On 13 August 2004, Air Tahoma Flight 185 crashes into a golf course in Florence, Kentucky, after suffering a fuel starvation. The first officer is killed, but the captain survives with minor injuries.
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00:00On approach to Cincinnati, Ohio, the pilots of Air Tahoma Flight 185 face disaster.
00:122,300 feet.
00:14Keep it steady.
00:15The airplane will fall like a rock.
00:18My God.
00:19The plane crashes into a golf course.
00:23Only the captain survives.
00:26He did not remember much of the flight.
00:29When you have a tragic event happen, the memories are not there.
00:33The wrecked engines provide investigators with their first clue.
00:37There's no evidence of burning or charring.
00:39Both engines flamed out before the crash.
00:41But according to the gauges, there was ample fuel for the flight.
00:46If there was still 5,600 pounds of fuel in the right tank, why didn't that fuel feed the engines?
00:52That was certainly something that I had not seen before.
00:58Air Tahoma Flight 185 is cruising at 15,000 feet.
01:24It's headed for Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky International Airport.
01:31Coffee's still hot if you want some.
01:34No, thanks.
01:35I'm well rested.
01:37Captain Bruno Picelli is an experienced pilot who has flown all over the world and also worked as a firefighter in British Columbia, Canada.
01:46Convair 580 pilot Bruno Saint-Jacques has flown alongside Captain Picelli.
01:52He was a very good person, easy to get along with.
01:57He flew well.
01:59Me and him was a very good joint venture.
02:02Michael Gelwix has logged nearly 2,500 hours as a pilot and flight engineer and is now a first officer for Air Tahoma.
02:15Tonight's flight from Memphis, Tennessee to Cincinnati, Ohio is 80 minutes.
02:20This was the first leg of a round trip and was done every weeknight by Air Tahoma.
02:28They're flying a Convair 580, a twin turboprop aircraft used for short-haul flights.
02:36The Convair 580 is about 50 years old, was used in passenger service for a long time and then transitioned to cargo service.
02:46It was always reputed to be a very stable, reliable airplane.
02:57So what was it like flying as a firefighter?
03:00Well, long hours.
03:04Same plane as this, different cargo, of course.
03:07There are five pallets containing mail and parcels from the courier DHL Express on board the aircraft.
03:26How's the paperwork?
03:29Almost done.
03:30The captain was focused on some paperwork that he needed to complete before he landed in Cincinnati, which he did.
03:45Okay.
03:49You know what?
03:50I'm just going to balance out the fuel here.
03:54Captain Pacelli notices that one of his fuel tanks has more fuel than the other.
04:00The Convair 580 has two tanks, and you can use one tank to feed both engines until both tanks are even.
04:12One hour into the flight, the crew receives a weather update.
04:16Tahoma, 185?
04:18Winds are kind of weird today.
04:19Suggest 10 left to Cincinnati when able.
04:22Okay, 10 degrees left to Cincinnati when able.
04:25185, thank you.
04:27Already had it.
04:29Right on the money.
04:30Hey.
04:32As Air Tahoma 185 begins its descent, the first officer detects a change in the controls.
04:39Yoke feels funny.
04:42Say again?
04:43Feels like I need a lot of force.
04:50It's pushing to the right for some reason.
04:52I don't know why.
04:53The Convair doesn't use hydraulic to move the control surfaces.
05:01The pilot must use a lot of arm strength when the autopilot is not on.
05:07Four in the box.
05:08The controller provides an update on the approach.
05:19Tahoma 185, fly heading 090, maintain 4,000.
05:23Maintain 4,000, 185.
05:26They're packed tonight, so we're going to go bang, bang, bang.
05:29Got it.
05:31There was pressure on it.
05:32There was pressure on it because if you get late in the sequence of the other aircraft landing
05:40in the airport, you're slowing down all the airplane behind you.
05:44Tahoma 185, cleared for visual approach, 3-6 right, keep your speed up.
