board.

Captain Gannaway is confused.

Feathering the propeller
has not reduced the drag.

He's so preoccupied with
handling the emergency,

he hasn't looked over his
shoulder at the damaged engine

yet.

You said it's feathered?

I did feather.

What the hell is
wrong with this thing?

I don't know.

NARRATOR: For now, the pilots
are focused on the plane's

vital statistics-- heading,
altitude, speed, and the power

setting of its one good engine.

Well, these
planes were designed

to fly with one engine.

Let's close these.

Oh, sir, you don't need
to be looking at that.

CHUCK PFISTERER: My reaction
was, the hell with you.

If I want to look
out the window,

I'm going to look
out the window.

Because these are the
last moments of my life.

Whoa.

It's all right.

That's just what turbulence
feels like with one engine.

ACTOR AS CHUCK PFISTERER:
Are we gonna make it?

ACTOR AS ROBIN FECH: Oh, sir,
of course we're gonna make it.

We're not gonna make it.

CHUCK PFISTERER:
What was important

wasn't the conversation
between the two of us.

I think that it was
what was in our eyes.

I think that she knew
that I knew that this was

a huge problem, and
that it probably

wasn't going to be
something that was

going to end without tragedy.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Autopilot.

NARRATOR: The pilots of ASA
529 have slowed the plane's

catastrophic rate of descent.

But their airspeed has
actually increased.

I can't hold this thing.

NARRATOR: Captain
Gannaway has flown

to Brasilia on one engine
before and landed it

without difficulty.

This plane has
something very wrong.

Atlanta Center, AC 529
declaring an emergency.

We've had an engine failure.

We're out of 14-2 at this time.

AC 529, Roger.

Left turn, direct Atlanta.

NARRATOR: Flight 529,
now flying over Alabama,

makes a left turn
back towards Atlanta.

But the airport is
almost 58 miles away.

Will they make it?

The plane has begun to descend
again, and at breakneck speed.

Warmerdam cancels the master
caution warning, finally

silencing the plane's alarms.

Captain Gannaway experiments
with his controls,

trying everything.

Suddenly, the
Brasilia's nose lifts up

and the plane's speed slows.

AC 529, say altitude
descending to.

ACTOR AS ED GANNAWAY
(ON RADIO): We're

at 11,600 at this time, AC 529.

All right.

It's getting more
controllable here.

The engine-- let's
watch our speed.

NARRATOR: For the first
time since the crisis began,

the pilots can now turn their
attention to the passengers.

We're trimmed completely here.

I'm gonna tell
Robin what's going on.

Hi.

ACTOR AS MATT WARMERDAM
(ON PHONE): OK.

We had an engine failure, Robin.

We declared an emergency.

We're diverting back to Atlanta.

Go ahead and brief
the passengers.

This will be an emergency
landing back in.

All right.

Thank you.

NARRATOR: Fech hasn't
told the pilots what she's

seen of the destroyed engine.

She assumes they already know.

AC 529, can you level off or
do you need to keep descending?

NARRATOR: The plane
is descending again

at about 3,000 feet a minute.

Gannaway suddenly realizes
they won't make it to Atlanta.

We're gonna need
to keep descending.

We need an airport quick.

OK.

We're gonna need
to keep descending.

We need an airport quick.

Roll the trucks and
everything out for us.

DISPATCH (ON RADIO):
AC 529, West Georgia.

The regional airport is at
your 10 o'clock position

and about 10 miles away.

NARRATOR: But the air traffic
controller, too preoccupied

with handling the crisis
aboard flight 529,

fails to notify
emergency services.

Flight 529 makes
another wide left turn

that brings it on
course to land at West

Georgia Regional Airport.

Let's get out the engine
failure checklist, please.

Engine failure in flight.

NARRATOR: But they
don't get a chance

to diagnose their problem.

AC 529, say heading.

ACTOR AS MATT WARMERDAM (ON
RADIO): Turning to about 310

right now.

AC 529, Roger.

You need to be on a 030 for
West Georgia Regional, sir.

ACTOR AS MATT WARMERDAM
(ON RADIO): Roger.

We'll probably turn right.

We're having difficulty
controlling right now.

Let me see your
brace positions.

Brace position.

Good.

Good.

APU-- if available, start.

You want me to start it?

We got to bring
this thing down.

Put that off.

Get-- bring the ice off.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Caution.

Caution.

AC 529, say your
altitude now, sir.

Out of 7,000, AC 529.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Trim fail.

Trim fail.

Oh, good start.

