Final Boarding Call

Alice Stern
  • 4.4 (14)
  • True Crime
  • Weekly

Final Boarding Call dives into the true stories of aviation disasters, survival tales, and near misses that have shaped history. Hosted by Alice, a disaster-obsessed frequent flyer, and her reluctant, homebody husband Zach, each episode explores the history, mechanics, and human decisions behind these harrowing events. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, we examine how small oversights and miscommunications can cascade into catastrophe, revealing the fragility of complex systems and celebrating the heroism that emerges in crisis. From ghost planes circling on autopilot to pilots sucked out of windshields at 17,000 feet, we unpack these incidents with equal parts fascination and respect for the lessons they've taught us. So stow your tray tables, fasten your seatbelts, and prepare for turbulence—because not every trip reaches its final destination.

  1. 3d ago

    EgyptAir Flight 990

    About half an hour after takeoff from New York, a Boeing 767 bound for Cairo, carrying 217 people and two full flight crews, begins to behave in a way nobody on board can easily explain. Two governments study the same recordings for more than two years and reach opposite conclusions about what happened and why. Join Alice and Zach for the people, the evidence, and the question that still divides two countries. And what does this crash have to do with September 11? Sources: "EgyptAir Flight 990, October 31, 1999" (Aircraft Accident Report NTSB/AAB-02/01) - National Transportation Safety BoardAppendix B, "Response of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority to the Draft Report" - in NTSB/AAB-02/01"Death and Denial" - Mayday: Air Disasters, Season 3, Episode 8"Egyptians Reject Flight 990 Finding" - CBS News"Public Docket Opened on EgyptAir Flight 990" - CNN"NTSB blames co-pilot for EgyptAir crash" - CNN"EgyptAir flight 990" - Encyclopaedia BritannicaCoverage of the first-anniversary memorial dedication in Newport, Rhode Island - Associated Press"Downing of EgyptAir 990 inspired 9/11 plot, says Al Qaeda newsletter" - Fox NewsThe Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family - Nelly Lahoud, Yale University PressThe 9/11 Commission Report - National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.comInstagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding Call Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

  2. Oct 21

    Andrea Gail Fishing Boat and The Perfect Storm

    A swordfishing boat is three days from home when it sails into a collision of weather systems that meteorologists say happens once every fifty to a hundred years. Six men are aboard. Two hundred miles away, a sailboat crew is about to be pulled from the same ocean by a rescue swimmer running on fumes. One boat makes it home. Drawing on the Coast Guard's own investigation, join Alice and Zach for the story of the storm that gave its name to every impossible convergence of bad luck since — and the six men who never got the chance to outrun it. Sources: The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger — W.W. Norton & CompanyThe Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey by Linda Greenlaw — Hyperion"Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Disappearance of the F/V Andrea Gail" (16732/91064) — U.S. Coast Guard, Marine Safety Office Boston / First Coast Guard District, finalized 28 January 1994"The Original Story of 'The Perfect Storm'" — Sebastian Junger, Outside MagazineNOAA / National Weather Service Boston — buoy and storm data archiveNational Hurricane Center — Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Grace and the 1991 Unnamed HurricaneU.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue logs — Satori rescue and Andrea Gail search operations“The Halloween Nor’easter of 1991: East Coast of the United States, Maine to Florida and Puerto Rico, October 28 to November 1, 1991” (Natural Disaster Survey Report) - NOAA National Weather Service, June 1992“Surviving the Perfect Storm” by Mark Soupiset - USAA Magazine, January/February 2001“Daughters carry on legacy of father lost in ‘Perfect Storm’” - The Southampton Press, May 15, 2008 Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.comInstagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding Call Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

