The Plane That Refused To Crash | The Amazing Story Of Delta Airlines Flight 1080 Episode 9

[@flappy7373]

Having the customer complain that they were late was a gigantic, huge, awesome compliment. The fact that they didn't even know how close to death they were, in such a drawn out messed up situation like that.. those pilots are special.

[@adotintheshark4848]

The customer ended up suing and got a million dollar judgement. California, you know.

[@LiliAquinas]

@@adotintheshark4848 that's so annoying!

[@alaskachick7315]

Yes, that was a back-handed compliment. However, when the passengers all moved up to the front of the plane to help stabilize it that must have clued them in a little that there was something wrong. Also, they would have felt all of those sharp upward pitches. Any passenger who sued for being late should have his or her humanity license revoked.

[@adotintheshark4848]

@@alaskachick7315 any lawyer who submits crap like that should have his law license revoked.

[@b-chroniumproductions3177]

@@adotintheshark4848 And in many places outside of California, probably would

[@777Outrigger]

Captain Jack McMahan was a legend at Delta Air Lines after this incident, I can tell you. RIP Jack. We miss you!

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

He sure was an amazing pilot

[@777Outrigger]

@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation Thank you for helping preserve this story. This incident is not as flashy as Sully's miracle on the Hudson, but Capt McMahan's quick thinking was every bit as impressive as Sully's. Maybe more so.

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

@@777Outrigger Thats why i started this channel. Im glad you enjoyed it!

[@reltney20]

He was an legend before this incident.

[@777Outrigger]

@@reltney20 You must be older than me. :-)

[@StartVisit]

Engine #2 should also receive award

[@devonnewest7990]

Yes! so true :)

[@RobertMcNary]

@@devonnewest7990 hi

[@drewinhou]

They have a movie starring Engine #2 on Netflix.

[@Haru526]

Yep new sets of fan blades

[@mashy712]

Espcially that it still has its old fans.

[@SafakSahin]

people shouldnt have to die for heroes to be recognized. thank you for fishing out and sharing such an awesome story.

[@carolempluckrose4188]

Well said.

[@catjudo1]

My grandfather flew for Delta for 27 years, flying everything from DC-3's to the L1011. He never had an incident with the L1011 and praised its sophistication and ease of flying. I'm sure he knew the cabin crew and the flight attendants on that plane, and maybe flew that plane itself. He retired three years after this and spent the next 32 years telling us descendants stories of flight during the war and after. He was always very modest, befitting a Tennessee farm boy he was, and though he never said it, I always thought he was an amazing guy. He would have liked this video.

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

The L1011 was an amazing plane. It was just too ahead of its time. I would have liked it to see larger Comercial success than it did

[@algrayson8965]

@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation- What is the reason that Lockheed was unable to compete? Was the L-1011 too expensive? Too expensive to run? To maintain?

[@bridgetbauhard1585]

Al Grayson The L-1011 was a successful airliner, but was beaten to the market by its rival, the DC-10. Not only was the DC-10 cheaper and had better range, McDonnell Douglas had already proven to be a reputable manufacturer with their DC-8 and DC-9 jets. Lockheed had to compete with a company already ahead of them in the jet age, considering that Lockheed’s last major produced airliner was their turboprop Electra. Of course, when the L-1011 finally entered service, it built up a better safety reputation compared to the DC-10. Unfortunately, it still couldn’t hold up in the market, considering the DC-10’s range and capacity outclassed the L-1011. Of course, the final nail in the coffin was when Airbus revealed their twin-jet A300, proving that the time for tri-jets was over.

[@ohtheblah]

"... and though he never said it, I always thought he was an amazing guy." Yeah I hope he wouldn't... what kind of douchebag goes around saying to people "I'm an amazing guy"

[@jamessimms415]

Had a five month Temporary Duty w/the Army in Belgium Summer of ‘96. Flew ATL-Brussels & back on a L1011. Love the old school Delta emblems

[@danakaboom1158]

Captain Sully and Captain Jack are on the same level of excellence. However, Captain Sully had a well-defined problem and a well-defined solution, whereas Captain Jack had a much more chaotic, confusing, and unprecedented situation with more unknowns and more problems to sort out. That being said, I would feel very lucky to have either one as my pilot when things went south.

[@pbilk]

Very true!

[@ccubsfan94]

Alfred Haynes needs to be there as well. Used great CRM which was a brand new idea at the time, as well as had to work through figuring out how to fly the damn thing.

[@sooraj_007sksiaoao]

Any movie about Captain Jack, like the Sully movie?

[@erwinschmidt7265]

Both are admirable, but must remember Sully only had seconds to solve & react for impossible problem & had to be right-right for everyone to survive!!

[@taketimeout2share]

@@sooraj_007sksiaoao Good question, What a movie that would be!

[@PGF1953]

I am a retired DL flight attendant with 27 years of flying and loved the L1011. No doubt one of my favorite planes of all time. Upon retiring you are offered a large matted photograph of your favorite airplane and I chose the L1011, even though we no longer flew them. It was a great memory of my time as a flight attendant. I can't say we didn't have issues and mechanicals with the aircraft because we often did, but it was a great aircraft. We were once coming into ATL and near landing, when the tail section was struck by lightening. I told the young, newly hired flight attendant, oh we're fine, nothing to worry about because we have two more engines left. I think she thought I was nuts, but with two you still have power. Unfortunately the strike took out the electronics and we landed in Atlanta safely and had to change planes because it wasn't going anywhere any time soon. It was a veritable workhorse for us and considered a giant of an airplane, qualifying it as a "jumbo jet". It will hold a special place in my heart for it's history! Thanks for sharing something I had not heard of before!

