Air Disasters

Friday, November 22

Deadly Exchange

Season 19 • Episode 1

A commuter flight crashes mysteriously and investigators examine the final seconds in the cockpit.

Friday, November 22

Ripped Apart

Season 18 • Episode 22

Some design innovations evolve as a result of terrible air disasters.

Friday, November 22

Vanishing Act

Season 8 • Episode 3

Varig Flight 254 disappears without a trace over the jungles of Brazil.

Friday, November 22

VIP on Board

Season 20 • Episode 13

Airplane crashes involving high-profile passengers put added pressure on investigators.

Friday, November 22

Rookie Errors

Season 20 • Episode 2

Friday, November 22

Out of Sight

Season 7 • Episode 7

In one of the world's busiest airports, a large passenger plane crashes into a smaller one.

Friday, November 22

Turboprop Terror

Season 17 • Episode 9

A turboprop stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest; investigators uncover a safety problem.

Friday, November 22

Engine Gone

Season 20 • Episode 22

Three crews experience the same devastating event; an engine falls off their commercial airplane.

Friday, November 22

Lapse in Security

Season 20 • Episode 14

Three horrific aviation disasters are all linked to breakdowns in vital security measures.

Friday, November 22

Killer in the Cockpit?

Season 14 • Episode 6

A look at commercial flights that ended in disaster because of suicidal pilots.

Friday, November 22

Control Catastrophe

Season 19 • Episode 5

Experts investigate a string of events that caused Air Astana Flight 1388 to become uncontrollable.

Friday, November 22

Cockpit Catastrophe

Season 19 • Episode 6

The cockpit window of an Airbus A319 explodes; pilots land the out-of-control plane.

Friday, November 22

Communication Breakdown

Season 14 • Episode 1

Misunderstandings between pilots and air traffic controllers cause deadly air disasters.

Friday, November 22

Blind Spot

Season 3 • Episode 1

In 1978, passengers and seven people on the ground die when a PSA flight crashed into a Cessna.

Friday, November 22

Time Critical

Season 5 • Episode 19

In a rush to complete their flights, three different flight crews skip key procedures.

Friday, November 22

Dead Weight

Season 1 • Episode 5

Just after take-off, Air Midwest Flight 5481 plummets to the ground, killing all on board.

Friday, November 22

Fight for Your Life

Season 6 • Episode 3

Three FedEx employees must regain control of their plane when a coworker attacks them in midair.

Friday, November 22

The Plane That Flew Too High

Season 2 • Episode 11

The West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crash ultimately leads to bankruptcy of the troubled airline.

Saturday, November 23

Cold Case

Season 2 • Episode 6

A design flaw on the Fokker F28 causes two similar plane crashes in Ontario and New York.

Saturday, November 23

Pilot Betrayed

Season 18 • Episode 3

Following the story of the Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 and Captain Rasmussen.

Saturday, November 23

Choosing Sides

Season 8 • Episode 1

A tragic misunderstanding is the real cause of the crash of British Midland Flight 92.

Saturday, November 23

Hero Pilots

Season 14 • Episode 3

Three flights headed for disaster are saved at the last moment by heroes in the cockpit.

Saturday, November 23

Stormy Cockpit

Season 15 • Episode 10

Pilots steer their plane clear of a storm, but are unable to regain control of a dangerous roll.

Saturday, November 23

Sight Unseen

Season 21 • Episode 4

Two jets hit each other at 14,000 feet sending both planes spiraling to the ground.

Saturday, November 23

Sight Unseen

Season 21 • Episode 4

Two jets hit each other at 14,000 feet sending both planes spiraling to the ground.

Saturday, November 23

Operation Babylift

Season 21 • Episode 5

A United States Air Force transport aircraft suffers an explosive decompression.

Saturday, November 23

Falling Fast

Season 21 • Episode 6

Pilots must ditch their plane in the Mediterranean, killing 14 of the 34 passengers.

