The Fall of Flight 123 

"put down your cigarettes this is an emergency descent" Is such an 80's thing to hear on a doomed aircraft.

One part of JAL 123's legacy that often goes overlooked is that a United Airlines pilot named Dennis Fitch began practicing re-creating the crash in the simulators in the hopes that he could find a way to land a plane safely in such a situation. In 1989, Fitch was a passenger on United Flight 232 when the plane, a DC-10 with the third engine built into the tail structure, ended up losing hydraulics when the fanbelt of said engine suffered failure, resulting in a situation very similar to JAL 123. Fitch went up to the cockpit and assisted the flight crew with controls in their efforts to land the plane. Of the 296 people on board 184 survived. Without Fitch, and without JAL 123 to learn from, it almost certainly would have been worse.

This case was the exact example why my field safety and disaster management trainer always reminded me to always assume, that people can survive and will be waiting for immediate help in case of an emergency, no matter how dire it may be. Calling off a rescue based on an assumption of "nah, nobody would survive that" is a grave insult to anyone who are trying their best to stay alive amidst a disaster.

The fact they fought through 45 minutes straight of just attempting to control the plane and just in the end to hear them say this is the end is heart breaking to hear knowing they tried there hardest to gain control

The 4 survivors reported initially hearing many other survivors whose voices eventually fell silent. Disgraceful delay on the rescue effort.

The flight conditions that JAL123 experienced that day were replicated in countless simulations in which cases the pilots didn't last more than a few minutes. The pilots and flight engineer of JAL123 on that day managed to last a whole 45 minutes, they were heroes that didn't stop fighting for their passengers until their very last moments. I also find it disgusting that the Japanese government essentially abandoned rescue efforts after the fact since they assumed everyone was dead on impact, wasting precious time that could have saved lives.

Nexpo did a great job at summarising this incident. My father was one of the passengers on this flight for a business trip. Watching this makes me tear up for him, and for the loss of the 520 lives on board that day, and the 4 survivors who have gone through such a traumatic event. I've spent most of my life studying and pursuing a career in aviation because I never want something like this to happen again. I've worked as both a plane maintenance worker, and am currently going through training to become a captain on the 737-type. I've never once taken any shortcuts when attending to plane repairs/maintenance and have done everything exactly according to the standard procedures. This is something that all maintenance workers should do to avoid anything like this. At my company, Flight 123 is one of the flights that is continuously referenced in inductions, in memory of the pilots and passengers and as a reminder for workers to do their job properly. What hasn't been pointed out in the video is that, against all odds, the crew all fought to the very end... they didn't show any signs of giving up. Their sheer will almost got them through this horrible incident and that's something I want to carry on on every single flight I'm in. They're probably one of the best few pilots I've ever known. I'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has if you see this comment. Anything about my experience, technical details about the incident, or anything else. I watch or read something about this flight like once every month, and each time I bawl my eyes out thinking about what they all must've felt going through this. RIP Dad, Captain Takahama, Officer Sasaki, Flight Engineer Fukuda, and the other 516 lives lost that day.

It is heartwarming to know that Boeing still observes the same standards of quality assurance after all these years

It's one thing for the people who died from this tragedy because there were no rescuers, but for the employees to commit suicide to atone for their deaths is just bone chilling.

The fact that they were told to head back to the base, even though they were literally right there and ready to repel down, makes my blood boil

imagine ur siting in air traffic control and all you can do is listen to this

Imagine surviving a plane crash and waiting for rescuers that would never arrive. This is haunting

*”This is the end.”* Horrifying… I literally broke a sweat listening to them fighting with the plane. God rest their souls.

The fact that they had kept the plane flying for as long as they did really showed their skill. When they tried replicating it in the simulator, nobody lasted as long as they did. Really frightening really. They really tried anything to survive Interesting fact about aviation, the first airplane to land without any sort of hydraulics was DHL Flight 209. They got shot with a missile and managed to land the Airbus A300 without any help from hydraulics. There's even footage from an infrared camera from a helicopter and tv coverage from the reporter that interacted with the terrorist group that launched the missile. When the plane landed, it did slightly deviate from the runway, but landed safely and all people (three flight crew) survived.

