All language subtitles for Air Disasters S18E18 Missing Over New York 1080p PMTP WEB-DL DDP5 1 H 264-maldini_track3_[eng]

FLIGHT ATTENDANT:
Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

FLIGHT CREWMAN: We
lost both engines.

.

Emergency descent.
FLIGHT CREWMAN: Mayday!

Mayday!

Brace for impact!

He's going to crash!

NARRATOR: Avianca
flight 52 is in trouble.

The crew is exhausted.

They're over New York City
and almost out of fuel.

Are we clear to land, no?

Yes, sir.

We are clear to land.

Tell me things louder
because I'm not hearing it.

NARRATOR: They're
cleared to land.

Soon the nightmare will be over.

Gear down.

Glide slope!

Sync rate, 500 feet.

NARRATOR: The captain
desperately searches for

the runway at Kennedy Airport.

Lights!

NARRATOR: But he can't find it.

The runway, where is it?

I don't see it.

I don't see it.

NARRATOR: Now, they're
battling violent wind shear.

This is the wind shear.

NARRATOR: They're
going to crash.

Give me the landing gear up.

Landing gear up!

NARRATOR: The plane has
hardly a drop of fuel left.

They cannot land.

Flight 52 is about to crash
somewhere over New York.

How could that happen?

Even the world's finest
aircraft detectives will never

agree about who is to blame.

Southwest of Kennedy Airport,
with a track brought up--

106 to Main Street
in Oyster Bay.

NARRATOR: January 25, 1990.

Air traffic controllers
are nervously

tracking a massive
low-pressure system approaching

America's northeast coast.

There was a system moving
through the Great Lakes,

moving east.

There were a couple of
other systems converging,

and a lot of times they'll
converge in the New York area

there, and the whole
Northeast will go down.

NARRATOR: The weather is
already near the safe minimum

to land a plane.

Flights will have to
be canceled or delayed.

The terminals will be
choked with thousands

of angry passengers.

Despite the terrible weather,
the air traffic managers

in Washington DC
order controllers

at Kennedy Airport in New York
to set a high landing rate.

We have some--

NARRATOR: Air travel
is vital, and they're

under tremendous pressure
to delay or cancel

as few flights as possible.

There's pressure because
that's the business they're in.

The business is moving
passengers from A to B.

That's what the
airlines are paid,

and the controllers are
paid to help that work.

Hey JFK, I need--

NARRATOR: Washington DC
managers pressure New York

to land 33 aircraft per hour.

Because of the winds, we don't
like the rate of 33 an hour.

NARRATOR: Scores
of overseas flights

with thousands of passengers
are already on their way.

They have to land somehow.

What are we going do
with foreign traffic?

We'll just give
them airborne holds.

Well, we know
we're going to have

wind shear and
missed approaches,

and this is going to
be a very bad day.

And that set the scenario
at about 7:00 or 8:00

in the morning before
we left Medellin.

At 7:00 or 8:00 in the
morning, the scenario was set

for this accident to happen.

NARRATOR: But within the next
few hours, fog and low clouds

close the main runway at JFK.

Whatever their bosses
say, the controllers

won't be able to land
33 aircraft an hour.

2,400 miles to the
south in Colombia,

it's a warm, cloudless day.

Avianca Flight 52
is now boarding

passengers for New York.

Among them, Miriam
and Luis Montoya

and their two young daughters.

INTERPRETER: I remember during
that day in the morning,

before we boarded
the flight, I talked

to a friend that
was going to pick us

up at the airport in New York.

He told us the weather
conditions were bad.

The temperature was very
low, and it was rainy,

and it was going to be foggy.

NARRATOR: After a
short business trip,

Nestor Zarate is traveling
home to New York.

I received a telephone call
telling me that if I could be

in the airport in a half an
hour and not ask any questions

or request anything, I would
get on the direct flight

to New York.

NARRATOR: In the cockpit,
flight engineer Matias Moyano

monitors the loading of
over 13,000 pounds of fuel

for a total of 80,000 pounds--

enough for the journey, plus an
extra two hours' flying time.

Avianca 052 heavy, request
clearance for takeoff,

runway 11.

NARRATOR: Just after
3:00 in the afternoon,

Avianca 52 leaves Medellin
with its maximum allowable fuel

load.

