The Worst Episodes of Mayday

#1 Worst Episode
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0.0/10(32 votes)
#1 - A Perfect Storm (Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108)
S26:E53/2/2026
On 8 February 1988, Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108 breaks up in mid-air and crashes near Kettwig, Germany, while on approach to Düsseldorf Airport, killing all 21 people on board. The pilots suffered spatial disorientation after a lightning strike caused a total electrical failure.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
0.0/10(30 votes)
#2 - Deadly Charter (2001 Aspen Gulfstream III crash)
S26:E63/9/2026
On 29 March 2001, a chartered business jet operated by Avjet crashes into a hillside while on final approach to Aspen/Pitkin County Airport in Colorado, killing all 18 people on board. The cause of the accident was the pilots' premature descent below the minimum descent altitude.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
0.0/10(31 votes)
#3 - Norwegian Nightmare (Widerøe Flight 839)
S26:E83/23/2026
On 12 April 1990, Widerøe Flight 839 crashes into the water shortly after takeoff from Værøy Airport in Norway, killing all five people on board. The investigation determined that the aircraft suffered a structural failure due to strong winds that exceeded its design criteria.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
0.0/10(27 votes)
#4 - Monsoon Approach (Air India Express Flight 1344)
S26:E93/30/2026
On 7 August 2020, Air India Express Flight 1344 plunges down a gorge after overrunning the runway at Kozhikode International Airport in poor weather, killing 21 of the 190 people on board. The captain continued the unstabilized approach and landed too far down the runway.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
6.0/10(203 votes)
#5 - The Killing Machine
S2:E32/6/2005
On 24 December 1994, Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport. The four terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris so they can blow up the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower, but the Algerian Army blocks the aircraft with vehicles and refuse to allow it to take off. Unable to carry out their plans, the terrorists kill three passengers over the next two days. The aircraft is then cleared to take off, but the crew diverts to Marseille Provence Airport. The hostage rescue team of the French Gendarmerie storms the aircraft, and after a gun battle in the cabin, the four hijackers are killed and everyone else is evacuated. It is described as "one of the most successful anti-terrorist operations in history."
Director:Chantal Hébert
Writer:Chantal Hébert
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Director:Chantal Hébert
Writer:Chantal Hébert
6.3/10(117 votes)
#6 - Head On Collision
S3:E1011/16/2005
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
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Director:Phil Comeau
Writer:Michael Sheehan

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6.5/10(204 votes)
#7 - Helicopter Down
S3:E710/26/2005
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.
Director:Jimmy Kaufman
Writer:Heather Forrester
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Director:Jimmy Kaufman
Writer:Heather Forrester
6.5/10(89 votes)
#8 - Fatal Flaw (Minor Defects)
S6:E212/16/2007
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.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
6.5/10(91 votes)
#9 - Who's Flying the Plane? (Crew vs Avionics)
S6:E33/2/2008
This special looked at accidents and incidents where problems with the interface between crew members and on-board avionics were a factor and the causes of those problems. Episodes re-visited: Flying Blind, Panic Over the Pacific, Kid in the Cockpit, Vertigo, Flying on Empty.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
6.5/10(113 votes)
#10 - Runway Breakup
S20:E103/12/2020
(AIRES Flight 8250) On 16 August 2010, AIRES Flight 8250 crashes short of the runway while attempting to land at San Andrés, Colombia in a storm. The aircraft broke up into 3 pieces on the runway. 2 of the passengers died in the accident.
Director:Tim Wolochatiuk
Writer:Peter Findlay
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Director:Tim Wolochatiuk
Writer:Peter Findlay
6.7/10(170 votes)
#11 - Lost in Translation (Crossair Flight 498)
S13:E51/13/2014
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.
Director:Su Rynard
Writer:Brian D. Young
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Director:Su Rynard
Writer:Brian D. Young
6.8/10(161 votes)
#12 - Fog of War (1996 Croatia USAF CT-43)
S4:E86/3/2007
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.
