History Series / Mayday

*** Saudia Flight 163, a L-1011 TriStar, had a large bulk cargo hold, big enough that a fire could burn through the walls before all the oxygen was used up.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The "Crash of the Century" special portrays Captain van Zanten as an abrasive boss in order to explain why his crew didn't challenge his reckless takeoff attempt, but there's no evidence from the plane's black box or the investigative report of him behaving this way. [[https://archive.org/details/disastersinairmy0000bart/page/264/mode/2up?p=264 According to a pilot who knew him for many years]], van Zanten was generally laid-back and easy to get along with, while his first officer, Klaus Meurs, was actually the more assertive of the two and wasn't the kind of person who would remain silent if he thought van Zanten had made a mistake, which is shown earlier when he pointed out that they had not received ATC clearance.

*** Saudia Flight 163, a L-1011 TriStar, had a large bulk cargo hold, big enough that an afire could burn through the walls before all the oxygen was used up.

** Class D cargo holds were supposed to extinguish fires by allowing them to exhaust the oxygen, but as everyone involved with [=ValuJet=] Flight 592 found out, that doesn't work when the source of the fire produces oxygen. Needless to say, the crash of Flight 592 led to this class of cargo hold being phased out because its design was too easily defeated.

** The crashes of Lion Air 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 were caused by a system known as MCAS, which was supposed to pitch the nose downwards in a specific situation (flaps up, high angle of attack, manual flight) so that the 737 MAX would mimic the behaviour of the 737 NG, in theory making simulator training unnecessary. Unfortunately, the system relied on a single Angle of Attack sensor and was mistakenly activated in both crashes by being fed erroneous data from malfunctioning sensors. While the correct solution would have been to turn off the automatic trim system entirely, MCAS was not mentioned at all in the manuals or in training.

** Target fixation, poor situational awareness and poor crew resource management with the rest of the crew have been contributing factors to two improper landing approaches ending with the plane crashing into terrain (Korean Air Flight 801 and First Air Flight 6560), two instances where fixation with a minor fault lead to a crash (Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 and United Airlines Flight 173), a non-stabilised approach and resulting hard landing on a runway (Garuda Indonesia Flight 200), an unrecoverable bank to the left after taking off (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509), a plane crashing into construction equipment on a closed runway (Singapore Airlines Flight 006), a burning plane not being evacuated because the captain didn't take the crisis seriously enough (Saudia Flight 163), and the infamous Tenerife Disaster (KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736).

** Target fixation, poor situational awareness and poor crew resource management with the rest of the crew have been contributing factors to two improper landing approaches ending with the plane crashing into terrain (Korean Air Flight 801 and First Air Flight 6560), two instances where fixation with a minor fault lead to a crash (Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 and United Airlines Flight 173), a non-stabilised approach and resulting hard landing on a runway (Garuda Indonesia Flight 200), an unrecoverable bank to the left after taking off (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509), a plane crashing into construction equipment on a closed runway (Singapore Airlines Flight 006) and the infamous Tenerife Disaster (KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736).

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: The "Crash of the Century" special portrays Captain van Zanten as an abrasive boss in order to explain why his crew didn't challenge his reckless takeoff attempt, but there's no evidence from the plane's black box or the investigative report of him behaving this way. [[https://archive.org/details/disastersinairmy0000bart/page/262/mode/2up?q=zanten According to a pilot who knew him for many years]], van Zanten was generally laid-back and easy to get along with, while his first officer, Klaus Meurs, was actually the more assertive of the two and wasn't the kind of person who would remain silent if he thought van Zanten had made a mistake, which is shown earlier when he pointed out that they had not received ATC clearance.

* AnAesop:
** Airlines must prioritize safety over profits. If they decide to skimp on maintenance or pilot training to save money, the consequences could be fatal for their employees and customers.
** "Scratching the Surface": Hasty outside-the-book repairs and maintenance on aircraft that work in the short-term can have deadly consequences years or even decades later if not followed up with a proper and more permanent solution. In this case, a quick-fix doubler-plate repair on damage caused by a tailstrike in 1980 would eventually lead to a depressurization-induced mid-air disintegration that killed everyone onboard 22 years later because ''no one'' noticed the side effects for so long.
** "Cockpit Killer": Don't ignore aviation disasters in developing countries just because they happened in developing countries. Many accidents in these countries could just as easily have happened in a developed country, and they have an equal potential to be the canary in the coal mine. Had the lessons from LAM Mozambique 470 been heeded, the Germanwings 9525 disaster might have been averted.

