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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Without thrust, they can't make it
to Hong Kong or any other airport.

176
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Still 60 miles out. Too far.

177
00:10:37,768 --> 00:10:40,849
We were still about 60 miles
out to sea at that time.

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

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

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I felt fear.

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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,

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the tightening of your stomach,

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the dryness in your mouth.

185
00:11:03,121 --> 00:11:06,743
It was a sense of disbelief
that we might end up in the water.

186
00:11:06,785 --> 00:11:08,034
This can't be happening.

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Though the cabin is
now quieter than normal,

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passengers have no idea
about the danger they face.

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Everything was calm.

190
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Everything was like normal to them.

191
00:11:32,971 --> 00:11:35,385
There's an initial moment
of that shock

192
00:11:35,427 --> 00:11:38,925
and how are we going to start
overcoming this problem.

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00:11:38,966 --> 00:11:41,255
Without the power
to make it to Hong Kong,

194
00:11:41,297 --> 00:11:44,086
the pilots now face
an emergency landing,

195
00:11:44,128 --> 00:11:46,918
or ditching, in the South China sea.

196
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,450
What do you think?

197
00:11:49,492 --> 00:11:50,901
I'll start the ditching checklist.

198
00:11:50,941 --> 00:11:52,019
Good idea.

199
00:11:53,469 --> 00:11:55,872
I suggested
carrying out a checklist procedure

200
00:11:55,913 --> 00:11:56,991
to prepare the aircraft

201
00:11:57,031 --> 00:12:00,139
for the correct configuration
for the ditching itself.

202
00:12:04,986 --> 00:12:08,466
Sitting back allowed me
to start thinking rationally.

203
00:12:11,449 --> 00:12:14,225
Captain Waters tries
the throttles one more time.

204
00:12:17,167 --> 00:12:19,760
He increases power on engine two.

205
00:12:28,902 --> 00:12:30,093
Then one.

206
00:12:33,026 --> 00:12:34,515
Nothing happens.

207
00:12:34,557 --> 00:12:36,556
The engines just are
not responding at all.

208
00:12:36,598 --> 00:12:38,767
They're just remaining at idle.

209
00:12:38,809 --> 00:12:41,190
Damn it!

210
00:12:41,233 --> 00:12:42,898
I'm calling a mayday.

211
00:12:42,940 --> 00:12:44,063
Do it.

212
00:12:45,187 --> 00:12:47,810
Approach,
mayday, mayday, mayday.

213
00:12:47,851 --> 00:12:53,096
Cathay 780 had engine one stall
and engine two stall.

214
00:12:53,137 --> 00:12:56,134
The first officer puts out
a more urgent distress call.

215
00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:00,090
Currently we require
a lower descent.

216
00:13:00,131 --> 00:13:02,378
We're extending our glide
and trying for relights.

217
00:13:03,419 --> 00:13:05,833
Cathay 780,
descend to 3000 feet.

218
00:13:07,290 --> 00:13:09,996
Putting the mayday call out
over the radio,

219
00:13:10,038 --> 00:13:13,409
you really feel
that something serious is going on.

220
00:13:13,451 --> 00:13:15,865
You can tell in the voice
that comes back to you

221
00:13:15,907 --> 00:13:17,156
that it gets everyone's attention,

222
00:13:17,198 --> 00:13:19,403
because it's not a word
that you hear all the time.

223
00:13:23,483 --> 00:13:24,648
Restarting number two.

224
00:13:26,064 --> 00:13:28,312
Ram air turbine on.

225
00:13:28,353 --> 00:13:31,516
In between
the ditching checklist itself...

226
00:13:31,558 --> 00:13:33,473
Engine two select ignition.

227
00:13:33,514 --> 00:13:37,428
..my approach was
let's try and restart the engines,

228
00:13:37,470 --> 00:13:39,259
because we're going to
be in no worse a situation

229
00:13:39,301 --> 00:13:41,257
than we are now.

230
00:13:41,299 --> 00:13:42,797
No response.

231
00:13:42,839 --> 00:13:43,963
It's still at idle.

232
00:13:45,420 --> 00:13:48,375
Now the pilots contemplate
their options for ditching.

233
00:13:50,373 --> 00:13:51,456
The previous year,

234
00:13:51,497 --> 00:13:55,036
a US Airways Airbus landed
on the Hudson River in New York

235
00:13:55,077 --> 00:13:57,034
without a single casualty.

236
00:13:58,116 --> 00:14:02,819
Captain Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger
became an instant hero.

237
00:14:02,861 --> 00:14:07,939
The Sully incident had been
the first successful ditching

238
00:14:07,981 --> 00:14:09,854
really, of an airliner

239
00:14:09,895 --> 00:14:12,019
and to show that it could be done.

240
00:14:12,060 --> 00:14:15,348
But as they drop
towards the South China Sea,

241
00:14:15,390 --> 00:14:20,677
the crew of flight 780 are facing
far more treacherous conditions.

242
00:14:20,719 --> 00:14:22,591
Big swells.

243
00:14:22,633 --> 00:14:25,215
The South China Sea
is not the Hudson River.

244
00:14:27,078 --> 00:14:28,475
The seas looked very rough.

245
00:14:28,518 --> 00:14:30,084
It was a lot of white caps.

246
00:14:30,126 --> 00:14:32,835
The swells would be
one to two metres.

247
00:14:32,878 --> 00:14:35,587
I felt that our engines
would act as two big scoops

248
00:14:35,629 --> 00:14:37,449
and would pitch the aircraft down
quite violently,

249
00:14:37,492 --> 00:14:40,327
and that would probably result
in us, you know, cart wheeling

250
00:14:40,370 --> 00:14:41,894
and, and breaking apart.

251
00:14:44,434 --> 00:14:46,212
This cannot be happening.

252
00:14:47,482 --> 00:14:50,783
Both pilots know
they're running out of time.

253
00:14:55,144 --> 00:15:00,562
Cathay Pacific flight 780
now has two unresponsive engines.

254
00:15:00,605 --> 00:15:05,007
Passengers onboard are unaware
how close they are to disaster,

255
00:15:05,049 --> 00:15:08,097
just minutes from ditching
in the South China Sea.

