*KUDOS to the Astana pilots, the fighters and the ATC. All together and working as one made it a successful landing.* Watch Part 1 here --> ruclips.net/video/kIc8Rr-cKd8/видео.html Credit to Rui Cambraia for the footage at the end! Obrigado!
VASAviation - So pround of my country awesome work of ATC and Air Force who saved these people lives! It was a bit disturbing on how disoriented with no instruments and limited control aircraft on their hands. Thank you for your videos and all the work you put in! Do you sleep at all? 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
On this link there is a news report of the incident with the actual landing through F16 surveillance camera. www.publico.pt/2018/11/12/video/imagens-f16-forca-aerea-aterragem-emergencia-beja-20181112-120548
@@catlover4971 I think the ATC lady was trying to sound calm, even though she was obviously aware from very early on that the pilot was unable to comply with any heading & altitude indications. After several attempts at guiding them (she must have obviously been under enormous stress, too, but it didn't show in her voice...) she handed over communications, probably to her senior. She did the best she could, given that the only request (at the time...) was to ditch at sea.
One thing I appreciate as a pilot is how the F-16 pilots gave the Astana pilots all the info for the approach to Baja that they would need. They saved the Astana pilots the extra workload and distraction of having to look up and brief the approach plates.
What a crazy story. You can hear how the pilots become disoriented and physically exhausted from the intense forces exerted on their bodies. Truly insane. Great job by everyone involved.
@@johngriffis9655 yeah. they got heading 220 all the time in the previous video but always managed to just circle around their position instead of just going 220
Their exhaustion was palpable. I need to take a rest after this one. I wonder what their actual flightpath looked like, and what the nature of their control problem was. (Pilots, let this be a lesson in the importance of good cardiovascular fitness!)
@@beenaplumber8379 I know its been a while, but I thought I'd let you know some more info. The problem was incorrectly installed aileron cables that caused an inversion of controls for part of the system. The spoilers, which also are on the same controls were not inverted though, so figuratively just steering left to go right didn't work. They ended up switching to manual controls, where the computer does less adjustments, which made the plane a bit more controllable. Regarding the flight path: I read that at times the plane flipped over and went into steep dives. This uncontrollability coupled with the clouds really explains the crazy path they flew. Glad they made it down safely.
OK for all persons who keep asking. "Why do they keep asking for directions and vectoring to the sea" if you see the map the jet was going around and around and up and down like a phugoid cycle. With no visibility the pilots had no idea what the jet was doing and likely assumed that everything was faulty and since they were going in circles that magnetic and instrument compass's were spinning also and really messing with their heads. Add to this the stress of not knowing whats happening, wanting not kill them or people on the ground, pulling on the controls for hours to keep alive and then seemingly everytime they went to confirm direction to the sea they were told something different and couldnt figure out why. Dam hard enough with a straight head in a simulator try it with uber stress, poor english v Portuguese accents and screw it all, just keep asking until you get there, great job guys, amazing work everyone.,
Nice description... do you think the captain became (I cant remember what the term is)... disoriented? Its a real psychological issue of zoning out... is it spacial disorientation?
I'm completely agree with you. The first save people on the board, and on the ground. if you evaluate very small possibility to save people on the board try to save the people on the ground. They proposed immediatelly to land on the sea because they understood all risks for people on the ground. The idiots should be silent!!!
They asked if they can reach the sea going eastbound. They seemed to have no understanding of where in the world they were (sea east of Portugal?). Really poor English, absolute panic, with all understanding for the situation I hope to never have to fly with pilots that poorly educated.
@@janschwenzien885 I'd like to see you do better. They have zero visibility and can barely keep the aircraft under control. They have no idea where they are. Their instruments are fucked and they cant trust them, so they keep checking with ATC to see where they are. Would you have preferred it if they just said fuck it and tried to land on the river but most likely would have missed it and killed a lot of people? Think before you speak Jan.
Moral of the story... Check things properly and respect proceedures. Accident report: www.gpiaa.gov.pt/wwwbase/wwwinclude/ficheiro.aspx?tipo=0&id=10652&ambiente=WebSiteMenu
Never give up?? These guys were ready to ditch it in the sea out the gate. How tf don't you know your general position relative to the coastline? How many times did they need this repeated? Their workload was high, I get that, but they're pilots. This is what you train for.
@@tpain5402 All a little too easy to say from the comfort of an armchair. Priority 1) Control the aircraft The ocean offered them an infinitely wide runway for an aircraft in which they only had predictable pitch control.... The ocean was a very good choice. They had so little control, they could not maintain a heading without losing what little control they had (I read that at one point they where 90 degrees nose down) Once they re-learned how to fly, they had options and cognitive capacity for "your" secondary considerations.
Just watched Mentor Pilot's video. He breaks it down so you really understand exactly what happened in this incident and just how truly terrifying that must have been and how amazing those pilots are. Great job to all involved! ❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️
Yes I watched Mentour Pilot first. Listening to this I am totally amazed at how coherent the voice was on the radio. And truly amazing aviators to work that out, and keep that plane in the air during the crazy rolls. The ATC and Fighter pilots were brilliant too.
It’s really painful to watch how the plane constantly turns in circles and the pilot is relentlessly trying to get vectors for the sea failing constantly. That must have been a really scary and stressful situation... glad they made it out! Great job!
Every time he had to ask was cuz the plane suddenly flipped over and did a multi thousand foot diving barrel roll until they were able to regain attitude and height again. All in 0 visibility clouds with no way to orient yourself and being thrown around around with forces regularly exceeding 4gs. No wonder the poor pilots had to try and figure out which direction to turn. Insanity.
Reversed aileron is one of the worst control failures possible. Keeping that thing flying more than an hour with that problem, plus 3 go-arounds, then safe landing is just an amazing demonstration of pilots using everything available to deal with what would normally be fatal within seconds of the wheels leaving the ground.
Rudder reversal was fatal to two 737 crews due to the altitude it occured so this crew did a great job. The muscle memory must have made the landing real trickey with the knowledge getting it wrong was certain death, hence thr go arrounds.
@@danielbastidas5607 - You turn left, plane banks right. You turn right, plane banks left. Ailerons control the "roll" axis of the plane, rudder yaw, and elevators pitch.
@@danielbastidas5607 Imagine reversing the directions on your steering wheel without you knowing it. Now imagine, that the first time you need to touch it is at 130 km/h on the freeway with no way of stopping your car :(
This was terrifying! I want to give the pilots (and the airforce commander) a hug. I almost cried when they finally agreed to follow the fighter jet to the airport, rather than ditching in the sea. So happy they landed safely. Hope there is a TV episode coming soon.
Yeah. I was just wondering why these things make us so emotional and the answer seems to be that we're sort of there, with the crew, and you experience a great deal of what they go through, particularly when you hear their voices, ATCs too, plus how they add the "Sir" at the end to convey so much in critical moments. (This also was fantastic team work, on board, ATC and the F16. Great teamwork is so wonderful it can make a person emotional too.)
Legend says, they're still asking for a heading towards the sea. No, seriously: GREAT JOB and my BIGGEST RESPECT to pilots and ATC, must have been such a scary and stressful situation and hearing the "bank angle" sounds in the backround does not make it any better...imagine being in their situation, facing death but still managing to stay more or less calm and putting that thing on the ground in one piece!
@@empty_seat That means the aircraft is rolled over greater than a threshold at which the plane gives an audible warning to the pilot. Not a normal situation for an airliner.
According to info we now have, the best way to imagine this is like driving your car, you turn left with the wheel, but the car goes right. Further left you turn, the more the car goes to the right.
This one really got to me. Those guys were getting ready to die and they didn't want anyone else to get hurt. I hope at the very least someone punched that maintenance tech on the nose.
@@nataliyaanatolievnaakinina2740 Yeah, they pretty much did. Managing a succesfull ditching with a fully controllable plane is a miracle in itself and requires calm waters (see US Airways 1549) To make that decision in a plane with fucked controls and do it in the ocean is pretty much the captain saying "at least nobody on the ground has to die with us"
I'm an A&P Mechanic & we have seen some real crap come back after heavy maintenance checks. People need to understand how important it is to have real professional qualified certified mechanics doing the work. There's been a tendency for companies to send their aircraft to places that are cheep. They are staffed by helpers & a few certified mechanics to oversee the work. Well, this is what can happen. They got lucky! Peoples lives are at risk. But it ok...the plane is insured...& the people on board the aircraft...
@@okramw1 The only problem with your assessment is that Air Astana went to the Embraer Maintenance facilities at Alverca, where there are plenty of certified and qualified mechanics and technicians. Actually, they bought the OGMA, which was and still is a portuguese defense contractor and where F16's from various countries get their maintenance done. Just because Portugal can be a cheap country for foreigners doesn't mean we have facilities that drop the ball. Some fact checking would be awsome next time.
Wow theyre ready for their death sentence and you could hear the heavy breaths from the pilot. It must have been a tough battle on that deck. Kudos for figuring out the controls and for not giving up. Glad you all made it safe. Great job for everyone involved.
This is the most insane recording I’ve ever heard. The graph looks like a one year old child on an Etch-A-Sketch, for heavens sake. Such focus and supreme intensity of all those digging to previously unaccessed depths of their knowledge and calm fortitude in a concerted effort to save lives. Wow. Thank God for the way he made the human mind.
