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NOVA Wednesdays

Crash of Flight 447

Forensic investigators reconstruct the final moments of the Air France disaster. Aired February 16, 2011 on PBS

  • Posted 02.16.11
  • NOVA

Watch Crash of Flight 447

Aired February 16, 2011 on PBS

Program Description

On June 1, 2009, Flight AF447, an Air France Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of all 228 lives. How could a state-of-the-art airliner with elaborate electronic safety and navigation features and a faultless safety record simply fall out of the sky? NOVA assembles a team of seasoned pilots, engineers, and safety experts to examine the evidence that emerged in the weeks following this horrific disaster. What led Flight 447's crew to fly straight into a towering thunderstorm? With expert testimony, satellite weather images, and messages transmitted by the doomed plane's computer system, NOVA pieces together the fatal chain of events.

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Broadcast Credits

Crash of Flight 447

Produced By
Nacressa Swan
Written and Directed By
Kenny Scott
Edit Producer
Simon Young
Edited By
Alex Lewington
Francis Robertson
Mike Lithgow
Camera
Piers Leigh
Pete Allibone
Michael Sanders
Sound Recordists
Pete Cowasji
Kenny Ralston
Callum Thomson
Narrator
Jay O. Sanders
Music
Alasdair Reid
Animation
Fluid Pictures Ltd
Production Manager
Lenka Menkynova
Line Producer
Jenny Mauthe
Online Editor
Andrew Mitchell
Colorist
Jonathan Lieb
Audio Mix
Matt Skilton
Research
Jeremy Bradshaw
Program Advisors
Captain Martin Alder
Tony Cable
Captain John Cox
Archival Material
AP Archive
Cimss University of Wisconsin-Madison
Index Stockshots
Dr. John K. Williams
Simon Lowe
Globo Tv
Itn Source
Pond 5
Corbis Motion
Dr. Todd Lane
Zen Kawasaki
Special Thanks
Kingston University Higher Education Corporation
University College London
The National Aerospace Training and Research Center
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Executive Producers for Darlow Smithson
Julian Ware
Tom Brisley
NOVA Series Graphics
yU + Co.
NOVA Theme Music
Walter Werzowa
John Luker
Musikvergnuegen, Inc.
Additional NOVA Theme Music
Ray Loring
Rob Morsberger
Post Production Online Editor
Michael H. Amundson
Closed Captioning
The Caption Center
Publicity
Eileen Campion
Victoria Louie
Karen Laverty
Marketing
Steve Sears
Researcher
Kate Becker
NOVA Administrator
Kristen Sommerhalter
Production Coordinator
Linda Callahan
Paralegal
Sarah Erlandson
Talent Relations
Scott Kardel, Esq.
Janice Flood
Legal Counsel
Susan Rosen
Post Production Assistant
Darcy Forlenza
Associate Producer Post Production
Patrick Carey
Post Production Supervisor
Regina O'Toole
Post Production Editor
Rebecca Nieto
Post Production Manager
Nathan Gunner
Compliance Manager
Linzy Emery
Development Producer
Pamela Rosenstein
Supervising Producer
Stephen Sweigart
Business and Production Manager
Jonathan Loewald
Senior Producer and Project Director, Margret & Hans Rey/Curious George Producer
Lisa Mirowitz
Coordinating Producer
Laurie Cahalane
Senior Science Editor
Evan Hadingham
Senior Series Producer
Melanie Wallace
Executive Producer
Howard Swartz
Managing Director
Alan Ritsko
Senior Executive Producer
Paula S. Apsell

A Darlow Smithson Production for NOVA in Association with BBC

© 2010 Darlow Smithson Productions Limited

Additional Material © 2010 WGBH Educational Foundation

All Rights Reserved

Image

(CGI)
© Darlow Smithson Productions Limited

Participants

Captain Martin Alder
Airbus Training Pilot
Tony Cable
Former Accident Investigator
Captain John Cox
Air Safety Expert www.safeopsys.com/index.php?p=about
Jim Wildey
Former Accident Investigator www.ntsb.gov/Abt_NTSB/bios/tech_panel.htm
John K. Williams
Atmospheric Scientist

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