05:51Visual approach, 3-6 right, keep the speed up, 185, thank you.
05:56As the crew receives clearance for a visual approach, the aircraft continues pulling to
06:02the right.
06:03What in the world is going on with this plane?
06:06Suckers acting so funny.
06:08We'll do a full control check on the ground.
06:10Point it down at 3,000 as quick as you can.
06:18Usually, an airplane flies straight and wings level.
06:23It wouldn't give you a nice feeling to fly the plane which always wants to turn on one
06:27side.
06:29185, runway 3-6 right, clear to land.
06:32Clear to land, 3-6 right, 185.
06:36Runway's in sight.
06:38All right, I'll give you the in range.
06:40In range check, cabin pressure.
06:46Set.
06:47Bypass is down, hydraulic pressure, quantity checks.
06:51As the crew runs the in range checklist...
06:55AC pump is on, green light, boost pump's on.
06:59The plane continues to handle poorly.
07:02Man, I'm telling you, what is wrong with this plane?
07:05It is really funny.
07:08Then, less than five miles from the airport, and just 2,300 feet above the ground, both engines
07:18lose power.
07:19The airplane will fall like a rock because it needs at least one engine in good shape to bring
07:37them to the runway.
07:382,300 feet.
07:43My God.
07:46Cincinnati Control, Tahoma 185.
07:49We're having engine problems.
07:50Tahoma 185, do you require emergency support?
07:53I think the reason he said no was he was still hoping that somehow he could get to the airport.
08:09Pull up.
08:11Pull up.
08:12Keep it steady.
08:14But they're dropping too fast to make it to the airport.
08:18Come on.
08:19They see an opening ahead.
08:21There's no time at all to raise the gear, raise the flap, restart the engine before you touch
08:26the ground.
08:28Their only option was to go straight to the safest place to put down the plane and hope for
08:36the best.
08:37Tahoma 185, please respond.
08:39They were at low altitude.
08:43Hold it up.
08:44They were short of the runway.
08:45It was dark outside.
08:46Tahoma 185, do you copy?
08:48The situation was very, very dire.
08:50Trees.
08:52Pull up.
08:54Pull up.
08:55Pull up.
08:59Pull up.
09:01They make it through the trees.
09:03Come on.
09:04Come on.
09:05But can't keep the plane on the ground.
09:25You're so great.
09:34emergency vehicles soon arrive at the crash site just 1.2 miles south of
09:45Cincinnati's International Airport the body of First Officer Gelwix is found in
09:54the wreckage incredibly captain Picelli has survived investigators from the
10:08National Transportation Safety Board or NTSB rush to Cincinnati and begin looking
10:13into the crash of Air Tahoma flight 185 so what do we got so far both black boxes
10:20sent to Washington for analysis good structural failure take a look when we
10:27first arrived what we typically do is look for the four corners of the airplane
10:32to be able to rule out some sort of structural failure or a part or piece of
10:38the airplane departing prior to impact with the ground we found all four corners
10:46of the plane we found the tail here we located both wingtips here and here and
10:51the nose was essentially split in half and fractured into small pieces if it
10:56wasn't structural failure then what what did the captain have to say I still
11:00recovering in hospital but I did speak with the air traffic controller and she
11:05says the crew reported having engine problems just before crashing
11:18when we heard that the crew had reported engine problems it made us think as
11:23investigators whether it was one engine or two engines and that would be a big
11:27difference with one engine they would still be able to make the airfield if the engines
11:44were operating before the crash investigators expect to find burnt debris inside the engine
11:51there's no evidence of burning or charring I don't think we had combustion on this engine did it with
11:58engine two so both engines flamed out before the crash for the dual engine failure that's not
12:09common so we would think immediately about something with the fuel either the loss of
12:15the fuel or maybe even contamination within the fuel was the fuel on board flight 185 contaminated
12:23fuel contamination is a danger to flight safety because it can affect both engines at the same time do we
12:32have the results of that fuel testing yeah right here fuel checks out well maybe they ran out of fuel
12:42well it's possible in 1978 pilots of United Airlines flight 173 ran out of fuel while troubleshooting a
