Lethal Checklist Pan American World Airways Flight 160

[@fastfiddler1625]

I didn't know there was a non serious kind of fire on an airplane.

[@bradcrosier1332]

Exactly (well, not counting the contained and controlled fire inside the burner cans of the engines)! I realize it it was a different era, and without all of the knowledge and hindsight we have now, but even still - the danger of fire on an aircraft wasn’t exactly a mystery even then. It’s just crazy that they seemed very casual about the event at first and overflew several viable diversionary airports.

[@glocke380]

Since I had to look it up I thought I would share. The 41 section is the forward part of the plane from the nose to just aft of the forward seating and the smoke was probably caused by illegally packed chemicals.

[@rjk69]

It would have been good if the video included that, also at no point were we actually told where the fire was and what caused it.

[@baraxor]

Smoke is getting thick, and our flight navigation systems are becoming wonky. But no, we're not declaring an emergency, and were not landing at that USAF base we just passed. No indication on whether the cargo chemicals had anything to do with the fire. As Swissair 111 showed, even a relatively small fire can soon make it impossible to control the aircraft.

[@miked5539]

Bad choices all around.

[@bmc9504]

Look at Valujet 592. Scary.

[@armchairtin-kicker503]

The decision making reminds me of UPS flight 6. They could have landed a DOHA which was 100 mi away (or less than 15 minutes.). Instead the elected to return to Dubai because it had better emergency support equipment. Only one problem, they had to land the plane first. An onboard fire is nothing to screw around with because you always have far less time than you think. So declare an emergency and land at the nearest strip possible and consider the plane a hull loss.

[@hcohen329]

The chemicals did have something to do with crash ,they were carrying gallon bottles of acid and a pallet tipeed over on take off after the plane crash we could see the bottles floating toward us on Boston harbor,this accident changed the way haz mat is shipped

[@Milesco]

@@hcohen329 A pallet tipped over on take off after the plane crash?

[@MorganBrown]

Sitting in a smoky cockpit with oxygen masks and goggles. “Do you want to declare an emergency?” “Nah, we’re good. Just another day at the office.”

[@wes11bravo]

Right? I can't be the only one here who watches these vids and replies to this or that with a running voiceover analysis/commentary. When ATC asked if they were declaring an emergency, I involuntarily announced "YES!!", haha. Am I a pilot? No. DKS, but have seen enough of Josh Allec's content to know what might happen next.

[@Sahilprakash1999]

It's just like Swissair Flight 111

[@kirilmihaylov1934]

@@Sahilprakash1999 that was even worse

[@Sahilprakash1999]

@@kirilmihaylov1934 what do you mean "Even Worse"

[@kirilmihaylov1934]

@@Sahilprakash1999 the crash of 111

[@patrickmiencharoen8231]

They flew hundreds of miles only to come within (according to the NTSB chart on Wikipedia) 250 feet of safety and perish. Certainly one of the cruelest twists of fate of any air disaster (at least, of the ones covered on this channel). Great job as always, Allec!

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

How many airports did they fly over. It's insane. They ran out of time.

[@lisasanders9472]

So Sad!

[@jimrossi7708]

@@lisasanders9472 - I concur, it is so really 😢 sad !! Rest In Peace !!

[@derbagger22]

@@thereissomecoolstuff Pease is huge and had everything they needed, except for PanAm mechanics...

[@virginiaviola5097]

Flying is easy, it’s landing that is tough.

[@frankblangeard8865]

"Are you declaring an emergency?" Nah, it's only a fire onboard an airplane 31,000 feet in the air. No need to get excited.

[@SSN515]

"Just open the windows"

[@robgrey6183]

Captain was born in 1920, and had 16K hours. Want to bet that a lot of them were in combat aircraft during WW2? Maybe he thought this was nothing special.

[@kirilmihaylov1934]

@@robgrey6183 may be . But fire on board is always dangerous ....

[@BlackMan614]

@@robgrey6183 Yeah... probably a B-17 pilot in WW2. "Smoke? Meh... have the wings fallen off? No? We're good"

[@robgrey6183]

-You are six miles up over the ocean. -There is smoke in your airplane. -Smoke means FIRE! I will never understand why ANY pilot in this situation does not declare an immediate emergency and a vector to the NEAREST runway.

[@kidpagronprimsank05]

Smoking were allowed back then.

[@qv2539]

@@kidpagronprimsank05 Yeah, but this was a cargo flight. No smoking passengers. No one else on board except the cockpit crew.

