The copilot on this flight told my friend that "the only things missing from the plane were the propeller and the seat cushions. After we lost the propeller, we sucked the seat cushions up our asses."
@@paranormalsoulz the TV-series is called "Mayday" or "Air Crash Investigation" depening on your location, it's the first episode of the 12th season, titled ""Fight for Control".
This aircraft still flies today! A company known as ‘Airspray Air Tankers’ that my dad is one of the bosses at, bought this airplane and is now used to fight Alberta forest fires. Tanker 484!!
He took the time to get that approach just right. Didn't attempt to put it down until he knew..Excellent decision making, something too many pilots lack.
I was working at VP407 Squadron in Comox, BC when this happened. They had enough time to get news crews in place at the end of the runway. The CP-140 I was working on was a military version of the same airframe. When we saw him touchdown it was a sigh of relief, until we saw the remaining engines feather. We had no idea at the time his throttles were stuck in cruise. What was really classic is all three flight deck crew exited with jackets and hats on.
Hats, coats, and ties gentlemen. Everytime this comes up on my suggested feed, I watch it. These men sure look like some baaaad m'fers coming out of that plane in full dress. Best last command from a pilot ever recorded. And what a hell of a flight. They literally sawed their flight controls free enough to land, and the presence of mind to perform a go around when too high.......not bad for a bunch of "unprofessional assholes."
My dad, Don Gillette, was a Reeve pilot that retired in December 1983. He had flown the Reeve Electras exclusively for about ten years or more. As a youngster I often went flying with him on his trips riding up in the cockpit. One time we were taking off at Adak (may have been a DC-6 on that trip) a sea gull flew out in front of the plane and it looked like it would hit my dad's windshield. He gave a slight turn to the left and the sea gull hit on the co-pilot's side. One time he was scheduled to fly from Anchorage to Fairbanks but they had overfueled the plane so that it would have exceeded its maximum landing weight upon arriving in Fairbanks. But a turboprop will burn fuel faster at low altitudes. I think he was just carrying cargo so there most likely were no passengers. So in order to burn off enough fuel he flew at 500 ft. above ground level all the way to Fairbanks so they would not have to unload the extra fuel. Another time he buzzed one of the Reeve daughter's home in Talkeetna. Someone tattled on him to the FAA and the FAA told Reeve they had to discipline my dad. So he got something like 2 weeks off without pay. Another time he was flying out to Adak when a passenger asked to come to the cockpit to speak to my dad. He had been a P-38 pilot during WWII in the Aleutians. If I remember the story correctly his radio quit or something and he was not able to navigate and did not know where he was when he was above the clouds. Eventually he had to come down not knowing where. Luck would have it when he came through the clouds he was above an island in a valley and he was able to safely belly land the P-38. So when approaching Adak my dad descended to low altitude and flew over this island and down the valley and they spotted the old P-38 still there.
That is a great story. Thanks for sharing it. I probably met your Dad before he retired. I worked for the state as a Firefighter and Police officer until 97
dewayne brantley Great! He was kind of shy and reserved. So he was not one to mix with passengers much. Another time they had some dynamite as cargo.This was probably in the 60s or early 70s. The flight engineer, George Wooliver, and the co-pilot played a prank on him. Many times Reeve crew members had to help unload cargo from the planes. Anyway they were passing these boxes of dynamite to each other. My dad must have been standing on a pallet on a forklift. George Wooliver found an empty box and threw it to my dad pretending he lost control of it. He said my dad braced himself to catch the heavy box of dynamite so it would not go crashing to the ground far below. It was quite a sight seeing him nearly launch himself into the heavens when he caught the empty box. Another humorous incident happened another time when they were unloading boxes of cargo. My dad was inside the plane handing a box to someone outside on a forklift or something. The other person accidentally grabbed hold of my dad's necktie and dragged him out of the DC-6 and he fell to the ground. Fortunately he was unhurt. But after that he always wore the clip-on neck-ties.
Lance Gillette Maybe it's too bad your Dad didn't mix with the passengers a little more - when I was 12, I got a tour of a Wardair 747 cockpit - it was amazing, I never forgot the wonderful experience.
I should've also said that your Dad must've been a great pilot and he must have many great stories of his experiences to tell. He obviously has a great sense of humour too, and is kind - who wouldn't want their house buzzed by a beautiful Electra?! I finally decided the hell with the cost and got in a float plane (a Bush Master XP, or something near to that name) to fly over our cottage in Ontario. I had some trouble spotting it at first - I wasn't used to going that fast, or in the air, and looking for docks and rocks, since the trees hid the buildings and our driveway. The pilot kept putting the plane into tighter and tighter turns - until all I saw out my window was sky, and water out his... and I loved it. He did keep asking me if I felt sick before he would start into each increasingly tight turn. I'd like to think he had a little fun doing those turns too. The artificial horizon was pointing half way to straight up: I'm not sure what that means in degree of tilt, but it was fun.
I remember seeing a documentary on this. The copilot kept saying that the captain was probably the most incredible pilot he had ever seen. They showed footage of this landing at the end. I think the documentary is on You Tube
impressive, had the chance to flew several tiems in an Electra back when i was a kid, unforgetable experience. edited: after knowing more of the circunstances of this emergency landing, those pilots were very skilled, limited movement and control of the aircraft, a hole in the belly caused by the engine propeller, 4 hours of tiresome flying using limited Autopilot and managed to land that Electra at around 180 Knots and once in land shuting down the engines and having no control at all to decrease the speed , truly admirable,
I flew many times in this aircraft and crew when I worked for Reeve. This aircraft 68R was involved in an accident on Amchitka hitting an approach light. The gear collapsed. It was fixed and returned to duty. Fred Kieth was Captain. Great pilots and flew in some very bad weather. Zero zero and getting worse..
