Cockpit Distractions Leading to Fatal Crash (Ansett New Zealand Flight 703) - DISASTER BREAKDOWN

[@DisasterBreakdown]

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

[@robertmcghintheorca49]

I'm assuming that for well requested cases like Turkish Airlines Flight 981, they're difficult to do because they've been done frequently? To be honest, I haven't seen much videos, but since the issue of cargo doors is what set people on edge with the DC-10, it might be worth trying. I'll look forward to seeing the video when you do make it. You'll be glad to know that I'm always tuned in every Saturday to see your videos. And I'm a huge trans rights supporter.

[@neilfoster814]

As an ex pilot, my guess about the GPWS system is this. Under normal circumstances, a plane would descend towards the ground at say 1,500ft/min giving the system time to give adequate warning. Now, IF a plane is descending towards RISING ground, ie the foothill of a mountain, the combined speed of the descending aircraft plus the rising ground may to too fast for the GPWS to sense and activate a timely warning between first sense and aircraft impact, hence the pilots having much reduced reaction time. Just my two cents worth, I have never flown an aircraft fitted with GPWS.

[@mack.attack]

and with the processing power of the early 1990s

[@Chrinik]

that's what I assumed as well. I mean, let's assume there's a 2000 ft high cliff face, just a vertical wall. The GPWS would register "1900feet over ground" all the way until impact, no warning that you need to climb 100+ feet to clear the terrain. This may or may not be rectified by having a dual system, with a nosemounted sensor pointing down and forward, and the two systems cross referencing each other so that if a hill approaches, it will trip the forward down sensor first, instead of just the radioaltimeter(which fires straight down)

[@kwerk2011]

The investigation would have considered this, I'm sure.

[@paulloveless4122]

I'm only halfway through the video but I thought I would point out that they landed in a field meant for grazing sheep. The person with the mobile phone was able to tell them that they were on a sheep pasture and there were only a few very large sheep pastures in the area and this is how they we're located

[@timithius7885]

plenty of pastures for smaller sheep though 😆

[@gazrayt]

@@timithius7885 I took it the same way 😂🤣😂

[@paulloveless4122]

Lol my grammar was definitely a bit awkward

[@jackeldridge1319]

Wait, they were in a part of New Zealand that lacked sheep paddocks? I didn't think that was possible, I thought the whole country was just one massive sheep paddock

[@WaveFlightSimulations]

You watched the air crash investigation episode which is slightly dramatized and inaccurate

[@oskarrasmussen7137]

The part where the captain hurried the copilot through the checklist so that they could make the landing? Yeah, when you think you need to do that you need to abandon the landing.

[@mbvoelker8448]

IIRC, there was a point in history where the air culture changed from a go-around being a black mark on the pilot's record to a normal and expected procedure, but I don't know how the timeline lines up for this incident.

[@kdawson020279]

​@MB Voelker Depended on the carrier. Southwest is still known for being highly motivated, but the major carriers in the US have all reaped the detriment of haste. You can't put convenience over safety.

[@wilsjane]

@@mbvoelker8448 I don't think that going around due to a serious technical issue would have led to criticism. If the captain felt more confident to deal with the landing gear problem, he should have handed flight control over to the first officer. A combined effort in dealing with a technical issue has led to more than one crash.

[@billolgaau]

​@@mbvoelker8448 I flew for many years with the Australian Ansett - this was crew error in the extreme. Both pilots should have been on the same page with the problem or the approach.

[@jamesdonald7485]

Absolutely

[@meofnz2320]

The force required to pull the alternate extension handle on the accident aircraft was tested post crash to be about 40 - 60 lbs. It should have been between 5 - 20 lbs.

[@Sub_Cruce_Candida]

My family originates from Woodville and the surrounding area, great video. The accident at the time sent shock waves through New Zealand's aviation industry and sweeping changes were made to CRM and flight safety procedures throughout. Although you're technically correct, none of the survivors died onboard or at the site. However, four later died, one of these being Mr Reginald Dixon. Mr Dixon had multiple complex fractures throughout his body from the hard landing immediately afterwards he self-extricated and mustered with other survivors at a casualty collection point. He returned to the airframe to rescue survivors trapped in the wreckage after a flash fire started. He sustained massive burns to 80% of his body area, later receiving skin grafts, he remained in Palmerston North hospital for two weeks, and unfortunately, he succumb to his injuries. For his heroic actions, Mr Dixon was posthumously awarded the New Zealand Cross [medal], and he is one of only four recipients. The New Zealand Cross is equivalent to the British George Cross for acts of bravery. In April 2000, Captain Garry Sotheran was charged with four counts of manslaughter and three counts of injuring passengers. After a six-week trial at the Palmerston North High Court in June 2001, the jury found Sotheran not guilty on all charges.

