Black Box Down

By Rooster Teeth

Society & Culture Aviation

What's Black Box Down about?

A true crime podcast in the air. Lifelong aviation enthusiast Gustavo Sorola and his co-host Chris Demarais break down the major accidents in aviation and the steps taken to prevent future disasters. If you like true-crime podcasts but want something fresh and unique, you’ll love Black Box Down. Subscribe now and fasten your seat belt.

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LAST EPISODE

Boeing 757 Crashes in the A...

02.02.2023

Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola find out why Birgenair Flight 301, a Boeing 757 with 189 people on board, fell out of the sky and crashed in the Atlantic shortly after taking off from the Dominican Republic. What could have ...

Black Box Down episodes:

02.02.2023 Boeing 757 Crashes in the Atlantic Ocean Shortly After Takeoff Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola find out why Birgenair Flight 301, a Boeing 757 with 189 people on board, fell out of the sky and crashed in the Atlantic shortly after taking off from the Dominican Republic. What could have ...
01.26.2023 Commuter Airliner Crashes Less Than 30 Minutes After Takeoff Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola uncover what happened to KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 after the airliner failed to reach enough speed to takeoff safely. After a failed landing attempt in Amsterdam, the flight crashed in a field less than 2,000 ...
01.19.2023 Indonesian Flight Lost at Sea Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais attempt to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Adam Air 574, a Boeing 737 with 102 people on board, en route to Manado from Surabaya in Indonesian when Air Traffic Control lost them from ...
01.12.2023 Engine Fire Forces Emergency Landing Near Busy Roadway in the UK Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais uncover the details of what happened to British Midland Airways Flight 092 after smoke filled the cabin signaling engine failure and forcing the Boeing 737 to attempt an emergency landing at a runway near a ...
01.05.2023 Airbus Fails to Stop on Notoriously Short Runway in São Paulo Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais sort through the details of what happened to Tam Airlines Flight 3054’s crash landing at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport under heavy rains on an infamous runway with a history of incidents due to the degree ...
12.29.2022 Flight from Bangkok Disappears in the Himalayas Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola uncover what caused Thai Airways International Flight 311 to cause the tragic crash deep in the Himalayan mountains. Find out what happened on this episode of Black Box Down. Find us on social media and ...
12.22.2022 Flight Data Recorder Stolen by Looters After Fatal Crash in Peru Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola discover what happened after Transportes Aéreos Nacionales de Selva (TANS) Flight 204 disappeared in the Amazon jungle while attempting an emergency landing at Pucallpa Airport in Peru. Find out what happened on this episode of ...
12.15.2022 How Do Your Bags Actually Get to Where You Are Going? Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais talk about the hidden world of baggage handling and how your bags end up wherever they end up. Find us on social media and buy our merch here! https://linktr.ee/BlackBoxDownPod Go to blackboxdownpod.com to support us ...
12.01.2022 The Hardest Part of Flying a Plane Chris and Gus talk about the process of getting a pilot license as well as the challenges and situations you may not have thought about. Find us on social media and buy our merch here! https://linktr.ee/BlackBoxDownPod Go to blackboxdownpod.com to ...
11.17.2022 The Most Deadly Midair Collision of All Time Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola get to the cause of how Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 collided to become the most deadly midair collision of all time. Find out what happened on this episode of Black Box ...
11.10.2022 Demo Flight Collides with ‘Airplane Graveyard’ Mount Salak Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola discover why a demonstration flight promoting the new Russian Sukhoi Superjet passenger aircraft ended in the tragic loss of life on the side of a steep mountain in Indonesia. Find out what happened in this ...
