Falling from the Sky at Over 34,000 Feet per Minute | A Liar in the Cockpit

[@susanhamptonva4203]

Every passenger on board must have thought these were their last moments alive. The fact that this 727 held together despite exceeding its structural limitations is a miracle. So happy all survived!!!

[@todor6217]

You would be surprised how much these planes can actually take its amazing

[@tommyjohnson2279]

🙏

[@Yanate1991]

They are well built, no questions about it. A military plane would have disintegrated.

[@patfromamboy]

727’s were made in Washington state by Washingtonians. They don’t mess around.

[@Yanate1991]

@@patfromamboy that feel when amerifats cant build anything good except the really really important thing, airplanes

[@kanta8978]

Mixed feelings on this one - shady behavior from the flight crew, but being able to recover from such a fall? Unbelievable.

[@RPG-oh1yf]

Right? If they hadn't gone up to 39,000 ft and this happened at 34,000...might have ended differently.

[@Humannondancer]

@@RPG-oh1yf you're missing the point here.

[@dazuk1969]

That is what I thought. How the crew managed to save that is beyond me. The bigger question is where the crew responsible for putting that plane in that position in the first place ?.

[@RPG-oh1yf]

@@Humannondancer Right. Crew appears responsible for the issue, but it took them almost 35,000 feet to recover the aircraft, thus it was a good thing they started at 39,000.

[@todd5082]

Mixed feelings? How many procedures did this crew violate? The crew knew there would be an investigation so they erased the evidence. Guilty.

[@Dextronaut1]

can't imagine how terrifying it must be for those passengers

[@gullfaks]

And the happines when landing….

[@rostrom8]

One of the pilots (or all of them) are a liar and a coward.

[@joannerhodes2864]

That was my first thought too. Too be honest I didn’t know the outcome of this and thought the plane would never recover from the roll

[@RPG-oh1yf]

I'm sure the cabin was full of flying vomit!

[@elgaatooo]

Most of them probably never flew in an airplane after this traumatic experience.

[@kathygodin8611]

Former Boeing 727 instructor pilot here and this near-accident has always fascinated. Absolutely brilliant job on recovering the jet. Especially considering operating in night conditions. Whether or not Hoot was screwing around playing test pilot with slats and CB’s, I offer no judgment, as there are two strong cases to both sides of this story. But in terms of sheer piloting, he and the copilot never gave up. Bravo.

[@benjaminpensiero8519]

And the FE. He was an experienced pilot and contributed mightily to saving that plane.

[@ninelaivz4334]

He erased the evidence. If an airplane did that to me I would want it investigated to the nth degree.

[@rustystove8410]

OK "Kathy Godin", of you say so...LOL!

[@bluest1524]

Very useful insights, thank you.

[@Anthony-xv6tk]

perfect example to never give up, no matter how grim things may look.

[@jjt171]

look, in flying there's various rules pilots need to follow. 1. never gonna give you up 2. never gonna let you down 3. never gonna run around 4. and desert you

[@jokers7890]

@Birk Tonne2 becuz they lie....they gave up long ago

[@corneliuspraeda6452]

Well, in the end, the pilots made a mistake with the slats and had the rest of their lives to figure out how to fix it.

[@randychase305]

@@jokers7890 you should give up. Listen to the voices. Go ahead, do it.

[@powerboatguy2308]

Better example of not breaking the operational guidelines of the aircraft.

[@CodeRed001]

Absolutely wild that they survived such a quick loss of altitude. Especially with the plane that big basically rolling and going inverted. I bet a lot of passengers had ptsd for the rest of their lives.

[@larrybe2900]

That is one of those experiences one would rather wake up from.

[@danepatterson8107]

This is one of those episodes that makes me afraid to fly again

[@biggdogg99848]

For sure 💯

[@biggdogg99848]

Flying ain't nowhere near as safe as they make out 💯

[@zachlang1982]

@@biggdogg99848 It’s still the safest method of passenger travel in the world, or at least in the United States. The last time a U.S. airline had a crash was in 2009. Since then (with the exception of that SWA 737 engine explosion in 2018, killing one passenger) the fatality rate of commercial flying in America has been been virtually zero out of hundreds of millions.

[@dianee7778]

I can’t even imagine experiencing something as stressful as that. The fact that they landed safely is nothing but a miracle.

[@dx1450]

They're really lucky they were able to recover.

[@phettywappharmaceuticalsll8842]

Hail Satan

[@SpiritualLifeCoach43]

God is able. All glory to the Lord above.

[@bobdc6210]

I was a 727 captain for a major airline for 10 years, and I never heard of extending the flaps and pulling the slat CB while at altitude. I felt at the time that this was a slat failure, not the result of any crew action. I also never heard of any other 727 crew member at my airline knowing anything about this procedure. There were about 2000 B727's in service at the time, and if this was a slat problem, they would ground the whole fleet for inspections and a fix, an emergency AD note.

[@davejohnson7678]

True.

[@rael5469]

"and I never heard of extending the flaps and pulling the slat CB while at altitude. " Captain the way I heard it back then was you pull the leading edge circuit breakers first and THEN extend the flaps one notch. Makes the plane nose over slightly.... fly more level (streamlined) and thus more efficiently. Totally unauthorized. The way I heard it is that one of the pilots in this case bumped the leading edge circuit breaker and caused the leading edge to extend unwanted, at cruise.....thus causing the damage and roll. Sounds plausible to me. No? However.....in all of this and in the Wiki article....I didn't see any mention of the Flight Data Recorder. The FDR. Wouldn't that have answered such questions as to whether the flaps had been manipulated inappropriately in cruise?

[@davejohnson7678]

@@rael5469 The FDR tapes back then only had 12 parameters. The position transducers were added in the 1980s

[@povertyspec9651]

Read the NTSB report!

[@rael5469]

@@davejohnson7678 Thanks.

[@japetrini]

I worked for TWA for a time in the early 90’s. The Captain was some what of a legend and was spoke of highly.

[@taproom113]

The 'Skipper' was a Hoot ... and still is ;-) ^v^

[@LastAvailableAlias]

Remember, many accidents have involved highly respected pilots, even instructors. For example, the Tenerife disaster involved a top KLM pilot.

[@purplesprigs]

Legendary for wiping the cockpit voice recorder clean while trying to make himself look like a hero - the stuff of legend.

[@mattthrun-nowicki8641]

@@purplesprigsNo evidence this happened. See the myriad comments about this.

[@mattthrun-nowicki8641]

@@LastAvailableAliasTrue. And that’s why we evaluate each crash independently

[@tima.478]

25 year airline mechanic here...the "27" was one of my favorite aircraft to work on in it's day, that thing was a tank. I have to agree that the slats/flight control surfaces were deployed intentionally. Never seen or heard of a slat or flap being able to deploy on its own, especially on this aircraft!

[@billolsen4360]

It was also DB Cooper's favorite aircraft, thanks to those built-in stairs!

[@Allen-P]

Wow, rollercoaster of emotions on this one. My jaw hit the floor that they recovered, and then the cover up?! Crazy story!

[@adilmuneer3135]

I closed my eyes and face palmed at the landing...it was unbelievable and so releaving that you might pass out after.

[@jimreynolds2399]

Yeah, it was a cover-up according to people who weren't flying in the plane. The NTSB called the pilots liars!

