Air Emergency (2003–…): Season 15, Episode 1 - Fatal Transmission - full transcript

Scorched wreckage is all that is left
after a fatal air disaster in Quincy Illinois

It was really a molten mess, to be frank

Witnesses recount a stunning detail

I could hear passengers shouting out

Everyone who died...

survived the initial impact

To know that they survived an accident
and were able to get out

is hard

Open the door

I tried everything that I can do in the world
I can not get at that door to unlatched

Investigators face a tragic and puzzling question



Why didn't that door open?

I was literally their last hope

This is a true story

It is based on official reports
and eyewitness accounts

FATAL TRANSMISSION
Air-crash Investigation Season 15 E01

It is late afternoon

The crew of United Express Flight 5925
is nearing the end of a long workday

Doors and windows are closed and locked

The load is checked

Captain Kate Gathje and
First officer Darren McCombs

have been on the job for 12 hours

Paliding a string of commuter flights
across the Mid West

They are about to start their final leg,
a short 20 minute flight

There are 10 passengers in the cabin



but on a short hop like this:
No flight attendants.

The pre-flight announcement is automated

Welcome aboard

Before we begin our flight, we'd like
to review some important safety features

The automated message:

it is human nature, most of us really
aren't paying that much of attention

When it is a recording,
it is like a commercial in the background

Who is really paying attention at all?

There are 4 exits aboard this aircraft,
please take a few moments to familiarize

The Beechcraft 1900 C is a twin engine turboprop

often used as a regional commuter plane

V1

V2

This is the 8th take off of the day for the pilots

Gear is up, lights are ON

Starting in Quincy, Illinois,

they jumped from one airport to
the next across three states

They switched planes in Chicago

And now they are on their way back
to where they started: Quincy

Multiple take offs and landing is very challenging
for a pilot

You are increasing your chance
of an accident much more

than let's say a captain on a major airline
who is flying a large airliner and flying to Asia

He takes off once

14 hours later, he lands once and he
gets two days off and he comes home

In those last three days,
the commuter pilot has done 30 landings

Climb power set

Checks complete

Thirty old year Kate Gathje was born to fly

Her family runs a flight-school in Minnesota

where she made her first solo flight
when she was just 16

She has recently been promoted to captain

a big step towards her dream
of flying for the neighbours

First officer McCombs is 24 years old
with nearly 2000 hours of flight time

For this final leg, he is at the controls
and the captain is handling the radio

That is done a lot
to get the first officers more experience

and get them up to speed so that they can
transition into being a full-time captain

Their final destination is Quincy regional airport

where Paul Walker is working
as chief pilot for a flight-school

It is not real busy,
but it is not completely quiet either

You are able to see anything from
a little single home build airplane

to a C5 Galaxy
sitting on the ramp

There are three intersecting runways at Quincy

Most planes take off and land on runway 13
or runway 4

This small airport is one of thousands
across the country without a tower

That means there are no controllers
to direct traffic

Pilots must communicate directly with each other
during take off and landing

It is now 9 minutes before touchdown

About 30 miles to the North of the field

Inbound for landing Runway 13 Quincy

Any traffic in the area, please advice

Captain Gathje radios in on an open frequency,
used by all pilots at Quincy

Power is set

At an airport like Quincy that is not towered

You cannot be too vigilant
when you are flying an airplane

You have to have a situational awareness

that you realize what probably
going to be coming next

and where other aircraft are

Look at that sunset,
that is gorgeous

As they begin their descend
with no tower to guide them

captain Gathje's radio communications are critical

but she is used to it

Uncontrolled airports
are a commuter pilot's bread and butter

Although there is rules
and there is regulations

under proper procedures to fly in and out
airports without towers, un-towered airports

there is still control, but there is just not
somebody there sitting watching

King Air 1127D is taxiing out
take off on runway 4

They are using runway 4

A King Air A90, a much smaller twin turboprop
is taxiing out to runway 4

The pilot is Neil Reinwald
a retired TWA captain

Today, he is instructing Laura Brooks

OKAY, let us review procedures before take off

What is out take off weight?

A far less experienced pilot,

Brooks is looking to build up
her flight hours on multi engine planes

It is her first time in a King Air

We are using 13 still, right?

