Air Crash Investigation

In 1977, Southern Airways Flight 242 encountered a violent storm in which hailstones shattered its windscreen, leading the DC‑9 to lose control and crash. The impact forced the aircraft to plummet to the ground, marking a tragic incident. The aircraft descended rapidly, striking the terrain and resulting in fatalities.

Southern Storm is a television programme presented as a single episode. It falls within the genre of episodic storytelling, focusing on a specific historical aviation event. The show is designed to recount a factual account of what happened during a dramatic flight emergency, and it aims to inform rather than dramatise, presenting the sequence of events as they unfolded. The episode centres on an event that took place in 1977, when Southern Airways Flight 242 found itself trapped in a violent thunderstorm. The aircraft, a DC‑9, was caught in conditions that rapidly escalated beyond normal turbulence, putting the crew and passengers in immediate danger as the storm intensified. The crew attempted to navigate through the hail, but the weather left little margin for manoeuvre. During the ordeal, the storm produced hailstones of such force that they struck the plane’s windscreen, actually cracking the glass. This damage compromised the cockpit’s visibility and structural integrity, creating a critical situation for the pilots who suddenly had to contend with a shattered windscreen while still battling the severe weather. The breach in the windscreen contributed to the aircraft’s loss of control, and the DC‑9 began a rapid descent. Unable to recover, the plane ultimately plummeted to the ground, marking a tragic conclusion to the flight. The programme recounts these facts without embellishment, sticking closely to the recorded details of the incident.