(suspenseful music)
- Gear up. - Gear up. (hydraulics whirring ) - [Narrator] - He pulled away
from us and started to rotate. And in this case there was
something immediately not right. (jet engines whining) - [Voiceover] The climb
is unusually steep. - What's going on with that aircraft? It was almost stuttering in the air. (jet engines straining) (suspenseful music sustains) - Keep on that... (engines whining) Get the nose down! - I'm trying! - [Voiceover] The plane is
suddenly uncontrollable. The nose won't drop. - My airplane!
(controls clicking) - In a matter of seconds, the
crew is in emergency mode. If they can't get the nose down
fast, the plane will stall. (stall alarm buzzing)
(dramatic music) - We have a developing
story as you may have heard, there's a civilian Learjet-- - [Voiceover] News of a rogue Learjet flying hundreds of miles off course has captivated the nation. (dramatic music peaks) - The FAA began tracking
aircraft in distress. The president was made aware
of this situation this morning in a meeting with his economic advisors. (phone rings) - Benzon here. - [Voiceover] Experts at
the National Transportation Safety Board are notified
of the escalating emergency. - Get me a map. - [Colleague] Okay. - Once the air traffic
control system realized the aircraft had gone rogue, so to speak, the next step is to try to figure out why. It's either being hijacked
or it's malfunctioned, the crew has been incapacitated somehow. - [Voiceover] Controllers
scramble F-16 fighters to track down the wayward Learjet. (F-16 growling) Jim Tidball has come up
with a rough calculation of where the plane will run out of fuel. - My best guess is South
Dakota, possibly North Dakota. I can't say more than that. - [Robert] Let's hope he's right. - With any luck they won't hit anything. (F-16 whooshing) - [Voiceover] In the air the F-16 pilots have caught up with a rogue plane. The windows of the aircraft
provide an ominous clue. - No movement, and,
windows covered in frost. - [Voiceover] The Learjet
is now a ghost plane. - Can we narrow down
the crash site any more? - [Voiceover] With no hope
for the passengers and crew, the only focus now is on where
the plane will come down. (dramatic music)
(F-16 droning) According to calculations,
the jet is almost out of fuel. At 10 minutes past 12, it happens. (Learjet engines whine) The Learjet carrying Payne Stewart and five other people
is falling from the sky. - They're going down, they're going down. (dramatic music crests) - Where's it gonna hit? (plane droning) - [Voiceover] The F 16 attempts to follow, but the plane disappears into the clouds. (dramatic music builds) It drops below the radar. (suspenseful music)
(F-16 engine whining) - Center, I've got a crash site. (somber music) (helicopter rotors thumping) - [Voiceover] Payne
Stewart's Learjet has slammed into a hayfield in South Dakota. There are no survivors. (alarm sounding)
- Can you breathe? - No!
(flight crew gasping) - [Voiceover] Could the
emergency oxygen system have somehow failed? (suspenseful music) For crash investigators, the oxygen masks should have given the crew enough air to breathe until they
could land the plane. Benzon scours, the Learjet's
maintenance records. - It looks like everything
was working fine. - [Voiceover] He discovers that
on several previous flights, the Learjet's crew used the
masks without any problems. - We did determine that
the oxygen was on board and the crew could have used it. So now the question became, why didn't they use supplemental oxygen? Time to take a new approach. Set us to climb, please? - [Voiceover] Investigators need to learn more about what happened
on board the Learjet after the crew's last radio call. (suspenseful music building) They hope a simulation
of the flight will help. (altitude warning bleats) - There goes to the cabin
altitude warning, start the clock. - You've got maybe 15
seconds to do something once you become in a
environment that's almost eliminated with oxygen. (alarm sustains) - Emergency checklist, got it. I think all of us sort of had in our heads that you're gonna put your oxygen mask on as the first and immediate action item. - [Voiceover] The simulated
loss of cabin pressure leads Benzon to an astounding discovery. The first item on the emergency checklist is not, "Put on oxygen masks." - At 10,000 plus or minus
500 feet cabin altitude control pressure to the
outflow valve is trapped. This deactivates, the automatic mode and stops the cabin
altitude from rising higher if the failure is in the
automatic control system. I can't believe we still
haven't put our oxygen masks on. - We were surprised because
it implied pretty strongly that you need to troubleshoot
a pressurization problem. And if you can't fix it, then
you don your oxygen masks. Okay, shut it down. I think I know what happened. (switches flicking) - [Voiceover] Investigators
