WHAT Caused the Crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 401? - The Everglades Disaster

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On the 29th of December 1972 a Lockheed 1011 Tristar from Eastern Airlines crashed into the Everglades swamplands outside Miami. In this video we will look into the many different reasons that caused this crash and what we, the airline industry, have learned from it in order to make flying safer for everyone.
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Get some Awesome Mentour Pilot merch 👉🏻 mentour-crew.creator-spring.c...
Below you will find the links to videos and sources used in this episode. Enjoy checking them out!
Sources:-
-------------------------------------------------------
Wheel Bay: @ Kieturm
i.redd.it/g7v72cxa6vh41.jpg
Old Aircraft 1: AIRBUS
www.airbus.com/company/histor...
Old Aircraft 2: CNN
edition.cnn.com/travel/articl...
Old Aircraft 3: Lockheed Martin
www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/...
Crash 1: Bryan R. Swopes
www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag...
Crash 2: Ron Infantino
www.flamingomag.com/2018/02/2...
Crash 3: UNKOWN
tailstrike.com/database/29-de...
Crash 4: UNKOWN
www.flamingomag.com/wp-conten...
Torch: RovingStones
photos.travelblog.net/372526/...
Crew Resource Management: calaero.edu
calaero.edu/crew-resource-man...
Eastern Air Lines 401 Flight Crew: Sharon R. Transue/Eastern Airlines
www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag...
Pilot Portraits: news.com.auwww.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/travel-stories/flight-attendant-reveals-craziest-plane-ghost-stories-shes-heard/news-story/acdf057fbf62aec72923f6b6fbee40aa
XH1CNLN5LIQRYTVB
A6E3IZQ1K3O0K1OD
KQDS4OEKJ5Y4QFTH
Aircraft used in Simulator: Lockheed L-1011 Tristar by Michael Wilson
Chapters:
--------------------------------------------------------
00:00 - Intro00:31 - Flight History
01:09 - The Flight Crew02:01 - Tristar Autopilot Systems
02:55 - Tristar Autopilot Modes
04:09 - Initial Approach / Gear Issues
07:16 - Go Around
09:02 - Who's Flying The Aircraft?
10:22 - A Trip Into The Electronics Bay
12:04 - "It's Pitch Dark!"
14:10 - Leaving The Cleared Altitude
15:22 - Outside The Controlled Area
16:48 - The Worst Possible Outcome
18:34 - No Flashlights
19:21 - First Responders
20:08 - Probable Cause
21:10 - Recommendations
21:47 - A Sad Discovery

[@MentourPilot]

Did you know you can follow loads of breaking Aviation news in my app 👉🏻 www.mentourpilot.com/apps See you there! 💕✈️

[@sveinfarstad3897]

know now, new at this...

[@TH-vr1rb]

Petter , please do a video about the horrific accident in Japan with the 747 back in 1985

[@Knight6831]

Something I've never understood about BEA Flight 548 when she crashed, the Hawker-Siddeley Trident's roof broke off flying into the air with the cabin roof landing upright and the cockpit roof flipping over how does the impact cause that?

[@milspectoothpick4119]

Hey Mentour! A video on the flight of United 232 would be a great follow up to this one. Very similar aircraft with an inflight engine failure where CRM played a huge role in the events during the flight. Would be awesome to see what else you can find about the incident!

[@dosendaring]

@@TH-vr1rb what are the odds?!?! I just watched it, it's JAL123 flight right? I just saw it on other channel, and I came here SPECIFICALLY to ask him to do it. Because I REALLY LOVE how he tells the story. Also love to hear the accent.....

[@StephenCole1916]

Robert "Bud" Marquis (1929-2008) & Ray Dickinsin (1929-1988) who were the ones out frog fishing saved a lot of lives that night. They rushed to rescue survivors. Marquis received burns to his face, arms, and legs-a result of spilled jet fuel from the crashed TriStar-but continued shuttling people in and out of the crash site that night and the next day. For his efforts, he received the Humanitarian Award from the National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation and the "Alumitech - Airboat Hero Award", from the American Airboat Search and Rescue Association. True hero.

[@JM-ft5ip]

Interesting that the heroes in this case were likely conducting illegal activity; "gigging", but probably had ample illumination! Cheers to them both!

[@animula6908]

Thank you for sharing that part of the story. It deserves some attention.

[@numodumo6094]

absolute heroes!!!!!!

[@Tuberuser187]

@@JM-ft5ip I mean, I don't know what law was broken but they dropped that and applied compassion and courage to a Humanitarian crisis, they put others above themselves. "Criminals" are not always heartless predators, I'm guessing they where poaching or something.

[@donnahdunthorn5207]

@@Tuberuser187 Frog-fishing isn't illegal. There are tours just for that.

[@nephyla]

While looking for a video on "sewing machine hook timing" to fix my sewing machine, I was suggested the Concorde video. I watched it out of curiosity. I was then suggested the "When Pilots treat the Aircraft like a toy" and I also watched it. All of a sudden I'm going down a playlist of Aviation Accidents and clicking on suggested videos. I've always had a natural interest on how stuff works, but watching all these videos about slats, slots, flaps, aircraft ding dongs, meaning of TOGA, trim wheels and so on is a new interest. I'm just a crafter. I make soft toys, plushies and accessories, so my KZbin feed is filled with sewing videos and channels. I know more about sewing and embroidery machines, needles, threads and fabrics than I will ever admit. And STILL, here I am, watching videos about how an airplane works. It just goes to show how much the crew needs to know and how much work is involved which is more than just "steering the wheel and plane go vrooom". Thanks for presenting the facts in such a clear manner, with your personal insights, and kicking away the "blame culture". PS: I hit the "subscribe" button 10 minutes in the Concorde video :) PS2: I also learned how to land an aircraft in case of an emergency, but I still can't fix the hook timing on my sewing machine :P

[@nerdwwii8081]

Seeing this kind of comments makes me feel good.

[@mballer]

And here you are seeing this video a day before my subscription and bell let me know about it... Hmm...

