9 Crazy Air Disasters Where Everyone Survives | Smithsonian Channel

After quickly assessing the situation, Captain Sully Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skyles realize that without engine power they won't make it to any nearby airport. It's a difficult trip aboard a 7 37 descending in New Orleans. a violent storm has caught pilots off guard as flight attendants take their seats flight attendants please take your seats suddenly less than seventeen thousand feet above the ground the flight becomes even more terrifying but the engines lost power I have nothing, the plane has enough speed to glide but it will not lose altitude quickly for long, since the crew only has one option left.

I guess I'll have to make a ditch here, sir. They must take advantage of their opportunities and leave the plane in the water. 110, understood, as you wish. I have to do it sir and that was the last communication with the tower, so we were at like 1500 feet when that was happening. Dardano plans to land the plane in the canal directly in front of him, okay, put it down gently, the 737 can only. Stay in the air for another minute while Dardano looks for a safe stretch of canal to lower the plane. Another option appears, look, look at that one over there, and then Lopez saw the dam parallel to the canal that we were making the approach to, and you put it on the grass, yes. , boss, the dam is much shorter and narrower than a landing strip, but it seems safer than water.

That's what we're going to get into. You got it, my friend, okay, get the team down, but Captain Dardano is still there. Flying into the water to have any hope of landing on the lien, you need to make a sudden and dramatic course correction that requires a risky maneuver known as a sideslip, so we only had to do a small sideslip to get into position and make a perfect landing is a move for small planes and gliders it is not a 47 ton boeing 737 but it is a risk you have to take only 700 feet separate the plane from the ground no engines the pilots do not have thrust reversers to brake the plane when it lands Dardano has an added challenge with only one eye unable to gauge depth as he accelerates towards the narrow strip of rain-soaked grass there is a high concrete wall in front of a dike and a steep embankment to the left there may not be enough room for land watch out for the wing on that side I see it coming I'll keep the tango baby there you go the landing was spectacular the plane landed so smoothly that there wasn't even a hint of turbulence between the icy waters of Cook's Inlet and the imposing international airport anchorage station in the mountains of alaska awaits the arrival of a damaged 747.85 northwest 85 we have it on our radar the passengers and crew of northwest 85 are now moments from an emergency landing while I was putting on my seat belt I remember thinking I'm this all there is like in Are I done here?

I'm going to be alive when this is over and I thought about my kids and my husband and my house to the northwest 85 emergency crew clear waiting Roger cleared the ground the crew still has no idea what will happen when the plane hits the ground there were about 400 passengers on that plane and a crew of 18 and some of them people I knew personally like John and the other pilots on the crew so waiting was hard okay we're all here. We're going to land in five. Prepare for impact, right? You got it. I have it as planned on landing.

First officer fagin takes the control column. Captain henson guides the front wheels with the rudder. Time is critical. One wrong step and the plane could go off the runway. I did it, good job Mike, good job guys, oh so what do we do for our encore? It's not like

everyone

in the cabin was finally able to exhale and we just went once they gave us the signal that it was okay, please remain seated until the seat belt light comes on. is off, I knew I had to get up and go to that front door and get these people off this plane.

We did what we were trained to do. We did a great job. Controllers can see what pilots cannot. That's the whole rudder. You got there, it must have been an amazing journey. Oh yes, it was a real pleasure trip. Nearly two hours after the emergency began, at 35,000 feet, all 404 people on board are safe on the ground. The world watches as Hurricane Hugo moves across the Atlantic. It is a massive cyclone more than 375 miles wide. The storm is moving steadily toward the Caribbean and threatens to make landfall in less than two days on dozens of islands and along the coast of the United States.

People are rushing to get out of the way. by hugo but high above the ocean The team of hurricane hunters must try to get out of this storm. The only way out of this storm is to return through it, but with only three engines operating, re-entering the eyewall at this low altitude would be suicidal. Your best hope is the air force. reserve c-130 still approaching in the storm 42 57 we have had an emergency we have lost an engine once the c-130 passes the eye it could fly close enough for the crew to assess the damage tl57 us I'm going to need a favor.

