Mayday (TV series)
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| Mayday | |
|---|---|
 from Season 3 Episode 3: Out of Control Japan Airlines Flight 123 Crash |
|
| Genre | Documentary TV series |
| Creator(s) | Cineflix |
| Starring | None |
| Country of origin | Canada, France |
| Production | |
| Running time | 46 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Discovery Channel Canada and National Geographic Channel |
| Original run | 2003 – present |
Mayday (also known as Air Emergency in the United States, and Air Crash Investigation in the rest of the world) is a documentary television program produced by Cineflix in Canada. It is aired on Discovery Channel Canada and the National Geographic Channel. As of February 2007, 4 seasons of programs have been produced. A few episodes were produced in 2006 detailing non-aircraft disasters, these are titled Crash Scene Investigation in all parts of the world except Canada.
It is a documentary that investigates the air crashes in modern history. It reveals events that led up to each crash and the causes to the crashes. It features reenactments, interviews, testimony, computer-generated imagery (CGI), and in some episodes, Cockpit Voice Recordings (CVRs) to reconstruct the sequence of events to the audiences.
Contents |
[edit] Name and versions
As there are many different names to the series, there is some confusion over the proper name of the series. The program was originally produced in Canada under the name Mayday. However, viewers also refer to this series as Air Crash Investigations while National Geographic Channel does not officially use the final s.[1]
There are small differences to the show as released to different regions. This includes the use of a British narrator, titling, and different theme music. Curiously, in Australia the first season of the show was aired as Mayday whereas the following seasons were aired as Air Crash Investigations (with the plural of 'Investigation' used both in titles and voice-overs). It is presumed that this is the same for other English-speaking nations outside the U.S. In Great Britain, it was briefly called Disaster in the Air.
Furthermore, this program, along with the similar series Blueprint for Disaster, are typically billed together as Disaster Detectives on Discovery Channel Canada, leading to further confusion as to the name of the series.
[edit] Format
Several passengers and crew members (whether they survived the accident or not) of the accident aircraft would be picked and actors/actresses would play the role of those passengers and crews throughout the accident flight usually starting from boarding of the flight. The flight routines in the air traffic control, cockpit and cabin would be recreated on screen starting from departure up to the moment of the accident. At the moment of the accident, external view of the aircraft from different angles would be recreated to show the effect and what had happened to the aircraft. The responses and reactions of the passengers, crews and air traffic control after the accident had happened leading up to the eventual crash or emergency landing are then recreated. All the scenes in cockpit and air traffic control centres are recreated using the actual script obtained from the cockpit voice recorder of the accident aircraft.
The rescue and recovery effort and the investigations process is then recreated in details, showing how the aircraft parts, the flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders are recovered and examined, how the pieces are related together to maintenance records, initial design, training procedures, etc. to draw the final conclusion.
Surviving passengers and crews or surviving relatives and friends of deceased passengers are interviewed throughout each episode. Investigators, from NTSB in most cases, involved in the subsequent accident investigations are interviewed to explain the flow of the investigations and how the conclusion and subsequent recommendations are made. Each episode usually ends with a short interview with one of the survivors (or a relative of a deceased) to summarize their experience and how they feel.
[edit] Trivia
In contrast with all other episodes, "Mistaken Identity" (about the shootdown of Iran Air Flight 655 by a U.S. Navy warship) does not show the passenger cabin, despite the fact that 290 people onboard were killed. Instead, it focuses on the bridge of the ship that shot the aircraft down, and analyses why the warship mistook it for an Iranian fighter jet. This is possibly done because in this episode, unlike the other episodes, the aircraft was shot down and destroyed instantly, giving no premise for a flight-crew/passenger based story to investigate unlike other episodes that are about flights where in most cases, the passengers and/or crew were aware of the emergency prior to crashing.
[edit] Episodes
A total of 33 episodes have been made from 4 seasons. 2 more episodes are being made for season 4 and 13 for season 5 in 2008. 3 episodes are Crash Scene Investigation episodes.
