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The Worst Episodes of Mayday

Every episode of Mayday ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Mayday!

The Worst 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 Turning Point (Air China Flight 129)
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Turning Point (Air China Flight 129)

    S17:E3

    Headed for South Korea's Gimhae International Airport, a Boeing 767 crashes into a hillside several miles from the runway. As the nation mourns its worst-ever air disaster, investigators face puzzling evidence: The surviving captain of Air China Flight 129 claims that everything on board was normal, but air traffic controllers testify that the crew's radio communications were anything but.

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  2. Background image for Lethal Limits
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    #2 - Lethal Limits

    S19:E8

    On 14 September 2008, Aeroflot Flight 821 crashes into a ravine next to a railway line while on final approach to Perm International Airport in Perm, Russia, in poor weather conditions, killing all 88 people on board.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Pacific Ditching (Transair Flight 810)
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Pacific Ditching (Transair Flight 810)

    S25:E1

    The pilots of a crashed cargo jet believe they lost both engines. But when the wreckage emerges from the Pacific, the evidence tells another story.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Running on Empty (Air Tahoma Flight 185)
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Running on Empty (Air Tahoma Flight 185)

    S25:E2

    An Air Tahoma cargo plane is within sight of a Cincinnati runway when both engines flame out and the turboprop crashes into a golf course.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Power Struggle
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    #5 - Power Struggle

    S25:E3

    Power Struggle: Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crashed in to the Java Sea after a hard left bank, revealing deadly defects in the investigation that followed.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Second Thoughts (Luxair Flight 9642)
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Second Thoughts (Luxair Flight 9642)

    S25:E4

    Amid heavy fog and a rushed approach, Luxair Flight 50 falls out of the sky just a few miles short of Luxembourg airport.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Powerless Plunge (Loganair Flight 670A)
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    #7 - Powerless Plunge (Loganair Flight 670A)

    S25:E5

    Just moments after takeoff, a Loganair cargo flight from Edinburgh loses both engines and crashes into the icy North Sea

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Cabin Chaos
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Cabin Chaos

    S25:E6

    Cabin Chaos: After a Chinese airplane lands at a top-secret US Air Force base, the search is on for the cause of a deadly rollercoaster ride in the sky.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Deadly Climb (Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105)
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Deadly Climb (Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105)

    S25:E7

    It's 1985-the deadliest year in civilian aviation-and a DC-9 commuter plane crashes just seconds after takeoff from Milwaukee.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Firebomber Down
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - Firebomber Down

    S25:E8

    Firebomber Down: A C-130 firebomber crashes while battling an epic Australian wildfire. And ATSB investigators must determine the cause within an active fire zone.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Fatal Test Flight (Airborne Express Flight 827)
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Fatal Test Flight (Airborne Express Flight 827)

    S25:E10

    When a cargo plane test flight ends in disaster, investigators uncover a series of failures that doomed the DC-8 before it got off the ground.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for No Exit (US Air 1493)
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    #12 - No Exit (US Air 1493)

    S25:E11

    Following a catastrophic runway collision at LAX, passengers on USAIR Flight 1493 struggle to escape the burning plane.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Runaway Train
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #13 - Runaway Train

    S3:E12

    On 12 May 1989, a 69-car freight train goes out of control while descending from California's Cajon Pass. It derails in a residential neighbourhood of San Bernardino after reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Two residents and two train crew members are killed in the initial crash. More than a week later, an underground gasoline pipeline, damaged by earth-moving equipment during the post-crash clean-up, ruptures and sparks a fire that kills another two people. A clerical error had caused the train's weight to be greatly underestimated, and it had been assembled without enough locomotives to provide adequate braking. Additionally, several of the engines had completely inoperable brakes, but this information was not passed on to the crews. Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

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  15. Background image for Helicopter Down
    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #14 - Helicopter Down

    S3:E7

    On 19 January 1995, the crew of Bristow Flight 56C is forced to perform an emergency autorotation to a ditching in the sea, after lightning damages the tail rotor of their helicopter. Despite the rough sea conditions, the 16 oil rig workers and pilots are rescued by nearby ships.

