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00:00Scorched wreckage is all that's left after a fatal air disaster in Illinois.
00:07It was really a molten mess, to be frank.
00:10Witnesses recount a stunning detail.
00:12I could hear passengers shouting out.
00:15Everyone who died survived the initial impact.
00:20You evacuate. I'll shut down.
00:23To know that they survived an accident and weren't able to get out is hard.
00:28Open the door.
00:30I tried everything that I could do in the world and I could not get that door to unlatch.
00:34Investigators face a tragic and puzzling question.
00:37Why didn't that door open?
00:39I'm sorry, Kate.
00:43That was literally their last hope.
00:58It's late afternoon.
01:18The crew of United Express Flight 5925 is nearing the end of a long workday.
01:25Doors and windows are closed and locked.
01:29Loads checked.
01:31Captain Kate Gatkey and First Officer Darren McCombs have been on the job for 12 hours,
01:37piloting a string of commuter flights across the Midwest.
01:42Batteries on. Avionics are off.
01:46They're about to start their final leg, a short 20-minute flight.
01:54There are 10 passengers in the cabin.
01:57But on a short hop like this, no flight attendance.
02:01The pre-flight announcement is automated.
02:05Welcome aboard.
02:07Before we begin our flight, we'd like to review some important safety features.
02:13With the automated message, it's human nature most of us really aren't paying that much of attention.
02:18When it's a recording, it's like a commercial in the background.
02:22Who's really paying attention at all?
02:25There are four exits aboard this aircraft. Please take a few moments to familiarize...
02:32The Beechcraft 1900C is a twin-engine turboprop, often used as a regional commuter plane.
02:41V1.
02:45V2. Positive rate.
02:48This is the eighth takeoff of the day for the pilots.
02:53Gears up. Lights are out.
02:57Starting in Quincy, Illinois, they've puddle-jumped from one airport to the next across three states.
03:04They switched planes in Chicago, and now they're on their way back to where they started, Quincy.
03:11Multiple takeoff and landings is very challenging for a pilot.
03:14You're increasing your chance of an accident much more than, let's say, a captain on a major airline,
03:19who's flying a large airliner and flying to Asia.
03:22He takes off once, 14 hours later he lands once, then he gets two days off and he comes home.
03:27In those last three days, the commuter pilot's done 30 landings.
03:35Climb power set. Checks complete.
03:3930-year-old Kate Gatke was born to fly.
03:42Her family runs a flight school in Minnesota, where she made her first solo flight when she was just 16.
03:49She's recently been promoted to captain, a big step towards her dream of flying for the majors.
03:55What's the winds down there?
03:57First officer McCombs is 24 years old, with nearly 2,000 hours of flight time.
04:03For this final leg, he's at the controls and the captain is handling the radio.
04:08That's done a lot to get the first officers more experience
04:12and get them up to speed so that they can transition into being a full-time captain.
04:17Windsor 060 at 8, 12 miles visibility.
04:23Their final destination is Quincy Regional Airport,
04:26where Paul Walker is working as chief pilot for a flight school.
04:31It's not real busy, but it's not completely quiet either.
04:35You're able to see anything from a little single-place home-built airplane
04:38to a C-5 Galaxy sitting on the ram.
04:42There are three intersecting runways at Quincy.
04:45Most planes take off and land on runway 13 or runway number 4.
04:52The small airport is one of thousands across the country without a control tower.
04:57That means there are no controllers to direct traffic.
05:00Pilots must communicate directly with each other during take-off and landing.
05:13It's now nine minutes before touchdown.
05:16About 30 miles to the north of the field, inbound for landing runway 13 at Quincy.
05:22Any traffic in the area, please advise.
05:25Captain Gatkey radios in on an open frequency used by all pilots at Quincy.
05:30All right.
05:33Power is set.
05:35At an airport like Quincy that is non-towered,
05:37you cannot be too vigilant when you're flying an airplane.
05:41You have to have a situational awareness to realize what's probably going to be coming next
05:46and where other aircraft are.
05:49Look at that sunset, man. It's gorgeous.
