Pilots' Final Words

BANGKOK, Thailand - This cockpit transcript was made available today by Thai investigators. The pilot, Seattle native Thomas Welch, and his Austrian co-pilot, Josef Thurner, converse in the minutes and seconds after 11 p.m local time.

21:21 Co-pilot: (Expletive deleted.)

21:24 Pilot: That keeps - that's come on.

22:20 Co-pilot: So we passed transition altitude one zero one three.

22:30 Pilot: What's it say in (the manual) about that, just, ah.

24:03 Co-pilot: "Additional system failure may cause in-flight deployment except normal reversal operation after landing."

24:11 Pilot: OK.

24:12 Pilot: Just, ah, let's see.

24:36 Pilot: OK.

25:19 Co-pilot: Shall I ask the ground staff?

25:22 Pilot: What's that?

25:23 Co-pilot: Shall I ask the the technical men?

25:26 Pilot: Ah, you can tell 'em about it - just it's it's it's just ah no ah it's probably ah wa-, ah moisture or something cause it's not, it's not just on, it's coming on and off.

25:39 Co-pilot: Yeah.

25:40 Pilot: But ah you know it's a- it doesn't really, it's just an advisory thing. I don't ah.

25:55 Pilot: Could be some moisture in there or something?

26:03 Co-pilot: Think you need a little bit rudder trim to the left, huh.

26:06 Pilot: What's that?

26:08 Co-pilot: You need a little bit of rudder trim to the left.

26:10 Pilot: OK.

26:12 Pilot: OK.

26:50 Co-pilot: (Adding numbers in German.)

30:09 Co-pilot: (Adding numbers stops.)

30:09: (Sound of tape splice.)

30:27 Co-pilot: Ah, reverser's deployed.

30:29: (Sound of snap.)

30:41 Pilot: Jesus Christ.

30:44: (Sound of four caution tones.)

30:47: (Sound of siren warning.)

30:48: (Sound of siren warning stops.)

30:52: (Sound of warning starts and continues until end of recording.)

30:53 Pilot: Wait a minute.

30:58 Pilot: Damn it.

31:05: (Sound of bang.)

31:06: (End of recording.)