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Hi Petter, apologies for the somewhat off-topic request, but could you also feature the PA434 incident that happened in 1994? It's a ignificant moment in aviation history as it was related to the rise of international terrorism at the time, with the plan of attacking commercial airliners. Thanks!
I was the controller being relieved on that night in the TRACON. Our usual routine was to have a "late guy" who works alone from about 10 pm until midnight. That night was miserable, howling winds, sideways rain, multiple go-arounds and diverts. I recall thinking when I left the shift to the two "mid-shift" guys, that this is the type of nights accidents happen. Runway 15 at KBDL was a terrible runway to land on and the VOR approach wasn't much help to that runway; I have landed on that runway myself and I didn't like it. The next day, I went to the hangar where the airplane towed, and the aircraft was a mess! Every foot of both leading edges had damage and there was a tree limb sticking out of one of the engines. Both of the main landing gears had trees wrapped in them. I am surprised they made it to the runway. I forgot to mention they hit the RW 33 ILS antennas on the approach end and those parts were stuck to the aircraft. Quite a night, they even closed the tower due to the high winds.
Thanks for sharing, something like that can never leave your memory. Non-precision approaches like this were leftovers from the 50s' and really should have been scrutinized and ones like this with tricky terrain abandoned. It happened again with an Air Canada A320 at Halifax 7 years later in similar conditions. I was thinking that the altimeter confusion of 29.40 vs .47 was a common error I see. It's easy to confuse 7 and 0 on the radio and something I find myself catching on altimeter and transponder code readbacks. Pilots sometimes say they get too many altimeter updates (center, then approach then from tower), but in bad weather, it's a vital update.
@@tomriley5790To my knowledge, no. AT BDL, RW 15 was almost never used; our calm wind runways were 24/33; only occasionally, and usually due to high winds, did we ever use RW 15. I've been retired for years so I am not up date on what might have been done since.
I am the owner of a car service centre . One of my mechanics failed to fasten a rear brake caliper proprerly on a customers vehicle . It came loose! Two day later the customer called from a town 500 km's away reporting that he had to stop at another workshop to sort out the problem . No one was hurt and no damage was done . My initial response was to give the mechanic a proper tongue lashing and final warning .Because of watching and learning from the mentour pilot ,I thought about it and approached the situation differently . I took into account that this mechanic has not had a mishap in two years and that he was working on two cars intermitantly . ....which was the actual root cause of the incident . We now have preventative measures in place .ps. I am thankful that we work on cars and not aircraft !
@@user-kb8gh5jv9t Sadly there are many cases where the first officer couldnt/didnt do much to save themselves...the First officer in this case was proactive and helpful till the end...
I was the county emergency dispatcher on duty that night. I was in the middle of our daily emergency tape back up. I was out of my computer system and running all manual logs during the back up. I got the call for the ambulance response. And had to manage about 20 ambulances responding to that request while also managing the regular volume of 911 calls for a suburban/metro area of about 200k people. Oh yes, I forgot. I was alone.
I was the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge of the government work on this one. Thank you for an extremely clear summary. Our final report criticized the pilots and also commended them for landing successfully. A bit of a rarity. I and the other pilots on my NTSB team wondered if we could have done as well as this AAL crew did in a similar situation. As an aside, I was told that the AAL union pilots awarded the captain with a tree fragment from his landing gear well. I thought that was pretty cool.
I just watched the video of Senator Mark Warner delivering your accolades to congress from 13 years ago. Thank you for your extraordinary lifetime of service and keeping us all safe.
I think they are human beings and made a mistake. Compared to the 99% of pilots who start panicking and don’t remember what to do, this was a nice rarity. Any other crew the mistakes pile up and the left doesn’t know what the right is doing metaphorically speaking but here it was clear each knew instinctively what to do an
@@maryeckel9682 In my experience, if the user has their real name in their handle or a picture of themselves in their profile, those lend itself to being real.
I had posted elsewhere here but as a TRACON controller who was there that night, I just wanted to say that I listened to this with a very critical ear and you my friend get an A+ for accuracy, as well as the overall presentation! Thank you...
mate, saw the drama in the replies to your other comment on this video. what you shared and your responses to various people were informative, interesting, and well-composed. i would advise you to ignore the vast majority of people who go on to engage with you in the replies to this and other comments on youtube. such people are never satisfied and you cannot win. don't be disheartened or offended by them - it's much better to starve them of oxygen by completely ignoring them.
I love that the first officer was helping without taking over - and starting a ‘fight for control’ - reasonable suggestions, questions and encouragement.
Yes that is a refreshing note anadotely. Realizing we are going back a number of years. Its a blessing that the cockpit crew worked together. Even though the only injury was the craft itself, surprizingly was fixed remained in service for many years.
Yeah, unlike one of the other videos in which the pilots were lazy, talking about other things and tried to force a landing rather than a go around - killing pretty much everyone on the plane. No teamwork at all when it was needed.
one of the few stories that actually had me cheering. That idea of utilizing the flaps and ballooning to the runway was nothing short of genius. And that first officer providing emotional support during the final approach and landing... that's a perfect team.
I was an AA S80 CA at the time this occurred. I'm going to say with absolute certainty that the trap this crew fell into could happen to any crew on the wrong day at the wrong time. So it was eventually a great CRM class example that everyone learned from. Yes they made mistakes, but the conditions they faced and the rapidity of having to deal with several nonstandard issues put them behind the curve in the blink of an eye. I have seen a few situations where things just go all to hell that fast. Late at night, probably some fatigue setting in, crazy weather - they got loaded up pretty quickly. Once they hit the trees it was pure airmanship that got them to the lip of the overrun. That and about a million angels holding the plane up in the sky. No one liked the old school method of dive-and-drive down to a non-precision MDA which was a procedural option at the time, but it's easy to imagine the desire to do so in this case because of being anxious to acquire the runway visually. Also, the altimeter QFE settings below 10,000' was unique to AA and it was weird using your standby altimeter as the primary altitude reference. Good riddance to that procedure shortly after this incident. That approach to RWY 15 looks a bit intimidating even in clear weather with the high ridge line right below you. I can easily imagine drifting below the MDA because 1. using VOR to track a course was a very rare occurrence, and 2. the crosswind drift meant an expected automation aid was suddenly not available and the CA was literally flying by the seat of his pants and transitioning to hand-flying under mounting duress. The picture in the hanger afterward was insane with that HUGE THICK branch sticking out of - I forget - either the wing leading edge or the engine intake. I was amazed it wasn't a hull loss. I actually flew that plane a few times after it returned to service. It acquired a few nicknames - "Hartford Garden Weasel", "Hartford Weed Whacker", Hartford Wood Chipper", etc. At some point a creative Captain took a black magic marker, and on the left windshield pillar covered with that lovely blue-green foam, drew a vertical line about 6 inches high with 7 horizontal hash marks on it representing a scale gradation superimposed on the lower windshield corner view. At the bottom of the scale he wrote "Good trees" and at the top of the scale he wrote "Bad Trees". Pilot humor.
Anytime there’s an elaborate description of anything that seems benign, I anxiously await to hear the words “Remember that” spoken with a slight nod and cryptic look in the eyes… when it happens, it’s like Christmas
'Now, younger honey locust trees have bipinnate leaves, and leaf out in early May at this latitude... remember that.' Oh God Oh God it's Chekhov's Trees!
Hehe I agree - it’s funny how those quirks of delivery endear us to the storyteller and the story - I think it’s the aspects of repetition and echoing that draw us to series types of stories - like sitcoms of old or the RUclips equivalent with any story that has both dynamic and repetitive elements. The repetitive aspects excuse comfort listening even given the topic :)
Iirc they say Gagarin might have died to a bird colliding or about to collide with his plane. That info is old tho, I haven't checked any recent investigations in a while, maybe new elements have surfaced since. Edit The bird strike was an early theory, much more likely a friendly Su 15 accidentally descended so low and so close to Gagarin's MiG15 that the air flow turned the MiG around abd sent it spiraling down. The bird theory had been plausible until a more thorough investigation focused on the second plane.
I was a cabin crew member of a USair flight that landed just prior to the American. It was a nerve wracking approach - weather was terrible with many strong gusts, shifts and high potential for windshear. (I kept hoping the pilots would divert). Strong turbulence at low altitude and I wasn't really surprised when I heard the morning news about this incident.
This is the type of stories I absolutely love. I always keep on thinking about everybody that was around during these incidents, I can even remember myself telling my peers "don't worry, pilots know how to fly in these conditions" and I think about all the passengers who told themselves the same thing right before the plane hit the trees. I imagine some people getting home to their wives in your flight saying "that landing was an absolute nightmare, I'm surprised we made it", wife thinks he's probably exaggerating it, just to see the news that the literal next flight had an almost lethal incident. I'm imagining these things, but I do love stories. Thanks for sharing yours :)
I live on the 5- mile final path of the runway, but on the opposite side. That night was very memorable as the 6pm news had reported 100mph wind at just a few hundred feet. I said to my wife, " Glad I'm not landing at BDL tonight"
Those last few seconds were such a nightmare. The pilots were genuine flyers, each playing their role so excellently, and recovering from a situation that would have sunk many less CRM savvy and skilled crews. The first officer in particular got the gear down and made the right calls. Brilliant teamwork. All while being in blistering rain and turbulence. "God bless you, you made it" says it all.
