El 1 de febrero de 1991, el vuelo 1493 de USAir colisionó con el vuelo 5569 de SkyWest Airlines en la pista del aeropuerto Internacional de Los Ángeles, matando a 35 personas en total. Una controladora de tráfico aéreo asignó por equivocación al vuelo 1493 a aterrizar en la misma pista donde la aeronave de SkyWest Airlines esperaba la autorización para despegar.
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00:00US Air flight 1493 erupts into flames upon landing in Los Angeles
00:08Heads down, stay down
00:10And crashes into a building
00:14It was so violent
00:16Passengers struggle to reach the exits
00:19My only thought was to get out of the plane
00:21Of the 89 people on board, 21 don't get out alive
00:25NTSB investigators must figure out why
00:30There's no reason to believe that they all couldn't have evacuated
00:33They soon make a horrifying discovery
00:36Good God
00:37We found 11 victims located within just a few feet of the emergency exit
00:43How do they get trapped here?
00:44What they learn will improve the odds of survival in aviation disasters
00:49Hey, Mom, Mom, we have to jump
00:51In an emergency evacuation, every second counts
00:55Leave your belongings, come, this way
00:57Evacuate! Evacuate!
01:21It's just before 6 p.m. on the California coast
01:24US Air flight 1493 is preparing to land in Los Angeles
01:29This was a nice flight
01:33Everything went perfect
01:35The service went perfect
01:37The weather went great
01:38There had been no problems
01:40I was seated near the front of the plane in row 4
01:46I was seated in the middle seat
01:48On the right-hand side of the plane
01:50Elise Rosewater is looking forward to a vacation on the west coast
01:55I had just graduated from college and was working my first job
02:00And it was time for a break
02:02And I wanted to go out to California and visit my brother and explore L.A.
02:07Flight 1493 is 25 miles from the runway
02:11USA 1493, do you have the airport in sight?
02:16Affirmative
02:17The pilots disengaged the autopilot on their Boeing 737
02:22This version of the plane has 128 seats
02:26But tonight's flight is not full
02:29Only 83 seats are occupied
02:31Together with two pilots and four flight attendants
02:34There are 89 people on board
02:36Seated near the middle of the plane in row 9
02:38Are Vicky Rosemeyer and her mother Judy
02:42They're travelling to Los Angeles for a holiday
02:46I was a novice flyer at the time
03:02Had not flown much
03:04And was nervous about the flight
03:07My mother had never flown before
03:09So I was, you know, looking after her
03:12Confirmed visual approach for USA 1493 is 2-4 left
03:21That's correct, USA 1493
03:23On this leg of the flight
03:25First officer David Kelly is the pilot flying
03:28While Captain Colin Shaw communicates with the controller
03:32They've already had a busy day
03:34They began their flight on the other side of the country
03:39In Washington, D.C.
03:40Before stopping in Columbus, Ohio
03:42On their way to one of the busiest airports in the world
03:46Situated not far from the center of Los Angeles
03:51LAX handles 1,500 flights per day
03:55Controllers are kept very busy
03:57246, are you still holding short of 47?
04:03Affirmative
04:03You're next
04:04Skywest 569
04:07Taxi up to and hold short
04:09Flight 1493 is minutes from touchdown
04:13Near the back of the plane is a seasoned traveler, Scott Vaughan
04:19He's sat through this landing many times
04:22It was a multi-city trip for work
04:25It was a Friday night
04:27And I just couldn't wait to get home
04:28I was sitting in the back of the plane
04:30On row 19 on the aisle
04:33A few rows behind Scott, the flight attendants take their seats in the galley
04:38Once all the passengers were secured
04:43I went to my jump seat
04:45And buckled in
04:47And Van was beside of me
04:49And Van and I had gone through training together
04:52U.S. Air 1493 is for the left side
04:562-4 left
04:57The pilots wait for the final clearance to land
05:01U.S. Air 1493 cleared to land
05:04Runway 2-4 left
05:06Just as the plane touches down
05:12What the?
