Season 1, Episode 3 · Episode 3 of 79

Bite of the Jackal

First aired Saturday, February 4, 1984

Synopsis

Airwolf goes down in Mexico after sabotage, and a rival agent seizes the chance to try to capture the aircraft.

Episode recap

Three episodes in, the series answers a question every viewer was already asking: what happens if Airwolf goes down? Sabotage strands the Lady in Mexico, and suddenly the most powerful aircraft in the world is just an expensive prize lying in the dirt — and a rival agent knows exactly where to find it. With the machine helpless, the episode leans on the people: Hawke and Santini have to out-think an opponent while guarding the one secret that keeps them alive. It's the first real test of the premise's tension — owning Airwolf makes Hawke untouchable and hunted at the same time — and the show mines that paranoia for everything it's worth.

Transcript

The full transcript for this episode is maintained by the fan community on the Airwolf Wiki. We link rather than copy it — the dialogue belongs to the series' rights holders.

If the wiki link ever breaks, the Internet Archive copy has you covered.

Test yourself

The Bite of the Jackal quiz

Six questions on this episode and the world of Airwolf. Beat your best score — it's saved on this device.

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Mission games

Five quick games — the first three are built from this episode's own mission briefing. More on the Trivia & Games page.

Redacted Briefing

Parts of this episode's mission briefing were censored before transmission. Restore the missing words.

Intercepted Transmission

Airwolf's scanners caught an enciphered line about this mission. Dial the rotor until it decodes.

Mission Timeline

Put this episode and its broadcast neighbours back in air order — earliest first.

Title Scramble

Unscramble this episode's title, one word at a time.

Wolf Hunt

Guess the hidden Airwolf word before the Lady flies off — hangman, fan-style.

Watch-party tools

Hosting a rewatch? Copy a ready-made quiz sheet for this episode — questions up top, answers at the bottom.