[@radudeATL]

I hope he sees your comment. It certainly resonates with me!

[@vedranb87]

Lol. Now you're learning about CRM training and how to make someone else in the household fix the sewing machine while you go through the checklist. :D

[@hellovikramjeet]

haha, this comment is sooooooo nice! :) :)

[@zeronzemesh7718]

This was such a horrible and frustrating accident. Any little thing could have jarred the crew into noticing they were gradually losing altitude, but it just never happened until the last second. Also Frank Borman, Eastern Airlines senior VP of operations, was notified at home, so he chartered a helicopter and flew to the crash site and helped in rescuing passengers. He was a former pilot and NASA astronaut, dude was a stone cold stud. They don't make airline executives like that anymore.

[@bbb8182]

And Congress for years was filled with WWII veterans who weren't afraid of ANYTHING after facing combat. They brought considerable resistance to the poisons of money and power. We need such courage today.

[@jeffdutton1910]

This event had a huge influence even outside the aviation industry. I worked in a power plant, and as soon as the accident report was made public, it became one of the case studies we used to improve our own CRM. (They were still using it in continuing training when I retired in 2018). I could tell the lessons from this event were being taken to heart when a helper turned to me one time and said, "how about you fly the plane, and I'll fuss around with the little light?" I suspect the lessons learned from this event are profoundly relevant in any situation where people must work together, regardless the specific application. What a tragedy that those lessons often come at such a high cost.

[@NodDisciple1]

Reminds me of that one infamous Oil Derrick Turnover off the Coast of Canada in the 70s that also led to serious safety reforms and training. I had to watch a video on it from our safety officer even though I was starting a job at a land locked factory. Because it was such an infamous example of an accident being a cascade of smaller failures adding up.

[@arushasmusic8523]

Very interesting !

[@cliveedwards-uf5hu]

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[@georgeholloway3981]

Interesting!

[@MrKissfn1]

The saddest thing is the nose gear was found in the down and locked position. Crashed due to focusing on a burned out cheap light bulb...

[@MentourPilot]

Yes

[@sedixmrboss5625]

@Mike S I think thats what the first officer was trying to do...

[@MrNicoJac]

@Mike S Why?? Just put on the lights, and do a slow and low fly-over over the runway, and ask the tower to take a look. What a waste of lives, just because they tried to solve it themselves....

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

@@MrNicoJac The tower may be able to see the gear down but they're not going to be able to see weather it's locked in place.

[@MrNicoJac]

@@TheAkashicTraveller That's a completely fair point! But at least it would be another clue. Like, if it were at a 45 degree angle, you can be sure it's not locked. And if it's straight down, then at least you have one additional indication that it could be a popped light bulb instead of the locking mechanism.

[@Newnomads]

One other factor that you didn't mention is that the Everglades - in 1972 - there would have been no lights on the ground in the area. Especially after having left the bright lights of Miami, the pitch black of the everglades would have left no visual queues to the proximity to the ground. In fact, even today when you depart to the west of the city, the sharp drop off in lighting is VERY noticable.

[@publicmail2]

virtually IMC with right cloud conditions, no moon...I experience this out of Keys going north pitch up, without and instr rating you can lose control easily.

[@The_ZeroLine]

There’s another reenactment that talks about the pitch black conditions a lot.

[@CapStar362]

im from Fort Myers myself and yes, even in perfect clear nights you get slapped around mentally at the sheer lack of any horizon to reference. its utterly pitch black unless you just happen to catch the moon at the right part of the sky to reflect off the water.

[@CapStar362]

@Snazzles apparently you missed the part that CRM was not a thing when this incident happened. back then, and to Mentours own statements, 2 other incidents just prior to this one occured that was the direct result of lack of Crew Reaource Management training mandatory, specifically designed to prevent the very thing that allowed both pilots to be preoccupied with the same task. the FE was doing his job of the engineering panel and then the Avionics Bay check, and the jump seat did his job, NOTHING. he sat there observing and getting a free ride.

[@CapStar362]

@Snazzles you also missed from lack of research, GPWS was not installed on many L-1011's till it was 100% mandated by the FAA in 1974 for ALL turbine powered airliners. this incident happened in 1972.

[@K5RNB]

I remember when this happened. My dad was a pilot and aviation insurance underwriter and his firm had a share of the hull value on the aircraft. He had access to facts of the incident early on and when I asked what happened he just told me, "Son, they weren't paying attention to things." Thanks for the detail Mentour Pilot.

[@OpusBuddly]

I was a passenger in a Cessna 310 and saw the wreckage of Eastern flight 401 the next day as we flew just outside the prohibited airspace. It was hard to believe there was entire jet airliner there.

[@MentourPilot]

I can imagine.. 😥

[@courtney9092]

As someone who is terrified of flying, i thought these videos would freak me out and make me more scared to fly. Somehow they help me relax the more i learn about planes and what goes on

[@MentourPilot]

Yes, that’s what we are trying to do here. Educate about what has happened and how we, as an industry, has learned from it.

[@gubocci]

Definitely, the more you learn about flying and planes, the safer youll feel.

[@jahbern]

My daughter just got her private pilot’s license and at the same time I discovered the aviation KZbin community. For some reason the algorithm fed me constant videos of student pilots in danger. 😂 BUT - the end result was that I took a deep dive into the world of pilot training and the incredibly support system young/new pilots have today. My 17yo flew her first solo flight mid-July and I honestly wasn’t even nervous for her. I knew she had an instructor and ATC on the ground who knew and cared for her (knew her by name and spent time outside of work with her). They had her back. Thank you to Mentour Pilot and other pages for that gift! She took me up in a plane last month and I couldn’t be prouder of her ❤️

[@iamgroot4080]

The most terrifying thing is not that they learned their lessons, but the fact that they are still learning...

[@jessicajames8725]

@@jahbern I know idk who you are or who your daughter is but I’m proud

[@GeekFurious]

The fact dozens survived this crash is incredible.

