If you found this video to be interesting, be sure to subscribe as there is a new video every Saturday. This video also went out to my Patrons on Patreon 48 hours before going out publicly. Consider joining here from £1 per month: www.patreon.com/DisasterBreakdown Twitter: twitter.com/Chloe_HowieCB
Excellent video! Just one little thing I noticed, something happened to your microphone audio. It is not balanced and a few dB stronger on the right side.
Varig had an acident near Orly Airport, in 11 july 1973 - similar cause. An old woman put her cigarette in a trash compartiment in the lavatory in the rear of the 707, starting a fire that consumed all the material inside the plane body’s wall, killing all passengers - except one, Ricardo Trajano. He was my classmate in engineering college. He was sit in the last row and saw when the woman coming out the lavatory with thick smoke behind her. And also my father was at the time a 707 pilot of Varig airlines. He went the next day to the crash site. So I know much about this sad accident - caused by a single cigarette !
This was a brilliant video! An accident I hadn’t heard about, it was such an unusual cause. Even when smoking was allowed on planes I can’t recall it being responsible for a crash.
I think a man dying from an allergic reaction is more the reason they stopped it, I mean it’s also not safe but allergies and asthma attacks would be a big reason. For example I’m extremely allergic to smoke of any kind. Most people think I’m making it up, even my own mom, until she one day forgot to fully put out her cigarette, she stopped to talk to me and I started having a coughing fit. She wasn’t even anywhere near me.
This isn't the first time a flight crew has been smoking in the cockpit Lapa flight 3142 that crew didn't do checklist correctly and they were smoking in the cockpit also us-bangle flight 211 the captain with severe mental stress was smoking causing him to lose situation awareness leading to a crash.
I remember seeing a news article about finding the cause of the disaster on Google! I was so baffled to learn that, in 2016, the pilots were allowed to smoke cigarettes in the cockpit. I had been under the impression that smoking bans on aircraft applied to crew as well as passengers. Well done on this video, Chloe!
Smoking probably still goes on. I've been on non-smoking Egypt Air flights, post smoking bans, but before this plane went down, where the flight attendants were in the galley lighting up cigarettes. The whole plane smelled like their stanky smoke. I complained to one of the non-smoking flight attendants and he said they do it all the time. 3rd world countries do 3rd world things.
Yes it is. There's no shame to that. If it weren't for America's unending hundreds of millions of dollars, they'd be on part with countries like the Congo or Burkina Faso.@@mohamedmaged1562
For several years after the "smoking ban" in the US, that ban only applied to smoking in the passenger cabin. Smoking was still permitted on the flight deck with permission of the captain. I don't know when that became a complete ban, but I know it was years. Of course individual airlines each had their own policies.
I remember when this accident happened. There was not much media coverage of it. But I remember seeing the plane's descent pattern and theorise of a fire on board that made pilots lose control of the plane. I didn't expect what the actual cause of the fire was.
Its surprising that there would be no mention of fire in CVR. Or that the pilots didn't make any distress calls. Seems logicless, i guess we will never know the answer.
I do remember this accident but didn’t realise so little information was published about the cause; and now knowing the reasons for the disaster I can understand why it was hushed up. Another brilliant video Chloe, thank you 👏
FBI concluded that Egyptair Flight 990 was not suicide/murder, but NTSB concluded the opposite. So, it is debatable. There was no motive for the pilot to kill himself and the passengers. NTSB could not find any direct evidence. Pilot behavior did not look like other suicide crashes. Therefore I believe FBI was right.
@@user-yt198 as I recall. From the data and voice recordings, pilot ordered other pilots out of cockpit. And then literally shut off the engines in flight. Sounds like suicide/murder to me.
@@kevinbarry71 You remember wrong. FO didn't order other pilots out. Captain went to toilet, but FO didn't even lock the cockpit door. Horizontal stabilizer jammed and aircraft started a dive. Then captain came back to the cockpit and both pilots tried to save the plane, but couldn't succeed.
Very happy you uploaded a video on my birthday! So glad my birthday happened to occur on a Saturday! Your videos are very great and can help me in my aviation maintenance classes (two more classes for my associates and many more for my Bachelor's in aviation maintenance)!
I was kind of aware of this accident because of being a nervous flyer. I went to South Africa in April and we flew with egypt air. Being as paranoid as I am, I checked out their safety record and turned this up. It made me nervous but at the time it was indicated as an onboard fire which I reasoned could happen to any plane and wasn’t the airline’s fault. Hearing the full story baffles me that the pilots were allowed to smoke. That was a disaster waiting to happen and I’m glad that it was banned before I flew with them.
FAA regulations permitted smoking in the cockpit long after it was banned in passenger areas. As far as I know, this is the only accident related to smoking in the cockpit, and Chloe didn't actually show that to be the cause, only that it was happening as the fire was breaking out. I'm not defending smoking in the cockpit, not at all. It's a distraction, and it accommodates the use of substances that can affect a pilot's performance as well as their ability to cope with the thinner air at altitude. I'm just not aware of it ever directly causing a crash.
Thank you so much for providing excellent captions; it is much appreciated!! Good job choosing to cover this interesting little-known event and well explained. Excellent graphics, wonderful narrative voice & style. Succinct, without over dramatization or annoying loud music. I give it an A+ and you've earned another subscriber!
Being an ex. Egyptair pilot myself, and the first officer involved in the accident was a friend of mine ( may he rest in peace ) , i would like to tell you : - None of the pilots on this flight were smokers ( known them personally ) - There’s noway that The emergency mode on the oxygen mask lasted for 3 days with all those flights the plane had, there’s an item in the checklist that checks this mode is off . - The oxygen mask leak hissing sound is 100% noticeable especially in a quite cockpit like the A320 . - Inducing a fire out of the oxygen mask leak needs a bit more of a cigarette flame . I’m just trying to explain the other side of the story. Thanks for the video thou
Sad that your friend passed away. I have a question, which may seem harsh, so dont take it that way. I know the jingoist people, have a lot of them in my own country. They will do anything to support their leaders, even if it entails lying cold blooded. What if your friend and the pilot both were smokers, and you are just "doing your duty" of protecting the prestige of your country. By the way, one other question, the first officer was your friend, you may know about his smokin' habits, but how would you know if the captain smoked or not.
