Remember, this was long before cellphones. It took my Dad (who was a MIA-based DC-9 F/O at the time) three hours to get to a phone and tell Mom "That wasn't me."
@@kneel1 Mr two first names Jay Max acting like the comment section is his and his alone. It always baffles me how these types of humans behave in public.
I was a sales rep with Eastern in 1974 and assigned to be Eastern Airlines liaison at Charlotte Memorial Hospital with the survivors. The reason there were so many Navy members survived was because they had been trained in firefighting on their ships and had been trained how to run through fire. That skill saved their lives whiles others did not survive.
What you aren't aware of is Carowinds: the amusement park that they uses as a landmark for their final approach. The aviation related feature of the park was/is the Eastern Observatory Tower: a near 900 ft tower that was an attraction at the park. The tower is in line with one of the primary runways of CLT ITl airport( the localizer is SE of the airport) about 12 miles from the airport from the South, the approach pattern that was flown that day by the a/c. The beacon atop the tower has been used as a navigation waypoint for decades, so many pilots use it as a reference to the airport's direction. Edit: YES! Eastern Airlines sponsored the tower. It resembles a small version of the Seattle Space Needle, except the circular observation deck could ascend and descent the tower. At the top the viewer could easily see Charlotte Douglas International, amd most of the buildings in downtown Charlotte. It is quite a landmark. Unfortunately the upkeep and maintenance was too much and it is no longer used for visitors.
You know, that would be me. I am talkative, and easily distracted, cos I have ADHD. :) By the time I would be done with the conversation, the jet would look like a crumpled tin can.
This was the crash that killed Stephen Colbert's father and two brothers when he was just 10 years old. Their dad was taking them for their new term at boarding school. He talks about it so painfully still, to Anderson Cooper on an interview about grief. So sad for him and all the other families torn apart forever, by a few minutes of totally unnecessary negligence...
@@hodie9551 like the leftist commies don't celebrate when a regular human being dies, go back and check all the Twitter feeds when Rush Limbaugh died. Love the leftist commie hypocrisy.
@@trent3872 you would care, if you lost yr dad and yr much loved teenage brothers. And i would have empathy for you - empathy that wld transcend any political differences, even after your comment with its trolling & total lack of human kindness. I despised everything Rush Limbaugh stood for politically and the hatred & division i believe he sowed. But that was my own view of him politically, and i accept others saw him differently - and i never felt one second of pleasure over his illness and death. My dad also died of lung cancer - in our arms - and i wouldn't wish it on any human. The fact that you gloat over the premature deaths of Colbert's dad and teenage brothers is disturbing- and reflects far more on you as a person than it does any political differences... i hope you seek guidance or help.
@@Shelsight You obviously don’t know anything about what Rush Limbaugh stood for. He was actually a very good person, who cared about the people that worked for him. You don’t have to agree with his politics, but you never even listened to him. Don’t judge someone based on what you’ve heard or were taught.
In my opinion, their conversation was just the symptom of the underlying issue: they were bored stiff. Perhaps they had been flying the same tedious route hundreds of times without little or no change in routine. And if you can sleepwalk your way to your final destination, some day you may reach it a bit sooner than expected.
@@TheBeingReal lack of work breeds unprofessional behavior. Busy people are far more professional than idle workers. Regardless of field. And I think that was the point OP was getting at.
It's always a good day when Mini ACI uploads. The pilots focusing on all the wrong things is definitely the main cause of this crash. It immediately made me think of how there was a pretty thick fog in my city just the other day (no mishaps, thanks to the crews actually paying attention and doing their job).
The sterile cockpit rule is very very good. The monotonous warning tone was obviously a contributor also Sadly though in the end the pilots did not have their minds on their business, even worse this was in fog which makes the easy-going attitude really unacceptable even if so simple to slip into.
Being a pilot requires 100% all of the time and the stress is overwhelming at times, my dad was a pilot flew for United for 30 years and I saw what it did to him, just witnessing what I did made me have no desire whatsoever to want to be a pilot.
Ever driven a car with a passenger talking nonstop, brain numbing Idiocy? THAT can make even driving way more difficult so god knows what affect this has on pilots, especially when landing. It really should have been obvious long before regulations were introduced.
As important as it is, the sterile cockpit rule wasn't in place at the time of this crash. As the narrator noted, it actually wasn't instituted until several years later.
The desire to be social is very strong. There is a time and place for it, though. This patently wasn't it... In my non-professional view. It's probably not a problem to chat a little socially whilst flying over an ocean at 30,000 feet with little traffic around and mainly monitoring instruments and comms, in fact it probably helps relieve the boredom and fatigue somewhat and helps the crew gel a little.
As with just about every disaster that ever happened, in the air and everywhere else. this was not down to one single factor but rather several coinciding together. Clearly pilot error was a big one. The pilots' extended, casual chat didn't allow them to spot danger until it was too late to correct it. This case reminds us of the importance of a sterile cockpit. That rule must have saved many lives over the years since it was introduced. Great reconstruction and commentary, bravo! A needless tragedy.
@@wyomingadventures Thank you, a great post. Human beings have a simplistic compulsion to blame disaster on one person or mistake. But calamities like this, are rarely so simply explained!
@Fidd88 What are you talking about? Pilots are rarely blamed unless it is proven without a doubt they are at fault. The NTSB launches an extremely throughout report on what caused the crash, they never jump to conclusions and blame the pilots preemptively. As for technological advances they without a doubt make flying much safer, and this accident wouldn't have happened if it was a modern aircraft. As for the AoA sensers, once that was discovered all planes that had these were grounded immediately until rectified...
Yeah I have watched a lot of landing videos and a lot of times the pilot ignores the altitude warnings because of the nature of the landings they do. (though unlike here, they are aware of what they are doing lol)
today, the aircraft’s ground proximity warning system would’ve likely kicked in with an audible voice “too low, terrain. pull up. pull up.” you might get a call from ATC “Eastern 121 check your altitude, showing 1000ft. MVA (minimum altitude) 2500. Altimeter 2987.” and if that wasn’t enough you’ll hear something from ATC like “Eastern 121, low altitude alert.” If you still haven’t done anything the urgency steps up significantly - “Eastern 121 low altitude alert. climb immediately! Eastern 121 climb! climb now 6000!” If there is rising terrain, you may also be instructed to turn.
It 1980, text to speech computer was not something that fit in a plane. Yay…stick to no chatter during critical parts of landing. Landings are a controlled crashed.
@@micaheiber1419 You could just have a computer circuit turn on a prerecorded tape message with an angry flight instructor's voice that says "dang bro, just pull the nose up already"
Pilot error accounts for the vast majority of aviation mishaps. One pilot flies on instruments while the other looks outside for the runway. NOT BOTH. Also, audible warnings are there for a reason, but pilots at times ignore them for various reasons. Whether on a non-precision or precision approach, altitude discipline is a must, as is airspeed control, especially on final. All go-around criteria were met but ignored. New rules significantly reduce such mistakes. CRM (Crew/Cockpit Resource Management is critical) is life-saving.
Thought at first this was going to be the “how many pilots does it take to change a lightbulb” crash. Man, there were a lot of accidents back before CRM. Amazing how much safer aviation is now!!!
From Wiki: Among the fatalities was the vice president for academic affairs of the Medical University of South Carolina, James William Colbert Jr., and two of his sons; they were the father and brothers of future television personality Stephen Colbert.
Wow it's too bad those details were missed on this video. Excellent work my friend! I sure would also like to listen to the CVR... I wonder what was so important that they focused on the conversation and not flying the damn plane!
