KING
KING 5
KING 5 AVIATION'S QUIET SPECIALIST SPECIALIST LIGHT ON
WHY PLANES GET GROUNDED, AND
WHY, FOR HIM, IT'S PERSONAL.
>> AS WINTER TURNS TO SPRING,
AS TRAFFIC DRIVES PAST THE
TULIPS, A RETURN TO THE CHICAGO
SUBURBS WHERE I GREW UP.
THIS IS A PLACE OF WEATHERED,
MAKESHIFT REMEMBRANCE.
MAKESHIFT REMEMBRANCE. AND NAMES PERMANENTLY ETCHED
INTO BRICKS, HERE ALONG TO THE
AVENUE IN ILLINOIS.
CAROL CARLSON, LAURA MARQUETTE,
MICHAEL SMITH.
MICHAEL SMITH. ANTHONY J CASTILLO.
NANCY SULLIVAN, FLIGHT
ATTENDANT.
ATTENDANT. CAPTAIN WALTER H LUCKS.
THERE ARE HUNDREDS.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT
MOTIVATES ME IS MEMORIALIZED
HERE, IN MAY 1979, I WITNESSED
A FIREBALL THAT WAS AMERICAN
AIRLINES FLIGHT 191.
YOU MIGHT REMEMBER IT AS THE DC-
10 CRASH O'HARE AIRPORT IS
RIGHT OVER THERE.
273 PEOPLE WERE KILLED,
INCLUDING A COUPLE ON THE
GROUND.
GROUND.
GROUND. IT REMAINS THE WORST DISASTER
IN U.S. AIRLINE HISTORY IN ITS
40 YEARS AGO.
THIS IS ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF
AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT 191,
AS FAR AS IT GOT ON ITS WAY TO
LOS ANGELES.
LOS ANGELES. SHORTLY AFTER THREE THIS
AFTERNOON, CHICAGO TIME,
>> A SHORT DISTANCE AWAY, THE
ACCIDENT SITE IS BEYOND HIS
GAIT.
GAIT.
GAIT. >>
GAIT. >> Reporter: A PARK FULL OF
FAMILIES,
FAMILIES,
FAMILIES, >> Reporter: THE PLANE JUST
MISSING A HUGE TRAILER PARK.
>> THE ENGINE IS SITTING TWO
THIRDS OF THE WAY DOWN THE
RUNWAY.
RUNWAY.
RUNWAY. >> Reporter: ITS LEFT ENGINE
CAME OFF THE WING ON TAKEOFF.
>> THE AIRPLANE CAME LIKE THIS,
CRASHING INTO THE FIELD.
>> I COULD HEAR EVERYTHING.
I COULD HEAR EVERYBODY RUNNING,
AND HOLLERING, AND THE PLANE
WENT LEFT WING TIP INTO THE
GROUND, AND AS SOON AS IT HIT,
IT HAD A NAPALM EFFECT,
EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH WAS
BLOWN INTO A SHEET OF FLAME.
>> Reporter: BUILT IN LONG
BEACH CALIFORNIA BY McDONNELL
DOUGLAS, THE DC-10 QUICKLY
BECAME THE 1st JETLINER
TEMPORARILY GROUNDED BY THE FAA.
LIKE THE 737 MAX, IT CAME FAST
AND NOT WITHOUT CONTROVERSY.
THE PROBLEM WAS NOT
OPERATIONAL, BUT STRUCTURAL.
CRACKS WERE FOUND IN OTHER
PLANES, INVOLVING THE PYLON
ASSEMBLY WHICH HELD THE ENGINE
TO THE WING.
THE CRASH BLAMED ON
MAINTENANCE, WHICH DID NOT
FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S
PROCEDURES, AND ULTIMATELY WHAT
THE NTSB CONCLUDED WAS A DESIGN
FLAW.
FLAW.
FLAW. YET, IT WOULD BE 34 YEARS
BEFORE THE FAA WOULD GROUND
ANOTHER JET.
ANOTHER JET. BOEING 787, AFTER BATTERIES
OVERHEATED.
OVERHEATED. NOW, IN ANOTHER FIVE YEARS, THE
737 MAX, AFTER THE TWO CRASHES
WHICH KILLED 346, CONNECTED THE
SOFTWARE THAT RELIED ON FLAWED
DATA FROM A SINGLE SENSOR ON
THE NOSE.
THE NOSE.
THE NOSE. AND THE ABILITY OF THE PILOTS
TO HANDLE AN EMERGENCY IS THAT
SOFTWARE CALLED McAS TO PUSH
THE NOSE OF THE PLANE DOWN.
>> THERE IS MUCH LESS TOLERANCE
TO ACCIDENTS NOWADAYS, BACK IN
THE 80s AND 90s, BECAUSE BACK
THEN YOU HAD HALF A DOZEN FATAL
AIRLINE ACCIDENTS HAPPENING
EACH YEAR.
EACH YEAR. >> TIMES OF CHANGE.
BACK IN THE 90s, THERE WAS
ANOTHER ECHO OF WHAT WE ARE
GOING THROUGH NOW.
THIS TIME AN OLDER 737 WHICH
DID NOT RESULT IN A GROUNDING.
THE CRASH OF UNITED 737 200 IN
COLORADO SPRINGS IN 1991 KILLED
25.
25.
25. U.S.
25. U.S. AIR FLIGHT 427 IN
PITTSBURGH IN THE FALL OF 1994
RESULTED IN 132 DEATHS.
>> THERE ARE MANY PARALLELS
BETWEEN U.S. AIR FLIGHT 427 IN
1994, IN PITTSBURGH, WITH THESE
RECENT 737 MAX ACCIDENTS.