256
00:15:11,399 --> 00:15:14,701
Captain Waters
takes manual control of the aircraft

257
00:15:14,743 --> 00:15:17,791
to ensure
the safest water landing possible.

258
00:15:17,834 --> 00:15:19,230
Turning off flight director.

259
00:15:20,881 --> 00:15:22,490
Flying by hand now.

260
00:15:23,633 --> 00:15:25,819
Roger that.

261
00:15:25,860 --> 00:15:28,572
So I start manoeuvring the aircraft
to keep it clear of clouds

262
00:15:28,612 --> 00:15:30,434
so that I can see the ocean

263
00:15:30,475 --> 00:15:33,187
and start to make an idea
where I'm going to put the aircraft.

264
00:15:38,733 --> 00:15:41,284
That's when
Captain Waters gets an idea.

265
00:15:42,700 --> 00:15:44,123
OK.

266
00:15:44,164 --> 00:15:49,435
Try slow movements,
go slowly, just ease in fuel.

267
00:15:50,522 --> 00:15:51,944
Easy does it.

268
00:15:58,846 --> 00:16:02,820
I could see Malcolm manipulating
the thrust lever for engine one.

269
00:16:02,862 --> 00:16:05,330
I was just pinching
the side of the thrust lever

270
00:16:05,371 --> 00:16:06,584
just to move it a millimetre.

271
00:16:06,626 --> 00:16:09,093
Each time I pinched it,
it would just go up a millimetre.

272
00:16:12,315 --> 00:16:13,654
Slowly.

273
00:16:15,995 --> 00:16:17,627
Slowly.

274
00:16:19,259 --> 00:16:22,604
Incredibly,
it seems to be having an effect.

275
00:16:22,646 --> 00:16:25,658
Rotation increasing in engine one.

276
00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:27,204
It's working.

277
00:16:27,246 --> 00:16:29,627
The rotation of the fan
was increasing

278
00:16:29,669 --> 00:16:34,141
from 28% to 29, to 30 to 32

279
00:16:34,182 --> 00:16:38,110
as I moved this
very, very slowly and gently up.

280
00:16:44,378 --> 00:16:45,632
Let's see how far we can get.

281
00:16:47,136 --> 00:16:50,395
He wonders if he can get the engine
to full power.

282
00:16:53,571 --> 00:16:56,371
I eased the thrust lever up
a little bit more.

283
00:17:07,695 --> 00:17:10,411
Too much.

284
00:17:10,452 --> 00:17:14,339
We had surges
and a popping and whumping noise,

285
00:17:14,381 --> 00:17:16,637
and I immediately set
the thrust lever back

286
00:17:16,679 --> 00:17:17,807
to what thrust we had.

287
00:17:18,935 --> 00:17:21,401
Waters figures out
that the engine won't go any higher

288
00:17:21,441 --> 00:17:23,615
than 74% power.

289
00:17:23,657 --> 00:17:25,036
74%.

290
00:17:26,833 --> 00:17:28,749
That'll have to do.

291
00:17:28,792 --> 00:17:30,210
We've got a thrust setting

292
00:17:30,252 --> 00:17:32,628
that resulted in us
being able to fly level.

293
00:17:32,669 --> 00:17:34,503
We weren't descending anymore.

294
00:17:34,546 --> 00:17:38,673
And that was like a huge relief.

295
00:17:38,716 --> 00:17:39,965
You see that?

296
00:17:40,008 --> 00:17:41,843
Altitude is holding.

297
00:17:41,885 --> 00:17:43,552
Fantastic.

298
00:17:43,593 --> 00:17:45,428
OK approach preparation.

299
00:17:48,054 --> 00:17:49,431
Cockpit prepared.

300
00:17:50,724 --> 00:17:52,224
Loose items secured.

301
00:17:52,266 --> 00:17:53,975
One engine is all they need

302
00:17:54,017 --> 00:17:56,560
to attempt a landing
at Hong Kong airport.

303
00:17:56,602 --> 00:17:58,812
Visual zero-seven-left.

304
00:18:00,396 --> 00:18:01,814
I knew
we were going to make Hong Kong.

305
00:18:01,856 --> 00:18:05,024
And it's very clear
we have enough energy now

306
00:18:05,065 --> 00:18:07,067
that we're going to be
able to get to land.

307
00:18:09,110 --> 00:18:12,529
Track zero-seven-three.

308
00:18:12,571 --> 00:18:13,613
Check.

309
00:18:13,654 --> 00:18:18,867
We can do our landing,
so infinitely better than ditching.

310
00:18:20,284 --> 00:18:23,703
But Captain Waters still needs
to safely land a plane

311
00:18:23,745 --> 00:18:26,288
with engines he can't rely on.

312
00:18:26,330 --> 00:18:28,748
He's not sure how much longer

313
00:18:28,790 --> 00:18:30,457
engine one
will keep providing thrust.

314
00:18:31,833 --> 00:18:34,363
We did have an engine
that was now functioning,

315
00:18:34,405 --> 00:18:35,609
but I didn't trust it.

316
00:18:35,649 --> 00:18:36,687
At any point,

317
00:18:36,729 --> 00:18:41,208
I believed that we possibly could
just roll back to idle thrust again.

318
00:18:41,250 --> 00:18:45,689
The safest plan is to get the plane
5500 feet above ground

319
00:18:45,731 --> 00:18:47,805
and then reduce power on the engine

320
00:18:47,847 --> 00:18:51,621
to start losing speed and altitude
for landing.

321
00:18:51,663 --> 00:18:54,401
They could be on the ground
in less than five minutes.

322
00:18:55,604 --> 00:18:58,508
We wanted to stay
as nice and as high as we could

323
00:18:58,549 --> 00:19:00,831
in a position
that we could manage a glide.

324
00:19:02,034 --> 00:19:03,112
Let's do this.

325
00:19:06,265 --> 00:19:10,082
Engine one has brought the plane
as far as it needs to.

326
00:19:10,124 --> 00:19:12,571
Captain Waters
pulls it back to idle,

327
00:19:12,613 --> 00:19:14,438
to lose speed.

