Air Crash Investigations (Mayday) - 19x01 - Deadly Descent (Cathay Pacific Flight 780).en.srt

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"Air Crash Investigations (Mayday)
19x01 - Deadly Descent (Cathay Pacific Flight 780).mp4"

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MALE (OVER PA): Thank you
for flying Cathay Pacific.

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NARRATOR: A crowded flight
en route to Hong Kong

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is suddenly in trouble
over the South China Sea.

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What the hell was that?

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Engine two stall.

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HAYHOE: Relying on one engine
to get us safely on the ground.

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Then, the situation gets worse.

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We now have
two engines stalled.

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This is not fair.

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Approach, mayday,
mayday, mayday.

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Damn it!

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The 200 tonne jet
with 309 passengers

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is free falling towards disaster...

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I felt fear.

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This cannot be happening.

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It looks like this aircraft
could end up

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ditching into the water.

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..unless the captain comes up
with a better option.

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Seatbelt, please. Thank you.

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Cathay Pacific Flight 780

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is cruising at 38000 feet
over the South China Sea.

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This is your captain speaking.

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We'll be starting our descent
into Hong Kong shortly.

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Local weather is 29 degrees
with scattered clouds,

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so it should be
a lovely spring day.

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Thank you again
for flying Cathay Pacific.

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Captain Malcolm Waters
and his crew

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are nearing the end
of a four-and-a-half hour flight

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from Indonesia to Hong Kong.

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Touchdown is in 30 minutes.

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It's a crisp morning,
clear skies, a light wind.

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It was a nice day to go flying.

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It's only the second time

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Captain Waters
and his first officer, David Hayhoe,

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have flown together.

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So, how long
have you lived in Hong Kong?

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Twelve years.

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I moved there when I was 23.

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Waters is one of Cathay Pacific's
youngest captains.

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Hayhoe is an ex-fighter pilot
with the Royal Australian Air Force.

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So, what's it like flying F-18s?

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Oh, there's nothing to it,

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but the in-flight service
is terrible.

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Flight 780
originated in Suribaya, Indonesia.

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It's covering more than 2000 miles
to reach Hong Kong.

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The Airbus A-330 is powered by
two Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines...

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and every aspect
of flight operations

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is aided by advanced computers.

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The engineering and complexity
that goes into them,

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and the science
that presents the information,

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they're incredible machines.

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Seatbelts, please.

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Madeline Avisado
is the in-flight service manager

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responsible for overseeing
ten cabin crew members

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tending to 309 passengers.

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We carried out the service
and prepared for landing.

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It was a normal flight.

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165 miles from Hong Kong Airport,

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the Airbus leaves cruising altitude
and begins its descent.

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Airspeed's 295 knots.

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Rate of descent
700 feet per minute.

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It's looking good.

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The aircraft
is performing perfectly.

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And then, something goes wrong.

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(ALARM SOUNDS)

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What the hell was that!

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That's strange.

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I describe it
as a low thumping noise

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and airframe vibration.

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So, you know, David and myself

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kind of looked at each other
like, "That's unusual."

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The flight computer is
alerting the pilots to a problem.

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OK, let's see what we got.

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Engine two stall.

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The plane's monitoring system

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indicates there's an issue
with the right engine,

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engine number two.

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Captain Waters tries to understand
what happened to the engine,

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but the monitoring system
gives him no explanation.

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Now, when we were checking
the parameters,

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they were relatively normal.

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OK.

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Thrust lever number two, confirm.

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Confirm.

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With no explanation
for the incident,

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Captain Waters
reduces power on the engine to idle

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to protect it from damage...

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Idle.

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..the lowest possible power level
while still keeping it running.

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It has an immediate effect.

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The engine noises disappear.

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That's better.

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All the symptoms went away.

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We've got fuel flow.
We've got rotation.

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The bigger concern

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is that the engine at idle
isn't providing any thrust.

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They must now rely
on their other engine

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to get them to Hong Kong.

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A single engine approach
is not a big deal.

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We practise it a lot
in the simulator.

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The aircraft are certified
to fly on one engine.

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Hong Kong, Cathay 780.

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Pan pan. Pan pan.
Pan pan.

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The crew alerts air traffic control
of their situation.

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Pan pan. Pan pan. Pan pan.

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Sir, we have a pan pan call.

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We declared a pan,

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which is sort of
the first level of urgency.

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We're operating engine two
at idle thrust at the moment,

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but operation is normal
apart from that.

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Cathay 780, roger your pan.

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If we could just get priority,
thanks.

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You declare a pan

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in order to let
air traffic control know that

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we need a bit of help
to get us on the ground quickly,

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and it gives them the authority
to push people out of our way

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and help us achieve that goal.

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Cathay 780, understood.

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The controller grants the request.

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We have a pan pan call
from an incoming flight.

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Please put emergency services
on standby.

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Airport firefighters rush

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to take up positions
near the runway.

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Flight 780 is 115 miles
from Hong Kong Airport.

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The plane will be on the ground
in 22 minutes.

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In preparation for landing,
please stow tray tables

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and return your seats
to the upright position.

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Madz here.

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It's not normal for captains to call
during a pre-landing announcement

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by the in-flight service manager.

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Madz, we're having a problem
with engine number two.

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I need you to keep an eye on it
from the cabin.

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Roger.

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He requested to check
the engine number two,

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if there's something unusual,
or if you can smell any smoke.

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I checked the engine
and it was pretty normal,

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nothing unusual going on.

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The pilots prepare
to land the Airbus

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with only one engine.

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I'll take the landing.

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Understood.

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You have control.

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Captain Waters will fly the plane
from this point on.

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I have control.

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In an emergency situation,

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the most senior crew member
assumes the flying role.

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Now I have to actually do
what I've been trained to do.

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So, it's not a normal day anymore

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and you have to be on your game.

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Everything is set for landing.

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(ALARM SOUNDS)

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Engine one stall.

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Engine one stall confirmed.

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It's the last thing
they want to hear.

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The monitoring system
confirms their worst fears.

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They have just lost
their other engine,

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the one they were relying on
to get the plane to Hong Kong.

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We now have
two engines stalled.

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This is not fair.

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NARRATOR: The crew
of Cathay Pacific flight 780

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is facing the loss
of their one remaining engine.

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We were relying on this one engine
to get us safely on the ground

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and now it had
exactly the same symptoms

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and noises and sounds
as the other engine.

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If they can't get it
back up and running,

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the plane is headed
for an unimaginable disaster.

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Engine one to idle.

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The monitoring system tells the crew

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to put the malfunctioning
engine number one into idle.

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Just like engine number two,

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it's still running
but producing no thrust.

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The plane is now gliding.

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Damn it!

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Our descent rate
is not looking good.

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00:10:25,500 --> 00:10:29,879
Without thrust, they can't make it
to Hong Kong or any other airport.

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Still 60 miles out. Too far.

177
00:10:37,053 --> 00:10:40,140
We were still about 60 miles
out to sea at that time.

178
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With the aircraft descending
at, you know, 1300 feet per minute,

179
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we've only got five, six minutes
before we're at sea level.