@@B3Band only you can answer that… No, you think you have the answer already. So, leave with your own answer and stop trolling the internet and get a life. :_)
I loved the Air Astana account of the incident: - “Embraer 190, callsign KС 1388, conducted a ferry flight from the Lisbon Aviation Technical Centre when, due to technical reasons the crew decided to perform an unplanned landing."
Before they regained some semblance of control and thought they'd have to ditch, that pilot was audibly gasping for air. I can't imagine the stress. Well done and I'm so glad they're allright. Those F16s were being so helpful.
I read the plane was so uncontrolable, it dived more than once and they expericenced +5Gs multiple times. Wasn't just stress, it was mostly exaustion from trying to save the plane from crashing uncontrolably to the ground all the time...
@@Wriwnas1 The trick to them finally managing to regain some semblance of control was to make only light adjustments. Essentially, their ailerons were reversed due to the cables being attached wrong (but a separate system that also affects roll was functional; that system only activated after some point). Fighting against all those Gs for two hours would exhaust anyone.
He was likely gasping from the g-forces they were pulling (4-5 g during the first part of the flight) - it's the same forced breathing you hear in videos of jet fighters going through high-g maneuvers.
Guys, I am LITERALLY in my sofa, IN PYJAMAS and I was completely stressed out just listening to those poor fellas totally confused, not knowing where their heading was. Geez, I need to calm down now, I cannot even begin to comprehend the skill and dedication from that flight crew! Amazing work well done! ATC was stellar and the fighter pilots really helped save the day! I raise my cup of hot cocoa for everyone involved. I wonder if there is a way to deliver my appreciation to the people directly. If anyone reading this know anyone in this incident: please tell them good job, well done, beers are on me if you come to Sweden!!
Mentour Pilot channel does a very good job explaining what went wrong. During a major maintenance, the cabling to the ailerons - that turn the aircraft left and right (banking) were reversed. If that's not bad enough, the spoilers which activate as well during a turn, were doing their normal movement. Reversed ailerons as the only problem is controllable once the crew figure out that is what is happening. However with the spoilers doing the exact opposite to the ailerons, no matter what the crew do with the ailerons, makes the aircraft virtually uncontrollable. They figured out there was a bit of a 'dead zone' in spoiler deployment at the very start of each aileron bank, where the spoilers did not deploy yet. If it was not for the crew discovering this the aircraft would have had no hope at all of being brought somewhat under control. All in all a very harrowing experience for all concerned. Extremely amazing skill of the crew. The maintenance dept said after the event that they had trouble understanding the directions on the repair manual, BUT they did not check the performance of the work (maybe due to time pressure as they were running very late to deliver the plane back due to the repair complications) The pilots also should have noticed during pre-flight checks that the ailerons were reversed, but somehow did not, perhaps due also to time constraints and extremely poor weather on departure.
The F-16 in the Portuguese Air Force always have agressive, hyperbolic call signs, like BULLET, BASHER, HAMMER, CANNON, DEVIL... I myself controlled them several times, usually when they returned from the gun range to Monte Real AFB. They flew so fast you barely had time to coordinate them with the next sector! Aircrew were always terrific people.
I knew about this incident, but hearing the ATC really makes me feel the despair, stress and fear the crew was going through. Kudos to everyone involved.
I once flew an aircraft after a major check. The engineers had miss rigged the elevator and so we nearly had a tail strike on take off. On landing we were so nose down I could see parts of the approach I didn’t usually see. Thankfully we landed safely. Aircraft can sometimes come out the hangar in a worse state than they went in. These guys did well. Must have been rather scary at first.
I know someone who flew with the elevators disconnected after maintenance. Fortunately it was a high lift wing, he was experienced, and kept a cool head. He landed by varying the engine power. I cannot recall how it was not picked up before flight as the controls would have been checked, perhaps it became disconnected after the check.
It is unimaginable that these controls have not been idiot proofed by now. There are connectors for your radio in your car that cant be installed incorrectly. And we have jumbo airliners that can have their control surfaces inverted ?! UNACCEPTABLE.
I’ve come here after watching the Mentour video and I have to say that this is the best bit of airmanship I have ever heard of. Incredible! The reversing of the ailerons in itself is not too bad, but with the spoilers working correctly and fighting the ailerons just caused mayhem! Once they disabled the spoilers - bingo! Flying for that length of time uncontrolled OMG they have balls of steel! Brilliant! And finally a big shout out to the fighter pilot who I thought might just get in the way but was super helpful.
What a sobering reminder to all in the aviation industry, of how something so routine like a standard flight turn into one of the scariest days of your life. Excellent work by the pilots, ATC and probably many more not mentioned in the video that were no doubt behind the scenes working to get those few lives safely on the ground.
Wow, just wow. I will remember that the next time I go into a McDonald's, recognizing the skill demonstrated there and how well-trained and qualified they are to deal with those situations.
*Mike Fuquay,* You make a good point, at least pilots are trained to deal with emergencies. McDonald's personnel (generally) isn't. But I think I didn't really get my point across. Yes, things can go wrong at any time and just a scare would be the best outcome, but any number of dangerous, scary things can happen to anyone at any moment. That's not a useful reminder, it's just a fact of life.
I really have no words for what I just saw. Their courage and resilience is commendable. ATC and Portuguese AF, also off the scale. Thank you very much for the video!
I remember watching this on Flightradar24 as it was happening. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Along with the ridiculous out-of-control turns, their altitude at times dropped down as low as 300 feet. As I watched it and visualised what that plane was doing I couldn’t help but imagine the horror that the people onboard must be experiencing. Personally I know I’d be squealing like a sunburnt pig!!! And yet after having watched these two two excellent videos with audio, I am totally amazed at how calm everyone was. Hats off to all involved: the crew, their engineers, ATC and the Portuguese Air Force. Amazing rescue that I have no doubt will go down in aviation history. Respect.
The pilot must have been incredibly happy to regain control of the aircraft. He was desperate when he asked to ditch to the sea. Hope they're doing well now 😅
I've read somewhere, that the passenges were only 3 mechanics. When the 3rd pilot went back to get some water for the captain and FO, they told him that the maintenance included replacing cables to the ailerons. That's when they figured that they got reversed controls and regained some control (turn left to turn right and vice versa). So yeah, the relief was felt and heard on the radio
@@panda4247 Not all flaps were reversed though, which makes it even worse. It would be easier if it was a full on flip of controls but both sides of the plane apparently were doing opposing things too making turning left or right near impossible. They could only steer if they BARELY turned. Turning just a little too much caused the whole thing to go haywire.
“The data collected during the initial investigation phase included a detailed examination of the aircraft flight controls and an incorrect ailerons control cable system installation was confirmed on both semiwings.” The Air Traffic Accident Prevention and Investigation Office (GPIAAF) released a report on Friday the 31st of May that highlights faults in the maintenance of the E190 operated by Air Astana, which in November 2018, flew uncontrollably over Lisbon. The Air Astana Embraer E190 involved had undergone a scheduled C-Check inspection at the OGMA facility at Alverca before its departure for Almaty, with a refueling stop-over at Minsk, on 11 November last year. Immediately after take-off, with adverse meteorological conditions, the crew noticed the aircraft was not responding adequately to control inputs and declared an emergency. On board, there were three pilots (a captain and two co-pilots) and three technicians from the operator. The preliminary report highlights investigators identified aileron cables that had been incorrectly rigged before a ferry flight, during which the pilots experienced the severe in-flight control problems
They were prepared to ditch rather than endanger others... heroes in my books... bless them & I thank God & the controllers/F16s for their safe return. The world needs people like that in it... 🤗🤗🤗
Yes i also was wondering about the repeated question about the direction to the sea but i was looking at a map in my chair at home with a cup of coffee in my hand and not fighting over what seems to be a hour for my live and that of 10 others. My respect to the pilots, ATC and the Portuguese Air Force pilots to solve this situation safely.
Probably a form of tunnel vision caused by stress. They didn't realize that when the sea is west of you, it doesn't matter what direction you fly in next, it will still be west of you. The sea doesn't just move across the earth. But added to the stress was also incorrect flight instruments and bad weather, which meant they had no idea what was happening. All in all they did great to land safely, but sitting behind a desk with their flight path on screen it is frustrating to listen to :p
@@hkr667 Remember they were struggling with the controls, so they probably asked for their heading each time after fighting the plane. Although I wonder if they didnt believe their compass. Its a good thing they didnt actually reach the water, they didnt have to ditch!
I know they were struggling, but the sea is to the west and west is west and the heading is 270. I kept thinking they don't really need to know the heading to go west, they probably need to be told what heading they're on, or maybe they just wanted to remain in contact with ATC and those requests were just perfunctory for that purpose.
Seemed to me the crew were trying to get ATC to actively guide them moment-by-moment to a suitable ditching location, but ATC never really understood that and simply responded to the crew’s requests by issuing one-off headings to fly. I can imagine those instructions weren’t all that helpful to a crew with massive control/instrumentation problems, yet the crew kept accepting the headings instead of saying unable and explaining what they actually needed. (I don’t necessarily fault the crew for that. They were under tremendous stress. Just a matter-of-fact observation.) Perhaps that allowed ATC to think the crew were only lost rather than unable to maintain a heading. And what seems to us like verbal ping-pong (indicating a problem needing attention) probably didn’t appear that way in real time with all the other unrelated communications going on in between. All said, I’m glad the crew were able to bring their airplane down safely and everyone is fine/recovering (as far as I know). 😁
What a nightmare... at some points I got the feeling the crew had nearly given up hope when they requested vectors to the sea. I nearly started crying 😢 I'm so glad they made it safely to the ground. Kudos to all people involved!