I must be honest, a teardrop fell of my eyes when the FO called "god bless you we made it". What an incredible history, thanks Peter for sharing with us!
Yep, I think it’s a big deal that he believed in him and encouraged him rather than freak out and second guess. I’d imagine it takes a lot to focus on your job and supporting the other in their job without trying to do it too. I think that attitude made/makes a big difference.
@@missequestrian3448Yes! Absolutely. Or imagine him just…hanging out awkwardly being totally silent except when he needed to say something. That’s a hell no from me. If I’m in an oh shit, possible life or death situation, and my fave coworker is there next to me, hearing words of encouragement over those goddamn warnings would mean SO fucking much. Like, even if the worst happened and we did go down, my best work bud believed in my skills till the end, you know? And if we made it like these guys? I’d be hugging that fucker so tight, not knowing how to repay him for just…believing we’d make it. I’m so glad this one had a happy ending. Hell, I’m glad people thought the initial tree hits were turbulence! I bet it helped keep the panic turned down a tiny bit at first.
I loved that CRM and cockpit work by the flight crew specially the FO. Sometimes, a little encouragement and help goes a long, long way. But also how ingenious was the captain's idea with the flaps, even if to an extent, they played a role into this incident happening, I'd still gladly fly with a crew like them on my plane.
Tell me about it. That extending the flaps when they did gave the flight enough of a ‘bounce’ to get over the fencing, which prevented an actual crash. Gotta give credit where it is due!
There seemed to be some stuttering though when the FO was communicating. I would imagine that is due to the huge pressure in the situation? When I am overloaded I tend to lock up as well like an old computer experiencing a memory overflow. But aren't pilots trained for these situations that they should have everything mapped out so that these "moments" shouldn't happen?
@@viaportuensi even the most rigorously trained will have their moments - after all, no matter how realistic the training, you subconsciously know that you're safe. the stakes aren't real. you could botch everything and you'll still walk out of that cockpit, a mere simulator, without a scratch. the real thing is an entirely different situation, y'know? but even in spite of some stammering, they did the single most important thing a pilot can do in any situation: they landed the plane. not in one piece, not perfectly, but by the most important criteria - everyone surviving - they landed the dang thing. so, a bit of a vocal tremor and some uncertainty can honestly be expected from time to time, but getting the task at hand done is far more important than keeping a totally level voice, in the end.
Just another little tid-bit. As I said in another post, the MD-80 was towed to hangar on the field. About two days after the accident, an American DC-10 arrived from DFW with mechanics and parts; they swarmed that aircraft for a couple days and then it was flown back to Dallas at 10,000 ft, further repaired, and then returned to service.
Was a DC-8-70 F/0 flying into BDL on evenings when this incident happened. Drive n drive was how it was done, before CDA’s, VOR 15 was especially challenging due to the 8’s runway requirements and the terrain west of the airport. The ridge lines you mentioned on their approach is just West of the field. 38:17 Our ops specs were extremely limiting due to length of runway 15/33. At the time, I remember thinking, it was a miracle that they got this flight on the ground and no one died! Admiration to the skills of the pilots. Departures on RNY 33 required an immediate at 400 MSL RT turn to avoid that rigid line that they encountered. Thanks for your content!
I was 8 when this happened, and remember it. I live below the runway 6 approach, and remember they put lights atop the hill the plane grazed. Thank you for covering this one!
@@barbarawilcox182 Many things that seem obvious to us now are only obvious because of what has happened to make it common sense. Everyone probably just assumed that they weren't needed if the pilots followed procedure properly. Even thinking about how you used to be able to talk to the captain and co-pilot before 9/11 seems absurd now.
I’m a tv news photographer and was at the airport after the incident. Soaking wet passengers in their socks in the terminal. We got to go to the tarmac to see the plane and it looked like someone walked down the leading edge of the wings hitting them with a baseball bat. No doubt a few inches lower would have caused a crash. My favorite sound bite was someone upset that the pilots didn’t make an announcement after the impact inform them of the problem.
I’ve researched this one before. Very interesting how they cleared the fence by deploying the flaps at the last second, getting enough of a ‘bounce’, so to speak, to get over the fence without hitting it.
Regarding the change in flap setting, it's like the reverse of the Heathrow 777 crash. I guess its the difference between needing to extend the glide length, as opposed to gaining enough height to be safe. Great video, thanks.
Peter - I was a newly minted AA MD-83 Capt in 1997 1. Entirely accurate exquisite detailed narrative /debrief - AA MD80 Fleet Manager used this in new upgrade CRM 2. You are a WONDERFUL master storyteller besides teaching skills -this is a lost art Your timeline , great narrative skills had me on the edge of my retired seat You ALSO eloquently painted a accurate picture of how BUSY the MD80 AA non precision cockpit WAS (nightmare seems prehistoric now ) In 1997 AA was transitioning entire fleet we were limited to visual and non precision for 6 months NOTE : AA after this and the 757 Cali Columbia recognized NONE of AA pilots or fleet had integrated radio altimeter into scan which may have prevented both terrain isssues ALL AA fleets mandatory “RADIOMETER ALIVE “ call (it wakes up 2,500 feet AGL) The 767 was a dream - u finished last 8 years just LAX HAWAII 6x per month - no weather , light winds scattered showers ❤that was my airline pilot dream job SIA 747-400 Contract Capt another nightmare company and procedures 😂
This guy just explained high and low air pressure, and what it looks like on a forecast map, better than any science teacher I ever had!!! Actually visualising it like hills and valleys, and how the wind changes when the hills are steep… it finally makes sense!!!
That was, indeed, an amazing visual aid. The terrain maps also utilize a similar system of contour lines (lines that connect points of same altitude) that actually work in exactly the way described. So it makes this analogy for weather maps even stronger.
20:56: I like how the leftmost guy in the control tower has a coffee cup balanced on his wrist and he's looking at it like a watch. "What time is it son?" "It's exactly coffee o'clock sir!"
i think this might be one of my favorite stories just because it shows how redeemable absolutely devastating mistakes can be. one bad slip up can down an aircraft, but one good call can save it, too.
This is my local airport. I live about 30 miles away. I remember when this incident happened. It was all over the TV news channels for a few days, back when people actually watched the local news channels. There was a reporter who interviewed a person who went to where the plane first hit the trees so he could gather a tree branch as a memento of his brush with death. His praise of the pilots' actions was profuse with gratitude for their flying skills. Close shave!
As a mechanic (cars, not airplanes), I love the time you take to explain the technical and mechanical systems that come into play in these incidents. Thank you for making such interesting and high-quality videos.
I watch almost all the plane crash documentary's but mentor pilot is the only channel I've truly learned from. The way Peter explains anything from systems to now the weather is thorough and very well said
Not only is his information accurate but it's articulated to the common man. I am not a pilot and I don't even fly as a passenger On planes. these episodes I have learned quite a bit. For some reason I just can't seem to stop watching his channel.😊 Thank you
Nah... more like a Havarti or a Lacey Swiss. The holes are smaller, which saved many lives. Jarlsberg, and it would be all over, Jarlsberg being a cross between Gouda and Emmental (Swiss) cheese.
What I can’t understand is why so much important data crucial for safety still being calculated by the pilots?! Why don’t they use gps and radars for determining the height, for example?
Many years ago I was working a UAL flight DEN-LAX couldn’t pressurize out of 10k climbing out over the Rockies. It was a hot summer day using up all of the 12k foot 35L runway. He had to return and as he taxied in the orange LOC antennas were protruding from the bottom of the rear fuselage. It looked like a cooked lobster!
This episode shows the vast difference in mental capacity between pilots. The captain and the encouraging first-officer here have shown incredible cohesion which was probably one of the reasons they've made it. Great one to watch.
I work in the BDLR air cargo facilities where runway 15 happens to be. Seeing this video was so neat, and I spread the word of it to my coworkers at FedEx Express. Awesome job on this video!
My youngest child think it's macabre to listen to these case studies, but I find them some of the most inspirational things to listen to. And that's an overused word, but there's something we can all learn from people who work a problem and fight to the very end. Sometimes it's about how to work, or not work, with others, sometimes it's about letting go of your ego, and sometimes it's about listening to the voice beside you telling you that you've got this and you can do it.