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00:10:47,939 --> 00:10:50,733
I felt fear.

181
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And you have
all those human responses to fear...

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the hair standing up
on the back of your neck,

183
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the tightening of your stomach,

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the dryness in your mouth.

185
00:11:02,453 --> 00:11:06,082
It was a sense of disbelief
that we might end up in the water.

186
00:11:06,124 --> 00:11:07,375
This can't be happening.

187
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Though the cabin is
now quieter than normal,

188
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passengers have no idea
about the danger they face.

189
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Everything was calm.

190
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Everything was like normal to them.

191
00:11:32,358 --> 00:11:34,777
There's an initial moment
of that shock

192
00:11:34,819 --> 00:11:38,323
and how are we going to start
overcoming this problem.

193
00:11:38,364 --> 00:11:40,658
Without the power
to make it to Hong Kong,

194
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the pilots now face
an emergency landing,

195
00:11:43,536 --> 00:11:46,331
or ditching, in the South China sea.

196
00:11:47,415 --> 00:11:48,875
What do you think?

197
00:11:48,917 --> 00:11:50,335
I'll start the ditching checklist.

198
00:11:50,376 --> 00:11:51,461
Good idea.

199
00:11:52,921 --> 00:11:55,340
I suggested
carrying out a checklist procedure

200
00:11:55,381 --> 00:11:56,466
to prepare the aircraft

201
00:11:56,507 --> 00:11:59,636
for the correct configuration
for the ditching itself.

202
00:12:04,515 --> 00:12:08,019
Sitting back allowed me
to start thinking rationally.

203
00:12:11,022 --> 00:12:13,816
Captain Waters tries
the throttles one more time.

204
00:12:16,778 --> 00:12:19,322
He increases power on engine two.

205
00:12:28,289 --> 00:12:29,457
Then one.

206
00:12:32,335 --> 00:12:33,795
Nothing happens.

207
00:12:33,836 --> 00:12:35,797
The engines just are
not responding at all.

208
00:12:35,838 --> 00:12:37,966
They're just remaining at idle.

209
00:12:38,007 --> 00:12:40,343
Damn it!

210
00:12:40,385 --> 00:12:42,053
I'm calling a mayday.

211
00:12:42,095 --> 00:12:43,221
Do it.

212
00:12:44,347 --> 00:12:46,975
Approach,
mayday, mayday, mayday.

213
00:12:47,016 --> 00:12:52,272
Cathay 780 had engine one stall
and engine two stall.

214
00:12:52,313 --> 00:12:55,316
The first officer puts out
a more urgent distress call.

215
00:12:56,985 --> 00:12:59,279
Currently we require
a lower descent.

216
00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,572
We're extending our glide
and trying for relights.

217
00:13:02,615 --> 00:13:05,034
Cathay 780,
descend to 3000 feet.

218
00:13:06,494 --> 00:13:09,205
Putting the mayday call out
over the radio,

219
00:13:09,247 --> 00:13:12,625
you really feel
that something serious is going on.

220
00:13:12,667 --> 00:13:15,086
You can tell in the voice
that comes back to you

221
00:13:15,128 --> 00:13:16,379
that it gets everyone's attention,

222
00:13:16,421 --> 00:13:18,631
because it's not a word
that you hear all the time.

223
00:13:22,719 --> 00:13:23,886
Restarting number two.

224
00:13:25,305 --> 00:13:27,557
Ram air turbine on.

225
00:13:27,598 --> 00:13:30,768
In between
the ditching checklist itself...

226
00:13:30,810 --> 00:13:32,729
Engine two select ignition.

227
00:13:32,770 --> 00:13:36,691
..my approach was
let's try and restart the engines,

228
00:13:36,733 --> 00:13:38,526
because we're going to
be in no worse a situation

229
00:13:38,568 --> 00:13:40,528
than we are now.

230
00:13:40,570 --> 00:13:42,071
No response.

231
00:13:42,113 --> 00:13:43,239
It's still at idle.

232
00:13:44,699 --> 00:13:47,660
Now the pilots contemplate
their options for ditching.

233
00:13:49,662 --> 00:13:50,747
The previous year,

234
00:13:50,788 --> 00:13:54,334
a US Airways Airbus landed
on the Hudson River in New York

235
00:13:54,375 --> 00:13:56,336
without a single casualty.

236
00:13:57,420 --> 00:14:02,133
Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger
became an instant hero.

237
00:14:02,175 --> 00:14:07,263
The Sully incident had been
the first successful ditching

238
00:14:07,305 --> 00:14:09,182
really, of an airliner

239
00:14:09,223 --> 00:14:11,351
and to show that it could be done.

240
00:14:11,392 --> 00:14:14,687
But as they drop
towards the South China Sea,

241
00:14:14,729 --> 00:14:20,026
the crew of flight 780 are facing
far more treacherous conditions.

242
00:14:20,068 --> 00:14:21,944
Big swells.

243
00:14:21,986 --> 00:14:24,530
The South China Sea
is not the Hudson River.

244
00:14:26,366 --> 00:14:27,742
The seas looked very rough.

245
00:14:27,784 --> 00:14:29,327
It was a lot of white caps.

246
00:14:29,369 --> 00:14:32,038
The swells would be
one to two metres.

247
00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,749
I felt that our engines
would act as two big scoops

248
00:14:34,791 --> 00:14:36,584
and would pitch the aircraft down
quite violently,

249
00:14:36,626 --> 00:14:39,420
and that would probably result
in us, you know, cart wheeling

250
00:14:39,462 --> 00:14:40,963
and, and breaking apart.

251
00:14:43,466 --> 00:14:45,218
This cannot be happening.

252
00:14:46,469 --> 00:14:49,722
Both pilots know
they're running out of time.

253
00:14:54,018 --> 00:14:59,357
Cathay Pacific flight 780
now has two unresponsive engines.

254
00:14:59,399 --> 00:15:03,736
Passengers onboard are unaware
how close they are to disaster,

255
00:15:03,778 --> 00:15:06,781
just minutes from ditching
in the South China Sea.

256
00:15:10,034 --> 00:15:13,287
Captain Waters
takes manual control of the aircraft

257
00:15:13,329 --> 00:15:16,332
to ensure
the safest water landing possible.

258
00:15:16,374 --> 00:15:17,750
Turning off flight director.

259
00:15:19,377 --> 00:15:20,962
Flying by hand now.

260
00:15:22,088 --> 00:15:24,340
Roger that.

261
00:15:24,382 --> 00:15:27,176
So I start manoeuvring the aircraft
to keep it clear of clouds

262
00:15:27,218 --> 00:15:29,095
so that I can see the ocean

263
00:15:29,137 --> 00:15:31,931
and start to make an idea
where I'm going to put the aircraft.

264
00:15:37,645 --> 00:15:40,273
That's when
Captain Waters gets an idea.

265
00:15:41,732 --> 00:15:43,151
OK.

266
00:15:43,192 --> 00:15:48,448
Try slow movements,
go slowly, just ease in fuel.

267
00:15:49,532 --> 00:15:50,950
Easy does it.