11.03.2022 Legendary F1 Racer Investigates a Crash Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola get to the cause of how a Boeing 767 servicing legendary F1 racer Niki Lauda's airline became the deadliest crash in Thailand's history. Find out what happened in this episode of Black Box Down. Find ...
10.27.2022 Engine Failure Forced This Flight to Ditch in the Mediterranean Sea Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola uncover the root of the cause of why Tuninter Flight 1153 lost both engines and was forced to ditch into the Mediterranean causing it to break up on impact. Find out what happened in this ...
10.20.2022 Disappeared Flight Found Crashed Into the Side of a Mountain While on a visual approach, Trigana Air Flight 267, an ATR 42 turboprop with 54 people on board, contacts air traffic control and disappears into a cloud. Repeated calls to the aircraft go unanswered. A pilot departing Oksibil reports seeing ...
10.13.2022 Why was this Test Flight Crash in the Mediterranean Declared a Crime Scene? XL Airways Germany Flight 888T was on a test flight when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea November 27, 2008, off the French coast killing all 7 people on board. During final approach, the flight disappeared from radar. Find out ...
10.06.2022 A Bad Case of Air Rage Chris Demarais tells Gustavo Sorola all about incidents of air rage and how it can affect a flight. Find out what happens when passengers become a hazard in this episode of Black Box Down. Sponsored by ExpressVPN (go to http://expressvpn.com/blackboxdown ...
09.28.2022 Northwest Airlink 5719 / Slam Dunk Gone Wrong Northwest Airlink 5719 is about to land at Chisolm-Hibbing airport in Minnesota. Poor weather and a tail wind have forced the pilots to change their plans and land on the runway in the opposite direction from what they were initially ...
09.22.2022 Air Moorea 1121 / A Seven Minute Flight Ends in Tragedy Air Moorea 1121, a seven minute long passenger flight between the islands of Moorea and Tahiti, has taken off for its quick flight. Witnesses on the beach are horrified as shortly after takeoff the plane plunged into the ocean below. ...
09.15.2022 Seaplane Tragedy in Miami / Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 December 19th, 2005. Chalk’s Ocean Airways Flight 101, a 58 year old Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard seaplane with 20 people on board, is taking off from the Miami Seaplane Base, bound for a short 25 minute flight to Bimini in ...
09.08.2022 A History of Seaplanes with Brian Gaar / A Seaplane Made Out of Wood Gustavo and Chris are joined by Brian Gaar from Ship Hits The Fan to learn about the history of seaplanes. Learn some fun facts in this bonus episode of Black Box Down. Sponsored by HelloFresh (http://hellofresh.com/blackboxdown16 and use code BLACKBOXDOWN16) ...
08.25.2022 Can An Airplane Take Off with an Elephant On Board / Movie Realism with Barbara Dunkelman Gustavo and Chris are joined by Barbara Dunkelman from Squad Team Force to talk about more airplanes in movies. What happens when an elephant gets put on an airplane? Find out in this bonus episode of Black Box Down. Sponsored ...
08.11.2022 Airplane Filled with Orphans Crashes / Explosive Decompression on Operation Babylift A Lockheed C-5A Galaxy is carrying orphans out of Vietnam. Operation Babylift was a military operation during the Vietnam War to evacuate baby orphans and bring them to the United States and other countries. During the first flight of this ...
08.04.2022 A Failure the Pilots Were Never Trained For / TAM Flight 402 Crashes into São Paulo A Fokker 100 crashes shortly after taking off in Brazil. TAM Flight 402 has an autothrottle failure during the takeoff roll. The pilots on board take the correct actions against this and continue with their takeoff. Shortly after lifting off ...
07.28.2022 A Reset Circuit Breaker Causes Crash / Indonesia AirAisia Flight 8501 Falls to the Sea An Airbus A320 crashes in the ocean near Indonesia. Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 is cruising at 32,000 feet when the pilots receive an error message in the cockpit. The error is a minor problem and the pilots are able to ...