A less known fact: Kyu Sakamoto, best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" known as "Sukiyaki" (check the song out, it's beautiful). It reached number one in the United States Billboard Hot 100 in June 1963, making Sakamoto the first Asian recording artist to have a number one song on the chart. He was also the first Japanese artist to have a number one single on the Australian singles chart. Died on 12 August 1985 in the crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 123, along with 519 others on board the flight, making him a casualty of the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.

“And a failure that is now known as the single worst disaster………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………in global aviation history”

Well, I'm busy for the next 25 minutes

Flight 123 and Challenger are major examples of how a single oversight can lead to disaster. Had the tailstrike damage been properly repaired, the plane would have never found itself in the mountains 7 years later. It's a miracle anyone survived the crash and following flames, may the victims rest in peace.

Just to note, JAL123 isn't the worst aviation accident in history, but the worst involving a single aircraft. The worst in history is the Tenerife disaster when 2 fully loaded Boeing 747s collided on the runway.

if there’s any solace that you can find in this crash, it’s that this incident helped save the lives of over half the people on united flight 232. a dc10 lost all hydraulic control, and they were able to regain limited control of the plane because someone on board studied JAL flight 123 and knew planes could be controlled using only the engines

I can't believe they just let people burn in agony as they thought everyone would be dead. Arent, they meant to have a more optimistic response and try to see if they can save more. I can't imagine what it could have been like waiting for help that never came

This one of the most horrifying flights ever recorded, just the thought your top wing has an explosion only to realize this marks a tragic end

One of the victims was Kyū Sakamoto, a famous Japanese singer who died in this accident. He was famous for _Sukiyaki_ song in case if you don't know. One line of that song's lyrics is "shiawase wa kumo no ue ni" (happiness is above the clouds) which ironically was not in his case of his own last moment.... 😢

This channel.................... Really likes........ It's................................................................ Dramatic pauses....

This is so tragic. Hearing them say "this is the end" is heartbreaking. Beautiful video though, I didn't know about this crash before. May the victims rest in peace.

14:02 “this is the end” I felt so ill when I read that while seeing the computerized plane dive to the ground. Like my heart dropped.

JAL123 crashed in my home prefecture in Japan. My mom remembers the day she saw the crash in the news because nothing this major ever happened in Gunma. It was especially shocking for a lot of Japanese because a famous singer named Kyu Sakamoto died in the crash (one of his more well known songs is Sukiyaki). I was honestly surprised to see that one of my favorite RU-vidrs posted a video about the crash since I haven’t heard many people outside of Japan talk about it. This was a really great video about the crash and I’m glad to see someone cover it.

Gripping, heart-wrenching, beautifully composed~ You certainly nailed this one Sir Nexpo.

12:02 What’s interesting here is that because the plane had lost all of its control surfaces, the pilots had to use differential thrust in order to maneuver. You can actually hear the captain ordering the co-pilot to add power to the left/right set of engines so the plane can turn. That’s really impressive, and a shame that their efforts were in vein… Edit: Some folks replying assume that I was saying that their efforts to save lives were in vain. No, I was talking about their efforts to regain control of the jet. They did what they could to salvage their aircraft but were doomed to fail, and even they knew it once their differential thrust technique got more sluggish as evident by them veering towards the mountains…

hearing the "this is the end" from the captain is so sad and bone chilling

The visuals of this piece was amazing. Everything was put together so well. The ending almost brought tears to my eyes the way you described everything

This was a masterpiece of a video, thank you so much for posting!

You forgot one thing: there were two impacts, the first being when Engine 4 strikes the peak of Mt. Takamagahara, sending the 747-146SR onto it’s back, with the aircraft’s momentum propelling it into the side of Mt. Otsuka…**roof first**.