[edit] Season 1
| # | Title
(alternate title) |
Disaster | Date of Disaster | Aircraft Type | Nature of Disaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unlocking Disaster
(Explosive Evidence) |
United Airlines Flight 811 | February 24, 1989 | Boeing B-747-122 | Explosive decompression |
| Passengers onboard United Airlines Flight 811 from Honolulu to Auckland are horrified when the side of the aircraft rips off. 9 people are flung out the plane. Flight 811 manages to land safely. How did this happen? | |||||
| 2 | Racing the Storm
(Fatal Landing) |
American Airlines Flight 1420 | June 1, 1999 | McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | Runway overshoot in thunderstorm, pilot error |
| American Airlines Flight 1420 is warned about crosswinds from a thunderstorm during approach to Little Rock Regional Airport. The plane tries to land but overshoots the runway. 11 people are dead. Was the storm to blame? Or were the pilots to blame? | |||||
| 3 | Fire On Board
(Fire in the Sky) |
Swissair Flight 111 | September 2, 1998 | McDonnell Douglas MD-11 | In-flight fire |
| Swissair Flight 111, an improved version of the DC-10 called the MD-11, experiences a fire in the cockpit. The pilots try to land in Nova Scotia but vital systems are lost while attempting a fuel dump and the plane crashes into the sea. What caused the fire? | |||||
| 4 | Cutting Corners
(Fatal Error) |
Alaska Airlines Flight 261 | 31 January 2000 | McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | Mechanical failure, pilot error |
| Alaska Airlines Flight 261 is heading for San Francisco, en route to Seattle but its horizontal stabilizer jams. The pilots try to solve the situation but the stabilizer breaks free from its control system and the plane nosedives inverted into the Pacific Ocean, causing the death of all onboard. Why did the stabilizer fail? | |||||
| 5 | Flying Blind | AeroPeru Flight 603 | October 2, 1996 | Boeing B-757-23-A | Faulty maintenance, pitot tubes blocked by tape |
| The pilots of AeroPeru Flight 603 are confused by false speed and altitude readings and contradictory warnings from the plane's computer system. The pilots descend for an emergency landing over the Pacific Ocean, but they are much lower than the altimeter says. A wing gets caught in the water and the plane crashes killing all the people onboard. How could this happen? | |||||
| 6 | Flying on Empty | Air Transat Flight 236 | August 24, 2001 | Airbus A-330-243 | Fuel leak, fuel exhaustion |
| Air Transat Flight 236 leaks large amounts of fuel, but the pilots don't trust the computer's warnings and they are soon out of fuel. The pilots glide the aircraft to a naval base in the Azores where they land at high speed with limited braking power. Everyone onboard survives. What caused the giant fuel leak? | |||||
[edit] Season 2
| # | Title
(alternate title) |
Disaster | Date of Disaster | Aircraft Type | Nature of Disaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wounded Bird
(A Wounded Bird) |
ASA Flight 529 | August 21, 1995 | Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia | Metal fatigue in the propeller |
| The EMB-120 Brasilia is a plane designed to fly with one engine that has failed. However, it had its consequences. ASA Flight 529's left engine didn't just fail but also its skin had peeled off and the propeller was bent and hanging off the wing. Instead of flying with one engine destroyed, it crashes, killing 9 of the 29 people on the plane. How did it fail? Why couldn't the plane continue flying? | |||||
| 2 | Blow Out
(Ripped from the Cockpit) |
British Airways Flight 5390 | June 10, 1990 | British Aircraft Co. BAC-111 | Faulty maintenance, explosive decompression |
| The cockpit window of British Airways Flight 5390 is blown out along with the pilot. The crew cling to the man's legs as the co-pilot controls the BAC-111 plane to Southampton Airport for an emergency landing. The pilot is found to be still alive outside the cockpit. Why did the cockpit window blow out? | |||||
| 3 | Hijacked
(The Killing Machine) |
Air France Flight 8969 | December 24, 1994 | Airbus A-300-B2-1C | Terrorist hijack on runway |