In addition to the excellent video graphics and realistic looking interior and exterior footage, you have such a calming voice, a voice of reason. Adding low volume and subtle background music makes it easier to follow the last minutes of a doomed flight without the stress and anxiety I feel watching other recreation videos. As usual, well done!
Such a great video about a crash I’ve never heard of!! Thank you so much for bringing to light so much amazing content and working so hard for us aviation geeks!!♥️🛩️
I remember hearing this plane crash on the news few days after the crash. During that same year, I heard rumours that a fire had broken out on board the plane prior to the crash. Since 2016 until 2022, I had been looking for sources explaining what caused the fire which doomed this plane, but I never found the actual reason for the fire. I always thought the fire had been caused by malfunction or combustible object and had originated in the lavatory or the passenger cabin. Few months ago, I saw that Wikipedia said that the fire had originated in the cockpit and was caused by when the pilot’s cigarette ignited the leaking oxygen. This was when I finally got to know what caused the fire. I was just shocked to hear that the pilot was even able to smoke on board the plane. When I watched this video, I was surprised to hear that Egyptair allowed its pilots to smoke despite a cigarette can result in a fire risk to a plane.
I'm glad you made a video on this accident! I remember the day this accident happened very well because I was travelling myself. Our 8th Grade class took a trip from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. on May 19th and when we landed in Dulles, I very well remember walking pass the terminal on our way to exit when on displays at the airport, this accident was being broadcasted as breaking news. It's stuck with me ever since and it's just eerie to look back at the thought that a random plane went down at the same time as we were in the air on a routine flight with not a worry in mind. RIP to those onboard 🙏
It's craaazy that pilots were permitted to smoke on operating EgyptAir passenger flightdecks in 2016. Particularly given that, as a passenger, if you have a cigarette while merely looking in the direction of an airport, you're going to be criminalised, fined thousands and socially ostracised for life. Virtually.
I've flown that exact same route but with Air France and due to a snow storm, Paris not Cairo obviously!,my luggage became lost and it took 6 months to get it back.Based on the stickers on the luggage I could tell it's journey and it had been put on the wrong plane ending up in Dakar, Senegal and Newark, NJ! Taught me a lesson....hand luggage only!
My brother in law was on that plane. He came for dinner a week prior and we were talking about airplane incidents… it’s been 6 years and the pain is still the same. From the moment it was known it wasn’t a terrorist incident, nobody cared anymore. We didn’t get any answer for months and Egyptian officials were accusing the Paris airport and vice versa. It was an awful mess and I feel like I’ve deliberately deleted some memories because it was all too much. It was so poorly handled.
... I am dumbfounded... a terrible accident that should've never happened. My thoughts go out to the 66 souls onboard, and their loved ones... 🙏🏻 Excellent coverage as always, Chloe.
Here’s a theory - both pilots were exhausted/over scheduled by the airline. They’re in cruise, letting the autopilot do all the work, headings selected etc. Now they start drifting off, one of them’s smoking a cigarette, drops it, leaking oxygen supply - a fire erupts and the plane goes into a severe upset situation. At first one of them could’ve turned his knees in the seat (while asleep) turning the yoke and causing the initial looping turns. Suddenly as the situation worsens - alarms start blaring in the cockpit and both pilots are jolted from their slumber in the midst of an extreme attitude that they never recover from. It would explain why no radio contact was made as well..
it seems that whatever happened occurred very quickly, so much so that the crew couldn’t send a mayday. edit: great video. i’m shocked that such a combination actually brought down a plane. my heart goes out to the families of those lost..
Just unfortunate! However, the Egyptian aviation authorities have never been forthcoming about past accidents involving their planes. A questionable safety record, to say the absolute least...
Wow. Of course I had known that smoking used to be allowed for passengers. I'm old enough to remember when the pilot would turn off the no smoking light. But even that it never occurred to me that Pilots would be smoking in the cockpit. Wtf.
Another great video! It’s an accident I’ve been quite baffled by and there isn’t really any videos such as this out there so great job. Amazing how little knowledge everyone has of what happened on that plane
I assume that smoking was banned for health reasons. But to think that people were smoking for decades in a pressurized tube in the sky where oxygen was also under pressure just baffles me
Your baffled by people who used to smoke or the fact they did it almost everywhere. What would you think if let's say people bought it to the fact it was healthy. Could you belive that?
Not many air crash causes surprise me anymore, but this one...I think I yelled "what?!?!" at my computer when you said they allowed smoking in the cockpit. I can very much believe that Egyptian authorities stopped cooperating with the international investigation because they realized that their own lax standards had led to the loss of 66 lives.
@@AmrTX2015 It is apparently you who fail to understand that there is nothing to be chocked about. Smoking was allowed in the cockpit until 2016 ... Period. Stop playing the devil's advocate and go educate yourself about aviation. And btw do not waste my time with such uneducated comments.
Egyptian authorities do not have lax standards and specially not in aviation. I hope for you that your country never had an aviation incident otherwise you will look really bad...
@@AhmedblaserThe Metrojet 9268 crash was only 7 years ago. Shortly after the crash, a reporter published a photo of a passenger using a "pay $30 to skip security screening" service at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. Meanwhile, Egypt publicly denied that the crash took place because of a bomb. I'm sorry if my statement offended you, but it was based on prior knowledge. Additionally, I have indeed been critical of my own country's regulations and actions, in particular because I have worked in the aviation industry.
Exactly one year prior to this, my mother and I had flown from Paris to Cairo with Egyptair on an A320 as well, though the flight took place during the afternoon. That particular flight is remembered by both of us as the most horrifying moment in our lives. The plane shook severely by something beyond turbulence while above Macedonia, and for about 10 seconds, it had taken a nosedive. It was a miracle that we somehow survived that. I'm unsure if there is any link here, but yeah.
A lit cigarette can cause health issues to other people on board the plane and a fatal fire risk to the plane. This why all airlines ban smoking on their planes. All airlines but except Egyptair, which allowed their pilots to smoke until the modern days? I’m not sure what Egyptair was thinking….
@@Ahmedblaserfor 2016, yeah it’s surprising. Smoking on airlines was an old school thing not a fking 2010s+ thing especially in developed countries with major airlines. That’s why people are surprised about it. Maybe have some consideration on other peoples thoughts ya fking bigot
Excellent video of a lesser known crash. Your videos are always top quality and I respect your knowledge and descriptions. Thank you for all the work you do to share this information with the community. >^*^
Unbelievable...Pilots smoking in the cabin ?! Egyptian authorities have this record of non-co-operation.. Egypt Air 990 from JFK is a classical example..!