I don't know if we can go high enough with three engines. Come down towards us. Roger North. 42 beginning our descent. No sudden movements. You are upon us. No. 42. Looks like you're still in one piece. Apart from the five-seven defrost start agreement, we are going to need another favor, we cannot stay here. Fuel will be a problem very soon. Can you help us find a weak point? Roger, we'll see what we can find. boards noaa 42 there is nothing to do but wait for a word yet guys noah 42 I think I have something for you the air force plane has found a possible exit point try the northeast quadrant roger northeast squadron see you again in the face Let's hope you're right, Noah 42 is going to try to ride through the storm at 6,000 feet.

They hope the winds at this altitude will be less destructive. They establish the condition that the air force crew has chosen the departure point. There is much less turbulence at this altitude. That's more like it, after a tense 20 minute ride back through the storm that nearly killed them, the crew finally escapes Hugo's powerful grip, oh my goodness, what a day too close for my comfort. If you ask me until 57, we went out and uh. I think we owe them a part of the service, we will see them back until then, after their ordeal,

everyone

on board returns safely to Barbados.

Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau arrive in Learmonth at the cabin, there was quite a bit. Damage primarily to roof panels and roof fixtures Investigators hope data from the plane's quick access recorder can shed light on what went wrong Focus on the fly-by-wire control system I'm looking at two abrupt changes in the position of the cross elevator it seems that is what caused the descents were those commands coming from the pilots oh weren't they strange navier a fault that is not right it seems that the plane's fly-by-wire system was sending false commands to the flight control surfaces oh what hell nice to meet you hey investigators need to hear the pilot's story we go over everything they remembered and anything unusual in the previous period we describe the flight leading up to the launch cities , anything that could have caused these erratic movements they had.

Pretty cool memory, but I had no explanations for why this happened and you were getting a lot of faults. Oh yes, there were some. Take a look for yourself. It's as if the plane had a mind of its own. The A330 post-flight report records everything. Cautions and warnings affecting the plane They studied the list looking for anything that could connect the various warnings. The first question you have is what is the common element between all of these. All these errors are connected to Atari 1. The Ataroo or AirData inertial reference unit. transmits important information to the flight computers about the environment outside the plane that had a room, it obviously became an important part of the puzzle because it was associated with a lot of glitches, look at this, I've never seen anything like it, they detect something very unusual.

They are wild fluctuations of the angle of attack that come from aoa 1. angle of attack or aoa is the angle of the aircraft wing in relation to the airflow, the greater the angle, the less smooth the airflow over the wing and If the angle of attack of the plane increases too much, then the plane can stall, so it is a very important parameter from more than 50 degrees nose up to level and then negative 50 degrees, that is not what that the pilots described at all. The crew testified that the plane pitched nose down twice. They never said he leaned up.

What does the elevator do? The readings say 10 degrees nose down. He checks other FDR readings that record the plane's pitch. These data also confirm what the crew reported. Show me the angle of attack again from the flight data recorder information. We could see the elevators moving in a nose-down direction. about 10 degrees there was an abrupt change the plane didn't pitch there is no way this aoe data is correct who could have faulty data like this due to an a330 i'm not sure but i bet it's not good let's ask airbus continental The Airlines Flight 1404 is preparing to depart Denver, Colorado, Captain David Butler and First Officer Chad Lavang will pilot the flight to Houston.

The plane is a Boeing 737, a short- to medium-range twin-engine plane that has become the best-selling commercial plane. airliner in continental history 1404 denver tower runway three four position right position hold three four right continental 1404 runway three four right is one of the six runways in denver international continental fourteen zero four win two seven zero at two seven turn right heading zero to zero runway three four right is cleared for takeoff, the controller provides the pilots with a runway wind reading of 27 knots and clears them for takeoff heading 0-2-0 cleared for take off runway 3-4 right continental 1404.

