History's Worst Air Disasters

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[@Bubbaist]

One of the survivors of the Tenerife disaster, E. Jack Ridout, had a round-trip ticket from San Diego to Los Angeles the weekend of September 23 - 24, 1978, leaving Friday and returning Monday, September 25. There was a record-setting heat wave that weekend. He was staying with a friend, but his friend's air-conditioning was broken. After a sleepless Saturday night, he changed his ticket to return Sunday night. The next day he awoke to find that the fight he was supposed to be on, PSA 182, had crashed into a neighborhood in San Diego, killing everyone on board and seven people on the ground. It was the US's worst air disaster at the time. If that wasn't enough, he had earlier been drafted into the Vietnam war, but was hit by a drunk driver and by the time he was well enough to serve, the draft was over. His story might make an interesting episode or segment of one.

[@rubycelica]

the male violet jessop it seems:)

[@nmxsanchez]

Wow. And I thought I had a bad day.

[@alexander-mauricemillamlae4567]

I mean to be fair, at least he didn't have to go to Nam

[@MrDannyboyhall]

Seems like someone really wanted that poor guy dead he didn’t fear the reaper obviously 😂 but seriously that story would be great

[@Nostripe361]

@@MrDannyboyhall reminds me of that funny tweet where a woman was bragging about how god must have a plan for her after surviving multiple near death experiences. Someone replied to her that it sounded like he was trying to kill her.

[@jeffersonott4357]

Very touching the way Simon spoke of the Alaska air pilots. Well done.

[@Gadzooki]

Those guys, even considering how things ended, are heros. They never gave up. Brave fellows just trying to get everyone down.

[@davidioanhedges]

When they tried everything up to and including flying the plane upside down ... and it nearly worked! ..if there had been a way of saving anyone they probably would have tried it ...

[@garylefevers]

True. Those pilots were almost superhuman in their efforts. Hero's for sure.

[@paradigmlawrence7506]

Another note about the pilots herosim is how they declined overland landing vectors into LAX, not willing to risk coming down over populated Los Angeles Angeles

[@mytech6779]

You were very diplomatic regarding Tenerif. I had to research it as part of my aviation degree, and that KLM pilot was a total dikk. he didn't just takeoff without clearance he was the cause of the delay that put everyone in the fog and that had him in a such a rush to meet certain crew duty time limits. He parked in a way that blocked all the other aircraft so nobody could takeoff then he let all of his passengers off, then waited for them to all re-board before even bothering to call for the fuel trucks, by this time other planes were getting cleared to finish their flights. The weather was still favorable, but nobody could make use of it for the next half an hour because somebody had been conducting himself with total disregard for his affect on other people. Also the airport traffic controllers did not meet today's aviation language requirements so there was substantial communication trouble. In addition to causing many other operational changes in the industry, this event was a direct motivation for today's international language requirements and testing standards for all air traffic controllers and commercial pilots. (At least for those countries that are parties to ICAO, there are a few airlines that simply are not allowed to fly into or over the USA or EU because they don't bother to meet standards.)

[@antman5474]

I heard somewhere that although the KLM captain was KLM's chief pilot, in the months leading up the accident had spent most of his time teaching other pilots in the simulator, he knew how to fly the plane perfectly well it's just that his airport etiquette was a little rusty.

[@JoshSweetvale]

@@antman5474 "A little rusty"

[@MarloSoBalJr]

@@antman5474 Using the word "rusty" is indicative to rust. At least rust try to indicate to you that something is bound to go wrong

[@lizc6393]

It didn't save them, but the flip those Alaska pilots pulled was straight up badass. Also, it's a small comfort but at least the Air New Zealand flight had no idea what hit them. Just boom, and lights out.

[@NDRogueElf]

And good on the people who kept calling for further inquiry on the Air New Zealand flight. For so many years that pilot’s name was besmirched when in fact he had done everything he could to prepare ahead. Reading the details how blame was shifted onto a person who couldn’t defend himself is infuriating.

[@lizc6393]

@@NDRogueElf Yeah that's infuriating even if it had been his oversight.

[@kyleeshachamberlain5378]

@@lizc6393 was not over sight. i suggest you do more research, but basically the flightplan in the plane computers was changed overnight and it was wrong and headed them straight into the mountain, none of the crew were aware that the flightplans had been changed, the bosses at air new zealand spent the night after the crash shredding all information in regards to the change

[@stevenelson1239]

15:50 Airplanes are the safest way to fly? Wholeheartedly agree with that statement!

