On August 12, 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 climbed into the evening sky with 524 people aboard, bound for a routine 54-minute flight to Osaka. Twelve minutes later, a thunderous explosion tore through the aircraft, severing all hydraulic controls and leaving the crew fighting to control an uncontrollable jumbo jet using only engine thrust. What followed was 32 minutes of extraordinary airmanship as three pilots battled against impossible odds. Discover how a seven-year-old maintenance error led to the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in aviation history—and how the heroic actions of the crew would later help save lives in future emergencies.

• Mayday: Air Disasters - Season 3, Episode 3, titled "Out Of Control"
• "Japan Airlines Flight 123 | A Short Documentary" - Fascinating Horror
• Japan Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission Official Report
• NTSB Investigation Documents
• Wikipedia - Japan Airlines Flight 123
• Survivor testimonials and witness interviews

• Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com
• Email: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.com
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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.

On December 20, 1987, the passenger ferry MV Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker MT Vector in the Tablas Strait of the Philippines, creating a catastrophic inferno that claimed over 4,300 lives—nearly three times the death toll of the Titanic. Join Alice and Zach as they investigate how corporate negligence, regulatory failure, and a culture of overlooking safety standards converged to create the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history. Discover the harrowing stories of the 26 survivors who escaped burning waters, the families who fought for decades seeking justice, and why this tragedy—despite its massive scale—remains largely forgotten outside the Philippines.

Sources:

• "4,385 Souls Gone: The Nightmare Voyage of the Doña Paz" - Stunning History (YouTube documentary)
• "Burning at Sea: The Sinking of MV Doña Paz" - Philippines' Most Shocking Stories, Episode 6, ABS-CBN News
• "Asia's Titanic" - National Geographic Channel-Asia documentary
• "MV Doña Paz" - Wikipedia article
• "Hell at Sea: Remembering the Tragedy of the MV Doña Paz" - Nicai de Guzman, Esquire Magazine Philippines
• Philippine Coast Guard Marine Board of Inquiry Report - February 29, 1988
• Caltex Philippines v. Sulpicio Lines - Supreme Court of the Philippines, September 30, 1999
• Vector Shipping Corp. v. Macasa - Supreme Court of the Philippines, July 21, 2008
• "Doña Paz victims waiting for justice 25 years after" - Joey Gabieta, Philippine Daily Inquirer
• "MV Doña Paz survivor reunites with family after 25 years on 'Wish Ko Lang'" - GMA News, GMA Network
• RV Petrel Wreck Discovery Footage - Released December 19, 2019

Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:

Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com

Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPod

Facebook: Final Boarding Call

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.

When three desperate men seize control of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, demanding to be taken to Australia, they set in motion a chain of events that will test the limits of human endurance and pilot skill. With insufficient fuel for their impossible journey, Captain Leul Abate faces an unthinkable choice: comply with the hijackers' demands and crash into the ocean, or risk everything in a desperate gamble to save his passengers. Join Alice and Zach as they explore this harrowing true story of hijacking, heroism, and one of aviation's most dramatic water landings ever captured on film—a crash witnessed by beach tourists who had no idea they were filming one of the deadliest hijackings in history.

Sources:

• Mayday: Air Disasters - Season 3, Episode 13, "Hijack!"
• Official Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 Accident Investigation Report
• "Ethiopian jet hijack ends in disaster" - BBC News, November 23, 1996
• "The Hijacking and Ditching of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961" - Admiral Cloudberg on Medium
• Contemporary news coverage from Associated Press and Reuters
• Survivor testimonies from Michael Adeno and Frank Huddle

Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online:

• Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com
• Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPod
• Facebook: Final Boarding Call

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.