The sound of fear, determination and hope in the few moments before a Transair Boeing 737 crashed near Hawaii have been revealed through air traffic control recordings of the incident.
Amazingly, both crew members onboard the cargo flight T4-810 survived impact with the Pacific Ocean in complete darkness.
The flight was operated using a 46-year-old Boeing 737-200.
Within minutes of take-off, crew in the cockpit informed the control tower that they'd lost use of one of their engines and were worried they may lose the second one due to it being operated on its own.
Air traffic control informed the pilot that all emergency services were on standby, but the seriousness of the incident became clearer when the pilot replied.
"It's not looking good up here, you may want to inform the coast guard too," he said.
A frantic pilot and traffic controller worked to find a solution, identifying any possible landing site that the aircraft could get to. A low altitude alarm sounded and the pilot was asked if he could climb to a higher altitude.
"Negative," was the response from the pilot.
Moments later the radios went silent. Air traffic controllers knew what this meant.
"It looks like they went down in the water," the control operator says, with some emotion in her voice.
However, the crew onboard may have to thank themselves for surviving the incident. It was their early request for coast guard to be dispatched that likely saved their lives, as their aircraft hit the water at 1.45am local time on Saturday, just two miles from the runway.
Both men remain in hospital, one in critical condition with head injuries, the other in serious condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has sent a team of seven as part of its investigation into the incident.