Saturday, November 23

Lost

Season 18 • Episode 17

An American Airlines Flight en route to Cali, Colombia loses their exact position.

Saturday, November 23

Time of War

Season 5 • Episode 20

Mistaken identity and hostile fire over enemy territory are among the many risks that pilots face.

Sunday, November 24

Time Critical

Season 5 • Episode 19

In a rush to complete their flights, three different flight crews skip key procedures.

Sunday, November 24

Terror in Paradise

Season 5 • Episode 10

A seven-minute island-hop from Moorea to Tahiti ends in disaster.

Sunday, November 24

Seconds to Survive

Season 4 • Episode 12

Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 disappears in the Andes Mountains.

Sunday, November 24

Death in the Arctic

Season 8 • Episode 10

An investigation of a charter plane that moves off course and goes down in Canada's far north.

Sunday, November 24

Fight to the Death

Season 5 • Episode 1

A poisonous cockpit may have caused the 1972 crash of British European Airlines Flight 548.

Sunday, November 24

Terror Over Michigan

Season 17 • Episode 6

After a Boeing 727's near-fatal nosedive over Michigan, investigators risk their own lives.

Monday, November 25

Explosive Proof

Season 11 • Episode 1

The inside story of the complex investigation into the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800.

Tuesday, November 26

Deadly Deception

Season 19 • Episode 8

Violent hijackers take over a Bulgarian airliner; the authorities on the ground devise a plan.

Tuesday, November 26

Fight for Your Life

Season 6 • Episode 3

Three FedEx employees must regain control of their plane when a coworker attacks them in midair.

Tuesday, November 26

Bomb on Board

Season 6 • Episode 2

In 1994 on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, a terrorist bombing requires a daring emergency landing.

Tuesday, November 26

Ocean Landing

Season 6 • Episode 10

Pilots aboard a hijacked plane are forced to attempt an emergency landing at sea.

Tuesday, November 26

Kobe Bryant

Season 17 • Episode 10

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant is killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas.

Tuesday, November 26

The Death of JFK Jr.

Season 8 • Episode 6

John F. Kennedy Jr.'s Piper Saratoga crashed in 1999 and the NTSB faces enormous pressure.

Monday, December 2

Fatal Transmission

Season 9 • Episode 1

A runway collision at a small airport turns tragic.

Monday, December 2

Attack Over Baghdad

Season 6 • Episode 5

A missile cripples a cargo plane after it takes off from Baghdad International Airport.

Monday, December 2

Blown Away

Season 12 • Episode 2

The investigation into the 2014 crash of a TransAsia flight uncovers a systemic problem.

Monday, December 2

Take Off Tragedies

Season 20 • Episode 20

Three flights ending in tragedy, prove that minor missteps during takeoff can have consequences.

Monday, December 2

Terror in San Francisco

Season 9 • Episode 2

The 2013 crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco shocks the nation.

Monday, December 2

Missed Approach

Season 7 • Episode 4

A plane crash lands in Guam after losing sight of the airport in a storm.

Monday, December 2

Engines Out

Season 20 • Episode 4

An aircraft loses total engine power; investigators determine what went wrong.

Monday, December 2

Instrument Confusion

Season 20 • Episode 12

When critical instruments in the cockpit can't be trusted, the consequences can be fatal.

Monday, December 2

Caution to the Wind

Season 4 • Episode 3

As a typhoon approaches, a 747 crashes and burns before it even makes it off the tarmac.

Monday, December 2

Survivors

Season 20 • Episode 16

Monday, December 2

Invisible Killer

Season 1 • Episode 1

A landing goes wrong when Delta Airlines Flight 191 is hit by an invisible force.

Monday, December 2

Catastrophe at O'Hare

Season 4 • Episode 7

The 1979 crash in Chicago nearly grounded DC-10's forever.

Monday, December 2

Target Is Destroyed

Season 2 • Episode 2

Korean Airlines Flight 007 is shot down by a fighter jet when it enters Soviet airspace.

