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: 2020-09-06
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Sep 28, 1992 — PIA Flight 268 (Airbus A300): Minutes from landing at Kathmandu, an airliner descends into the mountainous terrain guarding one of the world's most demanding approaches.
Air date: 2020-09-13
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Jan 8, 2016 — West Air Sweden Flight 294 (CRJ-200): On a night mail run over northern Sweden, a cargo jet suddenly dives from cruise, and investigators trace the chaos to a single instrument.
Air date: 2020-09-20
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Aug 24, 1999 — Uni Air Flight 873 (MD-90): The flight to Hualien, Taiwan is routine — until the moment of landing, when the cabin erupts and passengers must escape a burning aircraft.
Air date: 2020-09-27
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Dec 3, 1990 — Northwest Airlines Flights 1482 & 299 (DC-9 & Boeing 727): In dense fog at Detroit, a taxiing DC-9 ends up on an active runway, directly in the path of a jet accelerating for takeoff.
Air date: 2020-10-04
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Aug 16, 2010 — Aires Flight 8250 (Boeing 737): Landing on Colombia's San Andrés Island in a violent tropical storm, a jet touches down short of the runway and breaks apart — yet the story doesn't end there.
Air date: 2020-10-11
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On May 18, 2011 — Sol Líneas Aéreas Flight 5428 (Saab 340): A commuter flight vanishes over the Argentine desert at night, and a microscopic filament becomes investigators' first real clue.
Air date: 2020-10-18
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Mar 12, 2009 — Cougar Helicopters Flight 91 (Sikorsky S-92): Ferrying oil workers offshore from Newfoundland, a helicopter crew reports mechanical trouble over the frigid North Atlantic — and the investigation reaches around the world.
Air date: 2020-10-25
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Aug 16, 2015 — Trigana Air Flight 267 (ATR 42): A short hop over Papua, Indonesia ends against a mountainside with no distress call, leaving investigators to work out what the crew never saw coming.
Air date: 2020-11-01
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Nov 29, 2013 — LAM Mozambique Flight 470 (Embraer 190): A flight from Maputo to Luanda goes down in a remote Namibian wilderness, and investigators eliminate cause after cause before reaching a chilling conclusion.
Air date: 2020-11-08
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On May 5, 2007 — Kenya Airways Flight 507 (Boeing 737): A nearly new jet departs Douala, Cameroon into a major storm and disappears minutes later — but investigators find the weather wasn't to blame.