The Colombian airliner with
158 passengers and crew

heads north.

By early evening, deteriorating
weather has made for appalling

conditions at JFK.

Continue to the left,
heading 2-3-0 vectors

and holding for Cameron again.

NARRATOR: Unable to turn
back overseas flights,

controllers direct air traffic
to circle and wait to land.

So turn left.

There is a wind shear alert
on final at 1,500 feet.

Turn left, heading--

NARRATOR: They
worked frantically

to keep track of the
growing number of aircraft

circling over New York.

American Airlines 251, you
are clear to land on Runway 37.

When Mother Nature gets
involved, problems develop.

The tension gets higher.

The pressure gets higher.

Decisions become more critical.

NARRATOR: JFK airport now only
has one runway for landing,

and aircraft or
queuing up to use it.

In the near blackout
conditions, several planes

have to abort their landings,
which only adds to the delays.

On Flight 52, the crew
knows none of this.

They neither receive nor
request the weather for New York

or for their alternate
airport, Boston.

In this case, Avianca 52
had the capability of calling

several different
stations or could

have called their own
dispatch operation in Miami

and got an update
on the weather.

We don't really have any
evidence that they checked

with anyone to get the
updated weather for JFK

and their alternate, Boston.

It's inconceivable
to me that someone who

had a responsibility
of other people's lives

would fly into a
deteriorating condition

without checking about A, do we
have a way out of this place?

NARRATOR: Avianca 52
enters the airspace

near Norfolk, Virginia.

After four hours in the
air, New York City is

now less than 40 minutes away.

51-year-old Captain
Laureano Caviedes

is a seasoned pilot who's flown
with Avianca for 27 years.

But his English is poor.

All communications with
air traffic control

will be handled by the
28-year-old co-pilot Mauricio

Klotz.

Flight engineer Matias
Moyano is experienced,

but like co-pilot Klotz,
he has only four months

of flight time in the 707.

They were a highly-experienced
flight crew who had

been into New York
several times previously

on behalf of Avianca.

So they were familiar with
the route and the procedures.

Washington, good evening.

Avianca 052 heavy,
flight level 3-7-0.

Avianca 052 heavy,
Washington Center, roger.

Avianca 052, I'd like you to
make a right 360-degree turn.

And I need you to get a
pencil ready for holding

instructions at Norfolk.

OK, 360-degree
right turn at Norfolk.

Avianca 052 heavy.

Hold south on 174 with
right turns in 20-mile legs.

NARRATOR: Flight 52's
troubles are about to begin.

It's diverted out over the
Atlantic Ocean near Norfolk

and placed in a holding pattern.

Here, the aircraft will
fly an elliptical pattern

until further notice.

The pilots don't know
about the weather ahead,

but with enough fuel for more
than two hours of flying,

there's no cause for alarm.

The Northeast Corridor
of the United States

is one of the most congested
airspaces in the world.

Incoming traffic from
overseas is routinely

directed through a
pipeline of controllers

before receiving clearance
to land at one of the New

York area's major airports--

JFK, LaGuardia, or Newark.

Tonight, Avianca 52 will come
under the direction of more

than six controllers
trying to get the aircraft,

now circling over New York,
safely down on the ground.

We just got off the line.

It's indefinite
holding at this time.

Turn left in 0-8-0.

NARRATOR: While air
traffic control tries

to cope with an increasing
backlog of flights,

Avianca flight 52
circles for 19 minutes

over the Virginia coast,
waiting to continue to New York.

Avianca 052, expedite
descent through level 3-3.

Just leave flight level 3-3-0
within three minutes, please.

OK.

We'll leave 3-3-0 within three
minutes, Avianca 052 heavy.

NARRATOR: The Avianca jet is on
its way to New York, at last.

But they have no idea of the
trouble that awaits them.

Avianca flight 52 is on its
final approach to New York,

unaware that conditions at JFK
are barely safe for landing.

It's pitch black with
heavy mist, rain,

and sudden, violent winds.

The plane has almost used up the
fuel planned for the journey,

and will soon start
eating into its reserves.

The crew considers diverting
to their alternate airport

in Boston, just 210
miles from New York.

Washington Center,
Avianca 052 heavy.