07.21.2022 Airplane Crashes In A Mall Parking Lot / Fine Air Flight 101 Crashes in a Mall Parking Lot A McDonnell Douglas DC-8 crashes in a busy Miami parking lot. Fine Air Flight 101 is packed with cargo bound for the Dominican Republic. Just after take off, the airplane pitches up sharply and starts to stall. The pilots don't ...
07.14.2022 Engine Goes Idle During Takeoff / TAROM Flight 371, Romania's Deadliest Plane Crash An Airbus A310 crashes less than a minute after takeoff. TAROM Flight 371 has just taken off from Bucharest bound for Brussels. Moments after leaving the ground one of the engines starts to reduce to idle. The crew are unaware ...
07.07.2022 Did The Pilot Crash This Plane on Purpose? / EgyptAir Flight 990 Ends In Controversy A Boeing 767 suddenly crashes into the Atlantic Ocean. EgyptAir Flight 990 has recently taken off from New York when crew members switch their rest shifts ahead of schedule. The captain leaves the cockpit for a moment leaving the first ...
06.30.2022 Airplane Does a Barrel Roll with Passengers on Board / American Eagle Flight 4184 Loses Control An ATR-72 starts to violently bank right on its own. American Eagle Flight 4184 is flying to Chicago when it gets placed in a holding pattern. After 45 minutes the crew start receiving further clearance but as they make their ...
06.23.2022 Pilots Accidently Cause a Go Around / China Airlines Flight 140 Crashes At Airport An Airbus 300 crashes on airport grounds. China Airlines Flight 140 is on final approach to Nagoya, Japan. As the crew is making final preperations, the first officer accidently activates the go around lever without realizing it. The pilots struggle ...
06.16.2022 Pilots Struggle as Airplane Nosedives / Alaska Airlines Flight 261 Crashes off California Coast A McDonnell Douglas MD-83 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 is cruising when the crew begin to notice a problem with the horizontal stabilizer. While the pilots are troubleshooting, the plane begins to suddenly nosedive. The pilots ...
06.09.2022 Was This Crash an Assassination? / Polish Air Force Flight 101 Crashes with President on Board A Tupolev 154M carrying the President of Poland crashes while trying to land. Polish Air Force Flight 101 is carrying many high ranking Polish officials to Russia to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre. The weather conditions make ...
06.02.2022 Leaving Luggage in an Airport feat. Geoff Ramsey / Chris Left His Pants on a Plane Hear more stories caused by airline travel. Gustavo and Chris are joined by Geoff Ramsey to share more stories from traveling on airplanes. Sponsored by Sunday (http://getsunday.com/blackboxdown and use code blackboxdown16) Credit Karma (http://creditkarma.com) and The Jordan Harbinger Show (http://jordanharbinger.com/start) ...
05.19.2022 All About Airspaces / The Places You Can't Fly In Go to flight school this week and learn all about Airspaces. Gustavo sits down with Chris to teach him all about the different airspaces in the United States. Find out how many there are in this episode of Black Box ...
05.05.2022 Accident Ends in Murder / The Überlingen Mid-air Collision A Boeing 757 and a Tupolev Tu-154M collide over southern Germany. Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and DHL Flight 611 are both flying over southern Germany at night. Both crews start getting warnings about a possible collision from their in flight ...
04.28.2022 Airplane Crashes Upside Down on Runway / Propair Flight 420 Loses a Wing A Fairchild Metroliner SSA26 flips upside down just before making an emergency landing. Propair Flight 420 has just taken off from Montreal but must turn back due to a warning message. The left wing is overheating and as the pilots ...
04.21.2022 Captain Survives Crashing Into Mountain / Air China Flight 129 Crashes on Approach A Boeing 767 crashes while circling a runway. Air China Flight 129 is approaching Busan, South Korea when they are told to land in the opposite direction than they planned for. While the crew is circling, they fly in to ...
04.14.2022 Captain Continues Banking After Instrument Failure / Korean Air Cargo 8509 Crashes Immediately After Takeoff A Boeing 747 crashes immediately after taking off. Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 takes off from London after some frustrating delays. The captain is angry and worried about a piece of equipment on board that appears to not be working ...