12:53landing gear issue the DC-8 crashed into a neighborhood in Portland Oregon 10 of the 189 people on board were
13:07killed to explore the possibility whether the airplane ran out of fuel we wanted to look initially at the
13:16fuel quantity indicators in the flight deck investigators recover flight 185's instrument panel they focus on the
13:23left and left and right fuel tank indicators zero and 5600 pounds that's odd the expectation would be that both would be approximately the same value
13:39that one was at zero wasn't surprising I suppose but the other one being so much different was certainly something that I had not seen before
13:48okay so they didn't exactly run out of fuel but why are the tanks so uneven
13:53maybe some kind of problem the fuel system stopped fuel from flowing to the engines
13:58see what you can salvage in terms of fuel pumps and piping from the wreckage we'll have a look
14:04while looking at all the different elements of the fuel system the hope was that you would be able to document something going wrong either loss of fuel or fuel starvation
14:17investigators slowly piece together elements of the plane's fuel system so these are the crossfeed pipe and valves
14:25check it out
14:33the crossfeed valves allow the pilot to provide both engines with fuel from only one tank when there's a fuel imbalance
14:40both valves are open that means they were crossfeeding fuel before the crash
14:49when we found that the crossfeed valves were open that was a huge discovery we wondered if that may have some sort of connection between the left tank having no fuel and the right tank having excessive fuel
15:05but why would the crew be crossfeeding fuel so close to landing did they make a mistake only one person knows
15:13let's see if the captain can talk to us yet
15:16the good thing in this accident was that the captain did survive he was able to talk with us in the hospital because he only had minor injuries
15:25how are you feeling okay thanks
15:34can you tell me what you remember of the flight every detail counts
15:39the part is wrong with this plane it is really funny
15:47I remember
15:50visual approach 36 right keep the speed up
15:53185
15:54I remember talking on the radio
15:56Thomas land 85 clear for visual approach keep your speed up
16:01I saw the approach lights
16:03and then we weren't getting power
16:11then the next thing I remember is the impact
16:13keep it steady
16:14keep it steady
16:21then
16:25I was standing outside
16:26one more thing
16:34we found the crossfeed valves open
16:37do you remember crossfeeding fuel during the flight
16:42I'm sorry I don't
16:47he did not remember much of the flight because when you have a tragic accident
16:56happened the memories are not there
17:03investigators search the wreckage for clues that could explain why the two crossfeed valves were open
17:11it's the weight and balance form for the flight
17:13hmm
17:15the weight and balance form reflects where the cargo pallets are located whether they're towards the front of the airplane or towards the back of the airplane and that determines whether the airplane is nose heavy or not
17:25is nose heavy or tail heavy or right where it should be in the middle
17:31that's strange
17:32looks like the captain was revising his calculations
17:35possibly during the flight
17:37well this is stranger
17:38here's a second one
17:40this one has no corrections
17:44and the captain signed it
17:46finding two weight and balance sheets for the same flight with different data on it at the accident site
17:52raised lots of questions for us
17:55what was the captain doing during the flight
17:58so it looks like the captain was revising his numbers on this first form almost using it like a working copy
18:04then this was his hard copy to hand in
18:07did the captain's weight and balance calculations play a role in the crash
18:13well
18:14the center of gravity limits were within the envelope
18:16alright so a mistake in his weight and balance calculations didn't bring down the plan
18:20well whatever his process he was supposed to hand this in before departure
18:23check with the airline
18:28chief the captain handed in his numbers before takeoff
18:34taking off without having computed the weight and balance limits is against procedures
18:40it cuts the safety margin
18:42you're sure?
18:44okay, thanks
18:46the airline just confirmed
18:48the plane departed without the captain leaving a weight and balance form behind in Memphis
18:51so
18:54why did our captain depart before completing his paperwork?