Sad that they died. However, I can't stand Stephen Colbert!! He pushes his liberal agenda down people's throat, mocks anyone that doesn't agree with him. He's pathetic!😠🤮
When you hear "yeah now all we have to do is find the airport" you just somehow know that flight's doomed. That comment by both pilots was very disturbing to hear. Sounds like they were focused on everything except their flying.
Other planes managed to take off and land safely despite the fog. Their conversation was the final factor that caused the crash. It interfered with them completing checklists and callouts and monitoring the instruments.
The pilot's comment that all they needed to do now was to find the airport really caught my attention here, especially since the plane was fully configured for landing already. It seemed a bit disconcerting. And you'd think they would have paid more attention to their altitude flying low to the ground in thick fog. If they had, they probably would have been able to take corrective action.
The sterile cockpit rule was not implemented yet when the "chatty" crew of this flight caused the crash of their plane. The horrible collision and crash of PSA Flight 182 in 1978 was also partially blamed for a great deal of non flight-related chatter occurring during the approach. I'd imagine that the "sterile cockpit" mandate was heavily influenced by both the crash of Eastern Flight 212 and the crash of PSA Flight 182.
And also twice before take off, two airliners forgot to lower flaps for take off position. They crashed at the end of the airfield. The reason was non-aircraft talk before take off.
As an introvert I could easily adjust to the "sterile cockpit rule". That seem s to make beeing pilot atrractive to me! I just hate small talk.But too late for me to be pilot. :-)
And yet, Sully got away with violating the sterile cockpit rule, by not only chatting but sightseeing proven by his admiration of the beauty of the Hudson, possibly causing him to not notice the geese in time
@@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath He made that remark 40 seconds before the impact with the geese, and honestly, there was probably not much he could have done even if he had seen them before the impact.
They happen close to home because statistically you are either leaving or arriving home more frequently then anywhere else. So logically if you were to get in an accident it would have the highest chance of being close to home.
It's like within 2 miles of home. And for a lot of people work, school, grocery store are within 2 or 3 miles of home. And yes you are in familiar area and slower speeds and day dream or don't pay as much attention vs driving 75 on freeway. Also a lot of those accidents are in parking lots or result of balls, animals, kids running into streets. Like other guy said you spend more time within 2 miles of home than 50 miles. I rarely even have stereo on anymore when driving. I drive as focused as race car driver
Complacency KILLS... probably as simple as that. AND for the record, I ride a motorcycle, and my favorite "ear-plugs" (because wind whips like a banshee through a helmet) are my ear-buds... Have been since they were invented. A little white noise does wonders for keeping my mind up and focused, so long as I don't pick something stupid like orchestra or soft rock and slow music... DO NOT play a lullaby when you're on the road for hours... I don't care HOW much fun it is. By the same note, though... JUST listening to the wind roar through the helmet can be as monotonous a tone as anything else, so be careful about "too sterile" in your environment. ;o)
I agree with your "complacency" comment, but have to DISAGREE on your earbud "strategy". There's a reason they call it white noise, and that's because it has zero character or complexity. Only ear PLUGS... Not buds... can accomplish that. As soon as you add music to your on-road inputs, your just asking your brain to start humming, singing along, thinking about lyrics, old girlfriends, what grade you were in when the song came out, etc, etc, etc. I've been riding for 60 years AND taught the official motorcycle safety course and believe me, the LAST thing recommended for safe bike riding is MUSIC of ANY kind in the "pilot's" ears.
@@michaelscott356 The tactic may not be for everybody... BUT not everybody is known to ride two days straight, stopping only for food, gas, and bathrooms... It may sound great and look great on paper, but ear-plugs only dull down the steady roar of wind whipping through the helmet, not entirely eliminate it or offer any kind of relief from basically a solid steady "BZHZHZHZHZHZHZ...." as you go, slowly and steadily eroding away any sensibility you have... Just enough volume to hear the music at all is a shift... It's enough to stay awake and clear... You're thinking, and even if every single syllable of thought isn't necessarily about "easy in easy out" or "reading traffic" (that may not even be in front of you for upwards of an hour at a time)... It matters MORE (in my opinion) that you're actively thinking at all... I've put down probably in excess of a million miles in more than a dozen countries... Never a serious accident, though a hand full of stupid situations... you know the usual... tread-worn boot lands in dog-shit or whatever and slump right over... or try to pause at the end of my own driveway (gravel) and not quite have the forks "dead straight"... The only thing I've battered since I was 15 (old enough for a street legal license) has been my pride... and the occasional paint-job. BUT you do you... You know your mental capacity better than anyone else in the world. I know mine... AND ripping down the highway to "I Can't Drive 55" or "DILLIGAF" is just engaging enough to keep me on my toes... not like I can hear a hell of a lot around me (plugs or no) anyways... ;o)
One of my favorite things about these videos is the part at the end that shows the "alternative reality" of the planes landing safely at their destinations but man was that a Ryanair worthy landing.
Same here. :) I like alternative realities that are better than the sad reality. Also, have you watched Swiss001? He makes fun of Ryan Air landings, and says a smooth landing = butter landing. He got me into watching aviation channels back in 2020.
I think they were too laidback. Its a close flight so they probably have done it sooo many times they have in their subconscious "theres nothing that can go wrong in such a short flight"
I think the narrator said "routine flight" as in there was no extreme weather or unusual approach required for the airport. If this particular crew had made the flight often enough to call it "routine," then I doubt they would have made this mistake. Motor memory would have kicked in.
Back in 1975, I had joined my local fire department (about an hour away from where the crash happened) and went to a weekend fire school. I attended a class taught by the fire chief who was in charge of this mass casualty incident until the feds took over. He had about 300 pictures someone took that didn't make it into the hands of the NTSB. This were not edited so it showed everything.
Distraction, by being to bored. The flight was so routine, so normal and without incident that they got so bored they get lulled into a safe feeling and so ignore thing, running on routine. Nothing was keeping their attention, so they get to talking and is doing things they are use to on "autopilot" so to speak. And then one little slip up makes their altitude to low and they miss it because all is just normal and fine, and so one look at the altitude and see 600-700 and just assume thats the normal 1600-1700 instead of checking, because all is fine and normal. at least that would be my feeling. it is like when I drive a car, if all is well, a nice quiet car, ones attention can start to drift, it get boring, nothing really keeps my attention and I can start to go faster than i should, or miss a turn off because I am just a bit zoned out. Where as if it is a trip to a new place I keep much better focus on where I am, and so dont miss the turn off or get to drift into high speed.
I can't imagine how the 10 who survived felt after knowing that everyone else around them died because the people they were entrusted to were too chill.
I was supposed to be on this flight. However I was injured and put in the Naval hospital in Charleston. My Commander Captain Hoel died here as well as a few other Naval Officers I worked with.
I represented ALPA in the maintenance portion of the investigation and this brings it all back. From the beginning of the investigation we could not believe it happened, but it did. This was before the sterile cockpit and yes we talked about many things while we were flying but it normally stopped in a IFR approach. And I heard something like "all we need to do is find the airport" but that was after the final checklist was complete. This approach was not an ILS approach so they didn't have the glide slope for reference. They cross Ross at 1800 and begin final descent from that point to the decision height. Another thing that this narrative missed was there were three altimeters in the cockpit. Two of them read "0" altitude at touchdown while the Captain's standby altimeter had the field elevation at touchdown. For this reason there was not a lot of surprise when the Ross readout was 1000 feet off. The bottom line was pilot error but like all others there were many factors.
