A pilot’s last words

The crew from the ill-fated DC-10

Turkish Airlines flight 981 lifted off runway 08, 11 h 30′ 30″ at Orly with Captain Nejat Berkoz, (from the left) his co-pilot Oral Ulusman and flight engineer Huseyin Ozer

Voices say: “Oops. Aw, aw.”

(At this time, unaware to the pilots, six passengers were expelled from the craft, and survived a minute longer than their fellow passengers who were all dead before the seats and the strapped occupants hit the ground.)

The klaxon goes off . Plus nine seconds. Berkoz: “What happened?”

Ulusman “The cabin blew out”

Eleven seconds

Berkoz : “Are you Sure?

Sixteen seconds.

Berkoz: “Bring it up, pull her nose up.”

Ulusman: “I can’t bring it up she doesn’t respond.”

Twenty three seconds.

An unidentified voice (probably Ozer): “Nothing is left.” Another voice (probably Ulusman) : “Seven thousand feet.”

Khxon sounds, warning that the plane has gone over the “never exceed”‘ speed.

Thirty two seconds.

Berkoz: “Hydraulics?” Another voice (probably Ulusman): “We have lost it . . . oops. Oops”

Fifty four seconds.

Berkoz: “it looks like we are going to hit the ground.”

Fifty six seconds. Berkoz: “Speed.”

Sixty one seconds

Seventy seven seconds. Sound of initial impact.

During the final seconds before the impact, it was noted that the (pilots) began to whistle a popular Turkish jingle, to the words, “I wonder what it is?

Ship 29 hit the ground at 497 miles per hour at a shallow valley called Grove of Dammartin, Ermenonville forest on the outskirts of Paris.

The cockpit of one of the two surviving Turkish DC-10

Richard Bolai / Bruno Druesne © 2008

No comments: