Recap / Mayday

Season 1 (2003)

Episode 1

• Title: Unlocking Disaster
  • Alternate Title: Ripped From the Sky (US)
  • Subject: United Airlines Flight 811 (Boeing 747-122, Registration: N 4713 U, after the accident N 4724 U ).
  • Cause of accident: In-flight cargo door failure leading to explosive decompression

Synopsis: Flight 811 departed Honolulu, Hawaii, in the night between February 24 and 25, 1988. The cargo hatch opened mid-flight, because of a faulty lock design and a short circuit. The explosive decompression ejected nine people from the aircraft, and one of the engines was damaged by fuselage debris. However, the plane safely returned to Honolulu without any further loss of life.

Episode 2

• Title: Racing the Storm
  • Alternate Title: Fatal Landing (US)
  • Subject: American Airlines Flight 1420
  • Cause of accident: Pilot error during landing

Synopsis: On June 1, 1999, Flight 1420 was due to land in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a routine flight from Dallas, Texas. The landing attempt happened in harsh weather with strong winds, but the spoilers did not deploy at touchdown as the crew failed to arm them during their rushed preparations for landing. The aircraft did not brake properly, overshot the runway and impacted with runway lights before splitting in two. Eleven people died in the crash.

Episode 3

• Title: Fire On Board
  • Alternate Title: Fire in the Sky (US)
  • Subject: Swissair Flight 111
  • Cause of accident: In-flight fire

Synopsis: On September 2, 1998, a Swissair MD-11 caught fire while on route from New York to Geneva. Faulty wiring, which supplied electricity to first class in-flight entertainment, short circuited and ignited the fuselage insulation, spreading all the way to the cockpit. Vital systems failed, and the crew couldn't make an approach to Halifax Airport. The aircraft plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 229 people on board.

Episode 4

• Title: Flying Blind
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Aeroperù Flight 603
  • Cause of accident: Instrument failure due to faulty maintenance

Synopsis: In the night of October 2, 1996, Aeroperù Flight 603 took off from Lima, Peru, for the last leg of a flight from Miami to Santiago, Chile. After takeoff, the altimeter and the airspeed indicator did not work properly, and contradictory alarms (both the stall and overspeed warning) sounded at the same time, causing further confusion and disorientation in the crew. The ATC offered help in finding the way back to Lima by a nearby Boeing 707, but the crew, relying on false instrument readings, brought the aircraft too low, crashing in the Pacific Ocean and killing all 70 people on board before the 707 could reach them. The malfuncions were caused by duct tape stuck over the aircraft's static ports, which was supposed to be removed after maintenance.

Episode 5

• Title: Cutting Corners
  • Alternate Title: Fatal Error
  • Subject: Alaska Airlines Flight 261
  • Cause of accident: In-flight mechanical failure due to faulty maintenance

Synopsis: On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 was en route from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to San Francisco. The crew had problems operating the horizontal stabilizer, so they opted for an emergency landing at Los Angeles. The horizontal stabilizer's jackscrew, which was jammed, broke free from its casing and brought the aircraft into a steep dive, turning it upside down. The aircraft plunged in the Pacific Ocean, killing 88 people. The jackscrew was not lubricated properly because of maintenance issues - at the time, Alaska Airlines was cutting costs in maintenance, by having fewer hours of repairs and less working personnel.

Episode 6

• Title: Flying on Empty
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Air Transat Flight 236
  • Cause of accident: Fuel starvation due to in-flight leak caused by faulty maintenance

Synopsis: On August 24, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236 was en route from Toronto to Lisbon, Portugal. The aircraft's fuel tank pipes broke in flight due to improper maintenance work, and the leak caused it to run out of fuel in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The crew managed to glide it towards an Air Force base in the Azores, and successfully landed it. There were 293 passengers on board.

Season 2 (2004)

Episode 1

• Title: Blowout
  • Alternate Title: Ripped from the Cockpit (US)
  • Subject: British Airways Flight 5390
  • Cause of accident: In-flight cockpit window failure and decompression due to faulty maintenance

Synopsis: On June 10, 1990, British Airways Flight 5390 was flying from Birmingham to Màlaga, Spain. While en route, the cockpit window was ripped from its frame, causing an explosive decompression that sucked the captain out of the cockpit. The first officer was handling both control and communication by himself, while two flight attendants held the captain by the legs. The aircraft made a successful emergency landing in Southampton. Amazingly, the captain survived being pinned to the fuselage and suffering harsh winds and cold. After recovering from bruises, frostbite and several broken bones, he returned to flying. The cockpit window was fitted with incorrectly sized screws, which dislodged mid-flight. Also, the maintenance crew was not properly monitored while on duty.

Episode 2

• Title: A Wounded Bird
  • Alternate Title: One Wing Flight (US)
  • Subject: Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529
  • Cause of accident: In-flight propeller failure due to design flaw

Synopsis: On August 21, 1995, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 was en route from Atlanta to Gulfport when a propeller failed, damaging the left engine and disrupting the wing's airflow. Unable to keep the aircraft in the air long enough for an emergency landing, the crew performed a crash landing in a grassy plain. Everyone on board survived, but a fire erupted in the cabin, killing 7 passengers (one more died later in hospital). An oxygen tank ignited in the cockpit; while the captain was too injured to escape, the first officer broke the window with a fireaxe and jumped out of it. The propeller was corroded by chlorine, used in maintenance works, but the failure was not detected in ultrasound tests.

Episode 3

• Title: The Killing Machine
  • Alternate Title: Hijacked (UK), Hijack Rescue (US)
  • Subject: Air France Flight 8969
  • Cause of accident: Terrorism, attempted suicide hijacking

Synopsis: On December 24 1994, Air France Flight 8969 was raided by four terrorists of the GIA (Armed Islamic Group of Algeria) in Algiers, who demanded to be flown to Paris so they could take control and crash the plane into the Eiffel Tower. However, the Algerian Army blocked the runway in time, preventing them to take off. In the two days of negotiation, the hijackers killed three hostages. In the afternoon of December 26 1994, the aircraft took off, but was diverted to Marseille at the last minute. The Gendarmerie Intervention Group and the GIA engaged in a gunfight in Marseille Airport, resulting in the killing of all four terrorists and the liberation of the remaining 229 hostages.

Episode 4

• Title: Deadly Crossroads
  • Alternate Title: Midair Collision (UK and AUS), A Father's Revenge(US)
  • Subject: Überlingen Midair Collision (Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and DHL Flight 611)
  • Cause of accident: Midair collision due to communication mishaps

Synopsis: On July 1, 2002, Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 was carrying 60 passengers, including 45 children, to a school trip in Barcelona, which was organized by the Russian UNESCO Committee. At the same time, DHL Flight 611 was flying in Swiss airspace, heading northwest to Brussels. Traffic was controlled by a private airspace control company, and at the time there was only one controller working at two stations at once. The controller gave incorrect information about the DHL flight's position, and the TCAS instructions on both planes added to the confusion. Both aircrafts collided above a hill near Überlingen, in Germany. The DHL's tail sliced through the fuselage of the Bashkirian aircraft, bisecting it and exploding it on impact. While scattered debris of the Bashkirian flight fell from the sky, the DHL struggled to stay in the air with more than half of its vertical stabilizer missing, but crashed. In total, 71 people were killed. Two years later, Vitaly Kaloyev, whose wife and two children had died in the crash, tracked and murdered the airspace controller on duty that night.

Episode 5

• Title: Lost
  • Alternate Title: Crash on the Mountain (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: American Airlines Flight 965
  • Cause of accident: Controlled flight into terrain due to navigation errors

Synopsis: In the night of December 20, 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 was flying from Miami, Florida, to Cali, Colombia. The crew was offered a straight approach to Cali Airport, and they accepted, but they had to adjust the autopilot's route. However, they inadvertently cleared all the waypoints in the FMS, and while resolving this problem, they accidentally directed the aircraft east to Bogotá. When they finally noticed their error and redirected to Cali, they failed to notice there was now a mountain range between them and the city. The plane crashed, killing 159 people in total. Four passengers and a dog survived.

Episode 6

• Title: Missing over New York
  • Alternate Title: Deadly Delay (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Avianca Flight 52
  • Cause of accident: Fuel starvation due to communication mishap

Synopsis: In the night of January 25, 1990, Avianca Flight 52 was holding above New York, waiting to land. As fuel was running out, the crew requested an emergency landing. Not long after, the aircraft tried to land, but missed the approach because of windshear and performed a go-around. However, ATC instructed them to go back into holding pattern, unaware of their fuel situation. As the aircraft ran out of fuel, it crashed in Long Island, killing 73 people.

Season 3 (2005)

Episode 1

• Title: Hanging by a Thread
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Aloha Airlines Flight 243
  • Cause of accident: Explosive decompression due to metal fatigue

Synopsis: On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines 243 was en route from Hilo to Honolulu, in Hawaii. While above the Pacific Ocean, part of the upper half of the fuselage was ripped off the aircraft, exposing the passengers to high winds and thin air. The crew managed to perform an emergency landing at Kahului despite the crippled aircraft, which could have broken apart at any time. A flight attendant was sucked out of the aircraft when the failure happened, and her body was never found. The cause of the accident was metal fatigue and corrosion.

Episode 2

• Title: Attack Over Baghdad
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: DHL OO-DLL accident (2003 DHL attempted shootdown incident)
  • Cause of accident: Surface-to-air missile attack, loss of control

Synopsis: On November 22, 2003, a DHL cargo jet that was carrying mail from Iraq to Bahrain was shot with a surface-to-air missile by Iraqi rebels during the Iraq War. Part of the left wing's leading edge was destroyed, and hydraulic controls were rendered useless. However, the crew managed to regain control over the aircraft by adjusting the power on the engines. They landed unharmed back in Baghdad, but the aircraft veered off the runway and stopped in a minefield. All three crew members survived, and no mines went off as they were escorted by the Army back to safety. This was the first episode in the series dedicated to an event that occurred after the series' premiere in October 2003.

Episode 3

• Title: Out of Control
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Japan Airlines Flight 123 (747-SR 46, registration: JA 8119)
  • Cause of accident: In-flight structural failure due to improper maintenance and loss of control

Synopsis: On August 12, 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 took off from Tokyo, headed for Osaka. While climbing, the aft pressure bulkhead failed and the vertical stabilizer was ripped from the fuselage, and all hydraulic lines were severed. The aircraft rose, climbed and veered out of control, until the crew managed to partially regain control by adjusting the power on the engines. While they tried approaching Haneda, they once again lost control of the aircraft. It crashed on Mount Takamagahara, killing 520 people on board. Four survived, and though there were more survivors of the initial impact, delays in rescue caused many to die overnight of shock and exposure. To date, it is the deadliest single-plane crash in the history of aviation. The aircraft had a tailstrike accident seven years earlier, and the damaged bulkhead was improperly repaired with two smaller plates instead of a single plate, to cut costs.

Episode 4

• Title: Fight for Your Life
  • Alternate Title: Suicide Attack (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: FedEx Flight 705
  • Cause of accident: Attempted hijack

Synopsis: On April 7, 1994, Auburn Calloway, a FedEx employee who was about to be fired for lying about his reported flight hours, boarded FedEx Flight 705 for an out-of-service trip, with several hammers and a speargun concealed in a guitar case. As the aircraft took off from Memphis, Auburn took out his hammers and hit all three crewmembers in the head to knock them out before attempting to crash the plane in a suicide attack. However, they reacted and fought against Auburn; one of them tackled him to the floor, one tried to yank his speargun out of his hands, and one manoeuvered the aircraft with rapid descents, rolls and loops. After Auburn was successfully incapacitated, the crew, still injured (one half-paralysed with a hole in his skull, one with a severed temporal artery, and one with one side of his face badly mangled), successfully landed back in Memphis. Auburn Calloway was sentenced to two life sentences for attempted murder and air piracy.

Episode 5

• Title: Bomb on Board
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Philippine Airlines Flight 434
  • Cause of accident: Bombing

Synopsis: On December 11, 1994, terrorist Ramzi Youssef smuggled a bomb on board in the first leg of a flight from Manila to Tokyo, and disembarked at the stopover in Cebu. The bomb was hidden below a seat. It exploded in flight, killing a passenger and injuring many others, and damaging some of the aircraft's controls. Despite the damage, it successfully made an emergency landing at Okinawa.

