Air Disasters - The Black Box Files

A free upgrade on July 16, 1996 moved Jed Johnson onto TWA Flight 800 - a single choice that put him on a doomed plane. Did he make it in time? The free upgrade that moved him off Flight 800 - did he make it? In this episode, we follow the life moments that led Jed Johnson to accept a free first-class seat the night TWA Flight 800 disintegrated, tracing his path from Midwestern roots to Andy Warhol’s inner circle and a career in high‑end interior design. What does one small, ordinary decision reveal about how his life was lived - and what happened that night? Person: Jed Johnson Date: July 17, 1996 Location: Atlantic off the coast of Long Island Event: TWA Flight 800 disintegration Birth Date: December 30, 1948 - He accepted an airline upgrade that moved his departure up by one day and placed him on Flight 800. - Born in Alexandria, Minnesota, he was a twin and the fourth of six children, later living in Scottsdale and Fair Oaks. - At nineteen he arrived in New York, was hired at Andy Warhol’s Factory, and became Warhol’s close companion after the 1968 shooting. - He taught himself spatial design while organizing Warhol’s townhouse and later designed Warhol’s East Sixty‑sixth Street home over four years. - His design work, featured in Vogue, led to commissions from Mick Jagger, Bianca Jagger, Barbra Streisand, and others. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A passenger on a transcontinental flight calls his father as the Boeing’s transponder cycles through codes; did they make it in time? The Transponder That Began Cycling Saved No Seconds, Did They Make It? In this episode, we follow the twenty-one minutes before United Airlines Flight 175 vanished from recorded flight data and trace the calls, choices, and movements aboard the Boeing 767. What do the phone calls, seating moves, and a cycling transponder reveal about those final minutes? Flight: United Airlines Flight 175 Date: September 11, 2001 Aircraft: Boeing 767, registration N612UA Captain: Victor Saracini; First Officer: Michael Horrocks Passengers aboard: 51 - Passengers included Peter, Sue, and two-year-old Christine Hanson seated in row 19 C, D, E and several crew of six flight attendants with Purser Kathryn Laborie. - Five men boarded at Gate 19, Terminal C between 7:23 and 7:28 a.m.; their leader was Marwan al-Shehhi, a trained pilot who practiced in simulators. - At 8:42 a.m. Captain Saracini made the last transmission, reporting someone keyed the mic and saying, "Everyone stay in your seats." - Four minutes later the aircraft was off course and the transponder began cycling through codes: 1470 then 3020 before communications ceased. - Two phone calls from a passenger in seat 30E to his father documented weapons, injuries, and intentions in real time while no cockpit voice or data recorders were ever recovered. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A captain and first officer race a Boeing 737 toward Yogyakarta with flaps at five degrees and alarms screaming-did they make it in time? The flaps set at five degrees left them racing the runway clock In this episode, we follow the final minutes of Garuda Indonesia Flight GA 200 as recorded by the flight and cockpit voice recorders. The episode lays out the sequence of speeds, flap settings, alarms and cockpit exchanges that led up to the runway crossing and asks what decisions sealed the aircraft's fate. Date: March 7, 2007 Flight: Garuda Indonesia Flight GA 200 Aircraft: Boeing 737‑497, registration PK‑GZC Person: Captain Muhammad Marwoto Komar (44), First Officer Gagam Saman Rohmana (30) Passengers: 133 aboard, including 21 foreign nationals - At 07:07 the aircraft touched down 860 meters past the runway threshold; normal touchdown is roughly 300 meters. - The plane crossed the outer approach at 241 knots when the standard speed should have been 141 knots. - First Officer Rohmana set flaps to 5 degrees-the maximum safe at that speed-while Captain Komar requested 15 degrees. - Every alarm in the cockpit was sounding and the cockpit voice recorder captured repeated, unanswered prompts and silences. - Six days earlier Garuda introduced a fuel‑saving bonus for crews who arrived under expected fuel, a detail Komar later denied influenced his actions. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A cracked flange at O'Hare and a DC-10 climbing away with an engine on the runway - did they make it in time? The maintenance shortcut that cracked the flange and doomed Flight 191 In this episode, we follow the documented sequence of events that began in a Tulsa hangar and culminated thirty-one seconds after takeoff at O'Hare. The episode traces the people aboard, the decisions in maintenance, and the metal evidence that held a warning - but did anyone see it before it was too late? Date: May 25, 1979 Flight: American Airlines Flight 191 Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas DC-10, tail N110AA Location: O'Hare runway 32R Event: Engine separation after takeoff - The number one engine tore away from the left wing during the takeoff roll and fell onto the runway as the aircraft continued climbing. - The crack in a metal flange had been growing for fifty-nine days, cycle by cycle, before the failure. - Fifty-nine days earlier, the aircraft underwent an engine change in Tulsa where American Airlines used a 27-step shortcut instead of the manufacturer's 79-step procedure. - The cockpit crew held the prescribed attitude and airspeed exactly as the manual required in the seconds after separation. - Investigators found the fracture in the wreckage and read its history in the metal, linking the failure to the maintenance change. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A turboprop dives toward Madang with a safety device missing - can the crew stop the plane in four minutes and change the outcome? The flight idle gate that Spencer breached - and whether four minutes was enough In this episode we follow the final minutes of Airlines PNG Flight 1600, the thirty-minute hop from Lae to Madang that became a disaster in four minutes and eighteen seconds. We lay out the timeline, the crew actions and the missing safety component that investigators would focus on - what questions remain about responsibility and system design? Date: 13 October 2011 Flight: Airlines PNG Flight 1600 Aircraft: DHC-8-100, registration P2-MCJ Person: Captain William Spencer; First Officer Campbell Wagstaff Passengers: 32 aboard, 4 walked away - Flight 1600 departed Lae Nadzab at 16:47 local time bound for Madang with a scheduled 30-minute flight. - The aircraft climbed to 16,000 ft, diverted around thunderstorms, then entered a steeper descent that built high airspeed. - An overspeed warning sounded; Spencer called for higher propeller RPM while managing the descent. - Spencer pulled the power levers past the physical flight idle gate into the ground beta range while still airborne. - Investigators spent nearly three years focused not on a deep mechanical flaw but on why a working safety device was not installed on this airplane. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A trainee Tokyo controller misheard flight numbers as two JAL airliners closed to 135 meters over Suruga Bay-did they make it in time? The Controller Said the Wrong Flight Number - Did They Make It? In this episode, we follow the minutes on January 31, 2001 when two Japan Airlines aircraft converged over Suruga Bay and the human and technical decisions that intersected beneath their wings. The narrative lays out who was in the room, what systems acted, and the moment a single spoken error changed everything - could the responses prevent disaster? Person: Controller Hideki Hachitani Date: January 31, 2001 Location: Suruga Bay / Tokyo Area Control Center Event: Near mid-air collision involving JAL flights 907 and 958 System: TCAS issued a climb Resolution Advisory to JAL 907 - JAL 907 (Boeing 747, JA8904) departed Haneda with 411 passengers and 16 crew, bound for Naha. - JAL 958 (DC-10, JA8546) was inbound to Narita with 237 passengers and 13 crew, converging on the same sector. - Trainee controller Hachitani was managing twelve radar targets-ten other aircraft at the same time as the two JAL flights. - The planned vertical separation was 2,000 feet; when the incident unfolded the planes were separated by roughly 135 meters. - The aircraft’s TCAS detected the closure rate and issued a climb advisory before the controller’s spoken clearance reached the crews. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A broken altimeter, rain and fog, and a Learjet careening toward a runway the pilots cannot see - did they make it in time? The broken altimeter failed to warn them before impact In this episode, the story follows the moments before the Learjet crash that killed Walter Reuther and the life that led him there. We trace the damaged instrument, the pilots’ descent through night weather, and Reuther’s rise from factory tool-and-die maker to UAW leader - what led him to be on that flight and what questions the wreckage left unanswered. Person: Walter Philip Reuther Date: May 9, 1970 Event: Learjet twenty-three crash Location: night approach to runway in rain and fog Injury: altimeter missing parts and one piece installed backward - Three parts were missing from the instrument recovered from the wreckage. - One component of the altimeter was installed completely upside down. - Pilots were descending through rain and fog toward a runway they could not see. - Walter Reuther survived a 1948 assassination attempt that shattered his arm into roughly 150 pieces. - Reuther rose from tool-and-die maker to lead the UAW and helped organize the 1936-37 sit-down strikes. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A woman carrying over ten thousand dollars on a flight to Chicago dies in a crash-did the hush-money make it out before the plane lost its only exit? The handbag's ten-thousand dollars burned as the plane lost its only exit In this episode, we lay out who Dorothy Hunt was, where she was traveling, and the tangled Washington network connected to the cash found in her handbag. The episode follows the flight, the investigations, and the unanswered questions that kept the money's purpose a mystery. Person: Dorothy Hunt Event: United Airlines Flight 553 crash Date: December 8, 1972 Location: Chicago Midlothian neighborhood Topic: Unexplained cash linked to Watergate network - Dorothy Hunt boarded Flight 553 in Washington bound for Chicago carrying a handbag with over ten thousand dollars in cash. - She was the wife of E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA officer turned Watergate operative who worked with the White House Plumbers. - First responders found her handbag in the wreckage within hours after the plane struck houses in Chicago. - The NTSB, the FBI, and Congress all investigated the crash while separately grappling with the unexplained cash. - Members of a Washington hush-money network, including lawyers and White House aides, were moving funds to burglars and families in December 1972. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A mistranslated call about a twelve-volt battery turns into an alleged bomb order - did they stop the plot before the plane left New York? The twelve‑volt battery call that started a race against time In this episode, we lay out how a single mistranscribed word in 1986 sent two men to life imprisonment and tied into the investigation of Air India Flight 182. We describe the meetings, the recordings, and the decisions that shaped the case - and ask what else went wrong along the way. Person: Frank Miele (alias "George") Person: Billy Joe (informant) Event: Air India Flight 182 bombing, June 23, 1985 Date: May 19 and May 22, 1986 Location: Bugged hotel room, Montreal - A recorded hotel-room sting in Montreal became the prosecution’s central evidence after an undercover FBI operative discussed bombing planes. - An informant named Billy Joe brokered the introduction in exchange for dropped charges for an associate. - One meeting focused on a supposedly routine hardware call about a twelve‑volt battery that was later mistranslated by government translators. - Khelsa attended the meetings over a disputed stolen Cadillac payment; Dhillon came as a protector of that money. - Years of undisclosed government material and courtroom battles followed, leaving convictions unable to withstand later judicial review. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

Roberto Clemente boards an overloaded DC-7 cargo flight out of San Juan with relief supplies for Managua - did they make it in time? The overloaded fuel tanks that kept them climbing-did they make it? In this episode, we follow the night a DC-7 freighter departed Isla Verde for Nicaragua carrying relief supplies and a celebrity passenger determined to ensure delivery. The episode traces the decisions, the people aboard, and the mechanical and weight problems that compounded in the minutes after takeoff-could anything have been done differently? Person: Roberto Clemente Date: December 31, 1972 Location: Isla Verde International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico Event: DC-7 freighter N500AE took off overloaded with cargo and fuel Weight: Aircraft was 4,193 pounds over certified maximum takeoff weight - Clemente organized relief flights after the Managua earthquake and decided to accompany a cargo flight himself to prevent diversion of supplies. - The DC-7 freighter N500AE was loaded with relief goods, crewed by pilot Jerry Hill, co-pilot Arthur S. Rivera, and flight engineer Francisco Matias. - The aircraft departed at 9:20:30 PM, airborne less than three minutes before the last cockpit transmission, "Coming back around." - Investigators later found an engine had been broken for 29 days and had not been closely inspected before the flight. - To land safely after takeoff, the crew would have needed to dump roughly 32,000 pounds of fuel given the aircraft's overloaded condition. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A wing section juts from Botany Bay while the rest lies underwater-did search crews reach the wreckage in time? The outer wing section lodged in shallows stalled the search clock In this episode, the story follows the disappearance of Ansett‑ANA Flight 325 on the night of 30 November 1961 and the early search that raced against time and weather. What the intact outer wing in shallow water and the pulverized main wreckage a mile away reveal about those final nine minutes becomes the central dilemma listeners must grapple with. Event: Aircraft disappearance over Sydney night of 30 November 1961 Aircraft: Vickers Viscount, name John Oxley, 12,010 flights, 16,946 hours People: 15 onboard - Captain Stan Lindsay, Co‑pilot Ben Costello, attendants Aileen Keldie and Elizabeth Hardy Location: Botany Bay and Kurnell Beach area, 2.8 miles southeast of Sydney Airport Status: No flight recorders; wreckage both intact and heavily fragmented - The flight departed Sydney at 19:17 for Canberra with a routine eastward climb and a required crossing at 5,000 feet. - At 19:22 the crew reported 6,000 feet, and three minutes later controllers received no further responses. - Dawn searches initially scoured the Tasman Sea east of the airport, assuming the aircraft had stayed on its outbound track. - Searchers then found cabin debris and an outer right wing section protruding from shallow water near Kurnell with registration still legible. - The main wreckage lay 25 feet underwater and scattered across more than a mile of bay floor, presenting a stark contrast to the nearly undamaged wing. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A lone walker climbs the McPherson Range searching for a missing Stinson trimotor and the two men he hopes to find-did he reach the wreck in time? The lone walker who climbed the range found them after nine days In this episode, we follow the routine Sydney-Brisbane flight that vanished over the McPherson Range and the slow, misdirected official search that failed to find it. The story traces the aircraft, its crew and passengers, the lack of radio, and the lone man who set out on foot-what compelled him to walk into those mountains and what he discovered there? Date: 19 February 1937 Aircraft: Stinson Model A trimotor VH-UHH (Brisbane) Crew: Reginald Haslam “Rex” Boyden (pilot), Beverley Shepherd (first officer) Passengers: Joseph Binstead; John Seymour Proud; James Westray; William Walden Fountain; James Westray Graham Location: McPherson Range, border of Queensland and New South Wales - The Brisbane departed Archerfield after 1pm on 19 February 1937 on the inland Sydney-Brisbane route and was due at 4:30pm. - VH-UHH carried no radio; Boyden and Shepherd had only basic Morse proficiency and could not send a distress signal. - Witnesses heard the aircraft circling near Lamington and Hill View around 1:40pm before it turned toward the McPherson Range and vanished. - The Royal Australian Air Force flew four aircraft searching north along a coastal corridor while the McPherson Range was not thoroughly searched. - On the tenth day after the crash one man walked into the mountains alone, reasoning his way to where the wreckage might be despite having no official backing. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A captain with cocaine chooses a risky approach into mountainous Durango on a foggy night-did they make it in time? The non‑precision approach he chose burned ten minutes of guided descent In this episode, we follow the flight into Durango on January 19, 1988, and the decisions and conditions that preceded the crash. The narrative lays out who was flying, what options were offered, and the gaps investigators had to work around - so what critical choices determined the final minutes? Date: January 19, 1988 Location: Durango-La Plata County Airport, Colorado Aircraft: Fairchild Metro III, N68TC Persons: Captain Stephen S. Silver; First Officer Ralph D. Harvey Weather: Ceiling 800 feet, light snow, fog - At 19:14 the Metro descended toward Durango at 3,000 fpm while the published procedure called for 900 fpm, and no one in the cockpit corrected the rate. - Air traffic offered two approaches: a precision ILS that added about ten minutes of guided vertical guidance, or a direct non‑precision approach to Runway 20; Silver chose the non‑precision. - Silver handed controls to First Officer Harvey after choosing Runway 20, removing continuous electronic vertical guidance and replacing it with altitude checks at waypoints. - No cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder was on board, so investigators relied on radar returns, radio transcripts, wreckage distribution, and toxicology. - Toxicology showed cocaine and metabolites in Captain Silver consistent with use 12-18 hours before impact, and a woman who might explain that timing was never located or interviewed. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A Dassault Falcon descends toward Bucharest with a failed ARTHUR system and unbuckled passengers-did they reach the runway in time? The ARTHUR unit failed and controls went light - did they reach the runway? In this episode, we follow the flight that landed at Bucharest while seven people inside died under unexplained forces. The episode lays out the sequence of events, the broken cockpit voice recorder, and the technical failures that turned a routine approach into a catastrophe-what exactly happened in those twenty-four seconds? Date: September 14, 1999 Aircraft: Dassault Falcon Location: Bucharest airport, runway 08 Event: Severe cabin forces during final approach System: ARTHUR control-feel unit malfunctioning prior to flight - Passengers aboard included Greece’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Giannos Kranidiotis and his son, ERT journalists, security, and an aircraft engineer. - During the descent the fasten-seat-belt sign was not activated and many occupants were unbuckled as the aircraft began oscillating. - In twenty-four seconds the aircraft experienced ten pitch oscillations that produced forces near twice design limits, ripping seats and panels. - The cockpit voice recorder was broken before departure, limiting investigators’ ability to know pilot communications during the event. - The flight data showed the controls became almost weightless without ARTHUR, and the unit had been malfunctioning for some time before the Bucharest approach. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A loose lock nut left the A310's left gear stuck after takeoff from Crete - the crew raced a hidden fuel countdown toward Hannover; did they make it? The loose lock nut that let the bolt rotate cost them their return fuel In this episode, we follow the flight crew of Hapag-Lloyd Flight D‑AHLB from Chania as a maintenance error turns routine summer rotations into an escalating crisis. We trace the technical faults, cockpit choices, and communication gaps that turned ten millimeters of rotation into a life‑threatening fuel problem and ask what decisions could have changed the course of the flight. Aircraft: Airbus A310-300 D-AHLB Date: July 12, 2000 People: Captain Wolfgang Arminger; First Officer Thorsten Rökrath; 151 on board Event: Landing gear failed to retract after takeoff Location: Chania (Crete) to Hannover, over Adriatic and Austrian airspace - A single lock nut left improperly secured during maintenance allowed a bolt to rotate ten millimeters, preventing the right landing gear from retracting. - The crew attempted gear retraction four times; cockpit indicated "gear unsafe" and "door open" each time while drag increased fuel burn. - The Flight Management System was not updated for extended-gear drag and calculated fuel as if the aircraft were clean, producing reassuring but inaccurate numbers. - The airline's HF link to operations was unavailable, forcing the crew to rely on slower ATC relays for coordination and advice during the unfolding problem. - At 12:34 the FMS showed 1.9 tonnes of fuel remaining at Vienna and company rules mandated diversion below the threshold; an alternate like Zagreb was ten minutes away. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A Boeing 247 climbs into a snowbound Utah canyon and stops transmitting; eight wristwatches all stop at 3:15 - did they make it in time? The stopped wristwatches that locked the clock at 3:15 - did they make it? In this episode, we lay out the flight, the crew and the unexplained fifty-five-minute gap between a routine radio call and the moment every recovered wristwatch stopped at 3:15. What happened in those missing minutes over Parley’s Canyon that left investigators without a definitive answer? Date: February 23, 1934 Aircraft: Boeing 247 registration NC13357 Person: Lloyd Anderson (captain), Eric Danielson (co-pilot), Miss Carter (stewardess), John J. Sterling (passenger mayor) Location: Parley's Canyon, Utah - The flight departed Salt Lake City at 2:00 PM bound for Cheyenne amid falling snow and sleet. - At 2:20 PM the captain radioed a single professional message: "All okay." - Seventy-five minutes after takeoff the aircraft struck the canyon three-quarters of a mile past the summit in a near-vertical, nose-first impact. - Eight wristwatches recovered from the wreckage were all stopped at exactly 3:15 PM, synchronized to the minute. - Two official investigations examined the crash and returned without a single definitive explanation. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

An autothrottle in a climb slams to idle sixty seconds after takeoff from Bucharest - can the two-man cockpit regain control before it's too late? The autothrottle that slammed to idle - did they regain the climb? In this episode, we follow a TAROM A310 that lifted off Otopeni on March 31, 1995, and the unfolding minutes when a known autothrottle fault, a pilot suddenly feeling ill, and a change of control collide. Who will hold the throttles, and what happens in the seconds nobody is flying the plane? Date: March 31, 1995 Location: Bucharest Otopeni Airport Aircraft: Airbus A310-300, registration YR-LCC Event: Autothrottle retracted to idle on engine one during climb Person: Capt. Liviu Bătănoiu (pilot monitoring), First Officer Ionel Stoi (pilot flying) - Takeoff occurred at 09:06:44 with Stoi as pilot flying and Bătănoiu monitoring the throttles. - A known fault allowed excessive friction in the autothrottle kinematic linkage to pull engine one to idle during climb. - Bătănoiu had briefed he would personally guard the throttles; his plan lasted ninety-four seconds. - During flap retraction, Bătănoiu reported feeling sick and groaned as control actions unfolded in the cockpit. - For twenty-seven seconds after takeoff, cockpit recordings show no one actively flying the aircraft. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A senior captain ignores a failing AHRS during a dusk mountain departure from Mérida with forty‑six lives on board - did they make it in time? The AHRS went dead - twenty‑eight seconds to the mountain In this episode, you hear how a routine evening flight became a race against one instrument and one ticking countdown. We trace the crew's decisions, the skipped steps, and the moment the aircraft climbed into cloud toward the Andes - what happened next hangs on twenty‑eight seconds. Date: February 21, 2008 Aircraft: ATR 42, registration YV‑1449 Person: Captain Aldino Garanito Gómez, 36, >5,000 flight hours Person: First Officer Denis Ferreira Quintal, 29, >2,000 flight hours Event: AHRS failure during departure from Alberto Carnevalli Airport - Crew delayed boarding while still in the terminal, taking time for coffee before reaching the cockpit. - The flight was the last scheduled departure of the day from Mérida to Caracas, a night departure prohibited by regulation. - The AHRS (Attitude and Heading Reference System) stopped providing attitude and heading during climb in cloud at dusk. - The captain was an experienced flight instructor familiar with the airport’s surrounding peaks and steep terrain. - The aircraft impacted La Cara del Indio approximately ten kilometers from the runway at 4,000 meters above sea level. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A regional Metroliner enters a brewing thunderstorm with all instruments alive-two minutes later, every instrument dies; did they land? The missing backup battery died with the instruments - did they land? In this episode, we follow a routine Hannover-Düsseldorf morning flight where every procedural check looked normal until the aircraft entered a storm and the instruments lost power. The story tracks the crew, the aircraft's equipment, the weather briefing gaps, and the seconds that led from stability to catastrophe - could the pilots regain control? Person: Captain Ralf Borsdorf Person: First Officer Sibylle Heilmann Aircraft: D‑CABB, Swearingen Fairchild Metroliner III Date: February 8, 1988 Route: Hannover to Düsseldorf - Captain Borsdorf had ~2,500 total hours and 277 on the Metroliner III, with recent simulator training covering electrical emergencies. - First Officer Heilmann had ~2,500 total hours and over 1,300 hours on type, giving her deeper hands‑on experience with the Metroliner III. - The aircraft had all required instruments, autopilot, weather radar and a third artificial horizon, but no emergency electrical backup battery or generator. - Forecasts noted a 10% chance of heavy thunderstorms and moderate‑to‑severe turbulence below 5,000 ft; Hannover’s overnight weather station had been unstaffed during critical development of the front. - After takeoff the crew flew with ATIS wind reports from Hannover; witnesses later saw the aircraft enter a steep bank, level, climb into the storm three times, then suffer structural failure. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

A Yak-42 thunders down Tunoshna’s runway - something held its wheels to the ground; did they make it airborne? The brake mark that held the Yak‑42 to the runway - did they get airborne? In this episode, we follow the takeoff roll, the crew, and the moments on Tunoshna’s runway that preceded a flight that should have climbed but didn't. We trace the aircraft, its passengers, and the puzzling brake mark that suggested deliberate braking-did anyone act in time? Date: September 7, 2011 Aircraft: Yakovlev Yak-42 RA-42434 Location: Tunoshna Airport, Yaroslavl People on board: 26 players, 2 coaches, 4 crew/passengers Runway length: 2,700 meters - The Yak-42 used the entire 2,700 m runway, reached 230 km/h and still crossed the pavement before lifting off. - The aircraft finally left the ground 400 meters beyond the runway end and climbed only 5-6 meters at a 20° nose angle. - Wreckage and flight recorders were recovered; the debris field stretched nearly two kilometers along the Tunoshonka riverbank. - A 100-meter brake mark in the takeoff zone suggested deliberate braking force applied during the roll. - The crew included Captain Andrei Solomentsev (6,900 hours), First Officer Igor Zhevelov (13,500 hours), and Flight Engineer Sergei Zhuravlev. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.