I was a passenger on a flight from Anchorage to Adak, back in the late 70’s. Reeves. The plane was half cargo / half passengers. Me and two other guys were headed out to be crew on a crab processor, the MV Eastpoint. We were shuttled to the Eastpoint on the support scow Earling Jr. At any rate, I can’t remember if the turboprop we flew on had two or four engines! Its been so long. But I remember the wings flexing a lot. It was a thrilling flight.
I was an Army Aviator in Alaska 89-92, and remember seeing planes with stuck gear and engine failures coming in to Anchorage many times. The airport and emergency crews are pros at these things.
Being a Navy flier for 21 years on the Navy's version (P3A/B/C) of the Electra (civilian version). This airframe can handle some of the toughest conditions in Aviation and is one tough bird. The Navy is still flying these aircraft and will be for some time as they are being replaced by the Boeing P-8A which I believe will not fair with the P-3 especially on the Anti-Submarine side of the house as time will tell. Loitering engines can keep us on top our target for much longer which I believe is a plus for sure. I can say that the Navy found many ways to down these terrific aircraft mainly at the hands of pilots and human error, while equipment malfunction causing aircraft destruction was rare due to mainly our ground pounders (term for all of Aircraft Maintainer) and strict Navy Maintenance procedures/policies. We had a number of P-3's over the years where the props came off and as I recall they all made it with allot of damage. We even had a P-3 which flew and landed on one engine due to Pilot, Co-Pilot, and Flight Engineer error and that is something to brag about, well maybe only the flying and landing on one engine as they will never live down the causes which is a long story, but true! I can and will say that there is no other aircraft I would want to be on than the Lockheed P-3 or Electra as there one hell of an Aircraft and proud to have flown on them for 21 years!!!! Detect'em, Track'em and Attack'em as no sub is safe, this being our motto! Fly Navy!!
Robert Rickgauer ....Were you ever stationed at NAS Whidby Island, Washington? I have a friend who was stationed there a long time ago and flew P-3 submarine patrols out of there. He still lives on the island after retirement from Northwest Airlines flying 747s from Seattle to the Far East.
+Dale Behler howdy Dale, yes I was stationed at Whidbey Island with VP-69 Totems and reserve P-3 Squadron for many years. I bet I know your friend. Mention my name to him! I was first stationed there in 1982 and retired there in 2001. Thanks for mentioning this as I would love to communicate with him. I still keep in contact via Facebook with a number of Shipmates I flew with at Whidbey Island (VP-69). Thank you, Rob
Anyone get to spend a little wonderful time on the Rock? 74-75 ? I worked Navfac Adak, and went on several Sosus recon's ,,, best days of my life. P3C Orion,, best damn plane ever built.
The RNZAF flies the unique P3K and I understand that the squadron holds a the record for the longest duration flight of a P3. The Government is now looking to find a replacement for them. But you can not replace a P3 especially with secret installation (Mk.1 Eyeball).
I vaguely remember this. I grew up in Cold Bay and Reeve was the only way for us to get to Anchorage. I remember when Reeve started flying the Electra. Anchorage was now just 1:45 hours instead of the 2:20 the DC-6 took!
I often unloaded mail from this plane in 1968 in Naval Station, Adak . when Reeve replaced a DC6 with it. When I shipped out for Vietnam in June 1968, the Electra took me to Anchorage on the first leg of my flight to 'Nam. Love seeing the same bird still flying. Piece of history.
Just a great job of flying !!!!! RAA has had many issues with these aircraft, I recall watching one fly around Anchorage, burning fuel because of a like type problem in the mid-80's
Thanks for posting. Kinda shows you just how many people get involved in an emergency like this one. I don't know what's more shocking, the damage to the fuselage or to the #3 engine, imagine if that one had failed too! One little correction though - the control cables weren't severed, they were merely pinched by the damage to the fuselage, so only partial deflection of the flight controls was possible.
Apparently, this and about 13 other Electras are still flying in Canada (with some more sitting there for spare parts). This one was originally a Qantas / TEAL / Air New Zealand one.
But then again, watch United 242 landing in Souix City - They would have wished for wires But this `bunch of assholes´ are mother******* I know, when I fligh I want pilotes like these guys
If you read the information you will see that he had lost most of the controls, He was not able to engage the throttle controls and could not engage the reverse pitch
+dewayne brantley Thank you. As you correctly say, and having read the full accident report, this was clearly, highly commendable airmanship. The final approach looks odd (and fast) to say the least - as indeed it would under the circumstances. The (remaining) props all appear to be feathered after touchdown. It does seem that the ground emergency crews over reacted.
@@Ampex196 I might be reading your comment wrong (5 years later), but the props are slowly spinning because the crew pulled the emergency shut off after they touched down.
Hats coats and ties boys, hats coats and ties. This is why we want humans in the cockpit. He fucking nailed that landing, ryan air would have sacked him for too smooth
I think the fire/rescue crew caused more damage with the excessive foam application after the fire was out. I used to work crash/rescue with the National Guard, our orders were to hold the water unless you see fire, and then stop when it's out,ut stat on the alert.
I love how one of the radio guys announces the fire is out, then the foam trucks unload onto the aircraft and anybody unfortunate to be near the aircraft.
The guy is simply saying he doesn't see flames anymore. The guy with the water cannon is laying down retardant to not only quench flames, but also coat the aircraft with flame retardant foam to prevent flare-ups. It's fortunate that even back in 1983 we had airport firefighters more knowledgeable than yourself.