Episode 6

• Title: Mistaken Identity
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Iran Air Flight 655
  • Cause of accident: Shootdown

Synopsis: On July 3, 1988, US Navy cruiser Vincennes shot down an Iran Air passenger jet, mistaking it for an Iranian fighter. All 290 people on board were killed. The cruiser was using a defective code of identification between hostile and non-hostile aircrafts. The Iranian Government claimed that the aircraft was deliberately shot down, and this accident deteriorated relationships between the US and Iran.

Episode 7

• Title: Helicopter Down
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Bristow Flight 56 Charlie
  • Cause of accident: In-flight tail rotor failure due to weather

Synopsis: On January 19, 1995, an helicopter carrying oil rig workers was struck by lightning. The tail rotor was damaged, and the crew performed an autorotation, ditching the rotorcraft in the sea using its emergency inflatable floaters. All 16 workers and both crew members survived.

Episode 8

• Title: Death and Denial
  • Alternate Title: Egyptair 990 (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Egyptair Flight 990
  • Cause of accident: Disputed, see synopsis

Synopsis: On October 31, 1999, Egyptair Flight 990 was en route from New York to Cairo, Egypt. The aircraft pitched down violently and plunged in the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 217 people on board. A joint investigation by the NTSB and FBI concluded that the aircraft's first officer, Gameel Al-Batouti, deliberately crashed the plane in a mass homicide/suicide. Prior to the flight, he was accused of sexual harrassment towards female flight attendants and hotel personnel, and his supervisor threatened to suspend him from service and bar him from piloting international flights. The Egyptian government, very defensive of its national airline's public image, denied the American investigation's outcome, and its own investigation concluded that the crash was due to a horizontal stabilizer failure.

Episode 9 (Crash Scene Investigation)

• Title: Runaway Train
  • Alternate Title: Unstoppable Train (US)
  • Subject: San Bernardino train disaster
  • Cause of accident: Mechanical failure

Synopsis: On May 19, 1989, a freight train traveling in the Cajon Pass in California lost control and derailed in the city of San Bernardino. Both crew members were killed. The engine cars had defective brakes and the payload was too heavy, leading to the train travelling at 100 mph on a descending railway. Two weeks after the crash, a damaged gas pipeline in the crash site exploded, killing two more people.

Episode 10

• Title: Kid in the Cockpit
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Aeroflot Flight 593
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On March 23, 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 was en route from Moscow to Hong Kong. The captain's children were allowed to get in the cockpit and chat with the crew. After his 12-year old daughter sat at the controls, moving the aircraft with the autopilot on, his 15-year old son tried it next. While steering, he unknowingly disabled the autopilot and brought on a steep bank to the right. The captain retook the controls, trying to bring the aircraft back into normal flight, but it stalled and crashed in the Siberian forest, killing all 75 people on board.

Episode 11 (Crash Scene Investigation)

• Title: Collision Course
  • Alternate Title: Greek Ferry Disaster (AUS), Express Samina (US)
  • Subject: Sinking of the Express Samina
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On September 26, 2000, the ferry "Express Samina" of Hellas Ferries crashed into a rock, capsized and sank, killing 80 people. Despite operating with autopilot on, the ship had only one stabilizer fin deployed, causing it to drift against the rock. Furthermore, the crew was not monitoring the ship's course, and were instead watching a football match in the ship's lounge room.

Episode 12 (Crash Scene Investigation)

• Title: Head-on Collision
  • Alternate Title: Train Collision (UK), Impact on the Rails (US)
  • Subject: Hinton train collision (Via Rail passenger train and CNR freight train)
  • Cause of accident: Crew error on behalf of the CNR train

Synopsis: On February 8, 1986, two trains crashed in Yellowhead County, Canada, killing 23 people. The CNR train did not stop at a sign in an intersection, putting it on a collision course. It's believed the driver was either asleep or too fatigued to notice the sign.

Episode 13

• Title: Ocean Landing
  • Alternate Title: African Hijack (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961
  • Cause of accident: Hijacking

Synopsis: On November 23, 1996, while Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, three Ethiopian criminals hijacked the aircraft and threatened to kill the crew if they weren't flown to Australia. They read that the aircraft (a Boeing 767) was capable of long flights, and despite repeated warnings by the crew, did not believe that it had too little fuel to fly that far. The aircraft eventually ran out of fuel, and the crew performed a crash landing near the island of Grande Comore. As the left wing touched the water, the aircraft rotated violently and disintegrated. 125 people were killed, including all three hijackers.

Season 4 (2006)

Episode 1

• Title: Desperate Escape
  • Alternate Title: Miracle Escape (UK)
  • Subject: Air France Flight 358
  • Cause of accident: Runway overrun due to pilot error and inclement weather

Synopsis: On August 2, 2005, Air France Flight 358 tried landing in Toronto despite harsh weather. The aircraft overshot the threshold and deployed the thrust reversers too late. This caused it to overshoot the runway, fall into a low ravine, split up and burst into flame. All 309 people on board survived the crash.

Episode 2

• Title: Falling from the Sky
  • Alternate Title: All Engines Failed! (UK)
  • Subject: British Airways Flight 9
  • Cause of accident: Engine flameout due to volcanic ash

Synopsis: On June 24, 1982, British Airways 9, a Boeing 747, took off from Kuala Lumpur for the last leg of an intercontinental flight from London to Auckland, aiming for their next stop in Perth. The crew saw Saint Elmo's fire effects (a rare and mysterious light phenomenon) before all four engines flamed out at the same time. After several failed engine restart procedures, the crew prepared to ditch the aircraft in the ocean before the engines started working again. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Jakarta, using only the navigation instruments. The aircraft flew through a cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung. The ash damaged the engines and sandblasted the windshields, making it impossible for the crew to see the runway lights. All 263 people on board survived.

Episode 3

• Title: Fire Fight
  • Alternate Title: Fiery Landing (US)
  • Subject: Air Canada Flight 797
  • Cause of accident: In-flight fire

Synopsis: On June 2, 1983, while Flight 797 was traveling from Dallas to Toronto, passengers complained about a foul smell coming from the aircraft's toilet. The smell turned out to be smoke from a fire within the aircraft frame, which spread and damaged the aircraft's electrical systems. The crew made an emergency landing at Cincinnati, but shortly after evacuation began, a flashover occurred and immediately killed those remaining in the aircraft. Out of 46 people on board, 23 died. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Episode 4

• Title: Final Approach
  • Alternate Title: Blind Landing (UK), Missed Approach (AUS)
  • Subject: Korean Air Flight 801
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On August 6, 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 attempted a landing in Guam during heavy fog, but crashed into a hill, killing 228 people. The causes of the crash were poor training for non-precision approaches on behalf of the captain, disagreements between the pilots, the airport's ILS system being in maintenance, and the use of outdated maps.

Episode 5

• Title: Hidden Danger
  • Alternate Title: Mystery Crashes (US)
  • Subject: United Airlines Flight 585, USAir Flight 427 and Eastwind Airlines Flight 517
  • Cause of accident: Rudder hardover due to thermal shock

Synopsis: On March 3, 1991, United Airlines Flight 585, operated by a Boeing 737, suddenly went out of control and crashed, killing all 25 people on board. Despite an intensive investigation taking place, the cause was not found. Three years later, on September 8, 1994, USAir Flight 427, also operated by a Boeing 737, had a similar loss of control involving the rudder, crashing short of the airport and killing all 132 on board. An investigation was carried out on this flight, too, but no cause was found. On June 9, 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 had a violent rudder hardover, but this time the crew was able to regain control of the aircraft and land safely. Experiments carried out on the rudder's power control unit (PCU) revealed that a slide can experience thermal shock, jamming the rudder and deflecting it violently.

Episode 6

• Title: Panic over the Pacific
  • Alternate Title: Six-mile Plunge (UK)
  • Subject: China Airlines Flight 006
  • Cause of accident: Crew error due to jet lag and fatigue

Synopsis: On February 19, 1985, China Airlines Flight 006 was flying from Taipei to Los Angeles when engine number four flamed out. While restarting the engine, the autopilot was disengaged, rolling the aircraft violently to the right and plunging it into a nosedive towards the Pacific Ocean. The excessive G-forces broke part of the horizontal stabilizer and the main landing gear's doors. The crew was spatially disoriented due to thick clouds, but they managed to get out of the dive a few thousand feet over the sea. Due to an emptied hydraulic system (which failed during the dive), low fuel and drag caused by the landing gear, the aircraft was diverted to San Francisco. The landing succeeded, and of all 274 people on board, there were only 24 injuries, with no fatalities.

Episode 7

• Title: Out of Sight
  • Alternate Title: Collision Over LA (UK)
  • Subject: Cerritos midair collision (Aeromexico Flight 498 and N 4891 F)
  • Cause of accident: Midair collision due to crew error and technical limitations.

Synopsis: On August 31, 1986, Aeromexico Flight 498 was approaching Los Angeles International Airport for landing when it collided with a private light aircraft. The top of the smaller aircraft's cabin was sheared off by the DC-9's horizontal stabilizer, and, at the same time, half of the DC-9's vertical stabilizer broke off, plunging it towards the outskirts of Los Angeles. The jetliner crashed in the neighbourhood of Cerritos, killing all 64 people on board and 15 on the ground. The smaller plane crashed in the playground of an elementary school, with all three occupants dead. Both aircrafts' crew were not aware of each other's position before the crash. This crash inspired the creation of the TCAS anti-collision system.

Episode 8

• Title: Fog of War
  • Alternate Title: Flight 21 is Missing (UK), Crash in Croatia (US)
  • Subject: United States Air Force Flight 21
  • Cause of accident: Controlled flight into terrain due to design flaw and weather

Synopsis: On April 3, 1996, United States Air Force Flight 21, carrying US Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, crashed into a mountain while approaching Dubrovnik airport. The aircraft was fitted with only one ADF system, when two of them were needed for approach, using non-directioal beacons. The crew was not proficient in flying non-ILS approaches. Thick fog also caused the crash.

Episode 9

• Title: Vertigo
  • Alternate Title: Desperate Dive (UK), Deadly Disorientation (US)
  • Subject: Flash Airlines Flight 604
  • Cause of accident: Disputed, see synopsis.

Synopsis: On January 3, 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604 rolled steeply to the right and plunged into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people on board. The two investigating teams disagreed with each other's theories about the crash: the NTSB and BEA concluded that the crew suffered from spatial disorientation and, due to their lacking training, were not monitoring altitude and ADI, thus losing visual references. Egyptian investigators disagreed, stating that the crew was aware of what was happening, and that they had no reason to lose control of the plane due to that. Inspections on the aircraft's structure pointed to malfunctioning avionics.

Episode 10

• Title: Ghost Plane
  • Alternate Title: Unconscious Pilot (US)
  • Subject: Helios Airways Flight 522
  • Cause of accident: Lack of aircraft pressurization.

Synopsis: On August 15, 2005, Air Traffic control in Athens lost contact with Helios Airways Flight 522, coming from Larnaka, Cyprus. When two Hellenic Air Force fighter jets checked on the plane that had been circling over Athens for two hours, they found that all people on board but one were unconscious, and the flight attendant left could not land the aircraft. The Boeing 737's fuel ran out, both engines shut down, and it crashed on Grammatiko mountain, killing all 121 people on board. The cause of the crash was an incorrect setting of the cabin's pressurization (the crew forgot to set it from manual to automatic after a flight test that happened the day before), which caused a gradual decrease of oxygen level as the aircraft climbed. The crew and passengers succumbed to hypoxia, losing consciousness.

Season 5 (2007)

Episode 1

• Title: Invisible Killer
  • Alternate Title: Slammed to the Ground (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Delta Airlines Flight 191
  • Cause of accident: Weather (microburst-caused windshear)

Synopsis: On August 2, 1985, Delta Airlines Flight 191 lost altitude quickly and crashed into a water silo, killing 137 people on board and one person on the ground, while 27 survived the crash. A violent downward movement of air, known as "microburst", caused the aircraft to plummet to the ground. At the time of the crash, there were little to no ways to predict microbursts, and pilots were not trained on how to recover from such phenomena.

