CONTACT US: Email: paranaughtica@gmail.com Twitter: @paranaughtica Facebook: The Paranaughtica PodcastContact Cricket: Website: www.theindividuale.com Twitter: @Individualethe Greetings to all.Today, we are going over 8 stories involving plane/helicopter crashes and the cockpit voice recordings of the pilots last words.There’s not much more to say....it’s just ‘that’......8 tragic stories of 8 different planes crashing, with 8 different black-box cockpit recordings of the pilots, and in one case, a news anchors, last words before their impending death.With that said, let’s make sure our bibs and galoshes are all velcrowed up nice and tight.Let’s get into this. If you want to listen to a song or two of mine, here you go.“I Didn't Know It Was Something You Had To Earn” - Paranaughtic https://on.soundcloud.com/9F9iWNx5RrYV8Dre7l To check out a small batch of Coops’ music, go to this this link — https://on.soundcloud.com/Q1XRaY9WSpzawV9r7 CHECK YOUR LOCAL WATER TREATMENT LEVELS: EWG Tap Water Database ***If you’d like to help out with a donation and you’re currently listening on Spotify, you can simply scroll down on my page and you’ll see a button to help us out with either a one-time donation or you can set up a monthly recurring donation. ko-fi.com/paranaughticapodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome back to another episode of the Paranautica Podcast.
This is episode 147.
Today we are doing, well, it's going to be eight.
We'll have eight plane crashes with the recordings of the pilot's last words.
It's just me again today.
No cricket.
He is out with some sort of illness.
A lot of that going around lately.
My girlfriend's been shitting pants left and right, just pure liquid.
I was shitting liquid the week before.
A lot of sickness going around.
Maybe it's the AI Atlas.
No, that's not what it is.
But I've been getting some emails saying that people have heard other shows do this stuff and suggested that I do an episode.
And I was like, dude, yeah, I'm all about that shit.
It's, I don't even know.
I can't describe it.
It's depressing.
Just thinking about you're on a fucking plane and it's going down.
And it's actually sometimes you don't even know because it happens so fucking fast.
Some of these will be like that.
Others will be like, they're in some hardcore turbulence and they know they're going down.
That's what would really suck.
Like sometimes the planes will just, you know, it's cloudy or whatever.
They don't have good visibility and they just slam into a mountain at 400, 500 miles per hour.
Instant death.
Like that's that's one thing.
But then when you're like spiraling downwards and you know you're upside down and you know you're going down you know this is it, but it lasts like a good two minutes.
That is frightening.
And I mean, I've flown quite a bit.
I've had a few international flights and over the Atlantic Ocean at night.
Dang.
You hit some turbulence.
It's fucking scary.
And I know most of you have probably experienced this.
Well, at least a lot of you.
Flying in these tin cans, hitting some turbulence over the ocean at night.
And you go down and you know that it's over.
You know?
And even if you do survive the crash, you're going to be worst case scenario, floating in water, cold-ass water, surrounded by sharks, octopus, whatever the hell is out there.
And you got to battle the freezing ass fucking waters.
And hopefully you get rescued by some passing ship or whatever.
But man, plane crashes scare the shit out of me.
That's why we're covering this today.
All right.
Something that interests me and scares me at the same time.
And so this is to all of you who requested this.
I got more than one email who requested this sort of thing.
More than four people requested we do something like this over the past few weeks.
So I was like, yeah, let's get it done.
Let's get that done.
Other than that, I just want to make an announcement that I am super stoked because I will be doing a show with none other than Alberto Daniel Hill and Surge, which I look forward to.
I'm so stoked.
Talking to Serge, Alberto and hopefully Spider as well, Spider on Twitter.
There, maybe Aiden will be there.
Possibly, I hope.
I hope Aiden is there.
So, yeah, I'm fucking stoked for that shit.
I am stoked.
Let me just look through this really quick.
Cyber Midnight might be there.
That would be fucking awesome.
So, that episode is going to be all technical computer stuff, internet, hacking, hacking groups, script kitties, that sort of thing, you know.
Pseudo-apt.
Sorry, I'm just reading some things here from people.
Um, yeah, anyway, pseudo-apt, you know, update and then pseudo-apt upgrade dash wide, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
You know, that stuff, technical stuff.
So, if that's not, you know, something you guys are interested in, it's still going to be a sweet show because we're going to be talking about, well, I'm assuming we'll be talking about groups that, how can I put it?
Um, who like convince children to do certain things on camera.
I'll just put it that way.
Anyway, I think that's what that episode is going to be about.
I don't know exactly, it's still in the works.
We're all chat, we're all chit-chatting about it, seeing where it's going to go and how we can get about doing it.
Um, other than that, thank you all for listening up to this point.
And please, if you would, like, share, subscribe to the Paranautica podcast, and please email me at paranautica at gmail.com, P-A-R-A, N-A-U-G-H-T-I-C-A at gmail.com.
Again, all of this will be in the show notes as usual.
So, please send me an email, let us know what you would like to hear, and I'll get down to cracking that one out for you.
But as it is, let's just get started here.
Again, we are covering eight plane crashes with the pilot's last words.
So, we will have some audio clips.
All right, let's get into the intro here.
Every single day, more than a hundred thousand planes lift off into the skies.
Almost all of them land safely.
Almost all of them.
But eight flights, scattered across different skies, different years, and different conditions.
Well, they would never arrive at their destinations.
Weather turned violent, maybe engines failed, systems totally collapsed.
And in those final desperate minutes, sometimes seconds, the only thing between life and death was the voice of the crew inside the cockpit.
And we have those voices: the black box recordings, the last transmissions, the raw, unfiltered audio of pilots fighting against chaos, against fear, against time itself.
Some would survive, many would not.
These are not dramatizations.
These are their words, their struggles, their last moments.
Eight flights, eight stories, and the rare chance to step inside the cockpit and hear what really happens when disaster strikes at 30,000 feet.
So, the first one we have here is going to be Western Airlines Flight 2605.
This happened on October 31st, 1979.
So, Western Airlines Flight 2605, known as the Night Owl, was an international passenger flight operating from Los Angeles, California, en route to Mexico City, Mexico.
