The BEST episodes of Seconds From Disaster season 2

Every episode of Seconds From Disaster season 2, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Seconds From Disaster season 2!

Accounts of famous technological disasters and their subsequent investigations.

Last Updated: 9/16/2024Network: National GeographicStatus: Ended
Killer Quake (Kobe Earthquake)
star
9.38
45 votes

#1 - Killer Quake (Kobe Earthquake)

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/30/2005

On 17 January 1995, the Japanese city of Kobe was rocked by the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which destroyed buildings and killed over 1000 people and left thousands homeless. Why couldn't the top of the art equipment predict a disaster of this magnitude?

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Disco Bombing (The Bali Bombing)
star
9.19
43 votes

#2 - Disco Bombing (The Bali Bombing)

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/20/2005

Bali, located in Indonesia, is one of the most popular resorts in the world. But 202 die on the night of October 12, 2002, Muslim terrorists detonate several bombs in local nightclubs. Its the horror of 9/11 all over again.

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Mount St. Helens Eruption
star
8.73
41 votes

#3 - Mount St. Helens Eruption

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/26/2005

Mount St. Helens, in the countryside of Washington State, has been dormant for 123 years. But on May 1980, it suddenly erupts, killing 57. Why couldn't they predict it?

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Runaway Train (Paris Train Crash)
star
8.61
44 votes

#4 - Runaway Train (Paris Train Crash)

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/1/2005

In what was no doubt the worst rail incident in French history, a runaway train derails at Gare De Lyon Station, France, killing 56 people. Why did the train crash so horribly? Who is to blame?

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Hotel Collapse
star
8.59
44 votes

#5 - Hotel Collapse

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 9/27/2005

Hotel New World, budget hotel located in Singapore's Little India, collapses on 15 March, 1986. After a 7 day rescue operation, 17 people are rescued but 33 perish. Why did the hotel collapse? Was it sabotage? Or was it faulty maintenance?

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Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster
star
7.97
75 votes

#6 - Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/16/2005

On March 1987, the British Car Ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes off Zeebrugge killing 193. Why did this happen? Was it just a terrible blunder? Or something worse?

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TWA Flight 800
star
7.95
43 votes

#7 - TWA Flight 800

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/8/2005

17 July 1996. TWA Flight 800 leaves New York for Paris. Only 12 minutes into the flight, it explodes catastrophically, breaks in half, then plummets into the sea killing all 230 people on board. There was no mayday call from the crew. Rumours spread that the B-747 was downed by a misguided navy missile, sparking the biggest accident investigation in history.

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Alpine Tsunami
star
7.85
13 votes

#8 - Alpine Tsunami

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/5/2005

The Alpine village of Galtur, an avalanche buries 57 people in the snow. 31 of them die. But why did the avalanche occur in the first place? Were careless villagers to blame?

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Columbia's Last Flight (Space Shuttle Columbia)
star
7.70
102 votes

#9 - Columbia's Last Flight (Space Shuttle Columbia)

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/28/2005

June 28 Columbia's Last Flight (Space Shuttle Columbia) Space Shuttle Columbia disaster February 1, 2003 Texas, February 1, 2003. The Space Shuttle Columbia is re-entering orbit. But something goes horribly wrong and Columbia explodes. All 7 astronauts on board perish. When investigators learn of a small fault which occurred during take-off sixteen days earlier, they are convinced they have found a possible suspect.

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Motorway Plane Crash
star
7.64
14 votes

#10 - Motorway Plane Crash

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/12/2005

January 1989. British Midland Airways Flight 092, a Boeing 737, is landing at Kegworth, United Kingdom, when it crashes on the M1 motorway, killing 47 people. What went wrong? The B-737 is the most widely-used airliner in the world. Could mechanical failure be to blame? Perhaps human error? Or even sabotage?

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Crash Landing in Sioux City
star
7.44
18 votes

#11 - Crash Landing in Sioux City

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/13/2005

On 19 July 1989, the pilots of United Airlines Flight 232 are shocked to learn they have lost all control of the DC-10 after an engine failure and make an emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa, but in a dramatic crash, the aircraft breaks apart and catches fire with 111 lives lost out of the 285 on board. Why did the engine fail?

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Hindenburg Airship
star
7.31
13 votes

#12 - Hindenburg Airship

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/15/2005

When the zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire at Lakehurst, 35 of the 97 on board and one member of the ground crew are killed. Was the most infamous airship disaster caused by a ticking time bomb smuggled on board? Or was the Hindenburg itself a ticking time bomb?

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Puerto Rico Gas Explosion
star
6.80
15 votes

#13 - Puerto Rico Gas Explosion

Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/13/2005

The Humberto Vidal Shoe Store was just like any other. But one day in Puerto Rico, a gas explosion kills 33 and injures 69 people.

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