Mayday (2013) s04e01 Episode Script

THUNDER CRACKS VOICEOVER: In heavy wind and blinding rain, the crew of a passenger jet struggles to land.
Put it down! Put it down! SCREAMING A terrifying crash landing leads to a desperate fight to survive.
Open the door! Tuesday, August 2, 2005, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
297 passengers are boarding Air France Flight 358 bound for Toronto.
- Ah, far isle.
Left-hand side.
- Merci beaucoup.
Philippe Lacaille is travelling with his wife and two of his four children.
This is also another leg in a long journey for JoAnn Cordary-Bundock, who's returning from a trip to Thailand.
I re-routed myself on the last two days before the flight, from Bangkok through Paris to come directly to Toronto.
As the passengers continue to board, the flight crew gets settled in to the Airbus A340.
The captain is 57-year-old Alain Resais.
He's been with Air France for more than 20 years.
His copilot is 43-year-old Frederic Noh.
Do you want to start or should I? Why don't you fly first? And then I'll take over for landing in Toronto.
I'll check the weather.
On this flight, the two men decide that Captain Resais will handle the take-off in Paris and Copilot Noh will land in Toronto.
- Destination Toronto Pearson.
- Check.
Crews often split the duties so that copilots can get more experience.
Resais and Noh are joined by one other person in the cockpit.
I think you've been expecting me.
I'm Miles Trochesais.
Miles Trochesais is the son of an Air France employee.
He's allowed to ride in the cockpit's jump seat for free.
I just want to let you know I've done this before.
I promise I'll be quiet.
This Air France plane is one of the safest in the world.
Since the A340s first went into service in 1993, they've had an excellent safety record.
NOH: Air France 358.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Air France 358, Runway 27 Left, clear for take-off.
Clear for takeoff, Air France 358.
Have a good afternoon, gentlemen.
Just a few minutes before 2:00 in the afternoon, Flight 348 powers into the sky above Paris.
THUNDER RUMBLES Toronto may be several thousand kilometres away, but the friends and family of those on board Flight 358 are already making plans to meet the plane when it arrives.
Hello? PHILIPPE: Well, we usually make arrangements before we go to France to be picked up.
It's easier because we have lots of luggage, you know, and we bring back stuff from France.
So it just happened that Julien, our son, was going to spend the summer in Toronto and was available to pick us up.
RADIO ANNOUNCER: We have a Humidex Advisory - an extreme heat alert for Toronto as well as a thunderstorm warning in effect for Toronto.
A regular flight from Paris to Toronto takes about eight hours.
As Air France 358 closes in on Canada, there's little to separate this trip from any other.
There was a beautiful day on the flight over and the sun was shining and it was just blue skies and white clouds and just a lovely day.
The autopilot does most of the work for Captain Alain Resais and his copilot Frederic Noh.
Just as the two men had planned, Noh is now in control of the plane.
We have a new weather report.
The two men get regular updates on the weather conditions in Toronto.
Overcast and rainy with the chance of thunderstorms.
Temperature in the low 20s.
THUNDER RUMBLES At Toronto's international airport, the thunderstorms are already rolling through.
Rain, wind and lightning are hammering the runways.
The lightning has already forced airport authorities to declare a red alert.
It means that the chance of being struck by lightning is so great that ground crews are not allowed to work on the planes.
Just as Flight 358 closes in on Toronto, it's put into a holding pattern.
The weather isn't getting any better.
CONTROLLER: 358, there's going to be a little delay.
Air France 358, roger on delay.
BELL SOUNDS Resais: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.
I am sorry to inform you that there'll be a short delay.
There's some weather conditions above Toronto and we are just going to give it a couple of minutes to clear up.
I was very surprised when I heard the captain's announcement that we were gonna be delayed in landing for about 25 or 30 minutes because of thunderstorms over Toronto.
While they're not in the storm yet, the crew enters their holding pattern north-east of Toronto.
Their alternate airport is almost 300km away in Ottawa.
At the moment, the plane has a little over 7,500kg of fuel in its tanks, more than enough to get them there.
Typically, a pilot will think about the economic impact of diverting to an alternate airport.
While that is not a primary decision-maker, it is an alternate decision-maker as far as if they have to divert, how are the folks gonna be transported from that alternate airport back to the destination airport that the airplane was originally going to? Flying almost 300 passengers to Ottawa would be a logistical nightmare.
But the crew can't circle for too long with the fuel they have.
If the delay continues, they'll have no choice but to divert.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Air France, Toronto arrivals.