05:53As they begin their descent with no tower to guide them,
05:57Captain Gatkey's radio communications are critical.
06:01But she's used to it.
06:03Uncontrolled airports are a commuter pilot's bread and butter.
06:07Well, there's rules and there's regulations under proper procedures
06:11to fly in and out of airports without towers, non-towered airports.
06:15There is still control, but there's just not somebody there sitting watching.
06:22King Air 1127.
06:24Delta is taxiing out. Takeoff on runway 4.
06:29They're using 4.
06:32A King Air A90, a much smaller twin turboprop, is taxiing out to runway 4.
06:40The pilot is Neil Reinwald, a retired TWA captain.
06:45Today he's instructing Laura Brooks.
06:49Okay, let's review procedures before takeoff. What's our takeoff weight?
06:54A far less experienced pilot, Brooks is looking to build up her flight hours on multi-engine planes.
07:01It's her first time in a King Air.
07:10You're using 1-3 still, right?
07:13Yeah, unless it doesn't look good.
07:17Aviation, just as when you drive a vehicle, is a see-and-be-seen world.
07:22Pilots are taught to look out the windows.
07:24And this works well every day all over the world.
07:33King Air 1127. Delta holding short of runway 4.
07:37To take in the runway for departure.
07:42The commuter plane is now 90 seconds to touchdown.
07:46The King Air is in position and holding.
07:49Position hold is when an aircraft pulls onto the end of the runway,
07:53turns, points down the runway, prepared for takeoff,
07:56and that's what it says, holds its position.
07:595 mile final for runway 1-3, Quincy.
08:06Gear down.
08:093 green.
08:14Gear checked. OK. Navigation set.
08:18And radar set for takeoff.
08:22The captain, it was a nice day, the winds were light.
08:25He's thinking about, OK, we've got a nice, easy flight home.
08:28The first officer's going to do some flying, I'm going to do some instructing.
08:34As the commuter plane descends,
08:37an automated voice in the cockpit gives the pilots their altitude.
08:41On short final for runway 1-3.
08:46The aircraft's going to hold in position on runway 4.
08:49Are you guys going to take off?
08:58OK, we'll get through your intersection in just a second, sir.
09:01We appreciate that. Finals are complete.
09:05At the same moment, flight instructor Paul Walker is in a hangar at Quincy Airport.
09:10I'd walked about 10, 15 feet inside the door.
09:14While all this had been going on, the King Air had been starting taxiing out.
09:21Max reverse.
09:23Oh, Christ.
09:25What the hell?
09:30We heard this explosion that rattled the walls and the windows shook.
09:35I ran for the door, and as I came outside,
09:39what I saw looked like a mushroom cloud from when you see the films of the atomic bombs going off.
09:45I thought the King Air had had some sort of malfunction and crashed on takeoff.
09:50But the disaster unfolding in Quincy, Illinois is far worse than Paul Walker imagines.
10:00At Quincy Airport, Paul Walker rushes towards burning wreckage on the runway.
10:05I would say I was at the crash site in less than a minute and a half.
10:11As he draws closer to the fire, Walker makes a bone-chilling discovery.
10:16It's not only the King Air engulfed in flame. Two planes are on fire.
10:21I could see through the smoke the Beech 1900 said United Express on it,
10:26at which time I had the most sickening feeling in the world
10:29that that airplane could be completely full of people.
10:33You go backwards. I'll go forwards.
10:36You go backwards. I'll shut down.
10:39The lives of four pilots and ten passengers are now at risk,
10:43with no firefighters at the tiny airport to help with the rescue.
10:47Well, as an investigator, I always was worried about, is this going to happen and when?
10:53And we've been lucky many times. At Quincy, it's a luck we're in.
10:57Open the door!
11:01Please! Someone help!
11:04Please! Someone help!
11:07Open the door! Open the door!
11:11Another pilot comes to help Walker on the runway.
11:14Where's the door?
11:16It appeared immediately that he was just in shock.
11:19I hear people in there. We have to get inside that plane.
11:23The main door. It's over here.