Massive respect to the pilots of this Air Astana flight, requesting to ditch into the sea. I think the ATC seemed reluctant at first to believe that was the pilots' request. Now, excuse me, I need to lie down...
As good as this episode was; the audio doesn't do the situation justice: the aviation safety report goes on further to clarify what has happening to the 6 people on board. Imagine fighting inversion in a PASSENGER JET because some genius in the ground literally got the cabling crossed regarding ailerons. They definitely needed outside guidance/nav, because that crew was stuck on AVIATE, navigate, communicate. The diagram of damage once they got on the ground: ALL the control surfaces of that aircraft was trashed during the flight, little bit longer, and the wings could've sheared mid-chord, the stabilizer was redlined, and the rear fuselage got beat up too. I love the production values of your videos; maybe for the crazier episodes like this one, you can also check out the aviation safety evals to pull some more graphics for our eyeballs to visualize the madness that went on above.
Outstanding job by all concerned. Pilot was exhausted by the time it was over, Great job scrambling the F-16s to help. And as always, huge thank you to VASAviation.
You can hear how taxing that battle was to keep that bird aloft in the pilots voice. I could only imagine how much it takes physically let alone emotionally to just try to figure out the problem at the same time trying to fight with the controls to keep it from falling uncontrollably. Awesome work. Training, skill and determination pays off
Wow.. I didn’t know ahead of time how this was going to turn out. So afraid they were either going to have to ditch in the sea, run out of fuel or attempt to land and not be able to control the landing. I’m sure these pilots were exhausted but they held it together and landed safely. Incredible. And the ATC and military pilot were so calm.
These guys were amazing! and honestly what happened here should show just how strong airplanes are, and how skilled the pilots are - you can even survive out of such incredibly horrible circumstances. Well done!
These pilots are freaking amazing. Dealing with a f d up aircraft like this is amazing. Them wanting to ditch is also fn amazing. This is simply gut wrenching but incredible thanks to 3 amazing pilots.
I remember watching this plane's multi-part fight for landing years ago. I always thought the went down. I never truly understood what was going on. The whole thing was so confusing. But after watching Mentour Pilot's break down of this flight, I have been in a state of shock. The pilots showed amazing skill, fortitude, and never gave up. I am amazed they actually got enough control back to land safely, with just one minor injury. The mechanical problems they had to deal with were atrocious.
They did the most important thing and that was keeping this plane from the ground. You can tell they were all occupied by trying to get some controls back. That plane did make some scary movements and I am sure the people on board have seen their lives ending multiple times that flight. So no need for us telling them what they should have done, they did everything they could. Good job by all!
Yes, the Captain's voice in the 1st video shows how stressed and fearful he was. Actually, he had to receive medical treatment as well as another member of the crew.
Падажжи а чё ж т Португалии сказал сказал это, подсосу пиндосии? Или всё, это не подсосы пиндосии, а суверенная СВБОДНАЯ стран, которая не скатывается до уровня северной кореи?
I'm proud of Air Astana crew! Great job by professionals! Thanks to Portuguese specialists that helping to save our crew, our aircraft! It seems to be the best ending of this terrible situation.
If you know anyone involved in this incident, I am so so amazed at the pilots performance: I am sitting IN MY SOFA dressed in PYJAMAS and I was completely stressed out!! All beers are on me if anyone involved visits Sweden!
When an pilot asks to ditch , it means he reached two options between death or drowning , even ditching requires a controllable airplane or it will flip and break into pieces and they will die , I felt like throwing up because uncontrollable flight is way more severe from a fire onboard , atleast with a fire you have 5 mins to live but if your aircraft points downward and doing a rate of 30,000ft per min towards the ground you only have 1 min to fix the attitude or you are dead , I'm so happy they landed safely.
@@nataliyaanatolievnaakinina2740 Only difference between 50' and 50,000' is how long it takes to hit the ground and how fast you're going when you get there....
Congratulations to the pilots, ATC and the F16 pilots. Very happy you made it safely. Just thinking the pilots were ready to ditch made me feel very bad for them. They acted very professionally. Bravo once again.
These guys couldn't control a heading. I imagine what was happening is they would get the aircraft to a point where it was on a somewhat stable heading and ask "will this get us to the sea?"
The weather on that day was horrible and very cloudy, they couldn't see the ground to maintain heading, try to walk in a straight line with your eyes closed and you'll end up walking in circles just like the plane.
@@lourencoalmada1305 I get what u were trying to say, but 'walk in a straight line with your eyes closed and you'll end up walking in circles' is just inaccurate at best or misleading at worst. Try it for yourself on a football field or a park after covid19 subsides, u'll never end up walking in circles. Worst case scenario would be few degrees away from imaginary centre line.
@@junkonakamura3441 Is that based on anything other than confidence in your sense of direction? Have you tried it yourself? It's not quite as simple as walking in circles (though some do actually do that), but the point that people veer significantly off-course to the point of repeatedly crossing their own path - sometimes in a loop with a diameter as small as 20m - has been tested and studied: digest.bps.org.uk/2012/10/04/why-do-humans-walk-in-circles/ www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2009/08/20/do-lost-people-really-go-round-in-circles/ As noted in the article, even the absence of the sun as a landmark on a cloudy day causes people to wander off-course. Without visual input humans very quickly become disorientated.
@@junkonakamura3441 I think you are missing the point though because on a field you have a single plane to move in. In an aircraft when you ‘close your eyes’ you have pitch as well as foward and back hence why you can go in circles. Why do people with only VFR Licenses crash so fast in IFR conditions? Because there are so many planes of variables
OMG this is the most prolonged and agonizing mayday I have ever listened to. I was so glad they landed! They must have been so exhausted after over an hour battling for control. I hope Nat Geo make an episode of Air Crash Investigation for this one. What the hell went wrong?! Total heroes! 👏👏
They were flying the plane back from a 3rd party maintenance shop. Apparently, said maintenance shop installed the aileron controls backwards. Turn the stick left, roll to the right.
@@freerkottema "Air Crash Investigation" (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, Asia, and some European countries) is from Canada and is originally known as "Mayday." Some featured flights, like in the first episode, did not crash and performed emergency landings successfully. edit: "Mayday" is known as "Air Emergency"/"Air Disasters" in the US.
Amazing job you guys! I’ll fly with you t the controls anytime! God bless you! ATC, great job helping them to know where they were and where to go. Fighter pilots, great job guiding them to safety. Thank you. These pilots were in a truly terrible situation and even when stressed handled themselves with aplomb. They were always considering the safety of not only the passengers and themselves but the people on the ground who could have been in danger if the worst happened. Respect and only respect is due to them.
How on earth have people the audacity to criticize the English of anyone in this video? It's perfectly fine, especially from the pilots who kept calm during all the acrobatics they were forced into. And they weren't disoriented at all. They did everything they needed to do not to lose their orientation. These videos are just showing less than 1/4 of this roller coaster flight. With struggling for controls, fighter pilot G forces, inverted flying et cetera it's a miracle they physically endured to pull this off while staying mentally stable. Many props for asking for all the help they needed and using every bit of information they got to solve this massive problem. They did the perfect thing to continuously ask the direction just not to get lost. Yes, they asked once if they would reach the sea to the east. Better safe than sorry after being tumbled around like being in a washing machine. Meanwhile they were solving the issues with their aircraft to be able to fly. The controls were so bad they couldn't even steer into the sea. They were lucky to have just regained enough control and capable enough to be able to land on an airfield instead of going for the sea. It's amazing to see how calm, focused, professional and skilled they are. So no, I also don't agree the pilots were confused at the radio. They definitely were confused about the behaviour of the aircraft and needed some time to figure out how to troubleshoot it. They definitely needed assistance to know where they were and had to go. But that's all normal in this abnormal situation.
Wow!! Without fail you always have the best videos!!! This was incredible. So much excellent coordination between all concerned. I am so pleased they managed to land safely. Well done All!!! 👏👏👏
These guys train in Atlantic flight training academy in cork Ireland and did there UPRT with former RAF pilot Gerry Humphries. just shows the importance of UPRT training and how right EASA are to make it mandatory training for all integrated and module ATPL students as of December 2019.
Wow! A lot of cool heads all the way around. Was really impressed with the clear English, not often the case in non English speaking countries, impressive.
I got so stressed just from hearing this... and also despite the fact that I know it will be a fortunate outcome. My full respect to the tired and extremely professional pilots, to the equally stressed ATC, and to the calm assistance of the fighter jets pilots. A side question: What does it mean "Flying on my wing", which the F-16 pilots suggested to Air Astana? Does it mean that Air Astana just needs to follow F-16's heading and altitude? I don't think this means literally generating additional lift to Air Astana with F-16's wings.
I think it's meant as 'next to each other', probably with the fighter leading but not exactly in front as to keep turbulence away from the other plane. You know, like 'be my wingman'.
Glad that turned out well! Wasn't looking too good for a while there. Great job by the pilots - that must've been the most stress they've ever experienced.
