EMERGENCY Landing On A Rural Highway | Southern Airways Flight 242 | Mayday: Air Disaster

Southern Airways Flight 242 has been caught in the storm. They try to escape, but hail the size of baseballs damages the plane. After managing to escape the storm, the pilots search for a place to land because both of their engines have failed. The pilots decide to land on Georgia State Highway 92, a rural road.
Why did the onboard radar guide Flight 242 through the worst part of the storm?
From Season 5 Episode 6 "Southern Storm": April 4, 1977 - A DC-9 takes off in heavy rain for a 25-minute flight from Huntsville to Atlanta, Georgia. The flight crew is expecting some turbulence but is unprepared for the increasingly dangerous weather.
Using their onboard radar the crew navigates towards a break in the storm. But within minutes, hail the size of baseballs is beating down on the aircraft. The cockpit’s thick windshield cracks. Suddenly the aircraft loses electrical power, and then, both engines fail. If the crew can’t get to an airport, they’re going to crash.
The plane finally emerges from the storm near the town of New Hope Georgia - but they’ve fallen too far to reach an airport. First Officer Lyman Keele directs his Captain to start looking for a place to land.
Investigators must determine why the pilots flew into such a severe storm, and what caused the engines to fail. They learn that the pilots used their onboard radar to find a safe exit from the intensifying storm.
Welcome to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster KZbin Channel.
Mayday: Air Disaster is a dramatic non-fiction series that investigates high-profile air disasters to uncover how and why they happened. Mayday: Air Disaster follows survivors, family members of crash victims and transportation safety investigators as they piece together the evidence of the causes of major accidents. So climb into the cockpit for an experience you won’t soon forget.
Subscribe to the OFFICIAL Mayday: Air Disaster channel here: bit.ly/2PQnaMI
#MaydayAirDisaster #MaydayInvestigation #AirEmergency #MaydayEpisodes #planecrashes #airplanecrashes #aviationaccidents #Fullepisode #airplanedisasterdocumentary #aircrashinvestigation #SouthernAirways #SouthernStorm

[@fitzgerald434]

If a flight is delayed because of weather be thankful. This is a perfect example of a flight that should've been delayed until the weather cleared a bit

[@ekweseman]

I believe it was a case of get-there-itis

[@merricat3025]

I've only flown maybe 8 times in my life. One of the times they delayed the flight because of rain. It didn't seem like heavy rain. Watching this, I'm thankful

[@vicvega3614]

Couldn't the pilots have flown higher above the weather?

[@yuzuichikawa]

@@vicvega3614 They tried that but lost power.

[@LeoneLaTwerk2]

The engines flamed out and usually weather like that has high storm clouds. Going higher may not have been safe . Radar wise they were hit unexpectedly

[@equarg]

Bless that Mom who saw the crash, and allowed survivors inside. I knew it was a traumatic sight, but she helped in so many ways. She offered shelter and comfort to the injured and traumatized.

[@nancyhoward7005]

Amen

[@sassafraspaul7528]

It sucks all those babies on the ground that died with their moms and grandma all in one family

[@trukeesey8715]

Just think if the passengers and crew in their lives hadn't violated the first commandment by letting entertainment be their priest! There would have been protection against catastrophe.

[@annemary9680]

​@@trukeesey8715 watching a show ain't violating the first commandment, puritan.

[@trukeesey8715]

@@annemary9680 Now you will share the blame for the next set of deaths, of any who were persuaded by your flippant comment to let ntertainment to be their priest. Electrodes on the brain have shown a state of hypnosis. That means control over the minds of the watchers. Listen to Prem Rawat.

[@ChrisMcKee087]

The passenger that covered himself with pillows and a leather jacket was incredibly smart. All things considered ahead of his time in bracing for that kind of impact.

[@squathi]

Did he help anyone else?

[@SHANNONWILKINS-v6d]

@@squathi It doesn’t sound like it. That man was in complete self-preservation mode. Even years later, I didn’t hear him express ANY regret about not helping others 👀👀.

[@That_One_Guy457]

@@SHANNONWILKINS-v6d So? I mean in your heart of hearts, do you honestly think he could have done anything in his power to help anyone else at the time? What could he do? Plus, is there anything necessarily wrong with being in self-preservation mode?

[@mileyreese6071]

Cushions.

[@mileyreese6071]

@@SHANNONWILKINS-v6dbut how could you help if you yourself is dead?

[@goofyiest]

the family that was there at ground zero and helped, that's what humans do. Tremendous respect.

[@Epic_C]

Should it happen today, more people will just be out recording on their phones and posting for social media likes rather than actually helping.

[@jagirl966]

@@Epic_C if they did help, it would just be for the fame that comes with being a hero in the disaster.

[@rachelmartin3631]

@@jagirl966 A good deed should be done in silence. My apartment complex does regular drives for food and clothing. They offer a gift card to those who donate, I never put my name in.

[@balozhende5727]

@@rachelmartin3631 Good for you.

[@carlwilliams6977]

Not ALL humans! Mr. pillow and leather jacket was out for #1, and made no bones about it. I thought it was odd that they showed him stepping over the passenger next to him, who was still strapped in his seat. I thought maybe they just screwed up the reenactment. However, in his last statement he admitted that he just wanted to have "fun"! Not one mention about concern or condolences for anyone else, or the fact that he was lucky to have survived, leather jacket and pillows or not!