11:25United Express pilot Mike Rowe was supposed to fly the 1900 on its next scheduled flight.
11:35The main exit, an air stair door, is directly behind the cockpit.
11:40I grabbed the handle and attempted to open the door.
11:45The heat was just very intense.
11:48Obviously the most heat I've ever felt in my life.
11:51Tremendous amount of smoke.
11:54The aircraft was rapidly being consumed by the fire.
12:04When I wiggled the handle a little bit, somebody on the inside wiggled it the other way.
12:14I can't get it open!
12:16Open the door!
12:20Help!
12:21As he hears the captain's desperate cries, Walker suddenly realizes...
12:26Oh God! It's you! Hang in there, Kate!
12:29He's met Kate Gatkey before.
12:33Open the door!
12:35When I came around the wing of the commuter, I did not expect there to be someone in it that I actually knew.
12:41Please help!
12:43The fact that you actually know somebody in that situation at that time just added more to it.
12:48Hang in there, Kate!
12:52Open the door!
12:54Hang on!
12:56Here.
12:58You have to push the button before turning the handle.
13:03The other gentleman goes up and pushes the button.
13:05I thought, ah, I didn't push the button.
13:08Oh God, I can't!
13:12Mike Rowe rushes to get more help,
13:14leaving Paul Walker hauling desperately on the door of the burning plane.
13:18When I went back to the door the second time,
13:21there was no doubt in my mind I was going to get that door open.
13:25I'm 6'3", 20 years ago, and thought I was 10' tall and bulletproof.
13:32I tried everything I could do in the world, and I could not get that door to unlatch.
13:38Oh God! I'm sorry, Kate!
13:41I can't get him!
13:43I'm going to get help!
13:45Leaving the airplane was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life.
13:49When I looked at the captain,
13:51there was part of me that knows that she knew that by the time I got back,
13:55it would be too late.
13:58That I was literally their last hope.
14:07Please!
14:11Moments later, all hope for the crash survivors is lost.
14:16It was easily less than two minutes
14:19from the time I was standing by the left wing till it exploded.
14:25I felt like I failed.
14:34Despite Paul Walker's heroic efforts,
14:37four pilots and ten passengers are dead.
14:40It's one of the worst accidents in history.
14:45Over the years, I've come to rationalize it in my mind
14:49that there were ten or twelve people at the airport,
14:52and of ten or twelve people, only two of us went to the crash scene,
14:55and I was the first one to it, and I was the last one to leave.
14:58And that's helped me. At least I tried. I may have failed, but I tried.
15:08It's a tragedy the likes of which the small city of Quincy has never seen.
15:12And in Minnesota, the Gatke family is devastated.
15:16Kate's dreams of someday flying the big jets
15:19began right in her own backyard.
15:21That's where her family's flying school is.
15:23I think Katie did everything she could have
15:26to get out of that situation
15:28and to protect the people she had in her plane.
15:32By early morning, a team of investigators
15:35from the National Transportation Safety Board gets to work.
15:38Tom Houter is lead investigator.
15:41It's his job to determine how a seemingly routine landing
15:45ended with so many deaths.
15:47You could sort of see that it was a big accident.
15:51It was a big accident.
15:53It was a big accident.
15:55It was a big accident.
15:57It was a big accident.
16:00You could sort of make out airplanes, that it was very burge.
16:04You could see wingtips, you could see parts,
16:06and you could say, yes, those are two airplanes.
16:09But it was really a molten mess, to be frank.
16:14With no survivors from either plane,
16:17investigators must rely on physical evidence
16:20to tell them what went wrong.
16:22They put down an awful lot of rubber.
16:25Skid marks on runway 13
16:27reveal that the United Express pilot hit the brakes hard
16:31475 feet before the point of impact.
16:38It was just these two massive black lines
16:41going from just after touchdown
16:44to where the two airplanes collided.
16:46So he was on the brakes the whole time.
16:48Certainly a flat spot of the tires,
16:50in my opinion, probably blew the tires in the process.
16:53Skid marks on the intersecting runway tell a similar story.
