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The Best Episodes of Mayday

Every episode of Mayday ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Mayday!

Binge this in 7d 9h•Peaking at 8.9/10

Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Mayday Season 5 Episode 3 - Southern Storm (Southern Airways Flight 242)
    8.9/10(306 votes)

    S5:E3

    On 4 April 1977, Southern Airways Flight 242, a flight from Huntsville, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, flies through a severe thunderstorm and is hit by large hailstones. Both engines of the DC-9-31 fail, and the aircraft makes an emergency landing on a highway in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia. However, it collides with a gas station and explodes, killing 62 people on board and eight on the ground. Two more die later of injuries sustained during the crash.

    Director:Ian Robertson
    Writer:Christopher Blow

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  2. Mayday Season 2 Episode 1 - Blow Out
    8.6/10(279 votes)

    S2:E1

    On June 10, 1990, the cockpit window blows out on British Airways Flight 5390, partially ejecting and injuring the captain through the hole. A member of the cabin crew clings to his legs as the co-pilot completes an emergency landing without any fatality. The captain is found to be still alive after being outside the cockpit for 21 minutes.

    Director:Nigel Levy
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Mayday Season 10 Episode 5 - Dead Tired (Colgan Air Flight 3407)
    8.6/10(215 votes)

    S10:E5

    On 12 February 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 stalls at low altitude and dives into a residential area near Buffalo, New York. All on board and one person on the ground are killed. Several critical errors made by the flight crew might have been the result of their fatigue.

    Director:James Hyslop
    Writer:Greg Gransden

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  4. Mayday Season 11 Episode 13 - Impossible Landing (United Airlines Flight 232)
    8.6/10(203 votes)

    S11:E13

    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.

    Director:Michael Sinyi
    Writer:Armen Kazazian

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  5. Mayday Season 2 Episode 4 - Deadly Crossroads
    8.5/10(253 votes)

    S2:E4

    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.

    Director:Phil Comeau
    Writer:Phil Comeau

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  6. Mayday Season 4 Episode 2 - Falling from the Sky (British Airways Flight 9)
    8.5/10(241 votes)

    S4:E2

    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.

    Director:Mike Douglas
    Writer:Larry Bambrick

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Mayday

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  7. Mayday Season 11 Episode 11 - Nowhere to Land (TACA Flight 110)
    8.5/10(206 votes)

    S11:E11

    On 24 May 1988, TACA Airlines Flight 110, a near-new Boeing 737, flies through a thunderstorm and suffers a dual engine flameout. The captain, Carlos Dardano, manages to make a successful deadstick landing on a narrow grass levee in the Michoud area of eastern New Orleans.

    Director:Su Rynard
    Writer:Armen Kazazian

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  8. Mayday Season 4 Episode 10 - Ghost Plane (Helios Airways Flight 522)
    8.4/10(235 votes)

    S4:E10

    On 14 August 2005, air traffic controllers lose radio contact with Helios Airways Flight 522. Two fighters from the Hellenic Air Force intercept and investigate the flight and find all but one person on board not moving. A few moments later, the aircraft runs out of fuel and crashes, killing all 121 people on board. An incorrect setting on the cabin pressurization panel caused the pilots and everyone else on board to succumb to hypoxia.

    Director:John LaRose
    Writer:Larry Bambrick

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  9. Mayday Season 12 Episode 1 - Fight for Control (Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8)
    8.4/10(196 votes)

    S12:E1

    On 8 June 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's propeller separates from the aircraft over Cold Bay, Alaska, causing an explosive decompression and loss of control. The pilots manage to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage, Alaska. The propeller fell into the sea, and the cause of the separation is undetermined.

    Director:George D'Amato
    Writer:Michael Sheehan

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  10. Mayday Season 15 Episode 4 - Terror in San Francisco (Asiana Airlines Flight 214)
    8.4/10(170 votes)

    S15:E4

    On 6 July 2013, on landing at San Francisco International Airport, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 strikes a seawall and crashes short of the runway. Of the 307 people on board, 2 passengers die at the crash scene; another dies shortly after in hospital.

    Director:Tim Wolochatiuk
    Writer:Alix MacDonald

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  11. Mayday Season 16 Episode 3 - Disaster at Tenerife (KLM 4805 and Pan Am 1736)
    8.4/10(220 votes)

    S16:E3

    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.

    Director:Tim Wolochatiuk
    Writer:Alex Bystram

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  12. Mayday Season 4 Episode 5 - Hidden Danger (United Airlines 585, USAir 427 and Eastwind Airlines 517)
    8.3/10(186 votes)

    S4:E5

    On 3 March 1991, a Boeing 737 operating as United Airlines Flight 585 is on approach to land, when it suddenly rolls into a dive and crashes within eight seconds, killing all 25 people on board. On 8 September 1994, USAir Flight 427 is another Boeing 737 on approach to land, when it rolls and crashes within thirty seconds, killing all 132 people on board. On 9 June 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 is another Boeing 737 that unexpectedly rolls in similar circumstances, but the crew successfully regains control of the aircraft and lands safely. The cause of all three incidents was the rudder experiencing a "hardover" (suddenly going to full deflection) and jamming due to thermal shock of the hydraulic control valve.

