Mayday (2003)
Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.
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0x01 Final Hour of Flight 11 Aircrash Confidential Mystery
26 June, 2004 10:00 pm
0x02 Crash of the Century
13 August, 2006 10:00 pm
March 27, 1977 – At 2:00 in the afternoon a thick fog rolled into the usually quiet Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. On the runway sat two fully loaded jumbo airliners, blanketed in fog. A bomb explosion at a nearby airport had re-directed air traffic to the undermanned airfield at Tenerife. Within three hours, a KLM 747 slams into a taxiing PAM 747, killing 583 people. The planes never left the ground.
0x03 Special Report Season 13 : Getting Out Alive
09 May, 2014 10:00 pm
This special looked at how people survive aviation accidents, in part with demonstrations at the Czech Airlines Training Centre.
It provided case studies on the following flight:
- Asiana Airlines Flight 214
- Air France Flight 358
- Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8
- Air Canada Flight 797
- US Airways Flight 1549
0x04 Special Report Season 18 : Communication Breakdown
09 July, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at how failures in communication lead to disasters
0x05 Special Report Season 18 : Bad Attitude
16 July, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at how pilots' aggressive or unprofessional behaviour can cause deadly accidents.
0x06 Special Report Season 18 : Hero Pilots
23 July, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at how pilots safely land their aircraft in emergency situations.
0x07 Special Report Season 18 : Plane vs. Pilot
30 July, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at how automation in the cockpit causes deadly misunderstandings.
0x08 Special Report Season 18 : Explosive Evidence
06 August, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at terrorist acts, including bombings and shootdowns.
0x09 Special Report Season 18 : Killer in the Cockpit?
13 August, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at pilots' carefully planned strategies in deliberately crashing aircraft.
0x10 Special Report Season 18 : Missing Pieces
20 August, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at foreign items, including ice, a chemical oxygen generator, and a bomb as the cause.
0x11 Special Report Season 18 : Controversial Crashes
27 August, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at disasters where multiple investigations don't agree on the cause of these accidents.
0x12 Special Report Season 18 : Deadly Distractions
03 September, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at how pilots' deviation from cockpit duties lead to crashes.
0x13 Special Report Season 18 : Fire on Board
10 September, 2018 10:00 pm
This special looked at disasters caused by fires, either on the ground or in the air.
0x14 Special Report Season 19 : Headline News
05 October, 2019 10:00 pm
Three devastating crashes make front page news and the media frenzy puts intense pressure to uncover the true cause of these deadly disasters.
0x15 Special Report Season 19 : Rookie Errors
12 October, 2019 10:00 pm
While commercial pilots undergo hundreds of hours of training and testing, even experienced pilots can make deadly rookie errors.
0x16 Special Report Season 19 : Collision Course
19 October, 2019 10:00 pm
Investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact.
0x17 Special Report Season 19 : Engines Out
26 October, 2019 10:00 pm
When an aircraft loses total engine power, a pilot's training can make all the difference in the world.
0x18 Special Report Season 19 : Fuel Trouble
02 November, 2019 9:00 pm
Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source - the fuel tank.
0x19 Special Report Season 19 : Perilous Payloads
09 November, 2019 10:00 pm
Three planes fatally out of balance highlight to investigators a flight risk that's entirely preventable, and yet seemingly not stopping.
0x20 Special Report Season 19 : Runway in Sight
16 November, 2019 10:00 pm
If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy as evidenced in these three crashes.
0x21 Special Report Season 19 : Deadly Confusion
23 November, 2019 10:00 pm
Spatial disorientation is one of the leading causes of all air accidents. Even the most experienced pilots are susceptible to its subtle yet deadly effects.
0x22 Special Report Season 19 : Radio Silence
30 November, 2019 10:00 pm
Radio silence between pilots and controllers can mean many different things, but in these stories, the physical evidence reveals the truth.
0x23 Special Report Season 19 : Design Flaws
07 December, 2019 10:00 pm
Drawing the attention of the entire world, three fatal design flaws put air crash investigators in a storm of controversy.
0x24 Special Report Season 20: Courage in the Cockpit
20 July, 2020 10:00 pm
Devastating systems failures in the air put pilots to the test and shine a light on three astonishing feats of flying, including Qantas Flight 32.
