*KUDOS to the Astana pilots, the fighters and the ATC. All together and working as one made it a successful landing.* Watch Part 1 here --> kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oa-Ta7WjksmvlGw.html Credit to Rui Cambraia for the footage at the end! Obrigado!

I couldn’t help but notice how polite the F-16 pilot was to the aircraft in distress. Professional but in a very calming way.

Those pilots must have been extremely physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. So glad they landed. ATC & F16 are beyond terrific.

OK for all persons who keep asking. "Why do they keep asking for directions and vectoring to the sea" if you see the map the jet was going around and around and up and down like a phugoid cycle. With no visibility the pilots had no idea what the jet was doing and likely assumed that everything was faulty and since they were going in circles that magnetic and instrument compass's were spinning also and really messing with their heads. Add to this the stress of not knowing whats happening, wanting not kill them or people on the ground, pulling on the controls for hours to keep alive and then seemingly everytime they went to confirm direction to the sea they were told something different and couldnt figure out why. Dam hard enough with a straight head in a simulator try it with uber stress, poor english v Portuguese accents and screw it all, just keep asking until you get there, great job guys, amazing work everyone.,

moral to the story, : NEVER, NEVER, NEVER EVER give up.

What a crazy story. You can hear how the pilots become disoriented and physically exhausted from the intense forces exerted on their bodies. Truly insane. Great job by everyone involved.

Reversed aileron is one of the worst control failures possible. Keeping that thing flying more than an hour with that problem, plus 3 go-arounds, then safe landing is just an amazing demonstration of pilots using everything available to deal with what would normally be fatal within seconds of the wheels leaving the ground.

Legend says, they're still asking for a heading towards the sea. No, seriously: GREAT JOB and my BIGGEST RESPECT to pilots and ATC, must have been such a scary and stressful situation and hearing the "bank angle" sounds in the backround does not make it any better...imagine being in their situation, facing death but still managing to stay more or less calm and putting that thing on the ground in one piece!

This one really got to me. Those guys were getting ready to die and they didn't want anyone else to get hurt. I hope at the very least someone punched that maintenance tech on the nose.

Just watched Mentor Pilot's video. He breaks it down so you really understand exactly what happened in this incident and just how truly terrifying that must have been and how amazing those pilots are. Great job to all involved! ❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️✈️❤️

It’s really painful to watch how the plane constantly turns in circles and the pilot is relentlessly trying to get vectors for the sea failing constantly. That must have been a really scary and stressful situation... glad they made it out! Great job!

I was stressed just listening. Fantastic job by the crew, ATC and the Airforce

This is the most insane recording I’ve ever heard. The graph looks like a one year old child on an Etch-A-Sketch, for heavens sake. Such focus and supreme intensity of all those digging to previously unaccessed depths of their knowledge and calm fortitude in a concerted effort to save lives. Wow. Thank God for the way he made the human mind.

Bullet21 is a cool callsign :)

This was terrifying! I want to give the pilots (and the airforce commander) a hug. I almost cried when they finally agreed to follow the fighter jet to the airport, rather than ditching in the sea. So happy they landed safely. Hope there is a TV episode coming soon.

Wow theyre ready for their death sentence and you could hear the heavy breaths from the pilot. It must have been a tough battle on that deck. Kudos for figuring out the controls and for not giving up. Glad you all made it safe. Great job for everyone involved.

I loved the Air Astana account of the incident: - “Embraer 190, callsign KС 1388, conducted a ferry flight from the Lisbon Aviation Technical Centre when, due to technical reasons the crew decided to perform an unplanned landing."

Before they regained some semblance of control and thought they'd have to ditch, that pilot was audibly gasping for air. I can't imagine the stress. Well done and I'm so glad they're allright. Those F16s were being so helpful.

These pilots are real heroes. To land this aircraft after this rollercoaster ride is incredible!

Guys, I am LITERALLY in my sofa, IN PYJAMAS and I was completely stressed out just listening to those poor fellas totally confused, not knowing where their heading was. Geez, I need to calm down now, I cannot even begin to comprehend the skill and dedication from that flight crew! Amazing work well done! ATC was stellar and the fighter pilots really helped save the day! I raise my cup of hot cocoa for everyone involved. I wonder if there is a way to deliver my appreciation to the people directly. If anyone reading this know anyone in this incident: please tell them good job, well done, beers are on me if you come to Sweden!!