[@disorganizedorg]

I certainly can't argue with that...

[@andersjjensen]

Are you 100% that hot air balloons don't have the safety record when measured in total man-hours flown vs deaths?

[@codymoe4986]

I've invented a new fangled contraption I lovingly refer to as a "helicopter". Slightly more difficult to fly though, hope that doesn't come back to bite me....

[@KarlBarbosa]

Really surprised Japan Air Flight 123 didn't make this list. Aside from being the worst single plane crash of all time, it was rendered especially tragic due to the fact that rescue teams waited until the next morning to check for survivors. There were in fact survivors due to the tail impacting the ground much slower than the rest of the plane ... but most of those died overnight crying for help.

[@amb163]

Hearing the first story with the Pan Am and KLM planes, and the small regional airport having to manage traffic it wasn't meant to, makes me even more grateful that the situation in Gander, Newfoundland on 9/11 went so well.

[@DebTheDevastator]

If you want a more in depth overview of this incident Black Box Down does a great job. It explains the failure of the crews, airport, and airlines. They also talk more about how they implemented the recommendations.

[@davidioanhedges]

Air safety is safety done right... it does not assign blame and move on, it looks at what went wrong, why the existing systems didn't prevent it and puts in place solutions to try and prevent it happening again ... and the general policy of not blaming, and air accident investigators having draconian powers to shut down entire airlines, airports, or entire fleets of planes means investigations get results quickly

[@Tirani2]

I've watched several specials on the air traffic controllers that handled the Gander situation. They all had Tenerife in the back of their head while they were doing their work. They knew how bad it could be.

[@chrisrutherfurd9338]

My dad was a flight engineer on the Air New Zealand DC 10 and knew all the crew on 901. He even met with them in the debrief crew lounge in Auckland that morning, as he flew to Australia watched the Erebus bound flight taxi down the runway. We were just kids and watched the news come in while dad was away (not knowing at the time just where he was!).

[@ThexMJT]

The Tenerife crash still gives me shivers, imagine seeing a 747 appearing out of the dense fog.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:10 - Chapter 1 - Tenerife airport disaster 6:00 - Mid roll ads 7:20 - Chapter 2 - Alaska airlines flight 261 10:15 - Chapter 3 - Mont erebus disaster 13:20 - Chapter 4 - The palomares incident 15:50 - Chapter 5 - Work in progress

[@Joze1090]

Neato

[@the-chillian]

15:50 -- Yes, Simon. Airplanes are one of the safest ways to fly. Last time I tried flying without one, I broke both legs.

[@TracyH13]

😂😂

[@phforNZ]

Steve, is that you?

[@BleachDemon707]

...stupid. NOTICE ME, SENPAI 🙄 Parasocial, much?

[@user-dg9pu4pe9d]

There was a flight where one of the cockpit windows popped out. The pilot was mostly sucked out of the plane. Several stewards managed to hang on to the captain while the copilot landed. Amazingly, no one died. British Airways flight 5390

[@readycheddar]

I heard about this. I think the pilot lost some fingers and part of his nose due to frostbite from his time outside of the plane. They thought he was dead when they managed to pull him back in.

[@dashdriverdan]

A similar event happened with Sichuan Airlines 8633 a few years ago. The right windshield failed and the FO was partially aspirated from the plane, pushing on the controls and causing a momentary loss of control. Only his loosened lap belt kept him in. That said, the FO was able to get back in a bit quicker than in the case of British Airways. The windshield failure was linked to weakening of the panel due to electrical arcing in the heating elements. Since then the Airbus 320 Quick Reference Handbook for any cracked windshield specifies that both crew must don their full harness immediately.

[@ruthmeow4262]

@@readycheddar No, he just had some bumps, lacerations and dislocations. He was back in the air six months later and flew until he retired.

[@simonwyndham]

Mentour Pilot has an absolutely superb dissection of the Tenerife disaster on his channel. A lot of factors at work.

[@ZAV1944]

The Submersible DSV Alvin was used to locate the Hydrogen Bomb from Palomares Incident, Alvin later gained international fame for her exploration of the Titanic and as of 2021she's still in active service.

[@bysshe51]

Lol, 15:52: “airplanes are statistically one of the safest ways to fly”. Well yes. Compared to ballooning, rocketry, getting shot out of a cannon and other methods of flight.

[@davidioanhedges]

It's the second safest method of transport, only behind elevators ...

