7.8/10158 votes#1 - Explosive Evidence (Air India Flight 182)
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 4/9/2008
On 23 June 1985, Air India Flight 182 explodes in mid-air and disintegrates over the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 passengers and crew members on board. Investigators discovered that a bomb from Sikh militant group Babbar Khalsa caused the explosion.
Director: George D'Amato
Writer: Larry Bambrick
8.2/10149 votes#2 - Behind Closed Doors (American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981)
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 4/16/2008
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
8.9/10241 votes#3 - Southern Storm (Southern Airways Flight 242)
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 4/23/2008
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
7.8/10136 votes#4 - Dead Weight (Air Midwest Flight 5481)
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 4/30/2008
On 8 January 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes into an aircraft hangar at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport seconds after takeoff on a flight to Greenville. All 21 people on board die, and one person on the ground is injured. Investigation showed that the pilots' controls had been improperly adjusted during maintenance, and that the aircraft was overloaded due to outdated formula for calculation of passenger weights.
Director: Su Rynard
Writer: Michael Sheehan
7.6/10132 votes#5 - Invisible Killer (Delta Air Lines Flight 191)
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 5/7/2008
In the summer of 1985, a Delta 191 aircraft was diverted away from a thunderstorm, only to be struck by powerful winds and plummet to the ground. Flames engulfed the front of the plane and more than 130 people died in a tragic accident that would eventually expose, and eliminate, an invisible killer.
Director: Phil Desjardins
Writer: Alex Bystram
7.7/10144 votes#6 - Gimli Glider (Air Canada Flight 143)
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 5/14/2008
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.
Director: Karl Jason
Writer: Dave Gabriel Bene
8.0/10139 votes#7 - Fanning the Flames (South African Airways Flight 295)
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 5/21/2008
South African Airways Flight 295 starts filling with smoke over the Indian Ocean. A fire has erupted in the rear main level cargo area; the pilots successfully open the doors in flight to clear the smoke from the aircraft, however it crashes with no survivors.
Director: P.J. Naworynski
Writer: Carl Knutson
7.9/10144 votes#8 - Fatal Distraction (Eastern Airlines Flight 401)
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 5/28/2008
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.
Director: Su Rynard
Writer: Carl Knutson
8.1/10150 votes#9 - Mixed Signals (Birgenair Flight 301)
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 6/4/2008
On 6 February 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 is scheduled to fly from Puerto Plata to Frankfurt. On takeoff, the captain finds that his airspeed indicator (ASI) is not reading properly, though the co-pilot's ASI is showing the correct speed; the aircraft subsequently crashes in the Atlantic Ocean. The pilots became confused and believed that both ASIs were malfunctioning, leading to loss of control of the aircraft. All 13 crew members and 176 passengers died. The cause of the disaster was believed to be a wasp that built a nest in one of the aircraft's pitot tubes, which was incorrectly left uncovered during the aircraft's extended stay at Puerto Plata airport.
Director: Tim Wolochatiuk
Writer: Dave Gabriel Bene
7.9/10137 votes#10 - Phantom Strike (Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907)
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 6/11/2008
A Gol Transportes Aéreos Boeing 737 and a brand-new Embraer Legacy business jet on its delivery flight collide in mid-air over the Amazon. The 737 crashes but the Legacy manages to make a safe landing. 154 people die.
Director: George D'Amato
Writer: Larry Bambrick
The Best Episodes of Mayday Season 5
Every episode of Mayday Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Mayday Season 5!
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 5 Ratings Summary
"Explosive Evidence (Air India Flight 182)" is the best rated episode of "Mayday" season 5. It scored 7.8/10 based on 158 votes. Directed by George D'Amato and written by Larry Bambrick, it aired on 4/9/2008. This episode is rated 0.4 points higher than the second-best, "Behind Closed Doors (American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981)".