- [Narrator] The morning
light reveals the full extent of the crash. The LaMia plane hit the crest
of an 8,700-foot mountain called Cerro Gordo.
(eerie music) The plane was configured for landing. It's clear that the crew was
descending towards the airport (camera shutters) (plane crash) but it crashed 10 miles
short of the runway. Cathay Pacific flight 780
is cruising at 38,000 feet over the South China sea. Captain Malcolm Waters and his crew are nearing the end of a
four and a half hour flight from Indonesia to Hong Kong. (plane engine roars) 165 miles from the Hong Kong airport, the airbus leaves cruising
altitude and begins its descent and then something goes wrong. (computer beeps) The flight computer is alerting
the pilots to a problem. - Okay, let's see what we got. - Engine two stall. - [Narrator] The plane's monitoring system indicates there's an issue
with the right engine, engine number two. (plane engine roars) With no explanation for the incident, Captain Waters reduces power on the engine to idle to protect it from damage. - [Waters] Idle. - [Narrator] The lowest
possible power level while still keeping it running. The pilots prepare to land the
airbus with only one engine. Everything is set for an emergency landing (computer beeps) but then, another alert
and more vibrations. - Engine one stall. - Engine one stall confirmed. - [Narrator] Things have
gone from bad to worse. The monitoring system indicates they've just lost the other engine, the one they were counting on
to get the plane to Hong Kong. (tense music) The monitoring system tells the pilots to put the malfunctioning
engine number one into idle. They're a minute from
touchdown, then another alert. - It's overspeed. - [Narrator] It's an overspeed warning, a signal the aircraft is flying too fast. Captain Waters can't figure it out. They should be slowing down. He rechecks the controls then he sees it. Engine number one, which he throttled back minutes earlier is still
running at 74% power, high thrust, too high to land safely. - [Automated Voice] Too low terrain. - [Narrator] Their speed
is over 100 miles per hour faster than normal, so fast the flight
computer doesn't recognize that the pilots are trying to land. Captain Waters pushes the nose down, forcing the airbus onto the runway. (metal screeches and crushes) (passengers mumble and scream) The airbus is getting close
to the end of the runway. (plane engine roars) Finally, the aircraft comes to a halt just a short distance
from the water's edge. They've used up more than 8,800 feet, over a mile and a half of runway. - Once the aircraft did
stop, there's a look of, what the hell just happened? - [Narrator] In Hong Kong,
a team of investigators begins trying to unravel the mystery of Cathay Pacific flight 780's
two malfunctioning engines. They retrieved the black
box flight data recorder from the rear of the aircraft. It contains information about the planes functions
throughout the flight. - The data on board the aircraft is key in this type of investigation. - [Narrator] Investigators upload the data from the recorder. - We need to see throttle
position and fuel flow. - [Narrator] The device
records 359 data parameters. They focus in on the
A330's engine functions. - Stop, what's going on here? - [Narrator] Right away, they
notice something unusual. - Thrust levers are moving
but fuel flow's flat lining. - [Narrator] After the pilots
had tried to restore power to the engines by pushing the throttle up, the fuel flow remained the same. - So the warnings that were coming up were warnings to do with
the main metering valve supplying fuel to the engine. - [Narrator] The main metering
valve is made up of a piston that slides within a cylinder. When pilots move the thrust levers, it increases or decreases the flow of fuel to the A330's turbofan engines. - That valve wasn't moving, it wasn't able to respond to the commands. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] To figure out why the metering valve malfunctioned, the investigators send it
to Rolls Royce for analysis. After cutting open the
valve to study it... - That's not normal, is it? - [Narrator] They find something
they've never seen before. A strange white substance
coating the walls of the valve. (tense music) X-ray analysis reveals the
chemical makeup of the material. It shows that the powder is a type of super absorbent polymer or SAP. When it comes into contact with water, it creates a gel like substance. The investigators know that the powder is used in refueling trucks to prevent water from getting
into aircraft fuel tanks. The refueling trucks pump
fuel from underground tanks and pipes through a filter on the truck and into the aircraft. If the fuel is contaminated with water, the powder and the filter
absorbed it by forming a gel inside the filter but the water logged gel is
supposed to stay in the filter. It should never end up in the fuel. - It is so commonly
used within the industry for this purpose of filtering out water. What we didn't understand was how did it get on board the aircraft. (computer beeps) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Reno, Nevada. Desert town and the state's
original gaming capital. Today, Reno is hosting a very different kind of high stakes game. A gamble in the sky known as the National
Championship Air Races. (tense music)
(plane engine roars) About 100,000 spectators
attend this five-day event to watch everything from biplanes to jets zoom around an eight-mile
course in the desert. The highlighted Reno is the unlimited class championship race, unlimited because it includes a range of both modified and stock
World War II fighters. The course is marked by 10 pylons, 50-foot tall pools planted in the desert. The finish line is right
in front of the grandstand. - Hey, how you doing?