[@grunta64]

I was waiting at the airport to pick up one of the passengers who unfortunately didn't survive. RIP Johnathan.

[@angelaberni8873]

I'm so very sorry. Meanwhile no such suffering for the pilot who got away with negligence. Shocking. Absolutely shocking.

[@PixelTrain1]

very glad you are mentioning more crashes from nz, there was an accident at auckland during the 1960s with a dc-8 that has barely any coverage if you would like to look into that

[@DisasterBreakdown]

I'll have a little look into that

[@michaelosgood9876]

July 4th 1966. DC 8-52 ZK NZB at Mangere believed to be a training flight. Thrust reverser related.

[@broncomaniacismyhandle]

Another interesting incident to look into would be ZK-AQT, a DC-3 that crashed while trying to land at Paraparaumu Airport near Wellington. From what I remember the pilots used the wrong fuel selector and as a result the plane ran out of fuel and crashed

[@PixelTrain1]

@@broncomaniacismyhandle I live in kapiti and i've literally never heard of this until now, i would also really like to see an episode of this!

[@davidjma7226]

Another at the end of the runway in 1990's - a NZ Post aircraft. I had some artwork on it. Failed on take off and plunged into the water at the end of the runway.

[@521Undertaker]

“Here’s how the approach went down.” Indeed

[@CassassinCatto]

I love Dash 8s, my very first plane flight was on one, a short-lived service that ran from Bristol to Norwich and back. I love the purr of the engines and I got a window seat right by the landing gear so I got to see it extend. Absolutely heavenly for an air nerd.

[@Milesco]

_"I got a window seat right by the landing gear so I got to see it extend."_ A rare occurrence, apparently!

[@christophercarran4164]

I'm from Palmerston North and it is extremely lucky they skimmed the top of the range, which is now a wind/sheep farm. A couple hundred meters shorter and they would have slammed nose first into the side of the Gorge. Good video and name pronunciation, thumbs up 👍

[@phantomf4747]

Another great video. To be transparent, I push the like button before the video even starts. I'm that sure the vid is going to me high quality, informative and well done.

[@57Jimmy]

Lol! Just like pre-maturely…pressing the ‘buy now’ buttons🤣

[@phantomf4747]

@@57Jimmy 🤣👍🏻

[@Gus1966-c9o]

Very similar to that L1011 crash years ago into the Florida Everglades. Flight crew distracted by a blown landing gear indicating lamp . Captain bumped the yoke which disabled the auto pilot and it gradually descended into the swamp while the crew were completely immersed in the 25 cent blown lamp

[@nicholasjohnson6724]

Yes, the Eastern Airlines TriStar, The Ghost of Flight 401, F/O Don Repo

[@lbowsk]

Today's autopilot disconnect horns are a direct result of that accident. United crashed a DC-8 in Portland decades ago because the crew was busy dealing with a landing gear issue. The Captain was distracted by the situation and was too concerned about his fuel state. He wanted to land with min fuel in the event of an accident to prevent a fire. He fixated on holding and burning excess fuel. Well, he did a good job of that. He landed with zero fuel. He was told several times by his FE that they were running out of gas. But the cockpit was busy. Three guys working to solve a problem and they failed to do job 1 - FLY THE AIRPLANE. It's very easy to get distracted in a modern airplane cockpit. As soon as you think you're Johnny Wadd, you get bit on the ass. My old company had a SIM session where the whole and ONLY goal was to get you so task saturated and discombobulated that you'd make horrible mistakes and dork things up. At the end of the session, the debrief was humiliating. But that was the whole idea. We fly around for years with only minimal issues popping up. We deal with them. We land. We go home. But some days, a LOT of things happen at once, or the dominoes are stacked JUST SO, and even Neil Armstrong and Chuck Yeager would mess up. That's just the nature of the job.

[@Gus1966-c9o]

Nicholas John … those ghost stories are freaky

[@bradsanders407]

​@@Gus1966-c9oand fake but you know

[@bradsanders407]

And that was 3 of them. Not sure which is dumber 3 pilots trying to figure out why a light isnt on or a tiny window for viewing the landing gear but having no light to illuminate the landing gear.

[@siennaskyy0539]

Your videos are so well done. Your voice and clarity when speaking is outstanding! I have been binge watching all of your videos lately and I'm addicted! Always a stellar video.

[@bbhybris]

I've gone back to binging your videos the last few days Chloe. Thanks for everything you do! 🥰

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thanks so much for watching, glad you like the content!

[@bbhybris]

@@DisasterBreakdown 😱❤️❤️❤️

[@alicesherson4894]

As someone who lives in New Zealand you are good at pronouncing Māori words, Thank you !!