Maybe the biggest red flag should have been the fog. You have to know that your brain relaxes when the dangers are unseen, so you have to consciously look for the signs of danger when you are being isolated from the obvious danger signals. A similar situation happens when you are on a winding mountain road. When you see another car 100 meters away, you feel insecure and do not overpass. But when you see only 50 meters of road, and there are no cars there, you feel secure and might try to overpass a slow truck, for example. Your feeling of safety comes from what you see, not from what you should know that might be hidden.
Hey, I just want to say that your audio has improved a whole lot in the last few months. I think it could be made better still, and you are certainly on the right track.
I had to get rid of a couple different alarm clocks in my life because I became accustomed to their tones and started sleeping right through them. They were loud enough to wake my neighbors in the house next door, but not me. It's always better to have more random sounds than an assortment of monotonous tones to grab your attention.
Sounds need to be distinct and recognisable for the pilot to know their meaning, otherwise alarms would be going off and the pilots won't know what's wrong.
I was living in Charlotte NC when this happened. I actually worked this crash sight. I had just joined the National Guard based at the Charlotte Airport which was used as the morgue where we handled the remains of the people that were on board. I actually was at the crash site the day after it happened and worked in the National Guard Armory with the remains in identification. Most of the people died from smoke inhalation because they were afraid to run through the fires that were on each end of the main fuselage. The tail had broken off as had the flight deck section. The aircraft flew into the trees at a slightly left wing down angle as is a starting left turn. The wheels hit the ground on a small hill and the aircraft bounced over a slight dip and impacted a second small hill and broke apart. I have thought about this accident for decades and never knew the outcome of the NTSB report until now. I have searched for it on the internet and just now found it here. There is a lot more to the story that I know .
There was another Eastern crash in the middle of the Everglades near Miami caused by the entire crew focusing on one burned out light bulb. I forgot the date but I do remember it involved an L-1011.
What really sucks is that it took the FAA years to make a change in the cockpit. The sterile cockpit rule should have been enacted within days or weeks of the discovery of the cause of this crash, not years.
This was a failure on a lot of different levels. They were lost on the approach. They had no situational awareness about their position or altitude which was compounded by their lack of basic competence and discipline.
This was the crash that killed current Late Night host Stephen Colbert's father and two of his older brothers (the Colberts lived in Charleston--the elder Colbert was the VP of academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina at Charleston); of course, Stephen doesn't SOUND like he's from that area...
I looked this up because I read about Stephen Colbert losing his dad and two brothers in the crash. He's just one of the people impacted by the butterfly effect of bored pilots. It's very sad. Good video, you present what happened well.
I'm an instructor on heavy plant and tower cranes. The issue you describe regarding the alarms being an annoying distraction (which is what they're meant to be) leading crew members to simply ignore or bypass them is very well known. In my industry more passive alerts are being trailed, such as a softly spoken woman, various seat rumblers, similar to stick shakers, one even uses a blast of cold air along with normal annoying alarms. If things start to get really serious the alarms can't be cancelled until safe operation is resumed and radio contact with a manager is established. Enjoying your channel, very informative 👍
Wrong. It was coined during the 2nd World War. They did not want ship movements to be talked about so the Germans wouldn't know about the movements of the convoys. There were many German spies that would relay the movements to the U-boats.
11th September 1974 was only 3 days after Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. That and the aftermath of the Watergate Scandals was probably pretty much on the news. Just in case you're wondering what the "political" heated discussions on the cockpit were likely all about.
Eastern Flight 401 is another tale of distracted pilots: [Actual flight recorder] Pilot: We did something to the altitude! Copilot: What? Pilot: We're stll at 2,000 feet, right? Copilot: HEY...what's happening? beep beep beep BEEP BEEP BEEP.....[sound of aircraft impact] Dec 29, 1972
Another great job evaluating an accident! Even before my USAF days and well before my airline days I read every transport aircraft accident report. I felt it was a grim but essential duty. Several times in the cockpit something began to unfold that was alarming- it resembled mistakes of aviators who met a tragic end. In a way their errors are warning signs for all who study such events. Spotting familiar landmarks can be reassuring and perhaps part of a visual approach but in IMC it's never a replacement for instrument procedures. The cockpit crew was not focused on the control of the flightpath and airspeed. Even before the sterile cockpit rule good airmanship should make situational awareness more important than a casual chat. The more you fly the easier it becomes to get it right, but it's always as easy to screw things up as it was the first day you flew.
I'm impressed with your content, I have subscribed some time ago and everytime when I watch your videos I'm very happy to see that your subscribers are growing in numbers :) Keep up the good work!
@@timmack2415 I joined a year or so ago around 30,000 subscribers back when he just used loops of stock footage of airplanes landing and taking off, and it’s been awesome watching his subscriber number rocket ever skyward as he’s greatly enhanced the quality of his content. His silver UA-cam plaque for 100K (shown on his Community Posts) is well deserved! 🥳
It's hard to believe that just before landing, in foggy conditions no less, these guys couldn't motivate themselves to focus on what they were doing. The inability to see around or below would have had me paying real close attention to that altimeter.
@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation it’s a shame an Air Force pilot could have made such a critical mistake. Many thought it was another kind of QF72 incident where the computers caused the plane to dive until it was revealed what actually caused it
When we lose respect for our jobs, and we become too comfortable in what we are doing, we are in trouble. In this case, these pilots completely ignore their primary responsibilities and killed many people that day.
I don't know if it was lack of respect so much as expert laxity. Experts in all fields make _more_ mistakes than new staff. How many times eg have you made a hot drink then forgotten to drink it? Or leapt out of bed early on your holiday thinking you were late for work? Our attention lessens as we gain expertise. Few pilots intend to crash their planes! I think the conclusion to the enquiry reduced the subsequent chance of expert error.
@@delilahtuxedo6993 Nah! It is completely lack of respect for your profession! You are comparing making a cop of hot drink to flying an airplane with hundreds of people inside that place their entire lives in their hands. There are thousands of pilots flyings all kinds of airplanes above you us right now. If they live their professional lives according to what you are saying, we would had all those planes falling of the sky by the numbers. For great pilots, their attention sharpens with expertise because they have a great amount of respect for their professions and the flying public. They have build a work ethic that is based on safety protocols. The minute the lax those protocols, they have no respect for their work and they put many lives at risk. Me forgetting to drink a hot cup of drink doesn't event come close to the comparison you are making.
I believe that the captain is the most responsible for this crash because 1) He has let the comand to the first officer 2) Allowed the casual conversation in the cockpit ... so, the first officer didn't concentrate properly ... to the crucial job he had to make: landing, safely, the plane.
The fact that the 1st officer gave "testimony" obviously means HE survived. If he wasn't charged with negligence causing death, I hope to hell he at LEAST lost his commercial pilot certification for LIFE!
Hee, nice video. One small piece of feedback: I noticed that the two ailerons were in an opposite position, while the plane was flying straight. I know most people dont even notice, but it breaks the nice immersion you have in your videos for me. It's just a small thing, but I want to help you improve the videos. Keep it up! P.s. while watching, I also noticed the wheel chocks were also present on the front wheel while flying
If one works in a high stress and dangerous type of industry which relies on alarms, will likely have these “nuisance” alarms. Unfortunately they can cause an operator, tech, pilot, etc to become complacent or worse yet, they’re sometimes rigged to silence them.
A similar accident happened in my hometown town of Lexington Kentucky when Comair flight 5191 crashed after take off when the pilots violated the sterile cockpit rule and took off from the wrong runway which was much shorter .