[@roberthudson1959]

Rewatch the video. The crew assumed that it was an electrical fire, which could be easily isolated and contained.

[@robindavies5579]

@@roberthudson1959 Assuming makes an ass out of you. How many of these fire on aircraft cases have ended well unless the crew get their plane back on the ground asap.

[@chipochipfunhu1679]

WHO DOES THAT?! YOU HAVE FIRE AND YOU DON'T DECLARE A EMERGENCY! I DON'T THINK THESE WERE TRAINED.

[@Powerranger-le4up]

Pan-Am, the company that owned the chemicals, and the other companies involved in the shipment were all charged with criminal negligence.

[@MyzelleJenkins]

What was the outcome? Hopefully more than just a slap on the wrist?

[@Powerranger-le4up]

@@MyzelleJenkins Pan am pled no contest. I couldn’t find much more info

[@robgrey6183]

I'm willing to bet that nobody in a suit ended up in handcuffs, much less prison.

[@stellakowalski5145]

@@robgrey6183 do they ever?

[@enricoangelini7629]

This accident reminds me of the Valuejet crash in the late 90s in Florida, expired oxygen cans (149) were packed by untrained personell which interpretaded "expired" with "empty" (?!?!!!?) and simply put them in a box with no extra care or attention; few minutes after takeoff hell broke loose and everyone died......how sad.

[@luizseman1]

I also remember that one...

[@stellakowalski5145]

That one was awful😭

[@jaimhaas5170]

I think the guy fled to mexico because he was charged with manslaughter....if I am remembering correctly.

[@robertvaughn6646]

In '73 the smoke/fire procedures were less stringent than today. At the place I flew a smoke/fire alert dictated running the Smoke/Fire emergency chk list and making an immediate landing at the nearest suitable airport with both of these things happening at the same time. During sim training 19 min or less was considered the goal. As you see these guys passed by Pease Air Base which was a fatal mistake.

[@damienbusick5540]

one of my favorite KZbin channels! Great job as always! Such a tragic loss of life RIP!

[@Capecodham]

"Virtue Signaling by posting RIP all over the internet while doing actually nothing to better the world. Social media narcissism at its finest." kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoXQdKuYmLeLqZY

[@Springbok295]

My last flight on a PA 707 was probably in July '76 from LHR-FRA-BEG. I can still remember sitting on the right-hand side just behind the wing with my two sisters I could see the name Pan Am painted on the upper wing surface. The only other thing I can recall is that our scrambled eggs were a greenish tint which was not unusual (back then) when cooking eggs at altitude.

[@michaelarchangel1163]

Not as green as me on the day I got married. Damn, that was a disaster as well !

[@derbagger22]

Did they serve ham?

[@MrSoccerball100]

@@michaelarchangel1163 You need to create a KZbin channel and tell kids your story. If you could save just 1 kid from getting married it will have been worth it.

[@EYESandHEART]

@@derbagger22 😂

[@Dragondoc4]

The green eggs were probably from the aluminum tins used to store them. Ask a Soldier or Marine about green eggs in the field.

[@abababa7483]

All three making mistakes without informing the others. What a crew.

[@Jman531]

They were wearing oxygen masks and goggles, have you ever tried to talk with that on, smoke so bad you can't see and trying to talk with mask on is not very likely to have been done. Remember this was in 73 before they had the rules that they do now. The Captain back then didn't listen to the rest of the crew, he did whatever he thought best. Now they involve the entire crew, but back then the other two were just taking up space.

[@abababa7483]

@@Jman531 What I found disturbing was when the captain said shut off everything we don't need. I realise he was under stress, but if so why did he refuse to declare an emergency? All in all, this air accident could be attributed to pilot error rather than fire on board. I am not a pilot, so it is just an opinion.

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

Why didn't the captain declare an emergency???? Pilot was super casual, yeah we're on fire here, smoke in the cockpit, we can fly the extra 100 miles back to JFK if you need us to. WTF??? Was Boston the nearest strip he could have landed??? If there was somewhere else he could have landed at sooner they might still be alive.

[@dfuher968]

4:10 Boston Center: "You're passing abeam Pease Air Force Base right now, sir". All, they had to do, was declare an emergency (and how the f... they hadnt already at that point, I have no idea), and the AFB wouldve given them an immidiate priority landing. Or at least I assume so, they would today, surely they wouldve back in 1973 too...

