Incredible Failure After Takeoff at Atlanta Airport - Eastern Airlines Flight 494

On April 21, 1984, Eastern Airlines Flight 494, a DC-9, had just departed Atlanta, Georgia, for Greensboro, North Carolina, when pilots faced an unbelievable failure that took them by susprise.

[@jimbellmer8866]

My Dad, the late Capt. Jerry L. Bellmer was the F.O. on that flight (not Jason) . He was flying that leg of the flight and he would talk about this flight as if it happened yesterday. A true pilot who just loved to fly. I remember the award ceremony at the Mayflower hotel in D.C. Truly missed. Jim Bellmer

[@MPCFlights]

A true pilot indeed. Sorry I misspelled his name. And I'm glad to see his very own son commenting on this re-creation!

[@justinmcneilliii8561]

@@MPCFlightsI was a pilot with EAL at DCA and knew Jerry and Jim - Jerry and I were about the same age - a great pilot….. Justin McNeill

[@jamesowens62]

Your dad saved alot of lives that day. No panic just piloting.

[@kjjones8627]

Hero for sure

[@RobertSweet-nw4tm]

@@jimbellmer8866 yes they seemed not to panic but calmly did the right thing. Skilled professionals

[@travelwithtony5767]

I don’t care how many redundancies you have build into the design process to prevent a thrust reverser deploying in flight, this is a failure that should not be allowed to happen under any circumstances. Period. The fact that the Captain had the sensibilities to shut down the engine instead of trying to fly the aircraft out of the sudden roll is a miracle in itself..the medal he received was well deserved and his actions alone saved all of the souls on board that day. Hero.

[@darby5987]

The best redundancy they had on that aircraft was two competent pilots.

[@jaymes1]

Absolutely i know of 2 crashes that killed everyone because of this!!​@darby5987

[@leeoldershaw956]

I was an Eastern DC9 Captain at the time. The plane was a longer -51 instead of the -31 depicted. The right thrust reverser had been deactivared by maintenance but incorrectly. The reverse unlock and reverse thrust lights displayed in the cockpit a few seconds after takeoff at about 160 kts, well above the takeoff safety speed of about 145. There was very little roll or yaw and the airplane was never out of control. The Captain was flying and the 1st officer had just completed captain upgrade training. Without any delay the 1st officer shut off the fuel control to the right engine and the emergency was contained. We all experienced the incident in our next simulator training/checks. You can't hear the engines in a DC 9 51 and only a faint noise when it went into reverse. There was surprisingly very little roll or yaw but a big decay in airspeed which was halted by the engine shutdown and energetic pushing the nose down from the normally high takeoff position. In my 21 years on the airplane, i never had a reverser fail to operate. The incident airplane had a leak that necessitated it being deactivated but it was such a rare event that maintence reversed the position of a handle that resulted in the reverser not being mechanically locked shut.

[@mgaeeeee9150]

No, you weren't, I was. I also played guitar with the Allman Brothers back then, too

[@richardroderick7677]

What a moronic thing to say. I was at Eastern then too and this gentleman knows what he is talking about. I was only a first officer, but I had nothing but respect for all of the pilots at Eastern Airlines. It was an exceptional group of people. You, sir, can go pound sand.

[@phugoid]

If only the Lauda Air crew had read the cause of this, and actions taken by the pilots, 213 lives would've been saved, and possibly a 767 airframe still in service. Oh well

[@gradywilson9213]

​@@mgaeeeee9150 Another guy whose IQ matches his shoe size.