328
00:19:14,479 --> 00:19:15,641
I closed the thrust lever

329
00:19:15,683 --> 00:19:19,292
and I began my approach essentially
for the arrival.

330
00:19:19,333 --> 00:19:21,158
Two-thirty knots.

331
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:22,959
We're at three miles.

332
00:19:23,001 --> 00:19:24,550
Checked.

333
00:19:24,592 --> 00:19:25,764
If all goes well,

334
00:19:25,806 --> 00:19:28,612
they should be on the runway
in less than four minutes.

335
00:19:29,784 --> 00:19:32,673
But they'll only have one chance
to get the plane on the ground.

336
00:19:33,763 --> 00:19:35,269
If something goes wrong,

337
00:19:35,312 --> 00:19:38,410
they don't have enough thrust
for a successful go around.

338
00:19:41,886 --> 00:19:44,146
Ladies and gentlemen,
this is the captain speaking.

339
00:19:46,617 --> 00:19:48,837
As you may be aware,

340
00:19:48,878 --> 00:19:50,888
we have a small problem
with our engines.

341
00:19:50,930 --> 00:19:54,196
Remain seated
with your seatbelts fastened

342
00:19:54,238 --> 00:19:56,248
and follow the directions
from your cabin crew.

343
00:19:58,635 --> 00:20:00,729
Cabin crew to landing stations.

344
00:20:07,219 --> 00:20:09,564
OK, flaps one.

345
00:20:09,606 --> 00:20:10,653
Thanks.

346
00:20:10,694 --> 00:20:12,118
OK, flaps one.

347
00:20:13,416 --> 00:20:15,426
Gear down.

348
00:20:15,468 --> 00:20:16,934
Gear down.

349
00:20:18,315 --> 00:20:20,577
The crew deploy
flaps and landing gear

350
00:20:20,618 --> 00:20:22,545
to prepare for landing.

351
00:20:24,136 --> 00:20:26,104
There's only five miles to go.

352
00:20:29,454 --> 00:20:32,846
Cathay 780,
do you have the airfield in sight?

353
00:20:32,888 --> 00:20:35,358
Cathay 780, affirm.

354
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,708
Hong Kong airport
has two parallel runways.

355
00:20:38,750 --> 00:20:42,058
It's built on an island
west of the city.

356
00:20:42,100 --> 00:20:43,361
Cathay 780,

357
00:20:43,403 --> 00:20:46,009
we have both runways
available for your approach.

358
00:20:47,228 --> 00:20:49,498
The crew is cleared
to land on either runway.

359
00:20:52,819 --> 00:20:55,257
The Airbus turns
onto its final approach

360
00:20:55,299 --> 00:20:57,191
to Hong Kong airport.

361
00:20:57,233 --> 00:20:58,900
Captain Waters is confident

362
00:20:58,942 --> 00:21:02,277
he can get the plane
on the ground safely.

363
00:21:02,319 --> 00:21:03,986
Auto brake?

364
00:21:04,028 --> 00:21:05,113
Lower it.

365
00:21:07,489 --> 00:21:10,615
Final items OK.

366
00:21:10,657 --> 00:21:12,324
They're a minute from touchdown.

367
00:21:18,537 --> 00:21:19,662
It's overspeed.

368
00:21:20,996 --> 00:21:22,539
It's an overspeed warning,

369
00:21:22,580 --> 00:21:25,124
a signal the aircraft
is flying too fast.

370
00:21:27,250 --> 00:21:28,667
The speed was not reducing

371
00:21:28,708 --> 00:21:32,545
to anything close
to the speeds that were indicated

372
00:21:32,586 --> 00:21:34,796
that we would be once we got
into the landing configuration.

373
00:21:36,046 --> 00:21:38,172
Captain Waters can't figure it out.

374
00:21:38,214 --> 00:21:40,757
They should be slowing down.

375
00:21:40,799 --> 00:21:42,591
He re-checks the controls.

376
00:21:43,801 --> 00:21:45,176
It just looked completely wrong

377
00:21:45,218 --> 00:21:46,635
and I was very uneasy

378
00:21:46,677 --> 00:21:50,096
that things were, once again,
to get out of my control

379
00:21:50,138 --> 00:21:51,888
and that there was something
that I was missing.

380
00:21:53,430 --> 00:21:55,015
Then he sees it.

381
00:21:56,099 --> 00:21:58,892
I looked up at the gauges
and, you know, my blood ran cold.

382
00:22:01,853 --> 00:22:03,186
Engine number one,

383
00:22:03,228 --> 00:22:05,563
which he throttled back
minutes earlier,

384
00:22:05,604 --> 00:22:08,898
is inexplicably still running
at 74% power,

385
00:22:08,940 --> 00:22:12,692
high thrust,
too high to land safely.

386
00:22:12,733 --> 00:22:16,460
I had that whole feeling
again of fear, anger.

387
00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:18,920
It was a scary moment.

388
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,498
NARRATOR: After dealing
with double engine trouble,

389
00:22:26,533 --> 00:22:30,356
the crew of flight 780
is now facing a new crisis

390
00:22:30,397 --> 00:22:31,615
one mile from the runway.

391
00:22:31,658 --> 00:22:34,345
Speed checked, two-forty.

392
00:22:35,816 --> 00:22:36,992
800 feet.

393
00:22:38,209 --> 00:22:39,469
The engine they put in idle

394
00:22:39,511 --> 00:22:43,963
for a safe, smooth landing
is still running at high speed.

395
00:22:44,006 --> 00:22:46,231
The outcome could be catastrophic.

396
00:22:48,667 --> 00:22:50,180
Five hundred.

397
00:22:51,608 --> 00:22:57,025
I could not believe
that we'd gone from a situation

398
00:22:57,068 --> 00:22:58,580
where we were looking at ditching

399
00:22:58,621 --> 00:23:01,562
and now I had an engine stuck
at high thrust.

400
00:23:02,779 --> 00:23:04,922
With no option for a go around,

401
00:23:04,964 --> 00:23:08,030
they're going to have to risk
landing the plane at high speed

402
00:23:08,072 --> 00:23:11,557
and hope they can stop it
before overshooting the runway

403
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,070
and ending up in the water.