The pilot must have been incredibly happy to regain control of the aircraft. He was desperate when he asked to ditch to the sea. Hope they're doing well now 😅

Mentour Pilot channel does a very good job explaining what went wrong. During a major maintenance, the cabling to the ailerons - that turn the aircraft left and right (banking) were reversed. If that's not bad enough, the spoilers which activate as well during a turn, were doing their normal movement. Reversed ailerons as the only problem is controllable once the crew figure out that is what is happening. However with the spoilers doing the exact opposite to the ailerons, no matter what the crew do with the ailerons, makes the aircraft virtually uncontrollable. They figured out there was a bit of a 'dead zone' in spoiler deployment at the very start of each aileron bank, where the spoilers did not deploy yet. If it was not for the crew discovering this the aircraft would have had no hope at all of being brought somewhat under control. All in all a very harrowing experience for all concerned. Extremely amazing skill of the crew. The maintenance dept said after the event that they had trouble understanding the directions on the repair manual, BUT they did not check the performance of the work (maybe due to time pressure as they were running very late to deliver the plane back due to the repair complications) The pilots also should have noticed during pre-flight checks that the ailerons were reversed, but somehow did not, perhaps due also to time constraints and extremely poor weather on departure.

I once flew an aircraft after a major check. The engineers had miss rigged the elevator and so we nearly had a tail strike on take off. On landing we were so nose down I could see parts of the approach I didn’t usually see. Thankfully we landed safely. Aircraft can sometimes come out the hangar in a worse state than they went in. These guys did well. Must have been rather scary at first.

“The data collected during the initial investigation phase included a detailed examination of the aircraft flight controls and an incorrect ailerons control cable system installation was confirmed on both semiwings.” The Air Traffic Accident Prevention and Investigation Office (GPIAAF) released a report on Friday the 31st of May that highlights faults in the maintenance of the E190 operated by Air Astana, which in November 2018, flew uncontrollably over Lisbon. The Air Astana Embraer E190 involved had undergone a scheduled C-Check inspection at the OGMA facility at Alverca before its departure for Almaty, with a refueling stop-over at Minsk, on 11 November last year. Immediately after take-off, with adverse meteorological conditions, the crew noticed the aircraft was not responding adequately to control inputs and declared an emergency. On board, there were three pilots (a captain and two co-pilots) and three technicians from the operator. The preliminary report highlights investigators identified aileron cables that had been incorrectly rigged before a ferry flight, during which the pilots experienced the severe in-flight control problems

just for listening to this comms, sitting on a couch, I'm exhausted! I can only imagine the stress those pilots experienced. great, great, great job!

Salute to the captains and crew of 1388, the excel F-16 pilot and honorable ATC guys. They all deserve the best rewards.

As good as this episode was; the audio doesn't do the situation justice: the aviation safety report goes on further to clarify what has happening to the 6 people on board. Imagine fighting inversion in a PASSENGER JET because some genius in the ground literally got the cabling crossed regarding ailerons. They definitely needed outside guidance/nav, because that crew was stuck on AVIATE, navigate, communicate. The diagram of damage once they got on the ground: ALL the control surfaces of that aircraft was trashed during the flight, little bit longer, and the wings could've sheared mid-chord, the stabilizer was redlined, and the rear fuselage got beat up too. I love the production values of your videos; maybe for the crazier episodes like this one, you can also check out the aviation safety evals to pull some more graphics for our eyeballs to visualize the madness that went on above.

Yes i also was wondering about the repeated question about the direction to the sea but i was looking at a map in my chair at home with a cup of coffee in my hand and not fighting over what seems to be a hour for my live and that of 10 others. My respect to the pilots, ATC and the Portuguese Air Force pilots to solve this situation safely.

I knew about this incident, but hearing the ATC really makes me feel the despair, stress and fear the crew was going through. Kudos to everyone involved.