[@solarsailor55]

Or a broomstick piloted by a witch.

[@codymoe4986]

It's time helicopters finally carry passengers! RIP Kobe....

[@Shauma_llama]

I read the title as "Worst Art Disasters", thought "this should be funny", expecting a humorous video capped off by the Jesus mural in Spain being "restored".

[@atomicdeath10]

Interesting video subject...

[@andessmf]

The ATC recording of the pilots watching the Alaska airplane hit the water brings tears to my eyes.

[@Old_B52H_Gunner]

Seeing that B52 crash footage at 0:51 is painful for me every time I see it. I was a Gunner on the B52 back in the 80s so there is that, but I also knew 2 of the people on the aircraft when it crashed. The flight was practice for a flyover during a base celebration. The really sad part is that the pilot was doing maneuvers that he was told not to do, and had been in trouble before for doing the same thing, he should not have been allowed to even fly during this event due to his prior actions.

[@JoshSweetvale]

The KLM pilot for Tenerife was also being a jackass on the runway. Egomaniac pilots kill.

[@Hammerhead547]

Fun Fact: The worst mass murder ever to take place on canadian soil happened in 1947. The crime in question was the bombing of a Canadian Pacific Airlines DC3 carrying 51 people that had just departed from montreal, the bombing was part of an insurance scam masterminded by Albert Guay and his mistress with assistance from her brother. The dynamite time bomb used to destroy the plane was hidden in a package that was delivered to to the plane by albert's mistress. All three conspirators were arrseted charges and convicted of malice murder and sentenced to death, the mistress would go down in history as the last woman to die on the gallows in canada when she was hung at montreal's Bordeaux Prison in january 1952.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

I think Simon actually covered that story on one of his other channels. Maybe "Casual Criminalist."

[@grapeshot]

Yes this is a perfect example of two pieces of matter trying to occupy the same space. It's also a lesson in cockpit etiquette. How most of these guys use to be ex-military and they ran their cockpits like it. Now they encouraged the co-pilot if the pilot is screwing up say something about it.

[@Chloe-ch6mc]

They also encourage cabin crew to speak up if something happens that is deemed not normal to them! Since they walk around the cabin and can inspect the wings and engines routinely in flight, they could be the first to notice an issue

[@vipvip-tf9rw]

@@Chloe-ch6mc no the first to notice would be passangers that sits close to windows

[@davidioanhedges]

@@vipvip-tf9rw ..and then point it out to the cabin crew, who will know if it's unusual and report it to the rest of the crew

[@readycheddar]

Indeed. A lot of air crashes happened because the pilot was being arrogant and not listening to anyone and the co-pilot being too timid to say anything.

[@johnstreet819]

C R M is good

[@jstorlie73]

Hi Simon, have you heard of United flight 811, the 747 that had the cargo door ripped off the plane in flight? it's an amazing story that is worth a video.

[@RailwayDan]

Combine the 747 video with the Aloha 737 that lost its roof. Both happened near Hawaii, both Boeings and both, I believe, were due to corrosion. Oh, and they both landed.

[@RailwayDan]

@Tom Foster I remember the pictures. A very strange sight. Those passengers are amongst the luckiest people alive. I think they lost an FA who wasn't strapped in.

[@flexinclouds]

@@RailwayDan Damn can you imagine what that was like for the FA?

[@RailwayDan]

@@flexinclouds It doesn't bear thinking about. 25000 ft fall !! Horrible way to go.

[@angmori172]

Simon: "Flying is the safest way of travel, now let me make sure none of you listeners ever dare set foot in a plane again"

[@krymera666x7]

After doing recovery of Swiss Air I really have no fear of flying as I know it’s a brutal quick end. A peaceful eternity to those lost.

[@lizc6393]

Same here, but my friends say I'm morbid for it. Like, 30 seconds of crippling terror, then lights out. Better than so, so many deaths.

[@waltblackadar4690]

I don't have a fear of flying but don't think it's a quick end. There have been accidents that took many minutes to resolve, meaning the final minutes of those pax were terror-filled. There's also crashes on mountainsides where rescue crews were unable to get there for many hours, meaning pax either died of injuries or exposure.

[@chiefslinginbeef3641]

@@waltblackadar4690 Pax? What is this the new pronouns in my bio word for passengers?

[@Hammerhead547]

@@waltblackadar4690 In the case of the passengers on Swiss Air 111 chances are that they were either unconscious or dead long before the plane hit the water in much the same way that the passengers and crew of South African Airlines flight 295 were almost certainly dead of carbon monoxide poisoning long before that plane belly flopped into the indian ocean.