- Good. Hand me that ratchet, will you? - [Narrator] At 74,
race pilot Jimmy Leeward is a legend in Reno. He's raced here for 30 years. Today, Jimmy's flying a highly modified P-51 Mustang fighter. Since Jimmy's plane was built, it's been heavily modified to reduce drag and increase speed.
(tense music) - Good luck, Jimmy. - See ya, Hood. We're gonna break a record today. - Wish I could be up there with ya. If Jimmy can get the Galloping Ghost to break 500 miles an hour,
his prediction will come true. At 4:05, the last qualifying heat for the unlimited class is set to go. The Galloping Ghost
accelerates for takeoff. On the ground, Jimmy's team
tracks the Galloping Ghost on their flight data monitoring system, speed, engine performance,
oil pressure and more. Everything is working perfectly. As the Galloping Ghost rounds pylon eight, it suddenly pitches up high. Jimmy Leeward's Galloping
Ghost is now out of control over the grandstand and
dives toward a crowd of helpless spectators. (plane crashes)
(crowd screams) In just nine seconds, this race
has turned into a nightmare. It's the worst disaster in the history of the Reno Air Races. - The worst year that
we had had previously was 2007 where three pilots died but never before had
we injured a spectator. - That's a fuselage. - Oh man, I don't know, Howard. Trying to ID these pieces
seems almost impossible. - You're right, it looks like a scrappy. (man chuckles)
- Yeah. - [Narrator] One week
after Jimmy Leeward's modified P-51 Mustang crashed
at the Reno Air Races, NTSB investigators still don't understand what caused the disaster. (plane engine roars) So far, the investigator's biggest clue is an eight-inch piece of trim tab that's separated from the
aircraft's tail section but they have no idea
how or why it broke off. - You know, those plane
flew in World War II. It's almost 70 years old and it was highly modified for speed. Maybe it was too modified. - [Narrator] Crookshanks
and Plegins wonder if years of modifications to the Galloping Ghost
turned a sturdy fighter into an unstable racing machine. They now need to look
into how it was altered. - We had to learn quite
a bit about the P-51 and all the information we
had was on the stock airplane. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] Hoot Gibson
tells investigators he thinks the Ghost was
the most modified P-51 that ever raced at the (indistinct). - It had the most radically clipped wings of any P-51 Mustang ever. - [Narrator] Gibson helps
the NTSB investigators compare the P-51's original blueprints to the rebuilt Galloping Ghost. - In the war, the P-51
needed all this wing for long range missions but
a race is only 50 miles. Jimmy needed speed, not range. - [Narrator] They
discover that in the '60s, the Galloping Ghost had its
wings shortened by eight feet and its tail by one foot, changes that made the plane
lighter and more streamlined. - [Man] A less wing. - I see he overhauled his engine. - Took his top speed from 300 to 500 miles an hour, maybe more. - Wow. - [Narrator] But there's one big problem. - You find anything on the flight tests? - Nothing, the zip. - [Narrator] There are
no records of Leeward ever flight testing the modifications. Investigators can't be sure if the changes he made were safe. - It was incredibly frustrating that there was no information. The fact that there was no testing of any of the modifications
was alarming to us. - [Narrator] In a hangar
at Schiphol Airport, researchers with the Netherlands
Aviation Safety Board scour the records for clues to explain the crash of flight 433. They need to know if the plane suffered a flight control malfunction. - We want to exclude all possible factors that could have contributed
to the accident. - Let's start with the rudder. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] The investigation team knows the plane veered to the right during the landing attempt but they don't know why. In the air, pilots move
the rudder left and right to control the plane's yaw
or horizontal rotation. It's a critical control
service for helping them line up with the runway. (plane engine roars) The investigators want to see if the rudder malfunctioned
just before landing. They need to examine the
rudder locking device. It's used to lock the rudder
in place to prevent it from moving in a heavy
wind while on the ground. (dramatic music) Did the rudder lock somehow engage during flight causing a
catastrophic loss of control? - Can I take a look? - A rudder lock if it would be still on would certainly degrade the
authority of the rudder, so you check that. - [Narrator] They studied
the rudder components. They look for any sign of a malfunction in the gust lock system. - There's nothing wrong
with it. The lock is fine. - We didn't find anything
wrong with the gust lock. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] Further analysis reveals that all of the plane's
other flight control surfaces were also working properly. - Flaps 20.