I remember watching this on Flightradar24 as it was happening. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Along with the ridiculous out-of-control turns, their altitude at times dropped down as low as 300 feet. As I watched it and visualised what that plane was doing I couldn’t help but imagine the horror that the people onboard must be experiencing. Personally I know I’d be squealing like a sunburnt pig!!! And yet after having watched these two two excellent videos with audio, I am totally amazed at how calm everyone was. Hats off to all involved: the crew, their engineers, ATC and the Portuguese Air Force. Amazing rescue that I have no doubt will go down in aviation history. Respect.

I’m not a pilot, but I enjoy listening to these. That said, THIS WAS THE MOST STRESSFUL THING EVER!!

What a nightmare... at some points I got the feeling the crew had nearly given up hope when they requested vectors to the sea. I nearly started crying 😢 I'm so glad they made it safely to the ground. Kudos to all people involved!

What a sobering reminder to all in the aviation industry, of how something so routine like a standard flight turn into one of the scariest days of your life. Excellent work by the pilots, ATC and probably many more not mentioned in the video that were no doubt behind the scenes working to get those few lives safely on the ground.

The sheer number of times they wanted the heading to the sea just goes to show the utter desperation in the cockpit. Great job at the end.

Massive respect to the pilots of this Air Astana flight, requesting to ditch into the sea. I think the ATC seemed reluctant at first to believe that was the pilots' request. Now, excuse me, I need to lie down...

I’ve come here after watching the Mentour video and I have to say that this is the best bit of airmanship I have ever heard of. Incredible! The reversing of the ailerons in itself is not too bad, but with the spoilers working correctly and fighting the ailerons just caused mayhem! Once they disabled the spoilers - bingo! Flying for that length of time uncontrolled OMG they have balls of steel! Brilliant! And finally a big shout out to the fighter pilot who I thought might just get in the way but was super helpful.

They were prepared to ditch rather than endanger others... heroes in my books... bless them & I thank God & the controllers/F16s for their safe return. The world needs people like that in it... 🤗🤗🤗

They did the most important thing and that was keeping this plane from the ground. You can tell they were all occupied by trying to get some controls back. That plane did make some scary movements and I am sure the people on board have seen their lives ending multiple times that flight. So no need for us telling them what they should have done, they did everything they could. Good job by all!

You can hear how taxing that battle was to keep that bird aloft in the pilots voice. I could only imagine how much it takes physically let alone emotionally to just try to figure out the problem at the same time trying to fight with the controls to keep it from falling uncontrollably. Awesome work. Training, skill and determination pays off

Молодцы пилоты!😱

Wow.. I didn’t know ahead of time how this was going to turn out. So afraid they were either going to have to ditch in the sea, run out of fuel or attempt to land and not be able to control the landing. I’m sure these pilots were exhausted but they held it together and landed safely. Incredible. And the ATC and military pilot were so calm.

When an pilot asks to ditch , it means he reached two options between death or drowning , even ditching requires a controllable airplane or it will flip and break into pieces and they will die , I felt like throwing up because uncontrollable flight is way more severe from a fire onboard , atleast with a fire you have 5 mins to live but if your aircraft points downward and doing a rate of 30,000ft per min towards the ground you only have 1 min to fix the attitude or you are dead , I'm so happy they landed safely.

Outstanding job by all concerned. Pilot was exhausted by the time it was over, Great job scrambling the F-16s to help. And as always, huge thank you to VASAviation.

I really have no words for what I just saw. Their courage and resilience is commendable. ATC and Portuguese AF, also off the scale. Thank you very much for the video!

I'm proud of Air Astana crew! Great job by professionals! Thanks to Portuguese specialists that helping to save our crew, our aircraft! It seems to be the best ending of this terrible situation.

"Come on kid, put that airplane in my wing. I will take you to a ride." *Bullet 21*

These guys couldn't control a heading. I imagine what was happening is they would get the aircraft to a point where it was on a somewhat stable heading and ask "will this get us to the sea?"

These guys were amazing! and honestly what happened here should show just how strong airplanes are, and how skilled the pilots are - you can even survive out of such incredibly horrible circumstances. Well done!