| At Algiers, Algeria, Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the runway. The terrorists demand the plane to be cleared for take-off. The control tower refuses. 3 passengers are shot. 217 people are left on the plane. Then two days later in the morning, the plane is cleared to take-off but land at Marseilles in France. The leading hijacker demands the plane to park in front of the control tower. Then, they plan to blow up the plane with dynamite. But after a gun battle in the cabin between armed forces and the hijackers, the hijackers are dead. Everyone else is evacuated. Why did they hijack the plane? | |||||
| 4 | Mid-Air Collision
(Deadly Crossroads) |
Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937/DHL Flight 611 | July 1, 2002 | Bashkirian 2937: Tupolev TU-154-M. DHL 611: Boeing B-757-200. | Mid-air collision |
| Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 is flying with 69 people onboard including 45 school children. Suddenly, the TU-154-M aircraft collides with the tail of DHL Flight 611, carrying air freight and two pilots. Flight 2937 is destroyed instantly killing everyone on board. Flight 611 nosedives and crashes killing the two pilots. Both of their wreckage end up in Uberlingen, Germany. A total of 71 people are killed. How did the planes manage to collide? | |||||
| 5 | Crash on the Mountain
(Lost) |
American Airlines Flight 965 | December 20, 1995 | Boeing B-757-223 | Pilot error, mountain crash |
| American Airlines Flight 965 heads for Cali, Colombia. Planes usually fly there by following beacons on their radar. Flight 965 is asked if they would like to do a straight approach to Cali. The pilots agree. They remove the beacons from the radar, starting a chain of events ending with a crash on a mountain near Buga. Only four passengers and a pet dog survive. They find themselves lost in the rainforest. Days later they are found. It's the deadliest B-757 disaster the USA has experienced. Was the crash deliberate? Or deadly faults? Or the error of the pilots? | |||||
| 6 | Deadly Delay
(Missing Over New York) |
Avianca Flight 52 | January 25, 1990 | Boeing B-707-321-B | Numerous delays, fuel exhaustion |
| It's alright for a plane to be delayed. But numerous delays can be deadly, even if a plane hasn't packed enough fuel to survive them. Avianca Flight 52 is delayed numerous times causing the B-707 aircraft with 158 people on board to run out of fuel. The plane crashes parallel to the slope of the district it crashes in. 73 people die. What one word onboard the plane could have saved more lives? | |||||
[edit] Season 3
| # | Title
(alternate title) |
Disaster | Date of Disaster | Aircraft Type (-- for spin-off episodes) | Nature of Disaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hanging by a Thread | Aloha Airlines Flight 243 | April 28, 1988 | Boeing B-737-297 | Explosive decompression, roof rips off |
| Aloha Airlines Flight 243 takes 95 passengers and crew from Hilo to Honolulu in Hawaii. Suddenly, a large section of the roof rips off and a flight attendant is blown out. The plane manages an emergency landing. What caused the roof to blow off? | |||||
| 2 | Attack Over Baghdad | DHL European Air Transport Flight OO-DLL | November 22, 2003 | Airbus A-300-B4-203-F | Missile attack, loss of hydraulics |
| Terror in Iraq strikes when a missile is fired at a DHL mail plane. The left wing tip burns out of control and all hydraulic pressure is lost. Despite the damage, Flight OO-DLL lands safely at Baghdad, the first time a plane has been piloted to a successful landing without the use of control surfaces. Who fired the missile? How did the pilots manage the plane to land without hydraulics? | |||||
| 3 | Out of Control | Japan Airlines Flight 123 | August 12, 1985 | Boeing B-747-SR-46 | Explosive decompression, vertical stabilizer and hydraulics lost |
| Seven years before the crash, Japan Airlines Flight 123 lands and scrapes its tail on the runway. The damage is repaired badly and the plane returns to the sky. Then on the day of the crash, the badly repaired section explodes, crippling the tail and severing the hydraulic lines. The pilots manage to keep the plane flying for 32 minutes until it clips a mountain ridge. The plane spins uncontrollably and impacts Mt. Osutaka. Of the 524 passengers onboard, only 4 survive. | |||||
| 4 | Suicide Attack
(Fight for Your Life) |
FedEx Flight 705 | April 7, 1994 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 | Attempted hijacking |
