Transcript of final moments of ValuJet Flight 592 released

'We're on fire!'

November 18, 1996
Web posted at: 11:00 a.m. EST

MIAMI (CNN) -- Recordings made in the cockpit of ValuJet Flight 592 reveal shouts of "Fire!" from the passenger cabin just before the DC-9 plunged into the Everglades on May 11, killing all 110 people aboard.

The National Transportation Safety Board released the recordings Monday as it prepared to open a week of hearings into the crash.

In the recordings, the ValuJet crew notices a problem about five minutes into the jet's Miami-to-Atlanta flight.

Pilot: "What was that?"

Co-pilot: "I don't know."

Pilot (seconds later): "We got some electrical problem."

Co-pilot: "Yeah. That battery charger's kicking in. Ooh, we gotta...."

Pilot: "We're losing everything. We need to go back to Miami."

In the background, shouting is heard from the passenger cabin, including female voices shouting "fire, fire, fire, fire," and a male voice saying, "We're on fire, we're on fire."

Thirty seconds later, the senior female flight attendant is heard saying, "Okay, we need oxygen. We can't get oxygen back there." Fourteen seconds later she continues, "completely on fire," and the sounds of shouting from the passenger cabin subside.

The final transmission sounds similar to loud rushing air. Moments later, the plane nose-dived into the Everglades.

While no official cause of the crash has been named, sources have told CNN that improperly packed oxygen generators stowed in the DC-9's cargo hold caused the fire that brought down the plane.

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Transcript of final moments of ValuJet Flight 592 released

'We're on fire!'

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