The Broken Bulb That Cost 101 People Their Lives | The Crash Of Eastern Airlines Flight 401

[@rilmar2137]

"If I'm fixing the lightbulb and you're fixing the lightbulb... then who's flying this plane?!"

[@dennismayfield8846]

And if we screw-up, fixing the light-bulb, and the 'captain', is looking over our shoulders to 'make-sure' we do it right, then who's looking out the cockpit window? Aww-Jeez!!

[@GeocaverDan]

I'll never forget the day this happened! I was 9 years old and staying at my grandparents house in Sylmar California. As most 9 year olds of that period when the phone rings I would race grandma to the phone and like always I won. So I answered the phone when this man asked for Jesse Kraybill to come to the phone "it's important". So happy go lucky me yells and grabs grandpa and bring him to the phone it was then that things changed grandpa's smile became a frown and as soon as he hung up he asked grandma to put together his bag he's leaving for Miami NOW! U'see grandpa AKA Jesse Kraybill was the chief engineer for the L-1011's landing gear systems and he was told to fly to Miami to help in the investigation. I didn't really know what happened at the time except that there was an accident then later that night the news can in on flight 401 and I realized what had happened on that phone call. Needless to say there was nothing wrong with the gear system but grandfather always felt bad over the accident.

[@wobblyjelly345]

😦 whaoh!

[@kateoloughlin8774]

Thank you Dan Best I enjoyed reading your paragraph. Excellently written and worded. Kind regards from Ireland Kate. 👱‍♀️💕

[@conniethomas4753]

X

[@lob19]

Amazing story told in an excelent way. Thank You

[@tdrewman]

My friends has his father award hanging on his wall that his father got for being one of the first responders. He was in the Coast Guard and was part of the rescue team out of Miami Beach.

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Idk if you guys know but while researching this I came across a lot of ghost stories about flight 401. Do you guys want a bonus episode about the ghost stories?

[@bonciutalentadv7599]

I have read in a book about the Pilots haunting the parts of the airplane and it is pretty interesting. Definetely a bonus episode would be awesome

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Get this apparently the pilots kept watch over other airplanes. A ghostly apparition told a flight attendant that the plane would have issues and then later on in the flight an engine failed or something like that

[@bobtoler5322]

Yes ! I really do not believe in ghost stories but the ghosts of 401 have fascinated me since the 1970s. They only appeared to flight crew on l1011s that had parts from the crashed plane installed as spares.Eastern had to reuse those parts because the plane was so new spare parts were in short supply.After telling a friend about the stories he flew Eastern and asked a F/A about it and he told me he got a very angry look but no answer.

[@Penoatle]

A bonus would be cool and be off the usual path. Yeah, you should go for it.

[@fyutffdtuibgfetu]

stick to reason and facts

[@petenztube]

This accident is taught in every Human Factors class. It's just mind-boggling that this would happen.

[@matteframe]

The flight crew sounds like the damn Three Stooges..

[@dx1450]

Well, that's what happens when you rely on technology so much. Used to be, we flew the planes. Now the planes fly us. This crew was so focused on trying to fix a broken light bulb they didn't focus on flying the plane.

[@boeing757pilot]

Yes, fly the airplane first!

[@jerryewing3447]

il

[@LucaTurilli89]

A human factor is the stupidity! If I was a fucking airplane safety advisor I would make sure to recommend that there is an audible warning each time the autopilot is turned on/off! This simple decision would've saved so many lives.

[@chrisrekstad3882]

I have seen the ACI episode for this crash twice in my aviation classes at school. Glad to see your explanation of it. I like how you compared the crash to the Titanic and how these high tech things went down because of a small human error.

[@gglasser8375]

I have watched nearly all Air Crash Investigation episodes. I love that your vids tend towards other crashes. But I really like that you chose to do this story, especially how you explained it in your disclaimer at the beginning. Thanks for the work!

[@jameelhafeez9796]

That was supposed to be my connecting flight to miami i missed due to a delay of my original flight.The accident still haunts me after all those years.

[@wobblyjelly345]

OMG thats freaky. 😱

[@lookyloo1000]

Pics Jameel, or it didn't happen.lol

[@seka1986]

jameel hafeez lucky stiff!

[@jameelhafeez9796]

@@seka1986 As the saying goes "it was not my time".

[@B3Band]

I was supposed to be on this flight too, but I had a bad feeling so i stayed home. I guess I'm even cooler and luckier than you.

