Seconds From Disaster - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

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National Geographic Channel has broadcast many episodes under multiple titles. The title currently or most recently listed on the NGC Calendar is shown first. Alternate titles are shown in parentheses.

Season 1 (2004)

#	Airdate	Title	Disaster	Date of disaster	Nature of disaster
1	July 6	"Crash of the Concorde" (Concorde)	Air France Flight 4590 Air France Flight 4590 Air France Flight 4590 was a Concorde flight operated by Air France which was scheduled to run from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. On 2000, it crashed in Gonesse, France. All one hundred passengers and nine crew...	July 25, 2000	Tire blowout Foreign object damage Foreign Object Debris is a substance, debris or article alien to a vehicle or system which would potentially cause damage.Foreign Object Damage is any damage attributed to a foreign object that can be expressed in physical or economic terms that may or may not degrade the product's required... , fuel leak, wing fire
1	As a Concorde Concorde Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation... supersonic jet operating as Air France Flight 4590 takes off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport Charles de Gaulle International Airport Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport , in the Paris area, is one of the world's principal aviation centres, as well as France's largest airport. It is named after Charles de Gaulle , leader of the Free French Forces and founder of the French Fifth Republic... , it catches fire and crashes into a hotel in Gonesse Gonesse Gonesse is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.The commune lies immediately north of Le Bourget Airport and southwest of Charles de Gaulle International Airport.-History:... , killing all 109 people on board and four in the hotel.
2	July 13	"Tunnel Inferno"	Mont Blanc Tunnel fire Mont Blanc Tunnel The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a road tunnel in the Alps under the Mont Blanc mountain, linking Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France , and Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy . It is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on the tunnel for transporting as much as...	March 24, 1999	Lorry engine catches fire, initial cause uncertain.
2	A truck carrying margarine catches fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel, which connects France and Italy under Mont Blanc Mont Blanc Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence... . 38 people are killed in the inferno.
3	July 20	"The Bomb in Oklahoma City" (Oklahoma City)	Oklahoma City bombing Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...	April 19, 1995	Truck bomb
3	In retaliation against the U.S. government, Timothy McVeigh Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995... parks a truck carrying a bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was a United States Federal Government complex located at 200 N.W. 5th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States. The building was the target of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, which killed 168 people, including 19 children... in Oklahoma City Oklahoma city Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:Oklahoma City metropolitan areaDowntown Oklahoma CityUptown Oklahoma CityOklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial... . Minutes later it explodes, destroying the building and killing 168 people.
4	July 27	"Fire on the Star" (Fire Onboard the Star)	M/S Scandinavian Star Fire	April 7, 1990	Arson Arson Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires... , confusing ship layout, lack of staff training and common language
4	An arsonist Arson Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires... sets a fire on Deck 3 of the Frederikshavn Frederikshavn This article is about a Danish town. For the German town, see Friedrichshafen, and for the Finnish town, see Fredrikshamn .Frederikshavn is a Danish town in Frederikshavn municipality, Region Nordjylland on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. Its name translates to... , Denmark-bound M/S Scandinavian Star M/S Scandinavian Star M/S Massalia, later known as M/S Scandinavian Star and M/S Regal Voyager was a car and passenger ferry built in France in 1971. The ship caught fire in 1990, killing 158 people.- History :... , loaded with passengers and cars at Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King... , Norway. 158 people on board die from smoke inhalation.
5	August 3	"Derailment at Eschede" (High Speed Train Crash)	Eschede train disaster Eschede train disaster The Eschede train disaster was the world's deadliest high-speed train accident. It occurred on 3 June 1998, near the village of Eschede in the Celle district of Lower Saxony, Germany. The toll of 101 people dead and 88 injured surpassed the 1971 Dahlerau train disaster as the deadliest accident in...	June 3, 1998	Metal fatigue Metal Fatigue Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:...
5	A wheel of the InterCity Express (ICE) No. 884 'Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen' fails during travel in Eschede Eschede Eschede is a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Situated approximately 15 km northeast of Celle, Eschede lies at the border of the renowned Südheide Nature Park, a protected area of large forests and heaths. Today around 20 small villages are part of the... , Germany. The train derails and collides with a bridge, killing 101 people and injuring 88.
6	August 10	"Wreck of the Sunset Limited"	1993 Big Bayou Canot train wreck	September 22, 1993	Barge collision with bridge in fog, bent tracks
6	After one of a string of barges hit a support of a bridge in Big Bayou Canot, the Sunset Limited Sunset Limited The Sunset Limited is a passenger train that for most of its history has run between New Orleans, Louisiana and Los Angeles, California, and that from early 1993 through late August 2005 also ran east of New Orleans to Jacksonville, Florida, making it during that time the only true transcontinental... (an Amtrak Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union... train) derails as it crosses the bridge, resulting in its collapse and the deaths of 47 people.