04.07.2022 Air France Flight 296Q Crashes at Airshow / Airbus Crashes in Front of Hundreds of Spectators A brand new Airbus A320 crashes while performing at an airshow. Air France Flight 296Q is being flown by the brand new Airbus A320 and is full of contest winners and journalists. The crew are told they will be part ...
03.31.2022 Distracted Crew Enter a Deep Stall / West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 Falls From 33,000 Feet A McDonnell Douglas MD-82 flies above its maximum altitude. West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 is over Venezuela when the crew decides to climb to 33,000 feet to avoid storms. The engines are unable to produce enough power to maintain speed ...
03.29.2022 Introducing 30 Morbid Minutes A dark journey into the morbid, creepy, and unexplained, pulled from history and the headlines of today. Hosted by Jessica Vasami and Elyse Willems. Find it at https://link.chtbl.com/30morbidminutes or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. ...
03.24.2022 Pilots Crash Doing a Go Around / USAir Flight 1016 Crashes in a Neighborhood A McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes seconds after starting a go around procedure. The crew of USAir Flight 1016 are cautious of heavy storms over their destination airport. As they are on final approach the crew decided to go around due ...
03.17.2022 Airplane Stalls 1 Mile Before Runway / Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 Falls Out of the Sky A Boeing 737 on final stalls a few hundred feet in the air. Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 is descending when the airplane determins it is time to land. The throttle automatically goes to idle and the crew doesn't realize until ...
03.10.2022 Pilot Refuses to Declare Emergency / Avianca Flight 52 Runs Out of Fuel The first officer of a Boeing 707 doesn't declare an emergency when he needs to. Avianca Flight 52 is running out of fuel over New York City and has to land. Bad weather forces the plane to do a go ...
03.03.2022 Pilot Has A Breakdown / US Bangla Airlines Flight 211 The captain of a Bombardier Q400 becomes fixated with landing the plane no matter what. US Bangla Airlines Flight 211 is on approach when the crew becomes overwhelmed. The captain is in the middle of a breakdown and becomes disoriented. ...
03.02.2022 Introducing Ship Hits The Fan Charlotte, Patrick and Brian are here to introduce a new podcast about maritime disasters: Ship Hits The Fan! Find it wherever you download podcasts or click here https://link.chtbl.com/shiphitsthefan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
02.24.2022 What It Takes to Animate Airplanes / Aviation Explanation Behind The Scenes Learn what it takes to turn Black Box Down into an animated show. Gustavo and Chris are joined by Jordan Cwierz, Andrew Lhotsky and Al McClelland to learn the behind the scenes of Aviation Explanation. Learn some animation information on ...
02.10.2022 Nightmare at 20,000 Feet \| Insidious Inspirations Podcast Find out the real life inspiration for this Twilight Zone episode. Gustavo and Chris guest star on the Insidious Inspirations Podcast to tell you what inspired the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". Find us on social media and ...
02.10.2022 When Movies are Realistic with Insidious Inspirations / Real Pilot Starred in a Movie Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais are joined by Nichole Goodnight to talk about the realism of aviation in movies. Listen as they discuss Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, Yellowjackets, and 7500 in this bonus episode of Black Box Down. Sponsored by ...
01.27.2022 The Amsterdam Apartment Disaster / El Al Flight 1862 Loses Control Over Amsterdam A Boeing 747 has engine trouble after takeoff. El Al Flight 1862 has just taken off and is flying over Amsterdam when the plane loses power from two engines. The crew realizes they are too high and too fast to ...
01.20.2022 Cargo Brings Down Plane / National Airlines Flight 102 Brought Down by Cargo A Boeing 747 carrying military vehicles crashes right after takeoff. National Airlines Flight 102 is flying five multi-ton military vehicles out of Afghanistan and stops for a quick refueling. After some concerns about the cargo being loose, the crew prepares ...

