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When a mysterious package in the cargo hold of American Airlines Flight 444 suddenly detonates at 30,000 feet, 80 people find themselves trapped in a smoke-filled Boeing 727. Join Alice and Zach as they explore the chilling story of a midair bombing that failed only because of a single ingredient mistake—and the 17-year manhunt it set in motion. Discover how one of the most intensive investigations in FBI history began with a parcel that was supposed to kill everyone on board. Buckle up for a story that changed aviation security forever.
Sources:
"Unabomber" - FBI Famous Cases"Bomb Jolts Jet" - The Washington Post, November 16, 1979"A Chronology of the UNABOM Investigation" - Cornell Law SchoolFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com Email: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPod Facebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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On July 19, 1967, Piedmont Airlines Flight 22 collided in midair with a small Cessna over the mountains of North Carolina, killing everyone aboard both aircraft — directly above a children's summer camp at lunchtime. Join Alice and Zach as they trace how a confusing radio clearance, a controller working without radar, and a single misunderstood instruction lined up into catastrophe. Discover the safety technology this disaster helped create, and the questions one investigator was still asking nearly forty years later.
Sources:
"Aircraft Accident Report AAR 68-AJ" – National Transportation Safety Board"The Crash of Piedmont Airlines Flight 22: Completing the Record of the 1967 Midair" – Paul D. Houle (McFarland & Company)Asheville Citizen, July 20-22, 1967Asheville Times, July 19-20, 1967Times-News (Hendersonville), July 19, 1967Winston-Salem Journal, July 20, 1967Twin-City Sentinel, July 19, 1967"Piedmont Flight 22 and the Midair Collision Over Hendersonville" – Legeros Fire Blog"In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam" – Robert McNamaraThe Pentagon PapersFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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On March 6, 2003, Air Algérie Flight 6289 crashed roughly thirty seconds after takeoff from Tamanrasset Airport in the Sahara Desert, killing 102 people. Discover how an engine failure—the kind of emergency pilots train for repeatedly—turned catastrophic through a series of critical mistakes in cockpit management and missed procedures. This episode explores the tragic consequences when standard safety protocols break down during aviation's most dangerous phase: takeoff. We'll also uncover the extraordinary story of the flight's sole survivor, whose survival defied all odds through an incredible twist of fate.
Sources:
"Report on the accident on 6 March 2003 at Tamanrasset to the Boeing 737-200 registered 7T-VEZ operated by Air Algérie" — Algerian Ministry of Transport National Commission of Inquiry"Crisis of Confidence: The crash of Air Algérie flight 6289" — Admiral Cloudberg on Medium"Unforgivable!! The Tragic tale of Air Algérie Flight 6289" — Mentour Pilot YouTube channelWikipedia article on Air Algérie Flight 6289Aviation safety databases and accident investigation reportsFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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On May 15, 2001, an experienced freight engineer steps down from his locomotive in a rural Ohio rail yard to fix a misaligned switch. He's done this kind of work for thirty-five years, the train is creeping along at walking pace, and he'll be back on board in seconds. Then everything goes wrong. Join Alice and Zach for the story of CSX 8888 — a three-thousand-ton freight train carrying tank cars of toxic chemicals that runs loose through northwestern Ohio with nobody at the controls, and the ordinary railroaders who have to figure out how to stop it before it reaches the next town. This is the story Hollywood turned into the movie Unstoppable, with all the parts they left out.
Sources:
"Runaway Train" by William M. Hendryx — Reader's Digest, March 2002"A 3,000-Ton Locomotive Was Loose, Unstoppable, and Filled with Toxic Cargo" by Jesse Hicks — Popular Mechanics"CSX's Runaway Train: The Crazy Eights Incident" — AmtrakGuy365 (YouTube)"Ordinary Railroaders Stop Deadly Runaway Train: The Crazy Eights Incident" — Fascinating Horror (YouTube)"CSX 8888 — Crazy Eights" by Dan Robie — WVNC RailsFederal Railroad Administration incident memo, May 2001Contemporary news coverage from CNN, the Los Angeles Times, and CBS NewsEPA emergency response documentation on phenol-related rail incidentsFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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On December 1, 1993, Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 crashed three miles short of its destination in northern Minnesota, killing all 18 people aboard. The weather wasn't extreme. The aircraft wasn't broken. Both pilots were certified, qualified, and physically capable of flying the approach. But as the turboprop descended through the dark, something else was happening in the cockpit — something that wouldn't show up in the wreckage. This is the story of how investigators traced a routine night flight back through twenty years of warning signs that nobody connected, and what the cockpit voice recorder revealed about the silence that killed eighteen people.