On October 31st, 1979, at 5.42 a.m., the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 tragically crashed at Mexico City International Airport due to fog after landing on a runway that had been closed for maintenance.
Out of the 88 people on board, 72 lost their lives, along with a maintenance worker who was killed when the aircraft collided with his vehicle on the ground.
This incident marks Flight 2605 as the deadliest aviation disaster in Mexico City and the third deadliest in Mexico, following the crashes of two Boeing 727s, the Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704 in 1969 and Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940 in 1986.
The crash was one of three fatal accidents involving the DC-10 in 1979 alone, coming after the May disaster of American Airlines Flight 191 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and before the November crash of Air New Zealand Flight 901 into Mount Erebus in Antarctica.
That crash is crazy.
That's a pretty crazy crash.
The aircraft in question here, Flight 2605, was a wide-bodied McDonnell Douglas DC-10 with the registration N903WA.
This aircraft took to the skies for the first time in 1973 and over the next six years accumulated a total of 24,614 flight hours.
On board were 75 passengers and a crew of 13, which included Captain Charles Gilbert, First Officer Ernst Reichel, and Flight Engineer Daniel Walsh.
Mexico City International Airport features two runways, runway 23 left and runway 23 right.
At the time of this incident, runway 23 left was equipped with complete instrument approach facilities, including an instrument landing system, whereas runway 23 right lacked such equipment.
On October 19, 1979, a notice to airmen was released indicating that runway 23 left would be closed indefinitely for resurfacing work.
The sky was notably dark as twilight had just begun five minutes prior to the accident and ground fog was present, which obscured the runway.
As Flight 2605 neared Mexico City International Airport, air traffic controllers authorized it for an instrument approach utilizing the ILS of runway 23 left while anticipating a landing on runway 23 right.
Since runway 23 left was undergoing that maintenance, the controllers anticipated that flight 2605 would execute a sidestep maneuver to the available runway, the right one.
To achieve this, the crew would adhere to the ILS glide path directed towards runway 23 left and upon a visual confirmation of the runway, they would adjust the aircraft's orientation to land on 23 Right.
Throughout the approach, the crew received four notifications from either approach control or the tower confirming that the designated runway was the right one, 23 Right.
The controllers failed to employ any terminology that signaled a sidestep maneuver which would have been recognized to American pilots.
No visual aids depicting the sidestep approach were available for the pilots and the approach chart for runway 23 right only listed the minimums for ceiling and visibility.
Both pilots were aware that runway 23 left was not operational, having previously landed on 23 Right without issues, while 23 Left was closed.
As Flight 2605 conducted its instrument approach in deteriorating weather, a weather report at 5 a.m. noted visibility ranging from 2 to 3 nautical miles, varying by direction.
By 6 a.m. just after the incident, visibility had dropped to zero.
The cockpit voice recording captured the final moments of the flight revealing a consensus between the first officer and captain that they had received clearance for runway 23 right, even though they were still approaching runway 23 left.
The captain soon recognized the error, exclaiming, quote, no, this is the approach to the goddamned left, end quote.
As the plane flew at 130 knots or 150 miles per hour or 241 kilometers an hour, the main landing gear made contact with the ground with the left gear touching down on the grass adjacent to runway 23 left and the right gear landing on the runway shoulder, generating a force exceeding 2 Gs.
A moment later, the crew attempted to abort the landing, applying go-around power.
The first officer began to articulate the ILS approach's missed approach procedure, climbing to 8,500 feet, about 2,500 meters, in a non-urgent, perfunctory manner, while the DC-10 lifted off once more.
Roughly three seconds after the initial landing and at a 10 to 11 degree nose-up angle, the right main gear impacted a dump truck carrying 10 tons of dirt.
The majority of the right main gear dislodged from the aircraft and struck the right horizontal stabilizer.
This collision with the landing gear obliterated the truck, resulting in that driver's death and created a debris field measuring 1,300 by 330 feet or by 396 by 101 meters.
Pretty large debris field.
The aircraft, which had sustained damage, obviously, remained in the air with its takeoff thrust still active as it started to tilt to the right.
The angle of bank escalated until the flap on the right wing made contact with the cab of an excavator positioned about 5,000 feet from the threshold of the runway.
Chaos erupted in the cockpit, where screams from Gilbert could be heard while Reischel urged him to pull up.
The angle of bank kept rising, leading to the right wing grazing the ground and taxiways adjacent to the closed runway.
Eventually, the tip of the right wing collided with a corner of an aircraft repair hangar, resulting in damage to the hangar and a fracture to the right wing of the DC-10.
The aircraft subsequently collided with an Eastern Airlines service facility located at the north of both runways, occurring 26 seconds after its first contact with the ground.
See, this is what I'm talking about, man.
That all the time, like 26 seconds seems like not a lot of time, but when you're in it, it seems like a lifetime.
Now, this final collision led to the disintegration of the airplane.
It inflicted significant damage on the two-story reinforced concrete structure and ignited a blaze that engulfed the majority of the aircraft.
A section of the DC-10's left wing was propelled far beyond the airport's boundaries, striking a residential property on Matamoro Street within the Peñón de los Baños Colonia, which ignited a substantial fire in the vicinity as well.
A 20-foot-long or 6-meter part of the fuselage, which remained unburned, was where most survivors were located.
Survivors indicated that substantial debris from the building continued to descend onto the aircraft's wreckage for several minutes following the crash as rescue teams began to arrive.
On the day of the incident, the condition of individuals aboard Flight 2605 was reported as follows.
63 bodies recovered.
Eight individuals missing and presumed deceased.
Three passengers in critical care at American British Cowdra Hospital.
Nine passengers in stable condition at American British Cowdrait Hospital.
Five passengers discharged from other hospitals following first aid treatment.
On November 18th, one additional passenger succumbed to injuries sustained passing away at the American British Cowdery Hospital, which raised the total number of deceased passengers and crew members to 72.
Among the 17 passengers who did survive, 15 suffered injuries.
By November 6th, there were still three bodies that remained unidentified and unclaimed, prompting the coroner's office to develop facial models to aid in the identification process.