now have a theory about what went wrong
on board the Learjet. - Everything is fine
till about 24,000 feet and something causes the
plane to lose pressure, but before they can solve the problem, the crew loses consciousness. (dramatic music)
(alarm sounding) The Lear checklist in a sense, a very real sense could
lead a crew astray. (alarm continues unabated) - Without those masks on,
they wouldn't stand a chance. (sweeping music)
(jet whooshing) - The FAA is quick to respond,
"Put on oxygen masks," is now the first item on
the checklist, not just for Learjets, but for every
similar plane in the sky. (plane droning) (traffic rumbling)
(upbeat music) It's 9:35 AM. And traffic into Washington
is getting congested. - I was on my way from my parish to the Arlington National Cemetery for a graveside service. - [Voiceover] Father Steven
McGraw is stuck on a freeway right beside the Pentagon. - I took that exit
actually, because I knew that the Pentagon was near
Arlington National Cemetery, and I couldn't remember how
to get to Arlington National so I thought I can't be that far off. I'll take this exit, but
in front of the building, there ended up being standstill traffic, (suspenseful music)
and then it, without warning, there was a rush feeling, the vibrations or the sound. I just know there was
overwhelming sense of something coming over the tops of our cars. (jet thundering) The plane clipped the
light pole as it went over the highway and I turned
instinctively to my right and see just in time that plane
coming in and just crashing into the building right
in front of my eyes. (dramatic music) (chopper whomping)
(indistinct radio chatter) There were these two huge billows of fire that came out of the two
top windows of the Pentagon and the fireballs just
kind of billowed out. (sirens wailing) (helicopter whirring) - [Voiceover] The symbol
of US military might is now in flames. Smoke pours from a
gaping 90-foot wide hole in the Pentagon's West wall. One entire section of the
building has collapsed. - I had not heard anything
about the World Trade Center crashes, didn't have my radio
on, hadn't heard anything. And so I just assumed
that this was an accident. (helicopter thumping) - [Voiceover] There's no chance
that any of the 64 people aboard the plane have survived the impact. And there are sure to be many more dead among Pentagon staff. (radios chattering)
(alarms sounding) Father McGraw, rushes
towards the devastation. He wants to help anyone he can. - And we were coming to one
man in particular, he said, "What is your name? I'm Father McGraw. I'll stay with you. And he said, "I'm Catholic." And so I actually gave
him in those moments, the sacraments and, and
anointed him on his forehead with the blessed oil, the oil of the sick. And when I did that, I
remember saying to him, "Jesus, is with you."
I tell you, Jesus is with you, now.
(mournful music) (radios chattering indistinctly) (alarms wailing)
(contemplative music) - 9/11 shook us to our core. Anybody that was of age during that time, it's like the Kennedy assassination. Where were you on 9/11? And
everybody has their story. It has marked our generation. - It was a win for the bad guys. And we can't let that happen again. (airplanes rumbling) - [Voiceover] The 9/11
attacks bring immediate and profound change to
commercial aviation, both in the US and around the world. (engines thrusting)
(urgent music) - The situation for airport security, airplane security was a lot different prior to 9/11 than it is today. - [Voiceover] Just two
months after the attacks, the US Government creates
the Transportation Security Administration or TSA. - The federal government
took direct responsibility for aviation security and the screeners are now federal employees. The training certainly has improved. (scanner beeps) - [Voiceover] The TSA
brings in strict new rules on what travelers can carry on planes. Airports start screening passengers with full body scanning machines. There are also major
changes to onboard security. (jet engines droning) - The cockpit doors, I mean,
it's not just the door. The whole bulkhead on the aircraft has been made darn near impregnable. It's bulletproof, you can't
get through the locks. - But perhaps the most
important change to security has come not from new
rules or better technology, but from the permanently altered attitudes of airline passengers everywhere. - Today, the assumption by passengers, if they feel threatened with hijacking is not one of compliance. - You saw somebody in
the back of the plane, get up and say, you know,
start screaming things, running to the front of the
plane, you have a choice of sitting in your seat and
minding your own business, or you have the option of
standing up saying, "Uh huh!" I guarantee you, you're going to stand up. (chopper thumping) The paradigm has changed. - Rotate! - [Voiceover] At 8:20 AM American Airlines Flight 77 gets underway.