[@MentourPilot]

Yes, it really was.

[@Dilley_G45]

1 - very low speed at impact 2 - shallow angle of impact 3 - flat soft ground without obstacles Take any of these out and it would have been a few survivors max as in Avianca 011 in Madrid in the 80s or Korean 801

[@5thgen418]

Some who survived initially died later. And the treatment for survivors was long and painful because of the swamp plus jet fuel there skins and wounds got infected. They had to be treated in a closed pressurized capsule type of thing

[@dennis2376]

@@5thgen418 That is nasty. :(

[@zidanehadeed9229]

Captain Loft actually survived the impact, but died before rescuers could take him to hospital. The extra deadheading pilot also survived.

[@TheGerudan]

After the Aeroflot crash where the captain let his son use the controls this is probably one of the most ridiculous crashes of a big airliner I know of. An absolute air worthy plane, 4 guys in the cockpit and not a single one is keeping an eye on the instruments.

[@ddichny]

Another face-palm crash was the US Air Force C-130J cargo plane that went down shortly after takeoff from Jalalabad Airport in 2015 because the pilot had wedged a goggles case behind the control stick to lift the elevators and keep them clear during the cargo loading, then forgot to remove the case before takeoff. When the pilots tried to diagnose the nose-up problem during flight, they blamed it on the trim control system and kept trying to fix that, never realizing that the case was still forcing the stick back.

[@TheGerudan]

@@ddichny Holy crap...

[@dg1602]

There was also an Aeroflot incident where one of the pilots bet the other he could land with his eyes closed. You guessed it, he couldn't .

[@dg1602]

@@CMK_AV The plane crashed but I don't remember if the flight crew or anyone for that matter lived.

[@inviqt4011]

@@CMK_AV that did happen yes. He was sentenced to 15 years but his sentence got reduced to 6 years & time served. Unbelievable lmao

[@jeanmacdonald7988]

I was a 12 year old girl growing up in Miami when this happened. “L1011” was the first aircraft I remember. Your dissection of what went wrong and how it affected aviation was all new to me. As a 70s kid, I just thought planes just crashed. (Or sometimes were hijacked.) Through serious aviation videos like yours, I have learned that so much has improved since then, and that the tragic incidents resulted in greatly increased safety.

[@sharoncassell9358]

I watched this video by another channel. This one however is more respectful and thoroughly explained. I understand better this time. Thanks.

[@pppaaattt4671]

I was twelve also. From what I remember thinking about were the survivors and the alligators, that was terrifying.

[@Nolen_der_Marco]

This Case even became a prime example for Emergency Management in Anaesthesia. Whenever a real Emergency comes up with a rapidly growing Anaesthesia-Team, there will always be someone who 'flies the plane', mostly a less senior collegue, whilst the more Experienced manage the situation and conduct all additional Ops.

[@MentourPilot]

Excellent. Good adaptation of the lesson.

[@donaldstanfield8862]

Awesome, thank you and the essential profession!

[@Ronin4614]

Anesthesia from ‘75- ‘99. Even in my residency we were called to crisis events both within and outside the facilities. While stationed in Germany I had several calls to respond from home to MVAs and off-base housing emergencies. We went so far as to having equipped emergency response satchels at hand for responding not only from the OR, but from home and auto as well.

[@established_on_the_run]

It’s actually quite amazing the similarities between aviation and the medical field. Crew resource management between interdisciplinary teams is so important. (As a nurse, I also feel like I’m ATC sometimes. 😄)

[@jahbern]

I knew much more about medicine than I did aviation before my daughter became a pilot - and we have had conversations MANY times about things like procedure and checklists. Checklists save lives. Every surgery has extensive checklists for a reason, and I made my daughter promise she would always always always complete all of her flight checklists with no distractions. ❤️

[@richardcheatham9490]

Wonderfully researched and presented. This, for me, is the 'top shelf' that all other aviation channels should aspire to.

[@MentourPilot]

Thank you Richard. That’s what we are trying to do.

[@TheGreatDanish]

Absolutely. Informative, spoken clearly, and with no fluff. It feels like a professional lesson on aviation safety, keyed to laymen. I feel like I should pay for this level of content! Thankfully, we got Bose doing it for us :V

[@rossbrown6641]

What! The narrator speaks what language?

[@haranglouis5252]

flight channel is better in everyway.

[@gloriajackson2021]

@@rossbrown6641 A hot 🔥 one 😍

[@michaelfrey6257]

I was actually out in the Everglades about 5 years ago and found some of the wreckage during the dry season. It was a piece of the landing gear and some cargo netting that said Eastern on it.

[@josephconnor2310]

Wow

[@djaytms1485]

Wow did you collect anything my grandfather was on that flight

[@michaelfrey6257]

I didn’t really want to disturb anything one of my friends took some of the eastern airlines cargo netting that he found. Did take a picture though.

[@michaelfrey6257]

Nonsense? What are you implying?

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

NO Way! 75 people survived! WOW. Absolutely incredible. Thank you for reviewing this accident I had not heard of.

[@loguchennai]

100+ peoples died ʉ₦₣øɽ₮ʉ₦₳₮ɇⱡɏ

[@annacatherinesendgikoski1965]

I nearly lost my parents in an accident on December 8, 1972. My parents were scheduled to fly to Chicago aboard United flight 553. It went down in bad weather short of the runway at Midway and hit two houses killing many people. My parents missed the flight. I wish you would analyze that flight!

[@MentourPilot]

Yes, it’s on the list.

[@annacatherinesendgikoski1965]

@@MentourPilot Thank you. My sister and I actually thought my parents were on the flight. We saw the news coverage and we were ushered to our bedroom thinking our parents were killed. It was horrible.

[@matpk]

@@MentourPilot Compare 1930s Nazi Germany Vs 2020s Communist Chinazi IN YOUR NEXT VIDEO Project before it's too late

[@Cultural_Supremacist]

@@matpk WTF? Not the place for that.

[@CapStar362]

@@matpk yo, this is not the channel for that. FOH

[@The-Rose-and-the-Cross]

The TriStar was such a beautiful aircraft.

