Air Disasters Season 9 Episode 7 Deadly Delay

In the ninth season of the popular television series "Air Disasters," episode seven explores the events surrounding a deadly plane delay. The episode titled "Deadly Delay" chronicles the 1993 crash of Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 in Michigan. The commuter plane crashed into a forest while trying to recover from an unexpected stall.

The ill-fated flight took off from Indianapolis on October 1, 1993, and was bound for Detroit. The passengers were mostly businessmen commuting for work. The pilots of the twin-engine turboprop plane were First Officer Mike Origel, a newly hired pilot with just 700 hours of flying experience, and Captain John Hansen, who had 8,000 hours of experience.

The first sign of trouble came when the plane reached cruising altitude. One of the propellers on the left side of the plane suddenly slowed down, causing the aircraft to start banking to the left. The autopilot system immediately responded by trying to level the plane, which increased the stall warning. The pilots manually corrected the plane's bank angle to the right, but the stall warning persisted.

The crew tried to troubleshoot the problem and concluded that the number-two engine had failed. They shut down the engine as per the emergency protocol, and the plane started descending rapidly. The flight crew was trying to land at Pellston Regional Airport as it was the closest airport to their current location.

The air traffic controller at the airport was not informed of the severity of the situation, and he directed the plane to approach the runway at a higher altitude than recommended. This delayed the pilots' ability to fly a safe approach and land the airplane. As a result, they were forced to do a missed approach which aggravated the already unstable plane.

The flight crew and air traffic controllers were working hard to avoid crashing, but a stalled airplane was hard to recover and control. The crew could not keep up, and the plane crashed into the woods near the airport. The crash resulted in the death of all sixteen passengers and crew aboard.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) immediately began investigating what happened. The team was perplexed as the airplane was relatively new and had no known mechanical issues. The team scoured through the flight data recorder and discovered few alarming facts. It turned out that the pilots had made mistakes that caused the delay in landing. The NTSB concluded that the main cause of the crash was the inability of the crew to manage the airplane's stall warning, coupled with poor decision-making that led to a fatal delay in landing.

The episode features interviews with investigators, industry experts, and witnesses involved in the investigation. Air Disasters Season 9 Episode 7 reveals the importance of properly managing stall warning, making informed decisions that prioritize the safety of passengers, and the crucial role played by air traffic controllers during emergencies.

In, conclusion "Deadly Delay" episode of Air Disaster Season 9, provides a glimpse into how seemingly small errors and misjudgment can lead to disastrous outcomes. The episode sheds light on the necessity of proper training, communication, and teamwork, especially during critical moments in aviation, emphasizing the high stakes involved in flying.