dump. that was also the time unknown to me that the aircraft began experiencing a series of critical systems failures. the plane begins to lose altitude. within a minute, they had lost several critical systems. they lost radio contact and very soon after that, we lost the transponder. inside the cockpit, a nightmare scenario is unfolding. fire has breached the ceiling, dripping molten aluminum on to the flight deck. they lose control of the plane and plunge into the ocean at 345 miles an hour. the impact is enormous. there are no survivors. the plane shatters and only small traces remain floating on the surface. the rest disappears into the atlantic. it is clearly now not a rescue mission, but a recovery mission. puzzled by the tragedy, investigators are eager to retrieve the wreckage. we knew if we found the source of that in-flight fire
welcome to what s next. comcastnbcuniversal. the tensions or russia. a top tide president obama says it s possible russia is preparing to take more of ukraine. moscow is amassing troops along the eastern border them massive mudslide north of seattle claimed four lives. 18 people, maybe more, are still missing. now back to why planes crash. a dc-9 takes off from miami international airport and begins its assent. as it reaches 10,000 feet, fire breaks out in the cargo hold. moments later, the pilot loses control of the plane and plunge
they get a cockpit warning indication there is believed to be a fire in the number two engine. once the plane reaches a critical speed, it cannot stop. typically for a pilot when you have a problem and you are committed to flight, which this flight was, they want to crawl to a safety altitude before they take action. the ability to fly is compromised by the fire. when he has the plane flying, he is heavy, low and slow. that s a critical point for a pilot. a minute after takeoff the number two engine fails. this the cockpit they are starting to gern warnings. they have been told they have fire. if ar pilot they go i have fire
he could easily make miami. miami has services, we have the fire equipment, there s medical. dade collier is out in the everglades and there s nothing there. walton little is fishing in the everglades and can see something is going very wrong for flight 592. when i hear the loud jet noise, i look to my left shoulder, i see a large aircraft, unusually low to the ground. we re like okay, this is probably going to be a crash on the airport now. i realize the bank angle is getting steeper and steeper, and actually approaches and exceeds 90 degrees, such that it s rolling over on its back. when the plane banks at that angle, the wings can t provide enough lift, causing the plane to lose altitude. if the wings are level, then 100% of the lift is counteracting gravity. when you have it at a 45 degree
in the wake of the swissair 111 crash, the airline industry is forced to re-evaluate their procedures for in-flight fires. flammability testing becomes more rigorous. insulation blankets are manufactured from more flame resistant materials. and the certification and maintenance of wiring becomes more stringent. swissair 111 was a watershed event in how pilots deal with in-flight smoke and fire conditions. after that, pilots recognized how quickly things could go wrong. what makes fire such a lethal threat to aircraft is its ability to start and grow undetected, in some cases the interiors of the plane are at risk. but a fire that starts outside can be just as catastrophic. charles degaulle airport, paris. the concorde, the world s only supersonic passenger jet, speeds down the runway at 175 miles per