Suddenly, the plane turns sharply to the left the plane goes off the runway at a speed of more than 100 miles per hour it is completely out of control the plane hits a steep hill the flight 1404 finally stops 700 feet from the runway the 110 passengers and five flight crew narrowly escape 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 ten passengers they are flying from cold bay alaska we were heading to seattle it was a beautiful day it was clear there was no turbulence very unusual very unusual in the Cabin Captain James Gibson and his crew also noticed something unusual, not with the weather, but with their plane I noticed that The vibration I felt in my feet and the vibration in the glass was different, very loose, take a look.

Yes, you can bet Gibson and Gary Lintner are waiting for Moose Lauren to report that the vibrations are becoming more pronounced. I clearly remember looking down and seeing my control yoke shaking. I'll ruin it. Let's turn around. The engineer said: I want you to go back and check. engine number four and see if you can see anything and just when I looked out the window the engine died when the propeller came loose I thought, oh shit, it's going to kill me, it's going to cut me in two, but it flew forward and then it came back and I slapped the engine and then went under the propeller.

He punches a hole in the bottom of the plane. I have to go. I grabbed the cargo net and looked down at my foot. I'm looking straight down at my foot over a hole that goes straight into the ocean, the cut in the fuselage has caused explosive decompression and then of course the cabin fogs up and there's almost no sound, your eardrums are burst, it's a little disconcerting. because the fog and everything is silent. um, do you think I'm dead or not, depending on what? At the altitude you are at and depending on how explosive the decompression is, you may know it a little more than at other times, but you will eventually die from lack of oxygen.

Junior flight attendant victoria fredenhagen springs into action after the explosions. He wasn't sure what. had happened, but I got up and got the oxygen bottle, put it on Jim and put on the mask and within seconds, a moose came through the cockpit door and said, shit, we just lost propeller number four , the break in the fuselage has caused critical damage. flight controls the crew needs to descend to a lower altitude

where

there is more oxygen but the yoke is slow to respond jim saw that the autopilot disconnect lights were on and reached out and turned the autopilot back on the autopilot can do what the pilots could do, there are no wings level, directing the plane descending the tenth is a struggle butthey finally lower their electra l188 to 10,000 feet the passengers are no longer in danger of hypoxia it's now safe to take off their masks well of course there's adrenaline rushing at that point um it just felt good I think it was just surreal because we were fine , revolution 8 reaches a safe place, the close call is a good example of the dual rule that all cabin crew play.

China Airlines Flight 120 is on final approach to land. We are now less than a minute from the runway 2010 is a textbook landing all that is left for the China Airlines pilots is to park the plane's engine start levers and the engine start levers cut off with the engines Shut down they can finally relax Hey, what's this? happening just when they thought they were safely parked cabin number two engine fire a radio call alerts them of urgent danger their plane is on fire station support team station support team dynasty one two zero we are calling a fire truck stay on hold uh, we have fire in the wheels, please press the lever.

Pilots know they need to get their passengers out of the plane before the flames reach the fuel tanks, but they can't open the cockpit doors, but the engine fire warning switches are overridden. They must follow an evacuation checklist. Finally, the pilots. are ready to open the doors evacuation is required now no pushing is required no pushing please keep moving but it will take time for the 157 passengers to reach the exit george ishizaki is watching the disaster unfold From inside the airport terminal I had my video camera with me and I thought, "My God, what is happening?

The plane has been burning for almost three minutes. It could explode at any moment. Captain, all the passengers are evacuated. The captain will stay until everyone is gone and he will verify that the plane is empty. The pilots have put the safety of their passengers first, but now it may be too late for them. First I will have to climb through the window. The 737 cabins are equipped with an emergency escape rope. It is designed to help pilots exit through the side window, but it is not an easy maneuver, so fire on a plane can quickly become lethal, incredibly on flight 120, all 165 people on board escaped unharmed.