404
00:23:14,918 --> 00:23:17,480
You've got 12500 feet
of runway, Mal.

405
00:23:17,522 --> 00:23:19,076
Check.

406
00:23:19,118 --> 00:23:20,462
You know, we couldn't determine

407
00:23:20,504 --> 00:23:22,016
how much landing distance
was required.

408
00:23:22,059 --> 00:23:23,444
We were off the chart,

409
00:23:23,487 --> 00:23:26,217
you know, for the speed
and for the weight that we had.

410
00:23:26,258 --> 00:23:27,393
Four hundred feet.

411
00:23:35,457 --> 00:23:37,893
The longer we prolong this,

412
00:23:37,934 --> 00:23:39,782
the more unknown things
are happening.

413
00:23:44,150 --> 00:23:47,217
It was our one chance
to get this on the ground,

414
00:23:47,259 --> 00:23:49,107
and we had to make
the best go at it.

415
00:23:53,433 --> 00:23:55,660
COMPUTER: Too low. Terrain.

416
00:23:55,700 --> 00:23:57,232
Too low. Terrain.

417
00:23:57,267 --> 00:24:00,163
Their speed is a hundred knots
faster than normal.

418
00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:01,977
So high, the flight computer

419
00:24:02,033 --> 00:24:03,900
doesn't recognise
that the pilots are trying to land.

420
00:24:03,933 --> 00:24:05,233
COMPUTER: Pull up.

421
00:24:05,267 --> 00:24:06,362
It's warning the pilot,

422
00:24:06,404 --> 00:24:08,679
like you are putting aircraft
in a dangerous spot

423
00:24:08,721 --> 00:24:11,206
and those warnings are loud
for a reason.

424
00:24:11,248 --> 00:24:14,955
And I just had to put it all
to the side,

425
00:24:14,997 --> 00:24:17,019
focus on
what I was trying to achieve.

426
00:24:20,095 --> 00:24:22,074
Pull up. Terrain.

427
00:24:22,117 --> 00:24:24,139
Pull up.

428
00:24:24,181 --> 00:24:25,487
Terrain.

429
00:24:25,528 --> 00:24:27,719
Disregard that.

430
00:24:27,762 --> 00:24:30,289
Captain Waters
pushes the nose down,

431
00:24:30,331 --> 00:24:32,817
forcing the Airbus onto the runway.

432
00:24:32,859 --> 00:24:34,249
Terrain.

433
00:24:34,291 --> 00:24:36,439
Pull up. Terrain.

434
00:24:47,813 --> 00:24:49,624
The aircraft did not want to land.

435
00:24:49,666 --> 00:24:51,899
And I remember thinking,
"Wow, this is it."

436
00:24:51,941 --> 00:24:53,120
'Cause it was very violent.

437
00:24:55,311 --> 00:25:00,029
I thought, we're going to crash
into bits and pieces.

438
00:25:03,947 --> 00:25:05,169
Brace!

439
00:25:08,033 --> 00:25:09,453
I managed to keep that wing up

440
00:25:09,495 --> 00:25:11,917
high enough that it just grazed
the surface of the runway

441
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:13,922
and I got it back under control.

442
00:25:13,964 --> 00:25:15,802
We're down.

443
00:25:15,843 --> 00:25:18,809
Finally, the aircraft
is firmly on the ground.

444
00:25:21,607 --> 00:25:23,362
Full reverse!

445
00:25:25,409 --> 00:25:28,416
The crew deploys reverse thrust
on the engines

446
00:25:28,457 --> 00:25:32,341
to slow the Airbus down
while applying full braking power.

447
00:25:36,518 --> 00:25:38,148
Immediately
I just step on the brakes,

448
00:25:38,189 --> 00:25:39,693
hold 'em,
toe brakes to the floor.

449
00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:45,748
HAYHOE: No number two reverse!
No decel!

450
00:25:45,789 --> 00:25:48,627
But with only
one partially functioning engine,

451
00:25:48,669 --> 00:25:51,258
they only have one thrust reverser.

452
00:25:51,300 --> 00:25:53,596
They could still
overshoot the runway.

453
00:25:55,682 --> 00:25:57,936
I didn't think
we would stop by the end.

454
00:26:00,859 --> 00:26:04,491
The Airbus is getting close
to the end of the runway.

455
00:26:05,910 --> 00:26:08,665
And I could judge
the deceleration rate was such that,

456
00:26:08,707 --> 00:26:10,920
you know, I started to get
a glimmer of like,

457
00:26:10,961 --> 00:26:13,591
man, I think we really,
uh, we could do this.

458
00:26:24,821 --> 00:26:27,618
Finally,
the aircraft comes to a halt

459
00:26:27,660 --> 00:26:30,039
just a short distance
from the water's edge.

460
00:26:31,458 --> 00:26:34,673
They've used up
more than 8800 feet of runway.

461
00:26:38,596 --> 00:26:39,807
I can't believe it.

462
00:26:41,059 --> 00:26:43,147
We made it.

463
00:26:43,188 --> 00:26:44,315
Nice one.

464
00:26:45,777 --> 00:26:48,157
Once the aircraft did stop,

465
00:26:48,198 --> 00:26:51,370
there's a look of,
"What the hell just happened?"

466
00:26:53,249 --> 00:26:55,503
It was just this humongous relief.

467
00:26:57,090 --> 00:26:59,302
So happy that, you know,

468
00:26:59,343 --> 00:27:01,724
we were going to go home
and see our families.

469
00:27:06,733 --> 00:27:10,788
Against all odds,
flight 780 has landed safely.

470
00:27:10,833 --> 00:27:12,868
But it isn't out of danger yet.

471
00:27:14,030 --> 00:27:15,360
Check the wheel temps.

472
00:27:15,401 --> 00:27:17,104
We may have to order an evacuation.

473
00:27:17,146 --> 00:27:18,599
Get the checklist.

474
00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:20,219
The crew worries
that the extreme braking

475
00:27:20,260 --> 00:27:23,042
may have caused their wheels
to overheat.

476
00:27:24,205 --> 00:27:25,908
Both approaching 1000 degrees.

477
00:27:28,898 --> 00:27:30,435
Their hunch is correct.