My brother was at Cairo International Airport when this happened, waiting for this very plane - he was to be a passenger on its return trip to Paris. So weird to think how Fate rolls dice like that.
I don't know why but I like DB more than other plane channels. Sure there are videos and channels that have better quality but you're videos feels so simple yet so informative, Keep doing a great job👍. Also I don't know why but I feel interested in Mediterranean plane crashes, you should do Ethiopian Airlines flight 409 and Itavia flight 870.
Love your vids, I'll be checking out your playlists this afternoon, since it's cold and a little rainy here (84F on 9/20, 65F 9/21...yay Michigan weather) Are there any air disasters over the Great Lakes to cover? Lots of ships lost, don't know about planes
The explanation with a cigaret causing a fire by igniting oxygen do not fit the bill. Before the ACARS message about smoke in the lavatory two more ACARS messages were transmitted. The first indicated problems with de/icing rightmost window in the cockpit. Second ACARS message indicated rigthmost window in the cockpit was broken.
The pilots wouldn't have had a chance to save the plane. The fire started in the cockpit. From a cigarette or lighter one of them was holding. I can't believe they still allowed smoking in the cockpits at the time.
I just saw a review on TripAdvisor dated 18 January 2020 (after the accident in question) concerning an Egyptair flight from Milan to Cairo which states the following: “For 3 times during the flight we clearly noticed that there was cigarette smoke coming from the cockpit... we warned the cabin crew several times but they clearly pretended nothing and didn't care about the problem”.
as i an egyptian i am really sad to hear what you say and i am really sorry for the families of the victims and that accident happened because of a irresponsible pilots
Oxygen enriched fires are almost always uncontrollable. Lots of things that are not normally flammable in 20% oxygen, like fire retardant plastic or bulk metals, will burn in a 100% oxygen atmosphere. Your clothes will burn like a firework fuse when saturated with oxygen (which is the reason you can't smoke while on oxygen, but patients still do it because not being able to stop smoking is usually the reason why they need oxygen in the first place)
It is beyond belief that pilots would smoke at all, especially as the medical standards for retaining their licenses are so strict. Smoking is a bad idea for anybody but especially people who need to maintain high standards of medical fitness.
*Swissair 111* popped into my head when I read the ACARS message history. Smoking? Maybe. Another failure that caused these other systems failures that were transmitted by ACARS. Either way, thank you for making this video. Fire on board an aircraft is absolutely terrifying. Fire in an oxygen rich environment is also, well, you’re dead. Get the airplane on the ground as quickly as you can, unless, you know, you can’t (see: oxygen rich environment). An oxygen leak could have caused an otherwise minor malfunction to turn into a raging blaze (just like it could have done the same with other sources of ignition, like a cigarette lighter).
While this is a good product overall, what you should have emphasized is how an increase of oxygen above the normal sea level concentration of about 21% MASSIVELY amps up fire size, intensity, and spread. It's actually worse to add oxygen to a fire than it is to pour gasoline on it, because no matter how much gasoline, it can't burn all at once without a corresponding amount of extra oxygen. Excess gasoline just means you have a pretty big fire that lasts a long time and takes time and effort to extinguish. But OTOH, an excess of oxygen allows all existing fuel within reach of the fire to go off at once. If this fuel amount isn't large, you get fire popping up to massive size and intensity nearly instantly but then quickly burning itself out due to rapid fuel exhaustion. OTOH, the more fuel available, the more can burn at once because of the excess oxygen, so you have a VERY BIG, VERY INTENSE fire for a long time and there's not much you can do about it with normal means. Which, after all, is why many rockets hose oxygen into their combustion chambers, because big, intense, long-lasting fires are exactly what they need to harness to get to orbit. I have an anecdote of the effects of excess oxygen. I once worked at a place that repaired and modified aircraft. One of the 1st things we did before starting work was to drain the plane's oxygen system as a safety measure. Likewise, once work was complete and the plane was about to fly away, we refilled the oxygen system. This was done far out on the ramp with the plane surrounded by cones at a 100' radius and placarded with signs saying "No Smoking Within 100 Feet." Now, the oxygen we put into the plane was in stored in high-pressure bottles to push the stuff into the plane, and these bottles were connected to the plane's O2 port via a hose with a quick-release coupling. Thus, naturally, there was a fair amount of leakage where the hose attached to the plane. Hence the 100' no smoking radius. Anyway, the guy who usually did this job was a smoker. So one day, after refiling a plane's oxygen system,, which entailed standing right there next to the leaky hose connection, he was really jonesing for a smoke. So he walked 100 feet away from the plane and crossed beyond the ring of cones and No Smoking signs. At which point he thought he was safe so flicked his lighter. At which point he erupted into a human torch. All his clothing had sponged up the leaking oxygen from when he was refilling the system, and this was now off-gassing all around him. Thus, instantly, all his clothing, his hair, and everything else flammable on his person erupted into furious fire. He stood for about 1 second totally bathed in flame and then collapsed. The fire self-extinguished simultaneously due to burning completely out of fuel in that instant, due to the increased combustion rate from the excess oxygen. Thus, the poor bastard got 3rd degree burns all over and wasn't granted the mercy of dying from smoke inhalation because the fire was over so fast. Thus, he lingered in agony for a day or so.
I have never been a smoker, but it would seem to me that a cigarette should not be able to bring down a commercial airliner, yet it seems to be in this case. I think I will keep my feet on the ground.
Issue was not per say the smoking, but combination with the emergency oxygen system fault generating high oxygen environment. If you have ever seen what happens to any material burning in high oxygen environment its pretty clear to me that in this instance the ashtray probably burned so much that it fractured from the the heat and spread to floor mats or plastic instrument panels igniting those and whole cabin was in flames in mere seconds to point of burning uncontrollable, knocking the pilots out again in mere seconds from the fumes and carbon monoxide, while they were trying to put out the flames. At worse their uniforms and seats ignited preventing any firefighting and yeah not pretty. As you can note smoking was regular thing previously, but the key thing was that oxygen generator malfunction producing high oxygen environment with out pilots noticing other than "hey my smoke is burning awfully fast... better put it out into ashtray....OU FUCK"
Don't smoke. Tobacco companies have done a number on Egypt. The airport in Cairo has smoking rooms that will make the terminal smell like a greyhound bus station, the duty free shops sell mostly cigarettes in their shops with little else.
