Mayday Season 13 Episode 6 Fatal Climb

On this episode of Mayday season 13, viewers will witness the chain of events that led to a tragic plane crash at the hands of an inexperienced crew. The episode, titled "Fatal Climb," explores the final flight of Flydubai Flight 981, which took off from Dubai International Airport in the early hours of March 19, 2016, and crashed in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, killing all 62 people on board.

The episode starts by introducing Captain Aristos Socratous and First Officer Alejandro Cruz Alava, the pilots assigned to fly the aircraft that day. Despite his lack of experience with the Boeing 737, Socratous had been tasked with training Alava, who was even newer to the aircraft. The cockpit voice recorder captured the conversations between the two pilots as they prepared for takeoff, showing that they were both nervous about the flight and the possibility of encountering turbulence along the way.

As the plane took off, it soon encountered some turbulence, and the pilots struggled to maintain control of the aircraft. The turbulence was caused by a strong crosswind, which was later found to be above the limits of the aircraft. The pilots struggled to keep the plane on track, and at one point, it banked steeply to the right, alarming the passengers. However, the pilots managed to regain control and continued with the flight.

But the flight was far from smooth sailing. As they approached Rostov-on-Don airport, the pilots attempted to land the plane but missed their first attempt due to poor visibility. They then circled around and lined up for a second attempt. However, as they descended towards the runway, things took a deadly turn.

The plane began to climb again suddenly, and the cockpit recorder picked up the abrupt sound of the autopilot disengaging. Confused and alarmed, the pilots attempted to regain control of the plane, but it was too late. The Boeing 737 had entered into an aerodynamic stall and began to plummet to the ground.

The episode explores the investigations into the crash, including the recovery of the cockpit recorder and the black boxes from the wreckage. The evidence revealed that the pilots had made a critical mistake in attempting to land despite the poor weather conditions. They had been warned by air traffic control about the strong winds and other aircraft diverting to other airports for landing, but they insisted on carrying out their descent.

The investigation also revealed that the pilots had not received adequate training on how to recover from a stall, and had not followed the correct procedures to handle the situation. They had also failed to use the available flight instruments properly, leading to their confusion about the aircraft's height and speed.

The episode also includes interviews with the families of the victims, who share their grief and anger at the airline's response to the crash. In the aftermath of the disaster, Flydubai faced scrutiny from aviation authorities about its training and safety procedures, and ultimately made changes to its policies to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Overall, "Fatal Climb" is a tragic reminder of the importance of proper training and communication in the aviation industry. It highlights the devastating consequences of human error and poor decision-making in the cockpit, and serves as a cautionary tale for pilots and airlines around the world.