AC 529, I missed that.

I'm sorry.

We're at a 6.9
right now, AC 529.

OK.

It's up and running, Ed.

All right, go ahead.

AC 529, West Georgia Regional
is your closest airport.

What kind of runway they got?

Yeah.

What kind of runway does
West Georgia Regional got?

West Georgia Regional is--

it's 5,000 feet and
it's asphalt, sir.

OK.

Now, I want you to remove
any pens or sharp objects

from your pockets.

I want you to take
off your glasses.

And pour any drinks
into the pocket

of the seat in front of you.

DAVID MCCORKELL: We
had to put the drinks

in our pocket in front of us.

I think that shook a few of us.

And I kind of noticed it
wasn't going too well.

But most folks on that
flight were business

folks that flew real frequent.

So, you know, there
was no screaming

or panicking of any sort.

CHUCK PFISTERER: Based on the
fact that I was going to die,

I dealt with it in the
best way that I could,

which was just to
try to absorb it,

accept it, and deal with it.

NARRATOR: The plane
is still losing

altitude far too quickly.

Can it make it to
the airport in time?

Atlanta Center normally
only controls flights

at altitudes over 11,000 feet.

For the last 7
minutes, flight 529

has been under this altitude.

And now the controller is
having trouble locating them.

AC 529, I've lost
your transponder.

Say altitude.

ACTOR AS MATT WARMERDAM
(ON RADIO): We're at a 4.5

at this time.

AC 529, I've got you now.

And the airport's at your.

Say-- say you're
heading now, sir.

We are heading 080.

Roger.

You need about 10 degrees left.

NARRATOR: West Georgia Regional
Airport is only 8 miles away,

2 minutes flying time.

But they're not sure they
can keep airborne that long.

I'll tell you what.

Let me put you on approach.

He works that airport and
will be able to give you

more information.

Contact Atlanta
Approach at 12.0.

NARRATOR: Atlanta Approach
air traffic control--

it monitors planes within a
much smaller airspace, including

West Georgia Regional Airport.

The Brasilia, now at 3,400
feet, has slowed its descent

to 1,800 feet per minute.

But that's still too fast.

They won't make
it to the airport.

7 minutes have passed.

For the first time, Captain
Gannaway manages to catch

a glimpse of the left engine.

The engine is exploded.

It's just hanging out there.

NARRATOR: This was something
his instruments hadn't told him.

The engine is just
dangling off the wing.

He knows he could land a
Brasilia with a failed engine,

but not when it's torn apart.

This is something his training
hasn't prepared him for.

He wishes he could see
through the clouds.

ACTOR AS MATT
WARMERDAM (ON RADIO):

Atlanta Approach, SC 529.

AC 529, Atlanta Approach here.

ACTOR AS MATT WARMERDAM
(ON RADIO): Yes, sir.

We're with you
declaring an emergency.

AC 529, Roger.

Expect localizer
runway 34 approach.

And could you fly heading 180?

No, sorry, 160.

NARRATOR: The
controller's flight

path will take the
Brasilia several miles

south before landing.

Gannaway knows he doesn't
have the extra minutes

that this will take.

We can get it in on a visual.

Just give us the vectors.

We'll go the visual.

NARRATOR: He asked
for directions

to take the plane
straight in using

the shortest possible route.

They are out of the clouds, but
a shocking sight greets them.

Ahead, no airport,
only forest and towns.

Gannaway, who never
stutters, does now.

S-single engine
checklist, please.

Where the hell is it?

NARRATOR: Robin Fech is puzzled.

6 minutes earlier,
Warmerdam told her the plane

was turning back to Atlanta.

But all she can see it now
is Georgia countryside.

We're at 1,900 at this time.

We're below the clouds.
Tell 'em.

CONTROLLER (ON RADIO):
You route at 1,900 now?

Yeah.

We're VFR at this time.

Could you give us a
vector to the airport?

Turn left.

And fly hitting 040.

There, the airport's at your
about 10 o'clock and 6 miles,

sir.

Radar contact lost at this time.

NARRATOR: The plane's low
altitude shocks the controller,

1,900 feet.

Only a minute earlier it
had been at 3,400 feet.

The descent is far too fast.

Remember, brace yourselves.

And once we get out
to where we're going,

wait till the plane
comes to a complete stop

before we can get out.

OK?

Brace positions, please!

Brace positions!

Sir, heads down.

Heads down, please!

NARRATOR: Robin Fech, too
preoccupied by the safety

of her passengers,
looks out a window

and suddenly sees the
tops of the trees.