Avianca 052 heavy.

Go ahead.

Do you have any information
about delays to Boston?

NARRATOR: The Washington
controller asks his assistant

to check on the
conditions at Boston,

but he gets distracted,
juggling other aircraft,

and he forgets all
about Avianca's request.

While flight 52 is left waiting
for an answer that never comes,

their precious fuel supply
is slowly draining away.

Ask him about Boston again.

Did you ask about
delays at Boston,

or are we going to
approach Kennedy?

OK, Avianca 052.

It looks as though New York's
center may have to hold you

for possibly up to 30 minutes.

OK, Avianca 052, I've been
advised Boston is open

and accepting traffic
if you do need

that as an alternate airport.

OK, standby a minute.

NARRATOR: Flight engineer
Moyano begins to calculate

how much fuel they'll have
after an additional 30

minutes of holding.

Even before they can respond,
Washington control directs them

to another holding location.

Avianca 052 heavy.

Make a right turn
now to intercept

the Cameron two arrival.

Cleared on course.

Maintain flight level 1-niner-0.

NARRATOR: Flight 52 is now off
the New Jersey coast in an area

known as Cameron, less than
45 miles from Kennedy Airport,

but it seems as
far away as ever.

During all those
holding times,

I was praying and trying to
see where we're going to land.

I mean, when are we going
to be on the ground?

I don't want to be here anymore.

CAPTAIN: Ladies and gentlemen,
this is your captain.

I apologize for the
delay, but it appears

we're going to be
holding as we wait

our turn to land in New York.

NARRATOR: It will be the
crew's last communication

with the passengers
as flight 52's

situation goes
from bad to worse.

Avianca 052, descend
and maintain 1-4,000--

NARRATOR: It's handed
over to the New

York controllers, who, even on
a good day, can be intimidating.

And today is not a good day.

Avianca 052--

NARRATOR: There are
up to 39 aircraft

trying to land and
dozens more on the ground

waiting to take off.

Tired and frustrated,
the crew of Avianca 52

continues to circle the
crowded airspace over New York

while they wait for
clearance to land.

After more than five
hours in the air,

Luis Montoya is anxious
to get his wife and two

young daughters on
the ground and back

to their home in Queens.

INTERPRETER: As the
flight started to prolong,

we started to feel uneasy.

My wife was carrying
the baby at all times,

and we were wondering
what could be happening.

After all, they weren't
giving us any information,

and most people began
to feel nervous.

NARRATOR: New York
Center finally

gives the crew of
Avianca 52 the message

they've been waiting for.

Avianca 052 heavy.

AVR Kennedy is 2,400 feet.

Can you accept an approach?

That's an affirmative, sir.

NARRATOR: They think they're
finally in the clear.

Avianca 052--

NARRATOR: Then calamity.

We are passing 1-0-5.

NARRATOR: The foul
weather forces

several aircraft ahead to
abandon their landing attempts

and try again.

The controllers have bad news
for the Colombian airliner.

Avianca 052, continue to
the left heading 2-3-0 vectors

holding at Cameron again.

NARRATOR: Another hold.

OK.

2-3-0 vectors for
holding at Cameron.

NARRATOR: They've been held up
for 48 minutes near Norfolk,

and then asked to circle
for another 25 minutes

only a few miles from the
safety of JFK airport.

They were progressively
moving toward JFK,

and they were held in
the air for three times.

This certainly would put
some stress on the crew

as to the fact, they
want to go from A

to B. They don't want
to fly in a race track

for an hour just holding.

NARRATOR: 8:55 PM, 40
minutes before flight 52

ends, the cockpit voice recorder
captures a crew that seems

resigned, or perhaps
too timid to complain.

Moments later, Avianca is
given more unwelcome news.

Avianca 052, expect for
the clearance time 0-2-0-5.

Expect for the
clearance in 20 minutes.

NARRATOR: Now the stress level
on the cockpit begins to rise.

0-2-0-5, well, I
think we need priority.

We are passing out of fuel.

Avianca 052, roger.

How long can you hold, and
what is your alternate?

OK.

Standby a minute.

NARRATOR: The flight
engineer quickly

calculates the remaining fuel.

Yes sir.

We'll be able to hold
for five minutes.

