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PODCAST

Final Boarding Call

Final Boarding Call dives into the true stories of aviation disasters, survival tales, and near misses that have shaped history. Hosted by Alice, a disaster-obsessed frequent flyer, and her reluctant, homebody husband Zach, each episode explores the history, mechanics, and human decisions behind these harrowing events. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, we examine how small oversights and miscommunications can cascade into catastrophe, revealing the fragility of complex systems

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All Episodes

53:28

Air Astana Flight 1388

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/04/15

What happens when maintenance technicians reverse a single set of cables, turning a routine ferry flight into a two-hour battle for survival? Join Alice and Zach as they explore the harrowing story of Air Astana Flight 1388, where three pilots found themselves fighting an aircraft that did the exact opposite of what they commanded. With the plane flipping inverted, pulling crushing g-forces, and tearing itself apart in Portuguese skies, the crew faced an impossible challenge: land an aircraft that

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50:43

China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/04/08

On March 21, 2022, a Boeing 737 carrying 132 people entered a near-vertical dive over southern China. Forty minutes into a routine one-hour flight, it was gone — no mayday call, no distress signal, no warning of any kind. But then something strange happened: for thirty seconds, the plane climbed back up. Join Alice and Zach as they piece together what the flight recorders revealed, what one government has refused to tell the world, and why the truth behind this disaster has now been officially

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43:55

Ram 2500 and 3500 Transmission Fires

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/04/01

What happens when America's best-selling heavy-duty truck develops a flaw that can turn a routine highway drive into a fireball? Join Alice and Zach as they investigate a design defect that left Ram owners watching their six-figure trucks melt on the roadside—and the three-year gap between the first fires and corporate action. Discover how a 2019 engineering change created an invisible time bomb under the hood, learn about the "geyser effect" that turned transmission fluid into a blowtorch, and find

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01:00:48

US Airways Flight 1549

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/03/25

What happens when a flock of birds turns an ordinary winter flight into a 208-second race against physics? Join Alice and Zach as they explore the incredible story of US Airways Flight 1549, where Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger [SUL-en-berg-er] made a split-second decision that saved 155 lives on a freezing January afternoon. But this isn't just a story about one heroic pilot—it's about the ferry captains who arrived in four minutes with skills forged during 9/11, the flight attendant who

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50:25

Eastern Air Lines Flight 212

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/03/18

On September 11, 1974, Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 crashed three miles short of the runway in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing 72 people. The cause wasn't mechanical failure or bad weather — it was a conversation. Discover how cockpit distraction during a routine approach led to one of aviation's most preventable tragedies, and learn about the landmark safety rule that now governs every takeoff and landing worldwide. Among the 72 lives lost were a father and his two sons — a family whose youngest

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01:00:41

Amelia Earhart

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/03/11

What happens when one of history's most celebrated aviators attempts to circumnavigate the globe and vanishes without a trace? Join Alice and Zach as they investigate the extraordinary life and mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart, a pioneering pilot who broke records, shattered glass ceilings, and captivated the world with her courage and determination. Discover how a woman who once avoided flying as a child became the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean — through flames,

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41:29

United Airlines Flight 585 / USAir Flight 427

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/03/04

In the early 1990s, two Boeing 737s fall out of clear skies moments before landing. One in Colorado Springs. One outside Pittsburgh. In both cases, the crews are experienced professionals flying perfectly maintained aircraft. The engines are running normally at impact. The weather in Pittsburgh isn't even a factor. And the investigators who comb through both crash sites — the best aviation safety analysts in the world — find almost nothing. What follows is the longest crash investigation in aviation

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51:17

JetBlue Flight 1954

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/02/25

On February 15, 2019, a routine JetBlue flight from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale gained an unexpected passenger when a mother went into labor at 30,000 feet. With no hospital, no surgical team, and no way to pull over, the crew and a handful of strangers became the only thing standing between a safe delivery and a medical catastrophe. Join Alice and Zach as they explore what happens when a baby decides to arrive six miles above the Caribbean — and discover why delivering at altitude is far more

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54:35

The Überlingen Mid-Air Collision

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/02/18

On July 1, 2002, two aircraft collided at 36,000 feet over southern Germany, claiming 71 lives—including 45 Russian schoolchildren on what should have been the trip of a lifetime. Discover how a series of seemingly small mistakes—a short-staffed air traffic control center, malfunctioning equipment, and confusion over emergency protocols—created a perfect storm of disaster that could have been prevented at multiple points. Learn about the heartbreaking aftermath that devastated families across two

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01:05:33

The Olympic, Titanic and Brittanic

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/02/11

Three people survived the Olympic collision in 1911, the Titanic sinking in 1912, and the Britannic disaster in 1916. Six months later, two of them were on the same ship when a German torpedo struck. One survived this fourth disaster. One didn't. The survivor was then rejected by every shipping line in Britain—not because he lacked skill, but because sailors refused to work with "the jinx." Discover the devastating true story of Violet Jessop, Arthur John Priest, and Archie Jewell—the only three