478
00:27:31,888 --> 00:27:33,799
Oh, my goodness.
We, we've got to be on fire.

479
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:35,584
We need to get everybody
off the plane.

480
00:27:36,747 --> 00:27:38,616
This is the captain. Evacuate!

481
00:27:38,658 --> 00:27:40,444
Evacuate! Evacuate!

482
00:27:40,485 --> 00:27:43,060
Come this way
and leave everything behind!

483
00:27:54,065 --> 00:27:56,515
The passengers
and crew evacuate safely

484
00:27:56,557 --> 00:27:59,173
with only a few minor injuries.

485
00:28:05,610 --> 00:28:06,856
Once I was standing on the ground

486
00:28:06,898 --> 00:28:08,476
I turned around
and looked at the airplane

487
00:28:08,518 --> 00:28:11,508
and it was like a scene
from a Hollywood movie.

488
00:28:11,550 --> 00:28:13,708
The steam and smoke coming off.

489
00:28:13,750 --> 00:28:16,907
The fire services were
dousing the wheels

490
00:28:16,948 --> 00:28:19,481
and paramedics are turning up.

491
00:28:19,523 --> 00:28:21,682
People are being helped away
from the bottom of slides.

492
00:28:28,825 --> 00:28:29,988
Within hours,

493
00:28:30,030 --> 00:28:32,231
Hong Kong's
Civil Aviation Department

494
00:28:32,272 --> 00:28:33,726
launches an investigation.

495
00:28:36,342 --> 00:28:38,876
Anne Evans is
a flight test engineer

496
00:28:38,917 --> 00:28:42,530
who works for the British
Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

497
00:28:42,572 --> 00:28:45,687
She's been invited
to take part in the investigation,

498
00:28:45,727 --> 00:28:49,216
in part because
the Airbus's Trent 700 engines

499
00:28:49,258 --> 00:28:52,289
were made
by British company Rolls-Royce.

500
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,015
This Trent 700
is a very common engine

501
00:28:57,057 --> 00:29:00,461
fitted to a lot of airplanes
all over the world.

502
00:29:00,502 --> 00:29:03,065
So if there's an engineering problem
with a particular design,

503
00:29:03,107 --> 00:29:05,209
then we want to find that quickly.

504
00:29:05,250 --> 00:29:06,595
Here's what we know.

505
00:29:09,368 --> 00:29:13,107
The engines on flight 780 failed
to respond to throttle commands.

506
00:29:13,149 --> 00:29:17,981
Investigators meet
to discuss the few clues they have.

507
00:29:18,023 --> 00:29:20,081
It's odd
that both engines stalled.

508
00:29:20,124 --> 00:29:22,140
They're struck by the fact

509
00:29:22,183 --> 00:29:24,871
that the same malfunction
affected both engines

510
00:29:24,914 --> 00:29:26,552
one after the other.

511
00:29:26,594 --> 00:29:29,871
It's very rare to have
two systems fail at the same time,

512
00:29:29,913 --> 00:29:33,443
given the level
of redundancy and reliability

513
00:29:33,484 --> 00:29:35,880
that's built into the engines.

514
00:29:35,921 --> 00:29:39,493
It suggests the cause
may not be the engines themselves.

515
00:29:41,048 --> 00:29:44,325
Critical systems like that
don't fail simultaneously.

516
00:29:44,367 --> 00:29:46,662
Could something
far more mysterious

517
00:29:46,700 --> 00:29:48,866
lie at the heart of the problem?

518
00:29:55,067 --> 00:29:56,170
In Hong Kong,

519
00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:58,416
investigators work
to unravel the mystery

520
00:29:58,460 --> 00:30:02,979
of Cathay Pacific flight
780's two malfunctioning engines.

521
00:30:05,933 --> 00:30:08,731
They retrieve
the black box flight data recorder

522
00:30:08,773 --> 00:30:10,610
from the rear of the aircraft.

523
00:30:12,197 --> 00:30:13,367
It contains information

524
00:30:13,409 --> 00:30:16,499
about the plane's functions
throughout the flight.

525
00:30:16,541 --> 00:30:21,385
The data onboard the aircraft is key
in this type of investigation.

526
00:30:22,889 --> 00:30:26,354
Investigators upload the data
from the recorder.

527
00:30:26,396 --> 00:30:28,986
We need to see
throttle position and fuel flow.

528
00:30:30,196 --> 00:30:34,874
The device records
359 data parameters.

529
00:30:34,916 --> 00:30:38,089
They focus in
on the A-330's engine functions.

530
00:30:39,760 --> 00:30:40,888
Stop.

531
00:30:40,930 --> 00:30:42,057
What's going on here?

532
00:30:43,895 --> 00:30:46,442
Right away,
they notice something unusual.

533
00:30:48,697 --> 00:30:51,579
Thrust levers are moving,
but fuel flow's flat-lining.

534
00:30:53,750 --> 00:30:57,092
Right after the pilots tried
to restore power to the engines

535
00:30:57,133 --> 00:31:01,101
by pushing the throttle up,
the fuel flow remained the same.

536
00:31:03,648 --> 00:31:05,193
They gave some thrust commands,

537
00:31:05,235 --> 00:31:08,158
but no corresponding response
from either engines at the time.

538
00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:09,451
Damn it!

539
00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:12,893
So we really needed
to understand what caused that.

540
00:31:12,933 --> 00:31:14,225
Investigators wonder

541
00:31:14,267 --> 00:31:19,517
if a fuel flow problem
caused flight 780's engine trouble.

542
00:31:19,559 --> 00:31:21,268
Thank you.

543
00:31:21,309 --> 00:31:23,934
The flight data recorder
helps them spot the problem.

544
00:31:23,976 --> 00:31:25,935
But to try to pinpoint the cause,

545
00:31:25,977 --> 00:31:28,518
they turn
to another source of onboard data.

546
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:31,394
It's called the post flight report.

547
00:31:31,436 --> 00:31:33,602
Engine two control system fault.

548
00:31:33,644 --> 00:31:35,728
It says that the VSV was jammed.

