The disaster is only the beginning of the story.
Original title
Air Disasters
Released
5/15/2011
Genre
Documentary
Status
Returning series
Number of seasons
24
Number of episodes
265
Harrowing stories of tragedy and triumph are brought to life through official reports, transcripts and interviews with the pilots, air traffic controllers and lucky survivors of history's most terrifying crashes. Widely considered to be the safest form of travel, air transportation is still in its infancy and when midair calamity strikes, the results are often catastrophic. From the cockpit to the cabin, from the control room to the crash scene, we uncover just what went wrong.
A landing goes wrong when Delta Airlines Flight 191 is hit by an invisible force.
A pilot heads for a decommissioned air force base when the 767 he is flying runs out of fuel.
A flaw on the infamous DC-10 airline causing two midair crashes in the early 70's.
A recovery operation is launched to find out if a 747 was carrying illegal weapons.
Just after take-off, Air Midwest Flight 5481 plummets to the ground, killing all on board.
In 1977, Southern Airways Flight 242 finds itself in a violent storm. When both engines fail, the pilots must land their plane on a rural Georgia highway.
Air India Flight 182 crashes into the sea after an explosion. Was it a tragic accident or an act of terrorism?
Conflicting alarms confuse pilots of Birgenair Flight 301 before it crashes into the ocean.
Pilots try to determine why both landing-gear lights do not function on an L-1011.
A Legacy business jet collides with a Boeing 737 in mid-air over the Amazon Rain Forest.
Chalk's Ocean Airways flight 101 crashes just after take-off from Watson Island in Miami.
Korean Airlines Flight 007 is shot down by a fighter jet when it enters Soviet airspace.
The importance of weather forecasting to the aviation industry.
In August, 1985, an airplane's engine catches fire as it accelerates.
Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes shortly after take-off in Detroit.
A design flaw on the Fokker F28 causes two similar plane crashes in Ontario and New York.
Air France Flight 296 fails to regain altitude after performing a flyby during an air show.
Five aviation disasters and the changes they have forced air-traffic controllers to make.
An Air Inter flight crashes into the Vosges Mountains while attempting to land.
An air traffic controller's mistake causes two planes to collide on the runway.
The West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crash ultimately leads to bankruptcy of the troubled airline.
AM Airlines Flight 3054 slides off a runway and crashes into a warehouse next to a petrol station.
In 1978, passengers and seven people on the ground die when a PSA flight crashed into a Cessna.
Manchester United football team's plane crashes while returning from Yugoslavia, killing 23 aboard.
Moments before a Pacific Southwest flight crashes in California, gunshots are heard in the cabin.
United Airlines Flight 232 crashes into Sioux City's runway in 1989.
A Northwest Airlines flight above the Bering Sea must make an emergency landing in Anchorage.
Continental Express Flight 2574 suffers wing damage and goes into a dive falling out of the sky.
A burst tire creates an in-flight fire on flight 2120 which causes passengers and crew to perish.
Moments after take-off, SAS Flight 686 collides with a Cessna on the runway.
A Korean Air Cargo flight crashes in a field moments after takeoff from England's Stansted Airport.
Arrow Air Flight 1285 with 248 American soldiers on board crashes after refueling in Newfoundland.
An emergency landing during a violent storm kills the engines of a 737.
The emergency landing of a Reeve Aleutian Airlines plane over the Pacific Ocean.
A plane crash into the alligator-infested Florida Everglades.
As a typhoon bears down on Taiwan, Singapore Airlines Flight 006 hurtles down the runway through high winds and rain. But before it even leaves the ground, the 747 erupts in a fireball, fed by thousands of gallons of fuel, killing almost half of the passengers. Buckle up as we piece together the details of this air disaster. The shocking investigation may make you rethink where you sit the next time you board a plane.
It's a clear and calm December day in 1997 when a Boeing 737 suddenly plummets from the sky into an Indonesian jungle at supersonic speed. All 104 aboard are killed on impact, their bodies lost in the muddy Musi River. Evidence points to a serious mechanical failure, but when the full story of SilkAir Flight 185 is finally revealed, the cause is far more troubling than anyone could have imagined.
Just three miles from its destination and assaulted by severe weather, TANS Peru Flight 204, crashes in Peru's Amazon jungle, leaving a one-mile-long trail of luggage, bodies, and torn aircraft. But the cause for this air disaster proves even more mysterious when it's discovered that the crash site has been scavenged by looters. Join the 312-day investigation, as examiners use all of their creativity to determine why this Boeing 737 fell from the sky, taking the lives of nearly half of those aboard.
Two commercial airliners go missing over the Arizona desert, and are later found in pieces, scattered along the Grand Canyon floor. It's 1956, and air disaster examiner Jack Parshall is pressed for answers. There are no black boxes or any of the advanced technology used by modern day investigators. And all he has to go on are plane fragments and his own expertise. See how Parshall and his team of experts literally pieced the accident together, and how their findings helped transform air travel as we currently know it.
It was the deadliest aviation disaster in U.S. history of its time. The 1979 crash of American Airlines Flight 191 terrified a nation and nearly put the DC-10 out of commission forever. Relive the horrific crash at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that claimed 273 lives, and see how investigators, under intense pressure from the FAA, the media, and airline companies across the globe, finally identified the cause.
Just minutes before touching down in Portland International Airport, all four engines of a DC-8 mysteriously flame out. With the aircraft dropping 3,000 feet per minute, the pilots realize they have no option but to crash land in the middle of a major American city. Witness the harrowing emergency landing of United Airlines Flight 173 in Portland, Oregon, and uncover the shocking reasons for its massive engine failure.
A Russian passenger jet crashes into the Volga River, killing almost everyone on board. The incident turns into a national tragedy when rescuers discover the plane carried some of the country's most famous athletes, the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hockey team. What caused one of the worst disasters in sports history? Was it the crew's fault or would the blame be cast on an aviation industry that isn't up to European and American standards? Investigators are under extreme pressure to find out. The reason is almost too simple to believe.
It was an air disaster that crippled a country, heightened tensions between two nations, and ignited conspiracy theories worldwide. On April 10, 2010, Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M, carrying Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski, crashed on Russian soil, killing everyone aboard. Russian experts pinned the blame on the pilots, but Poland's Interior Minister examined the evidence and reached a far different conclusion. Experience the tragedy that shocked the world and follow the investigation that remains steeped in controversy.