Yeah, unless it doesn't look good

Aviation just as when you drive a vehicle
is a 'see and be seen' world

Pilots are taught to look out the windows
and this works well every day all over the world

King Air 1127D
holding short of runway 4

Will be taking the runway for departure

The commuter plane is now 90 seconds to touchdown

The King Air is in position and holding

Position hold is when an aircraft
pulls on to the inner runway,

turns, points down the
runway prepared for take off

As is what is says:
Holds its position

5 mile final for runway 13 Quincy.

Gear down

All 3 lights are green, now

Neil Reinwald: OKAY,

navigation set and
radar set for take off

It was a nice day, the winds where light

He said: OKAY, we got a nice and easy flight home

The first officer is going to do some flying
I am going to do some instructing

As the commuter plane descends...

00:08:38,517 --> 00:08:42,212
...an automated voice in the cockpit
gives the pilots their altitude

On short final for runway 13.

The aircraft is going to hold the position
on Runway 4

or you guys are going to take off

7646J holding for departure on runway 4
behind King Air

OKAY, we'll get through your intersection
in just a second, sir

We appreciate that

Finals are complete

At the same moment, flight instructor Paul Walker
is in a hangar at Quincy Airport

I walked about 10-15 ft inside the door,
while King Air started taxiing

Max reverse

We heard this explosion

It rattled the walls, the windows shut

I ran for the door and
as I came outside

What I saw looked like a mushroom cloud
from the films of atomic bombs going off

I thought the King Air had had a malfunction
and crashed on take off

But the disaster unfolding in Quincy Illinois

is far worse than Paul Walker imagines

At Quincy Airport, Paul Walker rushes
toward burning wreckage on the runway

I would say
I was at the crash site in less than 1.5 minute

As he drives closer to the fire,
Walker makes a bone-chilling discovery

It is not only the King Air
engulfed in flames,

2 planes are on fire

I could see through the smoke
the Beechcraft United Express

in which time I had the most sickening feeling
in the world

that that airplane completely full of people

The lives of 4 pilots and 10
passengers are now at risk.

With no fire fighters at the tiny airport
to help with the rescue.

As an investigator, I always was worried about
is this going to happen, and when?

And we were lucky many times
at Quincy not

Open the door

Open the door

Another pilot comes to help Walker on the runway

Where is the door?

It appeared to me that he was just in shock

I hear people in there
we have to get inside that plane

The main door, it is over here

United Express pilot Mike Row was supposed
to fly the 1900 on its next scheduled flight

The main exit, an air stair door,
is directly behind the cockpit

I grabbed the handle
and attempted to open the door

The heat was just very intense,
obviously the most heat I ever felt in my life

a tremendous amount of smoke

The aircraft was rapidly being consumed
by the fire

When I wiggled the handle a little bit,
somebody on the inside wiggled it the other way

I cannot get it open

Open the door

As he hears the captain's desperate cries
Walker suddenly realizes

Oh God, it is you

He has met Kate Gathje before

When I came around the wing of the commuter

I did not expect there be
someone in it that I knew

Please, help

The fact that you actually know somebody in that
situation at that time just added more to it

Open the door

You have to push the button
before turning the handle

The other gentleman goes up and pushes the button

I thought:
Ah, I didn't push the button

Mike Row rushes to get more help,

leaving Paul Walker holding desperately
on the door of the burning plane

When I went back to the door the second time

there was no doubt in my mind
I was going to get that door open

I am 6 ft 3 20 years ago
I thought I was 10 ft tall and bulletproof

I tried everything I can do in the world
and I can not get that door unlatched

I am sorry, Kate

I better get help

Leaving the airplane was one of the more
difficult things I have ever done in my life.

When I looked at the Captain

there was part of me that knows that she knew
by the time I got back it would be too late

that I was literally their last hope.