- Flaps 20. - [Narrator] The cause
of the deadly disaster lies somewhere else. - [Control Tower] KLM 423,
can you give me any details? - [Narrator] The investigators know that the KLM pilots reported
an oil pressure problem. - KLM 433, situation's under control. We have an engine oil pressure problem in the engine number two. (dramatic music) - [Narrator] They need to
know what that problem was and if it contributed to the crash. (sighs) - Turbines are moving. - [Narrator] There's no evidence
that the engines overheated or seized up due to a lack of oil. - Any damages from the
impact, not from oil pressure. - [Narrator] There's no evidence of any oil pressure issues at all. It appears the pilots reported
a problem that didn't exist. (dramatic music) Testing the oil pressure
gauges and warning systems from the Saab 340 should
tell investigators if the KLM pilots were getting accurate oil pressure readings. - There's nothing wrong here,
the gauge is working fine. - [Narrator] They find no malfunction in the oil pressure gauge. (instrument beeps) - Hold on, that shouldn't happen. - [Narrator] But the warning
light is another matter. - Okay, let's do it again. Okay, that's strange. It's giving an intermittent warning. - [Narrator] It's another
surprising discovery. The oil pressure warning lights sometimes activate even
when the pressure is normal. Digging deeper, they examine the switch that controls the warning light. - Ah, okay, there's a short
circuit in the switch. - [Narrator] Now they understand what the pilots were
seeing, a false warning. (computer beeps) - Right engine oil pressure. - [Narrator] An electrical
short in the oil pressure switch caused the warning light to
come on when it shouldn't have. - The oil pressure
warning itself was false and the engine was operating normally. - So they were seeing a false warning but that doesn't explain the accident. - [Narrator] The discovery
raises as many questions as it answers. A false warning alone
shouldn't lead to a crash. While they wait for the black box data, the investigators interview witnesses to understand what happened to flight 808. - So you saw the whole thing? - Yeah, I watched 'em come in. - [Narrator] They learn that the pilot of a US Navy transport watched
the plane's final moments. - Here it comes, on 10. - [Narrator] They were near
the runway when flight 808 began its approach. - We were fortunate there was a C-130 crew so you have some qualified pilots who are actually watching this airplane, the DC-8 as it was trying
to land on the runway 10. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] The DC-8 was
turning toward the runway when something went wrong. - They described that when
they watched the airplane as it turned towards runway 10, the bank angle continuously increased. - He's not gonna make it, no way. (tense music) - [Narrator] U.S Navy pilots watching flight 808's landing approach fear they're witnessing
a disaster in the making. - Come on, level up, man. - Normally, you don't
wanna be turning more than about 10, 20 degrees
on final approach. They watched this airplane as it went from 30 degrees to 40 degrees
to 50 degrees, 60 degrees and they were really surprised and then they saw the
wings go about 90 degrees relative to the horizon. The nose pitched down and the
airplane struck the ground. (plane crashes) - Sounds like a wing stall. - Yes, sir, it sure looked like it. - Yeah.
(eerie music) - [Narrator] What the pilot described sounds like a condition
known as aerodynamic stall, where the wings aren't
producing the lift needed to keep the plane in the air. (instrument beeps) - So you now have the dynamic, you understand how the
aircraft struck the ground. Now you have to determine why. (tense music) - [Narrator] The investigators learn that neither pilot had ever
landed a DC-8 at Guantanamo. They wonder if the captain
knew that runway 10 was a more challenging
approach than runway 28. They studied the airlines procedures. - They had to watch a video, that's it. - [Narrator] Because of
the difficulty landing at Guantanamo, military pilots
require special training to land on runway 10 but the cargo airline only required that civilian
pilots to watch a short video. - [Man] Exercise extreme caution
when landing on runway 10. - [Narrator] Records show
the captain and first officer had both watched the training
video within the past year. - [Man] Align your base
leg just to the right of the strobe beacon. This beacon identifies
the U.S-Cuban boundary beginning at the shoreline. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] To avoid
Cuban airspace on the left, the plane must make a tight right turn. - Where's the strobe? - Right over there. - Where?