05:21We were in the middle of a big fireball
05:24The plane wasn't stopping
05:29I didn't realize what was happening
05:36I could hear metal scraping
05:41It was so violent
05:43Smoke was infiltrating the plane very rapidly
05:47And the smell became overwhelming
05:50Grab your ankles
05:52Heads down
05:53Stay down
05:54It was a surreal movie
06:00Things were actually slowing down
06:03Felt like a lifetime
06:04In the tower
06:09Controllers can only watch
06:11As the burning plane speeds towards a building
06:13Oh Jesus
06:18The plane came to a halt
06:22And another fireball
06:24It was a pretty dramatic stop
06:27Our bodies went flying forward
06:28It was similar to being in a car crash
06:3183 passengers and 6 crew members
06:38Find themselves inside a burning airplane
06:41Decisions made in the next few minutes
06:43Will determine who will live
06:45And who will die
06:46We've had a crash on Runway 2-4 left
06:53A U.S. Air 737
06:55The airport's fire and emergency crews are immediately dispatched to the scene
07:03Crash was called in
07:05And the goal is to mobilize quickly
07:08Arrive on scene
07:09And start deploying resources
07:11Within three minutes
07:13To create survival conditions for those on board
07:16The passengers and crew on board the burning plane find themselves in a fight for survival
07:23It was a very very thick black smoke
07:29Very sooty and difficult to see anything
07:32It basically became like pitch black in the cabin
07:35It's now up to the cabin crew
07:39To evacuate the plane as quickly as possible
07:42My training kicked in
07:44And it all came right back to me
07:46I didn't have to think
07:47What do I do next?
07:49When I got the door open
07:51And I saw that the slide was inflated
07:53I had a sense of relief
07:57That we can get everybody out of this aircraft
08:00There's fire outside the left side door
08:04It's not safe to use
08:05Our evacuation drills are ingrained in us
08:08We know them by heart
08:10We don't just make them up
08:11Come this way
08:12Leave your belongings
08:13Come this way
08:14Go
08:16Go
08:17Jump
08:18Jump
08:19Keep your first hands up
08:20Go
08:21It takes fire crews only one minute
08:23To get to the crash site
08:25And begin extinguishing the fire
08:27The response time was amazing
08:29They started firefighting
08:31And rescue operations simultaneously
08:34They begin by covering the burning 737
08:39With fire retardant foam
08:41The objective is to control 90% of that fire
08:45Within the first minute of arrival
08:47To allow the best chance of survival for passengers and crew
08:51Jump
08:52Keep your first hands up
08:53I had in the back of my mind
08:56The plane could explode at any second
08:58But seeing those passengers
09:00I just thought
09:02That's one more
09:03That's another one
09:04That's another one
09:05And I believe that is why I stayed on the aircraft
09:08At the front of the plane
09:10Passengers struggled to find their nearest exit
09:12I don't think I was thinking
09:14I followed the person in front of me
09:17I do remember the smoke being so thick
09:20That I was trying to get down
09:22Remembering a PSA from my childhood
09:24That smoke rises
09:25And you should try to get down in a fire
09:27The line of people who's moving slower than you'd like in an emergency
09:33It was mass chaos
09:37Five rows back
09:41Vicky Rosemeyer and her mother
09:42Are just across from an overwing emergency exit
09:45Come on
09:46Come on
09:48I remember helping my mother up
09:53I remember turning around
09:55Noticing the door open
09:57And I seen light from that
09:59Scott, Elise, and Vicky
10:02All have the same goal
10:03To reach the overwing exit
10:05At the middle of the plane
10:06Almost there
10:08Mom
10:10Mom
10:11Mom
10:13I was three or four feet
10:15From the emergency exit
10:16My mother was with me
10:17I had a hold of her
10:18And just within an instant
10:21She was gone
10:22I was not going to leave without my mother
10:24Mom
10:26My only thought was to get out of the plane
10:31And I was in go mode
10:33After crashing into an inactive fire station at LAX
10:38The passengers of US Air Flight 1493
10:42Are desperately trying to get off the burning plane
10:45I knew there was an exit
10:47On the right side of the plane
10:48The cabin's filled with smoke
10:52So it's very hard to see
10:53The aisle was jammed with people
10:56And so instinct took over
10:59Or fight or flight took over
11:01I took an alternative route
11:04I just started climbing across the seats
11:06There were no people in those seats
11:12And I was crawling across them
11:15And moving as fast as I could
11:17Vicki finally sees her mother
11:21She got knocked down
11:26Because she turned around to get her purse
11:29And pretty much resigned
11:34At that point
11:37But she found the strength to get up
11:46And made her way to the door
11:51Vicki and her mother have made it out of the plane
12:04And onto the wing
12:05But they're not safe yet
12:07All we could hear were people yelling at us
12:10To jump
12:10Firefighters would have been worried
12:16About passengers standing on the wing
12:18Because they're actually standing on a fuel tank
12:21That wing or fuel tank