[@claudelombana3689]

The lady with the two teenagers in the rural house (at 23.51) is one of those silent heroes who flies high in the sky. What a sweet woman and what sweet soul.

[@nancyhoward7005]

True

[@cureforintroversion1262]

She died?

[@Cmoredebris]

I was on a flight landing at Atlanta Hartsfield about the same time Flt 242 went down in New Hope. The weather was awful and on short final a gust hit us and we dropped and almost crashed short of the runway. I got to my hotel, turned on the TV and saw the reports on 242. Awful day, I'll never forget.

[@georgegilbert7347]

I was in Atlanta airport waiting for a flight on the day the this crash happened. Information that a Southern airliner had crashed begin to circulate through the waiting crowds. Until watching this video I never knew the details of the crash.

[@PlatinumIrishrose]

Your Guardian Angels were in overdrive this day. Be careful driving around town and traffic this holiday season, you are worth it. ❤

[@joy2440]

WOW

[@misspacino4081]

So scary! What a miracle that your ok and your flight was able to be under control and everyone be okay. RIP to those who lost their lives on the other plane 😢 ❤

[@sartainja]

It was the weather not the pilots that caused the accident. The flight needed to never left Huntsville. The pilots were heroes. Everyone on board would have died if not for them.

[@TerryMundy]

You're right. You never hear of a plane crashing tail first.

[@vicvega3614]

Cant a DC9 fly higher to avoid the weather?

[@TrooperA113]

@@vicvega3614they tried climbing to 15000 ft but as you heard the engines went out.

[@qisong2573]

​@@TerryMundy There are, there is a kind of accident called tail strike, and when it goes really wrong, it can seperate the tail from the plane. you may check out Asiana Airlines Flight 214.

[@rosemeccia9411]

Absolutely

[@vickichavez9956]

God bless the woman who opened up her home to help the injured what a beautiful soul

[@jamie.777]

Her Home was right next to the plane. Her family wasn't hurt. Of course she opened the door, what's she gonna say? Go away??? Lol. Her neighborhood was destroyed. Everyone would have helped and let them in

[@andrewdinns1746]

@@jamie.777 I don't understand vick's comments. Even total psychos would open their home in this scenario.

[@happyvocal]

Opening your home is one thing, obviously the moral pressure alone would overcome anyone. But it's another thing for someone to snap into action and go out of their way to attend to everyone and their wounds so carefully. She was put into a situation she never expected to be in and performed admirably in not only letting her home be a makeshift hospital, but in caring for everyone so considerately as well. That is something worth nodding to I think.

[@deborahfrye1180]

I was working at a local hospital when we heard about the Marshall plane crash. We immediately gathered all equipment to the emergency room, listening for approaching sirens of rescue vehicles. There were no sirens, and we wept.

[@dawnlizmc]

The picture you summoned made me weep.

[@laurathomas699]

The people killed on the ground were my friends. It killed the daughter both daughter-in-law’s and all 4 grandchildren in one family. Faye and her 6 month son, Edna and her son and daughter and Kathy and her 6 week old baby. They were at the pumps. There was another woman standing at the pumps but saw the plane and ran. A retired schoolteacher died when she went to her front door and was met with the plane crash. Another man died of his burns later. The battle of New Hope Church was fought on this very ground where these people died. It was already hollowed ground. Many people in the area helped many people affected. A roofing crew trying to finish their job witnessed the crash. A school bus driver went deaf when the plane landed in front of him driving a school bus. So many others lives affected by this horrible crash. Prayers

[@johnny170363]

I'm sorry that your town had to experience this.

[@nicolegillespie4704]

I'm so sorry for your loss. My heart and prayers to everyone affected by this horrible crash.

[@johnroberts1873]

So much terror and death… Knowing rural America as I do, I am confident that your community came together and are examples for how to endure the un-endurable.

[@alarahillton1343]

Thank you for sharing. We never really know when tragedy will strike, where it will come from, or how long we shall live. This is just brutal what you describe 💔.

[@elsplace896]

My condolences for that terrible loss.

[@XxHarmony63Xx]

Wow this one really is sad with all the "almost" events. Like not knowing about the closer airport. Just heartbreaking

[@catreecemacleod7556]

It's usually the case though with these crashes. Usually you need a dozen things to go wrong for it to even be possible for the crash, which is sort of comforting in its own way to think about how rare they are, but doesn't help so much for when everything lines up just perfectly to go wrong all at once. It's like you didn't just win the lotto on bad luck, you won it three times in a row by someone else accidentally hiccuping when asking for something at a convenience store and they misinterpreted it as a lotto ticket sale and they just went along with it because why not then figured they didn't need it and slipped it into your jacket pocket instead and you found it the next day and hey you won. Shame the prize sucked in this case though.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Flight attendant Catherine Lemoine-Cooper passed away June 12, 2020, five weeks before her 70th birthday. She participated in the documentaries of the crash and kept in touch with the survivors and attended the reunions. 1977 was bad for air crashes all over the world. This happened just one week after the Tenerife disaster that killed 583. Investigator Greg Feith was one of the best the NTSB had (I think he retired around 2003) and investigated some of the biggest crashes including one in my state (AA flight 1420 in Little Rock in 1999)

[@randomvintagefilm273]

I had an immature crush on Greg Feith for years. What a handsome specimen of the male species he is!