- Right over there. - [Pilot] Where? - [Narrator] The captain
can't locate the strobe light that marks the Cuban border. (tense music) - We're not getting
our airspeed back down. - [Narrator] The flight engineer notices that the plane is still flying
more than 10 knots too slow. - Where's the strobe? - Right down there. - I still don't see it. - [Narrator] Instead of
increasing his airspeed, the captain keeps trying
to find the strobe light. Flight engineer Richmond sees the DC-8 isn't properly positioned for the landing. (tense music) - Do you think you're gonna make this? - Yeah, if I can get to the strobe light. - [Narrator] First Officer
Curren is also concerned but Captain Cheapo isn't taking the hint. The DC-8 begins its critical final turn. The team needs to know why the crew didn't abandon an approach
that was clearly going wrong. August 7th, 1997, Fine
Air cargo Flight 101 prepares to take off from Miami
to the Dominican Republic. (tense music) At 12:30 PM when Flight
101 taxis to its runway, First Officer Petroski
recites a familiar drill. - Okay, standard final procedure. If there's a problem prior
to V1, which is 130 knots, the pilot in command
will abort the airplane. Treat anything after V1
as an in-flight emergency. - Sounds good. - [Narrator] At 12:34,
the tower makes contact. - Fine Air 101, flight heading
270 cleared for takeoff. - [Pilot] Takeoff 27 right. Fine Air 101 heavy. - [Pilot] Okay, full speed and stable. Max power. - Okay, coming up on 60 knots, power set. 80.
(plane engine revs) B1, rotate. - [Narrator] The plane
lifts off the runway. - Easy, easy. - Zero. (eerie music) - [Narrator] The air
traffic control is alarmed by what he now sees. (plane rattles) - What's going on?
- Whoa. - [Narrator] The crew fights
to get the plane under control. - [Automated Voice] Too low gear. Too low terrain (computer beeps)
- What's up? - [Automated Voice] Too low terrain. - [Pilot] Go up. (computer beeps) (plane crushes) (eerie music) - [Woman] Where's your emergency? - [Man] Yes, there's been a
plane crash in 72nd and 25th. - [Narrator] It's the unthinkable, a plane crash in the heart of Miami. The plane's three men
crew and security guard are confirmed dead. Less than a mile from
Miami International Airport is the scene of a terrifying
airplane disaster. NTSB investigators start
collecting eyewitness accounts. - A couple of the witnesses
mentioned seeing flames coming from the number four
engine on the right side. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] The investigators wonder if the plane suffered
a major engine failure which prevented it from getting airborne. Bob Benzon searches for a telltale clue that the engines were working. Turbine plates bent sideways suggest they were still spinning rapidly when the plane hit the ground. - We looked inside them and it looked like they were all operating at high carver settings,
just from visual examination. They were definitely spinning. (eerie music) - [Narrator] The investigators
rule out engine failure but quickly get new information from the plane's air traffic controller. - Just after takeoff,
he went steeply nose up. I could see the tops of the wings. - [Narrator] The discovery explains the flames witnesses saw. If a plane is pitched too steeply, air flow to the engine is interrupted causing too much fuel
to flow to the engines. - It's simply an air flow issue. There wasn't enough
air getting the engines and you got a lot of
extra fuel that's on fire and it's going out the back of the engine. - [Narrator] NTSB investigator, Evan Burn now wonders why the plane's
nose rose up so suddenly. - What this told us early
in the investigation was that we either had a
problem with the airplane, something that the pilots
did during the takeoff or there may have been
something wrong with the load. (calm music) - [Narrator] The NTSB has hit an impasse in its investigation
into the Fine Air crash. The mystery of Flight 101 has only deepened
(phone rings) but then the investigation gets a break. - Benzon.
(tense music) - [Narrator] An informant
calls with a guilty conscience. - Who is this? Okay, I'm listening. - [Narrator] He won't
disclose his identity but the caller reveals there's
extra weight on the plane that the investigators are overlooking. - Their figures don't include
the pallet or the netting. - [Narrator] Investigators now calculate the weight of the cargo
including pallets and netting. It's more than 5,000
pounds of extra weight. - Now we're getting somewhere. - [Narrator] The added weight
could have had an effect on the plane's balance. The NTSB investigators think
Fine Air Flight 101 crashed because it was overweight. So they want to test their
theory in a flight simulator. - Okay, we're good to go. - [Narrator] 5,000 extra
pounds have been added to reflect the true weight
imbalance of the aircraft. (eerie music) To Benzon's amazement, the plane lifts off without a problem. It rises in a stable climb. - Damn.