[@dondavis7687]

They were in proximity of several airfields (civilian and military)that were more than capable of handling a 707! Sad.

[@cindysavage265]

As a USAF veteran, I can speak for the entire force. If you land on one of our runways in an emergency, it’s all good. We will get over it…..

[@derbagger22]

Ah, the wild, wild west of flying. Watching videos like this and seeing what it takes to have an air disaster now compared to how little regulation there was back then gives me confidence to fly....

[@asteverino8569]

Well, there’s what one believes, especially for a pilot. You go with what you know. I wish someone of the three kept their “eyes open” for something else. But you do what you can at the time. Anyway, Rest in Peace.

[@npxmnpxm]

New York Times (March 5, 1976): In the first criminal indictment of an airline stemming from a crash, Pan American World Airways was charged by a federal grand jury yesterday with criminal negligence that contributed to the crash of one of its cargo planes at Boston's Logan Airport on Nov. 3, 1973. The plane's three‐man crew was killed. Also indicted on criminal charges were four other corporations and one individual. Pan American entered a plea of no contest to the charges, Three of the other corporations pleaded guilty or no contest, while the fourth, Santini Brothers Inc., and one of its supervisory employees, William Higgins, entered pleas of not guilty. A study by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the 707, which was carrying a cargo of 15,000 pounds of corrosive and volatile chemicals, had crashed because of dense smoke in the cockpit that prevented the flight crew from functioning effectively. It added that the smoke had probably been caused by leaking nitric acid, improperly packaged and stowed. “A contributing factor,” the board said, “was the general lack of compliance with existing regulations governing the transportation of hazardous materials.” In support of this view, a survey by the Federal Aviation Agency found that, although thousands of passenger planes also carried corrosive chemicals each year, a random check showed that in nine out of 10. cases, Federal regulations-some minor and some major -were not complied with. In 1974, Federal officials reported 260 violations they knew of.

[@muffs55mercury61]

Pan Am had a lot of crashes in 1973-74 and many fatalities (four of them passenger flights if I'm not mistaken)

[@npxmnpxm]

@@muffs55mercury61 In addition to the one in this video: July 22, 1973: Flight 816, Boeing 707-321B Clipper Winged Racer, crashed on takeoff from Faa'a International Airport for reasons unknown, killing 78 of 79 on board. December 17, 1973: Flight 110, Boeing 707-321B (N407PA) Clipper Celestial, firebombed while parked at Fiumicino Airport by Palestinian terrorists, killing 30 of 177 on board. January 30, 1974: Flight 806, Boeing 707-321B Clipper Radiant, crashed on approach to Pago Pago after encountering windshear from a microburst, killing 96 of 101 on board. April 22, 1974: Flight 812, Boeing 707-321B Clipper Climax, struck the side of Mesehe Mountain, 42 miles northwest of Denpasar, due to a navigation error caused by instrument failure, killing all 107 on board.

[@muffs55mercury61]

@@npxmnpxm Flight 816 ticks me off so much. Seems the French gov't did relatively little as far as investigating it. Did they even question the one survivor I wonder. So many years have passed so we'll never know.

[@npxmnpxm]

@@muffs55mercury61 Dunno, but CVR and FDR were never recovered.

[@coolbear6441]

Santini?!……What Airwolf didnt get involved??😇😇

[@maxtornogood]

Hmmm, I'd say very thick smoke in a cockpit is quite the emergency...

[@josephliptak]

The 707 is a beautiful plane with its loud smokey engines. Sure miss seeing these planes in the air.

[@slidefirst694]

Why didn't they land at the military air strip? Sad

[@ernestgalvan9037]

@Frank Roberts … the air crew may well have received a ‘nasty reception’ by Pease AFB personnel, but that would have been FAR friendlier than the ‘reception’ they received from the terrain as they crashed into it.

[@scofab]

Well done once again. How's flight school going?

[@jl3322]

Nice Job Allec-Happy Holidays!!

[@DonniePalmer57]

Your recreations are amazing!

[@MattsAviationChannel]

Very good documentary, Allec. Immediately thought about the yaw damper was switched off. Good gracious. What a tradegy.

[@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043]

Thick smoke on the flight deck and abeam of a USAF base? You’re mighty right I’m putting her down there. Yessir, Captain, you had an emergency of the worst kind. RIP.