[@GiftHorse123]

I worked for Eastern 79-81. The L1011 was the king of the skies in my opinion. Those Rolls-Royce engines had a distinctive roar and upon takeoff, it was an incredible climb out.

[@dx1450]

Back in high school I read that book about the sister aircraft carrying parts from this aircraft supposedly being haunted. What the author of that book said was that the pilots were trying to get the gear indicator housing (which housed the burnt-out bulb) back into the panel. Apparently the bulb housing was slightly rectangular, and what the pilots were focused on was why it wouldn't snap back into place in the instrument panel. They had accidentally turned it 90 degrees and it wouldn't fit back in. Had it been square there wouldn't have been any issue. But at any rate, they were too focused on the light panel and not focusing on flying the plane, which was what caused the crash.

[@davidward8191]

Eastern Airlines was one of the best airlines flying. They were so far ahead of others in service, even to this day !

[@eyetrapper]

Great work, sad to see an L1011 gone

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Yeah I wish tri jets had stuck around for a bit longer

[@eyetrapper]

@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation yes 100%

[@nickkaning7616]

@@eyetrapper it's easy to forget (for me anyway) how large those L1011 and DC10s were! Fine looking pieces of machinery! If you look up the specs, the combined thrust is still close to the top of the charts! L1011 was an amazing aircraft!

[@eyetrapper]

@@nickkaning7616 agreed 100%, the L1011 is definitely one of my favourites

[@juliusnepos6013]

This is one of the most avoidable aviation accidents that happened

[@ferdrewflores3014]

👍👍👍

[@raynibbs4679]

Really? Read the book about it.. they did not have the technology we have today... who are you to judge them? I cannot believe this got a heart... I believe the L1011 was also the first aircraft to discover micro bursts, look it up.. I believe 1974. Armchair pilots... geez.

[@innocento.1552]

@@raynibbs4679 the question is not about the technology but the distraction. And sometimes experienced pilots are more dangerous because the can get over confident. Don't let your knowledge from the book block your understanding of the comment and the heart it got.

[@johnking7454]

Actually, if you bother to watch "Air Disasters" you will find many far more avoidable aviation accidents. Everything from pilots snorting cocaine the night before a flight to falsifying their qualifications and pilots so poorly trained that they don't even know the "Stick-shaker" is a stall warning!

[@richardcranium3417]

@@raynibbs4679 Armchair critic critics.....geeez

[@sarahalbers5555]

I lived in Miami when this happened. It was devastating. On top of every thing else, the crash site, in the Everglades was a bio hazard. Yes, this has been done before, but you did a really good job as usual ! This still troubles me years later.

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Apparently the everglades itself was a danger to the survivors after they crashed. A lot of people almost drowned

[@sarahalbers5555]

@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation jet fuel, swampy water and alligators. It was truly a nightmare.

[@pollypockets508]

:-(

[@RussellD11]

ValueJet - Allegiant

[@heavysnow8616]

Not to mention poisonous snakes and whatever else swims around those waters.

[@harveysmith100]

This was one of very few L1011 Tristar loses. The greatest airliner ever built.

[@wyomingptt]

Eh to each their own I think the DC-10 is the all time best though.

[@lookyloo1000]

Agreed Harvey ! What a beauty ! I'll never forget boarding my first one (Delta) I just kept thinking wow...9seat rows and two aisles...this thing is huge ! Probably flew on ten or so of them and every flight was amazingly smooth. What an aircraft.

[@harveysmith100]

@@lookyloo1000 I worked on the Tristar as cabin crew for five years and every flight was special. Lockheed sure know how to build aircraft.

[@JustRememberWhoYoureWorkingFor]

@@harveysmith100 yeah I like lockheed

[@johnking7454]

@@wyomingptt - The DC-10 was a mess. Faulty cargo door latches led to crashes, a blown tail engine knocked at ALL three hydraulic systems forcing a crash landing with about half the passengers killed and a poor engine mounting design aggravated by maintenance issues led to an engine falling off and a fatal crash in Chicago.

[@SimonTekConley]

I work in a completely different industry, but I've had people come up to coworkers with a problem, and have gone over the fix to the issue with them. It may have not been my job to do so at the time, but it's the problem solving nature, you hear a problem and you become curious. I would not be surprised if everyone was thinking about the problem and assumed the other person was flying

[@billnye5507]

"A small beeping indicating that the plane was dangerously low to the ground" _"Terrain, Terrain, Pull Up, Pull Up"_

[@joebeastyg5686]

I think a disco ball and Who Let the Dogs Out should automatically play when you're too low. You won't miss that warning.

