Criminal Minds s10e03 Episode Script
A Thousand Suns
Ladies and gentlemen, just a reminder: The fasten seatbelt sign is on.
Please remain in your seats.
Does your truck fly? Yes! - Bam! - Boom! Can I take that from you? They're both here and there, - But I love I'll take that.
I know.
Can you believe she said that? I should just wait.
All right.
Hey, what is he doing? I'll take this for you.
Anybody over here? You know what? I forgot to pack diapers.
I can't believe it.
Can you relax? We'll buy some.
It's not like we're going to Afghanistan.
The movie stopped.
Stupid WiFi isn't working.
One lady has an allergy, now no one can get peanuts? This is crazy! I can't change it.
You just have to walk down the aisle with Chip.
But it's gonna be so awkward.
I know, I'm so nervous.
What about John's brother? - Why can't I walk with him? - Because - What's that?! - What's going on? - All right? - Yes.
Seatbelt on, please, everybody.
Wouldn't it be crazy if we went down in a ball of flames right before my wedding? Hey, Penelope, what's up? - It's Kate with you? - Yeah, right here.
We're bringing you an extra-foam latte.
Uh, keep it.
Something awful happened.
Everyone's meeting at the plane.
All right, we're on our way.
All right, let's go, Garcia.
Trans Alliance Flight 420 just crashed in a Colorado field, northwest of Durango.
Any survivors? all presumed dead.
Where was it coming from? Pittsburgh.
It was going to Phoenix.
So, it happened in mid-flight? The plane just fell out of the sky? It's highly unusual.
within three minutes of takeoff or eight minutes of landing.
Well, an early call came into local law enforcement from a witness who said he saw a streak of light in the sky just before the crash.
Surface-to-air missile.
We've been asked to determine if there was a crime.
And if so, give the profile of the offender.
We'll be working with a joint task force.
Everyone's on their way to the crash site now.
I know flying's safer, but I still wish you were driving.
Safe travels.
Call me when you get there.
Division One, what's your condition report? We got those spot fires under control.
But this is, uh We're gonna need every unit available.
Copy that.
Any survivors? I don't think anyone could've lived through this.
Okay, Division One, three more units en route.
Stand by.
"If the radiance of a thousand suns "were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one.
" From the Hindu holy book the Bhagavad Gita.
This is zone one calling tactical.
Prepare to receive casualties at the alpha tent.
Copy that.
Division four, go ahead.
All fires are now out at zone three.
But we still need extra units for recovery.
Sending three units your way.
This is Division Two.
We've been asked to relocate from the NTSB.
It's uncanny really.
Colorado Emergency Management just turned this old armory into a readiness center last year.
- Save set up time.
- Commander Reardon? These are Agents Hotchner and Rossi from the BAU.
Commander Reardon's - from Homeland Security.
- Pleasure.
I'm hearing rumors about a survivor.
- Is that true? - Yes.
The copilot Frank Canvers.
- Where is he now? - In the hospital.
He's in bad shape, as you'd expect.
I'll text Morgan and JJ to head there.
Reid and Kate can stay at the crash site.
So this has become a search and rescue mission? Canvers' survival was a fluke; a miracle, even.
Unfortunately, I don't think we'll find any others.
Let me fill you in on the latest.
Trans Alliance Flight 420 originating from Pittsburgh International at 13:00 Zulu.
Scheduled to arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor at 17:10 The first call received about a downed aircraft was at 16:08.
The scheduled flight path doesn't cross over this part of Colorado.
No, the plane was off course by 150 miles.
Did the pilots know that? It's unclear.
Regional air traffic controllers lost communication with the plane They could've covered that distance during that time.
- Any sign of mechanical trouble? - Unclear again.
Ten minutes after they lost communication, the ACARS data reporting system shut down, or was turned off.
Uneventful takeoff and flight, though, until the incident.
So, as of now, everything is still on the table.
Our top priority should be ruling out terrorism, though.
Yes, we need the passenger manifest as soon as possible in order to start doing background checks - on everybody aboard.
- And where's the witness who saw the flash of light in the sky? In one of the back offices.
Local law enforcement brought him in about ten minutes ago.
- Has he been debriefed? - No.
Good, no one should talk to him but my team - or Commander Reardon.
- Okay.
The plane broke up into five main sections the two wings, the aft hull and tail, the forward hull and cockpit, which we have here.
How large was the spread? About a half mile.
Means the plane broke up before impact.
Have you found the digital flight data recorder yet? We're still searching.
Might've been driven deep into the ground after impact.
The good news is the DFDR and the cockpit voice recorder are in a single unit, so we're only looking for one black box.
Where was the copilot found? About 20 yards that way.
Excuse me.
You've been quiet.
Sorry.
You know a disaster of this magnitude is really hard to wrap your mind around, let alone your feelings.
You don't need to worry about me.
What, are you gonna profile me now? It's hard to turn it off sometimes.
Look, I guess I should just tell you this.
Hotch and Rossi already know.
My sister and brother-in-law died in 9/11.
They were working at the Pentagon.
So sorry.
I can imagine this must obviously bring back a lot of painful memories.
Yeah.
Anyway, I don't want to be that weepy agent with the tragic past, so you don't have to walk on egg shells around me.
My girlfriend was killed in front of me and my mom has schizophrenia.
Since we're sharing.
Thanks for letting me know.
After my sister died, I adopted all ten of her kids.
- Wow! - I'm kidding.
They had a baby girl Meg.
I took her in Actually, uh, Chris and I moved into their house.
Anyway, she's 13 and the light of my life.
- Oh, she sounds terrific.
- Yeah, she is.
Maybe I could bring her by so you can meet her sometime.
I would really like that.
This must've been the copilot's seat.
Means the plane came from that way.
You know, it's possible the metal attaching the chair got caught in the power lines, which would've slowed his descent.
A series of minor bumps instead of one big crash.
That's the only way he would've survived.
What is it? Vomit.
Passengers threw up before the crash.
Sorry about that.
Aw, great.
The hardest thing about this investigation will be staying ahead of the media and all the stupid conspiracy theories.
Let the games begin.
It was at 10:01 a.
m.
I was standing at the kitchen sink, and I saw the flash out the window.
I know it was then because my favorite show was just starting, and I could hear the theme music.
What's your favorite show? Secrets of the Great Wars.
So, you're a history buff? You could say that.
Could you describe the flash of light you saw? Well, there was this squiggly smoky, green sort of trail.
And then pow this blinding white light.
Anyone else see what you saw? I have no idea.
I live alone.
Did you ask your neighbors? I don't know my neighbors.
That is the way we like it out here.
Is there something you're not telling us? I'm not sure you can be trusted.
just died, Mr.
Petosky.
Don't waste our time.
I know who did it.
We leave anything out there? Nope.
Where's Cole? Not back yet.
If he ain't back soon, then we're gonna have to go find him.
Feds will be coming.
We should just hunker down.
Nah, we're too far off the grid.
It's gonna take 'em a while.
Besides leave no man behind, right? Mr.
Canvers Frank, can you hear me? - Uh - We're with the FBI.
Do you know what happened to you? Frank, you were in a plane crash.
What's the last thing you remember? I don't know.