Sources:
NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-94/05 — Express Airlines II, Inc., Northwest Airlink Flight 5719Cockpit Voice Recorder Transcript (NTSB Appendix B)Mayday: Air Disasters, Season 17 Episode 1, "Killer Attitude"NTSB Safety Recommendations A-94-70 through A-94-72Express Airlines II General Operations Manual and Standard Operating Procedures (as cited in AAR-94/05)Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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What happens when a brand-new Boeing 737 flies into a hailstorm so violent that both engines die in the same instant, 16,500 feet above the Gulf Coast? Join Alice and Zach as they explore the 1988 emergency landing of TACA Flight 110, where a 29-year-old captain with one eye, a first officer he trusted, and a brand new aircraft were tested in a way no flight simulator had ever prepared a crew for. Discover how a near-miss nine months earlier was waved off as a freak event, why the engines on one of the most reliable jets in the world were vulnerable in a way no one had imagined, and how a 43-ton glider found the only piece of dry ground for miles. This is the rare story where everyone walks away — including the aircraft itself.
Sources:
"Boeing 737-300 | TACA International Airlines Flight 110, N75356" — Federal Aviation Administration, Lessons Learned from Transport Airplane AccidentsNTSB Brief of Incident FTW88IA109 — National Transportation Safety Board"Nowhere to Land," Mayday: Air Disaster, Season 11 Episode 11 — National Geographic / Cineflix"Interview with Capt. Carlos Dárdano: Hero of TACA 110" — Carlos Dardano Fans, YouTube"This Incredible Pilot: Carlos Dárdano" — Plane & Pilot Magazine"The Miracle on the Levée" — Fear of Landing"¡Misión Cumplida! Se Jubila el Histórico Piloto Salvadoreño Carlos Dárdano" — El Diario de HoyAviation Safety Network — TACA Flight 110 ProfileFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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On the night of July 18, 2018, a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330 pushed back from Brisbane Airport carrying 215 passengers bound for Kuala Lumpur. Within seconds of takeoff, every airspeed display in the cockpit went red — and the crew had no idea how fast they were flying or why. Join Alice and Zach as they unravel a near-disaster that played out in the dark over the Queensland coast, the chain of small failures that put this aircraft in the air, and the very specific Brisbane Airport problem that nobody at Malaysia Airlines had been told about. Buckle up — this one is a wild ride.
Sources:
ATSB Final Investigation Report AO-2018-053 — Australian Transport Safety Bureau, March 2022"How Did EVERYONE Miss THIS!? | Malaysian Airlines Flight 134" — Mentour Pilot, YouTube"Malaysia Airlines mistakes led to 'serious incident' on packed A330" — Australian Aviation"Pitot covers left on made for tense BUSS ride" — Flight Safety Australia"A350 pitot probe covers left on prior to pushback demonstrates how assumptions, procedural omissions can lead to unsafe conditions" — Australian Transport Safety BureauMalaysia Airlines Flight MH134 — WikipediaFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com | Email: [email protected] | Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPod | Facebook: Final Boarding Call | Patreon: patreon.com/finalboardingcall
Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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On a cold January morning in 1986, a launch that had been promoted as a celebration of science and education went catastrophically wrong in front of a watching nation. But the real story of this disaster didn't begin on the launch pad. It began six months earlier, in a memo an engineer wrote to his boss. It continued the night before, in a conference room in Utah, where that engineer laid photographs on a table and begged four men not to kill seven people. Join Alice and Zach as they unravel the story of how the warnings were raised, how they were overruled, and what it cost the people who tried to tell the truth.