[@scottiew11]

Delta is a great airline. Always nice to other airline staff when traveling standby. I worked for Braniff and British Caledonian in London - used DL on domestic routes only.

[@alangalloway8187]

PFG, I flew on an L1011 in about ‘84, for the first time. When I boarded I thought “wow this is different, and huge!” On takeoff I immediately noticed that beautiful low hummmmmmm of the engines and thought, “what is this plane?!” Then I got out the safety info card and saw ”Lockheed” instead of “Boeing.” I was an Army Ranger at the time with 2d Ranger Bn, Ft . Lewis, and knew that the C-130s and C-14s that I’d been jumping out of we’re Lockheed also. “Maaannnnn, I thought, “This is REALLY something!” Since the L1011’s last passenger flights I have studied it more and regret not flying on it after that one and only flight. Would love to visit the Tristar Experience L1011 at Kansas City and make a donation. Wow, the memories you must have!..

[@alangalloway8187]

(C-141s)

[@Rhysling2]

Thank you for this memory. I appreciate you sharing it - will keep it with me!

[@ttmustangCanada]

As a retired AC SvcDir after 35 years, I too had much experience with this amazing aircraft. FYI, my favorite. Not to forget the D8S.

[@WildeMike49]

This should be titled "The Pilot who Refused to Crash"

[@vincentconti3633]

Exactly!

[@garysullivan3144]

You couldn't have said it better....

[@Mikey_399]

Yep! The plane seemed intent on crashing

[@meghanachauhan9380]

The pilot who showed a rogue plane it's true place...

[@SalahEddineH]

Exactly! From the title I thought this was a plane that had gone through tough flight conditions and pilot error and yet miraculously kept flying. Instead it's a plane that REALLY wanted to crash, who got whipped into landing safely by the crew. Cheers!

[@larumpole]

Great video. Capt. Jack McMahan, was awarded the FAA's Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding airmanship. He certainly earned it!

[@damaliamarsi2006]

You sir should get the understatement of the year award. I guess you are limited by the language when you say "He certainly earned it!" Amazing professionalism determination and troubleshooting skills on the part of this crew. Thank you for informing us that he got an award. As you said, and limited by the same language, you are right, he certainly earned it..

[@artisanautobody3931]

This is one instance where if the plane had not been a trijet, they probably wouldn't have made it.

[@seand.g423]

Arguably _the_ one instance...

[@TonboIV]

Though it would have been better if Lockheed had just designed a better elevator.

[@christophertstone]

@@TonboIV Lockheed: We've got 4 independent hydraulic systems; completely bulletproof Engineer: What are they attached to? Lockheed: A single jackscrew with a single bearing. Engineer: At least we learned that's a terrible design. Alaska 261: Nah, I'm sure it wont be a problem ever again.

[@jamesc.2907]

@@TonboIV right! 🤣🤣🤣

[@joshuahudson2170]

@@seand.g423 This has come up a handful of times. The DC-10 has the unique ability to control both yaw and pitch by engine power alone.

[@imacg5658]

Pilots: land a crippled plane safely and perfectly. Passenger: I WAS LATE FOR MY DESTINATION. Pilots:

[@khaliphilemoyo607]

Pilots: Oh fuck off you donkey

[@advorak8529]

“Sorry for being late, but being early in the ocean and drowning/hypothermia/sharks killi g everyone would have slightly inconvenienced the other passengers.”

[@pawog04youtube3]

@@advorak8529 yes quite true, this reminds me of when air France crashed in Toronto. When it crashed a lot of people did survive and one of them had his to say: "They ruined my luggage! I will sue them!" I think some people just don't get that they could have died.

[@terrysmith128]

C Bznv m(... has? So zF zzg ., c DC c can No m ‘ Hey xxg?,!,b

[@m3528i]

Send that guy a copy of the CVR. I bet he's shit his pants and never fly again!

[@bkucinschi]

I realize that any twin- jet plane would have crashed in the scenario of jammed control surfaces, but Lockheed L1011 survived just because it had the tail engine. And of course because they had the best possible pilot.

[@TenorCantusFirmus]

And because the "Tristar" was such a superbly designed aircraft, most deadly crash involving it had massive human error contributions.

[@bkucinschi]

@@TenorCantusFirmus : You're totally right about that, man.

[@BrianYYH]

TenorCantusFirmus the incompetence of that Saudi flight angers me to this day

[@josephnafnalus8221]

Not true at all. The DHL Baghdad incident when an A300 (twin engine) freighter was hit by a SAM resulting in the loss of all control surfaces and a fire. The pilots quickly learned to control the aircraft only with asymmetric thrust and safely landed the aircraft. Keep in mind that part of one wing was heavily damaged and on fire! If it had been a passenger aircraft the incident would be better known. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Baghdad_DHL_attempted_shootdown_incident. Captain Éric Gennotte is easily in the same class as Captain Jack McMahan and Captain Sullenberger

[@allanbrogdon5317]

Left DFW for LAX in an American DC-10 I thought we were going to crash ,it took way too long to get airborne I flew frequently and it was unusual.Delta L1011 leaving LAX was like a rocket.No comparison.