7	August 17	"Meltdown in Chernobyl"	Chernobyl disaster Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...	April 26, 1986	Design flaws in reactor, poor management
7	An explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant or Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a decommissioned nuclear power station near the city of Pripyat, Ukraine, northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Ukraine–Belarus border, and about north of Kiev. Reactor 4 was the site of the Chernobyl disaster in... kills 56 people while the health of thousands more Chernobyl disaster effects The Chernobyl disaster triggered the release of substantial amounts of radiation into the atmosphere in the form of both particulate and gaseous radioisotopes. It is the most significant unintentional release of radiation into the environment to date... continue to be affected.
8	August 24	"Inferno in Guadalajara" (Inferno at Guadalajara)	Guadalajara gas explosions	April 22, 1992	Metal-to-metal corrosion, gas leak into sewers
8	Days after residents of Guadalajara complained of a foul smell, a series of gasoline Gasoline Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain... -fueled explosions in the sewers kills 206 people.
9	August 31	"Fire on the Ski Slope"	Kaprun disaster Kaprun disaster The Kaprun disaster was a fire that occurred in an ascending railway car in the tunnel of the Gletscherbahn 2 railway in Kaprun, Austria, on 11 November 2000. The disaster claimed the lives of 155 people, leaving 12 survivors from the burning car...	November 11, 2000	Hydraulic oil leaked onto fan heater element, caught fire
9	A funicular Funicular A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular... train catches fire as it travels through a tunnel at the Kaprun Kaprun Kaprun is a small alpine village in the district of Zell am See in the state of Salzburg, Austria. At the foot of the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier, it is a year round sports centre, with a population of 2,903 .... Ski Resort, killing 155 people. Only 12 survived by walking downwards and out of the tunnel.
10	October 5	"Explosion in the North Sea"	Piper Alpha disaster Piper Alpha Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum Ltd. The platform began production in 1976, first as an oil platform and then later converted to gas production. An explosion and resulting fire destroyed it on 6 July 1988, killing 167 men, with only 61...	July 6, 1988	LPG explosion, ruptured pipelines, human error
10	A series of explosions and fires on the Piper Alpha, an oil platform Oil platform An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing... 110 miles off the coast of Scotland that had been converted to liquified petroleum gas Liquified petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles. It is increasingly used as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant, replacing chlorofluorocarbons in an effort to reduce damage to the ozone layer... (LPG) production, results in the deaths of 167 people and the collapse of the platform.
11	October 12	"Flood at Stava Dam" (Flood at Stava)	Collapse of Stava Dam Val di Stava Dam Collapse The Val di Stava Dam collapse occurred on 19 July 1985, when two tailings dams above the village of Stava, near Tesero, Northern Italy, failed. It resulted in one of Italy's worst disasters, killing 268 people, destroying 63 buildings and demolishing eight bridges.The upper dam broke first, leading...	July 19, 1985	Poor maintenance and management, water overload in the top dam
11	Two dams above the village of Stava in northern Italy collapse, causing an ensuing mudslide and flood down the Stava River valley that kills 268 people in the village below.
12	October 19	"Collision on the Runway"	Tenerife airport disaster	March 27, 1977	pilot error Pilot error Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible... , pilot attempted to take off in limited visibility without ensuring that the runway was clear
12	A KLM Boeing 747 Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced... slams into a Pan Am Boeing 747, causing both to explode on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport Los Rodeos Airport -Statistics:-Accidents and incidents:Tenerife North Airport was the scene of the Tenerife airport disaster, to date the worst accident in aviation history. The accident took place on 27 March 1977, when, during take-off, the Boeing 747 of KLM Flight 4805 crashed into the Boeing 747 of Pan Am Flight... in the Canary Islands Canary Islands The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union... , killing 583 people.
13	October 26	"Pentagon 9/11" (Pentagon 9-11) (Pentagon Plane Crash)	American Airlines Flight 77 American Airlines Flight 77 American Airlines Flight 77 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight, from Washington Dulles International Airport, in Dulles, Virginia to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California...	September 11, 2001	Hijacking Aircraft hijacking Aircraft hijacking is the unlawful seizure of an aircraft by an individual or a group. In most cases, the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers. Occasionally, however, the hijackers have flown the aircraft themselves, such as the September 11 attacks of 2001... , intentional low level building crash
13	As the World Trade Center World Trade Center The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new... in New York City burns after being hit by two hijacked aircraft, another hijacked Boeing 757 Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration... -200 is deliberately flown into The Pentagon The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect... in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... , killing all 64 people on board and 125 on the ground.

