Mayday - cockpit alarm / episode list

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This episode list contains all episodes of the Canadian documentary series Mayday - Alarm im Cockpit (English original title: Air Crash Investigation , Mayday , Air Disaster ).

The sorting corresponds to the production numbers of the episodes, as far as known. The broadcast order differs depending on the broadcaster. In English-speaking countries, the episodes are sometimes titled differently.

Overview

Season Year of production Number of episodes
season 1 2003 6th
season 2 2004 6th
season 3 2005-2006 13
Season 4 2006-2007 10
Season 5 2007 10
Season 6 (Special Episodes) 2007 3
Season 7 2008-2009 8th
Season 8 (Special Episodes) 2009 2
Season 9 2009 8th
Season 10 2010 6th
Season 11 2011 13
Season 12 2012 13
Season 13 2013 11
Season 14 2014 11
Season 15 2015 10
Season 16 2016 10
Season 17 2017 10
Season 18 2018 10
Season 19 2019 10
Season 20 2020 10

season 1

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
1 1 By a hair's breadth Unlocking disaster September 10, 2003 August 6, 2003 United Airlines Flight 811
February 24, 1989: A Boeing 747-100 was on a flight from Honolulu to Auckland when the loading door suddenly opened and part of the outer wall and the cabin floor was torn off. A few rows of seats and nine people are torn from the machine, benefiting from the pressure drop. Due to construction errors on the bolts and a switch, the door opened automatically in flight. The pilot can land the machine safely. After the loading door of a 747 parked at JFK opened automatically in 1991 , the NTSB corrected its accident report. The retrofitting of the machines was stipulated within 30 days.
2 2 Deadly hurry Racing the Storm September 3, 2003 August 13, 2003 American Airlines Flight 1420
June 1, 1999: An MD-80 is approaching Little Rock when a violent storm rages. When landing, the aircraft does not come to a stop on the runway and catches fire. In the hustle and bustle, the pilots had forgotten to activate the automatic system for extending the spoilers. Without the spoilers deployed, the landing gear's brakes were ineffective due to lift.
3 3 Swissair, Flight 111 (fire on board) Fire on board October 22, 2003 July 10, 2005 Swissair flight 111
September 2, 1998: Shortly after the MD-11 takes off, smoke forms in the cockpit. The electronics fail, the pilots cannot orientate themselves in the pitch black night, and the plane crashes into the sea near Halifax . The reason is a short circuit in the aircraft's entertainment system which ignited flammable materials.
4th 4th Out of control Cutting Corners October 15, 2003 July 31, 2005 Alaska Airlines Flight 261
January 31, 2000: The elevator of an MD-83 can no longer be moved in flight. When it finally loosens, it can no longer be controlled and causes the aircraft to dive from which the pilots can no longer intercept it. The reason was incorrect maintenance, as the thread that moves the elevator was bare connected to the nut, and so eventually broke.
5 5 Flight blind Flying blind September 17, 2003 July 17, 2005 Aeroperu flight 603
October 2, 1996: Shortly after a Boeing 757 took off, the altimeter and speedometer fail and deliver incorrect data, the crew receives contradicting warnings. In the pitch black night, the plane crashes into the sea due to the disoriented pilots. The maintenance staff had forgotten to remove the adhesive strips from the pitot tubes after cleaning .
6th 6th With empty tanks Flying on Empty October 8, 2003 August 7, 2005 Air Transat Flight 236
August 24, 2001: An Airbus A330 runs out of fuel while crossing the Atlantic . The pilot lands the machine by gliding in the Azores . The reason was a leak in the fuel tank, as two lines rubbed against each other. During maintenance work on one of the engines, an unsuitable part was used that was intended for a different version. The course changed by air traffic control brought the aircraft close enough to the Azores.

season 2

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
7th 1 Horror flight 111 Blow out January 23, 2005 November 22, 2008 British Airways Flight 5390
June 10, 1990: The cockpit window of a BAC 1-11 comes off in flight . The pilot is sucked out up to his waist and gets stuck. The copilot lands safely at the nearest airport. The cause was poor maintenance, as the cockpit window was mounted with screws that were too short, which came loose in flight when the cabin was pressurized.
8th 2 Crash inferno A wounded bird January 30, 2005 March 17, 2009 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529
August 21, 1995: In flight, the left propeller of a small regional aircraft fails. The captain manages to hold the damaged aircraft in the air for another 10 minutes before it crash-lands. Corrosion caused by chlorine damaged the propeller suspension.
9 3 Terror at Air France 1994 The Killing Machine February 6, 2005 March 23, 2009 Air France flight 8969
December 24, 1994: An Airbus A300 of Air France is kidnapped by terrorists who want to make him explode over Paris. During the stopover in Marseille , soldiers can rescue the aircraft from the hijackers' violence.
10 4th Collision over Lake Constance Deadly Crossroads February 13, 2005 March 22, 2009 Ueberlingen DHL flight 611 / Bashkirian Airlines flight 2937
July 1, 2002: A DHL cargo plane and a Tupolev Tu-154 from Moscow collide over Lake Constance. All the passengers, including many school children, die. Due to the understaffed and only partially functioning center, the air traffic controller recognized the danger too late and only gave one machine instructions that were contrary to the TCAS commands followed by the other aircraft . Both machines, sinking to avoid them, collided.
11 5 Crash on Mount San Jose Lost February 20, 2005 April 6, 2009 American Airlines Flight 965
Dec. 20, 1995: A Boeing 757 of American Airlines is on the way from Miami to Cali in Colombia. While approaching Cali, the aircraft collided with a mountain near Buga, the reason being that the pilot made a mistake who sank too quickly and unknowingly entered incorrect waypoints in the autopilot.
12 6th Lost over New York Missing Over New York February 27, 2005 April 27, 2009 Avianca flight 052
January 25, 1990: Bad weather prevails over the entire eastern United States when a Boeing 707 of the Colombian airline Avianca crashes over New York. After many holding loops, changing air traffic controllers and a missed approach, the aircraft ran out of kerosene and the young copilot had not reported an emergency despite instructions from the pilot. After the first landing approach failed, the engines failed.

season 3

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
13 1 By a thread Hanging by a thread October 12, 2005 November 29, 2008 Aloha Airlines Flight 243
April 28, 1988: Shortly after reaching cruising altitude , part of the outer skin of a Boeing 737 comes loose over Hawaii. The pilots manage to land the damaged aircraft on the island of Maui . Metal fatigue was the cause of the loss of the outer skin. A flight attendant in the aisle was ripped off the plane. She is missing and the only dead person in the accident.
14th 2 Attack over Baghdad Attack over Baghdad September 28, 2005 October 12, 2008 European Air Transport Flight OO-DLL
November 22, 2003: A DHL cargo plane takes off from Baghdad for Bahrain when it is hit by a rocket shot down by terrorists. Despite severe damage to the left wing and the failure of the entire hydraulic system, the crew managed the first landing without injuries or deaths in the history of aviation on the second approach, which was only achieved by regulating the thrust of individual engines. Subsequently, consideration was given to developing the Pilot Control Assistance (PCA), which is supposed to automate the engine control in the event of failure of hydraulics and cables. The plans were initially put on hold.
15th 3 Jumbo jet out of control Out of control September 21, 2005 October 5, 2008 Japan Airlines Flight 123
August 12, 1985: A Boeing 747-100SR loses all hydraulic systems after taking off from Tokyo and is no longer controllable. Nevertheless, the pilot manages to keep the aircraft in the air for about 30 minutes before it hits a mountain. The reason was incorrect maintenance on the pressure bulkhead of the 747. Seven years earlier, the 747 had a tail strike on landing .
16 4th Suicide attack on FedEX 705 Fight for Your Life October 5, 2005 June 16, 2009 FedEx Flight 705
April 7, 1994: An employee attacks the DC-10 crew . But this succeeds in overpowering the assassin and safely land the machine.
17th 5 Flight PAL434 - bomb attack on board Bomb on board November 2, 2005 June 17, 2009 Philippine Airlines Flight 434
December 10, 1994: A terrorist smuggles a bomb aboard a Boeing 747 of the PAL and deposited it under a passenger seat. The passenger sitting on it dies in the explosion. However, the pilots manage to land safely.
18th 6th Deadly mix-up Mistaken Identity October 19, 2005 October 19, 2008 Iran Air Flight 655
July 3, 1988: An Iran Air Airbus A300 is shot down from the USS Vincennes warship shortly after take- off. The crew of the Vincennes had mistaken the civil aircraft for an enemy Grumman F-14 that was about to attack them.
19th 7th Helicopter in distress Helicopter Down November 9, 2005 December 28, 2008 Bristow Flight 56C
January 19, 1995: A helicopter brings Aberdeen workers to an oil rig in the North Sea. When the helicopter is struck by lightning and falls into the sea, the workers have to fight for their lives.
20th 8th EgyptAir 990 crashed Death and Denial October 26, 2005 June 22, 2009 EgyptAir flight 990
October 31, 1999: Shortly after taking off from New York, a Boeing 767 descends steeply, climbs briefly and crashes into the sea. The cause of the accident is unclear. According to the Egyptian authorities, a jammed elevator is said to have triggered the dive. American investigators, on the other hand, assume that the copilot deliberately took the aircraft into a dive ( pilot suicide ).
21st 9 Child in the cockpit Kid in the cockpit September 14, 2005 October 26, 2008 Aeroflot flight 593
March 23, 1994: A pilot invites his children into the cockpit of an Airbus A310 flying from Moscow to Hong Kong. When the pilot's son unknowingly turns off the autopilot, the aircraft tilts to the right, climbs steeply and crashes. The pilot is blamed for letting unqualified people behind the controls of the machine.
22nd 10 The Alberta train collision Head-on collision November 23, 2005 - Dalehurst railway accident
A quiet excursion in the Rocky Mountains ends in disaster when two trains crash head-on into each other on the same track. On the siding of the single-track line between Hargwen and Hinton the freight train did not wait for the oncoming passenger train.
23 11 On a collision course Collision Course November 30, 2005 December 20, 2008 Express Samina
On September 26th, 2000 the Greek ferry Express Samina sails through the Aegean Sea at night, heading for the island of Paros . In the high season several ferries run this course daily. A few kilometers from Paros, the Samina crashes into two huge rocks and capsizes within minutes. There aren't enough life jackets. Passengers have to cling to wreckage and rocks until they are pulled out of the sea by fishing boats. 75 passengers and five crew members are killed. The rocks towered 25 meters above the surface of the water. The investigation showed that important waterproof doors were not closed and mechanical problems remained undetected.
24 12 Out of control Runaway Train December 7, 2005 - San Bernardino train accident
A freight train thunders through quiet San Bernardino at over 100 miles and derails. The train destroys houses and costs several lives. But the incorrectly operated brakes not designed for this mass and not for the Cajon Pass are only the beginning of the disaster. Careless salvage work damages the Calnev pipeline .
25th 13 Emergency landing on the ocean Ocean Landing November 16, 2005 November 15, 2008 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961
November 23, 1996: Three terrorists hijack a Boeing 767 that is running out of fuel over the sea. The pilot has to make an emergency landing in the Comoros .

