A Cockpit Designed to Crash

When the captain of Crossair Flight 498 began turning the plane into a deadly spiral, the first officer should have corrected him. So why didn't he? Cockpit design may be to blame.
From: AIR DISASTERS: Lost in Translation
bitly.com/1ATSNGp

[@getsmarter5412]

He should have yelled, "No, your other left!".

[@cannedspaghetti1854]

Language proficiency is key.

[@FouadShawly]

And he should have done it in a bugs bunny voice 😂 .. RIP passengers and crew

[@smalltiny]

You made me laugh at a tragedy, thanks for sending me straight to hell

[@windshearahead7012]

Blair Group it wasn’t

[@sippwocky3194]

I was thinking that 😂😂

[@NFtheend]

*I thought the title meant the cockpit was designed to survive a crash.*

[@CaptainEarls]

Nahum F same

[@zjotheglorious]

Nahum F same here

[@thctablet6611]

Nahum F same

[@melonnnnnn]

Lol

[@ZeontreyDaily]

Same

[@noobdestroyer4758]

LEFT, LEFT *Proceeds to yank harder to the right*

[@kokhowe]

He probably misunderstood the co-pilot that the plane had turned left...and was therefore trying to correct it by yanking the control to the right. The co-pilot should have shouted 'turn left' instead of just 'left'.

[@blackouthq4732]

@@kokhowe You'd think it would be common sense that they guy screaming LEFT! LEFT! meant TURN LEFT.

[@dragondoglover123]

Screaming left at someone could mean anything! Could be saying turn left, we’re banking to the left, or look left( as in plane/other potential collision to the left)

[@emmiajax4948]

umm da plane was spinning to the left, so he was doing it *CORRECTLY*

[@shepherdlavellen3301]

shouldn't captain know what he's doing or was he flying without instruments?

[@CharizardMaster69]

usually when someone shouts at me “LEFT LEFT” I go to the left

[@agentorange5167]

Alexander Wood the pilot probably listened to the saying “right is always right”

[@c5mjohn]

"LEFT" can mean many things: "turn left", "look left", "we are going left", "you are banking too far left". A single word is not a command unless you are with someone you are familiar with, speaks the same language, received the same training, or possibly all of the above. None of those were true in this situation.

[@pierreyves.lebrun]

So anybody would

[@raybois]

According to the replies here, everybody is a pilot...

[@g_g1241]

Maybe he just didn´t know what left or right means? Man, i had basic english conversations years ago and still i didn´t know what left or right was back then, until i saw my Xbox 360 controler and noted the Left Trigger and Right Trigger, that´s how i learned it.

[@karthiknargolikar9233]

I feel sad for the passengers

[@Winlonghorn_iso]

I feel sad for everyone involved

[@funkdavienkoh8618]

I know right

[@abdoulayedoumbia6567]

Karthik Nargolikar Well, you should feel bad for even the pilots. Because if there weren't pilots not even you would be able to travel. So please, read the title.

[@karthiknargolikar9233]

Sorry

[@abdoulayedoumbia6567]

Karthik Nargolikar It is fine. I was just curios why you weren't felling bad for the pilots.

[@billyost1479]

So, why did Smithsonian leave out the fact that the artificial horizon indicator is different between Eastern block and the Western world. For the arthor in the Western world the horizon tilts, changes, while the aircraft indicator stays stationary. The Eastern Block the horizon stays stationary and the plane indicator moves. Both are VERY DIFFERENT. It was the arthor that confused the pilot and ultimately lead to the crash.

[@bryansimmons4550]

Not true at all. All attitude indicators/Horizontal Situation Indicators (HSI) are half blue, half black or brown. The blue upper part represents the sky. Therefore, if the left wing of your little airplane in the AI is in the blue portion, that means you are turning RIGHT. If the little airplane itself is in the brown portion, that means your nose is pitched DOWN. AI/HSI's read exactly the same, no matter if it is the little airplane that moves, or the horizon behind it. It's actually very simple, and if you have flown even a Cessna 152, you know how the AI works. The Co-pilot also has an AI, and there is a third standby AI, usually a steam gauge, both of which can be cross-referenced by the pilot if he thought his own HSI was malfunctioning. The heading indicator (HI) and magnetic compass are also turn indicators, although magnetic compasses will lag, and even show an opposite turn momentarily. But if the HI/compass shows an increasing heading, .i.e. 30 degrees increasing to 40, etc, you are turning RIGHT. If it decreases from 30 through 360 and towards 355, you are turning LEFT. Generally if you are on a northerly heading, the magnetic compass will show an opposite turn momentarily, and a southern heading will show a turn faster than is actually occurring. Every pilot learns NOSE --- North Opposite, South Exceeding. The most glaring error I saw here was the co-pilot doing nothing but yelling. He should have grabbed the yoke and started turning left. I would have assumed my pilot was having a medical incident, or had gone crazy, and I would have done SOMETHING.

