The Worst Episodes of Mayday

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

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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.

Director: Tim Wolochatiuk

Writer: David Bedard, Tim Conrad

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.

Director: Phil Comeau

Writer: Michael Sheehan

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.

Director: Karl Jason

Writer: Léo Singer

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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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.

Director: Andy Webb

Writer: Brenda Newman

Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 appears out of the clouds and crashes into trees on approach to Kirksville, Missouri. The twin-engine turboprop plane catches fire just over a kilometer from the runway. The charred wreckage offers clues as to what happened. The researchers conclude that it was not a mechanical failure. They hear a recording from the cockpit that may reveal the whole beginning of the accident.

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Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Japan Airlines Flight 123, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, Swissair Flight 111, United Airlines Flight 585, USAir Flight 427, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517. This special looks at accidents caused by seemingly minor defects or errors. Episodes re-visited: Cutting Corners, Out of Control, A Wounded Bird, Fire on Board, Hidden Danger.

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On 23 July 2014, TransAsia Airways Flight 222 crashes into buildings while attempting to land at Magong Airport during inclement weather and low visibility, killing 48 of the 58 people on board.

Director: Tim Wolochatiuk

Writer: Svet Rouskov

A massive explosion tears a hole in a 747 over Hawaii, and the trail of clues ultimately leads investigators to a catastrophic short circuit.

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1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, 1986 Cerritos mid-air collision, Avianca Flight 52, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, Überlingen mid-air collision. This special looked at the role of air traffic controllers in the airline industry, and took a look at the Next Generation Air Transportation System, a new technology meant to eliminate mid-air collisions by reducing overall dependence on radar and radio, as well as delegating some of the air traffic controllers' tasks to computers on board each plane.

Director: Larry Bambrick

Writer: Christopher Blow

On 23 August 2005, TANS Perú Flight 204 attempts to make a landing at Pucallpa Airport, Peru, in a severe thunderstorm, but crashes into a muddy swamp four miles (6.4 km) away. The cause was the pilots not following visual flight rules that could have prevented the crash while the aircraft was being pushed by a downdraft.

Director: Jim Donovan

Writer: Carl Knutson

On 25 January 2010, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, en route to Addis Ababa, plunges into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport during a thunderstorm, killing all 90 people on board.

Director: Michael Sinyi

Writer: Greg Beer

On 4 November 2008, an official Mexican Interior Ministry Learjet 45 crashes in central Mexico City. Mexican Secretary of the Interior Juan Camilo Mouriño, who was aboard the plane, was killed in the crash, along with the other seven people on board and eight people on the ground. The plane crashed in rush-hour traffic at Las Lomas. The plane crashed due to a loss of control from wake turbulence.

Director: Michael Sinyi

Writer: Greg Gransden

(West Air Sweden Flight 294) A cargo jet plummets to earth in the Swedish Arctic. And as investigators pore over the evidence, a terrifying picture of chaos and confusion emerges.

Director: Mark Mainguy

Writer: Alex Bystram

On 9 June 1995, Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 suffers a landing gear malfunction during final approach to Palmerston North Airport in New Zealand. The aircraft descends until it crashes into hilly terrain as the pilots try to resolve the problem. 4 of the 21 people on board are killed.

Director: Tim Wolochatiuk

Writer: Alex Bystram

On 14 August 2013, UPS Airlines Flight 1354 clips the tops of trees and crashes into a hillside about one nautical mile short of the runway during final approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama. Both crew members on board are killed in the crash.

Director: Mark Mainguy

Writer: Marco Avolio

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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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.

Director: Karl Jason

Writer: Carl Knutson

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.

Director: Larry Bambrick

Writer: Christopher Blow

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

On 31 August 1988, Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 crashes beyond the runway while taking off from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, killing 14 of the 108 people on board.

Director: Tim Wolochatiuk

Writer: James Battiston

On 7 January 1994, United Express Flight 6291, operating for Atlantic Coast Airlines, crashes 1.2 miles short of the runway during final approach to Port Columbus International Airport after entering a stall. The two pilots, the flight attendant, and two passengers are killed in the crash.

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