[@maxinefreeman8858]

@@randomvintagefilm273 ..Is that the one with premature white hair.

[@maxinefreeman8858]

@@randomvintagefilm273 I watch Air Disasters when he's on it.

[@muffs55mercury61]

@@maxinefreeman8858 Yes. He was like in his 40s or early 50s when he started graying and is 65 now.

[@jasonkimble2363]

That's not immature at all. I still do. He's near perfect

[@roserocks1979]

The pilots did the best they could. You can't blame them. The Mom who ran to help after the crash is a hero. That poor town was turned into a raging fire. Giving that this was in the early 70's it's amazing anyone lived.

[@swtstgrlcaroline]

I agree… I mean you can say had day, all day long, and they did the best they could under this horrible circumstances they were delivered

[@davidpowell6012]

They should have never taken off. Yeah it was their fault.

[@fluffskunk]

Good stick-and-rudder flying but, no, bad aviating. The decision to take off was bad, the energy management in glide was bad, the decision to land on the highway was bad. I know it's considered poor taste to speak ill of the dead, but the pilots failed in their duties at multiple times here.

[@MoneyStrategiesSOULutions]

@@fluffskunk no other choices than that highway btw.

[@kyuumons]

@@davidpowell6012 That's not the decision of the pilots

[@lisalu910]

In 1985 my husband was the passenger in a single engine plane flying over rural Georgia when the engine conked out and wouldn't restart. The pilot was skillful enough to glide the aircraft to a safe landing in a cornfield. This was back before cell phones and they couldn't call for help so they started walking to the nearest farmhouse and along the way they tried waving down motorists on the nearby highway who just waved back and kept on going (guess they didn't see the PLANE in the field!) This didn't make the news, but they were thankful to be able to walk away from what could have been a deadly crash and tell the story to family and friends.

[@merricat3025]

I just imagine people having an emergency landing and waving for help and everybody just waving back

[@princesscadance197]

By your comment, I assume the fuel lines didn't ignite after it landed. The pilot must have been real skilled to keep the entire vessel from crashing and risking a fuel line ignition explosion.

[@ClydeP4]

And the man who survived taking so many pillows, I'm very happy that he survived! I wish that he could have shared his idea of covering himself with his nearby passengers and maybe shared the pillows and helped them too.

[@lisawilson9981]

Mr Don Foster of Decatur Alabama. He recently passed away.

[@Wormhole-Bar-Concert-Venue]

not just the pillows, the leather jacket over his face saved him from the wall of fire that blasted through the cabin, which probably allowed him to exit since his face wasnt burned off.

[@lisawilson9981]

You mean Don Foster of Decatur Alabama. He passed away in 2023 from cancer.

[@marcgoff7881]

What an idiotic comment. I could explain why but it would probably be a wasted effort as the commenter probably couldn’t understand it anyway.

[@tammyhollandsworth6783]

Bless this woman that opened up her home and to those who were there to help the people who were injured. 😢. Omgoodness this was horrible. God be with those families who lost their lives in the car and on the airplane. 😮

[@jamie.777]

I think every American would do the same. You have a plane down , nobody would turn them away

[@GooseAlarm]

That guy who hid in his jacket with pillows was a damn genius. He literally saved himself. Suprised other people didn't copy.

[@SuperZytoon]

Greg Feith was the best NTSB lead investigators. I miss his explanations of what went wrong with airplane crashes. Of course, thank God there not as many crashes to report anymore.

[@jimjoe9945]

Feith has KZbin channel Flight Safety Detectives with two other guys.

[@LiliAquinas]

​@@jimjoe9945 thanks!

[@katrinarucker9773]

​@@jimjoe9945All three of them are former NTSB investigators.

[@Hope4all2]

Exactly what is there to thank an invisible deity for?

[@tiffinyanderson4403]

The way they come together to remember those lost and impacted is touching. Calling out their names and playing the bells is truly lovely. 🙏🏼

[@janetrogers5429]

Maybe pilots are blamed but I say they did the best they could. God bless pilots

[@Perfectpearl]

I agree. They ALWAYS blame the pilot.

[@misspacino4081]

@@Perfectpearlyep I just had to defend pilots in another comment above this one where someone was saying it is the pilots fault.. but the truth is the pilots lives are at risk to and usually when a crash does happen the pilots usually always die bc their right their facing impact. Pilots do what they can to save a plane from crashing. That’s what people don’t get. Mechanical errors, engineer errors, bad weather, ect a lot more. Things to blame but it’s always the pilots that get blamed.

[@jamesstreet228]

Greg is right. I live in the southern US near the Gulf of Mexico and the summers here are hot and extremely humid. The thunderstorms can become severe. I flew into Atlanta on a flight from Frankfurt Germany and there was a storm so bad that the airport was closed. Nothing could land and nothing could take off. We circled for 30-45 years. Lol. It was 30-45 minutes but it was the longest 30-45 minutes of my life. I'm not kidding. I didn't think we were going to make it. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

[@romantic340]

Its a day I will never forget, was a kid getting off the school bus, and the skies turned pitch black, turning day into night, living 10 miles from the accident location, was hearing the sirens for what seamed hours and hours, ambulances going to Cobb General Hospital, most eerie day i can ever recall, R.I.P to all that were involved.