Did you see a trail of light approaching? There was a jolt severe turbulence It was so bad I said stop.
- I said stop - Excuse me.
We need to get him to surgery.
Severe turbulence? I thought the weather was clear.
He said there was a jolt, though.
If not turbulence, it sounds like something hit the plane.
Okay.
Well, other options besides a missile would be a bird strike or a meteor.
Bird strikes normally happen at lower altitudes, around takeoff or landing.
Between a meteor and a missile I'm putting my money on a missile.
- -No, I can't get through to anyone! I've-I've called the airline and it just keeps going to a recording! I I have to go.
I'll call you when I get there, okay? Come on! This rural area just north of Durango, Colorado, is now a disaster scene He knows who did it, but he won't tell us? The guy's a whackadoodle.
Well, unfortunately, we can't dismiss him yet.
The fact is, no one else has come forward with a similar statement.
Well, that's 'cause the population's so sparse out here.
We should be grateful for that.
You're right.
Can you get him to talk? I can try.
But I should probably do it alone.
I think he has a problem with you.
My race or my gender? Probably both.
Wonderful.
As long as you can get some answers, be my guest.
Mr.
Petosky, I'm starting to lose my patience.
One more question.
Edgewood Arsenal.
What happened there? From 1955 to 1975, the U.
S.
Military conducted research into psycho-chemical agents by testing them on human subjects.
You pass.
The other one she can't be trusted.
Because she's military? The military brought down that plane.
Just like United 93 and TWA 800 probably that missing Malaysia Air jet Thank you for your time, sir.
Wait.
I'm not making this up.
I've seen covert military types roaming the woods.
Watch your back, Agent Hotchner.
You're not all playing on the same team.
If a MANPAD a shoulder-launched, surface-to-air missile were used, we're looking at a target acquisition range of six miles.
Factor into that plane's forward momentum as it's coming down and we're left with this area right here.
MANPADS are cheap and plentiful on the black market.
You can get one for a few hundred bucks.
I thought only planes closer to the ground were vulnerable.
True.
Most heat-seeking missiles have a maximum range of 20,000 feet.
Large systems, like the Buk, which took down Malaysia Air 17 are hard to get and require expertise.
You know, it's possible the plane was brought down to 20,000 feet to get it into MANPAD target range.
That would mean a hijacker was on board.
That could account for the missing 13 minutes of communication.
If there were a hijacker, he had at least one partner on the ground.
Guess who drew the short straw.
Depends on if you believe suicide's the gateway to paradise or not.
Has anyone been red-flagged on the passenger manifest? Not yet.
If a terrorist cell is responsible, this is just the beginning.
I'm sorry, I have no information for you.
Please, please, everyone, please listen to me! If you go to the family area, someone will be in shortly, to help you.
My name is Shelley Hicks.
My husband was on that plane.
Please! We need you all to go to the family area.
Someone will be there to help you.
Please listen.
I promise.
Trust what I'm saying.
Agent Reid said passengers vomited before the crash, which would confirm the severe turbulence the co-pilot described.
Well, a specific type of movement porpoising tends to cause vomiting.
Porpoising as in going up and down on a wave, or, like a roller coaster? Yes, as opposed to side-to-side movement.
And what would cause porpoising? Being caught in the jet stream of another plane, but there was no other flight nearby.
Is there something else? Something mechanical, perhaps? A deployment of the slats in midair.
You mean the flaps? The flaps are on the back of the wing.
The slats are similar, but they're on the leading edge.
They're used during takeoff.
It's very rare that they would deploy mid-flight.
There's lots of safeguards against it.
Please, his name is Frank Canvers - Somebody has to know Excuse me.
Are you related to Frank Canvers? I'm his wife.
He-he was the co-pilot on the flight.
Ma'am, your husband is alive.
He's in surgery right now.
Oh, thank God.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Uh, come with me.
Okay? I'll-I'll have someone take you to the hospital.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Commander Reardon says the president wants more proof of a terrorist cell before he approves broader actions.
- Go ahead, Garcia.
- Okay, going off of Brainiac's target acquisition range, I tried to identify all the residents in the area which is no easy feat, BTW, considering most of them are doomsday preppers and don't want to be found at all.
Anyway, I did background checks on everyone.
I have two sort of interesting possibilities.
One is Jesse Bronwen.
He made several donations last year to a Denver mosque.
The other is David Marshak.
He is a former Army missile operator who was dishonorably discharged two years ago, for misconduct.
And, of course, I just sent you the coordinates.
All right, thanks.
Why don't you and Morgan talk to Marshak? - JJ and I will talk to Bronwen.
- Will do.
roughly two-thirds into the flight I say we let Cole take care of himself.
He's a big boy, he can handle things.
Shut up and get in the truck.
Forgot the lights.
There's no need to draw attention.
Get the gate.
Don't move! Hands up! Let me see your hands! - Put 'em up right there! - Put 'em up! Search the premises for weapons.
Hands up! Get out! - FBI! - Get out of the car! Show us your hands and get out of the vehicle.
Hands up! Okay.
Hey! Aah! Listen, I can assure you that you're in serious trouble already.
Is there anything you want to offer us up right now? Might just buy you some leniency.
I have nothing to say.
When you were in the Army, "Apocalypse Forever.
" You claimed that you and your brother, Cole, had the skills to shoot down a plane and start World War III.
Is that what you were trying to do? Where the hell is Cole? Lawyer.
We just found a crate of Soviet-era missiles hidden in Marshak's cellar.
They're pretty old; not the kind that would bring down a plane.
I don't think Marshak and his guys had the smarts to pull this off.
And if they did do it, they'd want to brag about it.
What about the missing brother? Do you think Cole could have done this alone? Or with some other group of disgruntled friends.
Until we find him, he's the wild card.
We finished searching Bronwen's house.
No sign of any missiles.
He's a recent convert to Islam, but he's not an extremist.
What's Spence doing? Guys, these are the construction blueprints for the airplane.
I compared it to the way the plane broke apart and I think I may have found something interesting.
The hull of an airplane is really just a bunch of round barrels riveted together.
The wing, however, is a masterpiece.
It's the most physically complicated component of an airplane.
Nearly 200 feet long, it bears the weight of the entire aircraft and is shaped precisely to fit within 1/100 of an inch.
The curvature of the wing is what gives it its lift.
Air rushes faster over the top, creating a vacuum which sucks the wing upward, and, in turn, the entire fuselage.
This is important, because an airplane wants to be nose up.
It creates positive G's that sensation you get when you're forced into the back of your seat.
Negative G's, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter.
When the nose of a plane begins pitching downward, you get negative G's, which puts enormous pressure on the structural integrity of the aircraft.
With enough negative G's, the wings will start to rip off the plane, which then compromises the fuselage.
The plane broke into major pieces along structural joints and attachment points.
There's no evidence of gaping holes or pieces of the fuselage torn in areas without seams to suggest impact with an external object like a missile.
So the fact is, the way the plane broke apart, I think the crash was caused by something internal.
So are we talking about some sort of explosive decompression, like on TWA Flight 800? A massive explosion would have resulted in pieces of fuselage the size of a carry-on.
That rules out a hijacker with a bomb, as well.