Your hold is now cancelled.
You are cleared for UASI-2 arrival.
Maintain 5,000 feet.
Air France 358, roger on cancellation of hold.
Cleared for UASI-2 arrival and maintaining Today the delay isn't long at all.
Although the storm continues to thunder down near the airport, the crew is put into their landing sequence.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.
Just wanted to let you know we're beginning our descent into Toronto at this time.
We should be on the ground at about 4:00pm local time.
With Copilot Frederick Noh at the controls, the plane begins its descent into the storm.
Air France 358, reducing speed to 190.
Noh isn't prepared for what he's about to face.
The storm has a savage surprise in store for everyone on board Flight 358.
THUNDER RUMBLES A brutal summer storm is battering Toronto.
Winds and lightning are hammering the airport, making it tense for incoming planes.
After a short hold, Air France Flight 358, with 297 passengers aboard, begins descending into the storm.
- Flaps two.
- Flaps two.
- F-speed.
- They're down.
Landing gear down.
Spoilers armed.
- Four green.
- Landing gear down.
Spoilers armed.
Four green.
It'll be fine.
Don't worry.
JOANN: It immediately turned into very dark skies and dark clouds and a little bit bumpy and choppy and the weather outside was definitely within a thunderstorm.
But, really and truly, to me it was just a typical stormy landing.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: Air France 358, slow to your final approach speed.
Copilot Frederic Noh has the plane in position.
He's moments from landing.
Air France 358, roger.
Flaps to full.
Flaps full.
PHILIPPE: It was going darker and darker.
We were, like, in the middle of hundreds and hundreds of lightnings.
Like every second we had lightnings all around us.
So people were getting nervous.
Quite nervous.
And I was getting nervous.
Ahead of the Air France Airbus, two other planes have just touched down on the same runway that Flight 358 is heading for.
CONTROL: Air France 358, this is Toronto tower.
Toronto tower, Air France 358.
Go ahead.
You are clear to land Runway 24 left.
We advise the preceding aircraft reports braking action is poor and they estimate the surface winds near the runway as 290 degrees at 15-20 knots.
Braking poor.
15 knots.
Gusts to 20.
Air France 358, thank you.
The crew is being sent to Runway 24 left, which will allow them to land into the wind.
It also happens to be the closest runway to the city's biggest freeway, which is gearing up to handle the evening rush-hour traffic.
Facing unpredictable winds and a wet runway, the crew prepare for the landing.
Select autobrakes to medium.
Medium is set.
PHILIPPE: The final approach for landing was, umwas hellish.
Lightnings were all over.
Turbulences were enormous.
You could feel the pilot fight with the plane to keep the plane in line with the runway to land.
And they had a heck of a time to keep it lined up.
I know my son next to me was getting very nervous.
And I was nervous to see my daughter actually far from us.
I cinched up my seatbelt tighter than it was, expecting a very hard landing and the pilot was gonna stick it on the runway, or we were maybe gonna do a touch-and-go and he was gonna give it power and go around because I knew that it was not going to be just a normal landing.
Landing.
Autopilot, autothrust off.
At two minutes after four o'clock, Air France Flight 358 roars over the beginning of the runway.
THUNDER CRACKS Put it down! Put it down! TYRES SQUEAL This landing was more intense and harder than any time I've ever landed in another aircraft.
We startedjust Thethe plane started violently going up and down and it felt like we were going 100 miles an hour down a road filled with potholes that were about three feet deep.
Shit! Shit! PHILIPPE: Immediately you could see this orange aura and for me it's a picture I will never forget.
My daughter was sitting ahead of us on the right side of the plane and at that time she turned her head towards us, you know, with very wide eyes, you know, looking at us.
And her face was surrounded by this enormous aura, orange aura of fire.
Then, moments after touching down, still travelling at 146km/h, Flight 358 runs out of room.
SCREAMING At that point I believed that we were all gonna die.
It was obvious that no-one can survive this kind of thing.
August 2, 2005.
Air France Flight 358 has crashed off its runway in Toronto.
THUNDER CRACKS - (Pants) - Oh! The next thing I can remember is that an announcement came.
"Ladies and gentlemen, everything's OK.
"We've stopped now.
" Well, no kidding! Of course we've stopped now.
But I could tell that everything was not OK because I could immediately smell jet fuel.
As the smell of jet fuel fills the cabin - Fire! - Evacuate now! .
.
panic quickly spreads.
Everybody was expecting the plane to blow up.