[@lisalu910]

I live in northern Cobb County now, and apparently not far from where this happened. Don't know Cobb General Hospital, though, is that now Kennestone?

[@romantic340]

@@lisalu910 Kennestone is in Marietta Ga, and Cobb General Hospital is in Austell Ga, I would imagine some may have been taken to Kennestone Hospital as well, I know some went to the hospital in Dallas Ga, but back then, it was a really small hospital.

[@CoreyChambersLA]

Softball sized hail is deadly, as is landing in a tree-filled area. The pilots are heroes for saving 20 passengers.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Yes you figure it heading to the ground up to several hundred miles an hour & I sure wouldn't want to be outside in it.

[@mixintl]

I was 13 years old in 7th grade and lived about 15 miles from the crash. I clearly remember getting off the school bus and hearing all the sirens. ...lots and lots of them everywhere. It was evident something bad had hapoened. The sky was sunny but dark all around so I assumed it was a weather event nearby. My uncles business was used as a temporary morgue.

[@dianalee3059]

Years and years ago my ex husband got his private pilots license. I took half a ground school course and logged just 8 hours with an instructor. It wasn’t for me. And just having half-knowledge about avionics made me a nervous passenger and drove my ex crazy. Operative word, ex!. I have the greatest respect for pilots.

[@BeakerSteve]

As an Air Traffic Controller, I'm so grateful for the updated technology we and pilots have today. The systems today are so much more advanced than the tragedy portrayed in this video.

[@ryandaniel4571]

I was honored to be present at the dedication of the memorial of flight 242 on April 4, 2021. After years of fundraising, the people who lost their lives on that fateful day now have a fitting memorial.

[@sherrimorris3560]

It's a horrible fact that the airline should have immediately made the decision to build a memorial for those lost and not put it on a fundraiser to pay for it decades later! Typical corporate greed that only focuses on the bonuses and golden parachutes for the porcine in upper levels of management. Disgusting! 😢😭😠

[@aussiemom3559]

A former coworker was the female military personnel. She said they were returning from overseas. They sat in the back because that was the smoking section (this was 1977 ) and that the tail ripped off and she was sitting in her seat and she unbuckled the seatbelt and stood on the ground. Walked away with minor physical injuries but she says the PTSD type symptoms still existed 40 years after the fact. (That’s when we worked together.)

[@allthingsbegin]

God Bless the people who welcomed them into their homes. What an amazing story.

[@lisahinton9682]

@CHAD That was just normal in the 1970s - everyone was like that. No one would've turned away people, unlike in today's world of 2023. I was a kid in the 1970s and it was an entirely different, better in so many ways, world.

[@derrick1916-i7d]

Having that service at the end…. Wow. Bless you all, we will always remember

[@ilenephillik8982]

My deepest condolences to the pilots family and to those families that passed away during the crashed. May they all rest in peace. Thanks God for those alive. ❤️🤝💔😢🙏

[@jeffgarner3178]

Here is the truth I was working at a Hardies that day as they rushed passengers to the local Marietta, Georgia Kennesaw Hospital blocking off the roads for emergency vehicles. My friend Erik Creighton when he was about 4 used to have nightmares of a fireball going down the highway in front of his house. When he was 14 a fireball went down the highway in front of his house. The wheels of the plane killed his grandmother. He at 14 jumped in a pick up truck and took people to the hospital even though he did not have a license yet. Not sure but I think I see Erik standing in front of the New Hope Church for a memorial service of who died 30 years later in this documentary. The plane barely missed the New Hope Elementary school as it was going down.

[@lisawilson9981]

One of the survivors is from my hometown. My mother knows him well. Less than a year he came to his home church, where we also went, and gave his testimony about surviving the crash. He was horribly burned and bears the scars even now. I will never as long as i live forget his description of the horror and heroism.

[@kirara2516]

Would you say this show represented them and what happened accurately?

[@lisawilson9981]

@kirara2516 According to Jerry Causey it was extremely accurate. He credits the pilots who did everything they possibly could to save the plane and passengers. And they almost did.

[@joefillicetti1165]

Imagine when people say that being in a plane crash is less likely than winning the lottery or a car accident and that poor family were all killed in both a plane crash and technically a car accident. Condolences to all the people lost and their families and to the people who survived and helped comfort the survivors.

[@NrinaNutshell]

It's still true today. It's still less likely.

[@Surannhealz]

Sometimes bad things happen, and no one needs to be blamed, just learn from it.

[@lisamcbride8921]

No one learns without getting it wrong!

[@brigidtheirish]

To learn, we need to know what caused the bad thing.

[@skookapalooza2016]

It's so sad that the pilots...who did everything they possibly could to save the aircraft, both perished in the crash.

[@Calliope0954]

It is VERY sad that each and every improvement made, guidelines, instructions are written in blood. The vast far-reaching improvements were done after 9/11 - stricter security measures, much stronger built cockpits, - oh the loss of so many passengers, people on the ground, in the towers - but I salute those gutsy travellers on flight 93 forcing the plane to crash in Shanksville and not it's intended target. Let's pray pilots use those improvements that keep us safe.