16:57It seems both planes braked hard and swerved,
17:01but couldn't stop from colliding.
17:03How did this happen?
17:05It was also a clear day with good weather.
17:07So everything looks like this accident shouldn't have occurred.
17:11So trying to put it together, what happened on this day?
17:14Where did the faults come into play
17:16that caused these airplanes to collide
17:19at the intersection of two runways?
17:21Howter studies the wreckage,
17:23trying to piece together a detailed picture of the fatal collision.
17:27OK, let's figure this thing out.
17:32Most of the wreckage is destroyed or badly scorched,
17:36but a few key pieces tell the tale.
17:39We have some missing paint and a good-sized dent.
17:42This is definitely from the collision.
17:44The nose of the King Air is dented
17:47and its blue paint has been scraped away.
17:50And here, this is the prop from the United,
17:53which means that blue paint came from the King Air.
17:56So you can look at the paint transfer marks,
17:58and you have a pretty good idea
18:00that the angle that the airplanes came together.
18:02This is a side swipe.
18:04It looks like they tried to squeak past each other,
18:06but then their noses touched,
18:08and then they just got tangled up together.
18:10They essentially hit side to side.
18:13Max reverse.
18:15Investigators calculate the United Express plane
18:18touched down with a speed of 120 miles per hour.
18:22Oh, Chris.
18:25By the time the crew saw the plane on Runway 4,
18:28it was too late.
18:31The King Air is accelerating towards the same point
18:34at about 115 miles per hour.
18:37It takes just 7 seconds for the two planes to collide.
18:46The team now knows how the two planes met,
18:49but they still have no idea what caused the crash.
18:52Why did these two airplanes come together?
18:55Is there something in the aircraft,
18:57something the pilots did?
18:59To fully understand the tragedy at Quincy,
19:02the team has to go back in time.
19:05To understand the tragedy at Quincy,
19:07Howter needs answers to those critical questions.
19:14The town of Quincy, Illinois, is in mourning.
19:1714 people are dead after a fiery crash.
19:21NTSB investigators are under the gun.
19:30Amidst the charred debris, they make a major find.
19:33The cockpit voice recorder from United Express 5925.
19:37This cockpit voice recorder is very important
19:39in a situation like this.
19:41What was the crew saying? What were they thinking?
19:43When both the crew are fatal,
19:45the only thing you have is a CVR
19:47to tell you exactly what happened at that moment.
19:50They rush the CVR to NTSB headquarters in Washington.
19:56Investigators are hoping the data inside has survived the fire.
20:01As head of the operations group,
20:03David Ivey focuses his attention on pilot behavior.
20:07This accident is probably one of the most unusual
20:11that I had investigated in my career.
20:17Somehow, the pilots didn't see each other coming,
20:20despite the clear skies.
20:22On short final for runway 13.
20:25Why did all this on such a clear night,
20:28with no restrictions to visibility, occur?
20:32While Ivey waits for word
20:34on the all-important cockpit voice recording,
20:37he gets what he can from witnesses.
20:39Hi, Dave. I'm Paul.
20:42Come on in. Have a seat.
20:44I had personally never been around
20:46a crash investigation of any type.
20:49I was very impressed with it.
20:52What they came in and did,
20:54just a very class act,
20:56very professional.
21:00I raced out there as fast as I could after I heard the crash.
21:06Walker didn't see the collision,
21:08but he provides investigators
21:10with a chilling detail about the accident.
21:14I could see Kate.
21:18She was crying out for help.
21:21Help! Help me!
21:24I can't open the doors!
21:27I could hear passengers shouting out, too.
21:34There's no doubt passengers on board Flight 5925
21:38survived the collision.
21:40But the aircraft had two overwing emergency exits on the right
21:44and another on the left, as well as the middle.
21:47So why couldn't anyone escape the smoke-filled plane?
21:51Hurry, hurry, hurry! Get the door open!
21:54OK, hang on!
21:56The fact that they all perished in this accident
21:59was overwhelmingly a tragedy.
22:02But I felt the obligation to find out why this occurred.