** Matthew Bell, the first officer of UPS Flight 6, during the final minutes of the stricken plane's flight; with its cargo set ablaze by spontaneously combusted lithium ion batteries, the fire is now raging just a few metres behind your seat; you last saw the captain stepping out of his seat in an attempt to fight the fire, but hasn't returned, as he has likely either suffocated on the smoke or outright incinerated by the fire itself. All the while, you're desperately trying to reach the airport, only to be unable to see the runway due to smoke blocking your vision... and your plane is still descending towards the ground...

** In a similar vein, in "Sight Unseen", the Kazakh pilots push their aircraft to full power upon realizing that they've descended too far in an attempt to climb back up. In a truly sorrowful twist of fate, had they not realized that they were too far below their assigned altitude, and kept descending, they would have descended below the Saudi jet and it would have been a near miss rather than a fatal collision.

* CanadaEh: Mostly averted except once during the Nationair 2120 episode. As the aircraft was accelerating for takeoff, the captain asked the first officer "You're not leaning on the brakes, eh?" after one of the tires blew. {{Justified|trope}} in that this is an exact quote from the CVR and the flight crew was Canadian.

** Manufacturers not thinking aircraft designs through has contributed to cargo doors opening during flight (American Airlines Flight 96, Turkish Airlines Flight 981), mere temperature differences causing rudder hardovers (United Airlines Flight 585, [=USAir=] Flight 427, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517), landing gear wires that could easily be crossed by mistake causing the anti-skid system to fail ([=PenAir=] Flight 3296), fuel gauges being physically compatible with incompatible planes (Tuninter Flight 1153), thrust reversers deploying during flight (Lauda Air Flight 004), a malfunctioning automated system sending planes careening into the ground (Lion Air Flight 610, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302), warning alarms that sound too similar to each other leading to a misdiagnosis as to what the problem is (Helios Flight 522), and no alarm to alert the crew that a thrust reverser had deployed (TAM Flight 402).

** Problems with maintenance staff or other ground crew making mistakes due to improper or inadequate training, overwork (sometimes causing them to try and take shortcuts just to not fall behind), technical difficulty in doing things the proper way, or just plain poor oversight have contributed to an engine falling off during takeoff (American Airlines Flight 191), a plane running out of fuel during flight (Air Transat Flight 236 and Air Canada Flight 143), two instances of covered pitot/static tubes which lead to malfunctioning flight instruments (Aeroperu Flight 603 and Birgenair Flight 301), an improperly adjusted elevator control cable (Air Midwest Flight 5481), a rear cargo door falling off causing an explosive decompression (the 1975 US Air Force C-5 Galaxy crash), a missing row of screws causing an elevator to break off mid flight (Continental Express Flight 2574), a missing cotter pin causing the right side elevator to get jammed into the climb position (Emery Worldwide Flight 17), an onboard cargo fire caused by mislabeled cargo ([=ValuJet=] Flight 592), an airline using illegal aircraft parts (Partnair Flight 394), a takeoff with an improper stabiliser trim setting and back heavy cargo (Fine Air Flight 101), two instances of improper repair of damage from a tailstrike (Japan Airlines Flight 123 and China Airlines Flight 611), an entire wing falling off a seaplane (Chalks Ocean Airways Flight 101), a cockpit windscreen blowing off mid-flight (British Airways Flight 5390), a bolt in a slat mechanism coming loose and puncturing a fuel tank (China Airlines Flight 120), ailerons being crossed due to mis-rigging (Air Astana Flight 1388), a tube that was too short that caused flammable de-icying fluid to leak in a place where there are lot of potential sources of ignition (Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458), and the cables controlling the stabilizer trim being crossed (Colgan Air Flight 9446).