She has but a few seconds left
to strap herself into her jump

seat before impact.

Brace positions!

Keep your heads down, everyone!

Hold on!

This is gonna be rough!

NARRATOR: With the
airport out of reach,

the pilots must attempt a
crash landing in a field.

Help me hold it.

Help me hold it.

Help me hold it.

Over there.

Help me hold it.
Help me.

Help me hold it.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Low gear.

500.

Low gear.

NARRATOR: The plane's
altitude voice alarm

sounds, warning the
pilots that they're

flying too close to the
ground without their landing

gear lowered.

AUTOMATED VOICE: 200.

Low gear.

NARRATOR: The
pilots will attempt

to land on the plane's belly.

AUTOMATED VOICE: 100.

Low gear.

Help me.

Help me.

Help me hold it!

Help me hold it!

Amy, I love you.

NARRATOR: These
are the last words

on the cockpit voice recorder.

The plane is flying
at 138 miles per hour,

and only seconds
away from impact.

AUTOMATED VOICE: Low gear.

Warning, low gear.

30.

Low gear.

20.

Low gear.

NARRATOR: ASA flight 529
landed in a small field

in Burwell, a sleepy
farming community

near Carrollton, Georgia.

Many witnessed the
plane coming down.

Bill Jeters and his wife
lived in this house,

directly in the plane's path.

My wife was sitting at
the kitchen table reading.

And she said, Bill, we'd
better get out of here because

a plane's gonna hit the house.

So about that time
it started stopping.

I said, well, you call
911 and I'm going to see

if I can help with the plane.

911 DISPATCHER (ON
PHONE): Emergency.

MRS. JETERS (ON PHONE): Yes.

We have a plane crashed
in our backyard.

911 DISPATCHER (ON
PHONE): A plane crashed?

MRS. JETERS (ON PHONE): Yes.
Get somebody out here.

Hurry.

NARRATOR: 8 minutes have passed
since first officer Warmerdam

had declared an emergency and
asked Atlanta Center for rescue

vehicles to be alerted.

But the controller hadn't
passed on the message.

Minutes would make
the difference

now between life and death.

The local emergency
services respond quickly,

but are still many miles away.

For almost a minute
after impact,

there's an eerie silence.

The plane fuselage
is broken in two.

Did anyone survive?

As the dust settles,
all 29 people on board

are miraculously alive, with
only a handful seriously

injured by the impact.

CHUCK PFISTERER: It was
an amazing situation

only because I just
couldn't even believe

that I was alive at that point.

And I couldn't believe that I
was looking at something that--

that was real.

NARRATOR: But a new
disaster is looming.

Fuel from the
shattered wing tanks

is pouring onto the ground.

The last thing I remember is--

is the sound of
hitting the trees.

And then I honestly
don't recall impact.

NARRATOR: Captain
Ed Gannaway has

been knocked unconscious by a
blow to the head during impact.

When first officer
Matt Warmerdam

regains consciousness, he
realizes they're stuck.

The cockpit door is jammed,
and smoke is slowly seeping in.

He reaches for the
emergency crash ax.

The cockpit window
is the only way out.

DAVID MCCORKELL: The next
immediate thought I had

was now we're gonna blow up.

So get out of there.

It was burning, you know,
right in the opening.

You know, so I just jumped over.

CHUCK PFISTERER: And I
headed towards the opening.

And I walked out
of the aircraft,

and I walked away from it.

NARRATOR: The sparks
ignite the fuel vapors,

creating a blazing fire.

Within seconds, the fire
spreads to the fuselage.

In the rear, passengers are
trapped by flames burning

at 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit.

They hear screams of
others outside who've

suffered terrible burns.

They'll have to run through
the fire and hope for the best.

I turned back and I
looked at the aircraft.

And what I saw was that the
opening that I had come through

was basically fully
engulfed in flames,

and that the people that
were exiting the aircraft

were all on fire.

DAVID MCCORKELL: Some
of them would, you know,

roll in the grass to try
and put the fire out.

And sometimes that made it
worse, because it was spent--

or spilt fuel.

And then they would
get even more ignited.

And the whole situation got
uglier and uglier in the sense

that you would, all of
a sudden, see people

with their clothing burned off.

You would see people with--

with-- with red--

red skin that you could see
was burn-- you could actually

see some people whose flesh
was, like, dropping off

of their bodies or their faces.

It was just a horrible
situation that was taking place.

And it was getting
worse and worse.

