Season 1


Season 1 originally aired in 2003 and consists of 6 episodes all dealing with airplane accidents. There were a total of 407 fatalities in this season.



 Episode 1 |  Episode 2 |  Episode 3 |  Episode 4 |   Episode 5 |  Episode 6  


Episode 1 - Racing the Storm


  • On 1 June 1999, American Airlines Flight 1420 tried to land at the Little Rock National Airport during a storm but overran the runway killing eleven people. The crash was caused by the crew not extending the spoilers during their pre-landing checks.
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Episode 2 - Unlocking Disaster


  • On 24 February 1989, United Airlines Flight 811 was flying above the Pacific Ocean when part of the right-side fuselage was ripped off, ejecting nine people from the aircraft and causing explosive decompression. The flight later landed safely at Honolulu without any more loss of life. An electrical short circuit caused the faulty cargo door to open, creating the explosive decompression.
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Episode 3 - Flying Blind


  • On 2 October 1996, shortly after takeoff the crew of Aeroperù Flight 603 were confused by false speed and altitude readings and contradictory warnings from the aircraft's air data system. In preparation for an emergency landing the crew descended the aircraft, but relying on false readings the crew went too far causing the aircraft to crash into the water, killing everyone on board. The false readings and contradictory warnings were caused by duct tape over the static ports; the duct tape was used to protect the ports during maintenance but was not removed afterwards.
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Episode 4 - Flying On Empty


  • On 24 August 2001, Air Transat Flight 236 ran out of fuel while flying over the ocean. The pilots safely glided and landed the aircraft at a naval base in the Azores. The fuel starvation was caused by improper maintenance work which allowed a hydraulic oil pipe and a fuel pipe to rub together resulting in the fracture of the fuel pipe causing a leak.
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Episode 5 - Cutting Corners


  • On 31 January 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261's trimmable horizontal stabilizer jammed and broke free from its control system and the aircraft dove inverted into the Pacific Ocean, causing the death of all on board. The stabilizer failed due to an improperly maintained jackscrew assembly.
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Episode 6 - Fire On Board


  • On 2 September 1998, a fire broke out on Swissair Flight 111 while in-flight, the fire kills the aircraft's vital systems and the aircraft crashed into the sea off Peggy's Cove with no survivors. The fire was caused by faulty wiring.
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  Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7
Season 8 | Season 9 | Season 10 | Season 11 | Season 12 | Spinoffs

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