10 Disturbing Messages Captured by Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVRs)

Cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) are among the most vital tools in modern aviation accident investigations. Designed to capture the final conversations, alarms, and sounds within the flight deck, these devices often reveal the raw, unfiltered reality of emergencies unfolding in real time. While many recordings reflect calm professionalism in the face of crisis, others are deeply haunting—documenting the final words, confusion, panic, and even eerie silences that precede disaster. Over the years, several of these recordings have become infamous for the emotional weight and chilling insight they provide into aviation’s darkest moments.

Here are 10 of the most disturbing moments ever captured by cockpit voice recorders, drawn from official investigations, transcripts, and firsthand accounts. These are not just recordings of technical failures—they are human stories, frozen in time, of crews grappling with the unimaginable.

10. SAA Flight 295 “Helderberg” (1987)

South African Airways Flight 295, known as the “Helderberg,” was a Boeing 747 Combi aircraft that tragically crashed into the Indian Ocean on November 28, 1987, while en route from Taipei to Johannesburg with a stopover in Mauritius. All 159 people on board perished. The aircraft reported smoke in the cabin shortly before disappearing from radar. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR), recovered months later from a depth of over 16,000 feet, captured chilling audio in the final moments: cockpit alarms blaring, the crew discussing smoke, and rising confusion.

One of the last intelligible remarks was the captain saying, “Smoke, smoke. Can’t see anything. We must descend.” The crew initiated urgent communication with air traffic control and executed an emergency descent toward Mauritius. The investigation revealed that the fire originated in the main cargo hold, located directly behind the cockpit. However, the precise cause of the fire remains undetermined. The CVR also captured frantic attempts to manage the situation, including sounds of electrical equipment being shut off and muffled voices struggling to stay in control.

The incident became one of South Africa’s deadliest aviation disasters, sparking years of speculation and controversy. Allegations emerged about the presence of undeclared hazardous cargo, possible government involvement, and a lack of transparency in the official inquiry.

9. PSA Flight 182 near San Diego (1978)

What began as a seemingly routine morning flight quickly spiraled into catastrophe for Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) initially captured casual, professional banter between the pilots as the plane approached San Diego.

However, the tone shifted dramatically when one of the crew members asked, “Are we clear of that Cessna?”—a reference to a small aircraft flying in the same airspace.

Moments later, confusion and concern gave way to panic as the two planes collided midair. The CVR recorded the sound of the collision, followed by the crew’s final, frantic moments before the aircraft plunged into a residential neighborhood, killing all 135 people on board and seven on the ground.

8. LOT Polish 5055 (1987)

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 was a scheduled international passenger flight that ended in tragedy on May 9, 1987, when the Ilyushin Il-62M aircraft crashed near the Kabaty Woods just outside Warsaw, Poland.

The flight had taken off from Warsaw and was en route to New York City when a catastrophic engine failure occurred shortly after departure. The failure caused debris from one of the engines to sever critical control systems, igniting an uncontrollable fire in the cargo hold. As the situation worsened, the cockpit voice recorder captured the crew’s increasingly desperate attempts to stabilize the aircraft.

Among the final, heartbreaking words recorded was the captain’s announcement to the passengers: “Dobranoc! Do widzenia! Cześć, giniemy!”—which translates to “Good night! Goodbye! Bye, we’re dying!” Moments later, the aircraft crashed, killing all 183 people on board.

7. Pulkovo Flight 612 (2006)

Pulkovo Flight 612, a Tupolev Tu-154M operated by Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise, crashed on August 22, 2006, during a flight from Anapa to Saint Petersburg, Russia, killing all 170 people on board. The aircraft encountered severe weather conditions and entered a thunderstorm zone, prompting the crew to climb to a higher altitude in an attempt to escape turbulence.

However, this decision led to a fatal loss of control. According to the cockpit voice recorder, the crew grew increasingly panicked as the aircraft entered a steep, unrecoverable stall. The audio captured rising alarm, confusion, and desperate efforts to regain control as automated stall warnings blared repeatedly.

One of the most chilling aspects of the recording is the sheer chaos in the cockpit—voices overlapping, alarms screaming, and the crew calling out altitude readings as the plane rapidly descended.

The final moments revealed a complete breakdown of situational awareness, culminating in a devastating crash near Donetsk, Ukraine.

6. United Airlines Flight 93 (9/11, 2001)

United Airlines Flight 93 was one of four planes hijacked during the coordinated terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Departing from Newark, New Jersey, and bound for San Francisco, the Boeing 757 was overtaken by four hijackers approximately 46 minutes after takeoff. Unlike the other hijacked planes that reached their targets, Flight 93 never did—thanks to the brave actions of passengers who fought back after learning about the other attacks via phone calls.

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR), recovered from the crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, provides a harrowing account of the final moments. It captures the struggle between the hijackers and passengers outside the cockpit door, along with muffled shouting, pounding, and chaotic commands from the attackers attempting to maintain control of the aircraft.

As the passengers forced their way closer to the cockpit, one hijacker is heard making the chilling decision to crash the plane intentionally. The CVR ends with prayers in Arabic—believed to be from the hijackers—and sounds of a violent struggle as the plane rapidly descends.

