High on Everest in the death zone with little hope of rescue a climber contacts his wife. Seven lives have already been lost in Everest’s deadliest storm. Seconds from Disaster s6e5: Into the Death Zone
Japan Airlines flight 123: It’s the worst single aircraft disaster in aviation history. A Boeing [747] crashes into a mountain [Mount Takamagahara] north-west of Tokyo. 520 passengers and crew perish in a pile of twisted metal. Seconds from Disaster s6e6: Terrified Over Tokyo
The plane pitches forward and starts an uncontrolled dive. The plan disappears from radar. ibid.
Miraculously, four survivors are found despite spending a night on the mountainside. ibid.
One bulkhead plate has sheared off along the line of rivets joining it to its neighbour. ibid.
Rush hour, Osaka, Japan. A Monday morning. A commuter train is carrying hundreds of people to work. Anxious over connections, many of the passengers are unaware this will be their last journey until it’s too late. Seconds from Disaster s6e7: Runaway Train, National Geographic 2012
It hurtles past the platform at 120 km per hour. As the train approaches the next station, Itami, an alarm activates inside the driver’s cab. Rapid Train 5418M is over the speed limit … The train has overshot the platform by the length of more than three carriages … The train hurtles towards Amagasaki station … ‘There was a bang and everything flipped over.’ ibid.
The Amagasaki disaster leaves 562 injured and 107 dead, with 99 of the fatalities in the front two carriages. ibid.
The culture within the train company many have been a contributing cause of this accident. ibid.
The skies over Japan, August 9th 1945: America is about to drop its second atomic bomb in three days. Within seconds 30% of Nagasaki is flattened, and more than 30,000 people are vaporized. Seconds from Disaster s6e8: Nagasaki: The Forgotten Bomb
With the force of 22 kilo-tons of TNT, Fatman generates heat of over 4,000 degrees Celsius, and winds of up to 1,000 kilometres an hour that surge across the city. ibid.
6.7 square kilometres of the city has been turned to rubble. More than 70,000 men, women and children are vaporized. 70,000 more are injured. ibid.
Argentinian fighter bombers on a deadly low-level mission. A British warship tasked with being the bait. They are on a collision course that could cost hundreds of lives. And change the course of a war. Seconds from Disaster s6e9: Sinking the Coventry
The Falkland Islands, May 25th 1982: Britain and Argentina have been at war for 54 days … The pilots fly low in an attempt to stave off their enemy’ radar … A pair of outdated fighter bombers were able to sink one of the British Navy’s most technologically advanced ships. ibid.
2 June 1994: A Chinook helicopter has crashed. Everyone on board is dead. They include Northern Ireland’s top anti-terrorism experts and one of the Royal Air Force’s most experienced crews. When the report is published, tragedy turns to shock and outrage. A firestorm of controversy ignites over what really happened on that barren hillside. Seconds from Disaster s6e10: Chinook Helicopter Crash
Northern Ireland, Belfast: After 14 years service with the RAF, the Chinook has undergone an extensive refit. ibid.
The passenger list is so sensitive, it is shredded on takeoff. ibid.