OMG this is the most prolonged and agonizing mayday I have ever listened to. I was so glad they landed! They must have been so exhausted after over an hour battling for control. I hope Nat Geo make an episode of Air Crash Investigation for this one. What the hell went wrong?! Total heroes! 👏👏

These pilots are freaking amazing. Dealing with a f d up aircraft like this is amazing. Them wanting to ditch is also fn amazing. This is simply gut wrenching but incredible thanks to 3 amazing pilots.

5:03 he seems to be saying "наоборот, наоборот" which means "the other way, the other way" in Russian

I remember watching this plane's multi-part fight for landing years ago. I always thought the went down. I never truly understood what was going on. The whole thing was so confusing. But after watching Mentour Pilot's break down of this flight, I have been in a state of shock. The pilots showed amazing skill, fortitude, and never gave up. I am amazed they actually got enough control back to land safely, with just one minor injury. The mechanical problems they had to deal with were atrocious.

Congratulations to the pilots, ATC and the F16 pilots. Very happy you made it safely. Just thinking the pilots were ready to ditch made me feel very bad for them. They acted very professionally. Bravo once again.

State your intentions: Well, my intention is to ditch in the sea however the aircraft has other intentions and I'm not sure what that intention is.

@2:44 if you listen carefully...you can hear the plane "Bank Angle" alarm going off.

Seriously well handled by atc and crew

Wow, this was nerve tickling. So glad they landed safely and happy for the superb support by atc and fighter pilots and all other involved.

I got so stressed just from hearing this... and also despite the fact that I know it will be a fortunate outcome. My full respect to the tired and extremely professional pilots, to the equally stressed ATC, and to the calm assistance of the fighter jets pilots. A side question: What does it mean "Flying on my wing", which the F-16 pilots suggested to Air Astana? Does it mean that Air Astana just needs to follow F-16's heading and altitude? I don't think this means literally generating additional lift to Air Astana with F-16's wings.

Great job, this is how you fly and how those situations are dealt with. Lovely outcome!

How on earth have people the audacity to criticize the English of anyone in this video? It's perfectly fine, especially from the pilots who kept calm during all the acrobatics they were forced into. And they weren't disoriented at all. They did everything they needed to do not to lose their orientation. These videos are just showing less than 1/4 of this roller coaster flight. With struggling for controls, fighter pilot G forces, inverted flying et cetera it's a miracle they physically endured to pull this off while staying mentally stable. Many props for asking for all the help they needed and using every bit of information they got to solve this massive problem. They did the perfect thing to continuously ask the direction just not to get lost. Yes, they asked once if they would reach the sea to the east. Better safe than sorry after being tumbled around like being in a washing machine. Meanwhile they were solving the issues with their aircraft to be able to fly. The controls were so bad they couldn't even steer into the sea. They were lucky to have just regained enough control and capable enough to be able to land on an airfield instead of going for the sea. It's amazing to see how calm, focused, professional and skilled they are. So no, I also don't agree the pilots were confused at the radio. They definitely were confused about the behaviour of the aircraft and needed some time to figure out how to troubleshoot it. They definitely needed assistance to know where they were and had to go. But that's all normal in this abnormal situation.

These guys train in Atlantic flight training academy in cork Ireland and did there UPRT with former RAF pilot Gerry Humphries. just shows the importance of UPRT training and how right EASA are to make it mandatory training for all integrated and module ATPL students as of December 2019.

This is so eerie,reminded me of that JAL 123 flight,glad it didn't turn out that way.

Wow!! Without fail you always have the best videos!!! This was incredible. So much excellent coordination between all concerned. I am so pleased they managed to land safely. Well done All!!! 👏👏👏

This was frightening! Great analysis 👍👍 Salute to the pilots, the ATC and all those who assisted 👍👍👍

I was not expecting that to end well.

You can hear the fatigue and despair setting in toward the end. This one was hard to watch/listen to. I'm so glad they were able the get that iron on the ground safely. Fantastic job by all involved. It hard to fathom that electrical connectors can be mistakenly reconnected. Most, if not all, connectors are pinned, or keyed, to make it only one way it can be connected. Hopefully changes in protocols will keep this from happening to anyone again. That nightmare prob shaved years off of their lives!

White knuckles just listening. Amazing job from all pilots and ground! Kudos!

That was like in movie, thrilled till the end. Great work from everyone involved!