Season 4

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
26th 1 Catastrophe in the storm Desperate Escape April 15, 2007 December 13, 2008 Air France Flight 358
August 2, 2005: In a thunderstorm, an Air France Airbus A340 rolled over the end of the runway in Toronto and came to a standstill in a ditch. The reasons were that it touched down too late on the short runway and that the thrust reverser was not switched on in time .
27 2 747 nosedive Falling from the sky April 22, 2007 November 4, 2008 British Airways Flight 9
June 24, 1982: In the middle of flight, all four engines of a Boeing 747 fail ; you can see strange Elmsfeuer on the plane. The engines could only be started again after the aircraft had sunk over 6 km. The plane had flown into a cloud of volcanic ash. The windows of the cockpit and other external parts were like sand-blasted by the volcanic ash from the direction of flight.
28 3 Fire on board Fire fight April 29, 2007 November 2, 2008 Air Canada Flight 797
June 2, 1983: At cruising altitude, smoke forms in a DC-9 of Air Canada . After 30 minutes, the emergency landing in Cincinnati took place . After opening the doors, the machine suddenly burns out. 23 of the 46 people on board die from smoke inhalation and flashover . The reason was a fire in the aircraft toilet, the cause remains unclear. Since then, passengers have been instructed how to open the emergency exits, and smoke detectors in toilets and light strips on the floor have been retrofitted. The pilots were accused of not having used the nearby Louisville Airport .
29 4th Crash on approach Final approach May 6, 2007 July 3, 2009 Korean Air Flight 801
August 6, 1997: On approach to Guam airport , a Boeing 747 is flown against Nimitz Hill in pouring rain and poor visibility . The pilots left the autopilot in ILS mode even though the air traffic controller had told them the ILS was out of order and the aircraft was sinking far too quickly.
30th 5 Hidden danger Hidden Danger May 13, 2007 November 16, 2008 United Airlines Flight 585 ,
USAir Flight 427 ,
Eastwind Airlines Flight 517
March 3, 1991, September 8, 1994, June 9, 1996: Three Boeing 737 aircraft had problems with the rudder when approaching, so the first two crashed. It was only when Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 had the same problems and still landed safely that investigators found the cause: the rudder control was cooled down in flight and sometimes swung to the left or right at higher temperatures and could no longer be moved.
31 6th Panic over the Pacific Panic over the Pacific May 20, 2007 December 6, 2008 China Airlines Flight 006
February 19, 1985: An engine fails on a Boeing 747 SP . Shortly afterwards, the 747 SP plunged 10 km into the depths, and parts of the aircraft came loose. The pilot regained control of the machine and landed perfectly. The pilot had assumed that the autopilot would correct the engine failure and did not trust his instruments.
32 7th Out of sight Out of sight May 27, 2007 July 8, 2009 Aeroméxico Flight 498
August 31, 1986: An Aéromexico DC-9 crashes uncontrollably over Los Angeles on approach . An air traffic controller at the airport was distracted and had not noticed a small private plane entering the airspace and crashing into the DC-9. All people on board the aircraft and 15 on the ground died. The then US President Ronald Reagan then made the TCAS mandatory for US airspace. The technology in the airport tower was renewed. The air traffic controller could no longer practice this profession.
33 8th Crash over Bosnia Fog of War June 3, 2007 July 9, 2009 Air accident IFO-21
April 3, 1994: When trying in thick fog by instrument flight to land collides a 737 Boeing of the US Air Force , senior government employees and civilians on board, with a mountain. The pilot had only received one of the airport's two NDBs and was probably relying on an inaccurately set INS . The machine had no flight recorders, as these were not required for them.
34 9 Crash over the Red Sea Vertigo June 10, 2007 July 10, 2009 Flash Airlines Flight 604
January 3, 2004: Shortly after take-off, a Boeing 737 operated by the charter airline Flash Airlines makes a strong right-hand turn and plunges into the Red Sea in a downward spiral . The pilot was probably disoriented in the moonless night and unknowingly steered to the right. The pilots had been poorly trained. The copilot did not intervene. There were no survivors on board.
35 10 Ghost Flight Helios 522 Ghost plane June 17, 2007 July 13, 2009 Helios Airways Flight 522
Aug 14, 2005: A Boeing 737 takes off from Cyprus for Athens soaring 34,000 feet when an alarm confuses pilots. Little did they know that the oxygen masks in the passenger compartment had triggered. But the machine continues to climb and the technology on the ground has problems getting a clear description of their problems from the pilots. The contact breaks off. After two hours, military jets take off and accompany the 737s flying on the autopilot on hold. Memories of 9/11 are awakened. However, the military did not shoot down the machine. Three hours after take-off, the Boeing crashes due to lack of fuel. All 121 passengers on board die, including 22 children. At first only the open case was found by the CVR. After a problem with a rear door, the cabin pressure system was set to manual and forgot to switch the switch back to automatic. The copilot also failed to do this when completing his checklist before take-off. An investigator goes into a vacuum chamber to understand what happened in the accident. He can understand why the pilots were unable to give a clear description of their problems under the onset of hypoxia . A flight attendant who had been trained as a pilot in small aircraft had attempted to land the machine using portable emergency oxygen bottles. He was trained to get by with little oxygen. He had reported for this flight because his fiancée had been assigned as a flight attendant for this flight. Before he gets to land the machine in a dazed state, the fuel runs out. All of the occupants only perished on impact.

Season 5

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
36 1 Smashed to the ground by the storm Invisible killers May 7, 2008 July 14, 2009 Delta Air Lines flight 191
August 2, 1985: In a storm at Dallas Airport, a Lockheed TriStar is pushed to the ground on approach and collides with a fuel bunker. The plane was caught in an undetected downburst that can knock planes to the ground if they fly low.
37 2 A jet gliding Gimli Glider May 14, 2008 July 15, 2009 Air Canada Flight 143
July 23, 1983: During the flight, both engines of a newly delivered Boeing 767 fail . The pilot glides to a nearby airport, but the nose landing gear fails on landing. The amount of kerosene had been converted incorrectly, so that the aircraft was refueled with only half as much fuel as necessary.
38 3 Behind closed doors Behind closed doors April 16, 2008 July 16, 2009 American Airlines Flight 96 ,
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
June 12, 1972: A DC-10 suffers an explosive decompression on the flight from Detroit to Buffalo via Windsor and can only be landed with great difficulty. Two years later, on March 3, 1974, a fully occupied Turkish Airlines plane of the same type of aircraft crashed from Paris to London . Although the machine crashed into a forest, it led to a new high in aviation deaths. On both flights, the cargo door supplied by Convair jumped open due to a design fault. As the ground in which the hydraulic lines were laid collapsed, the Turkish Airlines machine could no longer be controlled. The ground staff hired by Turkish Airlines had no knowledge of English and had not been properly trained in the vulnerable technology.
39 4th Fire on board Fanning the Flames May 21, 2008 - South African Airways Flight 295
On November 28, 1987: At cruising altitude over the Indian Ocean, a fire breaks out in the hold of a Boeing 747 Combi. Soon afterwards, air traffic control loses contact with the crew. The cause of the fire in the cargo hold is unclear.
40 5 Fatal weight Dead Weight April 30, 2008 July 20, 2009 Air Midwest Flight 5481
January 8, 2003: A Beechcraft 1900 D fully occupied with 19 passengers stands up steeply when the landing gear is retracted. The current stops, the aircraft tips over to the left and crashes almost vertically into the hangar. The overloaded machine could no longer be stopped when the undercarriage no longer supported the trim after it had been retracted. The previously improperly adjusted elevator was fatal; it was only half usable downwards. The maintenance had been subcontracted by subcontractors who had little experience with the machine. All 21 people on board perished; An employee was injured in the hangar. The calculation of the loading weight was based on the still common, outdated standard personal weights per passenger from 1946.
41 6th On course for the storm Southern Storm April 23, 2008 July 21, 2009 Southern Airways Flight 242
April 4, 1977: A DC-9 flies through the middle of a storm. Both engines fail and the aircraft is badly damaged. During an emergency landing on a highway, the plane rolls into a gas station and explodes. Due to busy phone lines, more recent weather reports were not available. With the misinterpreted weather radar, the pilots steered the aircraft into the worst part of the storm, where large hail at a height of approx. 4.6 km and with the result of a surge smashed the compressor blades of the engines and caused them to fail and the cockpit windows. The DC-9 could have landed at Polk County Airport (Cornelius Moore Field) below . As this airport was not known to the air traffic controller, he directed them to Dobbins Air Reserve Base, 40 miles too far away . The DC-9 crashed into New Hope .
42 7th Explosive evidence Air India: Explosive Evidence April 9, 2008 July 22, 2009 Air India Flight 182
June 23, 1985: An Indian Boeing 747 with 329 people on board explodes while cruising off the Irish coast, 150 km south of Cork . A bomb placed in the hold by terrorists had torn the plane up in midair. Sikh extremists had bombed two hi-fi amplifiers and placed them in their luggage. The second bomb killed two air freight workers at Tokyo Narita Airport . Both pieces of baggage were checked in by travelers who did not board. Since then, no luggage has been loaded on board without the owner. Further developments on freight containers with regard to explosion safety were not adopted.
43 8th False alarm Mixed signals May 28, 2008 January 21, 2011 Birgenair flight 301
February 6, 1996: A short-term chartered Turkish Boeing 757 takes off from Puerto Plata with 189 passengers and crashes into the sea shortly afterwards. The pitot tubes that measure airspeed were clogged. The autopilot assumed the plane was going too fast. In fact, it was too slow, stalled, and crashed. The 757 had remained on the ground for 25 days. It is assumed that wall wasps have nested in the pitot tubes that are not covered on the ground. It was the first Boeing 757 crash.
44 9 Fatal distraction Fatal distraction June 4, 2008 July 24, 2009 Eastern Air Lines Flight 401
December 29, 1972: A Lockheed TriStar was approaching Miami when the nose gear indicator did not illuminate. The plane loops over the Everglades as it crashes into the swamp. The TriStar's autopilot switches itself off as soon as you move the control stick. The atmosphere in the cockpit was tense because a light bulb was defective and it was not possible to determine whether the landing gear was correctly extended. The pilot came without realizing it to the control stick for the autopilot. The autopilot then no longer maintained altitude and the aircraft began to descend unnoticed. The nose landing gear was extended at the time of the crash, only the light bulb was defective.
45 10 On a collision course over the Amazon Phantom Strike June 11, 2008 July 27, 2009 Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907
September 29, 2006: A small business jet that is transferred to its airline can hardly establish contact with air traffic control. At cruising altitude at flight level 370, it cuts off half the wing of a Boeing 737 , which then crashes; the smaller machine can make an emergency landing on a military airfield. The business jet flew at flight level 370, but was supposed to fly at flight level 360 - the controller had forgotten to announce this. When the transponder failed shortly afterwards, the air traffic controllers thought the business jet was already at flight level 360.

Season 6 (Special Episodes)

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) Misfortunes
46 1 Special: Risk factor pressure loss Ripped Apart December 16, 2007 October 14, 2009 Aloha Airlines Flight 243 ,
British Airways Flight 5390 ,
United Airlines Flight 811 / Helios Airways Flight 522
This episode is about pressure loss in flight. This can occur due to maintenance and construction errors, undetected material fatigue and pilot errors.
47 2 Special: Maintenance risk factor Fatal Flaw (Fatal Fix) December 16, 2007 October 15, 2009 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 episode is about poor maintenance, which can easily be the cause of the disaster. Often money is saved on maintenance, which puts the lives of passengers at risk.
48 3 Special: Autopilot risk factor Who's flying the plane? March 2, 2008 October 16, 2009 Aeroperu flight 603 ,
China Airlines flight 006 ,
Aeroflot flight 593 ,
Flash Airlines flight 604 ,
Air Transat flight 236
All aircraft passengers rely on the pilots, too many pilots rely on the aircraft's autopilot. This episode shows events where the autopilot did not do what the pilots expected or failed.

Season 7

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
49 1 Shattered into a thousand pieces Scratching the surface November 18, 2009 July 2, 2009 China Airlines Flight 611
May 25, 2002: A Boeing 747 breaks shortly before reaching cruising altitude. 22 years before the accident, a rear stop was incorrectly repaired. Cracks had formed from the rear stop, which went unnoticed due to a sheet metal screwed over it. Over the years, the cracks had spread around the entire rear area, causing the machine to break apart.
50 2 The Lockerbie attack Lockerbie disaster December 17, 2009 July 9, 2009 Lockerbie attack (Pan-Am flight 103)
December 21, 1988: A Boeing 747 explodes in midair over the Scottish city of Lockerbie. A bomb in the hold, which is said to have been brought on board by Libyan terrorists, had torn the plane in the air. The passenger baggage reconciliation , introduced as a consequence of the attack on another Boeing 747 on Air India Flight 182 , after no flight baggage goes on board without its owner, was suspended by PanAm . The bomb was in a radio recorder type Toshiba RT-SF 16 has been incorporating instead the tape deck. The bag was checked in in Malta. The long-term timers used for ignition were made in Switzerland on an order from Libya. All 243 people on board were killed, 11 more on the ground. PanAm went bankrupt after losing.
51 3 The devil is in the details Blown Apart November 11, 2009 July 16, 2009 Partnair flight 394
September 8, 1989: A Convair 580 crashes over the North Sea . Due to defects , the pilots flew with the APU switched on , which caused strong vibrations and was superimposed and added up with vibrations of the vertical stabilizer. The rudder came off the hull, it had been mounted with screws of unsuitable strength class , which only withstood 60% of the determined load. The airplane, which had become uncontrollable, fell into a dive and broke in midair. As a result of the investigation, a scandal of counterfeit spare parts and certificates is exposed.
52 4th Collision above the clouds Sight Unseen November 11, 2009 November 23, 2009 Charkhi Dadri plane collision
November 12, 1996: A Boeing 747 and an Ilyushin Il-76 collide in midair, although there should be a distance of more than 300 m between them. The crew of the Ilyushin had not complied with the instruction to maintain the altitude due to poor English skills. At New Delhi Airport, the secondary radar that shows flight altitudes was ordered and delivered, but not installed. Investigators found evidence of three more prevented clashes. None of the machines had TCAS .
53 5 Operation baby lift Operation baby lift November 4, 2009 July 30, 2009 Operation baby lift
April 4, 1975: A Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is supposed to evacuate orphans from Vietnam. But when the rear loading ramp opens after take-off, the aircraft becomes uncontrollable and crashes into a field. The improperly installed loading ramp had not been properly locked - three pins had not engaged properly.
54 6th Emergency landing on the water Falling Fast December 9, 2009 August 6, 2009 Tuninter Flight 1153
August 6, 2005: Both propellers of an ATR-72 fail over the Mediterranean Sea and can no longer be started by the crew. The aircraft must ditch . The machine was not carrying enough kerosene because a wrong fuel gauge had been installed, which was intended for an ATR 42 with smaller tanks. The pilots thought the plane had enough fuel. However, this went out over the Mediterranean, although the instrument reported that there was still enough fuel available. In reality, however, the tanks were empty. The pilots also did not bring the propellers into the sail position with which the machine could have glided a greater distance. Perhaps this could have prevented the accident.
55 7th Off course Flight 574: Lost December 16, 2009 July 23, 2009 Adam Air Flight 574
January 1, 2007: A civil Boeing 737 crashes into the sea. The airline had installed a partially defective inertial navigation system (INS) , which the pilots relied on in bad weather. The crew did not notice that the autopilot had switched off.
56 8th Dangerous weather phenomena Frozen in Flight December 16, 2009 August 20, 2009 American Eagle Flight 4184
October 31, 1994: On the rainy Halloween night an ATR-72 flies holding patterns south of O'Hare , which is penetrated by a cold front. The propeller plane cannot fly over the weather phenomenon. Freezing rain, for which it is the only germ of condensation in the air, collects on the wings and freezes behind the de-icing system , which cannot remove the ice. As a result, the lift deteriorates and the aircraft crashes uncontrollably near Roselawn (Indiana) . All 68 people on board die.