@@5roundsrapid263 No- it was not the wrong plane. However, they did violate the sterile cockpit. I blame at least 75% on the airport. Bluegrass Field was a mess. If you view the runways that day, it was actually an easy mistake to take the wrong runway. The pilots were negligent but I blame the airport. They had to cross the closed one, which had no visible signs other than numbers, to get to the longer runway. And the air traffic controller also didn’t notice. Lots of blame to share on that one.
@@jakemurray8233 Since then, the FAA has made runway signs much brighter and clearer. Also, the runways are very clearly marked. I notice it every time I fly.
I cant understand pilots that "lose sight" that they are loosing altitude. Or not notice or whatever you want to call it. I mean i understand they have a lot to do and the tasks can be overwhelming but they are in an airplane and their are a lot of things that can cause problems that can dome a flight. But the thing that ultimately kills everyone on the plane is contact with the ground so with that in mind you would think the instrument that is most important to keeping everyone alive is the altimete. So for thst reason its always surprising to me how so many of these crashes occur because not only the pilot but the co pilot also can not notice that the plane is loosing altitude. Ive seen so many of these videos where that has happened. So in the intervening years they have put an audible voice warning in planes and still this happens. So maybe instead of having a ground proximity warning...."terrain pull up" maybe they should have the altimeter be the largest instrument in the cockpit. Or an audible voice that says "8000" "7000" 6000 5000....and so on for every thousand feet in altitude. It just seems rediculous that a plane should come into contact with the ground because not only one trained person BUT TWO because they didnt pay attention to a very crucial part of flight.....the effing altitude.
I agree, and I think these videos are great because they remind everyone that flying a plane isn't like driving a car. You can't just point where you want to go and manipulate a couple pedals to get there safely.
I lived about 2 miles from the crash site. Heard the explosion and saw the smoke. Next door neighbor was a volunteer fireman that responded. I'll never forget the accident.
Contemporary flight management systems should be more like the voice on my Google Maps navigation. “Prepare to turn; your exit is in 2 miles; etc.”. Such FMS databases could include minimum altitudes and speeds at waypoints and intersections and voice call-outs for discrepancies. Modern cockpits already have too many alarm tones that become white noise over time.
There are some warnings that use the same tone (ACARS message, CPDLC message, Cabin Call, SELCAL… lots of manufactures seem to use the same or similar tones for this stuff). For altitude and configuration warnings on approach the GPWS is pretty good nowadays. We get a voice that reads off altitudes for us, something for approach minimums, warnings about the gear and flaps and, if the ground is rushing up to meet us, increasingly dire and difficult-to-ignore alerts (“whoop whoop… terrain! terrain! pull up! pull up!”)
@@YYZBound Thank you for the reply! I’ve watched a ton of in-cockpit videos and have become reasonably familiar with the tones and recorded warnings you mention. I always laugh at the Airbus voice during the flare… “Retard, retard”! I’m a boomer whose dream of professional flying was cut short in 6th grade when my eyes were diagnosed 20-200. Back then, nearly perfect uncorrected vision was a requirement. Cheers!
Certainly the sterile cockpit was a huge factor here but modern planes would be calling out altitudes and the EGPWS would have alerted. Those are also huge contributors.
Among the fatalities was the vice president for academic affairs of the Medical University of South Carolina, James William Colbert Jr., and two of his sons; they were the father and brothers of future television personality Stephen Colbert.
I had a fellow pilot who testified as to the conditions on the approach, only minutes before Eastern 212. Ironically, had the fog been worse, the pilots would have likely been more attentive to their actual altitude age, and their descent rate.
So they hit a bunch of trees going about 185 miles per hour. Imagine surviving that crash, how rough and horrifying the sudden explosion and G forces would be.
Remember, this was long before cellphones. It took my Dad (who was a MIA-based DC-9 F/O at the time) three hours to get to a phone and tell Mom "That wasn't me."
Scary time for mom. Probably seemed like 30 hours to her.
@@jmax8692yeah well my pops always said "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all"
@@kneel1 Mr two first names Jay Max acting like the comment section is his and his alone. It always baffles me how these types of humans behave in public.
@@jmax8692 😂 adorable
@@jvon3885- Especially since we all know they'd never have the balls to do it to people to their faces. 🙄 smh
I was a sales rep with Eastern in 1974 and assigned to be Eastern Airlines liaison at Charlotte Memorial Hospital with the survivors. The reason there were so many Navy members survived was because they had been trained in firefighting on their ships and had been trained how to run through fire. That skill saved their lives whiles others did not survive.
Anyone else find the pilot's utterance "Yah, now all we need to do is find the airport" particularly disturbing?
Yah !
No, that is normal.
They knew where the airport was and what their MDA was. All they really needed was to find the altimeter.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Anyone have Google Maps?”
What you aren't aware of is Carowinds: the amusement park that they uses as a landmark for their final approach. The aviation related feature of the park was/is the Eastern Observatory Tower: a near 900 ft tower that was an attraction at the park. The tower is in line with one of the primary runways of CLT ITl airport( the localizer is SE of the airport) about 12 miles from the airport from the South, the approach pattern that was flown that day by the a/c. The beacon atop the tower has been used as a navigation waypoint for decades, so many pilots use it as a reference to the airport's direction.
Edit: YES! Eastern Airlines sponsored the tower. It resembles a small version of the Seattle Space Needle, except the circular observation deck could ascend and descent the tower. At the top the viewer could easily see Charlotte Douglas International, amd most of the buildings in downtown Charlotte. It is quite a landmark. Unfortunately the upkeep and maintenance was too much and it is no longer used for visitors.
Crew's main goof was having both pilots looking out the window for landmarks during an approach, where instruments are critical
one flys ....one looks out...always fly the ship...the captain should how constantly cked the altitude especially in fog!!!!!!!
You know, that would be me. I am talkative, and easily distracted, cos I have ADHD. :) By the time I would be done with the conversation, the jet would look like a crumpled tin can.
@@thatguyalex2835 I would propably forget to ”pull up” during take off roll
@@SiniTuulia I would probably pull up when I get to 150 knots, way too fast for the airliner.
@@thatguyalex2835 Same tbh
This was the crash that killed Stephen Colbert's father and two brothers when he was just 10 years old. Their dad was taking them for their new term at boarding school. He talks about it so painfully still, to Anderson Cooper on an interview about grief. So sad for him and all the other families torn apart forever, by a few minutes of totally unnecessary negligence...
Hes a liberal jack... who cares.
@@trent3872 Agenda: 1 Humanity: 0 Good score!
@@hodie9551 like the leftist commies don't celebrate when a regular human being dies, go back and check all the Twitter feeds when Rush Limbaugh died. Love the leftist commie hypocrisy.
@@trent3872 you would care, if you lost yr dad and yr much loved teenage brothers. And i would have empathy for you - empathy that wld transcend any political differences, even after your comment with its trolling & total lack of human kindness. I despised everything Rush Limbaugh stood for politically and the hatred & division i believe he sowed. But that was my own view of him politically, and i accept others saw him differently - and i never felt one second of pleasure over his illness and death. My dad also died of lung cancer - in our arms - and i wouldn't wish it on any human. The fact that you gloat over the premature deaths of Colbert's dad and teenage brothers is disturbing- and reflects far more on you as a person than it does any political differences... i hope you seek guidance or help.
@@Shelsight
You obviously don’t know anything about what Rush Limbaugh stood for.
He was actually a very good person, who cared about the people that worked for him.
You don’t have to agree with his politics, but you never even listened to him.
Don’t judge someone based on what you’ve heard or were taught.
In my opinion, their conversation was just the symptom of the underlying issue: they were bored stiff.
Perhaps they had been flying the same tedious route hundreds of times without little or no change in routine.
