Season 8 of Mayday is the second Science of Disaster season, consisting of two episodes.
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Incident | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | 1 | "System Breakdown" | 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision Aeroméxico Flight 498 Avianca Flight 052 Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision | 10 June 2009 | |
|
This special looked at the role of air traffic controllers in the airline industry and examines the Next Generation Air Transportation System, a new technology meant to eliminate mid-air collisions by reducing overall dependence on radar and radio, as well as delegating some of the air traffic controllers' tasks to computers on board each aircraft. Types of aircraft: Grand Canyon collision: Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation and Douglas DC-7; Cerritos collision: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 and Piper PA-28-181 Archer; Flight 052: Boeing 707-320B; Gol Transportes Aéreos collision: Boeing 737-800 and Embraer Legacy 600; Überlingen collision: Tupolev Tu-154M and Boeing 757-200PF | |||||
| 58 | 2 | "Cruel Skies" | Southern Airways Flight 242 Delta Air Lines Flight 191 American Airlines Flight 1420 British Airways Flight 009 | 17 June 2009 | |
|
This special looked at the role of bad weather in aviation disasters and examines the US Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Missouri, to see how information on weather is transmitted to pilots in the sky. Types of aircraft: Flight 242: McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32; Flight 191: Lockheed L-1011-1 Tristar; Flight 1420: McDonnell Douglas MD-82; Flight 009: Boeing 747-200B | |||||