Black Box Down is a podcast about unexpected plane flight crises that demand more than flight manuals to resolve. If planes are the safest way to travel, why don't they all reach their destinations? Gustavo Sorola and Chris Demarais retell the harrowing true stories and investigate the reasons. The title comes from a plane's "black box" that details what went wrong.

Sorola is a flight enthusiast, actor, and award-winning podcast host. He cofounded Rooster Teeth Productions, which produces this podcast. Demarais is an actor, producer, host, and writer at Rooster Teeth.

The frightening truth is that some accidents on Black Box Down weren't preventable. What's more alarming is that some tragedies resulted from minor maintenance issues. For example, two planes crashed because of broken cockpit light bulbs. There are also complications no pilot anticipates, like a volcano destroying an engine. In another disaster, a ceiling ripped off a plane without warning.

The Black Box Down podcast details an emergency landing prompted by fuel insufficiency. Listeners learn the exasperating reason the plane flew without enough gas. The plane had to land at a decommissioned military base. The pilots didn't know that part of the runway was now a racetrack. There was an event occurring onsite. Both engines were out, so the plane made a soundless descent, giving attendees no warning. Two boys were riding bikes on the landing strip as the airplane approached. The pilots saw terror in their eyes. The outcome is astonishing.

The hosts discuss the flight that caused the most passenger deaths. The plane crashed into a mountain, and rescuers didn't reach survivors in time. Of 524 on board, only four survived. What happened before the crash is horrifying. The plane entered a phugoid cycle and endured Dutch rolls for eighteen minutes. The swaying and roller-coaster-like motions were intolerable. The pilots encountered oxygen deprivation and stopped responding to ground control. There were explosions, the ceiling crumbled, and the plane split apart. What went wrong? Was it preventable? The maintenance manager and others implicated in the crash made dramatic amends. Black Box Down finds answers to tragedies like these to inform inquisitive travelers.