[@stickman3214]

I actually know the guy who owns the farm which Flight 703 crashed on. Happened before my time though. I don't know the exact crash site, but sometimes I walk out onto that land in the fog, and it truly is zero visibility.

[@GlennDavey]

I reported this crash on the radio in Melbourne, Australia on community radio when it happened. I remember "De Havilland Dash-8" and names like "Whangerai" ringing in my ears from all the times I read it and I've never forgotten it ever since.

[@tramlink8544]

Whangarei is in northland, totally different region?

[@GlennDavey]

@@tramlink8544 I might have confused it with a similar crash of another Dash-8 and that a couple of passengers in this one were from Whangarei

[@joecrammond6221]

was flying on a Q400 from Newcastle to Southampton with FlyBe back in 2019, we were on approach when I felt an increase in power and soon realized we were going around, seated near the back i could hear the Flight Attendant on the phone (presumably to the cockpit) and noticed her trying to glance out the window (it was dark at the time) so presumably we had a landing gear problem on that flight but we landed safely but were met with fire crew

[@PaulR1200]

Thanks for this video. As a Kiwi, I appreciate you keeping to the facts, and not inserting personal opinions. Cheers NZCH

[@neurocidesakiwi]

Something absolutely zero NZ "journalists" are capable of.

[@lrmunro]

I’ve been learning to fly at an aero club over the Tararuas from Palmerston North. I did a cross country flight landing at Palmy a couple of weeks ago landing in the same runway. Being a small aircraft I didn’t need such a long approach so didn’t come over the ranges but I did see other larger aircraft doing it. Cloud tends to be pretty low over the ranges so I was thinking when I saw it that that approach would be a bit hairy in bad weather.

[@kiwidiesel]

`The 07 approach isn't so bad however the wind speed does have a significant say in how rough your approach will be. The 25 approach and circling for a 07 landing is always a good option if it's available too.

[@robsmithracing]

Thank you Chloe. I look forward to your videos every week. ❤

[@DisasterBreakdown]

You are so welcome!

[@MicrowavedPlastic]

I love waking up on Saturday mornings and this is why. Thank you Chloe

[@DisasterBreakdown]

You're so welcome!

[@darkfox2076]

Thanks Chloe for all your efforts to make these videos so amazing. Super interesting as usual.

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thanks! Glad you like them!

[@nicholasjohnson6724]

Wow, I'm an Aussie, and I never heard of this crash. Thanks for covering it nicely. May those poor souls rest in peace. 🙏

[@franzfanz]

I remember the news when this occurred. As I recall, the weather was expected to worsen over that day, which made the cellphone call critical for locating the crash site, before bad weather made the rescue and recovery effort much more difficult.

[@mark-ish]

​@@franzfanz weather that day was miserable at best.

[@ats-3693]

I'm a kiwi who was 26 years old at that time and I don't remember this crash, so weird, I'm trying to think back to what was going on in my life at that time.

[@ericgosse7412]

Thank you for covering this. I remember when this happened and have always thought a video about it would be interesting.

[@rilmar2137]

I have never flown the Dash but I have a soft spot for this plane for some reason. PLL LOT operated the -400 variant until January this year and issues with landing gear were pretty common. To the point a dedicated "fanpage" was made on Facebook

[@averinthine]

Wonderful video as always, Chloe! I'm from Palmerston North myself, got a little homesick watching this one. Such an awkward little airport. Flown in many times and I don't think I've landed from the east even once. There's now a massive wind farm on the ranges, to make that approach even less ideal.

[@kkiwi54]

I fly a light aircraft and find going over the ranges a bit nerve wracking (& turbulent)

[@drayner2517]

It’s pretty common to land from the east as the westerlies are dominant there

[@senabecool7232]

Have you considered doing airport related disasters like 1996 Dusseldorf fire or Entebbe Raid

[@chdreturns]

Agreed def should do the Dusseldorf fire.

[@Yukis.aviation]

Yes finally someone mentions the entebbe hijack

[@pa-pa-plasma]

This is a really weird coincidence. I went on a 4+ hour flight yesterday (in a 737) & as we were waiting for takeoff I saw one of these planes leaving & took a couple pictures of it 'cause I thought it looked cool (& odd among all the other much bigger, propeller-less planes). I was even thinking of Disaster Breakdown at the time xD the great explanations calmed me down every time my brain did that whole "chance of crashing is low, but never zero" thing. I don't think I would've been as chill as that if I hadn't found this channel ngl, thanks, Chloe

[@b.t.356]

Well done as always, Chloe! I was honestly surprised that so many people survived, I expected everyone to lose their lives. I feel rather disgusted and agitated that the GPWS took so long to sound.

