TV-14Synopsis
Season 9 of Mayday (2003) is ready to watch online on iFILM — all eight episodes, first aired in 2010. The Canadian documentary keeps to its method: take a real crash, then rebuild it from flight recorders, transcripts and the witnesses who lived it.
A thread runs through this run — pilots against the machines they fly. Air France 296, one of the earliest computer-controlled A320s, drops into the trees at an airshow, and Air Inter 148 flies straight into a mountain after a single wrong figure goes into the autopilot. Around them sit crashes with older, blunter causes: the runway fire at Manchester, Northwest 255 stalling seconds after liftoff, a controller's mistake that puts USAir 1493 down on top of a waiting jet at Los Angeles. One episode reaches back to the Cold War and KAL 007, the Korean airliner shot out of Soviet airspace, and the firestorm that followed.
What sets this season apart are the cases nobody fully agreed on — the verdicts stay contested, and the show admits it. Stream Mayday Season 9 online on iFILM.
8 episodes
S9·E1Panic on the Runway (British Airtours Flight 28M)
On 22 August 1985, an engine of British Airtours Flight 28M fails during takeoff, puncturing a hole in the wing fuel tank and starting a fire. The crew successfully abandons the takeoff and stops the aircraft on the runway, but the fire spreads to the cabin. 55 people die before they can evacuate, mainly due to inhaling toxic smoke. The investigation found that fatigue of a part in the engine caused it to fail.
S9·E2Pilot vs Plane (Air France Flight 296)
On 26 June 1988, Air France Flight 296 fails to climb and crashes into trees after performing a flyby during an airshow at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, killing three people. The cause of this crash remains in dispute.
S9·E3Alarming Silence (Northwest Airlines Flight 255)
On 16 August 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 stalls as it lifts off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport and crashes just beyond the runway, killing 154 of the 155 people on board and two people on the ground. The investigation showed that the pilots failed to configure the aircraft's flaps and slats for takeoff.
S9·E4Cleared for Disaster (USAir Flight 1493)
On 1 February 1991, USAir Flight 1493 collides with a waiting SkyWest Airlines aircraft on the runway, killing 34 people. An air traffic controller mistakenly assigned the inbound Flight 1493 to land on a runway where SkyWest Flight 5569 was waiting to take off.
S9·E5Target Is Destroyed (Korean Air Lines Flight 007)
On 1 September 1983, during the Cold War, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down after violating Soviet airspace. The crew did not switch the autopilot from heading to INS mode following take off which caused the aircraft to deviate from its assigned flight path.
S9·E6Cold Case (Air Ontario 1363 and USAir 405)
On 10 March 1989, Air Ontario Flight 1363 crashes just after takeoff, killing 24 people. Three years later, on 22 March 1992, USAir Flight 405 also crashes just after takeoff in similar conditions to Flight 1363. The cause of the crashes was ice on the wings, which significantly reduced lift.
S9·E7The Final Blow (Air Inter Flight 148)
On 20 January 1992, Air Inter Flight 148 flies into a peak in the Vosges Mountains while circling to land at Strasbourg Airport, killing 87 people. An error made in programing the aircraft's autopilot, combined with a sudden wind change, caused it to descend more rapidly than expected.
S9·E8Cracks in the System (Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101)
On 19 December 2005, just seconds after takeoff from Miami, Florida, the right wing of Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 breaks off, causing the aircraft to crash into the sea, killing all 20 people on board. The causes of the crash were metal fatigue and poor maintenance.
26 seasons
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