[@melissaleoncreolenola]

Cover up.. smh yeah that's America..passengers almost lost their lives when you have a liar and dummy in a Cockpit.. I swear some these crew members must of got their license from the cracker jack box

[@eloscuro704]

I remember reading about it in 1979, so I knew the outcome. Didn't know about the coverup though.

[@jochapman7200]

Something that isn't that well known is that back in the 70's or early 80's (?) some hot-shots at one of the major airlines decided to test an empty 747 (not the same plane, I realize) to see what would happen if they deliberately stalled it and started a death roll at cruising altitude. Another one was apparently filming it (heaven alone knows if they were dead-heading a route or how they got clearance). I've seen the footage (will link it if I can find it). The wings stayed on, the crew was able to restart it, and it landed safely. Not sure if those guys kept their jobs, though.

[@bakerbaker1959]

Uhhh, I can't imagine a worse situation for the passengers. How they managed to save the plane is beyond me. I doubt any of those passengers ever got on another airplane again. I know I wouldn't have.

[@PrinceRN]

"I'll only fly on flights cruising at over 35,000 feet. I now know my margin or safety!"

[@ilovecops5499]

A worse situation is the plane crashed in a hug efireball.

[@davemould4638]

@@Oceans780 Do you travel in cars? There are a lot more car accidents.

[@RunPJs]

Fears of something aren't often very rational

[@merckmaguddayao6814]

Sam Chui would have surely flown again had he been in this flight.

[@janicesullivan8942]

I never expected that they would get down safely, that was a Herculean effort on the part of the crew.

[@MulletJoe368]

I really love the ones that seems unlikely to survive. Then everyone survives! Great jobs on the crews part!

[@FamiliarAnomaly]

The captain erased the tape when they landed. There's like a 99% chance the crew caused it.

[@T-puma]

Agreed

[@gokceralp]

Great job? They put all the sould onboard's lives in grave danger with their reckless behaviors by extending the flaps at cruise speed, which is forbidden! And then they cleared all the CVR recordings so that they wouldn't be caught! If it resulted as a crash, it wouldn't be an accident, it'd be a murder!

[@CDN1975]

If you went through that fall and were able to ever get on a plane again, it would be remarkable. Utterly terrifying.

[@charliesmithers7663]

You'd want to be at the front of the plane .. escape the turdulance collecting at the back

[@gfx2943]

@@charliesmithers7663 Turdulance?!? XD

[@roscoewhite3793]

I recall reading about this incident many years ago in a book about air safety. The author went into detail about the incident and the aftermath, but drew no definite conclusions about whether the flight crew was to blame for it. What he did say was that the crew performed brilliantly in recovering control and landing safely, and it's hard to disagree with that!

[@lmlm-ph4pp]

Did anyone suffer any injuries?

[@roscoewhite3793]

@@lmlm-ph4pp According to Wikipedia eight passengers were injured, none seriously.

[@martinwarner1178]

@@lmlm-ph4ppI think 89 pairs of messy pants. Peace be unto you.

[@Thisplaceisaprison3912]

@@martinwarner1178 skid marks on the run way and in the undies

[@CLR2TKF]

So according to you, it's ok if I set a building on fire as long as I put it out before it completely burns to the ground? I'll stick with the NTSB, not someone on KZbin.

[@samwh.9611]

I'm surprised the 727's airframe didn't fail during that descent... Also imagine how relieved you would be as a passenger after landing safely!

[@peterdurran]

B 727 was/is a well built strong aircraft.

[@shamsqasr6173]

@@peterdurran Yes indeed! A marvel of aeronautics!

[@lhaviland8602]

Lifelong back problems say hi!

[@datsuntoyy]

I'm betting it went through a full over g inspection after that flight if not a total scrap of the airframe.

[@rfi-cryptolab4251]

Safety margin over Vne.

[@PhinneusPrune]

The fact that plane didn't break apart from the stress put on it. And the fact the pilot's quick thinking and actions to regain control are amazing. It takes away the achievements of this crew that it may have been their actions that put them in this situation in the first place.

[@rogerhuber3133]

Yep! Certainly hope the flight crew found gainful employment flipping burgers after this. This was a fairly common practice among 727 bus drivers.

[@graciegjj]

@@rogerhuber3133 Uber/Lyft

[@MrMaxeemum]

I took an Uber the other day and while going down the highway he pulled the E.Brake and the car skidded and swerved across 3 lanes narrowly missing many cars he got the car under control and got to the destination ok. He was such a good driver for not crashing.

[@Jamenator1]

The recovery was more luck that the slat separated during the dive, stopping the roll. If it didn't separate, it probably would not have recovered

[@TWEAKLET]

@@MrMaxeemum hope you gave him a good tip he saved your life did he accidentally wipe the dash cam afterwards?

[@adriananovais7240]

"the same plane that Gibson flew on Flight 841, N840TW, was used in 1977 on a TWA test flight. During the test flight, the affidavit says, the pilot encountered serious problems controlling the aircraft-problems that were similar to what Gibson encountered two years later on Flight 841 before the plane went into its dive. Despite the lengthy safety board investigation and nearly 20 civil suits filed by Flight 841 passengers, information about the test flight was never disclosed by TWA" Chicago Tribune Oct 14, 1990 Just a wee bit sus.

[@ironmanjakarta8601]

The purpose of the NTSB is to whitewash and cover up, not to make flying safer.

[@chrissakal532]

When I was going to A&P school, one of my instructors worked for TWA for many years and told us about this flight. Everything in the video matched what he told us.

[@dx1450]

I remember seeing something on TV about this when I was a kid, a mini documentary or could have been a segment on one of the news channels like 60 minutes or something. They mentioned that one of the passengers had a screwdriver (mixed drink) sitting on the armrest next to him during the dive, and it never spilled a drop.

[@jdekong3945]

Wow, if you were the captain & had just gone through this event you would certainly be sure to keep the voice recorder info intact so I think the findings were correct, they tried to hide the evidence. Superb production as always, thanks TFC

[@prasenjittripura4691]

my thoughts r same,,after having such terrible events ,u wouldnt erase cvr routinely,, there was somthing wrong from crew side

[@sdaniels7114]

Definitely a smoking gun.

[@danepatterson8107]

All the while I thought how great they were in an emergency; it's sad that they created the emergency themselves (but don't most pilots basically cause or make worse their own flight emergencies?

[@dancollins8296]

They were just covering their asses. Probably saved their careers by doing so. I don't blame them one bit for erasing it.

[@33moneyball]

Yep…they just narrowly cheated death. Nothing routine about this situation…they wouldn’t have mindlessly gone about their normal procedures, especially knowing an investigation was imminent. Pilot Unions, which I suspect played a role here, need to be restrained in matters pertaining to pilot safety. I hope this Captain had his license stripped.

[@johndoyle4723]

Thanks.I cannot imagine the terror the passengers were experiencing, enough to stop you flying ever again. Excellent video reproduction of events on that flight, as always, and glad all survived.

[@andytaylor5476]

I doubt I would fly again! That was so horrifying!

[@user-yv1fh3fc8y]

Just watching these videos keeps me from ever flying again!

[@blakjack3053]

After they landed safe the cabin smelled like all the passengers shit their pants!

[@davidvalensi8616]

I've never flown before, and I would never fly again.

[@Russianboyz95]

@@davidvalensi8616 that makes no sense lol

[@b.t.356]

I was very surprised that the flight landed safe and sound, that nosedive smelled strongly of certain impact. Additionally, although I was relieved that the flight crew managed to get out of said nosedive, their behaviors are very suspicious in my opinion.