[@Parc_Ferme]

Saudia 163 send regards.

[@terp2726]

FWIW, at time 7:47 I think you meant to say they were flying over the Pacific Ocean not the Atlantic. I suppose they could have been taking the long way round but somehow I doubt that. :)

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Americans...geography confuses them.

[@terp2726]

@@owenshebbeare2999 Pretty sure it was just a slip of the tongue and also pretty sure he's not American - at least not by birth.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

@@owenshebbeare2999 Simon is British,mate

[@FluidKaos]

They must have been taking a very long detour to be over the Atlantic Ocean on a route from Puerto Vallarta to San Francisco!

[@lisacheney7904]

Someone skipped the proof read... But the reason they were over the Pacific ocean was that the pilots deliberately diverted over the open ocean while fighting for control so that they wouldn't crash into a populated area. Air Disasters did an episode on this and it is heartbreaking.

[@slidewaze]

He also mentions at 15:50 that "Airplanes are statistically one of the safest way to fly" still, Simon rules....

[@qienna6677]

As soon as you said New Zealand and Antarctica I knew exactly what you were going to talk about. Every New Zealander learns about the disaster in school and a full apology from the NZ government wasn't issued to the families of those who died until the 40 year anniversary of the disaster.

[@kepanoid]

Simon, a small correction: Those people who sit in the cockpit are the flight crew. Cabin crew are those who take care of us and make sure we are safe in the... cabin. Yes, they also serve coffee and take all the complaints, but that's only one part of their job. Together, both groups are "the crew".

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Blame the scripting.

[@kepanoid]

@Patrick Hudson Is it, though? Think about doctors and nurses. Yes, most people think doctors are somewhat more valuable, or "professional", than nurses, but that's not the case, as it's not in aviation either. Both groups together form a working crew, but you wouldn't want to be confused about their different roles (neither would professionals in either group). I'm not trying to be pedantic, rather I'm trying to encourage the Fact Boi (or his writers) to perform even better.

[@batticusmanacleas510]

"Airplanes are statistically one of the safest ways to fly." Well you're not wrong, Factimus Prime.

[@1pcfred]

Yeah but at least there's no crying babies in cannons.

[@antman5474]

Or squirrels in catapults.

[@Happymali10]

Crew Resource Management was a major consequence of the Teneriffe disaster. Van Zanten wasn't just the captain of that flight, he was THE BEST MAN KLM HAD. Like, they used him for advertising and for training. In fact, when news of the accident reached KLM they wanted to call him to get him on the investigative team before they figured out that he was dead.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

...and that's where giving someone too much game & lineacy can bite you in the arse

[@garrisonandrew9862]

I like your uncle Simon sweater look for this one.

[@lazarusstewart8686]

Okay just hilarious observation. In one of the final sentences Simon says " airplanes are the safest way to fly! " I agree wholeheartedly LOL

[@misterflibble6601]

I was 17 when the crash at Tenerife happened. I still have vivid memories of the horror of it from the news coverage.

[@stevenboykin116]

I thought of a suggestion, I watch the Vin Wiki channel on KZbin sometimes and they have a lot of videos on Cannonballers, those guys that run across the US coast to coast as fast as they can. I thought that would make a good sideproject video as it is literally a side project for some of those guys. They have to get the right car that's fast enough, get the right fuel setup, plan their route, set the car up with the right police protection, call up people who'll scan the road ahead even get people to speed ahead of them to run as a blocker. They've paid each others speeding tickets to keep the cops busy. One record holder hired a plane to scout traffic ahead. These guys go all out. I think the current New York to LA time is 26 hours and 38 minutes that was April of 2020 during the pandemic, but prepandemic the time was 27 hours and 25 minutes, I'm not sure if they count that pandemic run it seems like an unfair advantage to me.

[@ljphoenix4341]

I remember learning about the Mount Erebus disaster back in high school, but I had no idea the wreckage was still visible during parts of the year. A very interesting video, thanks Simon and team.

[@warrenjohnknight.9831]

I was just leaving home at 0330 hrs too go to work as a milkman, the news was that the DC 10 had crashed, a married couple lived just around from where I lived, it's still a controversial accident today plus the memorial has sadly been fought over to this day, we have had a number of disasters over the years but this definitely has been the most controversial.