Episode 2

• Title: Gimli Glider
  • Alternate Title: Deadly Glide (UK), Miracle Flight (AUS)
  • Subject: Air Canada Flight 143
  • Cause of accident: Fuel starvation due to maintenance error

Synopsis: On July 23, 1983, Air Canada Flight 143 was flying from Montreal to Edmonton when both engines flamed out. The captain, using his skills as a former glider pilot, landed the aircraft at an abandoned runway at Gimli, Manitoba, with no loss of life. The flameout was caused by ground crew confusion with the recent change to the metric system - a conversion error in pounds to kilograms caused the aircraft to have insufficient fuel to fly to its destination.

Episode 3

• Title: Behind Closed Doors
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981
  • Cause of accident: In-flight cargo door failure due to design flaw

Synopsis: On June 12, 1972, American Airlines Flight 96, a newly-built McDonnell Douglas DC-10, was flying from Detroit to Buffalo when the cargo hatch opened in flight, causing an explosive decompression and damaging the controls. The crew was able to recover and land back in Detroit. The cause of the failure was a design flaw in the lock mechanism of the cargo doors, which could open in flight even if they were fully locked. Two years later, on March 3, 1974, another DC-10 flying as Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was flying from Paris to London when the same failure happened. This time, the cabin's floor collapsed and all control systems failed catastrophically. It crashed into a forest several miles from Paris, killing all 346 people on board. At the time, this was the deadliest aviation disaster in history. This led to a major design change in the cargo hatches.

Episode 4

• Title: Fanning the Flames
  • Alternate Title: Cargo Conspiracy (UK), Mystery Fire (AUS)
  • Subject: South African Airways Flight 295
  • Cause of accident: In-flight fire

Synopsis: On November 28, 1987, South African Airways Flight 295, a Boeing 747 in mixed cargo-passenger service ("Combi"), was approaching Mauritius Airport when a fire erupted in the cargo hold and engulfed the cabin. While declaring emergency and preparing an approach to Mauritius Island, the crew failed to put out the fire with extinguishers, so the doors were opened in an attempt to fan the fire. The aircraft crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 159 people on board. Despite exhaustive research, the cause of the fire is still unknown.

Episode 5

• Title: Dead Weight
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Air Midwest Flight 5481
  • Cause of accident: Maintenance error and overloading.

Synopsis: On January 8, 2003, a commuter plane flying for Air Midwest climbed very steeply, stalled and crashed into a hangar at Charlotte Airport in North Carolina. All 21 people on board were killed. The inquiry stated that improper maintenance caused the horizontal stabilizer's trim to be limited, thus crippling pitch control. Also, the weight estimate of the passengers and luggage was miscalculated, causing the aircraft's excessive weight to further limit control.

Episode 6

• Title: Southern Storm
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Southern Airways Flight 242
  • Cause of accident: Engine flameout due to weather.

Synopsis: On April 4, 1977, Southern Airways Flight 242 was struck with heavy winds and hail, and suffered a dual engine flameout. The crew attempted an emergency landing on a highway in New Hope, but the plane struck several buildings before disintegrating on the ground. 72 people on board died while 22 survived, and 9 people on the ground were killed as well.

Episode 7

• Title: Air India: Explosive Evidence
  • Alternate Title: Explosive Evidence (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Air India Flight 182
  • Cause of accident: Bombing

Synopsis: On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 was on the first leg of its flight from Montreal to New Delhi, with a stopover in London. When the aircraft, a Boeing 747, entered Irish airspace, a bomb exploded in the cargo hold, disintegrating the aircraft over the sea and killing all 329 people on board. The perpetrators of the attack were terrorists belonging to Babbar Khalsa, an international Sikh militant group, which threatened more bombings in that period. To this day, this remains the deadliest aircraft bombing in history.

Episode 8

• Title: Mixed Signals
  • Alternate Title: The Plane That Wouldn't Talk (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Birgenair Flight 301
  • Cause of accident: Maintenance error leading to instrument failure and pilot error

Synopsis: On February 6, 1996, a charter flight operated by Birgenair took off from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, bound for Frankfurt, Germany. After takeoff, the captain's airspeed indicator (ASI) was reading false speeds but the first officer's ASI was working properly, thus generating confusion. The autopilot, relying on those false readings, disengaged, and the crew, further confused by the sounding of several alarms, accidentally crashed the aircraft into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 189 people on board. The failure of the ASI is attributed to wasps nesting in the pitot tubes.

Episode 9

• Title: Fatal Distraction
  • Alternate Title: Who's at the Controls? (UK)
  • Subject: Eastern Air Lines Flight 401
  • Cause of accident: Pilot error due to distraction leading to controlled flight into terrain

Synopsis: On December 29, 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was approaching Miami Airport when a landing gear light malfunctioned, leading the crew to believe that the gear may be not deployed. They tried to replace the lightbulb, but no one noticed that the autopilot had been accidentally disengaged. When they realized that they were too low, it was too late; the aircraft crashed into a swamp, killing 101 people and leaving 75 survivors.

Episode 10

• Title: Phantom Strike
  • Alternate Title: Radio Silence (UK), Death over the Amazon (US)
  • Subject: Gol Transportes Aéreos flight 1907 and ExcelAire flight N 600 XL
  • Cause of accident: Midair collision

Synopsis: On September 29, 2006, a brand-new Embraer Legacy 600 collided with a Boeing 737 over the rainforest. The winglet of the business jet severed part of the left wing of the Boeing 737, which then spiraled out of control and disintegrated, killing all 154 people on board. The Embraer Legacy made an emergency landing at Cachimbo, and the crew was held there with criminal charges. The ATC commanded both aircrafts to fly at the same altitude in the same air corridor but in opposite directions, and as the Embraer's TCAS transponder was switched off, the crew was not aware that they were on a collision course.

Season 6 (2007, Special)

Episode 1

• Title: Ripped Apart
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Air disasters caused by structural failure.

Synopsis: This special looks at accidents and incidents where pressurization failure or explosive decompression played a major role.The disasters covered in this special are:

• BOAC Flight 781
• South African Airways Flight 201
• Aloha Airlines Flight 243
• British Airways Flight 5390
• United Airlines Flight 811
• Helios Airways Flight 522

Episode 2

• Title: Fatal Flaw
  • Alternate Title: Fatal Fix (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Air disasters caused by minor factors.

Synopsis: This special looks at accidents caused by seemingly minor defects or errors such as ground crew error or flawed maintenance.The disasters covered in this special are:

• Alaska Airlines Flight 261
• Japan Airlines Flight 123
• Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529
• Swissair Flight 111
• United Airlines Flight 585
• USAir Flight 427
• Eastwind Airlines Flight 517

Episode 3

• Title: Who's Flying the Plane?
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Air disasters caused by instrument failure and crew error.

Synopsis: This special looks at accidents and incidents where problems with the interface between crew members and on-board avionics were a factor and the causes of those problems.The disasters covered in this special are:

• Aeroperú Flight 603
• China Airlines Flight 006
• Aeroflot Flight 593
• Flash Airlines Flight 604
• Air Transat Flight 236

Season 7 (2008)

Episode 1

• Title: Scratching the Surface
  • Alternate Title: Shattered in Seconds (UK)
  • Subject: China Airlines Flight 611
  • Cause of accident: In-flight breakup due to improper maintenance

Synopsis: On May 25, 2002, China Airlines Flight 611 was flying from Taipei to Hong Kong when it broke up in flight, disintegrating and falling in the sea between Taiwan and China, killing all 225 people on board. A scratch caused by a tailstrike was repaired twenty years before, but instead of cutting the old skin and patching it over, the scratch was covered entirely, without removing it first. The scratch grew into a crack that expanded in each flight, until it weakened the fuselage enough to break it apart.

Episode 2

• Title: Lockerbie Disaster
  • Alternate Title: Lockerbie (UK), Explosive Device (US)
  • Subject: Pan Am Flight 103
  • Cause of accident: Bombing

Synopsis: On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over the city of Lockerbie, Scotland. A bomb was smuggled on board via a suitcase belonging to a "passenger" who never boarded. Investigators suspected that the bombing was ordered by Libyan colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Episode 3

• Title: Blown Apart
  • Alternate Title: Deadly Prize (UK), Silent Killer (AUS)
  • Subject: Partnair Flight 394
  • Cause of accident: In-flight breakup and loss of control due to improper maintenance

Synopsis: On September 8, 1989, a Convair 580 chartered by a Norwegian shipping company was flying from Oslo to Hamburg when its vertical stabilizer broke off. The plane dived and broke apart before plunging into the North Sea and killing all 55 people on board. The investigation concluded that the vibrations of a loose APU and bogus spare parts used in maintenance played an important part in the accident.

Episode 4

• Title: Sight Unseen
  • Alternate Title: Head-On Collision (UK), Crash Course (AUS), Collision Course (US)
  • Subject: The Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision (Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907)
  • Cause of accident: Mid-air collision caused by pilot error

Synopsis: On November 12, 1996, two aircraft collided near the airport of New Delhi; Saudia Flight 763 was outbound to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, while Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 was inbound from Shymkent, Kazakhstan. The crew of the Kazakh aircraft did not maintain altitude as instructed by the ATC, due to difficulties with language and reliance on the radio operator, who had no equipment of his own and had to look at the crew's instruments. To date, this is the deadliest midair collision in aviation history, with a death toll of 349.

Episode 5

• Title: Operation Babylift
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: The Operation Babylift accident
  • Cause of accident: Explosive decompression due to faulty maintenance

Synopsis: On April 4, 1975, several days before the end of the Vietnam War, a batch of orphaned Vietnamese babies were carried on a C-5 to transfer them to US Army-owned orphanages. However, shortly after takeoff, the rear doors burst open, damaging the aircraft's controls. The aircraft crashed into a rice field, killing 159 people and leaving 175 survivors. The locks of the doors were not properly maintained, using spare parts cannibalized from other aircrafts. Thus, with increasing pressure differentiation, the locks couldn't maintain the hold and failed.

Episode 6

• Title: Falling Fast
  • Alternate Title: Ditch the Plane (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Tuninter Flight 1153
  • Cause of accident: Fuel starvation due to faulty maintenance

Synopsis: On August 6, 2005, Tuninter Flight 1153, flying from Bari, Italy to Djerba, Tunisia ran out of fuel and attempted an emergency landing at Palermo Airport. However, the aircraft could not glide far enough, and as the crew attempted to ditch the aircraft, it bounced on the water and broke into pieces, killing 16 people. A fuel indicator intended for a smaller aircraft was accidentally installed, thus the crew believed they had enough fuel left, when in reality there was not enough to fly to Tunisia.

Episode 7

• Title: Flight 574: Lost
  • Alternate Title: The Plane that Vanished (UK and AUS), Lost in Space (US)
  • Subject: Adam Air Flight 574
  • Cause of accident: Crew disorientation caused by faulty instruments

Synopsis: On New Year's Eve, 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 took off from Surabaya, Indonesia, but quickly went off course and flew into a storm. It then rolled, lost control and plunged into the sea at the speed of sound. The IRS (Inertial Referential System) was not working properly, and it came from another aircraft, whose crew also diagnosed problems with the unit. While the crew of the aircraft was trying to fix the problem, they were lost in the storm and accidentally disengaged the autopilot, putting the aircraft in an irrecoverable spin.

Episode 8

• Title: Frozen in Flight
  • Alternate Title: Deep Freeze (AUS)
  • Subject: American Eagle Flight 4184
  • Cause of accident: Icing

Synopsis: On October 31, 1994, American Eagle Flight 4184 was holding above Chicago Airport, waiting for landing, when suddenly it rolled violently and fell nose-down, crashing into a field and killing all 68 people on board. The cause of the crash was attributed to supercooled ice droplets that froze the wings beyond the reach of the de-icing boots, disrupting the airflow and causing the ailerons to move uncontrollably.

Season 8 (2008, Special)

Episode 1

• Title: System Breakdown
  • Alternate Title: Communication Breakdown (UK)
  • Subject: Air disasters caused by ATC error.

