Black Box Down

Join Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais as they share stories about their own experiences with air travel.

Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais are joined by Jon Risinger, host of The Real Canon, to discuss their favorite fictional airplane crashes and see how realistic they are.

A sightseeing group crashes into an Antarctic mountain. Air New Zealand Flight 901 takes passengers to Antarctica but the weather is not ideal for sightseeing. The flight descends below the clouds to get a better look but suddenly crashes into a mountain that was in their path. What series of events caused such a disaster? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

The Marshall University football team crashes just before landing. Southern Airways Flight 932 was bringing Marshall University's football team home after a game when the plane descends too early and crashes into a hillside. What caused the pilots to descend early? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A passenger flight stalls after takeoff, forty feet above the ground. Spanair Flight 5022 is attempting to takeoff for its second time. Seconds after leaving the ground, the plane begins to stall and bank to the right. What happened to make this flight stall so quickly? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

Two flights overrun the runway while trying to land and takeoff. Air France Flight 358 tries to land during a thunderstorm and Emirates Flight 407 tries taking off, but is too slow. What events led to these planes overrunning the runway? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A military fighter jet collides with a commercial passenger flight. Hughes Airwest Flight 706 is climbing to its cruising altitude when suddenly a military F-4 Phantom fighter jet collides with it. What happened that led to a military jet hitting a passenger flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A cargo door on a Boeing 747 bursts open as the plane is climbing to cruising altitude. United Airlines Flight 811 suffers a rapid decompression after the cargo door separates from the plane at 22,000 feet. What happened to make this door come off the plane and is the flight able to land safely? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A flat tire causes problems moments after takeoff. Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 takes off with a flat tire and starts to have pressurization problems and issues with other systems begin to develop. What happened to this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 747 tries to take off, but there is construction equipment on the runway. Singapore Airlines Flight 006 is trying to quickly take off to avoid a typhoon. As they are approaching take off speed, the captain sees something on the runway but it is too late. The 747 slams into construction equipment at a speed of 131 knots. What events led to this crash? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

After an engine fails on takeoff, the captain shuts down the wrong engine. Moments after take off, one of two engines on TransAsia Airways Flight 235 fails. In an attempt to fix it, the pilot mistakenly shuts down the only remaining engine. How does a mistake like this happen? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 747 suddenly explodes over New York. Trans World Airlines Flight 800 is climbing out of New York City when it suddenly bursts into flames, separates into pieces and falls to the Atlantic Ocean below. What caused this plane to suddenly explode? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais are joined by Blaine Gibson to share more of their air travel stories.

Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais are joined by Jon Grilz and Pacific Obadiah to talk about the realism of aviation in movies. Listen as they talk about Con Air, The Edge, and Die Hard 2 in this bonus episode of Black Box Down.

A DC-9 collides with a Piper Archer over Los Angeles. Aeromexico Flight 498 is approaching Los Angeles International Airport when suddenly a small Piper Archer airplane collides into it, sending it to a neighborhood below. How did these two planes hit each other? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 737 lands while another plane is on the same runway. USAir Flight 1493 is given a last minute runway change when on approach into Los Angeles International, but SkyWest Airlines Flight 5569 is on the same runway waiting for takeoff instructions. What events led to both of these planes being on the same runway at the same time? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 777 crashes in San Francisco just before the runway. Asiana Airlines Flight 214 has an unstabilized approach and crashes into a seawall just before the runway. What events led to this crash? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A passenger flight crashes just before the runway in Dallas. Delta Air Lines Flight 191 is on approach during a thunderstorm when it encounters a microburst that causes it to crash. What is a microburst and how does it cause something like this? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 747 suddenly disappears from radar over the Atlantic Ocean. Air India Flight 182 is operating normally at cruising altitude when the radar scope shows two other aircraft converge with this one. After a few moments only two radar blips remain on the screen and Flight 182 is missing. What happened to this airplane? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 727 is rolling down the runway when a DC-9 suddenly appears in its path. Northwest Airlines Flight 299 is on the ground at Detroit's Wayne County Airport on a very foggy day. As Flight 299 starts to take off, Flight 1482 appears in front of them on the runway. How did both these planes end up on the runway at the same time? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 737 suddenley dives to the ground while flying over Indonesia. SilkAir Flight 185 was operating normally when Air Traffic Control notices a severe loss of altitude from the plane on their radar. Some investigators conclude they could not find a reason for the crash, but others think the crash was intentional. What happened to this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

The pilots on two separate flights become negligent while flying their planes. Aeroflot Flight 6502 is approaching the airport when the Captain makes a bet with the First Officer that he can land without looking. Northwest Airlines Flight 188 is supposed to land in Minneapolis but the pilots become distracted and fly past the airport. What happened to both of these flights? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

An Airbus A330 loses engine power while over the Atlantic Ocean. Air Transat Flight 236 is at cruising atltitude when the pilots realize something is wrong with the plane. As they are working out the problem, they lose thrust in both engines. The closest place to land is an island 65 miles away. What happened to this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

The brand new Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes in Indonesia. Lion Air Flight 610 has trouble right after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia. With innacurate speed and altitude indications, both pilots fight with the plane to try and stop it from diving to the ocean below. What made this plane crash? Find out in this episode of Black Box Down.

