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.]