“This is the end”😢 They really went all out trying to save every soul on board.

I cannot describe the excitement I feel when I see you uploaded a new video. Keep up the great work!

yo the way you script and edit these videos gives me chills and makes me so anxious, good job !

My grandfather was in the USAF and stationed in Japan at this time. I asked my mom if she knew anything about it. She said "I remember the base being really upset. Because they could hear the traffic. We had a small airtraffic controller and airport . But we couldn't go unless they asked for help." I gave her the link to this video to watch. She then sent me a PDF of Michael Antonucci's account in "Pacific Stars and Stripes". In it he states that the Pilot wanted to land at a US military base. The went to go find the flight, and found it around 7:20. Around 20 minutes after the crash, the authority's had the location of the crash. The Marines were then preparing to launch, around 9:05 the Marines radioed in that the smoke was too heavy to land. The duty officer then said to return to base immediately, the Japanese are on their way, and sent the AF and the Marines back to base. And not to talk to press

I’ve heard of this case. It is absolutely infuriating that the Japanese government prevented rescue operations from starting immediately. So many more people could have been saved if they put their pride aside and let the Americans send help to find survivors immediately.

I felt this. You Sir are amazing at showing sympathy in your video.

Absolutely love the quality of this video. Very well made like the rest of your videos! Your commentary is also top notch! I wouldn’t mind seeing more videos on topics like this, very eerie and disturbing stories that can be told with these accidents

The worst Airline Disaster *involving a single Aircraft.* Just behind the Tenerife Airport Disaster. But also the prime example of the one true motto of Airline Pilots. *Never. Give. Up* They kept Aviate, Navigate, and Communicate, even until the bitter end. Those pilots deserved to be called heroes, even though they failed to survive.

Years ago when I worked for Boeing I met one of the guys who was on the team that installed the repair. There was a lot going on that never gets mentioned, but one thing I remember was he still had the paperwork from the airline engineers. They had to modify the repair once they got there and he had the papers where the JAL engineers looked at the changed repair and signed off on it. This was close to thirty years after, and it still haunted him.

Nexpo I was so glad to see you had uploaded. No one compares to you in your chosen genre. The video was very moving as always , look forward to more.

Always love to see a new Nexpo video, this kind is always very intriguing when it’s about real life events outside of internet mysteries. Great work as always

He's always good at telling a story that still haunts you even if you've heard it multiple times. I've read a lot about the Titanic, but I think even Nexpo could make me feel the weight of it again. It is a testimate to the pilots that they kept the plane aloft for so long. But, I can't imagine the horror of being a passenger with no control of the situation and having the plane essentially uncontrollably stall and lift, stall and lift, over-and-over again. The survivors hearing people moaning and children crying and screaming for their parents in their final moments. Honestly it's the fear of seeing children have fear that enhances my own fear of flying.

“The crew was doing their best to land the plane，and the plane is doing its best……to prevent that”. Such a chilling line. Well done again sir.

This wasnt your most crazy editing you did in a video, but regarding storytelling it was by far your best one so far. Beautifully done

your videos are out of this world. the level of detail and cinematic skill it takes for your videos blows my mind every single time

My dad loves watching documentaries on airplane accidents and I have regularly sat down to watch with him. The quality of your work far surpasses anything we've seen, thank you for remaining mindful of the victims while also being informative. Excellent work, can't wait for what you have in store for the future!

A detail I really liked about this video is how you inverted the timestamp colors for "Time of Impact". Instead of white text on black background, it was black text on white background. Can't explain why, but it's a more peaceful tone as if it signifies the end of the struggle. Your editing is incredible. Thank you for being so respectful and bringing this tragedy to light for me. Love you, Nex❤

We love you nexpo! Thank you for the video❤

Thank you for such a beautifully put-together video. This was one of the few occasions where I've put my phone down and have actually sat and given the video my full attention as everything sunk in, and I think the sincerity in your voice really played a huge part in that. God, 520 people. It's an incomprehensible loss of life and a truly heart-breaking tragedy.