PARALLELS SUCH AS UNEXPECTED
FLIGHT CONTROL MOVEMENT, WITH
427, IT WAS THE RUDDER.
>> Reporter: JEFF IS AN
AEROSPACE ENGINEER WORKING FOR
THE NTSB IN SEATTLE AT THE
TIME.
TIME.
TIME. HE
TIME. HE HELPED THE FAA UNDERSTAND
THE PITTSBURGH ACCIDENT.
HE'S NOW AN ANALYST FOR NBC
NEWS.
NEWS.
NEWS. IN
NEWS. IN BOTH CRASHES, THEY ENDED UP
FLIPPING BOTH PLANES OUT OF THE
SKY.
SKY.
SKY. IT
SKY. IT WAS HIS 1st BAFFLING AS TO
WHY, FINALLY, AFTER TEST
PERFORMS AT BOEING FIELD, THE
COMPANY AND INVESTIGATORS
DETERMINED THAT I HAD RIGHT
HYDRAULIC BALL VALVE IN THE
TAIL COULD MALFUNCTION, MOVING
THE RUDDER IN THE DIRECTION
OPPOSITE OF WHAT THE PILOTS
WERE INTENDING.
WERE INTENDING. BOEING ENDED UP REPLACING THAT
VALVE IN THOUSANDS OF 737S.
YET THE PLANE WAS NEVER
GROUNDED.
GROUNDED.
GROUNDED. >> THAT'S A MUCH MORE SERIOUS
AND MUCH MORE CATASTROPHIC
PROBLEM.
PROBLEM.
PROBLEM. THAT'S NOW BEEN SOLVED.
AND THE McAT ISSUE OF TODAY.
>> Reporter: AFTER DECADES OF
DECLINE, THE NUMBER OF GLOBAL
ACCIDENTS IS NOW CREEPING BACK
UP ACCORDING TO THE FLIGHT
SAFETY FOUNDATION.
SAFETY FOUNDATION. NOW, BECAUSE OF THE MAX
CRASHES, BOEING IS LETTING ITS
OWN NIGHTMARE, HIGH VISIBILITY
DISASTERS, AND A TIME OF
UNPRECEDENTED SAFETY, THE
COMPANY HAD LONG WARNED IS THE
NUMBER OF FLIGHTS AND THE
NUMBER OF PLANES HAS DOUBLED
AND DOUBLED AGAIN, THE ACCIDENT
RATE AS GOOD AS IT WAS HAD TO
KEEP DROPPING.
KEEP DROPPING. >> AND BOEING WAS A COMPANY
THAT CAME BACK UP WITH THIS IN
THE MID-80s, AND SAID WAIT A
MINUTE.
MINUTE.
MINUTE. >> Reporter: JOHN NANCE IS A
FORMER 737 PILOT AND AIR SAFETY
ANALYST.
ANALYST.
ANALYST. >> IF WE WRAP THIS UP BY FOUR
OR FIVE TIMES THE AMOUNT OF
TRAFFIC IN 20 YEARS, WE WILL
DROP AIRPLANES ALL THE TIME.
WE CAN'T DO THAT.
IT WAS THEIR FOCUS THEY GOT
EVERYBODY PAYING ATTENTION TO
GETTING TO ZERO AND BELIEVING
IN ZERO.
IN ZERO.
IN ZERO. >> Reporter: NOW BOEING IS
UNDER FIRE, THE MAXIMUM MESS
HAS COST THE COMPANY AT LEAST
$1 BILLION SO FAR BY THE
COMPANY'S OWN NUMBERS.
AND WE CAN NEVER FORGET THE
HUMAN COST.
HUMAN COST. BACK IN THE 70s, 80s, AND 90s
WE WERE REMINDED THAT FLYING
WAS STILL SAFER THAN DRIVING,
WE ACCEPTED A CERTAIN LEVEL OF
RISK IN THE U.S. AND MORE
GLOBALLY.
GLOBALLY.
GLOBALLY. RISK SOCIETIES ARE NOW LESS
WILLING TO ACCEPT TODAY.
AS MORE AND MORE OF US TAKE TO
THE SKIES.
THE SKIES. >> LET'S GO BACK TO THOSE
AMERICAN AIRLINES PILOTS AND
AIR COMMENTS.
AIR COMMENTS. WHAT YOU MAKE OF THAT?
>> THE AMERICAN AIRLINES
PILOTS, THIS WAS AN AMERICAN
AIRLINES ACCIDENT 40 YEARS AGO,
THIS COMING MAY 25.
THE AMERICAN AIRLINES PILOTS, I
TALKED TO THEM, THEY TALKED TO
A LOT OF US, HAVE BEEN THE MOST
OUTSPOKEN ON THIS WHOLE MAX
SITUATION.
SITUATION. THEY HAVE MORE THAN 20 THESE
AIRPLANES, THEY ARE NOW PARKED
ON THE GROUND AS THEY ARE
PARKED FOR SOUTHWEST AND THE
AIRLINES AROUND THE WORLD
INCLUDING THE UNITED HERE IN
THE U.S., THE AMERICAN PILOTS
HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE
ON MAKING SURE THAT THE PLANE
IS SAFE.
IS SAFE.
IS SAFE. >> WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO GET THE
MAX BACK IN THE SKY IN TERMS OF
FAA CERTIFICATION?
FAA CERTIFICATION? >> I HAD CONVERSATION WITH THE
FAA TODAY, THEY SAY THEY ARE
NOT GOING TO DO THIS
CERTIFICATION FLIGHT TILL THEY
KNOW THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
CHECK EVERY OTHER BOX.
AND WE HAVE ALL THE OTHER
REGULATORS AROUND THE WORLD.
IT COULD STILL BE A WHILE, AS
MUCH AS BOEING