Season 2 (2005)

#	Airdate	Title	Disaster	Date of disaster	Nature of disaster
1	June 28	"Space Shuttle Columbia" (Columbia's Last Flight)	Space Shuttle Columbia disaster Space Shuttle Columbia disaster The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when shortly before it was scheduled to conclude its 28th mission, STS-107, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members...	February 1, 2003	Hole in thermal protection plates in the left wing caused from a piece of insulating foam from external fuel tank Space Shuttle external tank A Space Shuttle External Tank is the component of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle that contains the liquid hydrogen fuel and liquid oxygen oxidizer. During lift-off and ascent it supplies the fuel and oxidizer under pressure to the three Space Shuttle Main Engines in the orbiter...
1	As the Space Shuttle Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons... Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia was the first spaceworthy Space Shuttle in NASA's orbital fleet. First launched on the STS-1 mission, the first of the Space Shuttle program, it completed 27 missions before being destroyed during re-entry on February 1, 2003 near the end of its 28th, STS-107. All seven crew... lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program... 16 days before re-entry, a piece of insulating foam breaks off the external fuel tank and damages the left wing of the shuttle. As it enters the Earth's atmosphere during the return trip, it disintegrates under the massive heat, killing all seven astronauts on board.
2	July 5	"Alpine Tsunami"	Galtür avalanche Galtür Avalanche The Galtür Avalanche was an avalanche that occurred on February 23, 1999 in the Alpine village of Galtür, Austria. The avalanche killed 31 people and is considered the worst Alpine avalanche in 40 years. Three major weather systems originating from the Atlantic accounted for large snow falls...	February 23, 1999	Powder avalanche Avalanche An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
2	At the Austrian alpine village of Galtur Galtür Galtür is a village and ski resort in the upper Paznaun valley in Tyrol . Located in the Central Eastern Alps 35 km southwest of Landeck near the border of Vorarlberg and Switzerland, its population is about 878.-History:... , snow on the mountains surrounding the village build up. Due to the changing temperature during the month, a strong but brittle layer of ice forms under the snow. On the day of the disaster, the ice layer collapses and the building ice bank slips down the slope and forms a powder avalanche. Two minutes later, it hits Galtur and buries 57 people in the snow, killing 31 of them.
3	July 12	"Motorway Plane Crash" (Freeway Plane Crash)	British Midland Flight 092 Kegworth air disaster The Kegworth Air Disaster occurred on 8 January 1989, when British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737–400, crashed onto the embankment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, in England. The aircraft was attempting to conduct an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport...	January 8, 1989	Fan blade failure, lack of cockpit simulation emergency training, pilot error Pilot error Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible... , shutting down the wrong engine
3	British Midland British midland British midland may refer to:British Midland Airways Limited, also referred to as bmi and formerly as British MidlandThe English Midlands, the central region of Great Britain... Flight 092, a two-month-old Boeing 737-400, takes-off from Heathrow Airport London Heathrow Airport London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe... in London, heading for Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly... . While en route the aircraft's left engine suffers a fan blade failure. Changes in cabin air intake design and engine performance gauges cause the pilot to shut down the wrong engine and prepare for an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport which is just across the M1 motorway M1 motorway The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the... at Kegworth Kegworth Kegworth is a large village and civil parish in Leicestershire, England.... . On approach to the airport the damaged left engine fails completely and then catches fire. The crew tries to glide the aircraft to the runway but it bounces over the M1 and crashes on the embankment of the motorway, killing 47 people.
4	July 26	"Mount St. Helens Eruption"	1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, a stratovolcano located in Washington state, in the United States, was a major volcanic eruption. The eruption was the only significant one to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California...	May 18, 1980	Lava bulge opened by earthquake Earthquake An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time... , volcanic eruption Volcano 2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank\| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15... , lahar Lahar A lahar is a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term is a shortened version of "berlahar" which originated in the Javanese language of... s, landslide
4	Mount St. Helens Mount St. Helens Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a... in the countryside of Washington erupts for the first time in 123 years. A building bulge on the north face of the volcano collapses after a small tremor. It starts a landslide that removes the plug on the volcano, starting the eruption. The eruption of Mt. St. Helens kills 57 people.
5	August 16	"Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster" (Capsized in the North Sea)	MS Herald of Free Enterprise	March 6, 1987	Crew error
5	The British car ferry M/S Herald of Free Enterprise departs the port of Zeebrugge Zeebrugge Zeebrugge is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with hotels, cafés, a marina and a beach.-Location:... in Belgium. The crew have left the bow doors open and water splashes into the car deck. So much water pours in that the car ferry capsizes, taking the lives of 193 passengers and crew.
6	August 30	"Kobe Earthquake" (Killer Quake)	1995 earthquake in Kobe Great Hanshin earthquake The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale , and Mj7.3 on JMA magnitude scale. The tremors lasted for approximately 20...	January 17, 1995	Earthquake Earthquake An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