The FO encouraging the captain is so amazing; it should be common place but thankfully these circumstances aren't common place. Im just glad everyone survived and had a heck of a story to tell!
danielyowiehoward8818 its a blessing that they worked well, with one another. Even though there errors during the flight, bad weather, having not been given a metrologicical update; they as a team were able to bring the craft to a safe landing; even though there was extensive damage to craft, it was repaired and continued flying for many years. Well done AA crew, no injuries other than the aircraft.
Maybe the deal was made before the news came out... making these videos got to take some time, and I can imagine that these types of deals are made way in advance... then scheduling videos and stuff like that...
@@DanielBeecham yes in all probability.. The balance between financial sponsorship and continuing to create great content with the overheads/costs that entails can be a difficult balance sometimes.. I think we all have "blurred boundaries" in certain situations.. Especially in the financial reward sector!! I know I have!!
@@DanielBeecham it's been over a year since the FTC settled with them and the criticism has been going on even longer. Usually RUclips sponsorships aren't done that far in advance.
The first officer's words and actions made me cry! This is a beautiful story of two heroes! Thank you for sharing! Two heroes who exemplify what it is to be a pilot! "We're still flying!" Wow!😢❤
I really hope those guys kept their jobs. Even though they made an error, keeping cool (when the trees hit the fan) is a trait every good airline needs.
Yeah, I just made a post about whether they should keep their jobs or be fired. I don’t know what ultimately happened. They did get everyone on the ground alive. But they did cause an almost fatal error. I’m undecided but leaning towards they should keep their jobs. The weather, lousy runway design with terrain right in front of the decent path, the tower wasn’t fully operational…a lot of holes in the Swiss cheese model lining up against them. But they did line up a couple of holes themselves. So a tough call really. Just glad everyone lived to talk about it.
Just an avgeek so take my words with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure pilots dont lose their jobs if they make mistakes, unless gross or intentional negligence is found
@@Wargasm54 I once heard a story from an apprentice working in some sort of large industrial factory. He had made a small but very costly mistake which ended up damaging a piece of million dollar equipment. He was terrified that he'd be fired but his manager just said "we spent a million (i don't remember how much it was just a lot of money) dollars training an employee who will never make this mistake again, why would we fire you?" Also, another story from an intern who accidentally deleted an entire database without backing it up by entering a slightly incorrect command. The entire team had to pull an archived copy and spend weeks fixing it. He also got the same explanation about not being fired.
@@stormix5755Read the same story in a book about IBM and a manager there. Either it is an urban legend attributed to lots of cases, or people in charge heard about it and used the phrase, when _their_ employees made such mistakes.
I am no pilot or even engineer and never ever thought of becoming one. But it's been 4 days since I your video for the first time Sir and until now only watching your channel. I know my words means nothing comparing to the value you're putting in society. But I must say that you're doing a remarkable job on youtube because if I can understand your videos it means anyone can. Salute to you Sir.
As a tower controller who used to work at BDL, admittedly not during the incident, this hits very close to home and was why I watched this episode. It was the first time I had watched an episode by Petter and they are all just absolute quality. Keep up the good work.
Mentour Pilot. That was a great build-up. I was sweating bullets as your description was just like being there. I was on a flight from Bangkok to Yangon. Part way out, we ran into engine problems. The pilot turned back to Bangkok. I noticed a spray coming out of the tip of the wing on my side of the aircraft. I looked over at the other wing, and it was doing the same thing. So, I realized it was controlled and was fuel being deliberately dumped. Then I heard this high-pitched whinning sound, which really shocked me until I realized it was due to the pump(s) struggling to pump out the last bit of fuel from the wings. We were flying very low over the jungle, but we came into the airport and landed with no problem. My legs were pumping faster than the pumps dumping the fuel, and took thirty minutes to stop after landing.
I'm very happy that the incident I've been eager to see it covered on this channel is finally been covered. I heard former NTSB investigator in Charge Bob Benson saying that as much as the crew made mistakes they showed great flying skills and averted a disaster and one of the investigators said something like "that was great flying if there's one" as they did everything right after hitting the trees.
A true story with maximum suspense until the very end, plus a good dose of first class education. It doesn't get any better than this. Thank you and all the best from Germany.
I was working at Bradley airport at that time with that incident happened. I came in the following morning to our hanger, which was business Express and saw the MD 80 sitting there in our hanger sideways with all the physical damage. They were very lucky after hitting those trees plane stay there for at least a week where they repaired it for flight back out, I thought I had some photos of it but it’s been a long time since that happened that I took great story Brian
@@wyskass861 exceptional because 1) they have to work through all of it in a matter of seconds when something happens, and 2) the consequences of not having or applying it correctly is probably more serious than most professions.
@@marilestrauss3908 True, but that's not "amount" of knowledge, but quick applications of well practiced procedures and consequences of wrong actions as you note. Not to take away from pilots as I am a private pilot myself, but it's not high intelligence or knowledge as much as disciplined recall of properly trained procedures and emotional control that matters most. Stay cool and execute what you practiced in emergencies. Majority of the pilot caused accidents, are pilotos losing their focus and doing the wrong thing when panicked. Task saturation is a killer, when the mind can forget to do the most basic tasks.
@@wyskass861- not to degrade your “non-pro” , as you are probably a professional in your own career - but knowledge , experience and judgement are critical in any field, especially when flying at hundreds of miles an hour. You should come and fly in the mountains of the Andes, with storms and controllers who barely speak English. You certainly do need a level of intellectually situational awareness and think way ahead , and be ready to make decisions when things go wrong.
@@byronjaffe518 Sure. I wasn't meaning to imply the opposite, but to just highlight that it's not the amount of knowledge that's exceptional in aviation, but training and recall of procedures under pressure. Being an aerospace engineer and expert on all aircraft systems, weather and such.. won't help if you can' react to situations by consistently recalling basic procedures and focusing on tasks without being overwhelmed. As you said, thinking way ahead is from repetitive practice and not being surprised and overwhelmed by situations. Yes, of course knowledge judgement and experience are important, but that's not the exceptional aspect of being a good aviator. I am an engineer and want to understand everything about a machine and process, but in my pilot training, that was often more a hindrance, as executing procedures consistently and without too much thinking was more important. The less you have to think about things, the more tasks you can handle, and have more overhead available for deviations and unusual situations. In many of these stories it's most definitely not lack of knowledge but not executing basics that lead to disasters by pilots. More mental automation through training is primary.
Simply amazing that, after a ride like that, this aircraft was able to be repaired and returned to service. It flew for about 22 years until being stored in 2017.
something that really helps me envision how quickly things happen, is when you say "the aircraft was now descending at about 1000ft per minute". When you consider the height they're at while coming into land, that is NOT a lot of time. In fact, it's less time than mentour pilot took to explain what they were doing at the moment.
Mentour Pilot, without a doubt the best aviation videos that go into serious details. Always warms my heart when you do MD80 videos Petter (8500 on that beautiful bird)…but any video from you is a MUST WATCH
what a huge amount to learn and remember just for Air Pressure! When you add all information and procedures from all the videos on this channel about all the possible problems with those lives on board.. I could never, ever be a Pilot. 😯
That was a nail-biter indeed! Great work from that pilot pairing. The mistake is forgivable given the workload and conditions. The recovery was heroic.
I saw there at KBDL the next day. We saw the photos of the damage. It was incredible! They were very lucky! The other thing that amazed me was, American Airlines managed to keep the incident out of the national headlines. This incident later became a training exercise on SOPs and error chain management in recurrent training. My brother-in-law is a Captain at AA. He never know about this incident, until I told him about it. Life can be strange.
Great video - I'm especially impressed with the pilots recovery from their error and their teamwork to get the plane down safely. True airmanship. Mistakes will always happen - it's what happens after mistakes that matters.
I have watched very many of these shows. I was sure that this flight had "bought the farm" when it struck the treetops. I was then absolutely certain when they did not have enough to make it to the runway. Then that little last minute 'trick' with the flaps saved the day. Mindblowing result! So happy!
I know this case a year ago from Air Crash Investigation also and when i watched it, i was surprised of how close they are to disaster. Even though the pilots made a mistake, CRM is still working until they made it to the runway without any engine power. Well done for those 2 pilots and Very good video, sir.👍
Every video I see from Mentour Pilot, I'm thinking to myself "I got to remember this, in case I want to become a pilot some day". Just seems like an absolute goldmine of information for pilots and pilot students
As a cyclist I've seen the effects of sudden pressure changes on calculated elevation. I once cycled through a violent thunderstorm on a summer day in Florida. My cycling computer's quick profile afterwards showed I had climbed and descended a couple thousand foot hill!
@@emilenossin5098 MEMS Barometers (micro-electromechanical systems) do not have to be that ancient, and many smart phones have them today, it is an easy way to determine altitude changes without using a lot of power.
Since you know pressure, can you please explain to me how their altimeters were wrong? At 22:21 in the video If the correct QNE 29.23 setting was put in the altimeters, why did the altimeters still show them above their true altitude? I still don't get how these work.
