7.6/10148 votes#1 - Deadly Reputation (TAM Airlines Flight 3054)
Season 11 Episode 1 - Aired 8/12/2011
On 17 July 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 careens off runway 35L at Brazil's Congonhas Airport, crashes at high speed into a warehouse adjacent to a filling station and explodes. A total of 199 people on board the aircraft and on the ground are killed. Incorrect engine throttle settings upon landing caused one engine to reverse thrust while the other increased power, resulting in the loss of control.
Director: George D'Amato
Writer: Greg Gransden
7.3/10144 votes#2 - The Plane That Flew Too High (West Caribbean Airways Flight 708)
Season 11 Episode 2 - Aired 8/19/2011
On 16 August 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 stalls while cruising and crashes in rural Venezuela during a severe thunderstorm. Investigations revealed there were no faults with the engines. Pilot error led to the stall which was misinterpreted by the crew members, who took no recovery action until it was too late.
Director: Ian Robertson
Writer: Carl Knutson
7.4/10128 votes#3 - Split Decision (Arrow Air Flight 1285)
Season 11 Episode 3 - Aired 8/26/2011
On 12 December 1985, Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying troops of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, stalls and crashes just seconds after taking off from Gander International Airport in Canada, killing all 256 people on board. The cause of the crash remains disputed.
Director: James Hyslop
Writer: Greg Beer
8.1/10144 votes#4 - Break Up Over Texas (Continental Express Flight 2574)
Season 11 Episode 4 - Aired 12/29/2011
On 11 September 1991, Continental Express Flight 2574 is nearing the end of its intra-state flight from Laredo, Texas, to Houston. As the pilots are preparing to land, the aircraft tips into a dive and falls out of the sky as the left wing tears apart. All 14 people on board die. Improper maintenance caused a section of the horizontal stabilizer to break loose during flight, after which the pilots had no control.
Director: Su Rynard
Writer: Christopher Blow
7.7/10141 votes#5 - Munich Air Disaster (British European Airways Flight 609)
Season 11 Episode 5 - Aired 12/29/2011
On 6 February 1958, British European Airways Flight 609, carrying members of the famed Manchester United association football team, club officials and journalists, crashes into a house about 300 meters from the end of the runway in Munich after it fails to become airborne, killing 23 of the 44 people on board. The cause of the crash was slush on the runway, which slowed the aircraft down and prevented it from reaching takeoff speed.
Director: James Hyslop
Writer: Gary Lang
8.2/10137 votes#6 - Turning Point (Northwest Airlines Flight 85)
Season 11 Episode 6 - Aired 12/29/2011
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
7.7/10137 votes#7 - Bad Attitude (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509)
Season 11 Episode 7 - Aired 1/20/2012
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.
Director: Trevor Cornish
Writer: Greg Beer
7.7/10141 votes#8 - Blind Spot (PSA Flight 182)
Season 11 Episode 8 - Aired 1/27/2012
On 25 September 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 collides with a light aircraft while approaching Lindbergh Field and crashes in a residential area in San Diego. All 137 people on both aircraft and seven people on the ground die.
Director: Gary Lang
Writer: Carl Knutson
7.9/10134 votes#9 - Under Pressure (Nigeria Airways Flight 2120)
Season 11 Episode 9 - Aired 2/3/2012
On 11 July 1991, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 is taking off from Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport with 247 Nigerian Hajj pilgrims and 14 crew members on board. A tire bursts during the takeoff, starting a fire on the landing gear. The crew is unaware of the fire and retracts the gear after takeoff; and the fire spreads. Encountering problems, the crew then tries to return the aircraft to the airport, but it breaks up during flight and crashes about three kilometres from the runway.
Director: Karl Jason
Writer: Gary Lang
8.0/10151 votes#10 - I'm the Problem (Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771)
Season 11 Episode 10 - Aired 2/10/2012
On 7 December 1987, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, on a flight to San Francisco, crashes at the speed of sound on a mountainside in rural San Luis Obispo County, California. All 43 people on board are killed. Investigators found that passenger David Burke, a former USAir employee, took a gun on board the aircraft and shot the pilots in a murder-suicide plot to kill his former supervisor (who was also a passenger on board) after being fired from his job days earlier. USAir was in the process of merging with PSA at the time of the crash.
Director: P.J. Naworynski
Writer: Greg Gransden
8.6/10178 votes#11 - Nowhere to Land (TACA Flight 110)
Season 11 Episode 11 - Aired 2/17/2012
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
7.8/10135 votes#12 - The Invisible Plane (The Linate Airport Disaster)
Season 11 Episode 12 - Aired 3/23/2012
On 8 October 2001, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, carrying 110 people bound for Copenhagen, Denmark, is taking off at Milan's Linate Airport in thick fog. On the runway, it collides with an Air Evex business jet carrying four people bound for Paris, France. The airliner suffers major damage and crashes into a building shortly afterwards. All 114 people on board the two aircraft are killed, along with four on the ground. The crew of the business jet had made a wrong turn while taxiing in the fog and inadvertently taxied onto the runway.
Director: James Hyslop
Writer: Greg Beer
8.6/10172 votes#13 - Impossible Landing (United Airlines Flight 232)
Season 11 Episode 13 - Aired 4/13/2012
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
The Best Episodes of Mayday Season 11
Every episode of Mayday Season 11 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Mayday Season 11!
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...
Genres:DocumentaryDramaCrime
Season 11 Ratings Summary
"Deadly Reputation (TAM Airlines Flight 3054)" is the best rated episode of "Mayday" season 11. It scored 7.6/10 based on 148 votes. Directed by George D'Amato and written by Greg Gransden, it aired on 8/12/2011. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "The Plane That Flew Too High (West Caribbean Airways Flight 708)".