- The pilots themselves were able to fly out of the situation and we scratched our heads a bit. What am I missing? - [Narrator] Benzon's
team needs to dig deeper if they hope to understand why the flight went so horribly wrong. - TAROM Flight 371 has
slammed into a farmer's field just a few hundred yards
from a local train station outside Bucharest. Romanian investigators are still searching for the cause of the crash. - I felt the pressure from the media and internally within
TAROM after I was appointed as an investigator. - [Narrator] Botezatu needs to figure out if the airplane was mechanically sound. Was the A310 properly maintained? Had it been in for servicing recently? The passenger jet's log book
provides a detailed record of its flight and service history. It can tell investigators
exactly what servicing and repairs the plane has undergone. (tense music) - Looking good so far. - [Narrator] Botezatu finds
that all scheduled maintenance was performed on time. - [Man] So nothing unusual? - Only this. - [Narrator] A couple of
times in the previous year, the auto throttle hadn't
moved properly during flight. The auto throttle commands the throttles to move whenever a change
in power is required. On takeoff, the throttles are at maximum. Once the plane reaches the climb phase, less power is needed. The throttles should move
slightly back automatically. TAROM pilots had complained
that in climb mode, the throttle for the left engine sometimes moved too far
back all the way to idle. This placed the two engines
at different power settings. Botezatu discovers the auto throttle issue has been plaguing this
plane for a very long time. - Last year alone, there's
almost two dozen complaints about the auto throttle problem. (dramatic music) - This one's from the captain. - [Narrator] Lead
investigator, (indistinct) discovers that Captain Bătănoiu himself had reported this very problem months ago. (gentle music) The captain recorded it
in the plane's log book. He did what the briefing card instructed and held the faulty thrust
lever from moving back. Everything worked out fine. - If he knew about this
problem and he knew what to do, how could it have caused the accident? (tense music) - [Narrator] Searching to
understand why TAROM Flight 371 slammed into the ground
shortly after takeoff. - B1, rotate. - [Narrator] The investigators
turn their attention to the pilots. They wonder if there's anything
in their flight records to suggest they made a fatal mistake. - Okay, let's go. The captain first. - [Narrator] Captain Bătănoiu
spent his entire career at TAROM. - He graduated military
flight school in 1969. - [Narrator] He'd flown more
than 14,000 flight hours on six different aircraft. - Impressive, lots of flight hours. - I flew with Captain Bătănoiu He was a prepared pilot, conscientious, attentive to what he was doing. - Next. - Pilot Stoi, graduated
military flight school in 1968. - [Narrator] The first
officer was also experienced. His training record is excellent. - They were a good match. - Yeah. - So, two excellent pilots
in the cockpit that day. - [Narrator] Next, they
check the medical records. - Captain Bătănoiu, high mental condition, fit for long range flights. Captain looks good. - [Narrator] The captain was 48 years old, the first officer, 51 but despite increasing age, their medical reports are both flawless. - First office Stoi,
close to retiring age. - Good level of information processing motivated for flight. - Stable personality. - [Narrator] Assessments of their physical and mental status lead to one conclusion. - Both were medically and
psychologically fit to fly. - [Narrator] Both plane and pilots have past close inspection. What could have caused such
a dramatic loss of control? Continental Airlines Flight
1404 is being prepped for its departure from Denver, Colorado. Captain David Butler and
first officer, Chad Levang will pilot the flight to Houston. The plane is a Boeing 737, a short to medium range twin engine jet that has become the best-selling commercial jet liner in history. - Continental 1404, Denver tower. Runway 34 right. Position on hold. - Position hold, 34
right, Continental 1404. - [Narrator] Runway 34
right is one of six runways at Denver International. - Continental 1404, wind 270 at 27. Turn right, heading 020. Runway 34 right is clear for takeoff. - [Narrator] The controller
provides the pilots with a runway wind reading of 27 knots and clears them for takeoff. - Heading 020, clear for
takeoff runway 34 right, Continental 1404. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] Suddenly, the
plane veers hard to the left. (instrument beeps) The plane races off the runway at a speed of more than 100 miles an hour. (computer beeps)
(passengers scream) It's completely out of control. (indistinct) The plane hits a steep
ridge, sending it airborne. (plane engine roars) Flight 1404 finally comes to a stop 700 feet from the runway. (passengers scream) (sirens wail) All 110 passengers and five flight crew narrowly escaped death. The captain is seriously injured. The first officer's injuries are minor. The question now is how
could this have happened in the first place? - Thank you - [Narrator] With the cause
of flight 1404's crash evading investigators, the
NTSB must now consider factors outside the plane that
could have contributed to the Boeing 737's fate. - We missing anything? - Nope, we got all I need. - [Narrator] NTSB senior