Wait a minute.
A hijacker would certainly explain the 13 minutes of lost communication.
Maybe he drove the plane into the ground.
Or the passengers did.
This could be the start of another 9/11.
If that were the case, though, I'd expect a faster cascade of events.
Still, we can't rule it out.
The reality is, there are at least lost communication.
- Such as? - A "stuck mike," an air traffic controller sending the wrong frequency to an aircraft The average amount of time for lost communication - is seven and a half minutes.
- And we have to remember the transponder was still working.
No secret code to indicate a hijacking or any other emergency was sent.
Let's think about this.
The ACARS data recording system was turned off.
And that would have to come from someone in control of the flight systems.
So something happened in the cockpit.
That makes the pilot and/or the copilot the most likely candidates.
Their background checks came back clear.
What about suicide? You mentioned a slats deployment in mid-air.
You said it was very rare, but if it did happen, how would it happen? Pilot error or intention.
Are you remembering more about what happened before the crash? I, uh It's still foggy.
Yes, he-he did take a medical leave of absence two years ago, but he was cleared to fly again.
What was the reason? He had some problems with depression, but he treated with fluoxetine.
You don't actually think he caused this crash, do you? Ma'am, we have to consider all possibilities.
He passed all his physical and mental health evaluations.
Is he still taking fluoxetine? He he stopped four months ago, but he's been fine.
How have you been feeling the last few weeks? Fine.
Normal.
Were you depressed at all? No.
I've been good.
He would never do something like this.
I do know that Gerry Captain Valmeyer rented out a room in his house last year to a grad student from Indonesia.
The guy was weird, always asking Frank and Gerry about airplanes.
Earlier, you said there was turbulence, then you said, "Stop.
" Who were you talking to? Gerry.
The pilot.
Were you telling him to stop doing something? Yes, I We were arguing about something.
Did he deploy the slats? I'm not sure.
Do you remember turning off the ACARS system? Frank, did you turn off the ACARS system? Yes.
Why? I don't know.
I-I I can't remember.
Okay, we'll look into it.
Thanks, JJ.
If the pilot or copilot was working with a terrorist, that could explain the argument in the cockpit.
Now, the copilot admits he shut down the ACARS, but the grad student was living with the pilot.
So maybe they were all in on it.
Hey.
I've been meaning to ask how you holding up? I'm okay.
It's never gonna be easy, but I'm managing.
We just picked up Cole Marshak.
He was out squirrel hunting, didn't even know his brother had been arrested.
It seems Marshak and his clan, they're engagers, not instigators.
They'd join a war but not start it.
Precisely.
And by the way, we finished going through the passenger manifest.
No one has been red-flagged for terrorist connections.
- -So we're back to the pilot or copilot.
They just found the black box.
What did you do to the autopilot? Nothing.
You must have hit it.
It's off now.
No, I can't set a new altitude.
Are you messing with me? Calm down.
Don't tell me to calm down.
What the hell? Why did you deploy the slats? It just happened.
What are you doing with the yoke? Just stop it! Trying to keep her steady.
Okay, this is ridiculous something's buggy in the system.
Let's reset it all shut everything down.
So they shut down ACARS just to reset the flight system.
Sounds like there was a catastrophic system failure.
So that's what the argument was about.
We just reviewed the flight data recorder.
The plane porpoised on and off for the last three minutes it was airborne.
But there was no indication of system or mechanical malfunction.
Everything was working normally.
Including the autopilot? 'Cause it sounded like - they couldn't override it.
- Yeah.
There's one theory we haven't considered.
Someone other than the pilot or the copilot was controlling the plane.
It appears there is one survivor, possibly the copilot Okay, let me get this straight.
The way the plane broke up proves there was no missile.
The crash was caused by something internal.
But the pilot and copilot have been cleared, so that means someone from the ground hacked into the plane's computers? It makes sense with the data from the black box.
Guys, that that's a bit of a reach.
Boeing has expressed concerns about in-flight entertainment systems and USB connections that could give hackers access to a plane's computer.
Hack In the Box, Amsterdam, April 2013.
A security consultant from Germany demonstrated how an airliner could be hacked using a smartphone app that he developed.
That test was only on pilot-training software.
There's no proof it could happen in real life.
And we all know how forthcoming the FAA would be if something like that could really happen.
So what, this UnSub just flew the plane by remote control? We've seen it before with a helicopter.
How do we know it wasn't a crew member or passenger? We know for sure that no one else was in the cockpit, and it would be hard to fly by remote control in a cabin for 13 minutes and remain unseen.
Not to say that the UnSub isn't connected to someone on the flight.
Who would do something like this? A Mass Annihilator.
Someone who enjoys playing God or some other deity.
We're no longer looking for a terrorist; we're looking for a serial killer who wants to eradicate life on a large scale.
And he's gonna want to stop with this plane.
We need to advise the president to ground all flights immediately.
This is KNBS 27, and we're here at the crash site.
Obviously, you can see It's been almost 24 hours since the crash the suspicion of foul play surrounding flight 420 continues.
talk of a possible missile strike, although nothing has been confirmed.
There's been no official statement from the surviving copilot or his family.
All flights are now grounded until further notice from the FAA.
We go there now live for our continuous coverage All right, we need to play up the possibility of equipment failure so we don't drive this UnSub underground.
- I'll let the press liaison know.
- Believe it or not, the copilot, Frank Canvers, started receiving death threats.
What's the nature of the threats? Angry e-mails and voice mails, hang-up calls.
And people are upset that he survived - while everyone else perished.
- It sounds like the impulsive response of some grieving family members.
Still, we need to look into these threats and then beef up security for Canvers and his family.
We'll have someone on them 24/7.
We should also go through the passenger manifests again.
- Agreed.
- Why? I thought everyone was cleared.
The UnSub didn't choose this flight randomly.
We want to go live now to Melissa, who's in Durango following late-breaking events in this crash.
Yes.
Thank you, David.
Here's the latest update.
The only survivor of flight 420, copilot Frank Canvers, remains hospitalized at this time.
Doctors have now upgraded his condition to stable.
Many people have been calling it a miracle.
Thank you, Melissa.
We'll be getting back to you throughout the day to see if there are any updates on his condition.
We want to go back live to the crash scene - What have you got, Garcia? - Okay, guess what? I borrowed a page from the NSA playbook, and I ran everyone on that plane's texts and e-mails from the past week against icky keywords, like "hate" and "death" and "suicide," and here's what I found.
There was a passenger on seat 29D by the name of Kristina Morrow, received a text message three days prior to the flight that said: "I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.
" Oppenheimer.
Where did that text come from? From a prepaid throwaway cell phone in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
That was three days ago this guy could be anywhere.
Do you have any idea who sent that text, Garcia? No.
This Kristina seemed super normal.
She was an ICU nurse, married to an insurance salesman, three kids I will keep digging.
All right.
Thanks.
We got a problem.
All planes over U.
S.
Airspace right now have responded to the order to land except one.
- Which one? - Interlantic Air, flight number 61.
It left San Diego at 1405 Zulu, scheduled to land in Washington, DC, at 1915.
There's 301 passengers on board.
And there's been no communication from them? Not since the order to ground all flights was made.