268
00:15:57,832 --> 00:16:01,794
I could see Malcolm manipulating
the thrust lever for engine one.

269
00:16:01,836 --> 00:16:04,297
I was just pinching
the side of the thrust lever

270
00:16:04,338 --> 00:16:05,548
just to move it a millimetre.

271
00:16:05,590 --> 00:16:08,050
Each time I pinched it,
it would just go up a millimetre.

272
00:16:11,262 --> 00:16:12,597
Slowly.

273
00:16:14,932 --> 00:16:16,559
Slowly.

274
00:16:18,186 --> 00:16:21,522
Incredibly,
it seems to be having an effect.

275
00:16:21,564 --> 00:16:24,567
Rotation increasing in engine one.

276
00:16:24,609 --> 00:16:26,110
It's working.

277
00:16:26,152 --> 00:16:28,529
The rotation of the fan
was increasing

278
00:16:28,571 --> 00:16:33,034
from 28% to 29, to 30 to 32

279
00:16:33,075 --> 00:16:36,996
as I moved this
very, very slowly and gently up.

280
00:16:43,252 --> 00:16:44,504
Let's see how far we can get.

281
00:16:46,005 --> 00:16:49,258
He wonders if he can get the engine
to full power.

282
00:16:52,428 --> 00:16:55,223
I eased the thrust lever up
a little bit more.

283
00:17:06,526 --> 00:17:09,237
Too much.

284
00:17:09,278 --> 00:17:13,157
We had surges
and a popping and whumping noise,

285
00:17:13,199 --> 00:17:15,451
and I immediately set
the thrust lever back

286
00:17:15,493 --> 00:17:16,619
to what thrust we had.

287
00:17:17,745 --> 00:17:20,206
Waters figures out
that the engine won't go any higher

288
00:17:20,246 --> 00:17:22,416
than 74% power.

289
00:17:22,458 --> 00:17:23,834
74%.

290
00:17:25,628 --> 00:17:27,545
That'll have to do.

291
00:17:27,588 --> 00:17:29,006
We've got a thrust setting

292
00:17:29,048 --> 00:17:31,425
that resulted in us
being able to fly level.

293
00:17:31,466 --> 00:17:33,301
We weren't descending anymore.

294
00:17:33,344 --> 00:17:37,472
And that was like a huge relief.

295
00:17:37,515 --> 00:17:38,765
You see that?

296
00:17:38,808 --> 00:17:40,643
Altitude is holding.

297
00:17:40,685 --> 00:17:42,353
Fantastic.

298
00:17:42,394 --> 00:17:44,230
OK approach preparation.

299
00:17:46,857 --> 00:17:48,234
Cockpit prepared.

300
00:17:49,527 --> 00:17:51,028
Loose items secured.

301
00:17:51,070 --> 00:17:52,780
One engine is all they need

302
00:17:52,822 --> 00:17:55,366
to attempt a landing
at Hong Kong airport.

303
00:17:55,408 --> 00:17:57,618
Visual zero-seven-left.

304
00:17:59,203 --> 00:18:00,621
I knew
we were going to make Hong Kong.

305
00:18:00,663 --> 00:18:03,833
And it's very clear
we have enough energy now

306
00:18:03,874 --> 00:18:05,876
that we're going to be
able to get to land.

307
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,340
Track zero-seven-three.

308
00:18:11,382 --> 00:18:12,425
Check.

309
00:18:12,466 --> 00:18:17,680
We can do our landing,
so infinitely better than ditching.

310
00:18:19,098 --> 00:18:22,518
But Captain Waters still needs
to safely land a plane

311
00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,104
with engines he can't rely on.

312
00:18:25,146 --> 00:18:27,565
He's not sure how much longer

313
00:18:27,607 --> 00:18:29,275
engine one
will keep providing thrust.

314
00:18:30,651 --> 00:18:33,195
We did have an engine
that was now functioning,

315
00:18:33,237 --> 00:18:34,447
but I didn't trust it.

316
00:18:34,488 --> 00:18:35,531
At any point,

317
00:18:35,573 --> 00:18:40,077
I believed that we possibly could
just roll back to idle thrust again.

318
00:18:40,119 --> 00:18:44,582
The safest plan is to get the plane
5500 feet above ground

319
00:18:44,624 --> 00:18:46,709
and then reduce power on the engine

320
00:18:46,751 --> 00:18:50,546
to start losing speed and altitude
for landing.

321
00:18:50,588 --> 00:18:53,341
They could be on the ground
in less than five minutes.

322
00:18:54,550 --> 00:18:57,470
We wanted to stay
as nice and as high as we could

323
00:18:57,511 --> 00:18:59,805
in a position
that we could manage a glide.

324
00:19:01,015 --> 00:19:02,099
Let's do this.

325
00:19:05,269 --> 00:19:09,106
Engine one has brought the plane
as far as it needs to.

326
00:19:09,148 --> 00:19:11,609
Captain Waters
pulls it back to idle,

327
00:19:11,651 --> 00:19:13,486
to lose speed.

328
00:19:13,527 --> 00:19:14,695
I closed the thrust lever

329
00:19:14,737 --> 00:19:18,366
and I began my approach essentially
for the arrival.

330
00:19:18,407 --> 00:19:20,242
Two-thirty knots.

331
00:19:20,284 --> 00:19:22,036
We're at three miles.

332
00:19:22,078 --> 00:19:23,621
Checked.

333
00:19:23,663 --> 00:19:24,830
If all goes well,

334
00:19:24,872 --> 00:19:27,667
they should be on the runway
in less than four minutes.

335
00:19:28,834 --> 00:19:31,712
But they'll only have one chance
to get the plane on the ground.

336
00:19:32,797 --> 00:19:34,298
If something goes wrong,

337
00:19:34,340 --> 00:19:37,426
they don't have enough thrust
for a successful go around.

338
00:19:40,888 --> 00:19:43,140
Ladies and gentlemen,
this is the captain speaking.

339
00:19:45,601 --> 00:19:47,812
As you may be aware,

340
00:19:47,853 --> 00:19:49,855
we have a small problem
with our engines.

341
00:19:49,897 --> 00:19:53,150
Remain seated
with your seatbelts fastened

342
00:19:53,192 --> 00:19:55,194
and follow the directions
from your cabin crew.

343
00:19:57,571 --> 00:19:59,657
Cabin crew to landing stations.

344
00:20:06,122 --> 00:20:08,457
OK, flaps one.

345
00:20:08,499 --> 00:20:09,542
Thanks.

346
00:20:09,583 --> 00:20:11,001
OK, flaps one.

347
00:20:12,294 --> 00:20:14,296
Gear down.

348
00:20:14,338 --> 00:20:15,798
Gear down.

349
00:20:17,174 --> 00:20:19,427
The crew deploy
flaps and landing gear

350
00:20:19,468 --> 00:20:21,387
to prepare for landing.

351
00:20:22,972 --> 00:20:24,932
There's only five miles to go.

352
00:20:28,269 --> 00:20:31,647
Cathay 780,
do you have the airfield in sight?