Synopsis: This special looks at the role of air traffic controllers in the airline industry and examines the NGATS (Next Generation Air Transportation System), a new technology meant to eliminate midair collisions by reducing overall dependence on radar and radio, as well as delegating some of the air traffic controllers' tasks to computers on board each aircraft.The disasters covered in this special are:

• The 1956 Grand Canyon midair collision
• The 1986 Cerritos midair collision
• Avianca Flight 52
• Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907
• The Überlingen midair collision

Episode 2

• Title: Cruel Skies
  • Alternate Title: Deadly Storms (AUS)
  • Subject: Air disasters caused by harsh weather.

Synopsis: This special looks at the role of bad weather in disasters and examines the US Aviation Weather Centre in Kansas City, Missouri, to see how information on weather is transmitted to pilots in the sky.The disasters covered in this special are:

• Southern Airways Flight 242
• Delta Air Lines Flight 191
• American Airlines Flight 1420
• British Airways Flight 9

Season 9 (2009)

Episode 1

• Title: Panic on the Runway
  • Alternate Title: Manchester Runway Disaster (UK)
  • Subject: British Airtours Flight 22M
  • Cause of accident: Uncontained engine failure

Synopsis: On August 22, 1985, British Airtours Flight 22M was taking off from Manchester Airport when engine number one exploded due to a fault in the combustion chamber. The resulting fire filled the cockpit with smoke, making evacuation very difficult. 55 people on board died from smoke inhalation, while 82 survived. The evacuation procedures were delayed, and the aisle was too narrow to allow all passengers to escape. Following this incident, safety measures were improved, mainly by refitting the aisles.

Episode 2

• Title: Alarming Silence
  • Alternate Title: Cockpit Chaos (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Northwest Airlines Flight 255
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On August 16, 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 attempted departure from Detroit, but failed to take off and crashed into a road outside the airport. 154 people died on board, and two more were killed on the ground. A 4-year old girl was the sole survivor of the crash. The crew omitted the setting of the slats and flaps before takeoff, even though they had it written on the pre-flight checklist. The stall warning did not sound properly, and it is speculated that the pilots turned it off, thinking that it would give a false alarm.

Episode 3

• Title: Pilot vs. Plane
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Air France Flight 296
  • Cause of accident: Disputed, see synopsis

Synopsis: On June 26, 1988, a brand new Airbus A320 in Air France livery was exhibited at the Mulhouse air show, showcasing a brand-new technology called "Fly-by-wire". After a low pass over the runway, the aircraft failed to climb and crashed into a forest. 3 people were killed, and others were injured. The official investigation concluded that crew error was the cause, as they failed to respond to the emergency. However, the crew brought the case to court, claiming that the black boxes were tampered with and blaming a failure in the autopilot as the cause of the crash. However, as of 2010, the dispute is still ongoing.

Episode 4

• Title: Cleared for Disaster
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569
  • Cause of accident: Runway incursion due to ATC error

Synopsis: On February 1, 1991, USAir Flight 1493 had an uneventful flight from Columbus, Ohio, to Los Angeles. During landing, the aircraft collided with a smaller aircraft which was waiting for takeoff. 23 people on board the USAir flight died, and none of the 12 people on the SkyWest flight survived. The air traffic controller mistakenly cleared the USAir flight to land at the same runway on which the smaller aircraft was taxiing.

Episode 5

• Title: Target is Destroyed
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Korean Air Flight 007
  • Cause of accident: Shootdown

Synopsis: In the morning of September 1, 1983, Korean Air Flight 007 was shot down by a Soviet fighter jet after violating restricted airspace, killing all 269 people on board. The Soviets thought that the 747 was a spy plane. The crew set the autopilot incorrectly, making the aircraft stray off course and into the restricted zone.

Episode 6

• Title: Cold Case
  • Alternate Title: Snowbound (UK), Unwelcome Addition (US, only "Air Emergency" version)
  • Subject: Air Ontario Flight 1363 and US Air Flight 405
  • Cause of accident: Icing on the wings

Synopsis: On March 10, 1989, Air Ontario Flight 1363 crashed and caught fire while taking off from Dryden, Ontario. The black boxes were too damaged to recover any data. The cause of the crash was attributed to snow on the wings, but there was not enough proof to support this theory at the time. However, investigators found questionable procedures on behalf of the air company. On March 22, 1992, a similar accident happened at New York's La Guardia Airport when US Air Flight 405 stalled and crashed into Flushing Bay just after takeoff, killing 27 on board. Investigators found out that the wings were not properly de-iced, and that this is also the cause of Ontario's air crash.

Episode 7

• Title: The Final Blow
  • Alternate Title: Crashed and Missing (UK), Doomed to Fail (AUS)
  • Subject: Air Inter Flight 148
  • Cause of accident: Crew error due to design flaw

Synopsis: On January 20, 1992, Air Inter Flight 148 was headed for landing at Strasbourg airport in France, but crashed into the Vosges mountains, killing 87 passengers. Because the crew could only read two digits on the Autopilot, they accidentally set the descent rate to 33 instead of 3.3, meaning that they were descending at 3300 feet per minute instead of at a 3.3 degrees (roughly 800 fpm), a rate too great for a safe descent. A sudden wind gust activated another safety measure that put the plane in a more hazardous situation.

Episode 8

• Title: Cracks in the System
  • Alternate Title: Beach Crash (UK), Miami Mistery (AUS)
  • Subject: Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101
  • Cause of accident: Metal fatigue

Synopsis: On December 19, 2005, Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101, operated by a Grumman G-73 Mallard seaplane, broke apart after taking off from Miami harbor, killing all 20 on board. Initially, sabotage was pointed as the cause of the crash, aimed to Sergio Danguillecourt, who owned the Bacardi company, because he expressed hatred on the Cuban regime. However, this cause was ruled out as there were no proof of an assassination plot. An accurate examination of the wreck determined that the seaplane's right wing failed in flight due to fatigue. Cracks on the wing were repeatedly adjusted, despite the problem was in the frame of the wing, and not the fuselage. Also, the entire fleet of seaplanes was too old to fly safely.

Season 10 (2010)

Episode 1

• Title: Cockpit Failure
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Crossair Flight 3597
  • Cause of accident: Controlled flight into terrain due to crew error

Synopsis: In the night of November 24, 2001, Crossair Flight 3597 was landing in Zurich after a flight that originated in Berlin. It crashed short of the runway, killing 24 on board and leaving 9 survivors. Passengers included pop singer Melanie Thornton, as well as eurodance group Passion Fruit. The investigative team found the cause to be lack of training and inadequate skills on behalf of the Captain, who descended below the minimum safe approach altitude, and not realizing he was too low to see the runway.

Episode 2

• Title: Heathrow Enigma
  • Alternate Title: Heathrow Crash Landing (UK)
  • Subject: British Airways Flight 38
  • Cause of accident: Fuel starvation caused by icing

Synopsis: On January 17, 2008, a British Airways flight from Beijing to London was approaching Heathrow Airport, when both engines' thrust suddenly decreased to idle despite throttles in the forward position, causing a sudden loss of altitude and airspeed. The crew partially raised the flaps, so they could have more flight distance for a crash landing near the airport. There were no fatalities in the crash. The cause of the crash was an obstruction of the fuel-oil heat exchangers by ice crystals, which caused a restriction of fuel flow to the engines.

Episode 3

• Title: Pilot Betrayed
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751
  • Cause of accident: Engine failure caused by ice

Synopsis: On December 27, 1991, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 took off from Stockholm, heading southwest to Copenhagen. Ice that built up in the wings' roots detached and were sucked in the engines, causing a surge. The crew tried to adjust power on the engines, but a safety feature that the crew did not know of activated, setting the thrust to the maximum and causing the power surge to break the engines. The aircraft crash landed in a field, with no loss of life.

Episode 4

• Title: Dead Tired
  • Alternate Title: Stalled in the Sky (UK)
  • Subject: Colgan Air Flight 3407
  • Cause of accident: Stall due to pilot fatigue

Synopsis: An aircraft chartered by Colgan Air was about to land at Buffalo airport on February 12, 2009. The Bombardier Q400 was carrying members of a committee formed by family members of 9/11 victims. Several moments before approach, the aircraft entered an aerodynamic stall. The crew was too fatigued to notice the warning, not having enough rest for the whole day, and they mishandled the recovery procedure because of tiredness. The aircraft crashed into a house, killing all 50 people on board as well as one on the ground.

Episode 5

• Title: Hudson River Runway
  • Alternate Title: Hudson Splashdown (UK)
  • Subject: US Airways Flight 1549
  • Cause of accident: Double engine failure due to multiple bird strikes

Synopsis: On January 15, 2009, an Airbus operated by US Airways encountered a flock of Canada geese after taking off New York's La Guardia airport. Several birds were sucked into the engines and caused a flameout. With no power in the engines and not enough distance to perform an emergency landing, the crew turned the aircraft towards New York's Hudson River, and ditched it. There were no fatalities. The crew was awarded the Master Medal of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators for their outstanding piloting skills.

Episode 6

• Title: Who's in control?
  • Alternate Title: Mid-air Landing (US)
  • Subject: Turkish Airlines Flight 1951
  • Cause of accident: Stall caused by instrument failure

Synopsis: On February 25, 2009, Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 was approaching Amsterdam's Schipol Airport when it stalled and crashed short of the runway, killing 9 people. One of the aircraft's radio altimeter was giving false readings, and the autopilot used these readings to reduce engine thrust prematurely. This caused the airspeed to drop, which the crew, performing a demanding and hurried approach, did not acknowledge until it was too late.

Season 11 (2011)

Episode 1

• Title: Deadly Reputation
  • Alternate Title: Nightmare Runway (UK), Disaster Runway (AUS)
  • Subject: TAM Airlines Flight 3054
  • Cause of accident: Pilot error during landing in inclement weather

Synopsis: On July 17, 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 landed at Congonhas Airpost in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but did not slow down, overshot the runway, passed a busy highway and crashed into a TAM Express warehouse adjacent to a gas station, causing an explosion that killed all 187 people on board and 12 on the ground. One of the thrust reversers was out of service, so the crew had to use the remaining one and putting the other engine on idle. They did deploy the working thrust reverser, but didn't reduce power on the other engine. This caused the aircraft to hydroplane on the wet runway, veer to the left and crash.

Episode 2

• Title: The Plane That Flew Too High
  • Alternate Title: Fatal Climb (UK)
  • Subject: West Caribbean Airways Flight 708
  • Cause of accident: Stall caused by crew error

Synopsis: On August 16, 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 was flying from Tocumen, Panama, to the island of Martinique. While en route, it met bad weather and used the de-icing system, which drew power from the engines, thus reducing performance. The aircraft exceeded the maximum flight altitude, met updraft winds and started stalling. The crew thought that the engines flame out when in reality they entered a deep stall in which they could recover, but mishandled it. The aircraft crashed in a farm in Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board. Crew fatigue played a part in the crash.

Episode 3

• Title: Split Decision
  • Alternate Title: Military Crash Conspiracy (UK)
  • Subject: Arrow Air Flight 1285
  • Cause of accident: Disputed, see synopsis

Synopsis: An Arrow Air McDonnell-Douglas DC-8 was chartered by the US Army's 101st Airborne Division. The flight originated from Cairo, Egypt and was bound to Fort Campbell US Air Force base in Kentucky, with two stopovers at Cologne, Germany and Gander, Canada. On December 12, 1985, the aircraft took off from Gander, but stalled and crashed in a forest, killing all 256 people on board. The Canadian Aviation Safety Board deduced that icing on the wings combined with weight and reference speeds miscalculation brought down the aircraft, but there was no proof of icing at the crash scene. There have been reports of loading of unregistered weapons and an onboard fire, none of which was actually confirmed. Islamic Hezbollah militants claimed responsibility for the crash, but again there was no proof supporting this claim. The cause of the crash is disputed even to this day. Because of a dissenting report arguing that the mere idea of ice being responsible was a cover-up, the findings supporting icing weren't acted upon until icing was determined to have caused the later crashes of Air Ontario Flight 1363 and USAir Flight 405. The dissenting report led to a loss of confidence in the CASB, leading to it being shuttered in favour of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Episode 4

• Title: Breakup over Texas
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Continental Express Flight 2574
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure due to faulty maintenance

Synopsis: A commuter plane was flying from Laredo, Texas to Houston on September 11, 1991. As the crew prepare for landing, the aircraft rolled violently, and its left wing was torn from the fuselage. All 14 people on board died. The cause of the crash was attributed to faulty maintenance - A set of screws was supposed to be fitted on the leading edge, but this procedure was mishandled due to miscommunication between the ground crew, and the safety procedures were negligently skipped. The leading edge detached in flight, causing drag on the wing.