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56:17

JetBlue Flight 1230

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/02/04

On October 30, 2025, a JetBlue flight from Cancun suddenly dove without warning, slamming passengers into the cabin ceiling and hospitalizing 15 people. The pilots hadn't touched the controls. The plane was on autopilot. What investigators discovered wasn't pilot error or mechanical failure—it was something aviation engineers had never prepared for, a vulnerability hiding in plain sight that would trigger the largest emergency grounding in Airbus history within weeks. Join Alice and Zach as they

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52:59

Alaska Airlines Flight 261

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/01/28

When a critical component fails at 31,000 feet, Alaska Airlines Flight 261 becomes a desperate battle against physics itself. Two veteran pilots attempt something never before tried in commercial aviation—flying their MD-83 inverted over the Pacific Ocean—in a last-ditch effort to save 88 lives. But this disaster didn't start with mechanical failure. It started three years earlier, when a mechanic's warning was ignored, a worn part was put back into service, and a whistleblower was silenced

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57:29

Pan Am Flight 214

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/01/21

On December 8, 1963, Pan American World Airways Flight 214 was struck by lightning while holding in a thunderstorm near Philadelphia, triggering an explosion that tore off the aircraft's left wing. All 81 people aboard perished when the Boeing 707 crashed into a Maryland cornfield. Join Alice and Zach as they explore how this tragedy fundamentally changed aviation safety—proving for the first time that lightning could destroy a commercial airliner and sparking an urgent overhaul of aircraft fuel

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54:11

Aloha Airlines Flight 243

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/01/14

On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243 became an impromptu convertible at 24,000 feet when an explosive decompression tore away the entire upper fuselage. Discover how a flight attendant crawled through hurricane-force winds to save passengers, how pilots landed half an airplane, and how one woman's premonition saved her life while another's hesitation haunts her still. This is the story of thirteen minutes of terror that revolutionized how we understand aging aircraft—and the extraordinary

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26:37

Aviation News Roundup - Q4 2025

Final Boarding Call ·

2026/01/07

Join Alice and Zach as they close out 2025 with a comprehensive look at the year's final quarter in aviation. From the deadliest accident in UPS Airlines' history to a violent mid-flight attack with a metal fork, this episode covers cargo disasters, military transport failures, a deadly medical mission in fog, tourism flight spatial disorientation, ground collisions, and some of the strangest passenger incidents ever recorded. Discover what investigators have uncovered and what 2025's final months

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01:04:36

British Airways Flight 009

Final Boarding Call ·

2025/12/31

What happens when all four engines on a Boeing 747 suddenly fail at 37,000 feet over the ocean? On June 24, 1982, Captain Eric Moody and his crew faced the impossible: flying the world's largest passenger jet as a glider through the darkness, with 263 lives depending on split-second decisions and a calm voice over the intercom. Join Alice and Zach as they explore one of aviation's most remarkable survival stories—where a former glider pilot's skills, a crew's unshakeable teamwork, and passengers'

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51:06

LANSA Flight 508

Final Boarding Call ·

2025/12/24

When LANSA Flight 508 was struck by lightning and broke apart at 10,000 feet over the Amazon rainforest on Christmas Eve 1971, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke found herself falling through the sky still strapped to her seat. Against impossible odds, she survived - only to face an 11-day journey through one of the world's most dangerous environments while injured and alone. But she wasn't the only survivor. Join Alice and guest co-host Lydia as they explore this extraordinary story and discover what

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45:29

TransAsia Airways Flight 235

Final Boarding Call ·

2025/12/17

On February 4, 2015, a routine 50-minute flight from Taipei to Kinmen Island turned into a two-minute-and-48-second nightmare captured on dashcam and watched by millions worldwide. Join Alice and Zach to learn how a microscopic circuit board failure triggered a cascade of catastrophic decisions in the cockpit—and how investigators proved that doing nothing would have saved 43 lives.Sources:Mayday: Air Disasters - Season 17, Episode 7: "Caught on Camera""A Horrible Chain of Mistakes! TransAsia

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55:24

UPS Airlines Flight 2976

Final Boarding Call ·

2025/12/10

On November 4, 2025, a UPS cargo jet loaded with fuel for its trans-Pacific journey thundered down the runway in Louisville, Kentucky. But just seconds after liftoff, something catastrophic happened—the left engine tore away from the wing in a shower of sparks and flame. What followed was 30 seconds of horror as the crippled MD-11 carved a path of destruction through an industrial area, killing 14 people. But this disaster wasn't unprecedented—46 years earlier, an almost identical failure killed 271

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53:34

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 16

Final Boarding Call ·

2025/12/03

When a Boeing 767 loses a critical system minutes after takeoff, the experienced crew makes a reasonable decision: continue across the Atlantic and deal with it when they land. After all, they've trained for this exact scenario, and backup systems are designed for situations like this. But as Flight 16 approaches Warsaw with 231 people on board, the backup systems mysteriously fail. Join Alice and Zach as they unravel how a perfect landing became impossible, why experienced pilots missed something

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56 results

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