Many pieces of flight JAL 123 are in a museum -- devoted to aviation safety -- on public display to this day. I would imagine many people aren't aware of that so I figured I'd mention it for anyone wanting to check it out.

For all the years I’ve researched plane crashes, this one is definitively the most tragic. To think about how long they managed to keep the plane in the air, what that felt like in the cabin, being left on that mountain to die, and the failed maintenance application of the doubler plate. Slight correction to your video: Boeing did not make the erroneous doubler plate error, that was JAL’s maintenance team that performed it and signed off that it was done by Boeing standards.

This one is good Nexpo.. albeit extremely sad. But a great Nexpo documentation of this terribly unfortunate event.

as an aviation enthusiast i have read this story and watched many videos about it, but the way nexpo tells the story it's like i'm hearing it for the first time. wonderful job as always 🙏🏻

Honestly this reminded me of Kyu Sakamoto who sadly was on this flight. Before i knew he was on this flight, i was listening to his music. And after, I understood that Japan lost one of its most loved jazz musicians of the time. His music is truly something else and i reccomend it even if you dont speak or understand japanese.

Watching this as I’m about to go on a flight 💀

I had never heard this story before watching your video. Thank you for sharing it with us. And thank you for your heartfelt tribute at the end to those who were lost.

Great video as always, been following you since you went by nightmare expo, and you have only gotten better as the years went by! Keep it up!

Hey it’s our boy, Nexpo.

Interesting fact, this plane crash inspired the 2004 album by German Neue Deutsche Härte / Industrial Metal band Rammstein, titled 'Reise, Reise.' The album's cover art was that of a black box recorder (except for in Japan where it was a massive icebreaker ship with the band's now famous "R Kreuz" [R Cross] logo), and had mentions of flight in the song "Dalai Lama" which itself was written about the current Dalai Lama's fear of flying, combining it with the tale of "The Elf-King" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In fact, on most CD releases of the album, if played in a stereo CD player or car stereo, and reversed about 30 seconds, a pre-gap track dubbed "Flugzeuglärm" begins. The track features the actual final 30 seconds of the black-box as a lead-in to the title track and album opener.

this is so heartbreaking, completely preventable disasters like this just... make my heart hurt for everyone involved. i can't even begin to imagine the fear the passengers must have felt... thank you as always for including captions in your video!! it truly helps me enjoy it even more

Well researched and well done. This video gave me the sense that I was on that doomed flight, especially with the black box excerpts.

I know that airplanes are generally very safe on an objective level - statistically speaking, less dangerous than a car - but that doesn't change the fact that, even though they're less likely to go wrong than a car is, the actual threat they pose _when_ they go wrong is way higher. If something goes wrong, they essentially become mass cemeteries with wings. You can survive a car crash, but fat chance you'll be able to survive a plane crash.

I can’t state enough how impressive these pilots were. Controlling an aircraft in this condition and managing save lives even if very few is an amazing accomplishment. What’s truely horrible is the tragedy that followed this crash, the 12 hours it took to get rescue to the site, it wasted so much of these pilots efforts…

THANK YOU for making simple and accessible soundtrack playlists. it makes it so simple to find the music you've used. amazing video as always, but such a horibble tragedy...

Love this guy's videos! So we'll done and brings you into the story like no other

You can tell the cockpit group really cared about their choice of work. It’s so saddening hearing them having to give up after attempting so much 💔

This is the first I’m hearing about the maintainers’ suicides. That hit too close to my heart man.

great video as always, thank you.

hope you doin good nexpo been a min since u posted, hope u relaxing w the time off my g

I always appreciate Nexpo pronouncing names right. Time and time again I hear "sorry if I pronounce it wrong guys I'm not Japanese!" or whatever it is, but he always takes the time to make sure it's right out of respect

You know, as time goes on, most RU-vidrs either slowly stop posting as often/at all, or the quality of their content goes down so much (ads, clickbait, no new material) that it becomes unwatchable. Nexpo truly is the diamond in the rough. Thank you for the videos good sir!

