Fatal Distraction

T1, E9: It’s December 1972 and 163 passengers are flying to Miami to ring in the New Year. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 is preparing to land when the nose gear indicator light fails to light up. The crew puts the plane on autopilot and investigates the bulb, unaware that they are slowly descending and heading straight for the Florida Everglades. Minutes later, aviation’s first jumbo jet disaster occurs, and 99 lives are lost. Investigators determine that the plane was sound, and its autopilot was working, so why did it fall from the sky, and how did the crew miss it?