Mayday: Specials (2004)

Episodes

1. 

   Episode 1 · June 26, 2004 · 45m

   Final Hour of Flight 11 Aircrash Confidential Mystery

   9.0
2. 

   Episode 2 · August 13, 2006 · 45m

   Crash of the Century

   March 27, 1977 – At 2:00 in the afternoon a thick fog rolled into the usually quiet Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. On the runway sat two fully loaded jumbo airliners, blanketed in fog. A bomb explosion at a nearby airport had re-directed air traffic to the undermanned airfield at Tenerife. Within three hours, a KLM 747 slams into a taxiing PAM 747, killing 583 people. The planes never left the ground.

   8.0
3. 

   Episode 3 · May 9, 2014 · 45m

   Special Report Season 13: Getting Out Alive

   This special looked at how people survive aviation accidents, in part with demonstrations at the Czech Airlines Training Centre. It provided case studies on the following flight: - Asiana Airlines Flight 214 - Air France Flight 358 - Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 - Air Canada Flight 797 - US Airways Flight 1549

   8.0
4. 

   Episode 4 · July 9, 2018 · 45m

   Special Report Season 18 : Communication Breakdown

   This special looked at how failures in communication lead to disasters

   8.0
5. 

   Episode 5 · July 16, 2018 · 45m

   Special Report Season 18 : Bad Attitude

   This special looked at how pilots' aggressive or unprofessional behaviour can cause deadly accidents.

   8.0
6. 

   Episode 6 · July 23, 2018 · 45m

   Special Report Season 18 : Hero Pilots

   This special looked at how pilots safely land their aircraft in emergency situations.

   8.0
7. 

   Episode 7 · July 30, 2018 · 45m

   Special Report Season 18 : Plane vs. Pilot

   This special looked at how automation in the cockpit causes deadly misunderstandings.

   8.0
8. 

   Episode 8 · August 6, 2018 · 45m

   Special Report Season 18 : Explosive Evidence

   This special looked at terrorist acts, including bombings and shootdowns.

   8.0
9. 

   Episode 9 · August 13, 2018 · 45m

   Special Report Season 18 : Killer in the Cockpit?

   This special looked at pilots' carefully planned strategies in deliberately crashing aircraft.

   8.0
10. 

    Episode 10 · August 20, 2018 · 45m

    Special Report Season 18 : Missing Pieces

    This special looked at foreign items, including ice, a chemical oxygen generator, and a bomb as the cause.

    8.0
11. 

    Episode 11 · August 27, 2018 · 45m

    Special Report Season 18 : Controversial Crashes

    This special looked at disasters where multiple investigations don't agree on the cause of these accidents.

    8.0
12. 

    Episode 12 · September 3, 2018 · 45m

    Special Report Season 18 : Deadly Distractions

    This special looked at how pilots' deviation from cockpit duties lead to crashes.

    8.0
13. 

    Episode 13 · September 10, 2018 · 45m

    Special Report Season 18 : Fire on Board

    This special looked at disasters caused by fires, either on the ground or in the air.

    8.0
14. 

    Episode 14 · October 5, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Headline News

    Three devastating crashes make front page news and the media frenzy puts intense pressure to uncover the true cause of these deadly disasters.

    8.0
15. 

    Episode 15 · October 12, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Rookie Errors

    While commercial pilots undergo hundreds of hours of training and testing, even experienced pilots can make deadly rookie errors.

    8.0
16. 

    Episode 16 · October 19, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Collision Course

    Investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact.

    8.0
17. 

    Episode 17 · October 26, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Engines Out

    When an aircraft loses total engine power, a pilot's training can make all the difference in the world.

    8.0
18. 

    Episode 18 · November 2, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Fuel Trouble

    Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source - the fuel tank.

    8.0
19. 

    Episode 19 · November 9, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Perilous Payloads

    Three planes fatally out of balance highlight to investigators a flight risk that's entirely preventable, and yet seemingly not stopping.

    8.0
20. 

    Episode 20 · November 16, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Runway in Sight

    If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy as evidenced in these three crashes.

21. 

    Episode 21 · November 23, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Deadly Confusion

    Spatial disorientation is one of the leading causes of all air accidents. Even the most experienced pilots are susceptible to its subtle yet deadly effects.

22. 

    Episode 22 · November 30, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Radio Silence

    Radio silence between pilots and controllers can mean many different things, but in these stories, the physical evidence reveals the truth.

23. 

    Episode 23 · December 7, 2019 · 45m

    Special Report Season 19 : Design Flaws

    Drawing the attention of the entire world, three fatal design flaws put air crash investigators in a storm of controversy.

24. 

    Episode 24 · July 20, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Courage in the Cockpit

    Devastating systems failures in the air put pilots to the test and shine a light on three astonishing feats of flying, including Qantas Flight 32.

25. 

    Episode 25 · July 27, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Death From Above

    Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below.

26. 

    Episode 26 · August 3, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: VIP on Board

    Revisit three crashes involving high-profile passengers and the pressurized investigations into the causes that followed.

27. 

    Episode 27 · August 10, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Lapse in Security

    These are three horrific air disasters that provoked fundamental changes to airport security and the measures we follow across the world today.

28. 

    Episode 28 · August 17, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Mountain Impact

    Follow three horrifying crashes that revealed high-tech blind spots in the technology preventing aircraft from ploughing into mountains.

29. 

    Episode 29 · August 24, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Survivors

    From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.

30. 

    Episode 30 · August 31, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Instrument Confusion

    Follow three mid-air tragedies that rained terror on those below when they happened over crowded areas.

31. 

    Episode 31 · September 7, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Heat of the Moment

    When aviation decisions are made in the heat of the moment, even minor issues can have fatal consequences.

32. 

