A cold-blooded murder in broad daylight triggered by an event that took place 36,000 feet. When the trip of a lifetime turns into the worst civilian plane crash in German history. Seconds from Disaster s4e4: Collision at 35,000 Feet
Uberlingen, Germany: How two highly advanced aircraft Bashkirian Tupolev T-u 154 & a DHL Boeing 757] could be in exactly the same spot at exactly the same time? ibid.
1998: A US military jet [Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler] severs the wire of a cable car in the Italian Alps. The crew may face court marshal for the deaths of 20 people. Investigators must discover how a routine training flight ended in catastrophe. Seconds from Disaster s4e5: Cable Car Collision
The people of the town instantly know something is very wrong. ibid.
The damaged Prowler jet is almost impossible to fly … They’ll have to make an emergency landing. ibid.
They took a video camera on the flight. The tape is either blank or it’s been erased … It challenges the crew’s story. ibid.
Crews have not been properly briefed on changes to the low-level regulations. ibid.
Reductions in crew training, errors on the map, and information not reaching the crew – these are systemic errors. ibid.
Bhopal, central India, 1984: City residents wake choking and unable to breathe. Stampeding in panic, thousands die, poisoned by the very air about them. An American-owned factory, Union Carbide, supposedly rigged with safety systems. It triggers the world’s worst industrial accident. Seconds from Disaster s4e6: Bhopal
Minor gas leaks are a regular occurrence and the workers have had to learn to live with the choking effects. ibid.
In minutes the pressure in the chemical storage tanks has shot off the scale … Operators are powerless to stop toxic gas pumping into the night sky. ibid.
‘We had no antidote and no information from Union Carbide.’ ibid. local hospital doctor
Northern Japan, March 11th 2011: The earthquake continues for 5 minutes. It’s felt 230 km away in Tokyo … The most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan. Seconds from Disaster s5e1: Fukushima, National Geographic 2012
The first news pictures show widespread devastation throughout the north of the county. ibid.
Fukushima Power Station bears the full force of the Tsunami … A massive aftershock rocks the plant; almost immediately the building which houses Reactor No. 1 explodes … An even larger explosion blows the building that houses Reactor No. 3 … And the very next day another explosion causes a huge fire in Reactor building 4. ibid.
May 1941: A storm rages in the Atlantic ocean. A squadron of antiquated biplanes take on the most powerful warship the world has ever seen: Bismarck. Seconds from Disaster s5e2: The Bismarck
The Hood opens fire … Shells reign down in the Denmark Strait. One salvo hits the Hood, pierces six decks of steel and explodes in the ship’s magazine, detonating three-hundred tons of ammunition. The huge ship splits in two and sinks in just two minutes. Over fourteen hundred sailors lose their lives. ibid.
On May 27th the British opened fire … Within minutes a hit destroys the command bridge … The British ships close in … The Bismarck lists hard to port and capsizes. ibid.
1963, Italy: An alpine landslide … For thousands who live in the shadow of Europe’s tallest dam, unaware of the unfolding spectacle, it’s already too late. Investigators uncover an astonishing plan to control an unstable mountainside. Seconds from Disaster s5e3: Mountain Tsunami
Chunks of Monte Toc slip towards the reservoir … A 70-metre high wall of water swamps Longarone and sweeps on down the valley flattening buildings, killing hundreds … It managed to kill more than 2000 people. ibid.
1993, Waco, Texas, where 76 men, women and children die in a blazing fire. Were cult members led to their deaths by charismatic leader David Koresh? Or killed by out of control federal agents? Seconds from Disaster s5e4: Waco Cult
Cults leader David Koresh is found with a bullet shot to the head. The siege has gripped America. ibid.
The FBI simply escalated tensions. ibid.
A terrible plan that could only have one outcome. ibid.
April 20th 2010 5 p.m.: The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig: An explosion rips through an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The survivors can’t stop the blowout and flee. 2 hours earlier a test showed the oil well was safe. Seconds from Disaster s5e5: The Deepwater Horizon
Crude oil and gas continue to surge from the well feeding the flames and explosions. The emergency disconnect has not worked. Most workers escape using the rig’s lifeboats. ibid.
The drill crew missing an early opportunity to realise the well could blow out. ibid.
Nitrogen foam: Halliburton do not expressly alert BP to the result … The cement foam is seriously unstable. ibid.
Mumbai, India, November 2008: The world watches on as a fire rages at the city’s most famous landmark, the luxury Taj Mahal hotel. It’s rumoured that up to sixty terrorists [Lashkar-e-Taiba] are behind a series of commando-style attacks. 59 hours after the attacks began, 166 innocent people are dead. Seconds from Disaster s5e6: Mumbai Massacre
Two men armed with machine guns enter the Concourse. ibid.
2 car bombs explode in different parts of the city. ibid.
Norway, July 2011: A bomb rips through Oslo city centre killing 8 people. On an island 40 kilometres away over 500 teenagers are running for their lives: a lone gunman is methodically hunting them down. In a 3-hour terror spree, 77 people will die. Over 200 will be injured. Seconds from Disaster s6e1: Norway Massacre: I Was There
It’s now left to Norway’s security services to stop him on the day of the attack. ibid.
909 men, women and children lie dead. Almost all by self-administered poison. It appears an incomprehensible act. Seconds from Disaster s6e2: Jonestown Cult Suicide
5 minutes after the first shot is fired the killing are over. 5 people lie dead including Congressman Ryan. He’s been shot more than 20 times. ibid.
In reality this jungle paradise is in virtual lockdown. ibid.
Families betray families because they live in fear of their leader. ibid.
Swissair flight 111 is en route from New York to Geneva. The passengers are settling back to enjoy the flight. As cabin power is cut some passengers are mildly concerned. But in the cockpit it’s a different story. The pilot’s attempts to control the jumbo are failing. Few on board realise they only have minutes to live. Seconds from Disaster s6e3: Fire in the Cockpit
‘You could smell the fuel from the jet; as we got closer you could see debris floating.’ ibid. local boat rescue
What caused a modern passenger airliner to plummet into the Atlantic Ocean killing everyone on board? ibid.
The fire was raging not in the galley but out of sight above it … The fire started in front of the bulkhead above the cockpit ceiling where the pilots noticed the smell almost immediately. ibid.
Somalia, East Africa: US special forces on a lightning raid into the heart of Mogadishu. Two Black Hawk helicopters are brought down by a hostile militia. 99 US soldiers are trapped in the city overnight as armed Somalis close in on their position. Seconds from Disaster s6e4: Black Hawk Down