[@joshuadughi]

Thanks for the spoiler alert. NOT!!

[@sunshinenbacon9448]

@@joshuadughi why would you read the comments first 😂

[@madiekirkland3764]

@@sunshinenbacon9448 Sunshine and Bacon...my mistake also. Like watching the end of a movie first. 🙄

[@nancyhoward7005]

God Bless them

[@Axelsmom]

What a beautiful yet heartbreaking memorial service.

[@MikeOhhMinerals]

I drive through New Hope all the time. Also, I worked with some old southern air mechanics a long time ago when they became republic and northwest. Now I work in the old Southern Air hangar at ATL. They were good people and are never forgotten.

[@oldcrackadated]

I flew on that plane a few weeks before the crash , gave the pilot & copilot a ride home which I did every time I flew in with them , haven’t flown since , think you can understand that

[@alisondelli-gatti8500]

bless you🤍

[@Iris_Collins]

I've flown two round trips. On the return leg of the second, the regional plane from the small town I'd been visiting to Atlanta had electrical problems was delayed until the issue could be remedied. Watching things like this makes me thankful for the crews and their preventative measures.

[@timothywilliams7264]

The fact anyone walked away is crazy. R.i.p

[@battlestar1788]

To learn that there was a runway closer that breaks my heart

[@SusanGuthrie-wr7ok]

I live a mile or so from this. Never saw anything other than newspaper accounts. It is horrible to think of the terror of those pilots. I also know by having a good friend's father go through a wreck caused by storms in Ark. He has PTSD forever. So, I know those onboard and relatives etc thank you for sharing this.

[@therealjd4life]

This was the best episode by far, it was so dramatic and emotional....you actually felt like you were in that plane

[@jroar123]

I flew from Birmingham to Atlanta in bad weather. We rolled the aircraft twice while dropping 1000 feet in seconds. A broken arm, several lacerations and bruised from head to toe. Always take weather in that area seriously.

[@PlatinumIrishrose]

God bless you.

[@robbiemckenzie7822]

I Grew up in that area . Yes take that weather seriously

[@rdred8693]

My goodness, I'm so sorry you went through that, but glad you are still with us!

[@dianacann5243]

I don't understand why Atlanta would be a hub. I have flown into Atlanta in a bad storm and been delayed for 2 days. It doesn't make sense that Atlanta, Georgia is a flying hub

[@jroar123]

@@dianacann5243 I grew up in Atlanta. It's a nice place but it can produce some really bad storms. Atlanta is a hub because if you are flying from the North East to South America, it's the logical place. Also, If you are flying from anyplace on the West Coast to Europe, it's the logical place to bring people in to fly over on larger aircraft. It's the headquarters for Delta and there are several aircraft maintenance facilities right there. For the most part, the weather is fairly calm in Atlanta. The winters are usually mild as well. Chicago is also a main hub but the winters up there can be hard. Still, Chicago is one of the busiest airports in the world behind Atlanta.

[@nevar23]

Wow, just stumbled on this. I live about 13 miles away from where it crashed. I was so glad when they were finally able to put up a proper memorial for this tragedy, because a lot of people have no idea it happened.

[@Kpoole35]

Rest peacefully to the lead flight attendant Catherine Lemoine Cooper (1950-2020)

[@muffs55mercury61]

I was a little stunned when I read about her passing. Very pretty lady even into her elder years. She had a lot of compassion for those who were lost and their families and survivors.

[@harryshuman9637]

Damn, I sometimes forget how old Mayday is. This episode is from 2008.

[@higherresolution4490]

So sorry to hear of her passing. Such an extraordinary woman. Her strength and grace gives the impression that she would have lived Beyond 100.

[@Perfectpearl]

@@muffs55mercury61why were you stunned about her death? She was 70. And what do her looks have to do with this? 😮😂😂😂

[@billieletourneau558]

@@Perfectpearl I was about to say the same thing. "Very pretty Lady even into her elder years", because you know - ladies in thier elder years are hardly pretty anymore 🙄 weird thing to comment about

[@Harley_Girl68]

I remember this well, we lived in Marietta not to very far from this. The store was rebuilt and all the houses in the area were repainted cause the smell of the smoke and burning flesh just seeped into everything. Even with all that being done it still took time for it to all go away. I was in that area recently, you’d never know something like this happened there.

[@paularubin4711]

Me to. About 15 min from crash. Horrible.

[@hollywho9822]

So so sad. God bless all involved. 🙏🙏🙏

[@BrianAdams-dt1ks]

No plaque or marker to commemorate the spot?

[@billman6364]

somebody said they put a monument 4/21

[@jbrubin8274]

The way you weave a narrative that keeps the viewer engaged and listening is brilliant. That it also happens to be jam-packed full of various elements of science, explaining it, never in a condescending manner. Now that’s genius!👏 I’m brand new here and I’ve already learned if that stick is shaking, one’s odds aren’t good.

[@MamaMia84oo7]

Greg Feith is a legend. I love when he’s on the show. He’s the king of air crash investigations.