The last recorded words include screaming, impact noises, and then abrupt silence. Everyone on board was killed. Though tragic, the actions of the passengers and crew of Flight 93 likely prevented the aircraft from reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C., believed to be either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

5. Aeroflot Flight 593 (1994)

Aeroflot Flight 593 was a Russian international passenger flight from Moscow to Hong Kong that crashed into a mountainside in Siberia on March 23, 1994, killing all 75 people on board. The tragedy became notorious not just for the crash itself, but for the shocking cause revealed by the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data: the captain had allowed his 15-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter to sit at the controls during the flight.

The CVR captured sounds of confusion and casual chatter turning into panic as the autopilot partially disengaged. At the same time, the boy manipulated the controls, unknowingly placing the aircraft into a dangerous bank. As the aircraft began an uncontrolled descent, the crew’s tone shifted to rising alarm and frantic shouts.

Despite their efforts to recover, the plane ultimately stalled and crashed. The final seconds recorded on the CVR are marked by chaotic voices and a sudden, chilling silence.

4. Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 (1987)

Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 met a horrifying end on December 7, 1987, in what became one of the most violent crimes ever committed aboard a commercial airliner.

The flight, a short hop from Los Angeles to San Francisco, was hijacked midair by a disgruntled former USAir employee, David Burke, who had recently been fired and used his old credentials to bypass security. Shortly after takeoff, Burke entered the cockpit armed with a stolen .44 Magnum revolver.

The cockpit voice recorder captured chilling audio: first, the sounds of gunshots as Burke killed the flight crew, followed by a terse, panicked statement—”I have a problem”—from one of the pilots before the aircraft went silent. Burke then likely shot the remaining crew members and passengers before pointing the gun at himself.

With no one left to control it, the aircraft entered a steep dive and slammed into a hillside at over 770 mph, killing all 43 people on board instantly. The crash left investigators shaken not only by the brutality of the act, but by the terrifying final moments preserved on the CVR.

3. EgyptAir Flight 990 (1999)

EgyptAir Flight 990 was a scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles to Cairo that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Massachusetts on October 31, 1999, killing all 217 people on board. The Boeing 767 had just left its scheduled stopover in New York when, about 30 minutes into the flight, the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) captured an unsettling sequence of events.

While the captain briefly left the cockpit, the first officer—Gameel Al-Batouti—was heard softly repeating the phrase “Tawakkalt’ ala Allah” (“I rely on God”) several times before disengaging the autopilot and initiating a steep dive. When the captain returned, the CVR recorded his frantic confusion as he shouted, “What’s happening? What is this?” while trying to regain control of the aircraft.

Despite a brief recovery attempt that momentarily leveled the plane, a second dive followed, leading to the aircraft’s final plunge into the ocean. The incident sparked an international investigation, with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board suggesting the crash was the result of deliberate actions by the first officer, while Egyptian authorities disputed that conclusion.

2. Adam Air Flight 574 (2007)

The cockpit voice recorder from Adam Air Flight 574, which crashed into the Makassar Strait in Indonesia on January 1, 2007, offers a terrifying glimpse into the chaotic final moments of the flight. The Boeing 737 disappeared from radar during what should have been a routine domestic flight from Surabaya to Manado, killing all 102 people on board.

The CVR captured a sequence of escalating alarms: the sudden disengagement of the autopilot, persistent “bank angle” warnings, and an eerie, high-pitched rushing sound—described by investigators as similar to wind noise during a high-speed dive, sometimes likened to a “cocaine-style” audio rush in its intensity. Amid the confusion, the crew struggled to diagnose conflicting instrument readings and lost control of the aircraft’s orientation.

As the aircraft spiraled into a fatal descent, the final recording includes the crew shouting “Allahu Akbar!” in what appeared to be a moment of fear and resignation. The investigation revealed that the crash was caused by spatial disorientation due to the crew’s preoccupation with a malfunctioning inertial reference system and their failure to monitor basic flight parameters.

1. FedEx Flight 705 Hijacking Attempt (1994)

FedEx Flight 705, a cargo flight from Memphis to San Jose on April 7, 1994, became the scene of one of the most violent and heroic episodes in aviation history. Shortly after takeoff, Auburn Calloway—a disgruntled FedEx employee and former Navy pilot—attempted to hijack the DC-10 aircraft by attacking the crew with hammers and a spear gun, intending to crash the plane in a suicide mission that would appear accidental and allow his family to collect life insurance.

The cockpit voice recorder captured the brutal assault: sounds of struggle, grunts of pain, and heavy blows as Calloway attacked all three crew members. Despite severe injuries, including fractured skulls and deep lacerations, the pilots fought back with extraordinary courage. Bleeding and barely conscious, the crew managed to subdue Calloway after a prolonged battle in the cockpit.

They then executed a high-speed emergency landing back in Memphis, at one point flying the aircraft inverted and performing extreme maneuvers rarely attempted in a DC-10.

The CVR recorded not only the violence but also the crew’s focused, determined communication as they fought for their lives and the aircraft. All three crew members survived, and Calloway was sentenced to life in prison. Their heroism earned them numerous awards and recognition, making Flight 705 one of the most remarkable survivals in aviation history.