19:06should you get coffee?
19:07uh, fine, thanks
19:09investigators re-interview Captain Bruno Picelli
19:12to find out why he didn't follow proper procedure before flight 185's departure
19:17so
19:20found some weight and balance forms in the wreckage
19:23why didn't you complete them before taking off?
19:28what can I say?
19:30I ran out of time
19:33normally I fill out the form using their hand-held computer
19:37it had been acting up
19:38now
19:39it was just dead
19:42I'm not used to filling out that form manually
19:44frankly
19:46I've never been trained to
19:48so
19:49I thought I'd finish it en route
19:50Captain Picelli explains how he determined that flight 185 was safe to take off
20:00I did my own assessment
20:05I checked that the plane's maximum weight was acceptable
20:08I saw that the position of the cargo pallets were evenly balanced
20:14I also looked at the nose landing gear strut
20:18and the plane sat properly on it
20:21if the nose wheel strut was compressed that would be nose heavy
20:26and if it were extended it would be tail heavy
20:28but it was on a normal position
20:30so on that basis
20:32he decided that the airplane was actually within its weight and balance limits
20:36from your corrections
20:38it looks like your numbers weren't adding up
20:40that's true
20:42yeah
20:44at first
20:45they didn't
20:47so I had to keep working on them
20:51yeah it took me a while to get them right
20:58how long did it take?
21:00I don't know
21:02did it interfere with your workflow?
21:04it was stressful
21:05I mean I was buried in paperwork
21:08right
21:10so even though the weight and balance was not an issue with the operation of the engines
21:18it did raise questions with regard to the crew activity
21:22hey, any news?
21:25with no explanation for the cause of flight 185's engine failure
21:30the investigation finally gets a break
21:33great, send it to us right away
21:35the lab just finished transcribing the CVR
21:39we've got good data
21:41but
21:43we don't have impact
21:45the recording stops just before the crash
21:47well if the recording stopped that means the plane must have lost power
21:50looks like it
21:52and it supports a dual engine flame out
21:53having the CVR stop about two minutes prior to impact is another indication that we lost both engines
22:08because we likely had a rollback of both engines and therefore a change in electrical configuration
22:14when you're ready
22:15when you're ready
22:17investigators listen to the cockpit voice recording or CVR to determine why the engines flamed out
22:24even though the plane still had plenty of fuel
22:27how's the paperwork?
22:30almost done
22:32okay
22:36okay
22:40you know what?
22:42i'm just gonna balance out the fuel here
22:44the captain wanted to balance his fuel tanks
22:55but he didn't remember that at his interview
22:58that must be when he opened the cross feed valves at
23:011217 a.m.
23:07question is
23:09did he forget to close them?
23:11let's find out
23:16okay 10 degrees left to Cincinnati when able
23:20185 thank you
23:22already had it
23:24right on the money
23:26the team pays close attention to any mention of the cross feed valves being closed
23:31the captain
23:33doesn't indicate that he's stopping the cross feed or even mention it
23:36it made me wonder
23:38if they had forgotten that the cross feeding operation was going on
23:42then
23:44just minutes before the flight scheduled arrival
23:47AC pump is on green light
23:49boost pumps on
23:51man i'm telling you
23:54what is wrong with this plane it is really funny
24:09yeah
24:11can you feel it?
24:12feels like it's swinging back and forth
24:14yeah
24:18yeah
24:20we've got an imbalance on this darn cross feed i left open
24:24the captain finally realizes he forgot to stop cross feeding fuel from the left tank
24:31is that what it is?
24:33yeah
24:35oh damn
24:37i see
24:38the cross feed has been going on for almost half an hour
24:44looks like he never shut the cross feed valves
24:48he forgot to close it
24:50that explains why the plane was so hard to handle
24:57with the cross feed valves open for 29 minutes
25:01only the left fuel tank fed both engines
25:04as the tank emptied
25:05it created an imbalance which made it difficult to control the aircraft
25:10that also explains why the left tank was empty
25:13yeah but if there was still 5600 pounds of fuel in the right tank
25:17why didn't that fuel feed the engines?