    Episode 32 · September 14, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Maintenance Mistakes

    A trio of crashes reveal that when the nuts and bolts of maintenance go unchecked, it can spell catastrophe.

33. 

    Episode 33 · September 21, 2020 · 45m

    Special Report Season 20: Take Off Tragedies

    Three flights ending in tragedy prove that minor missteps during take-off can have disastrous consequences.

34. 

    Episode 34 · January 10, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Dead of Night

    Confused, flying blind and lost in the dark, three crews lose site of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.

35. 

    Episode 35 · January 17, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Engine Gone

    Three crews experience the same devastating event, but with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.

36. 

    Episode 36 · January 24, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Lethal Choices

    Faced with a mid-air crisis, pilots must make life-and-death decisions, but the wrong approach can trigger a far more serious problem.

37. 

    Episode 37 · January 31, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Risky Runways

    In Sao Paolo, the Himalayas, and on the Norwegian coast, three flight crews are pushed to the limit by the toughest landings on earth.

38. 

    Episode 38 · February 7, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Landings Gone Wrong

    Relying on instinct rather than the rule book, three flights end in tragedy when crews improvise on their final approach.

39. 

    Episode 39 · February 8, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Frozen Wings

    Three planes are brought down by ice, and it's up to investigators to determine how modern aircraft could possibly end up with frozen wings.

40. 

    Episode 40 · February 11, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Runway Collisions

    Three catastrophic runway collisions raise the same pressing question: How could two planes end up on the same runway at the same time?

41. 

    Episode 41 · February 12, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Cockpit Breakdown

    Illustrating the deadly consequences of a mismatched crew, three flights end in tragedy, leaving investigators to unravel what went wrong.

42. 

    Episode 42 · February 14, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Splash Down

    Three last-resort water landings-all handled differently-yet each one crucial to improving the outcomes of ditching on open water.

43. 

    Episode 43 · February 15, 2021 · 45m

    Special Report: Northern Extremes

    Faced with the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky leaving investigators to uncover the cause.

44. 

    Episode 44 · September 12, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: War Zone

    Misidentification and accidental bombing of enemy territory are among the many risks pilots face in military zones around the world.

45. 

    Episode 45 · September 19, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Time Critical

    As they rush to finish, some pilots overlook important steps and danger signs and make decisions that threaten the lives of the passengers as well as their own. A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 crashes into the ground minutes after landing at Amsterdam Airport. A Continental Airlines flight crew ignores normal procedures in Denver amid heavy snow and ice and as the pilots of Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 try to resolve a minor landing gear failure, they hit the ground and their approach ends tragically wrong in the New Zealand slopes.

46. 

    Episode 46 · September 26, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Ticking Time Bomb

47. 

    Episode 47 · October 3, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Impossible Landings

    The pilots avoid three dangerous situations where there was no room for error and manage to land damaged planes. A female passenger is sucked out the window of Southwest Flight 1380. The cabin of a Boeing 737 explodes over Hawaii and Air Canada Flight 797 catches fire 90 seconds after an incredible crash landing.

48. 

    Episode 48 · October 10, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Deadly Data

49. 

    Episode 49 · October 17, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Trained to Fail

50. 

    Episode 50 · October 24, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Accidents in the Air

    This special looked at mid-air collisions caused by either pilot error or meltdowns within air traffic control.

51. 

    Episode 51 · October 31, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Dangerous Winds

    Approaching Charlotte, US Air Flight 1016 crashes violently into the ground after a gust of wind. A 737 drops like a rock while flying blind over Perú half a mile from the jungle, and a scientific expedition into the eye of Hurricane Hugo goes terribly wrong.

52. 

    Episode 52 · November 7, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Sabotage

    Three flights are sabotaged. When hijackers break into the cockpit of an Ethiopian plane, the captain manages to make a life-threatening sea landing. Scientists debate a pair of conflicting theories when an Italian plane explodes in the sky and Namibian investigators come to a chilling conclusion after examining clues found in the wreckage of LAM Mozambique Flight 470.

53. 

    Episode 53 · November 14, 2022 · 45m

    Special Report: Poor Piloting

54. 

    Episode 54 · July 8, 2024 · 45m

    Special Report: Pitch Problems

    Accidents caused by pitch problems are dramatic and destructive, and survival is almost impossible. Very few clues are available to the investigators. Alaska Airlines Flight 261, American Eagle Flight 4184 and United Airlines Flight 585

55. 

    Episode 55 · July 15, 2024

    Special Report: Fight to the Finish

    Pushed to the limits of their training and willpower, three flight crews fight against almost impossible odds to land their crippled aircraft. Transair Flight 671, Air Astana Flight 1388 and Philippine Airlines Flight 434.

56. 

    Episode 56 · July 22, 2024

    Special Report: Bad Data

    With all the advances in technology and safety, sometimes a safe flight is still at risk when the data used is incorrect or misleading. USAF B-2 Bomber, Independant Air Flight 1851 and Birgenair Flight 301

57. 

    Episode 57 · July 29, 2024

    Special Report: Landing Hazards

    Three disasters reveal how poor weather threatens a safe landing, with heavy rain, thunderstorms and treacherous crosswinds. Martinair 495, American Airlines Flight 1572 and Air France Flight 358

58. 

    Episode 58 · August 5, 2024

    Special Report: Training Ignored

    Even the most highly trained pilots in the world can be caught out if they ignore their training when it is needed most. Island Express Helicopter, Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 and Comair Flight 5191.

59. 

    Episode 59 · August 12, 2024

    Special Report: Reckless Approaches

    An argument with no runway in sight, ignoring a critical signal and an exhausted pilot - three problems leading to three crashes. Execuflight 1526. American Eagle Flight 3379. American International Airways Flight 808.