22:09Investigators now face a dual challenge.
22:12Figuring out why two planes collided on the runway
22:15and why none of the crash survivors got out alive.
22:20I can't get it open!
22:22Open the door!
22:28Nora Marshall is an expert in crash survival factors.
22:32Why no-one escaped Flight 5925 is a puzzle she wants to solve.
22:37The thing that stands out in my mind is that these people
22:41had a chance, if the exits had opened, to survive.
22:46Right away, Marshall is struck by how little fire damage
22:49the left side of the plane has sustained.
22:53The left side of the airplane was not part of the original fire.
22:59So we knew that the left side of the plane
23:03was not part of the original fire.
23:06So we knew there was an opportunity for people to get out
23:09the air stair door or the left overwing exit.
23:13So why didn't that happen?
23:16Autopsy reports on the passengers and crew only add to the mystery.
23:21In every case, the cause of death was smoke inhalation.
23:25There are no physical injuries severe enough to have caused death.
23:29The fact that there was no blunt force trauma
23:33indicates that the passengers and the crew
23:37would have been capable of moving to an exit.
23:42And that's a critical fact.
23:47Marshall painstakingly tracks the final positions of the bodies
23:51and uses them to recreate the passengers' movements after the collision.
23:57And there were actually more of the remains in the forward cabin
24:01and there were fewer remains in the back.
24:03So it allowed us to know that people from the back
24:06had moved forward in the cabin before being overcome.
24:13The most likely explanation?
24:15The terrified passengers rushed for the main door,
24:18forgetting about the overwing exits.
24:21In moments of panic, people normally tend to go to the door they came in from.
24:25People rarely think about the overwing exits,
24:27especially in these smaller aircraft.
24:29It immediately becomes the question of why wasn't the door opened?
24:39So what position was it in when you first got there?
24:42Like...
24:46Like this.
24:48The air stair door now becomes the focus of Marshall's investigation.
24:53Yeah, I'm 100% sure that's it.
24:57As the first person to reach the door, Paul Walker's testimony is key.
25:02He's certain he found the handle in the 6 o'clock, or open, position.
25:07Finding the handle in the 6 o'clock position suggested to me
25:11that the first officer had moved the handle to the open position.
25:17It's the first officer's responsibility to open the exit doors.
25:23Emergency procedures call for the captain to shut down the airplane
25:27while the evacuation is underway.
25:36First officer McCombs's body was found between the main door
25:40and the left overwing exit.
25:42The position makes sense to Marshall.
25:46Crew members are taught, if your door doesn't open,
25:50don't waste a lot of time, get to another exit.
25:54And I believe where we found him
25:57indicates that he was moving to another exit.
26:00But in the overpowering smoke and heat,
26:03first officer McCombs never made it to another exit.
26:07Had the air stair door opened right away,
26:10it may have allowed everybody off the airplane.
26:1512 lives might have been saved if only the door had opened.
26:22To know that they survived an accident and weren't able to get out is hard.
26:27It's very hard.
26:31So with the handle like this, the door should open.
26:35The focus now shifts to the mechanics of the door itself.
26:39Fire in the cabin severely damaged the door
26:42but the main components have all been recovered.
26:46Okay, let's see what this can tell us.
26:53The locking mechanism is simple with three cam locks on each side.
26:57A single cable connects the door handle to the cams.
27:01When the handle turns, the cable rotates all the cams to lock or unlock the door.
27:06The cams have to rotate about 100 degrees
27:09from the locked position for the door to be open.
27:13We found that the cams were all either locked or partially locked.
27:18What could have prevented them from unlocking?
27:25What have we here?
27:27Marshall discovers the locking cable is fractured.
27:30This could be the smoking gun she's been looking for.
27:33With the cable having been removed,
27:35you would want to understand that
27:38because if it was not intact, it wasn't going to rotate the cams.
27:42But confirming the theory requires more analysis.
27:46If she can prove that the cable snapped on impact,
27:49Marshall will have solved the mystery of the jammed door
27:53that cost 12 people their lives.