NARRATOR: Matt Warmerdam, his
right shoulder dislocated,

is banging the axe against
the window with his left hand.

BILL JETERS: One gentleman
I saw was crawling,

completely engulfed in flames.

And another one that was--

most of his clothes
was torn off.

Now, whether they got
torn off in the crash

or he tore 'em off
himself, I don't know.

I helped him away
from the airplane

and brought him up towards
my brother-in-law's house.

And all he had on
was his shorts.

And his skin was--

excuse me.

MATT WARMERDAM: Aircraft
glass is much thicker

than what you would see on,
like, a-- like, an automobile

windshield.

It's several different
composite layers

that have been tempered
treated together to make

it a very, very tough surface.

And with each swing
of the crash axe,

I was only able to chip
away a small piece of glass.

I need some help!

I really did feel
kind of alone there.

I'm looking around left
and right and there's--

there's no other fools
that close, you know,

at that second.

NARRATOR: But even though
passenger David McCorkell

believes that the plane
might blow up at any second,

he goes to Matt
Warmerdam's rescue.

Can you help me?

I haven't got enough
room inside to swing it.

Where should I hit?

Hit here.

Hang on a second.

Hang on.

Hang on.

I got to get some air.

NARRATOR: The oxygen cylinder in
the closet behind the copilot's

seat punctures.

It will make the
cockpit fire much worse.

OK.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

OK.

Stop a second.

Let me if I can squeeze out.

Let's get you out of here.

Stop pulling me!
No, no.

It's too small.

Go ahead.

NARRATOR: By now, the
rescue crews of the area

have been notified.

Firemen, police officers,
paramedics, all are hurrying

their way to the crash site.

Will the fire trucks
arrive on time

to save Matt Wermerdam
before the cockpit

is engulfed in flames?

David McCorkell is
exhausted trying

to break the strong glass.

Suddenly, a heat flame pops
at him from below the cockpit.

He backs off,
scared for his life.

You aren't gonna
let me die, are you?

NARRATOR: He has children, and
he must think of them as well.

How can he sacrifice his life
for a man he does not know?

Now, more determined
than ever, he

bangs even harder and faster.

Then, suddenly, the
weakened axe head flies off.

It's getting hot in here!

Get me out!

NARRATOR: Guy Pope,
a police officer,

is the first rescue worker
to reach the burning plane.

GUY POPE: I was about
three miles from here

when I received the call.

And about halfway
here I could see

the smoke, pretty heavy smoke.

And I got out of the car,
and I ran up to the plane.

And when I went around
the nose of the plane,

one of the passengers
handed me a hatchet

and said that the
pilot was inside.

And I took the
hatchet and started

trying to cut a bigger hole.

I couldn't get around behind
the cockpit because of fire.

It was still
burning pretty heavy

and there, was an oxygen
bottle there blowing the fire.

And, you know, it's
just one of them things.

You see a man burn, it's--

you don't forget it.

NARRATOR: This is actual
video footage taken

from the windshield of a
Georgia State Police car,

as rescue workers are
arriving at the site.

At this moment, all passengers
are out of the two sections

of the broken plane
except pilots Ed

Gannaway and Matt
Warmerdam, who remain

prisoners of their cockpit.

STEVE CHADWICK: Well,
first off, I had to tear

the back of the cockpit out.

It had burnt and
there was no door--

visible door or
anything like that.

So I actually took my
hands and tore it out.

When I started to pull
him out, he looked up

and he said, tell my wife,
Amy, that I love her.

I said, no, sir.

You tell her that
you love her, 'cause

I'm getting you out of here.

JOAN CRAWFORD: Inside the
ambulance, I worked with him.

And I thought that probably
he would not make it.

I took his name badge and
pinned it on his underwear,

which was the only
thing I had left on him,

trying to cool him down.

'Cause I thought that if
he died, at least someone

would know who he was.

Surprisingly, Matt was aware
of everything around him.

And he kept trying to
assure me that things

were going to be OK.

He was comforting me. 'Cause
at that particular time,

I was crying.

Matthew actually took his burned
hand and wiped a tear away.

NARRATOR: They found Captain
Gannaway dead in the cockpit.

He had struck his head
on impact and never

regained consciousness.

He died of burns and
smoke inhalation.

The crash survivors-- some
with broken bones and others

with burns-- are rushed to
various hospitals in Georgia.

13 passengers are brought to
Tanner Hospital in Carrolton,

15 minutes away, where Code
Black is immediately applied,

meaning everybody helps.

