Final words of pilots:
Did he not clear the runway - that Pan American?
— Flight Engineer William Schreuder, KLM, 27 March 1977, just prior to the worst aviation crash ever, the collision of two B-747's on the ground in the Canary Islands.
Hey - what's happening here?
— Captain Robert Loft, Eastern Air Lines flight 401, 29 December 1972, last recorded words before crashing into the Florida everglades.
God, look at that thing!
That don't seem right, does it?
That's not right.
— First Officer Roger Pettit, during takeoff roll, Air Florida Flight 90, 1982.
Larry! We're going down, Larry!
I know it.
— First Officer Roger Pettit and Captain Larry Wheaton, last words recorded on Air Florida Flight 90, close to the 14th Street Bridge Washington D.C., 1982.
Portland Tower, United 173, Mayday! We're . . . the engines are flaming out—we're going down. We're not going to be able to make the airport.
— First Officer Rodrick Beebe. United DC-8. 28 Last recorded words. December 1978.
American 191 under way.
— Captain Walter Lux, American Airlines. Last recorded words. 25 May 1979.
I don't like this
— Flight Engineer Gordon Brooks, Air New Zealand 901, last recorded words before the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) alerted. The DC-10 crashed into the side of Mt. Erebus 26 seconds later. 28 November 1979.
Go-around power please
— Captain Jim Collins, Air New Zealand 901, last recorded words. 28 November 1979.
Yes—don't worry.
— Captain Michel Asseline, Air France, last recorded words, in reply to copilot Captain Pierre Mazieres alerting him to watch out for the pylons ahead. Ten seconds the A-320 crashed into trees during an airshow. 26 June 1988.
Reverser's deployed!
— First Officer Josef Thurner, Air Lauda 004, last recorded words during 'impossible' in-flight deployment of the B-767's thrust reverser. 26 May 1991.
Why is it turning . . . . Yes it is.
— El'dar Kudrinsky, the 15 year old son of the captain of Aeroflot 593. he had earlier asked, "May I turn this — the control wheel — a bit," and had disconnected part of the autopilot. An action unnoticed by the adult flight crew. Last recorded words, 22 march 1994
Critter five-ninety-two, we need the, uh, closest airport available.
— First Officer Richard Hazen, ValuJet 592, last recorded words before crashing into the Everglades due to in-flight fire. 11 may 1996.
Too late. No time, no.
— Captain Christian Marty, Air France 4590 Concorde, last recorded words. ATC had just warned, "Concorde zero ... 4590, You have flames. You have flames behind you." 25 July 2000.
Hang onto it. Hang onto it.
— Captain Edward States, last recorded words, American Airlines Flight 587, from New York's JFK to the Dominican Republic. 09:15 Eastern, 12 November 2001.
Well, no, you can see the ground. . . . You can see something. Maybe there won—t be a tragedy.
— Major Robert Grzywna, second pilot (F/O) of the Polish Air Force Tu-154M that crashed in known fog close to Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 onboard including President Lech Kaczynski, spoken to the chief of protocol. Orignal Polish: "Nie, no ziemie widac— Cos tam widac— Moze nie bedzie tragedii." The flight crew then tried to land, descending confidently into woods a half-mile from the runway, ignoring warnings from the GPWS. The cockpit was calm until the moment the plane hit a tree and flipped over. The last words on the recording are screamed obscenities. 10 April 2010.
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— last known transmission, Malaysia Airlines flight 370, to Malaysian ATC. 01:19 local time 8 March 2014.