[@Milesco]

Yeah, I was thinking same things, both as to the surprising number of survivors and the maddeningly delayed GPWS warning.

[@beenaplumber8379]

@@Milesco The GPWS wasn't delayed. They're only designed to look straight down. They are incapable of detecting rising terrain ahead, and I think that's an awful shortcoming that could be easily remedied, if not by radar, then by integration with GPS and mapping. This is a stupid accident to be having in modern times with the technology we have.

[@aydoyt]

@@beenaplumber8379 Modern GPWS systems (referred to as Enhanced GPWS or EGPWS) use stored terrain information which when combined with GPS signals gives an accurate prediction of terrain rather than solely relying on the radio altimeter. EGPWS was first introduced in 1996, the year after this crash. This accident along with American 965 and the Mount Erebus crash probably reaffirmed the need for a more intelligent system to be introduced.

[@beenaplumber8379]

@@aydoyt That's awesome! I only learn about crashes nowadays, not the current innovations. I bet that's saved more than a few lives. I worked in regional airline ops and for a brief while as a part 121 dispatcher, but I left the industry in the early 90s. (Desert Storm left the airlines in a hurting way - jobs were not secure, nor easy to come by, so I went to college and switched careers.) I guess I shouldn't be so confident about my knowledge of the way things are done now. And I guess there's a reason why crashes have become so rare in the past 2+ decades. Thanks for the good (old) news! 🙂

[@lbowsk]

Almost 9 years in the left seat of the Dash8-100. It's a great plane, but the gear is a bit convoluted, and with age, problems surface. Solenoid sequencing valves, gear door sequencing (3 sets of doors or 6 doors per side, etc). This accident could have been prevented with better maintenance and better piloting. It sounds as though the AP was not engaged and or the vertical speed selected was inappropriate or excessive. Either way, no one was "flying" the plane. DME arcs generally have step-down altitudes. And when leaving one for the next, both pilots need to be in sync on where the plane is going, where it's supposed to level off, the appropriate speed, etc. It's not particularly difficult, but if you add crappy weather, a mechanical issue, low time in type, etc and the workload can get very high, very quickly. In general, by the time a gear problem surfaces, you are WELL into the approach phase and a better course of action is to immediately discontinue the approach, particularly the descending portion. Then get resequenced for a second crack at it. This gives you more time to adequately run the abnormal checklists and prepare for the landing. Everything just flows better when it's slowed down. It's a shame they didn't do that. There's no other plane I'd rather be in during "unplanned contact" with earth. It flies slowly on approach and is built like a tank. That's why so many survived.

[@rowanflynn462]

I worked for many years as a maintenance engineer on Swearingen/Fairchild SA226 and SA227 series aircraft, commonly known as the Metroliner. We had an occasion when the pilots were having difficulty getting the nose gear of one aircraft to extend, but the fault could not be replicated on the ground despite extensive testing. Eventually an emergency gear extension was required and after landing the aircraft was grounded. Although the design of the landing gear is vastly different from that of the Dash 8, the fault was identical. The unlock roller had pounded an indentation into the uplock hook which held the roller in place preventing it moving and releasing the gear. It is amazing how such a simple fault can trigger a chain of events that leads to disaster and death!

[@bradsanders407]

"We had an occasion" An occasion? "Eventually an emergency gear extension was required and after landing the aircraft was grounded? Huh? Im guessing english is a secound language to you to which i say you about got it down. Congrats

[@rowanflynn462]

Occasion?? Yes, an occasion. Not an emergency. Perhaps I should have said "alternate gear extension" rather than emergency. The aircraft was never in danger throughout the incident, but I guess that had the crew become fixated with the defect rather than flying the aircraft another disaster could have resulted. No, English is not my second language and I described the incident as plainly as I could. I see no need for what appears to be a sarcastic comment.

[@caustic1611]

Your videos are always so informative and detailed. I love the attention to detail in the simulators. Also you've got a great voice for narrating! 😄

[@micheleshively8557]

Thanks Chloe! Love this channel ❤️ blessings to you and yours

[@eleanordukes-swyer7570]

Brilliant content as always! Some of the BA special liveries (the ones at the start) were painted by my dad. I know for certain that he sprayed Blue Poole (G-BKYB I think 🤔) but the World Tails as a whole were really cool.

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thanks so much for the SUperThanks. Legend! That's really cool! I always liked the World Tails. It added a bit of variety and color at the local airports. Its a massive shame they were disliked at the time. If you ask me they were ahead of their time. My favorite ones are the Chelsea Rose and the Poland one with the chicken :)

[@Tycowiz]

Great vid as usual Chloe keep up the good work. :)

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thanks!

