Years ago a C5 crew was flying into Diego Garcia, and stalled the airplane on final due to fighting with a flap issue and let the plane get too slow. They ended up rolling near 90 degrees and descended to about 800 feet from the ocean below. Still after all that happened, they believed it was windshear, and didn't realize the throttles were pulled back to near idle dealing with the flap issue. Tunnel vision can kill.

I really appreciate the inclusion of the reproduction in MSFS. It happens a lot faster than the textual description makes it sound. It's rather sobering.

From the NTSB report the incident seemed abstract and leisurely, but the flight simulator session conveys how rapidly the whole thing happened! Thanks 👍

The pilot stopped flying the plane. Started to try and diagnose the problem rather than follow his instruments. Great video

Sounds a lot to me like EGPWS has saved some more lives, tech like this is fantastic for aviation

Absolutely the best guy to be analysing this incident. Great job Juan 😃👍🏼

Never realized how quickly this happened until you showed the simulation! Can’t believe the pilot stopped flying the plane so close to the ground right on takeoff

Juan, as always a superb explanation of the event while trying to get at the root cause. I'm a 777 instructor at a major airline in N Amer. I see loss of SA (situational awareness) as the biggest issue. However, operationally I have a bigger issue. I note in your sim video that you called for the FD OFF (flight director off). For this crew's takeoff, there is no mention of how the FD was setup for departure, nor their lack of auto-pilot use. The CA does attest to turning the AP ON after the After TakeOff Check was completed, after the incident was over. There was also no mention of how the crew handled the decision to use Full Thrust for takeoff. Did they simply and correctly delete the Assumed Temp in the FMC, or did they takeoff with the Auto Thrust not engaged? Hand flying is a necessary training event and we focus on it quite a bit. But when conditions are poor (as in heavy rain, turbulence, expected windshear) the whole point of automation is to use it! In this sort of situation, it is very easy to become task saturated and the automation is an immense aid to allowing the brain to see the bigger picture instead of focusing on a smaller one. With both FD's ON, the FMA's on the ground should have read "blank/TOGA/TOGA", with LNAV and VNAV in white (armed) below the two TOGA windows. I'm writing this assuming an RNAV departure. If it was a "fly this heading" departure, one would disarm the LNAV but keep VNAV armed. On departure, the CA would have pressed the TOGA button on the thrust lever quadrant, thus engaging the Auto Thrust and allowing it to go to full take off thrust. After 80kts on the takeoff roll, the FMA changes to "HOLD/TOGA/TOGA" meaning that the AT is locked at the required thrust setting. Through 50' the LNAV would engage to follow the lateral track. In our airline we engage the AP at 200' (mandatory for an RNAV departure). Then at 400' the vertical FMA mode would change to VNAV SPD and the AT mode (left hand of the 3 windows) would engage in THR REF. This allows the aircraft to reduce power as required to maintain speed and acceleration and retracting flaps, while continuing to climb to the MCP selected altitude. This acceleration process is a bit more involved than described here, but my point is that had the automation/Auto Pilot been in use, this incident would not have happened. We teach our pilots that if they want to hand fly part of the departure after takeoff, they should include that in their departure briefing while still at the gate, so as to get agreement and understanding from the other pilot. Thank goodness for EGPWS in this case which triggered the escape maneuver. I somehow doubt that they actually saw the water. Their minds were transfixed inside the cockpit and the heavy rain would have made visibility very poor in any case. But the verbal command from the EGPWS "TERRAIN PULL UP TERRAIN PULL UP" would have caused an immediate reaction as you have stated (full thrust, pitch up to 20, speedbrake retracted).

Your sim was missing another big distraction: wipers at full speed.

OMG! As a retired 767 Captain with no Airbus experience I could not understand why the Captain let the nose go down - until now. I did not understand that the Airbus (because of wrist strength limits) has an auto trim system. I believe you are correct, Juan, that this recent Airbus muscle memory added to the confusion in the cockpit. Yikes.

It’s amazing (and terrifying) to see just how quickly things can go sideways when distractions come at a critical time!

This is the best video you have put out with the simulator and the NTSB report

Wow, fantastic analysis, Juan! Imagine if the cloud ceiling had been lower... they may have flow that plane straight into the ocean!