That's all we can do.

Avianca 052, roger.

And what's your alternate?

It was Boston, but
we can't do it now.

We'll run out of fuel.

Avianca 052, cleared to land
at Kennedy via heading 0-4-0.

Maintain 1-1,000 at speed 1-8-0.

The Avianca crew,
when they felt it,

they were being handed off
to an approach controller

now and given a heading
in a lower altitude.

I'm sure in their minds,
they thought, well, they even

commented on a cockpit voice
recorder, we're being handled,

or we're being taken care of.

Avianca 052 only has five
more minutes in the hold.

Are you going to be
able to take them,

or I'll send him off
to his alternate?

What is his speed now?

I'm not sure, to
be honest with you.

Holding speed.

Slow him to 180,
and I'll take him.

Say it again.

Slow him to 1-8-0
knots, and I'll take him.

NARRATOR: But in this
critical handoff,

there is no specific
mention that Avianca

is running out of fuel.

Flight 52 has been
handed off a third time.

Descending to 7,000.

Avianca 052 heavy.

Avianca 052, before you
go, there is a wind shear

alert on final at 1,500 feet.

The high-level wind
shear was passed on early

on, so he was aware of that.

But the low-level wind
shear below 500 feet

was not passed on.

NARRATOR: Throughout the
flight from Colombia,

the plane's autopilot
has been unusable.

Reported after the last
flight, Avianca maintenance

failed to fix it.

After more than six
hours of flying manually,

the physical and
mental stress is taking

a toll on Captain Caviedes.

To me, it's
inconceivable someone

would have to fly a Boeing
707 without an autopilot.

I mean that's a high
workload in smooth air.

NARRATOR: After
more than an hour

and 17 minutes waiting
for clearance to land,

the crew of flight 52 believes
controllers on the ground

are aware of their
fuel emergency

and are clearing the 707
for a priority landing.

In the cabin, the flight
attendants and passengers

have no idea that their plane
is dangerously low on fuel.

Then the go-around procedure
is stating that the power

be applied slowly to avoid--

NARRATOR: In the cockpit, the
crew now hastily discusses

the go-around procedure--

what to do if they
can't find the runway

through the fog and
low clouds and have

to go around a second time.

It's standard procedure.

Power be applied slowly and
to avoid rapid accelerations,

and to have a minimum
of nose-up attitude.

To maintain what?

Minimum.

Minimum nose-up attitude.

That means--

NARRATOR: Flight engineer
Moyano is concerned

that if the captain were to
pull up the plane's nose too

sharply, the
remaining fuel would

slosh to the back of a tank
and cause the engines to stop.

fuel
during the go-around.

Avianca, descend
and maintain--

descend and maintain 3,000.

Descend and maintain
3,000, Avianca 052 heavy.

Avianca 052 heavy,
contact Kennedy

tower 1-1-9-0.1 Good day.

NARRATOR: Only minutes
before landing, flight 52

is handed off to a
JFK tower controller

whose shift is about to end.

Avianca 052 heavy,
Kennedy tower 22 left.

You are number three
following 7-2-7

traffic on a niner-mile final.

Avianca 052 heavy, roger.

I was so happy.

For me, it was like a joy.

We're going to land soon,
and this is going to be end.

Avianca 052, what
is your air speed?

Avianca 052, 1-4-0 knots.

Avianca 052, can you increase
your airspeed 1-0 knots?

1-0?

OK, 1-0 knots, increasing.

Increase.

Increase.

10 knots more.

Tell me things louder,
because I'm not hearing it.

Lower the gear.

Gear down.

Avianca 052, 2-2 left.

Win 1-niner-0 at
2-0 cleared to land.

Clear to land,
Avianca 052 heavy.

Wind check please?

1-niner-0 at 2-0.

NARRATOR: With the weather
deteriorating and flying

on fumes, the crew
of flight 52 will

have only one chance of getting
their 149 passengers safely

on the ground.

Stand by.

Flaps 50, landing
checklist complete.

Flight engineer had to
know they were out of fuel,

and when they came in
for their first approach,

it was time for the
flight engineer to say,

this is the only approach
we're going to be able to make.

And he didn't.

Give me 50.

Flaps 50 now.

All set for landing.

Standing by for lights.