Could you add a source for Egyptair's policy change regarding smoking? I cannot find that in any of the sources yet listed in the video description. Thank you!
The stutter and self correction at the end lol. Anyway, amazing breakdown mate! I've always wondered how this happened and this made my day. Thank you!
Looks like he slurred his speech and then did it again for the second take, but then also failed to cut out the two failed attempts to thank his patreon supporters when he was editing. At least the mistake didn't happen in the main part of the video.
On german cigarette packs are warnings like "smoking kills". It looks like they are right. I remember that accident. At May 19th 2016 we were in Crete and I heard in the news about the dissapearing of that plane above the mediterrane.
Bit flimsy and circumstantial given the fact that pax planes flew since the 1920s with smoking allowed, in fact I can think of none that were off the top of my head and I spent some years working in Aviation Re-Insurance reading hundreds of accident reports and claims files. It would be convenient if the modern taboos against smokers could be re-enforced by the blaming bringing down of an airliner on the pilot smoking in the cockpit, but it is very unlikely. This one sounds to me similar to the Swissair crash off Halifax in 1998 or as you said the Valuejet in Florida and the previous "emergency landings" are more suspicious than an ash tray in the cockpit.
Amazing that plane had problems on previous flights and was still used. So it was a chain of things that caused it to go down. Yeah smoking cigarettes had a lot to do with it but also the oxygen problems too. Maybe the piliot should have vaped instead. Anyway I had never heard of this Air incident before so thank you Disaster Breakdown! Excellent video.
I know the industry learns from every accidents, but it baffles me that after numerous crashes caused by fire and pilot stupidity, the airline allowed their pilots to smoke in the cockpit, when history has taught us how onboard fires were one of the least survivable accidents. And I would also argue that you wouldn't even need to have a cigarette related accident to ban smoking on a plane, it's just common sense. And you can't even attribute this to the type of practices that can be linked to the industry's debut (like the cockpit not being bulletproof, passengers being able to visit, or non existent airport security) this happened in 2016, a time were such baffling practices should have been long gone. I would've been less surprised if this crash had happened in the 70´s
I flew egyptair in 2015. There was a cigarettes smell near the cokpit so i asked if it was allowed to smoke despite the no smoking warnings. They probablemento meant not to wear smokings in the aircraft I know, this is a stupid remark but on the other hand how do you call smoking in a cokpit with an oxygene leak?
If you found this video to be interesting, be sure to subscribe as there is a new video every Saturday. This video also went out to my Patrons on Patreon 48 hours before going out publicly. Consider joining here from £1 per month: www.patreon.com/DisasterBreakdown
Twitter: twitter.com/Chloe_HowieCB
Excellent video! Just one little thing I noticed, something happened to your microphone audio. It is not balanced and a few dB stronger on the right side.
What about the trace of tnt found on the plane parts ???
No thanks
Varig had an acident near Orly Airport, in 11 july 1973 - similar cause. An old woman put her cigarette in a trash compartiment in the lavatory in the rear of the 707, starting a fire that consumed all the material inside the plane body’s wall, killing all passengers - except one, Ricardo Trajano. He was my classmate in engineering college. He was sit in the last row and saw when the woman coming out the lavatory with thick smoke behind her.
And also my father was at the time a 707 pilot of Varig airlines. He went the next day to the crash site.
So I know much about this sad accident - caused by a single cigarette !
The plane landed intact but everyone died but one. RIP. 🇧🇷
@@tumslucks9781 the crew had survived as well, although coincidentally the captain of the flight had survived a plane crash only to die in another
There is no known cause of the fire, the cigarette theory was the investigators best bet.
this old hanger with cigarette!!😤😡
This was a brilliant video! An accident I hadn’t heard about, it was such an unusual cause. Even when smoking was allowed on planes I can’t recall it being responsible for a crash.
Thanks, I have been invested in this accident for a long time. Always been checking back for more info over the years
I think a man dying from an allergic reaction is more the reason they stopped it, I mean it’s also not safe but allergies and asthma attacks would be a big reason. For example I’m extremely allergic to smoke of any kind. Most people think I’m making it up, even my own mom, until she one day forgot to fully put out her cigarette, she stopped to talk to me and I started having a coughing fit. She wasn’t even anywhere near me.
The conclusion that smoking was a contributing factor is purely speculative, as is expressed in this video.
This isn't the first time a flight crew has been smoking in the cockpit Lapa flight 3142 that crew didn't do checklist correctly and they were smoking in the cockpit also us-bangle flight 211 the captain with severe mental stress was smoking causing him to lose situation awareness leading to a crash.
I remember this accident was well-known around the world back in 2016.
I remember seeing a news article about finding the cause of the disaster on Google! I was so baffled to learn that, in 2016, the pilots were allowed to smoke cigarettes in the cockpit. I had been under the impression that smoking bans on aircraft applied to crew as well as passengers. Well done on this video, Chloe!
Even though I knew that passengers used to be allowed to smoke. It never occurred to me that Pilots were smoking in the cockpit ever.
Smoking probably still goes on. I've been on non-smoking Egypt Air flights, post smoking bans, but before this plane went down, where the flight attendants were in the galley lighting up cigarettes. The whole plane smelled like their stanky smoke. I complained to one of the non-smoking flight attendants and he said they do it all the time. 3rd world countries do 3rd world things.
@@forgottensage-o5oEgypt isn’t a 3rd world country tho
Yes it is. There's no shame to that. If it weren't for America's unending hundreds of millions of dollars, they'd be on part with countries like the Congo or Burkina Faso.@@mohamedmaged1562
For several years after the "smoking ban" in the US, that ban only applied to smoking in the passenger cabin. Smoking was still permitted on the flight deck with permission of the captain. I don't know when that became a complete ban, but I know it was years. Of course individual airlines each had their own policies.
I remember when this accident happened. There was not much media coverage of it. But I remember seeing the plane's descent pattern and theorise of a fire on board that made pilots lose control of the plane. I didn't expect what the actual cause of the fire was.
Lithium Batteries?
pilot was smoking
Its surprising that there would be no mention of fire in CVR. Or that the pilots didn't make any distress calls. Seems logicless, i guess we will never know the answer.
Really hate preventable accidents like this.