Episode 5

• Title: Munich Air Disaster
  • Alternate Title: Mayday Munich (US)
  • Subject: British European Airways Flight 609
  • Cause of accident: Takeoff failure caused by slush

Synopsis: On February 6, 1958, an Airspeed Ambassador aircraft was carrying players of the Manchester United football team as well as journalists, club officials and staff, returning from an European Cup game in Yugoslavia. The crew attempted to take off twice, aborting it both times as they could not reach takeoff speed. On the third try, the aircraft overshot the runway and crashed into a house, killing 23 people and leaving 21 survivors badly injured. Initially, the investigation team blamed the crew for the accident, but it was later discovered that the runway was covered with slush mixed with snow, which caused drag and prevented the aircraft from reaching a safe takeoff speed.

Episode 6

• Title: Turning Point
  • Alternate Title: Deadly Design (UK)
  • Subject: Northwest Airlines Flight 85
  • Cause of accident: Rudder hardover due to in-flight failure

Synopsis: On October 9, 2002, a Northwest Airlines-owned Boeing 747 was en route from Detroit to Tokyo. While flying above the Sea of Bering, the lower part of the rudder failed and deflected to the left, bringing the aircraft into a steep roll. The crew made an emergency landing at Anchorage Airport in Alaska, using the engines to help steer the plane. There were no fatalities. An accurate inspection found that the casing of the rudder's mechanism failed due to metal fatigue. The aircraft was later repaired and put back to service.

Episode 7

• Title: Bad Attitude
  • Alternate Title: Stansted Crash (UK)
  • Subject: Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509
  • Cause of accident: Instrument failure and crew error.

Synopsis: On December 22, 1999, a Korean Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, which flight originated from Seoul and stopped at Tashkent and London before proceeding to Milan, Italy, took off from London's Stansted Airport. The captain rolled the aircraft to the left, but after he saw that his ADI was not moving, he banked harder. The first officer knew that the aircraft was in a dangerous position, but did not intervene. The aircraft stalled and crashed near a populated village, killing all four crew members. At the time, Korean airlines had a very strict hierarchy between crew members, in which the captain's decisions could not be contradicted.

Episode 8

• Title: Blind Spot
  • Alternate Title: On Course Crash (UK), Hiding in Plane Sight (AUS)
  • Subject: Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182
  • Cause of accident: Mid-air collision caused by ATC error and pilot error.

Synopsis: On September 25, 1978, a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727 aircraft and a light aircraft carrying a student and his examiner collided above San Diego. The underside of the jetliner collided with the left wing of the Cessna, causing a fuel tank to explode. In total 144 people on both aircraft adn on the ground died. The accident was caused by a communication error, in which the PSA's captain told the ATC that the Cessna has passed off to its right, but the ATC thought that the Cessna was passing to its right, implying that it was in its field of view. The student pilot of the Cessna had headwear that forced him to look at the instruments, meaning that he was not aware that the Boeing 727 was right behind him, and the 727 crew lost sight of the Cessna during preparations to land.

Episode 9

• Title: Under Pressure
  • Alternate Title: Desert Inferno (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Nigeria Airways Flight 2120
  • Cause of accident: In-flight fire caused by ground crew error.

Synopsis: On July 11, 1991, a Nationair DC-8 was chartered by Nigeria Airways to transport Hajj pilgrims from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to Sokoto, Nigeria. Just after takeoff, a fire erupted on board, which caused vital systems of the aircraft to fail and burned through the cabin floor, through which burning passengers and luggage fell off. It crashed near the airport's runway just seconds short of an emergency landing, killing all 261 people on board. It was discovered that the undercarriage tires were not inflated properly, and, as the aircraft took off, they overheated and burst into flames. The burning tires were retracted inside the wheel well, where they started the fire. It was found that maintenance crews had been aware of the underinflated tires since an inspection in Accra, Ghana, four days earlier, but higher-ups, spooked by Nigeria Airways handing passengers to other carriers, pressured them into abandoning plans to correct the problem because they wanted the plane out of Ghana and in Jeddah posthaste.

Episode 10

• Title: I'm the problem
  • Alternate Title: Murder on board (UK)
  • Subject: Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771
  • Cause of accident: Mass murder-suicide.

Synopsis: David Burke, a disgruntled US Air employee, boarded Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, a short flight between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on December 7, 1987. Exploiting a loophole where airline employees could board without having to check in, he carried a gun on board. After takeoff, he shot his own manager twice, then incapacitated both pilots as well as one flight attendant, and pushed the control column forward, putting the aircraft into a steep dive. The CVR recorded one final gunshot, which investigators believe it was shot to a Chief Pilot who boarded as a passenger and possibly left his seat to save the plane. The aircraft crashed into a hill, killing all 43 people on board, including Burke himself.

Episode 11

• Title: Nowhere to Land
  • Alternate Title: Miracle Landing(UK)
  • Subject: TACA Flight 110
  • Cause of accident: Dual engine flameout in a violent thunderstorm.

Synopsis: On May 24, 1988, TACA Flight 110, operated by a Boeing 737, was flying from Belize City to New Orleans when it flew into a storm, suffering a dual engine flameout after being pelted with heavy rain, hail and turbulences. The crew, led by captain Carlos Dardano, successfully landed the aircraft on a grass levee near a NASA facility, with no engine power.

Episode 12

• Title: The Invisible Plane
  • Alternate Title: Zero Visibility (UK)
  • Subject: The Linate Airport disaster (Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686 and D-IEVX)
  • Cause of accident: Runway incursion due to fog and communication mishaps.

Synopsis: On October 8, 2001, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, an MD-87 jetliner, was taking off from Linate airport in Milan, Italy, when it collided with a French private jet that was taxiing on the runway. The impact crushed the smaller jet, killing all four occupants. The MD-87 lost the right engine, while the left engine lost power due to debris ingestion. It crashed into a hangar, killing all 110 people on board, as well as four hangar workers on the ground. The two aircrafts could not see each other due to thick fog, and the private jet took the wrong taxiway due to unclear markings and confusing layout of the airport - some checkpoints weren't marked at the ATC's map. Also, the control tower's ground radar and runway incursion alarms were not operative at the time.

Episode 13

• Title: Impossible Landing
  • Alternate Title: Sioux City Fireball (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: United Airlines Flight 232
  • Cause of accident: Engine failure due to metal fatigue.

Synopsis: On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232, a DC-10, was flying from Denver to Chicago when the tail engine's fan disk exploded, severing all hydraulic lines and making it impossible to manoeuver the aircraft. The crew, with the help of flight instructor Dennis Fitch, managed to control the plane using asymmetric thrust from the remaining two engines. They perform an emergency landing at Sioux City Airport in Iowa, but the aircraft rolled to the right just before touchdown, crashing on the runway and splitting in three pieces. Of the 296 people on board, 111 died in the crash while 185 survived. The engine failure was caused by a crack in the fan resulted from a manufacturing defect, which fatigued and expanded over time. This episode was first aired 24 days before Dennis Fitch's death on May 7, 2012

Season 12 (2012)

Episode 1

• Title: Fight for Control
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8
  • Cause of accident: Engine failure

Synopsis: On June 8, 1983, an Elektra turboprop airliner was flying over the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, when one propeller separated, cutting a hole in the fuselage and damaging the control cables. The crew struggled to perform an emergency landing at Anchorage with crippled controls, and succeeded after two tries with no fatalities. The cause of the propeller separation could not be determined, because the propeller itself fell into the sea. \

Episode 2

• Title: Fire in the Hold
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Valu Jet Flight 592
  • Cause of accident: In-flight fire due to improperly packaged dangerous cargo

Synopsis: On May 11, 1996, a DC-9 flying as Valu Jet Flight 592 from Miami to Atlanta caught fire after takeoff. However, when the crew was attempting an emergency landing, they fell unconscious due to smoke inhalation. The aircraft crashed into a swamp, killing all 110 people on board. The cause of the fire was a batch of improperly shipped oxygen generators in the cargo hold, which activated while the aircraft was taxiing, and then overheated and exploded.

Episode 3

• Title: Caution to the Wind
  • Alternate Title: Typhoon Takeoff (UK)
  • Subject: Singapore Airlines Flight 006
  • Cause of accident: Pilot error

Synopsis: On October 31, 2000, the crew of Singapore Airlines Flight 006 was eager to take off before a major typhoon could hit the airport. However, they entered the wrong runway, which was under maintenance, but fully lit and not marked as closed. The aircraft collided with construction equipment and crashed, killing 83 of the 179 people on board.

Episode 4

• Title: Pushed to the Limit
  • Alternate Title: Pilot Under Pressure (UK)
  • Subject: Silk Air Flight 185
  • Cause of accident: Disputed, see synopsis

Synopsis: On December 19, 1997, a Silk Air Boeing 737 suddenly fell from the sky and crashed into a river, killing 104 people on board. Indonesian investigators could not determine the cause of the crash because of insufficient clues. The NTSB theorized that the aircraft was deliberately put down by the captain, in a mass murder-suicide, because he was having financial trouble. However, the Los Angeles court dismissed this argument, and instead concluded, judging by the aircraft's behavior recorded by the FDR, that the rudder's servo valve failed, in a manner similar of that of United Airlines Flight 585, USAir Flight 427 and Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 accidents, all of which happened in the same period.

Episode 5

• Title: Blind Landing
  • Alternate Title: Crash in the Jungle (UK)
  • Subject: TANS Perú Flight 204
  • Cause of accident: Crew error and weather

Synopsis: On August 23, 2005, the crew of TANS Perú Flight 204 attempted to land at Pucallpa Airport in Peru in a severe hailstorm. The crew did not follow visual flight procedures, and were not aware that they entered a downdraft. They stalled and crashed into a forest, killing 40 people.

Episode 6

• Title: Grand Canyon Disaster
  • Alternate Title: Grand Canyon (US)
  • Subject: 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision (United Airlines Flight 718 and TWA Flight 2)
  • Cause of accident: Mid-air Collision

Synopsis: On June 30, 1956, two propeller airliners, a Douglas DC-7 and a Lockheed L-1049, collided over the Grand Canyon. Part of the DC-7's was damaged, disrupting the airflow and directing the aircraft towards the face of a cliff. The L-1049's tail was cut off, putting it in an uncontrollable dive before disintegrating on the ground. In total, 128 people died. Both aircrafts were flying in non-controlled airspace, and could not determine each other's positions until it was too late.

Episode 7

• Title: Catastrophe at O'Hare
  • Alternate Title: America's Deadliest Crash (UK), America's Deadliest (AUS)
  • Subject: American Airlines Flight 191
  • Cause of accident: Failure at takeoff due to ground crew error.

Synopsis: On May 25, 1979, while American Airlines Flight 191, a DC-10 was taking off from Chicago airport, its left engine detached from the wing, severing the hydraulic lines and causing the plane to turn upside down and crash into a trailer park near the airport, killing all 271 people on board and two on the ground. The engines were improperly installed during maintenance - instead of assemblying it piece by piece, they were detached directly from the wing's pylon and carried with a forklift. During this procedure, the pylon was damaged, and failed completely at takeoff. To date, it remains the worst aviation disaster ever happened in the United States.

Episode 8

• Title: Focused on Failure
  • Alternate Title: Fatal Fixation (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: United Airlines Flight 173
  • Cause of accident: Crew Error.