| Auburn Calloway is about to be fired from FedEx for lying on his resume. He boards FedEx Flight 705 with a speargun and hammers. After the cargo flight takes off from Memphis, Calloway storms the cockpit and attacks the flight crew. They fight to subdue their co-worker and land the plane safely. Why would he risk a Suicide Attack? | |||||
| 5 | Mistaken Identity | Iran Air Flight 655 | July 3, 1988 | Airbus A-300-B2-203 | Shot down by USS Vincennes |
| The Gulf War is raging on in the Persian Gulf. The USS Vincennes is a highly advanced warship, capable of identifying and destroying aircraft with pinpoint accuracy. But when Iran Air Flight 655 crosses the gulf, USS Vincennes mistakes the passenger plane for an F-14 fighter jet and shoots it down, killing all onboard. Why was the plane mistaken despite the ship's high-tech equipment? What made room for error? | |||||
| 6 | Bomb On Board | Philippine Airlines Flight 434 | December 11, 1994 | Boeing B-747-283-B | In-flight terrorist bomb |
| A terrorist sneaks a bomb aboard Philippine Airlines Flight 434. On the final leg of the plane's journey to Tokyo, the bomb explodes, killing one passenger and damaging the plane's control systems. The pilot makes a successful emergency landing in Okinawa. The larger plot to bring down as many as a dozen planes is foiled. Who is the bomber? | |||||
| 7 | Helicopter Down | Helicopter G-TIGK | January 19, 1995 | Eurocopter Super Puma | Lightning strike |
| 16 oil rig workers and 2 pilots hang in the balance when their Super Puma helicopter operated by Bristol is struck by lightning in a storm while flying to the Brae Oilfield. The lightning strikes the tail rotor and it fails. The pilots then decide to switch off the main rotor and let the helicopter float in the sea. Everyone on board get on a life raft but its overcrowded and leaking in giant swells. Despite the conditions, the workers and pilots are rescued. What made the tail rotor so attractive to lightning? How did the tail rotor fail? | |||||
| 8 | Egypt Air 990
(Death and Denial) |
EgyptAir Flight 990 | October 31, 1999 | Boeing B-767-366-ER | Mechanical failure or human error, while Americans claim deliberate crash by the First Officer |
| This mysterious crash should never have happened. First Officer Gameel al-Batouti takes control of the cockpit of EgyptAir Flight 990 and switches off the auto-pilot. He nosedives the plane, then tries climbing back up to 24,000 feet, creating weightlessness in the cabin. Then, he nosedives the plane again, making pieces of EgyptAir 990 fly off. In the space of 36 seconds, the plane crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, 100 km offshore Nantucket. Is Gameel to blame or was there a problem in the controls? | |||||
| 9 | Kid in the Cockpit | Aeroflot Flight 593 | March 22, 1994 | Airbus A-310-304 | Pilot's 15 year old son in charge of cockpit |
| Pilots don't often break rules. But it happened when the pilot of Aeroflot Flight 593 brings his two children into the cockpit. His daughter has a turn at being a pilot, though she does nothing. Then, the pilot's 15 year old son, Eldar Kudrinsky has a turn. He turns the steering column to the right and then Flight 593 banks right at a 90 degree angle. The pilot finds out what happened and tries to raise the plane up but it stalls. The plane does a corkscrew dive and the pilot finds out he can't reach the steering column. Eldar is able to reach it, so he pulls it. But the plane crashes at a near level angle. All 75 people on board including Eldar dies. What really happened on the plane? | |||||
| 10 | Greek Ferry Disaster
(Collision Course) |
Express Samina sinking | 26 September 2000 | -- | Driver and crew error |
| In stormy weather, the Express Samina sails in the Mediterranean Sea. Suddenly, a giant streak rocks the ferry. The Express Samina has hit a group of rocks and is now taking in water. Everyone panics and try to rescue themselves by jumping of the ferry. The ferry sinks under the waves. Survivors fight for their life in the freezing water and giant swells. Then, rescue comes and picks out the survivors. Why did the ship collide with the rocks? Find out how a captain leaves a ship on auto-pilot and lets him and the crew watch a football game, causing the ferry to sink.