353
00:20:31,689 --> 00:20:34,150
Cathay 780, affirm.

354
00:20:34,191 --> 00:20:37,486
Hong Kong airport
has two parallel runways.

355
00:20:37,528 --> 00:20:40,823
It's built on an island
west of the city.

356
00:20:40,865 --> 00:20:42,116
Cathay 780,

357
00:20:42,158 --> 00:20:44,744
we have both runways
available for your approach.

358
00:20:45,953 --> 00:20:48,205
The crew is cleared
to land on either runway.

359
00:20:51,500 --> 00:20:53,919
The Airbus turns
onto its final approach

360
00:20:53,961 --> 00:20:55,838
to Hong Kong airport.

361
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:57,548
Captain Waters is confident

362
00:20:57,590 --> 00:21:00,926
he can get the plane
on the ground safely.

363
00:21:00,968 --> 00:21:02,636
Auto brake?

364
00:21:02,678 --> 00:21:03,763
Lower it.

365
00:21:06,140 --> 00:21:09,268
Final items OK.

366
00:21:09,310 --> 00:21:10,978
They're a minute from touchdown.

367
00:21:17,193 --> 00:21:18,319
It's overspeed.

368
00:21:19,653 --> 00:21:21,197
It's an overspeed warning,

369
00:21:21,238 --> 00:21:23,783
a signal the aircraft
is flying too fast.

370
00:21:25,910 --> 00:21:27,328
The speed was not reducing

371
00:21:27,369 --> 00:21:31,207
to anything close
to the speeds that were indicated

372
00:21:31,248 --> 00:21:33,459
that we would be once we got
into the landing configuration.

373
00:21:34,710 --> 00:21:36,837
Captain Waters can't figure it out.

374
00:21:36,879 --> 00:21:39,423
They should be slowing down.

375
00:21:39,465 --> 00:21:41,258
He re-checks the controls.

376
00:21:42,468 --> 00:21:43,844
It just looked completely wrong

377
00:21:43,886 --> 00:21:45,304
and I was very uneasy

378
00:21:45,346 --> 00:21:48,766
that things were, once again,
to get out of my control

379
00:21:48,808 --> 00:21:50,559
and that there was something
that I was missing.

380
00:21:52,102 --> 00:21:53,687
Then he sees it.

381
00:21:54,772 --> 00:21:57,566
I looked up at the gauges
and, you know, my blood ran cold.

382
00:22:00,528 --> 00:22:01,862
Engine number one,

383
00:22:01,904 --> 00:22:04,240
which he throttled back
minutes earlier,

384
00:22:04,281 --> 00:22:07,576
is inexplicably still running
at 74% power,

385
00:22:07,618 --> 00:22:11,372
high thrust,
too high to land safely.

386
00:22:11,413 --> 00:22:15,251
I had that whole feeling
again of fear, anger.

387
00:22:15,292 --> 00:22:16,961
It was a scary moment.

388
00:22:20,464 --> 00:22:23,425
NARRATOR: After dealing
with double engine trouble,

389
00:22:23,467 --> 00:22:27,263
the crew of flight 780
is now facing a new crisis

390
00:22:27,304 --> 00:22:28,514
one mile from the runway.

391
00:22:28,556 --> 00:22:31,225
Speed checked, two-forty.

392
00:22:32,685 --> 00:22:33,853
800 feet.

393
00:22:35,062 --> 00:22:36,313
The engine they put in idle

394
00:22:36,355 --> 00:22:40,776
for a safe, smooth landing
is still running at high speed.

395
00:22:40,818 --> 00:22:43,028
The outcome could be catastrophic.

396
00:22:45,447 --> 00:22:46,949
Five hundred.

397
00:22:48,367 --> 00:22:53,747
I could not believe
that we'd gone from a situation

398
00:22:53,789 --> 00:22:55,291
where we were looking at ditching

399
00:22:55,332 --> 00:22:58,252
and now I had an engine stuck
at high thrust.

400
00:22:59,461 --> 00:23:01,589
With no option for a go around,

401
00:23:01,630 --> 00:23:04,675
they're going to have to risk
landing the plane at high speed

402
00:23:04,717 --> 00:23:08,178
and hope they can stop it
before overshooting the runway

403
00:23:08,220 --> 00:23:09,680
and ending up in the water.

404
00:23:11,515 --> 00:23:14,059
You've got 12500 feet
of runway, Mal.

405
00:23:14,101 --> 00:23:15,644
Check.

406
00:23:15,686 --> 00:23:17,021
You know, we couldn't determine

407
00:23:17,062 --> 00:23:18,564
how much landing distance
was required.

408
00:23:18,606 --> 00:23:19,982
We were off the chart,

409
00:23:20,024 --> 00:23:22,735
you know, for the speed
and for the weight that we had.

410
00:23:22,776 --> 00:23:23,903
Four hundred feet.

411
00:23:31,911 --> 00:23:34,330
The longer we prolong this,

412
00:23:34,371 --> 00:23:36,206
the more unknown things
are happening.

413
00:23:40,544 --> 00:23:43,589
It was our one chance
to get this on the ground,

414
00:23:43,631 --> 00:23:45,466
and we had to make
the best go at it.

415
00:23:49,762 --> 00:23:52,097
COMPUTER: Too low. Terrain.

416
00:23:52,139 --> 00:23:53,974
Too low. Terrain.

417
00:23:54,016 --> 00:23:57,186
Their speed is a hundred knots
faster than normal.

418
00:23:57,227 --> 00:23:58,562
So high, the flight computer

419
00:23:58,604 --> 00:24:00,940
doesn't recognise
that the pilots are trying to land.

420
00:24:00,981 --> 00:24:02,608
COMPUTER: Pull up.

421
00:24:02,650 --> 00:24:03,734
It's warning the pilot,

422
00:24:03,776 --> 00:24:06,028
like you are putting aircraft
in a dangerous spot

423
00:24:06,070 --> 00:24:08,530
and those warnings are loud
for a reason.

424
00:24:08,572 --> 00:24:12,242
And I just had to put it all
to the side,

425
00:24:12,284 --> 00:24:14,286
focus on
what I was trying to achieve.

426
00:24:17,331 --> 00:24:19,291
Pull up. Terrain.

427
00:24:19,333 --> 00:24:21,335
Pull up.

428
00:24:21,377 --> 00:24:22,670
Terrain.

429
00:24:22,711 --> 00:24:24,880
Disregard that.

430
00:24:24,922 --> 00:24:27,424
Captain Waters
pushes the nose down,

431
00:24:27,466 --> 00:24:29,927
forcing the Airbus onto the runway.

432
00:24:29,969 --> 00:24:31,345
Terrain.

433
00:24:31,387 --> 00:24:33,514
Pull up. Terrain.

434
00:24:44,775 --> 00:24:46,568
The aircraft did not want to land.

435
00:24:46,610 --> 00:24:48,821
And I remember thinking,
"Wow, this is it."

436
00:24:48,862 --> 00:24:50,030
'Cause it was very violent.

437
00:24:52,199 --> 00:24:56,870
I thought, we're going to crash
into bits and pieces.