25:26do you have the list?
25:28thanks
25:30alright let's figure this out
25:32let's figure this out
25:34did the pilots of Air Tahoma Flight 185 follow the correct procedure for balancing their fuel?
25:41the question that I raise for me in the investigation is
25:45if there is ample fuel in the right tank
25:48why did both engines fail?
25:50alright
25:52the cross feed fuel from the left tank to both engines
25:54first the crew has to open the cross feed valves here
25:57and here
25:58investigators consult the wreckage inventory
26:02and we know from the wreckage the crew did the first step correctly
26:05the valves are open
26:07second
26:09they're supposed to close the right fuel pump here
26:12got it
26:13it was turned off at the time of the crash
26:15step 3
26:18they were supposed to close the right fuel tank shut off valve here
26:21looks like the right one was left open
26:24they didn't shut the valve
26:27so they did the procedure incorrectly
26:30so the question we had was by leaving the right fuel tank valve open
26:36did that somehow lead to the engine failure?
26:39I know they made a mistake but I'm still confused
26:41if they didn't close the valve
26:43why wasn't fuel flowing from the right tank
26:47all the way to both engines?
26:49and why would the engines flame out?
26:52there's only one way to find out
26:57as the investigation progressed
27:02we decided to run a test to determine what occurred during the accident flight
27:09investigators build a replica of flight 185's fuel system
27:15to better understand how both engines could have failed
27:19let's simulate what the captain did
27:21step 1
27:23open the cross feed valves
27:29cross feed valves open
27:32alright step 2
27:34turn off the right fuel pump
27:36right fuel pump off
27:39step 3
27:41he didn't close the right fuel tank shut off valve
27:44so we've got this in the open position
27:49let's see what happens
27:59okay
28:01looks like the left fuel pump is sending fuel from the left tank to both engines
28:05so that part's working out just fine
28:08yeah but fuel from the left fuel tank
28:11yeah but fuel from the left fuel tank
28:14is also flowing to the right tank
28:19with the right shut off valve open
28:23the left pump supplied fuel not only to both engines
28:24but also to the right fuel tank
28:25the left pump supplied fuel not only to both engines but also to the right fuel tank
28:37look how quickly the left tank emptied
28:40this was new to me
28:42this was new to me
28:43i had never seen a case where fuel was transferred to the point of the one tank being emptied
28:49so the left tank ran dry
28:51so the left tank ran dry
28:54and with that pump still running
28:56that means that air was likely being pumped through the whole system
28:59investigators now understand why the plane's engines flamed out just before the crash
29:06once the left tank was empty air was pumped into the fuel system causing both engines to flame out
29:19turbine engines require a steady flow of fuel
29:22when you start entering air into the system the air bubbles then cause the interruption of the ignition of the fuel and that will cause the engines to roll back and stop
29:37so the captain had just followed procedure and shut off that valve
29:42if he had
29:44there would have been enough fuel in the left tank to power both engines to the airport
29:49i'm just gonna balance out the fuel here
29:53the captain's failure to close the right fuel tank shut off valve sealed their fate
30:00so why didn't you follow procedure
30:02as the investigation progressed and new information came to light it was helpful to go back to the captain to discuss his recall of what happened
30:18in your airlines handbook
30:21they instruct pilots to shut the right tank valve
30:24during the cross feed procedure
30:27you didn't shut the valve
30:29i don't
30:32i don't remember doing a cross feed on the day
30:35but
30:37typically when i do the procedure
30:39i leave the tank valve open
30:42really
30:45this was a surprise
30:48because that is totally contrary to the flight operating manual
30:52i heard if you shut that valve
30:55it might fail
30:56that you have no access to your fuel
30:59so you've heard the valve is faulty
31:01i sure have
31:03and my old employer
31:05allowed me to do it this way
31:07previous employers had told him that was the captain's discretion whether he closes the shutoff valve or not
31:17and we confirmed that that was their position
31:20was there a history of fuel tank shutoff valves failing
31:26i've gone through the faa service difficulty reports database and i found nothing
31:32i can't find anything either
31:34i don't think that valve has ever failed
31:36there was no evidence of the valve getting stuck
31:37this was a fiction that had somehow spread among the pilot community that simply did not have an accurate basis
31:53this is the part i don't get
31:55this is the part i don't get
31:57so what were they doing for 29 minutes
32:0229 minutes is a long time to miss that there's a cross feed problem
32:08especially when the first officer reports that there are handling difficulties as well
32:13and so it was very important to look into what might have caused this
32:18keep it steady
32:25alright
32:27captain started the cross feed at 12 17 a.m.
