Air Scare Stories

The Gimli Glider

While flying high over the rugged wilderness of Ontario, Canada in July 1987 a Boeing 767 lost ALL engine power and had to glide for almost 20 minutes only to land on a runway full of cars and people! This is the incredible true story of Air Canada flight 143, better known as the Gimli Glider.
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Western Airlines flight 2605

On Halloween night in 1979, a DC-10 making a routine red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Mexico City encountered a catastrophic problem just as they were touching down at their final destination. The plane briefly lifted back up into the air before slamming to the ground and bursting into flames, killing most of the passengers and crew. This is the story of the fatal crash of Western Airlines flight 2605.

American Airlines flight 587

Just one month after 9/11 ANOTHER airplane crashed into the citizens of Queens, New York. The investigation concluded that it wasn’t caused by terrorism, but blamed the first officer’s flying skills. Was it really his fault though? This is the TRUE story of what happened to American Airlines flight 587 in November 2001.
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D.B. Cooper Hijacking

In November 1971 a passenger on a short flight in the Pacific Northwest told a flight attendant he had a bomb in his briefcase. They ended up giving him $200k ($1.5 million in 2022) in ransom and some parachutes. He took them, jumped out the back of the plane over the Oregon wilderness, and has NEVER been caught!
This is the true story of the hijacking of Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305 by the man known as D. B. Cooper.

United Airlines flight 811

On Feb 24, 1989 a United Airlines Boeing 747 was suddenly shaken by a loud explosion followed by complete chaos. A giant hole had formed on the right side of the fuselage, & sadly several rows of seats were blown out of the cabin. 9 passengers lost their lives that day, but why? The NTSB first said it was human error, but 2 years later new evidence made them change their minds. What was that evidence? This is the story of the tragedy & subsequent investigation of United Airlines flight 811.

Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash

On October 20, 1977, southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd boarded the rickety old airplane they’d chartered for their Street Survivors U.S. tour. But they never made it to their destination. The plane crashed into a swamp in Mississippi which killed 6 of the people on board. Why? What happened? And how did it affect the band in the following decades?
 
Special thanks to my friend Master Sergeant Sean Taft (USAF) for providing the voiceover for the ATC radio recreations.

Aeroflot flight 7425

On July 10, 1985 a Tupolev Tu-154 cruising over Soviet Russia suddenly stalled and entered a flat spin from which the pilots were unable to recover. All 200 people aboard were killed in the subsequent crash. Did something mechanical go wrong or were the pilots to blame? Or was it something else? This is the story of Aeroflot flight 7425 & the lessons learned about human factors in aviation.

TWA flight 841

On April 4th, 1979 a Boeing 727 cruising at 39,000 feet suddenly rolled over and took a nose dive toward the Earth. The pilots were able to regain control just 5,000 feet above the ground. Did they lose control after trying an unauthorized maneuver at cruising altitude or were they betrayed by their airplane? This is the story of what happened on TWA flight 841 & the investigation that followed.

The Day The Music Died - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Big Bopper

On February 2nd, 1959, three rock n' roll stars decided to charter a private plane to get them to their next show since they were sick of their buses always breaking down. The private pilot they hired hadn't passed his IFR practical test yet, and the weather went from bad to worse. This is the story of the tragic deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper; three of the biggest musical acts of late 1950s America.

Japan Airlines flight 123

On August 12th, 1985 a fully loaded Boeing 747 experienced an on-board explosion just 12 minutes into the flight. The pilots soon realized they had little to no control over the plane, but they managed to keep it airborne for almost 30 minutes before crashing into a mountainside. All the while, the passengers and crew had to endure the gut wrenching ride. What was it like during those 30 minutes? This is the story of what happened to Japan Airlines flight 123.