List of Mayday episodes

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This is an episode list for the documentary television program Mayday (also called Air Crash Investigation[s] or Air Emergency in markets outside Canada). It is aired on the Discovery Channel Canada and the National Geographic Channel. The series has been on the air since 2003, with several off-season specials. While the series focuses on aircraft accidents and incidents, several episodes dealt with non-aircraft disasters, aired under the title Crash Scene Investigation outside of Canada.

Contents

[edit] Episodes

A total of 45 episodes have been made in five seasons; three of them are "Crash Scene Investigation" episodes.

[edit] Season 1

# Title

(alternate title)

 Disaster Date of disaster Aircraft type Cause of disaster
1 Racing the Storm

(Fatal Landing)

 American Airlines Flight 1420 June 1, 1999 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 Runway overshoot in thunderstorm, pilot error
The crew of American Airlines Flight 1420 is warned about crosswinds from a thunderstorm during approach to Little Rock National Airport but they attempt to land instead of diverting to another airport. Due to their impatience to get to the airport, during their pre-landing checks the crew forget to preset the spoilers to extend automatically when the aircraft touches down. The MD-82 overshoots the runway and eleven people are killed.
2 Unlocking Disaster
(Ripped From The Sky)		 United Airlines Flight 811 February 24, 1989 Boeing 747-100 Faulty cargo door, explosive decompression
A Boeing 747 operating as United Airlines Flight 811 from Honolulu to Auckland is above the Pacific Ocean when part of the RH forward fuselage rips off. An improperly closed cargo door was blown open by the force of the cabin pressurization. Nine people are ejected from the aircraft; some are still strapped to their seats. The Boeing 747 safely lands back at Honolulu without any more loss of life.
3 Flying on Empty Air Transat Flight 236 August 24, 2001 Airbus A330-243 Faulty maintenance, fuel starvation due to fuel leak
Air Transat Flight 236 leaks large amounts of fuel, but the pilots discount the ECAM warnings and the aircraft runs out of fuel. The pilots glide the aircraft to a naval base in the Azores where it lands safely, although at higher than normal speed and with limited braking power. The post-incident investigation determined that improper maintenance actions during an engine change caused a hydraulic oil pipe and a fuel pipe to touch each other, resulting in the fracture of the fuel pipe.
4 Fire on Board

(Fire in the Sky)

 Swissair Flight 111 September 2, 1998 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 In-flight fire, faulty wiring
A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 operating as Swissair Flight 111 experiences a fire in the cockpit due to faulty wiring. The pilots divert the aircraft toward Nova Scotia, Canada with the intent of landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, but vital systems start failing as the plane approaches St. Margaret's Bay, where they can safely dump fuel in preparation for landing. Halifax ATC loses contact with the plane; six minutes later, it slams nose-first into the ocean near the town of Peggy's Cove and disintegrates on contact. There were no survivors, and only one body was found intact. The investigation into the crash took nearly four years to complete and uncovered a fatal flaw common to nearly all passenger jets: The mylar covering atop the airplane's insulation blankets was far more flammable than first believed and could sustain and propagate a fire for several minutes or longer, clearly exceeding industry regulations requiring flammable coverings, etc. to extinguish themselves within 60 seconds.
5 Flying Blind Aeroperú Flight 603 October 2, 1996 Boeing 757-200 Faulty maintenance, static ports blocked by tape
The pilots of Aeroperú Flight 603 are confused by false speed and altitude readings and contradictory warnings from the aircraft's air data system, caused by duct tape over the static ports. The pilots descend the aircraft over the Pacific Ocean in preparation for an emergency landing, but it is much lower than the altimeter indicates. One wingtip touches the water and the aircraft crashes seconds later, killing everyone on board.
6 Cutting Corners

(Fatal Error)

 Alaska Airlines Flight 261 31 January 2000 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 Stabilizer trim failure
Alaska Airlines Flight 261 is heading for Seattle via San Francisco but its trimmable horizontal stabilizer jams due to a worn jackscrew assembly. The pilots try to resolve the situation but the stabilizer breaks free from its control system and the aircraft dives inverted into the Pacific Ocean, causing the death of all on board. Ironically, the plane had been previously inspected by a Alaska Airlines mechanic two-and-a-half years earlier; the mechanic recommended replacing the jackscrew immediately because of signs of wear, but after he came off-shift, a supervisor overruled his decision and marked the plane "Fit for Service". The mechanic blew the whistle to the FAA about Alaska Airlines' shoddy maintenance program (which got him suspended with pay afterward) only months before the crash; meanwhile, the plane crashed just two months shy of another full nose-to-tail inspection that would have shown the jackscrew had not been replaced as recommended.

