Catastrophic incidents in aviation history are meticulously reenacted, providing insight into what went wrong and if the crashes and near-disasters could have been prevented. Accounts from survivors combine with cockpit recordings and computer images to weave the gripping tales, and expert testimony reveals the hows and whys behind the events, some of which have resulted in important changes to aviation safety and regulations.
Air date: 2025-06-08
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: 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.
Air date: 2025-06-15
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: 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.
Air date: 2025-06-22
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: 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.
Air date: 2025-06-29
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: 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.
Air date: 2025-07-06
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: 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.
Air date: 2025-07-13
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: 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.
