The following transcript, taken from the Sun Air Flight SAJ678 Cockpit Voice Recorder, was first published on the National Transportation Safety Board��s website on 20 March 2012.
Capt–Captain
FO–First Officer
ATC–Air Traffic Control
Transcript commences at 21h44 (fourteen minutes after take-off from Narita airport).
FO: Passing flight level three three zero, captain, that’s a thousand foot to go. Looks like it should be nice and smooth at three four zero, not much CAT forecast.
CAPT: Good.
FO: Do you have—
[A loud bang. Depressurisation alarm sounds.]
CAPT: Mask! Put on your mask!
FO: Mask on!
CAPT: We’re losing the cabin, can you control it?
FO: The cabin is at 14,000 already!
CAPT: Go to manual and close the outflow valve. Looks like we’ve got a decompression.
FO: Ah, Captain, we need to get down!
CAPT: Try again.
FO: The valve is fully closed, it’s no use–I can’t control it!
CAPT: Have you closed the outflow valve?
FO: Affirmative!
CAPT: Okay, understood. Tell ATC we are starting an emergency descent.
FO: Mayday, mayday, mayday–SAJ678 commencing emergency descent. We’ve had an explosive decompression.
ATC: Copy that. Mayday SAJ678, you can descend, there is no other traffic to affect you. Standing by.
CAPT: I have control. What is our grid mora?
FO: Level 140.
CAPT: Disconnecting the auto-throttle, dial in flight level 140.
FO: Flight level 140 set.
[Captain is on the intercom.]
CAPT: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are starting an emergency descent. Please put on your oxygen masks and follow the cabin crew’s instructions.
CAPT: Commencing emergency descent. Closing thrust levers, deploying speed brake. Read the emergency descent checklist.
FO: Thrust lever closed, speed brake down, heading selected, lower level selected, start switches to continuous, seat belt signs on, pax oxygen switch on, squawking 7700, ATC notified.
CAPT: Can’t control the heading–she’s yawing to the right. I can’t get the wings level!
FO: [expletive] Rudder or aileron?
CAPT: I’ve got full left aileron, but she’s not responding!
FO: Master caution hydraulics. I am cancelling the light. We’ve lost all hydraulics, we’ve got system A, and system B low pressure lights on! I’ll get the QRH and read the hydraulic checklist.
CAPT: Get me some hydraulics back!
FO: [expletive]
CAPT: I’m going to take some more thrust on three and four engines.
FO: It looks like the standby system is gone too. The hydraulic quantities are all empty!
CAPT: Keep trying.
FO: We’ve got 2000 feet to level off.
FO: 1000 feet to level off!
[Sound of altitude warning horn.]
CAPT: I’m stowing the speed brake and taking some more thrust on numbers one and two.
FO: The nose is dropping–pull up!
CAPT: She’s not responding! More thrust to slow the descent.
CAPT: Okay. She’s levelling off–still can’t control the heading. Keeps going to the right.
FO: Try and take more thrust on three and four.
CAPT: Okay. More thrust on three and four…
CAPT: It’s still not helping–she’s still rolling to the right!
ATC: Mayday SAJ678, what is your heading?
FO: Mayday SAJ678 we’ve lost all hydraulics, we will come back to you.
FO: We are going to have to go to manual reversion!
CAPT: [expletive] Feels like we’re in manual reversion already! I am struggling to control. Let’s see if we can get some of the speed off–300 knots.
FO: The nose is dropping again!
CAPT: Is there an airfield close to us?
FO: The—
CAPT: Give me more thrust on three and four!
[Sound of GPWS, whoop whoop, pull up, whoop whoop, pull up, too low terrain, too low terrain, whoop whoop, pull up, whoop whoop, pull up, too low terrain.]
CAPT: Full thrust all four… pull up! Pull up!
FO: [expletive]
CAPT: Pull up! Pull up!
[Recording ends.]