[@gabrielhalston6726]

I'm a retired Continental Airlines flight attendant of 37 years....I was non-rev riding on a Delta L-1011 in 1978 from Dallas (DFW) to Atlanta (ATL). I believe the date was May, 9, 1978. Anyway, upon approach into the Atlanta area, we ran into heavy thunderstorms. We were struck by lightning on the forward right side of the fuselage. Flying for Continental, I primarily worked in the Western U.S. and the Pacific, and up to that time, I'd never flown and been hit by lightning. It was a waker-upper! LOL. On final approach, it was very bumpy and the rain was pouring down so hard. As we touched down on the runway, I looked out the right side of my window and saw another aircraft taking off simultaneously next to us as we were landing -- yet, I could barely see the aircraft, it was pouring rain so hard. Once we got to the gate and were disembarking, I asked one of the DL flight attendants about the lightning strike and she said, "oh, yeah...it knocked out some of our electrical system." "The plane was to continue on to Charlotte (CLT), but had to cancel. The pilots and cabin crew were most professional and efficient in their duties. Once I arrived at my sister's home, whom I was visiting, we heard on the local TV news that a tornado had struck near the airport just around the time my flight was coming in!! Wow, no wonder we had such a bumpy approach and such heavy rain, not to mention the lightning that struck us. But, the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar came shining through by the grace of God along with everyone onboard!

[@Bracgypsy]

Many, MANY thanks for this video. Long ago, I recall reading an article about this amazing save by a cool-headed and resourceful pilot who was aware of the design and thrust parameters of his aircraft. He recalled that #2's thrust was cambered slightly downward and power to #2 might be used to some extent to control pitch. I did not recall much else and was always hoping to find an aircraft incident video on this. What is crazy is that the Emergency Procedures section did not mention this as a last-ditch possible solution to apply nose-down pitch when all else fails. Thank you for this amazing story! EPILOGUE: Capt. McMahan was bestowed the FAA's prestigious Distinguished Service Award for bringing Flight 1080 in safely. FO Will Radford and SO Steve Heidt received FAA certificates of commendation.

[@johnfisher747]

Airline pilot’s career: 98% routine uneventful flying, 2% sheer unmitigated terror....

[@Difixed]

0.0003% terror*

[@TheNameOfJesus]

​@@Difixed There are an average of 14,000 large planes in the sky at any time. Assuming an average flight of two hours, that's 168,000 sets of crew each day. That's 61,000,000 sets of crew each year. Assuming one crash per year, that's an average annual terror rate of 0.000000016%. But if we are talking about a 20 year career that works out to 0.00000032% which is 1000 times lower than your estimate, and a million times lower than john fisher's estimate.

[@vbscript2]

@@TheNameOfJesus Pilots deal with emergency situations much more commonly than crashes actually occur, though. It's just that the combination of pilot training and aircraft design engineering have reached such a high level of safety that nearly all of those emergencies are resolved safely, typically without even any damage to the aircraft. As far as actual fatal crashes, at least in the U.S., they're even more rare than you estimate. On U.S. mainline airliners, there has been exactly 1 passenger death since 2001. And that was when a passenger was killed as a result of a piece of debris from an exploding engine hitting the fuselage. The aircraft still landed safely with no one else harmed. There were no passenger deaths at all on U.S. mainline carriers from the beginning of 2002 until April of 2018. 16 years with billions of passengers flown trillions of miles with no deaths at all. But that's now. 1977 was a different story entirely. For that matter, even the 1990s were a different story entirely. Fatal airliner crashes - often killing everyone onboard - still happened pretty much every year as recently as the 90s and were much more common than that in the 70s. Especially when considering how vastly many more aircraft we have constantly flying around the country and the globe now than we did back then, the difference in safety is astounding. Both pilot training and aircraft design engineering have common an amazingly long way since back then.

[@taproom113]

Not just 'Airline' pilots ...

[@jasonross9212]

Same with us transport drivers..

[@TwinJalanugraha]

30 years flight attendant for Delta here. I miss the L-1011

[@rwilson7197]

Hi Twin J. - Were the aisles wider? The galley bigger? You are the second flight attendant to comment how much they liked and missed this airplane. Would love to hear your comparisons of the best planes to work in and take as a passenger too...

[@TwinJalanugraha]

@@rwilson7197 hi, When I was hired with them, we had a bunch of these flying around. The international ones had a galley in the back, the domestic one had the lower galley. I remember hanging around with our pilots during Korean layover (on our way to Thailand), all of them loved the L1011. Back then, we actually had a screen to show movies... no little screen in front of you, but I thought that those old fashion seats were actually very comfortable. FA liked them, and it was easy to move around. I don't remember having any cancellations that happened while I was assigned on any L1011. The technology for our passengers today are far more advance than those days, but those older airplanes give me a warm feeling when I read about them. And it's always fun to read funny notes on the wall written down in the lower galley 🤣🤣

[@rwilson7197]

@@TwinJalanugraha I dont remember my flights from the 80s well enough to compare. I was also 40 pounds lighter in my 20s which made the seats more roomy. If we could all just lose 40 lbs! ☺ I remember the screen for the movie on my one and only 747 flight to Frankfort Germany. I feel like it was more of an event & made you feel some comraderie with the other passengers. Hated being stuck in the middle seat section of the 747 though! Thank you for you reply & happy flying!

[@TwinJalanugraha]

@@rwilson7197 my pleasure

[@tigressbassgirl1122]

me too! was my favorite jet to fly.. and Delta too.. even after the computer incident 3 years ago (a few days ago was the anniversary of it) that got me stuck at Lagordia for 12 hrs lol.. I still favor Delta!

[@smedley5215]

“Tell them we’re alright, we’ll take it to the gate!” Some of the coolest radio traffic ever 🤣

[@robertbaugh9948]

Great uncle flew the L1011 for Delta. Only complaint he had was that Delta did not have enough of them

[@HEDGE1011]

I’m a former L-1011 pilot and cannot tell you how high a regard I have for this crew. Great CRM (before that was a codified thing) and excellent airmanship led to this save. I can tell you that this incident resulted in some new procedures for regaining pitch control of the aircraft involving using the spoilers; enabling and disabling spoiler pairs to result in a net nose up or nose down pitch. The number two engine in the 1011 is slightly above the CG and the numbers one and three engines are well under it, so differential thrust, as used so skillfully here, was also effective. Out of nine airliner types I’ve flown, the L-1011 is still the very best. Lockheed knew what they were doing. I’d still be flying it today if I could.