The remaining individuals were identified based on their nationalities.
And what about people on the ground going about their day like any other typical day they were to expect?
Differing totals of ground injuries and fatalities were reported.
Ground fatalities were reported as being just one, which was the driver of the truck parked on runway 23 left, to as many as three, which is the driver and two people in the Eastern Airlines building.
As many as 30 people were injured, including those on the ground injured by flying debris.
As Flight 2605 went down in Mexico, the accident was investigated by the Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics, or the DGCA.
The conclusions of this investigation were later shared in International Civil Aviation Organization, Circular 173AN109.
It was concluded that the accident's likely causes included, quote, failure to adhere to the meteorological minima for the approved approach procedure, non-compliance with the aircraft's operational protocols during the approach segment, and landing on a runway that was closed to traffic, end quote.
Additionally, a separate investigation was conducted by the Airline Pilots Association with this findings published in the December 1983 edition of Flying Magazine.
Although the ALPA report acknowledged that the pilots mistakenly landed on the incorrect runway, despite the established minimums, it critiqued the Mexican accident report for lacking sufficient depth and detail and for containing notable inaccuracies.
Now, let's listen to the cockpit recording for Flight 2605.
Number two on our list here, Air Florida Flight 90.
This happened on January 13th, 1982.
Air Florida Flight 90 was a domestic passenger service operating from Washington National Airport, now known as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which was going to Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.
This flight included a stopover at Tampa International Airport and tragically crashed into the 14th Street Bridge over the Potomac River shortly after taking off from Washington National Airport on January 13th, 1982.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737, identified with the registration N62AF, collided with the bridge that supports Interstate 395 connecting Washington, D.C. to Arlington County, Virginia.
The impact involved seven occupied vehicles and resulted in the destruction of 97 feet or 30 meters of guardrail before the plane fell through the ice into the Potomac River.
Fuck, man.
Scary shit.
Captain Larry M. Wheaton, who was 34 years old, joined Air Florida as a first officer in October of 1978 and rose to the rank of captain in August 1980.
Prior to the accident, he had accumulated approximately 8,300 total flight hours, which included 2,322 hours flying commercial jets, all earned at Air Florida.
A very experienced pilot, especially in this area.
Out of these, he had 1,752 hours specifically on the Boeing 737, the type of aircraft involved in the accident, with 1,100 of those hours logged as captain.
The first officer, Roger A. Pettit, 31 years of age, began his career with Air Florida on October 3rd, 1980, as a first officer flying the Boeing 737.
At the time of the incident, his total flight time was about 3,353 hours, with 992 of those hours logged at Air Florida, strictly on the 737.
Before his tenure at Air Florida, he served in the U.S. Air Force as a fighter pilot from October 1977 to October 1980, where he amassed 669 hours as a flight examiner, instructor pilot, and ground instructor in an F-15 fighter unit.
The cabin crew was made up of three members, senior flight attendant Donna Adams, age 23, who had served four years at Air Florida, Marilyn Nichols, also 25, with three years of service, and Kelly Duncan, 23, who also had three years of experience.
On this day, January 13th, 1982, Washington National Airport was shut down due to a severe snowstorm that left 6.5 inches of snow.
It reopened around noon when the snowfall lessened, but the conditions remained marginal.
That afternoon, the aircraft was scheduled to head back to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport with a stop in between at Tampa International Airport.
However, the departure was pushed back by approximately one hour and 45 minutes due to a backlog of flights caused by the airport's temporary closure.
As preparations for takeoff were underway, moderate snowfall persisted, accompanied by a chilly temperature of 24 degrees Fahrenheit or negative 4 Celsius.
American Airlines utilized a blend of heated water and monopropylene glycol to de-ice their Boeing 737, adhering to a ground service arrangement with Air Florida.
This agreement mandated the use of covers for the PIDAT tubes, PIDOT tubes, I'm not sure what that is, static ports, and engine inlets.
However, the staff from American Airlines did not follow these guidelines.
Two different personnel operated one de-icing vehicle, but opted for significantly different mixture ratios to treat the left and right sides of the plane.
Which, even for a layman to think about, it makes no sense.
Like, that obviously isn't safe.
Even an idiot like me can see that and be like, well, if different ratios are used on both sides and both sides don't have equal de-icing, one side is going to be a little bit heavier than the other.
I mean, that just makes sense to me.
Anyway, testing on the de-icing truck later revealed that the mixture dispensed differed substantially from the mixture selected, 18% actual versus 30% selected.
This discrepancy stemmed from the replacement of the standard nozzle, which is specially modified and calibrated, with a non-modified commercially available nozzle.
The operator lacked the ability to check if the proportioning valves were functioning correctly since a mix monitor was not fitted on the nozzle.
The National Transportation Safety Board identified pilot error as the accident's primary cause.
The crew neglected to activate the internal ice protection systems of the engines, engaged the reverse thrust during a snowstorm before departure, attempted to utilize the jet exhaust from a preceding aircraft to clear their ice, and continued their takeoff despite recognizing a power issue while taxiing, along with the accumulation of ice and snow on the wings.
The aircraft faced difficulties when attempting to depart, as the ground services tug struggled to gain traction on the icer ramp.
For a duration of approximately 30 to 90 seconds, the crew endeavored to reverse away from the gate by employing the engine's reverse thrust, a method known as powerback, which ultimately proved unsuccessful.
Boeing Operation Bulletins had cautioned against the use of reverse thrust under such circumstances.
Again, another thing they just didn't consider.
Ultimately, a ground tug unit fitted with snow chains was employed to maneuver the aircraft away from the gate.
I mean, at this point, I would be like, I'm going to get off this plane, please.
Can I please get a different flight?
Once the aircraft departed, it spent 49 minutes waiting in a line of many other planes before arriving at the runway for takeoff.
The pilot seemingly opted against returning to the gate for further de-icing, concerned that this would cause an even longer delay for the flight.
During this time, additional snow and ice built up on the wings, a fact the crew acknowledged when they decided to proceed with takeoff.
Aye aye.
