Air Crash Investigations - JAL 123

[Kuragiman 227]

Does anyone else watch/has watched this series?   I find it extremely fascinating to see how these investigators put the pieces of the puzzle together to discover why planes were brought down.   I know the show has been on a for a while but I just discovered it and have been watching available episodes on YouTube.

 

The one I watched for lunch today was moving to me.   Japan Airlines Flight 123, Boeing 747 Modified.   One poorly repaired plate on a pressure bulkhead wipes the plane's tail plain out and all hydraulics after the shoddy repair fails in flight.   The crew managed to keep the plane aloft for 32 minutes with just the four engines.   What a heroic effort.    I listened to the real CVR tape.   They really gave it their all and though it may not seem like much, they were able to save 4 lives out of the 500+ on board, despite the horrific impact into the mountain.

 

On a less sad note;   Man, I wish we had a simulator with graphics like the ones they use in this series to recreate the crash scenarios... or I wish I at least got the same frame rates they are pushing with FSX.  XD

[gandy 18]

I watched that one the other day, they are on in the mornings over this side of the pond so i normally just get back in time to watch them after taking me kids to school.

[Kuragiman 227]

I watched that one the other day, they are on in the mornings over this side of the pond so i normally just get back in time to watch them after taking me kids to school.

 

The one I watched the day before JAL 123 was gut wrenching.   Mid-air collision over Zurich between a Russian regional jet and a DHL 757 Cargo plane.   So many children perished on that flight and the father of one of the children murdered the ATC in charge of the airspace at the time of the collision.   TCAS systems alerted both planes but instead of listening to their airplanes they listened to the ATC and the commuter plane descended into the path of the 757.  The 757's stabilizer cut the other plane in half.   It just makes you think... just ONE more second, One LOUSY second and they would have missed each other.

 

Every time my TCAS system goes off in FSX I start looking all over the place for them.   I saw a few yesterday coming at me, at their assigned altitude.   Just seeing it in the simulator, the rate at which we closed and whipped by each other..  there really is very little time to take action when you are alerted.

[cva1077 68]

I watch the 2 back to back episodes every Tuesday night. Last week was Avianca 52 and Aloha 243.

 

ACI and Top Gear are the only decent TV shows on at the moment....

[japascoe 98]

The one I watched the day before JAL 123 was gut wrenching. Mid-air collision over Zurich between a Russian regional jet and a DHL 757 Cargo plane. So many children perished on that flight and the father of one of the children murdered the ATC in charge of the airspace at the time of the collision. TCAS systems alerted both planes but instead of listening to their airplanes they listened to the ATC and the commuter plane descended into the path of the 757. The 757's stabilizer cut the other plane in half. It just makes you think... just ONE more second, One LOUSY second and they would have missed each other.

 

Every time my TCAS system goes off in FSX I start looking all over the place for them. I saw a few yesterday coming at me, at their assigned altitude. Just seeing it in the simulator, the rate at which we closed and whipped by each other.. there really is very little time to take action when you are alerted.

Actually the problem was that one crew (the DHL) did listen to their TCAS, but the other plane followed ATC instructions instead.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

That incident was extremely unfortunate. You have a couple of Boeing technicians that were found at fault and could have faced criminal charges in Japan, however the Japanese didn't pursue that as it was recognized how devastating this accident was on those 2 technicians. These were a couple of guys that meant the best and really cared about what they were doing and the Japanese were good to recognized that. 

 

Goes to show the differences in culture as if this happened in America the litigation would have gone on for decades.

[MikeT707 1,181]

I have seen almost all of the episodes in its 12 or 13 year run.  Extremely interesting forensic work that is done to understand the causes (I think they call it a chain of events).  So many lives have been saved as a result of the changes implemented in the air transport industry based on the findings that have been obtained through these terrible tragedies.  I would recommend this series to anyone that has an interest in the air transport industry.

[Kuragiman 227]

I have seen almost all of the episodes in its 12 or 13 year run.  Extremely interesting forensic work that is done to understand the causes (I think they call it a chain of events).  So many lives have been saved as a result of the changes implemented in the air transport industry based on the findings that have been obtained through these terrible tragedies.  I would recommend this series to anyone that has an interest in the air transport industry.

 

Yes.  I have not seen an uninteresting episode yet.    Some episodes have made me shake my head at the end when pilot error in involved, especially if it's a noob mistake like turning on a reverse in flight or forgetting to check the throttle settings.     I would like to say the show is unbiased but I noticed there are more episodes with Airbuses going crazy than any other plane.  @_@   Is it because... well...  Airbuses like to be Air Lawn Darts more often than other plane types?    I have had no desire to fly one myself and don't really know much about them but they sure appear on ACI a lot in newer episodes.

[anthony31 63]

I watch them.

 

But I much prefer the episodes where everyone walks away safe. Some of the crash scenes (especially where there is a fire) are a bit too sad to watch.

[MikeT707 1,181]

I watch them.

 

But I much prefer the episodes where everyone walks away safe. Some of the crash scenes (especially where there is a fire) are a bit too sad to watch.

I think one of the saddest episodes is related to Nigeria Airways Flight 2120.  The Mayday/Air Crash Investigation episode is called "Under Pressure".

[LeeL 272]

ACI and Top Gear are the only decent TV shows on at the moment....

That's my tv schedule also, nothing much else.

 

About JAL123

 

Am I right in remembering that more people survived the crash they just couldn't get the rescue team to them in time?

[IFR7700 228]

There are many lessons to learn in each of these episodes.  I've been a fan for a while.

[tf51d 284]

 

 

They really gave it their all and though it may not seem like much, they were able to save 4 lives out of the 500+ on board, despite the horrific impact into the mountain.

 

What is really disturbing, was there was still more people alive based on the surviving flight attendant report and the US had rescue units in the area, but was called off. They may have been able to save some more people. Instead Japan's rescue units didn't arrive til the next morning 14 hours later, and it was too late!!

[Kuragiman 227]

That's my tv schedule also, nothing much else.

 

About JAL123

 

Am I right in remembering that more people survived the crash they just couldn't get the rescue team to them in time?

 

Yes, the off duty flight attendant that survived the impact reported there were probably at least nearly two dozen if not a few more but as the hours wore on and no help came the voices and moans of pain died down.  In the end.. just 4 of them were pulled off the mountain;  the flight attendant, an elderly lady, a child found up in a tree and another guy.

 

That episode talked about the failure of the Japanese rescue teams.   To much red tape and Who's In Charge talk left people exposed to the elements for too long.  Sad.

 

 

I think the episode that just had me slapping a hand over my face and shaking my head in disbelief is the flight down in South America I believe, can't remember the number, but the ground maintenance crew used silver duct tape to cover the piot tubes and they didn't take the tape off and the first officer didn't spot the error in his walk around (it was a 747 I believe.  Very high up to see at night).   The second that plane took off the pilots were blind.   They couldn't get air speed, altitude, nothing.   Their systems would tell them one thing then change the data, alarms would go off and they didn't know whether to trust the speed warnings.    And the ATC was no help because the data on his screen was the data the plane was feeding him which was all wrong.   They ended up descending into the ocean off the coast.   I was like... @_@   All of that... from three little strips of duct tape!?   I suddenly feel less safe in an airplane.  XD

[WR269 367]

That was the Aeroperu 757. Extremely sad episode, a perfectly flyable airliner, such little understanding of how ATC gathers altitude information with an MSSR. Lots of lessons learnt to hopefully ensure it never happens again.

 

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