[@gradywilson9213]

I was a mechanic at Eastern back then, Frank Borman was the beginning of the end. The baggage handlers had large number of votes, and voted for everything which benefited them, and hurt the airline, dumb ass*s the least skill guys making the most demands. After we shut down I ran into a baggage handler I knew, with some 15 years on the job, a very vocal guy against the airline. He was working at Home Depot, I couldn't help myself "are they treating you good here,a hole?" he couldn't look at me, a second one I saw was working at the flea market. Yeah their strategy to get more pay for less hours worked really well. I still miss 😢 Eastern, sometimes if I am watching a 1970 s show, and they are at the airport, I see one of our planes in the background, my chest tightens up a little. My life turned out O.K now a retired U.S. Marshal, just celebrated my 39th wedding anniversary, with a wonderful son who served two tours in Afghanistan as an Army medic with the 101st Airborne, he is today a fighter/paramedic. PS the DC 9 was one of my especialties.

[@robertclark9]

When I saw the reverser deploy on the video, I said to myself “everyone on that plane is dead, they just don’t know it yet”. This Captain was able to survive the unsurvivable. Only by quick thinking, and immediate action. I hate to say it, but today in the same situation, 99 percent of crews would’ve gone down. The first officer made the call out, the Captain shut #2 down, and the plane instantly came back to them. OUTSTANDING!!!!! If I was on that flight, an enlarged photo of those two would be on my living room wall until the day I go under!

[@californiadreaming9216]

robertclark your assessment of the remedial action taken with this near disaster is fundamentally correct. I would just add that the aircraft did not immediately come back to them because jet engines need to spool up and spool down.... they would not have recovered the aircraft immediately, she probably continued to bank right and was losing altitude even after corrective control surface measures were applied...for several agonizing seconds until flight crew fully regained control. And I agree 100 % that the airmanship and professionalism demonstrated by this crew was exemplary. It's no mystery that MANY flights which crashed would have had better outcomes except their flight crews either panicked, miscommunicated, overreacted or all of the above. See: Air France 447. Adrenaline is a bitch. Cheers.

[@robertclark9]

@@californiadreaming9216. Or Lauda 004. My heart went out to that crew. They were completely blindsided at altitude. By the time they could initiate a response, it was already too late.

[@maid4thelamb85]

This happened on a Saturday, the day before Easter. I remember vividly because its the day i got married, 40 years ago this year. Im so glad they were able to land the plane and everyone survived.!!

[@geeewiz2231]

Awesome job by experienced Eastern pilots, Nothing beats experience.

[@eartha911]

I was a flight attendant for EAL in 1984. We had the absolute best pilots in the system. I went on to fly with another carrier when we folded in 1991. Flying was never that good again. Thanks Lorenzo, you a**h^$#!

[@jimbellmer8866]

Thats why my dad would always blurt out "I gotta go take a Lorenzo" as he went in the bathroom!! 😂

[@Daniela-Christianson]

😂 ​@@jimbellmer8866

[@SWog617]

It's nice when these types of videos don't end in tragedy. Tremendous flying and calm under pressure.

[@stevenhashimoto4472]

I was an air traffic controller in Florida when this happened. We were later briefed to be on alert for similar incidents until the problem was resolved. Eastern used to fly into one of the airports in my airspace as did Delta and People Express.

[@jjsifo1]

Wow, People Express ! I remember them Pilots had to be trained in every aspect of the operation.

[@belagracie]

I was an Eastern gate agent at the time and helped assist passengers of this flight once they got back to the airport.

[@user-ip7rt8mg7w]

The mere fact that there was NO emergancy sop for this and that these two men were able to arrest the aircraft and not panic understanding the physics of what it means to "fly" jet airliners and the fact that two other crews had the same issue but ended up crashing killing everyone onboard is the difference between being born to fly and just being an ass in a seat. I know that sounds way harsh but keeping your head while everyone around you loses theirs can mean the difference between a safe landing and the death of hundreds of passengers!!! YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THE PLANE AND HOW TO FLY IT BEFORE YOU JUST DO IT FOR THE GLORY!

[@geeewiz2231]

@@jimmiller5600 I'm sure he thinks any jet and I agree with him. A great understanding of flight can only help you when the crap hits the fan.

