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: 2022-09-25
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Nov 24, 2001 — Crossair Flight 3597 (Avro RJ100): On a night approach to Zurich in poor weather, a regional jet descends into a wooded hillside short of the runway, and the airline itself comes under scrutiny.
Air date: 2022-10-02
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Jan 17, 2008 — British Airways Flight 38 (Boeing 777): Seconds from touchdown at Heathrow, both engines of one of the world's safest jets refuse to respond, leaving the crew a heartbeat to act.
Air date: 2022-10-09
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Dec 27, 1991 — SAS Flight 751 (MD-81): Minutes after taking off from a snowy Stockholm, a jet loses both engines, forcing a desperate landing in a frozen field — and ending a captain's career unjustly, some say.
Air date: 2022-10-16
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Feb 12, 2009 — Continental Connection Flight 3407 (Dash 8 Q400): On approach to Buffalo on a winter night, a commuter flight suddenly pitches out of control and falls onto a house below.
Air date: 2022-10-23
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Jan 15, 2009 — US Airways Flight 1549 (Airbus A320): Minutes after leaving LaGuardia, a jet loses both engines to a bird strike over New York City — and the crew makes history on the Hudson River.
Air date: 2022-10-30
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Feb 25, 2009 — Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 (Boeing 737): On final approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, a jet drops out of the sky into a farm field, and investigators weigh plane against pilots.
Air date: 2022-11-06
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Feb 24, 1989 — United Airlines Flight 811 (Boeing 747): Climbing out of Honolulu, a jumbo jet's cargo door area bursts open, tearing a hole in the cabin — and one victim's parents refuse to accept the official answers.
Air date: 2022-11-13
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Jun 1, 1999 — American Airlines Flight 1420 (MD-82): Pushing to beat a violent storm into Little Rock, Arkansas, a crew gets their jet on the runway — but can't keep it there.
Air date: 2022-11-20
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Sep 2, 1998 — Swissair Flight 111 (MD-11): A flight from New York to Geneva reports smoke in the cockpit over the Atlantic and turns for Halifax, beginning one of the most exhaustive investigations ever mounted.
Air date: 2022-11-27
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Jan 31, 2000 — Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (MD-83): After a jammed stabilizer leaves a jet nearly uncontrollable off the California coast, investigators uncover disturbing truths about maintenance and cost-cutting.
Air date: 2023-01-08
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Aug 24, 2001 — Air Transat Flight 236 (Airbus A330): High over the Atlantic, a state-of-the-art jet runs out of fuel, leaving the crew to glide toward a tiny island in the Azores.
Air date: 2023-01-15
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Jun 10, 1990 — British Airways Flight 5390 (BAC One-Eleven): A cockpit windscreen blows out at 17,000 feet, pulling the captain halfway out of the aircraft — and the crew must land while holding onto him.
Air date: 2023-01-22
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Aug 21, 1995 — Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 (Embraer 120): A propeller blade snaps over Georgia, wrecking an engine on its mount and forcing the crew down into a hayfield — where the fight to survive continues.
Air date: 2023-01-29
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Dec 24, 1994 — Air France Flight 8969 (Airbus A300): Hijackers seize a jet on the ground in Algiers on Christmas Eve, beginning a three-day ordeal that ends with French commandos storming the plane at Marseille.
Air date: 2023-02-05
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Oct 2, 1996 — Aeroperú Flight 603 (Boeing 757): On a night departure from Lima, a jet's instruments feed the crew a stream of contradictions over the dark Pacific — and the cause proves maddeningly small.
Air date: 2023-02-12
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Jul 1, 2002 — Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 & DHL Flight 611: A passenger jet and a cargo plane cross paths at night over Überlingen, Germany, and the investigation turns to the lone controller on duty.
Air date: 2023-02-19
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Dec 20, 1995 — American Airlines Flight 965 (Boeing 757): On a night descent toward Cali, Colombia, a jet drifts off course into mountainous terrain, and investigators probe the modern navigation meant to prevent exactly that.
Air date: 2023-02-26
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Jan 25, 1990 — Avianca Flight 52 (Boeing 707): After hours of holding in bad weather outside New York, a flight from Colombia goes silent and comes down in a Long Island village — with the cause hiding in plain hearing.
Air date: 2023-03-05
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On May 12, 1989 — Southern Pacific freight train, San Bernardino, CA: Descending the Cajon Pass with far more weight than its crew realizes, a freight train loses its brakes and derails into a residential street — and the disaster isn't over.
Air date: 2023-03-05
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Sep 26, 2000 — Express Samina (Greek ferry): On a windy night crossing to Paros, a ferry strikes a charted rock formation within sight of port, plunging hundreds of passengers into the sea.
Air date: 2023-03-12
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: On Feb 8, 1986 — CN freight & VIA Rail passenger trains, Hinton, Alberta: Two trains meet head-on on the same track in the Canadian Rockies — one of the deadliest and most puzzling accidents in Canadian rail history.
Air date: 2023-03-12
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: Special — Multiple incidents (1988–1990), including Aloha Airlines Flight 243, United Airlines Flight 811, and British Airways Flight 5390: How seemingly minor flaws in windows, doors, and aging airframes have torn planes apart in flight.
Air date: 2023-03-19
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: Special — Multiple incidents (1985–2000), including Japan Airlines Flight 123 and Alaska Airlines Flight 261: How maintenance oversights and cost-cutting have led to some of aviation's worst tragedies.
Air date: 2023-03-19
Runtime: 44 min
Overview: Special — Multiple incidents: When automation and pilots stop working together, the results reveal how delicate the balance is between human skill and the machines built to help.