[@lilkc1]

Great episode. I think incidents like this which are "success" stories deserve more attention. Keep up the good work. I've been listening since day 1

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Thanks for all the support Kenneth!

[@georgiathai4961]

This airplane (serial number 193C-1077) found its way to American Trans Air as N187AT. I flew it on its last flight from Indianapolis to the boneyard at Victorville. It was my favorite of our long body TriStars. Captain McMahan’s legend followed this airplane the rest of its career. We used this incident in training. An amazing feat of airmanship by who must’ve surely been an incredible airman.

[@ZafarSami65]

It is so nice to see a story where all survived.

[@AllAmericanLies]

@D I mean, it's kinda explanatory. The video said the plane refused to crash.

[@ZafarSami65]

@D I am so sorry to spoil it for you with my comment. I didn't know you wanted people to die. I advise you not to read the comments before watching the video next time. Also, do a search for "no survivors" so you can get to the videos you enjoy.

[@ZafarSami65]

@D well I guess I am not likely to post a spoiler on those videos. Enjoy.

[@Kazutoes]

@D what the fuck did I just read on an airplane video

[@applesandgrapesfordinner4626]

@D Does a spoiler of a factual event really matter?

[@NMWanderings]

I worked for Delta then and was at LAX when this happened. I remember hearing that the captain was white as a ghost when he came down to operations after the flight. I had the NTSB report on it at one time.

[@gregspades6346]

Lonely bull

[@kpn574]

Reading this after 43 years! Outstanding work by the Captain and crew! And cheers to Lockheed for this fantastic plane, the likes of which are seen no more.

[@Rushmore222]

Captain McMahan so artfully saved the lives of all of his passengers that evidently they weren't even aware of this fact at the time.

[@bradleysmall2230]

Delta Air Lines Flight 1080 was a scheduled flight notable for the incident that occurred on April 12, 1977 during the San Diego to Los Angeles leg of the flight. During the takeoff, it became apparent that the Lockheed L-1011's left elevator had become stuck in a fully upwards position, leading to the aircraft pitching up aggressively and causing the aircraft to lose speed and nearly stall. The pitching force, unable to be overcome by fully pushing the control column down, was counteracted by reducing the thrust on the L-1011's wing engines but not the tail engine. The differential thrust pitched down the nose of the airliner and allowed the pilots to land the aircraft.[1][3] An investigation found that the pressurization and depressurization of the L-1011 during flight cycles had caused water to be pushed inside a bearing, heavily corroding it and causing it to become jammed during a routine control surfaces check prior to takeoff. The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive instructing airlines to do a check of the bearing. This verification, however, was not sufficient to prevent takeoff with a jammed elevator; and a similar incident followed two months later. The FAA then made it mandatory for crews to inspect the elevators before each takeoff.[1][4] As a result of the incidents, Lockheed redesigned the elevator systems to be redundant upon failure of the bearings, as well as adding a seal to the bearing and a deflector to reduce the amount of water contacting the part.[1] Lockheed also modified the pilot's manual to improve the Pitch Axis Control Assist Procedures. The FAA further made it mandatory for pilots to be informed of these changes.[4] For his skill in landing the crippled airplane, the captain, Jack McMahan, was awarded the FAA's Distinguished Service Award.[2] The airplane was repaired and continued to fly for Delta until 1985. It was subsequently sold to American Trans Air, where it was registered with the tail number "N187AT". The airplane was scrapped in 2002.[5]

[@jodysin7]

Before he pulled back the throttles he did multiple roll to pitch down recoverys. This is when you are very nose high and you bank the airplane steeply which rolls the lift vector from straight up to whatever bank they rolled to. This is what saved the airplane multiple times before he pulled throttle and before he moved passengers. If he didnt do this recovery first the plane would have crashed. This is missed in every documentary about this but its the most important. Watch the AAMP program and captain warren vanderburg talks about this.

[@gregculverwell]

As an ex glider pilot, banking would have been my 1st move as it reduces lift in proportion to the bank angle.

[@cr10001]

That crossed my mind (not that I'm a pilot) - but when you bank steeply, I think you need up-elevator to hold the turn? So if you've got unwanted up-elevator, I guess banking would be one way to accommodate it.

[@RudivanGoch]

This is one of those stories similar to Northwest 85, Air China 006 and Qantas 32, to name a few. I never knew about this before! Thank you for the video!

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

That means a lot I started this channel to spread the word about These lesser known crashes. Great to know that you loved them

[@rayzorrayzor9000]