  3. Oct 14

    Qantas Flight 32

    The world’s largest passenger jet climbs out of Singapore on a routine training flight. Four minutes later, an explosion inside one engine sends debris tearing through the wing — and for several minutes, a fire burns inside it that not one person flying the plane ever knows about. Join Alice and Zach for the story of five pilots, one badly damaged A380, and the manufacturing flaw the size of a few sheets of paper that started it all. Sources: In-flight uncontained engine failure, Airbus A380-842, VH-OQA (AO-2010-089) - Australian Transport Safety BureauLessons Learned from Transport Airplane Accidents, Airbus A380-842 case study - Federal Aviation AdministrationQF32 - Richard Champion de Crespigny (2012)Mayday: Air Disasters, Season 13, Episode 10Crippled Airbus A380, saved by Pros! | Qantas flight 32 - Mentour Pilot Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.comInstagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding Call Check out this listener's app: https://finaltakeoff.lovable.app Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

  4. Oct 7

    ValuJet Flight 592

    Six minutes after takeoff from Miami, a routine climb turns into a fight for control that lasts less than four minutes. Join Alice and Zach as they trace a chain of small decisions — made in a maintenance hangar weeks earlier — that put something dangerous where nobody expected it, and the regulator that had been warned about exactly this kind of failure eight years before it happened. SourcesAircraft Accident Report: In-Flight Fire and Impact with Terrain, ValuJet Airlines Flight 592, NTSB/AAR-97/06 - National Transportation Safety Board (August 1997)United States v. SabreTech, Inc., 271 F.3d 1018 - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (October 31, 2001)"Flight crew shared love of aviation" - St. Petersburg Times, May 14, 1996"Enough Blame To Go Around In ValuJet Crash" by Mark Sherman, Cox News Service - The Spokesman-Review, August 19, 1997"ValuJet Flight 592" original crash coverage - The Miami Herald, May 12, 1996"There was another tragedy in Miami after Eastern Flight 401. What happened with ValuJet" by Grethel Aguila - The Miami Herald, December 21, 2022"FBI offers $10,000 reward for fugitive mechanic wanted in 1996 fatal airline crash" by Carli Teproff - The Miami Herald, April 6, 2018"$250 Million to Families of Passengers who Died in the May 1996 ValuJet crash" - Podhurst Orseck firm landmark cases page"Mishandled Hazardous Materials Results in Commercial Airplane Crash Lawsuit: Hyatt v. ValuJet Flight 592" - Slack Davis case summary"We're Losing EVERYTHING…" Valujet 592 - Mentour Pilot YouTube channel Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com Email: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPod Facebook: Final Boarding Call Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

  5. Sep 30

    SilkAir Flight 185

    A brand-new Boeing 737 is thirty-four minutes into a routine flight from Jakarta to Singapore when its cockpit voice recorder goes dark — while the aircraft is flying straight and level in clear skies. Minutes later, the flight data recorder follows. Then the plane leaves cruising altitude entirely. Two official investigations examined the same wreckage. They did not agree on what happened, or why. Join Alice and Zach for the story of SilkAir Flight 185. Sources: Final Report: Investigation of Aircraft Accident SilkAir Flight MI 185 — National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), IndonesiaNTSB Letter to the NTSC Regarding SilkAir Flight 185 — National Transportation Safety Board"Pushed to the Limit" (also broadcast as "Pilot Under Pressure") — Mayday: Air Disasters, Season 12, Episode 4Crash of SilkAir Flight MI 185 — Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board SingaporeSilkAir Flight 185 Case Summary — Wisner Law FirmSilkAir 185: Pilot Suicide? — National Geographic Documentary (2006)Airworthiness Directives; Boeing Model 737 Series Airplanes — FAA, Federal Register (2002) Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.comInstagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding Call Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