[@uritaub5441]

I think the video did not mention that the FBI spend a few million dollars in retreiving the erased CVR - and succeeded in proving this was pilot malpractice

[@b.t.356]

@@uritaub5441 Holy Business Class Batman! Shout-out to the FBI for getting to the bottom of this.

[@wallyman292]

Yeah. . . That the captain would delete the CVR out of habit upon landing after something like that is just too hard to swallow.

[@MarineCorpsSergeantTollens]

@@wallyman292 that’s because he never did that before this incident. Wiping the recorder was to erase the conversation about the fuse and the subsequent action.

[@wallyman292]

@@MarineCorpsSergeantTollens Whether he did it after routine flights or not, I completely agree that he made sure to do it this time to cover his arse!

[@TJAtaw-od1bh]

Hoot Gibson was the Captain on TWA 841. And no- I don't believe he was the villain. I believe he was the hero. I flew the 727 at TWA in the 1990s, and have well over a decade of experience flying Boeing aircraft. What he did with the landing gear was split second genius- because of this incident, we all learned about that maneuver when transitioning to jets as a last-ditch effort to recover an aircraft that has gone into Mach Tuck- when an aircraft exceeds its "Mach limit", a shock wave forms over the tail which causes it to lose effectiveness. The tail is then unable to provide enough downward force, so the nose drops and the aircraft continues to accelerate until it hits something (the ground). That particular B727-31 hit ~Mach 1.1 (the speed of sound is Mach 1.0)- and roughly 65kts beyond the maximum aircraft Mach limit of 0.90. At least that's according to some FedEx pilots I jump-seated with who actually flew the thing since it was immediately retired from passenger service, but was allowed to be flown as a freighter. They said it flew ok- but flew a little crooked as if it was a little bent ;-) While I didn't know Hoot personally since he was before my time, a number of the old timers I flew with did know Hoot. While what I offer comes from conversation with senior pilots who knew him, all else being the same I believe that the following is the real truth. The NTSBs investigation is false. The procedure they claimed the captain accomplished was not anything anyone in commercial aviation was doing- or even heard of. Not to mention, NEVER in my entire career have I flown with anyone that would care that much to save fuel, as to take such a risk- any risk really. We don't pay for the fuel. And limits on commercial aircraft are not something to be trifled with- not the least of which are flight control mach/altitude/airspeed limitations. Some background- just a month after TWA flight 841, came American Airlines flight 191 leaving Chicago O'hare for LAX. This was the DC10 that had an engine depart the aircraft on takeoff, resulting in the aircraft crashing and killing all on board. During the investigation of TWA flight 841, it became apparent that a slat malfunction could result in an asymmetric (only 1 slat deploying) and uncommanded deployment. Hoot felt that the public needed to know- but with AA191 having just occurred, the FAA and industry were terrified that the public would lose complete confidence in commercial aviation. Hoot was told to shut up. But he wouldn't. So when he was about to go public, they came up with this "fuel saving" procedure which is something the military had recently come up with (and again, was not known in commercial aviation), and framed him with it. Hoot ended up retiring early in disgrace. For the rest of his life attempted to clear his name to no avail, until his death in 2015. To my knowledge, the other 2 pilots never strayed from Hoots account of what had occurred that evening over Detroit in 1979.

[@Lecintel]

May he rest in peace and I think he was a hero saving everyone and being able to land the plane with no lives lost

[@robvog8134]

You learn so much from reading the comments. Thx.

[@7xr1e20ln8]

Years after his death we see similar things with the 737 MAX fiasco.

[@benjaminpensiero8519]

Thank you for this post. I recommend the book “Scapegoat,” on this incident. Written by an American Airlines pilot, Emilio Corsetti. It shows pretty conclusively that the crew were in no way responsible, and their brilliant airmanship saved that 727 and all souls aboard.

[@EGarrett01]

Why was the Voice Recorder deleted?

[@ojanneh]

The pilot and his crew were all heroes for saving so many lives that night. The fact that he was still fighting to game control of the aircraft during those conditions is remarkable. They should be commended.

[@warden4003]

ig u didnt actually had your brain turned on on this one, its cz them the plane rolled

[@vinnieg6161]

The Captain erased the voice recording when they landed, indicating something fishy going on...

[@hassaanrauf4349]

​@vinnieg6161 Probably, but if he did that on every single flight after landing it can be considered unintentional, could just be a habit.

[@miasmic100]

If it hadn't been the moon, this flight was doomed

[@LastAvailableAlias]

*gain

[@rich_edwards79]

In loving memory of the 91 pairs of underpants that were ruined during this rollercoaster of a flight.

[@FelisThis]

Lol.

[@hanaemori4885]

Before watching the video I glanced through the comments and saw yours ‘In loving memory of 91…’ I stopped there, thinking 91 passengers had died. After watching the video I was like wtf. I had to read your comment again lol.

[@daheikkinen]

Imagine wearing your best boxers when this happens

[@lynamor2959]

LMAO!! Ikr!!!

[@thetourminator]

LOL..... way under-rated comment, LMAO.

[@billsheehy1]

I sat down with Captain Hoot Gibson about four years before he died and heard the story first hand. He swore he didn’t touch a thing. Whether he did or didn’t, this incident shadowed his career until the day he retired and then some. Took a 727 Mach 1, way to go Boeing.

[@billsheehy1]

Hoot is buried at the VA cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada. RIP Captain.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

You don't mean the astronaut, do you?

[@kingofaesthetics9407]

@@WALTERBROADDUS The man on this flight is a different Hoot Gibson. The astronaut Hoot flew for Southwest Airlines after his time with NASA.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@kingofaesthetics9407 small world? Had no idea there was two of them...

[@kingofaesthetics9407]

@@WALTERBROADDUS At least NASA got the less accident prone Hoot.

[@YourFreeBeats]

How rare is it to hear about a commercial plane in an “uncontrolled dive” and able to later land safely. I’ve always loved the 727. Hell of a plane.

[@kevinmalone3210]

D B Cooper thought so too. He used the 727 to steal $200,000. Then he used the back ramp to jump out.

[@lindawakiyama1603]

@@kevinmalone3210 Good ol’ D.B.Cooper! Netflix has a documentary on him right now. Haven’t watched it yet, but am planning on it.

[@chucksnightmare7674]

@@kevinmalone3210 Question: Why would Boeing allow 727 rear ramp stairs to open during flight?

[@Edax_Royeaux]

@@chucksnightmare7674 CIA found it useful to open the stairs during flight for their operations so that could have been the reason to allow that option if the CIA's airline (Air America) would order some 727s.

[@kevinmalone3210]

@@chucksnightmare7674 Good question. I don't know specifically why, it was just one of those things, especially since this was quite awhile ago, early 70s. After the Cooper hijacking, no passenger could gain access to the ramp.

[@gerrycollins7079]

Missing from the video is the NTSB finding that no.7 slat, which in its extended position had resulted in the imbalanced configuration, was torn off the wing before the crew regained control (presumably because of the excessive aerodynamic forces during the spiral dive). After that the aircraft would have become more controllable.

[@danpflaum4282]

Regardless of whether the crew were at fault here, their poise, skill, and courage in the face of certain and unthinkable death is one of the most amazing examples of the human spirit and will to live I've ever seen/read about. Extending the landing gear with the plane vertical after nosediving for 34,000 feet (and with only 5,000 feet and seconds left until impact) was a stroke of pure boldness and genius.

