The Darkest Audio on the Internet [1]

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Debra Stevens, Donna Reneau
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Debra Stevens, Donna Reneau
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Jane Dornacker, Factor, Spectrum Helicopters, Bill Pate
4. 15:00 – 20:00: Jane Dornacker, Spectrum Helicopters

Notable quotes from "The Darkest Audio on the Internet [1]"

• A woman named Debra Stevens is out delivering newspapers before the world begins to wake.

  about Debra Stevens · at 1:53

• [Nexpo] As Debra pleads for her life, it starts to become evident that the operator, a woman named Donna Reneau, is becoming a bit annoyed with her demeanor.

  about Donna Reneau · at 4:20

• Head to factor75.com or click the link below and use code 50NEXPO to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first Factor box.

  about Factor · at 11:01

• [Nexpo] The year is 1986, and on WNBC New York, a reporter named Jane Dornacker is giving her daily traffic report.

  about Jane Dornacker · at 11:52

• Onboard was 39-year-old Jane Dornacker joined by a 30-year-old captain, Bill Pate.

  about Bill Pate · at 12:47

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Debra Stevens — Person · Victim / subject of first 911-call story · 4 mentions · first at 1:53
  Central figure in the first case: a newspaper delivery driver trapped in floodwaters whose 911 call is played and analyzed; she dies by drowning.
• Jane Dornacker — Person · Victim / subject of second aviation-audio story · 6 mentions · first at 11:58
  Traffic reporter whose live on-air helicopter report ends in a fatal crash into the Hudson River; the episode recounts her background and the accident.
• Donna Reneau — Person · 911 dispatcher (antagonistic figure in first story) · 3 mentions · first at 4:25
  Identified as the 911 operator on Debra Stevens' call; the episode criticizes her demeanor and notes an internal investigation found no policy violations.
• Bill Pate — Person · Helicopter pilot in second story · 1 mention · first at 12:50
  Named as the captain/pilot flying Jane Dornacker during the 1986 WNBC traffic helicopter flight that crashes; he survives with severe injuries (per episode).

Companies & orgs

• Spectrum Helicopters — Company · 2 mentions · first at 12:41
  [Nexpo] At 4:44 in the afternoon on October 22nd, 1986, an Enstrom F-28F helicopter operated by a company called Spectrum takes off for their daily WNBC traffic analysis.

Sponsors

• Factor — Product · Sponsor of the episode · 3 mentions · first at 10:11
  Provides a convenient meal delivery service

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 (static crackling) (ominous music) (brooding music) (ominous music) - [Nexpo] There's something inherently eerie about an audio recording. The idea of listening in on a horrifying incident, a freak accident, a glance into someone's life that feels so close, yet so incredibly distant. Across the internet, there are countless disturbing happenings that have been recorded, media that we can readily view anytime we want. Yet tonight, I'd like to share with you three stories, none of which we can see, but of those we can't.

1:27 (recorder clicks) (brooding music) (static crackling) (recorder clicks) (thunder rumbling) (gloomy music) (rain pattering) It is a stormy night. August 24th, 2019. A woman named Debra Stevens is out delivering newspapers before the world begins to wake. It's loud and intensely dangerous. As she's driving, her car suddenly begins to hydroplane. Yet instead of regaining control, the waters around her rapidly rise, sweeping her car off the road and pinning it against nearby trees. Realizing that she's in danger, she immediately calls her mother-in-law, panicking, pleading for any sort of help.

2:26 She's informed to call the police. Surely emergency services can help her out of this, right? And so she situates herself, dials 911, and explains to dispatch the following. (thunder rumbling) (rain pattering)

2:53 (phone ringing) - [Operator] 911, where's your emergency? - [Debra] I'm have an emergency, a severe emergency. I'm in a flooding. My car veered off the road while I was doing my newspapers and I'm flooded over here on the end of Kinkead and it's all the way up to my windows. And I can't get out and I'm scared to death, ma'am. Can you please help me? Really bad. - Listen to me. I need you to calm down. I need to tell me where you are. - [Debra] I don't know, ma'am. I'm on the end of Kinkead down here by these apartments.