Interesting format. I like it. Thanks.

Nex you do such a fantastic job with these videos. One of my all time favorite follows on any site. 👍🏻

This has officially hit my top 10 most gut wrenching irl stories. Things like this, and the case about the men being pulled into an oil pipe, are things I will never forget. Too many stories about companies/execs/leaders just not giving a sh*t about people and letting them suffer for hours before ultimately dying

I shouldnt be surprised but the editing in this is crazyyy . The seatbelt beeping at the beginning??? Sent chills down my spine

Great video educated me well! Keep up the work its insane how well these videos are made!

Youre great at what you do Nexpo. Keep up the great work

We should know how to take care of the things we have people on. Flight 123 and Space Shuttle Challenger are the ones I think of most when it comes to negligent maintenance that led to tragedy. Rest in peace to all. 🕊️

This is the case that got me into researching aeronautics accidents. The end of the black box recording is used as the opener to the album Reise, Reise by Rammstein. As a fan, I looked up where it's from, and it sent me through the rabbithole of plane crashes in general. It's crazy how many lives have been lost to insufficient maintenence, cost-cutting attempts, harsh weather, and ego. Flight 123 isn't even the most egregious case by a long shot. Thank you so much for all the work you do with your videos. They never disappoint.

Awh yeah another nexpo vid!! Love you!

That was a rough one to listen to. Good video!

Horrifying on so many levels. Plane kept going up and down instead of a fast fall and crash, pilots being so good but having no control of the plane and the tragic last words and knowing they'll die, crash was entirely preventable, people being able to be rescued but weren't for 12 HOURS (which makes me sick), people that did survive are probably traumatized for life, the 2 engineers taking their life afterwards. Just failure and tragedy all around, so terrible and sad.

Heartrending to hear about flights like this, where a slight oversight can cost so many lives. My deepest condolences for the lives lost and the trauma the survivors must continue to bear. The importance of thorough and precise maintenance checks on aircraft can't be overstated.

Nexpo uploads, I immediately watch. Love your content always. RU-vid legend

The story telling, the graphics, everything. Your work is amazing, and I appreciate you bringing remembrance to tragedies all over the world

i really want you to know how appreciative i am for how diligent you are with subtitles. it’s always so relieving watching your videos because i don’t have to struggle through auto-generated ones. only 6 minutes in as of writing but im excited 🤞

this video got me quenching my pillow at 12:10. great job nexpo, your videos never misses.

Excellent work as always

This plane crash has fascinated me for multiple years. It's what led me to learn more about planes and aviation in general.

Can we just take a second to appreciate the soundscapes that are created in these videos? There’s a decent amount of times I just listen to them, and the amount of effort it takes to execute sound design this well is just truly amazing. It adds to the level of sheer quality each and every new Nexpo video has and keeps me looking forward to the next one!

Such marvelous work, as always...👍

I need so much more long form nexpo dude. He does such an amazing job of doing all this research and showing it to us all

Thank you Nexpo for continuing to make quality content.

I've already saw videos like this. But Nexpo manage to give this accident a justice. What makes this even depressing is that the rescue took time to arrive. They could've save so many victims but no. Survivors stated that after the crash there's still some who are in grave injury and could've still be save, but no.

rest in piece to all that were lost in the crash of jal123. beautiful video i need more of these ryan

Great video, I wish it was longer, it kinda flew by. This reminds me a lot about the R101 airship crash, which was the largest man made ship at the time. From the technical issues that caused this crash, to the dialogue spoken by the pilots, to the crash site, all of it reminds me of the R101 airship crash. I’d suggest looking it up if you’re not familiar, it’s an interesting story. Iron Maiden made an 18 minute long song about it called Empire Of The Clouds, one of the most epic and grand songs you’ll ever hear.

nexpo ilysm i missed you i needed u