Season 8 (Special Episodes)

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
57 1 Special II: All Clear System breakdown June 10, 2009 17th September 2009 Airplane collision over Grand Canyon
Aeroméxico flight 498
Avianca flight 52
Gol Transportes Aéreos flight 1907
Airplane collision from Überlingen
The episode is about collisions in the air that could have been prevented by communication.
58 2 Special II: Cause of crashes storm Cruel Skies June 17, 2009 September 24, 2009 Southern Airways flight 242
Delta Air Lines flight 191
American Airlines flight 1420
British Airways flight 9
The weather can have a significant impact on air traffic. If weather conditions are poor or the pilots are unprepared, a normal flight can end in disaster. This special episode shows a few examples of what bad weather can do.

Season 9

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
59 1 Panic on the tarmac Panic on the runway March 1, 2010 July 18, 2010 British Airtours flight 28M
August 22, 1985: The engine of a Boeing 737 catches fire when it takes off. After aborting take-off , many passengers die from inhaling toxic smoke. The pilots had not noticed that the engine was burning and steered the machine into the wind after the take-off was aborted.
60 2 Chaos in the cockpit Cockpit chaos March 15, 2010 July 18, 2010 Northwest Airlines Flight 255
August 16, 1987: A McDonnell Douglas MD-80 cannot gain height at takeoff and crashes shortly after the runway ends. The pilots had forgotten to extend the landing flaps and the slats , which increase lift.
61 3 The maiden flight of the A320 Pilot vs. Plans March 8, 2010 September 15, 2010 Air France Flight 296
June 26, 1988: In a low flyby at an air show, a new Airbus A320 can no longer gain height and crashes into a forest behind the runway. The pilot flew low over the grass runway and the thrust for the onward flight occurred later than expected by the pilot. Due to the manipulation of the flight data recorder, it remains controversial to what extent a (possibly still immature) fly-by-wire system incorrectly assumed that the Airbus wanted to land and that the aircraft no longer rose and the engine thrust was increased too late.
62 4th Ready for a crash Cleared for Disaster March 22, 2010 September 22, 2010 USAir flight 1493
February 1, 1991: A landing Boeing 737 and a small Fairchild Swearingen Metro ready for take-off collide on the runway at Los Angeles Airport . The air traffic controller forgot that the Metroliner was on the runway when she gave the 737 permission to land. The Metroliner was also hardly illuminated, so that it was almost invisible in the dark.
63 5 Released for launch Target is destroyed March 29, 2010 September 29, 2010 Korean Airlines Flight 007
September 1, 1983: A Boeing 747 was flying from Anchorage to Seoul when it crashed into the sea near the Russian island of Sakhalin . The aircraft had strayed a long way off course because the Korean pilots had failed to switch the autopilot from “Heading” to “INS”. The machine was then shot down by a Russian Sukhoi Su-15 .
64 6th Ice cold killer Cold case April 12, 2010 October 6, 2010 Air Ontario Flight 1363 ,
USAir Flight 405
March 10, 1989: In snowfall, a Fokker 28 crashes one kilometer after take-off. Three years later, on March 22, 1992, the same thing happens with a USAir machine of the same type of aircraft. Air Ontario's F-28 was not de-iced because the engines could not be switched off - an aircraft must not be de-iced with the engines running. The USAir machine had not been de-iced because the flight was delayed and the pilot did not consider it necessary.
65 7th Tragedy in Alsace The Final Blow April 5, 2010 October 13, 2010 Air Inter flight 148
January 20, 1992: An Airbus A320 crashed into a mountain while approaching Strasbourg Airport . The pilot tried to set the autopilot to a -3.3 degree descent angle, but accidentally set the vertical speed mode to -3.3, so the plane descended at 3300 feet per minute, much faster than intended. But the plane sank even faster when turbulence pushed it up slightly. If the plane goes down, goes up, and then goes down again, the navigation system regards this as an emergency and the machine goes down even faster than usual. Because of clouds, the crew could not see the mountain.
66 8th Crash off Miami Cracks in the system April 19, 2010 October 20, 2010 Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101
December 20, 2005: A Grumman G-73 crashed into the sea near the beach in Miami . Eyewitnesses see the entire right wing tearing off. Corrosion, material fatigue and a broken and incorrectly repaired stringer created cracks on the right wing, which the maintenance staff tried to stop with a Doppler sheet. However, due to the corrosion and material fatigue, the remaining stringers in the right wing became weaker and weaker, until they all broke during this flight and the entire wing broke off.

Season 10

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
67 1 Crash over Zurich Cockpit failure March 12, 2011 March 16, 2011 Crossair flight 3597
November 24, 2001: An Avro RJ100 crashes in a forest shortly before landing. The pilots had ignored their altitude; the captain had been involved in other incidents.
68 2 The wonder of London The Heathrow Enigma March 7, 2011 March 23, 2011 British Airways Flight 38
January 17, 2008: Less than a minute before touchdown, both engines of a Boeing 777 , which at the time is one of the most modern aircraft in the world, fail. The plane touches down just before the runway; none of the inmates is killed. The engines did not receive enough fuel because ice in the kerosene had formed from water during the flight. Due to large changes in thrust on landing, it came loose from the pipe walls and blocked the fuel / oil heat exchanger. Because of a bad design, the heat exchanger did not melt the ice.
69 3 Flames over Stockholm Pilot Betrayed March 28, 2011 March 30, 2011 Scandinavian Airlines flight 751
December 27, 1991: In winter both engines of a DC-9-81 fail after take - off. The crew fails to restart the engines, whereupon the aircraft crashes. No inmates are killed in the process. After the de-icing on the ground, no one had checked the results; clear ice had gotten from the wings into the engines.
70 4th Fall through ice and wind Dead Tired March 21, 2011 April 6, 2011 Continental Airlines Flight 3407
February 12, 2009: A propeller plane crashes during a landing in icy conditions. The pilot had fallen below the minimum speed required for these weather conditions and thus triggered a deep stall .
71 5 Emergency landing in the Hudson River Hudson River Runway March 14, 2011 April 13, 2011 US Airways Flight 1549
January 15, 2009: Both engines of an Airbus A320 fail shortly after take-off in New York. Confident that he cannot reach a runway, the pilot makes a perfect ditch on the Hudson River that all passengers survive. The plane had run into a flock of birds.
72 6th Crash off Amsterdam Who's in control? February 27, 2011 April 27, 2011 Turkish Airlines flight 1951
February 25, 2009: When landing, the engine power is set to idle by the autopilot, which means that the Boeing 737 can no longer reach the runway and crashes a few kilometers beforehand. A defective altimeter gave the autopilot the information that the machine was only a few meters above the ground, so he switched the engines to idle.