[edit] Season 2

# Title

(alternate title)

 Disaster Date of disaster Aircraft type Cause of disaster
1 Blow Out

(Ripped from the Cockpit)

 British Airways Flight 5390 June 10, 1990 BAC-111-528FL Faulty maintenance, explosive decompression
The night before the incident, a maintenance worker replaces the screws attaching the cockpit window on a British Airways BAC-111 but does not follow the correct procedure, using incorrect screws. The next day the aircraft is heading for Malaga, Spain as Flight 5390 when the cockpit window blows out, sucking the captain partially through the hole. A member of the cabin crew clings to the pilot's legs as the co-pilot flies the aircraft to Southampton Airport for an emergency landing. The captain is found to be still alive after being outside the cockpit for 21 minutes.
2 A Wounded Bird

(Wounded Bird)
(One Wing Flight)

 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 August 21, 1995 Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia Metal fatigue in the propeller
Like all modern multi-engine aircraft, the EMB 120 Brasilia is designed to fly with one engine inoperative. However, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529's left propeller is damaged by metal fatigue causing it to lose one of its blades. The resulting imbalance tears the propeller gear box from the front of the engine, and the remains of the propeller are now lying against the front of the wing and disrupting the airflow over the wing. That and the massive increase in drag of the damaged engine means the aircraft is unable to maintain height on one engine, and the aircraft crashes before it can reach an airport. Although all occupants survive the crash itself, a subsequent fire kills the captain and a passenger; seven more people die later from their burns and another burnt passenger dies of a heart attack.
3 The Killing Machine

(Hijacked)
(Hijack Rescue)

 Air France Flight 8969 December 24-December 26, 1994 Airbus A300B2-1C Aircraft hijacking
Air France Flight 8969 to Paris-Orly is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport. The terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris. The Algerian Army refuses and three of the 220 passengers are shot dead over the next two days. The aircraft is cleared to take-off but the crew divert it to Marseille Provence Airport. The terrorist leader forces the pilots to park the aircraft in front of the control tower and the terrorists open fire on the tower building. The Hostage rescue team of the French Gendarmerie storm the aircraft and after a gun battle in the cabin, the hijackers are dead. Everyone else is evacuated.
4 Deadly Crossroads

(Mid-Air Collision)

 Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937/DHL Flight 611 July 1, 2002 BTC 2937: Tupolev Tu-154M
DHL 611: Boeing 757-200		 Mid-air collision, Pilot error
Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 is flying in German airspace near Überlingen under control of Swiss Skyguide with 69 people on board including 45 school children. Due to multiple faults within the local air traffic control system, the Tu-154M 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 crashes shortly afterwards, killing the two pilots. A total of 71 people are killed.
5 Lost

(Crash on the Mountain)

 American Airlines Flight 965 December 20, 1995 Boeing 757-200 Pilot error, controlled flight into terrain
American Airlines Flight 965 heads for Cali, Colombia. The crew is asked if they would like to do a straight-in approach to Cali. The pilots agree and remove the waypoints from the flight plan in their Flight management system, causing them to become lost. Their mistakes cause them to crash into a mountain near Buga. Only four passengers and a pet dog survive. They find themselves lost in the rainforest and they are not found for several days. It is the deadliest Boeing 757 disaster for a US carrier.
6 Missing Over New York

(Deadly Delay)

 Avianca Flight 52 January 25, 1990 Boeing 707-320B Numerous delays, fuel starvation
It is normal for an aircraft to be delayed in flight. However Avianca Flight 52 is delayed numerous times, causing the Boeing 707 with 158 people on board to run out of fuel. The aircraft then crashes near Cove Neck, New York. Seventy-three people die.