3:21 There's some apartments on Kinkead, and I don't know what they're called. - [Operator] What color is your vehicle? - [Debra] On the other side of Kinkead, at the very end of Kinkead Street, there's an apartments and I saw- - [Operator] Right, "Do you a dark blue car?" is what I'm asking you. What color is your vehicle? - [Debra] Yeah, dark. It's a gray SUV laying the... The water is all the way up to my windows. - [Operator] Okay, hold on for a me. Don't hang up. (recorder whirring) Am I not on the phone with you, trying to get you some help?

3:50 - Yeah. - Okay, stop. - [Debra] Just try to get me help before I die. I'm sorry. - [Operator] You're not gonna die. I don't know why you're freaking out. It's okay. I know the water level is high. - [Debra] I'm scared. - [Operator] I understand that, but you're freaking out doing nothing but losing your oxygen up in there. So just calm down. - [Debra] Are they not gonna come get me? - [Operator] You said what, I'm sorry? - [Debra] When are they gonna be here? - [Operator] As soon as they get there. - [Debra] Well, how long is that gonna be before I die?

4:15 - [Operator] Yeah, I know. (recorder clicks) - [Nexpo] As Debra pleads for her life, it starts to become evident that the operator, a woman named Donna Reneau, is becoming a bit annoyed with her demeanor. As we know, this is the absolute worst time, the worst line of work even, to let emotion cloud your judgment. Debra needs help, so where in the world is it? (brooding music) (recorder clicks) - [Debra] Ma'am, it's getting all the way up to my chest. - [Operator] I know the water's up to your chest. Just stay on the phone with me and I have an officer and the fire department coming out to you, so just hold on, okay?

5:02 - [Debra] Thank you. I'm sorry if I'm rude, but I'm scared. - [Operator] You're not being rude. I know you're scared. Just calm down for me. - I'm scared. I've never had anything like this happen to me before. - [Operator] Well, this will teach you, next time, don't drive in the water. - [Debra] I couldn't see it, ma'am, I'm sorry, or I wouldn't have. - [Operator] I don't see how you didn't see it. You had to go right over it, so... - [Debra] No, ma'am, I wasn't in a drive. I was in the parking lot. There was no water where I was at.

5:27 - [Operator] Okay. - [Debra] And when I got to the end of the parking lot, I was looking for the road to get out into the main road. When I gotta the main road, it was too late. There was water and I didn't, I couldn't see it fast enough. - [Operator] The water just didn't appear. (recorder clicks) - [Nexpo] As this call continues, it's evident that Reneau isn't taking her seriously. A woman trapped and unable to escape her vehicle is reportedly only equivalent to the priority of a stolen vehicle. It's only midway through this call when it's finally escalated.

6:02 But even then, crucial minutes have already bled by. Debra Stevens, as we know, is running out of time. - [Deborah] Ma'am, please- - [Operator] Hold on for me. Hold on. Ladder two. - Oh my god. (recorder whirring) - [Debra] Ma'am, it's all the way above. - [Operator] Okay, I know. Listen to me. They are in the area. They are trying to find you. They cannot find you right now. I'm trying to ping where you are, so do not hang up because this 911 call is helping me ping your location. So don't hang up on me. - [Debra] Hey, my car is starting to move.

6:41 My car is starting to move. My car is starting to move. - [Operator] okay, where are you moving to? Tell me where it's going. - [Debra] I don't know. (indistinct) I can't breathe! I can't breathe! I can't breathe! I can't breathe! - [Operator] Okay, tell me where you are. - [Debra] I can't breathe! I can't breathe! Help me! Help me! I can't breathe! - Listen to me, hold on. - [Debra] I can't breathe! It's sucking me down. Oh my god. (phone beeping)

7:16 - [Nexpo] Debra Stevens following this call wouldn't make it out alive. And her vehicle, a tomb swept away in one of the most heartbreaking freak accidents that I have ever listened to. About 10 minutes after this call ended, rescuers were finally able to make their way to her. However, by then, it was far too late. As it turned out, she had drowned inside and a mother, a daughter, a friend, who was simply out delivering newspapers to the public had undeservingly lost her life. (static crackling)

8:05 - Next tonight, the 911 outrage. A dispatcher on her final shift taking a call from a woman stranded in her car as flood waters rise. She panics, but it's what the dispatcher- - [Nexpo] In the following months, it was found that Donna Reneau was coincidentally working her final shift after having submitted her two weeks notice 13 days prior. To call it like it is, she displayed a remarkable lack of compassion towards someone in such a dire situation, constantly scolding and belittling Debra in the final moments of her life.

