Mixed Signals

S1, E8: How could a multibillion-dollar air traffic control systeMoments after takeoff, the pilots of Birgenair Flight 301 are baffled by confusing and conflicting signals and alarms. They’re told the plane is flying too fast, and then warned that they’re traveling too slowly and in danger of stalling. Bewildered, the pilots of the Boeing 757 struggle to keep the 100-ton machine in the air, but within five minutes of taking off, the plane plummets into the ocean, killing all on board. Investigators comb the wreckage for clues and soon discover tiny clues that ultimately brought down this massive jet.m fail to detect two planes on a collision course? And how did a state-of-the-art business plane fail to alert its pilots to the 737 heading straight for it? The investigation of a 2006 crash over the Amazon Rainforest uncovered a string of technological and human errors, which that led to criminal charges and an unprecedented crisis in Brazilian aviation. Follow this investigation, recreated though dramatic reenactments, official reports, cockpit voice recordings and eyewitness accounts.