438
00:25:00,749 --> 00:25:01,959
Brace!

439
00:25:04,795 --> 00:25:06,213
I managed to keep that wing up

440
00:25:06,255 --> 00:25:08,674
high enough that it just grazed
the surface of the runway

441
00:25:08,716 --> 00:25:10,676
and I got it back under control.

442
00:25:10,718 --> 00:25:12,553
We're down.

443
00:25:12,594 --> 00:25:15,556
Finally, the aircraft
is firmly on the ground.

444
00:25:18,350 --> 00:25:20,102
Full reverse!

445
00:25:22,146 --> 00:25:25,149
The crew deploys reverse thrust
on the engines

446
00:25:25,190 --> 00:25:29,069
to slow the Airbus down
while applying full braking power.

447
00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:34,867
Immediately
I just step on the brakes,

448
00:25:34,908 --> 00:25:36,410
hold 'em,
toe brakes to the floor.

449
00:25:39,413 --> 00:25:42,458
HAYHOE: No number two reverse!
No decel!

450
00:25:42,499 --> 00:25:45,335
But with only
one partially functioning engine,

451
00:25:45,377 --> 00:25:47,963
they only have one thrust reverser.

452
00:25:48,005 --> 00:25:50,299
They could still
overshoot the runway.

453
00:25:52,384 --> 00:25:54,636
I didn't think
we would stop by the end.

454
00:25:57,556 --> 00:26:01,185
The Airbus is getting close
to the end of the runway.

455
00:26:02,603 --> 00:26:05,355
And I could judge
the deceleration rate was such that,

456
00:26:05,397 --> 00:26:07,608
you know, I started to get
a glimmer of like,

457
00:26:07,649 --> 00:26:10,277
man, I think we really,
uh, we could do this.

458
00:26:21,497 --> 00:26:24,291
Finally,
the aircraft comes to a halt

459
00:26:24,333 --> 00:26:26,710
just a short distance
from the water's edge.

460
00:26:28,128 --> 00:26:31,340
They've used up
more than 8800 feet of runway.

461
00:26:35,260 --> 00:26:36,470
I can't believe it.

462
00:26:37,721 --> 00:26:39,807
We made it.

463
00:26:39,848 --> 00:26:40,974
Nice one.

464
00:26:42,434 --> 00:26:44,812
Once the aircraft did stop,

465
00:26:44,853 --> 00:26:48,023
there's a look of,
"What the hell just happened?"

466
00:26:49,900 --> 00:26:52,152
It was just this humongous relief.

467
00:26:53,737 --> 00:26:55,948
So happy that, you know,

468
00:26:55,989 --> 00:26:58,367
we were going to go home
and see our families.

469
00:27:03,372 --> 00:27:07,167
Against all odds,
flight 780 has landed safely.

470
00:27:07,209 --> 00:27:09,253
But it isn't out of danger yet.

471
00:27:10,420 --> 00:27:11,755
Check the wheel temps.

472
00:27:11,797 --> 00:27:13,507
We may have to order an evacuation.

473
00:27:13,549 --> 00:27:15,008
Get the checklist.

474
00:27:15,050 --> 00:27:16,635
The crew worries
that the extreme braking

475
00:27:16,677 --> 00:27:19,471
may have caused their wheels
to overheat.

476
00:27:20,639 --> 00:27:22,349
Both approaching 1000 degrees.

477
00:27:25,352 --> 00:27:26,895
Their hunch is correct.

478
00:27:28,355 --> 00:27:30,274
Oh, my goodness.
We, we've got to be on fire.

479
00:27:30,315 --> 00:27:32,067
We need to get everybody
off the plane.

480
00:27:33,235 --> 00:27:35,112
This is the captain. Evacuate!

481
00:27:35,154 --> 00:27:36,947
Evacuate! Evacuate!

482
00:27:36,989 --> 00:27:39,575
Come this way
and leave everything behind!

483
00:27:50,627 --> 00:27:53,088
The passengers
and crew evacuate safely

484
00:27:53,130 --> 00:27:55,757
with only a few minor injuries.

485
00:28:02,222 --> 00:28:03,473
Once I was standing on the ground

486
00:28:03,515 --> 00:28:05,100
I turned around
and looked at the airplane

487
00:28:05,142 --> 00:28:08,145
and it was like a scene
from a Hollywood movie.

488
00:28:08,187 --> 00:28:10,355
The steam and smoke coming off.

489
00:28:10,397 --> 00:28:13,567
The fire services were
dousing the wheels

490
00:28:13,609 --> 00:28:16,153
and paramedics are turning up.

491
00:28:16,195 --> 00:28:18,363
People are being helped away
from the bottom of slides.

492
00:28:25,537 --> 00:28:26,705
Within hours,

493
00:28:26,747 --> 00:28:28,957
Hong Kong's
Civil Aviation Department

494
00:28:28,999 --> 00:28:30,459
launches an investigation.

495
00:28:33,086 --> 00:28:35,631
Anne Evans is
a flight test engineer

496
00:28:35,672 --> 00:28:39,301
who works for the British
Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

497
00:28:39,343 --> 00:28:42,471
She's been invited
to take part in the investigation,

498
00:28:42,512 --> 00:28:46,016
in part because
the Airbus's Trent 700 engines

499
00:28:46,058 --> 00:28:49,102
were made
by British company Rolls-Royce.

500
00:28:51,021 --> 00:28:53,815
This Trent 700
is a very common engine

501
00:28:53,857 --> 00:28:57,236
fitted to a lot of airplanes
all over the world.

502
00:28:57,277 --> 00:28:59,821
So if there's an engineering problem
with a particular design,

503
00:28:59,863 --> 00:29:01,949
then we want to find that quickly.

504
00:29:01,990 --> 00:29:03,325
Here's what we know.

505
00:29:06,078 --> 00:29:09,790
The engines on flight 780 failed
to respond to throttle commands.

506
00:29:09,831 --> 00:29:14,628
Investigators meet
to discuss the few clues they have.

507
00:29:14,670 --> 00:29:16,713
It's odd
that both engines stalled.

508
00:29:16,755 --> 00:29:18,757
They're struck by the fact

509
00:29:18,799 --> 00:29:21,468
that the same malfunction
affected both engines

510
00:29:21,510 --> 00:29:23,136
one after the other.

511
00:29:23,178 --> 00:29:26,431
It's very rare to have
two systems fail at the same time,

512
00:29:26,473 --> 00:29:29,977
given the level
of redundancy and reliability

513
00:29:30,018 --> 00:29:32,396
that's built into the engines.

514
00:29:32,437 --> 00:29:35,983
It suggests the cause
may not be the engines themselves.

515
00:29:37,526 --> 00:29:40,779
Critical systems like that
don't fail simultaneously.

516
00:29:40,821 --> 00:29:43,365
Could something
far more mysterious

517
00:29:43,407 --> 00:29:45,242
lie at the heart of the problem?

518
00:29:50,497 --> 00:29:51,999
In Hong Kong,

519
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:54,167
investigators work
to unravel the mystery

520
00:29:54,209 --> 00:29:58,547
of Cathay Pacific flight
780's two malfunctioning engines.