6	The Japanese city of Kobe Kobe , pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka... is rocked by the Great Hanshin Earthquake which destroys most of its buildings. The driver of a bus and his passengers have a narrow escape when the earthquake causes a section of an elevated freeway to fall leaving the bus dangling over the edge. Many traditional houses collapse due to the heavy roofs and weak walls. Liquefaction Liquefaction Liquefaction may refer to:* Liquefaction, the general process of becoming liquid* Soil liquefaction, the process by which sediments become suspended* Liquefaction of gases in physics, chemistry, and thermal engineering* Liquefactive necrosis in pathology... occurs at the coastal and port areas of Kobe. 6,434 people die in what was Japan's worst peacetime disaster until the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east... .
7	September 13	"Crash Landing at Sioux City" (Crash Landing in Sioux City)	United Airlines Flight 232 United Airlines Flight 232 United Airlines Flight 232 was a scheduled flight from Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, with continuing service to Philadelphia International Airport...	July 19, 1989	Catastrophic engine failure, loss of hydraulics, uncontrollable landing
7	United Airlines Flight 232, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a... , loses hydraulic pressure after the tail-mounted no.2 engine's fan blade splits and disintegrates. The damage to the aircraft is so severe that it can only turn right. The pilots try to land at Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state.... . As the DC-10 descends towards the runway at 6 times the normal descent rate, it rolls right, causing it to break up into three main parts and explode into a fireball. 111 of the 285 people on board are killed in the emergency landing.
8	September 20	"The Bali Bombing" (Disco Bombing)	2002 Bali bombings	October 12, 2002	Suicide bomb, truck bomb and mobile-started bomb
8	Bombers in Bali Bali Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east... attempt to detonate bombs in three different places. The first, a suicide bomb, is detonated in a small nightclub across the road from another nightclub, the Sari Club. A second bomb, a truck filled with explosives parked outside the Sari Club explodes 15 seconds after the first. 45 seconds later, a third mobile activated bomb detonates outside the United States Consulate Consul (representative) The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries... . The total death toll is 202.
9	September 27	"Hotel Collapse Singapore" (Hotel Collapse)	Hotel New World disaster Hotel New World disaster The Hotel New World emergency occurred on 15 March 1986, and was Singapore's deadliest civil disaster since the Spyros disaster of 12 October 1978. The six-story building situated at the junction of Serangoon Road and Owen Road rapidly collapsed, trapping 50 people beneath the rubble...	March 15, 1986	Construction error, column failure
9	Hotel New World, a 1-star budget hotel located in Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... 's Little India Little India, Singapore Little India is an ethnic neighbourhood found in Singapore that has Tamil cultural elements. Little India lies to east of the Singapore River—across from Chinatown, located west of the river—and north of Kampong Glam. Both areas are part of the urban planning area of Rochor... district, collapses due to growing microcracks in the failing columns. The cracks are caused by the additional weight put on the hotel. After a seven day rescue operation, 17 people are saved, but 33 perish.
10	October 18	"TWA 800" (TWA Flight 800) (The Last Flight of TWA 800)	Trans World Airlines Flight 800 TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S...	July 17, 1996	Center fuel tank explosion probably caused by vaporised fuel ignited from a short circuit Short circuit A short circuit in an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path, often where essentially no electrical impedance is encountered....
10	TWA Flight 800 leaves New York for Paris 80 minutes late. Only 12 minutes into the flight, there are short circuits in electrical wires which cause ignition of vaporised jet fuel in the center fuel tank. The explosion causes the nose of the aircraft to break off. The plane continues to disintegrate as it plummets into the sea, killing all 230 on board.
11	November 1	"Paris Train Crash" (Runaway Train)	Gare de Lyon rail accident	June 27, 1988	Brake failure caused by passenger pulling emergency brakes and crew error
11	A commuter train bound for Paris is forced to stop at Melun Melun Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Located in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, Melun is the capital of the department, as the seat of an arrondissement... when a woman pulls the emergency brake. The crew reset the brake system so the train can resume its trip. They make a series of mistakes that results in the train being unable to brake and slow down. When the train arrives at the Gare de Lyon, it collides with another train parked at the station, killing 56 people.
12	November 15	"The Hindenburg" (Hindenburg Airship) (Hindenburg Air Ship)	Hindenburg disaster Hindenburg disaster The Hindenburg disaster took place on Thursday, May 6, 1937, as the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, which is located adjacent to the borough of Lakehurst, New Jersey...	May 6, 1937	Hydrogen Hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly... leak, static ignition
12	The zeppelin LZ-129 Hindenburg LZ 129 Hindenburg LZ 129 Hindenburg was a large German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume... approaches the Lakehurst Naval Air Station for landing. Thunderstorms have added static electricity to the zeppelin's skin. It makes two sharp turns as it approaches the air field, something that the Hindenburg was not designed to do. A cable in one of the hydrogen cells snap and whiplashes the cell. When the landing ropes touch the ground, they are slowly soaked by the light rain falling, a static spark ignites the hydrogen leak. The zeppelin explodes into an inferno and crashes, killing 35 of the 97 people on board and one ground crew member.
13	December 13	"Puerto Rico Gas Explosion"	Humberto Vidal Explosion Humberto Vidal Explosion The Humberto Vidal Explosion was a gas explosion that occurred on November 21, 1996 at the Humberto Vidal shoe store located in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The explosion killed 33 and wounded more than 80 others when the building collapsed...	November 21, 1996	Propane Propane Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central... gas leak
13	For days, a foul smell hangs around in the Humberto Vidal shoe store in San Juan San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of... , Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an... . The smell is caused by leaking propane gas coming from an unmapped pipe in the sloping road near the shoe store. Then, an air conditioner with bad wiring is switched on, starting a spark that ignites the propane and the store explodes, claiming 33 lives.