(dramatic music) At 8:46 Flight 77 reaches
cruising altitude, 35,000 feet. (phone rings) - American 77 turn right, 10
degrees, vectors for traffic. - [Voiceover] On the ground
air traffic controllers guide the 757. - Turn right American 77. (ominous music) - [Voiceover] 34 minutes into the flight, controllers notice something odd. - What are you guys doing? - [Voiceover] Flight 77
is veering off course. - American 77, center.
American 77 radio check. - Two minutes later, their
concern turns to alarm. - 77, radio check. - [Voiceover] Flight 77 has
vanished from their radar. - Center calling American 77, American 77. - [Voiceover] Their concern grows with each second of silence. (indistinct radio chatter) (phone rings) - Center. - [Voiceover] Then just after 9:00 AM, a call comes in from American Airlines that's almost impossible
for controllers to digest. (foreboding music) (sirens wail)
(dramatic music) Thousands of people are feared dead. (people screaming)
Lower Manhattan is in chaos. The fate of the missing 757
is now much more worrying. What if it hasn't crashed
somewhere in the Midwest? - We need to find that plane.
(urgent radio chatter) (dramatic music) Supervisor! I've got a target tracking eastbound at a high rate of speed. - [Voiceover] At 9:32,
more than half an hour after losing contact with the plane, controllers spot a
mysterious radar return. (breathless music) If it is Flight 77, it means the plane has turned around back towards Washington. - We gotta warn DC. - [Voiceover] America's capital
could be the next target. - Gofer zero-six. Do you have a commercial
aircraft in sight? - Controllers recruit another
pilot to try to learn more. They radio the only other plane
in the immediate airspace, (turboprops drone) a C-130 cargo plane from
nearby Andrews Air Force Base. - [C-130 Pilot] Looks like
an American Airlines 757. - It's gotta be our plane. Center calling American 77, American 77. - [Voiceover] But the 757
is ignoring all radio calls, (percussive music)
(urgent radio chatter) and it's heading straight for Washington. (dramatic music)
(jet whooshing) - Sunjet 282 proceed directly to runway, backtrack and hold. - [Voiceover] Los Rodeos
Airport on the Spanish island Tenerife is busier than it's ever been. (jet engine whining) - BA 783, hold short of the runway and stand by for taxi clearance. - [Voiceover] With so many
planes parked in the taxiways, the controllers instruct
departing flights to taxi along the airport's only runway to
get into position for takeoff. (dramatic music) One of the planes waiting
to get to Las Palmas is Pan Am Flight 1736. The Pan Am crew is ready
to get back in the air, but they can't taxi to the runway. A KLM 747 has stopped in
front of them to refuel. - Release KLM 4805,
we've finished refueling, requesting clearance for startup. (turbines whining) - He said follow KLM
down runway, backtrack, make a exit to get around back of KLM. So that's what we were doing. - [Voiceover] First Officer Bragg is unfamiliar with the airport. He checks a runway diagram
to help find their turn. - Okay, that's this one right here. - Goes ahead, it's gonna
put us on the taxiway. - As they taxi they listen
to the tower controller, tell the KLM crew ahead of them
what to do after departure. - [ATC] You are clear to the Papa beacon, climb to and maintains
flight level niner zero, right turn after takeoff. - [KLM 4805] Roger,
clear to the Papa beacon flight level nine zero, right turnout. We are now at takeoff. - Okay, standby for
take-off. I will call you. - And we're still taxing
down the runway Clipper 1736. - [ATC] Papa Alpha 1736,
report runway clear. - Okay, we'll report when we're clear. - [ATC] Thank you. - [Voiceover] The Pan
Am crew will be turning off the runway and just a few more yards. But now something's wrong. First officer Bragg can see
a plane through the fog. - I think he's moving. - Look at him that idiot's coming. - Saw KLM 2...