Amazing job you guys! I’ll fly with you t the controls anytime! God bless you! ATC, great job helping them to know where they were and where to go. Fighter pilots, great job guiding them to safety. Thank you. These pilots were in a truly terrible situation and even when stressed handled themselves with aplomb. They were always considering the safety of not only the passengers and themselves but the people on the ground who could have been in danger if the worst happened. Respect and only respect is due to them.

Wow! A lot of cool heads all the way around. Was really impressed with the clear English, not often the case in non English speaking countries, impressive.

What an insane story. Good that everything worked out well! 😮😮😮

Professionals🤲🏾 God bless them! Great job from all involved 👍🏽🫡

Damn this guy had balls of steel. Even said "Ditching! Ditching! Come on!!! Ditching!!! The sea!!!" Just wow and kudos to the pros pilots, ATC, AF

Tried reversing my ailerons in my flight sim. I crashed so hard every time…. It’s a nightmare. These pilots are amazing. To fly the aircraft in an abnormal configuration while dealing with navigation and body stresses….

Really well put together as usual ! Well done to those pilots !

I watched this on Flightradar24 and wondered what happened. Happy to see a video from you about it.

VASAviation thank you for vídeo there was another emergency landing today with a Transavia Aircraft in Portugal 🇵🇹 ! They had issues with pressurization and had to be escorted by the Air Force to Faro airport, they were meant to land in Madeira 😬😬😬!

That cockpit recording must be something!

Talk about teamwork. That took help from everyone. Glad they got it sorted out.

Glad that turned out well! Wasn't looking too good for a while there. Great job by the pilots - that must've been the most stress they've ever experienced.

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate. Well done. I was sweating.

So, that's like twice in a week Portugal dispatched fighters from their Air Force to escort a civilian plane in distress. Is this a thing? That's quite the full service the Portugeuse are providing! 😄

VASA, what an incredible posting this was!!! UNBELIEVABLE!!! Not enough can be said for the pilot who kept calm under harrowing conditions! Simply amazing! Likewise to the ATC doing their absolute best to help and guide him. But to the Portugese F-16, BRAVO! I am sure the sight of the PAD F-16 was MORE than a welcome sight and help!!! After hearing all this, I doubt a movie could really capture the desperation during this event. The pilots voice could be heard trembling. For the maint. crew, I hope they were dealt with severely. This compares to the BOAC 747 that flew over a volcano that started erupting. All engines flamed out and the airframe was literally sand blasted by the rock ash.

Exceptional airmanship, in fact beyond. Same for ATC. Glad they landed safely. BIG respect! Hope we get to hear the cause...

Nice job everyone. Pilots, ATC and F16 fighters. Just a good reminder to line pilots when picking up aircraft from heavy maintenance. Always, always, perform a complete control check with an outside observer to make sure all controls are moving in the right direction.

That was incredibly stressful. Well done everyone, well done.

Listening to this made me feel anxious. Talking about situation witch was life or death. The professionalism was outstanding.

Fantastic Job (ATC + Pilots + VASAviation ) !!

how stressful it was..

This feeling, when F-16 pilot uses APP controller's phraseology and does it better.

Those pilots are studs ✌️ Great job fellas… utterly astonishing airmanship 🤘

I'm happy for the flight crew to have made it back to the ground safely. and much kudos to them for trying to get out to the sea and avoid casualties on the ground in case it goes pear shaped.

I from Kazakhstan and I proud of pilots. AirAstana very good company in the Kazakhstan. Good like!

Now... THAT was a miracle!!! Very, Very Well Done!!!

What a riveting story. I cannot imagine the unbelievable physical and emotional stress this put on the pilots. Well done to pilots, ATC and AF to get the plane safely to the ground.

Glad they landed safely. The pilots handled this situation very well.

At what point should ATC have asked "What instruments do you have?" "Do you have compass?" As the pilot repeatedly asks for a heading to the sea it is clear his instruments are not telling him what his actual heading is. ATC did not ask what the condition of the aircraft was.

Incredible job for all the team! Congrats... really emergency situation...

Yes, just watched on Mentour. What an experience for those pilots. Well done sirs

Omg amazing guys all around. To begin with I was insulting the flight crew but by the end I fully respect there situation. Good job by all