[@readycheddar]

I wish this video had been longer. There are SO many air disasters, you could fill several hours of content. Scary and terrible yet interesting stuff.

[@bikeny]

You should check out Mentour Pilot's channel. He has quite a few videos on the subject. One thing he points out a number of times is that crash / incident investigations are done not to assign blame, but rather to find out what happened so that it doesn't happen again.

[@pbandj37]

Of note: Recovered from the Air New Zealand flight was a camera. The film was developed and the pictures turned out very clearly. You can search for them online. They are not pictures of the crash or anything gruesome but they are eerie. The people on board all look excited or happy and none of them knew what fate awaited them just minutes later.

[@chrisyanover1777]

Simon, a good video would be on all the times thermonuclear bombs were dropped on accident but didn't explode.

[@yoeriw7099]

You mean all the nukes America and Russia lost somewhere. Ow and France and Great Britain, lets not forget those

[@chrisyanover1777]

@@yoeriw7099 Yesh that might be a very long video. It's scary how frequently it happened

[@yoeriw7099]

@@chrisyanover1777 Yeah or the times WW3 was nearly started.

[@guyorsini1044]

When going through training in any aviation discipline, be it as a pilot, maintenance technician dispatcher or ai traffic controller, all students are told very early on and reminded frequently that all the rules and regulations that they must adhere to are written in blood, other peoples blood.

[@comradeiosif2794]

In regards to the USAF losing nuclear bombs that occurred around 30 times (I think), but nobody knows how many nuclear bombs the Soviet Union lost. So sleep well tonight.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

"Sergei! There's a large bulge in the garden." "Calm yourself Svitlana. That's just vodka bottle from last men night out"

[@clownbasher2911]

The fact legend returns!

[@blankseventydrei]

what simon left out for the Alaska story was the safety inspector for Alasks airlnes required that Jackscrew to be replaced and it showed wear and was past it usage timeframe and was overruled by a beancounter, Alaska was cost cutting everywhere. when the plane crashed, he had detail notes on that plane and gave them to the FAA/FBI during the inspection, we was blackballed and was not able to find a job in the airline industry.

[@MarloSoBalJr]

Such a shame

[@jaydeister9305]

First time i've heard of the b-52 + aerial tanker air collision (with 4 nucs lost).

[@DColcla]

Another interesting fact about the KLM/Pan Am accident. The KLM Captain was featured on the KLM magazine for that month and that edition was on that very aircraft.

[@radders261]

This was bloody brilliant! Would love to see a video on spaghetti junction.

[@CashelOConnolly]

I’ve got tickets to fly home to Ireland on Monday. I’m scared of flying. After watching this I guess I’ll need more tranquillisers and a few more litres of Guinness before getting on the plane😳🇮🇪

[@ExperimentIV]

hey, hope you made it home without too much anxiety. also, if you want to know, flying is really safe. even if something did go wrong, chances are you wouldn’t crash. emergency landings usually land fine. even if you did crash, there’s a very good chance you would survive. this is something i know after doing a lot of research on crashes and survival rates. i hope the knowledge of how safe flying is brings you some peace.

[@CashelOConnolly]

@@ExperimentIV I did thank you. I know it’s irrational but I guess phobias by definition are. Without all that booze and diazepam in me I flew higher than the plane did! I think from now on I’m either going to go by ship or stay at home. I might get therapy for it,I hear that helps a lot of people Peace and happiness from Dublin Eire 🇮🇪

[@glennelliott708]

I am sure it has been noted before, 7:50 Puerto Vallarta to SFran does not fly over the Atlantic. I was waiting in Reno that day for an Alaska Airlines flight with an identical plane that was scheduled to land and pick me up. When the plane landed the flight crew was grieve stricken. All Alaska planes of that type were grounded. Took 3 days to find a spare seat on United so as to leave Reno.

[@derwindhund116]

Have you considered doing a video on Broken Arrow incidents, its the code word given for nuclear accidents. There has been a large number of them over the last 70 plus years, with nuclear bombs falling from the bomb bays. There were two incidents at RAF Lakenheath here in the UK.

[@DC4260Productions]

My Dad was a teenager in 1979, and he still remembers hearing news of Flight 901's crash when he was out camping with his friends.