[@MentourPilot]

I fully agree

[@inspiringengineer]

Yes :)

[@tomdavis3038]

Absolutely. Rolls Royce RB-211’s in an American made airframe built in Cali. Cheers

[@matpk]

@@inspiringengineer Compare 1930s Nazi Germany Vs 2020s Communist Chinazi IN YOUR NEXT VIDEO Project before it's too late

[@andrasdudas8226]

I remember the long distance bus driver, when I asked him about what kind of engine works in this bus. He said, it is american engine from the good old days, it was still working beautifuly in a twenty something years old Ikarus bus. Maybe Detroit was the origin.

[@cockpitviews]

Had ATC just said: "We see you at 900ft" instead of "How are you guys doing up there" , the accident would have been avoided.

[@MikeOgana]

That was the last cheese hole aligning

[@Thomas5937]

Having instruments that can’t be trusted or workers who perceive that the instruments can’t be trusted is absolutely insane.

[@NicolaW72]

@@MikeOgana Indeed, unfortunately!

[@judassson]

nowadays they use mode s transponders that send a lot more information a lot faster, which helps them visualise the traffic better. these technologies weren't available back then. mode S is also very important due to increasing air traffic.

[@myparceltape1169]

I hope so. I wonder if they would have bothered answering, or just been more perplexed. Ground cannot order a civil airliner to fly properly, anyway, they have other things to do.

[@sumeryamaner]

As far as I know, CRM was "COCKPIT resource management" at the beginning. After the aviation authorities realized that the cabin crew was a safety factor too, the phrase has been converted to "CREW resource management".

[@kenbrown2808]

we call it "tombstone technology" when something comes about because the lack of it killed somebody. in this case, I think there is a strong dose of unforeseen consequences, as well. certainly it makes sense for an input on the flight controls to change autopilot modes, but nobody expected an accidental bump on the controls to lead to the autopilot flying the aircraft into the ground. perhaps a future video could address the history and development of autopilots.

[@MentourPilot]

Great idea

[@kenbrown2808]

@@MentourPilot I love learning how things developed and how they work.

[@theboot801]

While I realize that this is hindsight it seems to me that, "control wheel mode" autopilot would always be very dangerous, at least in the way it was designed. An unnoticed bump to the yoke could change the whole flight path. I am not a pilot. I would love to be corrected or confirmed on this. Mentour Pilot's format has changed but the vids remain great. If in flight I would get to know that he was on the flight crew I would immediately feel safer. Thanks to him and all pilots who fly us safely around the world with diligence and professionalism.

[@christalbot210]

@@theboot801Well, call a spade-a-spade, they did put in a warning bell for when the autopilot changed modes. Even without the warning bell, there were all sorts of indicators to show the plane wasn't doing what was expected (altitude change, speed change, autopilot mode light, etc.). You can't design the system to assume the pilots won't fly the plane because that is literally their JOB. The pilots, meanwhile, assumed that the autopilot was taking care of the flying so they didn't have to worry about it. Also, how do you not notice bumping the yoke? Obviously it can be done, but when coming up with scenarios to account for, this one seems a bit weak (at least, it would have at the time). Perhaps the one thing they should have done was put in a warning of some sort after it had been in Control Wheel Mode for more than a minute. After all, you're not going to use that mode to fly straight (that's what the full autopilot is for). I'd think it unlikely to need to change direction for more than a minute. If you do, then don't worry about the warning (indeed, hopefully you're expecting it).

[@user-sm3xq5ob5d]

What I wonder is that when the change of heading was done the pilot should know that he was also disengaging the autopilot. But because he thought was still at the right altitude was not so concerned. But he should have checked after the initialization the autopilot resp. reste it. But that was too late because he flew the thing into the ground. What I wonder during listeing to all these accidents: What are pilots doing when in the cockpit? When I took the controls my first move would be to get myself up to speed of the whereabouts: altitude, heading, power setting, location etc. I want to exactly know in what state the airplane is in and what my input would be doing to it. I guess they thing they know all these things out of overconfidence. But that is a bad thing as we all know. Never assume, always check. Somebody told me: To assume is making and ASS of U and ME.

[@thetowndrunk988]

The Everglades, at night, with no flashlight…… The real miracle is this didn’t end up an alligator buffet

[@davidquinn6161]

Based on other accounts of this incident I've read, alligators ( and snakes ) weren't an issue because of the large amounts of jet fuel that were floating around the area of the crash.

[@rosemarydudley9954]

The Town Drunk ... alligators in the swamp ... Hey guys, look what's on the menu.....(Sorry)

[@jakolu]

That was my immediate thought. However maybe a plane crashing would scare them away somewhat... idk much about gators

[@SniperHarry]

So much of my CRM training has focused on this accident, and rightly so. One of my instructors once described this failure as the world's most expensive and valuable lightbulb because of the cost in human lives and the lessons so many of us have learned from it. Thank you for putting this one out there.

[@jjouney]

Six years later, a United DC-8 would crash in Portland for practically the same reason: The captain was so preoccupied with a gear issue, he ran out of gas. United Airlines became a pioneer in CRM training because of that accident. Thank you again for an absolutely fantastic video. Here's a video idea: could you discuss the importance of the sterile cockpit?

[@Silentservice77]

And a good thing untied did so as if CRM was not a thing or enforced in the airline untied 232 would have crashed with no one surviving

[@sharoncassell9358]

There is one. Two pilots discussing job issues and looking at their personal computers passed the airport and realized it 90 minutes later.They were greatly reprimanded. I think they lost their licenses.

[@nonamesplease6288]

The US Navy says that their flight manuals are written in blood. This seems to be true in civil aviation as well.

[@Yukis.aviation]

I see these comments everywhere, but ur not wrong

[@dantreadwell7421]

All safety regulations are written that way, pretty much. There is no motivation otherwise to institute and enforce regulations on an industry wide basis without an "outside" push.