Moments later,
all hope for the crash survivors is lost

It was easily less than 2 minutes from the time
I was standing by the left wing till it exploded

I felt like I failed

Despite Paul Walker's heroic efforts,
4 pilots and 10 passengers are dead

It is one of the worst runway accidents
in North American history

Over the years,
I've come to rationalize it in my mind that

There are 10 or 12 people at the airport,

from that 10 or 12 people
only the two of us went to the crash scene

and I was the first one to it
and I was the last one to leave

and that helps me, at least I tried

I may have failed but I tried

It's a tragedy the likes of which
the small city of Quincy has never seen

And in Minnesota, the Gaethje family is devastated

Kate's dreams of someday flying the big jets
began right in their own backyard

that is where her family's flying school is

I think Kate did everything
she could have done

to get out of that situation
and to protect the people she had in her plane

By early morning, a team of investigators
from the NTSB gets to work

Tom Haueter is lead investigator

It is his job to determine
how a seemingly routine landing

ended with so many deaths

You could sort of make out airplanes

that it was very

You could see wingtips, you could see parts
You could say: Yes, those are two airplanes

but it was really a molten mess,
to be frank

With no survivors from either plane

investigators must rely on physical evidence
to tell them what went wrong

They put down an awful lot of rubber

Skid marks on runway 13 reveal
that the United Express pilots hit the brakes hard

145 meters before the point of impact

There are just these two massive black lines

going from just after touchdown
to where the 2 planes collided

So, he was on the brakes the whole time

Certainly flats the tyres
in my opinion blew the tyres in the process

Skid marks on the intersecting runway
tell a similar story

It seems both planes braked hard and swerved

but couldn't stop from colliding

How did this happen?
It was also a clear day, it was good weather

So, everything looks like
this accident should not have occurred

So, try and to put it together,
what happened on this day,

Where did the faults come in to play?

the cause these airplanes to collide
at the intersection of two runways

Haueter studies the wreckage,

trying to piece together a detailed picture
of the fatal collision.

Kenneth, figure this thing out

Most of the wreckage is destroyed
or badly scorched,

but a few key pieces tell the tale.

All we have is some missing paint and a good dent
It is definitively from the collision

The nose of the King Air is dented

and its blue paint has been stripped away.

And here is the propeller of the United Express
which means that blue paint came from the King Air

So, if you can look at the paint transfer marks
you have a pretty good idea

that the angle the airplanes came together

This is a side swipe,
it looks like they tried to passed each other

but then their nose is touched
and then they got tangled up together

They essentially hit side to side.

Flaps reverse

Investigators calculate
the United Express touchdown speed of 149 km/hr

By the time the crew saw the plane on runway 4...

...it was too late

The King Air was accelerating towards
the same point at about 185 km/hr

It takes just 7 seconds
for the two planes to collide

The team now knows how the 2 planes met

but they still have no idea what caused the crash

Why did these 2 airplanes come together?

Is there something in the aircraft,
some thing the pilots did?

To fully understand the tragedy at Quincy,
Haueter needs answers to those critical questions.

The town of Quincy Illinois is in mourning

14 people are dead after a fiery crash

NTSB investigators are under the gun

In its charred debris,
they make a major find

The CVR from United Express 5925

The CVR is very important in a situation like this

What was the crew saying, What were they thinking
when both the crew are fatal.

The only thing you have is the CVR
that tell you exactly what happened at that moment

They rush the CVR
to NTSB headquarters in Washington

Investigators are hoping the data inside
has survived the fire.

As head of the operations group,

David Ivey focuses his attention
on pilot behaviour

This accident is probably
one of the most unusual that I had investigated

in my career.

Somehow, the pilots didn't see each other coming
despite the clear skies

On short final for runway 13

Why did all this on such a clear night
with no restrictions to visibility, occurred?

While Ivey waits for word
on the all important CVR,

he gets what he can from witnesses

Hi, Dave, I am Paul

Come on and have a seat

I personally haven't been around
a crash investigation of any type

I was very impressed with it
what they came in and did

Just a very class act, very professional

I raced out there as fast as I could
after I heard the crash

Walker didn't see the collision,

but he provides investigators
with a chilling detail about the accident.

I see Kate

She was crying out for help

I could hear passengers shouting out, too

There is no doubt
passengers on board 5925 survived the collision

but the aircraft had
two over wing emergency exits on the right,

and another on the left
as well as the main door Walker tried to open.

So, why couldn't anyone
escape the smoke-filled plane?

The fact that they all perished in this accident
was overwhelmingly a tragedy,

but I felt the obligation
to find out why this occurred.

Investigators now face a dual challenge:

Figuring out why two planes collided on the runway

and why non of the crash survivors got out alive.

Nora Marshall is an expert
in crash survival factors.

Why no one escaped flight 5925
is a puzzle she wants to solve.