How long have they been out of touch? Get the latest from Ashley, at the scene.
If you look behind me here, you can see that the fire department, the sheriff's The media's talking more about equipment failure now.
Good to know some things go according to plan.
Hopefully, the UnSub will poke his head up.
Hey, baby girl.
What do you got? Kristina Morrow went on a blind date with an aerospace engineer eight years ago.
You're gonna ask me how I know that.
I'm gonna tell you it's because she posted about the world's worst blind date on Facebook.
Who is this guy? His name is Hayman Vasher.
And shortly after this wildly unromantic and awkward dinner, he quit his job and dropped out of society, like, completely.
The way Ted Kaczynski did? Ooh, call them twins.
Both math geniuses, social outcasts, anarchist views.
However, Vasher not antitechnology.
When he was still online, he posted a lot about his affinity for Oppenheimer.
Now the quote makes complete sense.
If he admires Oppenheimer, then he wants to destroy the masses in the same way.
This is his version of the atomic bomb.
Wait a minute.
All of this was just to get back at a girl who rejected him? Doubtful.
She was probably the trigger that made him drop out of society.
But I'm guessing if he was solely focused on her, he would've struck sooner.
Did I say affinity for Oppenheimer? 'Cause I'm finding out more things.
I'm gonna take that back and call it full-blown obsession.
He analyzed how Oppenheimer went from being a socially awkward scientist to a revered and powerful man through intellectual achievement.
Vasher wants to transform the same way, so for the last eight years, he's probably been working on his hacking software.
He just perfected it.
He needed a test case.
So, why not use Kristina's flight? She posted a lot about her trip on social media.
She was going to a sorority reunion in Phoenix.
I'm guessing he crashed the plane here because it was in range to hack into the flight system and take control.
And he wanted it to crash nearby so he could witness it.
It's sparsely populated here.
If something did go wrong with the test, less attention is drawn.
But if this is his Trinity site, where's his Hiroshima? We've got a problem with the radio.
All I'm getting is static.
We entered a new air traffic region.
They probably sent us the wrong frequency.
Running through other channels now.
All flights ordered to land at the nearest airfield.
Disable autopilot and maintain manual control.
Repeat, disable autopilot and maintain manual control.
Albuquerque Center, this is IA61, over.
All flights have been confirmed except for IA61.
IA61, come in.
Albuquerque Center, this is IA61, over.
Still no response.
Does anyone have them on radar? Albuquerque Center, this is IA61, over.
I'm gonna try center on guard, 121.
5.
This is IA61, over.
We have IA61 on radar, entering the ARTCC two minutes ago.
All systems seem to be functional.
IA61, if you read, squawk 0365.
The transponder code won't change.
Hold on looks like the ACARS system just went down on IA61.
We're gonna land in Flagstaff.
Go direct now.
I'm trying to nothing's working.
I don't get it.
Autopilot's off.
Something's overriding our commands.
The landing gear's deploying.
No luck with David Marshak and his crew.
They claim they never heard of Hayman Vasher or anyone fitting his description.
We may have to go door-to-door.
I know it looks empty, but 28 square miles is a lot of ground to cover.
There's also an extensive cave system in this region.
You know, we talked about this crash being a test.
Now, assuming he wanted total destruction, you could say he failed.
- The copilot survived.
- Exactly.
It probably wounded Vasher's ego.
Could be the unexpected thing that would make him break protocol.
So it's possible he made contact with the copilot.
Maybe he made a death threat? Do we have a rundown yet, of all the e-mails and phone calls made to the co-pilot - and his family? - Garcia was looking into it.
I've just spoken to the president.
Based on your profile, we're concerned the next crash will be in a populated area and the president agrees.
He's just given the order to scramble F-16s.
If we have to, we will shoot this plane down.
If the UnSub wants to witness this plane crash, there's not a lot of time left.
It just entered Colorado airspace.
That only leaves about ten more minutes if he wants - to crash it into the same area.
- Well, witnessing it may not now be as important as making a larger statement.
What's the nearest high-profile target? Well There's Montezuma Speedway, Glenwood Water Park Oh, God, there's a big football game going on right now at Lewison College.
And there's a great view of the stadium from Tower Hill.
Start evacuating it now.
Go ahead, Garcia.
Before anyone asks, of course I tried to hack into IA61's flight system, and I can't get in.
It's like Vasher built his own electronic fortress.
The only way it's gonna work is if someone physically destroys his system.
Have you looked at everyone who's made contact with the copilot? Yeah, and they're all friends and family of passengers except for two.
One is from a known conspiracy theorist from Oregon, the other is from Colorado it's a hang-up call to his hospital room.
Let me guess it was a prepaid cell phone? Yup, but I just got the coordinates the call originated from and I'm sending them to you now.
And Dave, you, Reid and JJ head to Tower Hill; the rest of us will go to the coordinates.
This is Red Hawk 5, we are 80 miles east of target and closing.
We've just received word that all flights in the U.
S.
Have now been grounded until further notice by the FAA.
Is anyone else, uh, seeing this? Okay, you need to buckle up, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing - Buckle up.
- Some turbulence.
- Return to your seats, - Seats need to be forward.
- And fasten your seat belts.
- It's all right, everybody.
Excuse me Okay This is Red Hawk 5, I have visual confirmation.
Agent Hotchner, IA61 just changed course.
It's back on a direct heading to DC.
He must have radar tracking.
He knows the fighter jets are closing in.
Well, it doesn't get more high-profile - than the nation's capital.
- So Washington is his Hiroshima.
Makes sense in a twisted way.
How long till he gets there? Assuming the last known airspeed, about two hours.
He can't possibly think we'd let the plane get there.
No, But there's a lot of communities and targets in between.
The hard question is when to shoot that plane down.
This is Red Hawk 5.
I am locked on target.
I repeat locked on target.
- FBI! - Hayman Vasher, hands where I can see them.
- I don't think so.
- Put it down.
Why should I? If you want glory, you've already got some.
Stay back or I'll blow the plane up.
You've proven your point.
You've already destroyed the plane Kristina was on.
There is need to kill hundreds more.
You think this was about Kristina? She's nothing.
She's less than a speck of dirt.
What do you want? Call off the fighter jets.
If we don't? Stand by for my command.
If they drop below 10,000 feet, get ready to fire.
Roger that.
Look, there's no point to this.
In the end, Oppenheimer regretted what he'd done.
Call them off and I'll let the plane land.
Understood.
Red Hawk 5, pull back.
I repeat, pull back.
Roger that.
Pulling back.
All right, we've called them off put the remote down.
You can stop this right now.
"I am become Death" He's dead.
Any contact with the plane? Still no word.
And I don't see anything on radar.
They must have dropped below range.
Red Hawk 5, do you have visual confirmation? Negative.
I have no visual confirmation.
Keep searching.
Come on, somebody talk to me.
There's nothing.
This is IA61, we just made an emergency landing, over.
Yeah! Great job, everybody.
Hey, sweetie.
Oh, it's so good to hear your voice.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm on my way home right now.
I can't wait to see you.
"We knew the world would not be the same.
"Some people laughed, a few people cried.
Most people were silent.
" J.