As a former USAF pilot, you may have seen the same training film that I saw, which was talking about perception versus reality and keeping your mind on the task at hand! 👀 The scenario was a B-57 Hustler crew taking off and the captain and copilot had just gone through the takeoff checklist, and were rolling out on the take-off run, and while doing so the captain noticed that the copilot was in somewhat of a sour mood having had some kind of argument with his spouse the night before and as they're the middle of the roll-out, he says to the copilot, "Cheer Up", the copilot in his state of mind thought the captain said, "Gear Up", you know what happened next, the crew was lucky to survive, but the plane was destroyed! I couldn't help but think about that training film when you were discussing the error that the first officer made in the Flaps setting, this is how people die! 🧐

The caliber of comments on this channel is amazing. It is so nice to hear from pilots who have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience comment on the channel. Thank u for those comments. I learn a lot from them!!

I would have loved to hear what the captain said to the cabin about that roller coaster ride.

Juan - I hope you’ll consider adding more Flight Sim recreations to your videos! That was a fantastic way to illustrate what the crew were dealing with and how issues/errors will actually look to the PIC from the cockpit.

Juan, you clearly demonstrated to us non-fliers, how complicated flying one of these high performance jet aircraft can be. Well done, thank you.

As a retired 25 year center controller (retired 2008) and then went to the airlines as a pilot and retired as an Airbus captain 3 months ago (age 65) it’s so easy to sit back and analyze and debate what they should have done, and Juan you acknowledged that several times to which I applaud you. When I was the flying pilot I almost always hand flew the Airbus up to FL180 before I engaged the autopilot. What can I say. I like flying airplanes. However, if there was a problem or a TCAS alert the first thing I did was turn the autopilot on. Let George help me fly the plane. While my primary duty was to fly the plane it reduced a task that freed up some of my brain to help analyze the problem. I don’t know if turning on the autopilot in this case would have been prudent or procedurally correct but when the captain was getting task saturated it seems he could possibly have helped himself reduce his workload as the autopilot could fly the plane. Again, could’ve, should’ve, would’ve is easy to say while we know the situation and the outcome. As a side note, the last seven years as a controller I was on a team that investigated operational errors, operational deviations, pilot deviations and accidents.

“Let’s take a deep dive” don’t worry I noticed. 😂 Great work as always sir!

Seeing the cockpit scene unravel so quickly was truly an eye opener. This was almost a disaster, glad it was ok and we'll all learn something.

Thanks for taking the time needed to show us all the data for this.

As a non pilot, it is mind boggling to me all the information a pilot has to know. Juan your explanation of different scenarios is quite riveting. See ya here.

Memories of Eastern 401 with the PF distracted by a possible problem and not flying the airplane. Thanks for all the work you do on these videos!

Great analysis! Kellen, you’ve done a great job on the thumbnails and general improvements of the channel. For better discoverability and growth of the channel and it’s topics, I think it would be beneficial to show Juan the importance of hashtags in the description. Thank you for making these videos!

Every time that I watch your channel or Mentour pilot, the speed at which things go wrong when you’re explaining it seems to take forever but in reality it’s seconds until disaster. What an awesome tool to put that into the flight simulator and let us see how quickly this actually transpired.

I was shocked at how FAST this seemed to have all happened. The simulation was chilling and totally explained how they didn't notice the low altitude until just in time.

I’m somewhat surprised & confused as to the NTSB’s investigative conclusion regarding UAL 1722. Certainly the CRM communication aspect contributed, but seems like the Captain was very much tasked loaded with flying the aircraft. A flaps 20 t/o at MAX thrust will result in a time compressed transition to a normal climb profile if you’re not ready for such. Sounds like the Captain failed to appropriately brief the departure to include the non-standard profile. I believe the NTSB failed miserably regarding this investigation. Would be interesting to know Boeing’s involvement in the investigation.

Excellent as always, sir!

Channels like this are such a blessing. Thanks Blancolirio

NYT has an article up today about the alarming rate of close calls both at the airport and in the sky. It’s quite alarming.

I love your analysis and explanations Juan. Thank you so much for the work you do with these YT videos.

Great job, great explanation. Thanks Juan!

The recent Airbus to 777 CA transition, with Asiana 214 in SFO, was also glossed over. The (Auto) thrust levers move in one, not the other.

Wow. This is an amazing description. Just wow. THANKYOU for this!!

Thank you Jaun for a very detailed explanation.

Great analysis. Thank you.

This event also highlights the importance of preflight preparation followed by good tight CRM in the cockpit. Flaps 20 takeoffs are unusual in the 777 and it’s very easy to mistake 15 for 5 on climb out. Combine that with weather / wx radar concerns, ATC comm, mis-heard crew comms, hand flying down low and so much thrust it’s hard to prevent blowing thru VFE. It’s a challenge even for experienced pilots. Good job Juan. I appreciate your commentary.

Thank you for this detailed, insightful analysis, Juan. Incredible how quickly that all happened.