Despite the crew being the initial cause, that move with the flaps was frankly pretty brilliant. At least the crew knew how to think on their feet as a team!
No? One engine left and dying, second one completely dead. If they kept flaps to minimum and didn't extend the gear, they would maybe glide to landing with no problem.
@@jvaneck8991 You learn this hard way playing sims, i wonder what are most pilots doing in the simulators except for mandatory exercises. Half the time when i watch this, pilots focus on some trivial bs instead of flying the plane.
Amazing story as a non pilot I am so interested in your insightful and relevant descriptions.Its great to be able to get a peak on what goes on behind all these flights
God Bless You :) Just finished watching this one and I gotta say, it's another home run! Seriously, I've binged over 200 of your videos, and each one keeps me glued to the screen. Your production quality is always on point, and even as a casual viewer, I feel like I'm learning something new every time. Keep doing what you're doing, because you've definitely got a fan for life here. Can't wait to see what you come up with next!
I was living just a few miles from BDL at that time. It was indeed a dramatically stormy night. I remember being awake at that hour, watching the storm. Thank God they landed safely.
Lived fairly close to Bradley, went there all the time as a kid, I always wanted to get a good explanation of what happened during that incident. There are now 3 lights on the top of that mountain, I've heard it was due to this incident but never got the whole story. Glad everyone was ok!
Great story! You may want to let the animators know that nearly all North American major airports use jet bridges. I don’t think I’ve used stair/bus more than 5 times in the last 40 years.
This is unbelievable masterful piloting. The presence of mind required to make a split second decision to land when they had already decided to go around is astounding.
Amazing work my esteemed colleague ( referring to you Petter ) . Mistakes were made , but these guys saved the day, & thank God one controller came back , big help in the post-crash for sure. I actually felt quite emotional in the last few min of the video to see that my beloved profession has value / purpose beyond what any accountant could ever understand, and that good airmanship / CRM can overcome some REALLY big shit.
You have been blessed with many talents sir. Your channel is excellent and your accident analysis blows everything else (and I have seen a great many) out of the water. It is safe to assume that you are an exceptional pilot and a great asset to your company and your peers. Keep up the fantastic work and may you continue to be blessed.
Petter, you and your team are absolutely amazing and you personally is a fantastic narrator. I always take great pleasure in viewing your videos. Keep up the good work! ❤
I believe the main controversy with BetterHelp is with some RUclipsrs and/or influencers to fake or exaggerate their own mental problems in order to promote BetterHelp. Secondly the payment scheme is not very clear (entire fee at the start) and thirdly the opt out for the collection and selling of data. For an honest company, especially when it’s about sensitive data like your (mental) health, it shouldn’t be opt out, nor should it be opt in. They shouldn’t want to sell that data at all.
This is one of the most exciting episodes I've ever seen - I had no idea if they were going to make it and was cheering them on myself when listening. I almost cried knowing that this story was real and that their extremely good flying skills saved so many loved ones. They should be given awards.
Excellent debrief. I flew the aircraft after it was repaired. It flew a little bit off compared to the rest of the fleet. We called it the Hartford Chopper. The details line up with what I remember accept I did not know about the erroneous altimeter setting. AA stopped using QFE altimeter procedures and “dive and drive” approaches after this happened.
Great video as usual! If i could suggest showing the whole page of the accident report that is being quoted, instead of the skewed partial moving image that gets blurry at the edges, where we can only read the sentence being quoted. You used to show the whole page which made interesting reading if one paused the video, and while this new style kinda looks dynamic and flashy, it feels hollow when it is replacing useful info.
We always set our radar altimeter to the height desired for each segment, this gives us a backup alert if we were to decent to low for that segment of the approach.
If you have any questions about the brand relating to how the therapists are licensed, their privacy policy, or therapist compensation model, check out this FAQ: www.betterhelp.com/your-questions-answered/
They sell people's private data, why do you partner with them?
🫵🤡
Please choose better sponsors... You are way too smart of a guy to be getting the rug pulled over your eyes by scammers like "betterhelp"
I beg you to stop allowing this sponsor on your videos, you're way to good to be pushing that awful business.
Hi Petter, apologies for the somewhat off-topic request, but could you also feature the PA434 incident that happened in 1994? It's a ignificant moment in aviation history as it was related to the rise of international terrorism at the time, with the plan of attacking commercial airliners. Thanks!
I was the controller being relieved on that night in the TRACON. Our usual routine was to have a "late guy" who works alone from about 10 pm until midnight. That night was miserable, howling winds, sideways rain, multiple go-arounds and diverts. I recall thinking when I left the shift to the two "mid-shift" guys, that this is the type of nights accidents happen. Runway 15 at KBDL was a terrible runway to land on and the VOR approach wasn't much help to that runway; I have landed on that runway myself and I didn't like it. The next day, I went to the hangar where the airplane towed, and the aircraft was a mess! Every foot of both leading edges had damage and there was a tree limb sticking out of one of the engines. Both of the main landing gears had trees wrapped in them. I am surprised they made it to the runway. I forgot to mention they hit the RW 33 ILS antennas on the approach end and those parts were stuck to the aircraft. Quite a night, they even closed the tower due to the high winds.
Thanks for sharing, something like that can never leave your memory. Non-precision approaches like this were leftovers from the 50s' and really should have been scrutinized and ones like this with tricky terrain abandoned. It happened again with an Air Canada A320 at Halifax 7 years later in similar conditions. I was thinking that the altimeter confusion of 29.40 vs .47 was a common error I see. It's easy to confuse 7 and 0 on the radio and something I find myself catching on altimeter and transponder code readbacks. Pilots sometimes say they get too many altimeter updates (center, then approach then from tower), but in bad weather, it's a vital update.
Hey atleast everyone survived. It could have been much worse
Really lucky that they made it! Did they do anything about the approach after the incident?
@@tomriley5790 yea. All the recommendations
@@tomriley5790To my knowledge, no. AT BDL, RW 15 was almost never used; our calm wind runways were 24/33; only occasionally, and usually due to high winds, did we ever use RW 15. I've been retired for years so I am not up date on what might have been done since.
I am the owner of a car service centre . One of my mechanics failed to fasten a rear brake caliper proprerly on a customers vehicle . It came loose! Two day later the customer called from a town 500 km's away reporting that he had to stop at another workshop to sort out the problem . No one was hurt and no damage was done . My initial response was to give the mechanic a proper tongue lashing and final warning .Because of watching and learning from the mentour pilot ,I thought about it and approached the situation differently . I took into account that this mechanic has not had a mishap in two years and that he was working on two cars intermitantly . ....which was the actual root cause of the incident . We now have preventative measures in place .ps. I am thankful that we work on cars and not aircraft !
that's how its done! 👏 leadership not blame
Good job, the way you were able to apply a principle you learned here to a bad situation in your auto service business!
It is hardly ever the person who is to blame. But the process. Your people are privileged to have you as boss. I certainly would be.
Great going, you have done more for your business this way than by berating an employee
Good management and leadership WillNaude
The coolest part of these videos is seeing comments from people who were directly involved in some way.
Ditto,👍👍👍
Amazing isn't it and a privilege to read their own stories
I would be happy to see comments from people that read the NTSB report instead of watching a movie
These videos don't help my fear of flying lol
Agreed. It’s really nice for insiders to comment. It adds a human aspect.
The first officer seems like a great friend to have
Former military pilot providing air support til the end 😂
You know he is in the same aircraft as the Ca, right? They are in this together! What do you think he should have done?
@@user-kb8gh5jv9t He was in the same aircraft? Why didn't someone say? You should inform the NTSB of this crucial detail ASAP.
@@user-kb8gh5jv9t Sadly there are many cases where the first officer couldnt/didnt do much to save themselves...the First officer in this case was proactive and helpful till the end...
The kind who always encourages you :D
I was the county emergency dispatcher on duty that night. I was in the middle of our daily emergency tape back up. I was out of my computer system and running all manual logs during the back up. I got the call for the ambulance response. And had to manage about 20 ambulances responding to that request while also managing the regular volume of 911 calls for a suburban/metro area of about 200k people. Oh yes, I forgot. I was alone.
man that must've been a mess, you deserve a lot more credit just for the sheer effort you needed keeping the ambulances rolling that night
Crazy with weather and other calls
I was the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge of the government work on this one. Thank you for an extremely clear summary. Our final report criticized the pilots and also commended them for landing successfully. A bit of a rarity. I and the other pilots on my NTSB team wondered if we could have done as well as this AAL crew did in a similar situation.
As an aside, I was told that the AAL union pilots awarded the captain with a tree fragment from his landing gear well. I thought that was pretty cool.
ArE YOu LyInG? 😂 Seriously, thanks for the info. I love the tree story
yep, very cool, and appropriate..
I just watched the video of Senator Mark Warner delivering your accolades to congress from 13 years ago. Thank you for your extraordinary lifetime of service and keeping us all safe.