Five minutes into Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, something goes wrong. The pilots lose control of their aircraft, and before they can regain command, they begin an unstoppable descent into the Mediterranean Sea. All 90 aboard are dead and experts are scrambling for answers. There was a storm, but was it big enough to take down a 737? Or was there a more ominous explanation? Experience the terrifying disaster of January 25, 2010, and follow the investigation that led to a finding so controversial, some still refuse to believe it.
Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 is about to embark on a difficult, but common, trip from Merida, Venezuela to Caracas. Minutes after leaving the ground, all aboard are killed when the aircraft crashes into a mountaintop, miles off course. What happened? Relive this devastating 2008 air disaster and witness the demanding recovery mission at an altitude of 14,000 feet. Then join the investigation as experts comb through evidence and discover a lethal combination of bad equipment and bad decisions.
On June 1, 2009, a modern Airbus A330, traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, vanished somewhere over the Atlantic. The families of the 228 presumed victims demanded answers, but would have to wait two years to get them. This is the story of Air France Flight 447, which came to rest 13,000 feet below the ocean's surface in an area deeper than the resting place of the Titanic. The effort to find and reach the aircraft was a miracle. And what investigators discovered in the wreckage would send shockwaves throughout the aviation industry.
Can a generation gap actually cause a catastrophic air disaster? Witness the story of BEA Flight 548, a scheduled passenger flight from London Heathrow to Brussels, which crashed in June of 1972 shortly after take-off near the town of Staines, England. All 118 people on board were killed. The accident became known as the Staines air disaster and, as of 2018, remains the deadliest air accident to take place in the United Kingdom and also marks the highest death toll involving a Hawker Siddeley Trident.
On June 6, 1971, Hughes Airwest Flight 706, a Douglas DC-9-31, enroute from Los Angeles, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah, collided in mid-air with a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, of the U.S. Marine Corps, over the San Gabriel Mountains, near Duarte, California. The F-4 pilot and all 49 passengers and crew on board the civilian airliner died; the Radar Intercept Officer of the F-4 survived. Join the NTSB and military experts as they work together to uncover how a fighter jet could collide with a civilian airliner.
In January 2000, Crossair Flight 498, a Saab 340 commuter flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Dresden, Germany, crashed two minutes after takeoff in the Swiss municipality of Niederhasli. The seven passengers and three crew members aboard the aircraft all died on impact. It was the first fatal crash for the Swiss regional airline Crossair in its 25-year history.
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737-222, crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and plunged through the ice into the Potomac River just two miles from the White House. The death toll reached 74, including four motorists on the bridge, forever changing airport procedure during inclement weather.
On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, enroute from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to the Dominican Republic, crashed shortly after takeoff into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens. All 260 people aboard the plane (251 passengers and 9 crew members), as well as 5 bystanders on the ground, were killed. It's the second-deadliest aviation accident involving an Airbus A300 (after Iran Air Flight 655), and the second-deadliest aviation accident to occur on U.S. soil (after American Airlines Flight 191).
In September of 1989, NOAA 42 “Kermit” flew a research mission into Hurricane Hugo, east of Barbados. On approach, there was a temporary outage of the lower fuselage radar, blinding the crew as to the structure and strength of the storm. Follow the crew through it's hair-raising ordeal as they monitor the landmark hurricane, while flying a plane in turbulence so severe, it puts the mission in jeopardy.
In June of 1980, Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 that left Guglielmo Marconi airport in Bologna, Italy traveling to Palermo, Sicily, and was in its final descent before crashing into the Tyrhennian Sea near the island of Ustica. All 77 passengers and 4 crew lost their lives in the crash, the cause of which is still debated to this day.
In November of 2008, XL Airways Germany Flight 888T crashed at high speed into the Mediterranean Sea killing all 7 on board. The Airbus A320-232 was a flight test (or "acceptance flight") which took place immediately following light maintenance and repainting done in preparation for its transfer from XL Airways Germany, which had been leasing it, to Air New Zealand, the owner.
Did you know 80% of all air accidents are survivable? See how the aviation industry is working to raise that number as survival stories, including the "Miracle on the Hudson", are recalled.
In August 2007, what should have been a seven-minute island-hop from Moorea to Tahiti, in French Polynesia, ended in disaster. According to eyewitnesses, Air Moorea Flight 1121, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, was climbing through 400 feet when it suddenly nosed down and dove into the ocean killing all 20 on board.
The world's largest commercial airliner is coming apart in midair. Fortunately, the pilots are keeping it all together. The story of Qantas Flight 32, a 2010 passenger flight from London to Sydney, Australia. After taking off from Singapore's Changi Airport for the second leg of its flight, an engine exploded, forcing the crew to return to Changi Airport and attempt an emergency landing.
The 1988 flight of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, which saw the top of its fuselage torn off due to an explosive decompression, is recalled.
A surface-to-air missile cripples a cargo plane just after it leaves Baghdad International Airport.
Japan Airlines Flight 123, the worst single-plane crash in history and the simple error made years earlier that caused it.
FedEx employees fend off an attack by a coworker.
A mid-flight bombing aboard Philippine Airlines Flight 434 forces its pilots to attempt a daring landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan.
A Navy cruiser in the Persian Gulf must determine if an incoming plane is friend or foe.
The 1995 crash of a Super Puma helicopter in the North Sea while ferrying workers to an oil platform is recounted.
The worst plane crash in Egypt's history becomes one the most controversial when the investigation focuses on one pilot's intentions.
A pilot allows his teen son to fly the plane; tragedy results.
The story of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, which was hijacked while on a routine trip to the Ivory Coast. The hijackers demanded to be taken to Australia, but there was one problem: the plane didn't have enough fuel to make the trip.
An August 2005 incident in which an Airbus A340 skidded off a runway, endangering the lives of more than 300 people on board, is investigated.
A passenger jet tries to make it to land when it runs into trouble over the Indian Ocean.
A smoke-filled DC-10 makes an emergency landing in Cincinnati and, 90 seconds later, bursts into flames.
The 1997 crash of Korean Air Flight 801, which occurred when the crew attempted an instrument landing during a heavy rain storm, is recalled.
Two deadly Boeing 737 crashes during the 1990s are investigated.
The story of China Airlines Flight 006, which almost crashed into the Pacific Ocean after experiencing engine trouble. The investigation of the incident detailed how jet lag and lack of sleep can impact pilots.
The investigation into a midair collision over Cerritos, Cal., leads to improvements in how planes are monitored.
The 1996 crash in Croatia of USAF IFO-21, an executive transport aircraft carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others, is examined.
An examination of the crash over the Red Sea in January 2004.