You can hear the fatigue and despair setting in toward the end. This one was hard to watch/listen to. I'm so glad they were able the get that iron on the ground safely. Fantastic job by all involved. It hard to fathom that electrical connectors can be mistakenly reconnected. Most, if not all, connectors are pinned, or keyed, to make it only one way it can be connected. Hopefully changes in protocols will keep this from happening to anyone again. That nightmare prob shaved years off of their lives!
There is a recording here of a LasVegas ATC having what people think is a stroke. I frankly was not able to listen to the whole thing. Hearing them try to continue doing their job as their brain is slowly dying is just heartbreaking.
VASAviation thank you for vídeo there was another emergency landing today with a Transavia Aircraft in Portugal 🇵🇹 ! They had issues with pressurization and had to be escorted by the Air Force to Faro airport, they were meant to land in Madeira 😬😬😬!
What a riveting story. I cannot imagine the unbelievable physical and emotional stress this put on the pilots. Well done to pilots, ATC and AF to get the plane safely to the ground.
Nice job everyone. Pilots, ATC and F16 fighters. Just a good reminder to line pilots when picking up aircraft from heavy maintenance. Always, always, perform a complete control check with an outside observer to make sure all controls are moving in the right direction.
I'm happy for the flight crew to have made it back to the ground safely. and much kudos to them for trying to get out to the sea and avoid casualties on the ground in case it goes pear shaped.
VASA, what an incredible posting this was!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! Not enough can be said for the pilot who kept calm under harrowing conditions! Simply amazing! Likewise to the ATC doing their absolute best to help and guide him. But to the Portugese F-16, BRAVO! I am sure the sight of the PAD F-16 was MORE than a welcome sight and help!!! After hearing all this, I doubt a movie could really capture the desperation during this event. The pilots voice could be heard trembling. For the maint. crew, I hope they were dealt with severely. This compares to the BOAC 747 that flew over a volcano that started erupting. All engines flamed out and the airframe was literally sand blasted by the rock ash.
Oh god yeah, lots of grunting and yelling, frustration, anger, yet somehow still professional and composed enough to make it through that ordeal. I don’t even know if I could handle listening to it honestly.
Watching the display really hammers home how hopeless the situation was until they worked out how to maintain a minimum of control. I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like trying to merge with that plane in a fighter… it would’ve been so easy to have a mid-air, what with the jet acting like a crazed flying squirrel on methamphetamine!
I am so glad they made it back down this side of OK, so I can allow myself a nervous giggle over how much their track resembled the meanderings of one Ryoga Hibiki, also known as The Eternally Lost Boy. [A Ranma½ reference]
Can't imagine how stressful it was. You can hear how scared they were, thinking they were gonna ditch an uncontrollable aircraft. Wow. I'm so happy they made it.
@@186bingo I saw the data printouts and at several points the plane was pulling 5 G's and when you pull G's in a big aircraft it will be 30-40 seconds of continue G-Force. The rear half of the aircraft showed stress force of 120% surpassing safe design limits. They had to change seats at one point cause he was so tired of pulling the stick so hard for so long. I really can't believe it was all cause of a control cable replaced and attached to the opposite pulley. They had alot of failures. Tech rep flown in didnt catch it and then wiped the computer to get rid of the fault and then pilots missed it on walk around checklist. I can see it being overlooked cause if you pull the stick and see a flap or fin move then it checks out; and maybe not noticed it moved in the wrong direction. Either way the pilots did good getting it down. I think this changed alot of procedures in maintenance. The directions to replace cables was confusing and in black & white thus not being able to see components easily. Crazy. I can't imagine pulling 5-G's in a Airbus A320
Tried reversing my ailerons in my flight sim. I crashed so hard every time…. It’s a nightmare. These pilots are amazing. To fly the aircraft in an abnormal configuration while dealing with navigation and body stresses….
Incredible job by all involved the tower, the fighter pilots and ATC. I read more about the flight and a month before the plane went for a major repair of their aileron repair and subsequent test ruled the plane unflyable. So there were several to blame for this near crash. The mechanical repair and whoever decided to put the plane back on rotation. You could hear the strain from the work load as that pilot did what he could do to keep the airplane up. The pilot is a hero. I mean if he can actually land a plane with that much stress He went into another runway but what a good ending. None of these men needed to go through that trauma.
@@rudolfabelin383 Yes, I saw the video. They had the aileron swapped, so the only thing they had to do was to turn the joystick left to roll right and turn the joystick right to roll left. Full control over the aircraft, not following the ATC instructions - possible pilot deviation. I would have controlled the aircraft and followed the ATC vectors. Cheers
@@sergiuszwinogrodzki6569 yes, the ailerons were swapped. however the spoilers weren't. basically when attempting to bank left the spoilers would push the left wing down while the ailerons pushed it up. that plane was uncontrollable.
Jesus ... I was mentally exhausted after this 2 part video, and I was just chilling at my desk sipping on my coffee, it must have been hell for those pilots, definitely not something they trained for and with high G loads. Total respect to them !
It’s unreal, up to 4G’s man!! Uncontrolled spins and circles for over an hour! Literally all they wanted was a sea below them to plunge into as quickly as possible, ensuring no one other than themselves were killed. They had accepted that fate yet still plowed on for about her HOUR somehow getting just enough control to land it (on the third attempt, and not the same runway they were aiming at…). Just an inhuman level of dedication, self-control, professionalism, you name it. These guys have balls of steel and earned any damn wing that’ll fit on a t-shirt. I bow down to these heroes.
![[REAL ATC] Air Astana has SERIOUS FLIGHT CONTROL ISSUES!](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kIc8Rr-cKd8/mqdefault.jpg)
![[REAL ATC] Air Astana has SERIOUS FLIGHT CONTROL ISSUES!](/img/tr.png)
![[REAL ATC] Qantas suffers depressurization | Pilot becomes incapacitated](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uCQE77K8GUw/mqdefault.jpg)
*KUDOS to the Astana pilots, the fighters and the ATC. All together and working as one made it a successful landing.*
Watch Part 1 here --> ruclips.net/video/kIc8Rr-cKd8/видео.html
Credit to Rui Cambraia for the footage at the end! Obrigado!
VASAviation - So pround of my country awesome work of ATC and Air Force who saved these people lives! It was a bit disturbing on how disoriented with no instruments and limited control aircraft on their hands. Thank you for your videos and all the work you put in! Do you sleep at all?
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
On this link there is a news report of the incident with the actual landing through F16 surveillance camera.
www.publico.pt/2018/11/12/video/imagens-f16-forca-aerea-aterragem-emergencia-beja-20181112-120548
@@AlternateTab00 Were the F-16s running low on fuel? The audio at the very end, "My suggestion is that you land immediately to fuel the aircraft"
@@russdill Don't know. But probably... Since they are based on Monte Real around 250km distance (though for the f16 is a 5 min trip xD)
The aircraft made 2 missed approaches.
The F16s landed in LPBJ to refuel (it has parallel runways)
Those pilots must have been extremely physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. So glad they landed. ATC & F16 are beyond terrific.
They were. See video from mentor for all the details. Worth it.👍
@@GregiiFliegerThank you.
I couldn’t help but notice how polite the F-16 pilot was to the aircraft in distress. Professional but in a very calming way.
Scholarian • Absolutely! And well said.
He was polite and very much nicer than thee ATC woman in Part One
It is good how professionally people worked with this and tried their best to assist the pilots being panicked and having to fight the plane.
@@catlover4971 I think the ATC lady was trying to sound calm, even though she was obviously aware from very early on that the pilot was unable to comply with any heading & altitude indications. After several attempts at guiding them (she must have obviously been under enormous stress, too, but it didn't show in her voice...) she handed over communications, probably to her senior. She did the best she could, given that the only request (at the time...) was to ditch at sea.
One thing I appreciate as a pilot is how the F-16 pilots gave the Astana pilots all the info for the approach to Baja that they would need. They saved the Astana pilots the extra workload and distraction of having to look up and brief the approach plates.
What a crazy story. You can hear how the pilots become disoriented and physically exhausted from the intense forces exerted on their bodies. Truly insane. Great job by everyone involved.
i know right! for a second there i was thinking it sounded like whatz it called hypoxia?
@@johngriffis9655 yeah. they got heading 220 all the time in the previous video but always managed to just circle around their position instead of just going 220
Their exhaustion was palpable. I need to take a rest after this one. I wonder what their actual flightpath looked like, and what the nature of their control problem was. (Pilots, let this be a lesson in the importance of good cardiovascular fitness!)
The flight path is shown in both videos. Watch again if you missed it :P
@@beenaplumber8379 I know its been a while, but I thought I'd let you know some more info. The problem was incorrectly installed aileron cables that caused an inversion of controls for part of the system. The spoilers, which also are on the same controls were not inverted though, so figuratively just steering left to go right didn't work. They ended up switching to manual controls, where the computer does less adjustments, which made the plane a bit more controllable. Regarding the flight path: I read that at times the plane flipped over and went into steep dives. This uncontrollability coupled with the clouds really explains the crazy path they flew. Glad they made it down safely.