Note: this is a Crash Scene Investigation episode. |
|||||
| 11 | African Hijack
(Ocean Landing) |
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 | November 23, 1996 | Boeing B-767-260-ER | Hijacking, fuel exhaustion |
| It was a miracle landing after Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was hijacked. The hijackers want the plane to fly to Australia. The pilot tries to convince the hijackers that there isn't enough fuel to go to Australia. But they refuse. The pilot tries tricking them by flying down the coast of Africa. But when the hijackers notice the trick, they demand the plane to fly east. The pilot obeys but heads for the Comoros Islands. Suddenly, the plane runs out of fuel. The leading hijacker tries to fly the plane and disables the auto-pilot. He realizes he can't control Flight 961. The pilot is put back in control and attempts to land the B-767 on the water next to a beach at Grand Comoro Island. He tries landing on the ocean but it ends in disaster. The plane breaks up as its wing hits the water. 125 people die. | |||||
| 12 | Train Collision
(Head-On Collision) |
Hinton train collision | 8 February 1986 | -- | Driver sleepiness, overseer error |
| A freight train travels down the Trans-Canadian Railway to deliver freight. But at a set of signals, the train speeds up and doesn't stop. The overseer in the back carriage is puzzled. He calls the drivers at the front but he hears nothing. Now, the freight train is heading towards a passenger train on the same track. Suddenly, it happens. The trains collide and the freight train flies into the air. Then a fire breaks out. The disaster claims 23 peoples lives. Why was the freight train running head-long into another train? Why didn't the train stop? What could have the overseer have done to stop this tragedy?
Note: this is a Crash Scene Investigation episode. |
|||||
| 13 | Runaway Train | San Bernardino train disaster | 12 May 1989 | -- | Brake failure, calculation error |
| A freight train is coming down from a pass in the mountains. The driver applies brakes on to slow the train down. But nothing happens. The train is speeding uncontrollably down the mountain and is about to enter a turn near San Bernardino, California. The train derails off the tracks and crashes into a row of houses, killing 5 people. More than a week later, a oil pipeline underneath the crash site ruptures, killing 2 more people. Why did the brakes fail? What do the train crash and the pipe rupture has in relation with each other?
Note: this is a Crash Scene Investigation episode. |
|||||
[edit] Season 4
2 of the 10 episodes left currently in production for broadcast in 2007.
| # | Title
(alternate title) |
Disaster | Date of Disaster | Aircraft Type | Nature of Disaster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miracle Escape | Air France Flight 358 | August 2, 2005 | Airbus A-340-313-X | Runway overshoot in storm, short runway, thrust reversers deployed at wrong moment |
| Air France Flight 358 overshoots the runway in a storm at Toronto, Canada. Although the aircraft ends up in a creek and fire rages out of control, all 309 people onboard survive. How did they escape? | |||||
| 2 | All Engines Failed
(Falling from the Sky) |
British Airways Flight 9 | June 24, 1982 | Boeing B-747-236 | Stalling of all engines in volcanic ash cloud |
| British Airways Flight 9 experiences views of St. Elmo's fire on the plane along with smoke smelling like sulphur in the cabin. Suddenly, all engines on the B-747-200 start flaming. Then, they flame out. "This is Speedbird 9. All 4 engines have failed!" the pilot shouts on the radio. With 263 people in the balance, Flight 9 starts falling. But minutes before its fate in the ocean, the engines restart again. British Airways Flight 9 makes an emergency landing at Jakarta. The plane has been well sandblasted. Flight 9 becomes famous. The pilot is welcomed as a hero. A survivor writes a book about the flight called "All Four Engines Have Failed!". But why did the plane experience such strange things? What do St. Elmo's fire, the engine failures and the sandblasting all got in common? | |||||