8:36 Never once did she render any sort of legitimate advice to keep her from panicking. A massive mistake, especially considering that she was dying. - [Debra] The back side of these apartments over here where these people are at, they can all see me. They're all standing out there watching. - [Operator] Ms. Debbie, you're gonna have to shut up, okay? I need you to listen- - Oh, I'm sorry. - [Operator] Listen to me.

9:05 - [Nexpo] Surprisingly, after an internal investigation, it was found that no policies were broken, no criminal action had taken place. None of what Donna Reneau had done or said had violated anything. In essence, she had gotten off scot-free. And in her wink, a family devastated and shattered by an accident that never should have happened. Much like with Loretta Pickard, the Debra Stevens tragedy is equal parts heartbreaking and frustrating. Both were, even if in parts, victims of external circumstance. Both were helpless as they were slowly consumed by the predicament around them.

9:46 Both of them should still be here today, yet they aren't. - [Announcer] We'll return after these messages. - All right, guys, before we continue, I'd like to talk about tonight's video sponsor, Factor. All right, so I won't lie, I'm a pretty big Uber Eats guy. When I'm caught up with work and don't have the time to make the meals that I should, I always resort to that app. That dreaded app calling my name. But it's okay because I've recently found a much more convenient and much more affordable option with Factor.

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11:10 Once again, that's code 50NEXPO at factor75.com to get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box. Thank you so much to Factor for sponsoring tonight's video. Now let's get back to it. (brooding music) (recorder clicks) (ominous music) (static crackling) (recorder clicks) (bright music) (thunder crackling) (lively music) - [Announcer] From WNBC TV in New York. This is "Live at Five" Jack Cafferty, Sue Simmons and (faintly speaking). - [Nexpo] The year is 1986, and on WNBC New York, a reporter named Jane Dornacker is giving her daily traffic report.

12:02 Once a musician and an actress, she had found her home here in her late 30s, enthusiastically providing updates about accidents, traffic jams, what have you, to the affiliated Joey Reynolds radio show. For her, the news media was a job secure and consistent. So what could possibly, if ever, go wrong? (static buzzing) - [Joey] The exclusive (indistinct) weather forecast for our area overnight. Mostly clear and cool. - [Nexpo] At 4:44 in the afternoon on October 22nd, 1986, an Enstrom F-28F helicopter operated by a company called Spectrum takes off for their daily WNBC traffic analysis.

12:47 Onboard was 39-year-old Jane Dornacker joined by a 30-year-old captain, Bill Pate. The flight, like so many others, was meant to be unremarkable. However, what neither of them knew was that a maintenance engineer had installed the wrong clutch to it. A severe oversight that has the potential to cause a complete loss of power to the aircraft's rotor blades. Nevertheless, the engineer was highly experienced. The helicopter appeared ready to go. However, over the next two minutes after takeoff, something would go horribly, horribly wrong.

13:26 (pensive music) (static buzzing) - [Joey] Okay, here's Jane Dornacker now on the N-Copter. - [Jane] Thank you very much, Joey. There was indeed an accident southbound on the Major Deegan at the Mosholu Parkway. An accident, a serious accident involving a tractor trailer and a car. It has been pushed off to the shoulder, but now watch out there now because another flat bed truck is gonna have to come to clear it so yield right of way. Northbound on the BQE, we spotted that disabled vehicle in the right hand-lane before the Kosciuszko, not causing much of a backup.