[@markprange4386]

--Not back then.

[@richardcranium3417]

@@joebeastyg5686 like this one

[@mattwilliams3456]

Such a sad crash set in motion by the failure of a several cent light bulb. Oddly I have a connection with 3 different people involved with this crash. My mother was a nurse who treated some of the survivors, a friend of my father was a Miami police officer who was among those that were choppered out to the crash site to help in the rescue, and another friend of his was the Eastern pilot who’d flown this plane on the previous flight. One of the survivors ended up marrying a nurse from the hospital that treated him. Sadly a number of initial survivors died days later because bacteria in the Everglades mud caused gas gangrene in the wounds that would otherwise have been survivable.

[@dx1450]

You know I was thinking that if they had designed the "gear down" lights with not one but two bulbs in parallel, if one burnt out the other would still be lit and this accident would never have happened.

[@curbyourshi1056]

You put succinct and understandable detail in. Never be shy about doing a video that someone else has done.

[@jimbrewer498]

Pilot's first job, FLY THE DAMN AIRCRAFT!

[@GiordanDiodato]

if the changes after this crash were never fully implemented, United 232 would have been a lot more disastrous.

[@mcmoose64]

Don't sell your self short in relation to ACI . You manage to to convey the same information in a fraction of the time , minus the superfluous re-enactments.

[@Trevorfoggia]

I remember well this incident, I was 11 and just beginning to have an interest in aviation - which I still have to this day. I have read a good few books on the incident, too. I remember one book was named ‘the ghost of Don Repo’. Chilling books.

[@Tlyna1952]

They made a movie of it too, The Ghost of Flight 401 with Ernest Borgnine as the pilot.

[@badgerden7080]

I'm glad that you decided to cover this because Disaster Breakdown, for some reason, refuses to cover this accident.

[@JKevinBrady801]

An aspect not mentioned was the co pilot said, A FULL SEVEN SECONDS BEFORE IMPACT, we are still at 2,000 feet, right? Plenty of time to take action. But he turned to the captain who said” what’s going on here?! The captain was know to be autocratic ( many were back then before CRM) and I suspect the co pilot did not want to act before the captain assessed the situation or to defer it to him - this is my speculation only, but 7 seconds is a lot of time to act?

[@MovieMakingMan]

A simple fix to the lightbulb issue would be removing it and swapping it with the bulb assembly next to it. They were identical. The crew should have been knowledgeable about their instrument panel to know they could simply swap the bulb assemblies and confirm the landing gear was down. What could have been a 2-3 minute swap turned into a disaster. How many pilots out there are aware of how their instrument panels are constructed?

[@vincitveritas3872]

Very heart breaking due to a bulb out causing so much distraction. RIP all.

[@bonciutalentadv7599]

F

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

This isn’t even the first time if I’m correct. I seem to recall a DC 8 that ran out of fuel cause the crew were trouble shooting something like a broken bulb

[@reggierico]

@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation That was probably Iberia airlines, who ran out of fuel over NYC, while holding for an extensive period of time.

[@dx1450]

I don't understand why they didn't design the displays with redundant light bulbs. Having two light bulbs in parallel in critical displays like that would have prevented the confusion which led up to that crash. If one burned out, the other would still be lit.

[@vincitveritas3872]

@@dx1450 sad that there wasn't a fail safe way of checking landing gear was down. A failed bulb shouldn't cause a crash. Extremely sad

[@RegulatedMilitia]

if the alerts were a bit louder then it might have prevented this

[@johnking7454]

Air Traffic Controllers also needed to be better trained. You see an A/C that's supposed to be at 2,000 feet and you show it at 900 feet you don't ask "Are you OK"... you command "Eastern 401, say altitude!" That's how you save over a hundred lives with just four words!

[@Caracaraorangeberry]

there are stories that employees saw deceased crew members, cpt Robert Loft and FO Don Repo, sitting on board L-1011s that were fitted with salvaged parts from the accident aircraft.

[@joshuapatrick682]

Everyone botched this one. I know it’s not his duty but All The ATC has to do was say “we’re reading you at 900 ft can you confirm?” And this accident would have been avoided.