549
00:31:35,769 --> 00:31:38,978
It contains in-depth data
about the error messages

550
00:31:39,020 --> 00:31:40,395
that appeared
on the monitoring system

551
00:31:40,437 --> 00:31:41,520
throughout the flight.

552
00:31:41,562 --> 00:31:43,812
OK.

553
00:31:43,854 --> 00:31:46,312
It's a piece of information
for troubleshooting

554
00:31:46,354 --> 00:31:49,062
to tell the maintainers
that the aircraft's had a problem

555
00:31:49,104 --> 00:31:50,438
and what they need to do to fix it.

556
00:31:55,688 --> 00:31:58,147
Something was retarding the valve.

557
00:31:58,188 --> 00:31:59,439
Anne Evans discovers that

558
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,313
early in the flight
the computers detected a problem

559
00:32:02,355 --> 00:32:06,189
in a key part of the fuel system
called the main metering valve.

560
00:32:09,231 --> 00:32:11,315
So the warnings
that were coming up,

561
00:32:11,357 --> 00:32:14,524
were warnings to do
with the main metering valve

562
00:32:14,566 --> 00:32:16,774
supplying fuel to the engine.

563
00:32:18,733 --> 00:32:21,380
The main metering valve
is made up of a piston

564
00:32:21,423 --> 00:32:23,723
that slides within a cylinder.

565
00:32:23,767 --> 00:32:25,927
When pilots move the thrust levers,

566
00:32:25,968 --> 00:32:28,792
it increases or decreases
the flow of fuel

567
00:32:28,834 --> 00:32:31,451
to the A-330's turbo fan engines.

568
00:32:32,489 --> 00:32:34,276
That valve wasn't moving.

569
00:32:34,318 --> 00:32:36,187
It wasn't able to respond
to the commands.

570
00:32:39,676 --> 00:32:43,290
To better understand why
the metering valve malfunctioned,

571
00:32:43,331 --> 00:32:46,820
investigators send it
to Rolls-Royce for analysis.

572
00:32:49,687 --> 00:32:52,386
We have the best expertise
of how to strip those components

573
00:32:52,427 --> 00:32:53,466
here in the UK

574
00:32:53,508 --> 00:32:55,502
and we cut the outer sleeve
of the metering valve in half

575
00:32:55,543 --> 00:32:57,205
to see
what was inside the metering valve.

576
00:33:00,652 --> 00:33:02,853
After cutting open
the valve to study it...

577
00:33:03,892 --> 00:33:05,928
That's not normal, is it?

578
00:33:05,969 --> 00:33:08,794
..they find something
they've never seen before.

579
00:33:11,368 --> 00:33:14,816
A strange white substance
coating the walls of the valve.

580
00:33:17,143 --> 00:33:20,922
What we saw seemed
like very, very fine powder,

581
00:33:20,964 --> 00:33:22,625
even finer than caster sugar.

582
00:33:22,667 --> 00:33:24,589
Very, very small particles.

583
00:33:29,018 --> 00:33:33,238
Technicians examine the white powder
under an electron microscope.

584
00:33:39,297 --> 00:33:42,263
They discover
it's made up of tiny spheres

585
00:33:42,305 --> 00:33:44,269
stuck to the metal walls
of the valve.

586
00:33:50,954 --> 00:33:52,751
Investigators dig deeper

587
00:33:52,793 --> 00:33:56,094
to see if the powder can be found
in other parts of the fuel system.

588
00:34:01,776 --> 00:34:06,164
We immediately started
finding small particles

589
00:34:06,205 --> 00:34:08,545
even within the fuel tank itself.

590
00:34:08,587 --> 00:34:11,178
So the fuel system and the engine

591
00:34:11,219 --> 00:34:13,308
had some sort of contaminant

592
00:34:13,349 --> 00:34:15,230
that we didn't really understand
what it was.

593
00:34:17,361 --> 00:34:20,118
Could the mysterious particles
in the fuel system

594
00:34:20,161 --> 00:34:23,044
explain why the pilots
had such difficulty

595
00:34:23,085 --> 00:34:25,425
controlling engine power.

596
00:34:25,467 --> 00:34:28,090
The metering valve was
kind of deluged with this material

597
00:34:28,132 --> 00:34:29,632
which had silted
the metering valve up

598
00:34:29,673 --> 00:34:32,339
and caused it to become stuck
in its current position.

599
00:34:36,629 --> 00:34:39,002
Investigators
need to learn all they can

600
00:34:39,044 --> 00:34:40,543
about the strange substance.

601
00:34:41,627 --> 00:34:43,917
Having identified
this particulate

602
00:34:43,958 --> 00:34:47,665
within the various areas
of the fuel system and the engine,

603
00:34:47,707 --> 00:34:49,623
our first thought,
"Well what is it?"

604
00:34:51,122 --> 00:34:52,787
X-ray spectroscopy

605
00:34:52,828 --> 00:34:55,204
reveals the chemical make-up
of the material.

606
00:34:57,286 --> 00:34:58,702
The analysis shows

607
00:34:58,744 --> 00:35:01,658
that the powder is
a type of super absorbent polymer

608
00:35:01,700 --> 00:35:03,491
or SAP.

609
00:35:03,533 --> 00:35:05,691
When it comes
into contact with water,

610
00:35:05,732 --> 00:35:07,807
it creates a gel-like substance.

611
00:35:09,342 --> 00:35:12,744
These are organic compounds
designed to absorb water.

612
00:35:12,786 --> 00:35:16,187
That gave us a clue
as to where they'd come from.

613
00:35:18,719 --> 00:35:22,038
Investigators know that the powder
is used in refuelling trucks

614
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:25,150
to prevent water from getting
into aircraft fuel tanks.

615
00:35:27,058 --> 00:35:30,958
The refuelling trucks pump fuel
from underground tanks and pipes

616
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,776
through a filter on the truck
and into the aircraft.

617
00:35:34,817 --> 00:35:37,348
If the fuel is contaminated
with water,

618
00:35:37,390 --> 00:35:41,497
the powder in the filter absorbs it
by forming a gel inside the filter.

619
00:35:43,074 --> 00:35:45,398
So the super absorbent powder

620
00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,717
is there really
to just absorb the water

621
00:35:48,758 --> 00:35:51,248
and make sure
that we're protecting the aircraft

622
00:35:51,289 --> 00:35:53,074
from the presence of water
in the tanks.

