Mayday: Season 12

2012 · 13 episodes · ★ 7.7

What Season 12 of Mayday

The season opens in Alaska with Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8. Propeller number 4 breaks off mid-flight, slices through the fuselage and jams the controls, and the pilots must regain control to make an emergency landing in Anchorage. Next, the series heads to Miami, where a cargo hold fire surprises the ValuJet crew, and to Chiang Kai-shek Airport, where a takeoff in the middle of a storm sends a Singapore Airlines plane onto the wrong runway. Each episode recreates the emergency with reenactments and archival footage, while pilots, experts and investigators explain what went wrong and how it could have been avoided.

13episodes

Aug 3, 2012premiered

Apr 15, 2013Latest episode

9.8 hrtotal runtime

Season 12 Episodes

12x01 Fight for Control (Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8)
Aug 3, 2012 · 45 min
On 8 June 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's propeller separates from the aircraft over Cold Bay, Alaska, causing an explosive decompression and loss of control. The pilots manage to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage, Alaska. The propeller fell into the sea, and the cause of the separation is undetermined.
Directing: George D'Amato · Writing: Michael Sheehan · Starring: Stuart Hughes, Evan Sabba, Brad Borbridge, Robert J. Tavenor
12x02 Fire in the Hold (ValuJet Flight 592)
Aug 10, 2012 · 45 min · ★ 7.4
On 11 May 1996, 10 minutes after takeoff, ValuJet Flight 592 crashes into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board. The cause was an in-flight fire which was started by the accidental triggering of a chemical oxygen generator improperly shipped as cargo.
Directing: Su Rynard · Writing: Christopher Blow · Starring: Janet Porter, David Huband, Jefferson Brown, Steven Bird
12x03 Caution to the Wind (Singapore Airlines Flight 006)
Aug 17, 2012 · 45 min · ★ 8.0
On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collides with construction equipment at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei while attempting to take off on the wrong runway in a typhoon. 83 of the 179 passengers and crew members perish. Investigators concluded that pilot error was the cause of the crash.
Directing: Ian Robertson · Writing: Armen Kazazian · Starring: Richard Tse, Jon De Leon, Richard Lee, Sean Baek
12x04 Pushed to the Limit (SilkAir Flight 185)
Aug 24, 2012 · 45 min
On 19 December 1997, SilkAir Flight 185, en route to Singapore, crashes into the Musi River in Indonesia after abruptly diving from its cruise altitude, killing all 104 passengers and crew members on board. The cause of the crash was disputed: a US investigation concluded that it was an act of murder–suicide by the captain; however, the Indonesian investigators were undetermined, and the Los Angeles Court concluded that it was a servo valve failure.
Directing: Karl Jason · Writer: Douglas Crosbie · Starring: Robert Lee, Chris Murray, Thet Win, Adriano Sobretodo Jr.
12x05 Blind Landing (TANS Perú Flight 204)
Aug 31, 2012 · 45 min
On 23 August 2005, TANS Perú Flight 204 attempts to make a landing at Pucallpa Airport, Peru, in a severe thunderstorm, but crashes into a muddy swamp four miles (6.4 km) away. The cause was the pilots not following visual flight rules that could have prevented the crash while the aircraft was being pushed by a downdraft.
Directing: Jim Donovan · Writing: Carl Knutson · Starring: Francisco Trujillo Avalos-Davidson, Michael Reventar, Sergio De La Rocha, Jorge Molina
12x06 Grand Canyon Disaster (United Airlines 718 and Trans World Airlines 2)
Jan 24, 2013 · 45 min · ★ 7.4
On 30 June 1956, United Airlines Flight 718 collides with Trans World Airlines Flight 2 over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. All 128 occupants on both flights are killed. At the time, it was the deadliest airline crash in history, and would lead to sweeping changes in the regulation of flight operations over the US.
Directing: Trevor Cornish · Writing: Richard O'Regan · Starring: James Downing, Curtis Caravaggio, Tony Nappo, Diana Bentley
12x07 Death of the President (2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154)
Jan 27, 2013 · 45 min · ★ 7.2