Robert Oppenheimer.
Please remain in your seats.
Does your truck fly? Yes! - Bam! - Boom! Can I take that from you? They're both here and there, - But I love I'll take that.
I know.
Can you believe she said that? I should just wait.
All right.
Hey, what is he doing? I'll take this for you.
Anybody over here? You know what? I forgot to pack diapers.
I can't believe it.
Can you relax? We'll buy some.
It's not like we're going to Afghanistan.
The movie stopped.
Stupid WiFi isn't working.
One lady has an allergy, now no one can get peanuts? This is crazy! I can't change it.
You just have to walk down the aisle with Chip.
But it's gonna be so awkward.
I know, I'm so nervous.
What about John's brother? - Why can't I walk with him? - Because - What's that?! - What's going on? - All right? - Yes.
Seatbelt on, please, everybody.
Wouldn't it be crazy if we went down in a ball of flames right before my wedding? Hey, Penelope, what's up? - It's Kate with you? - Yeah, right here.
We're bringing you an extra-foam latte.
Uh, keep it.
Something awful happened.
Everyone's meeting at the plane.
All right, we're on our way.
All right, let's go, Garcia.
Trans Alliance Flight 420 just crashed in a Colorado field, northwest of Durango.
Any survivors? all presumed dead.
Where was it coming from? Pittsburgh.
It was going to Phoenix.
So, it happened in mid-flight? The plane just fell out of the sky? It's highly unusual.
within three minutes of takeoff or eight minutes of landing.
Well, an early call came into local law enforcement from a witness who said he saw a streak of light in the sky just before the crash.
Surface-to-air missile.
We've been asked to determine if there was a crime.
And if so, give the profile of the offender.
We'll be working with a joint task force.
Everyone's on their way to the crash site now.
I know flying's safer, but I still wish you were driving.
Safe travels.
Call me when you get there.
Division One, what's your condition report? We got those spot fires under control.
But this is, uh We're gonna need every unit available.
Copy that.
Any survivors? I don't think anyone could've lived through this.
Okay, Division One, three more units en route.
Stand by.
"If the radiance of a thousand suns "were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one.
" From the Hindu holy book the Bhagavad Gita.
This is zone one calling tactical.
Prepare to receive casualties at the alpha tent.
Copy that.
Division four, go ahead.
All fires are now out at zone three.
But we still need extra units for recovery.
Sending three units your way.
This is Division Two.
We've been asked to relocate from the NTSB.
It's uncanny really.
Colorado Emergency Management just turned this old armory into a readiness center last year.
- Save set up time.
- Commander Reardon? These are Agents Hotchner and Rossi from the BAU.
Commander Reardon's - from Homeland Security.
- Pleasure.
I'm hearing rumors about a survivor.
- Is that true? - Yes.
The copilot Frank Canvers.
- Where is he now? - In the hospital.
He's in bad shape, as you'd expect.
I'll text Morgan and JJ to head there.
Reid and Kate can stay at the crash site.
So this has become a search and rescue mission? Canvers' survival was a fluke; a miracle, even.
Unfortunately, I don't think we'll find any others.
Let me fill you in on the latest.
Trans Alliance Flight 420 originating from Pittsburgh International at 13:00 Zulu.
Scheduled to arrive at Phoenix Sky Harbor at 17:10 The first call received about a downed aircraft was at 16:08.
The scheduled flight path doesn't cross over this part of Colorado.
No, the plane was off course by 150 miles.
Did the pilots know that? It's unclear.
Regional air traffic controllers lost communication with the plane They could've covered that distance during that time.
- Any sign of mechanical trouble? - Unclear again.
Ten minutes after they lost communication, the ACARS data reporting system shut down, or was turned off.
Uneventful takeoff and flight, though, until the incident.
So, as of now, everything is still on the table.
Our top priority should be ruling out terrorism, though.
Yes, we need the passenger manifest as soon as possible in order to start doing background checks - on everybody aboard.
- And where's the witness who saw the flash of light in the sky? In one of the back offices.
Local law enforcement brought him in about ten minutes ago.
- Has he been debriefed? - No.
Good, no one should talk to him but my team - or Commander Reardon.
- Okay.
The plane broke up into five main sections the two wings, the aft hull and tail, the forward hull and cockpit, which we have here.
How large was the spread? About a half mile.
Means the plane broke up before impact.
Have you found the digital flight data recorder yet? We're still searching.
Might've been driven deep into the ground after impact.
The good news is the DFDR and the cockpit voice recorder are in a single unit, so we're only looking for one black box.
Where was the copilot found? About 20 yards that way.
Excuse me.
You've been quiet.
Sorry.
You know a disaster of this magnitude is really hard to wrap your mind around, let alone your feelings.
You don't need to worry about me.
What, are you gonna profile me now? It's hard to turn it off sometimes.
Look, I guess I should just tell you this.
Hotch and Rossi already know.
My sister and brother-in-law died in 9/11.
They were working at the Pentagon.
So sorry.
I can imagine this must obviously bring back a lot of painful memories.
Yeah.
Anyway, I don't want to be that weepy agent with the tragic past, so you don't have to walk on egg shells around me.
My girlfriend was killed in front of me and my mom has schizophrenia.
Since we're sharing.
Thanks for letting me know.
After my sister died, I adopted all ten of her kids.
- Wow! - I'm kidding.
They had a baby girl Meg.
I took her in Actually, uh, Chris and I moved into their house.
Anyway, she's 13 and the light of my life.
- Oh, she sounds terrific.
- Yeah, she is.
Maybe I could bring her by so you can meet her sometime.
I would really like that.
This must've been the copilot's seat.
Means the plane came from that way.
You know, it's possible the metal attaching the chair got caught in the power lines, which would've slowed his descent.
A series of minor bumps instead of one big crash.
That's the only way he would've survived.
What is it? Vomit.
Passengers threw up before the crash.
Sorry about that.
Aw, great.
The hardest thing about this investigation will be staying ahead of the media and all the stupid conspiracy theories.
Let the games begin.
It was at 10:01 a.
m.
I was standing at the kitchen sink, and I saw the flash out the window.
I know it was then because my favorite show was just starting, and I could hear the theme music.
What's your favorite show? Secrets of the Great Wars.
So, you're a history buff? You could say that.
Could you describe the flash of light you saw? Well, there was this squiggly smoky, green sort of trail.
And then pow this blinding white light.
Anyone else see what you saw? I have no idea.
I live alone.
Did you ask your neighbors? I don't know my neighbors.
That is the way we like it out here.
Is there something you're not telling us? I'm not sure you can be trusted.
just died, Mr.
Petosky.
Don't waste our time.
I know who did it.
We leave anything out there? Nope.
Where's Cole? Not back yet.
If he ain't back soon, then we're gonna have to go find him.
Feds will be coming.
We should just hunker down.
Nah, we're too far off the grid.
It's gonna take 'em a while.
Besides leave no man behind, right? Mr.
Canvers Frank, can you hear me? - Uh - We're with the FBI.
Do you know what happened to you? Frank, you were in a plane crash.
What's the last thing you remember? I don't know.
Did you see a trail of light approaching? There was a jolt severe turbulence It was so bad I said stop.