27:57I can't get it open!
28:02Lab tests on the cable that locks and unlocks the main door are a disappointment.
28:07The critical component did not break on impact.
28:10The cable had broken, and the metallurgist determined
28:13that that was a result of heat and stress from the crack in the door.
28:18It was a very large crack.
28:21And the metallurgist determined that that was a result of heat and stress
28:25from the post-crash fire.
28:29Hurry, hurry, hurry!
28:31OK, OK, hang on!
28:33In other words, the critical cable didn't break
28:36until after the fire killed everyone on board.
28:39What jammed the door is still a mystery.
28:42Then we're back to, OK, why didn't the door open?
28:48The plane's manufacturer advises Marshall
28:51that the air stair door on the 1900C will not open
28:55if there's even a small amount of slack in the locking cable.
28:59If there was a quarter inch of slack or greater in the cable,
29:04that the cams would not rotate.
29:07Slack in the cable?
29:10Is that what happened?
29:12It's a slim margin of error, and it leads to a new theory.
29:17During the collision, the door frame or the door itself
29:21could have been deformed in a way that would introduce slack.
29:27A tragedy of small failures.
29:30A damaged door, a bit of slack in a cable
29:33might have been the difference between life and death.
29:37Oh, God, I'm drowning! I'm going for help!
29:40I can't get up!
29:43If he had more time, First Officer McCombs
29:46might have reached the overwing exit, which could have saved lives.
29:50We're used to accidents where people are so badly injured
29:54they can't get out.
29:56Here, all the indications are everybody survived the impact
30:00and could have gotten out had they had a little bit more time.
30:04But the doors would never have been an issue
30:07if there hadn't been an accident.
30:09Why the two planes collided on a clear autumn evening
30:13remains the biggest mystery.
30:18OK, let's go.
30:20There was no cockpit voice recorder in the King Air.
30:24Smaller planes don't require one.
30:26But investigators hope to find some answers
30:29in the cockpit recording from Flight 5925.
30:32What's the winds down there?
30:34That's First Officer McCombs.
30:37Stop.
30:39And that's Captain Gatkey.
30:41Getting the CVR back in this case was very important.
30:44It allowed us to understand what was the tone of the cockpit,
30:47what were they doing, was anything missed,
30:50trying to understand the sequence of events that occurred.
30:53About 30 miles to the north of the field,
30:56inbound for landing runway 13 at Quincy.
30:59So far, so good.
31:02As the Beech 1900 approached Quincy,
31:05it made all the required radio calls.
31:08Quincy traffic, we're approaching the area, we're this far out.
31:11Quincy traffic, we're now this far out.
31:14Any traffic in the area, please advise.
31:17Captain Gatkey gives other pilots a chance to let her know
31:20if they want to use the runway.
31:22She gets no response.
31:26More and more pilots are on the runway.
31:30More than three minutes pass
31:32before Laura Brooks radios in from the King Air.
31:36King Air 1127, Delta's taxiing out.
31:40Take off on runway 4.
31:43Sounds like the student's handling the radio calls.
31:46They're using 4.
31:48Stop.
31:51See, that tells me they heard the King Air.
31:54They know it was approaching the runway and they were watching for it.
31:58Kate Gatkey is making all the right calls,
32:01but it isn't clear if the pilots in the King Air heard any of them.
32:06We'll be inbound to enter on the left base for runway 13 at Quincy.
32:10Any other traffic, please advise.
32:15No response. Where's the King Air?
32:21It's more than two minutes
32:23before Laura Brooks makes her second and final transmission.
32:28King Air 1127, holding short of runway 4.
32:32Take in the runway for departure.
32:35Less than a minute to touchdown.
32:37The King Air is still holding.
32:40Captain Gatkey double-checks
32:42whether the King Air intends to stay put on runway 4
32:45while she lands on 13.
32:47The aircraft's going to hold a position on runway 4.
32:50300.
32:52What investigators hear next comes as a complete surprise.
32:567646 Juliet, holding for departure on runway 4.
33:00Who the hell's answering her? That's not the King Air.