Season 11

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
73 1 Runway disaster Deadly reputation August 12, 2011 March 14, 2012 TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight 3054
July 17, 2007: During the second scheduled landing on the same day at the São Paulo-Congonhas airport, which is notorious among pilots , an Airbus A320 from TAM does not come to a stop in time, shoots over runway 35L, into a building next to a petrol station and leaves up in flames. The flight captain was under stress and had forgotten the right engine, on which the reverse thrust had been deactivated 4 days earlier due to technical problems to be on the safe side. The runway had got a new surface and was usable for a month. However, puddles formed in the rain, which lead to aquaplaning . The grooves of the slopes had not yet been milled. Now the deactivated thrust reverser was fatal. The forgotten engine on the right continued to generate thrust, maintained its speed and caused the left turn, killing 199 people, all in the Airbus and 12 on the ground. 4 of them could not escape from the building because the broken wing blocked the exit.
74 2 Too high The plane that flew too high August 19, 2011 March 21, 2012 West Caribbean Airways Flight 708
August 16, 2005: A fully loaded McDonnell Douglas MD-80 flies into a storm at cruising altitude and crashes. Investigations later revealed that the master had turned on the de-icing system in flight. That wouldn't have been a problem if the heavy plane had flown at 31,000 feet. But the crew climbed the plane to 33,000 feet and only then turned on the de-icing system. But since this slightly reduced the thrust of the engines, the machine no longer had enough thrust to maintain altitude and speed. The autopilot held the altitude, so the speed decreased, whereupon the autopilot increased the angle of attack further so as not to decrease. The MD-82 soon stalled , to which the pilots reacted incorrectly. The plane had no more lift and crashed.
75 3 Deadly stopover Split decision August 26, 2011 March 28, 2012 Arrow Air Flight 1285
December 12, 1985: Shortly after take-off in wintry Gander , a DC-8 crashes less than three kilometers from the airport. The CVR did not work, the FDR only recorded minimalistically. The cause of the accident is controversial among investigators. The most likely theory is that ice had formed on the wings - the machine had not been de-iced. The air at the previous altitude had cooled the fuel in the wing tanks. In addition, the charter aircraft was full of soldiers, so that the average weight taken by the captain was 5 tons too small. The DC-8 was heavily loaded, and the icy wing reduced the lift so that a flow separation occurred and the captain pulled up the machine before it had gained speed. Another theory is based on a terrorist attack or weapons stored in the cargo hold that exploded, making control impossible.
76 4th Crash over Texas Breakup over Texas December 29, 2011 April 4, 2012 Continental Express Flight 2574
September 11, 1991: A small Embraer EMB 120 propeller plane crashes on its approach to Houston. The elevator had been checked during maintenance the night before; A technician had removed the front of the right part of the elevator and later screwed it back on after installing new parts. However, a shift change had taken place during this long-term work. The NTSB found that a first shift technician had also removed the overhead screws from the left part of the elevator, but that part had not been reached during that shift. He also forgot to tell the next workers about it, so they only finished the right part. When the aircraft reached a high speed on approach for landing, the left front side, which was only partially fastened, broke off, and the aircraft could no longer be controlled due to the now completely incorrect aerodynamics.
77 5 Manchester United Munich Air Disaster December 29, 2011 April 11, 2012 British European Airways Flight 609
February 6, 1958: With snow and temperatures around freezing point, an Airspeed Ambassador in Munich shoots over the runway on the third attempt to take off , rams a house and catches fire. More than half of the inmates, including the Manchester United football team , are killed. In order not to overload the engines, full thrust was not given all the time. The captain survived and is fired because he had swapped seats with the co-pilot as an afterthought. A year later, the accident report was completed and icy wings were named as the cause. Later, during tests in Canada, it turned out that the slush in the last third of the Munich runway slowed the aircraft down too much so that it could never have taken off. This was not a problem for other planes, as they could still take off in the cleared part of the runway. A picture taken from the terminal should show icing. It only showed reflective sunlight from the wet wings. A resident rushing to help had stepped onto the wings of the freshly crashed plane in rubber boots and testified that he would have slipped if there had been ice there. England exonerated the unfortunate pilot, while Germany insisted on the ice theory of the report. The snow depth had been determined regardless of the wind.
78 6th Happy repentance Turning point December 29, 2011 April 18, 2012 Northwest Airlines Flight 85
October 9, 2002: During the flight to Tokyo, a Boeing 747 has problems with the rudder, which is stuck in an abnormal position to the left and cannot be moved. The pilots land in Anchorage. The PCU, with which the pilot can move the rudder via pedals, had broken and all hydraulic fluid had run out of it. The rudder could then no longer be moved.
79 7th Fatal system error Bad attitude January 20, 2012 April 25, 2012 Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509
December 22, 1999: A Boeing 747 freighter crashes less than a minute after taking off from London. On the previous flight, the captain's artificial horizon (ADI) no longer worked and indicated an incorrect attitude. After landing in London, a Korean Air mechanic was supposed to take care of it, but due to the lack of maintenance equipment he could not read the error number in the logbook. He just tweaked the ADI, which apparently worked again afterwards. The problem lay deeper in the Inertial Navigation Unit (INU) , which supplies the ADI with the data. When the artificial horizon after take-off in poor visibility showed that the aircraft was still flying straight, although the captain turned it to the left, he pushed the aircraft further into a spiral descent with a bank angle of almost 90 °. The relatively young copilot whose ADI worked and matched the third ADI, did nothing because he probably after the Korean culture the loss of face wanted to avoid. He would have contradicted the captain, who was in the air force and came to the company in high rank. The hierarchy in the crew was described as the cause, it would not have been a team, but would have only consisted of a captain and his assistant. The United States Armed Forces then banned its personnel from using Korean Air for business travel.
80 8th Human error Blind spot January 27, 2012 May 2, 2012 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182
September 25, 1978: Shortly before landing in San Diego, a Boeing 727 crashes after colliding with a small Cessna. The student pilot in the Cessna had not followed the instructions from the control tower and was flying parallel under the 727, which he could not see because of the Cessna's wings (they are above the cockpit). Even from the Boeing, the small plane was hardly recognizable, as the cockpit is high up and was probably also covered by the windshield wipers. However, the pilot should have reported to the tower that the small aircraft was no longer in sight. So the Cessna collided with the wing of the Boeing, which immediately caught fire.
81 9 Crash in the desert Under pressure 3rd February 2012 May 9, 2012 Nigeria Airways Flight 2120
July 11, 1991: A DC-8 crashed shortly after take-off in Jeddah because two tires caught fire at take-off due to their low pressure. Without noticing, the pilots retracted the burning landing gear after take-off, whereupon the fire spread in the fuselage and the hydraulic control systems were damaged. The pilots tried to return to Jeddah, but the plane crashed shortly before landing. Before that, she had already lost passengers in the air. The tire deficiencies were known for several starts.
82 10 Shots above the clouds I'm the problem February 10, 2012 May 16, 2012 Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771
December 7, 1987: A BAe 146 flies at high speed into a hill in California. After employee David Burke was fired from PSA for petty theft of $ 69, he broke into the cockpit during the flight and likely shot both pilots and then himself. As a result, the pilotless plane crashed. Burke's head of department was also on that flight. Because he still had his corporate IDs, Burke was able to take a gun with him.
83 11 Landing on the dike Nowhere to land March 9, 2012 January 2, 2013 Taca International Airways Flight 110
May 24, 1988: After leaving cruising altitude, both engines of a Boeing 737 fail in a thunderstorm. All restart attempts fail, but the pilots manage to make an emergency landing on a meadow. Investigations later showed that the engines of this type of aircraft had not been designed for such amounts of precipitation. Nevertheless, the 737 passed the associated tests of the Federal Aviation Administration , which also assumed less precipitation. Due to the heavy rain, the engines could no longer ignite the fuel.
84 12 Collision on the runway The invisible plane March 23, 2012 January 9, 2013 Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686
October 8, 2001: During the start of Milan-Linate collides a MD-87 of Scandinavian Airlines with 110 people on board in thick fog with a business jet type Cessna Citation CJ2 and crashes. All 114 occupants of both aircraft and four people on the ground are killed. The 4 in the Cessna burn alive, the wreck is only discovered after 20 minutes. The Cessna pilot had used a false taxiway that led him straight onto the runway. However, due to insufficient signage and the uncertainty of the air traffic controllers, the pilot was unable to recognize his mistake. Investigators learned from the air traffic controllers that there have been several near-collisions of this type at the airport. The taxiway marking "S4" was not shown on any map, the air traffic controller did not know it. Other markings were weathered and worn. Position sensors had been deactivated; the ground radar was switched off, the newly acquired one not installed. The air traffic controller was still convicted. The deficiencies have been remedied on Linate.
85 13 Fireball over Sioux City Impossible Landing April 13, 2012 January 16, 2013 United Airlines Flight 232
July 19, 1989: During the flight splintered the fan impeller in the tail engine of a DC-10 of United Airlines , destroying all hydraulic systems. Despite the severe damage, the crew managed to use the thrust control of the two remaining engines to head for Sioux City airport. During the emergency landing, the plane crashes, 111 of the 296 people on board are killed. It was triggered by a material defect on the engine blade that was never discovered during routine maintenance. During the flight, the fatigue cracks became so severe that the rapidly rotating disk broke apart.

Season 12

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
86 1 Rudderless over Alaska Fight for Control August 3, 2012 January 23, 2013 Reeve Aleutian Airways flight Aug.
June 8, 1983: During the flight of a Lockheed Electra, unusual vibrations occur on an engine. Shortly thereafter, a propeller loosens and damages the cabin, causing a pressure drop. The control systems were also damaged and the engines can no longer be regulated. The autopilot gave the crew minimal control. The height was regulated by extending and retracting the landing gear and switching off an engine. A successful emergency landing in Anchorage was carried out, all 15 occupants remained uninjured. The aircraft was repaired and put back into service.
87 2 Inferno in the Everglades Fire in the hold August 10, 2012 January 30, 2013 ValuJet flight 592
May 11, 1996: Ten minutes after a Douglas DC-9 took off from Miami, there were problems with the electronics and smoke appeared in the cabin. A few minutes later, a fire reached the cabin and the plane crashed with 110 people on board. Despite the adverse circumstances (the plane crashed into the Everglades ), NTSB investigators found that the fire started in what was actually an airtight cargo compartment. The DC-9 had oxygen candles loaded which, once activated, produced pure oxygen and heat. One of the poorly secured candles may have been activated by a jolt on the runway. Because of the resulting heat, the boxes and some tires that were also transported caught fire. Due to the smoke and the resulting violent fire, all occupants were probably already dead when the plane crashed four minutes after the fire broke out.
88 3 Gone by the typhoon Caution to the Wind 17th August 2012 4th February 2013 Singapore Airlines Flight 006
October 31, 2000: A Boeing 747 from Singapore Airlines , one of the safest airlines in the world, collides with construction vehicles on the runway while taking off in Taipei and is completely destroyed. The runway, called 5R at airport, was just being overhauled and serviced, which is why it was closed at the time of the accident. The Boeing was supposed to be heading for runway 5L, which is only 100 m behind 5R. Due to the storm and poor visibility during the night flight, the crew turned too early - to 5R. The pilots knew that it was closed, but did not recognize their mistake in the pressure of time. Of the 179 people on board, only 96 survived.
89 4th Fatal computer input Pushed to the limit August 24, 2012 5th February 2013 SilkAir flight 185
December 19, 1997: In the middle of a cruise over Indonesia, a Boeing 737 fell 10 km vertically and crashed to the ground at the speed of sound. Because the entire aircraft was destroyed and both flight recorders, which record all important data and conversations in the cockpit, had failed before the dive, the Indonesian investigators could not explain what had happened. However, experts from the American NTSB came to the conclusion that one of the two pilots (probably the captain himself) had deliberately crashed the Boeing. He had often been criticized by co-pilots and had deactivated both flight recorders from the cockpit on previous flights. In addition, the dive characteristics indicated that the fall was being directed by the control sticks.
90 5 Blind through the hailstorm Blind landing August 31, 2012 February 6, 2013 TANS-Peru flight 204
August 23, 2005: A Boeing 737 gets caught in a strong thunderstorm while approaching. The plane crash-lands in a nearby swamp - 40 of the 98 occupants are killed. The pilot was found guilty for not following standard bad weather procedures. In addition, hail could have damaged the engines.
91 6th Clash over the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon Disaster January 24, 2013 February 7, 2013 Airplane collision over the Grand Canyon ( TWA Flight 2 ,
United Air Lines Flight 718 )
June 30, 1956: Large parts of the airspace over the USA are not yet controlled; H. every aircraft is on its own and has to avoid other machines. However, requests to change the altitude were made to air traffic controllers and also given by them themselves, but they could not see the aircraft. A United Air Lines and Trans World Airlines aircraft each took off from Los Angeles to different destinations, and their flight routes were supposed to cross over the Painted Desert . The Douglas DC-7 of United Air Lines , which on the flight 718 minutes before the Lockheed Super Constellation was started of TWA, was at flight level 210 (21,000 feet), the Super Constellation should rise to 19,000 feet. Very soon after take-off, the pilots asked to be allowed to climb to flight level 210. The air traffic controllers knew that the United Airlines aircraft was at this altitude and said no, but the TWA aircraft was allowed to go into visual flight (which meant it could climb to the desired altitude but would have to keep its distance from the DC-7 on its own ), which her pilot did too. Soon after, the two planes collided over the Grand Canyon. The visual conditions were only suitable for visual flight to a limited extent, and both crews were busy and had received no further warnings about each other. All 128 people on board the aircraft died as a result of the collision.
92 7th American Airlines Flight 191 Catastrophe at O'Hare February 25, 2013 March 6, 2013 American Airlines Flight 191
May 25, 1979: In Chicago, the improperly screwed-on left of the three engines tore itself from the wing. The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 rolled sharply to the left after takeoff and crashed. All 271 inmates are killed. During maintenance of the engine, contrary to the manufacturer's specifications, its bracket was damaged unnoticed. The used forklift could not be controlled so precisely to avoid damaging the bracket. The usual heavy load on this bracket caused progressive cracking until it tore off. That alone would not have led to the crash, as the DC-10 can also be flown with only two engines. However, the demolished engine had damaged the hydraulic lines; the entire hydraulics for the slats (extendable parts of the wing that increase lift, similar to the landing flaps , only on the front of the wing) was lost and they retracted. As a result, the stall speed increased. Correctly after the checklist, the pilots reduced the speed of this engine failure, without knowing that by doing on the wing without slats a stall occurred, crashed when the press.
93 8th Fatal undercarriage damage Focused on Failure 11th March 2013 13th March 2013 United Airlines Flight 173
December 28, 1978: Just seconds before a Douglas DC-8 landed in Portland, a display in the cockpit showed that the landing gear was not extended. The aircraft flies in holding patterns and the landing gear is extended again, but not all of the displays are still lit. The pilots decide to hold on to solve the problem. After an hour the DC-8 had an accident due to lack of fuel. Because a spring in the right chassis had failed, this landing gear extended extremely quickly and damaged the sensor that reports the extended chassis and activates the display. While on hold, the pilots wanted to find out the cause of the problem and use as much fuel as possible for an emergency landing without landing gear. However, since it was stipulated at that time that aircraft should always carry enough reserve, the fuel displays in the lower area were very imprecise. So the DC-8 ran out of fuel before the planned landing. Another possibility is that the crew was so preoccupied with solving the problem that they completely forgot about the fuel gauge.
94 9 Disaster in Russia Lokomotiv Hockey Team Disaster 4th March 2013 March 20, 2013 YAK service flight 9633
September 7, 2011: A plane full of a Russian ice hockey team collided with antennas shortly after taking off from Tunoschna Airport and crashed. Almost all inmates are killed. Investigators found that someone in the cockpit had applied the brakes while giving full thrust. Perhaps one of the pilots who was new to this type of aircraft had accidentally depressed the brake pedals; however, it cannot be ruled out that the pilots were divided as to whether the take-off should be continued. An additional factor is that the start speed was calculated incorrectly.
95 10 The crash of the Polish President Death of the President January 27, 2013 March 27, 2013 Smolensk plane crash
April 10, 2010: A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in thick fog when approaching the Russian military airport Smolensk , which did not have an ILS . On board were the Polish President Lech Kaczyński , other high-ranking government representatives and descendants of the victims of the Katyn massacre to whose memorial they traveled on the anniversary. The air traffic controllers announced that there were no landing conditions on site. Due to the language skills, the captain took over the radio at the helm. The crew was under latent pressure. A senior military man was in the cockpit but didn't say a word. In addition, the president should arrive on time for the official appointment. The machine sank below the minimum flight altitude and did not respond to the ground alarm. The cause was an incorrectly calibrated altimeter. In addition, the aircraft was on the wrong course, which would have brought it about 80 m from the runway. The air traffic controllers also did not instruct Tupolev to abort the approach. So the machine flew only 30 m above the ground and could not take off before it brushed the first trees. All inmates perished. No body was found in one piece.
96 11 Change of course into disaster Heading to Disaster March 25.2013 April 3, 2013 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409
January 25, 2010: In bad weather, a Boeing 737 falls off course shortly after take-off and finally crashes into the Mediterranean, killing all 90 occupants. The investigators found that both pilots were on duty extremely often in the month before this flight, so that they were probably very tired on this night flight (creeping inability to fly). As a result, despite the adverse conditions, they did not switch on the autopilot and, also because of excessive demands, they lost their bearings. So the Boeing got into a stall, which led to the crash.
97 12 Navigation out of order 28 seconds to survive April 1, 2013 April 10, 2013 Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518
February 21, 2008: A Santa Barbara Airlines ATR 42 crashed into a mountain less than 7 minutes after taking off from Mérida (Venezuela) . The pilots had come out of the break late and had largely skipped the checklist . The gyro sensors for navigation would have only needed 28 more seconds to calibrate. In order to save 15 minutes of flight time, the planned course was deviated from. Clouds that restricted the view and the lack of navigation led the pilots to the hill where the plane crashed. All occupants died in the impact. Due to its location, the airport was excluded from commercial air traffic.
98 13 Air France 447 missing Air France 447: Vanished April 15, 2013 January 8, 2014 Air France Flight 447
June 1, 2009: On the flight from South America to Europe, a French Airbus A330 gets caught in a storm and crashes into the Atlantic, killing all 228 occupants. The cause of the accident remains a mystery long, but after about two years to find the investigators found that the plane is in the state of a stall fell. With the help of the flight recorder, it was possible to determine that the speed indicators in the Airbus were delivering different values ​​during the last few minutes, which was probably due to icy pitot tubes. After the failure of the speedometer, the autopilot switched itself off due to the contradicting data, then the pilot let the machine climb, which led to the stall, which was not corrected until the impact on the sea. It is not known why the pilots reacted incorrectly to the impending stall and did not lower their noses. The analysis of the conversation, however, shows that the pilots did not notice the stall and did not pay attention to their instruments; maybe they thought it wasn't just the speed readings that were wrong.