I remember many years ago when I finally overcome my fear of flying and got myself on a plane . I had a window seat overlooking the left hand engine and wing . As we trundled down the runway to takeoff I was gripping both armrests and staring at the engine, I knew that if anything happened to that engine right at this moment then we would be buggered . Just as I thought this I caught site of some sort of spray coming from what looked like underneath the engine, by now we were at full power and just lifting off , in my terrified mind i was thinking that atleast we are getting off the ground , as we rose higher I thought about the earlier spray and put it down to nerves , then just as I was releasing my grip on both hand rests there was an almighty bang and I saw flames shooting out the engine , my heart sunk and I felt physically sick . The pilot then very causally said , “I’m sorry for the inconvenience but we are returning to the airport as I’ve decided the plane could do with some maintenance “. I’m sure the pilot, co pilot and engineer were scared shitless but there calm demeanour caused even me to relax . I hadn’t realised it then cos this was my first flight but now after many flights I now realise the struggle (the constant dipping of the wings and up and down motion) the pilot had in getting us down safely . The point is just how cool he was during this obvious emergency , even when we landed he “played it down” as if it was a regular thing by apologising for any inconvenience caused . It was actually this pilot that got me over my fear of flying as it made me realise that when things go wrong then that’s the time when the pilot earns his money . years later once I was well use to flying I couldn’t help noticing that we were circling over and over , I asked the attendant what was happening and she told me that we were in a holding pattern , this didn’t make sense to me cos we seem to have been staying in this “holding pattern” for way to long, I knew something wasn’t right , however going by my earlier experience I kept quiet and put my faith in the pilot to do his job , It turned out that we were burning fuel as there was an issue with the landing gear , however we finally made our approach we managed to land safely. My story might put some people off flying but know this I was on a boat that sunk and in that particular situation the horror lasted for over four hours as the boat slowly sunk and I was waiting for my own turn to be airlifted off the stricken vessel . Trust me if the “end” does come I’d rather it happen quickly in a plane than relive that 4 hours of sheer terror in a stormy sea , each minute seemed like an hour and each hour felt like a day , just waiting for that wave to sweep you away . Take care all , be safe .

[@coconutdreams1238]

What I assume happened in the first story is that maybe fuel was leaking due to some damage in the fuel lines and then caught on fire when it came into contact with air. Birdstrikes can also cause the engine to "spit" fire, but they aren't always a reason to turn back. You really don't need to worry too much, pilots know how to handle situations like those and most of the time there is no reason to worry. Flying is extremely safe, especially nowadays. Oh and btw, engine failure is quite common compared to other incidents. Pilots are trained to manage (way worse) situations like that. Often times, the passengers not following instructions and panicking is more dangerous than a fire itself.

[@rayzorrayzor9000]

@@coconutdreams1238 hi , regarding the first episode , I found out later (much later) that it was infact a fuel leak and because the engine as at full thrust the engine was at its hottest this caused the leaking fuel to ignite and blow the engine apart , luckily though after it ignited it blew the engine apart but also blew itself out . Also yes your so right , during my life I have flown all around the world and some of this flying was done in terrible conditions but we always got to our destination safely, even when I was on the plane (the second one) and the landing gear was twisted we still ended up landing with no casualties (there were some people throwing up but I think that was down to nerves/relief ) , yeah flying in my eyes is extremely safe , I’ve had 2 episodes but will still gladly board a flight , put that against my episode of being on a ship that sunk and I have never and will never ever, ever get onboard another ship aslong as I live , that experience was just too terrifying I lost two good friends that day - Tia & Chino RIP . Take Care . R .

[@casparcoaster1936]

Not only the airmanship, the quotes, the rhetoric of the pilot, were classic mid 20th c. American English. No adverbs, no adjectives, simple sentences inclusive of all human morality, mortality, reality, really, people at the edge of cliff, acting like people, way above my grade, describing it with direct expression. Really enjoyed those quotes of the pilot, as well as the writing of the narration of every one of these Mini Air Crash Investigations I have been lucky enough to enjoy. Many thanks, for the writer & narrationship!!! The exceptional production. Many of these air crash channels are good, but this one is just superb.

[@redlywaxer]

Thanks for making this video. I like the ones without a deadly crash! Superb pilots that knew their stuff very well, saving lives and a plane

[@lancehymers4674]

Back about 1981, like an idiot, I let myself be talked into flying a light plane with an aft CofG and had the same issue - the nose pitching up and barely coming level with full forward stick. I loosened my straps and was flying hanging over the front seat. Very scary, but I stayed calm and managed to put it down. Very educational experience - I never let myself be talked into anything by an “older wiser hand” again. Great respect for these guys. Lance

[@KuraIthys]

Ouch. Even as a student pilot with mostly only theory on my side, that's definitely not something you want going on...

[@danieljenkins3908]

I have flown with Jack in the Tristar many, many times and his skill and knowledge are legendary. However, I was under the impression that Jack used the inboard and outboard spoilers to help control pitch. In fact, in my next recurrent, we were taught a procedure (said to have come out of Jack's experience) unlatching the inboard (forward) spoilers and outboard (rear) spoilers to control an out of control lift situation such as Jack's. Maybe this video left out something that Jack did with the spoilers. Anybody know any additional information??

[@bobjohnbowles]

I can imagine Captain Jack having nightmares about this experience for months or years afterwards. I expect he spent a lot of simulator time working out how to do it better in retrospect, just to deal with the PTSD.

[@HEDGE1011]

Interesting you say that: I never had the fortune of meeting this gentleman, but I did fly the 1011 much later in its service life, and we did have a procedure, which I was told was derived from this incident, of disabling DLC, putting the spoiler handle in the midrange and latching and unlatching various spoiler pairs to pitch the nose up or down. I’m positive I saw this in the sim, but it’s (sadly) been a long time since I’ve seen the old girl. I sure did love that plane.

[@genegeneish]

I worked for Lockheed and I remember this near stall due to a failed bearing. I found a similar problem on a Lockheed C130 in Saudi Arabia with a corroded elevator bearing.

[@habituallearner7680]

I had not heard of this flight. These men are unsung heroes! You told it very well.

[@wizardmix]

Wow, I had no idea on this one. Glad I stumbled on it. Sometimes you get the right crew at the right time, this was one of those.

[@mkollander99]

This is where skills of the crew saved lives. God bless all of them

[@stevenremy7747]

I really enjoy that you cover less known crashes and incidents! As a GA pilot for over 40 years, you do a great job explaining what went wrong. Keep up the grea work!