meteorologist, Don Ike will investigate the weather conditions at the time of the crash. Reports from the National Weather Service indicate there was a low pressure system in parts of Colorado around
the time of the crash but it had no impact on
Denver International. There was no severe weather at the time. Runway 34's surface was bare and dry. - Well, whatever it was,
it happened real fast. - [Narrator] The investigators
now turn their attention to the cross winds during takeoff. - It looks like weathervaning to me. - [Narrator] Weathervaning
occurs when a crosswind pushes a plane's tail causing the nose to point into the wind. A pilot must apply rudder
to counteract this movement. - A 737-500 can handle
cross winds up to 33 knots but if the gusts are stronger... - It might've been enough to
blow the plane off the runway. - [Narrator] Bill English needs to confirm that the pilots weren't attempting
to takeoff in cross winds that exceeded the safety
limits for the 737. - All right, cue up ATIS. - [Control Tower] Main
departure runway three-- - [Narrator] Prior to takeoff, the pilots would have received the
current weather conditions from the Automatic Terminal
Information Surface or ATIS. ATIS reported winds of
280 degrees at 11 knots, well under the 33 knot threshold but pilots don't just rely on ATIS. Air traffic control also
provides specific runway winds right before takeoff. - Continental 1404, wind 270 at 27. - [Narrator] The investigators speak with a controller on duty that night. - Thanks for taking the time for us. - Of course. - Okay, so what were the
conditions at takeoff? - Well, I checked the winds just before. Continental 1404, wind 270 at 27. - [Narrator] The controller told the crew to expect 27 knot winds on runway 34, a speed still below the
crosswind limit of 33 knots. - Anything else that could
help explain what happened? - No, I'm as stumped as you guys. - [Narrator] Russian authorities
work around the clock to clear the wreckage of
Aeroflot Nord Flight 821 from the crash site on the
Trans-Siberian railway. They need to get the trains running again. - Be careful with those,
bring it over here. - [Narrator] Meanwhile,
Russian investigators from the Interstate
Aviation Committee, the IAC will work to find the
cause of the accident. Photos of Flight 821's
crash site offer up clues about the orientation
and pitch of the plane when it hit the ground. - The flying controlled
surfaces, the fuselage, the engines, totally destroyed and it flew past the approach line. We need find out why. - [Narrator] The Russian
investigators want to understand the reasons that led to such
a catastrophic loss of control just minutes before landing. - It was raining. Let's track down the weather charts. Thank you for making trip from Washington. - I hope we can help. - [Narrator] American investigators from the National Transportation
Safety Board join the team. - What about the flight recorders? - On the plane to France,
they're in rough shape. - [Narrator] The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder
were badly damaged in the fire. They were sent to a
specialized facility in France to retrieve the data but it could take weeks
to get the results. In the meantime, the Russian investigators brief the Americans on their progress. - We found no evidence of
mechanical failure in the engines. - What about an in-flight fire or breakup? - The plane first hit these trees on the left and back (indistinct) and all the debris was
confined in the immediate area. - There's no scorching on the trees. No breakup prior to crash. The fire started on the ground. - [Narrator] The investigators
are certain flight 821 was intact before it crashed. The first step in investigating
the Aeroflot Nord 821 crash is finding out if the 737
was mechanically sound when it left Moscow. (gentle music) In Russia, tracking down
records can be complicated by bureaucratic roadblocks. - Great, we got them. Let's see what they can tell us. - Good, they go back to when the plane went into the service. - [Narrator] A safety and
certification company, Bureau Veritas regularly
inspected the Boeing 737 and kept detailed
records going back years. - When this aircraft went
down, the rudder system became an object of interest. - Remember this design
flaw in the 737's rudder that we discovered in the 1990s? - It caused multiple accidents
before it was caught. - [Narrator] In 1994, U.S Air Flight 427 was approaching Pittsburgh (plane engine roars) when a problem known as rudder hardover caused the aircraft to nosedive and slam into woods nearby. All 132 people on board
that 737 were killed. It was not an isolated incident. - A rudder hardover was
something that occurred because of a mismatch
between hydraulic pressure on the rudder on the 737, which caused the rudder
to move in one direction which could not be reversed
with rudder pedals. - Boeing decided to redesign the actuator of the rudder system to
prevent these rudder hardovers. - Have a look. Did they fix this one? - But you never can be perfectly sure that the fix is in. - [Narrator] The team now
considers whether a frozen rudder caused flight 821 to
nosedive into the ground. They hunt for the maintenance records for any mention of the rudder. (dramatic music) - Wait, I've got a work order here. It's from 2005 for placing the rudder PCU. - It's a match. - They took a look at the power