[edit] Season 3

# Title

(alternate title)

 Disaster Date of disaster Aircraft type Cause of disaster
1 Hanging by a Thread Aloha Airlines Flight 243 April 28, 1988 Boeing 737-200 Faulty lap joint, metal fatigue, explosive decompression
Aloha Airlines Flight 243 is en route from Hilo to Honolulu in Hawaii with 95 passengers and crew. Fuselage skin lap joints, badly damaged by corrosion resulting from a fault at manufacture, and by metal fatigue, give way and a section of the roof between the cockpit and the leading edges of the wings is torn off. The aircraft manages an emergency landing at Kahului, Maui. A flight attendant blown out of the cabin is the only fatality.
2 Attack Over Baghdad European Air Transport/DHL OO-DLL November 22, 2003 Airbus A300B4-203F Missile attack, loss of hydraulics
Terror in Iraq strikes when a terrorist missile is fired at a European Air Transport freighter flying on behalf of DHL Aviation. The left wing burns out of control and all hydraulic pressure is lost. Despite the damage the aircraft lands safely at Baghdad, the first successful landing of a large airliner without the use of hydraulics. The crew are later given awards in recognition of their actions that day.
3 Out of Control Japan Airlines Flight 123 August 12, 1985 Boeing 747SR Explosive decompression, vertical stabilizer and hydraulics lost
The cause of this accident lay seven years previously, when a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 landed and scraped its tail on the runway. The damage is incorrectly repaired and the aircraft returns to service. On the day of the crash the aircraft is operating as Flight 123 when the poorly-repaired rear pressure bulkhead bursts, destroying the vertical fin and rupturing all four hydraulic systems. The pilots manage to keep the aircraft flying for 32 minutes until it clips a mountain ridge. It then spins uncontrollably and impacts Mt. Osutaka. Of the 524 passengers onboard, many survive the crash but die during the night; only four survive to be rescued the next day. This is the largest ever death toll for a single-aircraft disaster.
4 Fight for Your Life

(Suicide Attack)

 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 resumé. He boards FedEx Flight 705 with hammers and a speargun. After the cargo flight takes off from Memphis, Tennessee, Calloway storms into the cockpit and attacks the flight crew. They fight to subdue their co-worker and land the aircraft safely back at Memphis. Calloway is immediately arrested by police on the ground.
5 Mistaken Identity Iran Air Flight 655 July 3, 1988 Airbus A300B2-203 Shot down by USS Vincennes
The Iran-Iraq War is raging in the Persian Gulf region. The USS Vincennes is a highly advanced cruiser, capable of identifying and destroying aircraft with pinpoint accuracy. But when Iran Air Flight 655 crosses the Gulf, the crew of the Vincennes, despite its high-tech equipment, mistake the airliner for an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet and launch a missile, shooting it down and killing all on board.
6 Bomb on Board Philippine Airlines Flight 434 December 11, 1994 Boeing 747-200B In-flight terrorist bomb, damage to control systems
Terrorist Ramzi Yousef smuggles a bomb aboard Philippine Airlines Flight 434 on the first leg of its flight. On the final leg of the journey to Tokyo the bomb explodes, killing a passenger and damaging the aircraft's control systems. The pilot makes a successful emergency landing in Okinawa. The larger plot to bring down as many as a dozen aircraft is foiled.
7 Helicopter Down Bristow Flight 56C January 19, 1995 Eurocopter Super Puma Lightning, tail rotor failure
Sixteen oil rig workers' and two pilots' lives hang in the balance when their Super Puma helicopter is struck by lightning in a storm while flying to the Brae oilfield. The lightning strikes the tail rotor and it fails. The pilots perform an emergency autorotation and ditch in the sea. Everyone on board gets on a life raft, which is overcrowded and leaking in giant swells. Despite the conditions, the workers and pilots are rescued. The lightning struck due to the composite materials in the rotor blades, raising concerns among the investigators; more than 50% of the structures of the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 then being developed are slated to be composites, while the Airbus A380 is designed to be 20% composites.
8 Death and Denial

(Egypt Air 990)

