Mayday (2003)
S05E02 Behind Closed Doors (American Airlines Flight 96 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981)
Episode Overview
On June 12, 1972, a nearly new McDonnell Douglas DC-10, operating as American Airlines Flight 96 from Detroit to Buffalo, experiences catastrophic explosive decompression when a cargo door in the rear fuselage fails. Fortunately, the crew manages to perform an emergency landing in Detroit, resulting in no fatalities. However, two years later, on March 3, 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 encounters a similar disaster while flying from Paris to London. This time, the damage to the hydraulic systems leads to a loss of control, causing the aircraft to crash in a forest near Senlis, killing all 346 passengers and crew on board. The initial design flaw in the cargo door mechanism remained unaddressed, leading to the tragic second incident.