Always Remember kids: don’t smoke.
I do remember this accident but didn’t realise so little information was published about the cause; and now knowing the reasons for the disaster I can understand why it was hushed up. Another brilliant video Chloe, thank you 👏
This really was one of your best videos, and that says a lot considering how high you’ve set the bar! Fantastic job!
Best part: 14:44
Really glad someone has finally done a video about this crash. Had heard rumours of smoking and that's got to have been it. Thanks!
Remember when Egy Govt tried covering up their pilot suicide? Good times
Yes. In that crash somehow remains largely forgotten. Although it was certainly received coverage when it happened
FBI concluded that Egyptair Flight 990 was not suicide/murder, but NTSB concluded the opposite. So, it is debatable.
There was no motive for the pilot to kill himself and the passengers. NTSB could not find any direct evidence. Pilot behavior did not look like other suicide crashes. Therefore I believe FBI was right.
@@user-yt198 as I recall. From the data and voice recordings, pilot ordered other pilots out of cockpit. And then literally shut off the engines in flight. Sounds like suicide/murder to me.
@@kevinbarry71 You remember wrong. FO didn't order other pilots out. Captain went to toilet, but FO didn't even lock the cockpit door.
Horizontal stabilizer jammed and aircraft started a dive. Then captain came back to the cockpit and both pilots tried to save the plane, but couldn't succeed.
@@user-yt198 but why would they shut off the engines?
Also, this stabiliser jam had never occurred on a 767 before 990, and has never happened since
Very happy you uploaded a video on my birthday! So glad my birthday happened to occur on a Saturday! Your videos are very great and can help me in my aviation maintenance classes (two more classes for my associates and many more for my Bachelor's in aviation maintenance)!
I was kind of aware of this accident because of being a nervous flyer. I went to South Africa in April and we flew with egypt air. Being as paranoid as I am, I checked out their safety record and turned this up. It made me nervous but at the time it was indicated as an onboard fire which I reasoned could happen to any plane and wasn’t the airline’s fault. Hearing the full story baffles me that the pilots were allowed to smoke. That was a disaster waiting to happen and I’m glad that it was banned before I flew with them.
FAA regulations permitted smoking in the cockpit long after it was banned in passenger areas. As far as I know, this is the only accident related to smoking in the cockpit, and Chloe didn't actually show that to be the cause, only that it was happening as the fire was breaking out.
I'm not defending smoking in the cockpit, not at all. It's a distraction, and it accommodates the use of substances that can affect a pilot's performance as well as their ability to cope with the thinner air at altitude. I'm just not aware of it ever directly causing a crash.
Thank you so much for providing excellent captions; it is much appreciated!! Good job choosing to cover this interesting little-known event and well explained. Excellent graphics, wonderful narrative voice & style. Succinct, without over dramatization or annoying loud music. I give it an A+ and you've earned another subscriber!
Being an ex. Egyptair pilot myself, and the first officer involved in the accident was a friend of mine ( may he rest in peace ) , i would like to tell you :
- None of the pilots on this flight were smokers ( known them personally )
- There’s noway that The emergency mode on the oxygen mask lasted for 3 days with all those flights the plane had, there’s an item in the checklist that checks this mode is off .
- The oxygen mask leak hissing sound is 100% noticeable especially in a quite cockpit like the A320 .
- Inducing a fire out of the oxygen mask leak needs a bit more of a cigarette flame .
I’m just trying to explain the other side of the story.
Thanks for the video thou
Could a short circuit in a faulty instrument then do that with high oxygen content in the cockpit. My condolences for the loss of your colleagues. ❤
@@186bingo yes definitely that could be a reason
Could I have your contact to talk please? I'm a documentary filmmaker.
Sad that your friend passed away. I have a question, which may seem harsh, so dont take it that way. I know the jingoist people, have a lot of them in my own country. They will do anything to support their leaders, even if it entails lying cold blooded. What if your friend and the pilot both were smokers, and you are just "doing your duty" of protecting the prestige of your country. By the way, one other question, the first officer was your friend, you may know about his smokin' habits, but how would you know if the captain smoked or not.
In addition to the excellent video graphics and realistic looking interior and exterior footage, you have such a calming voice, a voice of reason. Adding low volume and subtle background music makes it easier to follow the last minutes of a doomed flight without the stress and anxiety I feel watching other recreation videos. As usual, well done!
Yet again another outstanding video Chloe...😊😊😊
Such a great video about a crash I’ve never heard of!!
Thank you so much for bringing to light so much amazing content and working so hard for us aviation geeks!!♥️🛩️
I remember hearing this plane crash on the news few days after the crash. During that same year, I heard rumours that a fire had broken out on board the plane prior to the crash. Since 2016 until 2022, I had been looking for sources explaining what caused the fire which doomed this plane, but I never found the actual reason for the fire. I always thought the fire had been caused by malfunction or combustible object and had originated in the lavatory or the passenger cabin.
Few months ago, I saw that Wikipedia said that the fire had originated in the cockpit and was caused by when the pilot’s cigarette ignited the leaking oxygen. This was when I finally got to know what caused the fire. I was just shocked to hear that the pilot was even able to smoke on board the plane. When I watched this video, I was surprised to hear that Egyptair allowed its pilots to smoke despite a cigarette can result in a fire risk to a plane.
You described my reaction to a T. Astounding how such practices weren't banned until 2016.
My company won’t even let us book this airline for our Egypt trips.
Egyptians maintain their camels better than their planes.
We maintain your mother too
@@tumslucks9781 little do u know, this video doesnt cover 100% of the story nobody knows the truth except the ppl who died may them rest in peace
@@tumslucks9781 also i have seen alot of accidents so no need to make fun of the egyptians it makes u look like a clown
hope you're thankful for that
I'm glad you made a video on this accident! I remember the day this accident happened very well because I was travelling myself. Our 8th Grade class took a trip from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. on May 19th and when we landed in Dulles, I very well remember walking pass the terminal on our way to exit when on displays at the airport, this accident was being broadcasted as breaking news. It's stuck with me ever since and it's just eerie to look back at the thought that a random plane went down at the same time as we were in the air on a routine flight with not a worry in mind. RIP to those onboard 🙏
It's craaazy that pilots were permitted to smoke on operating EgyptAir passenger flightdecks in 2016. Particularly given that, as a passenger, if you have a cigarette while merely looking in the direction of an airport, you're going to be criminalised, fined thousands and socially ostracised for life. Virtually.