 EgyptAir Flight 990 October 31, 1999 Boeing 767-300ER Disputed; Mechanical failure or pilot error. The US government claims the aircraft was deliberately crashed by the First Officer
First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti takes control of EgyptAir Flight 990 after it is established at its cruising altitude of 33,000 feet, and switches off the autopilot. The aircraft subsequently dives at a rate of over 20,000 feet per minute (losing 17,000 feet of altitude in 44 seconds), creating weightlessness in the cabin. The aircraft ascends back to 24,000 feet, then dives again. The manoeuvres cause the left engine to be torn off. Less than three minutes after leaving cruising altitude the aircraft crashes into the Atlantic Ocean 100 kilometres South of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Today, the cause is still being argued over.
9 Kid in the Cockpit Aeroflot Flight 593 March 23, 1994 Airbus A310-304 Pilot's 15 year old son disengages autopilot
The captain of Aeroflot Flight 593 brings his two children into the cockpit. He sits his daughter in the captain's seat and she has a turn at being a pilot, though she does not touch the controls. Then the pilot's 15 year old son has a turn in the captain's seat. He turns the control yoke to the right then brings it back to the neutral position. The autopilot tries to command a roll to correct the aircraft's course, but the boy is holding the yoke in the neutral position. This causes the autopilot roll servo to disconnect from the aileron control system. Flight 593 banks right at a 90 degree angle. The pilot tries to get his son to correct the turn but the aircraft stalls. The aircraft enters a spin and the pilots find that due to high g-forces they cannot reach the control columns. The First Officer manages to reach his control column and together with the captain's son pulls the aircraft out of the dive, but it is too late. The aircraft crashes at a near-level attitude and all 75 people on board die.
10 Head-On Collision

(Train Collision)
(Impact on the Rails)

 Hinton train collision February 8, 1986 -- Driver fatigue, overseer error
A freight train travels on a line of the Canadian National Railway network. The train passes slow and then stop signals, and speeds up instead of stopping. The drivers at the front are asleep. The overseer in the rear caboose calls the drivers at the front but he hears nothing. He does not stop the train despite being trained to use an emergency brake. Now the freight train is heading towards a passenger train on the same track. The trains collide and a fire breaks out. The disaster claims the lives of 23 people.

Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.
11 Collision Course

(Greek Ferry Disaster)
(Express Samina)

 Express Samina sinking September 26, 2000 -- Driver and crew error
In stormy weather, the Express Samina sails in the Mediterranean Sea. The captain leaves the ferry on autopilot so he can watch a football match on television. The waves push the Express Samina off course. A violent impact rocks the ferry; it has hit a group of rocks and is now taking on water. Everyone panics and try to rescue themselves by jumping off the ferry. The ferry sinks under the waves. Survivors fight for their lives in the freezing water and giant swells. By the time rescuers finish their task 80 passengers drown in the Aegean Sea.

Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.
12 Runaway Train

(Unstoppable Train)

 San Bernardino train disaster May 12, 1989 -- Brake failure, calculation error
An overloaded freight train is descending from a pass in the mountains. The driver applies all brakes but they overheat and the train continues to gain speed. The train enters a turn near San Bernardino, California, derails, and crashes into a row of houses, killing five people. More than a week later, an underground gasoline pipeline which has been damaged during the crash site cleanup ruptures, killing two more people.

Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.
13 Ocean Landing

(African Hijack)

 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 November 23, 1996 Boeing 767-200ER Aircraft hijacking, fuel starvation
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is hijacked and the hijackers demand that the crew fly to Australia. The pilot tries to convince the hijackers that there isn't enough fuel but they insist their demand be met. The pilot tries to trick them by flying down the coast of Africa, but the hijackers notice and force the pilot to fly east. The pilot obeys but heads for the Comoros Islands, near where the aircraft runs out of fuel. The leading hijacker disengages the autopilot and tries to fly the aircraft himself but realizes he can't control Flight 961. The pilot is put back in control and attempts to land the 767 on the water next to a beach at Grand Comoro Island but the aircraft breaks up as its wing hits the water; 125 people die.

[edit] Season 4

# Title

(alternate title)

 Disaster Date of disaster Aircraft type Cause of disaster
1 Desperate Escape

(Miracle Escape)

 Air France Flight 358 August 2, 2005 Airbus A340-313X Runway overshoot in storm, short runway, pilot error
Air France Flight 358 comes in too high for landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport during a storm. The runway is short and the pilots deploy the thrust reversers too late. The A340 overshoots the runway and smashes through the airport fence before plunging into a small ravine. Although the aircraft suffers an out-of-control fire from one of the engines, all 309 people onboard survive by evacuating the aircraft in less than 90 seconds.
2 Falling from the Sky

(All Engines Failed)

