August 6, 1997. Korean Air Flight 801 is flying to Guam International Airport from Seoul, when it runs into bad weather. Turbulence bounces passengers and crew but much worse is to come. Fighting rain and inoperative navigational equipment, the crew struggle to find the airport. But just as they see the lights of Guam, the rain closes in again. As the plane flies closer and closer to the ground, warning sirens fill the cockpit. But still the crew, hampered by clouds and pelting rain, is flying blind. Flight 801 crashes five kilometres short of Agana airport, scattered down Nimitz Hill. While many passengers survive the crash, they cant escape the fires that tear through the wreckage. More than 200 people are killed. For one of the survivors Barry Small the crash is the beginning of a crusade to make air travel safer. He believes poor seat design broke the legs of many on board, making it impossible for them to escape. He also believes badly stored duty free liquor ignited after the crash, making the fires worse. For investigators, flight 801 is a wake-up call. Vital safety equipment that could have saved the plane had been disabled, and the crew was poorly trained for such difficult landings. In the months that followed, changes were made at the airport and to the training of Korean pilots.
