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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 No Exit (US Air 1493)
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #1 - 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
  2. Background image for Runaway Train
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - 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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  3. Background image for Head On Collision
    6.0/10(2 votes)

    #3 - 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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  4. Background image for Ocean Landing
    6.0/10(1 votes)

    #4 - 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
  5. Background image for Accident or Assasination (Mexican Interior Ministry Learjet 45)
    6.2/10(4 votes)

    #5 - Accident or Assasination (Mexican Interior Ministry Learjet 45)

    S14:E6

    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.

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  6. Background image for The Death of JFK Jr (Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga II)
    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #6 - The Death of JFK Jr (Piper PA-32R-301 Saratoga II)

    S14:E4

    On 16 July 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. dies when the Piper Saratoga light aircraft he is piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in hazy conditions. His wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, are on board and are also killed. The NTSB concluded that the crash was caused by spatial disorientation resulting in pilot error.

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    Writer:Greg Beer
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  8. Background image for No Clear Options (Manx2 Flight 7100)
    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #7 - No Clear Options (Manx2 Flight 7100)

    S14:E7

    On 10 February 2011, Manx2 Flight 7100 crashes at Cork Airport in Ireland after the pilots lose control of the aircraft in an attempted go-around in low visibility. Six of the twelve people on board are killed in the crash.

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    Writer:Greg Beer
  9. Background image for Lost Star Footballer (Elimiano Sala Piper Crash)
    6.5/10(64 votes)

    #8 - 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
  10. Background image for Vanishing Act (Varig Flight 254)
    6.7/10(3 votes)

    #9 - Vanishing Act (Varig Flight 254)

    S14:E5

    On 3 September 1989, the pilots of Varig Flight 254 enter an incorrect heading into the flight computer. Instead of flying towards its destination, the aircraft flies west and after some time is over a remote area of the Amazon jungle. Attempts to reach an alternative airport are unsuccessful, and the aircraft eventually runs out of fuel. The pilot makes a belly landing in the jungle where 13 people die.

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    Writer:Greg Beer
  11. Background image for Death in the Arctic (First Air Flight 6560)
    6.7/10(3 votes)

    #10 - Death in the Arctic (First Air Flight 6560)

    S14:E11

    On 20 August 2011, First Air Flight 6560, a charter flight, crashes near its destination of Resolute Bay Airport, Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, in poor weather conditions. Out of the fifteen passengers and crew members, only three survived.

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  12. Background image for Power Struggle
    6.9/10(20 votes)

    #11 - Power Struggle

    S25:E2

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

    #12 - 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
  14. Background image for Choosing Sides (British Midland Flight 92)
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #13 - Choosing Sides (British Midland Flight 92)

    S14:E1

    On 8 January 1989, British Midland Flight 92 crashes onto the embankment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, UK. The aircraft was attempting to conduct an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport. Of the 126 people aboard, 47 died and 74, including seven members of the flight crew, sustained serious injuries.

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  15. Background image for Playing Catch Up
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #14 - Playing Catch Up

    S21:E2

    On 10 November 2015, Execuflight Flight 1526 enters an aerodynamic stall and crashes into an apartment building and an embankment during final approach to Akron Fulton International Airport in Akron, Ohio. Both crew members and all seven passengers on board are killed in the crash.

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    Director:Mark Mainguy
  16. Background image for Tragic Takeoff
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #15 - Tragic Takeoff

    S21:E3

    On 27 August 2006, Comair Flight 5191, operating for Delta Connection, crashes into a wooded area while taking off from Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky, killing 49 of the 50 people on board.

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    Director:Mark Mainguy
  17. Background image for Seconds from Touchdown
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #16 - Seconds from Touchdown

    S21:E9

    On 18 June 1998, Propair Flight 420 crashes while attempting to conduct an emergency landing at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport after an in-flight fire causes its left wing to fail, killing all 11 people on board.

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    Director:Mark Mainguy
  18. Background image for Deadly Delivery
    7.0/10(1 votes)

    #17 - Deadly Delivery

    S21:E10

    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.

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    Director:Mark Mainguy
  19. Background image for Deadly Exchange (Corporate Airlines Flight 5966)
    7.0/10(87 votes)

    #18 - Deadly Exchange (Corporate Airlines Flight 5966)

    S23:E1

    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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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Cabin Chaos
    7.0/10(25 votes)

    #19 - Cabin Chaos

    S25:E1

    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
  21. Background image for Running on Empty (Air Tahoma Flight 185)
    7.0/10(22 votes)

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

    S25:E10

    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
  22. Background image for Fatal Flaw (Minor Defects)
    7.1/10(82 votes)

    #21 - Fatal Flaw (Minor Defects)

    S6:E2

    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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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Heading to Disaster (Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409)
    7.1/10(127 votes)

    #22 - Heading to Disaster (Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409)

    S12:E11

    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.

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    Director:Michael Sinyi
    Writer:Greg Beer
  24. Background image for Blown Away (TransAsia Airways Flight 222)
    7.1/10(125 votes)

    #23 - Blown Away (TransAsia Airways Flight 222)

    S18:E2

    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.

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  25. Background image for Terror Over the Pacific (United Airlines Flight 811)
    7.1/10(59 votes)

    #24 - Terror Over the Pacific (United Airlines Flight 811)

    S24:E1

    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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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Pacific Ditching (Transair Flight 810)
    7.1/10(24 votes)

    #25 - Pacific Ditching (Transair Flight 810)

    S25:E7

    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

Worst Episodes Summary

"No Exit (US Air 1493)" is the worst rated episode of "Mayday". It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 5/26/2025. This episode scored 5.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Runaway Train".