[@gracegoodenough5895]

I remember this crash. I had flown from Huntsville to Atlanta roughly 2-3 weeks earlier and we all laughed about the way that the plane was buffeted around by the winds. Then to pick up the paper just a few weeks later and read about the same plane crashing, was really shocking! I had just finished training at Ft McClellan

[@moonman239]

I feel like, if a plane's about to make an emergency landing on a highway, protocol should be for someone at ATC to alert the state Highway Patrol so authorities can prepare a response (ex: dispatch Fire Department, keep other people away from the plane)

[@merricat3025]

I know nothing about this but I'm guessing they probably do that now. Air traffic towers probably tells

[@mary-nf9zn]

In this case I don't think it would have mattered at all because because it was literally seconds they had to land on the highway because they were losing altitude quickly..the dispatcher definitely should have ,i don't think they could have saved anyone on the ground unfortunately it just happened so fast. Very sad,so much loss RIP to all.

[@martyjoseph9507]

Even if you have emphysema you can hold your breath longer than the time from when the decision was made to land on the highway and the wreckage stopped moving. Not really enough time to make calls and move equipment, let alone the pilots wouldn't be able to tell you what highway they're looking at.

[@LeoneLaTwerk2]

Yup there was no time. They couldnt make the runway they were given so that time was minutes it takes a while to give a warning to stop all cars that had 0 knowledge of a dc 9 coming in that quick.

[@lisamcbride8921]

Exactly!

[@lisahinton9682]

For all the people saying "tremendous respect" and "shout out to" the family that opened the door and comforted the survivors - this was just how it was in the 1970s. People were more kind to each other, and more caring, and thought of others more than themselves back then. It's just how it was - the woman whose house the plane ended up behind wouldn't have dreamed of doing anything *but* be kind, helpful, and loving to those survivors.

[@Wormhole-Bar-Concert-Venue]

crime rates literally peaked in the 1970s. Domestic violence was rampant and not even recognized as a crime. This lady helped survivors because she is an awesome person. Most people (today or then) would have done that, either because they are kind and caring or because it was the natural thing to do. Even the man that beat his wife everyday would have of course helped survivors from a plane crash in his yard.

[@tylerkochman1007]

I think you have just romanticized the 1970s. Mind you that the 70s were the decade of: -Jonestown massacre -Milk-Mascone assassinations -Manson family killings -MANY airplane hijackings (including famous ones like D.B. Cooper) -Samuel Byck’s attempt to assassinate Nixon -Two attempted assassination of Gerald Ford, both in September 1975 -Attempted assassination of George Wallace -John Wayne Gacy’s serial murders -Zodiac killer’s serial murders -Ted Bundy’s serial murders -“Son of Sam” serial murders -The Hillside Strangler serial murders -Kent State massacre -Weather underground bombings -Serling Hall bombing -Busing riots in Boston -Humboldt Park riots in Chicago -NYC blackout riots -White Night riots in San Fran -Levittown gas riots -Greensboro Massacre -Wounded Knee incident -Pipe bombing of San Francisco police station -Symbionese Liberation Army’s assassination of Marcus Foster and kidnapping of Patty Hearst And that was just in the USA Yeah, sounds like a lovely peaceful decade filled with only the kindest of people.

[@andrewdinns1746]

@@Wormhole-Bar-Concert-Venue Even total psychos would as well. there's not a single person non-mentally challenged person who wouldn't.

[@julier.1902]

I was on an Eastern flight (long time ago) to KC and they announced a delay in order to replace some part that I don't remember, and it took about 45 minutes. Didn't mind one bit, much better safe than sorry. What an event this one in Georgia was, so sad.

[@charlessomerset9754]

I drive through New Hope regularly from Chattanooga, and never knew about this. I'm sure it will cross my mind the next time I go through that quiet little town.

[@brianconnelly2906]

The weather radars at that time were not colorized and had no idea of the severity of the storms.

[@annaowens7053]

My family lived close to new hope my little sisters and brother went to the new hope school So greatful they were home before the plane crashed. So very tragic that they did not know about other runways close by. Thankful people got out and that the family helped the injured people. Very sad lots of people died on plane and local people died from crash. .

[@davedennis6042]

When we got to NTSB I immediately said, "Oh, let me guess. PILOT ERROR". Pilot error gives you nothing. There is so many factors that pilot error doesn't bring in. There is always a sequence of events that transpire into a disaster.

[@gailboyd2076]

I feel these pilots did the very best they could.

[@gabe-po9yi]

When a fighter jet pilot is scared, all ye who believe best make it right with The Man upstairs.

[@jamespeterson5444]

The frustrating thing here is the Pilots plane was getting hammered by hail,,they turned to get out of the storm. But they had no idea about the airport they were turning away from until after the fact. It's always easy for these investigators to critique the pilots AFTER the fact and try and put the blame entirely on them !

[@isaiahkumarakloo7057]

The pilot in command should have put it down in the open field. But being in that situation is totally different from talking it here. God bless those who survived and those that didn't make it. I pray that they Rest in Peace!

[@Cloud-dt6xb]

Yeah I wanted to say that too, but I can also understand that they would've been running on adrenline by then and likely thought the High Way was close enough to a runway that it seemed better.

[@DebbieTomkoSUNSHINE]

If the engines were working, people would have heard the plane coming, giving them a chance ... Prayers to everyone involved....

[@jaa4742]

Not many open fields or flat land in that area, big trees and hills mostly. 92 or Dragstrip Rd, as it used to be called, was a straight line. They would've made it if they had more road, but the gas station was at the end, unfortunately.