OK for all persons who keep asking. "Why do they keep asking for directions and vectoring to the sea" if you see the map the jet was going around and around and up and down like a phugoid cycle. With no visibility the pilots had no idea what the jet was doing and likely assumed that everything was faulty and since they were going in circles that magnetic and instrument compass's were spinning also and really messing with their heads. Add to this the stress of not knowing whats happening, wanting not kill them or people on the ground, pulling on the controls for hours to keep alive and then seemingly everytime they went to confirm direction to the sea they were told something different and couldnt figure out why. Dam hard enough with a straight head in a simulator try it with uber stress, poor english v Portuguese accents and screw it all, just keep asking until you get there, great job guys, amazing work everyone.,
Nice description... do you think the captain became (I cant remember what the term is)... disoriented? Its a real psychological issue of zoning out... is it spacial disorientation?
I'm completely agree with you. The first save people on the board, and on the ground. if you evaluate very small possibility to save people on the board try to save the people on the ground. They proposed immediatelly to land on the sea because they understood all risks for people on the ground. The idiots should be silent!!!
Also they went through high g-forces which could definitely throw off someone's orientation unless you were once a fighter pilot 😊.
They asked if they can reach the sea going eastbound. They seemed to have no understanding of where in the world they were (sea east of Portugal?). Really poor English, absolute panic, with all understanding for the situation I hope to never have to fly with pilots that poorly educated.
@@janschwenzien885 I'd like to see you do better. They have zero visibility and can barely keep the aircraft under control. They have no idea where they are. Their instruments are fucked and they cant trust them, so they keep checking with ATC to see where they are. Would you have preferred it if they just said fuck it and tried to land on the river but most likely would have missed it and killed a lot of people? Think before you speak Jan.
moral to the story, : NEVER, NEVER, NEVER EVER give up.
Moral of the story... Check things properly and respect proceedures. Accident report: www.gpiaa.gov.pt/wwwbase/wwwinclude/ficheiro.aspx?tipo=0&id=10652&ambiente=WebSiteMenu
Never give up?? These guys were ready to ditch it in the sea out the gate. How tf don't you know your general position relative to the coastline? How many times did they need this repeated? Their workload was high, I get that, but they're pilots. This is what you train for.
The only they wanted was to ditch the plane lol
A pilot is always told it’s not over till the bitter end.
@@tpain5402
All a little too easy to say from the comfort of an armchair.
Priority 1) Control the aircraft
The ocean offered them an infinitely wide runway for an aircraft in which they only had predictable pitch control.... The ocean was a very good choice.
They had so little control, they could not maintain a heading without losing what little control they had (I read that at one point they where 90 degrees nose down)
Once they re-learned how to fly, they had options and cognitive capacity for "your" secondary considerations.
Just watched Mentor Pilot's video. He breaks it down so you really understand exactly what happened in this incident and just how truly terrifying that must have been and how amazing those pilots are. Great job to all involved!
❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️
I, too. And, yes, indeed. :-)
Yes I watched Mentour Pilot first. Listening to this I am totally amazed at how coherent the voice was on the radio. And truly amazing aviators to work that out, and keep that plane in the air during the crazy rolls. The ATC and Fighter pilots were brilliant too.
I came here from his channel as well lol. And yeah he does a great job of explaining things in his videos. It's truly a great yt channel.
It’s really painful to watch how the plane constantly turns in circles and the pilot is relentlessly trying to get vectors for the sea failing constantly. That must have been a really scary and stressful situation... glad they made it out! Great job!
(they flew upside down, too)
Every time he had to ask was cuz the plane suddenly flipped over and did a multi thousand foot diving barrel roll until they were able to regain attitude and height again. All in 0 visibility clouds with no way to orient yourself and being thrown around around with forces regularly exceeding 4gs.
No wonder the poor pilots had to try and figure out which direction to turn. Insanity.
Reversed aileron is one of the worst control failures possible.
Keeping that thing flying more than an hour with that problem, plus 3 go-arounds, then safe landing is just an amazing demonstration of pilots using everything available to deal with what would normally be fatal within seconds of the wheels leaving the ground.
Rudder reversal was fatal to two 737 crews due to the altitude it occured so this crew did a great job. The muscle memory must have made the landing real trickey with the knowledge getting it wrong was certain death, hence thr go arrounds.
Could you please explain what is a reversed aileron to a non pilot?
@@danielbastidas5607 - You turn left, plane banks right. You turn right, plane banks left. Ailerons control the "roll" axis of the plane, rudder yaw, and elevators pitch.
@@danielbastidas5607 Imagine reversing the directions on your steering wheel without you knowing it. Now imagine, that the first time you need to touch it is at 130 km/h on the freeway with no way of stopping your car :(
Wow it must have been a terrorific feeling!
I was stressed just listening.
Fantastic job by the crew, ATC and the Airforce
ATC probably needed a drink after that one
@@forceinfinity …and the pilots a whole bottle!
Me too, sitting on my bed, warm and dry, months and thousands of miles away.
@@Runoratsu Sounds like they had one in the cockpit.
Not gonna lie, sweatin a bit after watching that.
This was terrifying! I want to give the pilots (and the airforce commander) a hug. I almost cried when they finally agreed to follow the fighter jet to the airport, rather than ditching in the sea. So happy they landed safely. Hope there is a TV episode coming soon.
Yeah. I was just wondering why these things make us so emotional and the answer seems to be that we're sort of there, with the crew, and you experience a great deal of what they go through, particularly when you hear their voices, ATCs too, plus how they add the "Sir" at the end to convey so much in critical moments.
(This also was fantastic team work, on board, ATC and the F16. Great teamwork is so wonderful it can make a person emotional too.)
Legend says, they're still asking for a heading towards the sea.
No, seriously: GREAT JOB and my BIGGEST RESPECT to pilots and ATC, must have been such a scary and stressful situation and hearing the "bank angle" sounds in the backround does not make it any better...imagine being in their situation, facing death but still managing to stay more or less calm and putting that thing on the ground in one piece!
@@empty_seat That means the aircraft is rolled over greater than a threshold at which the plane gives an audible warning to the pilot. Not a normal situation for an airliner.
pseudocoder78 thank you. Gosh that must be terrifying
According to info we now have, the best way to imagine this is like driving your car, you turn left with the wheel, but the car goes right.
Further left you turn, the more the car goes to the right.
What minute was the bank angle sound
Damn i laughed so hard about that "Legend says...." :D
This one really got to me. Those guys were getting ready to die and they didn't want anyone else to get hurt. I hope at the very least someone punched that maintenance tech on the nose.
@@nataliyaanatolievnaakinina2740 Yeah, they pretty much did. Managing a succesfull ditching with a fully controllable plane is a miracle in itself and requires calm waters (see US Airways 1549)
To make that decision in a plane with fucked controls and do it in the ocean is pretty much the captain saying "at least nobody on the ground has to die with us"
I'm an A&P Mechanic & we have seen some real crap come back after heavy maintenance checks. People need to understand how important it is to have real professional qualified certified mechanics doing the work. There's been a tendency for companies to send their aircraft to places that are cheep. They are staffed by helpers & a few certified mechanics to oversee the work. Well, this is what can happen. They got lucky! Peoples lives are at risk. But it ok...the plane is insured...& the people on board the aircraft...
@@okramw1 The only problem with your assessment is that Air Astana went to the Embraer Maintenance facilities at Alverca, where there are plenty of certified and qualified mechanics and technicians. Actually, they bought the OGMA, which was and still is a portuguese defense contractor and where F16's from various countries get their maintenance done. Just because Portugal can be a cheap country for foreigners doesn't mean we have facilities that drop the ball. Some fact checking would be awsome next time.
I still do not get it. How in the hell do you flip the controls????
@@xano198103
Thanks for the additional information. I appreciate your honesty & straight forward talk. I guess nobody is perfect, not even me 😊
Wow theyre ready for their death sentence and you could hear the heavy breaths from the pilot. It must have been a tough battle on that deck. Kudos for figuring out the controls and for not giving up. Glad you all made it safe. Great job for everyone involved.
These pilots are real heroes. To land this aircraft after this rollercoaster ride is incredible!
This is the most insane recording I’ve ever heard. The graph looks like a one year old child on an Etch-A-Sketch, for heavens sake. Such focus and supreme intensity of all those digging to previously unaccessed depths of their knowledge and calm fortitude in a concerted effort to save lives. Wow. Thank God for the way he made the human mind.
It's up there with United Airlines Flight 232, in terms of their struggle for control.
Nailed it! 👍
LoL..! I'm 55 y/o and resemble that statement.. :-P
Do you also thank god when the planes crash? Or only the good endings are because of god?
@@B3Band only you can answer that… No, you think you have the answer already. So, leave with your own answer and stop trolling the internet and get a life. :_)
I loved the Air Astana account of the incident: -
“Embraer 190, callsign KС 1388, conducted a ferry flight from the Lisbon Aviation Technical Centre when, due to technical reasons the crew decided to perform an unplanned landing."
At least the report didn't involve phrases like "lithobraking" or "rapid unscheduled disassembly".
Straight on the point. :-)
Before they regained some semblance of control and thought they'd have to ditch, that pilot was audibly gasping for air. I can't imagine the stress. Well done and I'm so glad they're allright. Those F16s were being so helpful.
I read the plane was so uncontrolable, it dived more than once and they expericenced +5Gs multiple times. Wasn't just stress, it was mostly exaustion from trying to save the plane from crashing uncontrolably to the ground all the time...
@@Wriwnas1 The trick to them finally managing to regain some semblance of control was to make only light adjustments. Essentially, their ailerons were reversed due to the cables being attached wrong (but a separate system that also affects roll was functional; that system only activated after some point). Fighting against all those Gs for two hours would exhaust anyone.