- I said stop - Excuse me.
We need to get him to surgery.
Severe turbulence? I thought the weather was clear.
He said there was a jolt, though.
If not turbulence, it sounds like something hit the plane.
Okay.
Well, other options besides a missile would be a bird strike or a meteor.
Bird strikes normally happen at lower altitudes, around takeoff or landing.
Between a meteor and a missile I'm putting my money on a missile.
- -No, I can't get through to anyone! I've-I've called the airline and it just keeps going to a recording! I I have to go.
I'll call you when I get there, okay? Come on! This rural area just north of Durango, Colorado, is now a disaster scene He knows who did it, but he won't tell us? The guy's a whackadoodle.
Well, unfortunately, we can't dismiss him yet.
The fact is, no one else has come forward with a similar statement.
Well, that's 'cause the population's so sparse out here.
We should be grateful for that.
You're right.
Can you get him to talk? I can try.
But I should probably do it alone.
I think he has a problem with you.
My race or my gender? Probably both.
Wonderful.
As long as you can get some answers, be my guest.
Mr.
Petosky, I'm starting to lose my patience.
One more question.
Edgewood Arsenal.
What happened there? From 1955 to 1975, the U.
S.
Military conducted research into psycho-chemical agents by testing them on human subjects.
You pass.
The other one she can't be trusted.
Because she's military? The military brought down that plane.
Just like United 93 and TWA 800 probably that missing Malaysia Air jet Thank you for your time, sir.
Wait.
I'm not making this up.
I've seen covert military types roaming the woods.
Watch your back, Agent Hotchner.
You're not all playing on the same team.
If a MANPAD a shoulder-launched, surface-to-air missile were used, we're looking at a target acquisition range of six miles.
Factor into that plane's forward momentum as it's coming down and we're left with this area right here.
MANPADS are cheap and plentiful on the black market.
You can get one for a few hundred bucks.
I thought only planes closer to the ground were vulnerable.
True.
Most heat-seeking missiles have a maximum range of 20,000 feet.
Large systems, like the Buk, which took down Malaysia Air 17 are hard to get and require expertise.
You know, it's possible the plane was brought down to 20,000 feet to get it into MANPAD target range.
That would mean a hijacker was on board.
That could account for the missing 13 minutes of communication.
If there were a hijacker, he had at least one partner on the ground.
Guess who drew the short straw.
Depends on if you believe suicide's the gateway to paradise or not.
Has anyone been red-flagged on the passenger manifest? Not yet.
If a terrorist cell is responsible, this is just the beginning.
I'm sorry, I have no information for you.
Please, please, everyone, please listen to me! If you go to the family area, someone will be in shortly, to help you.
My name is Shelley Hicks.
My husband was on that plane.
Please! We need you all to go to the family area.
Someone will be there to help you.
Please listen.
I promise.
Trust what I'm saying.
Agent Reid said passengers vomited before the crash, which would confirm the severe turbulence the co-pilot described.
Well, a specific type of movement porpoising tends to cause vomiting.
Porpoising as in going up and down on a wave, or, like a roller coaster? Yes, as opposed to side-to-side movement.
And what would cause porpoising? Being caught in the jet stream of another plane, but there was no other flight nearby.
Is there something else? Something mechanical, perhaps? A deployment of the slats in midair.
You mean the flaps? The flaps are on the back of the wing.
The slats are similar, but they're on the leading edge.
They're used during takeoff.
It's very rare that they would deploy mid-flight.
There's lots of safeguards against it.
Please, his name is Frank Canvers - Somebody has to know Excuse me.
Are you related to Frank Canvers? I'm his wife.
He-he was the co-pilot on the flight.
Ma'am, your husband is alive.
He's in surgery right now.
Oh, thank God.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Uh, come with me.
Okay? I'll-I'll have someone take you to the hospital.
Okay.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Commander Reardon says the president wants more proof of a terrorist cell before he approves broader actions.
- Go ahead, Garcia.
- Okay, going off of Brainiac's target acquisition range, I tried to identify all the residents in the area which is no easy feat, BTW, considering most of them are doomsday preppers and don't want to be found at all.
Anyway, I did background checks on everyone.
I have two sort of interesting possibilities.
One is Jesse Bronwen.
He made several donations last year to a Denver mosque.
The other is David Marshak.
He is a former Army missile operator who was dishonorably discharged two years ago, for misconduct.
And, of course, I just sent you the coordinates.
All right, thanks.
Why don't you and Morgan talk to Marshak? - JJ and I will talk to Bronwen.
- Will do.
roughly two-thirds into the flight I say we let Cole take care of himself.
He's a big boy, he can handle things.
Shut up and get in the truck.
Forgot the lights.
There's no need to draw attention.
Get the gate.
Don't move! Hands up! Let me see your hands! - Put 'em up right there! - Put 'em up! Search the premises for weapons.
Hands up! Get out! - FBI! - Get out of the car! Show us your hands and get out of the vehicle.
Hands up! Okay.
Hey! Aah! Listen, I can assure you that you're in serious trouble already.
Is there anything you want to offer us up right now? Might just buy you some leniency.
I have nothing to say.
When you were in the Army, "Apocalypse Forever.
" You claimed that you and your brother, Cole, had the skills to shoot down a plane and start World War III.
Is that what you were trying to do? Where the hell is Cole? Lawyer.
We just found a crate of Soviet-era missiles hidden in Marshak's cellar.
They're pretty old; not the kind that would bring down a plane.
I don't think Marshak and his guys had the smarts to pull this off.
And if they did do it, they'd want to brag about it.
What about the missing brother? Do you think Cole could have done this alone? Or with some other group of disgruntled friends.
Until we find him, he's the wild card.
We finished searching Bronwen's house.
No sign of any missiles.
He's a recent convert to Islam, but he's not an extremist.
What's Spence doing? Guys, these are the construction blueprints for the airplane.
I compared it to the way the plane broke apart and I think I may have found something interesting.
The hull of an airplane is really just a bunch of round barrels riveted together.
The wing, however, is a masterpiece.
It's the most physically complicated component of an airplane.
Nearly 200 feet long, it bears the weight of the entire aircraft and is shaped precisely to fit within 1/100 of an inch.
The curvature of the wing is what gives it its lift.
Air rushes faster over the top, creating a vacuum which sucks the wing upward, and, in turn, the entire fuselage.
This is important, because an airplane wants to be nose up.
It creates positive G's that sensation you get when you're forced into the back of your seat.
Negative G's, on the other hand, are an entirely different matter.
When the nose of a plane begins pitching downward, you get negative G's, which puts enormous pressure on the structural integrity of the aircraft.
With enough negative G's, the wings will start to rip off the plane, which then compromises the fuselage.
The plane broke into major pieces along structural joints and attachment points.
There's no evidence of gaping holes or pieces of the fuselage torn in areas without seams to suggest impact with an external object like a missile.
So the fact is, the way the plane broke apart, I think the crash was caused by something internal.
So are we talking about some sort of explosive decompression, like on TWA Flight 800? A massive explosion would have resulted in pieces of fuselage the size of a carry-on.
That rules out a hijacker with a bomb, as well.
Wait a minute.