Season 3 (2006-2007)

#	Airdate	Title	Disaster	Date of disaster	Nature of disaster
1	January 10, 2006	"Skywalk Collapse" (Hotel Skywalk)	Hyatt Regency walkway collapse Hyatt Regency walkway collapse The Hyatt Regency hotel walkway collapse was a collapse of an interior suspended skywalk system that occurred on July 17, 1981, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, killing 114 people and injuring 216 others during a tea dance. At the time, it was the deadliest structural collapse in U.S...	July 17, 1981	Construction failure
1	1,500 people gather for a dance in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties... . The 2nd and 4th floor skywalks, hung from steel rods, fail . They collapse and crush 114 people to death. This was the worst structural failure in the United States.
2	March 28, 2006	"Amsterdam Air Crash" (Schiphol Plane Crash) (Plane Crash in the Suburbs)	El Al Flight 1862 El Al Flight 1862 On 4 October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo plane of the Israeli airline El Al, crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. For the location in the Bijlmermeer, the crash is known in Dutch as the "Bijlmerramp"...	October 4, 1992	Metal fatigue Metal Fatigue Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:... in the fuse pin, engine collision
2	El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747-200F cargo airliner, takes-off from Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... , the Netherlands. Metal fatigue in the fuse pin holding up the inner engine on the right wing causes it to fail and force the engine to break off. The engine running at full power shoots forward and knocks out the outer engine and damages 30 ft. of the wing. The lift between the wings becomes unbalanced, but at its current speed, the aircraft is able to remain relatively level in the air. Eight minutes later, when the crew slow down the 747 for landing, it banks sharply to the right and loses altitude. Now out of control, the aircraft crashes into a high-rise apartment building, killing 43 people.
3	April 18, 2006	"Russia's Nuclear Sub Nightmare" (Sinking of the Kursk) (The Kursk)	Russian submarine Kursk explosion Russian submarine Kursk explosion On 12 August 2000, the Russian Oscar II class submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea after an explosion. The investigation showed that a leak of hydrogen peroxide in a torpedo led to explosion of its fuel, causing the submarine to hit the bottom which in turn triggered the detonation of further...	August 12, 2000	Hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent... leak, chemical reaction Chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity... , poor maintenance
3	During a training mission, a torpedo on board the Kursk leaks hydrogen peroxide. It reacts with iron oxide Iron oxide Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. All together, there are sixteen known iron oxides and oxyhydroxides.Iron oxides and oxide-hydroxides are widespread in nature, play an important role in many geological and biological processes, and are widely utilized by humans, e.g.,... (rust) in the submarine and blasts the front of the Kursk. Although the submarine has explosion-proof walls, the explosion spreads through the ventilation shafts. 135 seconds later, another explosion rocks the submarine. Then it sinks, killing all but 23 men on board. While they wait to be rescued, special boards that produce oxygen to breathe drop into the oily floor, starting a reaction that creates a fire, killing the survivors.
4	May 19, 2006	"King's Cross Fire" (Kings Cross Fire) (London's Subway Inferno)	King's Cross fire King's Cross fire The King's Cross St. Pancras tube station fire was a fatal fire on the London Underground. It broke out at approximately 19:30 on 18 November 1987, and killed 31 people....	November 18, 1987	Dropped match, trench effect Trench effect The trench effect is a combination of circumstances that can rush a fire up an inclined surface. It depends on two well-understood but separate ideas: the Coandă effect from fluid dynamics and the flashover concept from fire dynamics....
4	A smoker drops a lit match down through a gap between steps in a wooden escalator at the King's Cross tube (underground railway) station, where it ignites grease and accumulated litter. Noticing the glow of the fire, someone presses the emergency knob to stop the escalator. Although most of the blaze remains hidden, the entire area under the escalator is soon on fire. The growing conflagration causes the escalator above it to heat up. It gets so hot that, aided by the rising draught up the stairway, it combusts and blasts a fireball up the escalator, killing 31 people in the ticket hall 20 metres away. This effect is now called the trench effect Trench effect The trench effect is a combination of circumstances that can rush a fire up an inclined surface. It depends on two well-understood but separate ideas: the Coandă effect from fluid dynamics and the flashover concept from fire dynamics.... .
5	June 27, 2006	"US Embassy Bombings" (American Embassy Bombing) (Nairobi Bombing)	1998 U.S. embassy bombings 1998 United States embassy bombings The 1998 United States embassy bombings were a series of attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the East African capitals of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The date of the...	August 7, 1998	Truck bombs
5	In Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania Tanzania The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state... , and Nairobi, Kenya, truck bombs destroy the U.S. Embassy buildings killing 257 and injuring thousands. Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets... and al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad... are responsible for the attacks.
6	July 11, 2006	"Florida Swamp Air Crash" (Everglades Plane Crash) (Florida Air Crash)	ValuJet Flight 592 ValuJet Flight 592 ValuJet Flight 592 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida, and William B. Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia...	May 11, 1996	Activation of chemical oxygen generators, in-flight fire
6	ValuJet Flight 592, a DC-9 with 110 people on board, is bound for Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in... from Miami, Florida Miami, Florida Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625... . While it taxis for take-off, expired oxygen generators being transported in the cargo hold self-activate. The oxygen ignites in the overheated hold. Shortly after take-off, the cargo fire grows so large that the cabin is consumed in flames. The jet loses control and goes down in the Everglades Everglades The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee... . There are no survivors as the wreckage is entirely absorbed by the swamp.
7	July 25, 2006	"Titanic" (Sinking of the Titanic)		April 14–15, 1912	Iceberg Iceberg An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice... collision, rivet failure
7	The , on its maiden voyage from Southampton Southampton Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest... to New York with over 2,000 people on board, strikes an iceberg. The rivets holding the hull together fail upon impact, allowing water to enter the first five compartments, one more than the ship can handle and remain afloat. It transpires that the vessel is equipped with insufficient lifeboats. Within 2 hours and 40 minutes, the ship sinks, taking with it 1,517 lives.