At 3.59 p.m., heavy snow was falling as they begin their takeoff roll.
Despite the frigid outside temperature and ongoing snowfall, the crew chose not to engage the engine anti-ice systems.
This system relies on engine heat to prevent ice and snow buildup on sensors and the engine intake cowl, which is crucial for maintaining accurate readings.
And at that, let's listen to the cockpit recording of Flight 90.
Next up is General Aviation Flight 115.
This occurred on the 31st of May 1985.
On May 31st, 1985, a general aviation flight identified as 115, which was a Grumman G-159 Gulfstream 1 aircraft, met with a tragic end following its departure from Nashville International Airport in Tennessee, BNA.
Unfortunately, both pilots lost their lives in this incident.
While departing on a standard night flight, the aircraft experienced a loss of power in its left engine during takeoff and the initial ascent.
The flight crew made efforts to regain control of the aircraft, but after introducing water methanol for thrust enhancement, the pilot lost control over the direction.
As a result, the aircraft banked to the left, lost altitude, and crashed between the parallel runways.
See, that's one of the fears, man, going upside down, banking, and just basically doing a flip, going upside down.
No, that's it.
Over.
The investigation indicated that the likely cause of the left engine shutdown was the position of the left high-pressure cock lever, which was located between the fuel-off and feather settings.
This position would have incapacitated the auto feather system and led to the shutdown of the left engine.
Additional examination revealed that the blade angle of the left propeller was measured at 21 degrees.
There were no signs of system malfunction or failure prior to the impact.
The cockpit voice recording showed that the flight crew neglected to finish all items on the before taxi takeoff checklist, notably omitting to verify that the high-pressure cock levers were in the cruise lockout position as required for takeoff.
Several factors associated with pilot error were identified as likely contributing to the accident, including lack of sufficient pre-flight planning and preparation, neglecting to adhere to the checklist,
incorrect management of power plant controls by the pilot in charge, fuel depletion resulting in a loss of engine power, improper emergency protocols which involved not feathering the propeller and failing to sustain adequate airspeed, and the co-pilot or second pilot did not initiate necessary corrective measures.
Completely pilot error.
All right, let's listen to this cockpit recording of Flight 115.
How's that?
I do not.
Next one is Delta Airlines Flight 191.
This happened on the 2nd of August, 1985.
So in this flight, Flight 191, the reasons for the crash were nearly identical to the causes for the last one, Flight 115, which were insufficient preparation and planning before the flight, neglecting to adhere to the checklist, incorrect handling of power plant controls by the pilot in charge, loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, inadequate emergency procedures such as not feathering the propeller and failing to maintain appropriate airspeed, and the second pilot's lack of response to take necessary crypto measures,
like literally the same exact thing.
So this crash, Flight 191, was found by the National Transportation Safety Board to be caused by the flight crew's choice to navigate through a thunderstorm compounded by insufficient training and procedures for avoiding or fleeing from microbursts, as well as inadequate wind shear hazard information.
In the years that followed, predictions concerning microbursts saw significant enhancements with the only other incident of a commercial fixed wing aircraft in the United States attributed to Microburst being the 1994 crash of U.S. Air Flight 1016 as of 2025.
But in command of Flight 191 was Captain Edward Michael Ted Connors Jr., age 57, who had been a Delta employee since 1954.
He qualified to captain the TriStar in 1979 and had passed his proficiency checks.
The National Transportation Safety Board mentioned in its final report that past flight crews who had flown with Connors described him as a meticulous pilot who strictly adhered to company policies.
The report also stated that Connors deviated around thunderstorms even if other flights took more direct routes and willingly accepted suggestions from his flight crew.
Since his qualification in 1979, Connors had passed all eight in-route inspections that he had undergone.
The NTSB report also noted that he had received favorable comments regarding cockpit discipline and standardization.
Connors had logged over 29,300 hours of flight time, 3,000 of them in the TriStar.
First Officer Rudolph is a very hard name to pronounce, P-R-Z-Y-D-Z-I-L.
Prisdzial, known as Rudy Price Jr., was 42 years old and had been with Delta since 1970.
Captains who worked alongside Price characterized him as an above-average first officer with excellent knowledge of the TriStar.
Price accumulated a total of 6,500 flight hours with 1,200 of those in the TriStar.
Flight engineer Nicholas Nestor, referred to as Nick Nassick, was 43 and had joined Delta in 1976.
He also totaled 6,500 flight hours, of which 4,500 were in the TriStar.
Other Delta staff regarded Nassick as observant, alert, and professional.
Connors was enlisted in the United States Navy between 1950 and 1954, participating in two tours during the Korean War.
Price was part of the United States Navy from 1964 to 1970, engaging in four tours in the Vietnam War.
Nassick served in the United States Air Force from 1963 to 1976 and took part in four tours throughout the Vietnam War.
Wow, these guys had some experience.
Out of 152 individuals on board, 128 lost their lives instantly during the crash.
Among the 24 individuals who survived, 12 were situated together towards the rear of the plane.
And I think that is the safest, the safest, the safest area of a plane is near the rear of the plane.
According to a lot of things I've read, I don't know.
I think that's where most of the survivors were in that crash.
The rugby team that crashed in the 80s back in 1972, I think most of them were situated in the back.
I do think that is the safest area.
I could be wrong.
I could be wrong.
I am most of the time.
But I'm not.
Anyway, let's see.
The report from the NTSB records 126 fatalities among the passengers as opposed to the previously mentioned 128.
It highlights that two survivors subsequently passed more than 30 days post-crash, specifically on September 13th and October 4th, 1985.
Regarding the deceased, 73 hailed from the Miami metropolitan area.
Of these, 45 were from Broward County, 19 from Palm Beach, and 9 from Dade.
Among the individuals who lost their lives was Don Estridge, widely recognized as the father of the IBM PC, which was like my first computer, an IBM.
Big old bohemoth of the computer.
He passed away on the flight alongside his spouse.
Additionally, two summer interns from IBM, four employees from the company's Burbank, California branch, and six family members of IBM staff members also tragically died.
Now, let's play the audio from this flight, Flight 191.