[@mcburcke]

Yep...Pease AFB is an old SAC base and has a huge runway designed for B-52s to try to get airborne from...would've been very tempting to me, personally!

[@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043]

@@mcburcke • All the better! ATC there (and later, the MPs and top brass) would’ve gladly eased her down once they were aware of this dire situation. God bless the families who remain.

[@Capecodham]

"Virtue Signaling by posting RIP all over the internet while doing actually nothing to better the world. Social media narcissism at its finest." kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoXQdKuYmLeLqZY

[@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043]

@@Capecodham • Oh burt, it’s you again. Wish you’d retire from your own virtue signaling by calling out others who happen to care. Have a blessed day.

[@Capecodham]

@@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043 You don't care, you just want to look like you do

[@jfchonors8873]

Very sad situation. What is equally sad is that 25 years later the pilots of Swissair111 made a similar miscalculation of severity of a smoke condition

[@janvanhaaster2093]

With 1 very big difference: in the case of Swissair 111 it later has been calculated that even if the pilots immedeately had diverted tp the nearest airport, the plane still would not had made it, the crash was inevitable....

[@UahUahUah]

Hey, Allec. Another great air emergency video. I recently discovered a song that I feel like would work well with your ending epilogues at the end of each video. The song is called "Fracture" by Jakob Ahlbom. It's a somber piano medley just as most of your other videos. :)

[@bullseyes1983]

Plane setting on fire, smoke fills the cockpit, losing control surfaces... ATC: Do you want to declare an emergency? Captain: What? For this little nuisance? No way...

[@aflacduckquack]

Should've declared an emergency, should've landed stat, and there should've been far better CRM. Nobody knew what anyone else was doing. So sad it cost them their lives. Nice production, Allec...

[@pops2728]

I am only a SIM pilot and aviation nut but surely smoke must mean "put it on the ground ASAP". This was a long time ago, I am sure that regulations would require that today. Why ask the company where you would like us to land? "We are on fire for f**k sake!!"

[@roberthudson1959]

Actually, they don't, because smoke does NOT mean there is a fire onboard. There was no fire on this flight, for example.

[@markevans2294]

First thing the pilots do is to contact operations and ask where they should go. Rather than making a Mayday (or Pan Pan) call to ATC and looking for the nearest suitable airport to land at.

[@moejr1974]

My choice would have been Pease AFB

[@C-Midori]

They were THAT close..

[@stephenbritton9297]

If they had declared the emergency, PEASE AFB would have been available to them. They might have made it!

[@Milesco]

@Frank Roberts If it's an emergency, you do whatever you have to do. Quoting commenter "Cindy Savage" (above), "As a USAF veteran, I can speak for the entire force. If you land on one of our runways in an emergency, it’s all good. We will get over it….."

[@lardyify]

The lower 41, in a Boeing aircraft, means the lower nose compartment, forward of the nose gear box structure and the E and E (electrical and electronic) compartment, aft of the nose gear. The two compartments are connected by the air space around the nose wheel compartment box. The former is full of flight control cables, pulleys and control quadrants, etc. The E&E contains the radios and flight computers, generator control units, ship’s battery, etc. These compartments are separated from the forward cargo by the forward cargo compartment bulkhead which is pretty substantial. If there was fire in the lower 41, I would logically consider it to be an electrical fire as the captain appears to have done. These were the days when the cargo compartments of aircraft had neither fire detection or protection. My airline only started fitting such systems (to its 737 ‘classic’ aircraft) from 1990 onwards. Before that, fire in the forward cargo compartment would only be detected by the wing/body overheat detectors in the air con bay, and they only trigger with heat not smoke.

[@megadavis5377]

Evidence of a fire on board, donned smoke goggles and O2 masks, losing systems throughout the plane and you fly right past an Air Force base????

[@Pahlko]

Good job on this video, Allec.

[@anhedonianepiphany5588]

Absolutely a top notch effort!

[@WendyKS93]

For these pilots to have been experienced you would never know it by their attitude regarding their situation and their decision making. There was a serious lack of good communication with one another regarding what they were doing. Sounds like a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. It also sounds like they didn't know what their cargo was. You would think that they would need to know especially in case of emergency. I guess cargo pilots didn't necessarily know what their cargo was back then? They weren't necessarily provided with that information?

[@Jman531]

Back then the Captain made all the decisions, the rest of the crew was just along for the ride. Basically unless the Captain asked a question, the rest of the crew stayed silent.