The case of Helios Airways 737, in which a passenger flight circling Athens fails to respond to air-traffic controllers.
One of the worst crashes in British history has a stunning cause that changed aviation safety forever.
What caused a 767 to break apart in mid-air? A world-famous race car driver discovers a surprising answer.
After a terrifying crash, survivors face a new challenge: surviving the remote Brazilian jungle.
Relive the crash of Copa Airlines Flight 201 and the harrowing investigation in one of the world's most remote jungles.
See if two MD-11 planes crashes, nearly 12 years apart, were both the result of pilot error or a flaw in the aircraft itself.
Relive one of the most shocking air disasters in American history as we revisit the 1999 crash that killed JFK Jr.
Follow investigators as they use the few remaining pieces of a fiery crash to explain a Concorde's doomed flight.
Mexico's war with drug cartels appears to reach a terrifying new level when a special government charter carrying the president's right-hand man plummets to Earth. There's speculation that this plane crash was no accident but an assassination. The investigation takes a startling new turn after the cockpit voice recorder is recovered. Revisit the night when Mexico City's financial district became an inferno and follow examiners from the crash scene investigation to the shocking conclusion that changed everything.
When a commuter turboprop plane crashes at an Irish airport, investigators uncover a startling gap in aviation safety.
An investigation of a charter plane that moves off course and goes down in Canada's far north.
In 1996, at Quincy Regional Airport in Illinois, United Express Flight 5925, a Beechcraft 1900 twin turboprop, collided on landing with another Beechcraft, a private King Air, that was taking off from an intersecting runway. Why did the fiery collision turn to tragedy, causing all twelve on board the 1900 and two on board the King Air, to perish when they were unable to escape the burning aircraft?
On July 6, 2013, when Asiana Flight 214 crashed after striking the seawall short of the runway on final approach into San Francisco, it shook the world and the investigation proved to be just as dramatic. It was the first crash of a Boeing 777 that resulted in fatalities since that aircraft model entered into service in 1995.
In October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a cargo jet heading from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv suddenly begins rolling violently just seven minutes after takeoff. The pilots struggle to turn the crippled plane back towards the airport, but minutes before landing, another sudden roll sends the aircraft plummeting to Earth and straight into a high-rise apartment complex. 43 die in the crash and a nation demands answers. Investigators search for a cause of the Netherlands' worst ever airline disaster. What they find is a potentially lethal problem threatening every 747 in the sky.
What caused Garuda Flight 200 to slam to the ground and careen off the runway in Yogyakarta, Indonesia? Was it a powerful downdraft? Was there something wrong with the wing flaps? Or did a baffling decision by the pilot lead to the death of 21 people? Join us as we investigate the crash of March 7, 2007, through actual video captured at the scene and testimony from a heroic passenger who survived the disaster. Then see how the investigation led the troubled airline to overhaul its training and safety protocols.
In September 2010, shortly after taking off from Dubai, UPS Flight 6 catches fire. With flames spreading throughout the main deck, the pilots make a desperate attempt to return to the airport for an emergency landing. But critical systems are failing, the pilot has collapsed, smoke is filling the cockpit, and the first officer cannot see his instruments. The only way to land is to improvise an emergency procedure, but shaky communications with controllers and poor visibility inside and outside the plane will make for a nearly impossible landing.
Not far from Congonhas Airport, a Sao Paulo neighborhood is in flames. It's a scene of devastation caused by TAM Airlines Flight 3054, a plane that crashed just seconds after takeoff in July 2007. With a shocked nation watching, investigators from the Brazilian Air Force join forces with the National Transportation Safety Board to learn what happened. After combing through more than a hundred parameters in search of a lead, they determine a series of malfunctions caused the accident, coupled with a mechanical failure so rare that pilots had received no training for it.
Just seconds after taking off from Madrid International Airport, Spanair Flight 5022 rolls to the right and slams into a riverbank beside the runway. In spite of the massive rescue effort, only 18 of the 172 people on board survive. Spain quickly recruits an international team of experts to investigate this puzzling disaster. How could a sophisticated jet, manned by an experienced crew, crash on takeoff? A long preflight delay, an airline in financial trouble, and a blazing August afternoon in 2008 may help provide the answer.
The 1991 crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 to Brunswick, Georgia claims the lives of a NASA astronaut and a former U.S. senator and becomes an international media sensation. Commuter planes like this twin-turboprop aircraft aren't required to carry flight recorders, so investigators must rely on physical evidence to find the cause of the disaster. The strange angle of one of the propeller blades seems to offer an explanation, but in order to prove the detectives' theory, they'll need to take a huge and potentially lethal gamble.
A routine landing in October 2006 on the Norwegian island of Stord turns fatal for Atlantic Airways Flight 670 when the commuter plane skids out of control, off the runway, and down a steep cliff. With several exits blocked, and the plane engulfed in flames, 16 people onboard scramble to escape. Revisit the harrowing crash, and follow investigators as they search for possible causes for the disaster, from a slight tailwind to a wet runway to a hidden flaw in the plane's design.
It's 1961. Air traffic controllers and local dignitaries in Ndola, Africa await the arrival of UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, flying in on a top-secret peace mission. But the plane never arrives, and is found the next morning crashed and burning just a few miles from the airport. For decades, conspiracy theories have suggested that the plane was shot down. Now, startling new claims from a former U.S. intelligence officer have triggered a new investigation to get to the bottom of this controversial, decades-long aviation mystery.
A private Learjet carrying golf legend and reigning U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart takes off from Orlando heading for Dallas in 1999. But within minutes, air traffic control loses contact with the aircraft. The situation grows more urgent when the plane begins an unplanned trajectory across the Midwest. Air Force F-16 fighter planes scramble to intercept the Learjet, only to discover that the pilots and passengers are dead. The only question is why it happened.
A Boeing 757 takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport en route to Los Angeles. In minutes, hijackers storm the cockpit and turn the plane back toward the nation's capital and straight into the Pentagon. A total of 189 people are dead, the fuselage has been vaporized, and investigators are under tremendous pressure to determine how this could have happened. Witness the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 and the ways in which the 9/11 attacks brought immediate and profound changes to commercial aviation throughout the world.
Nearly half a century later, it remains history's deadliest air crash. The 1977 collision of two jumbo jets at a tiny airport in the Canary Islands horrified the world and sent investigators scrambling to understand what happened. Witness the runway disaster that claimed the lives of 583 passengers and crew. Then watch as examiners from Spain, the Netherlands, and the U.S. sift through the wreckage, the tower transcripts, and one pilot's flight log to untangle the chain of events that led to this catastrophic accident.