[@bvnseven]

yeah, that didn't make any sense to ask them if they were "OK" with that discrepancy in altitude.

[@xonx209]

Yeah, why install a radar that shows the planes' altitude if the controllers are not using it to prevent plane crash?

[@spryfolII]

Bad week for the airlines. Just a few hours later, Roberto Clemente on a mercy mission was killed in a plane crash. Even though it wasn't a commercial flight, it was a bad look and 1973 began with 2 high profile plane crashes and I remember officials reassuring people about the safety of air travel. I was 4 years old and I remember having bad dreams about planes.

[@casparcoaster1936]

Yes the ACI just faded the issue of what happened, very frustrating, this one was enlightening

[@shreddder999]

When the nearest Radio Shack used to be closer then 60 miles, they were just about as costly for bulbs.

[@dd_ranchtexas4501]

Really glad to see this info again. I remember the first detailed description of the crash investigation and everything you said about lack of CRM was correct. There was one item that you did not mention that has stuck in my brain all these years. As a design engineer (now retired) I noticed that the original investigation found an oddity about how the auto pilot disengage worked. They said that either of the yokes could disengage it and each position had a light to indicate status. HOWEVER, the light for the position that caused the disengagement would indicate "auto pilot off", BUT the light at the other position would still indicate "auto pilot engaged"! Really bad human interface. No excuse for bad CRM, but if the captain accidentally disengaged it, the FO's light would still say that it was engaged. If I recall correctly, that was changed after the crash........... This may have been a small contributing factor to this unnecessary fuster-cluck. So sad that those lives were lost due to such bad CRM................

[@mjrussell414]

Now I get that it wasn’t the air traffic controller’s job to mention their altitude, but just a simple change to his sentence and it would have alerted the pilots to their error. Makes me think it’s a good thing my husband never wanted to become an ATC because he can’t communicate the smallest of notions/concepts/plans/ideas.

[@jfergs.3302]

my thoughts entirely, though not about your husband, i don't know him :) ... and not the controllers job!?!? he saw a problem, asked 'you alright', why did he not add, 'cos were showing you at 900ft' to say the controller did all he could, not in my book he didn't

[@davidgoulden5956]

@@jfergs.3302 Definitely not an expert on this fascinating tragedy - or aviation in general. Very far from it. Still, though, I was struck immediately by the ATC's failure to mention the plane's low altitude. It would have taken him a couple of seconds - and made all the difference. Or am I missing something?

[@Aparanoidpunk6]

You are amazing man! Keep up the good work you should also try to add some crash footage and pics and then you will rovkkkkkkkk

[@geoffroots8095]

How sad that 101 people died over a broken bulb. Couple of questions. Don't they carry spare bulbs? If not, did the flight engineer have a toolkit containing a multi meter? which could have been used to confirm the switching voltage at the bulb terminals.

[@ih302]

It wasn't a question of spare bulbs, it was a question of them messing with bulbs and not flying the plane.

[@yuriythebest]

Thanks for the video! Why didn't they just do a visual flyover to verify that the landing gear was down?

[@briant7265]

It needs to be locked also.

[@maanmohammad8459]

So what would it take for the controller to add "why are you at 950 feet instead of 2000""?

[@boeing757pilot]

Yes.. If the controller was going to contact him because he noticed possible low altitude, then he should have specifically stated low attitude. His transmission was much too vague and ambiguous.

[@martinwarner1178]

@@boeing757pilot Yes, I often, when sitting as a car passenger, and seeing an accident about to happen say, "everything ok" yeah right on!

[@boeing757pilot]

@@martinwarner1178 Yes. Exactly. Communicate. Be specific!! Vague transmissions open to interpretation are useless.

[@ih302]

Accidents normally only ever happen after a series of oversights or errors, rarely does an air accident occur as a result of just one error.

[@tonybarde2572]

Now the legend of the Ghosts of Flight 401 will always be told around campfires

[@robertholden8956]

Brilliant and to the point narration. Sure, the big channels have more content, but they pad with irrelevant stuff and we are no wiser.

[@erictaylor5462]

Did they ever figure out if the gear had malfunctioned, or was the bulb burned out?

[@MrEsMysteriesMagicks]

I'm no pilot, but even I know that Rule #1 is Fly The Plane. You hit it right on the nose when you said that one pilot should have been doing just that while the other dealt with the problem.