[@krayzeejojo]

Simon, you are still one of the greatest edutainters ever! Keep ‘em coming,

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

I grew up in a Queens, NY neighborhood about 5 miles away from JFK International Airport. On June 24, 1975 at 4:05 PM, I was walking down the block towards home after college classes when I heard what I thought was an extended rumble of distant thunder. This confused me as, while the skies were threatening, there were no apparent thunderhead clouds in the vicinity. Within a half hour, I learned that I had actually heard the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 66 as it was about to land at JFK. 113 of the 124 people on board died, making it the deadliest crash in US aviation history at the time. Ambulance sirens wailed eerily in the distance for hours afterwards. The accident was ultimately found to have been caused by severe vertical wind shear, which itself was the result of a previously unknown storm phenomenon now called a downburst. The FAA developed and installed upgraded weather detection systems across the country after that.

[@macaylacayton2915]

When he started talking about the Palomares incident I thought the Goldsboro b-52 incident that was really similar but occurred near Goldsboro, NC

[@captbart3185]

A fact known to most in the business is that aviation safety is built on a foundation of tombstones. Always was and always will be so. “It hasn’t killed anyone yet” was actually said (NOT by me!) in a NASA safety meeting prior to a flight!

[@mbathroom1]

last time I was this early, airplanes weren't invented

[@jphilb]

Mentor Pilot has some very detailed videos on a lot of these incidents.

[@teng029]

I remember hearing about the KLM/PanAm accident as a kid. I'd actually forgotten about it until this video. This is also the first time I've ever heard about what actually happened that day.

[@bikeny]

Mentour Pilot did a video on the crash. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aJWcc2yIg5qkq6M

[@utahcoasterenthusiasts]

at 15:55 you said Airplanes are one of the safest ways to fly. This made me laugh. I'm sure you meant travel but it made me laugh and as how else could I fly lol.

[@xiro6]

15:51 “Airplanes are, statistically, one of the safest ways to FLY” Simon Whistler, 2022.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

They are. This is well-known information.

[@xiro6]

@@owenshebbeare2999 Of course, they are even one of the safest way to travel also, and trucks are one of the safest ways to trucking. Airplanes also make a WHOOSH sound when passing by over your head Let me edit it to highlight the word “FLY”. Now, will wait for some genius to tell me there are other aircrafts than airplanes.

[@codymoe4986]

If a helicopter flys in the sky, and no one is around to hear it, does it still make that whooshing sound? P.S. I wonder if travel by helicopter is safer or more risky than travel by airplane, if we are to assume they are flying, of course...

[@xiro6]

@@codymoe4986 Helicopters don't fly, they are just repelled from the surface. They are specially designed for really hot people, because propellers and blades are meant to cool down the pilots. That's why as soon as the engine stops, you can see the pilot starting to sweat. About your question, you must have a point there, because my radio-controlled helicopters make that sound, but the further away, the lesser the sound while full scale helicopters, becuase they have people inside, make a lot of noise at the same distance. I will take a deeper look at it after i finish my study about the red shifting of light with the distance. I found a highway here where I noticed that the incoming traffic lights are white, and they shift to red after passing me and go away. Science is exact and predictable, unlike those freaking helos.

[@JPriz416]

as safe as air travel is every time my wife flies from Boston To Indiana and back with my granddaughter I'm a basket case. I'm not happy until she's on the ground. when I flying I'm ok.

[@jonathanmatthews4774]

You should do a side projects on: 1) "almost" nuclear bomb accidents (such as the last one in this list). I know there was another incident in...Carolina I think...? 2) "almost" air disasters but saved (Gimili glider, Hudson river flight which Denzel Washington made a movie about)

[@jessicawicks8453]

I love the aviation content you do, I work in aviation so it’s cool to see which crashes I know.

[@ryans3109]

Great video. Thank you. You could also discuss the 737 Max incidents.

[@machupikachu1085]

There are no 737 Max incidents - the airframe is perfectly safe. Nothing to see here. Move along...

[@PGar58]

Every day there are fatal car crashes. So many everywhere they’re impossible to all reports. By contrast, airplanes are so safe that when there is an accident it’s a major news, and so it makes headlines. Not saying plane crashes are any more or less tragic, just why people may think airplane travel is less safe than it is.

[@d2factotum]

Well, the reason plane crashes also make the news is that they often kill more people. Sure, there aren't as many of them so you're more likely to die in a car accident than in an aircraft, but I don't think even the biggest road pile-up is going to kill 500+ people at a stroke.

[@ceooflovingthehomies9294]

I agree Simon. Airplanes are “the safest way to fly”

[@AtheistOrphan]

I agree. I injured myself quite badly try other methods.

[@z31drifterlf]

Downloading to watch on my flight later today, cause I’m sick.