It was obvious.
Smoke and flames are spreading quickly.
Now it's a desperate struggle to escape.
If they don't get out, they have just seconds to live.
We know that about two minutes into a fire, in many cases the environment becomes untenable.
So 90 seconds is a good rule that we use in trying to get people out to make sure they have as much time and safety as possible.
297 passengers are desperate to leave the plane.
Emilie! Emilie! - Emilie! - Daddy! The only thing that matters to me now is to get my daughter Emilie who's sitting two seats ahead of me, get her, get her under me and protect her as we blow up.
FLAMES ROAR Go, go, go! Am I going to try to get my luggage, my laptop? And then I thought to myself, "What if I would die trying to get my laptop?" I just said, "OK.
I've got to get out.
" Flight 358 has eight possible emergency exits.
But seconds after the crash, most of them aren't opened.
But seconds after the crash, most of them aren't opened.
- It's OK.
Stay calm, please.
Pleas It's OK.
Stay calm, please.
Please stay calm.
It'll be alright.
(Screams) - Open the door! Open the door! - Come on! Come on! And I could see the air attendant there struggling with the fact that, "Should I or should I not open this door?" Because the fire was raging just in front of it.
If the fuel tanks rupture and we have a lot of fuel that gets out either onto the ground Well, then, there's enough heat and fire there that would cause the airplane skin to melt in a couple of minutes.
At the front of the plane, thick smoke is pouring in through one of the open doors.
JoAnn Cordary-Bundock races to the other side of the plane.
The gentleman in front of me had his bag with him and he was fumbling around with it and trying to take that down the slide and was a rather large man and the slide did not deploy the entire way.
So I kind of bailed off the side above him and hit the ground.
- Is he OK? Is he OK? - I don't know.
(Weakly) I'm OK.
In the cockpit, Captain Resais has been badly injured when his seat was ripped off the floor by the force of the crash.
As precious seconds tick by, the flight attendant near the Lacailles manages to open the exit door.
(Screams) Even though passengers are confronted with the flames and smoke of the burning engine, they jump out of the plane.
So, I pushed them down, my wife went down, I went down.
We just ran up as fast as we could through torn metal and thorns and through whatever was left of the ground where the plane was.
Once the fire gets inside the airplane all of the furnishings are much like the furnishings in your house.
There are foams and materials that when they catch on fire produce toxic gases and that's really the most important lethal aspect of the fire.
SIRENS WAIL Emergency workers are able to reach the burning jet just 52 seconds after it crashes but with the threat of an explosion it's dangerous to get too close.
It was very difficult to see anything due to the rain that was coming down.
There was a lot of smoke engulfing the plane.
Some fire that was still ongoing.
As well, you could see some of the parts of the plane had broken off.
Some of the wheels that were at the site of the roadway as well as portions of the plane's wings that had broken off.
Philippe Lacaille and his family struggle up the hill the plane has just ploughed down.
And at that point, the, um the plane blew up.
Once, twice, three times.
So you could feel and hear this enormous explosion actually taking place.
On the first one I looked at the first one because I just couldn't believe my eyes.
I could see, I think, pieces of luggage.
Things flying up in the air.
And of course at that time I figured, "My God, you know, that could have been us.
" We had a perfect view of the airplane and see this black smoke coming out the side of the airplane and the yellow and the orange and the red flames shooting out.
We were fine but we just knew that there were so many passengers in that plane that had not gotten out.
August 2, 2005.
Air France Flight 358 has crashed off its runway in Toronto.
Flames are tearing at the fuselage.
Smoke is pouring from the ruined jet.
Dazed passengers are stumbling from the plane.
Passengers that were coming up were very rain-soaked and muddy from coming up the hill.
There were several individuals that once they got up there were crying and a bit emotional as well as looking around for other passengers or family or friends that may have been with them at the time.
About 35 minutes ago a plane ran off the runway at Toronto's Pearson Airport.
Footage of the crash quickly appears on local TV stations.
Philippe Lacaille's daughter Audrey is one of the many people shocked by the pictures.
She turned on her TV and here we go.
There was the Air France crash, right here, live in front of her.
Burning, exploding right in front of her eyes.
NEWSREADER: 250 people on board.
We have not had any reason to make a statement yet as to whether anybody has survived or escaped.
PHONE RINGS Philippe Lacaille's son Julien is waiting for his father at the airport.
He has no idea what's just happened to the Air France flight.