Yes, everybody, we're in the corner.
We're in number one.
All right, I'm losing all of a sudden, Eric.
Push it up.
Push it way up.
Way up.
Way up.
Next up here on our list is Japan Airlines Flight 123 from August 12th, 1985.
Japan Airlines Flight 123 operated as a domestic service from Tokyo to Osaka.
On August 12th, 1985, the Boeing 747 encountered a critical structural failure and explosive decompression just 12 minutes post-takeoff.
The aircraft struggled for 32 minutes before crashing in the vicinity of Mount Takamagara, located 100 kilometers or 62 miles, 54 nautical miles from Tokyo.
With a seating layout designed for high density, the flight was transporting 524 individuals.
All 15 crew members and 505 of the 509 passengers tragically perished, leaving only four survivors.
It is estimated that between 20 and 50 of the passengers initially survived the impact, but succumbed to their injuries while waiting for rescue.
This incident stands as the most lethal single aircraft disaster in the history of aviation and continues to be the worst aviation catastrophe in Japan.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission of Japan, the AAIC, with the support of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, determined that the structural failure occurred due to an improper repair performed by Boeing technicians after a tail strike incident that took place seven years prior.
The eventual failure of this flawed repair led to a swift decompression which severed a significant section of the tail and incapacitated all hydraulic systems and flight controls.
Fucking horrifying.
When the incident took place, the aircraft was completing its fifth flight out of a scheduled six for that day.
The crew comprised 15 members, which included three individuals in the cockpit and 12 in the cabin.
And just a quick overview of the crew operating the cockpit included Captain Masami Takahama, who was 49 years old, functioned as a training instructor for the first officer Yutaka Sasaki during the flight.
He oversaw Sasaki's management of radio communications and also served in the capacity of first officer.
He had approximately 12,424 flight hours to his credit.
Takahama had accumulated around 4,842 hours of flying with the 747 aircraft.
First officer, Yutaka Sasaki, was 39.
He was in the process of training for a captaincy and operated Flight 123 as one of his culminating training and evaluation flights while performing the role of captain.
He had recorded approximately 3,963 flight hours, which included around 2,666 hours in the 747.
Flight engineer Hiroshi Fukuda, or Fukuda Hiroshi, was 46 years old, was an experienced flight engineer with a total of about just under 10,000 flight hours and just under 4,000 in 747s.
In 1987, upon the completion of the investigation, the Polaris Award was bestowed posthumously upon all three members of the cockpit crew during the Oban holiday season, which sees numerous Japanese individuals traveling to their hometowns or vacation destinations.
It's when this flight occurred.
Among the passengers were 22 non-Japanese individuals comprising four individuals from Hong Kong, two from Italy, six from the United States, as well as one each from West Germany and the United Kingdom.
It is noteworthy that some of the so-called foreigners possessed dual nationality and several were actually residents of Japan.
So that's such a big flight.
That's such a big fucking loss of life.
Seated toward the middle of the rows, 54 to 60 on the left side at the back of the aircraft, were four female survivors.
See again in the back.
The group included Yumi Ochai, an off-duty flight attendant from Japan Airlines, Hiroko and Mikiku Yoshizaki, a mother and her eight-year-old daughter, both of whom lost family members in the accident, and Kaiku Kawakami, a 12-year-old girl who also experienced a tragic loss of her parents and sister.
Among those who perished were Kiyu Sakamoto, a well-known Japanese singer and actor, and Akihisa Yukawa, a banker and the father of violinist and composer Diana Yukawa.
While the aircraft progressed westward, it descended beneath 7,000 feet or 2,100 meters, coming alarmingly close to the mountains.
At that lower altitude, the denser air caused the cabin altitude alert to switch off momentarily, only to reactivate for the remainder of the flight.
In an effort to prevent a collision with the mountains, the captain briefly commanded maximum engine thrust, which was applied sharply at 6.48 p.m., only to be reduced to nearly idle shortly thereafter.
Then at 6.49 p.m., a directive was given to increase it once more.
As power was reduced, the aircraft quickly pitched upward at alarming speeds, then descended once more.
When power was increased, the aircraft sharply pitched up to an angle of 40 degrees, while the airspeed decreased to 108 knots, or approximately 124 miles per hour, at 6.49 and 30 seconds p.m., which momentarily stalled the plane at 9,000 feet, or 2,700 meters.
Approximately 10 seconds later, at 6.49.40 p.m., The captain promptly commanded maximum power when the stick shaker activated.
As a result, the aircraft's airspeed began to rise while entering an unstable climb.
To avoid a potential stall, the captain decided at 6.51 p.m. to deploy the flaps to 5 units, relying on an alternate electrical system due to insufficient hydraulics as part of his efforts to regain control of the damaged aircraft.
The process of extending the trailing edge flaps to five units took 3 minutes and 10 seconds.
Additionally, the leading edge flaps were extended, excluding only the left and right outer sections, with this modification finalized at 6.52 and 39 seconds p.m.
Between 6.49 and 6.52 p.m., Japan Air Tokyo made repeated attempts to contact the aircraft through the SALCAL radio system.
Throughout this interval, the SALCAL alarm persisted, yet the pilots did not respond.
At 6.53pm, the aircraft ascended to an altitude of 13,000 feet, or 4,000 meters, at which point the captain indicated the aircraft was out of control for the third occasion.
Soon after, the controller requested that the crew change the radio frequency to 119.7 intended for Tokyo approach.
While the pilots did not respond to this request via radio communication, they did change the frequency as directed.
Subsequently, Tokyo approach communicated with the flight through the Selcal system, momentarily triggering the related alarm once more until a response was received from the flight engineer.
At this moment, the flight crew sought to ascertain their location, which was reported at 6.54 p.m. as being 45 nautical miles or 83 kilometers northwest of Hanida and 25 nautical miles or 46 meters west of Kumagaya.
The captain made a request for flap extension at 6.55 p.m., followed by the co-pilot announcing the extension to 10 units.
However, the flaps had already extended beyond 5 units by 6.54 and 30 seconds p.m. and achieved 20 units after 1 minute and 2 seconds.