Slightly below glide slope.

1,000 feet above field.

Instruments cross-checked,
slightly below.

Standby for lights.

Standby.

The wind is slightly
from the left, 190 with 20,

below glide slope.

NARRATOR: With about 10 minutes
of fuel remaining and just two

miles from the runway,
flight 52 flies

into violent wind
shear forcing the crew

to slow the plane down.

They were getting like 60
knots of wind on the nose,

and then as they descended on
down through about 500 feet

to the ground, they
were down to 20 knots.

So that's, 40 knot change
and 1,000 feet of elevation.

That's a lot.

This is the wind shear.

NARRATOR: The wind
changes direction.

It's pressing them
down toward the ground.

Glide slope!

Glide slope.

Sink rate, 500 feet.

NARRATOR: The
captain desperately

searches for the
runway, but it's

shrouded in low clouds and fog.

Lights!

The runway, where is it?

I don't see it.

I don't see it.

NARRATOR: The plane's
warning system is telling

them they're about to crash.

Pull up.

Glide slope!

Sink rate, 500 feet.

NARRATOR: Just two
miles from touchdown,

flight 52 has been caught
in violent wind shear.

Captain Caviedes supplies
full throttle, burning up more

of the plane's precious fuel.

Give me the landing gear up.

Landing gear up!

The airplane was about
200 feet above the ground,

about two miles from
the runway, which

was well below the glide
slope, and very dangerous.

So the airplane almost
crashed on its first approach.

When you get a
missed approach,

now it changes the
whole ball game.

Request another
traffic pattern.

Executing a missed approach.

Avianca 052 heavy.

The operation of pulling the
plane up in the missed approach

was a very violent one.

It was a very steep climb, so we
were all thrown back by gravity

towards the back of our seats.

Something's going on here.

Anything-- we're going to crash.

This is terrible.

I mean, we start praying
and then I pass out.

I couldn't handle it anymore.

NARRATOR: As captain Caviedes
pulls back hard to climb

to safety, the 707's
remaining fuel sloshes back

and away from the fuel pumps.

Flight 52's violent
climb to safety

frightens and infuriates
the passengers.

INTERPRETER: My baby Daniela
also started to feel uneasy

and began to cry.

We began to get the feeling that
something was about to happen.

Avianca 052, you were making
a left turn, correct sir?

Tell him we are in emergency.

2000 feet!

That's right.

To 1-8-0 on the heading,
and we'll try once again.

We are running out of fuel.

OK.

What did he say?

I already advised him that
we are going to attempt again.

Advise him we
are in emergency.

Did you tell him?
- Yes sir!

I already advised him!

NARRATOR: But the
tower controller

at the end of his shift
transfers Avianca 52

to his counterpart
in approach control.

They'll have to
begin all over again.

Avianca 052 heavy,
contact approach on 1-1-8.4.

Approach Avianca 052 heavy.

We just missed a missed approach
and we are maintaining 2,000.

Flaps 14.

Avianca 052 heavy New York.

Good evening.

Climb and maintain 3,000.

Advise him we don't have fuel!

Climb and maintain 3,000.

We are running out of fuel, sir.

OK.

Fly heading 0-8-0.

Did you already advise
him we don't have fuel?

Yes, sir.

I already advised him.

We are going to maintain 3,000
and he's going to get us back.

As they get back in the
pattern and circle the field

and come back in
again, that again

adds to the traffic
jam that was being

created at Kennedy Airport.

Avianca 052 heavy.

I'm going to turn you
about 15 miles northeast,

and then bring you
back onto the approach.

Is that OK with
you and your fuel?

What did he say?

The guy is angry.

I guess so.

Thank you very much.

These guys were out, and
they didn't say we were out.

And he allowed the
approach control

to vector them way out
in the original pattern

and 15 miles north of
the outer marker again.

NARRATOR: Flight
52 is instructed

to fly a long-approach pattern
for another landing attempt.

The plane is down to
its last dregs of fuel

as the crew waits for
final clearance to land.

In their minds that they were
being handled and taken care of

and they had enough fuel to go
around and shoot the approach.

But on the way, they were given
a 360 turn because of traffic

spacing, and then they were
run way out towards Long Island

and vectored all around, which
was equivalent to holding

for another 15, 20 minutes.