He was likely gasping from the g-forces they were pulling (4-5 g during the first part of the flight) - it's the same forced breathing you hear in videos of jet fighters going through high-g maneuvers.
Guys, I am LITERALLY in my sofa, IN PYJAMAS and I was completely stressed out just listening to those poor fellas totally confused, not knowing where their heading was. Geez, I need to calm down now, I cannot even begin to comprehend the skill and dedication from that flight crew! Amazing work well done! ATC was stellar and the fighter pilots really helped save the day!
I raise my cup of hot cocoa for everyone involved. I wonder if there is a way to deliver my appreciation to the people directly.
If anyone reading this know anyone in this incident: please tell them good job, well done, beers are on me if you come to Sweden!!
Mentour Pilot channel does a very good job explaining what went wrong.
During a major maintenance, the cabling to the ailerons - that turn the aircraft left and right (banking) were reversed.
If that's not bad enough, the spoilers which activate as well during a turn, were doing their normal movement.
Reversed ailerons as the only problem is controllable once the crew figure out that is what is happening. However with the spoilers doing the exact opposite to the ailerons, no matter what the crew do with the ailerons, makes the aircraft virtually uncontrollable.
They figured out there was a bit of a 'dead zone' in spoiler deployment at the very start of each aileron bank, where the spoilers did not deploy yet. If it was not for the crew discovering this the aircraft would have had no hope at all of being brought somewhat under control.
All in all a very harrowing experience for all concerned. Extremely amazing skill of the crew.
The maintenance dept said after the event that they had trouble understanding the directions on the repair manual, BUT they did not check the performance of the work (maybe due to time pressure as they were running very late to deliver the plane back due to the repair complications)
The pilots also should have noticed during pre-flight checks that the ailerons were reversed, but somehow did not, perhaps due also to time constraints and extremely poor weather on departure.
Yes, indeed. I watched it, too.
Yes, I came here from Mentour. He does a good job.
just for listening to this comms, sitting on a couch, I'm exhausted! I can only imagine the stress those pilots experienced.
great, great, great job!
I’m not a pilot, but I enjoy listening to these. That said, THIS WAS THE MOST STRESSFUL THING EVER!!
The sheer number of times they wanted the heading to the sea just goes to show the utter desperation in the cockpit.
Great job at the end.
Bullet21 is a cool callsign :)
Very cool callsign
I’ve heard Matrix1 and Ace1. Those arecpretty cool too! :)
The F-16 in the Portuguese Air Force always have agressive, hyperbolic call signs, like BULLET, BASHER, HAMMER, CANNON, DEVIL... I myself controlled them several times, usually when they returned from the gun range to Monte Real AFB. They flew so fast you barely had time to coordinate them with the next sector! Aircrew were always terrific people.
When the French President is on his plane they have the call sign CuckforceOne
I knew about this incident, but hearing the ATC really makes me feel the despair, stress and fear the crew was going through. Kudos to everyone involved.
Salute to the captains and crew of 1388, the excel F-16 pilot and honorable ATC guys. They all deserve the best rewards.
I once flew an aircraft after a major check. The engineers had miss rigged the elevator and so we nearly had a tail strike on take off. On landing we were so nose down I could see parts of the approach I didn’t usually see. Thankfully we landed safely. Aircraft can sometimes come out the hangar in a worse state than they went in.
These guys did well. Must have been rather scary at first.
I know someone who flew with the elevators disconnected after maintenance. Fortunately it was a high lift wing, he was experienced, and kept a cool head. He landed by varying the engine power. I cannot recall how it was not picked up before flight as the controls would have been checked, perhaps it became disconnected after the check.
It is unimaginable that these controls have not been idiot proofed by now.
There are connectors for your radio in your car that cant be installed incorrectly.
And we have jumbo airliners that can have their control surfaces inverted ?! UNACCEPTABLE.
I’ve come here after watching the Mentour video and I have to say that this is the best bit of airmanship I have ever heard of. Incredible! The reversing of the ailerons in itself is not too bad, but with the spoilers working correctly and fighting the ailerons just caused mayhem! Once they disabled the spoilers - bingo! Flying for that length of time uncontrolled OMG they have balls of steel! Brilliant! And finally a big shout out to the fighter pilot who I thought might just get in the way but was super helpful.
What a sobering reminder to all in the aviation industry, of how something so routine like a standard flight turn into one of the scariest days of your life. Excellent work by the pilots, ATC and probably many more not mentioned in the video that were no doubt behind the scenes working to get those few lives safely on the ground.
To be fair, that's true of working for McDonald's as well. Armed robberies can't be too pleasant.
Wow, just wow. I will remember that the next time I go into a McDonald's, recognizing the skill demonstrated there and how well-trained and qualified they are to deal with those situations.
*Mike Fuquay,* You make a good point, at least pilots are trained to deal with emergencies. McDonald's personnel (generally) isn't.
But I think I didn't really get my point across. Yes, things can go wrong at any time and just a scare would be the best outcome, but any number of dangerous, scary things can happen to anyone at any moment. That's not a useful reminder, it's just a fact of life.
I really have no words for what I just saw. Their courage and resilience is commendable. ATC and Portuguese AF, also off the scale. Thank you very much for the video!
I remember watching this on Flightradar24 as it was happening. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Along with the ridiculous out-of-control turns, their altitude at times dropped down as low as 300 feet. As I watched it and visualised what that plane was doing I couldn’t help but imagine the horror that the people onboard must be experiencing. Personally I know I’d be squealing like a sunburnt pig!!! And yet after having watched these two two excellent videos with audio, I am totally amazed at how calm everyone was. Hats off to all involved: the crew, their engineers, ATC and the Portuguese Air Force. Amazing rescue that I have no doubt will go down in aviation history. Respect.
Indeed.
The pilot must have been incredibly happy to regain control of the aircraft. He was desperate when he asked to ditch to the sea. Hope they're doing well now 😅
You can hear it in their voice.
I've read somewhere, that the passenges were only 3 mechanics. When the 3rd pilot went back to get some water for the captain and FO, they told him that the maintenance included replacing cables to the ailerons.
That's when they figured that they got reversed controls and regained some control (turn left to turn right and vice versa). So yeah, the relief was felt and heard on the radio
@@panda4247 Not all flaps were reversed though, which makes it even worse. It would be easier if it was a full on flip of controls but both sides of the plane apparently were doing opposing things too making turning left or right near impossible. They could only steer if they BARELY turned. Turning just a little too much caused the whole thing to go haywire.
“The data collected during the initial investigation phase included a detailed examination of the aircraft flight controls and an incorrect ailerons control cable system installation was confirmed on both semiwings.”
The Air Traffic Accident Prevention and Investigation Office (GPIAAF) released a report on Friday the 31st of May that highlights faults in the maintenance of the E190 operated by Air Astana, which in November 2018, flew uncontrollably over Lisbon.
The Air Astana Embraer E190 involved had undergone a scheduled C-Check inspection at the OGMA facility at Alverca before its departure for Almaty, with a refueling stop-over at Minsk, on 11 November last year.
Immediately after take-off, with adverse meteorological conditions, the crew noticed the aircraft was not responding adequately to control inputs and declared an emergency. On board, there were three pilots (a captain and two co-pilots) and three technicians from the operator.
The preliminary report highlights investigators identified aileron cables that had been incorrectly rigged before a ferry flight, during which the pilots experienced the severe in-flight control problems
I'd be surprised if the crew's first question after that release wasn't "where's the guy that did that I'm gonna have a talk with him"
They were prepared to ditch rather than endanger others... heroes in my books... bless them & I thank God & the controllers/F16s for their safe return. The world needs people like that in it... 🤗🤗🤗
All my gratitude and thanks goes to ATC and the pilots.
Yes i also was wondering about the repeated question about the direction to the sea but i was looking at a map in my chair at home with a cup of coffee in my hand and not fighting over what seems to be a hour for my live and that of 10 others. My respect to the pilots, ATC and the Portuguese Air Force pilots to solve this situation safely.
Probably a form of tunnel vision caused by stress. They didn't realize that when the sea is west of you, it doesn't matter what direction you fly in next, it will still be west of you. The sea doesn't just move across the earth. But added to the stress was also incorrect flight instruments and bad weather, which meant they had no idea what was happening. All in all they did great to land safely, but sitting behind a desk with their flight path on screen it is frustrating to listen to :p
@@hkr667 Remember they were struggling with the controls, so they probably asked for their heading each time after fighting the plane. Although I wonder if they didnt believe their compass. Its a good thing they didnt actually reach the water, they didnt have to ditch!
I know they were struggling, but the sea is to the west and west is west and the heading is 270. I kept thinking they don't really need to know the heading to go west, they probably need to be told what heading they're on, or maybe they just wanted to remain in contact with ATC and those requests were just perfunctory for that purpose.
Seemed to me the crew were trying to get ATC to actively guide them moment-by-moment to a suitable ditching location, but ATC never really understood that and simply responded to the crew’s requests by issuing one-off headings to fly. I can imagine those instructions weren’t all that helpful to a crew with massive control/instrumentation problems, yet the crew kept accepting the headings instead of saying unable and explaining what they actually needed. (I don’t necessarily fault the crew for that. They were under tremendous stress. Just a matter-of-fact observation.) Perhaps that allowed ATC to think the crew were only lost rather than unable to maintain a heading. And what seems to us like verbal ping-pong (indicating a problem needing attention) probably didn’t appear that way in real time with all the other unrelated communications going on in between.