32:30he didn't notice a mistake until 29 minutes later
32:33what happened in between
32:35investigators return to flight 185 CVR to determine why the pilots didn't notice that there was a growing fuel imbalance
32:45looks like the captain finished his paperwork at 12 26 a.m.
32:50but he kept talking about it
32:52all this time i couldn't figure out why on the landing i was out
32:56and i was okay on the takeoff
33:00and it was my chicken scratch
33:03ah
33:05momentum is 1667
33:07but i thought
33:09my chicken scratch i put 1067
33:12couldn't work it out
33:14it was my own doing
33:16ah damn
33:18i had it all along
33:20we were okay
33:22all along
33:23all right
33:24yeah
33:25oh man
33:28okay first he's distracted by his paperwork and then he keeps talking about it
33:32yeah
33:33the captain's focus is on his paperwork for a while
33:36instead of monitoring the flight
33:39what about after that any mention of the fuel gauges
33:48what about the first officer how come he didn't pick up on this
33:51twenty minutes after the cross feed was open the first officer knew something was wrong
33:57yoke feels funny
33:59say again
34:01feels like i need a lot of force
34:05it's pushing to the right for some reason
34:08i don't know why
34:10i'm trying to
34:12i'm not sure what's going on
34:14all right the first officer reports a problem with the flight controls
34:20but he doesn't check his fuel gauges for an imbalance
34:23why
34:25well according to his work record
34:27he was still pretty new at flying the plane
34:29plus he'd only been with the airline three months
34:32to his credit
34:35to his credit
34:37he was assertive that he was having difficulty in the handling characteristics
34:42so he was completely appropriate in asking for help
34:45and unfortunately the captain did not respond as a pilot in command would be expected
34:50feels like i need a lot of force
34:52total one eighty five fly heading zero nine zero maintain four thousand
34:58zero nine zero four thousand one eighty five thank you
35:03zero nine zero four thousand
35:07how many times did he alert the captain to the problem
35:13he repeated his concerns at least
35:17seven times
35:19finally the captain replied
35:23we'll do a full control check on the ground then
35:26he missed the cues for his co-pilot
35:37how long has he been a captain
35:40here's the thing
35:42he's been in a cockpit for over twenty years
35:45but only a hundred hours or so as a captain
35:48as captain we would expect him to actually help the first officer
35:54troubleshoot why the aircraft was flying
35:58in a non-normal state
36:01still
36:03wouldn't they have caught this mistake during the in-range checklist
36:07that's a good point
36:10the purpose of the in-range checklist is to prepare the airplane for landing
36:15and that includes a review of the cockpit instruments
36:18including the fuel gauges
36:20so did they perform the in-range checklist
36:22yep
36:25they started the checklist at twelve forty five a.m.
36:28I'll give you the in-range
36:30AC pump is on green light
36:34fuel panel
36:36boost pumps on
36:38man I'm telling you
36:40what is wrong with this plane it is really funny
36:42really funny
36:51yeah
36:53we have an imbalance in this darn cross feet I left open
36:59is that what it is
37:01yeah
37:02yeah
37:05oh damn I see
37:07yeah
37:09we're gonna flame out if we don't
37:11aren't we
37:19ten seconds later the engines flamed out
37:20wow
37:22wow
37:24the plane had become one gigantic glider about to hit the ground
37:30they were too late to save it
37:33they found out about the cross feet issue at the same time they lost their engines
37:38did they start the checklist too late?
