Mayday Season 2
Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.
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Mayday Season 2 Full Episode Guide
On 25 January 1990, Avianca Flight 52, a flight to New York City from Colombia, is delayed numerous times by bad weather en route and is dangerously low on fuel as it attempts a landing. Wind shear forces the crew to abort the approach just one mile from the runway. They initiate a go-around, but are directed back into a holding pattern by air traffic controllers who are unaware of the low fuel situation. The Boeing 707 then runs out of fuel, causing it to crash on Long Island near New York.
On 20 December 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 is en route to Cali, Colombia. The crew members are asked if they would like to perform a straight-in approach to Cali. The pilots accept the offer, but as they are making the necessary changes, they inadvertently remove the waypoints from the flight plan in their flight management system (FMS), causing them to become unsure of their exact position. The crew members' mistakes leads them to fly the aircraft into a 9,000 foot mountain near Buga. Only four passengers and a dog survive.
On 1 July 2002, Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 collides with DHL Flight 611 in German airspace near Überlingen. Flight 2937 is destroyed instantly, and the DHL cargo aircraft crashes shortly afterwards, killing all 71 people on board the two aircraft.
On 24 December 1994, Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport. The four terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris so they can blow up the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower, but the Algerian Army blocks the aircraft with vehicles and refuse to allow it to take off. Unable to carry out their plans, the terrorists kill three passengers over the next two days. The aircraft is then cleared to take off, but the crew diverts to Marseille Provence Airport. The hostage rescue team of the French Gendarmerie storms the aircraft, and after a gun battle in the cabin, the four hijackers are killed and everyone else is evacuated. It is described as "one of the most successful anti-terrorist operations in history."
On 21 August 1995, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 is climbing to its cruising altitude, when a blade on the left-side propeller comes off. The imbalance of the rotating propeller causes the engine to partly tear itself from its mounting, creating excessive drag. The aircraft rapidly loses altitude and crashes, killing nine people.
On June 10, 1990, the cockpit window blows out on British Airways Flight 5390, partially ejecting and injuring the captain through the hole. A member of the cabin crew clings to his legs as the co-pilot completes an emergency landing without any fatality. The captain is found to be still alive after being outside the cockpit for 21 minutes.
