Recap / Mayday S11 E04 "Breakup over Texas"

Following

Accident depicted: Continental Express Flight 2574
Accident date: 11 September 1991
Location: Colorado County, Texas, USA
Aircraft: 1987 Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia (N33701)
Accident description: In-flight breakup due to maintenance error
Fatality tally: 14 out of 14 (100%)
Survivor tally: 0 out of 14 (0%)

In 1991, Flight 2574 from Laredo, Texas to Houston was preparing for landing when the aircraft rolled violently, and its left wing was torn from the fuselage. All 14 people on board died. The cause of the crash was attributed to faulty maintenance - A set of screws was supposed to be fitted on the leading edge, but this procedure was mishandled due to miscommunication between the ground crew, and the safety procedures were negligently skipped. The leading edge detached in flight, causing drag on the wing.

This episode provides examples of the following tropes:

• Artistic License – History: The aeroplane is depicted in-episode with the globe livery indeed adopted by Continental Airlines in the 1990s, but photos of the crash site in real life show the aeroplane painted in Continental's previous livery of a red cheatline and bronze tail section.
• Cutting Corners: Not in the maintenance itself, but in the paperwork which, according to one of the supervisors, can take longer than the work itself.
• "Everybody Dies" Ending: All 14 occupants die when the aeroplane's left wing rips violently loose and it plummets toward the ground.
• Left Out a Piece: Some screws were removed for maintenance purposes, but never put back due to bad communication between different groups of people working on the plane. As a result, the leading edge of the stabilizer broke off during a flight, causing the plane to break up in mid-air and everyone on board to die.
• Oddball in the Series: Unusually, the opening disclaimer mentions that the names of the mechanics involved were changed for the program.
• Oh, Crap!: Shift Inspector Anderson has it during his interrogation, when he realizes his actions have Gone Horribly Wrong and caused the fatal crash.
• The Place: The crash itself happened in Texas, and a significant part of the episode is about finding the horizontal stabilizer which fell off before the plane crashed.
• Poor Communication Kills: Poor communication between mechanics led to a missing row of screws going unnoticed by everyone present, which led to the leading edge on the horizontal stabilizer to break off Continental Express Flight 2574, killing 14 people.
• You Are Already Dead: Once the first officer sped the plane in preparation for landing, he doomed the lives of everyone on board.