Why did the pilots LOSE control?! National Air Cargo flight 102

On the 29th of April, 2013 a Boeing 747 from National Air Cargo, flight 102, crashed just seconds after takeoff.
The crash killed all 7 American crew members and was captured on a dash-cam of a passing vehicle. This video became a major clue in the investigation into what caused the crash together with eye-witness accounts and technical evidence.

Now! Come in to the Mentour Aviation app and discuss what You think about this! Download the app for FREE using the link below 👇

If you want to support the work I do on the channel, join my Patreon crew and get awesome perks and help me move the channel forward! 👇

Amazon Page!

Follow my life on instagram and get awesome pictures from the cockpit!

Sources:

Air France 747-400: @ BriYYZ

747-400 Conversion: @ iai

747-400 Conversion: @ iai

747-400 Conversion: @ iai

747-400 Conversion: @ iai

Locking Mechanisms: @Telair

ULD: @ Bob Rogers



Loadmaster: @ U.S. Air Force/Senior Airman Harry Brexel

Strapping Down:


Atlas Cargo: @ Atlas

747 Jackscrew: @ Quora

Bulkhead: @Quora


Straps: @ NTSB

Bulkhead: @ NTSB

Loadmaster: @ Staff Sgt. Quinton Russ



Qatar Cargo 747: @ globalqyresearchreports

Cargo Loading: @ Dtom

Cargo Loading: @ Senior Airman Kasey Zickmund

Cargo Loading: @ Sarah Lipfird

@ NYC Aviation

00:00 - Intro:
01:21 - Flight Overview
02:02 - 747-400 Cargo Conversion
04:01 - Hydraulic System Overview
05:53 - The Crew
06:33 - The Cargo Load
11:29 - Cockpit Conversations
13:47 - The Accident
15:56 - Searching for Answers
21:12 – Exclusive Skillshare Offer!
22:14 - Chapter 9: Conclusions
23:28 – You might also enjoy…

[TheRoblock]

As a loadmaster for 747 myself, the 24 and 26 straps sent shivers down my spine. I've used double amount of straps for payload weighing half as much.

[dawnguard]

“If it’s not tied down properly, everything moves.” That was the only alarm bell I needed.

[valerierodger]

I remember when this happened. The last I paid attention to it, the investigation was still underway, but the general consensus was that the load had shifted. Hearing that they had actually discussed the load shifting and that the captain had expressed a concern just beforehand gave me chills. It just adds to the tragedy.

[hikingthere]

I was on the ring road at the end of the runway when that happened. The aircraft pausing in midair is what caught my eye but it took a second to realize how badly it was about to go. Insane seeing an aircraft go down.

[diademmichael]

My friend was the captain of this 747 and stationed in Dubai. There were two crews stationed there so they could fly back to back flights for the military into Afghanistan. I saw this crash pop up on Facebook while traveling overseas and my heart sank. His wife finally got a hold of me about a half day later and let me know he was on the other crew back at the hotel. Relieved but sad.

[andrewloren]

I actually witnessed this crash in person. Felt like the most messed up nightmare I could of ever had. Seen tons of aircraft take off all the time during my tour there and I just happened to be getting ready to move back to the states. I knew as soon as it took off everyone on board was going to die but all I could do was watch. It crashed right where I had worked and driven every day and could of easily been on the ground at that point in time had I not gotten dismissed to prepare to return home. Haunts me literally every day and doubt it’ll ever not bother me

[ehuntley]

I know it's been said a million times already, but the production value of this series is exceptional. Very well done! I appreciate all of the hard work that must have been put into these!

[philipsmith]

I am a retired pilot with 13, 000 hours in big jets, 6, 000 in command. I was also a technical representative for our pilots association and worked for a short while as a consultant to Eurocontrol. I tend to avoid videos about air accidents because they are rarely accurate or even informative. This is an exception. Your explanation of this accident is clear, concise and accurate. Congratulations.
It is worrying that the failures of FAA oversight in the NTSB report seem somewhat like the failures that led to the crashes of the 737 Max. Let us hope that lessons are learned as you describe.

