Forensic Transmissions Episode 57: Four Mayday Calls
(1) On December 20, 2010, rescue crews were called in to search for Casey Speed, 28, who fell off a sailboat when drunk into the San Francisco Bay. The search was suspended after eight hours. The water was 50 degrees and Mr. Speed was not wearing a life jacket.
(2) On May 9, 1980, the southbound span of the Skyway Summit bridge over Tampa Bay, Florida was destroyed when the freighter Summit Venture collided with a pier during a thunderstorm. The collision caused six cars, a truck, and a Greyhound bus to fall 150 feet into the water, killing 35 people. The pilot of the ship was cleared of wrongdoing by both a grand jury and a Coast Guard investigation.
(3) On August 14, 2013, UPS flight 1354, crashed upon landing at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, in Alabama. The captain and first officer were killed and the airplane was destroyed. The accident was caused by the flight crew’s failure to monitor the aircraft’s altitude during landing.
(4) January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines 261 crashed into the Pacific Ocean about 2.7 miles north of Anacapa Island, California. The accident was caused by faulty mechanical equipment. The 2 pilots, 3 cabin crew members, and 83 passengers on board were killed, and the airplane was destroyed.