8	August 15, 2006	"Aircraft Carrier Explosion"	USS Forrestal fire 1967 USS Forrestal fire The 1967 USS Forrestal fire was a devastating fire and series of chain-reaction explosions on 29 July 1967 that killed 134 sailors and injured 161 on the aircraft carrier , after an unusual electrical anomaly discharged a Zuni rocket on the flight deck...	July 29, 1967	Accidental firing of rocket into armed aircraft, resultant fire detonates various munitions
8	Fighter aircraft on the aircraft carrier Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations... USS Forrestal prepare to launch for a sortie Sortie Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission.... over Vietnam Vietnam War The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of... . An electrical power surge together with an ineffective safety mechanism and altered weapon-arming procedures cause the accidental firing of a Zuni rocket Zuni (rocket) The Zuni is a unguided rocket deployed by the United States armed forces. The rocket was developed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground operations. It can be used to carry various types of warheads, including chaff for countermeasures. It is usually fired from the LAU-10 rocket pod holding four... . The rocket strikes another armed and fuelled aircraft, starting a fire that detonates various munitions. Firefighting efforts inadvertently spread the fire below deck. The disaster kills 132 personnel with a further 161 wounded and 2 missing, presumed dead.
9	September 6, 2006	"Plane Crash in Queens" (New York Air Crash)	American Airlines Flight 587 American Airlines Flight 587 American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, a borough of New York City, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 12, 2001. This is the second deadliest U.S...	November 12, 2001	Design flaw, pilot error Pilot error Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible... , improper use of rudder Rudder A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
9	American Airlines Flight 587 American Airlines Flight 587 American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus A300, crashed into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens, a borough of New York City, New York, shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport on November 12, 2001. This is the second deadliest U.S... , operated by an Airbus A300-600R, leaves John F. Kennedy Airport for Santo Domingo Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River... . Shortly after take-off, the A300 encounters wake turbulence Wake turbulence Wake turbulence is turbulence that forms behind an aircraft as it passes through the air. This turbulence includes various components, the most important of which are wing vorticies and jetwash. Jetwash refers simply to the rapidly moving gases expelled from a jet engine; it is extremely turbulent,... from a Japan Airlines Boeing 747 that has taken off from the same runway 30 seconds earlier, causing it to roll violently about its lateral axis. The handling pilot attempts to stabilize the airliner by applying firm rudder, but this is so extreme that it overstresses the attachments between the fuselage and the vertical stabilizer (or 'fin'), causing them to fail. The entire fin then breaks away. Without the fin to give it lateral stability, the aircraft rolls out of control and crashes into Rockaway, Queens Queens Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States.... , killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.
10	September 13, 2006	"Munich Olympic Massacre" (Munich Olympics Massacre) (Olympic Hostage Crisis)	Munich Massacre Munich massacre The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...	September 5–6, 1972	Hostage taking, helicopter explosion from grenade, failed rescue attempt
10	During the Olympic Games in Munich, 11 Israeli athletes are held hostage by Palestinian terrorists. They supply a list of Palestine prisoners whose release they demand in exchange for freeing the athletes. But at Fürstenfeldbruck Airport Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base is a German Air Force airfield located near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany.... , a rescue attempt goes wrong, and by 12:00 am on the next day, 17 people are dead.
11	September 20, 2006	"Superstore Collapse" (Department Store Collapse)	Sampoong Department Store collapse Sampoong Department Store collapse The Sampoong Department Store collapse was a structural failure that occurred on June 29, 1995 in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, South Korea...	June 29, 1995	Design failure, bribery
11	The five-story Sampoong Department Store Department store A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories... in Seoul Seoul Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world... , South Korea is kept open, despite reservations about its safety, until the entire store collapses and 501 people die.
12	September 27, 2006	"Plane Crash in the Potomac" (Washington Air Crash) (Potomac)	Air Florida Flight 90 Air Florida Flight 90 Air Florida Flight 90 was a scheduled U.S. domestic passenger flight from Washington National Airport in Arlington County, Virginia, to Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a stopover at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida...	January 13, 1982	Icy conditions, pilot error Pilot error Pilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
12	Air Florida Flight 90 leaves Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... , for Miami with 79 passengers and crew on board. The Boeing 737-200 has been delayed for hours by bad weather conditions, allowing ice to build up and disrupt the airflow over the wings. Seconds after getting airborne, the aircraft stalls and crashes into the 14th Street Bridge. It bounces off and slams into the icy Potomac river. Five people are rescued but 78 lose their lives, four of them motorists on the bridge.
13	October 25, 2006	"Asian Tsunami"	2004 Indian Ocean earthquake	December 26, 2004	Massive megathrust earthquake Megathrust earthquake Megathrust earthquakes occur at subduction zones at destructive plate boundaries , where one tectonic plate is forced under another. Due to the shallow dip of the plate boundary, which causes large sections to get stuck, these earthquakes are among the world's largest, with moment magnitudes ... , ocean-wide tsunami Tsunami A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake... s
13	The second largest earthquake in 40 years, with a magnitude of 9.3, strikes the town of Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Soon, it unleashes a tsunami which takes nearly 230,000 lives around the coasts of the entire Indian Ocean.
14	November 15, 2006	"Comet Air Crash" (Crash of the Comet)	BOAC Flight 781 BOAC Flight 781 On 10 January 1954, British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 781 a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 registered G-ALYP, took off from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, en route to Heathrow Airport in London, England, on the final leg of its flight from Singapore... South African Airways Flight 201 South African Airways Flight 201 South African Airways Flight 201, a de Havilland Comet 1, took off at 18:32 UTC from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy en route to Cairo, Egypt, on the second stage of its flight from London to Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight crashed, killing all aboard at around 19:07 UTC on 8 April 1954...	BOAC 781: January 10, 1954 SAA 201: April 8, 1954	Design failure, metal fatigue Metal Fatigue Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:...