(dramatic music) - Get off, get off!
(engine accelerating) (passengers gasping) - [Voiceover] Captain
Grubbs tries to steer clear of the oncoming KLM.
(jet whooshing) But it's bearing down on them
at nearly 200 miles an hour. - He had lifted off the runway. I could see his rotating
beacon underneath. - Get off, get off, get off!
- Get off, get off, get off! - And then I ducked, and
said a real quick prayer. "God, I hope he misses us." - [Voiceover] China Airlines Flight 120 is on final approach for landing. (dramatic music) They're now less than a
minute from the runway. - [Flight Engineer] T 20, 10... - [Voiceover] It's a textbook landing. (engines whine) All that's left for the
China airlines pilots is to park the plane. - Engine start levers--
- Engine start levers, cut off. - [Voiceover] With the engines
off, they can finally relax. (fire alarm buzzes)
- Hey, what is it? - What's happening? - [Voiceover] Just when they thought they were safely parked... - [ATC] Cockpit, ground.
Number two, engine fire! - [Voiceover] A radio call
alerts them to an urgent danger. Their plane is on fire. - Attention crew, on station! Attention crew, on station! - [ATC] Chinese 2120, we are calling a fire truck, remain standby. - We have real fire, please. Slap lever! - [Voiceover] The pilots know they need to get their passengers off the plane before flames reach the fuel tanks, (flames roaring)
(passengers panicking) but they can't open the cabin doors yet. - Engine fire warnings switches override. - [Voiceover] They must follow
an evacuation checklist. (alarm continues) Finally, the pilots are
ready to open the doors. (intercom chimes)
- Evacuation required now, required!
(air hostess grunts) (people chattering)
- No pushing, no pushing! Please keep moving forward. - [Voiceover] But it will take time for all 157 passengers
to make it to the exit. George Isizaki is watching
the unfolding disaster from inside the airport terminal. - I just happened to have
my camcorder with me. I thought, "Oh my God, what is happening?" (alarmed voices exclaiming) - [Voiceover] The plane has been burning for close to three minutes. It could explode at any moment. (dramatic music) (hostess coughing) - Captain, all passengers are evacuated. You're the last ones. - Typically the captain will
stay until everybody's off and he will verify that
the airplane is empty. - [Voiceover] The pilots
have put their passengers' safety first, but now it
may be too late for them. - We're gonna have to climb
out through the window. You first! - Sir. - [Voiceover] All 737
cockpits are equipped with an emergency escape rope. It's designed to help pilots
exit to the side window, but it's no easy maneuver. Then...
(mid-section explodes) (onlookers exclaiming)
- Oh! Whoa! Whoa! (siren wails) - [Voiceover] Fire on an airplane
can quickly become lethal. Incredibly, on Flight 120
all 165 people on board have escaped unharmed. - I've never heard of any evacuation where somebody wasn't hurt. To get this many people off
in such a dire circumstance in a very short period of time with no injuries is miraculous. - [Voiceover] In one of
the busiest weeks of summer Proteus Airlines Flight 706 heads to the coast of Brittany, Western France. Flight 706 left Lyon airport a little more than an hour ago. They're on schedule to land at Lorient in approximately 20 minutes. (engines humming) The twin engined Beechcraft
1900D can carry 19 passengers. Today, they are in for
a treat, the rare chance to see a treasured piece
of French maritime history, a luxury ocean liner, formerly
known as the SS France. They descend to 2000 feet
and begin circling the ship. Without any warning, a private
Cessna hit the Beechcraft. Investigators believe they understand the unusual sequence of
events that led to tragedy in the sky over Quiberon Bay. - Okay, I think we now know what happened. - The Beechcraft is nearing
the airport in Lorient. At the request of a
passenger the captain asks to deviate from the flight path. - Zero six and one little special request, to fly slightly west
over Quiberon Bay, sir. - They decided to take a look
at the ocean liner, La France. - [Voiceover] Proteus
Airlines Flight 706 diverts over the bay and descends to 3,700 feet. - Once near the ship,
they decide to descend to get a closer look, but
to go below 3,700 feet, they cancel instrument
flight rules and go visual. - [ATC] 706, Lorient confirmed. - [Voiceover] Now the Beechcraft
is in uncontrolled airspace below radar, with no guidance
from air traffic control, it's up to the captain to
visually scan for nearby planes. - There's a Cessna. - And once a 2000 feet, they decide to do a 360 degree turn around the ship. - [Voiceover] With the
360 almost complete, the pilots begin to prepare
for landing at Lorient. - At the same moment, the Cessna is approaching from the right.