control unit for the rudder and found that the airplane
had the new system fitted and then the investigation
moved on from there. - The airline insists both
pilots was very experienced. - [Narrator] Still looking for leads in the case of Aeroflot Nord Flight 821, the team shifts the focus to the pilots. - Here, the controller said
the crew seemed confused when he asked him to redo their approach. - Captain has over 3,900 flying hours, 1,400 of these at night. - That's not a ton but it's enough. - Wait, two-thirds of his
hours were in the cockpits of the Tupolev Tu-134. - The Tu-134? - [Narrator] Built in
Russia, the Tupolev Tu-134 was one of the most widely used jets in the former Soviet block. It required twice as many
crew members to fly them as a modern Western jet
like Boeing or Airbus. The placement of the
engines of the Tupolev is also different. The engines are close together
at the rear of the plane. In this design, mismatched engines require minimal adjustments
since the thrust is all coming from the back. A Boeing 737's engines are spaced apart, slung beneath the wings. With a mismatch in engine power, the stronger side pushes the wing up and requires the pilots
constant correction of control surfaces to maintain balance. The team delves into the training records for the captain of Flight 821. They need to know if he was
properly trained to fly a 737, especially one with mismatched engines. - Medvedev got his training
certification for the 737 on September 10th, 2006 but then went back to flying the Tupolev. He didn't get into the 737
again until January 9th, 2007. - [Narrator] The investigators now know that Captain Medvedev's
training on the Boeing 737 was woefully inadequate. The team realizes that
first officer Allaberdin had much more flying
experience than the captain. - Okay, tomorrow we'll try
(indistinct), take care. - [Narrator] What they
now need to find out is if the first officer
was any better equipped to fly the 737. - I am from IAC, I have
a quick question for you. - [Narrator] The investigators wonder how the first officer performed
during his 737 training. - He had plenty of
experience on Antonov-2. (plane engine roars) - [Narrator] An Antonov-2
is a huge propeller biplane with a single engine designed
mainly for agriculture and forestry purposes. The investigators learn that one thing the first officer struggled with was flying with thrust asymmetry. (tense music) - Check this (indistinct). - [Automated Voice] Bank angle. - We're banking. - This is the third time. - [Narrator] The
investigators are surprised by the extent of the first
officer's shortcomings flying the 737. - Medvedev was simply to
green to captain the 737. - [Narrator] The team
concluded that the airline should never have paired a new captain with such an unproven first officer. Chapecoense's goalkeeper, Jackson Follmann has survived the crash
of LaMia Flight 2933. - I woke up in the middle of the forest. I don't know how long I'd been asleep for. - [Narrator] Besides Jackson Follmann, three other Chapecoense
players have survived. 71 people are dead making this
one of the worst tragedies in the history of sport. The morning light reveals
the full extent of the crash. The LaMia plane hit the crest of an 8,700-foot mountain
called Cerro Gordo. The Columbian Aircraft
Accident Investigation Group wastes no time starting their work. The team is onsite at daybreak with Julian Echeverri in charge. - It looks like the fuselage
span around 180 degrees. - [Narrator] Echeverri and
his team work around the clock collecting evidence in the mountain. - London girl was done. (tense music) Look, flaps are extended. - [Narrator] The plane was
configured for landing. It's clear that the crew was
descending towards the airport (plane crashes) but it crashed 10 miles
short of the runway. The investigators have a tough job ahead. Aircraft debris has tumbled
down both sides of the mountain but their biggest clue
is what they don't find at the scene of the crash. (tense music) - No scorch marks. No fuel smell either. - [Narrator] The fuel level
indicators are at zero. - The plane was out of fuel. - [Narrator] The
investigators are mystified. Why would the plane have run out of fuel? Was it a fuel leak? - Engines one and four are up there, two and three are here
by the main wreckage. - [Narrator] All four engines
are located and examined. There is no sign of fire or failure. They conclude the engines
worked until the fuel ran out. The question is how did the fuel get so
low in the first place? Was it a mechanical
failure or human error? (camera shutters) With pressure mounting,
the investigators dig into their work. They hope the flight recorders
will help them understand why LaMia 2933 didn't
make it to the airport. - Take these black boxes to the lab. - [Narrator] Both the
cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder
appear to be in good shape but they'll have to be sent
to a lab to be processed before investigators can analyze them. While the flight recorders
are being analyzed, investigators summon the last to speak with the crew of LaMia 2933,
air traffic controller. - Thank you for meeting with me. - It's been a very difficult time. - Tell me what happened before
they declared the emergency. Were there other planes on hold? - Yes, three. They were in a holding pattern
right when LaMia radioed. - What did you do when they told you they had a fuel emergency? - But that's the crazy thing. They only told me that