[@obiwan88]

Regardless?! It's 99% certain they were the cause of the fault! You mind is seriously skewed.

[@zoso73]

@@obiwan88 His mind is not skewed, padawan. Remember, only a Sith deals in absolutes. Show temperance.

[@esteban1487]

Idiocy. You must be a Democrat.

[@esteban1487]

​@@zoso73Life isn't a movie, fugstik.

[@SonicUplift]

If the pilot hadn’t been fiddling with the slats, this likely wouldn’t have happened. Not ok to put so many people’s lives at risk. If the pilot wants to break safety rules… better to do that in a remote area in a private plane alone. All that being said, he was skillful in getting the plane to the ground. I hope they fired him immediately, though. Reckless.

[@micheleshively8557]

I can't imagine how awful the feeling of dropping out of the sky like that was. Thank you TFC, another gorgeously done video. You're still the best here in my humble opinion 👍❤️

[@Loudes012]

Ya I was ready to read how many people died and the old "no one survived" at the end of the video.TWA got lucky!Lol

[@wotan10950]

There has been a lot of subsequent info about the crew’s procedures. While they heroically brought the plane in with no loss of life, they never should have operated the flight in violation of TWA and Boeing’s instructions. And then they deliberately erased the CVR tapes. The story should read, “How a Crew Saved Everyone after they Cocked-Up the Flight.”

[@RLTtizME]

Journalism is not a good fit for you.

[@danepatterson8107]

The certainty of the crew's flight-endangering actions is evident in the destruction of the recording by the crew itself. The first thing I would want to know, if my aircraft just mysteriously plummeted 10,000 meters in 63 seconds, is what was on the flight data and recorders. All the while I was thinking how great this crew was to recover (and they deserve high praise for that :cough: Bonin Air France447 :cough:, the fact is this emergency was created by willful pilot error. Do what the fucking engineers tell you to do with the machine. Don't pretend you understand engineering, pilots!

[@RLTtizME]

@@danepatterson8107 Engineers have a filthy mouth. They are nerds and don't bathe.

[@Capecodham]

CVR?

[@turricanedtc3764]

@@danepatterson8107 - Countering that assertion is the fact that it was later discovered that the recorder data could be erased inadvertently if electrical power was interrupted.

[@BlackRavenFeather565]

I’m not used to not having a narrator for videos but honestly having to read what was going on myself really helped me become more immersed in the story. That was a wild ride and I’m amazed they got it back under control without slamming into the ground.

[@deannekliene2673]

Why KZbin if u have to read it...right....just put it on Google...

[@lagrasta666]

I am not sure what happened exactly in that cockpit but one thing is certain..........that was one hell of a recovery and one hell of a captain with big balls of steel!!

[@EgoSuperTrip]

At 10 mins. 24 secs. in the video the note that 727 Pilots "in general" were "setting the trailing edge flaps to 2 degrees, while... pulling the circuit breaker" suggests a significant flaw in routine. As a bus driver I can say that a flaw in routine will catch up with you. As well, erasing the cockpit recorder - "You're fired."

[@stogieguy7]

One of the most dramatic vids on this channel yet! Most has already been said here, but I’ll add that this was back when Boeing built incredibly sturdy aircraft. That the airframe of this 727 didn’t fail is a testament to that. Like everyone else, mixed feelings on the crew. They nearly screwed the pooch needlessly but performed one of the most spectacular recoveries imaginable. Just wow.

[@attilathechump9458]

The 727 was just a rebadged DC-10 series from MC built after it was acquired by Boeing. Give the credit where it's due, to the engineers at McConnel-Douglas.

[@deepthinker999]

@@attilathechump9458 The MD80 was rebadged by Boeing as a B717, Neither the B727 or DC10 were involved.

[@ninedaysjane2466]

@@attilathechump9458 I'll give credit to McDonnell Douglas for changing Boeing's emphasis from engineering to bean-counting. Boeing made good planes. McDonnell Douglas made poor business decisions that led to its demise. When the merger happened, McDonnell Douglas execs took over leadership positions in the company. That's when the innovation stopped. That's how we ended up with MCAS. Do the research yourself rather than patting the creators of the Death Carriage 10 on the back.

[@mikeprevost8650]

@@attilathechump9458 wtf are you talking about? The 727 was introduced into passenger service in 1964, when the DC-10, if it existed at all, only existed on blueprints in Long Beach. It was introduced before McDonnell-Douglas even existed as a company. It was the Douglas Aircraft Corp. until Douglas and McDonnell merged in 1967.

[@EvanSather]

Imagine being in the plane's bathroom while the loss of control is happening! 😱

[@loc4725]

Probably the best place to be - no need to soil your pants.

[@michaelbedinger4121]

@@loc4725 AGREED!

[@Forest_Fifer]

It wouldn't have been the only loss of control that was happening...

[@Noone9227]

💩💩💩💩💩

[@railyatra8879]

@@Forest_Fifer beat me to it

[@backedupwithtruth7525]

Many of those passengers thought it was there final moments alive. Amazing happy ending

[@Spiderific]

Can you imagine what those passengers on that flight felt like rolling upside-down and the nose dive? Absolutely terrifying.

[@mhxxd4]

Was there any major injuries or deaths from the tumbling?

[@karlepaul6632]

I can't even imagine what the passengers on that plane were think and feeling when everything went out of control like that.😱

[@alberti123]

Horrifying and preventable incident - I’m grateful for the safety precautions in place. (Thank gosh for the passenger’s safety) Great vid as always.

[@JasonFlorida]

Who is this guy Gosh you speak of?

[@The_Beast_666]

@@JasonFlorida This is the Cap'n speaking!

[@antonrudenham3259]

Having to run around the ceiling of the cabin twice to save your beer must have been a thoroughly irksome undertaking for those onboard.

[@sliva7938]

That's were "Dancing on the ceiling" comes from.

[@hrdley911]

Thank you! I had been looking for this incident for a while. I remember reading about this in the newspapers (yes, I'm old). The toughness of the 727 was legendary. If I remember correctly, the wings were so bent from the uncontrolled descent that the hull was written off. Not before getting everyone safely on the ground though.

[@julosx]

No, this 727 was repaired and was sent back to the sky the following month.

[@hrdley911]

@@julosx Oh. Ok.

[@biff5856]

@@julosx and some mechanic wrote Hoots Looper on the side Haha. Lots of misinformation out there like this video

[@dx1450]

I remember reading that this aircraft was repaired and put back into service, but apparently the G-forces did something to the fuselage because it was hard to get it to fly straight and kept having to be trimmed. It eventually was sold and used as a cargo aircraft but still had the same issue.