What? What do you mean, "Where am I"? I'm at the airport waiting for Mum and Dad like You What? So Julien didn't know anything and he was there at the airport.
And she says, "Well, you know what? "I think you'll have to wait a long time "because their plane just crashed.
" One of the busiest highways in North America borders the airport.
Just before rush hour it's packed with thousands of vehicles.
Drivers slow down, captivated by the terrifying sight of the burning plane.
Some of the passengers who've escaped the plane stumble dazed and shaken right onto the edge of the highway.
Passing motorists stop to take them to the airport.
At this point there was only about 25 or 30 people with me in the airport.
And here you're also beginning to think, "Is this all there is?" As people are brought in, airport employees struggle to account for all the passengers and crew.
They were totally disorganised.
There's no announcements being made.
There's nothing of any kind of organisation and you're in this little crowded area with all the irate passengers waiting to be processed.
Some people even said, "You know, "the first disaster was the plane crash.
"And the second disaster is exactly how it was handled afterwards.
" Relatives wait desperately for any news.
Julien Lacaille is just one of many who fears the worst.
For at least an hour and a half he thought we were dead.
That's a shame because of course we panicked, we were scared to death, but the families that were waiting for the passengers, they were even more scared because it lasted much longer.
They really believed deep down that their family members were dead.
Finally, hours after the crash, passengers who have waiting family members are reunited.
- Julien! Julien! - Oh! Oh! Are you OK? We finally met up with Julien.
It was 11 o'clock at night.
It was Oh, God.
We're so lucky.
We're so lucky we're alive, you know? It's hard to explain but it's like you're given a second chance.
You know, here's my son, you know? Maybe I didn't tell him I loved him when I left for France and it's time to say it right away.
It was a very nice moment.
Very, very deep moment.
It's just one of dozens of reunions.
It takes hours to confirm but by early evening, Air France and the local airport authorities can make the incredible announcement.
Remarkably, every single passenger and all the members of the crew of Flight 358 have managed to escape the burning wreckage of their plane.
The next day, smoke and charred wreckage are all that remain of Air France Flight 358.
The Airbus A340 is a sophisticated, highly engineered plane with a glowing safety record.
What had gone so terribly wrong? Canada's Transportation Safety Board quickly begins investigating the accident.
Put it down.
Put it down! Neither the pilot nor the copilot have spoken publicly about the crash.
We have to evacuate now.
Citing lawsuits that were filed soon after, Air France has kept all of its employees who were on the plane from speaking to the media.
- Is he OK? - I don't know.
- Is he OK? - I don't know! But former Air France trainer Herve Labarthe has spoken to Captain Resais.
(Man speaks French) INTERPRETER: We spoke, let me think, for half an hour.
He told me that this is the crucial point - that he asked Control more specifically, he informed Control that he had reached the point where he would have to consider diverting.
(Speaks French) What he told me is that Control informed him that they would soon open the runway.
There was, of course, a lot of lightning, rain and turbulence and turbulence can have a devastating effect.
Instruments become more difficult to read, the aircraft is harder to handle.
Investigators discover that as the crew struggled for control in the cockpit, on the ground, delicate instruments used to measure the wind on the runway were destroyed by lightning.
With the ground equipment destroyed, they were relying on their on-board systems for information about wind conditions.
The on-board equipment only gives them the actual wind direction and speed on the nose of the aircraft at that exact time.
It does not predict ahead of the aircraft.
So the pilots really have no way of knowing what lies ahead of them.
THUNDER CRACKS But two planes had touched down just minutes before the Air France flight on the same runway.
The crews of those planes did their best to inform Air Traffic Control of the tricky conditions.
CONTROL: Air France 358, this is Toronto tower.
Toronto tower, Air France 358.
Go ahead.
You are cleared to land Runway 24 left.
Be advised, the preceding aircraft reports braking action is poor.
And they estimate the surface winds near the runway at 290 degrees at 15 to 20 knots.
Braking poor.
15 knots.
Got it.
20-knot winds are strong but are well within the allowable range for landing an A340.
But when investigators study radar images of the airport, they discover quite a different story.
As Flight 358 landed, a sharp line of rain moved across the runway from north to south.
It was driven by a sudden gust of wind of up to 33 knots.
The crew of the Air France jet had to deal with conditions that were much worse than they were expecting.
Landing, autopilot, autothrust off.
33 knots is the demonstrated maximum crosswind for an A340.
And that would be on a dry runway.
So, when you say 33 knots at 90 degrees, you'reyou're encroaching on the limits of the aircraft.