[@jaa4742]

The pictures in that video are much flatter and less wooded than the actual landscape of New Hope.

[@tammycrisel8692]

That first captain was quite a brave soul! So grateful some of the passengers lived!

[@peterjones4621]

Southern Airways weather reporting was awful. With the pilots not knowing what terrible weather was ahead they were doomed. Bad business and poorly run killed these people. That flight should have never taken off, if they'd had the updated weather report this would never have happened. Rest in peace you poor people. I had a really hard time watching this, I'm usually pretty tough but this one broke me up and at the end of the video I cried. I prayed for them and I know God was listening.

[@lisamcbride8921]

Hmmmmmmmm

[@anthonylawrence2094]

I used to fly Southern from Chicago to Alabama to spend summer with relatives by myself when I was as young as 9 years old, they still had prop planes and I used hope for a jet instead of the props

[@markdanz7039]

So heartbreaking for all the victims, so tragic 😭

[@wt1370]

Actually ,I believe this is my first time seeing this one . The old dude with the pillows definitely had the every man for himself mentality.

[@milkyo1206]

Yea he coulda at least said something like "y'all might wanna get something to cover" lol idk. we all WOULDA did something if we were in that situation.🥺

[@DellAnderson]

@@milkyo1206 Uh, who made him responsible for the less intelligent around him? Maybe some of them could have told HIM "y'all might wanna get something to cover"! He had no guarantee it would work and not actually make things worse, it was an instinct, and what obligation did he have to share his instincts with those around him? In today's legal environment, if they had survived with injuries they might sue him for telling them to do something that gave them whiplash or something! Or more likely, it might have caused a physical altercation where everyone was fighting over pillows and his leather jacket. Given the current behavior on today's planes nobody can count on getting to their destination in one piece even if the plane doesn't crash, thanks cheap airfares! Reason 999,023 not to fly! ;-)

[@charleshoang566]

He didn't have to tell anyone because they were not blind, they should did like he did to be alive.

[@charleshoang566]

Plus other passengers were not children either.

[@debihester7284]

@@milkyo1206 if he did that, there wouldn’t be enough pillows and blankets for everyone though

[@gloria88246]

Greg Feith is such a Rockstar

[@ThomasGrillo]

I remember several flights I had as a passenger on Sothern Airways, back in the early 70s. We did have a close call with severe weather, but nothing nearly as bad as what brought this flight down. Thanks for sharing.

[@rebeccaanderson8305]

I go by that air strip in Cartersville once a week. VERY short runway.

[@CoreyChambersLA]

Excellent documentary production. Superb actors and witnesses.

[@PDXpackrat]

This reminds me of another plane crash that crashed in a family's back field, similar thing - caught on fire upon crash landing. In that crash though, the co-pilot escaped (with help) by using an axe to break the cockpit window. Many people trying to escape the plane received 3rd degree burns. Anyone know the flight that I'm referring to? I remember the report quite distinctly but not which airline / flight it was.

[@leslygil1493]

I literally just finished watching it , brb I’ll find it for you and tell you. I just have to look in my history

[@minipolish2775]

Was is IFO-21?

[@PDXpackrat]

@@minipolish2775 no it was a US flight, also in the south if I recall.

[@philipr.6090]

Hi Michael. Was it this one: Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, Carrollton, Georgia on 8/21/95?

[@martyjoseph9507]

Watched it the other day, same channel. Flight 842 or 242 maybe

[@BrianAdams-dt1ks]

I lived in GA at the time. UnGodly weather day. Very stormy. Glad I was on the ground.

[@marlenejohnson5461]

Such a sad story, God Bess those people who helped. It’s always sad that some lost their lives but glad for those that survived. My heart aches for what those pilots went through and the rest of the passengers, also that poor family in the car.

[@JaneDoe-ql7sc]

Awesome respect for Mother Nature is often hard-learned. Nonetheless, many of us do have awesome respect for Mother Nature, but thank goodness we've never been on such a flight, where Mother Nature abruptly showed how fierce she could be

[@dennismckown4951]

i was on a 4 prop plane from San Diego to Saigon. we had to stop in Hawaii. they made 24 trips to the parts dept for that plane, but we did make it to Saigon, safely.

[@billman6364]

You werent in any big hurry were you

[@dennismckown4951]

@@billman6364 it was filled with military personnel, guess the government was too cheap to fork over funds to fly us all via commercial jet to Saigon.

[@YamiPheonix531]

One minute into the video and I hear DC 9. I think DC stands for Death Coffin and not Douglas Company.

[@elm4nsuri]

ouch. death certificate

[@muffs55mercury61]

There were quite a few lost in fatal accidents.

[@rowerwet]

Nah, everyone on the airport knows there's nothing cooler than the Diesel 9.

[@corysexton3970]

That is so hard touching I remember this video from a while ago the way this lady helped out the people was amazing and the pilots were awesome

[@baltazarcortez7328]

I’m surprised this is not the worst disaster in aviation history.

[@jimmycline4778]

Because 505 of the 509 people died in the 1985 crash of the Japanese flight 123 747 it dwarfs what happened here, both were equally tragic 😢 it’s amazing anyone lived on flight 123 or this crash!