[@F_Tim1961]

The Lauda air plane was doomed -both, BOTH - reverse thrust spoilers deployed uncommanded at the same time over unlandable terrain. As per usual, MPC flights does a half arsed job and tells you a fraction of the story on that one.

[@CarlJay-ry8mr]

Eastern must have had a good training program. You are right about how different it is to be somebody that is born to fly and those not

[@jimbellmer8866]

My dad was one of those men! ​@@CarlJay-ry8mr

[@rickfrey9950]

DC. Death Cruisers

[@sammyboy892]

This why airlines need to hire “stick and rudder” pilots instead of systems operators and button pushers. Nothing makes me happier than seeing gray hairs in command of any flight that I am on.

[@ericbarash8496]

Only experience saves the day during emergencies.

[@mendel5106]

Quick thinking and decisive action saved the day.

[@Mozart1220]

WHo made the simulation? The gals walking into the plane are hilarious!

[@johncurcio3621]

The simulation software could be Shake that Booty v10.

[@JudyMotto]

Lol

[@fredliperson9171]

I think they're "smoking" 😛

[@jenniferchandler142]

They're actually on the cat walk. 😂😂

[@malcolmwhite6588]

Also, did you hear that the aircraft is powered by a diesel piston engine?😂

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

I flew extensively in DC-9s from the late 60s to early 80s and I hated them. They were cramped, noisy, smoky and choppy. The first MD-80s were not much better. The flight crew handled the situation like masters of the air.

[@geeewiz2231]

We called it the Junior Captain plane.

[@palmdc8]

Take a Greyhound then

[@Itapirkanmaa2]

The MDs are also DC-9s and run under the same certification. The MD was a marketing name. The final DC-9 was the Boeing 717,

[@matchpoint14]

euclid, that is a long time to fly on a plane that you did not like. Did you have the chance to get onto a better aircraft like the 727 or L1011

[@geeewiz2231]

@@matchpoint14 I flew the DC9 I'm tall it was a pain in the ass to get in and out, but it ws a nice flying machine. I also flew the 72 and 1011. The 727 is my favorite narrow body and the 1011 gets my vote on the best widebody. Never flew the 747, wish I did.

[@F_Tim1961]

The Pilots did a remarkable job keeping the DC-9 aloft from a Summer take off until the winter snows hit (see the airbridge still) all on the same tank of JA-1. These guys should get an environmental award too..

[@DebrisBall420]

I'll bet those girls weren't struttin' their stuff on the way off of that plane!!

[@benclark1753]

Haha! They probably had evidence of fear running down their legs 😅

[@ontheroadagainwithvinny931]

YT needs a laughing emoji as well as a thumbs up! 😆

[@MaydayMayday2024]

Wow, this breakdown of Eastern Airlines Flight 494 is both chilling and eye-opening. It’s amazing how quickly things can go wrong after takeoff, and the analysis here really highlights the importance of every second in an emergency. Kudos to the crew for their quick thinking, and thanks to this channel for making aviation incidents so informative and accessible!

[@jwh475ezc]

Interesting that the thrust reverser system was not designed to be fail safe, meaing a failure of the hydraulics would result in them in their home or neutral position, not deployed. That is bad engineering. As for the hot chick in the red dress, I'd say that is one for the Ministry of Silly Walks, Monty Python fans know what that is.

[@petehayes4801]

The "hot chick" in the red dress is walking like she has a corn cob stuck up her butt.

[@beachem1]

10-4 on the lady in red 😂

[@JohnShields-xx1yk]

Great reactions from the pilots, you never know how a pilot will react to sudden emergencies, even very experienced pilots can react badly or slowly, these two saved the lives of everyone on board and who knows how many on the ground.

