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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 7 Episode 2 - Deadly Design
    5.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - 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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  2. Seconds From Disaster Season 7 Episode 1 - Chopper Down
    6.3/10(7 votes)

    #2 - 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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  3. Seconds From Disaster Season 3 Episode 13 - Asian Tsunami
    6.7/10(37 votes)

    #3 - Asian Tsunami

    S3:E13

    On Boxing Day 2004, the second largest earthquake in recorded history with a magnitude of 9.3 strikes the town Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Soon, it unleashes a tsunami which takes over 275,000 lives all along the coast of the Indian Ocean. How come such a disaster happened?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 3 - The Bomb in Oklahoma City
    6.8/10(61 votes)

    #4 - 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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  5. Seconds From Disaster Season 3 Episode 10 - Munich Olympic Massacre
    6.8/10(48 votes)

    #5 - Munich Olympic Massacre

    S3:E10

    During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, 11 Israeli athletes are been held hostage by Palestinian terrorists. They demand the list of Palestine prisoners in exchange for the release of the ahtletes. But at Furstenfeldbruck Airfield, a rescue attempt goes wrong and soon 17 people are dead.

    Director:Jim Nally
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Seconds From Disaster Season 5 Episode 4 - Waco Cult
    6.8/10(35 votes)

    #6 - 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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  7. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 13 - Pentagon 9/11
    6.9/10(59 votes)

    #7 - Pentagon 9/11

    S1:E13

    September 11, 2001 is one of the worst days in history. In Washington, D.C, the workers at the Pentagon have only just heard of the chaos going on at the New York World Trade Centre, but are unaware that they themselves have become a target. American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757 aircraft, collides with the Pentagon killing 189. Pentagon 9/11 recreates the events leading up to the explosion at the Pentagon.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Seconds From Disaster Season 2 Episode 6 - Kobe Earthquake (Killer Quake)
    6.9/10(44 votes)

    #8 - 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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  9. Seconds From Disaster Season 2 Episode 8 - The Bali Bombing (Disco Bombing)
    6.9/10(40 votes)

    #9 - The Bali Bombing (Disco Bombing)

    S2:E8

    Bali, located in Indonesia, is one of the most popular resorts in the world. But 202 die on the night of October 12, 2002, Muslim terrorists detonate several bombs in local nightclubs. Its the horror of 9/11 all over again.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 6 - Wreck of the Sunset Limited
    7.0/10(51 votes)

    #10 - 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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  11. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 10 - Explosion in the North Sea
    7.0/10(53 votes)

    #11 - Explosion in the North Sea

    S1:E10

    July 6, 1988. The Piper Alpha stands over 110 miles off Scotland. But on this fateful day, a gas leak causes a catastrophic fire with a loss of 167 workers. Why did the Piper Alpha explode without warning? Was Human Error to blame? What about Mechanical Failure? Or even sabotage?

    Director:Dan Gold
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Seconds From Disaster Season 2 Episode 9 - Hotel Collapse Singapore (Hotel Collapse)
    7.0/10(43 votes)

    #12 - Hotel Collapse Singapore (Hotel Collapse)

    S2:E9

    Hotel New World, budget hotel located in Singapore's Little India, collapses on 15 March, 1986. After a 7 day rescue operation, 17 people are rescued but 33 perish. Why did the hotel collapse? Was it sabotage? Or was it faulty maintenance?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Seconds From Disaster Season 6 Episode 10 - Chinook Helicopter Crash
    7.0/10(28 votes)

    #13 - 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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  14. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 7 - Meltdown in Chernobyl
    7.1/10(120 votes)

    #14 - Meltdown in Chernobyl

    S1:E7

    We make mistakes every few seconds of our lives. They are unavoidable. But sometimes the results can be disastrous. On April 26, 1986, a series of catastrophic blunders leave dozens dead when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant melts down.

    Directors:Maninderpal Sahota, Stan Griffin
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Seconds From Disaster Season 2 Episode 2 - Alpine Tsunami
    7.1/10(40 votes)

    #15 - Alpine Tsunami

    S2:E2

    The Alpine village of Galtur, an avalanche buries 57 people in the snow. 31 of them die. But why did the avalanche occur in the first place? Were careless villagers to blame?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Seconds From Disaster Season 3 Episode 11 - Superstore Collapse
    7.1/10(38 votes)

    #16 - Superstore Collapse

    S3:E11

    On 29 June 1995, the five story Sampoong Department Store in Seoul, Korea, collapses killing 502 people. Is there a fault in the building? Or is sabotage to blame? And how did the last survivor survive under the rubble for 16 days?

    Director:Iain Riddick
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Seconds From Disaster Season 3 Episode 12 - Plane Crash in the Potomac
    7.1/10(60 votes)

    #17 - Plane Crash in the Potomac

    S3:E12

    On 13 January 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 leaves Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington DC for Miami with 79 passengers and crew on board. The Boeing 737 is delayed for hours by bad conditions, and only seconds after getting airborne it crashes into the icy Potomac river. Five survivors are pulled out alive but 78-including four motorists-lose their lives.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 8 - Inferno at Guadalajara
    7.2/10(52 votes)

    #18 - 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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  19. Seconds From Disaster Season 2 Episode 13 - Explosion in Peurto Rico (Puerto Rico Gas Explosion)
    7.2/10(42 votes)

    #19 - Explosion in Peurto Rico (Puerto Rico Gas Explosion)

    S2:E13

    The Humberto Vidal Shoe Store was just like any other. But one day in Puerto Rico, a gas explosion kills 33 and injures 69 people.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 4 - Fire On the Star (Fire Onboard the Star)
    7.3/10(52 votes)

    #20 - 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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  21. Seconds From Disaster Season 1 Episode 11 - Flood at Stava Dam
    7.3/10(42 votes)

    #21 - Flood at Stava Dam

    S1:E11

    On July 1985, Italy's Stava Dam collapses and demolishes 70 structures killing 268 people in the process. Was there a fault in the design of the dam? Is this something that could happen to any dam around the world? Find out how a structural failure leads to a massive catastrophe with Flood at Stava Dam

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Seconds From Disaster Season 3 Episode 2 - Amsterdam Air Crash
    7.3/10(40 votes)

    #22 - 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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  23. Seconds From Disaster Season 4 Episode 5 - Cable Car Collision
    7.3/10(40 votes)

    #23 - 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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  24. Seconds From Disaster Season 6 Episode 4 - Black Hawk Down
    7.4/10(41 votes)

    #24 - 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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  25. Seconds From Disaster Season 6 Episode 9 - Sinking The Coventry
    7.4/10(36 votes)

    #25 - 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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Worst Episodes Summary

"Deadly Design" is the worst rated episode of "Seconds From Disaster". It scored 5/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 2/22/2018. This episode scored 1.3 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Chopper Down".