[@WendyKS93]

@@Jman531 Yes flying was completely different back then in every way and how the cockpit was managed was completely different. The Captain reigned supreme. You did not ever disagree or question him regarding any decisions that he made.

[@LennartWennberg]

Excellent as usual!

[@arturo468]

They should have declared an emergency as soon as the smoke was noticed, then initiating an emergency descent towards the nearest suitable airfield. This is a bit like Swissair 111, where the flight crew were also far too slow in appreciating the severity of the situation and they paid with their lives

[@alberta1st]

Why not declare the emergency as it had already begun deteriorating, the cargo manifestos had to change these were three lives lost for futures sake. RIP

[@julielabrouste6344]

I've read a number of accident reports where the pilots don't declare emergencies in circumstances that are clearly emergencies, so I don't understand.

[@alberta1st]

@@julielabrouste6344 Exactly they already have a situation enough to as they said get on the ground fast as possible, so many perimeters l could never imagine being a pilot.

[@neatstuff8200]

One more minute and they could make it.

[@Capecodham]

"Virtue Signaling by posting RIP all over the internet while doing actually nothing to better the world. Social media narcissism at its finest." kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoXQdKuYmLeLqZY

[@MykelBBY1]

Don't assess!! Just get down!

[@yemalad1.]

Damn, they were so close to making it

[@stewartdeerfield]

I lived in American Samoa in 1976 + , I watched a Pan Am cargo 707 just barely avoid auguring in. Raised his nose too soon, barely had airspeed, gear just cleared approach lights. Flat straight exhaust for at least a mile before a little rate of climb, held my breath for a while!

[@leeoliver424]

To land in Boston only because Pan Am facilities are there? Landing in Montreal or Quebec City or nearest airport would have been a good decision…where there is smoke there is fire…geeeeeshh!

[@jdm19791]

As the time phase went on, the scenario just got worse and worse. My stomach and heart were in knots reading it. You can feel that this is not going to end well. So close to safety but still, 3 qualified human beings lost their lives. This particular flight really shouldn't have been so disastrous. God rest their soul's.

[@ggpp4898]

Just a small correction: it is Glasgow, Scotland.

[@DeltaFoxtrotWhiskey3]

How did the captain not know what they were carrying? Shouldn't he have reviewed the cargo manifest, at least for weight and distribution, prior to planning take off? But what really got me was the negative response to declaring an emergency. Smoke worsening in the cockpit, to the point where they couldn't see the controls, and not once was an emergency declared. Not only that, but it was actually declined when the ATC asked about it. Reminds me of Han Solo in Star Wars: "Everything's under control here, situation normal. Don't send anyone, very large reactor leak very dangerous. But we're fine. How are you?"

[@joejakubec9708]

Smoke. non emergency here. Where would you like us to go?

[@mattkane8328]

Did I read that correctly when it said the captain was unaware of the type of Hazmat being transported ? Was a NOTOC not required back in 73...? Did the 707 take ULD's in the lower deck or was it bulk loaded ? I started in cargo in 93 and have zero experience with 707's so I'm curious.

[@gnrrguy7951]

Allec, need more comments at the end. This was a landmark accident. All the HAZMAT regulations, labeling, manifests, notification to pilot rules stemmed from this accident. I remember it well. Within a year we all had to undergo Hazmat training on how to handle Comat. everything from O2 bottles, to oil, to oxygen generators moving Comat had to be meticulously documented by trained employees.

[@GRosa250]

The predecessor to ValueJet 592

[@pameladecicco6509]

Exactly my thought.

[@gort8203]

Can anyone corroborate the claim (time 7:40) that "Performance data for the Boeing 707-320C showed that lateral control capability may be extremely limited, if not impossible, with an inoperative yaw damper, extended spoilers, and lowered flaps". This does not seem plausible for more than one reason, so I would love to see an extract from the manual. In my experience with Boeings a yaw damper was necessary for flight only in certain parts of the flight envelope where directional stability is weak and Dutch Roll can become amplified. Flight with an inoperative damper was restricted to lower altitudes and a speed range that provided good directional stability, but there was no serious disruption of lateral control authority. Something as serious as "extremely limited if not impossible lateral control would certainly be covered in the Flight Characteristics and Abnormal/Emergency Procedures sections of the flight manual. I remember being reading about how to recover from Dutch Roll, but nothing about extremely limited lateral control, especially in the landing configuration where the outboard ailerons are unlocked.

