20 Seconds To Save It: How An Impulsive Pilot Caused A Fatal Crash (Revised)

paulb

Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 07:40 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The Atlas Air 3591 crash was attributed to a first officer with a long history of poor performance that was unknown at the time of hiring.
An experienced captain on board was unable to prevent the accident, which resulted in three fatalities.
The incident shocked the airline industry, highlighting critical failures in recognizing and addressing an individual's performance history during the hiring process.

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The crash of Atlas Air 3591 shocked the airline industry. It was caused by a
first officer with a long history of poor performance that wasn’t known when he
was hired. And an experienced captain in the left seat wasn’t enough to save
the airplane or the three lives aboard. In this video, AVweb’s Paul
Bertorelli offers a detailed dissection of the accident based on the NTSB
sunshine hearing.

This report was first published in 2019.