[@keoneguy1536]

They have an episode broken up into smaller videos on you tube... In the other pieces of this episode they discuss it at length. It’s the reason the pilots to Ukraine , Russia etc were given the 3months additional training.

[@CMDRSweeper]

@@bryansimmons4550 Yes it is true, soviet GA aircraft and airliners' Horizon Indicators are different from the west. And if you view them at a glance you will find the aircraft being in the wrong kind of turn according to your training. It also goes both ways if you drop a Western pilot into a Russian plane or vice versa, that indicator will catch you off guard. The good news is, I believe they are a dying breed these days, and not many left of them out there, meaning we will have one standard.

[@caseygtr]

Jesus, the western style of horizon is so intuitive. Why would the soviets go that way with it.

[@bryansimmons4550]

@@caseygtr It doesn't matter what moves and what doesn't. If you see a wingtip in the blue, you know you have to bank INTO that wingtip to get the airplane back level. IOW, if the left wing of the little airplane is in the blue, you are turning right and you must bank left. It can't be any simpler than that. You also have a turn and slip indicator, altimeter, and vertical speed indicator to reference when banking, as well. If you don't add back pressure in a turn, the airplane will begin a descent.

[@khoazmi5976]

First officer: "LEFT" Pilot: "Rapidlly turning right"

[@cassiusgoulet3583]

Co pilot": *"LEFT LEFT"* Pilot: *Proceeds to veer right* Co pilot: *"bruh"*

[@lnefty]

Bruh

[@justinscates3359]

Bruh... To say the least

[@warhawk9566]

@Blair Group thought it was because the pilot was Russian and didn't speak english too well so when the first officer started screaming "left" he thought he was saying "we're leaning left"

[@jacksong2384]

@Blair Group Germanwings 4U 9525. Co pilot Name: Andrea's lupitz.

[@cbasperson9094]

Bruh

[@NotMeHere]

So they crashed because he couldn’t tell the difference between right and left?

[@rockedupreefco.3809]

Dorifuto11 probably

[@PabloGonzalez-hv3td]

Not exactly

[@casey6556]

I believe in the episode they explain that in Soviet airliners' artificial horizons, the plane outline moves while the horizon stays stationary, whereas in Western airliners it is the opposite. The Captain, under stress and specially disoriented, misread the Western instrument as if it was a Soviet one.

[@oanhnguyen3189]

Well yes but no

[@TheFree33333]

Old comment, but no, the pilot thought the officer was suggesting the plane was banking left as did the air tower controller. The ensuing panic ensured their demise.

[@Ferdinand_FE]

So is this the reason pilots outside of the united states have to be at English level 4 proficiency?

[@MiroCF642]

I guess @Gil Alvarado

[@rabh9338]

Fc Barcelona & Messi Fanboy No

[@wyomingptt]

Pretty sure it's only if you wanted to fly internationally or be an ATC. You can fly wherever you want if you speak the local language.

[@johnbower7452]

@@wyomingptt I'm pretty confident English or French is compulsory for pilots. Don't forget ATC have to handle all flights; it's much easier for them to speak 1 language consistently.

[@filippovalle7696]

@@johnbower7452 only English not french and Idk why only for International flights or every commercial Flight with passenger

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

"A cockpit designed to crash" Smithsonian Channel: IT'S BRIGHTER HERE!

[@mohdazhuzairiabdullaziz1171]

Napoleon I Bonaparte its brighter here so you can kill innocent people.this is KZbin

[@goodolgranite8247]

+Lt Fairlady Zairi KZbin? This Is Spartaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

[@mucheq5386]

Napoleon I Bonaparte stop saying it gr8 we got it smh

[@taxfraudpro]

do doo do dooo

[@mdtasin3899]

The Co-Pilot should have tell "TURN LEFT" instead of "LEFT".. even I was confused whether they were turning left or they have to go left..

[@soykankamal4248]

well you're dumb too then just like the pilot

[@abdoulayedoumbia6567]

Tanjim Tasin You guys are weird with your friggin language.

[@concentratecorner1744]

Thats like me going up to you and saying 'Hello' and you not knowing what im saying because i didnt say "Hello Tanjim" when I said it..

[@billybobjoe9010]

''should have tell'' Sorry I'm a grammar nazi.

[@sorryrooster2120]

Kaslı Soykan No...

