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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!

The Best Episodes of Mayday

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...
  1. Background image for Collision Catastrophe (2002 Überlingen mid-air collision)
    10.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Collision Catastrophe (2002 Überlingen mid-air collision)

    S25:E8

    German investigators are stumped when two planes collide while flying in the skies over southern Germany.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Death and Denial
    9.0/10(2 votes)

    #2 - Death and Denial

    S3:E8

    On 31 October 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, from New York to Cairo, Egypt, dives out of the sky and crashes into the ocean, killing all 217 people on board. The cause of the crash is disputed: the Egyptian government claims mechanical failure associated with the elevator controls caused the crash, but the US government claims the aircraft was deliberately crashed by the Relief First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti in a suicide/homicide.

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    Director:Mike Douglas
  3. Background image for Turning Point (Northwest Airlines Flight 85)
    9.0/10(1 votes)

    #3 - Turning Point (Northwest Airlines Flight 85)

    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.

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  4. Background image for Cruel Skies (Bad Weather)
    8.8/10(2 votes)

    #4 - Cruel Skies (Bad Weather)

    S8:E2

    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.

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  5. Background image for Terror in Paradise (Air Moorea Flight 1121)
    8.7/10(3 votes)

    #5 - Terror in Paradise (Air Moorea Flight 1121)

    S13:E7

    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.

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    Director:Su Rynard
  6. Background image for Fatal Delivery (UPS Airlines Flight 6)
    8.7/10(3 votes)

    #6 - Fatal Delivery (UPS Airlines Flight 6)

    S15:E3

    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.

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  8. Background image for Cutting Corners
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #7 - Cutting Corners

    S1:E5

    On January31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261's trimmable horizontal stabilizer jams and breaks free from its control system. The aircraft dives inverted into the Pacific Ocean, causing the death of all 88 on board.

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    Director:Greg Lanning
  9. Background image for Blow Out
    8.5/10(236 votes)

    #8 - Blow Out

    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.

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    Director:Nigel Levy
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Deadly Crossroads
    8.5/10(212 votes)

    #9 - Deadly Crossroads

    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.

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    Director:Phil Comeau
  11. Background image for Deadly Delay (Spanair Flight 5022)
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #10 - Deadly Delay (Spanair Flight 5022)

    S15:E10

    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.

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  12. Background image for Murder in the Skies (Germanwings Flight 9525)
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #11 - Murder in the Skies (Germanwings Flight 9525)

    S16:E7

    On 24 March 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525 enters a high-speed descent and crashes into the French Alps during a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Düsseldorf, Germany. All 150 people on board are killed.

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  13. Background image for Explosive Proof (TWA Flight 800)
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #12 - Explosive Proof (TWA Flight 800)

    S17:E4

    Just minutes after taking off from New York's JFK Airport, TWA Flight 800 is ripped apart by a massive explosion. With a possible terror attack on their hands, the FBI joins investigators from the NTSB in an urgent search for answers. Both agencies are hoping for quick results, but the investigation into TWA Flight 800 will eventually pit them against one another, and will turn into one of the longest, most costly and challenging ever conducted.

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  14. Background image for Deadly Go Round (China Airlines Flight 140)
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #13 - Deadly Go Round (China Airlines Flight 140)

    S18:E9

    On 26 April 1994, China Airlines Flight 140 pitches upwards, enters an aerodynamic stall at low altitude and crashes approximately 340 feet east-northeast of the centreline of the runway while on final approach to Nagoya Airport in Nagoya, Japan. 264 of the 271 people on board are killed in the crash.

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    Director:Mark Mainguy
  15. Background image for Taxiway Turmoil
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #14 - Taxiway Turmoil

    S20:E2

    (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.

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  16. Background image for Double Trouble
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #15 - Double Trouble

    S22:E4

    Rocked by an explosion that rips both right wing engines off the wing, the pilots of Transair 671 manage a miraculous landing at a French military airfield.

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  17. Background image for Delivery to Disaster (Atlas Air Flight 3591)
    8.5/10(2 votes)

    #16 - Delivery to Disaster (Atlas Air Flight 3591)

    S23:E9

    An Amazon cargo plane nosedives into a swamp outside Houston, the evidence eventually leads investigators to a pilot with a long history of failures.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Dead Tired (Colgan Air Flight 3407)
    8.4/10(191 votes)

    #17 - Dead Tired (Colgan Air Flight 3407)

    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.

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  19. Background image for Out of Control
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #18 - Out of Control

    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.

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  20. Background image for Kid in the Cockpit
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #19 - Kid in the Cockpit

    S3:E9

    On 23 March 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 is en route to Hong Kong, when it stalls and crashes, killing all 75 people on board. The pilot's 15-year-old son accidentally disabled the autopilot while in the captain's seat, causing the aircraft to bank heavily to the right, inducing the stall.

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  21. Background image for Cracks in the System (Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101)
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #20 - Cracks in the System (Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101)

    S9:E8

    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.

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  22. Background image for Bad Attitude (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509)
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #21 - Bad Attitude (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509)

    S11:E7

    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.

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    Writer:Greg Beer
  23. Background image for Vanished (Air France Flight 447)
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #22 - Vanished (Air France Flight 447)

    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.

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  24. Background image for Fatal Transmission (United Express Flight 5925)
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #23 - Fatal Transmission (United Express Flight 5925)

    S15:E1

    On 19 November 1996, United Express Flight 5925, operating for Great Lakes Airlines, lands at Quincy Regional Airport and collides with a light aircraft taking off from an intersecting runway. All 14 occupants on both aircraft were killed in a subsequent fire.

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  25. Background image for Disaster at Tenerife (KLM 4805 and Pan Am 1736)
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #24 - Disaster at Tenerife (KLM 4805 and Pan Am 1736)

    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.

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  26. Background image for River Runway (Garuda Indonesia Flight 421)
    8.3/10(3 votes)

    #25 - River Runway (Garuda Indonesia Flight 421)

    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.

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    Director:Mark Mainguy

Best Episodes Summary

"Collision Catastrophe (2002 Überlingen mid-air collision)" is the best rated episode of "Mayday". It scored 10/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 3/23/2025. This episode scored 1.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Death and Denial".