(turboprop drones) - The Cessna does not
have its transponder on and it's communicating on a different radio frequency from the Beechcraft. The bank angle of the Beechcraft combined with the fact
that the pilot responsible for scanning the skies was
sitting in the left seat, make the approaching
Cessna impossible to see. - They can see only sky out of the right-hand side of the plane. - [Voiceover] By terrible coincidence, the Cessna pilot can't
see the Beechcraft either. - At the last moment, the Beechcraft comes out of the blind spot, (engines throbbing) and it's too late. - No--
(planes collide) - Oh my God!
(pilot yelling) - [Voiceover] It's a cool winter's evening at Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado, Captain Steven Silver and
First Officer Ralph Harvey are just about ready for takeoff. - Hey, everybody seated? - Yep. Everybody's in. - Snow good outside? - Walk-around was all clear. - Trans-Colorado Flight
2286 is a short hop to Durango-La Plata County
Airport in Southern Colorado. - Listen, when we get to Durango, I'd like to get in the air
again as quickly as possible. - It shouldn't be a problem. We won't need to refuel. - It's the crew's fourth flight of the day and they're running late. Bad weather has put them
40 minutes behind schedule. - [ATC] Trans Colorado 2286,
you are clear for takeoff. - 2286, clear for takeoff, thank you. - [Voiceover] Captain
Silver is in command. First Officer Harvey
will operate the controls for this flight,
(engines accelerating) leaving the captain free
to handle radio calls. (engines revving)
- Take-off power. 100. - [Voiceover] The captain
keeps an eye on the airspeed as they accelerate for takeoff. - V1 and rotate. (engines droning) (foreboding music) - [Voiceover] The crew's
day began in Denver. After two short hops to
Riverton and Casper, Wyoming, they circle back to Denver. Now they're headed for Durango, a route that takes them over
the Southern Rocky Mountains. (engines droning) About 20 minutes from the airport, the captain and the first
officer review the landing. - So we're still doing the straight into runway two-zero, okay? - Runway two-zero? Sounds good. - Control we'll plan on
a DME to runway two-zero. - That's approved Trans-Colorado 2286, cleared for runaway two-zero
approach at Durango Airport. - [Voiceover] Like many
small airports in America. Durango does not have its
own air traffic control. The controller is in Denver,
more than 200 miles away. - Speed set, one quarter flaps. - One quarter flaps. (engines droning) - [Voiceover] The pilots work quickly to prepare for landing. - Gear down. - Gear down. Three green. (engines droning) (foreboding music) - 'S not the runway? - [Voiceover] Something's wrong. (urgent drums beating) The pilots can't see the runway. - Damn, Will, we're too low! - No!
- Pull up - No, no, no, no, no! Hold on! (engine droning) (passengers screaming) (fuselage scraping)
(person screaming) - [Voiceover] Of the 17 people on board, the crash has killed nine,
including both pilots. (bustling music) It's a sunny morning at
Barcelona airport in Spain. - After start checklist, Anti Ice. - Anti Ice off. - Rudder trim. - Rudder trim is zero. - [Voiceover] The crew of
Germanwings Flight 9525 is preparing for departure. (intercom chimes)
- Flight attendants, please take your seats for takeoff. - Captain Patrick Sondenheimer is a former Lufthansa first officer who recently transferred to Germanwings. First officer Andreas Lopez, who has been with the
airline for just over a year, will handle the flying. - [ATC] Cleared for
takeoff, zero seven right. - Germanwings 9525. (jet engines accelerating) Take-off thrust. (ominous music)
(turbines thrusting) - [Voiceover] Just after 10:00 AM Germanwings Flight 9525 gets airborne. They're heading Northeast
over the Gulf of Lion towards the French Alps. They should be in Dusseldorf
in just over two hours. (percussive music)
(turbines whirring) 27 minutes into the
flight the plane reaches its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet. - Marseilles, Germanwings 9525 - You're on flight level 38. - [Voiceover] Air traffic
control in Marseilles tracks the plane as it crosses France. Four minutes later, the
controller in Marseilles notices something odd.
