Haunting last words of pilot who hit a runway construction vehicle killing 70

Cockpit transcripts have revealed that the pilot at the helm of a fatal 1979 plane crash believed he had sufficient time to alter his course before tragically crashing into a closed runway.

The cockpit conversation was from a Western Airlines DC-10 jumbo jet disaster at Mexico City Airporton 31 Oct. 1979. During the horrific event, pilot Charles Gilbert crashed into a closed runway, hitting a construction vehicle and a storage building, before instantly bursting into flames.

The crash claimed the lives of 70 of the 87 passengers and crew on board, including all three pilots. The operator of the construction vehicle was also fatally wounded in the collision. The report emerged as a man was crushed to death in a horrific airport accident as airline issues 'difficult' update.

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Aviation experts told the NYT that the final cockpit conversation roughly included this exchange:, reports the Express US.

Captain: "We're cleared onto the right, is that correct?".

Copilot or engineer: "Yeah, that's right."

Captain: "This is the approach to 23 left."

Company rules require that pilots announce every 100 feet below 1,000 feet and every 10 feet below 50 feet. However, the recordings reveal that no announcements were made.

Aviation experts were left scratching their heads as to how an experienced flight crew lost track of their altitude, leading to a devastating crash on a decommissioned runway.

Standard protocol dictates that pilots should abandon their landing approach in foggy conditions if they can't spot the runway upon reaching a certain low altitude.

The cockpit transcripts reveal that Captain Gilbert realised he was mistakenly heading for the wrong runway and tried to use the electronic instrument landing system (I. L.S. ) to "sidestep" to the correct runway from 800 feet away.

Tragically, moments after the final exchange in the cockpit, the plane plunged onto the unlit runway as the pilots ramped up the throttles to full power in a desperate bid to climb and ready themselves for another landing attempt.

However, the aircraft collided with a construction vehicle, swerved onto the closed runway and smashed into a storage unit.

It then burst into flames.