Synopsis: On December 28, 1978, United Airlines Flight 173 was circling above Portland, Oregon, waiting to land. Due to bad communication the crew spent almost an hour diagnosing a problem with the landing gear, unaware that they were low on fuel. During one last circle before landing, all four engines failed due to fuel starvation, and the DC-8 crash landed into a sparsely populated neighbourhood, killing 10 people.

Episode 9

• Title: Lokomotiv Hockey Team Disaster
  • Alternate Title: Russia's Ice Hockey Disaster (UK), Hockey Team Tragedy (US)
  • Subject:The 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl air disaster
  • Cause of accident: Takeoff failure due to crew error.

Synopsis: On September 7, 2011, a Yakovlev YAK-42 jet chartered by the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl' ice hockey team failed to take off, stalled and crashed into a river, killing all but two people on board (one of them died later in hospital). The crew was not properly trained to fly the YAK-42, and they were instead accustomed to the similar-looking YAK-40. Because of the different design of the brake pedal, the captain thought he was just resting his foot there, when he was instead pushing hard on the brakes. He also developed numbness to his legs due to old age. It overshot the runway, hit a radio mast and took off but at an insufficient speed, stalling asthe crew mismanaged the emergency.

Episode 10

• Title: Death of the President
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
  • Cause of accident: Crew error.

Synopsis: On April 10, 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 was carrying Polish president Lech Kaczyński, his wife, former president Ryszard Kaczorowski and several top officials from Warsaw, Poland, to Smolensk, Russia, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. During approach, the aircraft crashed into a forest, killing all 96 occupants, including the president. The crew switched altimeter mode from barometric to radio, unaware that they were in the path of a hill. Smolensk Airport was not equipped with an ILS, making approach almost impossible.

Episode 11

• Title: Heading to Disaster
  • Alternate Title: Subtle Incapacitation (US)
  • Subject: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409
  • Cause of accident: Undetermined.

Synopsis: On January 25, 2010, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 took off from Beirut, Lebanon during a storm, and crashed into the Mediterranean sea, killing all 90 people on board. Investigators theorized that spatial disorientation and harsh weather were direct causes of the disaster. However, the presence of security officials on board suggested that the crash was caused by either an act of sabotage, or an attempted hijacking. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the crash, but those claims were later dismissed. The cause of the crash is still unknown.

Episode 12

• Title: 28 Seconds to Survive
  • Alternate Title: Seconds to Survive(US)
  • Subject: Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518
  • Cause of accident: Crew error and disorientation.

Synopsis: Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518, operated by an ATR-42 turboprop, took off from Mérida, Venezuela, on February 21, 2008. It crashed on the side of a mountain, killing all 43 passengers and crew. The crew took off without reviewing the pre-flight checklists or calibrating the instruments, thus flying with inoperative navigation equipment. They tried to fly using only visual references and a magnetic compass, heading straight for the mountain.

Episode 13

• Title: Flight 447:Vanished
  • Alternate Title: Vanished (US)
  • Subject: Air France 447
  • Cause of accident: Stall caused by crew error.

Synopsis: On June 1, 2009, Air France 447, operated by an Airbus A330, disappeared while en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Most wreckage, as well as the black boxes, were recovered two years later. Investigators found out that ice accumulated into the aircraft's pitot tubes, giving incorrect readings and disengaging the autopilot. The crew responded inappropriately, sending it into a deep stall and mishandling this emergency as well, causing the aircraft to crash.

Season 13 (2013)

Episode 1

• Title: Fight to the Death
  • Alternate Title: Britain's Worst Air Crash (UK)
  • Subject: British European Airways Flight 548
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On June 18, 1972, a Hawker Siddeley Trident took off from Heathrow Airport in London, but stalled and crashed near a road. All 118 passengers and crew died. The crew retracted the aircraft's high-lift devices too soon, causing a drastic drop of lift, resulting in a deep stall. In the time before the accident, the captain had several arguments with his colleagues, and was reported to have anger issues and litigations over futile reasons. Also, the pilots were on a strike against BEA, which caused troubled services. This is thought to be the reason behind the captain's mistimed maneuver.

Episode 2

• Title: Speed Trap
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Hughes Airwest Flight 706
  • Cause of accident: Midair collision caused by crew error

Synopsis: On June 6, 1971, Hughes Airwest Flight 706 took off from Los Angeles bound to Salt Lake City, Utah. While en route, it collided with a US Army F-4 fighter jet, exploding on impact. All 49 people on the civilian jet were killed, and one of the two pilots on the F-4 ejected himself to safety. Both aircrafts were flying at the same altitude and airspace, but using different flight rules (The DC-9 was flying on instrumental while the F-4 was flying on visual), and being not properly monitored by the ATC in Los Angeles.

Episode 3

• Title: Lost in Translation
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Crossair Flight 498
  • Cause of accident: Spatial disorientation and crew error

Synopsis: In the night of January 10, 2000, a Crossair commuter plane crashed seconds after takeoff in Zurich, Switzerland, killing all 10 people on board. At first, it wat thought that the aircraft was downed by interferences by cellphone calls, but this theory was later dismissed. It turned out that the captain was under effect of Phenazepam, which caused him to suffer from spatial disorientation. The crew was also accustomed to eastern-style ADI instead of standard ADI, making him believe he was rolling to the left, when in reality he was banking hard to the left.

Episode 4

• Title: Disaster on the Potomac
  • Alternate Title: Tragedy on the Potomac (US)
  • Subject: Air Florida Flight 90
  • Cause of accident: Instrument failure due to icing

Synopsis: On January 13, 1982, a Boeing 737 operating for Air Florida stalled while taking off Washington D.C. airport and plunged into the icy Potomac river. While sinking, a handful of people managed to get out the aircraft, and one of them was rescued by a witness of the crash. In total, five people survived while 74 sunk with the aircraft. The aircraft's engines had not been de-iced properly, with frost blocking the fans' sensors and causing the cockpit to receive false reading about actual engine thrust.

Episode 5

• Title: Queens Catastrophe
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: American Airlines Flight 587
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure caused by pilot error

Synopsis: Just two months after the September 11 terrorist attacks, on November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587 spun out of control after taking off from New York's JFK airport and crashed into the Queens borough, killing all 265 passengers and crew, as well as 5 people on the ground. The aircraft was experiencing wake turbulence from a JAL 747 that took off before it, and the crew responded by moving the rudder back and forth violently. This caused the vertical empennage to be ripped off the fuselage, plunging the aircraft in an irrecoverable dive.

Episode 6

• Title: Into the Eye of the Storm
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: NOAA 42 incident
  • Cause of accident: Weather

Synopsis: In 1989, when Hurricane Hugo was approaching the United States, several aircrafts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, dubbed "Hurricane Hunters", were dispatched to study the pattern and strength of the hurricane by flying into it. On September 15, during a routine flight through the storm, the engine of a Lockheed Orion aircraft caught fire and failed, putting the mission on jeopardy. After an emergency maneuver, it managed to get out of the storm and make an emergency landing.

Episode 7

• Title: Massacre over the Mediterranean
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: The Ustica Massacre (Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870)
  • Cause of accident: Disputed, see synopsis

Synopsis: On June 27, 1980, a DC-9 operating as Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 exploded while en route from Bologna to Palermo, Italy. After debris was recovered off the island of Ustica, Italian investigators claimed that a missile was fired to the aircraft, claim that was bolstered by the presence of French fighter jets in the area. The NTSB found out that the hole in the fuselage was incompatible with a missile strike, instead bearing resemblance to a bomb blast. The bomb theory was more credible, but it could not be confirmed due to the lack of a perpetrator. The Italian government rejected NTSB's investigative outcome, insisting that a missle brought the plane down, claim that still persists to this day. No definitive accident reports were ever published, and the true cause of the accident is still unknown.

Episode 8

• Title: Imperfect Pitch
  • Alternate Title: Deadly Test (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: XL Airways Germany Flight 888T
  • Cause of accident: Maintenance error

Synopsis: On November 27 2008, an Airbus A320 aircraft, which was being transfered to Air New Zealand, was being tested off the airport of Perpignan by professional pilots, to make sure that all alarms and emergency measures work properly. However, during a stall test, the aircraft did not recover, and plunged into the Mediterranean Sea. It turned out that, during a last-minute maintenance operation, water entered in the Angle of Attack sensor, which froze in flight, making it useless. This caused the autopilot to not respond to the stall warning, entering a dive that killed all 7 crew members.

Episode 9

• Title: Terror in Paradise
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Moorea Flight 1121
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure

Synopsis: On 9 August 2007, a small aircraft took off from Papeete, headed to Tahiti. Minutes after takeoff, the airplane suddenly doved and plunged into the sea, killing all 19 people on board. An elevator control cable, which was worn and corroded, could not handle the force exerted by every flap position change, and snapped, forcing the elevator down.

Episode 10

• Title: Titanic in the Sky
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Qantas Flight 32
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure

Synopsis: On November 4 2010, an Airbus A380 operating for Qantas was en route from Singapore to Sydney, Australia, when engine number two exploded, damaging the left wing. Using the cockpit's sophisticated computers, they overcame the failures and performed a successful emergency landing back in Singapore. The cause of the failure was a manufacturing failure that caused an oil pipe to leak and catch fire.

Episode 11 (Special)

• Title: Getting Out Alive
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: How aircraft evacuation works.

Synopsis: This special looks at how people survive aviation accidents, in part with demonstrations at the Czech Airlines Training Centre..The disasters covered in this special are:

• Asiana Airlines Flight 214
• Air France Flight 358
• Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8
• Air Canada Flight 797
• US Airways Flight 1549

Season 14 (2014)

Episode 1

• Title: Choosing Sided
  • Alternate Title: M1 Plane Crash (UK), Total Engine Failure (AUS)
  • Subject: The Kegworth Air Disaster (British Midlands flight 92)
  • Cause of accident: Failure caused by design flaw and crew error

Synopsis: On January 8 1989, British Midlands flight 92, operated by an upgraded Boeing 737-400, took off from London before suffering engine failure. A blade separated from the fan of the left engine due to metal fatigue. The crew believed that the right engine has failed and decide to shut it down, after misreading the thrust indicators, which were recently digitalized but they were not accustomed to them. More fuel was fed to the broken engine, bursting it into fire. The crew tried to land the aircraft at East Midlands airport, but crashed near a highway, killing 47 of the 126 people on board.

Episode 2

• Title: Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits
  • Alternate Title: Niki Lauda: Tragedy in the Air (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Lauda Air Flight 004
  • Cause of accident: In-flight mechanical failure

Synopsis: On May 26 1991, a Boeing 767 owned by former F1 champion and businessman Niki Lauda fell from the sky just after taking off Bangkok, Thailand, killing all 223 people on board. Investigations led by Lauda himself conclude that an unlocked thrust reverser activated in flight without the crew realizing it. The aircraft lost lift and rolled uncontrollably, breaking up as it plummeted to the ground.

Episode 3

• Title: Vanishing Act
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Varig Flight 254
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On September 3 1989, the crew of Varig Flight 254 incorrectly set the compass heading of their aircraft to 27 (270, west) instead of 2.7 (27, north-northeast) and flew on autopilot since takeoff. This caused the aircraft to be lost in the remote Amazon Forest, heading farther and farther away from their destination, Belém. After several failed attempts to contact nearby airports, the aircraft ran out of fuel and crash-landed in the Amazon, killing 13 people. During the flight, the cockpit crew was listening to the commentary of a football match on the radio, which could have led the pilots to commit their mistake.

Episode 4

• Title: Sideswiped
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: COPA Airlines Flight 201
  • Cause of accident: Instrument failure

Synopsis: On June 6 1992, COPA Airlines Flight 201 lost control and crashed into a jungle several minutes after taking off from Tocumen, Panama. All 47 people on board perished in the crash. It turned out that the ADI was badly wired, giving false readings and confusing the crew about their actual attitude. The crew also did not receive adequate training on how to overcome a control loss.

Episode 5

• Title: The Final Push
  • Alternate Title: Death at Narita (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: FedEx Express Flight 14 and FedEx Express Flight 80
  • Cause of accident: Crew error.