Season 13

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
99 1 Disastrous quarrel Britain's worst air crash December 16, 2013 January 8, 2014 British European Airways Flight 548
June 18, 1972: A Hawker Siddeley Trident crashes shortly after take-off, none of the occupants survived. Investigators of the British aircraft accident investigation can attribute the accident to a premature retraction of the slats, the cause of which was possibly the distraction by a dispute between the pilots a few hours earlier.
100 2 Underestimated speed Speed ​​trap December 30, 2013 15th January 2014 Hughes Airwest Flight 706
June 6, 1971: Shortly after taking off from Los Angeles, a DC-9 is rammed by an F-4 fighter jet. Except for the navigator of the fighter jet, a total of 50 people died. The F-4 flew low because the oxygen system for the pilots was defective. This altitude led them into a heavily frequented aerial corridor that was not disclosed to them. At that time, civil and military aviation did not usually communicate with each other.
101 3 Fatal misunderstanding Lost in Translation January 13, 2014 22th January 2014 Crossair flight 498
January 10, 2000: A Saab 340 crashed just two minutes and 17 seconds after take-off west of Zurich Airport near Nassenwil after the aircraft had been brought into a clockwise spiral unnoticed. Due to the differences in the ADI on which the pilot had learned, he steered in the opposite direction. The co-pilot was unable to prevent the accident due to linguistic obstacles. None of the 10 occupants survived the crash.
102 4th Crash into icy waters Disaster on the Potomac December 23, 2013 January 29, 2014 Air Florida Flight 90
January 13, 1982: An Air Florida Boeing 737 takes off from Washington International Airport in a snow storm and under time pressure. After just 1.5 km, the machine loses altitude, hits a road bridge and then plunges into the Potomac River. Of the 79 inmates, only five survive. Four other people are killed on the bridge. Pilot errors were the cause of the accident.
103 5 The Queens disaster Queens catastrophe January 6, 2014 5th February 2014 American Airlines Flight 587
November 12, 2001: Shortly after taking off from New York, an American Airlines Airbus A300 flew through wake turbulences over the borough of Queens, which had been generated by a Boeing 747 that had previously been launched. The copilot who was piloting the aircraft at this point reacted to the turbulence with a series of violent full deflections of the rudder. The operating limits of the aircraft were exceeded, whereupon the rudder unit and later the engines broke off. The plane was no longer controllable and crashed into a housing estate. In the accident, all 260 occupants of the aircraft and five people died on the ground.
104 6th In the eye of the storm Into The Eye Of The Storm February 10, 2014 12th of February 2014 NOAA 42 Hurricane Hunter
September 15, 1989: A Lockheed P-3 WP-3D got into trouble due to the failure of an engine and the fuselage radar during a measurement flight through Hurricane Hugo , because the wind speeds clearly exceeded the calculable loads on the fuselage. A crash was only prevented by the crew's quick and prudent actions.
105 7th Massacre over the Mediterranean Massacre Over The Mediterranean 20th January 2014 19th February 2014 Itavia flight 870
June 27, 1980: A Douglas DC-9 belonging to the Italian company Itavia crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea north of the Italian island of Ustica on the way from Bologna to Palermo, for an initially unexplained cause. All 81 occupants died in this aircraft accident. To date, the cause of the accident is not known. It is possible that the civil aircraft got into a dogfight between French and Libyan military pilots and fell victim to an air-to-air missile.
106 8th Deadly test Deadly test 3rd February 2014 February 26, 2014 XL Airways Germany flight 888T
November 27, 2008: The XL Airways Germany flight 888T was a flight to test the functions of the Airbus A320-232 D-AXLA. During this test flight, the machine crashed into the Mediterranean, near Canet-en-Roussillon. The plane took off from Perpignan Airport, overflowed Gaillac and returned to Perpignan, then crashed into the water. The test took place because the aircraft was leased and was due to be handed over soon. Seven people were on board, two German pilots and five New Zealand passengers. All seven people were killed in the crash. The cause of the crash was traced back to a malfunction of the AOA sensors.
107 9 Terror in Paradise Terror in Paradise January 27, 2014 5th March 2014 Air Moorea Flight 1121
August 9, 2007: A Twin Otter crashes into the sea shortly after taking off from Moorea Airfield . All 20 inmates die. The reason was the breakage of a control cable due to increased wear.
108 10 Titanic of the skies Titanic In The Sky 17th February 2014 March 12, 2014 Qantas Flight 32
November 4, 2010: An Airbus A380 engine exploded shortly after take-off in Singapore. Despite the panic among the 440 passengers, the plane can land safely. Due to a fatigue crack in one of the engine's oil lines, liquid had leaked, so that a fire started and the engine had to be switched off. Everyone on board survived the first Airbus A380 incident unharmed.
109 11 - Getting Out Alive May 9, 2014 - Asiana Airlines Flight 214
Air France Flight 358
Reeve-Aleutian Airways Flight 8
Air Canada Flight 797
US Airways Flight 1549

Season 14

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
110 1 Total engine failure Choosing sides 5th January 2015 February 7, 2015 British Midland Flight 092
January 8, 1989: Only 13 minutes after departure from London Heathrow for Belfast, the crew reported strong vibrations in the aircraft and a burning smell in the cockpit. It was believed that one of the engines had caught fire. Indeed, a fan blade in engine 1 was broken. The pilot made a fatal mistake and switched off the functioning engine 2, as in older Boeing 737s the inside air came from only one engine. The 500-hour old Boeing 737-400 was already taking the inside air from both engines. Just before the runway, she crashed into a slope next to the highway. Of the 126 people on board, 47 were killed. The relatively high number of victims for this accident ensured further developments in crash safety on luggage compartments and seats.
111 2 Niki Lauda: Tragedy in Thailand Niki Lauda: Testing the Limits January 12, 2015 17th January 2015 Lauda Air Flight 004
May 26, 1991: The first Boeing 767 crash occurred in Thailand and hit the Lauda Air plane “Mozart”. There were no survivors. A UN drug commissioner was on board, which initially suggested an attack. The cause was that the thrust reverser of an engine suddenly activated in flight. At an altitude of around 7,500 meters, the pilots had no chance to react. In tests that were only carried out at low altitudes, opening the thrust reverser had previously been classified as uncritical.
112 3 Devoured by the jungle Vanishing Act February 10, 2015 February 14, 2015 VARIG flight 254
September 3, 1989: The pilot entered a wrong course on the flight to Belem, flew in the wrong direction from the departure airport and never noticed this error during the flight, the plane crashed without fuel in the Amazon forest - over 1000 km away from Belém.
113 4th Deadly evasive maneuver Sideswiped March 10, 2015 March 21, 2015 Copa Airlines Flight 201
June 6, 1992: Copa Airlines flight 201 crashes over Panama, there were no survivors. The cause was a defective artificial horizon on the part of the captain: After a left turn, the artificial horizon stopped due to a loose contact. The captain turned the engine to the right to compensate for the supposedly dangerous situation. When the Boeing 737 tilted 100 ° to the right, the artificial horizon worked again, but the machine could no longer be saved and crashed.
114 5 Crash landing in Tokyo The final push 17th March 2015 March 28, 2015 FedEx Flight 80 ,
FedEx Flight 14
July 31, 1997: FedEx Flight 14, an MD-11 that is a stretched DC-10, crashed at home in Newark . Due to its construction, small tail unit and wind conditions, it has to land at a relatively high speed of 300 km / h. The machine is pulled onto the runway in the last 15 meters, hits the ground several times, and a landing gear breaks. The machine overturned, the crew of the cargo plane survived with minor injuries. Both were out of practice landing.
On March 23, 2009, FedEx Flight 80 lands at Tokyo Narita Airport . This MD-11 also falls the last few meters to the ground, jumps on the runway and flips over. It burns out, the crew dies. The float was initiated too late. The overtired pilots did not recognize that the rear landing gear had lifted again and pressed their noses down.
As a result, the remaining MD-11 control lamps for the ground contact of the landing gear were retrofitted.
115 6th JFK Junior crashed The Death of JFK Jr. 20th January 2015 January 31, 2015 John F. Kennedy Jr.'s private plane crash
July 16, 1999: A Piper Saratoga , piloted by John F. Kennedy, Jr. , crashes with his wife and sister Lauren Bessette on the way to the wedding of his cousin Rory Kennedy outside Martha's Vineyard . All three people on the plane are killed. Kennedy had taken off from Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey hours earlier . Investigations suggested that Kennedy, who had no experience with instrument flight, was overwhelmed as a pilot with guiding the aircraft over the open sea when visibility was poor.
116 7th Concorde on fire Concorde - Up In Flames January 13, 2015 January 24, 2015 Air France flight 4590
July 25, 2000: A Concorde taking off at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport races over a metal part that another aircraft had recently lost. A tire bursts, there is a short circuit in the chassis electrics and a tank leaks. When the flames became visible, however, the V1 speed was exceeded and the Concorde had to take off. Escaping fuel is ignited and feeds the left thrusters with burning fuel, which takes away their thrust. The left elevator, which is attached to the end of the wing on the Concorde, melts away in the fire. Only a minute after taking off, the now uncontrollable Concorde crashed into a hotel. No one survived on board, 4 others died on the ground. As a result, tanks and tires were reinforced with aramids and the cables on the chassis were better protected. The cost of retrofitting makes the supersonic Pacific flights unattractive and the Concorde flights are discontinued. It was her first and last flight accident.
117 8th Mexico City Bloodbath (Inferno Mexico City) Accident or Assassination 17th February 2015 February 21, 2015 Learjet 45 crash in Mexico City in 2008
The elite of Mexico were on board the machine. It was quickly suspected that it was a terrorist act, later the cause was found in the pilots: both had less than 100 flight hours in the machine and were not aware of the danger of wake turbulence from a Boeing 767-300 flying ahead because it was too low and flew too slowly. The wake vortices lasted longer due to the calm. One of the pilots was posthumously exposed as a con man. He had noted flying lessons that he had never done. The license was withdrawn from the flight school for waving through these reports.
118 9 Fatal chain of errors No clear options February 26, 2015 March 7, 2015 Manx2 flight 7100
February 10, 2011: A Fairchild Metro III commuter flies holding patterns in front of Cork. On the third attempt to land in the fog, the propeller plane first rolls to the left, then to the right, touches down with the tip of the right wing and slides on the roof over the airfield. 6 out of 12 people on board die, including the crew consisting of the two pilots. The machine had been rented out by the lessee and was poorly maintained. At night it was used for cargo flights, during the day the seats were reassembled and passengers were flown. Some necessary maintenance was neither noted nor carried out. The engines responded at different speeds to changes in thrust, which caused the rolling before the crash. The pilots were under sleep deprivation and cost pressure. The accident investigators suspected that the pilots were trying to avoid the additional costs of an alternative airport.
119 10 Death in the Arctic Death In The Arctic February 24, 2015 February 28, 2015 First Air Flight 6560
August 20, 2011: A Boeing 737 station wagon hits a hill in the fog near Resolute Bay at 290 km / h on a route parallel to the runway, breaks into three parts and starts to burn. Three survive injured, 12 die. A jerk at the wheel had deactivated the autopilot unnoticed during the preparations for landing. The less experienced first officer was unable to convince the master of a series of deviations he noticed to abort the landing in good time. The current Operation Nanook (2011) rescues the injured.
120 11 What happened to Malaysia Air MH370? What Happened To Malaysian 370 March 9, 2015 March 8, 2015 Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 en route between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing , disappeared without a trace on March 8, 2014. So far only parts of the missing Boeing 777 have been found. The cause of the accident is unclear.