It was allowed for pilots before 2016. It is their office, but a passenger is only occasionally traveling
@@Ahmedblaser I can't smoke in my office, nay the entire building (and I run my own business).
@@5amH45lam This doesn't mean that airliners were doing like you... 🙂
In some parts of the world, smoking is still pretty normal. And unrestricted.
Stupidity kills. Always act like you're surrounded by idiots whether you're driving or flying, because you probably always are.
Saturday mornings are the best! I start them out right with good coffee good herbs and an excellent as always video from disaster breakdown.
Wow! I did not see that coming. Completely bonkers.
Great video as always
I've flown that exact same route but with Air France and due to a snow storm, Paris not Cairo obviously!,my luggage became lost and it took 6 months to get it back.Based on the stickers on the luggage I could tell it's journey and it had been put on the wrong plane ending up in Dakar, Senegal and Newark, NJ! Taught me a lesson....hand luggage only!
your videos just keep getting better. so glad to have you in my repertoire.
My brother in law was on that plane. He came for dinner a week prior and we were talking about airplane incidents… it’s been 6 years and the pain is still the same. From the moment it was known it wasn’t a terrorist incident, nobody cared anymore. We didn’t get any answer for months and Egyptian officials were accusing the Paris airport and vice versa. It was an awful mess and I feel like I’ve deliberately deleted some memories because it was all too much. It was so poorly handled.
... I am dumbfounded... a terrible accident that should've never happened. My thoughts go out to the 66 souls onboard, and their loved ones... 🙏🏻
Excellent coverage as always, Chloe.
great video, as always! love seeing work that you're especially excited about, it really shows in the final product!
Here’s a theory - both pilots were exhausted/over scheduled by the airline. They’re in cruise, letting the autopilot do all the work, headings selected etc. Now they start drifting off, one of them’s smoking a cigarette, drops it, leaking oxygen supply - a fire erupts and the plane goes into a severe upset situation. At first one of them could’ve turned his knees in the seat (while asleep) turning the yoke and causing the initial looping turns. Suddenly as the situation worsens - alarms start blaring in the cockpit and both pilots are jolted from their slumber in the midst of an extreme attitude that they never recover from. It would explain why no radio contact was made as well..
Love this channel thank you for consistently uploading ❤❤
it seems that whatever happened occurred very quickly, so much so that the crew couldn’t send a mayday.
edit: great video. i’m shocked that such a combination actually brought down a plane. my heart goes out to the families of those lost..
And I thought I dreamt it up. Thanks for covering it .
i was so excited when you talked about this last episode and now that its here its amazing. this video was really informative too
this was an interesting one. fantastic work as always! :)
Fantastic job! Well researched and excellently told! great work!
This actually happened the same day of my friend’s birthday, and I’ve been waiting for years to know
The ValueJet incident wasn't "oxygen containers" , it was chemical oxygen generators, UN 3356, completely unrelated incident
Interesting. I'll never forget that I saw and filmed that same plane SU-GCC 8 months before it crashed.
Just unfortunate! However, the Egyptian aviation authorities have never been forthcoming about past accidents involving their planes. A questionable safety record, to say the absolute least...
"Egypt Air has had a TURBULENT safety record," no pun intended 😂.
*see Egypt Air 990
Unbelievable and extremely sad. RIP everyone onboard Flight 804 🙏🏼
Excellent work as always DB 👍🏼✈️
I had to stop the video and come here to comment. Pilots allowed to smoke in the cockpit in 2016????? I'm just speechless. 😱😱😱
Favourite channel at the moment
I've gotta say, you have the best background music. Really sets the mood.
Wow. Of course I had known that smoking used to be allowed for passengers. I'm old enough to remember when the pilot would turn off the no smoking light. But even that it never occurred to me that Pilots would be smoking in the cockpit. Wtf.
I’m trying to figure out how I never heard about this incident. Thank you for making this video - it was fascinating. Have a great day, Chloe!
fantastic work as always, chloe!! 💖
It's not often that I gasp when watching these videos, but as soon as you said ashtray... I cannot fathom
Thank you very much for your hard work here ..
Our government in Egypt will say nothing like that or even mention the case ...
Another great video! It’s an accident I’ve been quite baffled by and there isn’t really any videos such as this out there so great job. Amazing how little knowledge everyone has of what happened on that plane
This is really sad, my respect to the lives lost on flight 804. Hoping to god that no such disaster ever happens again.
When they say: Smoking kills. They mean it 💀
I assume that smoking was banned for health reasons. But to think that people were smoking for decades in a pressurized tube in the sky where oxygen was also under pressure just baffles me
Your baffled by people who used to smoke or the fact they did it almost everywhere. What would you think if let's say people bought it to the fact it was healthy. Could you belive that?
I reckon that Air crash investigation could learn a thing or two off this channel, brilliant stuff.
Not many air crash causes surprise me anymore, but this one...I think I yelled "what?!?!" at my computer when you said they allowed smoking in the cockpit. I can very much believe that Egyptian authorities stopped cooperating with the international investigation because they realized that their own lax standards had led to the loss of 66 lives.
Before 2016 it was allowed to smoke in cockpitsm Not sure what made you think whatttt? 🤔
@@Ahmedblaser If you failed to understand why she was shocked, it would be a waste of time trying to explain anything to you.
@@AmrTX2015 It is apparently you who fail to understand that there is nothing to be chocked about. Smoking was allowed in the cockpit until 2016 ... Period. Stop playing the devil's advocate and go educate yourself about aviation. And btw do not waste my time with such uneducated comments.
Egyptian authorities do not have lax standards and specially not in aviation. I hope for you that your country never had an aviation incident otherwise you will look really bad...
@@AhmedblaserThe Metrojet 9268 crash was only 7 years ago. Shortly after the crash, a reporter published a photo of a passenger using a "pay $30 to skip security screening" service at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. Meanwhile, Egypt publicly denied that the crash took place because of a bomb.
I'm sorry if my statement offended you, but it was based on prior knowledge. Additionally, I have indeed been critical of my own country's regulations and actions, in particular because I have worked in the aviation industry.
Exactly one year prior to this, my mother and I had flown from Paris to Cairo with Egyptair on an A320 as well, though the flight took place during the afternoon. That particular flight is remembered by both of us as the most horrifying moment in our lives. The plane shook severely by something beyond turbulence while above Macedonia, and for about 10 seconds, it had taken a nosedive. It was a miracle that we somehow survived that.