12:23Has the potential to explode
12:25When I told my mother that we needed to jump
12:30And she said no
12:31She was not going to jump that far
12:34She was afraid to jump
12:35Okay, Mom
12:38Mom, we have to jump
12:39So I grabbed her arm and took her with me
12:43Okay
12:43While passengers struggle to escape
12:49Fire crews are still trying to extinguish the flames
12:52They cannot send rescuers into the cabin
12:56Until the fire is under control
12:58I'm going to be wanting a significant reduction
13:02And control of the external fire
13:04Before I send my firefighters in to do an internal attack
13:08This is because the lives of the firefighters
13:11Is also a top priority
13:13Just two minutes have passed
13:17Since the plane came to a stop
13:18And there are many passengers still on board
13:21When I got to the exit row
13:24I climbed on
13:27So what I thought was luggage
13:29I got out on the wing
13:33I could feel fresh air on my face
13:35And I could breathe again
13:37Scott Vaughn also reaches the overwing exit of row 10
13:42There was like a light or a gap that opened up
13:45That I could see that I must be close at that point
13:48I went out to the wing
13:51And we jumped down to the ground
13:54And I stood back up
13:57And I turned
13:57And I looked at this massive plane on fire
14:01It was a disaster scene
14:03And then I turned around
14:05And it was complete chaos
14:07All over the runway
14:09There were emergency vehicles
14:10Trios centers set up everywhere
14:13But not everyone has made it off
14:17At the rear of the plane
14:19The flight attendants can barely breathe
14:21The smoke had gotten so thick
14:24That it burned the back of my throat
14:28My nose was burning
14:32My chest was burning
14:33I had no idea smoke could be so painful
14:38The passengers were not coming to our exit any longer
14:44And the two of us were still inside the aircraft
14:47You gotta go
14:50Then he pushed me out
14:52And then I went down the rear slide
14:56Van Spurgeon enters the smoke-filled cabin
14:59To see if he can find any more passengers
15:02But he doesn't get far
15:03I was able to feel the seat back
15:06So I know that I went up two rows
15:09And I could not see or hear anybody
15:12Van Spurgeon, get out, come on
15:17I heard my co-worker, Patricia
15:21Shouting for me to get off the aircraft
15:23And that's when I decided to jump
15:25I felt that there were no more people on the aircraft
15:30That were coming to that exit
15:32After five minutes of battling the inferno
15:37Fire crews make an unexpected find
15:40They found a propeller
15:43And that gave them a clue
15:45That there was another aircraft involved
15:48It's now clear
15:50That the unimaginable has happened
15:52What the...
15:54US Air flight 1493 has collided with another aircraft on the runway
16:00An aircraft crash is probably the worst type of incident a firefighter could face
16:07And in this case, two aircraft were involved
16:11The news sends air traffic controllers scrambling
16:15To determine the identity of the other plane
16:18Skywest 5569, a Fairchild Metroliner with 12 people on board, is unaccounted for
16:34We recognized through discovery of the wreckage
16:38That this 737 had collided with a Metroliner
16:42The full toll of the accident can now be measured
16:4768 people have made it off the burning 737
16:50But 21 people from that plane do not survive
16:54Including a flight attendant and Captain Colin Shaw
16:58Seated right at the point of impact
17:00Two other passengers are fatally injured
17:03I had no idea that anybody had died
17:05Especially two of my co-workers
17:08I was devastated
17:09Just devastated
17:12All 12 occupants of the Metroliner have also been killed
17:16Investigators must now determine why a total of 35 people lost their lives
17:22At one of America's busiest airports
17:24News of the horrific collision at LAX shocks people across the country
17:29Just a short few hours after everything that had happened
17:33I'm home
17:34Turn on the news to watch it
17:36And it was like a movie that I was not part of
17:40Two runways are immediately closed for the investigation
17:45Sending air travel into chaos across the country
17:48Investigator Bob McIntosh leads the team of investigators
17:53From the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB
17:57It's his job to determine what caused the deadly collision
18:01This kind of a collision of a major air transport airplane
18:08And another aircraft on a runway is unusual
18:11It was a challenge to find out why this terrible accident had taken place
18:17While McIntosh leads the investigation into how the collision happened
18:23Survival factors investigator Hank Hughes has a different priority
18:27737-300's cabin was configured for 128 passengers and four crew
18:33Our primary mission is to look at the survivability or non-survivability of the action
18:40And how people were able to survive
18:42How they were able to evacuate the airplane
18:45And for that matter, how the evacuation was carried out
18:49Okay, there were 89 passengers and crew on board
18:53Most accidents are survivable
18:57Our question was, how and why did these people perish?