** Problems with maintenance staff or other ground crew making mistakes due to improper or inadequate training, overwork (sometimes causing them to try and take shortcuts just to not fall behind), technical difficulty in doing things the proper way, or just plain poor oversight have contributed to an engine falling off during takeoff (American Airlines Flight 191), a plane running out of fuel during flight (Air Transat Flight 236 and Air Canada Flight 143), two instances of covered pitot/static tubes which lead to malfunctioning flight instruments (Aeroperu Flight 603 and Birgenair Flight 301), an improperly adjusted elevator control cable (Air Midwest Flight 5481), a rear cargo door falling off causing an explosive decompression (the 1975 US Air Force C-5 Galaxy crash), a missing row of screws causing an elevator to break off mid flight (Continental Express Flight 2574), a missing cotter pin causing the right side elevator to get jammed into the climb position (Emery Worldwide Flight 17), an onboard cargo fire caused by mislabeled cargo ([=ValuJet=] Flight 592), an airline using illegal aircraft parts (Partnair Flight 394), a takeoff with an improper stabiliser trim setting and back heavy cargo (Fine Air Flight 101), two instances of improper repair of damage from a tailstrike (Japan Airlines Flight 123 and China Airlines Flight 611), an entire wing falling off a seaplane (Chalks Ocean Airways Flight 101), a cockpit windscreen blowing off mid-flight (British Airways Flight 5390), a bolt in a slat mechanism coming loose and puncturing a fuel tank (China Airlines Flight 120), ailerons being crossed due to mis-rigging (Air Astana Flight 1388), a tube that was too short that caused flamible de-icying fluid to leak in a place where there are lot of potential sources of ignition (Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458), and the cables controlling the stabilizer trim being crossed (Colgan Air Flight 9446).

** Manufacturers not thinking aircraft designs through has contributed to cargo doors opening during flight (American Airlines Flight 96, Turkish Airlines Flight 981), mere temperature differences causing rudder hardovers (United Airlines Flight 585, [=USAir=] Flight 427, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517), landing gear wires that could easily be crossed by mistake causing the anti-skid system to fail ([=PenAir=] Flight 3296), fuel gauges being physically compatible with incompatible planes (Tuninter Flight 1153), thrust reversers deploying during flight (Lauda Air Flight 004), a malfunctioning automated system sending planes careening into the ground (Lion Air Flight 610, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302), warning alarms that sound too similar to each other leading to a missdiagnosis as to what the problem is (Helios Flight 522), and no alarm to alert the crew that a thrust reverser had deployed (TAM Flight 402).

** Problems with maintenance staff or other ground crew making mistakes due to improper or inadequate training, overwork (sometimes causing them to try and take shortcuts just to not fall behind), technical difficulty in doing things the proper way, or just plain poor oversight have contributed to an engine falling off during takeoff (American Airlines Flight 191), a plane running out of fuel during flight (Air Transat Flight 236 and Air Canada Flight 143), two instances of covered pitot/static tubes which lead to malfunctioning flight instruments (Aeroperu Flight 603 and Birgenair Flight 301), an improperly adjusted elevator control cable (Air Midwest Flight 5481), a rear cargo door falling off causing an explosive decompression (the 1975 US Air Force C-5 Galaxy crash), a missing row of screws causing an elevator to break off mid flight (Continental Express Flight 2574), a missing cotter pin causing the right side elevator to get jammed into the climb position (Emery Worldwide Flight 17), an onboard cargo fire caused by mislabeled cargo ([=ValuJet=] Flight 592), an airline using illegal aircraft parts (Partnair Flight 394), a takeoff with an improper stabiliser trim setting and back heavy cargo (Fine Air Flight 101), two instances of improper repair of damage from a tailstrike (Japan Airlines Flight 123 and China Airlines Flight 611), an entire wing falling off a seaplane (Chalks Ocean Airways Flight 101), a cockpit windscreen blowing off mid-flight (British Airways Flight 5390), a bolt in a slat mechanism coming loose and puncturing a fuel tank (China Airlines Flight 120), ailerons being crossed due to mis-rigging (Air Astana Flight 1388), and the cables controlling the stabilizer trim being crossed (Colgan Air Flight 9446).

** Manufacturers not thinking aircraft designs through has contributed to cargo doors opening during flight (American Airlines Flight 96, Turkish Airlines Flight 981), mere temperature differences causing rudder hardovers (United Airlines Flight 585, [=USAir=] Flight 427, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517), crossed landing gear wires causing the anti-skid system to fail ([=PenAir=] Flight 3296), fuel gauges being physically compatible with incompatible planes (Tuninter Flight 1153), thrust reversers deploying during flight (Lauda Air Flight 004), and a malfunctioning automated system sending planes careening into the ground (Lion Air Flight 610, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302).