All said, I’m glad the crew were able to bring their airplane down safely and everyone is fine/recovering (as far as I know). 😁
EXACTLY 👍
What a nightmare... at some points I got the feeling the crew had nearly given up hope when they requested vectors to the sea. I nearly started crying 😢
I'm so glad they made it safely to the ground. Kudos to all people involved!
Massive respect to the pilots of this Air Astana flight, requesting to ditch into the sea. I think the ATC seemed reluctant at first to believe that was the pilots' request. Now, excuse me, I need to lie down...
As good as this episode was; the audio doesn't do the situation justice: the aviation safety report goes on further to clarify what has happening to the 6 people on board. Imagine fighting inversion in a PASSENGER JET because some genius in the ground literally got the cabling crossed regarding ailerons. They definitely needed outside guidance/nav, because that crew was stuck on AVIATE, navigate, communicate.
The diagram of damage once they got on the ground: ALL the control surfaces of that aircraft was trashed during the flight, little bit longer, and the wings could've sheared mid-chord, the stabilizer was redlined, and the rear fuselage got beat up too.
I love the production values of your videos; maybe for the crazier episodes like this one, you can also check out the aviation safety evals to pull some more graphics for our eyeballs to visualize the madness that went on above.
Outstanding job by all concerned. Pilot was exhausted by the time it was over, Great job scrambling the F-16s to help. And as always, huge thank you to VASAviation.
You can hear how taxing that battle was to keep that bird aloft in the pilots voice. I could only imagine how much it takes physically let alone emotionally to just try to figure out the problem at the same time trying to fight with the controls to keep it from falling uncontrollably. Awesome work. Training, skill and determination pays off
Wow.. I didn’t know ahead of time how this was going to turn out. So afraid they were either going to have to ditch in the sea, run out of fuel or attempt to land and not be able to control the landing. I’m sure these pilots were exhausted but they held it together and landed safely. Incredible. And the ATC and military pilot were so calm.
These guys were amazing! and honestly what happened here should show just how strong airplanes are, and how skilled the pilots are - you can even survive out of such incredibly horrible circumstances. Well done!
These pilots are freaking amazing. Dealing with a f d up aircraft like this is amazing. Them wanting to ditch is also fn amazing. This is simply gut wrenching but incredible thanks to 3 amazing pilots.
I remember watching this plane's multi-part fight for landing years ago. I always thought the went down. I never truly understood what was going on. The whole thing was so confusing. But after watching Mentour Pilot's break down of this flight, I have been in a state of shock. The pilots showed amazing skill, fortitude, and never gave up. I am amazed they actually got enough control back to land safely, with just one minor injury. The mechanical problems they had to deal with were atrocious.
They did the most important thing and that was keeping this plane from the ground. You can tell they were all occupied by trying to get some controls back.
That plane did make some scary movements and I am sure the people on board have seen their lives ending multiple times that flight.
So no need for us telling them what they should have done, they did everything they could.
Good job by all!
Yes, the Captain's voice in the 1st video shows how stressed and fearful he was. Actually, he had to receive medical treatment as well as another member of the crew.
Yep, they did everything in the best way it could be done, big respect for the crew.
they landed the plane and everybody survived. That's pretty much the only thing that matters. At that point they did everything perfectly fine.
Technically, the plane *did* hit the ground, it just did so in a way they weren't expecting. Namely, on an actual bloody runway on wheels.
"Come on kid, put that airplane in my wing. I will take you to a ride."
*Bullet 21*
It´s nearly poetic.
Молодцы пилоты!😱
Падажжи а чё ж т Португалии сказал сказал это, подсосу пиндосии? Или всё, это не подсосы пиндосии, а суверенная СВБОДНАЯ стран, которая не скатывается до уровня северной кореи?
I'm proud of Air Astana crew! Great job by professionals! Thanks to Portuguese specialists that helping to save our crew, our aircraft! It seems to be the best ending of this terrible situation.
If you know anyone involved in this incident, I am so so amazed at the pilots performance: I am sitting IN MY SOFA dressed in PYJAMAS and I was completely stressed out!!
All beers are on me if anyone involved visits Sweden!
Unfortunatelly the plane made his last landing. Over and beyond his theoretical limits. Kudos to engineers of that bird.
When an pilot asks to ditch , it means he reached two options between death or drowning , even ditching requires a controllable airplane or it will flip and break into pieces and they will die , I felt like throwing up because uncontrollable flight is way more severe from a fire onboard , atleast with a fire you have 5 mins to live but if your aircraft points downward and doing a rate of 30,000ft per min towards the ground you only have 1 min to fix the attitude or you are dead , I'm so happy they landed safely.
@@nataliyaanatolievnaakinina2740 Only difference between 50' and 50,000' is how long it takes to hit the ground and how fast you're going when you get there....
@@mfree80286 That would be correct if the plane was a bag of sand
Congratulations to the pilots, ATC and the F16 pilots. Very happy you made it safely. Just thinking the pilots were ready to ditch made me feel very bad for them. They acted very professionally. Bravo once again.
What an insane story. Good that everything worked out well! 😮😮😮
Wow, this was nerve tickling. So glad they landed safely and happy for the superb support by atc and fighter pilots and all other involved.
@2:44 if you listen carefully...you can hear the plane "Bank Angle" alarm going off.
These guys couldn't control a heading. I imagine what was happening is they would get the aircraft to a point where it was on a somewhat stable heading and ask "will this get us to the sea?"
I think you have the best description of the situation!!
The weather on that day was horrible and very cloudy, they couldn't see the ground to maintain heading, try to walk in a straight line with your eyes closed and you'll end up walking in circles just like the plane.
@@lourencoalmada1305 I get what u were trying to say, but 'walk in a straight line with your eyes closed and you'll end up walking in circles' is just inaccurate at best or misleading at worst. Try it for yourself on a football field or a park after covid19 subsides, u'll never end up walking in circles. Worst case scenario would be few degrees away from imaginary centre line.
@@junkonakamura3441 Is that based on anything other than confidence in your sense of direction? Have you tried it yourself?
It's not quite as simple as walking in circles (though some do actually do that), but the point that people veer significantly off-course to the point of repeatedly crossing their own path - sometimes in a loop with a diameter as small as 20m - has been tested and studied:
digest.bps.org.uk/2012/10/04/why-do-humans-walk-in-circles/
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2009/08/20/do-lost-people-really-go-round-in-circles/
As noted in the article, even the absence of the sun as a landmark on a cloudy day causes people to wander off-course. Without visual input humans very quickly become disorientated.
@@junkonakamura3441 I think you are missing the point though because on a field you have a single plane to move in. In an aircraft when you ‘close your eyes’ you have pitch as well as foward and back hence why you can go in circles. Why do people with only VFR Licenses crash so fast in IFR conditions? Because there are so many planes of variables
OMG this is the most prolonged and agonizing mayday I have ever listened to. I was so glad they landed! They must have been so exhausted after over an hour battling for control. I hope Nat Geo make an episode of Air Crash Investigation for this one. What the hell went wrong?! Total heroes! 👏👏
They didn’t crash 😬
They were flying the plane back from a 3rd party maintenance shop. Apparently, said maintenance shop installed the aileron controls backwards. Turn the stick left, roll to the right.
@@freerkottema "Air Crash Investigation" (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, Asia, and some European countries) is from Canada and is originally known as "Mayday." Some featured flights, like in the first episode, did not crash and performed emergency landings successfully.
edit: "Mayday" is known as "Air Emergency"/"Air Disasters" in the US.
Watch Mentours take on it
State your intentions: Well, my intention is to ditch in the sea however the aircraft has other intentions and I'm not sure what that intention is.
This is so eerie,reminded me of that JAL 123 flight,glad it didn't turn out that way.
Damn this guy had balls of steel. Even said "Ditching! Ditching! Come on!!! Ditching!!! The sea!!!" Just wow and kudos to the pros pilots, ATC, AF
Great job, this is how you fly and how those situations are dealt with. Lovely outcome!
White knuckles just listening. Amazing job from all pilots and ground! Kudos!
Amazing job you guys! I’ll fly with you t the controls anytime! God bless you!
ATC, great job helping them to know where they were and where to go.
Fighter pilots, great job guiding them to safety. Thank you.
These pilots were in a truly terrible situation and even when stressed handled themselves with aplomb. They were always considering the safety of not only the passengers and themselves but the people on the ground who could have been in danger if the worst happened. Respect and only respect is due to them.
How on earth have people the audacity to criticize the English of anyone in this video? It's perfectly fine, especially from the pilots who kept calm during all the acrobatics they were forced into. And they weren't disoriented at all. They did everything they needed to do not to lose their orientation.
These videos are just showing less than 1/4 of this roller coaster flight. With struggling for controls, fighter pilot G forces, inverted flying et cetera it's a miracle they physically endured to pull this off while staying mentally stable. Many props for asking for all the help they needed and using every bit of information they got to solve this massive problem. They did the perfect thing to continuously ask the direction just not to get lost. Yes, they asked once if they would reach the sea to the east. Better safe than sorry after being tumbled around like being in a washing machine. Meanwhile they were solving the issues with their aircraft to be able to fly. The controls were so bad they couldn't even steer into the sea. They were lucky to have just regained enough control and capable enough to be able to land on an airfield instead of going for the sea. It's amazing to see how calm, focused, professional and skilled they are.