[@SevereWeatherCenter]

N8922E That DC-9 was delivered in 1967 to Eastern Air Lines, then delivered to Midway Airlines in 1991 flying with them for three years before going to Ascera Airlines in 1994. This plane flew with Eastern for over 24 years before transferring to Midway in 1991, and it still flew for another three years. That’s one reliable plane flying for so long, despite the issue it faced. In fact, there is still a DC-9 that is in storage with Acera Airlines, it is almost 57 years old, being built in 1968.

[@PatrickSBellSr]

Bravo!! Man, THAT is piloting.

[@TJ-USMC]

"Great Airmanship and Situational Awareness" - "Semper-Fi"

[@nommadd5758]

Thank you! Well done! (Those 'passengers' need to see a chiropractor, especially the red dress!) 😂 1:38 - Nice 'lens fog' effect.

[@irasemamendez95]

I thought that they were not going to make it, thanks God and the good pilots, they were able to save many lives ❤

[@winstonchurchill3597]

Who else watched the boarding procedure more than once?

[@christopherhennessey8991]

I miss Eastern Airlines, used to fly them frequently.

[@BSsss603]

EAL had some excellent pilots!

[@LauraSchendel-ko1qk]

All of our lives are so vulnerable up there and it really boggles my mind why passengers give us such a hard time about safety! At the time of booking, their ONLY concern is to get the cheapest ticket. There are a lot of ways to save money in life. It’s stupid to try to save money on your pilot or aircraft!

[@CAROLUSPRIMA]

Another great job on another somewhat obscure but significant and interesting incident.

[@richardlouisnewman1064]

Eastern fly boys were some of the best.

[@jaisabai4155]

Excellent work by the pilots. And excellent animation of this incident.

[@gusm5128]

Glad they shut the correct engine down , several incidents pilots have shut a perfectly functioning engine down .

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

Great pilot skills . BRAVO !

[@TheShowblox]

Mad respect to the pilots for managing to recover, also the DC-9 looks amazing in the Eastern Livery!

[@davidpp330]

Captain and First Officer are Heroes!

[@curtisskliger2823]

Eastern....my favourite symbolic airline! 🙂🙏✌️ way to go indigo!!!

[@RobertoHernandez-rq5bf]

It's all about airmanship. SOPs are always useful, but a good pilot should know the physics of flight. Nowadays, must pilots memorize hundreds of procedures, but are unable to think by themselves.

[@RobertSweet-nw4tm]

Superb animation

[@lamina666]

Amazing work by the crew

[@Wildman706]

Remember flying military stand by many times in the 70’s on Eastern Airlines…

[@DianaNielsen-kf6wu]

Great team work!!!

[@jaymes1]

Awesome save of the pilots!! This scenario has taken more than one plane down!

[@cot5thorchid551]

How on earth did they figure out a thrust reverse was activated?

[@williammooney8499]

As per the FO son, this aircraft had thrust reverser unlock lite indications. Those lights came on.

[@GeorgeRichmond-rm7cw]

@@williammooney8499 True, but the simulation didn't have the reverser lights illuminated.

[@petehayes4801]

I wonder if the safety latche system failed due to normal use or because of black market parts being used. Black market (substandard) parts have been used on airliners for years, but has been kept under the table from the public except for whistleblowers

[@Milcom34]

Amazing Job by the Pilots*** God Bless Them Both****

[@Zickcermacity]

6:50 but the animation shows the reverse thrust malfunction on the starboard side.

[@MPCFlights]

That's not the actual plane involved. It's to illustrate what and where the reverser is.

[@Zickcermacity]

@@MPCFlights I know, but they could still get the side correct.

[@lindabarrett5631]

Great airmanship

[@jl3322]

Eastern had a dicey record in its later years with several crashes with casualties that finally ended the airline out of business. It was in business 65 yrs

[@jmWhyMe]

Quick thinking, good CRM and knowing their plane ...