[@MichaelBrown-ys6tj]

GOD Bless great pilots. More of this goes on than the public knows.

[@VodkaFanClub]

Damn, I am in tears. So great to get to know about happy end incidents like that! I wish all of the stories would end like this and no one would lose their loved ones.. The Crew, they are heros!! I can't even imagine the pressure one might get facing the fact that it might all be over in a second and at the same time they had to remain professionals! Thank you so much for making this episode as well!

[@devonnewest7990]

Really getting addicted to your channel! I love your delivery and cadence, and can feel the excitement and emphasis in your voice along with you. You really enjoy what you do, good job!

[@defenderknox]

He reads from others papers and sites.

[@winstonchurchill3597]

@@defenderknox So what.

[@anthonywilliams9852]

Brilliant pilots, brilliant control of the plane, brilliant airmanship. Congratulations to the 2 pilots, superb flying !! Should have been decorated and have gotten some fine medals !!

[@eyewetodddid]

Damn what an absolute professional I hope whenever I fly I get pilots as compotent as him willing to do everything it takes to stay safe

[@chloescat]

Aside from the crew's heroics, can we take a moment to praise our friend who makes these videos for his immersive and engaging commentary. A wonderful addition to the KZbin videoverse. Thank you!

[@lovintube25]

I used to love flying Delta on the L1011. Really miss that flying experience.

[@charleswhitehead8027]

lovintube25 Great airplane!

[@bobgreene2892]

Nicely done. The best part is your clear narration.

[@brownthrasher77]

Nice piece. Really well written too! Well done.

[@rdbchase]

"... we may loose [sic] this aircraft ..." -- "lose"; you said it right.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

His grammar is quite poor for someone who made a video about a crash caused by a grammatical mistake.

[@discerningmind]

Thank you for bringing this. What a story. I never heard about it. At the time people had the Canary Island crash in the forefront of their mind.

[@pbilk]

Wow! What a story! They should make it a movie too like Sully's incident.

[@PanduPoluan]

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. The crew performed those very well that night. Maxrespect!

[@danlavigueur2648]

one the the best airplane I had the chance to fly as pilot. Very reliable and very advanced for ist time.Only 325 aircrafs were builted.The crew did an outstanding job in handling this major problem saving + 250 pax.

[@gordonstowers3167]

Great job. Very interesting video. Well narrated, you should make more videos. You have a talent for writing. Thank you.

[@caraame]

Fantastic video. Love your commentary!! Thank you.

[@jamesr1703]

What's scary to me is a tiny bolt breaking, a wasp crawling into Pito gauge etc. can bring down an aircraft. Such tiny things!

[@abebuckingham8198]

My dad worked in maintenance and in his first week at a new job one of the buildings he maintained had a major flood that caused several million dollars of damage. They tracked it down to a small piece of pipe that had been installed about three weeks ago but the apprentice had a piece that was 0.5mm too thin by mistake so it ruptured under the pressure. The pipe was so small I couldn't fit my thumb into it and the rupture was only slightly larger than my thumbnail. I've had a strong appreciation for maintenance since and doubly so for aircraft.

[@swiftbird4846]

What a legendary crew. Fantastic! A great insight. Thank you sir.

[@closet120]

Best plane I ever flew, I would particularly schedule myself on L-1011's

[@terryofford4977]

Excellent coverage of what could have terminated with total disaster. What a crew, I trust they were thanked accordingly.

[@devonnewest7990]

OHHHH, and by the way, 2:40 is one of the all time best shots of a 10-11 I've ever seen.

[@zahkam7322]

Thats a flight simulator picture , not the best simulator , but a good pic

[@wizardmix]

Sim Pic! Still a good one.

[@Mikael5732]

Devonne, I first flew in an L1011 back in 1975 after graduating from Paris Island boot camp going to San Diego. It was so roomy with the large center isle that flying in that aircraft with its Rolls Royce engines was like being on a large ship on the ocean. So smooth. I will never forget that flight!

[@TheGospelQuartetParadise]

@@Mikael5732 It's too bad that the quality of Rolls Royce engines seems to have degraded in recent years. Seems like a great number of uncontained engine failures involve Rolls Royce engines. Rolls used to have an engine repair facility at Oakland International, but I noticed around Christmas it was no longer there. The best Rolls Royce engine was the Merlin used in the p-51.

[@lizpurr8402]

Such a good-looking plane! Especially with that classic Delta Livery. 😍

[@dezznutz3743]

Tri-Star were an engineering marvel, way ahead of their time. It is a tragedy their werent more of them made due to design issues with the tail engine. Because of that, and $40K price difference, the the DC-10 ruled the 3 engine skies.

[@nicholasconder4703]

The reason why there weren't more of them were threefold. First, it was the last of the large body jets to come off the assembly line. The DC-10, abomination that it was, came out 6 months before the L-1011 even though its development started 2 years after that of Lockheed's plane. This is one reason why there were so many crashes due to cargo doors leaving the plane in flight, as well as other issues. Lockheed put the time into testing the L-1011, McDonnel-Douglas rushed it. Second, McDonnel-Douglas secured military contracts for the DC-10, something Lockheed didn't do. So I am sure some of the reasons why there were more DC-10s in the air is because they could be sold cheaper to airlines, and some of the purchase deficit made up with the military contracts (I have no proof of this, but wouldn't be surprised). Third, from a discussion I had with a flight attendant once, the Rolls Royce engines on the L-1011 could be a bit finicky, meaning delays (it was during one of these delays I had this conversation with the attendant). However, I always found the L-1011 to be a much nicer, less cramped and quieter ride than any DC-10 I was ever in. It was a beautiful plane.