So no, I also don't agree the pilots were confused at the radio. They definitely were confused about the behaviour of the aircraft and needed some time to figure out how to troubleshoot it. They definitely needed assistance to know where they were and had to go. But that's all normal in this abnormal situation.
Wow!! Without fail you always have the best videos!!! This was incredible. So much excellent coordination between all concerned. I am so pleased they managed to land safely. Well done All!!! 👏👏👏
Professionals🤲🏾 God bless them! Great job from all involved 👍🏽🫡
I was not expecting that to end well.
5:03 he seems to be saying "наоборот, наоборот" which means "the other way, the other way" in Russian
Yes, you are correct.
I think he said "наоборот попробуй" ("try the other way" or maybe "try the opposite")
Russian speaking pilots?
@@henson2k авиакомпанию посмотри.
@@henson2k Airline is based in Kazakhstan, so it makes sense.
That was like in movie, thrilled till the end. Great work from everyone involved!
This was frightening!
Great analysis 👍👍
Salute to the pilots, the ATC and all those who assisted 👍👍👍
These guys train in Atlantic flight training academy in cork Ireland and did there UPRT with former RAF pilot Gerry Humphries. just shows the importance of UPRT training and how right EASA are to make it mandatory training for all integrated and module ATPL students as of December 2019.
Wow! A lot of cool heads all the way around. Was really impressed with the clear English, not often the case in non English speaking countries, impressive.
Talk about teamwork. That took help from everyone. Glad they got it sorted out.
Exceptional airmanship, in fact beyond. Same for ATC. Glad they landed safely. BIG respect!
Hope we get to hear the cause...
give those pilots a major raise damn I got sick just watching that flight path so to land a plane with those problems is good job
I got so stressed just from hearing this... and also despite the fact that I know it will be a fortunate outcome.
My full respect to the tired and extremely professional pilots, to the equally stressed ATC, and to the calm assistance of the fighter jets pilots.
A side question: What does it mean "Flying on my wing", which the F-16 pilots suggested to Air Astana? Does it mean that Air Astana just needs to follow F-16's heading and altitude? I don't think this means literally generating additional lift to Air Astana with F-16's wings.
I think it's meant as 'next to each other', probably with the fighter leading but not exactly in front as to keep turbulence away from the other plane. You know, like 'be my wingman'.
Glad that turned out well! Wasn't looking too good for a while there. Great job by the pilots - that must've been the most stress they've ever experienced.
Listening to this made me feel anxious. Talking about situation witch was life or death. The professionalism was outstanding.
You can hear the fatigue and despair setting in toward the end. This one was hard to watch/listen to. I'm so glad they were able the get that iron on the ground safely. Fantastic job by all involved.
It hard to fathom that electrical connectors can be mistakenly reconnected. Most, if not all, connectors are pinned, or keyed, to make it only one way it can be connected. Hopefully changes in protocols will keep this from happening to anyone again. That nightmare prob shaved years off of their lives!
There is a recording here of a LasVegas ATC having what people think is a stroke. I frankly was not able to listen to the whole thing. Hearing them try to continue doing their job as their brain is slowly dying is just heartbreaking.
VASAviation thank you for vídeo there was another emergency landing today with a Transavia Aircraft in Portugal 🇵🇹 ! They had issues with pressurization and had to be escorted by the Air Force to Faro airport, they were meant to land in Madeira 😬😬😬!
What a riveting story. I cannot imagine the unbelievable physical and emotional stress this put on the pilots. Well done to pilots, ATC and AF to get the plane safely to the ground.
I watched this on Flightradar24 and wondered what happened. Happy to see a video from you about it.
Nice job everyone. Pilots, ATC and F16 fighters. Just a good reminder to line pilots when picking up aircraft from heavy maintenance. Always, always, perform a complete control check with an outside observer to make sure all controls are moving in the right direction.
I'm happy for the flight crew to have made it back to the ground safely. and much kudos to them for trying to get out to the sea and avoid casualties on the ground in case it goes pear shaped.
VASA, what an incredible posting this was!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! Not enough
can be said for the pilot who kept calm under harrowing conditions!
Simply amazing! Likewise to the ATC doing their absolute best to help
and guide him. But to the Portugese F-16, BRAVO! I am sure the sight of
the PAD F-16 was MORE than a welcome sight and help!!! After hearing all
this, I doubt a movie could really capture the desperation during this
event. The pilots voice could be heard trembling. For the maint. crew, I
hope they were dealt with severely. This compares to the BOAC 747 that
flew over a volcano that started erupting. All engines flamed out and
the airframe was literally sand blasted by the rock ash.
That cockpit recording must be something!
Oh god yeah, lots of grunting and yelling, frustration, anger, yet somehow still professional and composed enough to make it through that ordeal. I don’t even know if I could handle listening to it honestly.
That was incredibly stressful.
Well done everyone, well done.
Watching the display really hammers home how hopeless the situation was until they worked out how to maintain a minimum of control. I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like trying to merge with that plane in a fighter… it would’ve been so easy to have a mid-air, what with the jet acting like a crazed flying squirrel on methamphetamine!
Really well put together as usual !
Well done to those pilots !
As if I don’t have enough stress in my life, I am addicted to this channel
I am so glad they made it back down this side of OK, so I can allow myself a nervous giggle over how much their track resembled the meanderings of one Ryoga Hibiki, also known as The Eternally Lost Boy. [A Ranma½ reference]
Seriously well handled by atc and crew
Can't imagine how stressful it was. You can hear how scared they were, thinking they were gonna ditch an uncontrollable aircraft. Wow. I'm so happy they made it.
@@186bingo I saw the data printouts and at several points the plane was pulling 5 G's and when you pull G's in a big aircraft it will be 30-40 seconds of continue G-Force. The rear half of the aircraft showed stress force of 120% surpassing safe design limits. They had to change seats at one point cause he was so tired of pulling the stick so hard for so long. I really can't believe it was all cause of a control cable replaced and attached to the opposite pulley. They had alot of failures. Tech rep flown in didnt catch it and then wiped the computer to get rid of the fault and then pilots missed it on walk around checklist. I can see it being overlooked cause if you pull the stick and see a flap or fin move then it checks out; and maybe not noticed it moved in the wrong direction. Either way the pilots did good getting it down. I think this changed alot of procedures in maintenance. The directions to replace cables was confusing and in black & white thus not being able to see components easily. Crazy. I can't imagine pulling 5-G's in a Airbus A320
Congratulations to the ATC and Portuguese Air Defense. Professionalism, cordiality and assistance.
Now... THAT was a miracle!!! Very, Very Well Done!!!
Tried reversing my ailerons in my flight sim. I crashed so hard every time…. It’s a nightmare.
These pilots are amazing. To fly the aircraft in an abnormal configuration while dealing with navigation and body stresses….
Good colaboration betwen civil and military, very very care of safety, and humanity. Godbless you all.
Those pilots are studs ✌️
Great job fellas… utterly astonishing airmanship 🤘
Incredible job by all involved the tower, the fighter pilots and ATC. I read more about the flight and a month before the plane went for a major repair of their aileron repair and subsequent test ruled the plane unflyable. So there were several to blame for this near crash. The mechanical repair and whoever decided to put the plane back on rotation. You could hear the strain from the work load as that pilot did what he could do to keep the airplane up. The pilot is a hero. I mean if he can actually land a plane with that much stress He went into another runway but what a good ending. None of these men needed to go through that trauma.
Glad they landed safely. The pilots handled this situation very well.
Fantastic Job (ATC + Pilots + VASAviation ) !!
Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.
Well done. I was sweating.
They didn't navigate shit though. They disregarded all the headings given. Possible pilot deviation.
@@sergiuszwinogrodzki6569
1. Do you know anything about aviation?
2. Did you actually see the videos?
3. What would you have done instead?
@@rudolfabelin383 Yes, I saw the video. They had the aileron swapped, so the only thing they had to do was to turn the joystick left to roll right and turn the joystick right to roll left. Full control over the aircraft, not following the ATC instructions - possible pilot deviation. I would have controlled the aircraft and followed the ATC vectors. Cheers
@@sergiuszwinogrodzki6569 They didn't know , they lost control of the aircraft mate
@@sergiuszwinogrodzki6569 yes, the ailerons were swapped. however the spoilers weren't. basically when attempting to bank left the spoilers would push the left wing down while the ailerons pushed it up. that plane was uncontrollable.
Jesus ... I was mentally exhausted after this 2 part video, and I was just chilling at my desk sipping on my coffee, it must have been hell for those pilots, definitely not something they trained for and with high G loads. Total respect to them !
It’s unreal, up to 4G’s man!! Uncontrolled spins and circles for over an hour! Literally all they wanted was a sea below them to plunge into as quickly as possible, ensuring no one other than themselves were killed. They had accepted that fate yet still plowed on for about her HOUR somehow getting just enough control to land it (on the third attempt, and not the same runway they were aiming at…). Just an inhuman level of dedication, self-control, professionalism, you name it. These guys have balls of steel and earned any damn wing that’ll fit on a t-shirt. I bow down to these heroes.