19:02Hughes' team inspects the burnt-out plane
19:05To understand why 21 passengers and crew were unable to escape the Boeing 737
19:11The cabin floor of the airplane was completely destroyed by fire
19:16Therefore, we had to use plywood to reconstruct the floor
19:21And make a safe area to stand on so we could begin our work
19:24We started at the back of the airplane and worked our way forward
19:30Make sure you get a picture of that
19:33We were very concerned about the fire
19:39And the consequences of such a rapidly spreading fire
19:43We found 11 victims in the center of the passenger compartment
19:51All of whom were located within just a few feet of the emergency exit
19:56Good God
19:58They had piled up on top of each other
20:02How did they get trapped here?
20:03Look at this burn pattern
20:16This is where the fire started
20:19And it moved rearward from here
20:22The area of the airplane that suffered the most intense fire damage
20:28Was the front of the airplane, the front of the passenger cabin
20:31That's where it started
20:33Hughes comes to a striking realization about the victims
20:39They were all out of their seats
20:43Everybody in the cabin survived the initial impact
20:49It was quite apparent that all of them had been able to unbuckle from their seatbelts
20:56And make their way back to the overwing exit
20:58But somehow 20 of those passengers and one of the flight attendants
21:03Never made it out
21:05Investigators need to find out why
21:08Okay
21:09So it seems most of the fatalities were seated in this area here
21:15After we realized that many of the fatalities were seated in the front of the airplane
21:21It was important to understand why
21:24The team interviews surviving crew members
21:27In many instances, flight attendants have provided some insight that we wouldn't normally get
21:33Right after that first bump, I could see flames
21:36Before the final impact?
21:39That's right
21:40As we were skating
21:41During the course of our interviews, it became very apparent
21:46That almost upon initial contact with the Metroliner, within milliseconds
21:51That airplane was on fire
21:54That's how instantaneous it was
21:56There was a lot of concern within our investigation
22:01About the intensity and the spread of the fire
22:04Investigators soon discover a vital clue in the burnt-out wreckage
22:09A damaged oxygen tank in the forward cargo compartment
22:13It had damage to the regulator up on top of the bottle
22:19And it had a broken feed tube coming out of the bottle
22:22Take a look at this
22:25It was a 76 cubic foot capacity tank
22:28That's a lot of oxygen
22:30It was housed exactly where they impacted the Metroliner
22:40A ruptured oxygen tank on the 737 would have fed the fire
22:46Add the fuel from the burning Metroliner
22:50There was a great deal of liquids from the collision
22:55That were flammable
22:57And the gaseous oxygen was most probably the accelerant
23:03Investigators build a mock-up of Flight 1493's cabin
23:08To test how quickly an oxygen-fed fire spreads
23:11Previous tests showed that under normal circumstances
23:16The fire would have accelerated in about five minutes
23:20The results of the new test are astonishing
23:25As a result of the introduction of the oxygen and the burn test
23:29The fire accelerated out of control in two minutes
23:32Very significant difference
23:35The test explains why passengers reported seeing fire
23:40Spread through the cabin as quickly as it did
23:42Because of the oxygen-fed fire
23:46The passengers were denied what would have been an extra three minutes
23:49To make their way out of the airplane safely
23:51The oxygen didn't just prevent passengers from getting off the airplane
23:56It may also have prevented firefighters from getting on
24:00If compressed oxygen had not been introduced into that fire
24:06In my opinion, the fire would have been much less severe inside the aircraft
24:12But fire wasn't the only obstacle to the evacuation
24:15Passengers also described seeing heavy black smoke filling the cabin
24:20As the airplane was skidding down the runway
24:25Smoke began to come into the cabin
24:28And it went from kind of a soft willy smoke
24:32To thick, dark
24:34And had a horrible odor
24:36Within five, ten seconds
24:39So why all that smoke so darn fast?