Monday, December 2

Frozen Wings

Season 20 • Episode 26

Investigators determine how modern aircraft could possibly end up with frozen wings.

Monday, December 2

Impossible Pitch

Season 15 • Episode 2

Investigating why a cargo jet took a nosedive into the Swedish Arctic at speeds nearing 600 mph.

Monday, December 2

Who's Flying the Plane?

Season 18 • Episode 24

Aviation disasters that resulted from problems with autopilots and computerized systems.

Tuesday, December 3

Death from Above

Season 20 • Episode 17

Tuesday, December 3

Afghan Nightmare

Season 10 • Episode 10

Investigators study the crash of a cargo plane at a U.S. airfield in Afghanistan.

Tuesday, December 3

A Wounded Bird

Season 18 • Episode 14

A blade on the left-side propeller of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 breaks off.

Tuesday, December 3

No Clear Options

Season 8 • Episode 9

When a commuter turboprop plane crashes at an Irish airport, investigators uncover a startling gap.

Tuesday, December 3

Deadly Crossroads

Season 18 • Episode 16

A Bashkirian Airlines Flight collides with a DHL Flight in German airspace near Überlingen.

Tuesday, December 3

Cockpit Failure

Season 18 • Episode 1

Bad weather and a series of errors lead to the crash of a plane on its approach to Zurich Airport.

Wednesday, December 4

Deadly Discussions

Season 11 • Episode 9

An error in the cockpit causes the crash of a 737 on takeoff and leaves an entire nation reeling.

Wednesday, December 4

Mountain Impact

Season 20 • Episode 15

Uncovering fatal flaws in the operations designed to prevent aircraft from flying into mountains.

Wednesday, December 4

Soccer Tragedy

Season 13 • Episode 9

A plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team crashes just ten miles from the airport in 2016.

Wednesday, December 4

Runway Runoff

Season 13 • Episode 7

Investigators research an airport after a passenger plane veers off the runway.

Wednesday, December 4

Impossible Landing

Season 3 • Episode 4

United Airlines Flight 232 crashes into Sioux City's runway in 1989.

Wednesday, December 4

Cutting Corners

Season 18 • Episode 11

The 2000 crash of an Alaska Airlines plane just off the California coast.

Friday, December 6

Deadly Delivery

Season 16 • Episode 10

A plane crashes into a hillside about one nautical mile short of the runway during final approach.

Friday, December 6

Accident or Assassination

Season 8 • Episode 8

A plane carrying Mexico's interior minister crashes into Mexico City's financial district.

Friday, December 6

Lethal Turn

Season 11 • Episode 5

Forest fires and a series of human errors lead to the deadliest air disaster in Indonesian history.

Friday, December 6

Storming Out

Season 11 • Episode 6

US Air Flight 1016 is engulfed in intense rain obstructing the view from the cockpit.

Friday, December 6

Runway Collisions

Season 20 • Episode 27

Three catastrophic runway collisions raise the same pressing question.

Friday, December 6

Deadly Space

Season 12 • Episode 6

The aircraft breaks apart and falls from the sky, killing the flight's co-pilot.

Friday, December 6

Deadly Distraction

Season 12 • Episode 3

A 1988 commercial flight crashes just moments after liftoff and erupts in flames.

Friday, December 6

Disaster at Tenerife

Season 10 • Episode 3

Two 747s collide on the runway of a small airport in the Canary Islands.

Friday, December 6

Bad Attitude

Season 3 • Episode 9

A Korean Air Cargo flight crashes in a field moments after takeoff from England's Stansted Airport.

Friday, December 6

Split Decision

Season 3 • Episode 10

Arrow Air Flight 1285 with 248 American soldiers on board crashes after refueling in Newfoundland.

Friday, December 6

Southern Storm

Season 1 • Episode 6

Pilots of Southern Airways Flight 242 must try to land on a Georgia highway after the engines die.