521
00:30:01,383 --> 00:30:04,177
They retrieve
the black box flight data recorder

522
00:30:04,219 --> 00:30:06,054
from the rear of the aircraft.

523
00:30:07,639 --> 00:30:08,807
It contains information

524
00:30:08,849 --> 00:30:11,935
about the plane's functions
throughout the flight.

525
00:30:11,977 --> 00:30:16,815
The data onboard the aircraft is key
in this type of investigation.

526
00:30:18,317 --> 00:30:21,778
Investigators upload the data
from the recorder.

527
00:30:21,820 --> 00:30:24,406
We need to see
throttle position and fuel flow.

528
00:30:25,615 --> 00:30:30,287
The device records
359 data parameters.

529
00:30:30,329 --> 00:30:33,498
They focus in
on the A-330's engine functions.

530
00:30:35,167 --> 00:30:36,293
Stop.

531
00:30:36,335 --> 00:30:37,461
What's going on here?

532
00:30:39,296 --> 00:30:41,840
Right away,
they notice something unusual.

533
00:30:44,092 --> 00:30:46,970
Thrust levers are moving,
but fuel flow's flat-lining.

534
00:30:49,139 --> 00:30:52,476
Right after the pilots tried
to restore power to the engines

535
00:30:52,517 --> 00:30:56,480
by pushing the throttle up,
the fuel flow remained the same.

536
00:30:59,024 --> 00:31:00,567
They gave some thrust commands,

537
00:31:00,609 --> 00:31:03,528
but no corresponding response
from either engines at the time.

538
00:31:03,570 --> 00:31:04,613
Damn it!

539
00:31:04,654 --> 00:31:08,241
So we really needed
to understand what caused that.

540
00:31:08,283 --> 00:31:09,576
Investigators wonder

541
00:31:09,618 --> 00:31:14,873
if a fuel flow problem
caused flight 780's engine trouble.

542
00:31:14,915 --> 00:31:16,625
Thank you.

543
00:31:16,666 --> 00:31:19,294
The flight data recorder
helps them spot the problem.

544
00:31:19,336 --> 00:31:21,296
But to try to pinpoint the cause,

545
00:31:21,338 --> 00:31:23,882
they turn
to another source of onboard data.

546
00:31:23,924 --> 00:31:26,760
It's called the post flight report.

547
00:31:26,802 --> 00:31:28,970
Engine two control system fault.

548
00:31:29,012 --> 00:31:31,098
It says that the VSV was jammed.

549
00:31:31,139 --> 00:31:34,351
It contains in-depth data
about the error messages

550
00:31:34,393 --> 00:31:35,769
that appeared
on the monitoring system

551
00:31:35,811 --> 00:31:36,895
throughout the flight.

552
00:31:36,937 --> 00:31:39,189
OK.

553
00:31:39,231 --> 00:31:41,691
It's a piece of information
for troubleshooting

554
00:31:41,733 --> 00:31:44,444
to tell the maintainers
that the aircraft's had a problem

555
00:31:44,486 --> 00:31:45,821
and what they need to do to fix it.

556
00:31:51,076 --> 00:31:53,537
Something was retarding the valve.

557
00:31:53,578 --> 00:31:54,830
Anne Evans discovers that

558
00:31:54,871 --> 00:31:57,707
early in the flight
the computers detected a problem

559
00:31:57,749 --> 00:32:01,586
in a key part of the fuel system
called the main metering valve.

560
00:32:04,631 --> 00:32:06,716
So the warnings
that were coming up,

561
00:32:06,758 --> 00:32:09,928
were warnings to do
with the main metering valve

562
00:32:09,970 --> 00:32:12,180
supplying fuel to the engine.

563
00:32:14,141 --> 00:32:16,685
The main metering valve
is made up of a piston

564
00:32:16,726 --> 00:32:18,937
that slides within a cylinder.

565
00:32:18,979 --> 00:32:21,148
When pilots move the thrust levers,

566
00:32:21,189 --> 00:32:24,025
it increases or decreases
the flow of fuel

567
00:32:24,067 --> 00:32:26,695
to the A-330's turbo fan engines.

568
00:32:27,737 --> 00:32:29,531
That valve wasn't moving.

569
00:32:29,573 --> 00:32:31,450
It wasn't able to respond
to the commands.

570
00:32:34,953 --> 00:32:38,582
To better understand why
the metering valve malfunctioned,

571
00:32:38,623 --> 00:32:42,127
investigators send it
to Rolls-Royce for analysis.

572
00:32:45,005 --> 00:32:47,716
We have the best expertise
of how to strip those components

573
00:32:47,757 --> 00:32:48,800
here in the UK

574
00:32:48,842 --> 00:32:50,844
and we cut the outer sleeve
of the metering valve in half

575
00:32:50,886 --> 00:32:52,554
to see
what was inside the metering valve.

576
00:32:56,016 --> 00:32:58,226
After cutting open
the valve to study it...

577
00:32:59,269 --> 00:33:01,313
That's not normal, is it?

578
00:33:01,354 --> 00:33:04,191
..they find something
they've never seen before.

579
00:33:06,776 --> 00:33:10,238
A strange white substance
coating the walls of the valve.

580
00:33:12,574 --> 00:33:16,369
What we saw seemed
like very, very fine powder,

581
00:33:16,411 --> 00:33:18,079
even finer than caster sugar.

582
00:33:18,121 --> 00:33:20,040
Very, very small particles.

583
00:33:24,461 --> 00:33:28,673
Technicians examine the white powder
under an electron microscope.

584
00:33:34,721 --> 00:33:37,682
They discover
it's made up of tiny spheres

585
00:33:37,724 --> 00:33:39,684
stuck to the metal walls
of the valve.

586
00:33:46,358 --> 00:33:48,151
Investigators dig deeper

587
00:33:48,193 --> 00:33:51,488
to see if the powder can be found
in other parts of the fuel system.

588
00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:01,540
We immediately started
finding small particles

589
00:34:01,581 --> 00:34:03,917
even within the fuel tank itself.

590
00:34:03,959 --> 00:34:06,545
So the fuel system and the engine

591
00:34:06,586 --> 00:34:08,672
had some sort of contaminant

592
00:34:08,713 --> 00:34:10,590
that we didn't really understand
what it was.

593
00:34:12,717 --> 00:34:15,470
Could the mysterious particles
in the fuel system

594
00:34:15,512 --> 00:34:18,390
explain why the pilots
had such difficulty

595
00:34:18,431 --> 00:34:20,767
controlling engine power.

596
00:34:20,809 --> 00:34:23,436
The metering valve was
kind of deluged with this material

597
00:34:23,478 --> 00:34:24,980
which had silted
the metering valve up

598
00:34:25,021 --> 00:34:27,691
and caused it to become stuck
in its current position.

599
00:34:31,987 --> 00:34:34,364
Investigators
need to learn all they can

600
00:34:34,406 --> 00:34:35,907
about the strange substance.