24:52Since 1985
24:54Regulations mandate that cabins must be fitted
24:57With fire-retardant materials
24:59That slow the spread of flames
25:01And toxic smoke
25:02In the event of a fire
25:04But the damage to Flight 1493's cabin
25:08Indicates it did not meet that standard
25:11This airplane was equipped with the older materials
25:15That were not fire-retardant
25:18And that would include the carpeting
25:21The seat fabric
25:22As well as the sidewalls
25:24A review of the plane's history
25:28Explains why the cabin was fitted with out-of-date furnishings
25:32Made in 1985
25:34Before the regulations kicked in
25:37This particular airplane was exempted
25:41From the fire-retardant cabin furnishings regulation
25:45Primarily because it was manufactured before the effective date
25:48In 1985
25:50But fire-retardant fabrics were to be installed on older planes
25:56When they received cabin upgrades
25:58The FAA's philosophy was that
26:03When an aircraft would be brought in for major rehab of the interior
26:08That all of the cabin furnishings would be retrofitted
26:12With the upgraded fire-retardant furnishings
26:14Investigators learned that the 737's cabin was refurbished in 1989
26:21Hardly anything met the new flammability standards
26:27But because of a loophole in the regulations
26:33It never got the fire-retardant upgrade
26:36The FAA reg said
26:38If you just want to do the rug
26:39Or you just want to do the seats
26:41Or you just want to do the walls
26:42That's not considered a major upgrade
26:45That's where the loophole was
26:47None of the interior panels were touched
26:52If the cabin had been retrofitted with fire-retardant furnishings
26:57It would have given people more time
26:59To make their way to the emergency exits
27:02And safely evacuate the airplane
27:04An oxygen-fed fire
27:07And out-of-date cabin furnishings
27:09Explain the intensity of the smoke and fire
27:12Yet 68 people did manage to get off the plane
27:16What decisions did they make
27:19That enabled them to escape
27:20When so many others could not?
27:26As Hank Hughes looks into why 21 people
27:30Were unable to make it out of the cabin
27:32Of US Air Flight 1493
27:34Bob McIntosh investigates why two planes
27:37Were allowed to be on the same runway
27:39At the same time
27:41We had to wonder how it was possible
27:45That the tower controller
27:46And responsible for that runway
27:48Had not seen this issue taking place
27:52Why was the Metroliner even on that one?
27:59No, I positioned it there
28:01And asked it to hold
28:02Skywest 569
28:04Taxi into position and hold short
28:06Runway 24 left
28:07So why did you give US Air permission to land?
28:14It was a hectic night
28:15I lost track of the Skywest flight
28:18US Air 1493 cleared to land
28:24Runway 24 left
28:25Our challenge was to try and figure out
28:29How the tower controller
28:31Allowed this to happen
28:33When she had numerous years of experience
28:37And training
28:37The collision happened here
28:41At 1807
28:43Just before 1806
28:45She gave US Air clearance to land
28:48On runway 24 left
28:51But that runway wasn't clear
28:53Skywest has been holding on the runway
28:56For more than a minute
28:58What were the human performance issues
29:01That caused her to not recognize this situation?
29:07As McIntosh pieces together events in the LAX tower
29:11Doesn't make sense
29:13Investigator Hughes wonders
29:16What prevented so many passengers
29:18From reaching the plane's exits
29:20This airplane was designed
29:24With six functional emergency exits
29:26All of which would have allowed the passengers
29:28Under normal circumstances
29:30To have made a safe evacuation in 90 seconds
29:33L1 wouldn't have even opened
29:37Hughes learns what he can
29:39About the exits used during the evacuation
29:42As the airplane slid to a stop
29:46The L1 door collided with the side of a building
29:50Which wouldn't allow it to be open
29:52That leaves five others
29:55What's the story with L2?