they had a fuel emergency right before they crashed with no warning. - [Narrator] The crew's
delay in informing her put Molina in a tough situation. The investigators need to
know how she handled it. To find out, they turned to
the air traffic control tapes which recorded the final
18 minutes of communication between Molina and the crew. - Okay, let's start. - [Fernando] Rionegro, 2933, good evening. - [Molina] LaMia 2933,
control, good evening. - [Fernando] LaMia 2933,
request for approach. We have a fuel problem. - [Narrator] Even after
reporting a fuel problem, the crew doesn't give Molina
any cause for concern. - [Molina] I understand
you're requesting priority for landing also with a
fuel problem, correct? - [Fernando] Affirmative. - How long until you need to
start your approach, 2933? - [Narrator] Only when
Molina checks in with them does the crew finally speak up. (computer beeps) - [Fernando] We have a fuel emergency. That's why I'm asking you
at once for final approach, requesting immediate descent. - Pause, they declare a
fuel emergency seven minutes after entering the holding pattern. Why wait so long? Then they turn left
here towards the runway. - [Narrator] Turning left puts flight 2933 in the direct path of other
planes in the holding pattern. - Keep going. - [Molina] LaMia 2933,
make a right turn now to begin your descent. - Negative, we're already
starting to descent and heading for the runway. - [Narrator] Moments
later, the crew reports the plane has lost power. - [Pilot] 2933, total
electrical failure without fuel. - Stop, they didn't explain the situation until it was too late. - There's nothing she could have done. - [Narrator] The investigators conclude Molina did what she
could to help LaMia 2933 in those stressful
moments before the crash but the recordings raise another question. - Here's what I don't get. The fuel warning should have gone off long before the start of the approach but they don't declare
an emergency until here. - [Narrator] Did the plane's
fuel warning system malfunction or is there another reason for the crash that they'll need to explore? United Express Flight 6291. This is the first fatal accident involving the Jet Stream 4,100. For the safety of all the
passengers using this plane, it's critical to figure out what happened. By morning, investigators from the National
Transportation Safety Board including lead investigator,
Al Dickinson are on the scene. - Okay, let's make sure
we got all four corners. - [Narrator] They first need to find out if the entire plane is at the crash site. If any major parts are missing, it could mean the aircraft
was breaking apart before it hit the ground. - The importance of finding all
four corners of the aircraft is if something comes off
an aircraft before impact, you probably can trace it
back to the initial cause of why they had a problem. So it's really important
to identify both wingtips, the nose and the tail. - [Narrator] But their
challenge is immense. What's left of United Express 6291 is barely recognizable as an airplane. - The fire was very
intense and it made it hard just to try to identify
the different pieces of the aircraft. You see stuff and you wonder, what is it? (upbeat music) - We've got the nose over here, got the tail over here. We found all corners of the aircraft right at the accident site. And we've got the wings out over there. So the aircraft was intact
until it contacted the ground and therefore, you can
eliminate any structural thing that might've happened during flight. (tense music)
(passengers scream) - [Narrator] The plane did not
start coming apart in midair but was the pilot in control? - We have a cold front
running through here. What were the weather
advisories telling pilots? - [Narrator] Dickinson hopes
the experience of other pilots that night can shed light on what happened to United Express 6291. - Rime, mixed icing between
2,000 and 19,000 feet. - Did any other flights fly through it? - [Narrator] If other pilots flew through the same icing conditions, they might've experienced
a similar problem. - Yes, two just before 6291 was due in. - Okay, let's talk to them. - In this case, there were
planes flying in the general area and some of them landed at
the airport in Columbus. So it's important to talk to these pilots to find out what the conditions
were on their descent. And it was rime ice? - [Narrator] The pilot of a
plane that landed one minute before flight 6291 was due in, remember his descending
through freezing drizzle. - What do you think he
picked up, about a half inch? It didn't give you any trouble? Okay, thanks. Hey, same (indistinct)
device but no trouble. - [Narrator] The pilots
of other planes reported similar conditions but
had no problems landing. - The fact that several airplanes landed preceding this airplane under
similar weather conditions means the weather should
not have precluded a safe landing at the airport. - Thanks for coming in. So you left at 7:00? - [Narrator] When the investigators speak to United Express pilots
who earlier in the day flew the same plane
through similar weather... - And it had the de-ice? - [Narrator] They reported no difficulties with the plane's de-icing system. - We looked at everything
that was involved in the weather situation. They should have been able to fly through this moderate icing
and land successfully. (gentle music)