The chances of a catastrophic event happening after a plane parks are nearly nonexistent, which is why the incident aboard China Airlines Flight 120 in August 2007 was so baffling to investigators. The plane's engines were switched off. The passengers were lining up to debark. Then within seconds, the aircraft was engulfed in flames. What caused the sudden inferno that sent panicked passengers scrambling for their lives? Discover the tiny failure that endangered not only this flight and its passengers, but air travelers around the world.
A short hop from Lyon, France to Brittany in 1998 is extended when pilots of Proteus Airlines Flight 706, a Beechcraft 1900D, decide to give passengers a bird's-eye view of a legendary French ocean liner nearby. Suddenly, the commuter plane explodes in midair and spirals into Quiberon Bay, tragically ending 15 lives. Despite hundreds of eyewitnesses, no one seems to know what brought down the twin-engine Beechcraft. Follow the unimaginable chain of events that led to this crash and discover its impact on innovations in airline safety.
Continental Express Flight 2286, a Trans-Colorado Airlines commuter plane, flies over the Rocky Mountains heading to Durango-La Plata County Airport in 1988. Five miles from touchdown, something goes terribly wrong. There's no sign of the runway and before both pilots can react, the aircraft crashes in the frozen wilderness. Nine of the 17 people on board are killed, and investigators are left scrambling for answers. One survivor's testimony troubles the examiners, but it's an unexpected phone call that points to a shocking discovery.
It's a routine takeoff on an ordinary morning in 2015 when Germanwings Flight 9525 leaves Barcelona for Dusseldorf. But something goes horribly wrong over the French Alps. The plane begins rapidly descending and air traffic control gets no response from the cockpit. Everyone's worst fears are realized when the plane is found smashed to pieces in the mountains. All passengers and crew aboard are dead. As the investigation unfolds, grief soon turns to horror when black box data points to a possibility so dark, it's almost beyond belief.
During Indonesia's unpredictable rainy season, a Boeing 737 suddenly finds itself in the middle of a violent storm in January 2002. The white-knuckle ride gets much worse when the plane loses both engines and then its electrical power. After two failed attempts to restart the crippled aircraft, the pilots are left with only one perilous option. Witness the crash of Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 and the desperate water landing with no engines, no assistance, and no electronic guidance.
Just days after Christmas in 2014, an Airbus A320 en route to Singapore disappears over the Java Sea. A massive search confirms the worst: the plane has crashed, killing all 162 on board. Speculation runs wild about what could have brought the airliner down, and an international team of experts comes together to help determine what caused AirAsia Flight 8501 to plummet from the sky. Discover how a mysterious action by the captain set off a deadly sequence of events that ultimately doomed the aircraft.
It's April 2013. A 747 cargo plane leaves Afghanistan's largest airfield with 207,000 pounds of military equipment. Within seconds of takeoff, the pilots lose control of the aircraft. The nose won't drop, and in an instant, the plane stalls and crashes to the ground. The accident is caught on camera, leading investigators to what seems like an obvious conclusion, until further research indicates there must be more to the story. Discover how the crash of National Airlines Flight 102 became Bagram Airfield's worst ever civilian aviation accident.
After a long delay on a hot July evening in 1996, TWA Flight 800 leaves John F. Kennedy Airport carrying 230 passengers and crew en route to Paris. Minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 747 jumbo jet suddenly explodes without warning, killing everyone aboard. Was it a bomb? A missile? A design flaw? To find the answer, the NTSB must attempt the unthinkable: rebuild the entire plane, piece by shattered piece.
On a commuter flight from Minneapolis to Hibbing in 1993, Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 descends into the clouds on a cold Minnesota night. Suddenly, the pilots of the twin-engine turboprop find themselves ricocheting off the treetops, crashing violently into a hillside. Investigators face intense pressure to find the cause of the crash that killed all 18 people on board. Initial concerns center around the inexperienced first officer, but further digging reveals a darker issue, one that surfaced months before the plane ever left the ground.
A blackened scar on a frozen field near Detroit marks the fatal impact zone of Flight 3272. The sudden loss of 29 lives leaves families in anguish and investigators perplexed. In search of answers, the NTSB turns to the FAA only to discover that federal regulators themselves may be part of the problem. Witness the stunning 1997 crash of this small commuter aircraft and discover how outdated ideas put pilots and passengers at risk.
Air China Flight 129 prepares to land at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea when a direction from air traffic control to change its approach sets off a series of tragic events that claim the lives of 129 people on board. What happened in those final moments between the captain and his crew? And could a few critical seconds have made the difference between life and death? Discover what caused the worst air disaster in South Korean history and find out the key recommendations made to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.
A routine flight from Jakarta to Medan, Indonesia encounters a very non-routine obstacle: forest fires that are sending a thick blanket of smoke across all of Southeast Asia. But it was a series of avoidable human errors, not a natural disaster, that doomed Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 on September 26, 1997. Discover how an air traffic controller's number mix-up, an incorrect altitude setting, and a wrong turn claimed 234 lives, resulting in the deadliest plane crash in Indonesian history.
It was supposed to be a routine 50-minute hop from Columbia, SC to Charlotte, NC for USAir Flight 1016. But in an instant, a beautiful summer day gave way to one of the most powerful microbursts on record, sending the DC-9 crashing to Earth and killing 37 of the 52 passengers on board. While the storm was intense, investigators are not convinced weather alone caused the disaster. Revisit the harrowing crash and discover how the plane's extreme changes in speed, direction, and altitude created fatal confusion in the cockpit.
It was a state-of-the-art commuter plane making a simple one-hour flight from Taipei to a Taiwanese island off the coast of China. But within minutes of takeoff, TransAsia Flight 235 plunged into the Keelung River, killing all but 15 people on board. To determine the cause of the crash, investigators examine stunning footage captured by the dashcam of a passing car and uncover shocking evidence about the captain and even the airline itself.
An Airbus A321 carrying Russian tourists back from Egypt in 2015 suddenly disappears from radar minutes after takeoff. Air Force jets locate the charred wreckage in the Sinai Desert. There are no survivors. How did this modern airplane just fall from the sky? Follow Egyptian investigators and their Russian counterparts as they work through political tensions and wild rumors to discover the truth behind the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268.
