Miami International Airport was crowded that night, and there were many passengers from Northeast America who had just experienced a heavy snowfall to catch their flights. At Gate 671, a group of passengers with suitcases and gift bags walked into the gate, all passengers on American Airlines Flight 965, preparing to fly to Cali in South America for Christmas.
In front of the check-in counter at the boarding gate, two crew members in dark blue uniforms are checking their boarding passes: Captain Nicholas Tafori and First Officer Don Williams.
Nicholas was looking through the boarding list while discussing the voyage with Don Williams.
"We are all too familiar with this flight, and it will be nice to fly over the Andes in a while, and then through that narrow corridor in the sky, and we will soon be able to surprise our passengers with Christmas. Nicholas said with a smile.
"yes, it's only about a three-hour flight anyway. Just pay attention to communication and navigation. Don Williams nodded, both he and Nicholas had a lot of experience piloting and were very familiar with the route.
The attendant in front of the check-in counter reported that boarding had ended, and the two smiled heartily, turned around and walked to the boarding gate after the final check......
Half an hour later, Flight 965 took off and taxied to the runway, where Nicholas and Don Williams made final pre-takeoff confirmations that the navigation system was working properly, and the plane slowly slid off the ground and headed for its destination in Colombia.
The plane flew smoothly over the rugged Andes, and the most dangerous narrow corridors between the mountains had passed. In the cockpit, Nicholas and Don Williams breathed a sigh of relief and began to discuss the next landing.
At this moment, a message came from the control tower asking to change the landing runway. "We've got to check the landing list quickly. Nicholas said with a frown.
The sudden change caught him off guard.
In order to slow down the landing, Nicholas opened the spoiler and typed the code on the navigation system that he thought was the correct one. However, the system incorrectly interpreted it as a tower code in the other direction, and the plane began to deviate from its original course and fly westward.
"Oh my God, we're off course!" Co-pilot Don Williams exclaimed. He immediately switched to manual driving and tried to correct direction. Nicholas was also engrossed in checking the navigation system, trying to figure out what had just gone wrong.
The two looked at each other, both calculating in their hearts if they would have time to relock the course.
"How is that possible? We're still at 2,700 meters in the air!" Nicholas looked at the altimeter in disbelief, but the next second they realized that the plane was facing a mountain at an altitude of 3,000 meters.
"Oh God!" The co-pilot, Don Williams, let out a desperate roar and desperately pulled the nose of the plane in an attempt to avoid the mountain that stood tall.
However, it was too late, only a loud crash was heard, and the plane crashed directly into the mountain peak at an altitude of 3,000 meters. Screams erupted in the cabin, and many passengers were thrown out of the plane and crashed into the canyon.
"Help!" A little girl curled up under her seat with her head in her hands, calling her mother incessantly.
An old man clutched the bead chain in his hand and whispered a Bible.
A young man frantically calls his family's phone and repeats "I love you" loudly as a final goodbye.
More passengers closed their eyes in extreme fear. The plane's 7,700 kilograms of fuel exploded in an instant, and the cabin burst into flames. Countless wrecks were scattered on the mountainside, far from the crowds, and the cockpit had burned beyond recognition.
By the time rescuers arrived, 159 people had died in the sudden crash, with only four passengers and a puppy miraculously surviving. The scene was full of chaos, and they couldn't believe what was in front of them.
Afterwards, investigators found the black box in the wreckage, hoping to find out the cause of the crash.
After much analysis, the investigators finally found the crux of the problem - the set of error codes entered by Nicholas. It turned out that he intended to lock on to a navigation tower near Cali, but accidentally turned on the code that led to a signal tower in another direction hundreds of kilometers away, causing the plane to deviate from its course and fly straight into the Andes Mountains at an altitude of 3,000 meters.
The investigative report places the main blame on the pilot's gross mistake. Neither Nicholas nor the co-pilot did not update their positioning in time when approaching, nor did they accurately judge the position of the signal tower.
What's more, during the acceleration process, they did not retract the speed brake in time, which directly caused the aircraft to be unable to avoid the mountain.
A seemingly small operational mistake caused this huge tragedy. Life is so fragile that people are shocked and have to reflect on the meaning of life.
The incident also serves as a warning to the aviation industry that must improve pilot training to prevent similar mistakes from happening again.
A month after the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced improvements to pilot training, adding training programs that simulate mountain flight to reduce the probability of similar mistakes.
In addition, the aircraft's ground warning system has been strengthened to detect terrain obstacles a few seconds earlier.
Among the four passengers who miraculously survived the crash was a young man named Jack Griffin. Since then, he has become a motivational speaker, often telling the rest of his life on various occasions, inspiring more people to value and cherish the meaning of life.
The puppy found in the wreckage was also lucky enough to be given a new lease of life, and people named it "Miracle" and found a kind new owner.
Captain Nicholas and First Officer Don Williams may have committed a minor operational negligence, but in the end it caused unimaginable suffering. This event reminds us that life can take a sharp turn for the worse at any moment.
Therefore, let us learn to cherish every moment with our family and friends, and more care and expression is the best celebration of life.