Gustavo tells the history of Trijets to Chris. Learn why three engine airplanes were developed and why we don't see them anymore in this bonus episode of Black Box Down.

An engine falls off an airplane as it is taking off. American Airlines Flight 191 has just reached takeoff speed when the engine falls off the airplane. What caused the engine to leave the aircrat and what happened to this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A flight around the world mysteriously crashes in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Pan Am Flight 7 was on its way to Hawai'i while making several radio check ins. After failing to check in, search and rescue began and it was discovered the plane crashed North of its planned course. What happened on board this plane that led it to crash? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A fire rages midflight above the cockpit. Swissair Flight 111 is one hour into their flight when the crew starts smelling smoke. A fire has started in the area above the cockpit and causes the plane to crash into the ocean. What what the cause of this fire? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

The captain and first officer get overwhelmed and crash the airplane. Aeroflot Flight 821 is approaching its destination when the two pilots get confused and overwhelmed. The captain is underqualified and neither pilot is very familiar with the plane they are flying. How did two unqualified pilots be left in charge of this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A heavy crosswind pushes an aircraft off the runway during takeoff. Continental Airlines Flight 1404 is getting ready for takeoff when they notice a strong crosswind. The winds are below the maxium speed allowed, but as they begin takeoff, the wind becomes too powerful and the aircraft rolls off the runway. How powerful were these winds and why couldn't the pilots fight it? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 737 catches fire after parking at the gate. China Airlines Flight 129 safely lands and taxis to their gate. After shutting down the engines, the right engine bursts into flames with everyone still on board. What caused this strange fire? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Convair CV-600 is flying at low altitudes at night in mountainous terrain. Texas International Airlines Flight 655 tries to fly around a line of thunderstorms at night without a flight plan. The crew goes off course and find themselves in mountainous terrain at night and can't see where they are. What happened to this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

An Airbus A330 suddenly pitches down on its own. Qantas Flight 72 is cruising over the Indian Ocean when it violently pitches down without warning. The Captain eventually regains control but moments later it pitches down again. What is happening on board this plane to cause it to suddenly dive? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

The throttles of an Airbus A330 are not responding to the captain's inputs. Cathay Pacific Flight 780 has a few minor engine warnings while cruising but are told it is safe to continue the flight. The problems get worse as the flight continues and the throttle becomes unresponsive during their approach leaving the flight too fast for a safe landing. What happens to Flight 780? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

Only one person on a Boeing 737 is awake. The crew of Helios Airways Flight 522 are trying to solve a problem as they are climbing to cruising altitude. Suddenly all radio communication stops but the plane flies for several more hours. An F-16 pilot looks into the airplane and finds that everyone is motionless except for one person who enters cockpit. What happened aboard this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

Gus shares stories about becoming a pilot. Gus and our producer Dennis share stories with Chris about what it is like to be a student pilot. How hard could being a pilot really be? Find out on this bonus episode of Black Box Down.

Two airliners collide over France in 1922. Three accidents from the 1920's helped shape aviation regulations still used today. What were these three accidents? Find out on this bonus episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 747 starts nose diving towards the Pacific Ocean. China Airlines Flight 006 is cruising normally towards California when the crew thinks an engine has failed. While trying to restart the engine, the captain doesn't notice a continuous bank to the right and the plane enters a nose dive. Were the crew able to regain control of the plane? Find out in this episode of Black Box Down.

A Boeing 757 crashes in Colombian mountains. American Airlines Flight 965 is on approach to their destination airport when the pilots are given instructions to land on a different runway. The pilots become confused and get lost while trying to figure out their new approach path and fly directly towards a mountain. What happened on this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Lockheed L-1011 Tristar has an emergency after takeoff and is forced to land. Saudia Flight 163 has just taken off when the crew recieves a smoke warning from the cargo compartment. As they return to the airport, they lose their number 2 engine but land safely. However, after coming to a stop, the crew are never heard from again. What happened aboard this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Convair CV-580 is flying between Norway and Denmark when it disappears from radar. Partnair Flight 394 is cruising over water when all contact is lost. Investigators find several strange things concerning the planes black boxes and are confused about what they are seeing. Eventually they discover something sinister about some of the parts that were installed on the aircraft. What discoveries were made about this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A Beechcraft 1900D becomes uncontrolable immediately after takeoff. Air Midwest Flight 5481 starts pitching up uncontrollably after taking off. The pilots do their best to force the nose down but are unable to regain control of the aircraft. What made this plane become uncontrollabe? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.

A DC-10 suffers explosive decompression while climbing to cruising altitude. Turkish Airlines Flight 981 has a cargo door burst open while climbing. This was not the first time this exact situation has occured, but safety recommendations were not implemented to prevent this from happening a second time. What is the fate of this flight? Find out on this episode of Black Box Down.