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The Worst Episodes of Seconds from Disaster

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

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Seconds from Disaster is a US/UK-produced documentary television programme that investigates historically relevant man-made and natural disasters of the 20th century. Each episode aims to explain a single incidental by analyzing the causes and circumstances

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Seconds from Disaster Season 5 Episode 4 - Waco Cult
    5.0/10(3 votes)

    #1 - Waco Cult

    S5:E4

    After a 51-day siege at the ranch of an armed religious cult, the FBI tries to force people out with tear gas, but a fire breaks out and almost 80 people die.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Seconds from Disaster Season 7 Episode 2 - Deadly Design
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #2 - Deadly Design

    S7:E2

    This compilation of Seconds from Disaster combines two airplane tragedies that took hundreds of lives and were caused by the smallest issues. Swiss Air 111 fell from the sky due to microscopic fault in the wiring that sparked a fire in the cockpit. This fire grew uncontrollably and led to the demise of 229 people onboard. JAL123 mysteriously crashed just after take-off into a remote mountainside. Through thorough investigation, it's learned that wear and tear on small repairs caused the untimely death of the 520 people on board.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 10 - Chinook Helicopter Crash
    5.5/10(2 votes)

    #3 - Chinook Helicopter Crash

    S6:E10

    On August 6, 2011, a U.S. Boeing CH-47 Chinook was shot down while transporting a quick reaction force attempting to reinforce an engaged unit of Army Rangers in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan. The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Seconds from Disaster Season 4 Episode 5 - Cable Car Collision
    5.7/10(3 votes)

    #4 - Cable Car Collision

    S4:E5

    The Cavalese cable car disaster of 1998 (as distinct from a cable car disaster in the same location in 1976), occurred on 3 February 1998 near the Italian town of Cavalese, a ski resort located in the Dolomites, some 40 km north-east of Trento. The disaster, which led to the death of 20 people, occurred when a U.S. military plane cut a cable supporting a gondola of an aerial tramway.

    Director:Steve Webb
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Seconds from Disaster Season 3 Episode 7 - Titanic
    6.0/10(4 votes)

    #5 - Titanic

    S3:E7

    It was known as the "unsinkable ship." The RMS Titanic, on its maiden voyage from Southhampton to New York with over 2,000 people on board strikes an iceberg, and within two hours and forty minutes, sinks taking with it 1,500 lives. Now, Seconds from Disaster re-examines the sinking of the Titanic to find out who-or-what was to blame.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Seconds from Disaster Season 7 Episode 1 - Chopper Down
    6.5/10(2 votes)

    #6 - Chopper Down

    S7:E1

    This compilation of Seconds from Disaster combines two helicopter tragedies of a military nature. Chinhook HC-2 crashed into a hill on the west side of the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland after taking a group of VIP passengers from Northern Ireland to Fort George. The following day would bring a mysterious crash that remains unsolved. When a US Black Hawk falls on the streets of Mogadishu, all hell breaks loose. In this infamous story of the daring escape of the surviving US military personnel, we learn about the seconds that meant the difference between life and death.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 BEST Episodes of Seconds from Disaster

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  7. Seconds from Disaster Season 1 Episode 3 - The Bomb in Oklahoma City
    6.7/10(3 votes)

    #7 - The Bomb in Oklahoma City

    S1:E3

    One April morning in 1995, at Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Timothy McVeigh parks a truck packed with explosives at the front of the government landmark. At 9:02AM, it explodes and the front of the building collapses with a loss of 168 lives. Survivors recount the terrifying experience as investigators attempt to discover what caused the building to collapse.

    Director:Ian Bremner
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Seconds from Disaster Season 5 Episode 1 - Japan's Nuclear Nightmare
    6.7/10(3 votes)

    #8 - Japan's Nuclear Nightmare

    S5:E1

    On 11 March 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami off Japan’s coast caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.

    Director:Steve Webb
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Seconds from Disaster Season 5 Episode 5 - Deepwater Horizon
    6.7/10(3 votes)

    #9 - Deepwater Horizon

    S5:E5

    A look at the series of decisions and mistakes that led to the world's largest oil spill disaster, and that 11 workers on the rig died.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Seconds from Disaster Season 1 Episode 8 - Inferno at Guadalajara
    7.0/10(3 votes)

    #10 - Inferno at Guadalajara

    S1:E8

    April 1992, Guadalajara, Mexico. On the 19th, residents start complaining of a strong gasoline-like smell coming from the sewers. Three days later, on the 22nd, numerous gas explosions in the sewers over a time span of four hours destroy kilometers of housing estate and killing 206 people. But who, if anyone, is to blame? What caused the inferno in Guadalajara?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Seconds from Disaster Season 4 Episode 2 - Pearl Harbor
    7.0/10(3 votes)

    #11 - Pearl Harbor

    S4:E2

    On December 7, 1941 Japanese forces attack United States military installations in and around Pearl Harbor, thus bringing the US into World War II.