[@ronaldshank7589]

Come on, now! You're not old! I'm 60 years young, and, although I don't, of course, know who you are, or your age, think about this:The Biblical character, Methuselah, was 969 years old when he died. Compared to him, we ain't nothing but a bunch of Spring Chickies!!! 😊😊😊

[@charlesboyer61]

Here's an interesting tidbit: "the same plane that Gibson flew on Flight 841, N840TW, was used in 1977 on a TWA test flight. During the test flight, the affidavit says, the pilot encountered serious problems controlling the aircraft-problems that were similar to what Gibson encountered two years later on Flight 841 before the plane went into its dive. Despite the lengthy safety board investigation and nearly 20 civil suits filed by Flight 841 passengers, information about the test flight was never disclosed by TWA, according to John Rohlfing, a TWA pilot and chairman of the union`s TWA accident investigation committee." and "Gibson went back to fly for TWA after the incident. On at least one occasion, he said, flight attendants refused to fly with him and he had to take a planeful of passengers back to the gate to drop off the attendants." --Chicago Tribune, 10/14/1990

[@jedivideo6203]

A book was written about it to try to clear the flight crews' names: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXWlqYinZtd4otE

[@dx1450]

You'd think those FA's would have known which pilot they were flying with before they left the gate.

[@rv6amark]

Everyone familiar with 727's in the airline industry knew that it was a common, but not approved, procedure to pull the 727's slat breaker and set flaps to 2 degrees for improved stability and better ride above 35,000 ft. The need to pull the breaker was that any flap setting of around 2 degrees or more would also command slats extended. You can see this sequence when a 727 is on landing approach. Flaps start down (and back a lot) to 2 degrees, then the slats deploy to their commanded position, usually 10 degrees of more. THIS crew admits that is what they did when they imply the slats extended because of a miss-adjustment. In reality, they were partly right, but 2 degrees was no man's land where slats might or might not deploy due to switch adjustment tolerances; however, NONE of this would have happened had they not set flaps to 2 deg! But how did the slat breaker get pushed back in??? Well, the flight engineer was distracted for about 9 minutes then looked up and saw the slat breaker was out (disengaged), so he simply reached up and re-engaged it. Then the roll began as the slats rolled out. This is what every 727 flight engineer, pilot, and first officer told me...and I asked a lot of them. The flight engineer MAY have even noticed the consequence of what he had done and said something like, "Oh shit, captain, I accidentally pushed the slat breaker in!" THAT was probably why the captain erased the CVR. The investigators ultimately got it right, but they were right for the wrong reason.

[@tensevo]

tbh it seems like a fault with the aircraft to me.

[@marcwilliams9824]

Interestingly, I just read a comment from someone claiming to be an ex 727 captain, he claims he never heard of any pilot intentionally pulling the slat breaker at altitude.

[@luckysmith8275]

So the pilot was employing this trick and the FO didn't realize and then maybe pushed the breaker back in when he saw it was disconnected so that resulted in this trouble? If they admitted erasing the CVR that's definitely suspicious but I'm curious how only 21 minutes of the tape would have got erased and not the entire 30 minutes? Does activating the erase button only erase the last 21 minutes of tape? If not then how would the NTSB definitively conclude the tape being erase must have been due to the pilots and not some electrical fault that simply ceased recording in the first place?

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

Don't care what the crew did with the slats. Airlines + pilots preach about how airplanes can still land safely even if all but one engine is lost. Airplanes should still be able to land safely even if the slats come off or the rear rudder breaks off or gets stuck in any position or if the wings break off, if flying is supposedly as safe as its advocates claim it to be.

[@DanelectroJazz]

@@theultimatereductionist7592 I don't think you actually understand what happened, they were able to fly completely fine and land with the slat broken off. The slat deployed causing the loss of control, and broke off far into the dive, then making it possible to gain control. The slat breaking off wasn't the cause of the plane losing control.

[@348Tobico]

This shows what a beast the air frame on this plane was. The 727 was what saved this flight, not the guys in the drivers seats. It was the plane that told the truth. I wonder how soon the captain found other employment, like delivering goats to Djibouti and camels to Somalia.

[@AC-vo2ft]

He should be behind bars.

[@biff5856]

Sorry to say he wasn't fired. This video is quite inaccurate.

[@deepthinker999]

Apparently the Captain was promoted to a 747 Captain with TWA. Typical SOP in the business world and you get to work for someone like that.

[@wallyman292]

Wow! That they recovered from that dive is incredible!

[@cantfindmykeys]

I couldn't believe it. I was sure it was another dive bomb into some field or worse. Never seen any plane recover from a fall the way this one did.

[@itskatehill]

Oh my GOD! My jaw was on the floor. Can you imagine going through that? I'd love to talk to someone who was on that flight. Absolutely stunning recovery.

[@lauralangham9657]

The first rule of Flight 841, don't talk about Flight 841.

[@teresaslo]

I bet the memory was erased from some peoples mind as in blackout that is what I want to know

[@ninedaysjane2466]

I think I've read a few some anecdotes that describe it as absolute sheer terror, but that's pretty much what you'd expect, so take it for what it's worth.

[@jerrypolverino6025]

For years afterwards whenever TWA would request 39,000 other pilots would say “Is that you Hoot?

[@rael5469]

4:02 It says a turn to the left but the attitude indicator in the animation is actually showing a turn to the right.

[@margeebechyne8642]

I looked it up. All survived, but there was 8 injured. I'm surprised there wasn't more injured. Must have been terrifying. And he erased the voice recorder? Wow!

[@user-vk2mp8ez5o]

My father was an aircraft mechanic for TWA at the time. He would tell me later that extending the flaps at cruise was common practice in the airline industry. Pilots would routinely do it to save fuel and that the airline executives knew of the practice but said nothing because it saved money. Erasing the CVR after each flight was also a very common practice in the industry at the time.

[@watershed44]

@L Hard to believe that they were doing this in 1979....sure the early 70s I might believe it. I think the culture in the cockpit really changed by 1979.

[@ROBSHOTZ]

except he didn't extend the flaps. They climbed the normal was by use of power. The next step was calculate ground speed. The plane up set before that could be done. The plane was trying to upset while it was flying in autopilot.

[@biff5856]

L. Your comment is the only accurate one. I worked for Transworld also and remember this very well. Did you know that a mechanic wrote Hoots Looper on the side of the aircraft. I always got a laugh about that. This video is misleading and sensationalized.

[@biff5856]

@@ROBSHOTZ she knows what she's talking about. It's the video that's not accurate. I worked for Transworld as well.

[@rustyredemptions]

@@biff5856 I agree, I also worked on this plane at the TWA overhaul base at MCI.

[@Lastdon56]

Huge kudos to the captain. Usually in these videos when the plane starts a rapid descent, we pretty much know how the story ends. Glad this one had a good ending.

[@ninedaysjane2466]

For causing the issue? He's lucky he had enough altitude to recover.

[@WendyKS93]

OMG!! I was expecting there to be a horrific crash with no survivors but to find out the pilots managed to recover and land is jaw dropping and amazing. Hard to say if a coverup on the part of the flight crew was done or not but it does give a person cause to wonder.

[@stephaniela6150]

That they managed to land safely after falling at speeds that would normally break up an aircraft is a miracle. Another 🔥🔥🔥🔥 rendition from TFC! 💯

[@edwardpincus]

Excellent use of linear schematic to identify aileron and rudder - very useful so we lay folks can understand what and where. Thank you.

[@goncaas-rvj3330]

Everytime I think about TWA it instantly comes an horrendous crash into my mind.

[@Soundbrigade]

@Jim Allen Or ”Travel Without Arrival”.

[@workingguy-OU812]

I remember my father buying his first investing stock - shares of TWA - about a year or so before the possible shoot-down crash.

[@jshepard152]

@@Soundbrigade ”Travel Without Arrival”. Wow. That's a great one.

[@supafly322]

A clear case of a hazardous attitude by the crew. Thankfully, things have changed from 1979.