 British Airways Flight 9 June 24, 1982 Boeing 747-200B Stalling of all engines in volcanic ash cloud
British Airways Flight 9 experiences St. Elmo's fire along with smoke smelling like sulphur in the cabin. All four engines on the Boeing 747 start flaming then flame out. With 263 people on board, BA009 starts downward but minutes before its fate in the ocean, the crew successfully restart the engines. The aircraft makes an emergency landing at Jakarta where inspection reveals that it looks as if it has been sandblasted. The strange happenings were from volcanic ash coming from a volcano in Indonesia. The fine particles of ash melted inside the engines, clogging them and causing all four to fail.
3 Fire Fight

(Fiery Landing)

 Air Canada Flight 797 June 2, 1983 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 Unexplained in-flight fire, flashover
Air Canada Flight 797 experiences an in-flight fire in the aircraft's toilet. Smoke fills the cabin and everyone gasps for fresh air. An emergency landing is made in Cincinnati, but due to a flashover the DC-9 is engulfed by flames shortly after the doors are opened on the runway. Due to heavy smoke, half of the passengers perish due to not being able to find the exits in time. There was no pin point cause due to the fire damage to the aircraft.
4 Final Approach

(Missed Approach)
(Blind Landing)

 Korean Air Flight 801 August 6, 1997 Boeing 747-300 Foul weather, pilot error and fatigue, improper training
Korean Air Flight 801 with its 254 passengers and crew is on final approach to Guam's Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. The glideslope part of the Instrument landing system is out of service and a software change to the ground proximity radar system at the airport prevents the aircraft from being shown on the system. In the clouds and rain, the tired pilots struggle to find runway 6L. They follow the DME signals towards the airport and extend the flaps and undercarriage. The aircraft descends, but the pilots still cannot see the airport. They attempt a missed approach procedure but Flight 801 hits the rugged terrain of Nimitz Hill. The Boeing 747 breaks up and grinds to a halt. The crash causes passengers' legs to break on the seat crossbars. Stored "Duty Free" alcohol in the compartments mix with oxygen and ignite a raging fire. 26 crawl out but 228 die in the wreckage.Some passengers try to make improvements on the seat designs and storage of "Duty Free" and oxygen.
5 Hidden Danger

(Mystery Crashes)

 United Airlines Flight 585
USAir Flight 427
Eastwind Airlines Flight 517		 UA 585: March 3, 1991
USAir 427: September 8, 1994
EA 517: June 9, 1996		 UA 585: Boeing 737-200
USAir 427: Boeing 737-300
EA 517: Boeing 737-200		 Malfunction of power control units (PCUs) due to thermal shock
UA 585: crash into park during approach
USAir 427: nosedive during approach
EA 517: Suffered two uncontrolled starboard rolls until successfully landing
The rudder fails on a Boeing 737 operating as United Airlines Flight 585 and the aircraft spins out of control during approach to Colorado Springs, killing 25. Investigators are unable to determine the cause although they suspect a problem in the power control unit (PCU) which controls the rudder. Then three years later, another Boeing 737 flying as USAir Flight 427 crashes after a similar event during final approach. This time, the PCU survives intact but functions normally during testing. Two years on, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 experiences two massive rolls to the right but the pilot is able to control the rolls and lands the 737 safely. This time an intact PCU is available for inspection. Investigations determine that thermal shock caused the rudders of the three aircraft to "hardover" and jam.
6 Panic Over the Pacific

(6 Mile Plunge)

 China Airlines Flight 006 February 19, 1985 Boeing 747SP Engine failure, pilot error, jet lag, spatial disorientation
China Airlines Flight 006 encounters turbulence while flying to Los Angeles. The No. 4 engine flames out and the crew tries to restart the engine at too high an altitude. The aircraft banks slowly to the right but the crew do not notice the autopilot can no longer hold the aircraft straight and level. The captain disconnects the autopilot and immediately loses control, sending the aircraft into a spiralling nosedive. The Flight Engineer mistakes readings on the gauges for total engine failures on all engines rather than the Captain setting the throttles to idle. The extreme forces rip the undercarriage doors off and parts of the horizontal stabilizers rip off as well. The Boeing 747SP clears the clouds and the pilot can once again see the horizon. The crew recover the aircraft from the dive and the it lands safely at San Francisco despite control problems associated with the tailplane damage. Two people are hurt, but everyone is alive.
7 Out of Sight

(Collision Over LA)

