S13 · E08

Imperfect Pitch (XL Airways Germany Flight 888T)

Feb 3, 201445mRating 7.7

On 27 November 2008, an aircraft on a post-maintenance test flight operating as XL Airways Germany Flight 888T crashes into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of France, killing all seven people on board. The investigators determined that improper maintenance work allowed water to enter the aircraft's angle of attack (AOA) sensors. The water then froze during flight, causing the sensors to stop working. The crew tried to test the stall warning system during flight, and the aircraft entered a low-speed stall.

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Imperfect Pitch (XL Airways Germany Flight 888T)

Episodes

Fight to the Death (British European Airways Flight 548)

Disaster on the Potomac (Air Florida Flight 90)

Speed Trap (Hughes Airwest Flight 706)

Queens Catastrophe (American Airlines Flight 587)

Lost in Translation (Crossair Flight 498)

Massacre Over the Mediterranean (Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870)

Terror in Paradise (Air Moorea Flight 1121)

Imperfect Pitch (XL Airways Germany Flight 888T)

Into the Eye of the Storm (Hurricane Hunters NOAA42)

Titanic in the Sky (Qantas Flight 32)