[@Mrgunsngear]

Thanks

[@randomgeocacher]

An important detail is that clearance language wasn’t standardized back then. Investigators didn’t even fully agree on exactly what the misunderstanding was that lead to the take off, two disagreeing reports. Clearance language has been standardized and clarified to reduce risks to todays air travel; everyone should know and agree on what an ATC clearance means today, instead of having to guess. Also read back; needing to state what you understood from the clearance - giving ATC opportunity to alert upon misunderstandings.

[@Allen0037]

My uncle was Captn Victor Grubbs, the PanAm pilot.

[@fraliexb]

Should do a top sport team related diaster.

[@mangogo44]

05:37 *Cabin* crew are flight attendants, as they work in cabin. Pilots are *flight* crew/cockpit crew. Great video as always 👍

[@adamloverin231]

Look up the transcript from the cockpit voice recorder on that Alaskan Airlines crash. Those guys were amazing. Pity it didn’t work out.

[@ronshouse4205]

At the :51 second mark is the B-52 that crashed at Fairchild AFB, WA in 1994. The pilot had a reputation as being a hot-dog, often flying out of established flight parameters for that aircraft. Several pilots/crew in his squadron didn't want to fly missions with him. An airshow was coming up, and there was going to be a B-52 demonstration, so they put together a practice mission the day prior to the show...due to the concerns raised by other pilots, the vice wing commander and the squadron commander were part of the flight to monitor the pilot's behavior.....think there might have been one or two more observers above the normal crew) Anyway, despite the presence of the observers, he pushed the plane out of its envelope, went into a stall and then spun in. Totally pilot error, no mechanical problems involved. The worst part of this incident was it was the last flight for the vice wing commander, a "fini flight".....his wife, kids, and several members of his extended family were all gathered to celebrate his last career flight in the USAF and had a front row seat to the horror.

[@ScottBFree]

15:53 “Airplanes are one of the safest ways to fly” -Simon Whistler.

[@pretty-nickypeso59]

Air planes are the safest way to fly? As opposed to flapping your arms? Lolol. Great video as always

[@TheStapleGunKid]

The ultimate irony about the Tenerife disaster is that the KLM pilot, Jacob Van Zanten, was considered the airline's best pilot at the time. He was widely featured in their advertising materials, and when KLM was first informed about the accident, the first thing they did was try to call him up so he could be assigned to their investigation team. It never occurred to them that he could be the one who caused the crash.

[@ger5956]

Am I the only one who found the way Simon said “air travel is perfectly safe, most of the time accidents happen” a little weird? 😂

[@kingjellybean9795]

He's a big aero shill working for the airlines lol prob Lockheed or Northrop

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Simon being Simon. It's why we watch.

[@blairm3683]

I would agree that " aeroplanes are one of the safest ways to fly" compared to the other options , hang on what other options??? LOL

[@renata8979]

You would think that crashing into a mountain at full speed is al lethal as it can get, but surprisingly many people survived that. The most famous are, of course, the Andes survivors, the other one I know of is the Japan Air Lines Flight 123, but, inexplicably, the rescue operation has been delayed for hours, there have been extremely sad reports of passengers crying out during the night and getting quiet by morning, before anyone came for them. It is very difficult to make sense of these facts - that a collision with a mountain in midair can be survivable, while the Pan Am on Tenerife haven't even left the ground.

[@DocuzanQuitomos]

The dynamics of the crash also play a role in survivability: Japan Airlines 123 didn't exactly crash head on with the side of a mountain, it disintegrated as it clipped trees and loss control before final impact. In the case of the Andes disaster, the plane tried to fly between a gap in the ridge it had ahead; the gap wasn't large enough to let the plane pass completely (that's why the wings were clipped) but it was wide enough to let a section of the fuselage fly through. In the case of Air New Zealand, it smashed at high speed against the side of the mountain and that's non survivable in every case (due to the sudden deceleration).

[@stevenwallace773]

The Alaska Airlines one is literally the premise of the movie "Flight" with Denzel Washington 😮

[@donei132]

I was partially expecting the Bakers Creek and TAA Flight 538 crashes to be mentioned.

[@coreywebb1575]

You ought to teach a class on productivity

[@lizc6393]

I'm convinced he's found a glitch in space-time and is using it to produce impossible hours of content.

[@tgmccoy1556]

Cockpit resource management. Not a truly new concept but the Tenefrie accident was the impetus to use the concept. A very old friend was slated to take the Alaska flight-but had a family emergency. "Fate is the Hunter."