[@tjnucnuc]

Lovely video as always. Is there a decent Dash 8 model available for MSFS? I live in the flight path to SeaTac and they are always buzzing over my house. Would love to fly one in the sim.

[@danielayers]

New Zealander here. This is a very good video, well done! One minor point - the registration shown on the DC-10 when referencing the Erebus crash is incorrect. The accident aircraft was ZK-NZP, not ZK-NZL. Also, altimeters here are calibrated in hPa and not inHg. Keep up the great work. :)

[@carlmcgregor2707]

A great video, I am from and still live in Palmerston North. This is still a dark day in our cities collective memory. Thank you for doing such a great job.

[@brendanbayer5002]

Was driving from Auckland to Wellington that morning and remember seeing the rescue helicopters flying north following Highway 1, and the weather was shocking

[@dannunzio2958]

I hadn’t watched this channel in years but it’s great to see it with 100k+ subs! Well deserved. Have you considered doing a video on Alitalia flight 112 or 4128?

[@DC4260Productions]

I've been to the Woodville and Palmerston North area a few times myself, even seeing the airport as it's close to the North Island Main Trunk railway line. This was an interesting video because I had no idea that this crash ever happened. By the way, on the subject of plane crashes in New Zealand, may I suggest making a video about National Airways Corporation Flight 441? This DC-3 crashed in the Kaimai Ranges in July 1963, while on a flight from Whenuapai (in Auckland) to Tauranga. Tragically, there were twenty-three fatalities and no survivors, but there's a tribute to the deceased and some wreckage on display at Classic Flyers; an aviation museum just up the road from Tauranga Airport.

[@mbvoelker8448]

Yet again we see a crew forgetting the first and most critical thing -- FLY THE AIRPLANE. Were they under time pressure from their airline to land on schedule? Was this before the culture shift in re: Go-Arounds, when it was still considered a black mark on the pilot's record rather than a matter of routine safety precautions?

[@sister_bertrille911]

This 100%. Followed by "Don't halfass your way through the checklist."

[@sparkybolt2085]

"Fly the **** plane!" - my dad in regards to issues like this.

[@peerpaulin8486]

One Pilot is in duty of monitoring while the other is taken care of the problem. This rule is often forgotten when it comes to CFIT.

[@kiwikeith7633]

Thanks for this. I was near by to this crash, but never heard why it happened. The area where it crashed is now covered in wind a windfarm. The area it crashed in uneven. Ground rises sharply to West of Woodville to where it ended up. Its an area of hill-tops, so I imagine the radio altimeter would have sensed various altitudes as it crossed peaks and valleys. I recall there was a debate about summonsing the cockpit voice recorder transcript for the court case. It was argued that flight safety depends on Pilots not regarding the recorder as a prosecution witness. Maybe that is why the transcript omits the cabin crew's conversation? Maybe.

[@LogieT2K]

Considering that I live roughly an hours drive from Palmy I really appreciate seeing you cover this accident, ive flown in and out palmy airport a few times

[@skunkrat01]

Gosh Ansett, that takes me back

[@TheRealNatNat]

Honestly, I'm pretty shocked that the captain ended up without any sanction. He knew he was over mountains, without visibility and still he didn't give all his attention to the approach. It should be.. I don't know.. basic survival instinct. I'm getting more and more worried of flying because I have become increasingly aware over the years that some pilots are a bit too complacent. I want my pilots cautious bordering on paranoid. 😑

[@_wayward_494]

This crash happened in 1995. I'm sure you'd be fine. "I want my pilots to be cautious bordering on paranoia" everyone says this until the flight gets delayed by 2 hours for extra safety checks.

[@AdrianColley]

Yes, I would have thought that a manslaughter conviction would be entirely appropriate for a pilot-in-command who failed to monitor altitude on approach without good excuse.

[@thierrygaillot1980]

@@AdrianColley It's the all sequence of events who brought them down that needed to be scrutinized (Swiss cheese) Which is exactly what they did. Throwing someone on a bonfire for the sake of it will never enhance aviation safety.

[@wattage2007]

@@thierrygaillot1980 I disagree. The pilot should've aborted the landing if they were running emergency checklists with minutes to spare before landing. The landing was obviously unstable so his behaviour was reckless.

[@thierrygaillot1980]

@@wattage2007 No question that it was pretty dumb not to abort. It is why they ended up acting the way they did who needed to be scrutinized (Two pilots on board, not just one, even if the Captain bears the ultimatum responsibility) You need to tackle the problem at its root not at the end, that's the aviation safety goal.

[@asmodeuso27]

Hey Chloe, thanks for the video! Have you ever considered making a video about LaMia flight 2933? A disaster that killed almost an entire soccer team from southern Brazil. I think it’s worth taking a look. Thank you for your amazing job!