And if you can sleepwalk your way to your final destination, some day you may reach it a bit sooner than expected.
Not bored: unprofessional. Not the first time, and still happens today, although much improved.
@@TheBeingReal lack of work breeds unprofessional behavior. Busy people are far more professional than idle workers. Regardless of field. And I think that was the point OP was getting at.
My worst fear: dying at the hands of trum.per pilots... smh
@@rod1147 gfys
@@rod1147 let's go Brandon!
It's always a good day when Mini ACI uploads. The pilots focusing on all the wrong things is definitely the main cause of this crash. It immediately made me think of how there was a pretty thick fog in my city just the other day (no mishaps, thanks to the crews actually paying attention and doing their job).
This wasn’t pilot error it was pilot negligence. Great video. Thanks again.
Negligence is a type of error isn't it?
The sterile cockpit rule is very very good. The monotonous warning tone was obviously a contributor also Sadly though in the end the pilots did not have their minds on their business, even worse this was in fog which makes the easy-going attitude really unacceptable even if so simple to slip into.
Being a pilot requires 100% all of the time and the stress is overwhelming at times, my dad was a pilot flew for United for 30 years and I saw what it did to him, just witnessing what I did made me have no desire whatsoever to want to be a pilot.
Ever driven a car with a passenger talking nonstop, brain numbing Idiocy? THAT can make even driving way more difficult so god knows what affect this has on pilots, especially when landing. It really should have been obvious long before regulations were introduced.
@Stella Hoenheim did the 80 others on board deserve to die too? Do you realise just how obnoxious your comments are?
As important as it is, the sterile cockpit rule wasn't in place at the time of this crash. As the narrator noted, it actually wasn't instituted until several years later.
The desire to be social is very strong. There is a time and place for it, though. This patently wasn't it...
In my non-professional view. It's probably not a problem to chat a little socially whilst flying over an ocean at 30,000 feet with little traffic around and mainly monitoring instruments and comms, in fact it probably helps relieve the boredom and fatigue somewhat and helps the crew gel a little.
As with just about every disaster that ever happened, in the air and everywhere else. this was not down to one single factor but rather several coinciding together. Clearly pilot error was a big one. The pilots' extended, casual chat didn't allow them to spot danger until it was too late to correct it.
This case reminds us of the importance of a sterile cockpit. That rule must have saved many lives over the years since it was introduced. Great reconstruction and commentary, bravo! A needless tragedy.
Yeah a chain of events that went wrong. That's how accidents happen.
@@wyomingadventures Thank you, a great post. Human beings have a simplistic compulsion to blame disaster on one person or mistake. But calamities like this, are rarely so simply explained!
Wyoming Adventures... 😁sarcasm¡¿
This may be the incident that initiated the 10000 ' sterile cockpit rule.
@Fidd88 What are you talking about? Pilots are rarely blamed unless it is proven without a doubt they are at fault. The NTSB launches an extremely throughout report on what caused the crash, they never jump to conclusions and blame the pilots preemptively. As for technological advances they without a doubt make flying much safer, and this accident wouldn't have happened if it was a modern aircraft. As for the AoA sensers, once that was discovered all planes that had these were grounded immediately until rectified...
I feel a verbal warning of the actual altitude would have avoided this accident rather than a warning tone easily tuned out
Yeah I have watched a lot of landing videos and a lot of times the pilot ignores the altitude warnings because of the nature of the landings they do. (though unlike here, they are aware of what they are doing lol)
today, the aircraft’s ground proximity warning system would’ve likely kicked in with an audible voice “too low, terrain. pull up. pull up.” you might get a call from ATC “Eastern 121 check your altitude, showing 1000ft. MVA (minimum altitude) 2500. Altimeter 2987.” and if that wasn’t enough you’ll hear something from ATC like “Eastern 121, low altitude alert.” If you still haven’t done anything the urgency steps up significantly - “Eastern 121 low altitude alert. climb immediately! Eastern 121 climb! climb now 6000!” If there is rising terrain, you may also be instructed to turn.
It 1980, text to speech computer was not something that fit in a plane. Yay…stick to no chatter during critical parts of landing. Landings are a controlled crashed.
@@FlyingDoctorC This I did not know
@@micaheiber1419 You could just have a computer circuit turn on a prerecorded tape message with an angry flight instructor's voice that says "dang bro, just pull the nose up already"
Pilot error accounts for the vast majority of aviation mishaps. One pilot flies on instruments while the other looks outside for the runway. NOT BOTH. Also, audible warnings are there for a reason, but pilots at times ignore them for various reasons. Whether on a non-precision or precision approach, altitude discipline is a must, as is airspeed control, especially on final. All go-around criteria were met but ignored. New rules significantly reduce such mistakes. CRM (Crew/Cockpit Resource Management is critical) is life-saving.
Thought at first this was going to be the “how many pilots does it take to change a lightbulb” crash. Man, there were a lot of accidents back before CRM. Amazing how much safer aviation is now!!!
That was eastern 401. The ghost crash.
@@druzod6017 I’m not very good with remembering flight numbers. 🤪
@@nerysghemor5781 all good. I'm even worse with numbers. But I had the book "the ghost of flight 401" when I was a kid.
@Fidd88 I definitely think some additional training revisions are needed. OR...and this may be heresy...scaling back the automation a little bit.
ua-cam.com/video/2asQvO_VjX0/v-deo.html
From Wiki: Among the fatalities was the vice president for academic affairs of the Medical University of South Carolina, James William Colbert Jr., and two of his sons; they were the father and brothers of future television personality Stephen Colbert.
Holy shit I never knew that and have been watching colbert since like 2016
Yup. I remember reading about this a few years ago.
Wow it's too bad those details were missed on this video. Excellent work my friend! I sure would also like to listen to the CVR... I wonder what was so important that they focused on the conversation and not flying the damn plane!
@@JasonFlorida Obviously you can't put Ford and a Chevy driver in the same cockpit!
Sad that they died. However, I can't stand Stephen Colbert!! He pushes his liberal agenda down people's throat, mocks anyone that doesn't agree with him. He's pathetic!😠🤮
When you hear "yeah now all we have to do is find the airport" you just somehow know that flight's doomed. That comment by both pilots was very disturbing to hear. Sounds like they were focused on everything except their flying.
Not so fun fact: Stephen Colbert lost his Father and two of his brothers in this crash.
Other planes managed to take off and land safely despite the fog. Their conversation was the final factor that caused the crash. It interfered with them completing checklists and callouts and monitoring the instruments.
The pilot's comment that all they needed to do now was to find the airport really caught my attention here, especially since the plane was fully configured for landing already. It seemed a bit disconcerting.
And you'd think they would have paid more attention to their altitude flying low to the ground in thick fog. If they had, they probably would have been able to take corrective action.
So nostalgic to see the Eastern DC9 again!!
Was this the crash that killed Stephen Colberts father and brothers?
yep thats the one
Oh, my.
Yes it was.
The sterile cockpit rule was not implemented yet when the "chatty" crew of this flight caused the crash of their plane. The horrible collision and crash of PSA Flight 182 in 1978 was also partially blamed for a great deal of non flight-related chatter occurring during the approach. I'd imagine that the "sterile cockpit" mandate was heavily influenced by both the crash of Eastern Flight 212 and the crash of PSA Flight 182.
And also twice before take off, two airliners forgot to lower flaps for take off position. They crashed at the end of the airfield. The reason was non-aircraft talk before take off.