0x25 Special Report Season 20: Death From Above
27 July, 2020 10:00 pm
Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below.
0x26 Special Report Season 20: VIP on Board
03 August, 2020 10:00 pm
Revisit three crashes involving high-profile passengers and the pressurized investigations into the causes that followed.
0x27 Special Report Season 20: Lapse in Security
10 August, 2020 10:00 pm
These are three horrific air disasters that provoked fundamental changes to airport security and the measures we follow across the world today.
0x28 Special Report Season 20: Mountain Impact
17 August, 2020 10:00 pm
Follow three horrifying crashes that revealed high-tech blind spots in the technology preventing aircraft from ploughing into mountains.
0x29 Special Report Season 20: Survivors
24 August, 2020 10:00 pm
From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.
0x30 Special Report Season 20: Instrument Confusion
31 August, 2020 10:00 pm
Follow three mid-air tragedies that rained terror on those below when they happened over crowded areas.
0x31 Special Report Season 20: Heat of the Moment
07 September, 2020 10:00 pm
When aviation decisions are made in the heat of the moment, even minor issues can have fatal consequences.
0x32 Special Report Season 20: Maintenance Mistakes
14 September, 2020 10:00 pm
A trio of crashes reveal that when the nuts and bolts of maintenance go unchecked, it can spell catastrophe.
0x33 Special Report Season 20: Take Off Tragedies
21 September, 2020 10:00 pm
Three flights ending in tragedy prove that minor missteps during take-off can have disastrous consequences.
0x34 Special Report: Dead of Night
10 January, 2021 10:00 pm
Confused, flying blind and lost in the dark, three crews lose site of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.
0x35 Special Report: Engine Gone
17 January, 2021 10:00 pm
Three crews experience the same devastating event, but with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.
0x36 Special Report: Lethal Choices
24 January, 2021 10:00 pm
Faced with a mid-air crisis, pilots must make life-and-death decisions, but the wrong approach can trigger a far more serious problem.
0x37 Special Report: Risky Runways
31 January, 2021 10:00 pm
In Sao Paolo, the Himalayas, and on the Norwegian coast, three flight crews are pushed to the limit by the toughest landings on earth.
0x38 Special Report: Landings Gone Wrong
07 February, 2021 10:00 pm
Relying on instinct rather than the rule book, three flights end in tragedy when crews improvise on their final approach.
0x39 Special Report: Frozen Wings
08 February, 2021 10:00 pm
Three planes are brought down by ice, and it's up to investigators to determine how modern aircraft could possibly end up with frozen wings.
0x40 Special Report: Runway Collisions
11 February, 2021 10:00 pm
Three catastrophic runway collisions raise the same pressing question: How could two planes end up on the same runway at the same time?
0x41 Special Report: Cockpit Breakdown
12 February, 2021 10:00 pm
Illustrating the deadly consequences of a mismatched crew, three flights end in tragedy, leaving investigators to unravel what went wrong.
0x42 Special Report: Splash Down
14 February, 2021 10:00 pm
Three last-resort water landings-all handled differently-yet each one crucial to improving the outcomes of ditching on open water.
0x43 Special Report: Northern Extremes
15 February, 2021 10:00 pm
Faced with the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky leaving investigators to uncover the cause.
0x44 Special Report: War Zone
11 July, 2022 10:00 pm
Misidentification and accidental bombing of enemy territory are among the many risks pilots face in military zones around the world.
0x45 Special Report: Time Critical
10 July, 2022 10:00 pm
In a rush to complete their flights, distracted pilots skip key procedures, ignore signs of danger, and make deadly decisions. A Turkish Airlines 737 crashes just short of the runway in Amsterdam. Amid heavy snow and ice, a delayed flight crew ignores standard procedures in Denver. And, when a captain helps a struggling first officer, their botched approach ends up in a New Zealand hillside.
0x46 Special Report: Ticking Time Bomb
17 July, 2022 10:00 pm
From metal fatigue to faulty repairs, three doomed airlines are brought down by gradually deteriorating parts. On a flight in Tahiti, a frayed steel cable snaps sending a turboprop to the ocean floor. Shortly after take-off, a Boeing 747’s tailfin blows off and the aircraft slams into a mountain near Tokyo. And, tourists on Miami beach watch in horror as a sea plane’s wing tears off in mid-flight.