[@andrasdudas8226]

Yeah, the result of coffee rush...

[@Type2DarylBTeas]

Look at the progression of safety in NASCAR. The biggest leaps forward always followed a tragedy. I starting to think that's standard across the board.

[@jakejancook]

Trains in NYC used to be street level till the death toll hit 100

[@kikuaviation3878]

And thus was born the legend of the Ghosts of Flight 401...imagine a person dressed in full Captain's uniform in the cabin suddenly disappear before your eyes!!

[@stephensams709]

From all indications, they were very lifelike except for looking a little pale. There were several cases where the apparition disappeared right in front of them. Eventually the president of EAL " Frank Borman" had an encounter. After that, all of the parts from 401 that had been installed in three different aircraft were removed. By all accounts, the appearances pretty much stopped after that.

[@edwie]

I remember that, it was actually made into a movie. From a psychological point of view, I think most of these sightings had to do with PTSD. Personally, I don't believe in the supernatural, much less spirits coming back in human form. But that was interesting!

[@cowebb2327]

The book, "Ghost of flight 401", written by an investigative reporter, is terrific.

[@EsromFF]

There´s also a docu on Discovery aboout the Ghost of Flight 401 - It´s also great

[@jeanettebujold4368]

Thanks for doing this accident. It happend about 15 miles from my childhood home in Miami Lakes. Although it happended decades before i was born, i have visited the crash sites many times. A lot of the plane is still there. You can feel the energy. I always say a prayer for the paxs and crew lost. Because of these experiences i became interested in Aviation. I became a flight attendant, later obtained my CPL and now i am an Aviation Attorney. RIP to all souls lost that day. God bless.

[@josephconnor2310]

So interesting that parts of the plane is still there.

[@dotRB]

I remember this accident from when I was reading a series of accidents where three planes flew into terrain, while troubleshooting landing gear issues. All within a few years of each other, what was no coincident due to the lack of CRM. If I recall correctly, on this accident only the light bulb was burned out, the gear was just down and locked. What is tragic if you think about it.

[@MentourPilot]

Yes, it’s a very tragic tale with many lessons in it.

[@dannydaw59]

All they needed was a push button that you hold down to turn on all the indicator lights to see what's burnt out. I guess someone would have to climb down to the nose wheel to check but the pilots wouldn't have been distracted.

[@texx101]

@@dannydaw59 They ran a test called the Christmas Tree test which did exactly that. It lit up all light bulbs. The nose landing gear bulb did not light. The captain then wanted to be sure it wasn't a double failure of both the light bulb and the nose gear.

[@dannydaw59]

@@texx101 I must have missed the part where they did the Xmas tree test.

[@texx101]

@@dannydaw59 It wasn't mentioned in this video, but it has been discussed in other videos and articles documenting this crash.

[@MadeiraAirport]

Such a great analysis, very well explained and so eye-catching graphics, every new video better than the previous, what a work you do!

[@mvashton]

I agree! Mentour Pilot is Flying High!

[@Avgeek1564]

Eye catching graphics? yep those silhouettes of the flight crew were so professionally done! 😂

[@MikkoRantalainen]

I agree. The graphics were best this far and the rest of the video was superb as usual, too.

[@rossbrown6641]

Anyone know what lingo this guy is speaking? Unintelligible!

[@brettpatching]

I agree! Wonderful 3D graphics!

[@davidjma7226]

TriStar - pilots loved flying it. So much power in those engines. My uncle flew it commercially.

[@stephensackett8920]

I was on duty as a broadcast engineer at channel seven in Miami when this accident occurred and witnessed what I consider to be an act of negligence committed by the news department of the TV station. The crash site was in the everglades to the west of Miami and accessible from an isolated road called the Tamiami Trail, which at that time was a narrow two lane rural road and not suited for heavy traffic. It was late in the evening and the news anchor returned to the station to announce the accident and gave details specifying a location on the Tamiami Trail. He followed this by instructing viewers not to go to the site because of the risk they would clog the road and inhibit rescue efforts. It struck me as unwise and counter productive to give the location with such specificity relative to the only road in the area and then tell people not to go there. I have often wondered whether this lack of judgement resulted in unnecessary deaths.

[@morzee94]

Your work rate must be crazy to make videos of this quality alongside your day job! Aren’t you a captain, line training captain and type rating examiner as well as a KZbinr?! Crazy but inspirational, thank you for the content!

[@friedpickles342]

I'm sure he has help .

[@MentourPilot]

Yep! Tomorrow I have 4 sectors, on Monday I’m going to London for simulator for a few days and Friday I’m back in the studio again! No rest for the wicked! 😂

[@steekle7]

@@MentourPilot Just don't forget to spend time with your family 😉

[@HansDunkelberg1]

A real interest in a profession seldom will do harm. Anybody should relax, anyway. If you manage even to fill what you have of spare time with your profession, all the better.

[@howardc5991]

I was a High School student then living west and north of MIA. My brother and I head a low flying jet and we both remarked that wasn't normal. A few hours later we heard on the news that 401 had crashed and when we ran outside we could see lights from the SAR helicopters. Later we found out how many people died and it gives me chills to this day to realize what I witnessed.

[@wotan10950]

I was a college freshman when this accident happened. It spooked me because I had recently flown on my first Tristar (Eastern), DC-10 (American), and 747 (TWA). The widebodies began a new era in travel, but it was still mysterious to imagine such behemoths in the air.

[@pmiskovic]

when you said 75 people survived, I was happy to hear that but literally cursed out loud alone in my house "how the f... did they survive?"

[@haldial2459]

CRM: probably the most important advancement in commercial flying in the last 50 years! You can have 3 experienced pilots on the flight deck but one of them needs to be flying the aircraft!

[@MentourPilot]

Correct

[@bobd2659]

@@MentourPilot Honestly, it's not JUST in aviation either. It's in many (and introduced in various forms) differing fields. Based on current circumstances, it can and SHOULD be introduced or reinforced in entertainment. Your 'pilot flying' is a safety officer, your 'pilot monitoring' (or in a 3 person aircrew - engineer) is your troubleshooter/worker getting things done. *Badly worded, but I think the sentiment gets across...*

[@NicolaW72]

Yes!

