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Hearings on Guam crash to center on navigation, safety systems
The 747 came to rest next to the airport's VORTAC navigational beacon In this story:
March 24, 1998
- 2 navigational devices not working
- Crew confused
- 'Go around'
Web posted at: 10:25 p.m. EST (0325 GMT)HONOLULU (CNN) -- The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to ask the Federal Aviation Administration why two crucial navigational and safety systems at the Guam airport were not operating the night a Korean Airlines plane crashed, killing 225 people.
The glide slope indicator, which guides planes to the runway in a smooth descent, and the Minimum Safe Altitude Warning, which alerts the tower if a plane is too close to the ground on approach, were disabled.
Animation of the path of Flight 801 502 K / 6 sec. / 320x240
294 K / 6 sec. / 240x180
QuickTime movieAn NTSB released Tuesday, citing data retrieved from the plane's flight data recorder, says KAL 801 was flying several hundred feet below the recommended altitude for the approach to the airport before it crashed August 6, 1997.
The MSAW alerts air traffic controllers when a plane has dropped below 1,700 feet. Subsequent tests conducted by the NTSB at the FAA's test center in New Jersey indicated that had the MSAW system been working on Guam, it would have alerted the plane it was below 1,700 feet 64 seconds before the crash.
The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were examined by investigators An NTSB official said the absence of the MSAW would be an "important issue" at a three-day public hearing into the crash beginning Tuesday in Honolulu.
The report said a review of air traffic control at 10 mainland U.S. airports after the Guam crash found that "the overall level of understanding of the MSAW system ... is disturbingly low."
It also criticized the FAA's evaluation process regarding the system "because the issues raised here are not new."
Crew confused
Shortly before the crash, the crew of the KAL 747 seemed confused, but not upset about whether a navigational aid at Won Pat International Airport was working.
A transcript of conversation on the flight deck shows that the captain first advised his crew that the airport's approach guidance system, called a glide slope indicator, was not operational.
But as the jumbo jet approached for landing, the captain repeatedly asked whether glide slope indicator was giving correct readings.
One of the crew said, "the glide slope is incorrect."
Yet 45 seconds later, the captain asked again if the glide slope was working.
Then the jet's computerized warning voice called out that the plane was at 1,000 feet when it should have been at 1,440 feet above sea level. Moments later, it announced 500 feet.
Site of Korean Air 801 crash 1.0 MB / 22 sec. / 240x180
434 K / 2 sec. / 160x120
QuickTime movieThe transcript also shows that the captain briefed his crew on the details of the landing, telling them if they did not see the runway from 340 feet, they would ascend and try a second approach.
Yet the plane descended to 200 feet with no runway visible and the captain still had not ordered a second attempt.
Less than 30 seconds before the crash, the first officer said suddenly that the airport was "Not in sight."
'Go around'
The flight engineer responded by saying "Eh?" in what the NTSB report described as an "astonished tone."
The first officer was heard saying, "Let's make a missed approach," followed by "Not in sight, missed approach."
The pilot responded by saying, "Go around."
They were the last words spoken in the cockpit.
The mechanical voice counted down the altitude to 20 feet and was followed by the sound of the impact and groans from the flight crew.
The plane struck a hillside in a rainstorm, killing 225 people, including the flight crew. There were 26 survivors.
The hearing is expected to focus on the two navigational devices and on the training of the cockpit crew.
Reuters contributed to this report.
- Message Board: Korean Air crash
Related stories:
- Korean Air cancels night flights to Guam after crash - August 17, 1997
- Investigators examine software error in Guam crash - August 11, 1997
- Software error plagued Guam airport radar system - August 10, 1997
Related sites:
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- Korean Air
- Boeing - Statement on Korean Air Accident
- Boeing - 747 Background
- Automated Radar Terminal System - FAA
- KUAM - TV Guam
- Government of Guam
- Virtual Guam
- National Transportation Safety Board
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