Sources:
Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (Rogers Commission Report), Volumes I–V — NASA History Division"Personal Observations on the Reliability of the Shuttle," Appendix F to the Rogers Commission Report — Richard P. FeynmanThe Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA — Diane Vaughan, University of Chicago PressTruth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster — Allan J. McDonald with James R. Hansen"Challenger: The Final Voyage" — report by Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin to NASA Administrator, July 28, 1986"Ethical Decisions — Morton Thiokol and the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster" — Roger Boisjoly, MIT lecture, January 1989"The Challenger Disaster: Making it Personal" — paper presented at ASEE Annual ConferenceNASA Challenger STS-51-L crew report and transcript release, 1986"Christa McAuliffe's Lost Lessons" — NASA STEM archive"Former Students Remember Christa McAuliffe" — New Hampshire Public RadioPresident Ronald Reagan, Address to the Nation on the Challenger Disaster, January 28, 1986 — Ronald Reagan Presidential LibraryColumbia Accident Investigation Board Report, Volume I, August 2003Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits:
Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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On January 19, 1988, a twin-engine commuter plane descended through an overcast Colorado night toward a mountain valley and struck a ridge twelve miles from the runway at Durango. The pilots were experienced. The aircraft was functioning normally. Investigators found no mechanical failure of any kind. So what brought Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286 down on a routine approach — and why did it take more than a year, a stranger's tip at a hotel in Phoenix, and a second round of toxicology testing to find the answer? Join Alice and Zach for the story of a crash that exposed the people hiding inside America's commuter airline system, and the slow, imperfect reforms that followed.
Sources:
Aircraft Accident Report NTSB/AAR-89/01: Trans-Colorado Airlines, Inc., Flight 2286 - National Transportation Safety Board"A Sickness and Its Cure: The crash of Trans-Colorado Airlines flight 2286" - Admiral Cloudberg, Medium"Dangerous Approach" - Mayday: Air Disaster, Season 16, Episode 6 - Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic"A Continental Express commuter plane crashed on a snow-covered ridge in southwestern Colorado" - UPI, January 20, 1988"No mechanical failure found in commuter plane" - UPI, January 22, 1988"Airline crash attributed to cocaine" - UPI, January 31, 1989"Anti-Drug Program for Personnel Engaged in Specified Aviation Activities, Final Rule" (53 FR 47024) - Federal Aviation Administration, November 21, 1988"Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996" - Federal Aviation Administration"Reinforcement and Rapid Delivery Systems: Understanding Adverse Consequences of Cocaine" - S. Cohen, National Institute on Drug Abuse Monograph 61"The Behavioral Pharmacology of Cocaine in Humans" - M.W. Fishman, National Institute on Drug Abuse Monograph 50Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 simply would not obey. Discover how quick thinking, exceptional teamwork, and sheer physical endurance turned what should have been a fatal crash into one of aviation's most remarkable survival stories.
SOURCES
Official Accident Investigation Report - Gabinete de Prevenção e Investigação de Acidentes com Aeronaves e de Acidentes Ferroviários (GPIAAF), Portugal"Runaway AIRCRAFT! This Aircraft Flew TWO HOURS Without CONTROLS!" - Mentour Pilot YouTube Channel"Air Astana Flight 1388 - Uncontrollable" - Mini Air Crash Investigation YouTube Channel"How to Land a 'Completely Uncontrollable' Passenger Jet" - Alex Davies, WIRED Magazine"How A Maintenance Error Caused Severe Control Issues Onboard Air Astana Flight 1388 In 2018" - Nicole Kylie, Simple FlyingAviation Safety Network Database Entry for Air Astana Flight 1388"Air Astana Out Of Control (KC1833 in 2018)" - Fear of LandingFIND FINAL BOARDING CALL ONLINE:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCREDITS: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 classified as a matter of national security.