623
00:35:54,733 --> 00:35:58,513
But the waterlogged gel
is supposed to stay in the filter.

624
00:35:58,555 --> 00:36:00,616
It should never end up in the fuel.

625
00:36:02,592 --> 00:36:04,782
It is so commonly used
within the industry

626
00:36:04,826 --> 00:36:07,659
for this purpose
of filtering out water.

627
00:36:07,702 --> 00:36:11,010
What we didn't understand was
how did it get onboard the aircraft?

628
00:36:21,874 --> 00:36:23,206
Investigators suspect

629
00:36:23,249 --> 00:36:26,383
that filters in a fuel truck
at Surabaya Airport

630
00:36:26,426 --> 00:36:27,801
may have been involved

631
00:36:27,843 --> 00:36:31,022
in the dual engine failure
of flight 780.

632
00:36:33,426 --> 00:36:35,659
To find out,
they recover the filters

633
00:36:35,702 --> 00:36:37,549
and take them to a lab for testing.

634
00:36:39,181 --> 00:36:40,770
This one
looks somehow collapsed.

635
00:36:43,433 --> 00:36:45,990
They discover
that one of the filters on the truck

636
00:36:46,031 --> 00:36:49,301
used to refuel flight 780
is damaged.

637
00:36:50,433 --> 00:36:53,032
The condition of the filters
was very unusual.

638
00:36:54,457 --> 00:36:57,307
We were all very surprised
to see the crushed filter,

639
00:36:57,349 --> 00:36:59,864
because that
doesn't normally happen,

640
00:36:59,906 --> 00:37:02,714
and it was probably an indication
of something abnormal

641
00:37:02,756 --> 00:37:05,062
having occurred during
the refuelling of the aircraft.

642
00:37:07,450 --> 00:37:09,379
Investigators wonder,

643
00:37:09,421 --> 00:37:13,235
"Did the damaged filter somehow
release powder into the fuel?"

644
00:37:15,751 --> 00:37:18,350
They separate
the layers of filter material.

645
00:37:19,816 --> 00:37:21,912
We undertook
a very laborious process

646
00:37:21,954 --> 00:37:23,966
of dissecting the filters,

647
00:37:24,008 --> 00:37:28,325
all the different layers
designed to not only take away water

648
00:37:28,367 --> 00:37:30,463
but also catch
any particulate as well.

649
00:37:31,679 --> 00:37:34,278
They then examine a sample
under a microscope.

650
00:37:38,595 --> 00:37:40,229
They make a puzzling find.

651
00:37:42,367 --> 00:37:43,751
Within the filter fibres,

652
00:37:43,793 --> 00:37:47,565
the powder made up of spheres
contains an unusual feature.

653
00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:50,276
It looks like...

654
00:37:51,601 --> 00:37:52,966
sodium crystals?

655
00:37:54,043 --> 00:37:56,981
The spheres
are encrusted with salt.

656
00:37:58,802 --> 00:38:00,789
When we found out
that there was salt involved,

657
00:38:00,831 --> 00:38:02,114
that was really mysterious to us,

658
00:38:02,156 --> 00:38:05,963
because salt is not normally found
in the fuel.

659
00:38:06,004 --> 00:38:08,446
Had salt water
got into the fuel system?

660
00:38:10,019 --> 00:38:12,461
This one's straight
from the manufacturer.

661
00:38:12,503 --> 00:38:15,483
Finding answers requires more tests,

662
00:38:15,524 --> 00:38:18,132
this time with a brand new filter.

663
00:38:18,174 --> 00:38:22,064
What we wanted to do
was test these filter monitors

664
00:38:22,105 --> 00:38:24,961
to see could we produce
these spheres,

665
00:38:25,003 --> 00:38:27,776
and what conditions
did you need to have

666
00:38:27,818 --> 00:38:29,639
for these spheres to be created!

667
00:38:31,667 --> 00:38:35,264
They expose the filters
to salt water under pressure,

668
00:38:35,305 --> 00:38:37,983
the same pressure
used inside the fuel truck.

669
00:38:40,073 --> 00:38:42,291
We tried to mimic
those conditions,

670
00:38:42,332 --> 00:38:43,712
the fuelling process

671
00:38:43,754 --> 00:38:46,640
that would have occurred
in the dispenser.

672
00:38:50,487 --> 00:38:52,036
They soon have an answer.

673
00:38:54,419 --> 00:38:56,762
Wow. Would you look at that?

674
00:38:58,477 --> 00:39:00,693
It's a major discovery.

675
00:39:00,735 --> 00:39:04,290
When fuel and salt water
pass through the filter,

676
00:39:04,332 --> 00:39:07,469
it collapses just like the one
from the airport fuel truck

677
00:39:07,511 --> 00:39:08,598
in Surabaya.

678
00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:15,248
We were able on the fuel rig
to be able to collapse a filter,

679
00:39:15,289 --> 00:39:17,632
so we knew we'd got pretty close

680
00:39:17,674 --> 00:39:21,605
to reproducing the conditions
that we'd seen on that day.

681
00:39:22,860 --> 00:39:24,658
Even more significantly...

682
00:39:27,670 --> 00:39:30,180
they find the test filter
releases spheres

683
00:39:30,221 --> 00:39:34,529
identical to those found
in flight 780's fuel system.

684
00:39:34,571 --> 00:39:35,658
What was important

685
00:39:35,700 --> 00:39:38,615
was that we demonstrated
we could generate spheres.

686
00:39:40,423 --> 00:39:42,065
Investigators now believe

687
00:39:42,106 --> 00:39:46,130
salt water was responsible
for the collapse of fuel filters,

688
00:39:46,172 --> 00:39:51,551
leading to powder contamination
in the fuel system of flight 780.

689
00:39:51,592 --> 00:39:54,959
But one critical question remains.

690
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:56,922
INVESTIGATOR:
So, how did salt water

691
00:39:56,965 --> 00:39:59,057
get into the fuel system?

