Niki Lauda: Limits tested.

Imagine a man. A man with 3 time F1 world champion wins. A man who has been in a terrible racing crash, but still continues his legendary racing career. A man who decided to become an airline owner and pilot after his prestigious racing career. And a man who saved the lives of millions who fly the skies today. You might think that this “man” isn’t human, but is the literal equivalent of God himself. But he does exist. And he is still alive today. His name is Niki Lauda.

Early Days and Racing Career

Andreas Nikolas Lauda, or his well-known name Niki Lauda, was born on the 22nd of February 1949 in Vienna, Austria. His family had a rich background, but he still had to gain his great racing status as money will never buy skill. At a young age, he became interested into auto racing and became a petrolhead. He cherished his love for cars by fixing his parents car, taking drives around the Austrian countryside in an old 1949 Volkswagen Beetle convertible, and in 1968, he became a racing driver. He came in 2nd place in the first race he took. But despite his success, his family did not like any bit of it.

Lauda was excelling around Formula 3 and Formula 2 circuits. He supported his struggling career through bank loans, until lading a spot in Ferrari in 1974. Ferrari was the king of racing at that time. They consisted of the best spec cars in Formula 1, great and famous racing drivers, and millions of loyal fans. But Ferrari did not have a single race champion since 1964. Lauda carried Ferrari to victory and he compiled enough wins to take the championship place in 1975.

The Crash That Changed Everything

After Niki’s marvelous win in 1975, Niki Lauda met James Hunt, the amazing British Formula 1 driver at the 1976 Dutch Grand Prix. That became a career-long friendship and the two were the best of rivals. Hunt took the race, but more importantly, Lauda took the championship. But his entire racing career will change after one race in the same year.

During the 1976 German Grand Prix, Lauda crashed into the guardrail. His Ferrari burst into flames and soon after that, another F1 car hit his rear, causing him to spin around. He was unable to escape, and was trapped in the blazing race car. He received critical lung damage due to inhaling toxic fumes, had burns all over his face and arms, and slipped into a coma. Lauda thought that it was the end for him, but miraculously, he survived the entire ordeal. James Hunt had won that race.

Aftermath and Lauda Air

Six weeks after his crash, however, Lauda returned to the F1, and met Hunt met in Japan in the final race of the 1976 season. The roads were wet with rain, and Lauda quit after a few laps, citing dangerous conditions and what happened in the crash. Hunt went on to take third, garnering enough points to become the new world champion. In 1977, Lauda retook the championship and only won 3 races. He joined Brabham the following year but the partnership never quite flourished as expected. At the 1979 Canadian Grand Prix, he suddenly decided to retire from Formula 1 racing to start his own airline.

Using his fame, Niki Lauda formed his own airline, Lauda Air, a charter airline. It’s first aircraft was the BaE-One Eleven-500. Soon, they would purchase and acquire multiple Airbus aircraft, with multiple wide-bodied Boeing 767s and 777s for long haul destinations. Most of its destinations consisted of European Countries when it started. In 1989 Lauda Air started its first long-haul flights from Vienna to Sydney and Melbourne, via Bangkok. In the 1990s, it started to fly its Sydney and Melbourne flights via Kuala Lumpur and Bali. Daily flights to Dubai, Cuba, and Miami via Munich followed. He wasn’t only the owner of his airline, he was a pilot of it too. He also ran Lauda Air Executive, a private jet service.

The Comeback to F1

Lauda returned to racing in 1982, possibly enticed by a $5 million offer to race for McLaren. He finished fourth in his first race back, but he went on to win his third championship in 1984. After claiming his final win in 1985, he retired for good at the end of the season. He returned to focus on the airline he founded, Lauda Air

An Even Bigger Crash

Unfortunately for Niki Lauda, one of his airplanes crashed. Lauda Air flight 004 was a Boeing 767 named Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart traveling from Bangkok to Vienna via Hong Kong. Just 15 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft went into a steep and sudden dive, broke up in the air and crashed into the Thai mountains. All 223 people were killed in the accident. It was the deadliest aviation incident involving a Boeing 767, and the deadliest in Thai soil.

As Niki was the owner of the airline, he decided to join the investigation team. Many problems were faced during the investigation. Thai locals looting the crash site, the sections of the aircraft scattered across the mountains, and the mountains’ unforgiving environment. But Lauda was determined to find out the cause of the crash, as he kept the families of those on board in mind.

One piece of wreckage stood out. One of engines air brakes were deployed in the crash site. But Boeing officials said that it is impossible for it to turn on in-flight, and even if it did turn on, it would still be controllable. Even the Cockpit Voice Recorder showed that the pilots were aware of it. The aircraft’s flight data recorder was destroyed, and the engine data compartment was already looted. So the official invesitgation just said the cause was unknown.

Lauda's Contribution in Aviation Safety.

But Niki Lauda was determined to find out the cause of the crash. Niki Lauda did not fully know the cause of his deadly crash in the German Grand Prix in 1976, and he will not let that happen again. So he pressured Boeing to continue. The Boeing 767 manual says that even if the air brakes are on, the plane would still be controllable. Niki Lauda did not believed it, so he went to Boeing and had a test flight to be conducted. As he was a pilot, he knew how to conduct a test flight. With him was the chief engineer of the Boeing 767. He set the conditions to what the pilots faced at the time of the crash, and intentionally released the air brake on one engine. Instead of staying aloft, it instantly dropped to the ground. The conditions of the Boeing test took place in conditions way more friendlier than the ones faced by the pilots in the crash.

But another problem faced him. It is impossible for both the valves that control the air brake to open at the same time. He would have to prove them wrong. After a lot of experiments, it concluded that the wires for the first and second valve were coiled in the same wire, and a short circuit triggered them both. A real life test was conducted by NASA, showing the same results on the simulator.

After the crash, new systems were put into place, and new locks were put in place inside the engines on not only the Boeing 767, but all aircraft that were made after the investigation. Lauda Air continued to operate for 9 more years, before being bought by Austrian Airlines. But thanks to Niki Lauda’s determination, the skies are safer for us to fly today, saving millions and millions of lives.

In Conclusion...

He continued his passion for racing despite his family being against it, was really successful during his first Grand Prix with Ferrari, was involved in a life-threatening crash and raced again, ran an airline, won another F1 victory with McLaren, solved a deadly plane crash with his name and business on the line, and contributed into aviation safety, saving millions of lives. What a man.

What a man.

A lot of people criticize Formula 1 as an unnecessary risk. But what would life be like if we only did what is necessary? Niki Lauda