TV-14Synopsis
Mayday (2003), Season 10 — watch online on iFILM, six episodes from 2011. The tenth run of the Canadian documentary turns to the era of modern jets and glass cockpits, where the trouble often hides in the software as much as the sky.
Not every story here ends badly. Two are about survival: British Airways 38, nursed onto the grass at Heathrow with both engines stuck at idle, and the famous US Airways 1549 ditching on the Hudson after a flock of geese killed both engines — all 155 aboard walked away. The rest trace how control slips loose. Turkish Airlines 1951 stalls short of Schiphol, Crossair 3597 loses the runway in foul weather near Zurich, and Colgan 3407 falls onto a house outside Buffalo, where the inquiry points to exhausted pilots. The season closes with SAS 751, which broke into three pieces after ice tore through its engines — and somehow lost no one.
This batch sits closer to the present and runs more technical: autothrottle, sensors, the human factor in an automated cockpit. Stream Mayday Season 10 online on iFILM.
6 episodes
S10·E1Who's in Control (Turkish Airlines Flight 1951)
On 25 February 2009, Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 is on approach to land at Schiphol in Amsterdam, when it stalls and crashes 1.5 kilometres from the runway. Nine people, including the three cockpit crew members, are killed. A faulty radar altimeter caused the aircraft's flight control computer to automatically reduce engine thrust prematurely, and the flight crew failed to notice the resulting drop in airspeed until it was too late.
S10·E2The Heathrow Enigma (British Airways Flight 38)
On 17 January 2008, British Airways Flight 38 is on its final approach to land, when the autothrottles command increased thrust from the engines. The engines do not respond to the control inputs and remain at idle. The captain raises one notch of flaps to give the aircraft a few more feet of flying distance; it crash-lands just short of the runway without causing any fatalities. The fuel flow to both engines was restricted because of ice crystals causing a blockage in the fuel-oil heat exchangers.
S10·E3Cockpit Failure (Crossair Flight 3597)
On 24 November 2001, Crossair Flight 3597 crashes into a hill during final approach to Zurich, killing 24 of the 33 passengers and crew members on board. The cause of the crash was the pilot descending the aircraft below the minimum safe altitude for the approach.
S10·E4Hudson River Runway (US Airways Flight 1549)
On 15 January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 suffers a bird strike with a flock of Canada geese approximately 1.5 minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Both engines fail, and less than two minutes later, the crew members successfully ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River. All on board survive.
S10·E5Dead Tired (Colgan Air Flight 3407)
On 12 February 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 stalls at low altitude and dives into a residential area near Buffalo, New York. All on board and one person on the ground are killed. Several critical errors made by the flight crew might have been the result of their fatigue.
S10·E6Pilot Betrayed (Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751)
On 27 December 1991, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 crash-lands without loss of life in Gottröra moments after taking off due to both engines failing. Clear ice from the tops of the wings had been sucked into both engines, causing internal damage. An automatic system (of which the pilots were unaware) to increase the engines' thrust contributed to their failure.
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