A 737 leaving Buenos Aires fails to lift off in August 1999, hurtling past the airport and crashing into a nearby industrial gas plant. Investigators from Argentina collaborate with the NTSB to determine what kept the plane from taking flight. What they discover points to a stunning conclusion that impacts the Argentinean airline industry. Revisit the tragedy of LAPA Flight 3142 and discover why an experienced crew failed to execute a basic takeoff procedure.
An Airbus A310 is minutes from reaching Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport when it disappears in the Himalayas. Two days later, the wreckage is found. None of the 113 people onboard have survived. Witness the flight's final moments, investigate the cause of the crash, and discover how the disaster underscored the need for more advanced air traffic control technology at the mountainous Nepali airport and the critical importance of teamwork among pilots.
Emery Worldwide Flight 17 leaves Sacramento Mather Airport in February 2000 while carrying a load of freight containers. Upon takeoff, the aircraft dives repeatedly and banks to the left. The pilots attempt to regain control of the crippled plane and return to the airport, but the DC-8 crashes a mile from the runway, killing all three crewmembers. Investigators suspect the cargo was loaded improperly, until a much more troubling cause is discovered upon closer examination.
The landing of a TransAsia commuter flight in bad weather goes horribly wrong in July 2014. The plane crashes less than a mile from Magong Airport in the Penghu archipelago, a popular Taiwanese vacation spot. The media quickly claims the storm caused the disaster, but investigators aren't so certain. When another TransAsia crash occurs just seven months later, their suspicions are confirmed: there is a systemic problem with the airline, and if it isn't corrected soon, the lives of more passengers and crew members will be at risk.
A Boeing 727 leaving Dallas for Salt Lake City on August 31, 1988 crashes just moments after takeoff, killing 14 of the 108 passengers and crew on board. The NTSB is fast to arrive on the scene, but finding the answers to what went wrong won't come nearly as quickly. Revisit the disaster of Delta Airlines Flight 1141, recounted by one of its fortunate survivors, and follow the inquiry, which uncovers a fatal error made during takeoff.
A commercial airliner whisks 283 passengers from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on a flight path that will take them over a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine. Mid-flight, the aircraft suddenly breaks up and crashes to Earth, killing all aboard. Signs point to a surface-to-air missile strike, but with the wreckage resting in the heart of a war zone, finding evidence proves challenging. See how investigators, against all odds, were able to literally piece together the story of what caused the 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.
The state-of-the-art Russian aircraft Sukhoi Superjet 100 takes flight on what's meant to be a tight, 30-minute loop over Indonesia to impress potential buyers and journalists. But the trip turns catastrophic after pilots lose their way in the clouds and veer straight into a mountain at 240 mph. Just reaching the wreckage will be one of the most challenging salvage operations Indonesian investigators have ever faced. Finding an explanation for the crash will prove just as troubling.
In the skies above the Mojave Desert, Virgin Galactic's commercial spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, accelerates toward the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere, guided by test pilots. Suddenly, the aircraft breaks apart and falls from the sky, killing the flight's co-pilot. With the future of space tourism in jeopardy, NTSB investigators must determine exactly what caused the test flight to go so horribly wrong.
Qantas Airways Flight 72 cruises at 37,000 feet to Perth, Australia from Singapore. Suddenly, the highly automated A-330 fires off a series of contradictory warnings and repeatedly nosedives toward the Indian Ocean. Thanks to the heroic flying of a former fighter pilot, the accident does not end in all-out disaster, but the danger is far from over. With almost 600 A-330s in service around the globe, investigators must find out what went wrong before calamity strikes again.
A DC-9 lines up for a nighttime landing at Zurich's Kloten Airport. Although the pilots can't see the runway, their navigation instruments indicate the plane is locked onto the proper signal from the airport. But the equipment is wrong. The plane is actually flying more than a thousand feet lower than it should. Discover the series of errors that caused Alitalia Flight 404 to plow into the ground six miles short of its destination.
China Airlines Flight 140 is less than three minutes from touching down at Japan's Nagoya Airport. Suddenly, the highly automated A300 gains speed and won't respond to the pilots' nose-dive commands. After an aborted landing and attempted go-around, the aircraft stalls and crashes into the ground, killing 264 passengers and crew. With so many A300s in service around the world, investigators must determine what happened before a similar accident occurs.
As Denver air traffic controllers struggle to keep departures on schedule amid heavy snow in 1987, a DC-9 is delayed on the tarmac. When the crew is finally cleared for takeoff, the plane gets only 20 feet off the ground before banking sharply and slamming back down, killing 28 of the 82 people on board. Follow investigators as they uncover why Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crashed in bad weather while others safely took off. The discovery will change commercial flight, and the teams flying these aircraft, forever.
See what happens when an airbus A330 loses power to both its engines over the South China Sea.
When a modified WWII fighter plane crashes into the crowd at a Nevada air show, investigators struggle to find the cause.
A false warning in the cockpit triggers a series of pilot errors, sending a commuter plane crashing by the runway of an Amsterdam airport.
When a DC-8 cargo jet crashes on approach to a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, investigators wonder if Cuba played a role.
Discover why a cargo plane, operating as Fine Fir Flight 101, lost control after takeoff and plowed through a Miami highway in August 1997.
A commercial airliner crashes minutes after taking off from an airport in Bucharest causing suspicions to rise.
A Boeing 737, seconds before liftoff from Denver to Houston, races off the runway, hits a steep ridge, and briefly goes airborne before slamming to Earth and bursting into flames. Revisit the 2008 crash of Continental Airlines Flight 1404 and follow investigators as they look into a mechanical problem previously found on other Boeing 737s, only to find the true culprit in the Rocky Mountains.
Two Russian pilots with limited experience flying Boeing 737s attempt to land one in the middle of the night with both of the aircraft's engines operating at different power levels. The pairing of a new captain with an unproven first officer was enough to put passengers at risk, but there was one more factor at play that sealed the fate of Aeroflot Nord Flight 821. Witness the fatal crash that occurred minutes before landing, and follow the investigation that led to a call to completely overhaul Russia's aviation system.
LaMia Flight 2933, carrying Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team, is approaching Medellin, Colombia to play for the prestigious Copa Sudamericana championship when its crew suddenly declares a fuel emergency. Before air traffic control can clear a path, the plane loses power and crashes to the ground, killing all but seven passengers. Investigators discover no leaks and are mystified over how the experienced pilots could fly a plane with an insufficient amount of fuel. As they pore over the evidence, they ultimately uncover a deadly gamble.