@@AlaskaMike72 say what you want. The foam was unneccessary. There was no visible flame, there was no leaking fuel. The flaming tires were extinguished when the plane ran off into the dirt. There were already men, with charged lines, in the immediate vicinity of the only possible hot spots, the main landing gear. The engines were all but cold by then. Pilot had shut them down a mile back up the runway. Turbines are shutdown by stopping the fuel flow. So nothing to fuel a fire. The 100+ mph ram air, as he coasted that mile down the runway, carrying away any remaining engine heat. So, no ignition source. All of this is clearly visible, in this video, shot from more than 100 yards away. Mr. Water Cannon had a front row seat. He was right there and could clearly see that the fire threat had been mitigated, and was being monitored. All he needed to do was hold his position and watch. IF something had flared up, then sure, hose it down. He just couldn't help himself though. He had to show everyone that his squirt gun was bigger and badder than everyone else's. "I'm going to shoot this $1,500 worth of foam all over the place. Let me start by doing my impersonation of a whale surfacing. There, strait up in the air. Look everybody, just like a blowhole. Now, let me fan it around, can I make a rainbow? Ain't that pretty? I guess I should spray some on the plane. Gotta justify my actions. Yeah, just keep spraying the plane. Maybe I can blast some of the paint off."
@@bob2161 It's easy to say after the fact that the foam was unnecessary. Who cares? I would bet that most of the folks still on that aircraft were perfectly happy for the hose-down, just to make sure that nothing did flare up. I don't think the idea of saving $1,500 worth of foam ever entered into the equation for anyone who was actually there. Regardless, you would seem to be in the minority for not only faulting, but actually ridiculing the fire crew for what they did that day.
I was standing at the edge of the ramp in front of the easternmost Alaska Air Guard hangar. Took a series of still photos of the landing and aftermath.
If you llok for air crash investigation,this particular incident is there ,you will see what actually happened and you will hear everything the pilots where doing ,look for it and many others episodes
I didn't see any comments, but did anyone notice the deployment of the emergency sliders didn't look right? I know the plane came to a rest with the tail end pitched up, without the help of people on the ground it didn't look like the emergency stairs would be useable. Very commendable flying on the part of the pilots.
fleetstdemon1 - The description says that "most" of the control lines were severed. Likely lost the hydraulic boost packages and had to fly the plane with manual controls, or perhaps was controlling with trim. That is a very physically demanding task on the Electra.
syizm Just to add more detail: The TV show about this ("Air Crash Investigations" S12E01) said the NTSB found that the manual control cables were wedged against part of the airframe. Because the flight crew tried so hard to move them, the cables began to "saw" their way through the metal against which they were stuck, freeing them slightly. They don't make it clear whether or not the throttle controls were jammed too, but they imply that they were severed, as the flight crew could move them easily but they had no effect. In any case, damn good flying by those guys.
hmm maybe I flew that as a 10year old Auckland to Melbourne 1964... as an unaccompanied minor... got treated like royalty by the hostesses :) ps.. still remember the sound and gazing out the big windows at clouds over the tasman... my first flight
If you look carefully, this airplane has two engines out on short final. The one with the missing propeller (#4) on the right and the inboard engine on the left (#2) is feathered. Looks like a reduction gearbox failure from the nacelle damage on #4. It also appears that he didn't have full flaps (maybe too fast for 100% flaps to be used?). A VERY nice bit of flying skill. I'm surprised that the prop loss didn't put enough shrapnel into the #3 engine to put it out of commission as well!
+dewayne brantley This is a late reply, but I have a relative who was there in one of the trucks. I should've mentioned before--thanks very much for posting this video!
The wings fall off the Electra. Flying cylinder of death hurtles into a crater at 550 mph. Nothing left but fingers. And pieces of spines. NWA 710 N121US Tell City 1960. Mourning becomes the Electra.
Did this Electra have reverse pitch that was rendered unusable by the damage? Seems if the plane had the option the remaining engines could have been used to help slow it down. I thought it wasn't ever going to stop. Probably much like the pilots at the time!
When the # 4 prop came apart a blade went thru the fuselage at the belly and severed ALL the control cables for the engines and props NO CONTROL of them
No. The remaining good engines are stuck on cruise power. The plane had to land much faster than it normally would as the engines could not be throttled back. The crew shut one engine down on approach to reduce their speed. As soon as they touched down, the remaining engines were shut down also. No engines = No reverse pitch of the props to help slow down the aircraft. So the wheel brakes had to do all the work, and at a much faster speed than designed. They held up pretty well in my opinion! Last ditch manoeuvre onto the dirt to smother the gear fire was touch of genius!
Because once they shut down the engines, the generators and hydraulic pumps lost power. The veer to the left was because the left main wheel contacted the rough unpaved surface and dragged the rest of the plane that direction.
bmused55 Cool, thanks for the insight. Wouldn't that still mean no brakes due to no hydraulic pressure? Kind of what I meant but my wording was kind of backwards
You are very correct, the nose wheel is in the nose of the aircraft. I know the person who made the comment on the radio and he was guilty of over reacting at times. He was excited and stumbled on his wording. LOL
maybe im missing something but i have several questions, with the amount of damage incurred and the pilot obviously having control issues why on earth would you then fly 700 miles with a plane that could fall apart any second? (is 700 correct as per description? 700 is longer than the entire uk must have been something closer) the Go around seems risky, again with control issues and one engine out doing a go around seems a big risk to take, you could easily lose control. you may argue that it was to dangerous to continue the approach but in doing the go around as well as a risk in losing control and having a failure, the manoeuvre then put him low on fuel (added stress) and made the second attempt all or nothing . was the Go around really the right thing to do?