Dr. Bobby Mitchell will be
responsible for treating

four survivors, including
flight attendant Robin Fech.

BOBBY MITCHELL: When
I got to the hospital,

some of the people that had
survived the plane crash

were already here.

The smell was initially
just a wave of jet fuel

that just hit you
as the door opened.

And then that was mixed with
just a pungent horrible odor

of burned flesh.

Miss Fech, she had
a cut on her scalp

and a couple of broken bones,
like a collar bone and an arm.

And she was in a great
deal of pain herself,

although she-- she
didn't particularly

want me to be dealing with her.

She said, you get
back with them.

And the orthopedist
soon took over her care.

She was clearly still trying
to care for her passengers.

I have never before or
since dealt with so much

physical devastation,
and emotional upheaval,

and so much sorrow, and horror,
and sadness in one place at one

time then-- then
we did on that day

in this-- this little
small town hospital.

NARRATOR: In the United States,
the National Transportation

Safety Board is responsible for
investigating air disasters.

Its go team is on
duty 24 hours a day

to fly to the scene
of any major crash.

The NTSB will have
several subgroups working

at the same time, each examining
a particular part of the plane.

In 1995, Gordon Jim Hooky,
an aerospace engineer,

was in charge of the
propeller maintenance group.

We went out to the crash site.

And, in the usual
fashion, you just

kind of look around
and get a feel

for where all the pieces are.

We came along the propeller
assembly that was missing.

Looking down
through the dirt, we

could see the telltale marks,
the beach marks, around--

along the fracture surface
that indicated it might

have been a fatigue fracture.

NARRATOR: No one saw the
propeller blade break, only

the resulting damaged engine.

Hooky has good reason
to be concerned

by the broken propeller blade.

Four years earlier,
another ASA Brasilia

had crashed in woods in
Georgia, killing all 23 aboard,

including former US
Senator John Tower and NASA

Astronaut Manley Sonny Carter.

The NTSB's investigation
of that incident

found the crash was
caused by a badly designed

propeller control unit.

And they blamed
the manufacturer,

Hamilton Standard.

Then, in March 1994, just
17 months before ASA 529,

propeller blades broke
on commercial flights

over Canada and over Brazil.

In both cases, the
aircraft landed safely.

These accidents pointed
to serious flaws

in Hamilton's
standard propellers.

And the government ordered
airlines to inspect all 15,000

propeller blades in service.

Flight 529's propeller
had been declared suspect

and sent back to
Hamilton Standard.

When the ASA mechanics
took the blade off the hub--

as soon as they turned
it over we marked down

the serial number, so when we
went back to do the records

we could immediately go
to that particular blade.

NARRATOR: Investigator Jim
Hookey takes the broken blade

stub to Atlanta Airport.

From there, it is sent to the
NTSB laboratory in Washington.

By the next morning, blade
number 861398 is being examined

under a scanning microscope.

Investigators find telltale
deposits of chlorine,

a corrosive substance known
to eat into the inner walls

of the propeller blade.

So then the
question becomes where

did the chlorine come from.

NARRATOR: In two of the
previous propeller failures,

the problem had been traced to
corrosion caused by chlorine

in the inner wall of the blade.

Flight 529's blade had also
snapped off 13.2 inches

from the hub, very
similar to the two

previous blade failures.

Under the microscope,
NTSB scientists

see that two cracks along
the inner wall of the blade

have joined to form
a single fissure.

This had grown and
grown until it circled

the blade, at which point
it snapped under the stress

of normal operation.

The draft accident report
we present to you today

involves Atlantic Southeast
Airlines flight 529.

NARRATOR: In its
final report, the NTSB

blames Hamilton Standard for
failing to detect the corrosion

inside the propeller blade.

It cites inadequate and
ineffective inspection

and repair techniques,
training, documentation,

and communication.

Some final questions
were still unanswered.

Why had the broken propeller
blade destroyed the engine?

In previous incidents,
the propeller

had fallen away harmlessly.

But on flight 529, blade loss
unbalanced the propeller--

I need some help here.

I need some help on this.

NARRATOR: --and
caused the engine

to shudder in its mountings.

The shuddering literally
ripped the engine open.

The NTSB finds that rescue
services might have arrived

more quickly if
controllers had heeded Matt

Warmerdam's request,
given by radio 6 and 1/2

minutes before the crash.

Another key NTSB recommendation
is to replace the flimsy crash

axe that had failed
in Warmerdam's rescue

with a sturdier model.

