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Mayday - Season 5 Episode 9 : Mixed Signals (Birgenair Flight 301)

Jan 01, 1970 00:46:14m

274 votes

Documentary, Drama, Crime

Seasons and episodes

Episode List

Ep 1 Explosive Evidence (Air India Flight 182)

2008-04-09

Ep 2 Behind Closed Doors (American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981)

2008-04-16

Ep 3 Southern Storm (Southern Airways Flight 242)

2008-04-23

Ep 4 Dead Weight (Air Midwest Flight 5481)

2008-04-30

Ep 5 Invisible Killer (Delta Air Lines Flight 191)

2008-05-07

Ep 6 Gimli Glider (Air Canada Flight 143)

2008-05-14

Ep 7 Fanning the Flames (South African Airways Flight 295)

2008-05-21

Ep 8 Fatal Distraction (Eastern Airlines Flight 401)

2008-05-28

Ep 9 Mixed Signals (Birgenair Flight 301)

2008-06-04

Ep 10 Phantom Strike (Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907)

2008-06-11

Synopsis

On 6 February 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 is scheduled to fly from Puerto Plata to Frankfurt. On takeoff, the captain finds that his airspeed indicator (ASI) is not reading properly, though the co-pilot's ASI is showing the correct speed; the aircraft subsequently crashes in the Atlantic Ocean. The pilots became confused and believed that both ASIs were malfunctioning, leading to loss of control of the aircraft. All 13 crew members and 176 passengers died. The cause of the disaster was believed to be a wasp that built a nest in one of the aircraft's pitot tubes, which was incorrectly left uncovered during the aircraft's extended stay at Puerto Plata airport.