Did you get clearance yet?

Can you give us a final yet?

Avianca 052 heavy.

Avianca 052, affirmative sir.

Turn left, heading 0-4-0.

Climb and maintain 3,000.

Negative sir.

We are running out of fuel.

OK.

Turn left, heading 3-1-0, sir.

Set flaps 14.

OK, and you're number
two for the approach.

I just have to give
you enough room

so you can make it without
having to come out again.

OK.

We're number two and
flying 3-6-0 now.

NARRATOR: The lights
in the aircraft

start to flicker as the
engines are starved of fuel.

3-3-0 on the
heading, Avianca 052.

Once you're to no fuel
flowing through the pump out

of the tank, an
amber light comes on

to tell you that tank is empty.

Flame out!

Flame out on engine number four!

Flame out on it?

Flame out on
engine number three!

Show me the runway.

NARRATOR: The passengers can
hear the sound of the engines

beginning to shut down.

When the engines
went off, I looked over

to the lady that was
sitting next to me

and I asked her to
give me her hand.

And I philosophically accepted,
you know, I might die here.

This is it.

Avianca 052, we
just lost two engines,

and we need priority, please.

Avianca 052, turn
left heading 2-5-0.

Intercept the localizer.

2-5-0, roger.

Select the ILS.

ILS!

Avianca 052, you're 1-5
miles from the outer marker.

Maintain 2,000 until
established in the localizer.

Cleared for ILS, 2-2 left.

Roger, Avianca.

You select the ILS?

He's ready on 2.

When all the engines flame
out and the generators fall off

the line, a considerable
amount of power is lost,

electrical power is lost.

In the cabin, the
screams, the crying,

and then this terrible
sound of the wind

against the fuselage as the
plane drops from the sky.

Avianca 052,
radar contact lost.

Avianca is missing due
to the weather thing.

Yeah, Avianca
52 lost an engine.

We're trying to find out why.

NARRATOR: Six and a half
hours after leaving Colombia,

Avianca flight 52 is missing
somewhere over New York.

CALLER ON PHONE: Yes, hello.

I live in Cove
Neck in Oyster Bay.

And there is a plane
crashed in our yard,

in front of our house.

When I woke up, I was--

the first thing that I did,
I put my hand over here

in my back, and I was bleeding.

I said, oh my God, we crashed.

Both my legs were broken and
I had blood all over the place.

INTERPRETER: The seat where
my daughter was sitting

was totally destroyed by
pieces of steel that happened

to have come from the wing.

INTERPRETER: I found my baby
Daniela amongst the pieces

of a torn up, twisted chair.

And I picked her up like this,
and she was drenched in blood.

NARRATOR: Avianca
flight 52 has crashed

on Long Island, New York, less
than 17 miles from JFK airport.

Medical technician
Bob O'Brien hears

the survivors before
he spots the shattered

aircraft in the trees.

There were just some people
who were crying in pain,

but it was apparent
immediately what

had happened when the
plane hit the mountain

and just stopped dead.

NEWS REPORTER 1: It just
fell out of the sky.

That's how witnesses described
the crash of Avianca flight

52, a strangely silent crash.

NEWS REPORTER 2: You can see
there was not a big fire here.

That will make it
easier for investigators

to examine if there were
any gas or engine problems.

NEWS REPORTER 3: There
have been reports

of lightning in the area just
before the plane went down.

NEWS REPORTER 4: Spokesman
for the Controllers Union

says that Kennedy is critically
understaffed, a problem that

is compounded by bad weather.

NEWS REPORTER 5: Rescuers
have not yet given

up on finding more victims.

We're still conducting--

INTERPRETER: First thing I
remember is that I looked up,

and I saw a priest.

He was praying for me, and I
was lying down on the ground.

Right above us, I
saw three or four

helicopters flying over us.

Oh, my leg!

I managed to get up
on top of the fuselage,

and there is that door handle
that says, in case of emergency

pull here.

So I pull that door handle, and
that door handle just went--

And the door came open
about four inches.

And then I was able
to flip that over,

and I could just see
piles and piles of people

strapped in their seats.

NARRATOR: The force of the
crash has broken off the cockpit

and catapulted it through the
trees and very close to a home,

some 100 feet from
the impact site.