Concurrently, the aircraft began to tilt abnormally to the right, never good, which could likely be attributed to an unequal lift produced by the left and right flaps.
At the same time, power was increased.
As the flaps continued to deploy, a differential thrust adjustment caused the engine power on the left side to be marginally greater than that on the right, further exacerbating the roll to the right.
Again, one of my worst fucking fears, man.
A roll?
Ugh, no, no, no.
After one minute, the flaps had been moved to approximately 25 units, the bank angle had surpassed 60 degrees, and the aircraft's nose began to descend.
In response, Captain Takahama promptly instructed for the flaps to be retracted and significantly increased power, although the left engines were set to a higher power level than the right ones.
This resulted in a growing asymmetry in thrust as the bank angle increased exceeding 80 degrees.
On the cockpit voice recorder, the captain was heard urgently asking for the flaps to be pulled back and for additional power to be applied in a desperate attempt to lift the nose.
The aircraft entered a non-recoverable rightward descent toward the mountains, with the bank angle stabilizing at approximately 70 degrees and the engines set to maximum thrust, during which the ground proximity warning system was activated.
In the last moments of flight, when the airspeed surpassed 340 knots 630 kilometers or 390 miles per hour, the pitch attitude stabilized and the plane stopped its descent with both the aircraft and its occupants experiencing an upward vertical acceleration of 3 Gs.
Holy shit.
At that time, the aircraft maintained a 40 degree right bank when its right wing struck a ridge featuring a U-shaped ditch located 520 meters or about 1700 feet to the west-northwest of the previous ridge at an altitude of 1,610 meters or 5,280 feet.
It is believed that this collision resulted in the detachment of the outer third of the right wing along with two engines that were scattered 500 to 700 meters or 1600 to 2300 feet ahead.
Following this collision, the aircraft rolled over onto its back, collided with another ridge about 570 meters or 1870 feet northwest of the second ridge near Mount Takamagara, and subsequently exploded.
The seismometer at the Shinetsu Earthquake Observatory affiliated with Tokyo University recorded an initial minor shock at 6.56.27 p.m.
This was followed by a more significant shock at 6.56 32 p.m., which is thought to have resulted from the final collision.
It is estimated that the shock waves took between 2 and 2.3 seconds to arrive at the seismometer, leading to a calculated time for the final impact of 656 and 30 seconds p.m.
Consequently, a total of 32 minutes passed from the failure of the bulkhead to the moment of the crash.
That's 32 fucking minutes of these people experiencing the most terrifying thing of their lives.
The elevation at which the aircraft went down was 5,135 feet or 1,565 meters in Sector 76 located within the state forest of 3577 Azahuntani, Oaza Norahara, Ueno Village, Tano District, Ganma Prefecture.
Fuck their addresses are nuts.
Situated approximately 2.5 kilometers or 8,200 feet north-northwest of Mount Makuni is the East-West Ridge.
Ed Magnusson from the Time magazine characterized the crash site as the Tibet of Ganma Prefecture.
Just crazy mountainous region.
On June 19th, 1987, the final report regarding the accident was released by Japan's Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission.
The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by the following factors.
1.
Seven years prior, while operating as JAL Flight 115, the aircraft experienced a tail strike incident at Osaka International Airport, which resulted in damage to the aft pressure bulkhead.
2.
The subsequent repair conducted on the bulkhead did not adhere to the repair methods authorized by Boeing.
According to Boeing's guidelines, the proper procedure for reinforcing a comprised bulkhead requires the use of a single continuous splice plate accompanied by three rows of rivets.
In contrast, the technicians from Boeing employed two splice plates lined parallel to the stress crack.
This method of cutting the plate compromised the efficacy of the rivet rows, which diminished the component's resistance to fatigue cracking to about 70% of what would be expected from a properly executed repair.
The defect went unnoticed during the subsequent inspection by JAL since it was obscured by overlapping plates.
The Accident Investigation Commission determined that this improper installation would likely fail after approximately 11,000 pressurized cycles, while the aircraft completed 12,318 successful flights from the date of the faulty repair until the incident occurred.
As a result of numerous cycles of pressurization during the standard flight operations, cracks began to develop near the riveted sections of the bulkhead.
The ultimate failure led to a rapid depressurization that caused the hydraulic lines of all four systems to rupture and resulted in the ejection of the vertical stabilizer.
This loss rendered many of the aircraft's flight controls inoperative, leading to a situation where the aircraft was no longer controllable.
In the months that followed the incident, there was a notable decline in domestic air travel with a reduction of nearly 25%.
During the New Year season of 1986, JAL experienced a significant drop in passengers utilizing its international flights, marking the first decrease in a decade compared to the prior year.
Some travelers contemplated switching to All Nippon Airways, which was JAL's primary competitor, viewing it as a safer option.
Following the occurrence of the incident, Yasumoto Takagi, the president of JAL, stepped down from his position.
Hiru Tamanaga, a maintenance manager at JAL, took his own life as a means of atoning for the event.
Similarly, Sasumu Tajima, the engineer who had inspected the aircraft and deemed it flightworthy after the tailstrike incident, also committed suicide.
His note, his suicide note, referenced work problems.
Together, JAL, Boeing, and the government of Japan provided significant financial compensation to the families of all the victims.
JAL alone offered a 780 million yen, equivalent to 7.6 million US dollars, to the relatives of those affected as condolence money, while not acknowledging any liability.
Now let's listen to the cockpit recording of flight 123.
Roger, uh, are you want right or left on?
Right heading 0 to 9 to 0 to Tsushima.
One, two, three, Roger.
And uh, request your nature of emergency put out your signal.
This is an emergency system.
Have you forgotten?
Mask your skipping side.
I'm not sure, take six.
It's the end of the day, but it's the end of the day.
One two three, go ahead, don't two, nothing to do.
One two three understood understood, and uh Japan contact, Krishna contact.
One two, three colour coach on guard.
If you hear me squawk five four two three LOKA, somebody wants to.
The five hitting zero nine, zero keeps you aside.
I don't want them to.
Next up at number six is the WNBC News Copter with Jane Dornacker, which happened October 22nd, 1986.