Season 15

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
121 1 Deadly radio message Fatal transmission February 8, 2016 January 6, 2016 United Express flight 5925
November 19, 1996: The Beechcraft 1900 , which landed on runway 13 on flight 5925 as a stopover, collides with a Piper Cherokee whose taxi route to runway 4 crosses runway 13 of the unmanned Quincy Municipal Airport (Illinois) . Both machines brake hard, but the Piper rams the Beechcraft at 145 km / h. All 10 passengers and 4 pilots die. The main door of the Beechcraft does not open. The three emergency exits are not used in panic. The passengers and both pilots die in the burning machine. Another machine was waiting behind the Piper, the radio message of which had overlapped with the one from the Beechcraft. As a result, further misunderstandings arose. The Piper took off on a training flight for a pilot who wanted to fly this machine for the first time.
122 2 Crash in San Francisco Terror in San Francisco January 18, 2016 January 13, 2016 Asiana Airlines Flight 214
On July 6, 2013, a Boeing 777 flew too low to San Francisco. When the pilots want to take off and pull up their noses, the tail of the aircraft hits land in front of the runway. The stern is torn from the fuselage. 50 passengers were injured, 6 were thrown from the aircraft. The pilot, experienced in automatic landing, had relied too much on the automation, which he had deactivated on the approach without realizing it. When pulling up, the Boeing 777 did not automatically increase the engine thrust.
123 3 High-rise disaster High rise catastrophe February 1, 2016 20th January 2016 El Al flight 1862
Due to metal fatigue or material defects, the Boeing 747-200F on the flight engine four (far right) broke on October 4, 1992 . As they took off shortly before in Amsterdam , engine four briefly gave full thrust and dragged engine three (right inside) with it. This damaged the right wing and two of the four hydraulic systems. This caused the plane to tip over to the right, but the pilots were able to intercept the plane. When the pilots extended the flaps to slow the aircraft down, it caused another tilt to the right. As a result, the plane crashed into a residential building. 43 people, including the four crew members, died.
124 4th Race against fire Fatal delivery January 11, 2016 January 27, 2016 UPS Airlines flight 6
September 3, 2010: A Boeing 747-400 crashes on the way from Dubai International Airport to Cologne-Bonn Airport near Dubai Airport. Both crew members were killed. The machine was reversed after the crew reported smoke in the cockpit. It was the first fatal crash at UPS Airlines. The crash was followed by an investigation into the safety procedures in the event of smoke in the cockpit. Lithium-ion batteries had ignited in the hold .
125 5 Crash or attack? Deadly Mission February 29, 2016 3rd February 2016 Air accident involving UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld
September 18, 1961: In the "Albertina" mission, a DC-6 brushes against trees on its approach to land on Ndola in Zambia and burns out on the ground. Everyone on board is killed, including Dag Hammarskjöld . It is about peace and reunification of the divided Congo , from which the uranium, which was used for various atomic bombs, originates. Since the mission was secret, the radio is hardly used. Remains of wristwatches from the rubble reveal that they stopped 3 minutes after the last radio message. It is quickly suspected that Hammarskjöld was the victim of an attack. Bullets are found on some corpses and cartridge cases are sifted from the floor of the crash site. Investigators realize they weren't fired, but were set on fire. It was only 50 years later that it was recognized that the overtired pilots, who had flown a detour for safety reasons, had not marked the hill they fell into on the map. This also fits in with the realization that they had lost sight of the lights of the highway during the night.
126 6th Deadly stopover Edge of disaster February 22, 2016 February 10, 2016 Atlantic Airways Flight 670
On the morning of October 10, 2006, a BAe 146 -200 landed in Stord after a 15-minute commuter flight and shot over the rain-wet runway with a tailwind, fell down a wooded slope and burned out. Four of the 16 people on board died. The spoilers could not be extended, which makes the brakes ineffective at landing speed due to lift. Tire parts were found on the runway. The ABS did not work, whereupon the tires blocked, heated up on the underside and slid along a layer of vapor that formed on the rain-soaked runway.
127 7th Fatal delay Deadly Delay March 7, 2016 17th February 2016 Spanair flight 5022
August 20, 2008: An MD-82 takes off for the second flight that day in Madrid with 166 passengers and 6 crew members for Gran Canaria . When it is finally in the air, it pulls to the right and, due to lack of buoyancy, comes to the ground, continues to slide until the hull hits a river bed and breaks. Only 18 survive. Before take-off there was a problem with a faulty outside temperature sensor, which is necessary for the automatic engine control. A technician deactivated this circuit. In one engine, the thrust reverser had been deactivated for safety's sake. Before the start checklist had been processed again, the master interrupted the co-pilot. The remaining point was to put the flaps at 11 °. The automatic warning for this was also in the deactivated circuit and thus did not occur. The flaps had been retracted on the tarmac before take-off. The air conditioning fought against the 40 ° C outside temperature. The airline's financial bottlenecks and a delay increased the pressure on the pilots.
128 8th Surprising findings Fatal Focus 4th January 2016 February 24, 2016 Garuda Indonesia Flight 200
March 7, 2007: A Boeing 737 touched down several times at Yogyakarta Airport and burned out in a rice field behind the runway. The flooded rice field is an obstacle for the rescue workers. 21 people die on board. The 737 landed at 400 km / h - the optimal landing speed is 260 km / h. The landing flaps were only at 5 °. The copilot hadn't extended it any further because the captain was flying too fast. Communication in the cockpit was indifferent, as each pilot was busy with his own tasks. Shortly before touchdown, the co-pilot asked the master to take off. The captain only repeated the question of whether the co-pilot had worked through the landing checklist.
129 9 Dramatic landing Steep Impact January 25, 2016 March 2, 2016 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311
April 5, 1991: An Embraer EMB 120 disembarks to land in Brunswick, Georgia . A toothing worn due to different material hardnesses overrides the automatic angular position of the left propeller and lets it lock at 3 °, which creates a braking effect at airspeed, causing the machine to roll and fall steeply into a forest. The construction should put the failure of the automatic angular position in a safe position, which could not withstand real operation in turbulence. All inmates die, including John Tower and Sonny Carter .
130 10 Crash over Sao Paulo Carnage in Sao Paulo 15th February 2016 March 9, 2016 TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight 402
October 31, 1996: A Fokker 100 tips over to the right after taking off in Sao Paulo and crashes into a residential area. All people on board and some on the ground die 25 seconds after take-off. The automatic thrust control is already switched off on the runway. When the machine is in the air, the thrust reversing flaps of the right engine open due to a defective sensor on the landing gear. The thrust of the engine is automatically switched to idle. The first officer, who was not trained for this and had only been admitted to the aircraft for a week, misinterpreted this and repeatedly set the engine to full thrust. A pull rope breaks and the captain has no chance of regaining control of the engine.

Season 16

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
131 1 Deadly silence Deadly Silence June 7, 2016 September 7, 2016 Learjet 35 crash near Aberdeen in 1999
October 25, 1999. On the way from Orlando to Dallas, a private jet with golf legend Payne Stewart suddenly goes off course. Air traffic controllers try in vain to reach the crew on board. As the plane drifts away from its intended route, it becomes clear that something must have gone terribly wrong on board. US Air Force fighter jets set off to intercept the aircraft. But in the air, the shocked pilots realize that the machine with its iced-up windows and darkened interior now seems to be a kind of ghost plane.
132 2 Pentagon 9/11 Inside 9/11: The Pentagon Attack June 14, 2016 11th September 2016 American Airlines Flight 77
September 11, 2001. Shortly after take-off in Washington DC, terrorists storm the cockpit and steer the plane straight into the Pentagon. Part of the building of this symbol of US military power goes up in flames. At that time, kidnappers in New York had already steered two planes into the twin towers of the Word Trade Center. The terrorist attack on that sunny September morning shook the United States to the core and killed over 3,000 people. The FBI immediately launched the largest investigation in American history.
133 3 Misfortune in Tenerife Disaster At Tenerife June 21, 2016 September 14, 2016 Tenerife air disaster
March 27, 1977: On the Los Rodeos airport collided a takeoff Boeing 747-206B of KLM ( air vehicle registration PH-BUF , baptismal name "Rijn") in dense fog with a Boeing 747-121 of the Pan Am (Mark N736PA , "Clipper Victor" ) that was still on the runway . The KLM machine started without clearance and collided with the Pan-Am machine, which was still rolling on the runway, while it was taking off. In this worst civil aviation disaster to date without direct terrorist involvement and the second worst ever, 574 people were killed; Only 70 of the occupants of the Pan-Am plane survived the accident, of which 9 later died from the consequences of the accident. Impaired visibility, time pressure and 55 t of refueled fuel from KLM as well as inadequate and ambiguous communication between the pilots of the KLM aircraft and the control room in the tower contributed to the accident . At Gran Canaria Airport, explosives set by separatists exploded, which is why air traffic was diverted to Los Rodeos. When the KLM refueled, more time passed in which the fog had become thicker. The flight engineer and co-pilot had their license with the captain, who made this decision and did not dare to object more directly.
134 4th A deadly detail Deadly detail June 28, 2016 September 21, 2016 China Airlines Flight 120
August 20, 2007 After a one-hour flight from Taiwan to Okinawa, the Boeing 737-800 lands in Japan. The pilots park them at the gate and turn off the engines. Then fire breaks out on one wing and spreads to the rest of the machine. As if by a miracle, all inmates escape and survive the inferno without injury. Investigators are puzzled. Meticulous analysis showed that a washer that was lost in the course of retrofitting changed the mechanism for extending the flaps so that it bored into the wing tank.
135 5 Fatal detour Deadly Detour 5th july 2016 September 28, 2016 Proteus Airlines Flight 706
July 30, 1998: In order to give their passengers a glimpse of the SS France, the largest passenger ship in 1962 , the pilots fly to Lorient Bretagne Sud airport in a low loop around the Bay of Quiberon at the request of a passenger . While preparing to land, the Beechcraft 1900 breaks in midair without warning. Wreckage and all 14 people on board fall into the sea. A local journalist on another plane takes pictures of the wreck falling from the sky. Although there are thousands of eyewitnesses, no one has the slightest idea what the cause was. When the investigators of the BEA find red-painted wreckage, they identify a lost Cessna that was flying with the transponder switched off. The evaluation of the FDR of 1900 shows that the Cessna disappeared under the windows of the 1900 at an inclination of 17 °. The 1900 disappeared behind the A-pillar of the Cessna. When the 1900 became visible again, the retired pilot had no chance to evade. All actions of the sufficiently experienced pilots were within the legal framework. They communicated with different air traffic controllers on different frequencies and did not hear each other.
136 6th Crash in the cold Dangerous approach July 12, 2016 5th October 2016 Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286
January 19, 1988. A commuter plane takes off 40 minutes late from Stapleton International Airport , Denver. Five miles from Durango-La Plata County Airport , the aircraft crashes into the Rocky Mountains on approach in icy weather and poor visibility . Nine out of 17 people on board die, including both pilots. FDR was not required for the machine; she didn't have one. After the investigators found no technical cause, they investigated the pilots. They followed the advice of a survivor and tested the blood of the killed pilots for alcohol. In response to an anonymous call, a more elaborate test was arranged which showed that the captain had taken cocaine and, according to the statement made in the anonymous call, had not slept enough the night before. On this fourth flight, fatigue and the effects of cocaine caught up with him, so that he did not adequately monitor the flying co-pilot. The co-pilot had previously been dismissed from another airline due to a lack of instrument flying skills. Runway 20 without ILS was chosen at the request of the crew.
137 7th Crash in the Alps Murder in the Skies 23rd January 2017 January 25, 2017 Germanwings flight 9525
On March 24, 2015, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz committed suicide by crashing the Airbus A320 in the Alps. He had locked the captain out of the cockpit, which was secured against terrorists after 9/11 . Investigators found that Lubitz was suffering from depression . Efforts have been made to restrict medical confidentiality . The regulation implemented by US airlines that basically two people must be in the cockpit had not been implemented.
138 8th Landing on the river River runway January 30, 2017 1st February 2017 Garuda Indonesia Flight 421
January 16, 2002: A Boeing 737 approaching Yogyakarta with 55 passengers sees rain on the radar, which turns out to be a super thunderstorm cell due to radar shadows and brings it into severe turbulence. Both CFM56 fail . Attempts to start fail. When the APU starts , all power fails. When the 737 came out of the storm cloud, it missed a possible airport. A river becomes the only landing possibility within reach of the sailing 737. A 360 ° turn is flown by hand to meet the river between two bridges. Hail the size of a tennis ball had damaged the engines and the nose, in which the radar is installed, and triggered a ground warning at 18,000 feet due to the deformation. One cell of the 24 V on-board battery had failed. After attempting to start the engines, it was no longer sufficient to start the APU. The emergency landing claimed a human life.
139 9 Lost in Indonesia Deadly Solution February 6, 2017 February 8, 2017 Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
December 28, 2014: An Airbus 320 on its flight to Singapore suddenly rolls repeatedly to the left. There was a steep climb, followed by stall and fall into the sea. A failed ditching was not ruled out. Nobody on board survived. Due to a bug in rudder limitation (ITLU), the machine had many flights. The crew had taken many devices from the power supply due to repeated warnings. These took over essential functions of the autopilot. In the panic, contradicting instructions were issued and the captain did not press the button long enough to take control. Both steered the aircraft in an uncoordinated manner.
140 10 Fatal start in Afghanistan Afghan Nightmare February 13, 2017 15th February 2017 National Airlines Flight 102
A civil Boeing 747 Cargo, loaded with heavily armored military vehicles, takes off from Bagram Air Base , Afghanistan. On an Oshkosh M-ATV in the rear of the 747, the lashing straps do not hold. In the ascending machine, the 12 t vehicle crashes through the rear inner wall of the 747, disables the FDR / CVR and damages the hydraulics. A photographer took some pictures. Then a video appears on the Internet that shows the crash. Traces of paint from the FDR and clear deformations of the inner wall show that the vehicle had come loose. What eyewitnesses described as smoke was the leaking hydraulic oil. Before the 747 touched the ground, the nose wheel was extended, the main landing gear was not, which proved the failure of the hydraulics. On the previous flight, the CVR showed that a damaged tension belt had been found. Everyone on board perished.

