The best episodes of Mayday
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Turning Point (Northwest Airlines Flight 85)
On 9 October 2002, Northwest Airlines Flight 85 is cruising above the Bering Sea, when the lower rudder segment suddenly deflects to the left. The pilots divert the aircraft to a successful emergency landing at Anchorage, Alaska, by using engine thrust for control. The incident was attributed to a fatigue failure of the rudder hydraulic control module, resulting in part of the module's metal casing breaking off.
- 02
Hudson River Runway (US Airways Flight 1549)
On 15 January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 suffers a bird strike with a flock of Canada geese approximately 1.5 minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Both engines fail, and less than two minutes later, the crew members successfully ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River. All on board survive.
- 03
Fatal Delivery (UPS Airlines Flight 6)
On 3 September 2010, the pilots of UPS Airlines Flight 6 report a fire and declare an emergency shortly after taking off from Dubai International Airport. The crew tries to land back at the airport, but are unsuccessful. The aircraft flies over the airport and crashes into an unpopulated area nearby. Both of the pilots die.
- 04
High Rise Catastrophe (El Al Flight 1862)
On 4 October 1992, after taking off from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, El Al Flight 1862 declares an emergency. The crew do their best to make an emergency landing, but the 747 cargo jet rolls violently to the right and crashes into an apartment complex, killing 43 people. The two engines on the right wing had separated from the aircraft, causing the loss of control.
- 05
Disaster at Tenerife (KLM 4805 and Pan Am 1736)
On 27 March 1977, the deadliest-ever aviation accident occurs at Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife-North Airport) in the Canary Islands. KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 collide on the runway in thick fog during the KLM aircraft's attempt to take off, killing 583 people.
- 06
Deadly Airspace (Malaysia Airlines Flight 17)
On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board.
- 07
En route to Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Flight 780 is high over the South China Sea when both of the plane's engines fail, turning the Airbus A-330 into a 200-ton glider; the captain takes over manual control and manages to power up one engine.
- 08
Falling from the Sky (British Airways Flight 9)
On 24 June 1982, British Airways Flight 9 experiences St. Elmo's fire en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Perth, Australia. A few minutes later, all four engines flame out. After descending, the crew successfully restarts the engines and lands safely. The St. Elmo's fire and engine flame-outs were caused by volcanic ash spewed by Galunggung in Indonesia during a major eruption.
- 09
On 12 August 1985, the rear pressure bulkhead bursts on a Boeing 747SR operating as Japan Airlines Flight 123, destroying the vertical stabilizer and severing all four of the aircraft's hydraulic systems. The crew manages to keep the aircraft flying for 32 minutes until it clips Mount Osutaka and crashes, killing all but four people out of the 524 passengers and crew aboard.
- 10
Gimli Glider (Air Canada Flight 143)
A Boeing 767-200 jet, Air Canada Flight 143, ran completely out of fuel at 41,000 feet (12,000m) altitude, about halfway through its flight from Montreal to Edmonton. The crew was able to glide the aircraft safely to an emergency landing at Gimli Industrial Park Airport, a former airbase at Gimli, Manitoba.
- 11
Southern Airways Flight 242, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, American Airlines Flight 1420, British Airways Flight 9. This special looked at the role of bad weather in disasters and examines the US Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Missouri, to see how information on weather is transmitted to pilots in the sky.
- 12
Deadly Delay (Spanair Flight 5022)
On 20 August 2008, Spanair Flight 5022 attempts to takeoff from Barajas Airport, but stalls immediately, banks to the right and crashes, killing 154 people out of the 172 on board. The pilots aborted the first takeoff attempt, and the second attempt resulted in the crash.
- 13
River Runway (Garuda Indonesia Flight 421)
On 16 January 2002, on final approach to Yogyakarta at the end of a routine domestic flight from Ampenan, Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 suffers a double engine flameout while flying through a severe thunderstorm and ditches in the Bengawan Solo River. 59 of the 60 people on board survive.