Jane Carroll Dornacker was an American artist known for her contributions to rock music, comedy, and traffic reporting.
She achieved recognition as a co-songwriter for the San Francisco rock group The Tubes and also fronted her own band Layla and the Snakes.
Dornacher's foray into traffic reporting began in the early 1980s, stemming from her previous media experiences with NISCR.
Initially, she took on this position at KFRC, a well-regarded top 40 radio station.
During her tenure there, she collaborated with Don Rose, the station's morning disc jockey at the time.
Renowned for her rapid delivery, her speech was so swift that it necessitated careful listening for comprehension.
Her career ultimately led her to New York City, where she became a beloved figure, recognized for her distinctive raspy voice as a trafficologist.
That's, I feel like a raspy voice right now.
Sorry if this is bothering you guys.
Voice is a little raspy today.
Dornacker experienced two separate accidents involving helicopters rented by WNBC Radio, which occurred approximately six months apart.
She managed to survive the first incident on April 18th, 1986, but tragically lost her life in the second crash.
The one we're talking about today, obviously.
On October 22nd, 1986, while providing one of the NCOPTER traffic updates during the Joey Reynolds show on WNBC in New York City, Dornacher was on board the Nstrom F-28 helicopter.
At 4.44 p.m., the helicopter descended into the Hudson River from an elevation of about 75 feet, or 23 meters.
Her final words were, quote, hit the water, hit the water, hit the water.
End quote.
The F-28 helicopter then performed a nosedive, colliding with the top of a chain link fence at a river pier before crashing into the Hudson River close to the Manhattan shoreline, which ultimately submerged in 15 to 20 feet or 5 to 6 meters of water.
Both individuals aboard found themselves trapped for approximately 10 to 15 minutes prior to the arrival of assistance.
Dornacher succumbed to her injuries en route to St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center.
The pilot, Bill Pate, who was the only other passenger, sustained serious injuries, yet managed to survive.
The investigation conducted by the NTSB revealed that the spray clutch used in the helicopter, which was leased to WNBC Radio from Spectrum Helicopters located in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, was a component originally intended for military applications and was not appropriate for civilian use.
Furthermore, the spray clutch had not been properly lubricated, which resulted in a mid-air seizure of the helicopter's main rotor blades.
Naomi, the 16-year-old daughter of Dornacher, became an orphan after the death of her father, Bob Knickerbacher, just three months prior.
She received a settlement amounting to $325,000 from Spectrum Helicopters, as well as the manufacturer of the helicopter.
And now, let's listen to this audio recording in the WNBC newscopter by Jane Dornacker as the helicopter went down.
The outbound Holland Tunnel, extra heavy for you.
Right now, earlier, there was a car fire at Hudson and Canal Street.
It has been cleared about heading to New Jersey.
The outbound Lincoln Tunnel looks a lot better for you in New Jersey.
Let's play some music here, I think.
Find out what's going on with the helicopter.
Something happened there.
It's quarter of five, 16 till five on WNBC on the Joey Reynolds show.
We're taking an encopter report from Jane Dornacker.
Let's check in, see how they're doing there.
And we'll come right back at you.
Nothing happened with Jane.
We had a helicopter report from the encopter.
Of course, you know, once before we had this happen a few months ago, she went down in the drink.
Not she, I mean, she has a pilot.
Jane is, well, until we find out what's going on, Jane was up there just now giving us a report.
And sometimes it gets cut off, too, you know, it's just an electronic thing.
But this time she said it's hit the water, something like that.
So we're going to find out what's going on there, so stay tuned.
We hope nothing will say a little prayer.
I hope nothing's wrong.
That's really a hard job.
Next one is Southern Airways Flight 242, which happened on the 4th of April 1977.
Southern Airways Flight 242 was en route from Muscle Shoals, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia, with an intermediary stop in Huntsville, Alabama.
On April 4th, 1977, the aircraft made an emergency landing on Georgia State Route 381 in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia. after encountering hail damage and losing thrust in both engines during a severe thunderstorm.
At the moment of the incident, the Southern Airways plane was traveling from Huntsville, Madison County jetport to Hartsfield, Atlanta International Airport.
A total of 63 individuals were on board, including the two pilots who lost their lives along with nine others on the ground.
However, 20 passengers and two flight attendants managed to survive.
The flight crew was made up of Captain William W. Bill McKenzie, age 54, who brought a wealth of experience with 19,380 hours of flight time, including 3,205 hours specifically logged on the DC-9.
Alongside him was First Officer Lyman W. Keele Jr., age 34, who had about 3,878 flight hours with 235 of those on the DC-9, and they were supported by two flight attendants.
Before departing from Huntsville, the pilots received information regarding the existence of embedded thunderstorms and the potential for tornadoes along their planned route.
However, they were not updated about the development of a squall line created by those cells.
During its descent from a cruising height of 17,000 feet to a lower altitude of 14,000 feet, or 5,200 to 4,300 meters, in proximity to the Rome VOR, the aircraft seemingly penetrated a thunderstorm cell, leading to an encounter with significant rainfall and hail.
The intensity of the hail was such that it shattered the windshield of the aircraft.
Additionally, the Pratt Whitney JT-8D-7A engines took in a considerable quantity of water and hail, resulting in severe harm to the compressors and leading to a flame out.
As the plane depleted its altitude and available alternatives, lighting with a shattered windshield and lack of engine thrust, the crew visually identified the terrain below and noticed a straight stretch of county highway.
They carried out an unpowered emergency landing on that roadway.
However, during the landing roll, the left wing of the aircraft struck a gas station, forcing it to veer leftwards and ultimately crash into a forested area.
The impact and subsequent fire resulted in the deaths of both pilots and 61 passengers, although 20 of them did manage to survive, along with both flight attendants.
Additionally, nine individuals on the ground were killed, including a family of seven.
God.
Among those who lost their lives was rhythm and blues vocalist Annette Snell.
And now let's listen to the flight recording of flight 242.
And for our last story here, number eight, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182.
This occurred on September 25th, 1978.