[@oceania68]

I suppose plane flight may have a better record on safety than, say, cars. However, you can't forget aircraft incidents such as; Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Lufthansa flight 2904, MH370 disappearance, et al, to name just some throughout the age of commercial travel that may still play a part in the psyche of travelers minds.

[@colpul2103]

15:45 "Airplanes are statistically one of the safest ways to fly"

[@johnw391]

You should check out the lost nuclear weapon on savannah Ga which has never been found

[@ziyuanma1226]

I vaguely remember an accident involving a passenger plane that took off from somewhere in Russia and a cargo plane. Their flight paths meant they were going to pass by each other in close proximity halfway through the flight, but air traffic control people gave completely wrong orders and the two collided midair, the tail of the cargo plane sliced the passenger plane in half. Everyone died, there were a bunch of school children on that plane going on a field trip I think and it was so very sad. The air traffic controller was later murdered in his home by a grieving father of one of the victims.

[@ziyuanma1226]

found the documentary, happened in 2002 oh my gosh horrible

[@BobMullerMX]

Alaska airlines over the "Atlantic" ocean? Both Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and Los Angeles (LAX) are on the Pacific

[@antman5474]

That Pan Am Jumbo that made headlines in Tenerife was no stranger to publicity, Clipper Victor made global news on two other occasions. It was the first 747 to enter passenger service on a flight from New York to London in January 1970 and it was also the first 747 to be hijacked just a few months later on. It was forced to land in Cuba by the hijacker and was greeted by none other than Castro himself, who, having played no apparent part in the hijacking later secured its return flight back to the States but not before being invited onboard for a good look around, he declined the offer on the grounds that he didn't want to scare the passengers.

[@phforNZ]

Factboi, you got the Erebus designation wrong. It was TE901. TE shorthand for Teal, the former name of Air New Zealand. Nice to see coverage of it. It was a colossal cock-up that was a horrid blame deflection game that they only recently remedied.

[@WarpRadio]

"airplanes are, statistically, one of the safest ways to fly" - Simon (15:51) I guess they are! Other ways to fly: cannon, bomb, kite, slingshot, ... yeah- you have a point there! ;)

[@codymoe4986]

Helicopters everywhere are shaking their cockpits in frustration....

[@ryanpayne7707]

FYI: -Cabin crew refers to flight attendents. The pilots and the now outmoded flight engineers and navigators are/were flight crew. -Its "MD-83," not M-D83 -You're fairly good at using the correct terminology. The stabilizers on a plane are the fixed structures on the tail. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers hold the rudder and elevator, respectively. For the Alaska Airlines flight, the elevator jammed- its physically impossible for the horizontal stabilizer to jam as its not a moving part. I'm a student pilot, aviation buff, Southwest Airlines ramp agent, and Civil Air Patrol aerospace education officer. If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to help answer any aviation questions you may have in the future.

[@michaelpipkin9942]

I've been asking MegaProjects to cover The Thunderbirds. Their disaster was terrible.....

[@TheEvilCommenter]

Good video 👍

[@andvackur]

If anyone likes this video and wants more airplane disaster content, you should check out the Black Box Down Podcast!

[@RejectedInch]

Ustica airplane crash could have been interesting, although it might fit " Decoding the unknown" channel better. Or even "Into the shadow", given the political intricacy of that "accident".

[@davidioanhedges]

2017 : Was a good year for passengers, but one did crash and kill 4 of it's 5 passengers, one crashed and one passenger died later, and one that killed all 10 passengers was on the 31st December ... military passengers, crew, and people on the ground fared less well ... But still fantastically safe compared with almost every form of travel except elevators ...

[@MrRandomcommentguy]

"Let's take a DC-10 to Antarctica!" - yeah, that's about as smart as taking a lit flare to the gas station.

[@DocuzanQuitomos]

Not at all, while the DC-10 was involved in spectacular accidents, it's safety record wasn't worse than other planes of the time. And they had conducted several Antarctic flights the previous years (when the waypoints of the route had not been moved) without problems.

[@thetowndrunk988]

At 15:52, I think you meant to say one of the safest ways to travel, not safest ways to fly, seeing as they’re about the only way for us to fly. Get it right, Fact Boy!!!! 😬

[@pauljmn9135]

Our local airline in Minnesota was northwest airlines whose tails were red because they were the color that was most easily found if they crashed in Alaska. That's now Delta airline