Investigators praised
the crew of flight 529

for the way they dealt with the
crisis, calling their reactions

reasonable and appropriate.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: But the board offers
little advice on the one thing

that caused all these deaths--

fire.

The conundrum is, how do you
make a fuel burn in an engine

but not ignite
when it is spilled.

NARRATOR: One way to reduce
the severity of fires

after a plane crash is to
use less flammable fuel.

In 1984, the Federal Aviation
Administration and NASA

decided to test
a new, safer fuel

by staging an accident using
a remote controlled plane.

Unfortunately, it was not
a conspicuous success.

But the US Navy has been using
a safer form of jet fuel called

JP-5 since the
1950s, yet it's not

used in commercial aviation.

The primary reason
that civilian sector

or commercial aviation has not
gone to a lower flammability

fuel is the question
of availability,

and distribution, and the cost.

It costs more to produce a JP-5.

NARRATOR: Until a
solution is found,

there will continue to
be stories like ASA 529.

On impact, everyone on
the flight survives.

But the subsequent fire
becomes the killer.

For the victims of
the fire, recovery

has been a slow, painful,
and excruciating process.

First Officer Matt Warmerdam
was burned on 42% of his body.

Some other survivors
suffered up to 90% burns.

Treatment included daily
baths and removal of dead skin

from burn wounds.

There would be years of skin
graft operations, the 24-hour

a day wearing of
pressure garments

to minimize scarring, chronic
itching, and soreness,

and daily physical therapy.

Your ability to sense and
feel through those areas

is permanently
changed for the worse.

Temperature control is lost.

When you walk from an
air conditioned building

into the outside, you take for
granted that your body starts

accommodating that
either by sweating

or redirecting blood flow.

People with burns,
especially horrible, large,

surface area burns--

that's lost forever.

They have to plan
everything they do.

They have to plan where they're
going to be and the clothing

much more carefully.

So there are emotional
and physical things,

both, that are lost forever.

My medical treatments
were quite extensive.

I think I'm--

I honestly have lost
count how many surgeries

I had to go through to--
to get back to the point

where I could fly again.

But it's got to be somewhere
near 50, including all the skin

grafting things that they
had to do in the hospital,

and as such.

Psychologically, it was-- it
was tough in the beginning.

There I was, happy to be
finally starting my career

as I had dreamed it
from my childhood,

and it was suddenly ripped away.

And that was tough.

It was a lot of long
nights talking with Amy,

trying to get over the--

the pain and
despair of all that.

I did have trouble getting
my life back in order.

It-- it caused me to drink
more than I had before.

I think the plane crash,
it just took the last bite.

And I stayed in the fire
service for a while after that,

but my heart was
never in it again.

I quit my job as--

I was a vice president
of a software company,

traveling a lot,
making very good money.

And I went to work
as a buyer in Alaska.

I also reconnected
with my ex-wife.

And we got remarried, moved
down to South Carolina,

and had all our kids
move in with us.

So, yeah, I did change my life.

It helped me to kind of put
a lot of things in perspective,

including not only
how I acted myself,

but also how I
treated other people.

First Officer
Matthew Warmerdam.

NARRATOR: One year after
the crash, the Military

Professional Organization
of Pilots bestowed

its prestigious medallion on
Matt Warmerdam for his part

in saving the lives
of his passengers.

He accepted it in
honor of the crew.

Seeking closure on the
trauma of the crash,

residents built a memorial
to the victims of flight 529

behind Shiloh United
Methodist Church,

a short distance from the
accident site in Burwell.

Much has changed for the
company that manufactured

flight 529's propeller.

Now renamed, it is part
of Collins Aerospace,

within the giant
United Technologies

Aerospace and Defense Group.

Flight 529 was the last time
that one of its propellers

failed in flight.

Its inspection
and repair process

was made more
stringent, in some cases

exceeding FAA requirements.

Since the three blade failures,
there have been no more.

Of the 29 people aboard
ASA flight 529, only eight

escaped with minor injuries.

Of the 21 others who received
major injuries and burns,

10 subsequently died.

Flight attendant Robin
Fech declined to be

interviewed for this film.

Still suffering from
the pain and anguish

of that terrible day,
she's never again

worked as a flight attendant.

MATT WARMERDAM: The best that I
ever could have done for myself

was that day two years ago,
when I'd finished training

and took the controls of a
ASA plane and flew again.

I stubbornly
recaptured my dream.

And now that I'm doing it again,
it's-- it's just been a joy.

It's what I do.

It's what I love.

It's what I always wanted
to do with my life,

and I'm doing it again.