Season 17

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
141 1 Crash in Minnesota Killer attitude 20th February 2017 1st March 2017 Northwest Airlink Flight 5719
December 1, 1993: At night from Minneapolis approaching Hibbing , Minnesota the runway is approached from the other side due to the wind and weather conditions. She has not installed an ILS there. The runway lighting is expensive, which is why it is switched on from the aircraft. When the captain instructs the co-pilot to turn on the lights in front of the runway, they do not see them. The co-pilot had only briefly pressed the button several times, which was insufficient for the receiver to recognize the signal. Shortly afterwards, the BAe Jetstream 31 brushed the trees and fell. All inmates are killed. To avoid icing, the runway was approached more steeply. In addition, the descent had been initiated five miles later than usual. That surprised the investigators. The experienced pilot is known to have been an aggressive choleric . The shy 25-year-old co-pilot did not dare to contradict and did not draw the pilot's attention to the altitude. The pilot had insulted him several times.
142 2 Looking for answers Deadly Myth February 27, 2017 March 8, 2017 Comair flight 3272
January 9, 1997: In front of Detroit, an Embraer EMB 120 reduced the speed to 190 knots on instructions from air traffic control in order to allow an Airbus to land first. When the speed has to be increased again due to a lack of buoyancy, the effect does not occur. The autopilot switches off due to the situation. The machine rolls to the left and falls vertically to the ground. All 29 people on board die. Ice had already formed on the wings. Due to contradicting instructions to switch on the de-icing immediately or only after a certain ice formation, which was subsequently withdrawn by the manufacturer but not implemented by Comair, the pilots had not yet switched it on.
143 3 A deadly flight Turning point March 6, 2017 15th March 2017 Air China Flight 129
April 15, 2002: After almost 2 hours from Beijing to Busan , South Korea, a Boeing 767 is diverted from runway 36L to 18R. It's the same orbit from a different direction. The loop, which is new to the pilots, they fly too fast and get off course. When the machine crashes into a wooded hill that it would not have approached if the course had been adhered to, 129 of the 166 people on board were killed. Air China then classified the Korean airport as difficult and explicitly trained pilots in the simulator on the maneuvers to be expected there.
144 4th From track to track Explosive proof March 13, 2017 22nd March 2017 Trans-World Airlines Flight 800
July 17, 1996: A 25-year-old Boeing 747 takes off from JFK for Charles de Gaulle Airport 80 minutes late . The cause of the delay was the luggage of a passenger who allegedly did not get on board. But then it turns out that the passenger has been on board the whole time and the machine starts. It explodes in midair 20 miles beyond Long Island . The cockpit and muzzle are torn from the fuselage and crash. All 230 people on board die. There are trials against terrorists. Rumors are circulating that the US Army accidentally shot down the Boeing or that rocket launchers for Afghanistan that fell into the hands of terrorists were used to shoot down the machine. These should have been at sea to have the Boeing within range. The smallest traces of plastic explosives, with no trace of an explosion, turned out to be harmless: the police had previously rented the machine to train sniffer dogs. When investigators equip a 747 with temperature sensors with an almost empty tank, these temperatures are also retained in the air. In an experiment, the tank is recreated as a 1: 4 model, heated and ignited. It explodes in an attempt comparable to the wreckage found . Due to the short Atlantic crossing, the middle tank in the hull was almost empty. The air conditioning system installed directly next to it as standard warmed the almost empty tank well above the flash point of the Jet A fuel in it for 80 minutes . The cause was found to be the air conditioning that had been running on the ground for 80 minutes while the passenger was overlooked as the contents of the tank had heated up. Cables found had been damaged at the penetrations. High and low voltage cables were also laid in a bundle. This showed that the high voltage generated in the inverters of the interior lighting jumped to the cables of the tank sensors and ignited the mixture in the tank, which was heated above the ignition temperature . 7 tank explosions have been reported in the last 30 years. Including lightning, engine failure and sabotage. Boeing has been delivering with an inerting system in the tank ventilation since 2007 . Some airlines upgrade their existing machines.
145 5 Crash on Sumatra Lethal turn 5th September 2017 1st November 2017 Garuda Indonesia Flight 152
The thick smoke of a forest fire hangs in the air as Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 approaches Medan Polonia Airport in Sumatra. Actually there are only a few minutes left before landing. Due to the clouded view, however, the Airbus A300 goes off course and finally crashes in the middle of the jungle. All 234 people on board lost their lives on September 26, 1997. During the aircraft accident investigation it was found that the air traffic controller on duty had used a wrong radio call sign when announcing the direction of approach, which the crew therefore ignored. On the next radio message he did not repeat part of the information. The pilots were not aware of their position because of the thick smoke. Since they were used to making a left turn when approaching the airport, they flew one and thus towards mountainous terrain. Eventually the ground proximity warning system , which was supposed to warn the pilots of the existing collision, failed .
146 6th Deadly rain Storming out 12th September 2017 4th October 2017 USAir flight 1016
US Airways Flight 1016 runs into unexpected problems as it approaches Charlotte Airport in North Carolina. As if out of the blue, the pilots are confronted with a storm, the rains of which are so heavy that they take away their entire view. For safety reasons, they cancel the landing in order to make another lap. Nevertheless, shortly afterwards the machine crashes into a field. Of the 52 passengers, 37 die and both pilots survive. The investigation finally revealed that the storm was only part of the disaster.
147 7th Crash in the river Caught on tape 19th September 2017 18th October 2017 TransAsia Airways Flight 235
The dashboard camera of a passing car captures terrifying images of the crash of Flight 235 of the Taiwanese TransAsia Airways: Shortly after take-off from Taipei-Songshan Airport, the plane tilts to the left, brushes the surface of an expressway with its wing and crashes into the a few kilometers away Keelung River. In its subsequent investigation, Taiwan's Aviation Authority will have to deal with a number of unanswered questions. The more traces she discovers, the more mysterious the misfortune appears to her.
148 8th Terror over Egypt Terror over Egypt 18th September 2017 27th September 2017 Kogalymavia flight 9268
Russia's President Vladimir Putin personally protested retaliation for an attack on civil aviation: On October 31, 2015, a plane carrying Russian tourists took off from Sharm el-Sheikh airport in Egypt - and crashed over the Sinai Peninsula just 20 minutes later. 224 people lose their lives. While an international team of investigators arrives at the scene of the accident, the terrorist organization Islamic State is committed to the attack. But the evidence casts doubt. A complex investigation into the incident will be initiated immediately.
149 9 Deadly mistake Deadly Discussions 3rd October 2017 October 25, 2017 LAPA flight 3142
One of the most serious accidents in Argentine aviation history occurred on August 31, 1999: shortly after taking off from Buenos Aires-Jorge Newbery Airport, Flight 3142 began to tumble violently. Moments later, the plane belonging to the Líneas Aéreas Privadas Argentinas company fell to the ground, breached the airport boundary, slid along an expressway and went up in flames. Due to their general lack of discipline in the cockpit, the flight crew had overlooked the fact that they had forgotten to correctly set the lift aids for take-off. Although a high-pitched warning signal sounded when accelerating, which drew the crew's attention to their mistake, they did not abort the take-off process. 63 of the 100 occupants of the machine and two people on the ground were killed.
150 10 The lost plane The Lost Plane October 10, 2017 October 11, 2017 Thai Airways Flight 311
On the way to Kathmandu, the Airbus of flight 311 from Thai Airways crashes on a remote rock face in the Himalayan Mountains - at an altitude of 3,300 meters. The crash site is beyond the planned route and air traffic control cannot provide the investigators with any clues as to where the machine was last on the radar. During the time-consuming search it finally turns out that the aircraft crashed into a mountain north of Kathmandu - an area that is actually taboo for scheduled flights. Why did the pilots steer there anyway?