30:01The rear left exit was operational
30:04And it was not used during the evacuation
30:06Patricia Hodges explains to investigators
30:10Why no one exited from the left rear exit
30:13The door has a little porthole
30:16And that's where I saw the orange glow
30:20With a fire burning outside the exit
30:24Hodges keeps the door closed
30:26That leaves four
30:29But this would have been too dangerous
30:32The left over wing exit
30:35Was utilized by only two passengers
30:38No other passengers made way out of the airplane
30:40Through that exit
30:41Which was probably due to the intensity
30:44The fire and fumes on that side of the airplane
30:46Everything else opened
30:49People made their way out of R1
30:51The right over wing
30:53And R2
30:54You should be able to get 89 people
30:58At three doors in less than two minutes
31:00Given the number of passengers
31:03On the airplane
31:04It wasn't full
31:04There's no reason to believe
31:06That they all couldn't have evacuated
31:08Within the 90 seconds
31:09Investigators take a closer look
31:12At how the evacuation unfolded
31:14Okay
31:16Only three people
31:18Went out here
31:19At R1
31:20Three people
31:22Were able to make their exit
31:23Through the R1 door
31:25And I believe it was attributable
31:28To the intensity
31:29Of the fire
31:31And the toxic fumes
31:33That were generated
31:34In front of the cabinet
31:35Other people weren't able
31:37To go forward
31:37And make their exit
31:39Through that door
31:40About 37 people
31:43Went out here
31:44Over the right wing
31:45That's a lot
31:46Only about 15 passengers
31:50Made their way back
31:51To their best option
31:52The R2 exit
31:54The rest
31:55Went forward
31:56The flight attendants
32:00Tell investigators
32:01They were urging passengers
32:02To move to the rear
32:04Come this way
32:05Leave your belongings
32:06Come this way
32:07Yet passengers moved
32:09In the opposite direction
32:11Initially we wondered
32:13Why the people
32:14Were moving
32:15Toward the front
32:15Of the airplane
32:16Rather than
32:17The back of the airplane
32:19As directed
32:19By the flight attendants
32:20Hughes hopes
32:22Survivor testimony
32:23Will give him
32:24The answer he needs
32:25Passenger in 19C
32:27Actually crawled over seats
32:29To get to the overwing exit
32:31Scott Vaughan is one of the passengers
32:35Sitting at the rear of the plane
32:37Who moved forward
32:38There was a lot of confusion
32:41And I'm quite sure
32:43There was a lot of quick assessment
32:45To which way should I go
32:47In this cabin
32:48He starts here
32:50On the left side of the plane
32:51Then he moves to the right side
32:54And he climbs over
32:56Eight rows of seats
32:57To get to this exit
32:59Here
32:59There was an emergency exit
33:02Just three rows behind him
33:04Why did Vaughan move forward
33:09And take a longer path
33:11Out of the plane
33:11I never looked back
33:14All I was focused on
33:16Was reacting
33:17And getting out of the plane
33:19And for whatever reason
33:20At that moment
33:21I saw it as the exit
33:23Was go forward
33:24Not in back of me
33:26It's just human nature
33:28You know
33:29If you know you're in
33:29A fight or flight situation
33:31You've got to get out
33:32Of the airplane
33:32And if you see daylight
33:34Near an overwing exit window
33:35Chances are
33:36That might be what
33:37Attracted the people
33:38To go in that direction