[@Mrcl5902]

And thankfully they made up for their mistake with spectacular airmanship

[@rhr-p7w]

Ha! keep wishing, things are exactly the same. Example: Poorly trained or Hangover pilots. Usual in 1979, usual in 2022

[@supafly322]

@@rhr-p7w source?

[@rhr-p7w]

@@supafly322 If you are asking that you really need to hang up more with airline pilots and cabin crews ;) But I don't want to sound rude to you, let me explain: Alcohol consumption on non-working hours is high, due the loneliness and constant fatigue of rapidly changing schedules. Making friends outside the aeronautical circle is difficult due the aforementioned constraints, and if you already have kids or a non-flying spouse, situation may be even harder. About the training part, admissions / promotions are sometimes 'helped' by money, friends or relatives working on the airline (not necessarily by the flying skills of the candidate). That lack of capacity is immediately noticed and compensated by the pilot on the other seat, but is still a less than ideal situation. In other topics, you will also face excessive reliance on automation, complicated airspaces and decaying infrastructure... To sum it up, technology has changed since 1979, yes. But humans are exactly the same. Aviation is beautiful, but not as glamorous as it was before.

[@supafly322]

@@rhr-p7w I understand. I guess I only hangout with good pilots then.

[@gdavis8588]

I remember this happening. It seems like the after photos showed missing gear doors and other assorted missing pieces. Hoot Gibson eventually retired from TWA. They never could prove he caused it.

[@dx1450]

And nobody but he and his FO and maybe the FE will ever know for sure whether he caused it or not. Had he not erased the CVR we'd all know for sure, which could be why he erased it.

[@fhurley8447]

Just want to say how amazing this channel is. Really love the content

[@krsam007]

Sir, I don't know if you will read this but anyways, I am a third year ongoing graduate in computer science and am watching your videos since last year. This may sound silly but I have grown an enormous amount of interest in aviation and your videos have had a great contribution in it. Now, I am planning to pursue aviation, get a CPL and become a pilot. I know it's a long way to go but I am so excited for it. I would like to thank you so much for what you do here. Hope you grow like never before

[@mrtrolldude0492]

Congrats man!

[@vikai8096]

Best of luck big man

[@joshb6993]

I wish you success!

[@kolorado7260]

Regardless of anything else, what a great piece of flying by the crew to save that situation

[@ronjones-6977]

Ya, great job for ALMOST killing everybody. Pure skill right there. That's just stupid.

[@kingofaesthetics9407]

@@ronjones-6977 Their behaviour before and after the incident doesn't change the fact that they still managed to recover the aircraft from extreme circumstances and that doing so is a remarkable act of airmanship. No amount of ranting you do in this comment section will change that. People are not in the wrong for giving credit where credit is due. Would you have rather the plane been lost with all on board?

[@gregoryvierra6114]

You’re missing the point. The plane never should have been in that situation to begin with.

[@kingofaesthetics9407]

@@gregoryvierra6114 Their point is irrelevant. The aircraft got into that situation and the crew, despite their faults, managed to recover the aircraft and put it down safely with no lives lost. What happened happened and at least the crew had the competence to prevent it from getting any worse than it already was. They're getting angry at people acknowledging that and are trying to deliberately misinterpret it as praise for the crew's misconduct before and after the incident. They're speaking in bad faith.

[@Benji-jj2bg]

@@ronjones-6977 it's actually because of the pilots before them that did the exact same thing on this plane because it was a normal procedure pilots knew about and did commonly. Noone knew it would cause this or they wouldn't have done it. The damage done to it by previous flights lead up to this happening on their flight

[@patriciamariemitchel]

The Captain must have known what was going on because, well, there was the erasing of the recording, and the fact that I kept wondering why he didn't bring the left engine to idle to stop the roll... because he knew what was doing it. Not to say it was all his fault, because the aileron was already damaged from everyone else using it that way.

[@ilovecops5499]

Enginer can be idled when thei rairplan is off the ground. it s asafety featire to prevent suicide pilots like this jerk.

[@julosx]

This is what the NTSB replied about this erasure : _We believe the captain's erasure of the CVR is a factor we cannot ignore and cannot sanction. Although we recognize that habits can cause actions not desired or intended by the actor, we have difficulty accepting the fact that the captain's putative habit of routinely erasing the CVR after each flight was not restrainable after a flight in which disaster was only narrowly averted. Our skepticism persists even though the CVR would not have contained any contemporaneous information about the events that immediately preceded the loss of control because we believe it probable that the 25 minutes or more of recording which preceded the landing at Detroit could have provided clues about causal factors and might have served to refresh the flightcrew's memories about the whole matter_ .

[@patriciamariemitchel]

@@julosx, thank you.

[@biff5856]

@@julosx b.s. the CVR is on a loop is erases itself. Besides it's a routine part of landing check to stop the recorder and reset

[@xponen]

@@biff5856 you really believe NTSB doesn't know how flight recorder work?

[@mobucks555]

That feeling of utter relief when I'm sure it's going to end in tragedy is really something else. Thankyou.

[@kateorman]

I'm scared of flying, but stories like this paradoxically make me feel better, because clearly absolutely all hell can break lose on the flight and it still lands and everyone lives.

[@joeblough2485]

I have been scared of flying. I flew all over weekly for decades. One day I was encouraged to take a helijet jumper flight from a large city to a small airport on an island. About 30 minutes over water. It felt like we should plummet into the freezing ocean the whole time and this helicopter was struggling to keep us alive. After that, I have no fear of fixed wing flights. Hope you can take a hellijet one day.

[@kateorman]

@@joeblough2485 Sounds like one "hell" of a ride!

[@SelfLoveU]

Wow! I wish we could hear from passengers on board. I thought it was over, but the pilots recovered. That's amazing.

[@SIX6SIXer]

there is a passenger 7 comments north of here talking about his experience on this flight.

[@seriouscat2231]

@@SIX6SIXer, could not find this.

[@rcdoodles6214]

Outstanding job in portraying what occurred in this near disaster. Another fascinating video. Thank you.

[@JeffGrossPoker]

Wow this may have been the first time it ended well when sure it wasn’t! These videos are great but often so sad!

[@grosskopf2779]

yup

[@mickeydoolittle2057]

The crew provided 7 instances of which B727’s had uncommanded extensions of leading edge device deployments, due to actuator corrosion at the hearing. The FAA & NTSB made their conclusion prior to hearing the opposing argument, and crucified this crew. All three went to their grave denying any non compliance with SOP. If the Captain was doing any “rogue procedure” you can bet the other two pilots are not going to back him. The CVR was relatively new to the cockpit, and I believe the Captain did erase the tape before leaving the cockpit. I also believe this Captain, Hoot Gibson, pulled off an amazing feat of recovering his jet, from an unrecoverable attitude, that is up there with “The Miracle on the Hudson” as far as airmanship. Well done Captain!

[@ninedaysjane2466]

And the representative from ALPA steps in.

[@mickeydoolittle2057]

@@ninedaysjane2466 if this was a snarky comment towards me, then I will say that I’m not affiliated with ALPA in anyway. As a matter of fact, I was 8 when the incident happened. I stumbled on the facts of this incident just researching on my own. I suggest you do your own research as well….