As an introvert I could easily adjust to the "sterile cockpit rule". That seem s to make beeing pilot atrractive to me! I just hate small talk.But too late for me to be pilot. :-)
And yet, Sully got away with violating the sterile cockpit rule, by not only chatting but sightseeing proven by his admiration of the beauty of the Hudson, possibly causing him to not notice the geese in time
@@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath Don't you think it was impossible to see them in good time? I think it was not possible But I don't know.
@@GOLDVIOLINbowofdeath He made that remark 40 seconds before the impact with the geese, and honestly, there was probably not much he could have done even if he had seen them before the impact.
Your narration style is very informative and your voice cadence is easy to listen to and not nerve racking. Excellent content, thanks!
There is a saying "never get too comfortable in cockpit", I think these crew never heard of it
Amazing how many tragedies start out as normal boring routine. Kind of like how they say most car accidents happen when you're close to home.
They happen close to home because statistically you are either leaving or arriving home more frequently then anywhere else. So logically if you were to get in an accident it would have the highest chance of being close to home.
It's like within 2 miles of home. And for a lot of people work, school, grocery store are within 2 or 3 miles of home. And yes you are in familiar area and slower speeds and day dream or don't pay as much attention vs driving 75 on freeway. Also a lot of those accidents are in parking lots or result of balls, animals, kids running into streets. Like other guy said you spend more time within 2 miles of home than 50 miles. I rarely even have stereo on anymore when driving. I drive as focused as race car driver
Complacency KILLS... probably as simple as that.
AND for the record, I ride a motorcycle, and my favorite "ear-plugs" (because wind whips like a banshee through a helmet) are my ear-buds... Have been since they were invented. A little white noise does wonders for keeping my mind up and focused, so long as I don't pick something stupid like orchestra or soft rock and slow music... DO NOT play a lullaby when you're on the road for hours... I don't care HOW much fun it is.
By the same note, though... JUST listening to the wind roar through the helmet can be as monotonous a tone as anything else, so be careful about "too sterile" in your environment. ;o)
I agree with your "complacency" comment, but have to DISAGREE on your earbud "strategy".
There's a reason they call it white noise, and that's because it has zero character or complexity. Only ear PLUGS... Not buds... can accomplish that. As soon as you add music to your on-road inputs, your just asking your brain to start humming, singing along, thinking about lyrics, old girlfriends, what grade you were in when the song came out, etc, etc, etc.
I've been riding for 60 years AND taught the official motorcycle safety course and believe me, the LAST thing recommended for safe bike riding is MUSIC of ANY kind in the "pilot's" ears.
@@michaelscott356 The tactic may not be for everybody... BUT not everybody is known to ride two days straight, stopping only for food, gas, and bathrooms...
It may sound great and look great on paper, but ear-plugs only dull down the steady roar of wind whipping through the helmet, not entirely eliminate it or offer any kind of relief from basically a solid steady "BZHZHZHZHZHZHZ...." as you go, slowly and steadily eroding away any sensibility you have...
Just enough volume to hear the music at all is a shift... It's enough to stay awake and clear... You're thinking, and even if every single syllable of thought isn't necessarily about "easy in easy out" or "reading traffic" (that may not even be in front of you for upwards of an hour at a time)... It matters MORE (in my opinion) that you're actively thinking at all...
I've put down probably in excess of a million miles in more than a dozen countries... Never a serious accident, though a hand full of stupid situations... you know the usual... tread-worn boot lands in dog-shit or whatever and slump right over... or try to pause at the end of my own driveway (gravel) and not quite have the forks "dead straight"... The only thing I've battered since I was 15 (old enough for a street legal license) has been my pride... and the occasional paint-job.
BUT you do you... You know your mental capacity better than anyone else in the world. I know mine... AND ripping down the highway to "I Can't Drive 55" or "DILLIGAF" is just engaging enough to keep me on my toes... not like I can hear a hell of a lot around me (plugs or no) anyways... ;o)
September 11th?
One of my favorite things about these videos is the part at the end that shows the "alternative reality" of the planes landing safely at their destinations but man was that a Ryanair worthy landing.
Hippity-hop, bounce down the runway.
Same here. :) I like alternative realities that are better than the sad reality. Also, have you watched Swiss001? He makes fun of Ryan Air landings, and says a smooth landing = butter landing. He got me into watching aviation channels back in 2020.
I think they were too laidback. Its a close flight so they probably have done it sooo many times they have in their subconscious "theres nothing that can go wrong in such a short flight"
Not necessarily because of the short flight
I think the narrator said "routine flight" as in there was no extreme weather or unusual approach required for the airport. If this particular crew had made the flight often enough to call it "routine," then I doubt they would have made this mistake. Motor memory would have kicked in.
In case anyone was wondering, they were ranting about Nixon and the Arabs and the oil crisis
Even though there is the sterile cockpit rule, pilots even now don't follow it properly... And it has caused a lot of other accidents
You got to keep em separated…
@@77chevy4x4 The two pilots?
Yea sure then how are they supposed to communicate with each other....
@@huzaifakhambhati8767 I assume he's talking about the two types of conversation!
Back in 1975, I had joined my local fire department (about an hour away from where the crash happened) and went to a weekend fire school. I attended a class taught by the fire chief who was in charge of this mass casualty incident until the feds took over. He had about 300 pictures someone took that didn't make it into the hands of the NTSB. This were not edited so it showed everything.
I wish l could see those pictures!!!! I was on Westing house blvd on my way to school on that foggy morning when it happened...
Distraction, by being to bored.
The flight was so routine, so normal and without incident that they got so bored they get lulled into a safe feeling and so ignore thing, running on routine.
Nothing was keeping their attention, so they get to talking and is doing things they are use to on "autopilot" so to speak.
And then one little slip up makes their altitude to low and they miss it because all is just normal and fine, and so one look at the altitude and see 600-700 and just assume thats the normal 1600-1700 instead of checking, because all is fine and normal.
at least that would be my feeling.
it is like when I drive a car, if all is well, a nice quiet car, ones attention can start to drift, it get boring, nothing really keeps my attention and I can start to go faster than i should, or miss a turn off because I am just a bit zoned out.
Where as if it is a trip to a new place I keep much better focus on where I am, and so dont miss the turn off or get to drift into high speed.
Yeah, autopilot is a well known phenomenon
it seems to me that chitchat is best reserved for cruising altitude
I'VE SAID FOR YEARS THEY NEED OFF PLANE MONITORING OF COCKPIT WHEN COMING IN FOR A LANDING OR TAKE OFF.
@@ronniewall1481 what would that entail?
@@MrTaxiRob Hiring thousands of grandmothers to listen in... and reprimand the "kids" if/when they hear idle chit-chat. Lol.
I can't imagine how the 10 who survived felt after knowing that everyone else around them died because the people they were entrusted to were too chill.
Excellent. I appreciate the clarity of your video and no emotional background music at the end.
I was supposed to be on this flight. However I was injured and put in the Naval hospital in Charleston. My Commander Captain Hoel died here as well as a few other Naval Officers I worked with.
Probably my favorite channel right now. Great voice, and i appreciate the sims in the videos.
I represented ALPA in the maintenance portion of the investigation and this brings it all back. From the beginning of the investigation we could not believe it happened, but it did. This was before the sterile cockpit and yes we talked about many things while we were flying but it normally stopped in a IFR approach. And I heard something
like "all we need to do is find the airport" but that was after the final checklist was complete. This approach was not an ILS approach so they didn't have the glide slope for reference. They cross Ross at 1800 and begin final descent from that point to the decision height. Another thing that this narrative missed was there were three altimeters in the cockpit. Two of them read "0" altitude at touchdown while the Captain's standby altimeter had the field elevation at touchdown. For this reason there was not a lot of surprise when the Ross readout was 1000 feet off. The bottom line was pilot error but like all others there were many factors.
