The WORST episodes of Mayday
Every episode of Mayday ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Mayday!
Revealing the dark truth that aviation safety improves one crash at a time, Mayday investigates legendary aviation disasters to find out what went wrong and why. Based on cockpit voice recorders, accident reports and eyewitness accounts, every episode also features interviews, state-of-the-art CGI and gripping reenactments.
#1 - Tragic Takeoff (Comair/Delta Connection Flight 5191)
Season 21 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/18/2021
On 27 August 2006, Comair Flight 5191, operating for Delta Connection, crashes into a wooded area while taking off from Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky, killing 49 of the 50 people on board. The pilots lost situational awareness and inadvertently taxied onto the wrong runway.
#2 - Tree Strike Terror (American Airlines Flight 1572)
Season 22 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/20/2022
Facing a severe thunderstorm and a control tower shutdown, American Airlines 1572 suffers double-engine failure on final approach into Windsor Locks Airport in Connecticut.
#3 - Pitch Black (Air Illinois Flight 710)
Season 22 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/27/2022
On October 11, 1983, a routine 160 mile (245km) commuter flight from Springfield, Illinois, to Carbondale, Illinois, turns deadly when the Hawker Siddeley HS 748 the pilots were flying loses D.C. electrical power from both aircraft generators.
#4 - Turboprop Terror (Flagship Airlines Flight 3379)
Season 22 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/13/2022
After a turboprop crashes in North Carolina, investigators resort to a risky test flight—and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.
#5 - Peril Over Portugal (Martinair Flight 495)
Season 22 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/27/2022
A Martinair flight crashes in Portugal amid thunderstorms and heavy rain, and when investigators piece together the evidence the mystery only deepens
#6 - Holding Pattern (FlyDubai 981)
Season 22 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/20/2022
When Flydubai Flight 981 nosedives into the runway at Russia's Rostov airport, investigators uncover one of the most lethal traps in aviation.
#7 - Double Trouble (Trans-Air Service 671)
Season 22 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/13/2022
Rocked by an explosion that rips both right wing engines off the wing, the pilots of Transair 671 manage a miraculous landing at a French military airfield.
#8 - Stealth Bomber Down
Season 22 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/6/2022
When a two-billion-dollar Stealth Bomber crashes in Guam, it’s up to the US Air Force to investigate the most expensive aviation accident of all time.
#9 - Terror over Michigan (TWA Flight 841)
Season 22 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/30/2022
After a Boeing 727’s near-fatal nosedive over Michigan, investigators risk their own lives to determine why TWA Flight 841 fell out of the sky.
#10 - Deadly Delivery (UPS Airlines Flight 1354)
Season 21 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/6/2021
On 14 August 2013, UPS Airlines Flight 1354 clips the tops of trees and crashes into a hillside about one nautical mile short of the runway during final approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama.
#11 - Seconds From Touchdown (Propair Flight 420)
Season 21 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/30/2021
On 18 June 1998, Propair Flight 420 crashes while attempting to conduct an emergency landing at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport after an in-flight fire causes its left wing to fail.
#12 - Caught in a Jam (Ansett New Zealand Flight 703)
Season 21 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/23/2021
On 9 June 1995, Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 suffers a landing gear malfunction during final approach to Palmerston North Airport in New Zealand. The aircraft descends until it crashes into hilly terrain as the pilots try to resolve the problem.
#13 - Mission Disaster (Boeing KC-135 Incident)
Season 21 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/16/2021
After losing two engines near enemy territory, US Air Force pilots abort their refuelling mission and attempt to land their damaged plane.
#14 - Meltdown over Kathmandu (US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211)
Season 21 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/9/2021
On 12 March 2018, US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 skids off the runway, travels through the airport perimeter fence, and crashes into a football field during landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. 51 of the 71 people on board are killed in the accident.
#15 - Cabin Catastrophe (Southwest Airlines Flight 1380)
Season 21 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/2/2021
On 17 April 2018, Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 makes an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport after its left engine explodes. A passenger dies after being partially ejected from the aircraft. The engine failure was caused by a fatigue crack in a fan blade.
#16 - Running on Empty (Air Tahoma Flight 185)
Season 25 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/6/2025
An Air Tahoma cargo plane is within sight of a Cincinnati runway when both engines flame out and the turboprop crashes into a golf course.
#17 - Playing Catch Up (Execuflight Flight 1526)
Season 21 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/11/2021
On 10 November 2015, Execuflight Flight 1526 enters an aerodynamic stall and crashes into an apartment building and an embankment during final approach to Akron Fulton International Airport in Akron, Ohio. Both crew members and all seven passengers on board are killed in the crash.
#18 - North Sea Nightmare (Loganair Flight 6780)
Season 21 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/4/2021
On 15 December 2014, Loganair Flight 6780 starts an uncontrolled descent while on approach to Sumburgh Airport in Scotland. The pilots regain control and make an emergency landing at Aberdeen, with no fatalities. A lightning strike had disabled the aircraft's elevator controls.
#19 - Grounded: Boeing Max 8 (Lion Air Flight 610)
Season 21 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/25/2021
On 29 October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 enters a nosedive and crashes into the Java Sea shortly after taking off from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, on a flight to Pangkal Pinang. All 181 passengers and 8 crew members on board are killed in the crash.
#20 - Runway Breakup (AIRES Flight 8250)
Season 20 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/12/2020
On 16 August 2010, AIRES Flight 8250 crashes short of the runway while attempting to land at San Andrés, Colombia in a storm. The aircraft broke up into 3 pieces on the runway. 2 of the passengers died in the accident.
#21 - Stormy Cockpit (Kenya Airways Flight 507)
Season 20 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/5/2020
On 5 May 2007, Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes shortly after takeoff from a stopover in Douala, Cameroon. All 114 passengers and crew died in the accident.
#22 - No Warning (Trigana Air Flight 267)
Season 20 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/20/2020
A turboprop crashes into an Indonesian mountain, and while three systems could have prevented it, investigators must figure out why none of them did.
#23 - Impossible Pitch (West Air Sweden Flight 294)
Season 20 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/13/2020
A cargo jet plummets to earth in the Swedish Arctic. And as investigators pore over the evidence, a terrifying picture of chaos and confusion emerges.
#24 - Cockpit Killer (LAM Mozambique Flight 470)
Season 20 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/27/2020
When an African airliner mysteriously crashes, Namibian investigators rule out a host of possible causes before reaching a chilling conclusion.
#25 - Atlantic Ditching (Cougar Helicopters Flight 91)
Season 20 - Episode 5 - Aired 2/6/2020
A helicopter carrying offshore oil workers crashes into the ocean off the coast of Newfoundland and a far-reaching investigation reveals a fatal flaw.