[@johndododoe1411]

Did those "other incidents" (inspiring the introduction of CRM) include the Tenerife ground collision?

[@brucevrooman6107]

Ya think....??

[@richard_0916]

Your videos are so detailed and easy to understand ！ To an aviation fan,this is better than air crash investigation discovery

[@MentourPilot]

Thank you, that’s wonderful to hear.

[@Dilley_G45]

Very similar to United 178 crash in Portland a few years later! That crash was caused by them running out of fuel while trying to trouble shoot basically the same problem

[@Lee-mx5li]

Captain Loft lived in Plantation Florida where I grew up, and my step father flew for Eastern at the time of the crash and knew Loft... My step father had said Captain Loft was a good pilot, however like any accident, it usually a series of events that case a crash and any pilot can become a victim, no one plans for an accident the morning of the accident. RIP EAL Crew and passengers...

[@nora22000]

So, he made six mistakes and corrected none of them, killing himself and over a hundred other people, but it's no one's fault? Sheesh...

[@peteanderson4395]

Wasn't he found to have a brain tumor??

[@Lee-mx5li]

@@peteanderson4395 yes

[@peteanderson4395]

@@Lee-mx5li thanks

[@3a.m.284]

@@Lee-mx5li you're a bit dim

[@samwheat1302]

Thanks to this little light blub, this Lockheed L-1011 became the first wide-body aircraft to crash.

[@MentourPilot]

Indeed 😥

[@_RickySpanish_]

The way each video you upload the quality gets better and better is just amazing too me. Amazing as always Peter👏🏼 It’s a shame these kind of things had to happen so the world could make air travel more safe.. R.I.P to all those who didn’t make it😇

[@MentourPilot]

True but that’s unfortunately often how things happen. Thanks for your kind words!

[@Mike_Daddy]

The interesting aftermath from this crash was the use of undamaged parts from Flight 401 on other EAL planes. On such planes, there were many reports by both passengers and crew of seeing the ghost of Cpt. Loft sitting the passengers, only to disappear right before their eyes. Flt Engineer Repo was also seen and even credited with warning of an issue with an EAL plane.

[@chendaforest]

This accident was given a lot of prominence in the PPL syllabus. 'This is what happens when pilots loose situational awareness' was the sobering lesson.

[@LowEarthOrbitPilot]

During a Safety StandUp at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Miami (about 10 years ago) a flight attendant and a few PAX [who survived the EAL Flight 401 crash] spoke and told us all about their harrowing experience. They came to us to impress upon us the importance of our training and response, and although none of the original Coast Guard pilots and air crew (who rescued them) were there, they wanted to express how very grateful they were for how quickly they were reached and how they were treated. Our entire air station was completely silent and so engrossed in their recollections, one could have heard dust hitting the floor. Mercedes, one of the vivacious flight attendants, even brought her suitcase, which had been located and returned to her... still had everything inside of it from that perilous flight. For those who perished, Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen 🙏🏻 For those survivors still with us, much love and peace be with you. ❤️🙏🏻☦️

[@Cecily-Pimprenelle]

So sad to be reminded that, often, improvements in safety are brought by tragedy (in airplanes as well as in other domains). Amazing that so many survived. Thank you for the video!

[@Games_and_Music]

Yeah, it's kind of a morbid tracking down of sequences. Every safety button or specific rules, all have their origin in people dying previously, causing the measures to be put into place. But, hopefully, they have saved more than the sacrifices it took.

[@giomar89]

I’ve been binge watching your channel since yesterday. I have no training whatsoever im anything relating to engineering or even maths, but your explanation and format is top notch. Incredibly clear, no unnecessary gimmicks, such a professional and accurate presentation. I’m learning so much, my most sincere congratulations!

[@TwoMuchDew]

My dad was on the L1011 project at lockheed. I remember him telling me about this crash. Made it an object lesson about big picture and to not let focus on small things throw off focus of everything else!

[@legion1791]

Seriously I can't get enough of these videos; thank you for this amazing series!

[@MentourPilot]

Thank you for watching!

[@rossbrown6641]

Yeah, but did you understand a word from the so-called narrator?

[@susanne5803]

I so like these videos for showing the non judgemental approach to incidents and accidents. And for showing that even when apparently obvious mistakes are made - situations are usually complex and that complexity needs to be addressed. It's really about calm factual consideration of situations. Thank you very much!

[@MentourPilot]

Thank you, that’s exactly what we are trying to do.

[@seriouscat2231]

Maybe some parody channel could do a Mentour episode where a guy resembling Petter in tone and demeanor would explain a maybe fictional air crash like "now the first officer really starts to show his cluelessness" and "the captain, probably out of his mind, pulls back the lever instead of pushing it, dooming everyone", "these guys really forgot they were in an airplane", "this is what happens when cereal boxes have commercial pilot's licenses in them" and "so we have the expected outcome of randomly pushing buttons inside a fast-moving giant aluminium cigar". Not sure if anyone would enjoy it or if it would show too bad taste. There are very few accidents caused by actual incompetence or ill nature, but still unfortunately more than zero. Honestly and seriously I saw a long time ago someone else do this crash and it felt twice as complicated. I started this with the feeling that "do I want to go through it all again", but then I was like "what, they crashed already". Either it is because I heard the story a second time. Or it is because Petter really told everything only once and in good order. Or because he left out a few historical details. Or he did not put them into the middle of the action.

[@billa2967]

Thank you for this story. When I was in the 10th grade, I lived in West Palm Beach FL, and and this was a huge tragedy, that I will never forget!

[@labourlawact7826]

No one mentioned the fact that the nose wheel did actually extend normally, and they would have landed safely. Thanks for the interesting video Petter 😎👋👍

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

No way to fly past the tower and ask "Please look, tell us if our nose wheel is down?" (At night that would be hard, though.)