SOURCES:
"China Eastern Crash Lab Data Suggests Intentional Nosedive" — The Wall Street Journal, Andrew Tangel and Alison Sider"China Eastern Flight 5735: No Evidence of Mechanical Failure in Preliminary Report" — Reuters"Four Years Later: China Eastern Investigators Offer No Answers" — Channel News Asia"China's CAAC Invokes National Security to Keep Crash Investigation Secret" — Wikipedia Reference Archive"The Mysterious Descent of MU5735: What the Black Boxes Really Told the NTSB" — Simple Flying"Pressure on Families: The Non-Disclosure Agreements of China Eastern" — The Kathmandu Post"Boeing 737-800 Safety Records and the Silence of Post-Crash Bulletins" — Boeing Newsroom"China Eastern MU5735 — Was This a Deliberate Crash?" — Mentour Pilot"Black Box Analyzed for Pilots' Actions in China Eastern Airlines Crash" — ABC News, Karson Yiu and Bill Hutchinson"China Eastern Crash May Have Been Intentional" — BBC News"US Officials Say Evidence Suggests Intentional Crash of China Eastern Jet" — CNN, Nectar Gan"China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 Crashes En Route to Guangzhou" — Flightradar24 Blog, Ian Petchenik"Preliminary Report on China Eastern Airlines Flight MU5735 Accident" — Civil Aviation Administration of ChinaFIND FINAL BOARDING CALL ONLINE:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCREDITS: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 out whether the recall fix actually solved the problem or just redirected it.
SOURCES:
NHTSA Safety Recall Report 22V-835 (Recall ZA3) - Stellantis transmission fire recallNHTSA ODI Preliminary Evaluation PE22-003 - Internal investigation documentationNHTSA Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ ID 11463132, 11425998, and related complaints)Stellantis Part 573 Defect Information Report - Technical breakdown of pressure buildup mechanismNHTSA CAIRS (Consumer Assistance Inquiries) - Field reports and warranty claims"Ram 2500 and 3500 Engine Fire Recall: What Owners Should Know" - Lemon Law Help by Knight Law GroupTFLTruck (The Fast Lane Truck) - Early investigative reporting on 68RFE overheatingMoparInsiders - Technical history of 68RFE transmission and 2019 valve body redesignRam truck owner forums (HDRams, Turbo Diesel Register) - Near-miss incidents and owner experiencesClass-action litigation documents (Top Class Actions, Robins Kaplan LLP)FIND FINAL BOARDING CALL ONLINE:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCREDITS: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 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 evacuated passengers with a metal beam through her leg, and the strangers who formed human chains to pull survivors from 41-degree water. Discover how preparation, training, and an extraordinary cast of ordinary people transformed certain disaster into aviation's most celebrated survival story.
Sources:
Mayday: Air Disasters Season 10, Episode 5: "Hudson River Runway"NTSB Final Report NTSB/AAR-10/03Dave Sanderson's accounts and book "Moments Matter"Ric Elias TED Talk: "3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed"Flight attendant testimony from NTSB hearingsNY Waterway ferry captain interviewsFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 sibling would grow up to become one of America's most recognizable voices and redefine how we talk about grief.
Sources:
National Transportation Safety Board: "Aircraft Accident Report: Eastern Air Lines, Inc., Douglas DC-9-31, N8984E, Charlotte, North Carolina, September 11, 1974" (Report No. AAR-75-09, May 23, 1975)Federal Aviation Administration: Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 121.542 and Part 135.100 (The "Sterile Cockpit Rule")Aviation Safety Network: "Accident Description — Eastern Air Lines Flight 212"Janes, Théoden and Fowler, Scott. "9/11/74: The Untold Story of Charlotte's Deadliest Plane Crash" (Multi-part series). The Charlotte Observer, September 2024Janes, Théoden and Fowler, Scott. "'I'm Human,' Said the Co-Pilot: The Fight to Regain His License." The Charlotte Observer, May 21, 2025Fowler, Scott. "Charlotte's Deadliest Plane Crash Has Finally Been Memorialized After 51 Years." The Charlotte Observer, September 10, 2025Sullenberger Aviation Museum: Flight 212 Memorial Dedication Ceremony Records, June 21, 2025Gerard, Philip. "The 1970s: Fatal Distraction." Our State Magazine, August 31, 2021 (includes extensive Colette Watson interview)"The Courage to Fly: Colette Watson's Story." Our State Magazine, 2021Cooper, Anderson. "Stephen Colbert: Grateful for Grief." All There Is Podcast, September 2022Lovell, Joel. "Stephen Colbert on Making The Late Show His Own." GQ, August 17, 2015Schorn, Daniel. "Stephen Colbert On Insincerity." CBS News, April 28, 2006Admiral Cloudberg. "The Rules of the Game: The Crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212" (aviation history analysis)SkyBrary. "Sterile Cockpit Compliance." Flight Safety Digest (context on FAA delay and pilot union resistance)NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System. "The Sterile Cockpit" (Directline #4, June 4, 1993)Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comInstagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallEmail: [email protected]Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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, mechanical failures, and near-death plunges — before setting her sights on becoming the first woman to fly around the world. Follow her final journey on July 2, 1937, as she and navigator Fred Noonan departed New Guinea for Howland Island and never arrived. We'll explore the cascade of equipment failures, weight-saving decisions, and communication breakdowns that turned a daring flight into aviation's greatest unsolved mystery.