Synopsis: On July 31 1997, a FedEx MD-11 freighter bounced twice, rolled upside down and crashed on the runway at Newark airport. There were no fatalities in this incident. 12 years later, on March 23 2009, the same accident happened again at Narita airport in Japan, where an MD-11 bounced, rolled upside down and crashed. In this accident, both pilots died. The cause of both crashes was crew error, in which the pilots went into flare position too late during landing, slowing down improperly and hitting the runway too hard. In the Narita crash, the crash was aggravated by strong winds.

Episode 6

• Title: The Death of JFK Jr.
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr.
  • Cause of accident: Spatial disorientation due to incomplete training.

Synopsis: John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. , the middle son of late US president John Fitgerald Kennedy, was carrying his sister-in-law Lauren and his wife Carolyn on his private plane on July 16, 1999. He was planning to drop Lauren off at Martha's Vineyard and then continue the flight, getting to a family wedding. John was only certified to fly under visual rules, and he was not trained to fly with the aircraft's instruments, thus suffering spatial disorientation while flying at night with no visual references. He entered a spin and crashed the plane in the Atlantic Ocean. All three occupants died on impact.

Episode 7

• Title: Concorde - Up in Flames
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Air France Flight 4590
  • Cause of accident: In-flight fire due to foreign object on the runway.

Synopsis: On July 25 2000, Air France Flight 4590, operated by a Concorde supersonic airliner, caught fire during takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and stalled during an emergency landing attempt, crashing on a hotel. All 109 passengers and crew and four people on the ground were killed. While taking off, the wheels of the Concorde were punctured by a metal strip which dropped off the aircraft that took off before. Shrapnel from the exploding tire punctured a hole in the fuel tank and severed the landing gear's electric wiring, generating a fire that consumed the left wing as it burned.

Episode 8

• Title: Accident or Assassination?
  • Alternate Title: Inner City Carnage (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: 2008 Mexico City plane crash
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On November 4 2008, a Learjet carrying the Mexican Ministry of Interior lost control and crashed into a busy street in Mexico City. All nine people on board and seven people on the ground died. The aircraft was descending at an inconsistent rate, and was hit by wake turbulence from a larger Boeing jet that was flying too close. The crew was flying with forged pilot licenses, and had no training to fly a Learjet.

Episode 9

• Title: No Clear Options
  • Alternate Title: Third Time Unlucky (UK and AUS)
  • Subject: Manx2 Flight 7100
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On February 10 2011, a commuter plane crashed during a go-around attempt at Cork Airport in Ireland, with half of the aircraft's occupants dying in the crash. The crew was experiencing fatigue from long and restless flight hours, which caused them to oversee the engine conditions and behavior of the aircraft. Fog also played a major role in the accident. This is the first air crash to be investigated with the help of a 3D laser scanner.

Episode 10

• Title: Death in the Arctic
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: First Air Flight 6560
  • Cause of accident: Navigation error

Synopsis: On August 20 2011, a Boeing 737 chartered by First Air crashed near Resolute Bay in Nunavut. Despite a tempestive rescue being carried out by the military, which was training nearby, only 3 of the 15 people on board survived and were rescued. The aircraft's compass was not properly calibrated, leading the aircraft to descend too far from the runway.

Episode 11

• Title: What Happened to Malaysian 370
  • Alternate Title: Malaysia 370: What Happened? (UK), What Happened to MH 370? (AUS
  • Subject: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
  • Cause of accident: Unknown

Synopsis: On March 8 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, operated by a Boeing 777, veered off course and disappeared over the Indian Ocean along with its 239 occupants. The wreckage is yet to be found, and several theories on the cause of the crash arose. The possibilities described on this episode are hijacking, navigation error, hypoxia (similar to Helios Airlines Flight 522) and deliberate crash by a crew member.

Season 15 (2015)

Episode 1

• Title: Fatal Trasmission
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: United Express Flight 5925
  • Cause of accident: Runway incursion due to ATC error

Synopsis: On November 19, 1996, United Express Flight 5925 crashed with a lighter aircraft while landing at Quincy airport in Illinois. All 12 people on board survived the crash, but a jammed emergency door prevented them from escaping, and they all succumbed to the fire. Both occupants of the King Air died on impact. An ATC interference from a third plane erroneously cleared the King Air to take off while the United Express aircraft was landing at the same time.

Episode 2

• Title: Terror in San Francisco
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Asiana Airlines flight 214
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On July 6 2013, Asiana Airlines flight 214 stroke a seawall while approaching San Francisco Airport and hit the runway, rolling and breaking up as it careened on the ground. Two passengers died on the crash scene while another died in hospital, leaving 304 survivors. The cause of the crash was a drop in airspeed caused by the de-activation of the autothrottle, a function that raises and lowers engine thrust automatically. The Boeing 777 resulted being too low and slow to land safely.

Episode 3

• Title: High Rise Catastrophe
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: El Al Flight 1862
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure

Synopsis: In the evening of October 4, 1992, an El Al cargo aircraft took off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, headed to Tel Aviv, Israel. In flight, engine number three detatched from its nacelle and knocked engine number four from the wing, damaging the control surfaces and losing lift. The crew attempted to land back in Schipol, but as they deployed the flaps (which only worked in one wing), the aircraft rolled uncontrollably and crashed into an apartment complex, killing all 4 crew members and 39 people on the ground.

Episode 4

• Title: Fatal Delivery
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: UPS Airlines flight 6
  • Cause of accident: In-flight fire

Synopsis: On September 3 2010, the cargo hold of a UPS Boeing 747 caught fire after the explosion of improperly stowed lithium-ion batteries. The fire burned through the cockpit's deck, filling it with smoke and making it impossible for the crew to see the instruments. With the help of another aircraft to handle communications, the crew tried landing back to Dubai. One of the pilot's oxygen mask failed and passed out while trying to get a spare oxygen tank. The other pilot missed the airport and tried turning to another airport, but turned the wrong direction and crashed. Both crew members died in the crash.

Episode 5

• Title: Deadly Mission
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: 1961 Ndola United Nations DC-6 crash
  • Cause of accident: Crew Error

Synopsis: On September 18, 1961, a Douglas DC-6 was chartered by the UN to carry secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld and his delegation to negotiate with rebel forces of the secessionist state of Katanga. The aircraft was bound to land at nightfall in Ndola airport in Zambia, but crashed into a mountain, killing 15 people on board with only one survivor, who died several days later in hospital. At first, it was thought that the aircraft was shot down by either ground soldiers or aircrafts, but it was dismissed. The official investigation concluded that the crew was not monitoring the descent properly, as well as using outdated and incomplete maps with very little topographic detail, including mountains. The case was reopened in 2013, with declarations from the CIA, as well as solid proof, that the aircraft was shot down by a Katangese air force fighter.

Episode 6

• Title: Edge of Disaster
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Atlantic Airways Flight 670
  • Cause of accident: Runway overrun

Synopsis: On October 10 2006, Atlantic Airways Flight 670 took off from Stavanger,Norway, carrying 16 passengers and crew. As it landed in Stord, the spoilers did not deploy properly, causing inefficient braking. Even with the emergency gear brakes on, the aircraft was hydroplaning on the runway at high speed. It then overshot the runway and fell off a cliff, breaking up and killing four people.

Episode 7

• Title: Deadly Delay
  • Alternate Title: Fatal Delay (UK)
  • Subject: Spanair Flight 5022
  • Cause of accident: Takeoff failure due to crew error

Synopsis: On August 2008, Spanair Flight 5022 was taking off from Madrid Airport after a delay due to malfunction. It failed to become airborne, rolled to the right and crashed into a river, killing 154 people and leaving 18 survivors. The crew did not read out loud the steps on their checklist, instead reciting them from memory. The failure to extend the flaps and slats caused the aircraft to not get enough lift.

Episode 8

• Title: Fatal Focus
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Garuda Indonesia flight 200
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On March 7, 2007, Garuda Indonesia flight 200 landed hard on the runway of Yogyakarta Airport in Indonesia, bouncing and crashing into a rice field nearby. The aircraft was intended to land with the flaps fully extended at 40°;, but due to the lack of cooperation between the pilots, and the captain insisting on making a straight approach, the flaps were only set at 5°;. This caused the aircraft to land too fast and too far from the runway's foot. 21 people out of 140 on board were killed.

Episode 9

• Title: Steep Impact
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure

Synopsis: On April 5, 1991, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 lost control and crashed a few miles away from Brunnswick Airport in Georgia. Among the 23 victims of the crash were US senator John Tower and STS-33 astronaut Sonny Carter. A design flaw in the propellers caused the control unit to fail, causing the propeller's pitch to trim out of control and disrupt airflow on the wings.

Episode 10

• Title: Carnage in Sao Paulo
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure and crew error

Synopsis: On October 31 1996, TAM Airlines flight 402 crashed after taking off from Congonhas airport in Sao Paulo, killing 96 people on board and 3 on the ground. A faulty sensor caused the right engine's thrust reverser to deploy mid-flight. The aircraft's autothrottle attempted to compensate by putting the faulty engine's power to idle, but the crew, unaware of the situation, forced the thrust back to maximum power, creating uneven lift and causing it to roll and crash.

Season 16 (2016)

Episode 1

• Title: Deadly Silence
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: 1999 South Dakota Learjet crash (N47BA)
  • Cause of accident: Pressurization failure resulting in hypoxia

Synopsis: On October 25 1999, a Learjet operated by Sunjet, carrying pro golf player Payne Stewart, strayed off course and crashed in a field in South Dakota, thousands of miles away from its intended destination, Dallas. When pressurization in the cabin failed, the crew read the checklist, which didn't have the donning of the oxygen masks as the top priority. This caused them to not get the oxygen masks in time and succumb from hypoxia. With all of its eight occupants dead inside, the aircraft ran out of fuel and fell from the sky. The cause of the pressurization failure has not been determined.

Episode 2

• Title: 9/11: the Pentagon Attack
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: American Airlines flight 77
  • Cause of accident: Hijacking and suicide attack.

Synopsis: On September 11 2001, American Airlines flight 77 departed Washington D.C. bound for Los Angeles. Five men, who had links with terrorist group Al-Qaeda, took control of the plane, threatening the crew and pilots with box cutters they brought on board, despite security controls on the ground. They turned off the aircraft's trasponder and directed it back to Washington, using the autopilot. When they had the city in sight, they switched to manual control and accelerated to the speed of sound, smashing into the side of the Pentagon. All 64 people on board, including the hijackers, and 125 people in the Pentagon died in the crash.

Episode 3

• Title: Disaster at Tenerife
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Pan Am Flight 1736 and KLM 4805
  • Cause of accident: Runway collision due to weather, crew error and ATC error.

Synopsis: On March 27 1977, two Boeing 747 operating for Pan Am and KLM were diverted at Tenerife after a terrorist bombing hit the airport of Las Palmas. KLM's captain, Jacob Van Zanten, was eager to takeoff, fearing that the delay could cost him his flying license due to Dutch regulations on overtime hours. Adding to the confusion, he had mistakenly believed he was given the order to take off when he only got ATC clearance, while the Pan Am plane was still on the runway and taxiing down to the C4 exit after having missed the C3 exit due to communication mishaps with the tower. The entire runway was also obscured by a thick fog that prevented both the control tower from seeing either of the two planes' positions and the planes themselves from seeing each other until they were almost on top of each other, and lack of ground radar meant they only had radio communications to rely on for detection. The Pan Am Crew tried to clear off and avoid collision, but before they could clear, the KLM 747 crashed through the fuselage of it, stalling and exploding on the runway. The explosion of the Pan Am aircraft killed 335 people on board and left 61 survivors, while none of the 248 people on board survived in the KLM plane. With a total of 583 victims, it's the deadliest air disaster in history.

Episode 4

• Title: Deadly Detail
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: China Airlines flight 120
  • Cause of accident: Runway fire due to maintenance error.

Synopsis: On August 20 2007, China Airlines flight 120 had a routine flight from Taipei, Taiwan, to the island of Okinawa, Japan. After the aircraft parked, a fire erupted, causing several explosions and destroying the plane. All 165 people on board evacuated the aircraft safely, with the cockpit crew being the last ones to escape. Several weeks before the accident, a botched repair on the right wing's slat downstop caused it to dislodge at landing, and then puncture the fuel tanks when the slats were retracted. The fuel leak started the fire.

