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), Indonesia
• NTSB 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 4
• Crash of SilkAir Flight MI 185 — Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board Singapore
• SilkAir Flight 185 Case Summary — Wisner Law Firm
• SilkAir 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.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.

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.

• Aircraft 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.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.

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 inquiry
• National 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 lawsuits
• Victim testimonies and survivor interviews
• NHTSA "Do Not Drive" warnings and coordinated remedy program documentation
• Congressional testimony from whistleblowers Mark Lillie and Bob Schubert

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.