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Mayday
Season 11
Episode 2

The Plane That Flew Too High (West Caribbean Airways Flight 708)

August 19, 2011

67.0%

Mayday - S11 - E2

On 16 August 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 stalls while cruising and crashes in rural Venezuela during a severe thunderstorm. Investigations revealed there were no faults with the engines. Pilot error led to the stall which was misinterpreted by the crew members, who took no recovery action until it was too late.

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Mayday: Season 11 - 13 Episode s

11x1 - Deadly Reputation (TAM Airlines Flight 3054)
August 12, 2011
On 17 July 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 careens off runway 35L at Brazil's Congonhas Airport, crashes at high speed into a warehouse adjacent to a filling station and explodes. A total of 199 people on board the aircraft and on the ground are killed. Incorrect engine throttle settings upon landing caused one engine to reverse thrust while the other increased power, resulting in the loss of control.
11x2 - The Plane That Flew Too High (West Caribbean Airways Flight 708)
August 19, 2011
On 16 August 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 stalls while cruising and crashes in rural Venezuela during a severe thunderstorm. Investigations revealed there were no faults with the engines. Pilot error led to the stall which was misinterpreted by the crew members, who took no recovery action until it was too late.
11x3 - Split Decision (Arrow Air Flight 1285)
August 26, 2011
On 12 December 1985, Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying troops of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, stalls and crashes just seconds after taking off from Gander International Airport in Canada, killing all 256 people on board. The cause of the crash remains disputed.
11x4 - Break Up Over Texas (Continental Express Flight 2574)
December 29, 2011
On 11 September 1991, Continental Express Flight 2574 is nearing the end of its intra-state flight from Laredo, Texas, to Houston. As the pilots are preparing to land, the aircraft tips into a dive and falls out of the sky as the left wing tears apart. All 14 people on board die. Improper maintenance caused a section of the horizontal stabilizer to break loose during flight, after which the pilots had no control.
11x5 - Munich Air Disaster (British European Airways Flight 609)
December 29, 2011
On 6 February 1958, British European Airways Flight 609, carrying members of the famed Manchester United association football team, club officials and journalists, crashes into a house about 300 meters from the end of the runway in Munich after it fails to become airborne, killing 23 of the 44 people on board. The cause of the crash was slush on the runway, which slowed the aircraft down and prevented it from reaching takeoff speed.
11x6 - Turning Point (Northwest Airlines Flight 85)
December 29, 2011
On 9 October 2002, Northwest Airlines Flight 85 is cruising above the Bering Sea, when the lower rudder segment suddenly deflects to the left. The pilots divert the aircraft to a successful emergency landing at Anchorage, Alaska, by using engine thrust for control. The incident was attributed to a fatigue failure of the rudder hydraulic control module, resulting in part of the module's metal casing breaking off.
11x7 - Bad Attitude (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509)
January 20, 2012
On 22 December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, en route from London Stansted Airport to Milan, Italy, crashes into a field about 55 seconds after taking off, killing all four crew members on board. The causes of the crash were the captain following the indications of a malfunctioning attitude indicator and lack of communication amongst the crew members.
11x8 - Blind Spot (PSA Flight 182)
January 27, 2012
On 25 September 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 collides with a light aircraft while approaching Lindbergh Field and crashes in a residential area in San Diego. All 137 people on both aircraft and seven people on the ground die.
11x9 - Under Pressure (Nigeria Airways Flight 2120)
February 3, 2012
On 11 July 1991, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 is taking off from Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport with 247 Nigerian Hajj pilgrims and 14 crew members on board. A tire bursts during the takeoff, starting a fire on the landing gear. The crew is unaware of the fire and retracts the gear after takeoff; and the fire spreads. Encountering problems, the crew then tries to return the aircraft to the airport, but it breaks up during flight and crashes about three kilometres from the runway.
11x10 - I'm the Problem (Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771)
February 10, 2012
On 7 December 1987, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, on a flight to San Francisco, crashes at the speed of sound on a mountainside in rural San Luis Obispo County, California. All 43 people on board are killed. Investigators found that passenger David Burke, a former USAir employee, took a gun on board the aircraft and shot the pilots in a murder-suicide plot to kill his former supervisor (who was also a passenger on board) after being fired from his job days earlier. USAir was in the process of merging with PSA at the time of the crash.
11x11 - Nowhere to Land (TACA Flight 110)
February 17, 2012
On 24 May 1988, TACA Airlines Flight 110, a near-new Boeing 737, flies through a thunderstorm and suffers a dual engine flameout. The captain, Carlos Dardano, manages to make a successful deadstick landing on a narrow grass levee in the Michoud area of eastern New Orleans.
11x12 - The Invisible Plane (The Linate Airport Disaster)
March 23, 2012
On 8 October 2001, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, carrying 110 people bound for Copenhagen, Denmark, is taking off at Milan's Linate Airport in thick fog. On the runway, it collides with an Air Evex business jet carrying four people bound for Paris, France. The airliner suffers major damage and crashes into a building shortly afterwards. All 114 people on board the two aircraft are killed, along with four on the ground. The crew of the business jet had made a wrong turn while taxiing in the fog and inadvertently taxied onto the runway.
11x13 - Impossible Landing (United Airlines Flight 232)
April 13, 2012
On 19 July 1989, the tail-mounted number two engine of United Airlines Flight 232 explodes, causing serious damage to the aircraft's hydraulic systems and leaving the flight controls unusable. By varying engine thrust, the pilots manage to crash-land the aircraft at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Iowa, saving the lives of 185 of the 296 people on board. The investigation traced the engine failure to a fatigue crack in the front fan disk which had developed from a defect introduced before the disk was even made, when the original titanium ingot used to make it was formed.

11x1 - Deadly Reputation (TAM Airlines Flight 3054)

11x2 - The Plane That Flew Too High (West Caribbean Airways Flight 708)

11x3 - Split Decision (Arrow Air Flight 1285)

11x4 - Break Up Over Texas (Continental Express Flight 2574)

11x5 - Munich Air Disaster (British European Airways Flight 609)

11x6 - Turning Point (Northwest Airlines Flight 85)

11x7 - Bad Attitude (Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509)

11x8 - Blind Spot (PSA Flight 182)

11x9 - Under Pressure (Nigeria Airways Flight 2120)

11x10 - I'm the Problem (Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771)

11x11 - Nowhere to Land (TACA Flight 110)

11x12 - The Invisible Plane (The Linate Airport Disaster)

11x13 - Impossible Landing (United Airlines Flight 232)

S0: Specials

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S9: Season 9

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S16: Season 16

S17: Season 17

S18: Season 18

S19: Season 19

S20: Season 20

S21: Season 21

S22: Season 22

S23: Season 23

S24: Season 24