[@tylerblocker2501]

I had to fly with eastern a few days ago, it’s the only time I’ve ever been scared on an airplane. I’m not sure if it was inexperienced pilots or what but we landed on the left gear only and bounced. It was the scariest aviation related moment of my life.

[@tent7014]

Great Video MACI. Just one point did the nose wheel actually lock down. Not that it mattered but ?

[@RealScarKnight]

love your videos

[@heavysnow8616]

So, was the bulb defective? Most, if not all, indicator lights in the cockpit have a press to test feature to determine bulb serviceability. You press the light assembly cover and if the bulb illuminates, it’s serviceable. I worked on military aircraft for 30-years and I find these scenarios very interesting and extremely sad. They mentioned the maintenance person on board, he or she was unaware on how to correctly open an access door to check the mechanical indicators? Also, why didn’t the maintenance person assist a bit more before being asked? The pilot had all the players he needed to deal with a relatively simple issue. Task saturation, all eyes glued on one issue, they forget the most important step: to keep the jet in the air. RIP to those who perished, prayers to all involved.

[@yettobseen]

It was an amazing aircraft flew once from Philadelphia to Miami I was about 17 and it was a great ride.

[@frankfarago2825]

Cockpit Chat: "Hey does any of you guys want to climb outside and take off the exterior protective cover from the landing gear porthole?" "Hey, what was that chime?" -- "Dunno, probably nothing." "Hey, we're still at 2000, right?" -- while looking at the altimeter showing 700-ft. or less. Miami ATC Chat: "Hey, how are you guys doing out there. Still at 2000 -- or have you guys just decided to land in Everglades at the stroke of midnight?" Anyhow, seems like half the airlines crashes in this period were logged by Eastern Airlines aircraft and pilots.

[@bonciutalentadv7599]

New episode! Time to watch

[@richardlewis7471]

This is the beauty of the DC10. There was a landing gear indication on the pilots panel AND the flight engineers panel. Simple redundancy for a critical system. Very surprised this was not incorporated on the L1011.

[@lauraandlisa381]

Waiting for the bonus ghost story. Iam an aircrash accidents freak since my teens. Glad I came across your channel. Just subscribed!

[@BuffDriver]

Find the book "The Ghost of Flight 401" by John G. Fuller. Amazing read. You'll buy a ouigi board.

[@lauraandlisa381]

@@BuffDriver thank you, I'll look it up.

[@aftonline]

I don't see how the broken bulb caused this crash. It was the disabling of the autopilot that caused the aircraft to lose altitude. Surely the pilot in command should have been aware of who or what was or was not in control of the aircraft. Not to be too hard on that pilot as he lost his life and his family were bereaved, but ultimately the plane would have been able to land if somebody on board made sure the plane stayed on course and at the correct altitude. The nosewheel issue only became critical at the point of landing and was probably already resolved as they entered the final approach, but the aircraft was just too low.

[@davecue2]

This crash changed aviation for the better. Too bad so much is written in blood. Crew resource management (CRM) was greatly improved after this. In other words each pilot has their said tasks. Too many people fussing over a bulb, not enough people flying the plane.

[@paintedsmile5282]

In terms of trusting the aircraft or trusting the automation. There was one well seasoned pilot (who also served as a test pilot) who follows a line of thought that I would say is a safe bet when flying. He always assumes that the aircraft he's flying is trying to kill him until it proves itself to be a safe aircraft. By that he means he always double checks things the aircraft is telling him until the aircraft proves there's nothing wrong with it before he puts trust in the aircraft.

[@sweetcarbine]

how about being able to trust that moving to sip water as a pilot wont turn off the auto pilot. who designs these panels where someone moving about turns off something as important as auto pilot.

[@rajasimanta]

I prefer this above Air Crash Investigation.

[@pascalcoole2725]

Classic mistake.... forgetting to do the only thing what you are there for, flying the airplane. In case of trouble the Capt. is responsible to make sure that someone is flying the machine while the other diagnoses and solves the problem. This is aircraft type in depend, but has all to do with CRM

[@Cyberstar91]

Idk why man. Each time your vids come into my recommendation, its always L1011 aircraft.

[@dennismayfield8846]

One can only say, "...no, no, no,!; wtf? Very bad sit-rep at that point. Splendid recreation of situation 'Captain'!

[@jimbrewer498]

The L-1011 had and was advanced feature called auto land technology.