14	A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 De Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at the Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, it first flew in 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design... , the world's first passenger jet airliner, takes off from Rome but explodes over the Tyrrhenian Sea Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily .... 26 minutes into the flight, killing 35. Three months later, another Comet crashes into the sea at night, evidently in the same manner. It emerges that in both crashes the aluminium hull of the aircraft has split open. The cause is determined to have been metal fatigue, brought about by factors including repeated pressurisation of the cabin to a higher and more frequent degree than previously experienced, the square-cornered design of fuselage apertures such as windows, and an inadequate understanding of the behaviour of metals in the conditions of high-altitude flight. The investigation results in improved metallurgical understanding from which all aircraft design greatly benefits. This episode mainly focuses on BOAC Flight 781 BOAC Flight 781 On 10 January 1954, British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 781 a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 registered G-ALYP, took off from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, en route to Heathrow Airport in London, England, on the final leg of its flight from Singapore... , the first to crash.
15	November 29, 2006	"Chicago Air Crash" (Flight Engine Down) (Chicago Flight 191)	American Airlines Flight 191 American Airlines Flight 191 American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight in the United States from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles International Airport. On May 25, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 operating the route crashed moments after takeoff from Chicago....	May 25, 1979	Faulty maintenance, metal fatigue Metal Fatigue Metal Fatigue , is a futuristic science fiction, real-time strategy computer game developed by Zono Incorporated and published by Psygnosis and TalonSoft .-Plot:... , loss of hydraulic fluid for left wing slats
15	American Airlines Flight 191, a DC-10, takes-off from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. As the aircraft lifts off the runway the engine breaks free from the left wing and flies over and behind it, smashing onto the runway and leaving a gash in the wing leading edge. A leak of hydraulic fluid from the damaged wing leads to loss of hydraulic pressure, in turn causing the left wing slats to retract, depriving that wing of lift. The resulting asymmetric condition of the wings causes the DC-10 to roll rapidly to the left, becoming almost inverted. It crashes into a trailer park, killing all on board plus two on the ground. The cause is found to lie in time- and money-saving maintenance methods adopted by the airline, with the non-redundant design of the controls operating the DC-10's flying surfaces ajudged a contributing factor.
16	December 6, 2006	"Texas Oil Explosion" (Texas Refinery Disaster) (Oil Fire in Texas)	Texas BP Refinery explosion	March 23, 2005	Human error Human Error Human Error is the stage name of Rafał Kuczynski , a polish electronic musician, working mostly in the ambient music genre, produced only with a computer...
16	At the BP Oil Refinery in Texas City, a test on the distillation tower goes wrong. Liquid waste builds up and flows out through the blowout tower. Waste fumes ignite and detonate, destroying a trailer placed dangerously close to the blowout tower. Fifteen workers die.
17	January 2, 2007	"Tornado Outbreak"	The Super Outbreak Super Outbreak The Super Outbreak is the second largest tornado outbreak on record for a single 24-hour period, just behind the tornado outbreak of April 25–28, 2011...	April 3–4, 1974	Outbreak of tornado Tornado A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider... es from storm cell
17	The most violent outbreak of tornadoes in history, the Super Outbreak, releases 149 tornadoes in 13 American states and one province in Canada. Thousands of homes are destroyed and over 350 people die. 5,000 people are left homeless or injured, or both. This episode focuses on the 148 tornadoes that hit the USA.
18	January 31, 2007	"Space Shuttle Explosion" (Space Shuttle Challenger)	Space Shuttle Challenger disaster Space Shuttle Challenger disaster The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...	January 28, 1986	O-ring O-ring An O-ring, also known as a packing, or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a disc-shaped cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more parts, creating a seal at the interface.The O-ring... failure due to icy conditions, strong jetstream
18	Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Challenger Space Shuttle Challenger was NASA's second Space Shuttle orbiter to be put into service, Columbia having been the first. The shuttle was built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division in Downey, California... blasts off from Cape Canaveral to start the STS-51-L STS-51-L STS-51-L was the twenty-fifth flight of the American Space Shuttle program, which marked the first time an ordinary civilian, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had flown aboard the Space Shuttle. The mission used Space Shuttle Challenger, which lifted off from the Launch Complex 39-B on 28 January... mission. A badly damaged joint in a solid rocket booster leaks hot gases that impinge on its mount on the external tank. 73 seconds later, the external tank breaks up, the solid rocket boosters fly free, and aerodynamic forces rip Challenger into pieces that fall into the ocean. All seven astronauts on board are killed. Record low temperatures were a major contributing factor to the accident.
19	March 7, 2007	"Eruption on Montserrat" (Montserrat) (When the Volcano Blew)	1995-1997 eruption of Soufrière Hills Soufrière Hills The Soufrière Hills volcano is an active complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, it became active in 1995, and has continued to erupt ever since...	July 18, 1995-December 26, 1997	Volcanic eruption Volcano 2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank\| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15... , lava dome Lava dome \|250px\|thumb\|right\|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano... collapse, pyroclastic flow Pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of superheated gas and rock , which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h . The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity... s
19	In July 1995, the Soufrière Hills Soufrière Hills The Soufrière Hills volcano is an active complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, it became active in 1995, and has continued to erupt ever since... volcano on the Caribbean island of Montserrat Montserrat Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline... spews ash over the island. The nearby capital of Plymouth is evacuated. Two years on, Soufrière Hills erupts violently. Pyroclastic flows rage down the mountain and destroy Plymouth and Bramble Airport, killing 19 people. The eruption generates a small tsunami. This episode mainly focuses on the events of July 25, 1997.