[@JCDofNYC]

I cannot imagine a pilot who truly was at a loss for why his plane just went into an uncontrolled spiraling dive of some 34,000 feet, wouldn't want every bit of data preserved so that investigators could explain to him why. Interestingly, the FAA gave him a bit of an out: that his post -flight behavior is so routinized, that he erased the cabin recorders without even thinking. Either way, the airline industry and black box recorders really need to install transmitters that send the content of both the FDR and the voice recorders, in real time, to a central repository. Given my refrigerator can send me a text message letting me know if I'm low on butter, I'm pretty sure we have the technology to accomplish this far more important task. If you'll excuse me, I now have to go and apologize to my refrigerator for suggesting that it's work is in any way less important than that performed by "those arrogant fly boy computers" (his words).

[@jshepard152]

They couldn't prove it, but they didn't believe a word of it either.

[@o0alessandro0o]

Yeah, that statement translates to: "We aren't saying he definitely lied... But he definitely lied." About real time data transmission, there is a good video by Mentour Pilot... Annnd now there isn't? I don't even. There *was* a good video by Mentour Pilot as to why we cannot transmit data collected from planes. Now it's gone. A version of it still exists on his facebook, with very weird cuts and censorship (something about a transoceanic flight where for some reason the word transoceanic, or possibly transatlantic, is bleeped out *and* censored in the transcript). I have no idea. The video boils down to, it costs a lot and the number of cases where it would actually be useful are so few that it makes no actual difference.

[@JCDofNYC]

@@o0alessandro0o interesting. And strange that he or some intervening group censored the video. I find it surprising that it is prohibitively expensive to transmit that information in this digital era, in which large amounts of data are routinely compressed into small files. And if storage is the issue, if a flight is without incident -- in other words, the vast percentage of them -- then that data could be erased within 72 hours of the flight's arrival. Transmission would also do away with what must be a huge expense in locating black box recorders from the bottom of the oceans. And even if it was pricey, I'm sure travelers might carry that expense give the potential benefits. Plus, if the transmissions were monitored, accidents might even be avoided mid flight.

[@sarahsue4065]

Amazing skills pulling that back - but erasing the data is definitely shady , do we know what or if they were punished ?

[@graciegjj]

Slobbing on that knob is the reason for the erase.... Don't wanna hear that.

[@d.beamer6907]

Appears they were not punished by TWA nor the FAA but the captain went on continuing to fly for TWA and experienced social backlash. He upgraded to 747 pilot and retired in 89-90. Couldn’t find anything on his first or second officer but I assume they were also not punished.

[@paramaguru2007]

Erasing function is disabled in India. Guess there must be other countries doing this...

[@southpakrules]

@@paramaguru2007 Erasing function is disabled everywhere decades now. You're not the exception.

[@richardcline1337]

@@d.beamer6907, smells of a massive corporate cover up to me...but then that was TWA right?

[@Quickrex]

I heard another version. That the acceptance or request to climb was done when the flight engineer was out of the cockpit and the circuit breaker was pulled for the slats control and when the flight engineer returned he saw the circuit breaker was pulled. He apparently reset the breaker without confirming with the flight crew and that action led to the retraction of the front slats and loss of control. Apparently an old school trick to get little higher in the 727. I remember that some of the older casa version could reverse the propeller in flight by overriding the mechanical lock 🔒 dropping out of the sky really fast but extremely dangerous if unable to unreverse both propeller simultaneously. Whatever happened the plane was recovered and dropping the gear properly saved the day.

[@mattthrun-nowicki8641]

The bulk of the evidence from the passengers and ALL the flight attendants (save for one passenger, the only one the NTSB quoted in their report) suggests the FE didn’t leave the flight deck for over 10-20 before the inversion…which sorta puts a damper on the official finding

[@TWEAKLET]

the slat breaking completely free is what saved it the one slat was jammed open so while everything else was retracted it was open creating a ton of drag on one end of the plane flipping it repeatedly they only opened the gear to add drag and slow the planes dive and roll

[@mattthrun-nowicki8641]

@@TWEAKLET Except Boeing’s own analyses suggested that, if the unretracted #7 slat was really what caused the upset (a big if, if you read the nitty gritty of the NTSB report with a critical lens), the slat should’ve broken off much earlier than the NTSB report says it did, which would’ve made the plane controllable far earlier than what actually happened.

[@TWEAKLET]

@@mattthrun-nowicki8641 confused why you are restating that the flap was the cause and testimony stated a loud bang right before they got it under control i bet that was the slat ripping itself free

[@vintagebarbie4053]

I became totally involved and stressed watching the video, all the while feeling fear for the passengers.

[@EIRE55]

I'm pretty sure we all did!

[@margraveofgadsden8997]

I’m glad they explained what a buzzing sensation is; I would‘be been so confused otherwise.

[@QuarkTwain]

But they didn't explain what a "light buffet" is. For any non-pilots who may be wondering, a light buffet is a brunch.

[@howard5992]

@@QuarkTwain it's also when you dine on luminescent fish

[@earl2688]

The Captain of that flight, "Hoot" Gibson, passed away in 2015. There's a book out called "Scapegoat" that gives his side of the story.

[@kenbaer2361]

Crew pulled circuit breaker for LE control valve while FE went to bathroom, then extended flaps to 2 units, to get faster airspeed. When the FE returned, he saw the circuit breaker pulled, the he reset it. B727 deployed LE devices 2,3,6,&7 first in order to prevent "ballooning". The #7 LE slat departed when over stressed from deployment at excessive airspeed. FDR's only monitored 7 parameters in 1979, and CVR only had a 30 minute tape

[@anthonyfields4234]

That's the smoking gun insight I was looking for...thank you !

[@paramaguru2007]

Good information on FDR and CVR of those days... was searching for this.

[@joshuahudson2170]

Among other things, you don't reset breakers if you don't know why their pulled. :(

[@royt9227]

@@joshuahudson2170 Wrong...breakers are not supposed to be "manually pulled"....they are "tripped" automatically when somethings gone wrong. Hence ..they should be reset nonetheless.

[@rodbey9318]

@@anthonyfields4234 Dann Ken, you know your stuf . Impressive

[@404notfound.....]

Gambling with the passengers safety for the sake of the performance of the aircraft. Hats off to Boeing and NTSB for uncovering this. ✈

[@Benji-jj2bg]

It wasn't a secret.. the reason this happened is because all the pilots before them also did this and ended up damaging it.

[@Benji-jj2bg]

It was pretty standard. Noone knew this would happen from it. Noone thought it was risking anything.

[@watershed44]

@@Benji-jj2bg But the operations manual for the plane clearly states that these slats should NEVER be extended during regular flight only under very specific low altitude situations. I'm sure that most pilots who flew the 727 had to understand this. I would have NEVER operated the plane in that fashion if Boeing said not to. The engineers that designed the plane had good reason NOT to allow that kind of operation!

[@Benji-jj2bg]

@@watershed44 you probably would have done that exact thing if you were a pilot back then actually. Luckily because of these pilots and their near death experience and a few other things pilots finally stopped doing it

[@watershed44]

@@Benji-jj2bg Probably... I wouldn't because I'm mechanically inclined and like to understand how things work and why they were designed they way they are. But maybe I would have been the exception, even back then.

[@deletebilderberg]

I often wonder if passengers in incidents such as this ever fly again.

[@goosewhisperer6275]

I certainly would NOT ever fly again!

[@martinwarner1178]

My thoughts too. For sure I would not fly again, I avoid flying like a dose of pox! Peace be unto you.