Closely studying the airport, investigators uncover another piece of the puzzle.
Maintenance issues and the storm itself were forcing air traffic controllers to use Runway 24 left for landings.
It's the shortest runway of the airport - almost 650 metres shorter than some of the others.
Blinded by rain, driven by unexpected winds and landing on the shortest runway at the airport, Flight 358 was in a dangerous position.
It's evident that the flight crew didn't perceive the information that they were getting from these various sources as being threatening.
Therefore, they attempted to make a landing.
But even in bad conditions, even on a short runway, the crew had 3,000 metres in which to land their plane.
It should have been enough.
To find out why it wasn't, investigators turned to the past.
In 1999, an eerily similar accident took place in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Damn, we're off course.
- No, I can't see it.
- Way off! Struggling with unpredictable weather, the crew of an American Airlines jet landed their plane, only to have it skid off the runway.
BRAKES SCREECH 11 people were killed.
Greg Feith helped investigate that crash.
One of the first things that I thought about was deja vu - having the first bits of information about the Air France accident, it reminded me so much of the American Airlines accident.
In the Little Rock crash, Feith discovered that the crew had made a critical mistake which contributed significantly to the accident.
They hadn't followed all of the checklist procedures and they didn't have their ground spoilers armed which basically degrades the efficiency of lift on the wing and settles the airplane heavily on the main wheel so that braking action is more effective.
Spoilers are only one of several ways pilots of passenger jets stop their massive planes.
Reverse thrusters are used to redirect the engine power forward as the plane lands.
And sophisticated brakes help slow the jets down.
To rule out any mechanical fault, all three systems are examined by investigators of the Air France crash.
One of the brakes on Flight 358 was destroyed in the fire but the seven other sets of brakes are all tested after the accident.
All of them are working properly.
- Flaps two.
- Flaps two.
- F-speed.
- Gear down.
Investigators in Toronto also discover that unlike in the Little Rock crash, this time the spoilers had deployed properly.
Landing gear down.
Spoilers armed.
Four green.
And when the engines are examined, the reverse thrusters are deployed.
No obvious mechanical fault can be found.
As the investigation continues, a French newspaper prints a bombshell.
'Le Figaro' publishes a story claiming that the thrust reversers, which use the jet's engines to slow it down, were not turned on until the plane had been on the runway for more than 12 seconds.
(Man speaks French) INTERPRETER: As for Captain Resais, he confirmed the newspaper report.
His explanation was that his copilot had tensed up and was having difficulty controlling the lateral movement of the plane.
No doubt because of the strong crosswinds and because the runway was so slippery, his hand was clamped tightly on the throttle release lever which prevented the captain from reaching it himself.
So the reverse thrusters could not be activated.
Shortly after the newspaper story appears, investigators published their initial report.
It confirms 'The Figaro's version of events.
Canada's Transportation Safety Board reveals that while the thrusters were found in the 'on' position at the crash site, they had not been deployed as soon as the plane landed.
In fact, it took 17 seconds before they reached maximum power.
The delay was a question raised in the report and I wouldn't want to hazard a guess as to why there was such a delay or what was the cause of it.
I just know that, er, pilots as a rule want to get those reversers in as quickly as possible for maximum stopping.
The investigators reveal other confusing facts about the last few seconds of Flight 358.
When it came over the start of the runway, it was twice as high as it should have been.
And when it did land, it was nearly halfway down the runway.
Put it down.
Putput it down! In these stormy conditions, the crew didn't have enough time to stop.
Once they found that the airplane had floated down the runway, the pilot has to make the decision whether we stay on the ground and try to salvage this bad situation or we abort the landing, power up, pull up and go around, get our stuff together and then come back for a second landing.
- and then come back for a second landing.
By the time the plane touched down, it had only 1 By the time the plane touched down, it had only 1,500 metres to stop.
And when it did land, critical seconds were lost when the reverse thrusters weren't engaged.
(Speaks French) INTERPRETER: Would it have made a difference to immediately activate the reverse thrusters? Of course it would.
Since reverse function reaches its peak efficiency at high speed - that is, the exact moment of touchdown - that's what reverse is there for.
It's all a matter of aerodynamic braking.
The other problem is that the wheels touch ground in the middle of the runway and reverse or no reverse, at that point it was already too late, as was pointed out by the head of the inquiry.
That being said, if the reverse thrusters had been activated immediately, the plane would have come to a stop more quickly.
In heavy storms, the margin for error is razor thin.