 Aeroméxico Flight 498/Piper Archer N4891F August 31, 1986 Aeroméxico 498: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32
N4891F: Piper PA-28-181 Archer		 Mid-air collision, pilot error
Aeroméxico Flight 498 is descending into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for landing. Meanwhile, a private Piper Archer takes off from an airfield in nearby Torrance. The Archer unwittingly enters LAX airspace but the air traffic controller does not notice it due to a distraction by another light aircraft on his radar screen. Over the residential district of Cerritos the Archer hits Flight 498's horizontal stabilizer, shearing off the top of its cockpit and destroying half of the tail of Flight 498. The badly damaged DC-9 rolls inverted and plummets into the houses below. Everyone on board perishes as well as 15 people on the ground. The occupants of the Archer died after the impact with the DC-9.
8 Fog of War

(Crash in Croatia)
(Inbound)
(Flight 21 Is Missing)

 United States Air Force Flight 21 April 3, 1996 Boeing CT-43 Pilot error, badly designed instrument approach procedure
A USAF Boeing CT-43 operating operating Flight 21 attempts an instrument approach into Dubrovnik Airport in heavy fog. The passengers are mainly government officials, including U.S. Government Secretaries. The pilots attempt the IFR non-precision NDB approach to Runway 12. The aircraft goes off course and hits mountains north of the airport, killing all 35 people onboard, including the United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.
9 Vertigo

(Deadly Disorientation)
(Desperate Dive)

 Flash Airlines Flight 604 January 3, 2004 Boeing 737-300 Disputed; Spatial disorientation, pilot error. The Egyptian government claims structural failure
Flash Airlines Flight 604 departs Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport in Egypt for Paris. Just after take-off, the aircraft banks right and goes off course. The pilot corrects the roll but the aircraft banks right again. This time the pilot does nothing. The Boeing 737 rolls further and descends into the Red Sea 9km south of Sharm el-Sheikh. Everyone on board is dead. The cause of this disaster is disputed.
10 Ghost Plane

(Unconscious Pilot)

 Helios Airways Flight 522 August 14, 2005 Boeing 737-300 Loss of cabin pressure, fuel exhaustion
Helios Airways Flight 522 departs from Cyprus. As it flies over Greece, air traffic controllers lose radio contact with it. Fighter jets are sent up to meet with the Boeing 737. One of the fighters draws alongside and its pilot sees that the First Officer appears to be alone and unconscious in the flight deck. Everyone visible in the cabin seems to be unconscious as well, and oxygen masks are dangling from the cabin ceiling. Then the fighter pilot witnesses someone enter the cockpit. The mysterious person appears to be trying to regain control of the aircraft, but it is too late. Soon, Flight 522 runs out of fuel and dives into a hill near Marathon, Greece. There are no survivors. After a thorough investigation, the mysterious person is found out to be a flight attendant who managed to stay conscious by using a portable oxygen mask as opposed to the aircraft's installed oxygen masks.

[edit] Season 5

# Title

(alternate title)