[@JJ-bv2gp]

Stellar job by the crew

[@6400az]

Crazy, ironic this video appears on my " suggested for you videos". Just yesterday I was thinking about this EXACT thing...WTF !! 2:42

[@mickeydoolittle2057]

Today if this happened, all would be lost. Good job by the crew…

[@aharony7633]

which flight sim platform and whose software company is that DC=9 model base please

[@donaldfurr9939]

LOOKS LIKE TO ME THEY WERE LUCKY NOT TO CRASH. 😮😮😮

[@Springbok295]

I wonder if this incident had anything to do with the war between management and the employees. Deliberate slowdowns and possible sabotage by certain employees willing to harm the airline's on-time performance. I was on an A300 from ATL-SFO in December '83 when I looked out the window while we were still boarding to see what looked like a waterfall coming out from under the right wing and pouring onto the ramp. Several minutes later we were told of a mech delay. That turned into a 4 hour delay before we finally took off. My EA flight coming back to ATL from SFO a week later was cancelled for some unknown reason. All the pax were put on a Delta flight and we continued to Atlanta. I don't know what was going on during '83-'84 but management and workers were at each other's throats.

[@aristidespandelisfrangakis674]

The same problem happened in São Paulo, on October 31, 1996. However, they didn't have the same luck, the pilots didn't know what was happening and simply gave maximum power with the reverse gear open. 99 people lost their lives. Flight 402 TAM

[@paulazemeckis7835]

The carryon luggage back then was not what the clip depicted.

[@audryhaynes3277]

A.I. really thinks girls walk like that? Daymn, I thought it was better than that.

[@floycewhite6991]

That was my flight. I had to get up and stretch my legs a lot during that flight.

[@pennygardner4428]

The comical part of this whole scenario is the reenactment of the passengers walking up the stairs to the plane. Those women sure knew how to wiggle their hips. LOL!

[@mattkase6644]

Taken aback at the notion that there wasn't a Thrust Reverser Deployed In-Flight boldface EP for the DC-9. Even the Sabreliner I flew had that in the manual.

[@Daniela-Christianson]

The women sashaying into the plane 😅

[@joelt4416]

0:40 secs. LOVE the chick in the red! LMAO!!!

[@waynetompkins3006]

She walks like I do when I'm recovering from a back spasm.

[@floycewhite6991]

We need more men like that.

[@zyglo9826]

I can’t imagine why they would dispatch an airplane with an inoperative thrust reverser. It’s like setting a trap for the pilots, who may have to remember during a challenging landing not to use the normal reverse thrust procedure. #TAM 3054

[@scott.c9587]

Those were real pilots

[@joemueller4738]

How’d they know the reverser deployed? Indication in cockpit? I’ve heard of another similar incident but the pilots were not aware the reverser deployed and they crashed

[@dareisnogod5711]

👎👎👎 Obviously, you are not a pilot !

[@billiebobbienorton2556]

@@dareisnogod5711 Obviously neither are you.

[@joemueller4738]

@@dareisnogod5711 I never said I WAS a pilot, since they can’t physically see the engines and reversers, I was just asking a question. Are you a pilot? Probably not because you didn’t answer the question you only made a derogatory comment about me.

[@GeorgeRichmond-rm7cw]

Yes, there are lights in the cockpit to indicate reverser deployment.

[@joemueller4738]

@@GeorgeRichmond-rm7cw Thankyou for answering my question

[@BrianAdams-dt1ks]

Sounds like a Greyhound bus idling at the start of the vid. LOL. At that point, Eastern was running on fumes.

[@denisebissell5875]

Worked for eastern 15 years was there night they went out of bus .

[@leslierbrooks2923]

Everybody entering aircraft know what's going to happen because they walk like they've already pooped

[@MeaHeaR]

there was also another plain that crashed in mexico with faulty deployment of thrust reverser Tam 402 Tam 3054 also

[@somchaiwongma3813]

The picture at the end is showing the left and not the right thrust reverser deployed ?

[@matchpoint14]

also the flight number on the plane was different than the one he stated

[@rodolfoayalajr.8589]

Amen 🙏.