The thing that stands out in my mind is

that these people had a chance
if the exits had opened to survivors.

Right away, Marshall is struck by how little fire
damage the left side of the plane has sustained.

The left side of the airplane
was not part of the original fire

So, we knew there was an opportunity for people

to get out the air stair door
or the left over wing exit

So, why didn't that happen?

Autopsy reports on the passengers and crew
only add to the mystery.

In every case,
the cause of death was smoke inhalation

There are no physical injuries severe enough
to have caused death

The fact that there was no blood force trauma

indicates that the passengers and the crew
would have been capable of moving to an exit.

and that is a critical fact.

Marshall painstakingly tracks
the final positions of the bodies

and uses them to recreate
the passenger's movements after the collision

There were actually more of the
remains in the forward cabin

and there were fewer remains in the back.

So, it allowed us to know the people from the back

had moved forward in the cabin
before being overcome.

The most likely explanation:
The terrified passengers rushed for the main door

forgetting about the over wing exits.

The most of panic people normally tend to go
to the door they came in from

People barely think about the over wing exits
especially in smaller aircraft

It immediate becomes the question of:
Why wasn't the door opened?

So, what position was it in
when you first got there?

Like this

The air stair door now
becomes the focus of Marshall's investigation

Yeah, I am 100% sure

As the first person to reach the door,
Paul Walker's testimony is key

He is certain he found
the handle in the 6 o'clock, or open position

Finding the handle in the 6 o'clock position

suggested to me that the first officer had
moved the handle to the open position

It is the first officer's responsibility
to open the exit doors.

If the first officer got out
of his chair to go the door

the people will think Oh, he is opening
the door, we can get right out

That is the door we came in on
that is where we get right out of it

Follow the first officer, that is where he is

That is easily done

But they never realized how fast the situation
is going bad and how bad it is going to get

I can imagine there was total
chaos inside that cabin very quickly.

Emergency procedures call for the captain

to shut down the airplane while
the evacuation is on their way

First officer McCombs' body was found
between the main door and the left over wing exit

The position makes sense to Marshall

Crew members are taught if the door doesn't open:
don't waste a lot of time, get to another exit.

And I believe where we found him
indicates that he was leaving to another exit

But in the overpowering smoke and heat
1st Officer McCombs never made it to another exit

Had the air stair door opened right away

it may have allowed everybody off the airplane

12 lives might have been saved
if only the door had opened

To know that they survived an accident
and weren't able to get out...

is hard, it is very hard.

With the handle like this,
the door should open

The focus now shift to the mechanics
of the door itself.

Fire in the cabin severely damaged the door-frame.

but the main components have all been recovered.

OKAY, let us see what this can tell us.

The locking mechanism is simple
with three cam-locks on each side

A single cable connects the door-handle to the cams

When the handle turns, the cable rotates
all the cams to lock or unlock the door

The cams have to rotate about a 150°
form the locked position for the door to be open

We found that the cams were
all either locked or partially locked

What could have prevented them from unlocking?

What have we here?

Marshall discovers the locking cable is fractured

This could be the smoking gun
she is been looking for

If the cable having been snapped
you want to understand that

because if it wasn't intact
it wasn't going to rotate the cams

But confirming the theory
requires more analysis.

If she can prove that the cable snapped on impact

Marshall will have solved the mystery of
the jammed door that caused 12 people their lives.

Lab-tests on the cable that locks and unlocks
the main door are a disappointment.

The critical component did not break on impact.

The cable had broken

and the metallurgist determined that
that was a result of heat and stress

from the post crash fire.

In other words:

the critical cable didn't break until
after the fire killed everyone on board.

what jammed the door,
is still a mystery

Then, we are back to:
OKAY, why didn't the door open?

The plane's manufacturer advices
that the air stair door on the 1900C

will not open if there is even a small amount
of slack in the locking cable

If there was a 1/4 " of slack in the cable
that the cams will not rotate

slack in the cable?

Is that what happened?

It is a slim margin of error
and it leads to a new theory

During the collision, the door-frame
or the door itself could have been deformed

in a way that would introduce slack

The tragedy of small failures, a damaged door,
a bit of slack in the cable

might have been the difference
between life and death

Oh, my God, hold on, Kate,
I am going for help

If he had more time, first officer McCombs
might have reached the over wing exit

which could have saved lives

We are used to exits where
people are so badly injured, they can't get out

Here, all the indications are:
everybody survived the impact

and could have gone out
if they had a little bit more time

But the doors would never have been an issue
if there hadn't been an accident.