We couldn't get into
the cockpit to get

to the pilot and the co-pilot.

All those chairs, they all
just hit that cockpit door

and just piled
into that fuselage.

And just that-- all that added
weight and all that inertia,

now just took over in the front
of that and just popped it off.

And it rolled to its left side
and stopped up against a tree.

Come on.

Somebody get the back here.

I saw some cables, and I
saw a big hole in the fuselage

over the passengers that
were sitting next to me,

who were kind of unconscious.

And on top of me was
this guy who was bleeding.

Big guy, I don't
know who he was.

But he was on top of
me, but I was sitting.

I pulled myself with those
cables towards that hole

which was over the wing.

I started screaming, hey!

Help me out!
Help me!

Take me out of here!

And then somebody, when they
realized that I was alive,

they removed the--

I mean, they took away the
guy who was on top of me,

and they took me
out of the airplane.

At that moment, a fireman
was climbing on the wing

and he saw me, and he
said, there's a guy here.

And he pulled me out.

NARRATOR: 37 fire
and rescue companies

from Nassau County respond.

Before 9/11, the rescue was
one of the largest of its kind

in the New York area.

That little girl was
sitting up on the fuselage,

and she was crying,
mi madre, mi madre!

And that imprint of horror
just was, you know, you

just, in your mind's eye,
focus right back in on,

I saw mi madre.

I saw her mother,
and I know what

that little girl was seeing.

It was horrible enough for me,
and I'm a professional rescuer.

INTERPRETER: I realized
that my baby was dying,

so I began to scream--

Please help me!

I have the baby here.

Please!

Coming through!

Coming through!

Back it up.

Watch your back.

NARRATOR: The plane crashed
in the wealthy neighborhood

of Cove Neck, near
the home of the father

of tennis star John McEnroe.

Medics set up a makeshift
triage unit on his lawn.

When daylight breaks
10 hours later,

85 survivors have been
pulled from the wreckage.

The lead flight attendant
is the only crew

member to survive the crash.

Of the 11 babies on board,
all but one are found alive.

Bob O'Brien scours the
tail section for survivors

and finds FAA
investigators looking

for the aircraft's black boxes.

BOB O'BRIEN: I
grabbed the handle

and just pulled
the whole box out

and brought that out the
door and gave it to them.

NARRATOR: Even as people are
being pulled from the wreckage,

the investigation begins.

In charge on the ground is
Barry Trotter of the National

Transportation Safety Board.

A former pilot, Trotter
became an investigator

after losing his right arm
in a motorcycle accident.

The condition of the aircraft
was really astonishing to see

that much of the structure
was left in the condition

that it was in.

It hit right on about
a 28-degree embankment,

and with the wings and
all the other trees,

it only slid 28 feet.

So it hit and stopped instantly.

NARRATOR: Unaware of the details
of Avianca's troubled flight,

investigators quickly
find valuable evidence.

You could look at
the engines right away,

and you could tell the
engines were not turning.

So there was no
power on the engines.

That was the first big clue.

NARRATOR: Trotter and his
team check the fuel tanks

and find just a few
gallons remaining.

It becomes clear why the
707's engines stopped.

But the question of who's to
blame is still to be answered.

In Cove Neck, New
York, salvage workers

begin to dismantle the shattered
remains of Avianca flight 52.

But there's still one
critical question--

who is responsible for
flight 52 running out of fuel

and causing the deaths of
72 passengers and crew?

The answer will be worth
millions of dollars

and affect dozens of lives.

At the National Transportation
and Safety Board in Washington

DC, investigators are eager
to recover data locked

inside the two black boxes.

They begin with the flight
data recorder, which

records information such as
the plane's altitude, speed,

and heading.

But it proves useless.

We opened it and
found that the foil

wrap was not hooked up.

So someone had actually
intentionally taped the end

of the foil so it wouldn't
fly around and put

it back in the airplane.

NARRATOR: Without the
flight data recorder,

investigators rely
heavily on flight

52's cockpit voice recorder.

It's found with more than
40 minutes of recordings

of the crew in between
the first officer

and air traffic controllers.

Yes sir, we are
cleared to land.

Standby.

All set for landing.