** "Target Is Destroyed": The crew had initially set their autopilot to HDG (Heading Select) when they were cleared by ATC shortly after takeoff to fly directly to the second of the ten waypoints they needed to pass through in the [=R20C=] flight corridor on their way to Seoul, with the intention of setting it back to INS mode as they got close enough to pick up the waypoint's radio beacon. For some reason, they neglected to switch it back to INS mode when the time came to do so. This led the aircraft to stray into Soviet airspace not once, but ''twice'', which ultimately provoked a deadly response from their airforce.

** Manufacturers not thinking aircraft designs through has contributed to cargo doors opening during flight (American Airlines Flight 96, Turkish Airlines Flight 981), rudder hardovers due to thermal shock (United Airlines Flight 585, USAir Flight 427, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517), crossed landing gear wires causing the anti-skid system to fail ([=PenAir=] Flight 3296), fuel gauges being physically compatible with incompatible planes (Tuninter Flight 1153), thrust reversers deploying during flight (Lauda Air Flight 004), and a malfunctioning automated system sending planes careening into the ground (Lion Air Flight 610, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302).

** Problems with maintenance staff or other ground crew making mistakes due to improper or inadequate training, overwork (sometimes causing them to try and take shortcuts just to not fall behind), technical difficulty in doing things the proper way, or just plain poor oversight have contributed to an engine falling off during takeoff (American Airlines Flight 191), a plane running out of fuel during flight (Air Transat Flight 236 and Air Canada Flight 143), two instances of covered pitot/static tubes which lead to malfunctioning flight instruments (Aeroperu Flight 603 and Birgenair Flight 301), an improperly adjusted elevator control cable (Air Midwest Flight 5481), a rear cargo door falling off causing an explosive decompression (the 1975 US Air Force C-5 Galaxy crash), a missing row of screws causing an elevator to break off mid flight (Continental Express Flight 2574), a missing cotter pin causing the right side elevator to get jammed into the climb position (Emery Worldwide Flight 17), an onboard cargo fire caused by mislabeled cargo ([=ValuJet=] Flight 592), an airline using illegal aircraft parts (Partnair Flight 394), a takeoff with an improper stabiliser trim setting and back heavy cargo (Fine Air Flight 101), two instances of improper repair of damage from a tailstrike (Japan Airlines Flight 123 and China Airlines Flight 611), an entire wing falling off a seaplane (Chalks Ocean Airways Flight 101), a cockpit windscreen blowing off mid-flight (British Airways Flight 5390), a bolt in a slat mechanism coming loose and puncturing a fuel tank (China Airlines Flight 120), ailerons being crossed due to mis-rigging (Air Astana Flight 1388), and the cables controling the stablizer trim being crossed (Colgan Air Flight 9446).

** Problems with maintenance staff or other ground crew making mistakes due to improper or inadequate training, overwork (sometimes causing them to try and take shortcuts just to not fall behind), technical difficulty in doing things the proper way, or just plain poor oversight have contributed to an engine falling off during takeoff (American Airlines Flight 191), a plane running out of fuel during flight (Air Transat Flight 236 and Air Canada Flight 143), two instances of covered pitot/static tubes which lead to malfunctioning flight instruments (Aeroperu Flight 603 and Birgenair Flight 301), an improperly adjusted elevator control cable (Air Midwest Flight 5481), a rear cargo door falling off causing an explosive decompression (the 1975 US Air Force C-5 Galaxy crash), a missing row of screws causing an elevator to break off mid flight (Continental Express Flight 2574), a missing cotter pin causing the right side elevator to get jammed into the climb position (Emery Worldwide Flight 17), an onboard cargo fire caused by mislabeled cargo ([=ValuJet=] Flight 592), an airline using illegal aircraft parts (Partnair Flight 394), a takeoff with an improper stabiliser trim setting and back heavy cargo (Fine Air Flight 101), two instances of improper repair of damage from a tailstrike (Japan Airlines Flight 123 and China Airlines Flight 611), an entire wing falling off a seaplane (Chalks Ocean Airways Flight 101), a cockpit windscreen blowing off mid-flight (British Airways Flight 5390), a bolt in a slat mechanism coming loose and puncturing a fuel tank (China Airlines Flight 120), and ailerons being crossed due to mis-rigging (Air Astana Flight 1388).