[@shaunstrasser1]

Just saw that on Air Diasters sad story a story about the lack of money, safety and maintaining equipment

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Yes I have read about it, its one I do want to get round to sometime this year

[@asmodeuso27]

@@DisasterBreakdown there’s an interview with one of the survivors, Follmann, on Flow podcasts. He explains what happened through the view of a passenger - engines flaming out, lights going off and all that. I can help you with any trouble with Portuguese you may find, or if you need some pt-en translation about the case. Just hit my dm!

[@colingreen1208]

That manual extension handle is tricky, the first time I pulled it I thought I had done it but apparently I hadn’t. You really have to pull hard on it and pull it down quite far, much harder and farther than you would initially think.

[@andrewstevenson118]

If you want to do more train crashes, Tangiwai might be worth looking into. QE2 was here at the time, too.

[@josdenis3684]

Thank you for another great video. Poor performance of both pilots, especially the captain!

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

It's always a good weekend when Chloe uploads! ;o)

[@lisabowenhospital]

Knowing the area I'm left wondering if the gpw was working just fine and it was more an issue of the terrain that caused the issue for the gpw? The flight would have been coming over flat land then came into hill a bit like a speed bump. Do gpw look forward or just face down? Are they programmed for terrain? It would only take a few seconds for the plane to be 800ft over Woodville to 0ft off the ground. It would be like a fly flyiing 2inchs of the ground then coming across a 2 1/4 inch speed bump. If the flight had been 30 metres higher then they probably would have missed the ground.

[@Darndiddlyarn]

I remember this crash well, we lived near enough emergency services to hear the entire lot and thought man what's going on, I believe one of the passengers survived the initial crash but died of injuries sustained helping three other people from the wreckage, at least that's what I remember at the time.

[@Rapscallion2009]

What I don't understand is why they chose to continue the approach, knowing the aircraft wasn't configured for landing. Surely the sensible thing would be to inform the airfield of the problem and circle for a bit whilst you run through your checklists to resolve the issue with the landing gear, rather than try to rush through them whilst doing everything else necessary to prepare for landing? - I'm wondering if they thought something else was going on like a general hydraulic issue that might require them to land ASAP.

[@jamesgraham6122]

As a pilot I have to say that except in very exceptional circumstances, legal proceedings against a surviving accident crew are unacceptable, something we would normally expect to be encountered in totalitarian regimes. In this instance, the actions of the supposedly highly experienced flight crew were in fact totally unacceptable. They were under no pressure to land urgently, we all encounter similar events during our careers, their reaction to the problem was amateurish in the extreme. All they needed to do was take a look at the fuel gauges, decide how long they had to troubleshoot the issue, inform ATC that they needed some clear airspace to deal with the problem, deal with the checklist in a professional manner and then make their approach. The capatain has to accept the responsibility for failure, the FO should have prompted the captain to undertake a more acceptable plan of action.

[@iatsd]

>>legal proceedings against a surviving accident crew are unacceptable, something we would normally expect to be encountered in totalitarian regimes.

[@gnicholson4231]

This reminds be of a simulator check in B737-300 where I was given two failure and the second was LT fap failure. We were in a holding pattern and had started the checklist for the LE failure but still in the middle when we reached the holding beacon, so I requested a further hold to complete the checklist. In the debrief the training Captain criticised me for 'wasting' fuel because he said we could have completed the checklist on approach'. I wish I had seen this video before that as I would have shown it to him !

[@michaelschwartz9485]

I'm not so sure, based only on this video, that the radio altimeter was faulty. RA works by sending a signal straight down, with a bit forward facing. Hills and mountains can rise abruptly. They are only really looking down and slightly forward, meant for landing and not necessarily terrain. A mountain rising 1000' over a distance of a couple hundred feet is not uncommon. GPS terrain mapping would have been of use in this case. Again, I don't know all the technical details of this accident but based solely on the primary use of RA, this system is not intended to alert to and avoid rapidly changing terrain, like mountains. A forward looking RA is a different story. I love your channel, great job, can't wait to see more videos!!

[@timithius7885]

Once again, another well done video! This one so close to home too (Manawatu), makes me want to dust off my long un-current pilots licence!

[@Rapscallion2009]

I always think the Dash8 looks like it ought to fly well. It's one of those aircraft that just looks like it is going to work well.

[@Jakey4000]

Oh wow, I'm a Kiwi and have never heard of this disaster. I'm mainly only aware of the Erebus disaster

[@neenkennedy6059]

Ka pai! On your pronunciation of Tararua. That was spot on! (We'll work on Manawatu ROFL)

[@darkamora5123]

June would be the first month of winter in the southern hemisphere not the "height of winter". Living in the northern hemisphere I'd cal late January/February the height of winter here. So I'd have to assume late July/August would hold the same place there.