  6. Sep 23

    DHL Airbus A300 OO-DLL

    A cargo plane climbs out of one of the most dangerous airports on earth, carrying nothing but mail. Somewhere below, armed men are waiting for exactly this kind of target. Join Alice and Zach for the story of the only known case in aviation history where a large airliner lost every hydraulic control system to a missile strike — and the crew found a way to fly it anyway. SourcesAircraft accident record, Airbus A300B4-203F OO-DLL, Baghdad International Airport — Aviation Safety Network"How An A300 Made An Injury-Free Landing After Being Hit By A Missile" by Jake Hardiman and Gaurav Joshi — Simple Flying"Do you remember? A missile attack of a DHL A300 in Baghdad, Iraq" — Aviation24.be"Attack Over Baghdad" — Mayday: Air Disaster, Season 3, Episode 2 Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.comInstagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding Call Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

  7. Sep 16

    The Takata Airbag Disaster

    What happens when the safety device meant to save your life becomes the weapon that kills you? Discover how a cost-cutting decision to use explosive chemicals, a 15-year corporate cover-up involving destroyed evidence and manipulated test data, and catastrophic regulatory failures turned millions of ordinary cars into ticking time bombs. Learn why a 17-year-old's "fender bender" became a crime scene, how executives fled to Japan to avoid prosecution, and why—even in 2026—an estimated 10 million of these defective airbags are still on the road. This is the largest and deadliest automotive recall in history, and it's not over yet. SOURCES: Senate Commerce Committee Investigation Reports (2015, 2016) - Takata airbag defect inquiryNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recall database and safety notices"What Caused Takata's Airbag Problems?" - Wharton Business School analysis (February 2016)"Takata's Deadly Airbags" - The New York Times investigative series by Hiroko Tabuchi and Bill Vlasic (2013-2017)Department of Justice criminal case documents and settlement agreements (2017)Internal Takata emails and documents obtained through lawsuitsVictim testimonies and survivor interviewsNHTSA "Do Not Drive" warnings and coordinated remedy program documentationCongressional testimony from whistleblowers Mark Lillie and Bob Schubert FIND FINAL BOARDING CALL ONLINE: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.comEmail: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.comInstagram: @FinalBoardingCallPodFacebook: Final Boarding Call CREDITS: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

  8. Sep 9

    Varig Flight 254

    On a clear evening in the Brazilian Amazon, a routine forty-minute hop between two small airports turns into hours of confusion, radio silence, and a jet with a shrinking fuel supply over some of the most remote rainforest on Earth. Join Alice and Zach for the story of the people aboard Varig Flight 254 — the ones flying it, and the ones who had to save themselves after it went down. SourcesFinal Report on the Accident to Boeing 737-241 PP-VMK — CENIPA"Survivors Airlifted From Brazil Crash Site; Pilot, Teen-Ager Hailed" — Los Angeles Times (wire services)"How Did A Decimal Point Doom Varig Flight 254?" — Mentour Pilot"The Mystery of Flight 254 — 700 Miles Off Their Course" — Mayday: Air Disaster Find FINAL BOARDING CALL online: Website: finalboardingcallpodcast.com Email: finalboardingcallpodcast@gmail.com Instagram: @FinalBoardingCallPod Facebook: Final Boarding Call Credits: Final Boarding Call is hosted by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas, researched and written by Alice Stern, produced and edited by Alice Stern and Zach Stemas.

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4.4
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

Final Boarding Call dives into the true stories of aviation disasters, survival tales, and near misses that have shaped history. Hosted by Alice, a disaster-obsessed frequent flyer, and her reluctant, homebody husband Zach, each episode explores the history, mechanics, and human decisions behind these harrowing events. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, we examine how small oversights and miscommunications can cascade into catastrophe, revealing the fragility of complex systems and celebrating the heroism that emerges in crisis. From ghost planes circling on autopilot to pilots sucked out of windshields at 17,000 feet, we unpack these incidents with equal parts fascination and respect for the lessons they've taught us. So stow your tray tables, fasten your seatbelts, and prepare for turbulence—because not every trip reaches its final destination.

Information

  • Creator
    Alice Stern
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    84
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Alice Stern
  • Show Website
    Final Boarding Call

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