I think they are human beings and made a mistake. Compared to the 99% of pilots who start panicking and don’t remember what to do, this was a nice rarity. Any other crew the mistakes pile up and the left doesn’t know what the right is doing metaphorically speaking but here it was clear each knew instinctively what to do an
@@maryeckel9682 In my experience, if the user has their real name in their handle or a picture of themselves in their profile, those lend itself to being real.
I had posted elsewhere here but as a TRACON controller who was there that night, I just wanted to say that I listened to this with a very critical ear and you my friend get an A+ for accuracy, as well as the overall presentation! Thank you...
👍
mate, saw the drama in the replies to your other comment on this video. what you shared and your responses to various people were informative, interesting, and well-composed.
i would advise you to ignore the vast majority of people who go on to engage with you in the replies to this and other comments on youtube. such people are never satisfied and you cannot win. don't be disheartened or offended by them - it's much better to starve them of oxygen by completely ignoring them.
❤
The plane was safe no thanks to you. Dmbass
@@Nicolas-ol7jlI wasn't working when it crashed Dmbass!
I love that the first officer was helping without taking over - and starting a ‘fight for control’ - reasonable suggestions, questions and encouragement.
Yes that is a refreshing note anadotely. Realizing we are going back a number of years. Its a blessing that the cockpit crew worked together. Even though the only injury was the craft itself, surprizingly was fixed remained in service for many years.
Yeah, unlike one of the other videos in which the pilots were lazy, talking about other things and tried to force a landing rather than a go around - killing pretty much everyone on the plane. No teamwork at all when it was needed.
@@kay9549 One thign I learned int he army.... good teamwork can be the difference between life and death.,
Pricy logging style to be avoided.
I presume his positivity could have contributed to the capitan idea to extend flaps at the right time
one of the few stories that actually had me cheering. That idea of utilizing the flaps and ballooning to the runway was nothing short of genius. And that first officer providing emotional support during the final approach and landing... that's a perfect team.
I was an AA S80 CA at the time this occurred. I'm going to say with absolute certainty that the trap this crew fell into could happen to any crew on the wrong day at the wrong time. So it was eventually a great CRM class example that everyone learned from. Yes they made mistakes, but the conditions they faced and the rapidity of having to deal with several nonstandard issues put them behind the curve in the blink of an eye. I have seen a few situations where things just go all to hell that fast. Late at night, probably some fatigue setting in, crazy weather - they got loaded up pretty quickly. Once they hit the trees it was pure airmanship that got them to the lip of the overrun. That and about a million angels holding the plane up in the sky.
No one liked the old school method of dive-and-drive down to a non-precision MDA which was a procedural option at the time, but it's easy to imagine the desire to do so in this case because of being anxious to acquire the runway visually. Also, the altimeter QFE settings below 10,000' was unique to AA and it was weird using your standby altimeter as the primary altitude reference. Good riddance to that procedure shortly after this incident.
That approach to RWY 15 looks a bit intimidating even in clear weather with the high ridge line right below you. I can easily imagine drifting below the MDA because 1. using VOR to track a course was a very rare occurrence, and 2. the crosswind drift meant an expected automation aid was suddenly not available and the CA was literally flying by the seat of his pants and transitioning to hand-flying under mounting duress.
The picture in the hanger afterward was insane with that HUGE THICK branch sticking out of - I forget - either the wing leading edge or the engine intake. I was amazed it wasn't a hull loss.
I actually flew that plane a few times after it returned to service. It acquired a few nicknames - "Hartford Garden Weasel", "Hartford Weed Whacker", Hartford Wood Chipper", etc. At some point a creative Captain took a black magic marker, and on the left windshield pillar covered with that lovely blue-green foam, drew a vertical line about 6 inches high with 7 horizontal hash marks on it representing a scale gradation superimposed on the lower windshield corner view. At the bottom of the scale he wrote "Good trees" and at the top of the scale he wrote "Bad Trees". Pilot humor.
Loved reading this.
I too flew this aircraft after it returned to service and it definitely had an odd feeling to it. Hard to trim to fly straight!
@@shakey2634 Ha! And all that time I thought it was just me and my bad technique. 😜
Anytime there’s an elaborate description of anything that seems benign, I anxiously await to hear the words “Remember that” spoken with a slight nod and cryptic look in the eyes… when it happens, it’s like Christmas
'Now, younger honey locust trees have bipinnate leaves, and leaf out in early May at this latitude... remember that.'
Oh God Oh God it's Chekhov's Trees!
Yes! 😂
I’m always like “Hmm…idk why we needed to know what the pilot’s CHAIR is made of… 🤔”.
And then shit gets real 😳
"Why has Petter been describing how the toilet systems work for the past 5 minutes..." 'Remember that' "Youre kidding me..."
Or "keep that in mind" or "This will be imortant later".. Great stuff...
Hehe I agree - it’s funny how those quirks of delivery endear us to the storyteller and the story - I think it’s the aspects of repetition and echoing that draw us to series types of stories - like sitcoms of old or the RUclips equivalent with any story that has both dynamic and repetitive elements. The repetitive aspects excuse comfort listening even given the topic :)
A bird strike is bad enough for the engine. The whole nest and tree is another level.
Iirc they say Gagarin might have died to a bird colliding or about to collide with his plane. That info is old tho, I haven't checked any recent investigations in a while, maybe new elements have surfaced since. Edit The bird strike was an early theory, much more likely a friendly Su 15 accidentally descended so low and so close to Gagarin's MiG15 that the air flow turned the MiG around abd sent it spiraling down. The bird theory had been plausible until a more thorough investigation focused on the second plane.
Let’s call it a bird house strike then
😂😂😂
Haha 😆
These planes are built to hit trees, you know. Trees, telephone poles, low-income housing. All well within design limits.
I was a cabin crew member of a USair flight that landed just prior to the American. It was a nerve wracking approach - weather was terrible with many strong gusts, shifts and high potential for windshear. (I kept hoping the pilots would divert). Strong turbulence at low altitude and I wasn't really surprised when I heard the morning news about this incident.
Thank you very much for sharing your Experience!
This is the type of stories I absolutely love. I always keep on thinking about everybody that was around during these incidents, I can even remember myself telling my peers "don't worry, pilots know how to fly in these conditions" and I think about all the passengers who told themselves the same thing right before the plane hit the trees. I imagine some people getting home to their wives in your flight saying "that landing was an absolute nightmare, I'm surprised we made it", wife thinks he's probably exaggerating it, just to see the news that the literal next flight had an almost lethal incident. I'm imagining these things, but I do love stories. Thanks for sharing yours :)
I live on the 5- mile final path of the runway, but on the opposite side. That night was very memorable as the 6pm news had reported 100mph wind at just a few hundred feet. I said to my wife, " Glad I'm not landing at BDL tonight"
Those last few seconds were such a nightmare. The pilots were genuine flyers, each playing their role so excellently, and recovering from a situation that would have sunk many less CRM savvy and skilled crews. The first officer in particular got the gear down and made the right calls. Brilliant teamwork. All while being in blistering rain and turbulence. "God bless you, you made it" says it all.
❤
Bless the copilot for his praise and encouragement during maximum stress
I must be honest, a teardrop fell of my eyes when the FO called "god bless you we made it". What an incredible history, thanks Peter for sharing with us!
Yep, I think it’s a big deal that he believed in him and encouraged him rather than freak out and second guess. I’d imagine it takes a lot to focus on your job and supporting the other in their job without trying to do it too. I think that attitude made/makes a big difference.
God bless you, you made it. 37:17
@@missequestrian3448Yes! Absolutely. Or imagine him just…hanging out awkwardly being totally silent except when he needed to say something. That’s a hell no from me. If I’m in an oh shit, possible life or death situation, and my fave coworker is there next to me, hearing words of encouragement over those goddamn warnings would mean SO fucking much. Like, even if the worst happened and we did go down, my best work bud believed in my skills till the end, you know? And if we made it like these guys? I’d be hugging that fucker so tight, not knowing how to repay him for just…believing we’d make it.
I’m so glad this one had a happy ending. Hell, I’m glad people thought the initial tree hits were turbulence! I bet it helped keep the panic turned down a tiny bit at first.
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Hehe, same!
I love the ones with good airmanship and happy endings
❤
With happy endings comes good airmanship.
I loved that CRM and cockpit work by the flight crew specially the FO. Sometimes, a little encouragement and help goes a long, long way.
But also how ingenious was the captain's idea with the flaps, even if to an extent, they played a role into this incident happening, I'd still gladly fly with a crew like them on my plane.
Having someone believe in you can sometimes just make that little bit of difference.
Tell me about it. That extending the flaps when they did gave the flight enough of a ‘bounce’ to get over the fencing, which prevented an actual crash. Gotta give credit where it is due!
There seemed to be some stuttering though when the FO was communicating. I would imagine that is due to the huge pressure in the situation? When I am overloaded I tend to lock up as well like an old computer experiencing a memory overflow. But aren't pilots trained for these situations that they should have everything mapped out so that these "moments" shouldn't happen?