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  16. Background image for Head On Collision
    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #15 - Head On Collision

    S3:E10

    On 8 February 1986, a Via Rail passenger train and a 118-car Canadian National Railway freight train collide, killing 23 people. The freight train crew did not stop at a red railway signal on a section of a passing loop, possibly because they were asleep. Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

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  17. Background image for Ocean Landing
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Ocean Landing

    S3:E13

    On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is forced to ditch after running out of fuel. The aircraft breaks up as the wings hit the water, killing 125 people. The aircraft had been hijacked and ran out of fuel because the hijackers did not believe the pilot's insistence that there was not enough fuel aboard to make it to the hijackers' planned destination: Australia.

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    Director:Karl Jason
  18. Background image for Miracle Escape (Air France Flight 358)
    6.0/10(3 votes)

    #17 - Miracle Escape (Air France Flight 358)

    S4:E1

    On 2 August 2005, Air France Flight 358 overruns the runway while attempting to land in a storm. The Airbus A340 travels through the airport perimeter fence into a small ravine and catches fire. The causes of the crash were the aircraft deviating above the required approach path for its landing, touching down too far along the runway and the crew deploying the thrust reversers too slowly. All 309 passengers and crew survived. Alternate title: "Desperate Escape"

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  19. Background image for Lost in Translation (Crossair Flight 498)
    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #18 - Lost in Translation (Crossair Flight 498)

    S13:E5

    On 10 January 2000, Crossair Flight 498 crashes just two minutes after takeoff from Zurich, Switzerland, while heading for Dresden, Germany, killing all 10 people on board. The investigation found that the pilots had suffered spatial disorientation.

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    Director:Su Rynard
  20. Background image for Attack over Baghdad
    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #19 - Attack over Baghdad

    S3:E2

    On 22 November 2003, a European Air Transport Airbus A300 operating on behalf of DHL is climbing away from Baghdad International Airport, when the left wing explodes, causing a massive loss of hydraulic fluid which immobilizes the flight control surfaces. The crew flies the aircraft by changing the engines' thrust for control and make a safe landing 16 minutes later. A surface-to-air missile had been launched at the aircraft.

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    Director:Phil Comeau
  21. Background image for Missed Approach (Korean Air Flight 801)
    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #20 - Missed Approach (Korean Air Flight 801)

    S4:E4

    On 6 August 1997, the crew of Korean Air Flight 801 is unable to see the runway during final approach for a night landing in Guam. They initiate a missed approach, but the aircraft then flies into a low hill, killing 228 people. A combination of pilot error and the instrument landing system at Guam airport being temporarily out of service for maintenance work were blamed. AKA : Final Approach

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  22. Background image for Lost Star Footballer (Elimiano Sala Piper Crash)
    6.6/10(66 votes)

    #21 - Lost Star Footballer (Elimiano Sala Piper Crash)

    S24:E9

    With rising young football star Emiliano Sala on board, a chartered Piper Malibu suddenly disappears from radar over the English Channel.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Mistaken Identity
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #22 - Mistaken Identity

    S3:E6

    On 3 July 1988, during the Iran–Iraq War, the USS Vincennes launches missiles which bring down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 people on board. The crew of the Vincennes claimed that, despite its high-tech equipment, it mistook the airliner for an Iranian Air Force Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter. Iran believes that the US deliberately shot down its civilian airliner.

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  24. Background image for Collision Course
    7.0/10(3 votes)

    #23 - Collision Course

    S3:E11

    On 26 September 2000, waves push the MS Express Samina off course, causing it to hit a group of rocks off Paros and sink, killing 80 people. The ferry was on autopilot, with the crew not monitoring the ship's course. They were instead watching an association football match. Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

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    Director:Andy Webb
  25. Background image for Fog of War (1996 Croatia USAF CT-43)
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #24 - Fog of War (1996 Croatia USAF CT-43)

    S4:E8

    On 3 April 1996, while attempting to land at Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia during heavy fog, a United States Air Force Boeing CT-43 strays off course and flies into a mountain. All 35 people on board are killed, including the United States Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown. The non-precision approach procedure the crew needed to follow required the use of two automatic direction finders, but the aircraft was only fitted with one.

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  26. Background image for Vertigo
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #25 - Vertigo

    S4:E9

    On 3 January 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604 banks to the right just after takeoff and crashes into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people on board. The cause of this disaster is disputed and suggested to be spatial disorientation on the part of the flight crew.

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    Director:Karl Jason

Worst Episodes Summary

"Turning Point (Air China Flight 129)" is the worst rated episode of "Mayday". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Tim Wolochatiuk and written by Benjamin Tucker, it aired on 3/6/2017. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Lethal Limits".