It looks like the pilot drove off the runway into a ditch.... his main landing gear was on fire.... could it be that he purposely steered into the dirt in order to put out the main gear fire?
Sitting out at Cape Newenham AFS watching this happen on live TV we couldn't figure out what in the Hell the fire department people were doing. The plane was down, the plane was stopped, the wheel well fires were out. Why in the world were they foaming this aircraft? Our only conclusion was the excitement of the moment where these fire fighters had a very bad brain fart and forgot their training.
To the arm chair quarterback . Foam is not only used to put the fire out but in case of a fire breaking out like in prevention of a fire, With all your aircraft fire fighting knowledge just what would you have done
@@dewaynebrantley Well according to the fire dogs I was with whom I was watching this drama live as it happened, the correct procedure would be to foam the undercarriage of the aircraft specifically the area around the landing gear which had caught fire. Then......STANDBY and monitor for any other signs of fire or smoke. Or........are you actually arguing the point that other fire fighters aren't allowed to express a viewpoint which is apparently different from yours? My God man, if you don't want people to render their opinions all you have to do is set up your videos for no comments. TH-cam doesn't charge extra for that.
The copilot on this flight told my friend that "the only things missing from the plane were the propeller and the seat cushions. After we lost the propeller, we sucked the seat cushions up our asses."
haha im sure they did holy crap this was crazy just saw the ACI episode a couple days ago
This co pilot was one funny dude
😅
Just watched the Air Crash Investigations-episode from this flight. The crew in that plane did an amazing job, they are real heroes.
i cant find any investigation videos for it, can you link one please?
@@paranormalsoulz the TV-series is called "Mayday" or "Air Crash Investigation" depening on your location, it's the first episode of the 12th season, titled ""Fight for Control".
Those pilots are true hero's.
Mayday air crash investigation episode fight for control search on you tube.
This aircraft still flies today! A company known as ‘Airspray Air Tankers’ that my dad is one of the bosses at, bought this airplane and is now used to fight Alberta forest fires. Tanker 484!!
That's amazing. Thank you for the info.
I dint kwon that aircraft still flies
Really? Did he get a new propeller for it?
5Mariner yes, and the company also got a whole new engine for it. They also patched up the belly, did some more inspections and away she went!
@@mine098able Well she's already proven to be a sturdy old girl. Hope she's put to good use!
He took the time to get that approach just right. Didn't attempt to put it down until he knew..Excellent decision making, something too many pilots lack.
"The company was always saying we were unprofessional assholes. I guess you can't print that, but anyway..." - Gary Littner, First Officer, Reeve 8
I thought you guys were the best, retired Airport Police and Fire
I was working at VP407 Squadron in Comox, BC when this happened. They had enough time to get news crews in place at the end of the runway. The CP-140 I was working on was a military version of the same airframe. When we saw him touchdown it was a sigh of relief, until we saw the remaining engines feather. We had no idea at the time his throttles were stuck in cruise. What was really classic is all three flight deck crew exited with jackets and hats on.
Like a boss.
It appears the Captain was the last to leave the airship. Classic.
Hats, coats, and ties gentlemen.
Everytime this comes up on my suggested feed, I watch it. These men sure look like some baaaad m'fers coming out of that plane in full dress. Best last command from a pilot ever recorded. And what a hell of a flight. They literally sawed their flight controls free enough to land, and the presence of mind to perform a go around when too high.......not bad for a bunch of "unprofessional assholes."
Oh yeah. These were some bad ass pilots
One of the best emergency landings ever tbh.
My dad, Don Gillette, was a Reeve pilot that retired in December 1983. He had flown the Reeve Electras exclusively for about ten years or more. As a youngster I often went flying with him on his trips riding up in the cockpit. One time we were taking off at Adak (may have been a DC-6 on that trip) a sea gull flew out in front of the plane and it looked like it would hit my dad's windshield. He gave a slight turn to the left and the sea gull hit on the co-pilot's side. One time he was scheduled to fly from Anchorage to Fairbanks but they had overfueled the plane so that it would have exceeded its maximum landing weight upon arriving in Fairbanks. But a turboprop will burn fuel faster at low altitudes. I think he was just carrying cargo so there most likely were no passengers. So in order to burn off enough fuel he flew at 500 ft. above ground level all the way to Fairbanks so they would not have to unload the extra fuel. Another time he buzzed one of the Reeve daughter's home in Talkeetna. Someone tattled on him to the FAA and the FAA told Reeve they had to discipline my dad. So he got something like 2 weeks off without pay. Another time he was flying out to Adak when a passenger asked to come to the cockpit to speak to my dad. He had been a P-38 pilot during WWII in the Aleutians. If I remember the story correctly his radio quit or something and he was not able to navigate and did not know where he was when he was above the clouds. Eventually he had to come down not knowing where. Luck would have it when he came through the clouds he was above an island in a valley and he was able to safely belly land the P-38. So when approaching Adak my dad descended to low altitude and flew over this island and down the valley and they spotted the old P-38 still there.