33:03It's a stunning development.
33:05There was a radio call from a second plane waiting to take the runway.
33:11That little communication was critical to what happened on a Saxon.
33:15Hi, yes, I need some help tracking down a pilot
33:18who was at Quincy Airport on November 19th.
33:21Tom Howter is now on the hunt for a mystery pilot.
33:25He was right there when it happened.
33:27So we wanted to talk to him.
33:29What did you know? What did you see? What was going on?
33:36She knew the King Air was there. She announced her intentions.
33:41How did the King Air not get that she was coming in to land?
33:45King Air 1127, Delta's taxiing out.
33:49Takeoff on runway 4.
33:51They're using 4.
33:54It's clear the United Express crew knew the location of the King Air.
33:58It's not clear if the King Air crew ever heard Captain Gatkey.
34:02But her plane would have been clearly visible in the sky.
34:08Did something prevent the King Air pilots from seeing it?
34:12Computer simulations show that posts in the King Air's windscreen
34:16might have obstructed the pilots' view.
34:20I think we need to put ourselves in a real plane.
34:24But to be sure, Ivey wants to return to the scene of the crash.
34:29I don't think there's anything better than a pair of eyes
34:34in a real situation that is as similar or as close
34:38to what occurred during the accident sequence.
34:41David Ivey tries out both pilots' seats in the King Air
34:45while in position on runway 4.
34:48He watches as a Beech 1900C approaches with its landing lights on.
34:53It flew downwind, made a left turn to a final approach,
34:57and we were looking at what we could see.
35:00The lights, how visible was the airplane.
35:03I can see you. Clear as day.
35:07It was readily visible the entire time.
35:11There were no obstructions due to the window post,
35:15whether it was forward or the aft window post.
35:18Landing aircraft always have the right of way.
35:21It seems inconceivable that a pilot would roll onto an intersecting runway
35:26knowing a plane was on final approach.
35:29It's incumbent upon you to look both directions before you get out there.
35:33We learned that as children crossing the street.
35:36Look both ways.
35:38Ivey comes to an astonishing conclusion.
35:41The King Air pilots must not have checked for incoming planes
35:45before starting down the runway.
35:48You look at something as basic as seeing a void,
35:51which pilots are taught from day one, how could that go missing?
35:54Oh, Christ! What the hell?
35:58David Ivey turns his attention to King Air pilot Neil Reinwald,
36:03combing through his FAA records and talking to people he's worked with.
36:08He had been an Air Force reserve pilot.
36:12He had been a pilot for Trans World Airlines.
36:16He had been a pilot for the United States Air Force.
36:20He had been a pilot for the United States Air Force.
36:24He had been a pilot for Trans World Airlines.
36:27His resume looked tremendous.
36:31Why would such an experienced pilot taxi onto a runway while another plane is landing?
36:37Ivey keeps digging and soon makes a stunning discovery.
36:42We found out that he failed a check ride.
36:46He was given another check, and he failed that,
36:51and they removed him from a pilot position to flight engineer,
36:56which is a non-flying pilot.
37:00He failed two checks. This guy's skills were slipping.
37:05After his demotion, Reinwald retired from TWA,
37:09but he stayed active as a charter pilot and flight instructor.
37:14Six months before this accident, Reinwald was an instructor on a training flight
37:19and landed with the landing gear still up.
37:23It did some damage to the prop, the engine, and to the fuselage.
37:28Reinwald was assigned remedial training after the incident,
37:32training that was still underway when he boarded the King Air for his final flight.
37:38Okay, Laura, let's go home.
37:41Students describe him as skilled and confident, a real go-getter,
37:46but he had a tendency to rush.
37:48On the day of the fatal crash, witnesses say he seemed in a hurry to get home.
37:53I think impatience was part of the problem.
37:57Get-there-itis, that's a term we use a lot.
38:02King Air 1127, Delta's taxiing out, takeoff on runway four.
38:11Student pilot Laura Brooks was handling radio calls from the King Air.
38:15She was totally new to the King Air.