Episode 5

• Title: Deadly Detour
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Proteus Airlines flight 706
  • Cause of accident: Midair collision.

Synopsis: On July 30 1998, Proteus Airlines flight 706 collided with a light aircraft while flying over a cruise ship in Quiberon Bay, France. In the crash, fifteen people (14 on the Beechcraft 1900D and the pilot and only occupant of the Cessna) were killed. The crew of Flight 706 detoured from their designated flight path and descended over the cruise ship, at an altitute in which they could not be controlled by the ATC. At the same time, the Cessna aircraft was flying without its trasponder activated, and on a different radio frequency. Both planes were not visible because, at their positions, they could not see each other. The Cessna hit the tail of the Beechcraft, and both planes fell in the sea.

Episode 6

• Title: Dangerous Approach
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286
  • Cause of accident: Pilot error.

Synopsis: On January 19 1988, Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286 crashed short of the runway, killing 9 people out of the 17 on board. The investigation found out that the captain, who was under the influence of cocaine he consumed the night before, chose to make a dangerous and steep descent, while the first officer had very little flight experience and couldn't realize that the plane was in danger until it was too late.

Episode 7

• Title: Murder in the Skies
  • Alternate Title: Crash in the Alps (UK)
  • Subject: Germanwings flight 9525
  • Cause of accident: Deliberate crash.

Synopsis: On March 24 2015, Germanwings flight 9525 from Barcelona to Dusserdolf crashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. The investigation concluded that first officer Andreas Lubitz, who was suffering from psychotic depression, locked himself in the cockpit and set the autopilot at minimum altitude and maximum speed, sending the plane straight into the mountains.

Episode 8

• Title: River Runway
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Garuda Indonesia Flight 421
  • Cause of accident: Engine flameout.

Synopsis: On January 16 2002, Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 entered a heavy storm with severe hail, which caused a dual engine flameout. The crew attempted to restart the engines but failed, and when they tried to turn on the APU, all electric systems blacked out because of a faulty battery. The crew then ditched the plane in the Bengawan Solo River, with all but one of the 60 people on board surviving.

Episode 9

• Title: Deadly Solution
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
  • Cause of accident: Pilot Error caused by In-flight Failure.

Synopsis: On Decembrer 28 2014, Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 stalled and plunged into the Sea of Java, killing all 162 people on board. The crew kept receiving warnings from a faulty Rudder Travel Limiter, and the captain tried to resolve the problem by shutting down the aircraft's computer, which also controlled the autopilot and autothrottle. As it banked, the first officer tried to regain control, but he was suffering from spatial disorientation which ultimately caused a steep climb, a stall and the crash.

Episode 10

• Title: Afghan Nightmare
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: National Airlines Flight 102
  • Cause of accident: In-flight failure caused by improper cargo loading.

Synopsis: Flight 102 of National Airlines carrying U.S. Army vehicles took off from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan on April 29, 2013. During rotation, one vehicle broke from its improperly set straps, and smashed through the rear pressure bulkhead, breaking two hydraulic lines and the elevator jackscrew. The aircraft pitched up, stalled and crashed in a field near the runway, killing all seven people on board..

Season 17 (2017)

Episode 1

• Title: Killer Attitude
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Northwest Airlink Flight 5719
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

Synopsis: On December 1,1993, Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 hit trees, rolled upside down and crashed into a hillside during final approach at Hibbing, Minnesota, killing all 18 people on board. The first officer was dealing with an uncommon practice that he wasn't experience to perform, and he was psycologically broken by the captain, who had anger management issues.

Episode 2

• Title: Deadly Myth
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Comair Flight 3272
  • Cause of accident: Icing.

Synopsis: On January 9, 1997, Comair Flight 3272 lost control and crashed in a field near Detroit airport, killing all 29 people on board. The crew was performing an outdated de-icing practice that required waiting for ice to build-up before inflating the de-icing boots, based on the supposed "bridging" phenomenon. Such technology had improved to the point that the bridging theory was disproven, and waiting for ice buildup was useless and dangerous. A very thick layer of ice accumulated on the left wing, disrupting airflow and bringing the plane down.

Episode 3

• Title: Turning Point
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Air China Flight 129
  • Cause of accident: Crew error.

Synopsis: On April 15, 2002, the crew of Air China flight 129 from Beijing to Busan, South Korea, performed their circling landing procedure too fast, turned at the wrong time with heavy clouds and the runway out of sight, and crashed into a mountain. 129 people died while 37 survived.

Episode 4

• Title: Explosive Proof
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Trans World Airlines Flight 800
  • Cause of accident: In-flight breakup.

Synopsis: TWA 800 took off from New York on a flight to Paris on July 17,1996 when a sudden explosion tears off the aircraft's front section, leaving only the rest of the fuselage airborn and uncontrollable. It then turned upside down, broke up and its debris and all 230 people on board hit the ocean below. The aircraft had a short circuit due to old and poorly mantained wiring caused a short circuit that ignited the fuel in the wing tanks, which vapourized due to high temperatures produced by the air conditioning pumps. There are also conspiracy theories that the aircraft was shot down by missiles by the US Navy, but those claims were proven false.

Episode 5

• Title: Lethal Turn
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Garuda Indonesia Flight 152
  • Cause of accident: ATC error and pilot error.

Synopsis: On 25 Semptember, 1997 Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 crashes into a hillside while descending at Medan airport with reduced visibility due to a nearby forest fire. All 254 people on board die on impact. The aircraft veered away from its intended flight path due to Air Traffic Controller confusion. The pilots did not confirm that approach instructions were intended for them, but another flight with the same number but a different allsign. The crew also did not specify to the ATC that they were approaching the runway from the left side instead of the right side, causing them to turn to the left out of memory, having accustomed to a right-hand landing.

Episode 6

• Title: Storming Out
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: USAir Flight 1016
  • Cause of accident: Weather.

Synopsis: While performing a missed approach in severe weather in Charlotte on 2 July 1994, a DC-9 flying as USAir Flight 1016 suddenly slams to the ground and breaks up, killing 37 people and leaving 20 survivors, including all of the crew. The aircraft encountered microburst-induced windshear at low speeds. The crew, thinking they're stalling, push the nose down, when the correct procedure dictates to pull it up; investigators suggest it was result of spatial disorientation.

Episode 7

• Title: Caught on Tape
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: TransAsia Flight 235
  • Cause of accident: Crew Error.

Synopsis: On February 4, 2015, a TransAsia commuter aircraft loses altitude, clips with a bridge and sinks in the Keelung River after taking off from Taipei. Only 15 of the 58 people on board survive. The torque sensor on the right engine feathered the propeller, but the crew shut off the left engine. The captain, who shut down the wrong engine, was not experienced with newer commuter civilian aircrafts, and often suffered from "change blindness" issues. The accident is famous for being recorded live from a dashcam.

Episode 8

• Title: Terror over Egypt
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Metrojet Flight 9268
  • Cause of accident: Bombing.

Synopsis: On October 31, 2015, an aircraft from Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, to Saint Petersburg, Russia, breaks up in the desert of the Sinai Penninsula, killing all 224 people on board. A load of explosives, hidden in a pack of soda cans, was smuggled on board by a baggage handler who had ties with terrorist group ISIS.

Episode 9

• Title: Deadly Discussions
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: LAPA Flight 3142
  • Cause of accident: Takeoff failure due to negligent behavior.

Synopsis:On the evening of 31 August, 1999, a business flight overruns the runway at Buenos Aires after a failed takeoff, crosses an highway and collides with a gas plant, catching fire and killing 65 people on board plus 2 on the ground. The flaps were not extended during takeoff. The crew, instead of reading the checklist, were talking about trivial topics and smoking in the cockpit, and ignored the configuration alarm that warned that they could not fly without flaps. In particular, the captain was known to have slowness in responding to emergency situations. LAPA ceased operation years later, with a bad record for negligence.

Episode 10

• Title: The Lost Plane
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Thai Airways flight 311
  • Cause of accident: Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error.

Synopsis:On 31 July 1992, a Thai passenger jet serving as flight 311 crashes on a mountain face in Langtang National Park during a routine flight from Bangkok, Thailand to Kathmandu, Nepal, killing all 35 people on board. The aircraft ended up in harsh terrain when the crew lost situational awareness due to a proposed divertion to Calcutta, and struggled to circle around the airport, heading too far north in the process.

Season 18 (2018)

Episode 1

• Title: Nuts and Bolts
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Emery Worldwide Flight 17
  • Cause of accident: In-flight mechanical failure due to faulty maintenance

Synopsis: On February 16 2000, Emery Worldwide 17 crashes after takeoff in Sacramento, killing all 3 occupants on board. The aircraft lost control after pitching up too steeply on takeoff. The push-rod on the right elevator was jammed in the upward position, because a cotter pin was not inserted in the castellated nut that hold the rods together. A maintenance worker forsook to put the pin back after replacing a damper, because he was alone and unsupervised during the job.

Episode 2

• Title: Deadly Airspace
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
  • Cause of accident: Shootdown

Synopsis: During the Donbass War in Eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, a missile strikes Malaysia Airlines flight 17 and destroys the aircraft, killing all 298 people on board. The aircraft took off from Amsterdam and flew over war-laden airspace in the self-proclamed Republic of Donetsk, in order to reach its destination in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Shrapnel found in the fuselage and the captain's body indicates that a Russian 9K37 BUK missile was fired at the aircraft and detonated, causing it to break up. A criminal investigation was conducted, but no definitive culprit has been found.

Episode 3

• Title: Blown Away
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: TransAsia Flight 222
  • Cause of accident: Controlled flight into terrain due to crew error

Synopsis: On 23 July 2014, Trans Asia flight 222 crashes in the village of Xixi, Taiwan, while attempting to land at Magong Airport. 48 people were killed, including the crew, and leaving 10 survivors. The aircraft circled over the city in bad weather and visibility caused by Typhoon Matmo. The crew, which was struggling with procedures such as reading out checklists, descended below the minimum descent altitude without the runway in sight and climbed too late to perform a go-around. The captain was also very fatigued by the frequent flights per day. The company has been hiring pilots who frequently ignored standard procedures, as a way to increase revenue..

Episode 4

• Title: Deadly Distraction
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: Delta Airlines Flight 1141
  • Cause of accident: Takeoff failure due to crew error

Synopsis: On 31 August 1988, a Delta Boeing 727 crashes after a failed takeoff from Dallas Fort Worth airport. Flight 1141 was put on hold, then cleared for takeoff, but as it accelerated it lost control, hit antennas on the threshold and disintegrated on the ground, killing 14 people. The crew did not extend the flaps for takeoff, as they were chatting in the cockpit with a flight attendant over irrelevant topics, and rushed the takeoff checklist when they got cleared. Furthermore, the takeoff configuration alarm did not sound, because the terminal was defective.

Episode 5

• Title: Deadly Display
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: 2012 Sukhoi 100 crash
  • Cause of accident: Controlled flight into terrain

Synopsis: A Sukhoi Superjet 100 flying over West Java for a demonstration tour crashes on the face of Mount Salak on May 9 2012, without survivors. The flight was part of a series of displays for companies interested in the purchase and development of the aircraft. The crew was performing a double loop over the city of Bogor, but completed only one and an half, because they were talking to an airline customer in the cockpit about the features of the aircraft. Mount Salak was not visible at the time of the crash because of dark clouds, and the captain, who was given a chart that did not have any terrain on it, thought that the TAWS was faulty. They then initiated a descent, but instead of directing the plane towards Jakarta, they were in fact heading to the mountain.

Episode 6

• Title: Deadly Mission
  • Alternate Title: -
  • Subject: VSS Enterprise
  • Cause of accident: Crew error

An experimental aircraft from Scaled Composites took off in October 31 2014, carrying SpaceShipTwo for a test flight. After being released, SpaceShipTwo breaks up in flight and crashes in the Mojave desert, killing one of the two crew members. The feather actuator on the tail boom was unlocked too early, when the speed was too low. Investigators found out that the crew were not warned about the consequences of unlocking the feather too early, and that their flight simulatore didn't replicate realistic vibrations and G-forces.