On this rain-filled afternoon, sudden wind, a long landing and a short runway sealed the fate of everyone on board Flight 358.
What concerns some in the aviation industry isn't this particular flight but the reality that overruns are far too common.
They happen all around the world and safety procedures that could stop them are not in place.
In August 2005, Air France Flight 358 crashed off the end of a runway in Toronto.
It was a horrifying incident yet amazingly, everyone survived.
But Flight 358 wasn't the only jet to go off the end of a runway in 2005.
Worldwide, there were 37 other runway overruns and the causes of all these accidents were remarkably similar.
There are a number of causal factors that occur again and again in runway overrun accidents - the weather conditions, the state of the runway surface.
It can be wet, it can be icy.
It can have snow on it.
Speed in excess of a normal approach speed for the aircraft that does not then bleed off as the aircraft attempts to land.
And these factors occur again and again in runway overrun accidents.
Unlike the crash at Toronto, some overruns are deadly.
This Southwest Airlines flight in Chicago slid off its runway several months after the Air France crash.
A small child was killed in a car that was driving on the nearby highway.
You have to consider what happens when the runway is contaminated - snow, ice, standing water.
That will degrade the stopping performance of the airplane.
Add to that a tailwind component which was existent at the time that Air France landed.
That, in combination with the contaminated runway, can jeopardise the landing performance and in fact increase it probably by 50%.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation recommends that every airport have a 300-metre safety zone at the end of runways that handle international flights.
Canadian standards are a little less strict.
They call for a 60-metre overrun area and recommend another 90 metres on top of that.
Runway 24 left meets the low end of those recommendations.
There was another runway overrun accident to the runway in Toronto, which was very closely aligned with the runway that is there at the moment, in 1978 when a DC9 - an Air Canada DC9 - rejected a take-off and ran into the ravine.
Well, the plane started to brake and then there was just nothing and then we dropped over the edge which was about a 50-foot drop, I guess, at the end of the runway.
We just went over the top and there was a heck of a bang - people and seats all over the place.
Two people died in the 1978 accident.
A coroner's inquest after the crash recommended that the gully be filled in but it never was.
PETER LADKIN: It's a steep ravine.
It has about a 50ft drop-off.
When you take a large, complicated and fragile piece of machinery like a commercial aircraft and you drop it 50 feet, then it tends to break.
There is a possible solution to runway overruns but it's not being used in Toronto or many other international airports.
It's called EMAS or Engineered Material Arresting Systems.
It's a form of artificial stone or artificial gravel which has a certain depth and anybody who's ridden a bicycle into a gravel pit knows that the bicycle stops very quickly and it can be almost impossible to pedal it out.
And the same thing happens to airplanes.
Several airport in the US use the system but most international airports do not.
It's very much more effective than friction braking and it's certainly incomparably more effective than thrust reverse and spoilers.
And any one of these systems, when properly engineered, can stop a large airplane - no matter what the runway surface conditions - in a very short distance.
STEWARDESS: We have to evacuate now! But one vital air safety guideline was met when Flight 358 crashed.
In spite of the smoke and the spreading fire, the crew of the crippled plane made sure that all the passengers escaped in just 90 seconds.
(Screams) It's just a miracle that all of those people were able to evacuate the airplane as quickly as they did before the airplane was consumed.
The Air France flight was particularly noteworthy in that everybody got out essentially unscathed - I know there were some injuries but everyone got out - so, I think it was noteworthy and it was very good evacuation from that perspective.
Captain Alain Resais may never fly for Air France again.
His injuries required extensive physical therapy after the crash.
At the time, he was less than three years from retirement.
INTERPRETER: Every morning, Captain Resais relives the experience, coming face-to-face with the flames, the noise, the crash.
And it made him sad to end his career on that note, having destroyed his plane.
That's the worst possible fate for a pilot.
The worst outcome.
The copilot, Frederic Noh, is suspended for three months after the accident.
By early the next year, he's back on duty with Air France.
There are reports that after he helped Captain Resais out of the cockpit, he was the last person off the plane.
The passengers deal with the crash in their own ways.
I have been given a second chance.
I have been given a second life.
And all of us .
.
my wife and my children and myself - we all experienced the same positive effects of the crash which is, "We have to give back.
" "We have to do something for others.
" "We have to extend our heart out - "our compassion to people who need it.
" It's almost therapeutic for us, you know? The more you do for others, the better you're going to feel.
So, for me I figured, you know, if I can extend my heart out to others, maybe it's going to help me as well.