The reading of the report takes so much longer that the simulator recreation ... the difference and actual event is startling. Juan does such a great job of showing what the experience really was. Important teaching moment. I'm not a pilot and never will be one but can at least understand this event. Much thanks Mr. Browne for your wonderful sharing of this!

As usual you have the best understanding which leads to your ability to explain what I am sure seam to most of us unexplainable . Nice job

Outstanding information. Wow, that happened fast!

Excellent explanation, followed by very impressive simulation. One of your best videos, Juan.

Excellent description and evaluation of the final NTSB Report. Thank You Both for the very detailed work on this incident. Best Regards Guys.

Excellent as always, sir!. Absolutely the best guy to be analysing this incident.Great job Juan .

That had to be a terrifying moment for the passengers as they probably saw the water as well as they started feeling the pull up.

Extremely well done Captain Juan, you boxed everything perfectly!

Thanks for the in depth explanation!

Juan, Great video and analysis - thank you. Im not a pilot but I get the general impression that in a Boeing the computers watch the pilot fly the plane while in an Airbus the pilot watches the computers fly the plane. Paul (in MA)

Excellent explanation and analysis, so glad UKposts allows a long form when needed. News reports were confusing. I hope the simulator folks will use a scenario like this as it was a "simple" almost deadly line up of human factors, workload, and the fact that two humans were in the cockpit and one spoke up. The other thing is, they never gave up. Same thing a race car driver Dan Gurney said after surviving an amazing Grand Prix crash that I saw, he answered that he never gave up when the reporter asked "how did you survive".

Great work as always!

Amazing job as always!

Mr. BROWN - Thanks for all the vital info you provide for us pilots. NOTE - I am a sound engineer (second career) and noticed your microphone was poping low frequency (subwoofer booming) - I would suggest a high pass filter HPF set at 80 - 100 Hz or there abouts. Your editing software should have this option for the audio track.

Very clear explanation of how this happened, and how fast it was. This is the place to go for clarity.

Your analysis, voice, diction and cadence are awesome for explaining this situation. One of the best channels on yt

Love your work! The simulation at the end really helps to understand what the pilots have to deal with and how quickly things happen.

Thanks, Juan and Kellen for the recreation of the event. That UA Captain should Fly the plane. The F/O had his hands full.

3 observations: 1 : This video clears up just HOW otherwise competent pilots get themselves into inexplicable binds - until they are explained like this. 2: I cannot help feeling that basic airmanship is falling by the wayside because pilots are now OPERATING aircraft instead of flying. 3: Boy, am I glad to have retired 8 years ago!

Fascinating! Thanks, Juan!

Great video Juan great simulation crazy how fast it is in real time kudos to the pilots and the aircraft systems

WELL DONE! Excellent break down! showing the simulator at the end. Drove home how quick things can go from okay, to critically bad, then back to okay. Great presentation!

Thanks a lot for your comments and analysis for non-pilots when reading the report, really helpful as I'm really getting in to aviation recently but are not familiar with many of the abbreviations or terms used yet.

I found this fascinating and learnt so much. Your channel and content is some of the best available on UKposts. Great stuff. Cheer Ian. Leicester. UK.

Excellent analysis Juan. As always. Cheers from CYYB.

I’m guessing these 2 pilots aren’t grabbing drinks after work any more. A lot happened very quickly. From the initial verbal description it sounded like minutes not second went by. Glad they pulled it together.

Thanks for the report! The flight sim visuals were very useful for orienting this viewer to to the reality of just how fast this happened!

This was the best review & breakdown I've seen on this incident, that must have taken a lot of work to produce. I did watch this on Patreon but was working remote & on a Mobile Phone so it was good to come back to this where I can really see the details. Thanks JB & Kellen (Hope I spelt that right) for an outstanding report! The podcast you were on was fantastic too & was my companion on my road trip home, many good stories there so thank you again for that. Cheers from Down Under, Leo.

Wow. Thanks for such an indepth analysis!!

From the NTSB final …. As a result of the event, United Airlines modified one of their operations training modules to address this occurrence and issued an awareness campaign about flight path management at their training center. Flight Path Management has been highlighted in recent years with a substantial focus on FMAs, Flight Mode Annunciators.

Only about 80,000 lbs. under max gross takeoff weight on a 7,000' runway, and can still perform a reduced thrust takeoff...what a machine!

Juan, you are the MAN. Thanks so much for this wonderful explanation.

Excellent, EXCELLENT analysis!!

Thank you, sir.