At the end of a quick trip from Washington, D.C. to Columbus, Ohio, the captain of United Express Flight 6291 grows concerned over reports of icy rain ahead. He opts for a risky "slam dunk" landing, a maneuver where a plane descends rapidly to the runway to avoid bad weather, but something goes wrong. The plane crashes into a warehouse just a mile from the airport. The badly burned wreckage leaves little for investigators to work with, but when they examine the cockpit recording they make a stunning discovery.
Some of the deadliest air disasters in history have been caused by simple miscommunications. A tiny error in the cockpit brings tragedy to Quincy Airport in Illinois. A moment of confusion turns a routine flight in Sumatra into chaos. And a runway mix-up on the island of Tenerife sends two jumbo jets on a collision course. Watch these disasters unfold and see how safety investigators responded to prevent human misunderstandings from triggering future catastrophes.
Passengers place their lives in the hands of pilots on every flight. While pilots are highly trained to handle a wide variety of emergencies, it is often personal problems like impatience, arrogance, and incompetence that can lead to tragedy. Witness three air disasters caused by human flaws and tension in the cockpit, including the 1972 crash of a British Trident, a Minnesota commuter plane that slammed into a hillside, and a Colorado flight doomed by a hungover captain.
An airliner leaving LaGuardia Airport in New York is crippled after flying through a flock of birds. A Canadian flight crew faces disaster when their Boeing 767 loses power and becomes a very large and heavy glider. A violent thunderstorm wreaks havoc on a Boeing 737 flying over the Gulf of Mexico. These three crises would have led to fatal accidents if it weren't for the heroic efforts of the pilots in the cockpit. Witness some of the most remarkable landings in the history of commercial aviation and meet the pilots who pulled them off.
Some of aviation's worst disasters involved the world's most advanced passenger planes. Often, the calamities are caused by a breakdown in trust between the pilots and their highly automated aircraft, turning the cockpit into a struggle of pilot versus machine. Investigate three crashes where experienced pilots lost control of their high-tech planes, including a commercial jet crash that went down at an air show, an Airbus A320 flight test gone wrong, and a modern airliner that dropped from the sky and slammed into the Atlantic.
When civilian airliners explode in the sky, rumors involving terrorist plots and enemy acts often follow. It's up to investigators to gather the evidence they need to determine if they are examining a plane crash or a crime scene. Three commercial flights became targets over the Sinai Desert, the Sea of Japan, and a combat zone in Eastern Ukraine. See the impact these crashes had on the world and the changes they triggered in the aviation industry.
A 737 cruising above an Indonesian jungle suddenly plummets from the sky. An Airbus A320 crashes into the French Alps. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanishes over the Gulf of Thailand. At first, these accidents perplex investigators, until surprising findings suggest the pilots could be to blame. See how these acts forced the industry to be more proactive in monitoring the mental health of their pilots.
When a flight ends in disaster, investigators must determine what, and sometimes who, caused the accident. Some cases are easy to solve, but others require unrelenting diligence and Sherlock Holmes-level powers of deduction. See what it took to solve three plane crashes that stumped examiners, one in the Florida Everglades, another in the small Scottish village of Lockerbie, and a miracle emergency landing at London's Heathrow Airport.
When planes crash, the pressure is on investigators to uncover what happened. That pressure increases dramatically when the case involves high-profile victims or when examiners disagree about the cause of the accident. Witness three controversial air disasters: a 1958 failed takeoff that wiped out the Manchester United soccer team; the 1985 tragedy of Arrow Air Flight 1285, which killed 248 U.S. soldiers heading home for the holidays; and the 2010 crash that claimed the life of Lech Kaczynski, the president of Poland.
From takeoff to landing, pilots face countless tasks, each one of vital importance. Any distraction, no matter how minor, can turn a routine flight into a disaster. Revisit three tragedies caused by diversions in the cockpit, including a casual conversation that led to a fiery accident in Dallas-Fort Worth, an attempt to fix a failed indicator light that sent a plane into the Florida Everglades, and a demonstration that led a brand new Russian Sukhoi Superjet into a mountain south of Jakarta.
When a fire breaks out on a plane, an emergency situation can escalate to a deadly disaster in seconds. In Manchester, a holiday flight bursts into flames before leaving the runway. A joyous return home to Nigeria from Saudi Arabia turns tragic when smoke overtakes the aircraft. And small batteries in the cargo hold create a massive blaze aboard a UPS jet. Revisit the final moments of these tragic flights and see how the crashes led to major changes in the aviation industry to make flying safer.
Witness the final minutes of PIA Flight 268 and discover why it crashed into a mountain just minutes from landing.
Witness the doomed flight of a West Air Sweden jet and see how the failure of a single instrument led to catastrophe.
Most passengers relax after their plane touches down, but when Uni Air Flight 873 landed, that's when the terror began.
Follow the investigation to see how a DC-9 ended up on the wrong runway and in the path of an oncoming 727.
Landing on a Caribbean island in a severe tropical storm, a Colombian airliner crashes short of the runway. Investigators need to find out why.
Investigators are stumped when a turboprop slams into an Argentine desert, and it's a microscopic filament that provides the first tangible clue.
A helicopter carrying offshore oil workers crashes into the ocean off the coast of Newfoundland and a far-reaching investigation reveals a fatal flaw.
Investigators are stumped when a turboprop crashes into an Indonesian mountaintop.
When an African airliner mysteriously crashes, Namibian investigators rule out a host of possible causes before reaching a chilling conclusion.
A brand-new 737 falls from the sky over West Africa during a major storm, but investigators eventually discover weather had nothing to do with it.
Enter the cockpit of a high-tech turboprop as its pilots battle to keep their plane from slamming into the North Sea.
Witness the final moments of ExecuFlight Flight 1526 and discover why it crashed into a residential neighborhood.
Discover how out-of-date taxi charts and a casual conversation conspired to doom the takeoff of Comair Flight 5191.
Follow investigators as they race to find out why a best-selling, new plane crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff.
Relive the 2018 disaster of Southwest Airlines 1380, in which a passenger was nearly sucked from the plane mid-flight.
Witness the Kathmandu crash of US-Bangla 211 and follow detectives as they investigate both the plane and the pilots.
A plane loses control during a Gulf War refueling mission and investigators must determine if enemy fire was the cause.
A commuter flight in New Zealand turns horrific for plane crash survivors, who may freeze to death before help arrives.
Just 12 minutes after takeoff, a twin turboprop loses hydraulics, an engine, and then catches fire. Find out why.
A last-minute repair may have played a key role in the crash of a plane leaving Madrid International Airport.