[@raygiordano1045]

"For the want of a nail...." I really enjoy these videos. If I get put on the "No Fly" list it wouldn't bother me much.

[@thunderjet4294]

Funny you mention Titanic her hull number was 401 kinda of an odd similarity

[@shahrulrahim]

Great episode! 👍🏻

[@Cnicbr]

This is very strange, if you make something that make the autopilot to disengange a alarm will sound loud in the cockpit.

[@YourOldUncleNoongah]

Mate you go do ALL the ones from ACI ill still watch your vids. I really enjoy your work.

[@restojon1]

Really interesting this one. It says a lot of the history of airliner development when you mentioned the level of automation and the dependence on it. Lockheed were maybe a bit too far ahead of the game in some ways.

[@joanesp100]

It is very odd when state of the art, incrashable or unsinkable boats, ships or space shuttles tend to succumb to accidents they were designed to avoid

[@sweetcarbine]

systems are designed but then someone from management wants to save 5 dollars and they put bad lights or switches that have design issues. Imagine throttle position changing because pilot was moving to sip some water.

[@chucksdesk]

True story, about the time the book came out called “The Ghost of Flight 410”, I purchased one of the early copies. I had left the Air Force and was seeking a job with the airlines. The book was an interesting read and my copy I thought especially interesting as the hardback cover was upside down as related to the print on the pages.

[@ifor20got]

Another Great Job. Thanks

[@AlpineJoy]

Dear Mini Air Crash Investigator, Your fine video here made me want to comment! As I can't comment while watching from my television, your video prompted me to do an unusual thing: To get up from my easy chair, and retrieve my laptop! As you so rightly state in your video, one person should always be "flying the plane," while other crew members troubleshoot the problem. As such, I made sure to keep my laptop firmly in my grasp, so as not to drop it, while the other part of my consciousness navigated returning to my chair, and draping the long electric power cord over intervening furniture to be able to use it in my seat. Mission accomplished--both laptop and myself returned safely to my chair, due to your excellent admonition. ANYWAY..... I just wanted to say you did an excellent job on this video, and I wanted to THANK YOU for it! The final part of this "flight" will be when I return this laptop to my desk, again carefully "flying"--er, grasping--it, so that it may not fall off my lap if I should nod off and fall asleep! One person ALWAYS needs to fly the plane! Thanks, David

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

thanks so much for your support David!

[@alitehrani3415]

Was great you did not mentioned they could have asked tower to see if their front landing gear was extended

[@anongos]

I thought that too but then I remembered it was a night flight. How is tower supposed to see if the landing gear is down or not when it's dark outside?

[@nicness8882]

hi, i found ur channel not long ago, its really good keep it up :D

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Thank you so much it really does mean a lot!

[@barbhelle5481]

Thank you, I enjoy your video's. I wear my mask too.

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Thank you barb! Stay safe out there!

[@t.j.ziegler4567]

How many pilots does it take to change a lightbulb?

[@kharmascribbles3207]

Love your story-tail narration! It's like you're reading us a story - very well done! I just wish the images matched with the subjects/events you talk about.. The video throws me off sometimes and I find it difficult to focus on what you're saying.. can't explain why though :/ That's a minor thing, your channel is still my favorite to learn about airplane accidents :)

[@useridgaf-p6b]

This crash has been beaten to death. Not only do you have to watch the fuck out of it in CRM in initial and recurrent, every new "crash investigator" thinks they are the first to report on it.

[@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549]

You know you choose what to watch on KZbin

[@Maelli535]

Great vid! Maybe I missed something, but: Were the investigators able to find out whether the gear was in fact down and locked? If it was, it would be an even greater tragedy.

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Actually it was. I forgot to include that for some reason

[@kenbrickman4412]

Then why couldn't someone just look out the window to see if the gear was down...was everyone just ready for bedtime ???

[@Maelli535]

@@kenbrickman4412 The problem was with the center gear, under the cockpit. That can't be seen from the cockpit, obviously. And even so, it has to be confirmed that the gear is not just down, but also locked, i.e. held rigid, so it won't just fold up again on touchdown.

[@wyomingptt]

@@Maelli535 Plus if it was daytime, the ATC crew could have visually confirmed it during the flyby.

[@BT2RC]

The captain could have declared emergency and done a low pass over the airfield and got visual confirmation...and even land with potential nose wheel problem. Wheel not down is very survivable, Poor airmanship all the way around.

[@2009korz]

I was visiting my grandparents in Ft. Lauderdale when this happened.