[@bradmccullough8240]

When the word lethal is in the title it won't end well

[@davesemak]

It’s very sad that an experienced Captain would have no sense of urgency in a possible fire situation, his horrible decision cost the lives of three people and put people on the ground in danger.

[@kristensorensen2219]

It always sickens me when a crew is killed because of hazardous freight or unsecured freight. This crew never had a chance. Pan American was guilty of neglect homicides but suffered only the equipment loss. Corporate crime like this is tragic!

[@johnpatrick1588]

Pan Am was indicted on a charge of criminal negligence and pled no contest to the charge in 1976. The company that owned the chemicals and other companies involved in the shipment were also charged This was the first time an airline had been charged with criminal negligence related to a plane crash. The source of smoke could not be identified, but most likely the result of a nitric acid leak and improper packing of hazardous material, with a reaction between nitric acid and sawdust producing smoke

[@saw1898]

That was interesting, well done, as always! Any idea what the chemicals were in the cargo on board? Thanks!

[@Milesco]

According to other commenters here, nitric acid, which is _extremely_ corrosive.

[@muffs55mercury61]

In 1973-74 Pan Am lost a lot of 707s and had many fatalitiies. I don't think I would have flown with them.

[@alun101]

Another masterpiece.

[@johnshields6852]

Even a hint of smoke should be considered an emergency, on a plane smoke is a killer, I'm from the area but I was 13 back then and don't remember the crash. rip🙏

[@nenblom]

They were so close! RIP ❤️❤️

[@jimsannerud6254]

Declare emergency. Land ASAP. Live to fly another day. Worry about paperwork and consequences later.

[@virginiaviola5097]

Captain: we are diverting to Boston. Do you want us in Boston or New York? ATC: well you can land in Boston and we’ll see you in NY. Are you declaring an emergency? Flight 160: there’s smoke in the cockpit, we can’t see, we can’t breathe..negative. What a sad story.

[@RobloxianX]

I have a suggestion for a future episode, Aero Republica Flight 7730 (3054). It would make a decent video

[@lairdcummings9092]

Wow. Just dropped seconds ago... I'm never this early. (Says my boss)

[@tejj5957]

Allec would you ever re-create some of the major crashes you did in the new MS Flight Sim? Would be sweet

[@CreachterZ]

Do we now have a system that blows smoke out of the cockpit without causing further harm from the event? I know I’ve oversimplified this.

[@naknaksdadn572]

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

[@CoIoneIPanic]

If you are like me and can read at an average speed and you get tired of looking at the same one line of text for a full 60 seconds in these videos adjust the playback rate to 2x. You don't miss a thing and it even makes the music at the end much more jazzy. Pro Tip.

[@aidanzacharyguzman1676]

Joshua, I actually did not know you are a fellow Filipino.

[@sg7772]

Why negative on the emergency? Maybe the smoke was affecting his reasoning?

[@TheHaratashi]

No, he was just an idiot.

[@sg7772]

@@TheHaratashi panicked ?

[@Gratefulwon]

Smoke/fire is my worst nightmare, you can be damn sure it goes to nearest suitable.

[@davidharris2519]

should have gone to the nearest airport

[@roberthagedorn290]

5:53 The runway is so close. They almost made it. This is so very sad.

[@KeanuReevesDaShopee]

Do Pulkovo Flight 612...it's really a sad one

[@jl3322]

Guess there was no determination of smoke origin? Along with the fact that communication of actions of all three was non existent. In other words “right hand, left hand” flying situation. All pretty young to go out that way. RIP Thanks Allec you Rule!

[@jasonpauljones7295]

Why would they say negative for any emergency? They have thickening smoke, donned masks, requested vectors to return the aircraft as quickly as possible. How is that not an emergency? Otherwise just keep on flying to your destination hey?

[@torgeirbrandsnes1916]

After SR111. Smoke/fire. Land the plane NOW! We do not have time for check lists that take 30 mins to complete. Just land the damn plane, and we deal with the paper work later.

[@thegreat_I_am]

Note to self - When the airliner you’re flying is on fire, land at the nearest available airport. Oh, and declare an emergency. No-one’s going to laugh at you.

[@jamesgraham6122]

And at no stage did they declare an emergency. The mind boggles. As an instructor (classroom and simulators), following a long flying career, I would Always encourage crews when faced with a potential fire, and no Guarantee that the problem had been dealt with, land at the nearest available airport. Continuing to troubleshoot while extending the flight is a potential killer. Troubleshoot on the ground, from safe distance.