38:18Reinwald may have been preoccupied with his flight lesson,
38:21unaware of the commuter plane approaching from his left.
38:25What's our takeoff weight?
38:27When you're instructing, it can take you out of the situational awareness.
38:318,117 pounds.
38:34You might be trying to teach them how to program something.
38:37You might be discussing with them about power settings before takeoff.
38:41There's so many different things you could be discussing.
38:44Whether they were engaged in conversation about the aircraft, we don't know.
38:51But there was no announcement of takeoff, which is unusual.
38:55It appears both pilots were dangerously distracted.
39:05They weren't looking at the big picture of where they were at
39:09and what was going on around them in the world.
39:12The story of the Quincy crash has one final twist.
39:16An incredible coincidence involving the mystery pilot
39:19investigators have been desperately waiting to hear from.
39:23So, tell us what happened.
39:29A Piper Cherokee waits to take off moments before the crash.
39:34At the controls is rookie pilot Larry Bedford.
39:38We were in the run-up area behind the King Air.
39:45Bedford hears both the King Air and the commuter plane's transmissions.
39:50But he isn't always sure who's talking.
39:53Both pilots were female.
39:59The aircraft is going to hold a position on runway four.
40:04When the King Air doesn't respond to Captain Gatkey's question, Bedford steps in.
40:097-6-4-6 Juliet.
40:11There was no reason for the pilot of the Cherokee, who's not on the active runway,
40:15who's not going to take off, to have made that call.
40:18He did not use his type of airplane.
40:21If he had said Cherokee, that would have served as a clarifying point.
40:26Juliet holding for departure on runway four behind on the King Air.
40:32Holding behind the King Air was the statement he said he made.
40:40Holding for departure on runway four behind on the King Air.
40:45There was a mechanical device in that Beech 1900 that, at the appointed time, said 200.
40:53Departure on runway four behind on the King Air.
40:57And that masked the word behind the King Air.
41:03Captain Gatkey thinks the call is coming from the King Air.
41:07Okay, we'll get through intersection in just a second, sir. We appreciate that.
41:12Unfortunately for the commuter aircraft crew,
41:15they believed they were now safe to land because the King Air would hold for them.
41:18Finals are complete.
41:20They thought they were good to go.
41:27Oh Christ!
41:29A split-second mechanical message combined with a rookie's confusing radio call
41:35caused a fatal misunderstanding.
41:44The final NTSB report concludes that the crew of United Express Flight 5925
41:50acted appropriately in their approach and landing.
41:54The probable cause of the accident was the failure of the pilots in the King Air A90
42:01to effectively monitor the common traffic advisory frequency or to properly scan for traffic.
42:10The investigation also concludes that Neil Reinwald
42:14may not have placed sufficient importance on the basics of safe flying.
42:19The collision was certainly avoidable.
42:22Had the King Air saw the other airplane, they probably would have boarded their takeoff.
42:26So it was preventable several times.
42:33But as the airplanes got closer and closer together, those timing ran out.
42:40Contributing to the loss of life was the failure of the air stair door in the Beech 1900C to open.
42:49Open it up!
42:51But the failure of a single door on an airplane with three other exits
42:55should not result in the death of everyone on board.
42:59It's critical for passengers to listen to safety briefings,
43:03to understand where is the closest exit, where is it behind you,
43:08to think about how you get out of this if you have to.
43:12In the wake of the accident, training is improved
43:15to emphasize the importance of clear communication,
43:18especially at airports with no tower.
43:22The FAA has been dealing with this issue, I think, in a very good manner,
43:26trying to get people to realize the awareness of it.
43:28The most dangerous place to be in an airplane is around an airport.
43:32There have been a lot of basic changes since the Quincy accident.
43:37I think they've worked. We haven't had an accident like this since.
43:40However, we can't rest on our laurels.
43:43The pilots who are flying the commuter airplanes
43:45in an uncontrolled airspace like a Quincy,
43:47they have no memory of what happened to Quincy,
43:49so it's important to remind them occasionally.
43:52We have to keep our corporate memory going,
43:54and that becomes very critical.