@@viaportuensi even the most rigorously trained will have their moments - after all, no matter how realistic the training, you subconsciously know that you're safe. the stakes aren't real. you could botch everything and you'll still walk out of that cockpit, a mere simulator, without a scratch. the real thing is an entirely different situation, y'know? but even in spite of some stammering, they did the single most important thing a pilot can do in any situation: they landed the plane. not in one piece, not perfectly, but by the most important criteria - everyone surviving - they landed the dang thing. so, a bit of a vocal tremor and some uncertainty can honestly be expected from time to time, but getting the task at hand done is far more important than keeping a totally level voice, in the end.
Neh, encouragement is not CRM. Calling out the height at the right time would have been.
Just another little tid-bit. As I said in another post, the MD-80 was towed to hangar on the field. About two days after the accident, an American DC-10 arrived from DFW with mechanics and parts; they swarmed that aircraft for a couple days and then it was flown back to Dallas at 10,000 ft, further repaired, and then returned to service.
Cool!
Was a DC-8-70 F/0 flying into BDL on evenings when this incident happened. Drive n drive was how it was done, before CDA’s, VOR 15 was especially challenging due to the 8’s runway requirements and the terrain west of the airport. The ridge lines you mentioned on their approach is just West of the field. 38:17 Our ops specs were extremely limiting due to length of runway 15/33. At the time, I remember thinking, it was a miracle that they got this flight on the ground and no one died! Admiration to the skills of the pilots. Departures on RNY 33 required an immediate at 400 MSL RT turn to avoid that rigid line that they encountered. Thanks for your content!
I was 8 when this happened, and remember it. I live below the runway 6 approach, and remember they put lights atop the hill the plane grazed. Thank you for covering this one!
It had no lights before???
@@barbarawilcox182 Many things that seem obvious to us now are only obvious because of what has happened to make it common sense. Everyone probably just assumed that they weren't needed if the pilots followed procedure properly.
Even thinking about how you used to be able to talk to the captain and co-pilot before 9/11 seems absurd now.
@@barbarawilcox182 No lights before this incident.
I’m a tv news photographer and was at the airport after the incident. Soaking wet passengers in their socks in the terminal. We got to go to the tarmac to see the plane and it looked like someone walked down the leading edge of the wings hitting them with a baseball bat. No doubt a few inches lower would have caused a crash. My favorite sound bite was someone upset that the pilots didn’t make an announcement after the impact inform them of the problem.
That's very funny. Some people really do have main-character syndrome.
I think that the flight crew might have been a bit too busy to think about making announcements at that time...
They probably would have freaked out and become a security risk 😂 not that cockpit didn't have better things to do right then
How stupid some people
Thank you very much for sharing your Experience!👍
I’ve researched this one before. Very interesting how they cleared the fence by deploying the flaps at the last second, getting enough of a ‘bounce’, so to speak, to get over the fence without hitting it.
what aircraft type is this ? interesting
McDonnell Douglas MD-83. An older aircraft
I learned about it through the play, Charlie Victor Romeo.
I actually research aviation accidents to see what is done to make aviation safer, so that is how I found out about this one a few years ago.
Regarding the change in flap setting, it's like the reverse of the Heathrow 777 crash. I guess its the difference between needing to extend the glide length, as opposed to gaining enough height to be safe. Great video, thanks.
Peter -
I was a newly minted AA MD-83 Capt in 1997
1. Entirely accurate exquisite detailed narrative /debrief -
AA MD80 Fleet Manager
used this in new upgrade CRM
2. You are a WONDERFUL master storyteller besides teaching skills -this is a lost art
Your timeline , great narrative skills had me on the edge of my retired seat
You ALSO eloquently painted a accurate picture of how BUSY the
MD80 AA non precision cockpit WAS (nightmare seems prehistoric now )
In 1997 AA was transitioning entire fleet
we were limited to visual and non precision for 6 months
NOTE : AA after this and the 757 Cali Columbia
recognized NONE of AA
pilots or fleet had integrated radio altimeter into scan which may have prevented both terrain
isssues
ALL AA fleets mandatory “RADIOMETER ALIVE “ call (it wakes up 2,500
feet AGL)
The 767 was a dream - u finished last 8 years just LAX HAWAII 6x per month - no weather , light winds scattered showers ❤that was my airline pilot dream job
SIA 747-400 Contract Capt another nightmare
company and procedures 😂
"And now things start happening very quickly."
When Petter says that... you know you're in for it!!
Correct. It is up there with Star Wars "I've got a bad feeling about this"
This guy just explained high and low air pressure, and what it looks like on a forecast map, better than any science teacher I ever had!!! Actually visualising it like hills and valleys, and how the wind changes when the hills are steep… it finally makes sense!!!
That was, indeed, an amazing visual aid. The terrain maps also utilize a similar system of contour lines (lines that connect points of same altitude) that actually work in exactly the way described. So it makes this analogy for weather maps even stronger.
Take some aviation weather courses if you’re interested in that stuff, they keep it pretty clear and concise, easy to understand.
Totally agree.
THIS GUY IS REALLY GOOD AT TEACHING.
Yes, indeed.
Totally agree!
20:56: I like how the leftmost guy in the control tower has a coffee cup balanced on his wrist and he's looking at it like a watch.
"What time is it son?"
"It's exactly coffee o'clock sir!"
“Excuse me, I happened to be passing, and I thought you might like some coffee”
What in the mid journey!
The CGI guy must have had an object misnamed or something. Like large coffee mug was instead called watch. 😅
The 4 female controllers in their fancy dress caught my eye...😜
@@JJStetsonthat's funny Jim never has a second cup of coffee at home 😂
i think this might be one of my favorite stories just because it shows how redeemable absolutely devastating mistakes can be. one bad slip up can down an aircraft, but one good call can save it, too.
This is my local airport. I live about 30 miles away. I remember when this incident happened. It was all over the TV news channels for a few days, back when people actually watched the local news channels. There was a reporter who interviewed a person who went to where the plane first hit the trees so he could gather a tree branch as a memento of his brush with death. His praise of the pilots' actions was profuse with gratitude for their flying skills. Close shave!
As a mechanic (cars, not airplanes), I love the time you take to explain the technical and mechanical systems that come into play in these incidents.
Thank you for making such interesting and high-quality videos.
I watch almost all the plane crash documentary's but mentor pilot is the only channel I've truly learned from. The way Peter explains anything from systems to now the weather is thorough and very well said
❤
Not only is his information accurate but it's articulated to the common man. I am not a pilot and I don't even fly as a passenger On planes. these episodes I have learned quite a bit. For some reason I just can't seem to stop watching his channel.😊 Thank you
One Swiss cheese slice away from a BBQ.
Nah... more like a Havarti or a Lacey Swiss. The holes are smaller, which saved many lives. Jarlsberg, and it would be all over, Jarlsberg being a cross between Gouda and Emmental (Swiss) cheese.
The swiss cheese model of pooping ones' pants.
What I can’t understand is why so much important data crucial for safety still being calculated by the pilots?!
Why don’t they use gps and radars for determining the height, for example?
@@llMarvelous well, it was 1995
@@keelanrose5706 it became available for aviation in 1994 technically, but you right of course
But aren’t they still doing the thing?
Living life as an ILS antenna is hazardous.😂
lol
so there I was, sending my radio waves, minding my own business, when this rude ass plane comes and hits me! unbelievable.
Or an aircraft engine being used as a wood chipper...
I'm waiting for someone to say "They're not alive, what are you talking about?" 😂😂😂
Many years ago I was working a UAL flight DEN-LAX couldn’t pressurize out of 10k climbing out over the Rockies. It was a hot summer day using up all of the 12k foot 35L runway. He had to return and as he taxied in the orange LOC antennas were protruding from the bottom of the rear fuselage. It looked like a cooked lobster!
This episode shows the vast difference in mental capacity between pilots. The captain and the encouraging first-officer here have shown incredible cohesion which was probably one of the reasons they've made it. Great one to watch.
I work in the BDLR air cargo facilities where runway 15 happens to be. Seeing this video was so neat, and I spread the word of it to my coworkers at FedEx Express. Awesome job on this video!
My youngest child think it's macabre to listen to these case studies, but I find them some of the most inspirational things to listen to. And that's an overused word, but there's something we can all learn from people who work a problem and fight to the very end. Sometimes it's about how to work, or not work, with others, sometimes it's about letting go of your ego, and sometimes it's about listening to the voice beside you telling you that you've got this and you can do it.
@imfree62 Fascinating thought! Could you guide me to some incidents where a bathroom break was a factor?