[@timarmstrong3736]

As a New Zealander I must commend you on the correct pronunciation of the locations mentioned. This is rare to see on KZbin

[@AndreA-ke2id]

Although the situation in the cockpit was wrong, the pilots shouldn't take all the blame for this. The airline's maintenance changing just one latch is more to blame. It doesn't make sense that both left and right latches were not changed at the same time.

[@momentomori-rw6jp]

Great Video as Always! ❤

[@jodij2366]

Another notable plane crash in New Zealand was NAC Flight 441, still the worst crash on mainland New Zealand soil.

[@PhycoKrusk]

"When in doubt, go around" should be something that pilots are reminded of constantly. There is not a person alive who would rank "Vector is around please, we have a few checklists to finish and we need a little more time" _below_ "Flight, do you read?" On a list of things they want to hear over the radio.

[@gregidour7315]

How good does the DC 10 look in the old air New Zealand livery

[@randalhopper1708]

My mum was actually on that flight. Survived and I still live in palmerston north

[@rogerjohnson6676]

Good pronunciation of Manawatu. I worked for Ansett Airfreight, we had high standards.

[@wesleyjohnson3786]

Can’t help but see the similarity between this accident and Eastern 401. What’s it with landing gear issues and CFIT?

[@cadkoger]

Five years ago I was aboard a Q400 that had to return to the airport after takeoff because the landing gear would not retract. So, yeah, guess those gear issues never went away.

[@mckungsmakong]

Thanks!

[@andrewilliamcesardossantos1555]

10:53 I’m liked that you used as ACI animation as reference

[@nyxqueenofshadows]

great video, as always!

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thank you!

[@murringo9]

It's surprising that the Dash-8 is plagued by the landing gear problems - what's so hard about devising a fix so it is never an issue again?

[@_KRose]

Why they decided to replace only one set of the landing gear, leave the other until later and then sent the plane out to fly again is beyond me...

[@timithius7885]

At a guess, as NZ isn't a large purchaser, we aren't so high up the pecking order. Perhaps with only so many (expensive - especially with importing them so far) parts available, improving 7 or 8 out of 9 planes was seen as better than leaving 7 out of 9 planes without any improvement at all. Like I say, only a guess. Still there were systems and procedures that should have been followed - for exactly this kind of reason.

[@neurocidesakiwi]

Money. That's why.

[@hectorpascal]

Every pilots' first lesson: "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" - in that order. While you are concentrating on keeping the plane in the air, others must be trusted to troubleshoot problems. Every passenger would rather be late than dead or seriously injured.

[@StephanieElizabethMann]

I'm close to the end of the video. I would have thought that the proximity alarm would not sound because up until the plane crashed there was no need of a warning. The ground was on a slope as the plane got lower and closer to the ground the proximity of the the ground would get closer as the height of the mountain/hills increased. Like a wedge going down to the edge the plane and ground represented two lines intersecting at the point of impact. The late alarm was due to the distance from the plane to the ground suddenly decreased as the top of the hill came into its sensor's range.

[@TheFULLMETALCHEF]

Unforgivable that serious known issues are allowed to put people at risk.

[@sludge8506]

This crash was completely pilot error. Unforgivable. Stick to making soup, Tere.

[@budwhite9591]

True however, it wasn’t a hopeless situation. Ultimately, they should have asked to circle and trouble shoot versus continue with the landing

[@sludge8506]

@@budwhite9591 Absolutely, sir!

[@SeargentBarnes]

The plane should have been grounded until the appropriate upgraded part was installed on the landing gear. We have seen this time and time again in air crashes. In saying that the pilot did fail to fly the plane adequately given it was so close to the ground. A go around would seem logical. I would never second guess the pilots from this armchair though. The fact that He was found not guilty I'm guessing would be directly attributable to the faulty part not being installed this negates all pilot error.

[@sct913]

So both sides of the landing gear had the same known problem, but the mechanics replaced the hardware on only one side? That's like having badly worn brakes on your front axle but replacing them on only one wheel.

[@TheEvilmooseofdoom]

That happens, especially where there are backups to the primary. You use the parts you have rather than wait. The problem was poor judgement in the cockpit. The gear was not helping but it was solvable, HAD the people making the decisions done their job correctly.

[@sct913]

@@TheEvilmooseofdoom Fair point.

[@lcmortensen]

The accident aircraft had seven incidents in the previous three years when the landing gear was slow or failed to deploy. Of those, six involved the left side while only one involved the right side. Due to delays in receiving parts, the mechanics replaced the left landing gear first since that was the more troublesome, and were to replace the right landing gear at a later date.