37:45they were at about three thousand feet when they started
37:49according to the airlines operating manual they should have started the checklist to twelve thousand feet
37:53they should have started at least ten minutes earlier
37:56if they had they would have caught their mistake with enough time to save the plane
38:12if you're not monitoring the fuel gauges when you run the in-range checklist that will remind you
38:17but they waited until it was so late they didn't have time to prevent the engines from flaming out
38:27it still bugs me
38:32even with all the distractions and the inexperience
38:37all professional pilots are trained to scan their instruments
38:41why didn't they?
38:43maybe the fuel gauges are hard to see
38:52could the pilots actually see the fuel gauges from the seating positions that they were at?
39:03alright
39:05so both our seats are fully forward
39:08investigators now visit a Convair 580 cockpit
39:11to determine if its layout somehow prevented the pilots from monitoring their fuel gauges
39:18so both fuel gauges are visible
39:21but is that the case for every seat position?
39:25let's make an adjustment
39:26let's make an adjustment
39:38wow!
39:40in this angle the fuel gauges are much harder to see
39:47the throttle control console is in the way
39:48Jesus
39:55it depended on what position the seat was in
39:58when the seat was aft it was more difficult to see the fuel gauges
40:02so the degree to which the fuel gauges are obscured changes depending on the seat position
40:07it's hard to say if it played a role
40:09unfortunately because of the destruction of the aircraft
40:16the wreckage did not allow us to determine whether the captain's seat was forward or aft
40:22what in the world is going on with this plane?
40:26this sucker is acting so funny
40:28in this case there was a concern about the fuel gauges and their location
40:35and whether they could be seen by the pilots
40:41yes he would have to rise up just a little bit and look over at the thrust levers to be able to see the gauges
40:46but it's your job to know what those instruments are saying at all times
40:50I've been told some pilots put this sign up during a cross feed as a reminder
40:58investigators have pieced together what led to the crash of flight 185
41:06you know what? I'm just going to balance out the fuel here
41:11when the captain decides to even out the fuel in the tanks he skips a key step in the procedure and leaves the right fuel tank shutoff valve open
41:26if the captain had shut the right fuel tank valve there may have been enough fuel to complete the flight
41:33it's my chicken scratch
41:35I had it all along
41:37then he forgets to close the cross feed valves
41:39it was my own doing
41:42oh man
41:44there are priorities when you're flying and you don't want to be distracted by something like doing paperwork that's overdue
41:52yoke feels funny
41:54as fuel drained out of the left fuel tank
41:57say again?
41:59feels like I need a lot of force
42:01the plane became unbalanced
42:04it's pushing to the right for some reason
42:06I don't know why
42:09when you have a flight control problem that's an urgent problem
42:15you have to deal with it immediately
42:18runways in sight
42:20I'll give you the in range
42:22then the pilot started the in range checklist later than required
42:26yeah
42:27we've got an imbalance on that darn cross feed I left open
42:40when the captain finally realized there was a fuel problem it was too late
42:46fuel is life in an airplane
42:58you have no more fuel
43:00there's only one way you're going to go and it's down
43:03pull up
43:04keep it steady
43:05up
43:06up
43:07up
43:08up
43:10come on
43:12come on
43:14I think the lesson to be learned is that
43:17regardless of the airplane that you're flying
43:20and the conditions
43:22that you should adhere to the procedures as they're provided to you
43:25in its report on flight 185 the NTSB makes a recommendation to all Convair 580 operators
43:44one of the main recommendations was to inform pilots that they should shut off the fuel shutoff valves if they are cross feeding
43:52ultimately if flight crews follow the procedures that they are given they will get on the ground safely