That is a great story. Thanks for sharing it. I probably met your Dad before he retired. I worked for the state as a Firefighter and Police officer until 97
dewayne brantley Great! He was kind of shy and reserved. So he was not one to mix with passengers much. Another time they had some dynamite as cargo.This was probably in the 60s or early 70s. The flight engineer, George Wooliver, and the co-pilot played a prank on him. Many times Reeve crew members had to help unload cargo from the planes. Anyway they were passing these boxes of dynamite to each other. My dad must have been standing on a pallet on a forklift. George Wooliver found an empty box and threw it to my dad pretending he lost control of it. He said my dad braced himself to catch the heavy box of dynamite so it would not go crashing to the ground far below. It was quite a sight seeing him nearly launch himself into the heavens when he caught the empty box. Another humorous incident happened another time when they were unloading boxes of cargo. My dad was inside the plane handing a box to someone outside on a forklift or something. The other person accidentally grabbed hold of my dad's necktie and dragged him out of the DC-6 and he fell to the ground. Fortunately he was unhurt. But after that he always wore the clip-on neck-ties.
Lance Gillette
Maybe it's too bad your Dad didn't mix with the passengers a little more - when I was 12, I got a tour of a Wardair 747 cockpit - it was amazing, I never forgot the wonderful experience.
I should've also said that your Dad must've been a great pilot and he must have many great stories of his experiences to tell. He obviously has a great sense of humour too, and is kind - who wouldn't want their house buzzed by a beautiful Electra?! I finally decided the hell with the cost and got in a float plane (a Bush Master XP, or something near to that name) to fly over our cottage in Ontario. I had some trouble spotting it at first - I wasn't used to going that fast, or in the air, and looking for docks and rocks, since the trees hid the buildings and our driveway. The pilot kept putting the plane into tighter and tighter turns - until all I saw out my window was sky, and water out his... and I loved it. He did keep asking me if I felt sick before he would start into each increasingly tight turn. I'd like to think he had a little fun doing those turns too. The artificial horizon was pointing half way to straight up: I'm not sure what that means in degree of tilt, but it was fun.
jellyfishattack
I remember seeing a documentary on this. The copilot kept saying that the captain was probably the most incredible pilot he had ever seen. They showed footage of this landing at the end. I think the documentary is on You Tube
nidurnevets Yep, "fighting for control" was the name for the documentary
impressive, had the chance to flew several tiems in an Electra back when i was a kid, unforgetable experience.
edited: after knowing more of the circunstances of this emergency landing, those pilots were very skilled, limited movement and control of the aircraft, a hole in the belly caused by the engine propeller, 4 hours of tiresome flying using limited Autopilot and managed to land that Electra at around 180 Knots and once in land shuting down the engines and having no control at all to decrease the speed , truly admirable,
I flew many times in this aircraft and crew when I worked for Reeve. This aircraft 68R was involved in an accident on Amchitka hitting an approach light. The gear collapsed.
It was fixed and returned to duty.
Fred Kieth was Captain.
Great pilots and flew in some very bad weather. Zero zero and getting worse..
Looking at that gash in the fuselage it's a miracle the plane didn't tear in half mid flight.
Those guys could fly! Just a great example of courage and superior airmanship.
The flight attendants were hot af
Just watched episode on "Mayday" about this situation. The pilots did an amazing job in landing the crippled aircraft.
Just saw it too. Damn those flight attendants were haf
I was a passenger on a flight from Anchorage to Adak, back in the late 70’s. Reeves. The plane was half cargo / half passengers. Me and two other guys were headed out to be crew on a crab processor, the MV Eastpoint. We were shuttled to the Eastpoint on the support scow Earling Jr. At any rate, I can’t remember if the turboprop we flew on had two or four engines! Its been so long. But I remember the wings flexing a lot. It was a thrilling flight.
I was an Army Aviator in Alaska 89-92, and remember seeing planes with stuck gear and engine failures coming in to Anchorage many times. The airport and emergency crews are pros at these things.
Being a Navy flier for 21 years on the Navy's version (P3A/B/C) of the Electra (civilian version). This airframe can handle some of the toughest conditions in Aviation and is one tough bird. The Navy is still flying these aircraft and will be for some time as they are being replaced by the Boeing P-8A which I believe will not fair with the P-3 especially on the Anti-Submarine side of the house as time will tell. Loitering engines can keep us on top our target for much longer which I believe is a plus for sure. I can say that the Navy found many ways to down these terrific aircraft mainly at the hands of pilots and human error, while equipment malfunction causing aircraft destruction was rare due to mainly our ground pounders (term for all of Aircraft Maintainer) and strict Navy Maintenance procedures/policies. We had a number of P-3's over the years where the props came off and as I recall they all made it with allot of damage. We even had a P-3 which flew and landed on one engine due to Pilot, Co-Pilot, and Flight Engineer error and that is something to brag about, well maybe only the flying and landing on one engine as they will never live down the causes which is a long story, but true! I can and will say that there is no other aircraft I would want to be on than the Lockheed P-3 or Electra as there one hell of an Aircraft and proud to have flown on them for 21 years!!!! Detect'em, Track'em and Attack'em as no sub is safe, this being our motto! Fly Navy!!
Robert Rickgauer ....Were you ever stationed at NAS Whidby Island, Washington? I have a friend who was stationed there a long time ago and flew P-3 submarine patrols out of there. He still lives on the island after retirement from Northwest Airlines flying 747s from Seattle to the Far East.
+Dale Behler howdy Dale, yes I was stationed at Whidbey Island with VP-69 Totems and reserve P-3 Squadron for many years. I bet I know your friend. Mention my name to him! I was first stationed there in 1982 and retired there in 2001. Thanks for mentioning this as I would love to communicate with him. I still keep in contact via Facebook with a number of Shipmates I flew with at Whidbey Island (VP-69). Thank you, Rob
Hello Robert Rickgauer, Eugene Lanzl, ADR2 here. 1959-68. I feel that way about the P2V-7.