I have never heard of any evacuation

where

someone was not injured to remove so many people in such dire circumstances in a very short period of time with no injuries it is miraculous that Cathay Pacific Flight 780 is cruising at 38,000 feet above the south from China. Captain Malcolm Waters and his crew are nearing the end of a four and a half hour flight from Indonesia to Hong Kong 165 miles from Hong Kong airport the airbus leaves cruising altitude and begins its descent and then something goes wrong the computer The flight control is alerting the pilots about a problem.

Okay, let's see what we have. Engine 2 is stalled. The airplane's monitoring system indicates that there is a problem with the correct engine. Engine number two with no explanation for the incident. Captain Waters reduces the power of the engine. engine at idle to protect it from damage inactive the lowest possible power level while keeping it running the pilots prepare to land the airbus with a single engine everything is ready for an emergency landing but then another alert and more engine vibrations an engine stalled A stalled engine confirmed that things have gone from bad to worse. The monitoring system indicates that they have just lost the other engine, the one they were counting on to take the plane to Hong Kong.

The monitoring system tells the pilots to idle. number one engine malfunctioning, they are one minute away from landing and then another alert, it's overspeed, it's an overspeed warning, a signal for the plane. It's flying too fast Captain Waters can't understand it, they should slow down. He checks the controls again and then sees it. Engine number one, which he revved minutes before, is still running at 74 power. Push high, too high to land safely. Its speed is. more than 100 miles per hour faster than normal so fast that the flight computer does not recognize that the pilots are trying to land Captain Waters pushes the nose down forcing the Airbus onto the runway the Airbus is nearing the end of the runway finally the plane stops just short of the water's edge they have consumed more than 8,800 feet in a mile and a half of runway once the plane stopped there is a glimpse of what just happened january 2009 flight U.S.

Airways 1549 leaves New York's LaGuardia Airport there are 150 passengers on board bound for Charlotte North Carolina the plane took off without incident and shortly after takeoff they lost all engines as a result of some birds I caught something out of the corner of my eye and slightly to our right but still in front of us was a line of birds and they were very, very close, too close for us to maneuver. After quickly assessing the situation, Captain Sully Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skyles realize that without engine power they won't make it. to any nearby airport we will be in the Hudson brace for impact, you must be aware of the position of the brace in many accidents, the cabin crew are desperately trying to get the passengers into the position of the brace, but because passengers haven't read the safety features card they don't know what that means put your hands down and stay down the proper position of the brace is knees together feet flat on the floor body bent as far forward as possible with arms wrapped under your legs or leaning against the seat in front of you your body will be thrown forward, so if you can get into that position beforehand, the amount of back and forth movement will be reduced and the level of injury will be lower in the cabin, passengers prepare for the inevitable.

The passengers really started to gather and someone shouted as we were getting off, you're ready at the doors, the people at the door say we're ready. Clay Presley does what all passengers should do. He stays calm and tries to think about the future, so I started. thinking about if we're going to crash, I know I need to figure out where the exit rows are, if water comes in, you need to be able to hold your breath long enough to get to those four or five rows and open the doors. Open it if you can, but before anyone can escape, they must first survive a high-speed impact.

It seemed like the plane was going straight to the bottom of the Hudson River, then the plane jumped and gently swayed through the waves in a moment. The instant the $75 million plane has become an improbable boat floating down the Hudson River, it is now It is filling with ice water. That water was cold. It was very cold. Then your feet freeze. You land on the Hudson in the middle of winter. The water will be very cold and you will suffer from hypothermia very quickly. Their feet and hands will become numb. They are going to be useless passengers.

Closer to the exits, open the doors. I jumped up very quickly and started heading towards the emergency. so I made my way to the wing, just a few steps to start, luckily they had slide rafts instead of just slides, so what they were able to do was evacuate the passengers onto the slide rafts, in the end, all 150 passengers and all The crew of Flight 1549 is taken to safety, another example of how serious aviation accidents often end well.