(suspenseful music) - Germanwings, Marseilles. Confirm what cruising
altitude you're cleared for? - [Voiceover] Flight 9525 is
descending without permission. - [ATC] Germanwings, this is
Marseilles, come in please. - We got a problem here. Germanwings, unresponsive,
descending rapidly. - [Voiceover] The plane
is dropping steadily. In just minutes it's lost 10,000 feet. The control center is
now on emergency mode. - Now approaching 25,000 feet. (turbines whining) - [Voiceover] The Airbus
is hurtling downwards at maximum operating speed,
an astonishing 350 knots. - [ATC] Germanwings, come in! Lima Echo X-ray relay from Marseilles. I need you to try and
contact Germanwings 9525. What is your situation? (dramatic drum music) - [Voiceover] The plane has
dropped below 7,000 feet. The towering mountains looming closer. It's been 10 minutes
with no radio contact, an eternity for controllers. (alert sounding)
(terrain warning sounds) - [Recorded Voice] Pull
up, too low, terrain. (dramatic music peaks) - We've lost contact. - [Voiceover] The plane is now too low to be detected by radar. (dramatic music) - [Recording] Pull up! You will-- (passengers screaming) (urgent percussive music) (plane explodes) - [Voiceover] A Boeing 737 cruises high above the island of Indonesia. (dramatic music) The crew of Garuda Indonesia 421 is about halfway through a short domestic flight. (Capt Rosaq speaking foreign language) - [Interpreter] We were at 28,000 feet on the way to Adisutjipto
Airport in Yogyakarta. - [Voiceover] Captain Abdul
Rozaq is a senior pilot with Indonesia's national airline. - How does the weather look in Yogyakarta? - [Voiceover] His first
officer is Harry Gunawan. - She'll be flying, but
there might be a bit of rain. (Capt Rosaq speaking foreign language) - [Interpreter] I had flown several times with Harry Gunawan, so it was nothing new. We knew each other quite well. - [Voiceover] January is the rainy season, when the weather is unpredictable. - Let's avoid that
trough, say, heading 300. Control, Garuda 421 request heading 300 to avoid some weather up ahead. - Garuda 421, confirmed heading 300. Fly direct to Bravo Alpha
NDB after clearing weather. - [Voiceover] Air traffic
control authorizes a slight course correction
to steer the plane around some looming clouds, but soon more large storm
clouds appear in their path. - What do you think? (Capt Rosaq speaking foreign language) - [Interpreter] I could
see the green, yellow, and red on the radar, and I
knew that the safest route would be towards the green. (jet engines whining) - [Voiceover] But moments
later, the weather is suddenly much worse.
(dramatic music) - Where did this come from? - [Voiceover] The captain
spots a serious problem. - Yes, sir, one and two are dropping! - [Voiceover] They're
suddenly losing engine power. Captain Rozaq struggles
to keep the plane steady as the altitude starts to drop. With his plane falling fast
and no other option in sight, Captain Rozaq decides to do something few pilots have ever tried. - Okay, the river then. It's our best chance. - Yes sir. Tell me what to do. - No gear, no flaps. Watch my speed. - [Voiceover] The solo river
is narrow and twisting. Ditching a 737 on it won't be easy. - Uhg! Speed?