I'm unsure if there is any link here, but yeah.
How do you know it nosedived? Just curious, as it’s not always easy to feel what’s actually happening as a passenger
This is due to atmospheric conditions not the pilots
@@Ahmedblaser لا يا شيخ
A lit cigarette can cause health issues to other people on board the plane and a fatal fire risk to the plane. This why all airlines ban smoking on their planes. All airlines but except Egyptair, which allowed their pilots to smoke until the modern days? I’m not sure what Egyptair was thinking….
Airlines did not ban smoking for pilots until 2016. What are u talking about?
@@Ahmedblaser So they didn’t think that lit cigarette can cause fire risk in the cockpit (where you can control the plane)?
Astounding they were aloud to smoke! Thanks for the upload.
All airlines were. Not astonishing
@@Ahmedblaserfor 2016, yeah it’s surprising. Smoking on airlines was an old school thing not a fking 2010s+ thing especially in developed countries with major airlines. That’s why people are surprised about it. Maybe have some consideration on other peoples thoughts ya fking bigot
Wow this happened just 6 years ago? I don't recall this incident at all
Time flies…. I remember seeing this plane crash on the news few days after the crash, but I feel like it happened only 3 years ago.
Probably because it involved an Airbus and not a Boeing🇺🇲 or Bombardier. 🇨🇦
My jaw dropped to the floor when she said there was an ashtray in the cockpit
Excellent video of a lesser known crash. Your videos are always top quality and I respect your knowledge and descriptions. Thank you for all the work you do to share this information with the community. >^*^
Unbelievable...Pilots smoking in the cabin ?! Egyptian authorities have this record of non-co-operation.. Egypt Air 990 from JFK is a classical example..!
Egypt has a sordid history of obfuscation and denial when it comes to aviation disasters.
No wonder Egyptian authorities weren't forthcoming with information... smoking...on a plane... in the cockpit... wtf were they thinking?
My brother was at Cairo International Airport when this happened, waiting for this very plane - he was to be a passenger on its return trip to Paris. So weird to think how Fate rolls dice like that.
The music that starts playing towards the end of thw video, when theu start talking about the cause, always makes me want to cry.
10:30 DB: "It was deemed to be an ashtray"
Me: So what? That's not a big deal
DB: "For CIGARETTES!"
Me: OH SHI-
I thought the same thing. Lol how dare anyone smoke. In this day and age. The selfish barstards. Lol
this crash is just prove that smoking kills, not just the smokers themselves but everyone on that plane
While I agree that smoking shouldn't be allowed during a flight I can't help but sense a little hatred from you towards smokers... Just sayin'
I don't know why but I like DB more than other plane channels. Sure there are videos and channels that have better quality but you're videos feels so simple yet so informative, Keep doing a great job👍. Also I don't know why but I feel interested in Mediterranean plane crashes, you should do Ethiopian Airlines flight 409 and Itavia flight 870.
This is the accident I have had minimum information but thank you for this video
I’m not surprised of the negligence especially when they refused to cooperate with investigators. They know exactly what caused the fire.
Love your vids, I'll be checking out your playlists this afternoon, since it's cold and a little rainy here (84F on 9/20, 65F 9/21...yay Michigan weather) Are there any air disasters over the Great Lakes to cover? Lots of ships lost, don't know about planes
The explanation with a cigaret causing a fire by igniting oxygen do not fit the bill. Before the ACARS message about smoke in the lavatory two more ACARS messages were transmitted. The first indicated problems with de/icing rightmost window in the cockpit. Second ACARS message indicated rigthmost window in the cockpit was broken.
*Swissair 111* popped into my head when I read the ACARS message history.
The pilots wouldn't have had a chance to save the plane. The fire started in the cockpit. From a cigarette or lighter one of them was holding. I can't believe they still allowed smoking in the cockpits at the time.
I just saw a review on TripAdvisor dated 18 January 2020 (after the accident in question) concerning an Egyptair flight from Milan to Cairo which states the following: “For 3 times during the flight we clearly noticed that there was cigarette smoke coming from the cockpit... we warned the cabin crew several times but they clearly pretended nothing and didn't care about the problem”.
as i an egyptian i am really sad to hear what you say and i am really sorry for the families of the victims and that accident happened because of a irresponsible pilots
don't blame the pilots, they were just allowed to smoke, its the airline's fault for allowing them to
@@crypton7572 both are at fault. Just because something’s allowed it doesn’t mean you should do it
Oxygen enriched fires are almost always uncontrollable. Lots of things that are not normally flammable in 20% oxygen, like fire retardant plastic or bulk metals, will burn in a 100% oxygen atmosphere. Your clothes will burn like a firework fuse when saturated with oxygen (which is the reason you can't smoke while on oxygen, but patients still do it because not being able to stop smoking is usually the reason why they need oxygen in the first place)
Outstanding video. Stumbled across your channel and I’ll be looking for the next video!
If I boarded an Egypt Air flight, I wouldn't be surprised it crashed, I'd be surprised it landed......
Several Egyptian airliners have crashed on training flights..
Nevertheless Egyptair is still a great airline. Many others have worst records including american airlines
Eeerrr.....joking?
RIP
To the passengers and crew of EgyptAir Flight 804
It is beyond belief that pilots would smoke at all, especially as the medical standards for retaining their licenses are so strict. Smoking is a bad idea for anybody but especially people who need to maintain high standards of medical fitness.
*Swissair 111* popped into my head when I read the ACARS message history. Smoking? Maybe.
Another failure that caused these other systems failures that were transmitted by ACARS.
Either way, thank you for making this video. Fire on board an aircraft is absolutely terrifying. Fire in an oxygen rich environment is also, well, you’re dead.
Get the airplane on the ground as quickly as you can, unless, you know, you can’t (see: oxygen rich environment). An oxygen leak could have caused an otherwise minor malfunction to turn into a raging blaze (just like it could have done the same with other sources of ignition, like a cigarette lighter).