Director:George D'Amato
Writer:Dennis Murphy
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Director:George D'Amato
Writer:Dennis Murphy
6.8/10(138 votes)
#13 - Heading to Disaster (Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409)
S12:E113/25/2013
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
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Director:Michael Sinyi
Writer:Greg Beer
6.8/10(155 votes)
#14 - Accident or Assasination (Mexican Interior Ministry Learjet 45)
S14:E62/17/2015
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
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Director:Michael Sinyi
Writer:Greg Gransden
7.0/10(222 votes)
#15 - Fight for Your Life
S3:E410/5/2005
On 7 April 1994, Auburn Calloway, a disgruntled employee, attempts to hijack Federal Express Flight 705 armed with hammers and a speargun. Despite sustaining serious injuries, the crew successfully subdues Calloway and returns the aircraft safely to Memphis International Airport.
Director:Karl Jason
Writer:David Bedard
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Director:Karl Jason
Writer:David Bedard
7.0/10(12 votes)
#16 - Collision Course
S3:E1111/23/2005
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
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Director:Andy Webb
Writer:Brenda Newman
7.0/10(10 votes)
#17 - Runaway Train
S3:E1211/30/2011
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
Writers:Tim Conrad, David Bedard
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Director:Tim Wolochatiuk
Writers:Tim Conrad, David Bedard
7.0/10(2 votes)
#18 - Ocean Landing
S3:E1312/7/2005
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
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Director:Karl Jason
Writer:Léo Singer
7.0/10(157 votes)
#19 - Vertigo
S4:E96/10/2007
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
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Director:Karl Jason
Writer:Carl Knutson
7.0/10(172 votes)
#20 - Fanning the Flames (South African Airways Flight 295)
S5:E75/21/2008
South African Airways Flight 295 starts filling with smoke over the Indian Ocean. A fire has erupted in the rear main level cargo area; the pilots successfully open the doors in flight to clear the smoke from the aircraft, however it crashes with no survivors.
Director:P.J. Naworynski
Writer:Carl Knutson
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Director:P.J. Naworynski
Writer:Carl Knutson
7.0/10(104 votes)
#21 - Ripped Apart (Decompression Failures)
S6:E112/16/2007
BOAC Flight 781 ,South African Airways Flight 201, Aloha Airlines Flight 243, British Airways Flight 5390, United Airlines Flight 811, Helios Airways Flight 522. This special looks at accidents and incidents where pressurization failure or explosive decompression played a part. Episodes re-visited: Hanging by a Thread, Blow Out, Unlocking Disaster, Ghost Plane.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.0/10(144 votes)
#22 - Blown Apart (Partnair Flight 394)
S7:E411/25/2009
On September 8, 1989, Partnair Flight 394, a charter from Oslo to Hamburg, suddenly begins to dive from 22 thousand feet. The aging propeller plane eventually crashes into the sea, killing all 55 people on board.
Director:Su Rynard
Writer:Carl Knutson
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Director:Su Rynard
Writer:Carl Knutson
7.0/10(168 votes)
#23 - Pilot vs Plane (Air France Flight 296)
S9:E29/15/2010
On 26 June 1988, Air France Flight 296 fails to climb and crashes into trees after performing a flyby during an airshow at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, killing three people. The cause of this crash remains in dispute.
Director:James Hyslop
Writer:Greg Gransden
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Director:James Hyslop
Writer:Greg Gransden
7.0/10(208 votes)
#24 - Dead Tired (Colgan Air Flight 3407)
S10:E53/21/2011
On 12 February 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 stalls at low altitude and dives into a residential area near Buffalo, New York. All on board and one person on the ground are killed. Several critical errors made by the flight crew might have been the result of their fatigue.
Director:James Hyslop
Writer:Greg Gransden
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Director:James Hyslop
Writer:Greg Gransden
7.0/10(155 votes)
#25 - Pilot Betrayed (Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751)
S10:E612/3/2011
On 27 December 1991, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 crash-lands without loss of life in Gottröra moments after taking off due to both engines failing. Clear ice from the tops of the wings had been sucked into both engines, causing internal damage. An automatic system (of which the pilots were unaware) to increase the engines' thrust contributed to their failure.
Director:Su Rynard
Writer:Christopher Blow
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Director:Su Rynard
Writer:Christopher Blow