[@labourlawact7826]

@@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648 Not that hard if the nose gear light that Petter mentioned had been switched on.

[@wouterjaspers]

this slick new look the past months has been an amazing improvement, keep up the good job!

[@MentourPilot]

Thank you! My graphic designer Dominic is doing a great job.

[@Dana_Danarosana]

6 years later almost to the day UAL 173 happens... SOOO similar, except they most definitely did not have lots of extra fuel onboard. UAL was really the creator of CRM after the incident. And I love the concise (as usual) description of this accident. Thank you Petter.

[@jonwlong]

Team Work and Problem Solving are what I do for a living. I'm in IT on the business side. Your videos inspire the way I lead my department. Our mistakes don't result in death, but we still need to learn from our failures and the sometimes expensive results that they cause.

[@lyndiwilson2334]

I'm one of those people terrified of flying who has to be medicated in order to do it. These explanations do help my nerves in a way. Just found this channel and have been binge watching since. You have earned my subscription Sir!

[@pilotlodge3006]

Always a good day when I can binge this playlist again!

[@badgerden7080]

Thank you for doing this video about this disaster. I got tired of waiting for Disaster Breakdown (YT channel) to cover it. Rest in peace to all who lost their lives in this accident.

[@StanleyMilgramm]

I just love how whenever I'm watching a new video now I'm just waiting for the "and thats going to become very important" and I'm never left disappointed.

[@luigiperrone8169]

I was a child when this happened. It left a strong impression on me. I then had the opportunity to fly an Eastern L1011 out of Miami to Buenos Aires. It was a wonderful aircraft.

[@sharoncassell9358]

Its not the plane its the nuts behind the wheel.

[@mtmadigan82]

Great as always. Anyone unfamiliar with the florida everglades, accidents there while dark are nightmare fuel. Huge parts with no roads, need an airboat, regular ones are usually not capable of moving around easily at night. Theres alligators, snakes-including assholes getting Burmese pythons and dumping there when they got to big. No predators at a certain point, and easily kill a man. I just cant imagine what this was like.

[@WorldTravelA320]

You mean Burmese pythons (ball pythons barely get bigger than three feet), and if you want to blame someone. Blame Hurricane Andrew for destroying a breeding facility.

[@Roadglide911]

The ghost story release! How fitting! Congratulations. 🎈 👍 The Ghost of flight 401 just in time for Halloween.

[@get2dachoppa249]

Glad I'm not the only one who picked up on that.

[@MentourPilot]

Yes, I had that in mind.

[@angelachouinard4581]

I wondered if this was the Halloween special. But it is a classic case study and so sad really. I told one of my instructors the cause of the accident was tunnel vision.

[@castigalo]

I've now watched a number of videos by Mentour Pilot and I have to say that his content is so well made, informative, easy to watch, listen to, and entertaining (without sensationalizing)--it's just thoroughly refreshing! I could literally watch this type of content all day, I wish there were more in this same format and delivery for all kinds of subjects. This is a perfect example of a content creator who deserves support because there's value and quality in all aspects of the content, just excellent work! So yes, thumbs up every time, subscribed, notified, and I'm getting myself that cool black hat, which is the first time I've ever been compelled to buy anything from a content creator!

[@dmeemd7787]

Beautiful work! This plane is incredible and had some amazing (and unfortunate) moments. Incidents I am familiar with, like this one, are shown in SO much additional light when you do your analysis! Amazing works always!

[@itscosmicnerd]

Spectacular work as always! I really enjoyed how concise yet informative this all was and the editing was a lovely treat as well.

[@MentourPilot]

Great! I’m trying to compress the videos down in length a bit. Happy to hear you liked it.

[@kommandantgalileo]

Tri-Jets have an odd charm to them.

[@MentourPilot]

They do

[@stevenverhaegen8729]

Flew on a TriStar in the 90s on a charter flight from the UK to Kos. Forgot the name of the company. I remember being very aware of the outside skin of the aircraft for some reason through the plastic upholstery and the lack of thermal isolation. 🤔

[@Platypi007]

Another excellent video, well researched and so clearly explained. This really illustrates the importance of the style of investigation that is done following these accidents since there were so many improvements made afterwards, as well as clearly illustrating the importance of CRM. Always glad to see a new video from you in my feed!

[@tourmaline07]

I'm somewhat amazed that the first thought of the pilots was to try and see if the lightbulb behind the nose landing gear down annunciator was broken and getting it working - rather than using the sight lens to visually inspect it...

[@privatechannel1694]

I was hoping you would do a video on this accident! I heard a documentary on this crash about a year ago, but it was not done by a pilot, so I really wanted to hear it from a pilots perspective. I enjoy your videos so much! Thank you for all the hard work you and your editor do to make these videos for us.

[@Kooooyooooy]

Awesome! Always super exciting to see a new Mentour video get posted, especially when it’s a detailed aviation accident video 😊 !

[@MentourPilot]

I hope you will find it interesting!

[@inprogress5210]

Nonpilot here. I've been watching these types of videos for a while now. One thing I've noticed is that most of these accidents happened during the 1970s. Your explanations are detailed and informative. Thank you for making videos like this.

[@sveinfarstad3897]

Thanks Petter and crew for yet another amazing video!! For using your words Petter, Absolutely fantastic!

[@perry4003]

Great research and presentation. Always keeping in mind 'back then'. How many things have improved so far and are still improving. Sadly sometimes as a result of casualties. Keep up the good work Captain.

[@That_Freedom_Guy]

Yes, I've done that myself on my flight sim! Distraction can be fatal very quickly. Rule 1. Fly the plane. Rule 2. Never stop flying the plane. That was a terrible accident at the time. Those poor people. Thanks.

[@grassytramtracks]

Exactly, if you're not making a conscious effort, it's easy to lose focus from what's the most important task to be doing, flying the plane and end up faffing around with other things

[@burke615]

I've only recently discovered your channel, but having watched several dozen videos, I am amazed at the quality you achieve, especially considering this isn't even your "day job." Thanks for the great content!