A hijacker would certainly explain the 13 minutes of lost communication.
Maybe he drove the plane into the ground.
Or the passengers did.
This could be the start of another 9/11.
If that were the case, though, I'd expect a faster cascade of events.
Still, we can't rule it out.
The reality is, there are at least lost communication.
- Such as? - A "stuck mike," an air traffic controller sending the wrong frequency to an aircraft The average amount of time for lost communication - is seven and a half minutes.
- And we have to remember the transponder was still working.
No secret code to indicate a hijacking or any other emergency was sent.
Let's think about this.
The ACARS data recording system was turned off.
And that would have to come from someone in control of the flight systems.
So something happened in the cockpit.
That makes the pilot and/or the copilot the most likely candidates.
Their background checks came back clear.
What about suicide? You mentioned a slats deployment in mid-air.
You said it was very rare, but if it did happen, how would it happen? Pilot error or intention.
Are you remembering more about what happened before the crash? I, uh It's still foggy.
Yes, he-he did take a medical leave of absence two years ago, but he was cleared to fly again.
What was the reason? He had some problems with depression, but he treated with fluoxetine.
You don't actually think he caused this crash, do you? Ma'am, we have to consider all possibilities.
He passed all his physical and mental health evaluations.
Is he still taking fluoxetine? He he stopped four months ago, but he's been fine.
How have you been feeling the last few weeks? Fine.
Normal.
Were you depressed at all? No.
I've been good.
He would never do something like this.
I do know that Gerry Captain Valmeyer rented out a room in his house last year to a grad student from Indonesia.
The guy was weird, always asking Frank and Gerry about airplanes.
Earlier, you said there was turbulence, then you said, "Stop.
" Who were you talking to? Gerry.
The pilot.
Were you telling him to stop doing something? Yes, I We were arguing about something.
Did he deploy the slats? I'm not sure.
Do you remember turning off the ACARS system? Frank, did you turn off the ACARS system? Yes.
Why? I don't know.
I-I I can't remember.
Okay, we'll look into it.
Thanks, JJ.
If the pilot or copilot was working with a terrorist, that could explain the argument in the cockpit.
Now, the copilot admits he shut down the ACARS, but the grad student was living with the pilot.
So maybe they were all in on it.
Hey.
I've been meaning to ask how you holding up? I'm okay.
It's never gonna be easy, but I'm managing.
We just picked up Cole Marshak.
He was out squirrel hunting, didn't even know his brother had been arrested.
It seems Marshak and his clan, they're engagers, not instigators.
They'd join a war but not start it.
Precisely.
And by the way, we finished going through the passenger manifest.
No one has been red-flagged for terrorist connections.
- -So we're back to the pilot or copilot.
They just found the black box.
What did you do to the autopilot? Nothing.
You must have hit it.
It's off now.
No, I can't set a new altitude.
Are you messing with me? Calm down.
Don't tell me to calm down.
What the hell? Why did you deploy the slats? It just happened.
What are you doing with the yoke? Just stop it! Trying to keep her steady.
Okay, this is ridiculous something's buggy in the system.
Let's reset it all shut everything down.
So they shut down ACARS just to reset the flight system.
Sounds like there was a catastrophic system failure.
So that's what the argument was about.
We just reviewed the flight data recorder.
The plane porpoised on and off for the last three minutes it was airborne.
But there was no indication of system or mechanical malfunction.
Everything was working normally.
Including the autopilot? 'Cause it sounded like - they couldn't override it.
- Yeah.
There's one theory we haven't considered.
Someone other than the pilot or the copilot was controlling the plane.
It appears there is one survivor, possibly the copilot Okay, let me get this straight.
The way the plane broke up proves there was no missile.
The crash was caused by something internal.
But the pilot and copilot have been cleared, so that means someone from the ground hacked into the plane's computers? It makes sense with the data from the black box.
Guys, that that's a bit of a reach.
Boeing has expressed concerns about in-flight entertainment systems and USB connections that could give hackers access to a plane's computer.
Hack In the Box, Amsterdam, April 2013.
A security consultant from Germany demonstrated how an airliner could be hacked using a smartphone app that he developed.
That test was only on pilot-training software.
There's no proof it could happen in real life.
And we all know how forthcoming the FAA would be if something like that could really happen.
So what, this UnSub just flew the plane by remote control? We've seen it before with a helicopter.
How do we know it wasn't a crew member or passenger? We know for sure that no one else was in the cockpit, and it would be hard to fly by remote control in a cabin for 13 minutes and remain unseen.
Not to say that the UnSub isn't connected to someone on the flight.
Who would do something like this? A Mass Annihilator.
Someone who enjoys playing God or some other deity.
We're no longer looking for a terrorist; we're looking for a serial killer who wants to eradicate life on a large scale.
And he's gonna want to stop with this plane.
We need to advise the president to ground all flights immediately.
This is KNBS 27, and we're here at the crash site.
Obviously, you can see It's been almost 24 hours since the crash the suspicion of foul play surrounding flight 420 continues.
talk of a possible missile strike, although nothing has been confirmed.
There's been no official statement from the surviving copilot or his family.
All flights are now grounded until further notice from the FAA.
We go there now live for our continuous coverage All right, we need to play up the possibility of equipment failure so we don't drive this UnSub underground.
- I'll let the press liaison know.
- Believe it or not, the copilot, Frank Canvers, started receiving death threats.
What's the nature of the threats? Angry e-mails and voice mails, hang-up calls.
And people are upset that he survived - while everyone else perished.
- It sounds like the impulsive response of some grieving family members.
Still, we need to look into these threats and then beef up security for Canvers and his family.
We'll have someone on them 24/7.
We should also go through the passenger manifests again.
- Agreed.
- Why? I thought everyone was cleared.
The UnSub didn't choose this flight randomly.
We want to go live now to Melissa, who's in Durango following late-breaking events in this crash.
Yes.
Thank you, David.
Here's the latest update.
The only survivor of flight 420, copilot Frank Canvers, remains hospitalized at this time.
Doctors have now upgraded his condition to stable.
Many people have been calling it a miracle.
Thank you, Melissa.
We'll be getting back to you throughout the day to see if there are any updates on his condition.
We want to go back live to the crash scene - What have you got, Garcia? - Okay, guess what? I borrowed a page from the NSA playbook, and I ran everyone on that plane's texts and e-mails from the past week against icky keywords, like "hate" and "death" and "suicide," and here's what I found.
There was a passenger on seat 29D by the name of Kristina Morrow, received a text message three days prior to the flight that said: "I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.
" Oppenheimer.
Where did that text come from? From a prepaid throwaway cell phone in Los Alamos, New Mexico.
That was three days ago this guy could be anywhere.
Do you have any idea who sent that text, Garcia? No.
This Kristina seemed super normal.
She was an ICU nurse, married to an insurance salesman, three kids I will keep digging.
All right.
Thanks.
We got a problem.
All planes over U.
S.
Airspace right now have responded to the order to land except one.
- Which one? - Interlantic Air, flight number 61.
It left San Diego at 1405 Zulu, scheduled to land in Washington, DC, at 1915.
There's 301 passengers on board.
And there's been no communication from them? Not since the order to ground all flights was made.