[@mikearakelian6368]

Scenarios like this are done on 6 mos flt checks.. Why not miss the approch,hold then work out failure while holding...we did this on my type chk on DH 4; then we had an actual engine failure, so I had to sched.another period to complete flt check...army pt 95

[@yagoalmeida7004]

Oh yeah, here we go again. I love your videos btw

[@waynewhite2323]

''Chance it with Ansett'' Ol' Australian saying.

[@patricianolan5053]

Disrespectful

[@stuartgmk]

That's how it became after it was sold too you know who ?

[@EKNYR]

Earliest I’ve ever been lmao. Must be bc I’m flying next week. Thanks for the vid Chloe

[@DisasterBreakdown]

Thanks for watching! Have a safe flight when you travel!

[@The_ZeroLine]

Don’t forget, de Havilland Canada also created one of the most legendarily rugged and dependable planes in history: the DHC-2 Beaver. Despite a lot of them still around and flying, people will pay massive amounts for them.

[@peteacher52]

Thank you. I had forgotten about that disaster but at the time, it was big news. Unfortunately, whenever and wherever men operate machines, there will be human error at some stage. Col, Northland.

[@wobby1516]

In my book it was definitely pilot error on the part of the captain, but I can understand the pressure on pilots to land their planes and thereby safe the company costly delays. In Irelands Sligo airport I’ve seen a small commercial carriers land in the most appalling conditions.

[@fruitpunch5260]

I just don’t understand why there aren’t standardised procedures worldwide for operating aircraft. Why is it up to the airline to develop their own operating procedures? Surely that would lead to shortcomings in specific situations shown in this video?

[@Ellada0427]

The captain should have been charged for manslaughter and not be permitted to fly ever again. Putting the lives of others on the line just to not delay a landing and failing to monitor his instruments while putting stress on the first officer end up leading to loss of life and somehow he gets acquitted of all charges.. amazing just wow.

[@TheInvoice123]

Nearly crashed at Palmy. Had to go around. Terrible airport!

[@RBMapleLeaf]

I find it surprising. How the pilots were able to survive yet the flight attendant and 3 passengers died. (17 survived) Also, if the pilot (specifically the Captain) weren't fully focused on the landing gear which the mechanism which had suffered wear and tear and was being replaced. Which is interesting that this particular plane had its left landing gear constantly failing to lower. But by the accident it was replaced, as said the right side landing gear was in the process of being replaced and in the maintenance it wasn't having a lot of faults compared to the left side landing gear. Also, this wouldn't be an issue as there is handle that should be pulled on to override the landing gear system and automatically set the landing gear down. The handle was pulled down but not hard enough. As said to see 3 passengers and the flight attendant killed. You could say it's a miracle a majority of the passengers and both pilots survived. Apparently also this plane had a malfunction with its GPWS hence the lack of time able to climb. I would love to see Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268 where the GPWS doesn't sound at all. I wonder why? Other crashes or crisis adverted would be Northwest 85 Olympic Airways Flight 411 Emery Worldwide Flight 17

[@timothyhh]

My guess is they were sitting where at one of the spots where the fuselage broke apart.

[@andysaunders3708]

You have ONE, count 'em, ONE runway, so it get's numbered "7"? Bloody hell.

[@andysaunders3708]

And if you're going to risk your life to arrive at your destination, please choose somewhere more exotic than Palmerston North. Have a chat with John Cleese about P/N - he said something along the lines of "It'd be a good town to commit suicide in". I concur. And trust me, I tried - 40 years ago. "Palmy", as it's fondly known by the surviving locals. What a hellhole.

[@PixelTrain1]

Yes, cause thats how runways work. they're numbered after the coordinates they face so runway 07 faces 070 degrees

[@andysaunders3708]

What if you're landing in the opposite direction?@@PixelTrain1

[@kais3297]

it would be interenting to hear about aero flight 311 or aero flight 217, which happened only two years apart and still remain two of the three crashes in the history of aero oy (now finnair)

[@camclark7046]

For the record, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is now an independent company and has announced plans to continue production of the Dash 8 - Q400 and other aircraft from a new production facility.

[@zozzamozzi]

The Captain was also unlucky. It seems just as he got distracted, the plane encountered a downdraft in the lee of the ranges which caused an increased loss in altitude. Thats why he said he was surprised by this change.

[@traeghniwwingyl8167]

Another possible reason why the GPWS didn't go off in time is that they might've been close enough to the airport for the warning floor to lower a bit? It isn't helpful that has a GPWS that goes off on routine landings so it warns at lower and lower altitudes the closer you are to a runway until you're close enough that it just never warns