Anyone get to spend a little wonderful time on the Rock? 74-75 ? I worked Navfac Adak, and went on several Sosus recon's ,,, best days of my life. P3C Orion,, best damn plane ever built.
The RNZAF flies the unique P3K and I understand that the squadron holds a the record for the longest duration flight of a P3. The Government is now looking to find a replacement for them. But you can not replace a P3 especially with secret installation (Mk.1 Eyeball).
The Black Box Down podcast led me here. I’m waiting for the movie version of this…..
Watched it on Air Crash Investigation and here I am, watching the real video of it. Nice effort by crews!
I vaguely remember this. I grew up in Cold Bay and Reeve was the only way for us to get to Anchorage. I remember when Reeve started flying the Electra. Anchorage was now just 1:45 hours instead of the 2:20 the DC-6 took!
How long did the DC6 stay operational after first the Electra and then the DC7 came out?
Pilots did great job bring that Electra in, what's the old saying any landing you walk away from,etc etc etc.
I watched the TV show about this, and wanted to see the real video. Thanks for posting this!
In Brazil the Electras flew for decades without a single accident or incident. Tough planes!
I rode on them a couple of times, the Ponte Aero between Rio and Sao Paulo.
I often unloaded mail from this plane in 1968 in Naval Station, Adak . when Reeve replaced a DC6 with it. When I shipped out for Vietnam in June 1968, the Electra took me to Anchorage on the first leg of my flight to 'Nam. Love seeing the same bird still flying. Piece of history.
Scary for the passengers. Whether there was fire or not, The Pilots did a great job. Getting foam on it ensures nothing can ignite. Thank you!
Impressive landing, thank you for sharing this video!
Just a great job of flying !!!!! RAA has had many issues with these aircraft, I recall watching one fly around Anchorage, burning fuel because of a like type problem in the mid-80's
Thanks for posting. Kinda shows you just how many people get involved in an emergency like this one. I don't know what's more shocking, the damage to the fuselage or to the #3 engine, imagine if that one had failed too! One little correction though - the control cables weren't severed, they were merely pinched by the damage to the fuselage, so only partial deflection of the flight controls was possible.
they were lucky that didn't turn into a big pile of metal filled with dead men... that was pilot skill there.. plain and simple.
I just saw the documentary about this flight on NGC. Fantastic! And what a great commander!
Apparently, this and about 13 other Electras are still flying in Canada (with some more sitting there for spare parts). This one was originally a Qantas / TEAL / Air New Zealand one.
"the company was always telling us, we we're a bunch of unprofessional assh**es" Gary Lintner Co-Pilot Reeve Flight 8
Here from Black Box Down
What a fantastic video!!!!! Gotta' be the best I've ever seen about something like this!
This is great piloting on behalf of the crew. This is why I don't like the "fly by wire". You always need a good pilot. BRAVO BRAVO.
But then again, watch United 242 landing in Souix City - They would have wished for wires
But this `bunch of assholes´ are mother*******
I know, when I fligh I want pilotes like these guys
If you read the information you will see that he had lost most of the controls, He was not able to engage the throttle controls and could not engage the reverse pitch
+dewayne brantley Thank you. As you correctly say, and having read the full accident report, this was clearly, highly commendable airmanship. The final approach looks odd (and fast) to say the least - as indeed it would under the circumstances.
The (remaining) props all appear to be feathered after touchdown. It does seem that the ground emergency crews over reacted.
I took took the call from Fred as I was working Radio that night. I called Anchorage to advise them an accident had occurred.
@@Ampex196 I might be reading your comment wrong (5 years later), but the props are slowly spinning because the crew pulled the emergency shut off after they touched down.
The crew deserves a gold medal.
a sturdy beast of an airplane, that. beautiful plane, amazing crew, perfect landing.
Hats coats and ties boys, hats coats and ties.
This is why we want humans in the cockpit. He fucking nailed that landing, ryan air would have sacked him for too smooth
Those flight attendants were hot too
Those pilots are badasses.
The flight crew made sure when they left they were wearing their ties, caps and coats. True professional aviators.
Okay, the fires out...the fires out! Douses the entire plane and people with foam! Lol.
I think the fire/rescue crew caused more damage with the excessive foam application after the fire was out. I used to work crash/rescue with the National Guard, our orders were to hold the water unless you see fire, and then stop when it's out,ut stat on the alert.
They kept spraying foam so a fire wouldn’t start like how dumb are you?
Btw this airplane still flies today by my dads firefighting company known as Airspray
Профессиональная работа и пилотов и наземной команды
Who's watching after "Mayday Air Crash Investigation" of National Geographic?
Me
sad that the pilot and first officer have passed away now =
Good job by the pilot and cutting power on the last 2 engines is the last option for the airplane and the landing was perfect to say the least.
high skilled pilots well done....
I love how one of the radio guys announces the fire is out, then the foam trucks unload onto the aircraft and anybody unfortunate to be near the aircraft.
The guy is simply saying he doesn't see flames anymore. The guy with the water cannon is laying down retardant to not only quench flames, but also coat the aircraft with flame retardant foam to prevent flare-ups. It's fortunate that even back in 1983 we had airport firefighters more knowledgeable than yourself.
AlaskaMike72
If this is Mike Palmer you would know
dewayne brantley
No, I'm not Mike Palmer, and no, I wasn't there. I was replying to tomshiba51 who seemed to be spouting off. Were you there that day?