692
00:39:59,100 --> 00:40:00,354
Investigators learn that

693
00:40:00,396 --> 00:40:03,030
prior to departure
at Surabaya airport,

694
00:40:03,071 --> 00:40:07,920
Flight 780 was loaded
with 54000 pounds of fuel.

695
00:40:07,962 --> 00:40:10,261
It was very difficult
for the investigation team

696
00:40:10,303 --> 00:40:11,682
to determine exactly

697
00:40:11,724 --> 00:40:15,487
how salt water
could have got into the fuel system.

698
00:40:15,528 --> 00:40:16,908
When they dig through the records

699
00:40:16,949 --> 00:40:20,252
of Surabaya airport's
fuel hydrant system,

700
00:40:20,294 --> 00:40:23,471
they can see that the system
is located very near the sea.

701
00:40:30,829 --> 00:40:32,291
March 2010.

702
00:40:32,333 --> 00:40:34,281
This was taken
just days before the incident.

703
00:40:35,633 --> 00:40:37,559
I think we may have our answer.

704
00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:40,531
They discover
that the underground hydrant system

705
00:40:40,573 --> 00:40:43,377
that stores and supplies fuel
to the pump truck

706
00:40:43,419 --> 00:40:45,722
was recently upgraded.

707
00:40:45,763 --> 00:40:47,145
During construction,

708
00:40:47,186 --> 00:40:52,168
the fuel pipes had been opened up
and possibly exposed to groundwater.

709
00:40:52,209 --> 00:40:54,511
There had been construction work
on the hydrants

710
00:40:54,553 --> 00:40:57,316
and the investigation
team highly suspected

711
00:40:57,359 --> 00:40:58,907
that would have been an opportunity

712
00:40:58,948 --> 00:41:03,846
for salt water
to come into the hydrant system.

713
00:41:03,888 --> 00:41:06,777
If then the pipes
are not flushed sufficiently,

714
00:41:06,819 --> 00:41:08,911
then that salt water
could still be present

715
00:41:08,954 --> 00:41:10,585
when you start refuelling aircraft.

716
00:41:13,767 --> 00:41:15,269
Investigators now believe

717
00:41:15,310 --> 00:41:18,731
they know what happened
to Cathay Pacific flight 780.

718
00:41:21,817 --> 00:41:25,361
The underground fuel supply
contaminated with salt water

719
00:41:25,403 --> 00:41:26,571
broke down a filter,

720
00:41:26,612 --> 00:41:29,323
releasing a powder into the fuel.

721
00:41:29,365 --> 00:41:31,701
The powder jammed
the metering valves,

722
00:41:31,743 --> 00:41:34,662
preventing enough fuel
from reaching the engines.

723
00:41:40,835 --> 00:41:42,128
Engine one stall.

724
00:41:43,670 --> 00:41:45,589
We had fuel contamination

725
00:41:45,630 --> 00:41:49,176
and that contamination
throughout the fuel system

726
00:41:49,217 --> 00:41:52,846
led to the seizure
of both main metering valves,

727
00:41:52,888 --> 00:41:55,557
such that the pilot
no longer had control

728
00:41:55,599 --> 00:41:58,977
over the power of the engines.

729
00:41:59,019 --> 00:42:00,687
Investigators believe

730
00:42:00,729 --> 00:42:03,189
Captain Waters was able
to restore some thrust

731
00:42:03,230 --> 00:42:04,648
in engine number one

732
00:42:04,690 --> 00:42:09,236
only because its fuel metering valve
wasn't yet completely jammed.

733
00:42:09,278 --> 00:42:11,489
Some fuel was still getting through.

734
00:42:11,530 --> 00:42:13,616
WATERS: Slowly. Slowly. Come on.

735
00:42:13,657 --> 00:42:16,243
Rotation increasing in engine one.

736
00:42:16,285 --> 00:42:18,412
It's working.

737
00:42:18,454 --> 00:42:21,791
Once the spheres jammed the valve,
it was stuck open.

738
00:42:21,832 --> 00:42:22,916
COMPUTER: Terrain.

739
00:42:32,300 --> 00:42:33,424
Brace!

740
00:42:38,003 --> 00:42:39,918
Ugh!

741
00:42:42,791 --> 00:42:47,204
Expert piloting
brought flight 780 safely to a stop.

742
00:42:51,325 --> 00:42:52,491
I can't believe it.

743
00:42:57,028 --> 00:42:59,026
Nice one.

744
00:42:59,067 --> 00:43:00,980
EVANS:
I think the crew did a great job.

745
00:43:01,022 --> 00:43:03,807
It's not an emergency
that's trained for.

746
00:43:06,510 --> 00:43:09,670
ST-LAURENT: We can be
very thankful to the crew.

747
00:43:09,712 --> 00:43:13,412
They behaved in
a very professional manner,

748
00:43:13,454 --> 00:43:14,950
and they have our admiration.

749
00:43:19,607 --> 00:43:20,896
Since the accident,

750
00:43:20,937 --> 00:43:23,100
there have been efforts
to improve the regulation

751
00:43:23,142 --> 00:43:26,051
of aviation fuel handling
and storage.

752
00:43:28,713 --> 00:43:32,372
The company that manufactures
the filters has redesigned them

753
00:43:32,414 --> 00:43:35,032
to prevent collapse
and powder contamination.

754
00:43:37,735 --> 00:43:40,604
For their outstanding courage
and skill,

755
00:43:40,646 --> 00:43:42,849
Malcolm Waters and David Hayhoe

756
00:43:42,891 --> 00:43:46,258
were given the highest honour
in civil aviation,

757
00:43:46,300 --> 00:43:47,952
The Polaris Award.

758
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,756
HAYHOE: It was very special
to be given the award.

759
00:43:50,800 --> 00:43:52,550
It was an incredible honour.

760
00:43:53,925 --> 00:43:56,174
WATERS:
It was the Federation of Air Pilots

761
00:43:56,216 --> 00:43:57,591
that awarded that award.

762
00:43:57,633 --> 00:44:00,956
So when, you know,
your fellow pilots say,

763
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:01,993
"Job well done.

764
00:44:02,033 --> 00:44:04,126
We really think
that you pulled it off",

765
00:44:04,167 --> 00:44:07,750
so yeah, very humbled and honoured.