13:56 But further northbound there on the BQE, traffic is very heavy. past Kosciuszko all the way over to the LIE. The outbound Holland Tunnel, extra heavy for you right now. Earlier, there was a car fire at Hudson and Canal Street. It has been cleared of that... Uh, heading to New Jersey, the outbound Lincoln Tunnel looks a lot better for you. In New Jersey... (helicopter whirring) Hit the water. Hit the water. Hit the water!

14:23 - [Nexpo] At this moment, the helicopter had struck the chain link fence of a nearby pier after rapidly nose diving and had crashed into the Hudson River. And stunned and completely confused, Joey Reynolds continues in hopes of quelling panic. - [Joey] Okay, we're gonna play some music here, I think. Find out what's going on with helicopter, if something happened there. It's quarter of five, 16 till five on WNBC on the Joey Reynolds Show. We're taking an N-Copter report from Jane Dornacker. Let's check in and see how they're doing there and then we'll come right back at you.

15:03 Nothing happened with Jane. We had a helicopter report from the N-Copter. Of course, you know, once before we had this happen. A few months ago, she went down in the drink. Not she, I mean, she has a pilot. But this time, she said "Hit the water," or something like that. So we're gonna find out what's going on there, So stay tuned. We hope nothing... Say a little prayer. Hope nothing's wrong. - [Host] That's really...

15:36 (static crackling) - [Announcer] Airlines Hawaii. Eight days, seven nights for only $559. - We will take you back downstairs to Jerry and we will stay up here and have reports for you as we can bring them to you. Jerry. - [Announcer] It's McDonald's 31st anniversary. - Cargoes of food and medicine have been flown to famine-stricken Southern Sudan. The first flights... - Good evening, (indistinct), even the World Series will have team coverage of their incredible comeback in Boston. - But first, we have a grim development in a tragedy that struck us here at NBC today.

16:06 A tragedy heard by millions. WNBC traffic reporter Jane Dornacker has been pronounced dead. Her pilot remains in critical condition tonight. Their helicopter crashed. - [Nexpo] For 15 minutes, the aircraft sat submerged in 20 feet of water and the occupants inside, helpless, as they struggled to comprehend the reality that they found themselves thrown in. Through no faults of their own, the aircraft's sprag clutch had failed, causing the rotor blades to completely seize up and leaving them with no other option but to plunge downward.

16:39 Down to the depths below. The pilot, Bill Paint, was severely injured from this accident. However, Jane Dornacker wasn't quite so lucky. The strangest part about this entire situation is that this wasn't even Dornacker's first encounter inside of a falling aircraft as only six months prior, a helicopter that she was unborn, again, had fallen from the sky. Following her death, Joey Reynolds and the entire staff at WNBC were in complete shock. However, none of it compared to the loss that was experienced by Dornacker's 16-year-old daughter, Naomi.

17:20 Just three months prior, she had lost her father and, out of nowhere, now had to contend with the loss of the only other parent in her life. An unimaginable heartbreak, especially for someone at such a young age. In the end, Naomi was given a $325,000 settlement from a wrongful death lawsuit with Spectrum Helicopters, a sum equal to nearly a million dollars today. But even still, her life was completely shattered. She had lost everyone she loved and she ultimately became an orphan through no fault of her own.

18:03 This incident all around is one of the most heartbreaking cases that I have ever researched, and I can't even begin to imagine the horror that Jane felt in her final moments. All it took was one single maintenance mistake to flip an entire family's life upside down. And I truly hope that today Naomi is at least doing okay. (brooding music)

18:42 (recorder clicks) (static crackling) (ominous music) (recorder clicks) It's June, 2016. (somber music) The world is ensnared in politics. Harambe takes over the internet. And over on YouTube, a username, Sir Daniel Fortesque, uploads a video depicting a strange eerie radio broadcast. His recording is only a minute and a half in length. However, in the description, he provides us with some context.

19:30 (ominous music) "My name is Cody E. and I'm a swing shift security guard at a bank management building located in Utah. Inside the security office is an old AM/FM radio that belongs to my supervisor who listens to talk shows during his daytime shift. On June 16th, 2016, I was killing time before I got off work and began to play with the old radio. It was set to AM stations and while turning the knob scanning through stations, I came across a very creepy broadcast. After listening to it for about a minute and a half, I quickly grabbed my cell phone and began to record the audio.