@@AlaskaMike72 say what you want. The foam was unneccessary. There was no visible flame, there was no leaking fuel. The flaming tires were extinguished when the plane ran off into the dirt. There were already men, with charged lines, in the immediate vicinity of the only possible hot spots, the main landing gear. The engines were all but cold by then. Pilot had shut them down a mile back up the runway.
Turbines are shutdown by stopping the fuel flow. So nothing to fuel a fire.
The 100+ mph ram air, as he coasted that mile down the runway, carrying away any remaining engine heat. So, no ignition source.
All of this is clearly visible, in this video, shot from more than 100 yards away.
Mr. Water Cannon had a front row seat. He was right there and could clearly see that the fire threat had been mitigated, and was being monitored. All he needed to do was hold his position and watch. IF something had flared up, then sure, hose it down.
He just couldn't help himself though. He had to show everyone that his squirt gun was bigger and badder than everyone else's. "I'm going to shoot this $1,500 worth of foam all over the place. Let me start by doing my impersonation of a whale surfacing. There, strait up in the air. Look everybody, just like a blowhole. Now, let me fan it around, can I make a rainbow? Ain't that pretty? I guess I should spray some on the plane. Gotta justify my actions. Yeah, just keep spraying the plane. Maybe I can blast some of the paint off."
@@bob2161 It's easy to say after the fact that the foam was unnecessary. Who cares? I would bet that most of the folks still on that aircraft were perfectly happy for the hose-down, just to make sure that nothing did flare up. I don't think the idea of saving $1,500 worth of foam ever entered into the equation for anyone who was actually there.
Regardless, you would seem to be in the minority for not only faulting, but actually ridiculing the fire crew for what they did that day.
RIP, Gary. You did great!
This is the real legend flight.
Captain,first officer,cabin attendant,all crews are fucking professional.
Guys, this's how 'unprofessional pilot' handle the emergency. Show'em how we do it.
great flying skills, great pilots !
RIP James Gibson (aircraft's pilot)
I was standing at the edge of the ramp in front of the easternmost Alaska Air Guard hangar. Took a series of still photos of the landing and aftermath.
This specific aircraft still flies today as C-GHZI
+plhought It's a fire fighting aircraft with Air Spray. Pretty wild!
Yep! My dads company known As Airspray, bought this Electra and they use it as a fire fighting aircraft now. Tanker 484!
If you llok for air crash investigation,this particular incident is there ,you will see what actually happened and you will hear everything the pilots where doing ,look for it and many others episodes
Gary Lintner, quite a guy.
I didn't see any comments, but did anyone notice the deployment of the emergency sliders didn't look right? I know the plane came to a rest with the tail end pitched up, without the help of people on the ground it didn't look like the emergency stairs would be useable. Very commendable flying on the part of the pilots.
Thanks a lot for sharing this vid, I’m a huge fan of the captain James Gibson and the video is pretty cool. Thanks!
Too bad the emergency chutes ended up hanging almost straight down...
That is some serious damage.
Yeah all those people getting sprayed with pfas probably lasted real long
The controls were NOT severed, they were jammed. They managed to gain enough control to land.
fleetstdemon1 - The description says that "most" of the control lines were severed. Likely lost the hydraulic boost packages and had to fly the plane with manual controls, or perhaps was controlling with trim. That is a very physically demanding task on the Electra.
syizm Just to add more detail: The TV show about this ("Air Crash Investigations" S12E01) said the NTSB found that the manual control cables were wedged against part of the airframe. Because the flight crew tried so hard to move them, the cables began to "saw" their way through the metal against which they were stuck, freeing them slightly.
They don't make it clear whether or not the throttle controls were jammed too, but they imply that they were severed, as the flight crew could move them easily but they had no effect.
In any case, damn good flying by those guys.
@@syizm just the oppiset the cables to the boost packs were damaged the only control was with the auto pilot (electrical) to the boost pack hydraulics
This aircraft was originally VH-ECC with Qantas; delivered new in 1959.
hmm maybe I flew that as a 10year old Auckland to Melbourne 1964... as an unaccompanied minor... got treated like royalty by the hostesses :)
ps.. still remember the sound and gazing out the big windows at clouds over the tasman... my first flight
Nice job crew.
IMPRESSIONANTE A RAPIDEZ E A CORAGEM DAS EQUIPES DE RESGATE EM COLOCAR SUAS VIDAS EM RISCO DE SEREM QUEIMADAS, PARA RESGATAR AS VITÍMAS.
That was a wonderful landing considering the situation.
If you look carefully, this airplane has two engines out on short final. The one with the missing propeller (#4) on the right and the inboard engine on the left (#2) is feathered. Looks like a reduction gearbox failure from the nacelle damage on #4. It also appears that he didn't have full flaps (maybe too fast for 100% flaps to be used?). A VERY nice bit of flying skill. I'm surprised that the prop loss didn't put enough shrapnel into the #3 engine to put it out of commission as well!
He may have had to crank the flaps down manually if hydraulics were compromised.
They'd shut #2 off before their approach to reduce landing speed.
It's cool seeing those C-133s at the end of the video. They are huge. I thought they had been retired by 1983.
I did no get them flying but did video it being loaded, I knew the owner and loadmaster.
My father was this type aircraft pilot too.. In mandala air indonesia.. It Was a nice airplane for me..
Just wow! They don’t make pilots like they used to!
9:12 legends, No better way to emerge from an emergency landing then with your hat coat and ties,
I worked there but not on duty at the time
+dewayne brantley
This is a late reply, but I have a relative who was there in one of the trucks. I should've mentioned before--thanks very much for posting this video!
