14 Heart-Stopping Pilot Confessions Moments Before Disaster Strikes in the Sky
“This NTSB data shows a general fall in air accidents in the US from 2005 to 2024 despite a significant increase in the overall number of flights over this period,” the BBC notes. “Data from International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN body which monitors global air incidents, shows that the number of worldwide accidents per million plane departures has also seen a clear downward trend between 2005 and 2023.”
Furthermore, you have to keep in mind that the ICAO also defines aircraft accidents very broadly, including situations where the plane needs repairs or goes missing, not just when someone is injured or loses their life. What’s more, globally, there has been a decrease in air accidents, despite spikes in some years when major disasters occur.
May 3rd, 1968, Dawson, Texas. An Airways Lockheed L188A Electra of Braniff International Airways took off for its regular domestic flight, flight 352, from Houston to Dallas. There were 5 crew members and 80 passengers on board. 25 minutes after takeoff, Captain John Phillips climbed the aircraft to over 6,000m. When he noticed a severe thunderstorm ahead. The pilots immediately requested clearance to descend to 4,500m. and alter their course.
The controllers advised them to head east, as other planes on the same route had already done, but Phillips made a different call: “352, does it look better on our scope, here it looks like just a little bit to the west would do us real fine.” For a brief moment, it seemed like the right choice, but soon the storm unleashed its fury, and the Lockheed found itself in turbulence.
The pilots realized they were trapped and requested a 180° turn to escape the storm. Air Traffic Control approved the maneuver, yet the fierce winds made controlling the plane nearly impossible. The Lockheed rolled to the right at an angle exceeding 90°, then pitched downward and began to plummet. The plane began breaking apart in midair. As it nosedived, the last thing the flight recorder captured was the sound of the fire alarm. The crash claimed the lives of all 85 people on board.
Adam Air Flight 574, a flight that vanished into thin air. On New Year’s Day in 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 was a scheduled domestic flight from Surabaya to Monado, two cities in Indonesia. The pilots lost control of the aircraft, the plane crashed into the Makassar Strait, the last recorded words of the pilots were:
First officer: Oh cap, cap, look. Pull up! Pull up!
Captain: No!
Both pilots: Allahu akbar! Allah… Allah. Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!
August 12th, 1985, Flight 123 of Japan Airlines prepared for a domestic flight from Haneda airport, Tokyo, to Itami airport, Osaka. The aircraft, a Boeing 747-100SR, was a giant. On board were 509 passengers and 15 crew members. For a while, the flight was smooth, but soon the consequences of a poor repair job from 7 years prior came to light.
Back then, the plane had scraped its tail on landing. Over the years, cracks in the rear bulkhead deepened. Now, at an altitude of over 7,000m., a piece of the tail broke off the plane and the hydraulic lines, controlling the Boeing, were severed. For the next 32 minutes, the plane was nearly uncontrollable, being tossed up and down. Captain Masami Takahama and his crew fought to keep the aircraft aloft, hoping for a miracle.
The plane was rapidly losing altitude, “Nose up… Nose up… Power… It’s the end.” Hope for survival was gone. The right wing struck a forested ridge. The fuselage began to disintegrate, and finally, the plane exploded. One of the passengers, Yumi Ochiai, was pinned under debris. She waved at a helicopter circling overhead, but they didn’t see her.
It wasn’t until the next day, 16 hours later, that rescuers found her. That’s when she learned she was one of only 4 survivors. The crash claimed 520 lives, making it the deadliest accident in aviation history.
If you have a fear of flying, what do you do to keep it under control while traveling? If you’d like to share your thoughts and experiences, feel free to do so in the comments at the very bottom of this post.
On January 13th, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the 14th Street bridge over the icy river after takeoff from Washington DC, due to severe winter weather and ice on the wings. The tragic accident resulted in the deaths of 78 people, including four motorists on the bridge.
Captain: It’s spooled, real cold, real cold.
First officer: God, look at that thing. That don’t seem right, does it? That’s not right.
Captain: It is, there’s eighty.
First officer: Naw, I don’t think it’s right. Maybe it is.
Captain: Forward, easy, we only want 500…
Captain: Stalling! We’re falling!
First officer: We’re going down, Larry!
Captain: I know!
[sound of impact]
TAM Airlines flight 3054. It was a regular domestic flight from Porto Alegre to São Paulo, Brazil. On July 17th, 2007, the Airbus A320-233 failed to stop on a wet and short runway and crashed into a warehouse and a gas station. The final words recorded by the black box:
First officer: Reverse number one only
Captain: Spoilers, nothing. Al! Look at this.
First officer: Decelerate, decelerate!
Captain: I can’t, I can’t! Oh my God! Oh my God!
First officer: Go go go, turn turn turn!
Gol Transportes Aéreos flight 1907 was flying from Manaus to Rio in 2006 when it hit another plane over Mato Grosso. The 737 lost half of its wing and crashed in the jungle, killing 154 people. The other plane landed safely. The cause was ATC errors and the Legacy Pilot’s negligence. Last recorded pilot’s audio:
*impact with other aircraft*
Captain: What is happening?!
First officer: Oh my God!
Captain: Calm, calm!
First officer: Oh s**t!
Captain: Calm, calm!
[aircraft breaks up]
On January 15, 2009, US Airways flight 1549 faced engine failure after hitting geese but successfully landed on the Hudson River, known as The Miracle on the Hudson.
LGAC: Cactus 1529 over the George Washington Bridge wants to go to the airport right now.
TEB: He wants to go to our airport, check. Does he need any assistance?
LGAC: Yes, he was a bird strike. Can I get him in for runway 1?
TEB: Runway 1, that’s good
LGAC: Cactus 1529, turn right 280. You can land runway 1 at Teterboro.
Captain: We can’t do it
LGAC: Okay, which runway would you like at Teterboro?
Captain: We’re gonna be in the Hudson
On February 19th, 1989, Flying Tiger Line flight 66 crashed in Malaysia whilst on approach to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Known as Subang Airport Today) from the south. The cause of the crash is due to miscommunication between ATC and the captain. The ATC instructed to descend to 2,400 feet. But he misinterpreted it as TO four zero zero, which is 2,000 feet too low. Unaware of the situation, the flight crew continued with their descent and crashed into Bukit Wawasan near Puchong.
*siren* PULL UP!
Unknown: Oh!
Second officer: I’ve got a hundred feet on the-
Unknown: S**t!
*impact*