Excellent video. As a triple 7 driver also, FLY THE AIRCRAFT!! Pitch plus power! Speed intervention if doesn’t look right, Get above MSA - get aircraft in safe state. Then discuss .

I imagine flying an airplane gets boring but novel problems like unusually severe weather or suspected mechanical failures prime our brains with the promise of a dopamine hit. The NTSB should do simulations like you did. Everything happens so fast. Much respect for pilots. You are a different breed of human.

Absolutely the best guy to be analysing this incident.Great job Juan . Absolutely the best guy to be analysing this incident.Great job Juan .

Another fantastic incident report Juan. I am very interested in you covering the final NTSB report for the Truckee Tahoe (KTRK) Bombardier Challenger 605 accident (N605TR). Your channel members shared their thoughts and questions during your video covering the preliminary accident report, I am a Canadian CL605/650 Captain, and I am very interested in hearing the communities' take on this horrible accident and how operators of CL605/650s can better safely conduct visual circle-to-land procedures. Thank you once again, for your hard work creating these highly informative videos.

To be honest it does sound like the crew managed the response to the situation as well as they can - especially initiating the CFIT recovery response. The discrepency between Flaps 5 and 15 might just have been mishearing, or misspeaking whilst distracted. I always thought you should respond with a confirmatiory call of which flap setting is being selected (and speed checked). Quite possibly the perception of pitching forward may have related to sensory disorientation without any visual references in turbulence. All in all though given alot of this was unexpected they handled it pretty well - particularly the terrain escape manouvere. Good video! The MSFS sim really showed how quick it all happened! Whilst the view of the ocean was clearly useful - the GPWS calls sealed it I think leading to the escape manovere! GPWS earning its money yet again.

Wow, excellent report Juan!

Thanks Juan. Odd weather conditions and geography at Maui make this airport tricky. The heaviest landing I have ever exprienced both as an airline passenger and many years as a military flier was at Maui. The touchdown impact caused quite a few of the overhead lockers to spring open. I was surprised that superficially at least, the aircraft appeared undamaged.

Thank you very much for picking the Final Report on this Incident up and discussing it in such a detail!👍 It´s really necessary to understand what has happened - and how quick it happened. It must be said in favor of this Pilots that they were able to identify the Problem and to bring the Aircraft out of the dangerous situation - and that they were able to debrief if very instructive.

Stellar video; truly. Thanks!

I think crew should readback commands from the pilot flying the same as ATC commands are readback. That fatal crash in Nepal recently was due to an incorrect flap setting.

And that's why you always turn the autopilot on in IMC as soon as possible! It blows my mind when guys are trying to hand fly the plane for no particular reason, over loading the pilot monitoring. It drives me nuts when guys do that to me. Sometimes I just reach up and turn the autopilot on without them asking. Very interesting take on this incident tho...

Not mentioned was the fact the airplane was trimmed for V2+10 for initial climb with Take Off Thrust. When the Captain yanked the power to idle he gave him self a massive out of trim NOSE DOWN airplane.

Great analysis. Thanks to the intern for the graphics.

What an amazing breakdown

Flaps had nothing to do with the captain’s lack of pitch control !!!

Another OUTSTAND review of a situation by Juan!

great explenation. Thank you for your effort .

Great video and explanation. I’m learning so much about aviation from your channel. Thanks, Juan!

I am not a pilot… yet I completely understood your careful explanation of this event… EXCELLENT ANALYSIS!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Very well done video sir. Thank you.

Great analysis. As usual.

Awesome video Juan. My comment (definitely not crticizing) for the Captain, is that after rote learning, the accumulation of hours, simulator training, etc; beyond all of that comes the beginning of Understanding...which is a lifelong venture. I thought of this comment after he stated that he only made a minor pitch command. But at that airspeed, the pitch reaction is magnified. I recently retired as Chief Engineer (at Safran), and highly appreciate your channel.

Let me get this straight, it literally took the captain seeing the ocean out the windscreen for him to realize he needed to add power and pull up? You would think he would have known ahead of that that his plane was falling out of the sky by his instruments!

Thank you for a very well detailed explanation of that event, I'm not a pilot but I do a basic understanding of how an aircraft flys having been flying with a cousin here in NZ and I could understand what you were getting at, thank you for your time.

Another amazing explanation, and i know how hard and time consuming it is to do this type of analysis.

That's fairly terrifying from the sim of just how quickly it went bad and how close it came to hitting water!

Thanks Juan as always your break down of this incident was understandable ,must have been scary for passengers looking out their window and seeing the ocean .As ive always said I don't know how you guys and girls keep all this information in your heads ,very special people . Kym Adelaide