Older episodes

Black Box Down

What's Black Box Down about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Black Box Down episodes:

Boeing 757 Crashes in the Atlantic Ocean Shortly After Takeoff

Commuter Airliner Crashes Less Than 30 Minutes After Takeoff

Indonesian Flight Lost at Sea

Engine Fire Forces Emergency Landing Near Busy Roadway in the UK

Airbus Fails to Stop on Notoriously Short Runway in São Paulo

Flight from Bangkok Disappears in the Himalayas

Flight Data Recorder Stolen by Looters After Fatal Crash in Peru

How Do Your Bags Actually Get to Where You Are Going?

The Hardest Part of Flying a Plane

The Most Deadly Midair Collision of All Time

Demo Flight Collides with ‘Airplane Graveyard’ Mount Salak

Legendary F1 Racer Investigates a Crash

Engine Failure Forced This Flight to Ditch in the Mediterranean Sea

Disappeared Flight Found Crashed Into the Side of a Mountain

Why was this Test Flight Crash in the Mediterranean Declared a Crime Scene?

A Bad Case of Air Rage

Northwest Airlink 5719 / Slam Dunk Gone Wrong

Air Moorea 1121 / A Seven Minute Flight Ends in Tragedy

Seaplane Tragedy in Miami / Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101

A History of Seaplanes with Brian Gaar / A Seaplane Made Out of Wood

Can An Airplane Take Off with an Elephant On Board / Movie Realism with Barbara Dunkelman

Airplane Filled with Orphans Crashes / Explosive Decompression on Operation Babylift

A Failure the Pilots Were Never Trained For / TAM Flight 402 Crashes into São Paulo

A Reset Circuit Breaker Causes Crash / Indonesia AirAisia Flight 8501 Falls to the Sea

Airplane Crashes In A Mall Parking Lot / Fine Air Flight 101 Crashes in a Mall Parking Lot

Engine Goes Idle During Takeoff / TAROM Flight 371, Romania's Deadliest Plane Crash

Did The Pilot Crash This Plane on Purpose? / EgyptAir Flight 990 Ends In Controversy

Airplane Does a Barrel Roll with Passengers on Board / American Eagle Flight 4184 Loses Control

Pilots Accidently Cause a Go Around / China Airlines Flight 140 Crashes At Airport

Pilots Struggle as Airplane Nosedives / Alaska Airlines Flight 261 Crashes off California Coast

Was This Crash an Assassination? / Polish Air Force Flight 101 Crashes with President on Board

Leaving Luggage in an Airport feat. Geoff Ramsey / Chris Left His Pants on a Plane

All About Airspaces / The Places You Can't Fly In

Accident Ends in Murder / The Überlingen Mid-air Collision

Airplane Crashes Upside Down on Runway / Propair Flight 420 Loses a Wing

Captain Survives Crashing Into Mountain / Air China Flight 129 Crashes on Approach

Captain Continues Banking After Instrument Failure / Korean Air Cargo 8509 Crashes Immediately After Takeoff

Air France Flight 296Q Crashes at Airshow / Airbus Crashes in Front of Hundreds of Spectators

Distracted Crew Enter a Deep Stall / West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 Falls From 33,000 Feet

Introducing 30 Morbid Minutes

Pilots Crash Doing a Go Around / USAir Flight 1016 Crashes in a Neighborhood

Airplane Stalls 1 Mile Before Runway / Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 Falls Out of the Sky

Pilot Refuses to Declare Emergency / Avianca Flight 52 Runs Out of Fuel

Pilot Has A Breakdown / US Bangla Airlines Flight 211

Introducing Ship Hits The Fan

What It Takes to Animate Airplanes / Aviation Explanation Behind The Scenes

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet | Insidious Inspirations Podcast

When Movies are Realistic with Insidious Inspirations / Real Pilot Starred in a Movie

The Amsterdam Apartment Disaster / El Al Flight 1862 Loses Control Over Amsterdam

Cargo Brings Down Plane / National Airlines Flight 102 Brought Down by Cargo

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