[@douglasfaichnie]

What a great video. Very well done 👍 Agreed - Engine #2 should have also received an award!

[@SteveHolsten]

Lockheed should've kept building his wonderful plane for another 30-35 years. We'd still have them flying today!

[@johndouglas5712]

Excellent. Thank you . I had never heard of this . True hero’s In the cockpit

[@KyleMatt11]

It’s amazing how I’ve always heard people refer to accident at Sioux Falls as “amazing feat of airmanship” and that ended in a crash With a disastrous loss of life, but somehow I have never heard of this flight which truly is an amazing feat of airmanship and no one died

[@rafaeltorre1643]

Saving 2/3 of everyone is disastrous? Its a miracle.

[@SpicyTexan64]

232 had ZERO control over any flight surface

[@967evil]

The DC10 that crashed at Sioux City lost all 3 hydraulic systems when they were severed by fan blades from the tail engine exploding. They had no flight controls, none. All they had was throttles. Flight 1080 only had a jammed elevator. That's nothing to sneeze at and they are lucky to have landed, but flight 232 to have even come close to landing is madness. 232 was trapped in a phugoid cycle and had no flaps for landing. They were forced to land at 220 knots instead of 140.

[@haripermadi1549]

That united dc-10 rudder was slightly stuck few degrees left and lost total flight control including its roll control but they did againt all odds survived some of those onboards. Every emergecies had its own difficulty, respect to all engineers who lost their job to keep the safety on top and respect to all crews and ATC who put a great effort and works together in every emergency situations. 👍👍

[@bobjohnbowles]

Sioux City was a lot more spectacular, and a lot more desperate. The media love lots of flash-bangs. What stands out for me hearing about this is the pilots did such a good job some of the passengers themselves were apparently unaware of the danger they had been in, complaining about being late...

[@ariobotgaming]

Stuff like this always go under everyone's radar, as no plane actually crashed and no fatalities. Thanks for bringing this story to light.

[@Yaman-D-Chhaya]

A great video my dear friend, great airmanship by Capt Jack, he was a Legendary pilot, yes this was a feat of true airmanship and surely needs to be remembered, it's tough to even simulate this situation in a simulator and land safely these guys did it in real, with a real bird, simply Incredible.

[@lightningstrikestwice6302]

You are a great storyteller! For me, your sight is the best! Right to the point, not too wordy yet very informative!

[@Parobro]

Keep it up, u could make anything great with that perfectly scripted and reasonable speech and speaking, love to get to bed to it but I listen to it again the next day on the way home, to work or in my breaks.

[@stevemc01]

They say Christmas is all about the gift of giving. My gift is to wish all these pilots of these planes, dead or alive, a pleasant Christmas.

[@JoshuaC923]

What a hero! His sheer willpower was holding that plane up in the air

[@WendyKS93]

I never knew about this so thank you very much for educating us to it. It truly was a great plane and by chance I flew on a Delta Airlines Lockheed L1011 just over a year after this happened. I absolutely loved it. Flew on other types after that but the L1011 still remains my favorite. The Pilots in this story were truly the best of the best in my opinion. Job well done gentlemen. Thanks for the story.

[@joshuapatrick682]

Jack McMahon is the name I want all my pilots to have. Just sounds like a quiet hero pilot.

[@BLD426]

As a kid in the late 70s I was invited to visit the cockpits of several airliners. An L-1011 captain pointed out that a DC-10 on the taxiway was not the same as the plane we were in and explained the #2 engine difference & said "those planes suck" (with a laugh). So, this one blows? I asked. Just a logical question from a 9yr old. With that the whole flight crew & the stewardess that brought me up there started laughing out loud. Spent the whole flight listening to people repeat the words between the captain & I. Don't remember when I figured out why it was funny.

[@BillyAlabama]

Your presentations are so interesting! Thank you for your gift to us.

[@bse67]

I did not know about this incident and the heroic airmanship. Thank you for this video!

[@bbeen40]

This was a great story, never heard this before. Good job Sir, Subbed!

[@philipmessedger481]

No go-around permitted... geeze... chapeau, messieurs.

[@perseusarkouda]

They should make a pilots hall of fame with that pilot on top of it.

[@christophermercado5466]

You're Right I never heard of this story. Wow what a crew! What a Captain!!!!!! Thanks for sharing this

[@Jesussaveme1982]

That is an amazing and very skillful flight crew

[@russellb5573]

I concur. A flight to be remembered for the amazing skill of the air crew! Nice video. Greets from the UK 🇬🇧

[@rooseveltbrentwood9654]

its nice when one of these has a happy ending

[@kirkmorrison6131]

The crew and engine #2 deserve awards for airmanship

[@mufasuh]

How is this not more famous, this is 1000% more impressive than Sully?! The passenger shift as well - Genius!!

[@jenelaina5665]

This is one of your best ones. Great story and flying, thanks for sharing!