Maybe the biggest red flag should have been the fog. You have to know that your brain relaxes when the dangers are unseen, so you have to consciously look for the signs of danger when you are being isolated from the obvious danger signals.
A similar situation happens when you are on a winding mountain road. When you see another car 100 meters away, you feel insecure and do not overpass. But when you see only 50 meters of road, and there are no cars there, you feel secure and might try to overpass a slow truck, for example. Your feeling of safety comes from what you see, not from what you should know that might be hidden.
If anything, I feel like I’m hyper alert when my vision is shit, some people need to realize any night can be a tragedy
I hate driving through fog. I can't imagine flying through it.
“Loose lips sink ships” means that when people talk about a ship’s known route - it’s more likely to be pirated because people know where it’s going.
Not pirated. It's a war time saying, so it means the enemy can find it and hit it with a U-boat torpedo.
I like how weathered the DC9 looks
Hey, I just want to say that your audio has improved a whole lot in the last few months. I think it could be made better still, and you are certainly on the right track.
I had to get rid of a couple different alarm clocks in my life because I became accustomed to their tones and started sleeping right through them. They were loud enough to wake my neighbors in the house next door, but not me. It's always better to have more random sounds than an assortment of monotonous tones to grab your attention.
Sounds need to be distinct and recognisable for the pilot to know their meaning, otherwise alarms would be going off and the pilots won't know what's wrong.
I was living in Charlotte NC when this happened. I actually worked this crash sight. I had just joined the National Guard based at the Charlotte Airport which was used as the morgue where we handled the remains of the people that were on board. I actually was at the crash site the day after it happened and worked in the National Guard Armory with the remains in identification. Most of the people died from smoke inhalation because they were afraid to run through the fires that were on each end of the main fuselage. The tail had broken off as had the flight deck section. The aircraft flew into the trees at a slightly left wing down angle as is a starting left turn. The wheels hit the ground on a small hill and the aircraft bounced over a slight dip and impacted a second small hill and broke apart. I have thought about this accident for decades and never knew the outcome of the NTSB report until now. I have searched for it on the internet and just now found it here. There is a lot more to the story that I know .
Thank you for your service. I can’t imagine what you went through.
You were one of the possible people that identified a relative of mine I just discovered. Thank you for what you've done. ❤️
@@ohnoitsdani you are very welcome.
My dad works at atlanta hearts field Jackson (ATL) he’s worked there for 25 years
There was another Eastern crash in the middle of the Everglades near Miami caused by the entire crew focusing on one burned out light bulb. I forgot the date but I do remember it involved an L-1011.
December 29, 1972 Eastern flight 401
@@arwenundomiel9330Them they started seeing ghosts….
What really sucks is that it took the FAA years to make a change in the cockpit. The sterile cockpit rule should have been enacted within days or weeks of the discovery of the cause of this crash, not years.
Those POOR PASSENGERS😭
The Pilots were pure dummies. Just stupid. As shit. Tsa’shame. Tough luck.
Actually car drivers on regular commutes face the same problem and get into accidents. You can drive much of a commute on autopilot so to speak.
This was a failure on a lot of different levels. They were lost on the approach. They had no situational awareness about their position or altitude which was compounded by their lack of basic competence and discipline.
Where was ATC?!
A strong reminder of the human factors “dirty dozen” ….Complacency and distraction
This was the crash that killed current Late Night host Stephen Colbert's father and two of his older brothers (the Colberts lived in Charleston--the elder Colbert was the VP of academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina at Charleston); of course, Stephen doesn't SOUND like he's from that area...
At 7:27 : "In addition to being too high, they were too fast. "
But they were too low.
And how high the terrain was above sea level ?
I looked this up because I read about Stephen Colbert losing his dad and two brothers in the crash. He's just one of the people impacted by the butterfly effect of bored pilots. It's very sad. Good video, you present what happened well.
I'm an instructor on heavy plant and tower cranes. The issue you describe regarding the alarms being an annoying distraction (which is what they're meant to be) leading crew members to simply ignore or bypass them is very well known.
In my industry more passive alerts are being trailed, such as a softly spoken woman, various seat rumblers, similar to stick shakers, one even uses a blast of cold air along with normal annoying alarms. If things start to get really serious the alarms can't be cancelled until safe operation is resumed and radio contact with a manager is established.
Enjoying your channel, very informative 👍
Another superb one
BTW can you make a vid on Air India 885
Super, thanks for the new video!
Fun Fact: The phrase "Loose Lips Sink Ships" was created partially to keep people from spreading rumors or news that would harm morale.
Wrong. It was coined during the 2nd World War. They did not want ship movements to be talked about so the Germans wouldn't know about the movements of the convoys. There were many German spies that would relay the movements to the U-boats.
That conversation was so fascinating, they had it for the rest of their lives.
11th September 1974 was only 3 days after Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon. That and the aftermath of the Watergate Scandals was probably pretty much on the news. Just in case you're wondering what the "political" heated discussions on the cockpit were likely all about.
Eastern Flight 401 is another tale of distracted pilots: [Actual flight recorder]
Pilot: We did something to the altitude!
Copilot: What?
Pilot: We're stll at 2,000 feet, right?
Copilot: HEY...what's happening?
beep beep beep BEEP BEEP BEEP.....[sound of aircraft impact]
Dec 29, 1972
Another great job evaluating an accident! Even before my USAF days and well before my airline days I read every transport aircraft accident report. I felt it was a grim but essential duty. Several times in the cockpit something began to unfold that was alarming- it resembled mistakes of aviators who met a tragic end. In a way their errors are warning signs for all who study such events. Spotting familiar landmarks can be reassuring and perhaps part of a visual approach but in IMC it's never a replacement for instrument procedures. The cockpit crew was not focused on the control of the flightpath and airspeed. Even before the sterile cockpit rule good airmanship should make situational awareness more important than a casual chat. The more you fly the easier it becomes to get it right, but it's always as easy to screw things up as it was the first day you flew.
7:25 I think you meant too low** 😁 love the videos man!
Great vlog as always! This accident is a blue print of the Braathens (BU) 239 dec. 23rd 1972. With a Fokker F-28.
Also more or less similar to Colgan Air, flight 3407...
I’m so fucking sick of UA-cam giving me commercials every damn minute, the moment there is a half way decent platform I’m done with this shit
Forward to the end then replay.
I'm impressed with your content, I have subscribed some time ago and everytime when I watch your videos I'm very happy to see that your subscribers are growing in numbers :) Keep up the good work!
His videos are so well researched, written and narrated, it's amazing.
I'm addicted to this channel!
@@timmack2415 I joined a year or so ago around 30,000 subscribers back when he just used loops of stock footage of airplanes landing and taking off, and it’s been awesome watching his subscriber number rocket ever skyward as he’s greatly enhanced the quality of his content. His silver UA-cam plaque for 100K (shown on his Community Posts) is well deserved! 🥳
It's hard to believe that just before landing, in foggy conditions no less, these guys couldn't motivate themselves to focus on what they were doing. The inability to see around or below would have had me paying real close attention to that altimeter.
Did you look into the ZZ333 incident?
Looking into it now :)
Edit: wow!
@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation it’s a shame an Air Force pilot could have made such a critical mistake. Many thought it was another kind of QF72 incident where the computers caused the plane to dive until it was revealed what actually caused it
@@tomstravels520 could you email me at miniaciyt@gmail.com with any more video suggestions that you might have?
@@tomstravels520 Thankfully, the pilot was a legend and its Qantas, so u know it will never crash ;)
When we lose respect for our jobs, and we become too comfortable in what we are doing, we are in trouble. In this case, these pilots completely ignore their primary responsibilities and killed many people that day.