601
00:34:36,992 --> 00:34:39,286
Having identified
this particulate

602
00:34:39,327 --> 00:34:43,039
within the various areas
of the fuel system and the engine,

603
00:34:43,081 --> 00:34:45,000
our first thought,
"Well what is it?"

604
00:34:46,501 --> 00:34:48,168
X-ray spectroscopy

605
00:34:48,210 --> 00:34:50,589
reveals the chemical make-up
of the material.

606
00:34:52,674 --> 00:34:54,092
The analysis shows

607
00:34:54,134 --> 00:34:57,052
that the powder is
a type of super absorbent polymer

608
00:34:57,094 --> 00:34:58,888
or SAP.

609
00:34:58,930 --> 00:35:01,099
When it comes
into contact with water,

610
00:35:01,141 --> 00:35:03,226
it creates a gel-like substance.

611
00:35:04,769 --> 00:35:08,189
These are organic compounds
designed to absorb water.

612
00:35:08,231 --> 00:35:11,650
That gave us a clue
as to where they'd come from.

613
00:35:14,195 --> 00:35:17,532
Investigators know that the powder
is used in refuelling trucks

614
00:35:17,574 --> 00:35:20,660
to prevent water from getting
into aircraft fuel tanks.

615
00:35:22,578 --> 00:35:26,499
The refuelling trucks pump fuel
from underground tanks and pipes

616
00:35:26,541 --> 00:35:30,337
through a filter on the truck
and into the aircraft.

617
00:35:30,378 --> 00:35:32,922
If the fuel is contaminated
with water,

618
00:35:32,964 --> 00:35:37,093
the powder in the filter absorbs it
by forming a gel inside the filter.

619
00:35:38,678 --> 00:35:41,014
So the super absorbent powder

620
00:35:41,056 --> 00:35:44,351
is there really
to just absorb the water

621
00:35:44,392 --> 00:35:46,895
and make sure
that we're protecting the aircraft

622
00:35:46,936 --> 00:35:48,730
from the presence of water
in the tanks.

623
00:35:50,398 --> 00:35:54,069
But the waterlogged gel
is supposed to stay in the filter.

624
00:35:54,110 --> 00:35:56,112
It should never end up in the fuel.

625
00:35:58,031 --> 00:36:00,158
It is so commonly used
within the industry

626
00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:02,952
for this purpose
of filtering out water.

627
00:36:02,994 --> 00:36:06,206
What we didn't understand was
how did it get onboard the aircraft?

628
00:36:16,758 --> 00:36:18,051
Investigators suspect

629
00:36:18,093 --> 00:36:21,137
that filters in a fuel truck
at Surabaya Airport

630
00:36:21,179 --> 00:36:22,514
may have been involved

631
00:36:22,555 --> 00:36:25,642
in the dual engine failure
of flight 780.

632
00:36:27,977 --> 00:36:30,146
To find out,
they recover the filters

633
00:36:30,188 --> 00:36:31,981
and take them to a lab for testing.

634
00:36:33,566 --> 00:36:35,110
This one
looks somehow collapsed.

635
00:36:37,696 --> 00:36:40,240
They discover
that one of the filters on the truck

636
00:36:40,281 --> 00:36:43,535
used to refuel flight 780
is damaged.

637
00:36:44,661 --> 00:36:47,247
The condition of the filters
was very unusual.

638
00:36:48,665 --> 00:36:51,501
We were all very surprised
to see the crushed filter,

639
00:36:51,543 --> 00:36:54,045
because that
doesn't normally happen,

640
00:36:54,087 --> 00:36:56,881
and it was probably an indication
of something abnormal

641
00:36:56,923 --> 00:36:59,217
having occurred during
the refuelling of the aircraft.

642
00:37:01,594 --> 00:37:03,513
Investigators wonder,

643
00:37:03,555 --> 00:37:07,350
"Did the damaged filter somehow
release powder into the fuel?"

644
00:37:09,853 --> 00:37:12,439
They separate
the layers of filter material.

645
00:37:13,898 --> 00:37:15,984
We undertook
a very laborious process

646
00:37:16,025 --> 00:37:18,027
of dissecting the filters,

647
00:37:18,069 --> 00:37:22,365
all the different layers
designed to not only take away water

648
00:37:22,407 --> 00:37:24,492
but also catch
any particulate as well.

649
00:37:25,702 --> 00:37:28,288
They then examine a sample
under a microscope.

650
00:37:32,584 --> 00:37:34,210
They make a puzzling find.

651
00:37:36,337 --> 00:37:37,714
Within the filter fibres,

652
00:37:37,756 --> 00:37:41,509
the powder made up of spheres
contains an unusual feature.

653
00:37:43,136 --> 00:37:44,220
It looks like...

654
00:37:45,555 --> 00:37:46,931
sodium crystals?

655
00:37:48,016 --> 00:37:50,977
The spheres
are encrusted with salt.

656
00:37:52,812 --> 00:37:54,814
When we found out
that there was salt involved,

657
00:37:54,856 --> 00:37:56,149
that was really mysterious to us,

658
00:37:56,191 --> 00:38:00,028
because salt is not normally found
in the fuel.

659
00:38:00,069 --> 00:38:02,530
Had salt water
got into the fuel system?

660
00:38:04,115 --> 00:38:06,576
This one's straight
from the manufacturer.

661
00:38:06,618 --> 00:38:09,621
Finding answers requires more tests,

662
00:38:09,662 --> 00:38:12,290
this time with a brand new filter.

663
00:38:12,332 --> 00:38:16,252
What we wanted to do
was test these filter monitors

664
00:38:16,294 --> 00:38:19,172
to see could we produce
these spheres,

665
00:38:19,214 --> 00:38:22,008
and what conditions
did you need to have

666
00:38:22,050 --> 00:38:23,885
for these spheres to be created!

667
00:38:25,929 --> 00:38:29,516
They expose the filters
to salt water under pressure,

668
00:38:29,557 --> 00:38:32,227
the same pressure
used inside the fuel truck.

669
00:38:34,312 --> 00:38:36,523
We tried to mimic
those conditions,

670
00:38:36,564 --> 00:38:37,941
the fuelling process

671
00:38:37,982 --> 00:38:40,860
that would have occurred
in the dispenser.

672
00:38:44,697 --> 00:38:46,241
They soon have an answer.

673
00:38:48,618 --> 00:38:50,954
Wow. Would you look at that?

674
00:38:52,664 --> 00:38:54,874
It's a major discovery.

675
00:38:54,916 --> 00:38:58,461
When fuel and salt water
pass through the filter,

676
00:38:58,503 --> 00:39:01,631
it collapses just like the one
from the airport fuel truck

677
00:39:01,673 --> 00:39:02,757
in Surabaya.

678
00:39:04,634 --> 00:39:09,389
We were able on the fuel rig
to be able to collapse a filter,

679
00:39:09,430 --> 00:39:11,766
so we knew we'd got pretty close

680
00:39:11,808 --> 00:39:15,728
to reproducing the conditions
that we'd seen on that day.

681
00:39:16,980 --> 00:39:18,773
Even more significantly...