Season 18

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
151 1 Emergency landing in California Nuts and Bolts 1st March 2018 February 21, 2018 Emery Worldwide Flight 17
February 16, 2000: With the destination Dayton, an uncontrollable DC-8 Cargo has to make an emergency landing immediately after taking off from Sacramento Mather Airport . The pilots find it difficult to maneuver the machine, which keeps breaking up and down, in the direction of the runway. The flight ends with the crash in a junkyard 2 km from the runway in Mather. The course of the accident can only be found after lengthy examinations of the aircraft wreck. An elevator had become uncontrollable and killed three people on board. The maintenance error ended with the license withdrawal.
152 2 A fatal landing Blown Away February 22, 2018 February 28, 2018 TransAsia Airways Flight 222
On July 23, 2014, the weather-related delayed landing of flight 222 of TransAsia Airways failed. The plane first circled over Formosa Street to wait for a storm. When the ATR 72-500 approaches the airport of the Penghu Archipelago, it collides with several trees and crashes into a village near the airport when visibility deteriorates within a few minutes. Ten out of 58 people on board survive. The overtired pilots had flown more to fulfill all flight orders, while the relieving hiring of new pilots did not take place. TransAsia soon ceased operations due to high losses.
153 3 Airplane on fire Deadly distraction March 8, 2018 March 7, 2018 Delta Air Lines flight 1141
August 31, 1988: When taking off from Dallas-Fort Worth, the Boeing 727-232 Advanced of Flight 1141 of Delta Airlines does not gain altitude, touches down with its tail and right wing and catches fire after impact with the ground. Of 108 people on board, 94, some seriously injured, manage to escape from the machine, which quickly fills with smoke; 14 die in the fire. Accident investigators found a specially installed warning system to be defective, which should have avoided the accident but did not work. It should have prevented the careless going through the checklist not to open the flaps to 15 ° at the start.
154 4th Shot down in Ukraine Deadly airspace 15th February 2018 March 14, 2018 Malaysia Airlines flight Jan.
On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 no longer answered in the contested east of Ukraine. All 298 people on board the Boeing 777 die. 160 civil aircraft had flown through this airspace on the same day, which was only closed below. The Dutch investigators are initially not allowed to go to the scene of the accident. Every step of the way is accompanied by the military. The destruction pattern of the wreckage scattered over several km² can be assigned to an anti-aircraft missile .
155 5 Shattered on the volcano Deadly display 15th March 2018 March 21, 2018 Sukhoi Flight 36801
October 9, 2012: During a demonstration flight in Indonesia, a Russian civilian Sukhoi Superjet 100 , which was marked as a military aircraft, collides with the Salak volcano , which is notorious as an “aircraft graveyard”. The 45 people on board, including representatives of the manufacturer, potential Indonesian customers and journalists, are killed in the impact with the mountain. Aircraft accident investigators recognize an overloaded air traffic controller, a largely omitted briefing and a map not on board on which the volcano was not drawn, as well as a distracted pilot who did not trust the automatic warning “Low Terrain” due to the visibility.
156 6th VSS Enterprise crash Deadly Mission March 22, 2018 March 28, 2018 VSS Enterprise
October 31, 2014: Two pilots from Virgin Galactic complete a test flight with a new aircraft over the California Mojave Desert for the planned commercial space tourism . When the VSS Enterprise is disengaged from its carrier aircraft at an altitude of around 15 kilometers and accelerates, everything still seems to be normal. After 90 seconds the machine breaks into pieces. One of the two pilots can save himself with the parachute. The accident investigation shows that a braking system known as spring mode was prematurely unlocked.
157 7th Freefall Free Fall June 15, 2018 29th August 2018 Qantas Flight 72
Qantas Airways Flight 72 was flying from Singapore to Perth on October 7, 2008 , when the Airbus 330 unexpectedly took a dive at around 11,300 meters. Unbelted passengers hit the ceiling of the aircraft with full force. A third of the people on board suffer serious injuries. The captain manages the emergency landing on the tarmac at RAAF Base Learmonth . Australian investigators are puzzled and cannot find a cause. They find out that similar situations occurred with the same aircraft at a similar point, but with minor consequences, and they simulate the flight as a test, but without result. You can see a vague anomaly in the software that could explain the many error messages the pilot received.
158 8th A hidden flaw Deadly Inclination June 22, 2018 5th September 2018 Alitalia flight 404
On November 14, 1990, Alitalia flight 404 flies from Milan to Zurich in a controlled manner against the Stadlerberg in Switzerland. Due to an incorrect display of the ILS, which instead of indicating the failure still shows values ​​that appear plausible. The experienced pilot believes this more from his co-pilots who have only been employed for one year. It plays out the hierarchy in the cockpit and rejects the co-pilot's request to take off on the approach because the runway is not in sight. All 46 people die on board.
159 9 Mysterious events Deadly Go-Round June 27, 2018 September 12, 2018 China Airlines Flight 140
The Airbus A300 from China Airlines Flight 140 cannot be steered onto the runway in Japan. When the pilots do not reach their destination, they try to take off, whereupon the Airbus lifts its nose and slams the ground like a pancake with a stall. Only 7 passengers survive. After long investigations it turns out that the machine had been switched to go-around mode by mistake. The outdated software restricted the pilots' control so that they did not recognize the consequences of operating errors. They had been trained on aircraft and simulators that behaved differently and therefore had no experience of recognizing incorrect operation.
160 10 Crash in winter Dead of winter 4th July 2018 19th September 2018 Continental Airlines Flight 1713
A snow storm in Denver delays the departure of a DC-9 on Continental Airlines Flight 1713 from Stapleton International Airport . After taking off, the machine tilts and falls. 54 survive, 28 die. After de-icing, the DC-9 is in the queue with seven minutes over time and has to be faster to take off. This is consumed by the copilot pulling the machine too high and losing the necessary speed again. Lack of communication with the tower caused confusion and delay in departure. Both errors in total led to the crash. For the pilots, the task turned out to be new, for which they lacked experience.

Season 19

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
161 1 Dangerous descent Deadly Descent 2nd January 2019 March 27, 2019 Cathay Pacific Flight 780
On April 13, 2010, an Airbus A-330 flies from Surabaya to Hong Kong . Both of the Rolls-Royce Trend 700 engines fail. The one on the left can only be started carefully after several attempts and prevents ditching. When approaching Hong Kong, it continues to deliver 74% thrust, contrary to the thrust lever position. The pilots manage to bring the machine to a stop before the end of the runway. Investigations show that particles from the filter of a tank truck got into the fuel and impaired the valves of the fuel supply. In Surabaya the machine had refueled 24.4 t. Construction work on the airport's tank supply lines had caused the ingress of salt water, which the tank truck's filter could not withstand. It was only designed for the separation of condensation water.
162 2 Air races to death Death Race January 7, 2019 February 6, 2019 Reno Air Race 2011 plane crash
On September 16, 2011, the Reno Air Race , which has been taking place since 1964 , in the US state, Nevada, is canceled due to an incident. One event is the "Unlimited Race", in which converted aircraft fly. Jimmy Leeward's unbuilt North American P-51 , called The Galloping Ghost, crashes out of control at 800 km / h after 9 seconds at the edge of the 100,000 spectators and kills him and 10 people on the ground to their death. Tired screws that should have been replaced long ago tore off the trim tab of the left horizontal stabilizer, which threw the machine out of its trajectory and made the pilot unconscious with a force of 17 G. The "Unlimited Race" will continue to take place with better maintained and inspected machines.
163 3 Fatal chain of errors Fatal approach 16th January 2019 March 6, 2019 KLM flight 433
On April 4, 1994, a Saab 340 B takes off from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol . Due to a faulty oil pressure switch, the pilots assume a problem that does not exist. Before taking on the checklist, the pilot drives the right engine in question to idle without saying anything and forgets about the action. When the plane does not climb any further to fly over a storm, return to the departure airport with a pan-pan message over the radio. When taking off on the landing approach, the machine only rolls to the right, driven by the left engine at full load, and touches the ground. Two passengers and the pilot are killed.
164 4th Borderline Practices Borderline tactics January 14, 2019 February 13, 2019 American International Airways Flight 808
On August 18, 1993, a Douglas DC-8 Cargo was approaching Leeward Point Field , the military airport of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base . It is expected at 5 p.m. and hits 400 m before the taxiway 10 near the border, which is also referred to as taxiway 28 towards the interior of the area. The overtired three-person crew survived the crash caused by the stall, severely injured, as the cockpit was torn from the fuselage on impact. The pilot, completely exhausted, concentrates on the search for the defective beacon that marks the border with Cuba in order to find the airport and in the process deviates from course, which he tries in vain to correct.
165 5 Deadly tendency Deadly pitch January 21, 2019 20th February 2019 Fine Air Flight 101
On August 7, 1997, a DC-8 Cargo took off from Florida and raised its nose so much that neither countersteering nor adjusting the trim brought the aircraft under control. It crashes within the first mile of flight. A passer-by dies on the ground next to the four-man crew. After long investigations, the load can be identified as the cause. Due to an overhanging loaded pallet, the loading sequence was changed without the pilots being informed. In addition, not all pallets were secured and only the goods, but not the weight of the pallets themselves, were taken into account when determining the weight. The overloaded and incorrectly trimmed machine was not airworthy in this condition.
166 6th Dangerous climb Fatal climb January 28, 2019 February 27, 2019 TAROM flight 371
On March 31, 1995, an Airbus A-310 takes off from Bucharest Henri Coandă Airport for Brussels. After take-off, less than two kilometers from the airport, the Airbus bores six meters deep into the ground at 620 km / h at an angle of 80 °. All people on board are killed. Bomb threats and rumors spread. After 20 reports from pilots about a faulty automatic thrust of the machine and various unsuccessful attempts to repair it, the machine starts with the pilots knowing about the error. When the pilot fails after take-off and presumably suffers a heart attack, the co-pilot with the faulty machine is left to his own devices and in the shock of the event forgets to pay attention to the thrust levers, of which the left one resets itself to idle due to the error .
167 7th Got off the runway Runway runoff February 18, 2019 March 13, 2019 Continental Airlines Flight 1404
On December 20, 2008, Continental Airlines Flight 1404 comes off the runway and catches fire. A Boeing 737 takes off after a Beachcraft on runway 34R of Denver International Airport , which is the largest airport in the USA at 137 km². In the large area of ​​the airport and the nearby Rocky Mountains , unexpected cross winds arise in the local weather, which surprise the experienced pilot and lead him to prevent worse, which he was wrong with, but the cross winds that actually occurred no pilot of this machine could have intercepted .
168 8th Shocking mistakes Lethal limits February 25, 2019 20th March 2019 Aeroflot flight 821
169 9 Tragedy of footballers Football Tragedy 4th March 2019 3rd April 2019 LaMia flight 2933
170 10 Landing accident Slam dunk March 11, 2019 April 10, 2019 United Express Flight 6291
On January 7, 1994, a Handley Page Jetstream 41 short-haul aircraft flies from Washington, DC to Columbus, Ohio . The pilot, with over 3,600 hours of flight experience, asked to be allowed to climb to 15,000 feet after a warning of rough ice at 14,000 feet. The precautionary de-icing was also carried out by inflating the leading edges of the wings made of rubber. The pilot is planning a slam dunk , which is to maintain the flight altitude followed by a steep descent to avoid icing. Everything went according to plan. For the landing approach at Port Columbus International Airport , the air traffic controller instructs to reduce the speed to 170 knots. But the machine disappears from the air traffic controller's radar screen shortly before landing. Those with insufficient experience and training for this type of aircraft were not aware that they had switched off the automatic thrust control, whereupon the autopilot raised the nose of the aircraft and stalled. The response to the stall warning was inadequate; instead, the pilot asked the co-pilot what he had done. The plane hit a few trees and crashed into a building. It was occupied with 5 passengers in 29 seats, of which 3 survived the crash and were able to save themselves. The three-person crew and two passengers died.

Season 20

No.
( total )
No.
( St. )
German title Original title First broadcast in the United States German language first broadcast (D) bad luck
171 1 Explosion on impact Explosive touchdown January 9, 2020 January 22, 2020 Uni-Air flight 873
An explosion tears the hull of a Taiwanese passenger plane that had recently landed. Circumstances suggest a terrorist attack, but there is no residue of explosives on board.
172 2 Terrible collision Taxiway Turmoil January 16, 2020 January 29, 2020 Airplane collision at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in 1990
On December 3, 1990, a DC-9 and a Boeing 727 collide at Wayne County Airport in Detroit in thick fog. Eight people die. Could the accident have been prevented?
173 3 Accident in the Himalayas Kathmandu Descent January 23, 2020 5th February 2020 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268
A passenger plane from Pakistan suddenly gets into trouble in the Himalayas and crashes a little later on the rugged cliffs. When looking for the cause, the investigators initially feel in the dark.
174 4th Crash in the desert Icy Descent January 30, 2020 February 12, 2020 Sol Líneas Aéreas flight 5428
May 18, 2011: A plane from the Argentine airline Sol Líneas Aéreas is on its way to Comodoro Rivadavia. About 45 minutes after takeoff, she got into trouble and crashed shortly afterwards.
175 5 A survivor Atlantic ditching February 6, 2020 19th February 2020 Cougar Helicopter Flight 91
On March 12, 2009, a helicopter crashed on the way to an oil rig off the east coast of Canada. Only one in 18 passengers survived. Long investigations begin for the experts.
176 6th Impact in Sweden Impossible pitch February 13, 2020 February 26, 2020 West Air Sweden Flight 294
A cargo plane gets into an emergency in Swedish airspace and a little later hits its nose in the eternal ice of the Arctic. The investigations lead to shocking findings.
177 7th No warning No warning February 20, 2020 March 04, 2020 Trigana Air Service Flight 267
A turboprop aircraft is to bring around 50 passengers, including many commuters, from the Indonesian port city of Jayapura to the interior of Papua. A catastrophe ensues.
178 8th Death in the cockpit Cockpit killer February 27, 2020 March 11, 2020 Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique Flight 470
In November 2013, a LAM Mozambique Airlines plane crashed into a Namibian national park. The cause of the crash remains a mystery at first.
179 9 Crashed into the swamp Stormy cockpit March 05, 2020 March 18, 2020 Kenya Airways Flight 507
May 5, 2007: Despite a severe storm, a Boeing 737 at Douala Airport in Cameroon is given permission to take off. Shortly after take-off, the plane crashes over dense mangrove forest.
180 10 Landing tragedy Runway breakup March 12, 2020 March 25, 2020 AIRES flight 8250
On the way from the Colombian capital Bogotá to the Caribbean island of San Andrés, AIRES flight 8250 gets caught in a tropical storm and hits the runway shortly before reaching its destination.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Mayday aka Air Crash Investigation (a Titles & Air Dates Guide) , January 8, 2014. In: epguides.com. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  2. Cineflix Rights: Mayday Air Disaster . Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  3. Irene Klotz: Rocket plane's tail activated prematurely in fatal crash , Reuters . November 3, 2014. Accessed June 9, 2018.