Why the two planes collided
on a clear fall evening

remains the biggest mystery.

OKAY, let's go

There was no CVR in the King Air

Smaller planes don't require one

But investigators hope to find
some answers in the CVR from flight 5925

What is the winds down there?

That is the first officer McCombs

Winds are 060 at 8, 12 miles visibility

Stop!

And that is Captain Gathje

Getting the CVR back in this case
was very important

It allowed us to understand
what was the tone of the cockpit

what were they doing
was anything missed?

trying to understand
the sequence of events that occurred

About 30 miles North of the field
inbound for landing Runway 13 at Quincy

Tom Haueter:
So far, so good

As the Beechcraft 1900 approached Quincy,
it made all the required radio calls

Quincy traffic, we are approaching
the area with this far out

Quincy traffic, we are now this far out

Captain Gathje gives other pilots a chance to
let her know if they want to use the runway

She gets no response.

More than 3 minutes pass
before Laura Brooks radios in from the King Air.

King Air 1127D is taxiing out
take off on runway 4

It sounds like
the student is handling the radio calls

They are using 4

Stop!

That tells me they heard the King Air

They know they are approaching the runway
and they are watching for it

Kate Gathje is making all the right calls

But it isn't clear
if the pilots in the King Air heard any of them

We will be inbound to enter on the left base
for runway 13 at Quincy

Any other traffic, please advice

No response?
Where is the King Air?

It is more than 2 minutes before
Laura Brooks makes her 2nd and final transmission

King Air 1127, holding short of Runway 4

taking the runway for departure

Less than a minute to touchdown,
the King Air is still holding

Captain Gathje double-checks whether
the King Air intends to stay put on runway 4,

as she lands on 13

The aircraft in a holding position on Runway 4,

What investigators hear next,
comes as a complete surprise

7546J, holding for departure on runway 4

Who the hell is answering her?
That is not the King Air

It is a stunning development

There was a radio call from a 2nd plane,
waiting to take the runway

That little communication was critical to
what happened as an accident

I need some help tracking down a pilot
who was at Quincy Airport on November 19th

Tom Haueter is now on the hunt for a mystery pilot

He was right there when it happened

So, when I talked to him...

...what did you know, what did you see,
what is going on

She knew the King Air was there,
she announced her intentions

How did the King Air not get to choose
coming in to land?

King Air 1127D is taxiing out

Take off at runway 4

They are using runway 4

It is clear the United Express crew knew
the location of the King Air

It is not clear
if the King Air crew ever heard captain Gathje

but her plane
would have been clearly visible in the sky

Did something prevent the King Air pilots
from seeing it?

Computer simulations show that
posts in the King Air's windscreen

might have obstructed
the pilots view...

I think we need to put ourselves in a real plane

...but to be sure,
Ivey want to return to the scene of the crash

I don't think there is anything better than a pair
of eyes in a real situation that is as similar,

as close to what occurred
during the accident sequence.

David Ivey tries out both pilots-seats
in the King Air while in position on Runway 4

He watches as the Beechcraft 1900C approaches
with its landing lights on

It flew downwind,
made a left turn to a final approach

and we were looking at what we could see

The lights.... how visible was the airplane?

I can see you as clear as day.

It was readily visible the entire time
There were no obstructions...

...due to the window post whether was forward
or the aft window post.

Landing aircraft always have the right of way

It seems inconceivable that a pilot would roll
onto an intersecting runway

knowing a plane was on final approach.

It is common practice to look
both directions before you get out there

You learn that as children crossing the street:

Look both ways

Ivey comes to an astonishing conclusion

The King Air pilots must not have checked for
incoming planes before starting down the runway.

You look at something as basic as 'See and Avoid'
which pilots are taught from Day One

How did that go missing?

David Ivey turns his attention
to King Air pilot Neil Reinwald,

combing through his FAA records
and talking to people he has worked with.

He had been an air-force reserve pilot,
he had been a pilot for TWA

His resume looked tremendous.

Why would such an experienced pilot taxi
on to a runway while another plane is landing?