Discover the surprising reason why a Boeing 737 took a deadly nosedive after circling the runway for two hours.
All signs point to bad weather causing the crash of Martinair Flight 495... until investigators make an intriguing discovery.
Discover the cause of history's most expensive aviation accident: the 2008 crash of the B-2 bomber Spirit of Kansas.
An emergency over the French Alps leads to a miraculous landing, followed by the discovery of a small but deadly flaw.
Heroic flying isn't enough to overcome neglectful maintenance in the tragic accident of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.
Investigators must pull off a risky test flight to see if the pilots of a heroic emergency landing are hiding a secret.
When a tree-strike takes out both engines of an MD-83, the crew must find a way to land a 60-ton plane with no power.
When an Illinois turboprop crashes after losing battery power, investigators uncover a series of errors made by the pilots.
When a turboprop stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest, investigators resort to a risky test flight-and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.
When basketball legend Kobe Bryant is killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, investigators examine the data, the wreckage, and the pilot's actions for clues.
The pilots of Crossair Flight 3597 struggle on their approach to Zurich Airport, hampered by bad weather, an understaffed control tower, and a runway using antiquated equipment. By the time they decide to abort the landing, it's too late. The plane plunges into a hillside, killing 24 of the 33 on board. It's Switzerland's worst air disaster in over a decade and investigators are pressured to find answers fast. What they discover is a series of errors that will lead to sweeping changes to the airport and to the airline.
January 2008. British Airways Flight 38 is about to land at Heathrow Airport when calamity strikes. The Boeing 777, one of the safest planes in the airline industry, suffers double engine failure, and with only seconds until the aircraft hits the ground, Captain Peter Burkill must attempt a highly risky move to save the lives of the 152 people on board. Witness the remarkable emergency landing the follow investigators as they solve the mystery behind the crash, using unrelenting diligence and a little inspiration from Sherlock Holmes.
A Scandinavian Airlines flight plummets from the winter sky moments after takeoff, and a seasoned pilot's career comes to an end after the culprits of the disaster are identified.
Follow the tragic crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, NJ, into a house in Buffalo, NY, a case that confounded both forensic anthropology students and investigators.
A comprehensive look at the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency landing in January 2009, and the investigation that followed.
When Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 drops out of the sky on its final approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, investigators work to determine if the cause is due to plane or pilot error.
When United Flight 811's cargo door blows off at a high altitude over the Pacific Ocean, the crew acts to bring the packed aircraft down safely, and one victim's family searches for answers.
An MD-82 crash lands in Arkansas during a severe thunderstorm, but investigators believe weather was not the main reason for the accident.
A Swissair passenger jet catches fire midflight and crashes into the Atlantic, leading to one of the largest investigations in aviation history.
Learn how Alaska Airlines Flight 261's fatal nosedive into the Pacific Ocean led to much-needed mechanical improvements and a libel suit.
The pilots of Air Transat Flight 236 find themselves gliding without power high above the Atlantic, and investigators must figure out how a state-of-the-art airbus could run out of fuel.
The crew of British Airways 5390 springs into action after explosive decompression pulls the pilot out the window, and investigators use a novel psychological tactic to determine the cause.
A blade on the left-side propeller of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight breaks off; the imbalance of the rotating propeller causes the engine to partly tear itself from its mounting.
An Air France Flight is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport; terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris.
A cleaning crew makes a careless error while cleaning a Boeing 757, affecting the plane's computer system and causing it to crash into the Pacific Ocean.
A Bashkirian Airlines Flight collides with a DHL Flight in German airspace near Überlingen.
An American Airlines Flight en route to Cali, Colombia loses their exact position and flies into a mountain.
Avianca Flight 52 is delayed numerous times by bad weather en route and is dangerously low on fuel as it attempts a landing at New York City.
A freight train carrying an excess of cargo loses its brakes while descending a mountain causing it to gain speed and derail into a neighborhood killing several people.
A Greek ferry, the Express Samina, is pushed off course by strong waves and crashes into a rock formation, causing 80 passengers to lose their lives in the freezing water as they wait for rescue.
With its conductors sound asleep, a freight train fails to stop and collides with an oncoming train, resulting in tragedy.
Design innovations evolve as a result of terrible air disasters due to pressurization failure or explosive decompression.
Accidents caused by minor defects or errors.
Aviation disasters that resulted from problems with autopilots and computerized systems.
A twin-engine turboprop carrying 15 people on a flight from St. Louis is on final approach to Kirksville, Missouri. Visibility is poor, but the pilots appear to have the runway lights in sight. When the plane crashes into a wooded area just 1.2 miles from the airport, it's up to the NTSB to find out what happened in the final seconds of Corporate Airlines Flight 5966.
Investigators try to determine why Independent Air Flight 1851 was flying below advised altitude when it struck a mountain on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, killing everyone on board.
Minutes after takeoff, Japan Airlines Flight 123 experiences a sudden loss of pressurization and crashes into a mountain northwest of Tokyo, prompting investigators to look for answers.
An investigation into the crash of Airlines PNG Flight 1600 on Papua New Guinea reveals a potentially deadly flaw in the popular Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop plane.
Equipment and software oversights on Air Astana Flight 1388 cause a critical malfunction immediately after takeoff, forcing the crew to attempt a series of near-impossible landings.
When a plane's windshield shatters over the Himalayas, the pilots are forced to make a rapid emergency landing while battling freezing winds and dangerously low oxygen.
When a British tycoon and his family die in a 2017 Australian seaplane crash, investigators spend over two years searching for the reason behind the tragedy.
The plan to save Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 013 hinges on convincing the violent hijackers that their demands have been met before the plane runs out of fuel.
When an Amazon cargo plane nosedives into a swamp outside Houston, the evidence eventually leads investigators to a pilot with a long history of failures.
Evidence from the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight 804 leads investigators to theorize different causes for the plane's spiral into the Mediterranean.
History's most terrifying air disasters, and the investigations that followed, are revisited and reexamined.
American Airlines Flight 77 slams into the Pentagon on America's darkest day of the 21st century. TWA Flight 800 explodes over Long Island minutes after leaving JFK. The supersonic superstar Concorde crashes into an airport hotel after a failed takeoff from Paris. All three air disasters made headline news around the globe, creating media frenzies, igniting conspiracy theories, and putting immense pressure on investigators. In this episode, we revisit these three accidents and follow examiners as they uncover the truth behind the tragedies.
While commercial pilots undergo hundreds of hours of training and testing, even experienced pilots can make deadly rookie errors.