- 170, Sir! - That'll do. - [Voiceover] As they
line up with the river, first officer Gunawan
notices another problem. - There's a narrow bridge! - Altitude? - 250! (dramatic music) - Bridge can't be more
than 80 feet, we're good. - [Interpreter] It turns
out I had to land the plane between two bridges. (dramatic music)
- 150! - Warn the cabin, brace for landing. - Brace for landing! - Brace for landing, everyone! Brace for landing! - [Voiceover] Flight 421 hits the water at almost 200 miles an hour. (plane splashing down)
(flight crew grunting) Of the 60 passengers and crew on board, all but one make it out alive. Airasia Flight 8501 cruises high above the Java Sea north of Indonesia. The pilot in command is 53
year old Captain Iriyanto. He's highly experienced with more than 20,000 hours in the air. His first officer is French
national Rémi Emmanuel Plesel. He is 46 with about 2000 flight hours, much of it on the Airbus. 22 minutes into the flight. The pilots notice bad
weather ahead on their radar. The captain decides to increase altitude to go above the storm
clouds in their path. - I'm going to radio for a higher cruise, get around that weather.
- Good idea. (alert sounds) - [Voiceover] But before
the captain can contact air traffic control,
he gets a fault warning from a flight computer. - ECAM actions? - The plane's sophisticated computers give the pilot step-by-step instructions on how to fix the issue. The pilots now notice that the plane is rolling sharply left. (engines whining) - [Captain] Level. - Okay, level. - [Voiceover] Something
is going terribly wrong with flight 8501. The first officer is struggling. - [First Officer] Level! - [Voiceover] But soon the
plane is rolling again. - Level.
I'm trying! - [Voiceover] The pilot
can't seem to regain control. - It's not responding. - Pull down!
- It's not correcting. - [Voiceover] The plane
seems to have taken on a life of its own. It climbs higher and
higher as the pilots fight to level off, then inexplicably,
the plane starts to drop. (passengers exclaiming) - Altitude.
- I see it. - [Voiceover] Flight 8501
is plummeting from the sky. Speeding toward the ocean below. (passengers shouting) - [Voiceover] It seems the pilots can do nothing to save their plane. (engines whining) - Pull! - It's not correcting.
- What's going on? - Max power!
- Slowly. (passengers screaming) - [Voiceover] 43 Minutes
into what should have been a normal two hour flight,
AirAsia Flight 8501 disappears from radar. Pull!
- I'm trying. - Pull!
- It's not correcting! (both grunting) - [Voiceover] Of the
162 passengers and crew, there are no survivors. Bagram Airfield in
Northeastern Afghanistan is a hive of activity - Bagram Ground ISAF, 95
Alpha Quebec, ready to taxi. - [Voiceover] The crew of
National Airlines Flight 102 is on the last leg of a grueling shift. The flight plan has taken
it from Chatearoux, France to Camp Bastion,
Afghanistan where the crew loaded up the 207 000 pounds of cargo. They were supposed to
take it straight to Dubai, but were rerouted via Bhagra. Finally at 3:25 PM, they're
cleared for takeoff. - Nine five Alpha Quebec
runway three, full length. - Runway 3 is verified. - Prepare for departure. - [Voiceover] The first
officer is at the controls for this final leg. They're scheduled to arrive in Dubai in two and a half hours. (engines accelerating) At that same moment, military journalist, Steven Hartov is on the
basis perimeter road, returning from a day's work, taking photographs for a magazine. - We decided we were going
to go get something to eat. And I saw off to the left of the truck, a white and purple 747. And I remember thinking this
is a beautiful airplane. Cause it looked brand new. - V-1, rotate. - Gear up. - Gear up. - [Steven] He pulled away
from us and started to rotate. And in this case there was
something immediately not right. - [Voiceover] The climb
is unusually steep. - What's going on with that aircraft? It was almost stuttering in the air. (dramatic music) - Keep on that, get the nose down! - I'm trying! - [Voiceover] The plane is
suddenly uncontrollable. The nose won't drop. - Fly airplane. - [Voiceover] In a matter of seconds, the crew is in emergency mode. If they can't get the nose down fast, the plane will stall. (warning sounds)
(tense music) - Pan pan, pan pan. - [Voiceover] For a moment, the plane hangs in the air suspended. - And then the aircraft
seem to sort of careen in our direction. (plane whining) Now you're looking at a
big 747 coming at you. Stop the car. And then it completely
floundered and stalled and I remember thinking
he's lost all its engines. (crew verbalizing) And in a very slow motion, it just went straight down
and pancaked into the ground. The explosion was enormous. (quiet music)
