{{infobox television | | show_name = Mayday | image = [[Image:AirCrashInvestigation.jpg|232px]] | caption = ''from Season 3 Episode 2: Out of Control
[[Japan Airlines Flight 123]] Crash'' | format = [[Documentary Film|Documentary TV Series]] | runtime = 50 minutes | creator = Cineflix | starring = None | country = [[Canada]], [[France]] | network = [[Discovery Channel Canada]] | first_aired = [[2003]] | last_aired = present |}} {{otheruses4|a TV series|other uses|Mayday}} '''''Mayday''''' (also known as '''''Air Emergency''''' in the United States, and '''''Air Crash Investigation''''' in the rest of the world) is a [[Documentary film|documentary]] [[television program]] produced by Cineflix in [[Canada]]. It is aired on [[Discovery Channel Canada]] and the [[National Geographic Channel]]. As of February 2006, 3 seasons of programs have been produced. A spinoff detailing non-aircraft disasters, titled ''[[Crash Scene Investigation]]'' in all parts of the world except Canada, has also been released. In Canada, both the original series and the spinoff are referred to as simply ''Mayday''. It is a documentary that investigates the air crashes in modern history. It reveals events that led up to each crash and the causes to the crashes. It features [[Historical reenactment|reenactment]]s, interviews, testimony, [[computer-generated imagery]] (CGI), and in some episodes, [[Cockpit voice recorder|Cockpit Voice Recordings]] (CVRs) to reconstruct the sequence of events to the audiences. == Name and versions == As there are many different names to the series, there is some confusion over the proper name of the series. The program was originally produced in [[Canada]] under the name ''Mayday''. However, viewers also refer to this series as ''Air Crash Investigations'' while [[National Geographic Channel]] does not officially use the final ''s''.[http://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/explore/aircrash/index.aspx] There are small differences to the show as released to different regions. This includes the use of a British narrator, titling, and different theme music. Curiously, in Australia the first season of the show was aired as ''Mayday'' whereas the following seasons were aired as ''Air Crash Investigations'' (with the plural of 'Investigation' used both in titles and voice-overs). It is presumed that this is the same for other English-speaking nations outside the U.S. Furthermore, the spinoff series ''[[Crash Scene Investigation]]'' is also billed as the fourth season of ''Mayday'' in Canada, and this program, along with the similar series Blueprint for Disaster, are typically billed together as Disaster Detectives on Discovery Channel Canada, leading to further confusion as to the name of the series. == Format == Several passengers and crew members (whether they survived the accident or not) of the accident aircraft would be picked and actors/actresses would play the role of those passengers and crews throughout the accident flight usually starting from boarding of the flight. The flight routines in the [[air traffic control]], [[cockpit]] and [[cabin]] would be recreated on screen starting from departure up to the moment of the accident. At the moment of the accident, external view of the aircraft from different angles would be recreated to show the effect and what had happened to the aircraft. The responses and reactions of the passengers, crews and air traffic control after the accident had happened leading up to the eventual crash or emergency landing are then recreated. All the scenes in cockpit and air traffic control centres are recreated using the actual script obtained from the [[cockpit voice recorder]] of the accident aircraft. The rescue and recovery effort and the investigations process is then recreated in details, showing how the aircraft parts, the flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders are recovered and examined, how the pieces are related together to maintenance records, initial design, training procedures, etc. to draw the final conclusion. Surviving passengers and crews or surviving relatives and friends of deceased passengers are interviewed throughout each episode. Investigators, from [[National Transportation Safety Board|NTSB]] in most cases, involved in the subsequent accident investigations are interviewed to explain the flow of the investigations and how the conclusion and subsequent recommendations are made. Each episode usually ends with a short interview with one of the survivors (or a relative of a deceased) to summarize their experience and how they feel. == Trivia == In contrast with all other episodes, ''"Mistaken Identity"'' (about the shootdown of [[Iran Air Flight 655]] by a U.S. Navy Warship) does not show the passenger cabin, despite the fact that 290 people onboard were killed. Instead, it focuses on the bridge of the ship that shot the aircraft down, and analyses why the warship mistook it for an Iranian fighter jet. This is possibly done because in this episode, unlike the other episodes, the aircraft was shot down and destroyed instantly, giving no premise for a flight-crew/passenger based story to investigate unlike other episodes that are about flights where in most cases, the passengers and/or crew were aware of the emergency prior to crashing.{{fact}}. ==Episodes== ''Main article:'' [[Mayday (TV series) episode guide|Episode Guide]] == Channels == * [[National Geographic Channel]] [[Asia]] * [[National Geographic Channel]] [[Australia]] * [[Discovery Channel Canada]] * [[National Geographic Channel (UK)|National Geographic UK]] * [[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic Channel U.S.A.]] * [[National Geographic Channel|National Geographic Polska (Poland)]] * [[National Geographic Channel]] [[Latin America]] * [[TVN (Poland)]] * [[Seven Network]] (Australia) ==See also== * [[National Geographic Channel#Programs|List of National Geographic Channel programs]] * ''[[Seconds from Disaster]]'' * ''[[Crash Scene Investigation]]'' ==External links== *{{imdb title|id=0386950|title=Mayday}} * [http://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/explore/aircrash/index.aspx Official site in National Geographic UK] [[Category:2003 television program debuts]] [[Category:2000s TV shows in the United States]] [[Category:Documentary films]] [[Category:National Geographic Channel programs]] [[Category:Non-fiction television series]] [[Category:Seven Network shows]] [[nl:Air Crash Investigation]] [[pl:Katastrofy w przestworzach]]