 Disaster Date of disaster Aircraft type Cause of disaster
1 Dead Weight Air Midwest Flight 5481 January 8, 2003 Beechcraft 1900D Maintenance error and overloading
A small commuter aircraft, Air Midwest Express Flight 5481 plummets into a hangar of Charlotte/Douglas International Airport seconds after take-off from there on a flight to Greenville.
2 Behind Closed Doors American Airlines Flight 96
Turkish Airlines Flight 981		 AA 96:June 12, 1972
TK 981:March 3, 1974		 AA 96 & TK 981: McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 Explosive decompression
A brand new McDonnell Douglas DC-10 just a few months old operating American Airlines Flight 96 from Detroit, Michigan to Buffalo, New York suffers an explosive decompression after a cargo door burst. The pilots forced at emergency landing at Windsor, Ontario. However, the fault with the door is not repaired and two years later, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 suffers a similar blowout during a flight from Paris to London. This time, the DC-10's hydraulic system was damaged and the aircraft smashed into a forest in Senlis, killing all 346 on board, thus making it the deadliest aviation disaster at that time.
3 Gimli Glider
(Deadly Glide)
(Miracle Flight)		 Air Canada Flight 143 July 23, 1983 Boeing 767-233 Fuel starvation
A Boeing 767-233 jet, Air Canada Flight 143, ran completely out of fuel at 41,000 feet (12,000m) altitude, about halfway through its flight from Montreal to Edmonton. The crew was able to glide the aircraft safely to an emergency landing at Gimli Industrial Park Airport, a former airbase at Gimli, Manitoba. The cause of the fuel starvation was an imperial to metric measurement conversion error when the plane was fueled, which was aggravated by out of commission gas guages.
4 Invisible Killer
(Slammed To The Ground)		 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 August 2, 1985 Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar Microburst-induced wind shear
Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crashed while on approach to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, killing 8 of 11 crew members and 126 of the 152 passengers on board and one person on the ground: a total of 135 deaths. This accident is one of the few commercial air crashes in which the meteorological phenomenon known as microburst-induced wind shear was a direct contributing factor.
5 Southern Storm Southern Airways Flight 242 April 4, 1977 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31 Multiple engine failure
Southern Airways Flight 242 in a flight from Huntsville, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia got caught up in a severe thunderstorm and got hit by hailstones which were the size of baseballs. The McDonnell DC-9-31 jet, registered N1335U lost both engines and was too far away from Atlanta or any other airport and was forced to make an emergency landing on a highway in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia. However, before it stopped, the jet collided with a gas station and exploded, killing 70 people (including 8 on the ground).
6 Fanning The Flames
(Cargo Conspiracy)
(Mystery Fire)		 South African Airways Flight 295 November 28, 1987 Boeing 747-244B Combi In-flight fire
South African Airways Flight 295 starts filling with smoke. A fire has erupted in the rear main level cargo area; the pilots cannot land as the aircraft is over the Indian Ocean. The passengers choke on the fire's toxic fumes partly due to improper use of the recirculate air flow setting. The pilots succesfully open the doors in flight, a rarely used and risky maneuver, to clear the smoke from the aircraft, however it still crashes. The fire was found to have burned extremely hot and this can't be explained from the cargo that was on the plane.
7 Explosive Evidence Air India Flight 182 June 23, 1985 Boeing 747-237B Bombing and explosion in mid-air
Air India Flight 182 flying over the Ireland coast exploded in mid-air killing all 329 on board. Investigators discovered that a bomb caused the aircraft to disintegrate.
8 The Plane That Wouldn't Talk
(Mixed Signals)		 Birgenair Flight 301 February 6, 1996 Boeing 757-225 Pitot tube blocked and FMC error
Birgenair Flight 301 was a scheduled Puerto Plata-Gander-Berlin-Frankfurt flight. But something goes terribly wrong. At 80 knots (150 km/h) on takeoff, the captain finds that his air speed indicator (ASI) is not working properly, though the co-pilot's ASI is OK. As the plane is climbing to 4,700 feet (1,400 m), the captain's ASI indicates 350 knots, which triggered an autopilot reaction, increasing the pitch-up attitude and reducing power to lower the plane's airspeed. Investigations showing that the plane was actually travelling at 220 knots. Both pilots become confused when the co-pilot's ASI reads 200 knots (decreasing) while getting a rudder ratio and Mach airspeed advisory warnings and a stick-shaker warning. Both pilots believed that both ASIs were malfunctioning. The autopilot, which received the captain's faulty ASI readings, is disconnected by the pilots, and they give full thrust. It isn't enough. At 11:47 PM, the Ground Proximity Warning System gives an aural warning, and eight seconds later the jet crashes into the Caribbean Sea. All 13 crew members and 176 passengers died.
9 Who's at the Controls?
(Fatal Distraction)		 Eastern Airlines Flight 401 December 29, 1972 Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar Controlled Flight Into Terrain, Crew Error
An explosion is heard and seen in the vicinity of Miami International Airport. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 was scheduled to land at that same moment. Actually, the L-1011 has crashed in the Everglades because the landing gear light did not turn on and the pilots got distracted while their plane was descending silently. Over a hundred people died.
10 Radio Silence
(Death Over The Amazon)
(Phantom Strike)		 GOL Flight 1907/ExcelAir N600XL September 29, 2006 GOL 1907:Boeing 737-8EH
ExcelAir N600XL:Embraer Legacy 600		 Mid-Air Collision
A GOL Boeing 737 and an ExcelAir Embraer Legacy business jet collided in mid-air over the Amazon killing 154 people. The passenger jet crashes and the Legacy is badly damaged, but it manages to land. Its the deadliest plane crash in Brazil's aviation before the crash of TAM Flight 3054.

[edit] Season 6

Not yet confirmed, but the Cineflix website says there is going to be a sixth season of probably around 10 episodes.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

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