[@jerryl1354]

Airplane crashes into the ground It's bright here

[@tobymassoom]

Bluejay163 ROOOBLOX

[@youtubeaccount19]

U mum is g

[@itzzjozef1373]

Bluejay163 Nah fuck outta here kid, your comment is unoriginal as fuck.

[@alstewart3809]

@@StratusFire_ true

[@main1411]

SHUT THE FUCK UP

[@guhanmadhu5925]

The same crash was covered in an episode of Mayday! Air Crash Investigation. The reason why the pilot was confused over which way his plane was banking was due to the Attitude indicator. In most western countries, in the attitude indicator, the plane would be stationary and the horizon would move, but in Eastern countries, the horizon would be stationary while the plane moved. According to the documentary, this caused the confusion in the cockpit, because after the fall of the USSR, they fitted their planes with the Western attitude indicator without properly training the pilots who were used to the Eastern type of Attitude Indicator.

[@guhanmadhu5925]

@Honestly Amethyst Attitude also means the position of the plane compared to the horizon

[@yaaassbitch8704]

@Honestly Amethyst i think he knows what he is talking about

[@EthansAviation_]

this is mayday air crash investigation though

[@ellaighodaro9923]

Moral of the story: communication is key

[@kayruwijaya3901]

Always has been

[@Stikbug-kn2ck]

ye

[@Uridien]

Co-Pilot: LEFT!! LEFT!!! Pilot: Hard right! Copy!

[@quaxky326]

“BANK LEFT!” Huh, I think he means go right. **Proceeds to Bank as hard as he can to go right**

[@aviationchc]

When the plane hit the ground it looked like a NUKE

[@thejupitergod202]

Lego Creations when the plane hit the ground, the fuel ignited, the plane hit the ground, so the flames couldn't go down from the force of the plane, it bounced off and made a mushroom shape explosion

[@windshearahead7012]

Infinite Flight Online LMAOOOOO 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣

[@kaizhang378]

It was during the Cold War, just imagine a separate a military base thought it was a missile.

[@HudsonGTV]

@@windshearahead7012 Stop with the "crying laughter" emoji spam.

[@zacharycarrier2890]

@@HudsonGTV stop thinking you're important enough to dictate emojis go back to reddit

[@MikeDragon]

Plane accidents are never a thing to be taken lightly and it's specially sad and serious when people die in them, but it's thanks to them, in part, that several improvements and safety procedures and equipment that we have today to ensure the safety of planes, came to exist. Many of those systems were developed _because_ some plane crashed because such systems either didn't exist at the time or were too "crude" to be as efficient as they are today. Would many of them be invented at some point anyway? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. Who's to say. The fact is that humanity has been learning from the mistakes that sent many flights into the ground and putting the acquired knowledge to good use. I just wish certain things wouldn't "require" several people to die in order to be made.

[@shuandoyleiii4]

Hey you still there are you dead? Also I said that because I thought I crash happen after you said that

[@CaptShami]

That stupid captain turning the yoke on the right caused it

[@martijnsassen1046]

Yes, because he was genuinely convinced that the plane was turning left (because of a different model of artificial horizon).

[@woolsheep5359]

Martijn Sassen can't they feel the plane turning right tho?

[@sfsaviation]

Wool Sheep I would be too confused and shocked to feel the direction I would go,and the pitch black of the night doesn’t help either,neither does the knowledge of the lives of many passengers being in your hands

[@ruipereira2402]

@@woolsheep5359 you cant really feel it while night

[@backdoordeuce]

Wool Sheep no spatial disorientation

[@PotentiallyCoolest]

I wish the first officer would have said my aircraft and taken controls. But yes, it was too quick and they didn't have much room.

[@FordFan01]

Co-Pilot: "Left!" Captain: "Lol mkay" 2:46

[@babytraptar23akanivia92]

All your videos are Amazing, Scary horror and entertaining at the same time

[@ashmeetghotra1776]

I Am Very Sorry For Your Losses. Fly High My Friends Fly High. R . I . P Rest In Peace.

[@Straswa]

RIP to the victims and condolences to their families.

[@dextercochran4916]

In Soviet Russia, left is your other left.

[@ffrreeddyy123456]

My heart breaks when I watch the plane spiral into the ground.

[@ilikealotofthings731]

If you don’t know the difference between right or left, you shouldn’t fly a plane. Especially when the plane is spiraling down and you find that there’s no problem.

[@walterkennedy9474]

“It’s brighter here.” It’s very bright in the fire of a plane crash.

[@a.h4380]

100% of comments: *IT'S BRIGHTER HERE*

[@treasuretrails]

Still drinking beers to this dudes tragic mistake in November 2020! I love the internet!!!!