33:39One after another
33:42After another
33:43If only they'd look behind them
33:47Hughes understands why so many passengers
33:52Went forward
33:53Instead of to the nearer exit
33:54At the rear
33:55But not why 11 people died
33:58Within reach of an open door
34:00As survivability investigators
34:05Try to work out
34:06Why so many died
34:08On board US Air flight 1493
34:10She was having trouble
34:12Reaching another plane
34:13Transcripts of radio calls
34:16Have given Bob McIntosh
34:17A better understanding
34:19Of why the controller
34:20Forgot there was another plane
34:22On the runway
34:23Wings West 5006
34:29Tower
34:29Wings West 5006
34:34Tower
34:35Just before she cleared
34:38The Metroliner
34:39To hold on the runway
34:40The controller lost radio contact
34:42With another taxiing airplane
34:44The controller called
34:48The aircraft several times
34:49And there was a delay
34:51Of I think
34:51More than 30 seconds
34:53Where there was no communication
34:55From this aircraft
34:56Then one minute before the crash
35:00She can't find a flight strip
35:02For a departing aircraft
35:03Tower
35:08Wings West 5072
35:10Is ready for takeoff
35:11Wings West 5072
35:15McIntosh has identified
35:19A series of distractions
35:21That caused the controller
35:22To lose track
35:23Of the Metroliner
35:24Holding on the runway
35:26The local controller
35:29Had numerous deviations
35:31From an aircraft
35:32She couldn't get a hold of
35:34An aircraft without
35:35A departure strip
35:36All these things
35:38Were working on her
35:39Efficiency
35:40To recognize
35:41That aircraft
35:43That was still out there
35:44In the middle of the runway
35:45When she issued
35:46A landing clearance
35:48For 1493
35:49They all reported
35:55A logjam
35:55When they approached
35:56The exit at row 10
35:57Survivability expert
36:00Hank Hughes
36:01Now pieces together
36:03The events
36:03That led to the blockage
36:05Of the row 10 exit
36:06It's estimated
36:09It's estimated
36:09The evacuation
36:10Took approximately
36:11Three to four minutes
36:12Three to four minutes
36:25Is a long time
36:25According to passenger interviews
36:30People were moving
36:31Very slowly
36:32As they headed
36:33Towards the right
36:34Overwing exit
36:35They were almost
36:36At a standstill
36:37So what's the hold up?
36:47Investigators find
36:48Their first clue
36:49In the burnt out wreckage
36:50What's this doing here?
36:56We found that
36:58The overwing exit hatch
36:59Was sitting
37:01In the actual
37:02Emergency exit row
37:03I was crawling
37:09On top of the
37:10Exit door
37:11That was on top
37:12Of the seats
37:13To get out
37:14Of the exit
37:15Everyone is just
37:18Moving slowly
37:19The placement
37:20Of the hatch
37:21On the floor
37:22Resting against
37:22The seat
37:23Provided an obstruction
37:26That was the width
37:27Of the hatch
37:27Which is probably
37:28Close to a foot
37:30And a half
37:30Or two feet
37:31And it would have
37:31Been a significant
37:32Impediment
37:33To their getting
37:34Out of the airplane
37:35Quickly
37:35After the 737's
37:39Emergency exit door
37:40Is opened
37:41It's supposed
37:42To be pushed
37:43Through the opening
37:44And tossed away
37:45From the plane
37:46This clears the opening
37:48To allow passengers
37:49To escape quickly
37:50Passengers are briefed
37:53On how to properly
37:54Open the emergency
37:55Exit door
37:56So why didn't
37:58That happen?