[@DeniseFactor]

These clips produced here are astonishingly dramatic and I thank you very much for your work. The accompanying music adds greatly to the sense of dread I often feel when watching, thankfully from the safety of my room. They have me hooked although they will never put me off flying, I adore it especially long haul.

[@allanbrogdon9372]

I worked many years on the 727. The slat track housings were prone to get rocks in between the slat track and housing sometimes leaking fuel

[@Milena-ix5mq]

Thanks to these videos, I have learned so much about planes, their structure, and how they work! Thank you for keeping it interesting and educational!

[@davidp2888]

It's amazing the plane stayed in one piece.

[@liamrelaxationtube5179]

I am glad they landed safely. It must be a unique flight for the crew and the passengers.

[@Knuck_Knucks]

"uh... That was awkward..."

[@russianramblings]

they wanted to increase performance and they surely did! incredible high speed dive and landing. more flights should follow suit

[@darrenyoung3102]

Ha ha ha lol 😂 would make for a more exilerating flight...

[@sanchoodell6789]

*We* were on that VERY flight. One of the worst and terrifying plane journeys I've ever had.

[@geronimo5537]

This is a rare post to hear from anyone involved. Could you please describe to us "the passenger" side of the story? Thoughts, feelings, seeing out the window, conversation? I hope not to make you relive the events. But to instead, somewhat document your part of the story. I can rarely recall a single passenger ever responding to videos like this. Let alone survive such a severe flight. Your part matters to and people will be interested in seeing it for decades to come. So it is for that importance, is why I ask for you to share your point of view from within the events that took place.

[@robertderkach650]

Awesome 👌

[@sanchoodell6789]

@@geronimo5537 We boarded the plane when the gate number was announced. We took our seat numbers and stowed our cabin bags in the overhead bins. we sat in our seats and prepared for the flight. It is a cliche now but it was just like any other routine flight. The plane spooled up and pulled away from the gate and made its way to the run way for take off. The machine lined up and started to tare down the runway engines roaring like a hungry lion. At the last moment she took flight and floated by magic into the nigh sky. The world bellow us got smaller and one could see the tiny little houses and street light glow and twinkle. The cabin lights were undimmed and the "No Smoking/ Fasten Seatbelt" light was extinguished. We started to smoke (this being back in the days you *could* smoke on an aircraft) The flight was relaxing as we were to wait for cabin service. but something was about to change our lives forever. The plane started to plunged and veer side ways. It was like being inside a roller coaster ride. Passengers started to scream and yell. Children and babies started to cry and we all felt fear of crashing and dying like in those awful 70s disaster movies but *this was the 1970s* and so we all panicked some more. I wanted to get up front to the flight deck and see what the hell was happening but the g forces prevented me from leaving my seat. We just squinted and I think many of us started to pray for our lives. The rolling and erratic movements of the plane eventually stopped and it gained a level course, The pilot came on the tannoy and announced that we would be landing at Detroit Met. When the aircraft neared D. Met. I just looked out the window and could see all the built up areas and I started to cry and sigh of relieve that have never been so happy in my life see Detroit (and that is saying a lot!) That was one flight I would never forget in a hurry.

[@jokers7890]

I doubt that, or you would have alot more to say. Alot of liars on here.

[@sanchoodell6789]

@@jokers7890 It's another true story.

[@TheJPinder]

I mean there's a reason why they sold life insurance in airports back in the day.

[@watershed44]

@The J Pinder They still do sell air travel insurance at counters today at many airports!

[@marynamurray9385]

Amazing that the pilot's could land after all what happened and the passenger's must have been nervouswrecks forever after that flight.

[@serchizm]

Nervous wrecks? They most certainly had to change their undergarments as soon as they touched down!

[@mhonella]

Couple of corrections to your otherwise well made video. It is a "yaw" damper that you were referring to, not a "yam" damper. The other issue in the narrative pertains to use of ailerons for roll control. Swept wing aircraft at cruise speeds rely mostly on flight spoilers to control roll, not ailerons. The inputs from the yoke are the same however, the surfaces that are deflecting are different at various speeds. Faster speeds use spoilers with limited aileron while lower speeds use a combination that includes more aileron movement. Thanks as always for the great animations.

[@BillGreenAZ]

Your comment is one of the reasons I greatly enjoy watching these videos. I can always count on people who know all about the subject to chime in. Thanks for the comment.

[@13ritneyanne]

Thank you! I've seen so many of these videos that I saw "yam" damper and thought to myself, I wonder if it's yaw or if there is a yam damper and I'm just learning about it? 🤣

[@biff5856]

You would think a Flight Channel producer would know what yaw is. I mean, hello, flight, airplanes? This is second hand sensationalized misinterpretation.

[@13ritneyanne]

@@biff5856 it was obviously just a grammatical error or typo.

[@mhonella]

@@biff5856 I believe we need to give credit for their production of the content in spite of the mistakes.

[@sanjeevareddy6458]

No structural damage to the plane even at that speed of descent amazes me 😳

[@jayjaynella4539]

States above that the hull was bent by the forces and the plane never flew again.

[@BlvckHouzWyf_Inc]

Everyone on that plane had an Angel around them because I can’t imagine being in such a horrific situation without my heart stopping!! The pilots are beyond heroic!!

[@johnjriggsarchery2457]

That would have been the last time my feet ever left the ground. I'll drive.

[@ZeppelinR101]

Now cue some jackass trying to tell you how safe flying us compared to driving. Those people who continually use old skewed statistics need to get a life!

[@TomDavidMcCauley]

Your feet leave the ground when you drive fyi

[@andrediaz392]

Damn, I thought after rolling twice they were doomed. Very lucky to have been able to land it.

[@xjumpmaster82]

I would like to hear some interviews from those passengers.

[@jshepard152]

Seriously. Willing to pay.

[@riphaven]

I'm sure the souvenir shop sold a lot of shirts and sweat pants that night not to mention the train and bus depot had a lot of walk-ins.

[@rickyhenry4958]

I couldn’t imagine being on that flight. Hell of a job by the flight crew to come out of that dive regardless of what or who caused it.

[@captaind6178]

10:00. That is correct. The illegal (and stupid) non-standard thing was to pull the slats and forward flaps circuit breakers. Then, they could select Flaps 1 or 2. Normally all leading edge devices will deploy anytime the Flap handle is not in the 'Up' position. The story is, the Flight Engineer (2nd officer) was back in the cabin when the two pilots did this. When he returned to his seat, he saw the C/BS were out, or "popped", so he pushed them in. All hell broke loose then.

[@surimi7283]

He wouldn't have to inform the other two of what he was about to do?

[@xponen]

@@surimi7283 the pilot did not inform him either.

[@luke83rj]

I love this channel, my favorite about planes on youtube

[@dianericciardistewart2224]

Good one, TFC!! Not sure what to think of the incident, other than, at least they arrived on the ground in one piece. What a nightmare!! Thanks for this -- excellent presentation!! 👍✈✈👍

[@babarmasood4770]

Flight crew acted suspicious but I praise them for recovering from such a dive and landing safely

[@timengstrom8726]

Read the wiki entry. The NTSB lost objectivity in its investigation. The crew was not suspicious and performed standard procedures.

[@mattthrun-nowicki8641]

@@timengstrom8726This was among the worst NTSB investigations of all time, in my book

[@CybershamanX]

This reminds me of the novel _Airframe_ by Michael Crichton. Still a good read to this day. 😎