+AlaskaMike72 who was that Mike,? first name if you don't want to give full name
It would be John.
+dewayne brantley
First name is John
fantastic pilot doing a great job...well done
Outstanding landing...
The wings fall off the Electra.
Flying cylinder of death hurtles into a crater at 550 mph.
Nothing left but fingers.
And pieces of spines.
NWA 710 N121US Tell City 1960.
Mourning becomes the Electra.
Also Buffalo Texas..Braniff
13:14 flying tigers 747 and a couple new 757's.
757s at the end of the video...I forgot that the 75s where that old!
They would have really been the latest greatest thing in the fleet at the time. Brand new.
Did this Electra have reverse pitch that was rendered unusable by the damage? Seems if the plane had the option the remaining engines could have been used to help slow it down. I thought it wasn't ever going to stop. Probably much like the pilots at the time!
Ronald Scott Normally with the Electra they hardly need to touch the brakes, the props are massive brakes with full Beta
When the # 4 prop came apart a blade went thru the fuselage at the belly and severed ALL the control cables for the engines and props NO CONTROL of them
I ve seen it in tv show
Its a miracle
Those pilots did a good job
Immideatly kill all engines just after touch down
I'm going to assume that hydraulics were compromised too due to there being no brakes
No. The remaining good engines are stuck on cruise power. The plane had to land much faster than it normally would as the engines could not be throttled back. The crew shut one engine down on approach to reduce their speed. As soon as they touched down, the remaining engines were shut down also. No engines = No reverse pitch of the props to help slow down the aircraft. So the wheel brakes had to do all the work, and at a much faster speed than designed. They held up pretty well in my opinion! Last ditch manoeuvre onto the dirt to smother the gear fire was touch of genius!
bmused55 Then why the veer to the left into the ditch at the end?
Because once they shut down the engines, the generators and hydraulic pumps lost power. The veer to the left was because the left main wheel contacted the rough unpaved surface and dragged the rest of the plane that direction.
bmused55 Cool, thanks for the insight. Wouldn't that still mean no brakes due to no hydraulic pressure? Kind of what I meant but my wording was kind of backwards
Reduce braking. They would have some braking power, as evidenced in the brakes getting so hot they ignited.
Saw Hermans Hermits last Friday night in Houston.
Incredible crew. Sadly they are all deceased now
He clearly DID have brakes, although perhaps only emergency brakes with no anti-skid available.
Eastern Golden Falcon Electra !
I always thought the nose wheel was in the nose after watching this I find out I was wrong.
the brakes were working hence the smoke.
You are very correct, the nose wheel is in the nose of the aircraft. I know the person who made the comment on the radio and he was guilty of over reacting at times. He was excited and stumbled on his wording. LOL
Emergency brakes only. They lost hydraulics when the 3 engines were shut down upon landing since they didn't have throttle control.
The Miracle on the Hudson looks easy compared to what this flight crew achieved.
Good job by CFR ( I'M OLD SCHOOL GUY ) Guests ARFF sounds better! Anyway nice video or super 8! Thanks for posting it.
3:22 listen to that Jimmy throttle up!
maybe im missing something but i have several questions, with the amount of damage incurred and the pilot obviously having control issues why on earth would you then fly 700 miles with a plane that could fall apart any second? (is 700 correct as per description? 700 is longer than the entire uk must have been something closer) the Go around seems risky, again with control issues and one engine out doing a go around seems a big risk to take, you could easily lose control. you may argue that it was to dangerous to continue the approach but in doing the go around as well as a risk in losing control and having a failure, the manoeuvre then put him low on fuel (added stress) and made the second attempt all or nothing . was the Go around really the right thing to do?
because that was where assistance and the crash crew to help if needed
Watch the 'Air Disasters' episode if you have the Smithsonian Channel. It will answer all of your concerns.
It looks like the pilot drove off the runway into a ditch.... his main landing gear was on fire.... could it be that he purposely steered into the dirt in order to put out the main gear fire?
Mayday Air crash investigation brough me here
Were Electra's props free-turning or geared to the main compressor shaft?
Free
Former Qantas/Air NZ ZK-CLX
Sitting out at Cape Newenham AFS watching this happen on live TV we couldn't figure out what in the Hell the fire department people were doing. The plane was down, the plane was stopped, the wheel well fires were out. Why in the world were they foaming this aircraft? Our only conclusion was the excitement of the moment where these fire fighters had a very bad brain fart and forgot their training.
To the arm chair quarterback . Foam is not only used to put the fire out but in case of a fire breaking out like in prevention of a fire, With all your aircraft fire fighting knowledge just what would you have done
@@dewaynebrantley Well according to the fire dogs I was with whom I was watching this drama live as it happened, the correct procedure would be to foam the undercarriage of the aircraft specifically the area around the landing gear which had caught fire. Then......STANDBY and monitor for any other signs of fire or smoke. Or........are you actually arguing the point that other fire fighters aren't allowed to express a viewpoint which is apparently different from yours? My God man, if you don't want people to render their opinions all you have to do is set up your videos for no comments. TH-cam doesn't charge extra for that.
In NAS Sigonella ( Sicily ) from 1983 to 1985 I don't remember any P3 Orion incident nor accident. Good planes indeed !
The P3 is the military version of the Electra with many up grades in design. The two aircraft share the basics but not the same over all componances.
I would have thought flying on Three is OK! Until I waited till the End!??&
What were those last planes in the end of the video? 757's or 777's?
Those were 757s it was way before the 777 were built
This was quite a while before 777s, they were 757s
@@dewaynebrantley if im right the 75s would have been pretty much brand new when this happened