[@fuckoffhackers8619]

since this was Smithsonian, i expected the video to end at 16 second mark.

[@FaridRudiansyah]

Co pilot: Left left left ! Pilot: I'm working on it, on my way... All pilots left the room...

[@Mr.Sweet_YT]

FO: 'Left'!' Captain: Oh, it's going left. Let's push the yawk to right. Lol

[@skullliiii8921]

love these mayday episodes

[@stevesoto462]

Where’s the rest of this film ? It’s not fair the clip starts somewhere in the middle and ends somewhere else just barely ahead a few min. But where’s the whole video ? Can some please tell me how I can watch it all please

[@classicalricky]

''LEFT! LEFT!''(sound of props & explosion)

[@irfan-106]

How can I watch full length videos from Smithsonian channel outside US

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

I'm not an expert but, don't both pilots have controls? why didn't the first officer just take his yoke and correct the captain's actions?

[@zanetinawi4161]

Nice landing bro

[@amelliamendel2227]

The title said me think the video was the about the max

[@kinangeagle133]

Jeez the video almost blew my headphones out in the first second

[@WingedEternitys]

So, it was just a confused pilot thinking he meant “it’s going to the left!” Instead of “Turn left!”

[@I91AM]

Co-pilot: *Left! Left!* *continuously turns right.* Pilot: I'm sorry, but I am busy turning right for now on. Ignoring you. Everyone: Are we a joke to you or not?

[@brandonaviation6010]

SC: is brighter here Everybody else in the room: oh, so dying is joyful?

[@emeraldgaming6544]

What kind of cockpit is designed to crash?

[@chickenking1337]

A 9/11 one

[@SA-pj3fz]

FistMeDaddy that wasn't funny or real.

[@helpgone6573]

this one

[@hardlydank932]

faggot on the faggotron 2000 scale of measurement I lost half my brain cells reading ur username

[@shayanahsan3245]

@@chickenking1337 thats messesd up

[@winniethepoohandeeyore2]

I'm very new to all of this. and a lot of these that I've watched a lot of times they said that f/o's, f/e's were not to second guess/ correct the capt. imo. I'm still learning a lot.

[@lgonzalez1154]

This fucking show has me fully hooked!

[@patn7029]

if you're stalling turing right, just keep turning right. It will stabilize the aircraft enough to maintain control again.

[@paulgarrett1622]

The question we should be asking, why did the captain have the controls turned to the right? In my opinion I have seen this only once when I was a first officer, the captain had become very confused and made a right turn instead of left. The bank angle increased, the captain had frozen on the controls. I was able to counter his turn and get the aircraft flying in a normal attitude. Then we dealt with other things.

[@MrDaryboy]

Where do u watch the whole episodes of these things?

[@stephenselviraja9527]

Teacher: left! Left! Lastbencher: turns it into right

[@perfvil]

*Plane crashes* Smithsonian Channel: *Happy Music:Its Brighter Here*

[@WildLords]

on the other dimension first officer : told u to go left

[@lgonzalez1154]

Funny whenever I fly I think of all the possible scenarios that could happen!

[@dawg1157]

The Captain also have benzos in his system too, along with a half used bottle of the drugs in his carry on bag. That probably didn't help his decision making.

[@cantedsxghtgaming3393]

Imagine they're documenting a nuke and "it's brighter here"

[@RyanCunningham12]

Does that F/O know his left from his right?

[@HB-ps6rn]

The F/O did, the captain had a different issue due to training and language. The captain was trained with Russian aircraft which have the artificial horizon indicator show the plane as stationary where the horizon moves, however this was the opposite on the Saab where the aircraft moved and the horizon stayed the same. He pitched right and most likely misread the horizon indicator as saying he was banking to the left, and was only confused more by the "Left!" call out of the F/O as he was only moderately proficient in English. It may seem a little complex, but if you look at indicators of Russian and Western aircraft it makes sense.

[@RyanCunningham12]

Oh ok, thanks for the explanation.

[@HB-ps6rn]

Oh almost forgot to add that the captain had an open packet of sedatives, and had a small amount of the sedative in his blood system. It is suspected to not have played a major role in the accident however.

[@SimHarrison]

Hayes Bartlett opposite actually, on Soviet planes the aircraft would bank left and right while the horizon would be stationary, in western planes the aircraft stays still while the horizon moves.

[@HB-ps6rn]

+Haz Hartridge Yes you are correct, my mistake I had mixed them up at the time.