Season 4 (2011)

#	Airdate	Title	Disaster	Date of disaster	Nature of disaster
1	September 5, 2011	"9/11"	September 11 attacks	September 11, 2001	Terrorist Attacks
1	On September 11, 2001 two aircraft are deliberately flown into two buildings of the World Trade Center World Trade Center The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new... and one is flown into the Pentagon The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect... . Another crashes in a field in rural Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... .
2	September 12, 2011	"Pearl Harbor"	Attack on Pearl Harbor Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...	December 7, 1941	Act of War
2	On December 7, 1941 Japanese forces attack United States military installations in and around Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet... , thus bringing the US into World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... .
3	September 19, 2011	"Paddington Train Collision"	Ladbroke Grove rail crash Ladbroke Grove rail crash The Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove, London, England. Thirty-one people were killed and more than 520 injured...	October 5, 1999	Signal passed at danger Signal passed at danger A Signal passed at danger , in British railway terminology, occurs when a train passes a stop signal without authority to do so. It is a term primarily used within the British Railway Industry, although it can be applied worldwide.-Categories of SPAD:...
3	On October 5, 1999 two trains collide at Ladbroke Grove junction near London's Paddington station after the driver of one fails to stop his train at a red signal.
4	September 26, 2011	"Collision at 35,000 Feet"	2002 Überlingen mid-air collision	July 1, 2002	Mid-air collision as a result of inadequate ATC staffing levels
4	On July 1, 2002 a cargo airliner and a passenger airliner collide while they are over Überlingen in Germany. The two aircraft crash, killing all on board.
5	October 3, 2011	"Cable Car Collision"	Cavalese cable car disaster (1998)	February 3, 1998	Controlled flight into terrain Controlled flight into terrain Controlled flight into terrain describes an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, water, or an obstacle. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s...
5	On February 3, 1998 a low-flying Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler of the United States Marine Corps United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States... hits the support cable of an aerial tramway Aerial tramway An aerial tramway , cable car , ropeway or aerial tram is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion... near the Italian town of Cavalese, severing it. The cabin on the cable falls to the ground, killing the occupants. The aircraft lands safely.
6	October 10, 2011	"Bhopal Nightmare"	Bhopal disaster Bhopal disaster The Bhopal disaster also known as Bhopal Gas Tragedy was a gas leak incident in India, considered one of the world's worst industrial catastrophes. It occurred on the night of December 2–3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India...	December 2-3, 1984	Industrial catastrophe
6	On December 2, 1984 in Bhopal, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... , a toxic gas leak at a Union Carbide Union Carbide Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume... chemical plant results in the deaths of 3,000 people.

By original broadcast date

Season 1 (2004)

Season 2 (2005)

Season 3 (2006-2007)

Season 4 (2011)

See also