- 14
What Happened to MA370 (Malaysia Airlines Flight 370)
On 8 March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board. As of February 2015, no trace of the Boeing 777-200ER had been found, and speculation is that it crashed in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.
- 15
On 1 July 2002, Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 collides with DHL Flight 611 in German airspace near Überlingen. Flight 2937 is destroyed instantly, and the DHL cargo aircraft crashes shortly afterwards, killing all 71 people on board the two aircraft.
- 16
Impossible Landing (United Airlines Flight 232)
On 19 July 1989, the tail-mounted number two engine of United Airlines Flight 232 explodes, causing serious damage to the aircraft's hydraulic systems and leaving the flight controls unusable. By varying engine thrust, the pilots manage to crash-land the aircraft at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Iowa, saving the lives of 185 of the 296 people on board. The investigation traced the engine failure to a fatigue crack in the front fan disk which had developed from a defect introduced before the disk was even made, when the original titanium ingot used to make it was formed.
- 17
Steep Impact (Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311)
On 5 April 1991, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 from Atlanta suddenly nose-dives into the ground while on landing approach to Glynco Jetport, killing all 23 people on board, including US Senator John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter. The accident was caused by a malfunction of the left engine propeller control unit.
- 18
(Northwest Airlines Flights 299 & 1482) When a blanket of confusion and heavy fog puts two planes on a path to disaster, investigators wonder if it was the pilots themselves creating chaos.
- 19
Fatal Distraction (Eastern Airlines Flight 401)
A Lockheed L-1011 Tristar operating Eastern Airlines Flight 401 to Miami International Airport crashes in the Everglades because the crew is distracted by a faulty landing gear indicator light and accidentally disengage the autopilot. 101 people die.
- 20
Panic Over The Pacific (China Airlines Flight 006)
On 19 February 1985, China Airlines Flight 006's number four (right-side outer) engine flames out. As the crew tries to restart the engine, the Boeing 747SP stalls and enters into a spin. The crew successfully regains control, restarts the engine and lands safely at San Francisco International Airport. The incident was caused by pilot error. Alternate title: "6 Mile Plunge"
- 21
Cracks in the System (Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101)
On 19 December 2005, just seconds after takeoff from Miami, Florida, the right wing of Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 breaks off, causing the aircraft to crash into the sea, killing all 20 people on board. The causes of the crash were metal fatigue and poor maintenance.
- 22
Bad Attitude (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509)
On 22 December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, en route from London Stansted Airport to Milan, Italy, crashes into a field about 55 seconds after taking off, killing all four crew members on board. The causes of the crash were the captain following the indications of a malfunctioning attitude indicator and lack of communication amongst the crew members.
- 23
Vanished (Air France Flight 447)
On 1 June 2009, Air France Flight 447, a scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, stalls and crashes into the Atlantic Ocean while flying through a thunderstorm, killing all 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The causes of the crash were incorrect airspeed readings due to ice blockage of the aircraft's pitot tubes, inappropriate control inputs and the pilots not taking recovery action until it was too late.
- 24
Terror in Paradise (Air Moorea Flight 1121)
On 9 August 2007, Air Moorea Flight 1121 crashes shortly after taking off from Moorea Airport in French Polynesia. All 19 passengers and the pilot died. The cause was a badly worn and partly broken elevator control cable failing completely in flight. It was put under more strain than it could handle as the force on the elevators changed with flap retraction. The situation was likely aggravated by the aircraft being repeatedly buffeted by jet exhaust while parked, stressing the cables further.
- 25
Titanic in the Sky (Qantas Flight 32)
On 4 November 2010, Qantas Flight 32, en route to Sydney Airport in Australia, suffers an uncontained engine failure in its number two engine and serious damage to its left wing shortly after takeoff from Singapore. The crew members overcome a number of resulting failures and make a safe emergency landing back at Singapore with no injuries among the 469 passengers and crew members. Investigators found that a manufacturing fault in an oil pipe caused the engine failure.
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