Authorities scramble for answers when a passenger plane collides with a military fighter jet in California, and two commercial planes meet a similar fate decades later in India. Investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact.
When an aircraft loses total engine power, a pilot's training can make all the difference in the world.
Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source - the fuel tank.
Three planes fatally out of balance force investigators to question every calculation. It's a flight risk that's entirely preventable, and yet repeated disasters reconfirm the need for critical backup systems.
If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy.
Spatial disorientation is one of the leading causes of all air accidents. Even the most experienced pilots are susceptible to its subtle yet deadly effects.
Radio silence between pilots and air traffic controllers can mean many different things, but only the physical evidence can reveal the true story. Three shocking cases send investigators hunting for answers.
When former race car driver Niki Lauda's planes nosedives into a Thai jungle, a one-in-a-million failure reveals a weak spot in every Boeing 767.
Dashcam footage aids in the investigation of a fatal TransAsia crash, experts determine the cause of a botched emergency landing, and a test flight for a revolutionary aircraft turns deadly.
A Boeing 737 vanishes off the radar, a South Korean jet slams into the English countryside moments after takeoff, and an inexperienced crew faces a pileup of errors on a flight over Russia. When critical instruments cause confusion, the consequences can be deadly.
Airplane crashes involving high-profile passengers—including a top diplomat and a Brazilian football team—put investigators under intense pressure to come up with answers.
Traced to a breakdown of vital safety measures, three horrific disasters provoke fundamental changes to airport security procedures around the world.
Following three deadly crashes, investigators uncover dangerous mathematical flaws in the very operations systems designed to prevent aircraft from flying into mountains.
From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.
Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below.
Devastating failures in the air put pilots to the test, and shine a light on three astonishing feats of flying.
A trio of crashes reveals that when the nuts and bolts of maintenance go unchecked, it can spell catastrophe.
Three flights ending in tragedy prove that minor missteps during takeoff can have disastrous consequences.
Confused, flying blind, and lost in the dark, three crews lose site of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.
Three crews experience the same devastating event; but with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.
Faced with a midair crisis, pilots must make a life or death decision, but the wrong approach can trigger a far more serious problem.
In Sao Paolo, the Himalayas, and on the Norwegian coast, the toughest landings on earth pushed three flight crews.
Relying on instinct rather than the rule book, three flights end in tragedy when crews improvise on their final approach.
Three planes are brought down by ice and it's up to investigators to determine how modern aircraft could possibly end up with frozen wings.
Three catastrophic runway collisions raise the same pressing question; a look at how two planes end up on the same runway at the same time.
Three flights end in tragedy after miscommunication mix-ups and personality clashes; Investigators try to unravel what went wrong.
Three last-resort water landings, all handled differently yet each one crucial to improving the outcomes of ditching on open water.
Faced with the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky leaving investigators to uncover the cause.
Twenty minutes after taking off from Taipei, a China Airlines 747 suddenly disappears from radar. A massive rescue mission is launched.
A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 103, causing the aircraft to disintegrate in mid-air and the wreckage of the aircraft to crash into the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground.
Partnair Flight 394 loses control, breaks up in mid-air, and crashes into the North Sea. The aircraft's vertical stabilizer had vibrated loose during flight due to excessive wear on sub-standard bolts, sleeves, and pins that had been illegally sold.
The world's deadliest mid-air collision and the overall third-deadliest aircraft accident, Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 collide in mid-air near New Delhi, India.
A United States Air Force transport aircraft conducting the inaugural flight of Operation Babylift suffers an explosive decompression when the rear cargo door fails and crashes into a paddy field while attempting an emergency landing in South Vietnam.
Investigators discover a shocking mistake when pilots must ditch their plane in the Mediterranean, killing 14 of the 34 passengers.
An American Airlines Flight en route to Cali, Colombia loses their exact position and flies into a mountain.
A design flaw sends American Eagle Flight 41-84 smashing into a cornfield outside of Chicago, killing all 68 people on board.
Mistaken identity and hostile fire over enemy territory are among the many risks that pilots face in war zones around the world.
In a rush to complete their flights, three different flight crews skip key procedures, ignore signs of danger and make deadly decisions.
From corrosion and metal fatigue to faulty repairs, three doomed airlines are brought down by gradually deteriorating parts.
From pilot error to meltdowns within air traffic control, investigators dig deep into three mid-air collisions that seem to defy logic.
With zero margin for error, three catastrophes are narrowly averted by pilots who manage to land their damaged planes—against all odds.
Failures in pilot training lead to catastrophe in the cockpit.
With hidden flaws buried in their navigation systems, three planes suffer tragic computer errors.
Critical errors in the cockpit cause three planes to fall out of the sky. Facing fatigue, fog, and inadequate training, the crews of three doomed aircraft make catastrophic blunders that lead to full-scale disaster.
Three planes fall prey to fearsome winds, and it’s up to investigators to find out why.
From hijackers to suicidal pilots, three flights fall victim to astonishing acts of sabotage.
Alaska Airlines 261 nosedives into the Pacific leaving investigators stumped . A rare storm and a deadly design flaw intersect cause American Eagle 4184 to fall from the sky. And, investigators suspect a fatal flaw in the Boeing 737.
Three flight crews face impossible odds: a Boeing 707 loses engines over the Alps as fire spreads, Air Astana 1388 goes out of control over Portugal, and a bomb on PA 434 severs control cables and blasts a hole in the fuselage.
A billion-dollar Stealth Bomber crashes at a U.S. Air Force base—the costliest aviation disaster ever. Bad data misleads a charter flight into a Portuguese mountain, and conflicting alarms send a cutting-edge jetliner plunging into the Atlantic.
Martinair 495 crashes on a rain-soaked runway in Portugal, showing how weather can doom a landing. American 1572 hits a storm and loses both engines amid a tower shutdown. And crosswinds challenge an Air France crew already halfway down the runway.
Kobe Bryant dies when a high-tech helicopter crashes on a routine L.A. route—training ignored with deadly results. In Missouri, cockpit chatter dooms Corporate 5966, and in Lexington, a twin-engine jet crashes after taking off from the wrong runway.
A twin-engine jet slams into an Ohio apartment building in a tragic perfect storm, raising questions about speed, power, and fatigue. A turboprop crash exposes an industry-wide issue, and at Guantanamo Bay, a cargo plane goes down near the Cuban border.
A massive explosion tears a hole in a 747 over Hawaii, and the trail of clues ultimately leads investigators to a catastrophic short circuit.
This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.