[@MunroMcLaren]

There have been worse. Specifically the Tenerife air crash collision and the midair collision over Ukraine with two jumbo planes. Over 550+ people died.

[@gabeseyfried5241]

@@MunroMcLaren I don't remember a collision over Ukraine involving jumbo jets-

[@kalel311superman9]

the woman who let the people in her house is very generous God bless her

[@HorseLuver098]

The ceremony at the end was heartwarming to see that everyone is not forgotten and every 10 years they still honor them.

[@warron24]

Obviously the pilots were very skilled and I would not blame them for the accident. But I do really question the decision to land on a highway and the failure to tell the flight attendants what was going on.

[@winter2716]

Fair enough.

[@davegains828]

My Heart and Prayers go out to the Families. This is more than hard to talk about.

[@kevinhoward9593]

Thats one tiny town if the debris covered the entire town.

[@sheilacollins9384]

Tears flowing down my face as I watch this.

[@petej.8676]

I'm surprised 242 didn't dump fuel..no engines..can't start em...the benefits of dumping the fuel out weighed the hazards I believe..God Bless to everyone whos lives this has touched...you're a strong group of people. ✌️

[@TherealgoddessK]

It sounds like they were trying to get the engines back on which is probably why they didn't do a fuel dump.

[@HH_The_Great]

DC-9s do not have fuel jettison capabilities.

[@mattbonacci4950]

they couldn't dump the fuel because they lost ALL POWER.

[@twarrior17]

DC-9s can not dump fuel...

[@laurathomas699]

The fact they didn’t fuel wasn’t the reason for the fire, they hit gas pumps at a store. Even if they were dry, the explosion was heard 2 miles away.

[@yourdaywillcome5694]

I love that song they was playing with the bells that sound really good so sad for the ones that died

[@HobbyOrganist]

why did they bother with rain/water tests when even passengers said it was baseball sized HAIL beating the crap out the entire plane, the ATC guy would have heard the noise and the flight voice recorder recorded it, the obvious thing was baseball sized hail coming in by the pickup truck load at 500 mph did the damage!

[@Roberto_Garcia_]

I do not care if anyone hates that I feel sadness in my heart for those, lost in this tragedy. Losing a loved one hurts, no matter how long time has passed. Time helps but misery of that day will always be embedded deep in our hearts, for our loved ones. I lost a daughter in a vehicle accident, this is worse, but my heart feels for these of the lost souls of this incident. May the good Lord God help ease the pain and suffering, it is a shame that so many, not in the plane lost their lives. I will always pray and remember all incidents, that have taken the loved ones away, and pray for each one: That the Good Lord Almighty God of Heaven will embrace, each lost life to accept their pain and misery for eternal peace.

[@patricklenigan4309]

I think it is incredible that in this disaster, there were people who were not directly involved with the flight helping those who were

[@Jeff-jg7jh]

All this seems pretty accurate. I'm not verses in this kind of thing, but it seems they have done their homework. I'm not a pilot. Never heard of surge before. It was 1977, no doubt it's gotten better, but there will be something else to learn. Watching this was a workout.

[@littlegoobie]

44:54 re: having blankets and pillows out is helpful. I noticed in the last couple of years that blankets and pillows are no longer put out on all the seats as you get onboard, not even in first class. I never used them anyways, but interesting in light of that comment.

[@CV_CA]

36:18 Then the design is faulty. The engine should refuse to surge even for the pilot's input if it would result to blow up.

[@pizzulo8111]

You don't want a computer to override a human. That's what happened with the 737 MAX. The humans couldn't override a software problem. The engines and sticks are controlled by a computer.

[@CV_CA]

@@pizzulo8111 If the system is designed bad need override. 737 had bug in it.

[@deanneparis8888]

I have been on a plane that was held at the gate because of weather. It was a blizzard in Minneapolis, I was so aggravated at the time! Numerous deicing attempts and false starts. The more of these that I watch, the more thankful that I am for that delay!

[@j.paulm.1575]

Am I weird if I'm willingly watching this 6 hours before getting on a plane?

[@tinamarie2121]

...I started re-watching Lost before I had to fly back in August. You aren't alone.

[@keith6032]

Hope ur flight landed safely m8 👍👍😎😎

[@monghuni798]

I'm with you! I watch a slew of these just before every trip to visit my father in Australia. My mom thought I was nuts, but it kinda "jaded" me that my flights would encounter an emergency. Ft. Lauderdale to NE Australia.

[@Zuthieus]

I was hoping the pilots survived.. i actually thought they would've. But when i heard they didn't.. gosh. Truly a shame. :/ God Bless those lost in this horrific crash.

[@Perfectpearl]

18:36 That’s a devastating decision. He chose to land on the highway (killing drivers) over landing in a field.

[@MrWildbill]

The only downside to surviving a plane crash is that you can never play the lottery again, you have used up all of your luck...

[@johnshields6852]

Shouldn't they have known that their weather radar screen isn't up to the minute or exactly accurate, their pilots, if anyone knows that system it's them, right?

[@RindaJane]

1977 radar was definitely not as they are today. Yet, I agree with you. If anyone should know its pilots...

[@MunroMcLaren]

Fun fact: all highways in every state must have stretches of road that are straight enough and long enough for a plane to land on if they need to do so. Like here.