20:08 I could hear two voices during the broadcast. The first and most often heard is of a woman crying in to me what sounds like fear or agony. While the woman's crying and speaking, you can hear faint words spoken from another woman or girl who sounds younger. I wrote down what I believe I hear the voice is saying in the recording. But if you hear something different or could make sense of audio I couldn't understand, feel free to leave it in the comments and tell me what you think of it. I don't post videos to YouTube normally and I don't focus this channel on anything specific.

20:41 I simply recorded this video from an experience I had at work and was asked by my friends to post the here. Thank you." The following is the OP's recording. (static buzzing) - [Speaker] No, both of them were kids. (indistinct) (static buzzing) You do that? What are you gonna do? (indistinct) My baby. Go away. - [Speaker 2] All right, full scale. (woman crying)

21:54 - [Speaker] We've never done anything to you or anybody. (static buzzing) Take her what? (static buzzing) (woman crying) (woman speaking in foreign language) (woman crying) - [Speaker 3] Four years apart.

22:40 (ominous music) - [Nexpo] This broadcast, as we could hear, initially sounds like some sort of voicemail. A woman cries, pleads, begs for mercy. Yet throughout the entire recording, we never hear a response from whoever she's supposedly talking to. What is she crying about, who is she, and what in the world is going on? Looking up specific words from the broadcast turns up nothing. A recording of a movie or TV show? A nearly impossible dead end. This audio just exists, cast out into the endless void of the internet for all of us to chew on and to become intensely creeped out by.

23:30 Five years ago, we dove into the bizarre mystery of Portland's 96.7 FM and the strange broadcasts that were emanating from it for over a year. Throughout my video, we narrowed the culprit down to a non-profit called the Community Alliance of Tenants, whom, as expected, denied any involvement with it. While that's so, in that case, we were at least given a call sign, something to chew on to take the investigation deeper, yet hear nothing. All we have is an eerie voice muddled in static in a general location far too broad to narrow down.

24:11 Given the nature of shortwave radio stations and how anyone can broadcast anything on them given the proper equipment, I do believe that this has the potential to be someone messing around. But then again, what if it isn't? I'm curious if any of you remember anything like this taking place around Utah in 2016. I have a phony feeling that someone out there has some sort of recording related to this, and this is precisely where I need your help. What truly is the context here? What in the world is she pleading for? And most importantly, who exactly is the woman on the radio?

25:00 (recorder clicks) (solemn music) Audio, a medium so intimate, so familiar, so intensely unsettling. A frontier where we as onlookers can allow our minds to wonder, filling in the gaps of lost information with always the worst case scenario. Tonight, you and I dove into three cases of the darkest audio on the internet. I hope you all enjoyed this. This was different, I know. But if you have any other suggestions for cases that would fit this mold, feel free to send them over to DTFAIsubmissions@gmail.com. Once again, that's DTFAIsubmissions@gmail.com.

25:52 Thank you all so much for watching. I'll see you soon, I love you all, and goodnight. (solemn music) (indistinct) - [Reporter] Dornacker was a familiar voice to commuters with her traffic reports, and this was her second crash. The first one was in April when her chopper went down in the Hackensack River near Richfield Park, New Jersey. Tonight at St. Vincent's Hospital, concerned colleagues of Dornackers showed up to learn what they could. - Everyone at WNBC is shocked and...

26:36 (dispatcher faintly speaking) (reporter faintly speaking) (gentle solemn music)

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "The Darkest Audio on the Internet [1]"?

In order: 0:00 Debra Stevens, Donna Reneau; 5:00 Debra Stevens, Donna Reneau; 10:00 Jane Dornacker, Factor, Spectrum Helicopters, Bill Pate; 15:00 Jane Dornacker, Spectrum Helicopters.

What is mentioned in this Nexpo episode?

6 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Debra Stevens, Jane Dornacker, Donna Reneau, Spectrum Helicopters, Bill Pate. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The Darkest Audio on the Internet [1]"?

The episode runs 27 min; the transcript is about 3,536 words in 40 timestamped sections.

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