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: 2016-03-13
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Aug 2, 2005 — Air France Flight 358 (Airbus A340): Landing at Toronto in a fierce thunderstorm, a jet with over 300 aboard overruns the runway and erupts in flames — and the clock starts on getting everyone out.
Air date: 2016-03-20
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Jun 24, 1982 — British Airways Flight 9 (Boeing 747): Cruising at night toward Australia, a jumbo jet loses all four engines over the Indian Ocean, leaving the crew gliding in the dark toward Jakarta.
Air date: 2016-03-27
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Jun 2, 1983 — Air Canada Flight 797 (DC-9): With smoke filling the cabin from a hidden fire, the crew races to get their jet on the ground in Cincinnati — where the ordeal is far from over.
Air date: 2016-04-03
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Aug 6, 1997 — Korean Air Flight 801 (Boeing 747): On a rainy night approach to Guam, a jumbo jet descends into a hillside short of the airport, and investigators look hard at the final minutes in the cockpit.
Air date: 2016-04-10
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Mar 3, 1991 & Sep 8, 1994 — United Airlines Flight 585 & USAir Flight 427 (Boeing 737s): Two 737s suddenly roll and dive from clear skies, years apart, launching one of the longest investigations in NTSB history.
Air date: 2016-04-17
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Feb 19, 1985 — China Airlines Flight 006 (Boeing 747SP): Nearing the end of a long haul to Los Angeles, a jumbo jet plunges six miles in minutes over the Pacific, and investigators ask how it got that far out of hand.
Air date: 2016-09-18
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Aug 31, 1986 — Aeroméxico Flight 498 (DC-9): On approach to Los Angeles, an airliner collides with a small private plane over the suburb of Cerritos, spurring changes in how aircraft are tracked.
Air date: 2016-09-25
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Apr 3, 1996 — USAF IFO-21 (CT-43A/Boeing 737): A military transport carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and a U.S. trade delegation crashes into a Croatian hillside on approach to Dubrovnik in bad weather.
Air date: 2016-10-02
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Jan 3, 2004 — Flash Airlines Flight 604 (Boeing 737): Minutes after a pre-dawn takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh, a charter carrying vacationers banks into the Red Sea, and the investigation strains international cooperation.
Air date: 2016-10-09
Runtime: 45 min
Overview: On Aug 14, 2005 — Helios Airways Flight 522 (Boeing 737): A flight to Athens stops responding to radio calls, and intercepting fighter pilots find an eerie scene through the cockpit windows.