    Director:John LaRose
    Writer:Michael Sheehan

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  13. Mayday Season 3 Episode 3 - Out of Control
    8.2/10(237 votes)

    S3:E3

    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.

    Director:Doug Williams
    Writer:David Darlow

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  14. Mayday Season 3 Episode 4 - Fight for Your Life
    8.2/10(233 votes)

    S3:E4

    On 7 April 1994, Auburn Calloway, a disgruntled employee, attempts to hijack Federal Express Flight 705 armed with hammers and a speargun. Despite sustaining serious injuries, the crew successfully subdues Calloway and returns the aircraft safely to Memphis International Airport.

    Director:Karl Jason
    Writer:David Bedard

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  15. Mayday Season 4 Episode 6 - Panic Over The Pacific (China Airlines Flight 006)
    8.2/10(182 votes)

    S4:E6

    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"

    Director:Rodney Gibbons
    Writer:Carl Knutson

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  16. Mayday Season 5 Episode 2 - Behind Closed Doors (American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981)
    8.2/10(193 votes)

    S5:E2

    On 12 June 1972, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, just a few months old, operating as American Airlines Flight 96 from Detroit, Michigan, to Buffalo, New York, suffers an explosive decompression after a cargo door in the lower rear fuselage bursts open. The crew makes an emergency landing at Detroit without any loss of life. Two years later, on 3 March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 suffers a similar sequence of events during a flight from Paris to London. This time, the DC-10's hydraulic systems are damaged enough that the crew loses control, and the aircraft crashes in a forest near Senlis outside Paris, killing all 346 on board. At the time, it was the worst aviation disaster in history. A design fault with the cargo door mechanism was not rectified after the first accident, and the second DC-10's door opened during flight, causing the crash.

    Director:James Hyslop
    Writer:Larry Bambrick

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  17. Mayday Season 7 Episode 2 - Sight Unseen (1996 Charki Dadri mid-air collision)
    8.2/10(190 votes)

    S7:E2

    Find out what went wrong when a Kazakhstan Airlines jet and a Saudi Airways plane collided in the worst mid-air crash in aviation history, killing 349 people on November 12, 1996.

    Director:James Hyslop
    Writer:Christopher Blow

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  18. Mayday Season 11 Episode 6 - Turning Point (Northwest Airlines Flight 85)
    8.2/10(164 votes)

    S11:E6

    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.

    Director:George D'Amato
    Writer:Armen Kazazian

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  19. Mayday Season 12 Episode 13 - Vanished (Air France Flight 447)
    8.2/10(205 votes)

    S12:E13

    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.

    Director:Michael Sinyi
    Writer:Michael Sheehan

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  20. Mayday Season 13 Episode 10 - Titanic in the Sky (Qantas Flight 32)
    8.2/10(195 votes)

    S13:E10

    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.

    Director:Trevor Cornish
    Writer:John LaRose

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  21. Mayday Season 16 Episode 8 - River Runway (Garuda Indonesia Flight 421)
    8.2/10(161 votes)

    S16:E8

    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.

    Director:Mark Mainguy
    Writer:Carl Knutson

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  22. Mayday Season 19 Episode 1 - Deadly Descent
    8.2/10(173 votes)

    S19:E1

    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.

    Director:George D'Amato
    Writer:Greg Gransden

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  23. Mayday Season 24 Episode 6 - Fight for Survival (Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458)
    8.2/10(77 votes)

    S24:E6

    With flames emerging through the cockpit floor, the pilots of Pilgrim Airlines 458 manage a heroic landing on a frozen Rhode Island reservoir.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Mayday Season 1 Episode 2 - Unlocking Disaster
    8.1/10(270 votes)

    S1:E2

    On February 24, 1989, United Airlines Flight 811 is flying above the Pacific Ocean, when part of the right-side fuselage is ripped off, ejecting nine people from the aircraft and causing explosive decompression. The flight later lands safely at Honolulu without any more loss of life.

    Director:Bryn Higgins
    Writer:Andrew Weir

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  25. Mayday Season 1 Episode 4 - Flying on Empty
    8.1/10(234 votes)

    S1:E4

    On August 24, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel while flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The pilots of the aircraft glide it to a safe landing on a runway at a naval base on an island in the Azores.

    Director:Bernard Vaillot
    Writer:Bernard Vaillot

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Best Episodes Summary

"Southern Storm (Southern Airways Flight 242)" is the best rated episode of "Mayday". It scored 8.9/10 based on 306 votes. Directed by Ian Robertson and written by Christopher Blow, it aired on 4/23/2008. This episode scored 0.3 points higher than the second highest rated, "Blow Out".