0x47 Special Report: Accidents in the Air
24 July, 2022 10:00 pm
With zero margin for error, three catastrophes are narrowly averted by pilots who somehow manage to land their damaged planes. A passenger is sucked out of a window after Southwest Flight 1380 is rocked by a mid-air explosion. While flying over Hawaii, the cabin of a Boeing 737 is blown wide open. And, Air Canada Flight 797 erupts in flames just 90 seconds after an heroic emergency landing.
0x48 Special Report: Impossible Landings
31 July, 2022 10:00 pm
With zero margin for error, three catastrophes are narrowly averted by pilots who somehow manage to land their damaged planes. A passenger is sucked out of a window after Southwest Flight 1380 is rocked by a mid-air explosion. While flying over Hawaii, the cabin of a Boeing 737 is blown wide open. And, Air Canada Flight 797 erupts in flames just 90 seconds after an heroic emergency landing.
0x49 Special Report: Deadly Data
14 August, 2022 10:00 pm
Three flights suffer catastrophic computer errors that force investigators to dig deep for clues. A seasoned Alitalia crew somehow flies a DC-9 into the ground just miles from a Zurich runway. En route from Singapore to Perth, Qantas Flight 72 suddenly nosedives toward the Indian Ocean. And, without a key instrument to guide them, the pilots of a Venezuelan turboprop crash into a mountainside.
0x50 Special Report: Poor Piloting
21 August, 2022 10:00 pm
Critical errors in the cockpit cause three planes to fall out of the sky. It’s the computer versus the pilots on board China Airlines Flight 140. Foul weather and a deadly chain of mistakes, causes a turboprop to flip over and crash while landing in Ireland. And on a doomed flight over Siberia, a terrifying lapse in judgment puts a child in the pilot’s seat.
0x51 Special Report: Dangerous Winds
28 August, 2022 10:00 pm
Three planes fall prey to fearsome winds, and it’s up to investigators to find out why. On final approach to Charlotte, US Air Flight 1016 is thrown to the ground by a deadly microburst. Flying blind over Peru, a 737 drops like a stone and cuts a mile-long swath through the jungle. And, a scientific expedition into the eye of Hurricane Hugo goes horribly wrong.
0x52 Special Report: Sabotage
04 September, 2022 10:00 pm
Three flights are hijacked by acts of sabotage. When the cockpit of an Ethiopian airliner is stormed by hijackers, the captain manages an heroic yet deadly ocean landing. Investigators are torn between competing theories after an Italian passenger plane is blown out of the sky. And, Namibian investigators reach a chilling conclusion after piecing through the wreckage of LAM Mozambique Flight 470.
0x53 Special Report: Trained to Fail
11 September, 2022 10:00 pm
Failures in pilot training lead to catastrophe in the cockpit. Amid heavy turbulence over the Caribbean, a charter plane falls out of the sky—when pilots react to a crisis that never happened. After a lightning strike, a commuter turboprop nosedives toward the North Atlantic as the pilots misdiagnose the problem. And, a top Russian hockey team is wiped out when a pilot botches a routine takeoff.
0x57 Special Report: Pitch Problems
08 July, 2024 10:00 pm
Pitch problems, or the incorrect position of the aeroplane nose, lead to catastrophic impacts that leave little evidence behind.
0x58 Special Report: Fight to the Finish
15 July, 2024 10:00 pm
A Boeing 707 loses both right engines, an out-of-control aircraft needs managing and a bomb explodes aboard PA 434.
0x59 Special Report: Bad Data
22 July, 2024 10:00 pm
Bad data can be deadly. When a Stealth Bomber crashes at a US Air Force base, it becomes the most expensive aviation disaster ever.
0x60 Special Report: Landing Hazards
29 July, 2024 10:00 pm
Three harrowing disasters reveal the threat of poor weather to a safe landing, with heavy rain, thunderstorms and treacherous crosswinds.
0x61 Special Report: Training Ignored
05 August, 2024 10:00 pm
Situations can turn deadly if training is ignored. Basketball legend Kobe Bryant is among the casualties when a helicopter crashes in LA.
0x62 Special Report: Reckless Approaches
12 August, 2024 10:00 pm
Three catastrophic approaches provoke questions, from a turboprop disaster to an invisible culprit on the Cuban border.
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