[@Philscbx]

I worked on the L-1011's every night,, baby sitting them on board when 50 below zero after all service was completed. They were in fact 20 years ahead of time in mid eighties. Huge Cheers to the flight crew, as they too will confirm my love for this ship. There are in fact 5 hydraulic systems - one so stealth, few people ever see it live. You'll see term of RAT' - a remote two blade prop deploys down from hydraulic bay - and so deadly,, we never walk near this door while servicing the ship,, if by chance it was triggered by very high pressure nitrogen cylinders. Once deployed in flight,, it will be the 5th hydraulic pump. There's no aircraft as beautiful as the L-1011. On one of my flights to Amsterdam roughly 2007',, sitting next to a current flight engineer,, we discussed shared stories,, and he knew right where the last L-1011 was sitting at Schiphol airfield, as we rolled to the terminal,, pointing it out where it was used for training. Nothing beats how tough this ship was built. And probably weighed 100,000 more than others in it's class. Regular tests at night,, we would run each engine full throttle, to make sure not the slightest glitch was indicated. The thrust is so violent at 50,000 lbs at this point,, I can barely keep the ship from skidding away with both feet pushing as hard as possible,, at the same time the engine is trying to rip itself off the wing,, with violent pitching up an down. Then the interior,, so advanced with every row of 5 seats has its own computer for all seat reachable functions. The Galley,, totally cool dual elevators to bring up hot carts of food nonstop. Just big enough for one tech at a time,, and 5 pizza ovens bigger than pizza shops.I still have a scar below lip removing one. Sure enough rushed off for stitches,, then back to installing new one. I'd do it all over again,, the minute I get my hands on Stewies time machine. Minutes to departing flight,, at 50 below,, headset wired to cockpit, pilot would go out of his way lighting up the landing nose gear spot lights to thaw out my frozen hands.. Cheers,, one would think I loved this ship...

[@geofflancaster8542]

The reason you were having trouble holding the aircraft... Full power (1.644 EPR on the RB211-524 B3/4 powered -500) on one wing engine requires around 1.400 EPR on the other to counterbalance and pushing down with your toes on the rudder pedals RELEASES the Park Brake. The Ram Air Turbine was pyrotechnically released and extended into the airflow by spring, the RAT safety bar being fitted the the HSC fwd door aperture, whilst the RAT itself was under the the Centre Wing Box. There were 4 variable displacement, multi-plunger, swashplate pumps directly mounted on the engine gearboxes, 2 more pneumatically powered Air Turbo Motors and 2 low flowrate Electrical Motor Powered pumps all with Power Transfer Unit system hydraulic redundancy . Just saying...

[@charmainkilloran9476]

What a crew! Well done they should go down in history. Amazing flying, shows what experience and determination can do.

[@Michael_cnv]

Great episode and story, hoped there was more footage though

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

Good point! I'm trying to find some footage to go with my videos but finding copyright free or getting the rights to someone else's videos is taking a lot more time than I expected

[@Michael_cnv]

Mini Air crash Investigation I think you can filter search on KZbin by Creative Commons. Those are the videos you can just reuse with attribution. (Of course check that the uploader did indeed make the video themselves.) Anyways good work on your videos!

[@MiniAirCrashInvestigation]

I've gotten in touch with a few plane spotters and now I have the permission to use their amazing videos in my videos :) thanks for the love

[@emotionaloveracorolla5274]

@@MiniAirCrashInvestigation Hehe, when u didn't use FSX or MSFS 2020

[@scootermom1791]

You are an remarkable narrator! I hope someone watching this will make a movie about this flight. The captain was brilliant in how he handled the plane. I especially thought it was genius that he asked all the passengers to move to the front of the plane. I was really surprised to see this wasn't made into a Mayday Air Crash investigation episode (at least not that I could find!). The skill this captain displayed was certainly on par with Captain Sully who successfully ditched a plane on the Hudson; Captain Dardano who landed Taca Airlines 110 in a similar feat; and Captain Bob Pearson who landed the "Gimli Glider" without losing any lives despite having run out of fuel over the ocean.

[@josephkrizauskas1052]

Flying by the seat of your pants, literally. Those pilots are awesome.

[@alison4316]

Wow.....what a story. Thank goodness they were flying a three engine plane!

[@inhonorofmary6825]

You told the story very well!

[@kisskeepitshortsimple105]

Thank you for this inspiring strory. I worked for Delta in the reservations, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and had many many flights with Delta on vacations- business & first class- it was great. I still love the company!

[@norm8542]

Maybe the pilot's detachable iron balls were accidentally stored at the back. Can someone verify?

[@blueherc]

I flew DELTA from Ontario airport, So.Cal. to St. Petersburg , FLA in 1986 with one layover at DFW. The first leg was on a 757 and the second on an L1011. On the L1011 I noticed that the nose was constantly higher than the tail at level cruising altitude as if the aircraft was back heavy. I told my wife and she disagreed. Later she got up to go use the lavatory and when she came back she said that I was right and it seemed like she was walking uphill on her way there and downhill on her way back. I got up to go use the payphone that the aircraft had and Indeed the aircraft was flying at a higher angle of attack than normal. That was the only time I flew on a L1011 and I don't know if they all flew this way. But the flight was uneventful and we landed safely and smoothly at St. Pete's. The return trip was also on a 757 with one stop at Atlanta, GA. I was, however, impressed with the 1011! Nice big aircraft and very comfortable! And back in those days, DELTA was a nice and polite airline company and reasonably priced.

[@SciHeartJourney]

Crew Resource Management at its finest!

[@luv2sail66]

I hadn’t heard of this incident. Thank you for an interesting video. Great airmanship on the part of the flight crew!

[@nlee4724]

Yeah, I’ve never heard of this incident either. Amazing. I’m worried as the next generation of pilots come up who don’t really “fly” the plane.

[@taproom113]

As proven by the co-pilot in Air France 447. When pilots are not competent in the basics of flight, including 'stick & rudder' and 'needle-ball-airspeed' ... Many more accidents will happen. ^v^

[@fredblahblah.6352]

And you deserve to be congratulated for your efforts, which resulted in such a clear and engaging presentation. You kept me on edge from start to finish ... and what a happy ending! Did you write the script yourself? You do have great talent. Even your voice sounds friendly and unassuming and sincere. Please do keep up this outstanding work you're doing. Your 'All Engines Out' video, on BA 009, the most famous passenger flight of all time, is a gem of gems! My hat off to you!