[@johnd.1561]

This is the best aviation channel for me. I have been watching a tremendous amount of plane / flight videos as I am flying from New Jersey to Florida soon. I am totally petrified of flying. So even watching these videos helps me see how far we have come in terms of safety. Keep up the great work.

[@dogbadger]

I have watched your videos in the past and I really like your recent move into aircraft accident analysis - although I am very familiar with the incidents you cover I find your presentation and technical knowledge adds greatly to the content creating an enjoyable watch - great stuff which will deservedly add interest to your channel.

[@sylviasanchez3901]

I am from Miami. I remember this crash, there were two, the other at the end of MIA runway. Fiery saw it with my own eyes. I remember how hard it was for EMS to go into the Everglades, it is all swamp.

[@christianchristiansen99]

This story is so important and I’ve seen it covered several times before. This was really well done, Petter. Yet it is just so painful to see it unfold. I especially remember allec joshua ibays video on the incident in which he uses the transcript from the CVR - which is almost unbearably hard to watch. You can’t help it but thinking out loud: “Why won’t just one out of you FOUR people on the flight deck just watch where you’re going!!?!”. However, there is no doubt in my mind that the fact that this could happen to such an otherwise skilled and experienced flight crew, must have contributed to the industry realizing the importance of introducing cockpit CRM principles. Once again thank you for providing this excellent content!

[@HansDunkelberg1]

Keep in mind: they _did_ have altimeters, then, and the Everglades are flat like a pancake! Letting the machine fly on its own thus could absolutely appear as a realistic option.

[@RealGrooveRandom]

Your presentation and detail in explaining the events is spot on! Thank you! 😊👍🏾

[@jessemurray1757]

scary to think, something like that could cause experienced pilots to "forget" to fly the plane.

[@obitouchiha4739]

More like they forgot to monitor, the reason why they didn't fly the plane is because they thought autopilot was taking care of it which it did but it was following not ideal imputs which these pilots failed to catch. So by forgetting to monitor the plane they got people killed.

[@timsmith2525]

Tunnel vision.

[@dalesfailssagaofasuslord783]

That really is a stunning looking aircraft. I love those three engine planes, md 11 is another beauty.

[@trafficsignalman]

I have two good friends who were witness to this, one was in the Glades hunting at the time and saw the fireball, the other was working the tower. The guy in the tower said the controller handling 401 heavy was devastated by the event. Great analysis of the causes. You have a great way of presenting these issues.

[@evakristab]

The quality of your videos are incredible, information and video quality is amazing! Really love the work you do! :)

[@MrConcretejoE]

I love this channel. The one thing I am afraid of is that you will grow too large to be able to fly anymore. We need you still in the plane, mentoring and educating the next generation of pilots!

[@larko8362]

Very well explained as always! Love these!

[@MentourPilot]

Thank you!

[@alizamfar]

Love your work, keep this up my friend. I work in ATC and I find these videos very educational and interesting.

[@xbioman7882]

Great video. My father worked at Lockheed as the head of support for the L-1011 and this crash had a very big impact on him. He told me a few days after the crash that there was nothing wrong with the plane except the burned out indicator light. The L1011 had an onboard diagnostic system that was able to monitor much of the plan in flight and relay that information back to Burbank, CA. It was also the first commercial aircraft to be certified to take-off, fly, and land 100% on autopilot. Very few airfields had the required systems to make this a possibility back then though.

[@Glen.Danielsen]

Wonderful graphics here! And outstanding narration from an expert’s tongue. 💛🙏🏼

[@MentourPilot]

Thank you Glen! Happy you liked it. 💕

[@richardsisk1770]

Your presentation is brilliant in terms of the concise accurate and compelling depiction of the sad event and your informed analysis. I remember reading John G. Fuller’s book “The Ghosts of Flight 401” many years ago and found it quite interesting. Thank you. Be well.

[@FlyingDoctor60]

Petter, your videos are fantastic. I always learn something, even about a mishap like this that I’ve read about and heard about for years. Your research and presentation are top-notch!

[@TheMaturro125]

Congratulations Petter i'm loving this series very very much. You are doing a great job at it. Great great content.

[@washingtonradio]

Into the Everglades, if there were any hungry alligators around they might have had a free meal. Many swamps in the Southern US have alligators prowling around, not something you want to run into try to escape a plane crash.

[@Edax_Royeaux]

I don't think alligators like swimming around in hot jet fuel.

[@OpusBuddly]

At the time alligators were on the endangered species list.

[@noahgibson482]

My father and I always grew up both terrified of flying, and together conquered that fear. We love watching these videos together when they come out because they show how all the little things add up to bring down an aircraft, and it’s so interesting and actually makes us feel safer in a weird way haha. Thanks so much man!

[@MentourPilot]

That’s great to hear Noah! Say hello to your father from me.

[@noahgibson482]

@@MentourPilot I definitely will and he will be so happy!

[@endokrin7897]

Thoughts and prayers

[@benjaminmenken5693]

I remember watching the documentary on this as a kid, scared the crap out of me. Love these videos, they're very informative.

[@noesrp6595]

Your production quality gets better and better with each video. Been following you for the last two years and I love the new “series”. Thanks so much for the awesome content!!!

[@WestOfEarth]

I'm old enough to remember the more frequent crashes of the 70's. It is exceedingly rare today for a crash to happen anywhere in the world. If you think about it, those early sacrifices created safer aircraft for the whole world. Even some of the poorest countries can have access to safe air travel, which is amazing.

[@HansDunkelberg1]

To me, images of the wreckages of those days often appear as incredibly ridiculous. The airplanes resemble the ones of today just enough to make them appear like some primitive experimental versions which you rather should only fly remotely controlled and unmanned.

[@NicolaW72]

That is indeed a piece of Aviation History - in more than one sense. Unfortunately not a lucky piece! Thank you very much for this (again) very informative video!👍

[@angelachristina]

Great explanation! Thank you for your work. You're putting so much effort in every video. It never gets boring!