    Director:Sean Smith
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 1 - Norway Massacre: I Was There
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #12 - Norway Massacre: I Was There

    S6:E1

    On July 22, 2011, a gunman goes on a terrorist rampage – starting with an explosion in Oslo and ending with the slaughter of dozens of teenagers.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 6 - Terrified Over Tokyo
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #13 - Terrified Over Tokyo

    S6:E6

    On August 12, 1985, the rear pressure bulkhead burst on Japan Airlines Flight 123, destroying the vertical stabilizer and severing all four of the aircraft's vital hydraulic systems. The crew kept the aircraft flying for 32 minutes until it clipped Mt Osutaka and crashed, killing all but 4 people out of the 524 passengers and crew aboard.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 7 - Runaway Train
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #14 - Runaway Train

    S6:E7

    On April 25, 2005, a seven-car commuter train came off the tracks and crashed just before Amagasaki Station in Japan causing 107 deaths and 562 injuries.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 8 - Nagasaki - The Forgotten Bomb
    7.0/10(2 votes)

    #15 - Nagasaki - The Forgotten Bomb

    S6:E8

    On August 9, 1945, the United States of America, during the final stages of World War II in 1945 bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing a huge death toll.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Seconds from Disaster Season 3 Episode 2 - Amsterdam Air Crash
    7.3/10(3 votes)

    #16 - Amsterdam Air Crash

    S3:E2

    On 4 October 1992, an El Al Israel Airlines Cargo B747-200F takes off from Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (Holland), when the engines on the right wing of Flight 1862 shear off. 8 minutes later, Flight 8162 glides into a high rise apartment building killing 43 people.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Seconds from Disaster Season 4 Episode 3 - Paddington Train Collision
    7.3/10(3 votes)

    #17 - Paddington Train Collision

    S4:E3

    On October 5, 1999 two trains collide at Ladbroke Grove junction near London's Paddington station after the driver of one fails to stop his train at a red signal.

    Director:Steve Webb
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Seconds from Disaster Season 2 Episode 6 - Kobe Earthquake (Killer Quake)
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #18 - Kobe Earthquake (Killer Quake)

    S2:E6

    On 17 January 1995, the Japanese city of Kobe was rocked by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which destroyed buildings and killed over 1000 people and left thousands homeless. Why couldn't the top of the art equipment predict a disaster of this magnitude?

    Director:Dan Gold
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 2 - Jonestown Cult Suicide
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #19 - Jonestown Cult Suicide

    S6:E2

    On November 18, 1978, when enigmatic cult leader Reverend Jim Jones calls all his followers together in South America, the resulting tragedy becomes the largest mass murder-suicide of US citizens in history - 909 are dead.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 4 - Black Hawk Down
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #20 - Black Hawk Down

    S6:E4

    On October 3–4, 1993, what should have been a simple snatch and grab operation for the US Army in Somalia turns into a battle that kills 18 US Rangers and around 1,000 Somali civilians.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 5 - Into The Death Zone
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #21 - Into The Death Zone

    S6:E5

    On May 10–11, 1996 saw the death of nine climbers, including New Zealand climbing veteran Rob Hall. Was it a fierce storm, extreme ambition or something else that caused their demise?

    Director:Gareth Johnson
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Seconds from Disaster Season 6 Episode 9 - Sinking the Coventry
    7.5/10(2 votes)

    #22 - Sinking the Coventry

    S6:E9

    On May 25, 1982, in the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina a low level bomb attack from the Argentinian jets capsizes the HMS Coventry within 20 minutes - why did the ship sink so quickly?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Seconds from Disaster Season 1 Episode 4 - Fire On the Star (Fire Onboard the Star)
    7.7/10(3 votes)

    #23 - Fire On the Star (Fire Onboard the Star)

    S1:E4

    On Easter 1990, a fire breaks out on the Scandinavian Star Ferry. After been towed to Sweden, the fire is eventually put out after 10 hours. Then the worst is revealed. 158 people have lost their lives. But why on Earth did they die? An investigation is immediately started, but the truth will shock them.

    Director:Dan Gold
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Seconds from Disaster Season 1 Episode 6 - Wreck of the Sunset Limited
    7.7/10(3 votes)

    #24 - Wreck of the Sunset Limited

    S1:E6

    September 1993. The captain of a towboat unwittingly causes the collapse of a bridge over the Big Bayou Canot. When an Amtrak train comes along, it derails with 47 lives lost. Why was such a hideous mistake made? How could it have been prevented? Could it have been prevented at all? Wreck of the Sunset Limited explains why over 40 people died that Autumn day.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Seconds from Disaster Season 4 Episode 4 - Collision at 35,000 Feet
    7.7/10(3 votes)

    #25 - Collision at 35,000 Feet

    S4:E4

    On July 1, 2002 a cargo airliner and a passenger airliner collide while they are over Überlingen in Germany. The two aircraft crash, killing all on board.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Waco Cult" is the worst rated episode of "Seconds from Disaster". It scored 5/10 based on 3 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 4/1/2012. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Deadly Design".