I don't know if it was lack of respect so much as expert laxity. Experts in all fields make _more_ mistakes than new staff. How many times eg have you made a hot drink then forgotten to drink it? Or leapt out of bed early on your holiday thinking you were late for work? Our attention lessens as we gain expertise. Few pilots intend to crash their planes! I think the conclusion to the enquiry reduced the subsequent chance of expert error.
@@delilahtuxedo6993 Nah! It is completely lack of respect for your profession! You are comparing making a cop of hot drink to flying an airplane with hundreds of people inside that place their entire lives in their hands.
There are thousands of pilots flyings all kinds of airplanes above you us right now. If they live their professional lives according to what you are saying, we would had all those planes falling of the sky by the numbers. For great pilots, their attention sharpens with expertise because they have a great amount of respect for their professions and the flying public. They have build a work ethic that is based on safety protocols. The minute the lax those protocols, they have no respect for their work and they put many lives at risk. Me forgetting to drink a hot cup of drink doesn't event come close to the comparison you are making.
Did u use tape recorder to record ur video as the alierons were stuck with the artificial horizon.Anyways nice video.
I believe that the captain is the most responsible for this crash because 1) He has let the comand to the first officer 2) Allowed the casual conversation in the cockpit ... so, the first officer didn't concentrate properly ... to the crucial job he had to make: landing, safely, the plane.
The fact that the 1st officer gave "testimony" obviously means HE survived.
If he wasn't charged with negligence causing death, I hope to hell he at LEAST lost his commercial pilot certification for LIFE!
He didn't
Besides later cockpit rules, a foggy environment deserves extra care and attention, which may not have been this case
I really like the way you "talk" through the flight vs. putting words on the screen.
It's sort of a good thing
Three of the victims of this crash were the father and two brothers of late night talk show host Stephen Colbert.
Another great video! I sure enjoy and appreciate your work! Thank You! - Jason
Hee, nice video. One small piece of feedback: I noticed that the two ailerons were in an opposite position, while the plane was flying straight. I know most people dont even notice, but it breaks the nice immersion you have in your videos for me. It's just a small thing, but I want to help you improve the videos. Keep it up!
P.s. while watching, I also noticed the wheel chocks were also present on the front wheel while flying
noticed it too :)
Pilots have three tasks, aviate, navigate, communicate and these pilots were failed in all of these attributes.
The crash that killed Colbert father and 2 brothers when he was 10
"He just assumed" a common phrase when pilot error is a contributory factor
As the old office joke goes, assume make an ASS of U & ME..
Though a fatal ass here..
I think that a flight crew not fully aware of their altitude is analogous to a bus driver not being aware of the bus’s speed.
Would ATC not notice that the Plane was at low altitude ? Does ATC keep an eye on stuff like that ? Anybody ?
I thought so
If one works in a high stress and dangerous type of industry which relies on alarms, will likely have these “nuisance” alarms. Unfortunately they can cause an operator, tech, pilot, etc to become complacent or worse yet, they’re sometimes rigged to silence them.
A similar accident happened in my hometown town of Lexington Kentucky when Comair flight 5191 crashed after take off when the pilots violated the sterile cockpit rule and took off from the wrong runway which was much shorter .
I think they even took the wrong plane! What a huge blunder.
@@5roundsrapid263 No- it was not the wrong plane. However, they did violate the sterile cockpit. I blame at least 75% on the airport. Bluegrass Field was a mess. If you view the runways that day, it was actually an easy mistake to take the wrong runway. The pilots were negligent but I blame the airport. They had to cross the closed one, which had no visible signs other than numbers, to get to the longer runway. And the air traffic controller also didn’t notice. Lots of blame to share on that one.
@@jakemurray8233 Since then, the FAA has made runway signs much brighter and clearer. Also, the runways are very clearly marked. I notice it every time I fly.
I'm enjoying your channel. Liked and subscribed.
Stupidity has consequences and they weren't taking it serious and they were acting stupid
I cant understand pilots that "lose sight" that they are loosing altitude. Or not notice or whatever you want to call it. I mean i understand they have a lot to do and the tasks can be overwhelming but they are in an airplane and their are a lot of things that can cause problems that can dome a flight. But the thing that ultimately kills everyone on the plane is contact with the ground so with that in mind you would think the instrument that is most important to keeping everyone alive is the altimete. So for thst reason its always surprising to me how so many of these crashes occur because not only the pilot but the co pilot also can not notice that the plane is loosing altitude. Ive seen so many of these videos where that has happened. So in the intervening years they have put an audible voice warning in planes and still this happens. So maybe instead of having a ground proximity warning...."terrain pull up" maybe they should have the altimeter be the largest instrument in the cockpit. Or an audible voice that says "8000" "7000" 6000 5000....and so on for every thousand feet in altitude. It just seems rediculous that a plane should come into contact with the ground because not only one trained person BUT TWO because they didnt pay attention to a very crucial part of flight.....the effing altitude.
probably drunk pilots
I agree, and I think these videos are great because they remind everyone that flying a plane isn't like driving a car. You can't just point where you want to go and manipulate a couple pedals to get there safely.
What simulator, and where did you get the plane?..thanks
AYYY NEW VID
I lived about 2 miles from the crash site. Heard the explosion and saw the smoke. Next door neighbor was a volunteer fireman that responded. I'll never forget the accident.
Contemporary flight management systems should be more like the voice on my Google Maps navigation. “Prepare to turn; your exit is in 2 miles; etc.”. Such FMS databases could include minimum altitudes and speeds at waypoints and intersections and voice call-outs for discrepancies. Modern cockpits already have too many alarm tones that become white noise over time.
There are some warnings that use the same tone (ACARS message, CPDLC message, Cabin Call, SELCAL… lots of manufactures seem to use the same or similar tones for this stuff). For altitude and configuration warnings on approach the GPWS is pretty good nowadays. We get a voice that reads off altitudes for us, something for approach minimums, warnings about the gear and flaps and, if the ground is rushing up to meet us, increasingly dire and difficult-to-ignore alerts (“whoop whoop… terrain! terrain! pull up! pull up!”)
@@YYZBound Thank you for the reply! I’ve watched a ton of in-cockpit videos and have become reasonably familiar with the tones and recorded warnings you mention. I always laugh at the Airbus voice during the flare… “Retard, retard”! I’m a boomer whose dream of professional flying was cut short in 6th grade when my eyes were diagnosed 20-200. Back then, nearly perfect uncorrected vision was a requirement. Cheers!
Just get rid of pilots all together. But I think that’s the plan.
Great review, thank you.
Certainly the sterile cockpit was a huge factor here but modern planes would be calling out altitudes and the EGPWS would have alerted. Those are also huge contributors.
How far was the run way from the crash site?
Among the fatalities was the vice president for academic affairs of the Medical University of South Carolina, James William Colbert Jr., and two of his sons; they were the father and brothers of future television personality Stephen Colbert.
I had a fellow pilot who testified as to the conditions on the approach, only minutes before Eastern 212. Ironically, had the fog been worse, the pilots would have likely been more attentive to their actual altitude age, and their descent rate.
We’re they on a coupled approach? Or hand flying?
If pilots were getting distracted by politics in the 90s, can you imagine now? Yikes!
No sterile cockpit and unstable approach, very unprofessional behaviour.
How to send u crash info?
So they hit a bunch of trees going about 185 miles per hour. Imagine surviving that crash, how rough and horrifying the sudden explosion and G forces would be.
Good video. Keep it up!