[@Ledboi420]

Co-pilot:LEFT LEFT!!! Pilot:*Turns Right* Co-pilot:You Piece of Shi- *Plane crashes*

[@1Maverick747]

Where can I watch them full episodes?

[@TheHelghast1138]

These are so addictive...

[@mpaine]

The problem was that instead of the orange plane on the artificial horizon turning, it was the bit in the background that turned. This is why they got so confused. They both had learnt from different artificial horizons

[@Argumemnon]

Marvelous. Pilots can't tell left from right.

[@alba2172]

"A Cockpit designed to crash" REALLY? WHY WERE THEY ON THE FLIGHT?

[@junemercado]

Where can I watch the full version of this?

[@onlyone7069]

Will this plane ever crash? Well no but yes

[@breakhart]

turn the stick to right but thinking going left, is that any aircraft out there that even do that? 🤔

[@lordoftheflings]

additional training: when you notice somethings wrong dont just scream "LEFT! LEFT! LEFT!!!"

[@modelrc9500]

He meant tilt left I think

[@oreopudding3133]

It seems like some of these docs bounce back and forth between concluding that pilots need to rely MORE on autopilot or LESS on autopilot

[@kevinm2365]

Here is what doesn't make any sense. You would think they would feel them banking to the right without having to look at the controls

[@daitoke]

*LEFT LEFT!* (turns right) *crashes* It's Brighter Here!

[@ZekuChanU]

“Oh left? I thought you said weast”

[@olypiad4609]

I just laugh at most of these crashes because of the sheer stupidity of the people flying it... it hurts my brain

[@pietmanlikesa50cal51]

Bruh

[@geddoe316]

That's freaking flint from the 80's g.i.joe doing narration. Awesome

[@yovanseebaluck8976]

Why do they always put the happy music at the end

[@seanbuller7578]

i will NEVER fly that airline? a/p immediately after takeoff!? over reliance on automation is a real killer and leads to an egregious degredation of actual stick and rudder skills

[@PabloGonzalez-hv3td]

Autopilot after takeoff isn't exactly out of the ordinary you may never fly any airline

[@joshbhx]

If my first officer said turn left I would probably listen. Especially if it was his job to monitor the instruments.

[@michaeljosephdimaano2802]

I dunno, isn't it common sense that whenever you're flying a passenger/cargo plane that you should not do a steep banking unless it's necessary?

[@julievanderleest]

He shouted, “left” but maybe add, “wrong way!” Or, “the other left!”

[@mohamedaboobakuru5331]

Smithsonian channel:Its brighter here The video:Its darker here

[@marquisnarrated8601]

Bruh that’s common sense.. u turn left 😂😂

[@capt.heinrich6945]

The passengers asking the pilot after the crash: Captain, why aren't we alive?

[@capt.heinrich6945]

Condolences for those who got their loved ones killed in this crash

[@quaxky326]

“A Cockpit designed to crash” My brain: Why would they actually design a plane to crash? That’s so dumb!

[@warismard9594]

Exactly

[@hrithikkotwal9286]

Where can i get full episode?

[@thatamerican550]

Shouldn't the pilot just have realized there turning right and turned left? Does that need to be told to him?

[@JCBro-yg8vd]

A pilot getting his lefts and rights confused, resulting in a crash? It's really unfortunate that that happened.

[@vikraal6974]

First Officer needs anger management

[@paromitaaddy5349]

Wow..... What a crash

[@NoobGamer-cl8gc]

Crossair is left instead of right

[@Sammers987Man]

dudes screaming "LEFT LEFT" at your face and you bank right?

[@maxkruse7690]

Just one quick thing. Did you notice that the airplane was a propeller plane, but in the crashing scene you could hear A320 engines? (Or any kind of turbo engine)

[@country_flyboy]

It was a turboprop airplane, which is a turbine engine that drives the propeller.

[@lolipopcj2546]

he said left but he turn it to the right...was that does it mean? but look like the plane turn to the right...i think 1st official know it is wrong but he have no confident to correct the captain. when it become serious then he panic and yelled to the capt. but the capt does not understand what he mean by left.i think there was the misunderstanding between them.

[@oxygen0069]

LEFT LEFT! *captain veers right* VAH!

[@orange_juice2171]

That title lol

[@causeyes4445]

So the captain has no idea whats hes talking about bc he didn't learn percise english?who even put the captain and the co pilot together on that plane anyways

[@idk_name1890]

“But the pilot thought his plane was veering left” Yeah cus an 90 degree right bank feels like a 90 degree left bank

[@xoxoxoxoxoxo3776]

Why do I always have dreams of being in these planes

[@loveplane737]

isn't the captain passed away before the accident?

[@antdabest7014]

Scary stuff