Below glide slope.

And it was apparent from
the voice recorder transcript

and tape that the captain
was not understanding

the first officer's
radio communications that

were being made in English.

Everybody wants
to blame the pilot,

but he may be the last
person to make a decision.

And the scenario which caused
him to be in that position

where he makes the decision was
created by several other people

along the route.

The captain asked
the first officer

about nine times, clarify
information or repeat it

or to pass on information.

We are going to attempt again.

Advise him we
have an emergency!

Do you tell him?

Did you make a conscious
decision to run out of fuel?

No.

He was sucked into a situation
by the air traffic controllers

where he ran out of fuel.

Once the airplane
got into the JFK area,

there was certainly a serious
breakdown in communications

on the part of the pilots
within the cockpit,

on the part of the pilots
talking to controllers,

and controllers talking to the
pilots, and the controllers

amongst themselves,
because there were handoffs

and some of the urgency
was not passed on

within the controllers' system.

So we had multiple
breakdowns in multiple areas

here that ultimately
led to this accident.

Glide slope!

NARRATOR: The cockpit voice
recorder reveals a crew

desperate to land
the 707 in near zero

visibility and
extreme wind shear

without the aid of an autopilot.

In this case, the captain had
a difficult time maintaining

the glide slope during the
approach with the wind shear,

didn't see the airport, and
had to make a go-around.

That almost doomed the
airplane at that point.

The information
being given to pilots

en route was a wind shear
up as high as 1,500 feet,

but the pilots, on
approach, were encountering

wind shear as low as 300 feet.

And that wasn't passed
on to the Avianca pilot.

This is the wind shear!

NARRATOR: The crew of flight
52 is caught off guard.

As they descend below
500 feet and slow down,

a violent vertical wind forces
them toward the ground--

The runway, where is it?

I don't see it.

I don't see it!

NARRATOR: nearly causing
the plane to crash

two miles short of the runway.

With little fuel
left, there is no fire

or explosion on impact, saving
many from almost certain death.

Transmission
about is primary--

NARRATOR: As the hearings
into the crash begin,

controllers maintain that
the Avianca crew failed

to use the word,
emergency, instead,

using the word, priority, to
communicate their situation.

The government took the
position that the pilot

never declared an
emergency, so no one

knew that he had a problem.

But saying you're getting low
on fuel and saying you cannot

make your alternate,
the word, emergency

is not necessary to say.

Negative, sir.

We are running out of fuel.

We just lost two engines and
we need priority, please!

And they thought they
were telling them when

they said we need priority.

To me, priority
means a priority.

INTERPRETER: In Spanish, for us,
the word, priority means first.

Attend to me.

Run to me.

I need you right now.

NARRATOR: The NTSB concludes
that air traffic's handling

of Avianca 52 was proper,
given the information they

received from the flight crew.

Many passengers are
outraged by what they feel

is a gross injustice
that air traffic

control is found blameless.

Avianca sues the FAA, which
employs the air traffic

controllers, saying
they should have

done more when
flight 52 told them

they were running out of fuel.

Senior staff people that we
have here from the National

Transportation--

NARRATOR: The FAA settles
and pays around 40%

of the estimated $200
million compensation

due to the victims.

And if you listen and read
the tapes, the transcripts

of the tapes of each air
traffic control center

along the route and the final
in New York TRACON, New York

tower, Kennedy tower,
you'll find 20 places where

this accident could have
been avoided if somebody

had done something differently.

NARRATOR: Among the
85 survivors who

escaped the shattered
remains of flight 52

are the Montoya's two daughters.

Daniela, the baby
covered in blood,

grows to be a
healthy young woman.

INTERPRETER: The day
just before the flight,

we took a long trip to
visit the Virgin Mary.

This is a very important
sanctuary in Medellin.

Perhaps it was a miracle
of God and the Virgin

that the four of us survived.

It was a miracle, and
we feel blessed by that.

NARRATOR: For many
of the survivors,

recovering from their
injuries has been easier

than coming to terms
with the reason

why flight 52 ran out of fuel.

I had to learn to
walk from scratch.

It's difficult to enough
to deal with the injuries.

It makes me very angry to think
that a plane went down with 161

souls and had almost
half the people lost

their lives because of a word.