On September 25th, 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 operated a scheduled route from Sacramento to San Diego, which included a stop at Los Angeles.
The aircraft involved in the incident was a Boeing 727-214 that collided in midair with a private Cessna 172 above San Diego.
This tragedy marked the first fatal accident for Pacific Southwest Airlines and is still recorded as the most catastrophic aviation disaster in California history.
At that time, it held the title of the deadliest aircrash in the United States until the occurrence of America Airlines Flight 191 in May of 1979.
After the collision occurred, both the Cessna and the Boeing aircraft fell to the ground in North Park, a neighborhood characterized by its residential qualities situated about three miles to the northeast of downtown San Diego.
PSA-182 went down just to the north of the junction of Nile and Dwight Streets, resulting in the deaths of all 135 individuals on the plane, in addition to seven bystanders who were either outside or in their homes, among them being two children.
The Cessna impacted Polk Avenue, located between Iowa Streets and 32nd, leading to the fatalities of his two pilots.
Additionally, nine individuals on the ground sustained injuries, while the crash and resulting debris caused destruction or damage to a total of 22 residential units, including houses and apartments.
The crew comprised of seven members, including Captain James E. Jim McFerrin, 42, who had 17 years of service with PSA.
There was also First Officer Robert E. Bob Fox, 38, who had nine years of experience, and Flight Engineer Martin J. Wan, 44, with 11 years on the job.
Captain McFerrin himself was an experienced pilot at PSA and had amassed a total of 14,382 flight hours, which included 10,482 hours on the Boeing 727.
First Officer Fox had about 10,049 hours in flight, of which 5,800 hours were flying the 727, and Flight Engineer Juan recorded a total of 10,800 flight hours, with 6,587 of those operating in the 727.
The journey from Sacramento to Los Angeles proceeded without incident.
Flight 182 took off from Los Angeles at 8.34 a.m. with First Officer Fox piloting the craft.
The weather in San Diego that Monday morning was clear and sunny, offering visibility of 10 miles, or 16 kilometers.
At 8.59 a.m., the approach controller notified the PSA crew regarding the presence of a small Cessna 172 aircraft in the vicinity.
Piloting the Cessna were two individuals holding valid licenses.
One of the pilots, Martin Casey Jr., age 32, held ratings for single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument flight in addition to a commercial certificate and an instrument flight instructor certificate.
His total flight experience amounted to 5,137 hours.
The second pilot, David Boswell, age 35, served as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps and held both single-engine and multi-engine ratings along with a commercial certificate.
At the time of the incident, he had accumulated 407 hours of flight time and was engaged in practicing instrument landing system approaches under Kayzy's instruction, working towards obtaining his instrument flight rules rating.
The pilots of the PSA indicated that they observed the Cessna after air traffic control had informed them of its location.
However, cockpit voice recordings indicated that they quickly lost sight of the Cessna and were uncertain about its whereabouts.
Due to interference on the radio, the Lindbergh Tower interpreted the transmission at 9 o'clock as, quote, he's passing off to our right, end quote, and believing that the PSA jet was still tracking the Cessna, thereby ensuring visual separation.
Although the captain remarked that the Cessna was, quote, probably behind us now, end quote, it was, in fact, positioned directly in front of and below the Boeing, just out of sight.
PSA Flight 182 passed above the Cessna that was flying directly beneath it, with both planes generally aligned on a heading of 90 due east.
The incident took place at an altitude of approximately 2,600 feet, or 790 meters.
As reported by multiple witnesses situated on the ground, they initially perceived a significant metallic crunching noise, followed by an explosion which prompted them to look skyward to see the flames.
Hans Wendt, a staff photographer from the San Diego County Public Relations Office, was present at an outdoor press event equipped with a still camera.
He took two photographs after the collision that depicted the 727 descending with flames erupting from its right wing.
Additionally, cameraman Steve Howell, representing local TV Channel 39, was also at the event and filmed the Cessna as it descended towards the ground, including the sound of the 727's impact and the resulting mushroom cloud from the crash.
Approximately 60% of the San Diego Fire Department was sent to respond to the incident.
Due to the catastrophic nature of the crash, only certain components such as the engines, the tail section, and landing gear remained identifiable from the obliterated 727.
A total of 144 individuals lost their lives in the crash, which included the seven crew members of Flight 182, 30 additional employees of PSA who were deadheading to the airlines base in San Diego, two occupants of a Cessna, and seven residents on the ground, composed of five women and two boys.
This incident marked the deadliest accident in the United States, exceeding the 134 fatalities from the 1960 New York mid-air collision, until eight months later when America Airlines Flight 191 crashed, resulting in 273 fatalities.
And now, let's listen to the cockpit recording of Flight 182.
Wait, three seconds?
Okay.
And that will conclude episode 147.
Lane Crashes and the Cockpit Recordings.
I am sorry, ladies and gentlemen, about my voice.
I feel like I've been talking for a lot longer than I have been.
I don't know what's going on.
We're just sick.
My girlfriend and I are just sick.
We're getting sick.
Coming down with something.
But that's going to be it for this episode.
I hope you enjoyed this.
Again, like, share, subscribe.
Word of mouth is best.
So just tell other people to listen to the show.
We cover everything.
If you want to help the show, you could always buy me a coffee on Ko-Fi.
Links are in the description.
You can always, you know, help on the PayPal account we have or whatever it is.
Patreon.
We don't have a lot for Patreon.
I'm working on something.
Working on some content for Patreon to help out.
But, I mean, this is like, I'm basically working two full-time jobs.
And that's probably why my voice is crazy right now.
So yeah, if you could, just help out any way you can.
I know financially everyone's struggling right now.
Unless you're in the club getting paid $7,000 for post, per post for fucking Israel.
And that's going to be it.
My voice is done.
I can't.
I can't.
It's hurting.
Hurting at this point.
Yeah, follow us and look forward to our future interview with some hacker groups.
Anyway, thanks, guys.
I'll talk to y'all later.
Don't forget to take care of yourselves.
Take care of one another. Peace out.
I want you to get up right now and go to the window and stick your head out yellow.
I was banging hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore.