On 10 April 2010, a Polish Air Force VIP aircraft carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria Kaczyńska and other top officials, crashes short of the runway in a wooded area while on final approach to Smolensk North Airport in heavy fog and low visibility. All 96 passengers and crew members on board are killed.
Directing: Su Rynard · Writing: Armen Kazazian · Starring: Dylan Ramsey, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Stefen Hayes, Leonard Zgrablic
12x08 Catastrophe at OHare (American Airlines Flight 191)
Feb 25, 2013 · 45 min
On 25 May 1979, the left engine of American Airlines Flight 191 falls off moments after takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The aircraft crashes into an open field shortly thereafter, killing all 271 people on board and two people on the ground. The engine fell off because the pylon attaching it to the wing had suffered damage caused by improper maintenance procedures.
Directing: James Hyslop · Writing: Armen Kazazian · Starring: Howard Hoover, William MacDonald, Jim Codrington, Evert Houston
12x09 Lokomotiv Hockey Team Disaster (2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Air Disaster)
Mar 4, 2013 · 45 min · ★ 8.3
On 7 September 2011, an aircraft carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team crashes shortly after takeoff at Yaroslavl, Russia, killing all but one of the 45 occupants. The investigation found that the pilots were not properly trained on the aircraft type and mishandled the aircraft during the takeoff.
Directing: Marcus Valentin · Writing: Carl Knutson · Starring: Edward Zinoviev, Jasmin Geljo, Adrian Griffin, Steve Milkovic
12x10 Focused on Failure (United Airlines Flight 173)
Mar 11, 2013 · 45 min · ★ 7.8
On 28 December 1978, the crew of United Airlines Flight 173 is preoccupied with a landing gear problem as the aircraft circles in a holding pattern in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon. It runs out of fuel and crashes in a sparsely populated area, killing 10 and seriously injuring 24 of the 189 on board. According to the NTSB, the pilot failed to acknowledge the warnings of the remaining crew regarding the aircraft's fuel state, while the remaining crew failed to adequately communicate the situation. The NTSB recommendation from this event led to the industry-wide implementation of Crew resource management (CRM) protocols.
Directing: George D'Amato · Writing: Greg Gransden · Starring: Bill Lake, Donald Burda, Tim Gammon, Kerry Griffin
12x11 Heading to Disaster (Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409)
Mar 25, 2013 · 45 min · ★ 6.8
On 25 January 2010, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, en route to Addis Ababa, plunges into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport during a thunderstorm, killing all 90 people on board.
Directing: Michael Sinyi · Writer: Greg Beer · Starring: Martin Roach, Emmanuel Kakongo, Fuad Ahmed, Kamiran Aldeo
12x12 28 Seconds to Survive (Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518)
Apr 1, 2013 · 45 min
On 21 February 2008, Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518, en route from Mérida, Venezuela, to Caracas, veers off course and flies into the side of a mountain shortly after takeoff. All 46 passengers and crew members on board die. Investigators determined that the aircraft took off with inoperative navigation equipment due to the pilots' failure to do their pre-flight checklist.
Directing: P.J. Naworynski · Writer: Brian D. Young · Starring: Alex Karzis, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Anthony Cortese, Lenno Britos
12x13 Vanished (Air France Flight 447) Season Finale
Apr 15, 2013 · 45 min · ★ 8.6
On 1 June 2009, Air France Flight 447, a scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, stalls and crashes into the Atlantic Ocean while flying through a thunderstorm, killing all 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The causes of the crash were incorrect airspeed readings due to ice blockage of the aircraft's pitot tubes, inappropriate control inputs and the pilots not taking recovery action until it was too late.
Directing: Michael Sinyi · Writing: Michael Sheehan · Starring: Russell Ferrier, Ray Galletti, John Maillet, Stuart Clow