Sources:
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Used for official mission timelines, technical details of the "Flying Laboratory", and the communications logs between Earhart and the USS Itasca.The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR): Used for the analysis of the radio antenna removal, the Hooven Report on direction-finding equipment, and research regarding post-loss radio signals."Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E Special, NR16020" - This Day in Aviation: Provided detailed specifications for the Lockheed Electra 10E Special (NR16020), including engine performance and fuel modifications.Peter Hancock (University of Central Florida): A comprehensive reexamination of the human factors, ergonomics, and communication failures that plagued the final leg of the flight.Modern Sciences: An analysis of the radio frequency mismatches and the failure of the "homing" signal.Recall Aviation Analysis: A deep dive into the physics of the antennas and why the trailing wire was essential for the 500 kHz frequency.Britannica: Used for the foundational biography and the timeline of the first world flight attempt in March 1937."Lockheed Model 10-E Electra" - The Museum of Flight: Technical history of the Lockheed Model 10 series, including the design contributions of Kelly Johnson."Does Anyone Remember Fred Noonan?" - William Patrick Dean"Who Was Fred Noonan, Amelia Earhart's Navigator?" - Fox News"Fred Noonan" - TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery)"Amelia Earhart, Her Husband and the Myths They Created" - The Washington Post"Amelia Earhart's Husband George Putnam 'Pushed Her to the Brink' New Book Claims" - People"How Amelia Earhart Became a Legend" - Radio CatskillFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 history: a decade-long hunt through wreckage, laboratory tests, and dead ends that will demand a third aircraft, one surviving pilot, and one extraordinary experiment before the truth finally gives itself up. One hundred and fifty-seven people died before anyone understood why.
Sources:
Mayday: Air Disaster, Season 4, Episode 5, "Hidden Danger"NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-01/01 — United Airlines Flight 585, Amended Final Report, March 27, 2001NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-99/01 — USAir Flight 427NTSB Human Performance Group Chairman's Factual Report — Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 (DCA96IA061)FAA Airworthiness Directive AD 94-01-07FAA Airworthiness Directive AD 99-11-05FAA Airworthiness Directive AD 2002-20-07FAA 737 Flight Controls Engineering Test and Evaluation Board (ETEB) Findings and Recommendations SummaryAuralis Skies, "The Day an Airplane Took Control — and No One Survived"The Seattle Times, "Safety at Issue: The 737" investigative seriesDenver Westword, "Flight Diversions"WTAE Pittsburgh, "Flight 427: Pennsylvania's Deadliest Plane Crash, 30 Years Later"Planesafe.org — Gail Dunham, "Safety – 737 United 585 – Postscript," June 7, 2001AeroTime, "Revisiting the Boeing 737 Rudder Issues of the '90s"Aviation Stack Exchange — Boeing 737 rudder servo valve vulnerability discussionSimple Flying — aircraft component temperature changes in flightNTSB Press Release, September 26, 2024 — urgent safety recommendations on Boeing 737 rudder systemAviation Safety Network — United Airlines Flight 585 accident descriptionAviation Safety Network — USAir Flight 427 accident descriptionWikipedia — United Airlines Flight 585Wikipedia — USAir Flight 427Wikipedia — Boeing 737 rudder issuesEverything Explained Today — United Airlines Flight 585 pilot biographical detailsJustapedia — Captain Harold GreenVirginia Tech Libraries — USAir Flight 427 passenger listHistorical Marker Database (HMDB) — Widefield Community Park memorial markerFind A Grave — Captain Peter GermanoFind A Grave — First Officer Charles B. "Chuck" Emmett IIIFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 dangerous than most people realize. This is the story of the "medical lottery," the invisible safety net that exists on every flight, and the remarkable coincidence that the plane carrying aviation's newest passenger was already named "Born to Be Blue."