| 3 | Fire Fight | Air Canada Flight 797 | June 2, 1983 | McDonnell Douglas DC-9 | In-flight fire |
| Air Canada Flight 797 experiences a fire outbreak in the aircraft's toilet. The plane makes an emergency landing in Cincinnati, Ohio, but is engulfed by flames as the doors open on the runway. Half of the DC-9's passengers perish. What caused the fire? | |||||
| 4 | Blind Landing
(Korean Air 801) |
Korean Air Flight 801 | August 6, 1997 | Boeing B-747-3B5 | Foul weather, pilot error, crash upon runway approach |
| Korean Air Flight 801 with its 254 passengers and crew onboard approaches runway 6L the airport at Guam in the Pacific in rain. A combination of the weather and pilot error lead to the result of the aircraft crashing 5km short of the runway. 228 are killed. What really caused Flight 801 to attempt a Blind Landing? | |||||
| 5 | Hidden Danger | United Airlines Flight 585/USAir Flight 427 | UA 585: March 3, 1991/USAir 427: September 8, 1994 | UA 585: Boeing B-737-222/USAir 427: Boeing B-737-3B7 | Malfunction of rudder control units. UA 585: crash into park during approach. USAir 427: nosedive after takeoff. |
| The Boeing B-737 is the most reliable plane in the world. But United Airlines Flight 585's rudder fails and the plane spins out of control during approach, killing 25. Investigators know nothing about what caused it. Then three years later, USAir Flight 427 nosedives after a similar fate after take-off. What is causing the crashes? Is there a Hidden Danger in every B-737 in the world? | |||||
| 6 | Panic Over The Pacific | China Airlines Flight 006 | February 19, 1985 | Boeing B-747-SP-09 | Engine failure caused by colliding with jet stream, causing roll over and rapid altitude loss, pilot error |
| China Airlines Flight 006 collides with a jetstream while flying to San Francisco. The no. 4 engines fails and the pilots try to steady the plane. But something goes horribly wrong and the B-747-SP aircraft rolls over and nosedives over the Pacific Ocean. 2 people are hurt but everyone survives. The plane makes an emergency landing at its destination. What caused China Airlines 006 to suffer from the jetstream? | |||||
| 7 | Untitled | Unknown | No Date | Unknown | Unknown |
| No Description | |||||
| 8 | Fog of War | Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. aircraft | February 19, 2003 | Ilyushin IL-76-MD | Fog, mountain crash |
| War is raging in Iraq and Iran is defending its borders. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. sends an IL-76 to transport guards to reinforce Iran's border. But lost in fog, the plane crashes into a mountain near Shahdad in Iran. All 275 guards and crew are dead. How could such an error happen on an IL-76? Was it the pilots? Was the navigation system or GPS entered incorrectly? Was it sabotage? | |||||
| 9 | Untitled | Unknown | No Date | Unknown | Unknown |
| No Description | |||||
| 10 | Ghost Plane | Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 | 29 December 1972 | Lockheed L-1011-1 | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 takes-off from JFK Airport in New York, headed for Miami, Florida. The trijet plane is about to turn for approach into Miami. Suddenly, the L-1011 aircraft plunges into the Everglades. 101 people die in the swampy conditions and 75 survive. What caused the crash of Flight 401? And what is the truth behind the "Flight 401 ghosts" onboard other Eastern Air Lines L-1011 aircraft that have used bits of the crashed plane? | |||||
[edit] Season 5
13 episodes currently in development for broadcast in 2008.
[edit] Off-series and related episodes
- Crash of the Century (Tenerife disaster) - originally a 2-hour special.
- SilkAir 185: Pilot Suicide? (SilkAir Flight 185) - a related aircraft disaster show lasting for 1 hour and usually shown on National Geographic's ShowReal Asia 3.
- Air Crash Unsolved: The Mystery of Helios 522 (Helios Airways Flight 522) - a related 2-hour show about the Helios 522 crash near Marathon, Greece.
- Flight 175: As the World Watched (United Airlines Flight 175) - a related show about United 175's crash into the World Trade Centre in 2001 after being hijacked.