The FO encouraging the captain is so amazing; it should be common place but thankfully these circumstances aren't common place. Im just glad everyone survived and had a heck of a story to tell!
danielyowiehoward8818 its a blessing that they worked well, with one another. Even though there errors during the flight, bad weather, having not been given a metrologicical update; they as a team were able to bring the craft to a safe landing; even though there was extensive damage to craft, it was repaired and continued flying for many years. Well done AA crew, no injuries other than the aircraft.
PETTERHELP YES!
BETTERHELP NO!!!!
Apart from that... awesome breakdown and quality again MP.
Chapeau!!
Better Help NO. I can't respect anyone who shills for that crappy company.
That little questionnaire they ask you to fill out when you sign up, they sell that!
Maybe the deal was made before the news came out... making these videos got to take some time, and I can imagine that these types of deals are made way in advance... then scheduling videos and stuff like that...
@@DanielBeecham yes in all probability..
The balance between financial sponsorship and continuing to create great content with the overheads/costs that entails can be a difficult balance sometimes..
I think we all have "blurred boundaries" in certain situations..
Especially in the financial reward sector!!
I know I have!!
@@DanielBeecham it's been over a year since the FTC settled with them and the criticism has been going on even longer. Usually RUclips sponsorships aren't done that far in advance.
The first officer's words and actions made me cry! This is a beautiful story of two heroes! Thank you for sharing! Two heroes who exemplify what it is to be a pilot! "We're still flying!" Wow!😢❤
"God bless you. You made it".
Oh, I felt that one!
I really hope those guys kept their jobs. Even though they made an error, keeping cool (when the trees hit the fan) is a trait every good airline needs.
Yeah, I just made a post about whether they should keep their jobs or be fired. I don’t know what ultimately happened. They did get everyone on the ground alive. But they did cause an almost fatal error. I’m undecided but leaning towards they should keep their jobs. The weather, lousy runway design with terrain right in front of the decent path, the tower wasn’t fully operational…a lot of holes in the Swiss cheese model lining up against them. But they did line up a couple of holes themselves. So a tough call really. Just glad everyone lived to talk about it.
Just an avgeek so take my words with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure pilots dont lose their jobs if they make mistakes, unless gross or intentional negligence is found
@@Wargasm54 I once heard a story from an apprentice working in some sort of large industrial factory. He had made a small but very costly mistake which ended up damaging a piece of million dollar equipment. He was terrified that he'd be fired but his manager just said "we spent a million (i don't remember how much it was just a lot of money) dollars training an employee who will never make this mistake again, why would we fire you?"
Also, another story from an intern who accidentally deleted an entire database without backing it up by entering a slightly incorrect command. The entire team had to pull an archived copy and spend weeks fixing it. He also got the same explanation about not being fired.
Wow.
@@stormix5755Read the same story in a book about IBM and a manager there. Either it is an urban legend attributed to lots of cases, or people in charge heard about it and used the phrase, when _their_ employees made such mistakes.
Love Petter saying, "Things were not great,...... but they were about to get a LOT worse"
Best is "...now things start happening very quickly..."
And make sure you're sitting down when he says: "This is where things really started getting out of control."
It's like reading Checkov - but much accelerated.
And reading these quotes, in my mind I hear them in his voice.
I am no pilot or even engineer and never ever thought of becoming one. But it's been 4 days since I your video for the first time Sir and until now only watching your channel. I know my words means nothing comparing to the value you're putting in society. But I must say that you're doing a remarkable job on youtube because if I can understand your videos it means anyone can. Salute to you Sir.
❤
As a tower controller who used to work at BDL, admittedly not during the incident, this hits very close to home and was why I watched this episode. It was the first time I had watched an episode by Petter and they are all just absolute quality. Keep up the good work.
Mentour Pilot. That was a great build-up. I was sweating bullets as your description was just like being there. I was on a flight from Bangkok to Yangon. Part way out, we ran into engine problems. The pilot turned back to Bangkok. I noticed a spray coming out of the tip of the wing on my side of the aircraft. I looked over at the other wing, and it was doing the same thing. So, I realized it was controlled and was fuel being deliberately dumped. Then I heard this high-pitched whinning sound, which really shocked me until I realized it was due to the pump(s) struggling to pump out the last bit of fuel from the wings. We were flying very low over the jungle, but we came into the airport and landed with no problem. My legs were pumping faster than the pumps dumping the fuel, and took thirty minutes to stop after landing.
That last minute flaps deployment was amazing. Not sure I've ever been on the edge of my seat this much when watching one of your videos.
What an amazing skillset these two pilots have! God’s Blessings to them both indeed.
I'm very happy that the incident I've been eager to see it covered on this channel is finally been covered. I heard former NTSB investigator in Charge Bob Benson saying that as much as the crew made mistakes they showed great flying skills and averted a disaster and one of the investigators said something like "that was great flying if there's one" as they did everything right after hitting the trees.
Bob Benzon did even a Posting on this Comment Section hear! Really worth to read it!
Nice story, Petter. I love how this crew made it.
Total airmanship and professionalism!
A true story with maximum suspense until the very end, plus a good dose of first class education. It doesn't get any better than this. Thank you and all the best from Germany.
I was working at Bradley airport at that time with that incident happened. I came in the following morning to our hanger, which was business Express and saw the MD 80 sitting there in our hanger sideways with all the physical damage. They were very lucky after hitting those trees plane stay there for at least a week where they repaired it for flight back out, I thought I had some photos of it but it’s been a long time since that happened that I took great story Brian
Thank you very much for sharing your Experience!
Honestly I'm kinda amazed it wasn't a write-off. Flying into trees sounds like a very good way to do a lot of damage to an air frame.
I have some pictures too. In a box somewhere in my basement. Watching this made me think about where that box might be. Haven't looked in years.
This video was much better than the Mayday/Air Crash Investigation episode on American 1572
Thank you! We always try to outdo those guys 😂
Very good than all other stuff
😂😂@@MentourPilot
@@MentourPilot it's not very hard to outdo them, but you make it look like you have their budget on top of your own oftentimes!
@@cherriberri8373 have to agree they're not tough competition
The amount of information/knowledge pilots need to have and apply, is truly exceptional.
Not exceptional. Just like every other field, if not less, than many professions.
@@wyskass861 exceptional because 1) they have to work through all of it in a matter of seconds when something happens, and 2) the consequences of not having or applying it correctly is probably more serious than most professions.
@@marilestrauss3908 True, but that's not "amount" of knowledge, but quick applications of well practiced procedures and consequences of wrong actions as you note.
Not to take away from pilots as I am a private pilot myself, but it's not high intelligence or knowledge as much as disciplined recall of properly trained procedures and emotional control that matters most. Stay cool and execute what you practiced in emergencies. Majority of the pilot caused accidents, are pilotos losing their focus and doing the wrong thing when panicked. Task saturation is a killer, when the mind can forget to do the most basic tasks.
@@wyskass861- not to degrade your “non-pro” , as you are probably a professional in your own career - but knowledge , experience and judgement are critical in any field, especially when flying at hundreds of miles an hour. You should come and fly in the mountains of the Andes, with storms and controllers who barely speak English. You certainly do need a level of intellectually situational awareness and think way ahead , and be ready to make decisions when things go wrong.
@@byronjaffe518 Sure. I wasn't meaning to imply the opposite, but to just highlight that it's not the amount of knowledge that's exceptional in aviation, but training and recall of procedures under pressure. Being an aerospace engineer and expert on all aircraft systems, weather and such.. won't help if you can' react to situations by consistently recalling basic procedures and focusing on tasks without being overwhelmed. As you said, thinking way ahead is from repetitive practice and not being surprised and overwhelmed by situations. Yes, of course knowledge judgement and experience are important, but that's not the exceptional aspect of being a good aviator.
I am an engineer and want to understand everything about a machine and process, but in my pilot training, that was often more a hindrance, as executing procedures consistently and without too much thinking was more important. The less you have to think about things, the more tasks you can handle, and have more overhead available for deviations and unusual situations. In many of these stories it's most definitely not lack of knowledge but not executing basics that lead to disasters by pilots. More mental automation through training is primary.
Simply amazing that, after a ride like that, this aircraft was able to be repaired and returned to service. It flew for about 22 years until being stored in 2017.
something that really helps me envision how quickly things happen, is when you say "the aircraft was now descending at about 1000ft per minute". When you consider the height they're at while coming into land, that is NOT a lot of time. In fact, it's less time than mentour pilot took to explain what they were doing at the moment.
What an incredible sequence of events! That landing felt like a scene out of an action movie, heroic effort from both pilots.
Mentour Pilot, without a doubt the best aviation videos that go into serious details. Always warms my heart when you do MD80 videos Petter (8500 on that beautiful bird)…but any video from you is a MUST WATCH
❤
I see mentour pilot. I click. Simple life,
Same
100% concur 👌
It’s that simple really
True💯
Samesies
Encouragement, support, and good suggestions. What a copilot.
