February 8, 1989
Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal
Independent Air Inc, Flight 1851
Boeing B-707-331B
N7231T

The airliner hit a mountain while attempting to land at Santa Maria. The crew mistakenly continued to descend through 3,000 ft. which it was clear to. Because of a overlap in communications, the tower did not notice the mistake. The aircraft continued to descend and did not comment or react to warnings from the GPSW for 7 seconds. The aircraft then hit Pico Alto mountain at an altitude of 2,000 ft. All 144 aboard killed.

RDO = Radio communications
CAM 1 = Captain
CAM 2 = co-pilot
CAM 3 = flight engineer
TWR = Santa Maria Tower
() = Questionable speech
# = Nonpertinent speech
-- = Unintelligeble

13.56:47 TWR Independent Air one eight five one roger you're cleared to three thousand feet on QNH one zero two seven and ah runway will be one niner.
13.56:59 RDO-2 We're cleared to two thousand feet and a ... one zero two seven.
13.57:05 CAM-1 Make it three.
  CAM-? --
13.57:12 CAM-2 Is that what he said ten twenty seven on the millibars.
  CAM-1 Yeap.
  CAM-3 Seat ... belt sign.
  CAM-2 It's on.
  CAM-3 Window heat.
  CAM-2 Low.
  CAM-3 Anti-ice.
  CAM-2 Off.
  CAM-3 Logo lights.
  CAM-2 Off.
  CAM-3 Emergency brake pressure.
  CAM-3 Brake pressure.
  CAM-2 (OK)
13.57:37 CAM-3 Altimeters.
  CAM-1 Set and crosscheck.
  CAM-2 Set and crosscheck.
13.57:43 CAM-3 Landing data EPR and airspeed bugs.
  CAM-1 One twenty five.
  CAM-2 One twenty five on the right.
  CAM-1 Eighty-two seventy-nine.
  CAM-2 Set and crosschecked.
  CAM-3 Seatbelt and shoulder harness.
  CAM-1 On the left.
  CAM-2 Secured.
  CAM-3 ()
13.58:09 CAM-3 We're havin' fun now.
  CAM-1 Hey hey.
  CAM-2 We're havin' fun now aren't we.
  CAM-? Yeah.
13.58:16 CAM-3 Almost as much fun --
  CAM-? I haven't heard that one.
  CAM-? I hadn't either.
  CAM-? Where'd you hear that ... where'd you come with that.
  CAM-? Yeah.
  CAM-? --
  CAM-? [Laughter]
13.58:49 CAM-1 #
13.59:02 CAM-2 Why is this DME a hundred and ninety eight miles we are closer than that.
  CAM-2 ()
13.59:08 CAM-2 I don't think they got a ... I don't think they got a DME at Santa Maria.
13.59:15 CAM-2 We got to be close to it.
13.59:18 CAM-1 Seventy miles.
13.59:32 CAM-2 Out of ten.
  CAM-? [Sound]
14.02:14 CAM-2 Rudder Leon.
  CAM-2 Leon.
  CAM-1 (Whenever you're ready) maestro.
  CAM-? Maestro ... ah ah.
14.02:28 CAM-1 () Ain't too hot out here.
14.02:31 CAM-? Yeah we'll get down below ... depends on what level those are.
  CAM-? [Trim sound]
  CAM-? [Whistling]
14.03:18 CAM-2 OK I'm gonna go ahead and put the ILS on mine Leon.
  CAM-1 OK.
  CAM-2 One ten three.
14.03:55 CAM-2 Ah after two thousand yeah we'll get below these clouds.
14.04:19 CAM-1 In case we don't ... one eight seven is the outbound.
  CAM-2 Yeah.
  CAM-? [laughter]
  CAM-? ()
14.05:41 CAM-2 Ah thousand to go.
14.05:43 CAM-? (One to go)
14.05:51 CAM-? [Sound of engine igniters]
14.06:01 CAM-3 There is the island.
  CAM-2 Where is the airport.
  CAM-? On the other side of the island.
14.06:15 CAM-? [Sound of altitude alert - 500ft above selected altitude]
14.06:17 CAM-2 (Four hundred) to go
  CAM-2 (Don't know if we are going to get visual or not here)
  CAM-? (Gonna get rained on I know what)
14.06:46 CAM-3 Yeah.
  CAM-1 [Sound of landing gear warning horn?]
  CAM-? (There is no place like Santa Maria it looks nice)
  CAM-? Is it.
  CAM-1 (To have a beer)
14.06:57 CAM-1 We are level at two.
  CAM-2 Yeah.
  CAM-1 -- To the left.
  CAM-1 (At eight DME)
  CAM-? () Cliffs.
  CAM-? Yeah.
14.07:34 CAM-2 Starting to pass throughout layers here.
14.07:52 CAM-1 Can't keep this SOB thing straight up and down.
14.07:57 CAM-2 () Help you.
  CAM-1 No.
  CAM-? ()
  CAM-? ()
  CAM-? [Sound of radio altimeter]
14.08:05 GPWS Whoop whoop pull up Whoop whoop pull up Whoop whoop pull up Whoop whoop pull up
14.08:12   [Sound of impact]


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