[ianmacfarlane]

I can't believe how lax the Load Master was.
Even if he thought that 26 straps were enough why not go to 36 or 40....just to be certain.
Also, a knot?
Knots in any type of securing straps are a huge no-no - they reduce the capacity of the straps enormously.

[Ricardo-gvzq]

I’ll quote my old boss before checking my work, “it’s not that I don’t trust you, I don’t trust anyone.”

[Max_Da_G]

As one firearms instructor always says in his videos, "The lessons we learn are written on tombstones of others". And sadly, this never ceases to apply in many other spheres of life, especially aviation. What's worse is that sometimes the lessons aren't learnt.

[dreamystone]

This is the scariest one of these I've watched. The absolute dread of it is just soul-crushing, knowing that the second that plane was off the ground, they were as good as dead, completely helpless to the forces of physics.

[larumpole]

NTSB missed one recommendation, have all cargo crew watch this video! When I first heard of this tragedy I thought this was simply a case of the the center of gravity shifting - either due to incorrect weight/balance calculations, or improperly secured cargo. I never realized it was the shifting cargo that disabled flight controls. Thanks for making this so understandable. And I wasn't joking about the use of quality videos like this in training. It make the theory all the more understandable. Well done.

[TheSpacecraftX]

"They always move" really speaks to the culture of complacency at that company. Holy moly.

[felixsimonv]

I'll never forget the sound and concussive force from that crash...It missed the main gate by a few hundred meters. Our patrols for that week had to be diverted to the south gate.

[ShatNdd]

As they say: "Safety rules are written in blood"

[mohamedalraeesi]

The idea that the captain felt there's something not right about this. It's always how you feel about things in addition to the knowledge and experience. Overall, very good illustration.

[XJRookie]

@Mentour Pilot, I, like many others in the comments, was at BAF on this tragic day. The lasting scrap metal and debris that remained at the North end of the runway for weeks afterwards became a daily reminder of the lives that had been lost. I saw the explosion afterwards from my room near the Southwest side of BAF, and instantly felt a sick feeling in my gut. I was scheduled to fly out of BAF only about three weeks after this occurred, and then had to drive past the wreckage multiple times each day. I still think about this on an almost daily basis, and truly think I will never forget or stop thinking about this flight.

I was always told, and understood, that the load had simply came lose, causing the balance of the plane to shift. Thank you, Peter, for actually explaining the full extent of this accident for myself, and others, to fully understand and learn from this mistake. I was also trained as an Air Load Planner while in the Army, and cannot believe that there was such a lack of care with ensuring the proper securing of the cargo.

Thank you for the great explanation and reenactment! You have earned a new subscriber!

[AndrewJonkers]

Oh gosh. As an engineer this brings back such painful memories . In my case visiting relatives on a farm site not related at all to my work. There was a contract crew there erecting a large shed (like 100mx50m area). As I was driving away after the visit I glanced over at the site and my immediate thought was that the frame did not seem to be properly braced while they were assembling roof trusses. But hey, I was a process/mechanical engineer, not a building engineer and not my job right? Even so I came within a whisker of turning around and going back to make my thoughts known. Next morning the wind picked up and the whole lot came down with the crew working up on it - fortunately no one injured but that was more luck than anything else. Moral of the story: If you see something like that which makes you feel uneasy particularly if you have at least some technical knowledge of what is going on, don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself for peace of mind. You might just save a life! In this case, the correct bracing struts were a late delivery so the crew pushed ahead too far in the schedule with what they had.

[keithmiller]

Peter, Thank you so much for your detailed review of this incident. I manage ramp ops for a very large cargo airline. Everyone who works in cargo should absolutely watch this. I take pride in my work and this is why we have very specific procedures that go line by line in the manuals to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Thank you for what you do! Keep up the great work!