[00:00:03.

090] - Speaker 1
But what really worries me is the prospect that as a society we're backing ourselves into a place where
we can't ask each other for advice.

[00:00:12.040] - Speaker 2
Look at politics right now.

[00:00:13.930] - Speaker 1
It's so polarized, so hostile. Whatever the Republicans do or say, the Democrats will say it's stupid and
evil. Whatever the Democrats do or say, the Republicans will say it's stupid and evil. Now, I'm not here to
wring my hands and call for a return to civility and politics. I'm making a very specific point about the
Dunningkruger effect. If whatever you do, whatever you say is treated with a howl of protest, there's no
way for information to flow. When somebody tells you you're being stupid, you'll ignore them. You'll ignore
them because they always say you're stupid. You'll ignore them because, for good reasons, you don't
trust them. Once we only trust ourselves and people who think like us, we've abandoned our best offense
against the Dunningkruger effect. Just ask Leo Labata.

[00:01:10.390] - Speaker 3
There is not enough fuel to go to Australia.

[00:01:13.610] - Speaker 4
Don't lie to us.

[00:01:15.580] - Speaker 2
Of course it was all fake news to them.

[00:01:20.010] - Speaker 1
They didn't know what they didn't know.

[00:01:22.200] - Speaker 2
And when he told them, of course they weren't going to listen.

[00:01:26.360] - Speaker 4
I want you to telephone Australia.

[00:01:29.350] - Speaker 3
There is no telephone on board.

[00:01:31.300] - Speaker 4
Call Australia now unless you want a beating. I am not joking.

[00:01:36.490] - Speaker 3
Very well. Please give me the telephone number. You want me to call Leo?

[00:01:41.110] - Speaker 1
This presence of mind is unbelievable.

[00:01:43.990] - Speaker 2
The hijackers flip through the Ethiopia Airways timetable until they find the phone number.

[00:01:49.920] - Speaker 1
Of the Ethiopia Airways ticket agent.

[00:01:52.910] - Speaker 2
When they get it, Leol explains that he's going to have to root the call via Air Traffic Control in Nairobi. He
gives Air Traffic Control his position.

[00:02:02.620] - Speaker 1
His heading and his fuel reading.

[00:02:05.590] - Speaker 2
And then when Air Traffic Control tells him he hasn't got a chance of making it to Australia, he agrees.

[00:02:13.760] - Speaker 3
I just wanted our hijackers to hear what you are communicating and if you have anything to say, go ahead
and tell them.

[00:02:19.620] - Speaker 5
I am advising you that with 2 hours full, you will be unable to reach your destination and you will probably
ditch in the ocean. The best solution for you is to land in Ambassador and pick some more fuel.

[00:02:32.770] - Speaker 2
The hijackers told him to switch off the radio. Leol had been flying south along the coast of Africa trying to
make sure he didn't get out of reach of an airport. He was ordered again to call Australia and again took
the opportunity to inform Air Traffic Control of his situation. It was the last straw.

[00:02:54.160] - Speaker 4
Turn, lift, fly away from the coast. We are going to Australia.

[00:02:59.910] - Speaker 2
Leol was now headed towards the Commerce Islands where he knew there was a runway. The plane was
almost out of fuel. The chief hijacker was sitting next to him, drinking whiskey, messing with the controls
and kicking the rudder. Layle pointed to the empty fuel gauge. The hijacker kept prodding away at the
controls. With the Commerce Islands in view, leol begged again to be allowed to land. The right engine
ran dry as the lead hijacker got up to talk to his friends. Layle grabbed the intercom and warned the
passengers.

[00:03:39.310] - Speaker 6
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot. We have run out of fuel and we are losing one engine this time,
and we are expecting crash landing, and that is all I have to say. We have lost already one engine, and I
ask all passengers to react to the hijackers.

[00:03:51.270] - Speaker 2
The hijacker returned and knocked the microphone out of his hand. Leol descended to try to prevent a
stall with a hijacker screaming at him to maintain altitude.

[00:04:00.580] - Speaker 3
The fuel is gone. The engines have no power.

[00:04:03.790] - Speaker 4
If you touch those controls, I will kill you.

[00:04:09.280] - Speaker 3
I'm already dead because I'm flying an airplane.

[00:04:12.060] - Speaker 2
Without engine power, the plane is gliding.

[00:04:15.570] - Speaker 1
Down within sight of the shore.

[00:04:17.670] - Speaker 2
But there's so little power that only the most basic controls are working. The hijacker is still trying to
operate the flaps himself from the copilot's seat. He doesn't know what he doesn't know. At that moment,
First Officer Yonas Mercury forces his way back into the cabin. What do any of them have to lose? The
cabin now contains Leol and Yonus and three drunk hijackers fighting for control of a dead airplane. While
Yonas wrestles with the attackers, Leol wrestles with a plane. Somehow he manages to get her down in
shallow water. The landing is witnessed by Aghast Holidaymakers, their son, bathing on the beach,
interrupted by the Drama just 500 yards offshore. The first touch was gentle, the left wing tip slicing into
the water at about 200 mph.

[00:05:16.460] - Speaker 1
For a moment, it seems like the plane might just make it.

[00:05:21.640] - Speaker 2
Then the engine scoops into the water.

[00:05:25.060] - Speaker 1
Dramatically slowing the plane.

[00:05:28.540] - Speaker 2
She hits a reef, and then she.

[00:05:33.730] - Speaker 1
Cartwheels and breaks apart. 50 people survive, but the Dunning Kruger hijack kills 125 people, including
the hijackers. People who don't know what they don't know can be dangerous. And when they refuse to
listen to what they're being told, when they dismiss it as lies and fakery, they can be deadly.

[00:06:22.630] - Speaker 7
Key sources for this episode include Nigel Blundell's, the world's most daring vagabonds and villains, and
an interview with David Dunning on the You Are Not So Smart podcast. For a full list of references, see
Tim Harford.com. Cautionary Tales is written by me, Tim Harford with Andrew Wright. It's produced by
Ryan Dilly and Marilyn Rust with sound design and original music is the work of Pascal Wise. Julia Barton
edited the scripts. Starring in this series of cautionary tales are Helena Bottom Carter and Jeffrey Wright.
Alongside Nizar Eldarazi, Ed Gothen, Melanie Gutridge, Rachel Hanshaw Cobina, Holbrook Smith, Greg
Lockett, Mesa Monroe and Rufus Wright. This show wouldn't have been possible without the work of Mia
Labelle, jacob Weisberg, Heather Fane, John Schnars, Carlyn McGorry, Eric Sandler, Emily Rostick,
Maggie Taylor, Anniella Lecan and Maya Koenig. Cautionary Tales is a production of Pushkin Industries.
If you like the show, please remember to rate, share and review.