The graphics and animations in this video were exceptionally good, kudos to whoever makes them
what a huge amount to learn and remember just for Air Pressure! When you add all information and procedures from all the videos on this channel about all the possible problems with those lives on board.. I could never, ever be a Pilot. 😯
That was a nail-biter indeed! Great work from that pilot pairing. The mistake is forgivable given the workload and conditions. The recovery was heroic.
yeah.. its a blessing when you can learn the lessons but without the cost of life.
Mistakes like that are not forgivable. That's what they're paid the big bucks for.
@@leeoldershaw956 Pilots are not paid "big bucks," fool. Mistakes like that are forgivable.
@RideAcrossTheRiver They are paid "Big Bucks" and mistakes like this one usually are fatal so they are unforgivable. I was one.
@@leeoldershaw956 you sound like a mistake, yes
Aviation disasters AND lines on maps??? This Mentour and William Spaniel fan is a happy cat.
Awesome! Welcome
I miss Mentour dog, but I guess that's the price we pay for the increase in production values.
Oh yeah! I remember his puppers used to always be in his vids!
Hey Petter, how are your canine companions doing?
This line also works for Map Men fans
@@ivertranes2516 Both Patxi and Molly are great. They bark too much to be part of the production, now that we have moved to a studio 😂
Whoever does your editing and graphics is a master. Simply phenomenal!
I saw there at KBDL the next day. We saw the photos of the damage. It was incredible! They were very lucky!
The other thing that amazed me was, American Airlines managed to keep the incident out of the national headlines. This incident later became a training exercise on SOPs and error chain management in recurrent training.
My brother-in-law is a Captain at AA. He never know about this incident, until I told him about it.
Life can be strange.
I guess as long as nobody dies you can keep it pretty quiet. Plus it didn't look super flashy either.
Great video - I'm especially impressed with the pilots recovery from their error and their teamwork to get the plane down safely. True airmanship. Mistakes will always happen - it's what happens after mistakes that matters.
Green dot aviation yesterday and Mentor pilot today? What a weekend!!! Alls we need now is Disaster Breakdown tomorrow 🤣
the triad
If you're leaving out Pilot Debrief You're missing out.
Uh... I didn't know about disaster breakdown. Thanks mate!
@@pjaypender1009 huh, ngl I never heard of them, thanks dude!
This one would have been great with a special appearance from Weather Girl Chloe
I'm not a pilot but I really enjoy your videos and your experience is Top notch!! Hello from Houston Tx
Same.
I have watched very many of these shows. I was sure that this flight had "bought the farm" when it struck the treetops. I was then absolutely certain when they did not have enough to make it to the runway. Then that little last minute 'trick' with the flaps saved the day. Mindblowing result! So happy!
I feel so relieved these pilots were able to work together so well. FO kept things calm.
I know this case a year ago from Air Crash Investigation also and when i watched it, i was surprised of how close they are to disaster. Even though the pilots made a mistake, CRM is still working until they made it to the runway without any engine power. Well done for those 2 pilots and Very good video, sir.👍
Better explanation of VOR, QNH, QFE and Transition Level than most of the material I am currently studying. You have a knack for communication!
Every video I see from Mentour Pilot, I'm thinking to myself "I got to remember this, in case I want to become a pilot some day". Just seems like an absolute goldmine of information for pilots and pilot students
As a cyclist I've seen the effects of sudden pressure changes on calculated elevation. I once cycled through a violent thunderstorm on a summer day in Florida. My cycling computer's quick profile afterwards showed I had climbed and descended a couple thousand foot hill!
I never heard of a pressure altimeter for cycling, usually GPS. Must have been an ancient one?
@@emilenossin5098 MEMS Barometers (micro-electromechanical systems) do not have to be that ancient, and many smart phones have them today, it is an easy way to determine altitude changes without using a lot of power.
@@emilenossin5098 Garmin edge 520 I think, gps, but didn't automatically correct elevation. Approximately 2016, which is ancient times I suppose.
@@MichaelzehrI could see how for bike packing out of cell service, the baro would be better
Since you know pressure, can you please explain to me how their altimeters were wrong? At 22:21 in the video If the correct QNE 29.23 setting was put in the altimeters, why did the altimeters still show them above their true altitude? I still don't get how these work.
What a breathtaking episode, thank God both pilots worked well together and saved so many lives.
Close isobars and “you’re in for a bit of a ride”, brilliant description
Just when I thought I'd start studying... Mentour pulls me right back!
Sorry! 😂
Perfect quality, perfect length, perfect content, perfect narrator. Amazing.
Despite the crew being the initial cause, that move with the flaps was frankly pretty brilliant. At least the crew knew how to think on their feet as a team!
No? One engine left and dying, second one completely dead.
If they kept flaps to minimum and didn't extend the gear, they would maybe glide to landing with no problem.
@@robertkalinic335 Me, I would have kept the gear up until I was right at the numbers. Keep the machine clean and milk the glide.
@@jvaneck8991 You learn this hard way playing sims, i wonder what are most pilots doing in the simulators except for mandatory exercises.
Half the time when i watch this, pilots focus on some trivial bs instead of flying the plane.
Amazing story as a non pilot I am so interested in your insightful and relevant descriptions.Its great to be able to get a peak on what goes on behind all these flights
I loved the explanation of high and low pressure as "mountains and valleys" that cause winds.
Stealing that for my students!
Crew recovery was absolutely legendary!!!
God Bless You :) Just finished watching this one and I gotta say, it's another home run! Seriously, I've binged over 200 of your videos, and each one keeps me glued to the screen. Your production quality is always on point, and even as a casual viewer, I feel like I'm learning something new every time. Keep doing what you're doing, because you've definitely got a fan for life here. Can't wait to see what you come up with next!
Bravo to the pilot and copilot for keeping your cool 🌹
I was living just a few miles from BDL at that time. It was indeed a dramatically stormy night. I remember being awake at that hour, watching the storm. Thank God they landed safely.
Lived fairly close to Bradley, went there all the time as a kid, I always wanted to get a good explanation of what happened during that incident. There are now 3 lights on the top of that mountain, I've heard it was due to this incident but never got the whole story. Glad everyone was ok!
Great story!
You may want to let the animators know that nearly all North American major airports use jet bridges. I don’t think I’ve used stair/bus more than 5 times in the last 40 years.
Last moments before landing were just like in movie where they disarm bomb with 00:01 on clock.
This is unbelievable masterful piloting. The presence of mind required to make a split second decision to land when they had already decided to go around is astounding.
Amazing work my esteemed colleague ( referring to you Petter ) . Mistakes were made , but these guys saved the day, & thank God one controller came back , big help in the post-crash for sure.
I actually felt quite emotional in the last few min of the video to see that my beloved profession has value / purpose beyond what any accountant could ever understand, and that good airmanship / CRM can overcome some REALLY big shit.
You have been blessed with many talents sir. Your channel is excellent and your accident analysis blows everything else (and I have seen a great many) out of the water. It is safe to assume that you are an exceptional pilot and a great asset to your company and your peers. Keep up the fantastic work and may you continue to be blessed.
I was literally at the edge of my seat that last couple of minutes.
Petter, you and your team are absolutely amazing and you personally is a fantastic narrator. I always take great pleasure in viewing your videos. Keep up the good work! ❤
I'm disappointed you're continuing to associate with Better Help, even after they have been caught lying about selling customer data
REALLY ??!!! that's a very serious issue !
everyone does it
@@MrUranium238Oh so because everyone else does it that makes it ok?
I believe the main controversy with BetterHelp is with some RUclipsrs and/or influencers to fake or exaggerate their own mental problems in order to promote BetterHelp. Secondly the payment scheme is not very clear (entire fee at the start) and thirdly the opt out for the collection and selling of data. For an honest company, especially when it’s about sensitive data like your (mental) health, it shouldn’t be opt out, nor should it be opt in. They shouldn’t want to sell that data at all.
@@masso392yes
This is one of the most exciting episodes I've ever seen - I had no idea if they were going to make it and was cheering them on myself when listening. I almost cried knowing that this story was real and that their extremely good flying skills saved so many loved ones. They should be given awards.
Excellent debrief. I flew the aircraft after it was repaired. It flew a little bit off compared to the rest of the fleet. We called it the Hartford Chopper.
The details line up with what I remember accept I did not know about the erroneous altimeter setting. AA stopped using QFE altimeter procedures and “dive and drive” approaches after this happened.
Wow. The explanation of pressure was awesome. Thank you
Great video as usual!
If i could suggest showing the whole page of the accident report that is being quoted, instead of the skewed partial moving image that gets blurry at the edges, where we can only read the sentence being quoted.
You used to show the whole page which made interesting reading if one paused the video, and while this new style kinda looks dynamic and flashy, it feels hollow when it is replacing useful info.
We always set our radar altimeter to the height desired for each segment, this gives us a backup alert if we were to decent to low for that segment of the approach.
I truly appreciate the crm and encouragement the pilot monitoring gave. Those thoughtful words helped save lives.