Black Box Down
Channel Details
Black Box Down
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. Sub...
Recent Episodes
150 episodes
The Future of the Aviation Industry
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais discuss the future of the aviation industry in this final episode of Black Box Down.
This episode is sponsored...
The Troubled History of the Berlin Brandenberg Airport
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais explore the more than 25 year saga of the Berlin Brandenberg Airport. Find out the story behind the troubled develop...
Frozen Flight Crashes In the Potomac River
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais discover the details of Air Florida Flight 90 after it crashed in the frozen Potomac River just after takeoff. A har...
Passenger Flight Disappears in Dense Jungle Near Colombian Border
Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola dig through the details of what caused Copa Flight 201 to crash into one of the most remote jungles on the planet. W...
Kenya Airways Flight Fails to Recover From Hard Bank Roll
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais investigate what happened to Kenya Airways Flight 507 after the pilots failed to recover from a hard bank roll that...
Wrong Turn Proves Fatal for Garuda Indonesia Flight 152
Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola uncover how a wrong turn became deadly for Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 on this episode of Black Box Down.
Pilots Fight Hardover Rudder to Regain Control of Aircraft
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais investigate what happened to Northwest Airlines Flight 85 that caused the plane to get stuck in a hard left bank ove...
Explosion Hits Plane After Landing Safely in Taiwan
Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola discover what happened to Uni Air Flight 873 after an explosion rocked the passenger cabin just after landing, sprea...
Propeller Detaches and Cuts Open Belly of Passenger Plane
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais get to the bottom of what happened when a propeller detached from a Lockheed L-188C and cut open the belly of the fu...
Hijacker Murders All 43 Passengers/Crew on Commuter Flight
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais uncover the details of Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771 after a hijacker took over the aircraft with a revolve...
Fire Breaks Out During Takeoff Resulting in Major Changes for Airline Safety Procedures
Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola uncover what happened to British Airtours Flight 28M when a fire broke out during the takeoff roll. Find out what ha...
Terrorist Bomb Fails to Down Philippine Airlines Flight 434
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais figure out how a terrorist bomb explosion failed to bring down Philippine Airlines Flight 434. With the aid of a com...
Picking Apart Planes in Movies with Blaine from 'Tales from the Stinky Dragon'
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais are joined by Blaine Gibson of 'Tales from the Stinky Dragon' fame to pick apart the details of Hollywood's attempts...
This Is Why We Can’t Smoke on Flights Anymore
Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola dive into the reasons smoking has been banned on airlines. Find out why airlines have put a stop to the Madmen era o...
Mid Air Collision Crashes in San Diego Neighborhood
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais uncover what happened to Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 after it collided with a Cessna 172 and crashed into...
Charter Flight Carrying Brazilian Football Squad Disappear in the Mountains Outside Medellín
Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais uncover the details of LaMia Flight 2933 carrying a Brazilian soccer team and their entourage from Santa Cruz, Boliv...
Loss of Propeller Blade Forces Emergency Crash Landing
Chris Demarais and Gustavo Sorola investigate what happened after a propeller exploded and forced Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 out of the ai...
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 Atl...
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...
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 r...
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 en...
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 airpo...
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....
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 jung...
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 med...
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...
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 mid...
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...
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...
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 Mediter...
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 cl...
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 p...
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 haz...
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 p...
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 b...
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 fro...
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...
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...
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...
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...