Sources:
JetBlue Airways official statement, February 16, 2019"Baby Born Onboard JetBlue Flight" - TravelPulse, February 18, 2019"JetBlue passenger gives birth to baby boy" - Fox News, February 18, 2019"JetBlue Named a Plane 'Born to Be Blue'" - View from the Wing, February 17, 2019FAA Regulations 14 CFR 121.803 and Appendix A (Emergency Medical Kit requirements)Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998 (49 USC 44701)MedAire/MedLink ground physician advisory service documentation"How cabin crews deal with medical emergencies onboard an aircraft" - GlobalAir.com (2024)Diana Giraldo interviews re: Frontier Airlines in-flight delivery, 2022Dr. Dale Glenn interviews re: Delta Air Lines cryptic pregnancy delivery, 2021Journal of Travel Medicine study on documented in-flight births (1929-2018)Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 continents and the unimaginable grief that followed one father home from the crash site.
Sources:
Mayday: Air Disasters episode "Deadly Crossroads" (Season 4, Episode 7)Official BFU (German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation) Final ReportCockpit Voice Recorder Database (tailstrike.com)Swiss Federal Court rulings on Skyguide liability (2007, 2011)Wikipedia articles on 2002 Überlingen mid-air collision and Vitaly KaloyevBureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (BAAA)Communicatio Optima aviation safety analysisChina Daily court coverage (2007)Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 people to survive all three maritime disasters.
Sources:
"Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop Who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters" edited by John Maxtone-Graham (1997, Sheridan House Inc.)British Board of Trade Official Inquiry into the Loss of the SS Titanic (1912) - Lord Mersey's ReportU.S. Senate Inquiry into the Titanic Disaster - Senate Subcommittee Hearings chaired by Senator William Alden Smith (1912)White Star Line Crew Agreements and Official Logs - National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, UKEncyclopedia Titanica - Biographical entries for Violet Jessop, Arthur John Priest, and Archie Jewell (www.encyclopedia-titanica.org)Commonwealth War Graves Commission Records - Archie Jewell memorial entry, Tower Hill Memorial, LondonWreckSite.eu - SS Donegal sinking documentation (torpedoed April 17, 1917 by UC-27)Tower Hill Memorial Records - Merchant Navy casualties with no known grave"Official History of the War: Naval Operations" - documentation of SS Donegal torpedoing by German submarine UC-27Southampton Stories - local historical accounts of White Star Line crew membersThe Old Salt Blog - "Arthur John Priest: The Unsinkable Stoker" and related maritime history articlesBBC History - biographical profiles of Titanic survivorsMaritime Archaeology Trust - White Star Line vessel documentation and crew recordsNational Maritime Museum Collections - Olympic-class ship records and crew manifestsFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
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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 unravel how a burst of solar radiation exploited a software flaw, why 6,000 aircraft were pulled from service during Thanksgiving week, and how this incident transformed aviation safety forever.
Sources:
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) preliminary investigation documentsEuropean Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2025-0234-EFederal Aviation Administration (FAA) Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2025-24-51Airbus Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) A320-27-3301"WHAT Actually Grounded the Global Airbus A320 Fleet?!" - Mentour Pilot YouTube channel"Solar Flare Fallout: Airbus A320 Global Grounding" - Aviation analysis"When the Sun Strikes Back: How a Solar Flare Nearly Took Down an Airbus A320" - Pavel Zlatník, MediumIndia Today: "How a solar explosion grounded 6,000 Airbus planes globally"CNN Aviation: "Thousands of passenger planes need emergency maintenance"NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center solar activity reports (October 2025)University of Surrey Space Engineering Department radiation dataFlightRadar24 flight tracking data for JetBlue Flight 1230Reddit r/aviation passenger testimonialsLiveATC audio recordingsFind FINAL BOARDING CALL online:
Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: [email protected]Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding CallCredits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.
- Visa fler