While this is a good product overall, what you should have emphasized is how an increase of oxygen above the normal sea level concentration of about 21% MASSIVELY amps up fire size, intensity, and spread. It's actually worse to add oxygen to a fire than it is to pour gasoline on it, because no matter how much gasoline, it can't burn all at once without a corresponding amount of extra oxygen. Excess gasoline just means you have a pretty big fire that lasts a long time and takes time and effort to extinguish. But OTOH, an excess of oxygen allows all existing fuel within reach of the fire to go off at once. If this fuel amount isn't large, you get fire popping up to massive size and intensity nearly instantly but then quickly burning itself out due to rapid fuel exhaustion. OTOH, the more fuel available, the more can burn at once because of the excess oxygen, so you have a VERY BIG, VERY INTENSE fire for a long time and there's not much you can do about it with normal means. Which, after all, is why many rockets hose oxygen into their combustion chambers, because big, intense, long-lasting fires are exactly what they need to harness to get to orbit.
I have an anecdote of the effects of excess oxygen. I once worked at a place that repaired and modified aircraft. One of the 1st things we did before starting work was to drain the plane's oxygen system as a safety measure. Likewise, once work was complete and the plane was about to fly away, we refilled the oxygen system. This was done far out on the ramp with the plane surrounded by cones at a 100' radius and placarded with signs saying "No Smoking Within 100 Feet." Now, the oxygen we put into the plane was in stored in high-pressure bottles to push the stuff into the plane, and these bottles were connected to the plane's O2 port via a hose with a quick-release coupling. Thus, naturally, there was a fair amount of leakage where the hose attached to the plane. Hence the 100' no smoking radius. Anyway, the guy who usually did this job was a smoker. So one day, after refiling a plane's oxygen system,, which entailed standing right there next to the leaky hose connection, he was really jonesing for a smoke. So he walked 100 feet away from the plane and crossed beyond the ring of cones and No Smoking signs. At which point he thought he was safe so flicked his lighter. At which point he erupted into a human torch. All his clothing had sponged up the leaking oxygen from when he was refilling the system, and this was now off-gassing all around him. Thus, instantly, all his clothing, his hair, and everything else flammable on his person erupted into furious fire. He stood for about 1 second totally bathed in flame and then collapsed. The fire self-extinguished simultaneously due to burning completely out of fuel in that instant, due to the increased combustion rate from the excess oxygen. Thus, the poor bastard got 3rd degree burns all over and wasn't granted the mercy of dying from smoke inhalation because the fire was over so fast. Thus, he lingered in agony for a day or so.
I have never been a smoker, but it would seem to me that a cigarette should not be able to bring down a commercial airliner, yet it seems to be in this case. I think I will keep my feet on the ground.
Issue was not per say the smoking, but combination with the emergency oxygen system fault generating high oxygen environment. If you have ever seen what happens to any material burning in high oxygen environment its pretty clear to me that in this instance the ashtray probably burned so much that it fractured from the the heat and spread to floor mats or plastic instrument panels igniting those and whole cabin was in flames in mere seconds to point of burning uncontrollable, knocking the pilots out again in mere seconds from the fumes and carbon monoxide, while they were trying to put out the flames. At worse their uniforms and seats ignited preventing any firefighting and yeah not pretty. As you can note smoking was regular thing previously, but the key thing was that oxygen generator malfunction producing high oxygen environment with out pilots noticing other than "hey my smoke is burning awfully fast... better put it out into ashtray....OU FUCK"
Don't smoke. Tobacco companies have done a number on Egypt. The airport in Cairo has smoking rooms that will make the terminal smell like a greyhound bus station, the duty free shops sell mostly cigarettes in their shops with little else.
Could you add a source for Egyptair's policy change regarding smoking? I cannot find that in any of the sources yet listed in the video description. Thank you!
The stutter and self correction at the end lol. Anyway, amazing breakdown mate! I've always wondered how this happened and this made my day. Thank you!
Looks like he slurred his speech and then did it again for the second take, but then also failed to cut out the two failed attempts to thank his patreon supporters when he was editing. At least the mistake didn't happen in the main part of the video.
@@richienyhus Your right mate.
@@richienyhus The creator is woman :)
Imagine being an airline,and still allowing your pilots to smoke in the cockpit in the year of 2016. Absolutely unreal.
I remember seeing this on the news when I was vacationing in England, and it was the day before I was flying back to Canada
Nice Video
btw, will you ever Redo the Uberlingen Mid Air Collision video as now the cockpit voice recordings on both planes were made public?
This channel is a super channel
On german cigarette packs are warnings like "smoking kills". It looks like they are right.
I remember that accident. At May 19th 2016 we were in Crete and I heard in the news about the dissapearing of that plane above the mediterrane.
Bit flimsy and circumstantial given the fact that pax planes flew since the 1920s with smoking allowed, in fact I can think of none that were off the top of my head and I spent some years working in Aviation Re-Insurance reading hundreds of accident reports and claims files. It would be convenient if the modern taboos against smokers could be re-enforced by the blaming bringing down of an airliner on the pilot smoking in the cockpit, but it is very unlikely. This one sounds to me similar to the Swissair crash off Halifax in 1998 or as you said the Valuejet in Florida and the previous "emergency landings" are more suspicious than an ash tray in the cockpit.
Amazing that plane had problems on previous flights and was still used. So it was a chain of things that caused it to go down. Yeah smoking cigarettes had a lot to do with it but also the oxygen problems too. Maybe the piliot should have vaped instead. Anyway I had never heard of this Air incident before so thank you Disaster Breakdown! Excellent video.
I know the industry learns from every accidents, but it baffles me that after numerous crashes caused by fire and pilot stupidity, the airline allowed their pilots to smoke in the cockpit, when history has taught us how onboard fires were one of the least survivable accidents. And I would also argue that you wouldn't even need to have a cigarette related accident to ban smoking on a plane, it's just common sense. And you can't even attribute this to the type of practices that can be linked to the industry's debut (like the cockpit not being bulletproof, passengers being able to visit, or non existent airport security) this happened in 2016, a time were such baffling practices should have been long gone. I would've been less surprised if this crash had happened in the 70´s
I flew egyptair in 2015. There was a cigarettes smell near the cokpit so i asked if it was allowed to smoke despite the no smoking warnings. They probablemento meant not to wear smokings in the aircraft
I know, this is a stupid remark but on the other hand how do you call smoking in a cokpit with an oxygene leak?
How did the eu not ban Egyptair from it's airspace???? ... also,
Somke kills
thank you so much for the information ,😀it helped my assignment research
This is actually one of the theory which still not confirmed . Yet it is a wonderful explanation 🙂