Film looks into reason behind air disaster
Horsham film-maker Tristan Loraine believes contaminated air was the reason behind a catastrophic air disaster more than a quarter of a century ago.
After19yearsofresearchand fiveyearsinthemaking,Tristan’s latest documentary American 965 (96 minutes) is in selected US cinemas. He is hoping also to secureUKscreenings.Fulldetails on american965.com
The film comes from Tristan’s FactNotFictionFilms,withTristan bringingtoitallhisexperienceasa formerBritishAirwaysBoeing757 captain and union health & safety rep.American965investigatesthe tragic loss of American Airlines flight 965 from Miami to Cali, ColombiaonDecember201995.
The plane crashed while on approach, killing 159 people on board. Only four passengers and a dog survived the crash. The accident investigators at the time concluded the Boeing 757 accident was primarily caused by pilot error. But as Tristan argues, whytwoofAmericanAirlinesmost experienced pilots actually made the errors they did that night is a question that has never been fully investigateduntilnow.
“American 965 looks at evidence the investigators never considered and flight safety critical evidence the aviation industry knew but was not brought to the investigators attention.”
Through extensive research, interviews with family members, survivors, air accident investigators and other experts, as well as a never seen before complete 3D recreation of the accident, Tristan offers a new possible cause for why this tragic accident occurred. Ultimately he asks why did the aviation industry never reveal to investigators key information they knew; information every passenger should know.
As Tristan explains, the plane’s automatic navigational system asked the plane to fly away from where they should be flying: “They turned the plane a long way around to the left and they didn’t resort to basics. They flew the thing into the side of a mountain. They were trying to get back to the airport, but they had basically lost situational awareness. They were no longer aware of the terrain. These guys were descending at night.
“It is like trying to steer a big ocean liner. The engines were just starting to get going as they flew into the side of the mountain. It was pitch black.
“Most of it was blamed on the pilots and a little bit on the navigational computer. But when the plane crashed in ’95, I thought ‘This is the same plane I am flying.’ I thought could it really be pilot error? These people are smart cookies.”