Ivey keeps digging
and soon makes a stunning discovery

We found out that he failed a check-ride
he was given another check

and he failed that

and they removed him from a pilot position
to flight engineer, which is a non flying pilot.

He failed 2 checks,
this guy's skills were slipping

After his demotion,
Reinwald retired from TWA

but he stayed active
as a charter pilot and flight instructor

Six Months before this accident
Reinwald was an instructor on a training flight

that landed with the landing gear still off

It did some damage
to the prop, the engine and to the fuselage

Reinwald was a silent remedial training
after the incident

training that was still on the way
when he boarded the King Air for his final flight.

OKAY, Laura, let's go home

Students describe him as skilled and confident,
a real goal-getter,

but with a tendency to rush.

On the day of the fatal crash,
witnesses say he seemed in a hurry to get home

I think impatience was part of the problem:

'Get-there-itis' is a term we use a lot

King Air 1127D is taxiing out
take off on runway 4

Student pilot Laura Brooks
was handling radio calls from the King Air

She was totally new to the King Air

Reinwald may have been pre-occupied
with his flight lesson

unaware of the commuter plane
approaching from his left

What is our take-off weight?

When you are instructing,
it can take you out of the situational awareness

You might be trying
to teach how to program something

You might be discussable about power settings
before take off

There are so many different things
you could be discussing.

Whether they were engaged in conversation
about the aircraft, we don't know

but there is no announcement for take off,
which is unusual

It appears
both pilots were dangerously distracted.

They weren't looking at the big picture
of where they were at

and what was going around them in the world.

The story of the Quincy crash
has one final twist.

An incredible coincidence
involving the mystery pilot

investigators have been
desperately waiting to hear from

So, tell us what happened

A Piper Cherokee
waits to take off moments before the crash

At the controls is rookie pilot Larry Bedford.

We were in the run up area behind the King Air

Bedford hears both the King Air
and the commuter plane transmissions

But he isn't always sure who is talking

Both pilots were female

The aircraft holding position on runway 4
You cannot take off

When the King Air doesn't respond
to captain Gathje's question

Bedford steps in :
7646J

There was no reason for the pilot of the Cherokee
who is not on the active runway,

who is not going to take off,
to obey that call

He did not use his type of airplane

If he had said: Cherokee,
that would have served as a clarifying point

Holding behind the King Air
was the statement he said he made

Holding for departure on Runway 4

There was a mechanical device in that
Beechcraft 1900 that at that appointed time

said:'200'

And that masked the word 'Behind'...the King Air

Captain Gathje thinks
the call is coming from the King Air

OKAY, we will get through that intersection
in just a second sir

Unfortunately for the commuter aircraft crew,
they believed they are now safe to land

because the King Air was hold for

They thought they were good to go

A split second mechanical message (200)
combined with a rookie's confusing radio call

caused a fatal misunderstanding

The final NTSB report concludes that the crew
of the United Express flight 5925

acted appropriately in their approach and landing

Probable cause of the accident was
the failure of the pilots in the King Air A92

The ctaf or properly scanned for traffic

The investigation also concludes
that Neil Reinwald

may not have placed sufficient importance
on the basics of safe flying

The collision was certainly avoidable

Had the King Air seen the other airplane
they probably aborted their take off

So, it was preventable several times

But as the airplanes
are closer and closer together

time ran out

Contributing to the loss of life was the failure
of the air stair door in the Beechcraft 1900C

to open

But the failure of a single door on an airplane
with three other exits

should not result
in the death of everyone on board

It is critical for passengers
to listen to the safety briefings

to understand: Where is the closest exit,
where is it behind you

to think about:
How do you get out of this if you have to

In the wake of the accident,

training is improved to emphasize the
importance of clear communication

especially at airports with no tower.

The FAA is been dealing with this issue
I think at a very good manner

trying to get people to
realize the awareness of it

The most dangerous place to be in an airplane
is around an airport

There have been a lot of basic changes
since the Quincy accident

I think they worked,
we have never had an accident like this since

However, we cannot rest on our laurels

The pilots who were flying the commuter airplane
in an uncontrolled airspace like at Quincy

they have no remembering what happened at Quincy

So, it is important to remind of it occasionally

We have to keep our corporate memory going

And accidents come very critical

Narrator
Stephen Bogaert

Subtitles
Rein Croonen