38:00The passenger
38:01Sitting next to the door
38:02Wasn't the one
38:03Who opened it
38:03During the emergency
38:06The passenger
38:07Seated directly
38:08Next to the right
38:09Overwing exit hatch
38:10Was unable
38:11To open the door
38:12Where they either
38:13Froze or were frightened
38:14Fortunately a passenger
38:22Seated behind them
38:24Was able to get up
38:25And open the overwing
38:27Exit hatch
38:27The passenger
38:30Who opened the door
38:31Didn't push it
38:32Outside the exit
38:33Passengers had to
38:36Climb over and around
38:37The emergency exit
38:38Hatch
38:39To get out of the airplane
38:41Which cost time
38:42Investigators identify
38:44One further factor
38:46That would have
38:47Slowed progress
38:48To the emergency exit
38:49There was a fight
38:51There was a fight
38:56Investigators discover
39:06Reports of an altercation
39:07Between two passengers
39:09On board
39:10U.S. Air
39:10Flight 1493
39:12A young man's mother
39:14Was trying to get out
39:15And a male passenger
39:16Pushed his way
39:17Past the mother
39:18And her son
39:20Unfortunately
39:21Got into a fistfight
39:24With the gentleman
39:25That pushed his mother
39:26Out of the way
39:27It was very unfortunate
39:29And tragic
39:30Because it cost
39:31Valuable time
39:32The delay opening the door
39:35The crush of passengers
39:37Moving forward
39:38Instead of to the exit
39:39At the back
39:40The placement of the door
39:41And the altercation
39:43At the exit
39:44All added vital minutes
39:45To the evacuation
39:46Minutes that ended up
39:49Costing passengers
39:50Their lives
39:50In an emergency evacuation
39:54Every second counts
39:56The one thing you don't have
39:57Is time in an emergency situation
39:59Because
40:00A post crash fire
40:02Or other hazard
40:04As a result of an accident
40:07Often kills as many people
40:09As an accident does
40:10Raging fire
40:14Blinding smoke
40:15Unusable exits
40:17A series of obstacles
40:19And delays
40:20That's why 21 people
40:22Died in that cabin
40:23Hank Hughes' investigation
40:25Has determined
40:27Why nearly one quarter
40:28Of the passengers
40:29On US Air Flight 1493
40:31Were unable to escape
40:34The burning airplane
40:35In the view of the safety board
40:37The toxic fume
40:39And fire
40:40Was the major
40:41Contributing factor
40:42To the loss of life
40:43Hughes and his team
40:45Make a number of recommendations
40:47To improve the chances
40:48Of survival
40:49Inside the cabin
40:50They focus on preventing a bottleneck
40:53At an exit
40:54From occurring again
40:55Basically the recommendation
40:58Provided that the FAA
41:00Provide a rule
41:00That requires
41:01That the passengers
41:02Be screened
41:03For their suitability
41:04To serve as evacuators
41:06In overwing exit rows
41:08And also provide
41:10A specific briefing
41:11For those passengers
41:12And that the passengers
41:14Acknowledge that they are responsible
41:16In the event of an emergency
41:18Flight attendants
41:22Are also required
41:23To make sure passengers
41:24Know where the nearest
41:25Emergency exit is
41:27During their briefing
41:28And to point out
41:29That it may be behind them
41:31Take out that CPAC card
41:35Find out where all of the exits are
41:37And then count the rows
41:39If you can
41:40Between the exits
41:42That could possibly
41:45Save your life
41:46Finally
41:49To prevent the fast spreading fire
41:52Which quickly engulfed the cabin
41:53And released toxic smoke
41:55The NTSB recommends
41:57That all older planes
41:58Are fully updated
41:59With fire retardant materials
42:01As soon as possible
42:03Modern day aircraft
42:07Cabin furnishings
42:08Don't burn so easily
42:10Allowing more time for passengers
42:13To evacuate the aircraft
42:15Increasing their chances of survival
42:18Van Spurgeon
42:22Van Spurgeon goes on to join USA's training program
42:25As an instructor
42:26I wanted to pass along
42:29All of the information
42:31That I learned
42:32From my situation
42:34As a training instructor
42:35The survivors of flight 1493
42:41Have their own ideas
42:42About what allowed them to escape
42:44I was feeling
42:49Get the hell out of there
42:50That's what I was feeling
42:52But it was all reactionary
42:53It wasn't this logical moment
42:55That many people think about
42:57Well first
42:58Then we're going to do this
42:59And then we're going to do that
43:00It doesn't work that way
43:01I think it was luck
43:07I think the fact that I went
43:10Backwards instead of forwards
43:13Saved my life
43:14I think the fact that
43:15I remained calm
43:17Probably helped
43:18But at the end of the day
43:20If something blew up
43:22I would have been unlucky
43:24I was in
43:31I had the right seat
43:32And did the right things
43:33I don't think I panicked at all
43:39I was listening
43:40To my instincts
43:44I think
43:45And I did what I had to do
43:47I never felt like I was going to die
43:55I wasn't ready to die
43:56I don't think I was going to die
43:58I don't think I was going to die
43:59I don't think I was going to die
44:00I don't think I was going to die
44:01I don't think I was going to die
44:02I don't think I was going to die
44:02I don't think I was going to die
44:03I don't think I was going to die
44:03I don't think I was going to die
44:04I don't think I was going to die
44:04I don't think I was going to die