[@MCole-xz3cz]

Did the reverser stay open after the engine was shut down?

[@JackGlick]

Great 👍 graphics

[@robertgeorge4064]

Weight on wheels switch fixed that

[@theChickenstones]

It must be said that the animated Eastern Airlines DC-9 in this clip looks mighty dirty and unkempt. Was that an intentional additive?

[@nathanmeece9794]

I hope that they came up with a procedure after this incident

[@jkryanspark]

The simulators don't do people well. Everything else is spot on. The passengers climbing the steps, not.

[@floycewhite6991]

1:18 gas station pump on the taxiway

[@wintercame]

Heck, I was looking for a pay phone booth.

[@Doctorj63]

People sure walked funny back then.

[@challyramos7820]

I AM NOT A PILOT BUT GUT INSTINCT WOULD HAVE GUIDE ME TO SHUT DOWN THE NUMBER 2 ENGINE...I AM THANKFUL THEY WERE ABLE TO SAFELY LAND.

[@jimmyjazz9014]

Plane needed a wash

[@gabrielle-AV-n-PFloyd]

Lol that's what I was thinking too

[@terrallputnam7979]

AQP and DMMS were not a thing back then. The 2 heroic Eastern Airlines pilots showed the correct response to this scenario but that information was probably not shared with all other airlines at that time. We don't even know what we don't know. AQP shares this scenario based knowledge with upcoming pilots helping them know what to do when things go wrong

[@Nivola1953]

At 2:43 you show in your animation the right engine thrust reverser deployed and the text confirms that. At 6:36 you red circle the left engine thrust reverser as the faulty one! 🤔🤷🏻‍♂️

[@user-fh5re1ot7e]

Question what is up with that. Super smart people flying jets,however some appear unable to fly a kite

[@cslan4]

Great job from the pilots, that mite of been very bad like a smok'in hole in the ground!

[@Dance4lifeBR]

what game is that?

[@TRICK-OR-TREAT236]

WHAT VIDEO GAME IS THIS FROM ? IT LOOKS PRETTY CHEESY !

[@IslandCreek]

Why did the people walk like that?

[@billiebobbienorton2556]

Itchy hineys.

[@dareisnogod5711]

👎👎👎 You showed the reverser on the starboard side deploying , but it was the one on the port side that malfunctioned. Big mistake you made, Si ?

[@jmWhyMe]

#2 is the right engine. At the end of the video it was an error when he circled the left engine.

[@justinmcneilliii8561]

@@jmWhyMeand it was another aircraft - check the nose number, so it was just an indication of what it would have looked like;Ike (on the other side)

[@jmWhyMe]

@@justinmcneilliii8561 the affected tail number was 489. 438, at the Jetway was an example. He got the side wrong

[@johnkern7075]

That would be my reaction. SHUT IT DOWN! SHUT IT DOWN!

[@flightforensics4523]

EAL HAD LOADING BRIDGES IN ATL. WTH IS THIS?

[@jaisabai4155]

Noted. Girl in orange dress boarding 'plane. Well done 👍

[@mikebarker9187]

The hot chick in the red dress walked into the cockpit and sat in the lap of the co-pilot. Then all hell broke loose.

[@wintercame]

You could see that coming! It was wild.🤯🥳💋 😤

[@billiebobbienorton2556]

Looks like the passengers have a load in their pants. Or they didn't wipe.....

[@CountCraigula]

DC= Death Craft. Especially the DC 10. That one kept on killing even after retiring from passenger service. It killed the Concorde.

[@zyglo9826]

Countcraigula…the Death Craft 10 had at least 5 design flaws, none of which were corrected until they had killed someone. A sad chapter in aircraft design and regulatory oversight.

[@Valleedbrume]

Pros❤

[@jasguy2715]

Graphics are terrible. It's like watching a cartoon.

[@bobsherfy488]

AI