How long have they been out of touch? Get the latest from Ashley, at the scene.
If you look behind me here, you can see that the fire department, the sheriff's The media's talking more about equipment failure now.
Good to know some things go according to plan.
Hopefully, the UnSub will poke his head up.
Hey, baby girl.
What do you got? Kristina Morrow went on a blind date with an aerospace engineer eight years ago.
You're gonna ask me how I know that.
I'm gonna tell you it's because she posted about the world's worst blind date on Facebook.
Who is this guy? His name is Hayman Vasher.
And shortly after this wildly unromantic and awkward dinner, he quit his job and dropped out of society, like, completely.
The way Ted Kaczynski did? Ooh, call them twins.
Both math geniuses, social outcasts, anarchist views.
However, Vasher not antitechnology.
When he was still online, he posted a lot about his affinity for Oppenheimer.
Now the quote makes complete sense.
If he admires Oppenheimer, then he wants to destroy the masses in the same way.
This is his version of the atomic bomb.
Wait a minute.
All of this was just to get back at a girl who rejected him? Doubtful.
She was probably the trigger that made him drop out of society.
But I'm guessing if he was solely focused on her, he would've struck sooner.
Did I say affinity for Oppenheimer? 'Cause I'm finding out more things.
I'm gonna take that back and call it full-blown obsession.
He analyzed how Oppenheimer went from being a socially awkward scientist to a revered and powerful man through intellectual achievement.
Vasher wants to transform the same way, so for the last eight years, he's probably been working on his hacking software.
He just perfected it.
He needed a test case.
So, why not use Kristina's flight? She posted a lot about her trip on social media.
She was going to a sorority reunion in Phoenix.
I'm guessing he crashed the plane here because it was in range to hack into the flight system and take control.
And he wanted it to crash nearby so he could witness it.
It's sparsely populated here.
If something did go wrong with the test, less attention is drawn.
But if this is his Trinity site, where's his Hiroshima? We've got a problem with the radio.
All I'm getting is static.
We entered a new air traffic region.
They probably sent us the wrong frequency.
Running through other channels now.
All flights ordered to land at the nearest airfield.
Disable autopilot and maintain manual control.
Repeat, disable autopilot and maintain manual control.
Albuquerque Center, this is IA61, over.
All flights have been confirmed except for IA61.
IA61, come in.
Albuquerque Center, this is IA61, over.
Still no response.
Does anyone have them on radar? Albuquerque Center, this is IA61, over.
I'm gonna try center on guard, 121.
5.
This is IA61, over.
We have IA61 on radar, entering the ARTCC two minutes ago.
All systems seem to be functional.
IA61, if you read, squawk 0365.
The transponder code won't change.
Hold on looks like the ACARS system just went down on IA61.
We're gonna land in Flagstaff.
Go direct now.
I'm trying to nothing's working.
I don't get it.
Autopilot's off.
Something's overriding our commands.
The landing gear's deploying.
No luck with David Marshak and his crew.
They claim they never heard of Hayman Vasher or anyone fitting his description.
We may have to go door-to-door.
I know it looks empty, but 28 square miles is a lot of ground to cover.
There's also an extensive cave system in this region.
You know, we talked about this crash being a test.
Now, assuming he wanted total destruction, you could say he failed.
- The copilot survived.
- Exactly.
It probably wounded Vasher's ego.
Could be the unexpected thing that would make him break protocol.
So it's possible he made contact with the copilot.
Maybe he made a death threat? Do we have a rundown yet, of all the e-mails and phone calls made to the co-pilot - and his family? - Garcia was looking into it.
I've just spoken to the president.
Based on your profile, we're concerned the next crash will be in a populated area and the president agrees.
He's just given the order to scramble F-16s.
If we have to, we will shoot this plane down.
If the UnSub wants to witness this plane crash, there's not a lot of time left.
It just entered Colorado airspace.
That only leaves about ten more minutes if he wants - to crash it into the same area.
- Well, witnessing it may not now be as important as making a larger statement.
What's the nearest high-profile target? Well There's Montezuma Speedway, Glenwood Water Park Oh, God, there's a big football game going on right now at Lewison College.
And there's a great view of the stadium from Tower Hill.
Start evacuating it now.
Go ahead, Garcia.
Before anyone asks, of course I tried to hack into IA61's flight system, and I can't get in.
It's like Vasher built his own electronic fortress.
The only way it's gonna work is if someone physically destroys his system.
Have you looked at everyone who's made contact with the copilot? Yeah, and they're all friends and family of passengers except for two.
One is from a known conspiracy theorist from Oregon, the other is from Colorado it's a hang-up call to his hospital room.
Let me guess it was a prepaid cell phone? Yup, but I just got the coordinates the call originated from and I'm sending them to you now.
And Dave, you, Reid and JJ head to Tower Hill; the rest of us will go to the coordinates.
This is Red Hawk 5, we are 80 miles east of target and closing.
We've just received word that all flights in the U.
S.
Have now been grounded until further notice by the FAA.
Is anyone else, uh, seeing this? Okay, you need to buckle up, please.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing - Buckle up.
- Some turbulence.
- Return to your seats, - Seats need to be forward.
- And fasten your seat belts.
- It's all right, everybody.
Excuse me Okay This is Red Hawk 5, I have visual confirmation.
Agent Hotchner, IA61 just changed course.
It's back on a direct heading to DC.
He must have radar tracking.
He knows the fighter jets are closing in.
Well, it doesn't get more high-profile - than the nation's capital.
- So Washington is his Hiroshima.
Makes sense in a twisted way.
How long till he gets there? Assuming the last known airspeed, about two hours.
He can't possibly think we'd let the plane get there.
No, But there's a lot of communities and targets in between.
The hard question is when to shoot that plane down.
This is Red Hawk 5.
I am locked on target.
I repeat locked on target.
- FBI! - Hayman Vasher, hands where I can see them.
- I don't think so.
- Put it down.
Why should I? If you want glory, you've already got some.
Stay back or I'll blow the plane up.
You've proven your point.
You've already destroyed the plane Kristina was on.
There is need to kill hundreds more.
You think this was about Kristina? She's nothing.
She's less than a speck of dirt.
What do you want? Call off the fighter jets.
If we don't? Stand by for my command.
If they drop below 10,000 feet, get ready to fire.
Roger that.
Look, there's no point to this.
In the end, Oppenheimer regretted what he'd done.
Call them off and I'll let the plane land.
Understood.
Red Hawk 5, pull back.
I repeat, pull back.
Roger that.
Pulling back.
All right, we've called them off put the remote down.
You can stop this right now.
"I am become Death" He's dead.
Any contact with the plane? Still no word.
And I don't see anything on radar.
They must have dropped below range.
Red Hawk 5, do you have visual confirmation? Negative.
I have no visual confirmation.
Keep searching.
Come on, somebody talk to me.
There's nothing.
This is IA61, we just made an emergency landing, over.
Yeah! Great job, everybody.
Hey, sweetie.
Oh, it's so good to hear your voice.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm on my way home right now.
I can't wait to see you.
"We knew the world would not be the same.
"Some people laughed, a few people cried.
Most people were silent.
" J.
Robert Oppenheimer.