[@shirleysmith8108]

Stupid mistakes cost so many lives..so sad 😥

[@TheDuglas63]

Thanks for digging deeper, fantastic show, thanks, Douglas, oh and yes to ghost stories lol.

[@sweetcarbine]

This is what happens when to save money you dont engineer the panels and interface. Throttle chaging position due to pilot looking at them, auto pilot turning off because pilot was breathing too heavily. glad automation will get rid of all these errors.

[@druzod6017]

The cover photo is the actual aircraft involved. N310EA

[@sorcxo]

You are doing a great work. I really appreciate. Thank you

[@H1Hummer]

Wow that is an expensive light bulb.

[@voltsoftruthBSbuster]

This just plain ridiculous to say the controller went beyond his duty to do everything he could. Maybe if he said "Eastern 401 why are u at 900 instead off 2000," perhaps that statement could have averted this tragedy. I know he wasn't required to do so, but I would have. I doesnt cost money to be inquisitive and speak up if you feel something is not right. Even if the crew has complete control of the situation and get frustrated with u for asking it's better than the alternative. This has happened to me on number of occasions when I though the driver of a car was paying attention but decided to speak up anyway, and it turned out the driver had nodded off and the front seat passenger wasn't paying attention. Had I said nothing in fear of being ridiculed for being a back seat driver we would have crashed. So I personally don't think the air traffic controller did everything in his power to avert this, he did the bare minimum, probably to cover his ass. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to shift the blame on him, and I'm in no position to judge him, it was the pilots fault 100%. But to say nothing more could have been done to avoid this, I don't agree.

[@vincitveritas3872]

The Herald of Free Enterprise ferry disaster a crew member walked past the open bow doors and didn't alert anyone. When asked why he said it wasn't his job.

[@c0r5e]

Real Question: What happend with the bulb

[@Ticklestein]

Lmao. You said ACI does a good job at showing what happened. 😆

[@macahitt]

Aviate then navigate then communicate. Flying the plane is top priority.

[@czr7j9]

i read that that they used the usable parts on new planes and they were haunted

[@richardnailhistorical3445]

This is such a tragedy, all people in cockpit where highly experienced, very capable of flying that plane which makes this crash that much more hard to grasp. There is a lesson here but I don't think humans will understand what it is, i.e., no matter what humanity engages in, e.g., industrializing entire world like is happening now, humans are distracted by the excitement of the adventure but spend little time in foreseeing eventual consequences because their vision is blurred by glory and hubris. The penalty for our current goal will be far more than a plane & few hundred people, it will be entire planet!

[@chrisantoniou4366]

Was it ever established that the nose gear was in fact down and locked?

[@AtlantaTerry]

Look above. Asked and answered. Yes, the nose gear was down and locked.

[@HEDGE1011]

Yes. The AAR is free to read online. Google it.

[@TheBieberblaster]

You should make documentaries.

[@joshuapatrick682]

Aviate, Navigate, communicate...

[@DaveAllredDNA3e8]

Where can I see the aci you mentioned?

[@congruentcrib]

$12 bulb? Jeez what kind of bulbs you using?

[@dandee7045]

Commenting to boost the algorithms

[@aurora.the.explorer]

But, what about the light? Was it broken or not?! WE MUST KNOW!!

[@HailTheGamerz]

Both light bulbs were burnt out. If you want to read more on this you can google it and go to the FAA's lessons learned site, its pretty interesting reading.

[@errol2605]

y'know if this is the titanic of air incidents there needs to be a song with a weird music video for this incident, like how the titanic has down among the dead men. still! great video

[@henryrollins9177]

I usually drive 8 to 12 hours in a row...DRIVING ..! In a southamerican road..! Imagine all the atention that is required and only to preserve myself and some others alive... And these guys can't keep an eye on their instruments? While flying with hundreds of souls onboard? Damn, these plane accidents channels are making me nervous... I work overseas and make 6 flights a month...(before covid 😀)

[@troodon1096]

Flying is statistically safer than driving by far; if a driving a car doesn't scare you, flying shouldn't either.

[@adrinathegreat3095]

They weren't or at least shouldn't of been concerned with the bulb, they blow it's no biggie. Better off asking ground control to check if thier landing gear was down, they have binoculars so the problem could have been avoided. But hindsight is a wonderful thing, to me it sounded like incompetence on the part of the flight crew