682
00:39:21,776 --> 00:39:24,279
they find the test filter
releases spheres

683
00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:28,616
identical to those found
in flight 780's fuel system.

684
00:39:28,658 --> 00:39:29,742
What was important

685
00:39:29,784 --> 00:39:32,745
was that we demonstrated
we could generate spheres.

686
00:39:34,581 --> 00:39:36,249
Investigators now believe

687
00:39:36,291 --> 00:39:40,378
salt water was responsible
for the collapse of fuel filters,

688
00:39:40,420 --> 00:39:45,884
leading to powder contamination
in the fuel system of flight 780.

689
00:39:45,925 --> 00:39:49,345
But one critical question remains.

690
00:39:49,387 --> 00:39:51,264
INVESTIGATOR:
So, how did salt water

691
00:39:51,306 --> 00:39:53,349
get into the fuel system?

692
00:39:53,391 --> 00:39:54,642
Investigators learn that

693
00:39:54,684 --> 00:39:57,312
prior to departure
at Surabaya airport,

694
00:39:57,353 --> 00:40:02,191
Flight 780 was loaded
with 54000 pounds of fuel.

695
00:40:02,233 --> 00:40:04,527
It was very difficult
for the investigation team

696
00:40:04,569 --> 00:40:05,945
to determine exactly

697
00:40:05,987 --> 00:40:09,741
how salt water
could have got into the fuel system.

698
00:40:09,782 --> 00:40:11,159
When they dig through the records

699
00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,495
of Surabaya airport's
fuel hydrant system,

700
00:40:14,537 --> 00:40:17,707
they can see that the system
is located very near the sea.

701
00:40:25,048 --> 00:40:26,507
March 2010.

702
00:40:26,549 --> 00:40:28,593
This was taken
just days before the incident.

703
00:40:30,011 --> 00:40:31,930
I think we may have our answer.

704
00:40:31,971 --> 00:40:34,891
They discover
that the underground hydrant system

705
00:40:34,933 --> 00:40:37,727
that stores and supplies fuel
to the pump truck

706
00:40:37,769 --> 00:40:40,063
was recently upgraded.

707
00:40:40,104 --> 00:40:41,481
During construction,

708
00:40:41,522 --> 00:40:46,486
the fuel pipes had been opened up
and possibly exposed to groundwater.

709
00:40:46,527 --> 00:40:48,821
There had been construction work
on the hydrants

710
00:40:48,863 --> 00:40:51,616
and the investigation
team highly suspected

711
00:40:51,658 --> 00:40:53,201
that would have been an opportunity

712
00:40:53,242 --> 00:40:58,122
for salt water
to come into the hydrant system.

713
00:40:58,164 --> 00:41:01,042
If then the pipes
are not flushed sufficiently,

714
00:41:01,084 --> 00:41:03,169
then that salt water
could still be present

715
00:41:03,211 --> 00:41:04,837
when you start refuelling aircraft.

716
00:41:08,007 --> 00:41:09,509
Investigators now believe

717
00:41:09,550 --> 00:41:12,971
they know what happened
to Cathay Pacific flight 780.

718
00:41:16,057 --> 00:41:19,602
The underground fuel supply
contaminated with salt water

719
00:41:19,644 --> 00:41:20,812
broke down a filter,

720
00:41:20,853 --> 00:41:23,564
releasing a powder into the fuel.

721
00:41:23,606 --> 00:41:25,942
The powder jammed
the metering valves,

722
00:41:25,984 --> 00:41:28,903
preventing enough fuel
from reaching the engines.

723
00:41:35,076 --> 00:41:36,369
Engine one stall.

724
00:41:37,912 --> 00:41:39,831
We had fuel contamination

725
00:41:39,872 --> 00:41:43,418
and that contamination
throughout the fuel system

726
00:41:43,459 --> 00:41:47,088
led to the seizure
of both main metering valves,

727
00:41:47,130 --> 00:41:49,799
such that the pilot
no longer had control

728
00:41:49,841 --> 00:41:53,219
over the power of the engines.

729
00:41:53,261 --> 00:41:54,929
Investigators believe

730
00:41:54,971 --> 00:41:57,432
Captain Waters was able
to restore some thrust

731
00:41:57,473 --> 00:41:58,891
in engine number one

732
00:41:58,933 --> 00:42:03,479
only because its fuel metering valve
wasn't yet completely jammed.

733
00:42:03,521 --> 00:42:05,732
Some fuel was still getting through.

734
00:42:05,773 --> 00:42:07,859
WATERS: Slowly. Slowly. Come on.

735
00:42:07,900 --> 00:42:10,486
Rotation increasing in engine one.

736
00:42:10,528 --> 00:42:12,655
It's working.

737
00:42:12,697 --> 00:42:16,034
Once the spheres jammed the valve,
it was stuck open.

738
00:42:16,075 --> 00:42:17,160
COMPUTER: Terrain.

739
00:42:26,544 --> 00:42:27,670
Brace!

740
00:42:32,258 --> 00:42:34,177
Ugh!

741
00:42:37,055 --> 00:42:41,476
Expert piloting
brought flight 780 safely to a stop.

742
00:42:45,605 --> 00:42:46,773
I can't believe it.

743
00:42:51,319 --> 00:42:53,321
Nice one.

744
00:42:53,362 --> 00:42:55,281
EVANS:
I think the crew did a great job.

745
00:42:55,323 --> 00:42:58,117
It's not an emergency
that's trained for.

746
00:43:00,828 --> 00:43:03,998
ST-LAURENT: We can be
very thankful to the crew.

747
00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:07,752
They behaved in
a very professional manner,

748
00:43:07,794 --> 00:43:09,295
and they have our admiration.

749
00:43:13,966 --> 00:43:15,259
Since the accident,

750
00:43:15,301 --> 00:43:17,470
there have been efforts
to improve the regulation

751
00:43:17,512 --> 00:43:20,431
of aviation fuel handling
and storage.

752
00:43:23,101 --> 00:43:26,771
The company that manufactures
the filters has redesigned them

753
00:43:26,813 --> 00:43:29,440
to prevent collapse
and powder contamination.

754
00:43:32,151 --> 00:43:35,029
For their outstanding courage
and skill,

755
00:43:35,071 --> 00:43:37,281
Malcolm Waters and David Hayhoe

756
00:43:37,323 --> 00:43:40,701
were given the highest honour
in civil aviation,

757
00:43:40,743 --> 00:43:42,203
The Polaris Award.

758
00:43:42,245 --> 00:43:44,872
HAYHOE: It was very special
to be given the award.

759
00:43:44,914 --> 00:43:46,666
It was an incredible honour.

760
00:43:48,042 --> 00:43:50,294
WATERS:
It was the Federation of Air Pilots

761
00:43:50,336 --> 00:43:51,712
that awarded that award.

762
00:43:51,754 --> 00:43:54,924
So when, you know,
your fellow pilots say,

763
00:43:54,966 --> 00:43:56,008
"Job well done.

764
00:43:56,050 --> 00:43:58,219
We really think
that you pulled it off",

765
00:43:58,261 --> 00:44:01,973
so yeah, very humbled and honoured.