[@cchris874]

This may be irrelevant, but this was one of 5 fatal Pan Am crashes between July 1973 and April 1974. That must be a record for a major airline. In total 5 707s were destroyed and over 300 killed in exactly 9 months. Most of these were in the south pacific division, where conditions had deteriorated to the point that a "no fly list" of pilots deemed dangerous to fly with was created by other concerned Pan Am pilots. In fact the Pago Pago crash was captained by one of the crew on the list.

[@MrSoccerball100]

At 7:19 -shit got serious with that switch over to a powerful guitar riff.

[@margaretmathis4775]

How does the crew NOT know what cargo they are carrying? Don’t they have to sign off the manifests? This is so sad - fire onboard has to be the worst thing possible. RIP.

[@roberthudson1959]

THERE WAS NO FIRE.

[@deepthinker999]

@Dennis Wilson Finally an example of the good that government regulation can provide.

[@locks69]

is this a re-uplaod?

[@FoolAndHisMoney23]

What was the cargo and why had it started to smoke?

[@jamesmelcher9355]

Here’s what the NTSB report said: “Although the source of the smoke could not be established conclusively, the Safety Board believes that the spontaneous chemical reaction between leaking nitric acid , improperly packaged and stowed, and the improper sawdust packing surrounding the acid’s package initiated the accident sequence.”

[@Memphian1000]

His reason for not putting the aircraft down immediately? Pride... Wanting to be lauded by his peers for coolness under pressure... At the first sign of fire he should have put the airplane on the ground at the nearest airport immediately. He literally killed the crew.

[@jakejacobs7584]

#1, where there is smoke there is fire, period! #2, there are several long runways in upstate New York and Maine that were more than suitable to land on. #3, I don't care how far the mechanics have to travel to work on the plane, in fact the point is moot if there is no longer a plane to work on. There was a Swiss Air crew flying an MD-11 that could attest to that had they decided to get on the ground earlier.

[@jeremypearson6852]

Terrible tragedy and slightly reminiscent of Valujets crash in the Everglades due to oxygen canisters catching fire. You would think that since it was just a cargo flight, the crew would have had some idea of what was onboard. Regardless, it may not have made a difference to the final outcome.

[@psalm2forliberty577]

Flying past the Air Force Base to fly ANOTHER 45 miles / 12-15 minutes when smoke is already filling aircraft ? If that isnt Mis-calculation NOTHIBG is....

[@hcohen329]

I was 17years old. And Playing soccer for Winthrop high school a stones throw Logan air port, planes were normal for us but. You get used to it.A little after nine o clock I looked up and saw a 707 coming in over the ocean this where I disagree with this story, first of all the pilots head was sticking outside the window,second he didn’t fly on a turn into the runway instead he whent up until he stalled and then nosed down to the right.it was awfull we thought it was a passenger plane with hundreds of people.the FAA came our school auditorium and set it up with a giant map of the area and had a huge model of a 707 . I would like also to say that the pilot lived in winthro

[@cindysavage265]

Men! If someone asks you and your burning plane if you want to declare an emergency, say “YES”!

[@SJF15]

If the flight was from New York to Glasgow, how will it end in Frankfurt?

[@Richard-wk9le]

I think you failed to report what was found to be the cause of the smoke in the first place

[@DiamondAviator4]

Dude, since when do you post so often?

[@spryfolII]

Unfortunately, the old saying applies to this story. What you can't see can kill you. Why shipping companies fail to inform the most important people handling their cargo that what they are transporting is absolutely hazardous is beyond me. Its still done today. Knowing is half the battle. I bet if those pilots knew what kind of cargo they were transporting, the situation probably would've been handled differently, and maybe they wouldn't have met a tragic end that day. But, we know its part of the business and they accept it. At least make it a little more easy for them So they can make proper life saving adjustments by giving them more in depth information.

[@MrEsMysteriesMagicks]

New "Smoke in Cockpit" checklist item: Say "Alexa, call out altitude, speed, and heading parameters continuously." Problem solved!

[@hankdieselify]

Damn they were so close.

[@GroomLeader]

If an airliner is moving hazardous materials the flight crew should be informed, always, Shocking that Pan Am did not do that.

[@cottonmouth8782]

Damn, right by Pease too

[@geronimotudor3386]

Why not land in Montreal?