Seasons & episodes
S5 · E3Southern Storm (Southern Airways Flight 242) 2008-04-23 · 45 min
On 4 April 1977, Southern Airways Flight 242, a flight from Huntsville, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, flies through a severe thunderstorm and is hit by large hailstones. Both engines of the DC-9-31 fail, and the aircraft makes an emergency landing on a highway in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia. However, it collides with a gas station and explodes, killing 62 people on board and eight on the ground. Two more die later of injuries sustained during the crash.
S5 · E4Dead Weight (Air Midwest Flight 5481) 2008-04-30 · 45 min
On 8 January 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes into an aircraft hangar at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport seconds after takeoff on a flight to Greenville. All 21 people on board die, and one person on the ground is injured. Investigation showed that the pilots' controls had been improperly adjusted during maintenance, and that the aircraft was overloaded due to outdated formula for calculation of passenger weights.
S5 · E5Invisible Killer (Delta Air Lines Flight 191) 2008-05-07 · 45 min
In the summer of 1985, a Delta 191 aircraft was diverted away from a thunderstorm, only to be struck by powerful winds and plummet to the ground. Flames engulfed the front of the plane and more than 130 people died in a tragic accident that would eventually expose, and eliminate, an invisible killer.
S5 · E6Gimli Glider (Air Canada Flight 143) 2008-05-14 · 45 min
A Boeing 767-200 jet, Air Canada Flight 143, ran completely out of fuel at 41,000 feet (12,000m) altitude, about halfway through its flight from Montreal to Edmonton. The crew was able to glide the aircraft safely to an emergency landing at Gimli Industrial Park Airport, a former airbase at Gimli, Manitoba.
S5 · E7Fanning the Flames (South African Airways Flight 295) 2008-05-21 · 45 min
South African Airways Flight 295 starts filling with smoke over the Indian Ocean. A fire has erupted in the rear main level cargo area; the pilots successfully open the doors in flight to clear the smoke from the aircraft, however it crashes with no survivors.
S5 · E8Fatal Distraction (Eastern Airlines Flight 401) 2008-05-28 · 45 min
A Lockheed L-1011 Tristar operating Eastern Airlines Flight 401 to Miami International Airport crashes in the Everglades because the crew is distracted by a faulty landing gear indicator light and accidentally disengage the autopilot. 101 people die.
S5 · E9Mixed Signals (Birgenair Flight 301) 2008-06-04 · 45 min
On 6 February 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 is scheduled to fly from Puerto Plata to Frankfurt. On takeoff, the captain finds that his airspeed indicator (ASI) is not reading properly, though the co-pilot's ASI is showing the correct speed; the aircraft subsequently crashes in the Atlantic Ocean. The pilots became confused and believed that both ASIs were malfunctioning, leading to loss of control of the aircraft. All 13 crew members and 176 passengers died. The cause of the disaster was believed to be a wasp that built a nest in one of the aircraft's pitot tubes, which was incorrectly left uncovered during the aircraft's extended stay at Puerto Plata airport.
S5 · E10Phantom Strike (Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907) 2008-06-11 · 45 min
A Gol Transportes Aéreos Boeing 737 and a brand-new Embraer Legacy business jet on its delivery flight collide in mid-air over the Amazon. The 737 crashes but the Legacy manages to make a safe landing. 154 people die.
S6 · E1Ripped Apart (Decompression Failures) 2007-12-16 · 45 min
BOAC Flight 781 ,South African Airways Flight 201, Aloha Airlines Flight 243, British Airways Flight 5390, United Airlines Flight 811, Helios Airways Flight 522. This special looks at accidents and incidents where pressurization failure or explosive decompression played a part. Episodes re-visited: Hanging by a Thread, Blow Out, Unlocking Disaster, Ghost Plane.
S6 · E2Fatal Flaw (Minor Defects) 2007-12-16 · 45 min
Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Japan Airlines Flight 123, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, Swissair Flight 111, United Airlines Flight 585, USAir Flight 427, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517. This special looks at accidents caused by seemingly minor defects or errors. Episodes re-visited: Cutting Corners, Out of Control, A Wounded Bird, Fire on Board, Hidden Danger.
S6 · E3Who's Flying the Plane? (Crew vs Avionics) 2008-03-02 · 45 min
This special looked at accidents and incidents where problems with the interface between crew members and on-board avionics were a factor and the causes of those problems. Episodes re-visited: Flying Blind, Panic Over the Pacific, Kid in the Cockpit, Vertigo, Flying on Empty.
S7 · E1Lockerbie Disaster (Pan Am 103) 2009-11-04 · 45 min
Shortly after leaving London Heathrow airport in December 1988, Pan Am flight 103 exploded above Lockerbie , Scotland killing 270 people. Investigators soon discovered that a bomb in the forward cargo compartment had taken down the plane.
S7 · E2Sight Unseen (1996 Charki Dadri mid-air collision) 2009-11-11 · 45 min
Find out what went wrong when a Kazakhstan Airlines jet and a Saudi Airways plane collided in the worst mid-air crash in aviation history, killing 349 people on November 12, 1996.
S7 · E3Scratching the Surface (China Airlines Flight 611) 2009-11-18 · 45 min
Rescuers have to look to the past to solve the riddle of Flight 611, a China Airlines 747 that disappeared 20 minutes after taking off.
S7 · E4Blown Apart (Partnair Flight 394) 2009-11-25 · 45 min
On September 8, 1989, Partnair Flight 394, a charter from Oslo to Hamburg, suddenly begins to dive from 22 thousand feet. The aging propeller plane eventually crashes into the sea, killing all 55 people on board.
S7 · E5Operation Babylift (1975 Tan Son Nhut C-5 accident) 2009-12-02 · 45 min
Near the close of the Vietnam War, the United States launched Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children from war torn Vietnam. On April 4th 1975, the first Babylift flight ended in tragedy when a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy carrying 314 passengers crashed during an emergency landing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam killing 138.
S7 · E6Falling Fast (Tuninter Flight 1153) 2009-12-09 · 45 min
On 6 August 2005, Tuninter Flight 1153 runs out of fuel and ditches into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 people. It ran out of fuel because a fuel gauge for a different type of aircraft had been installed, misleading the crew about how much fuel was on board.
S7 · E7Flight 574 Lost (Adam Air Flight 574) 2009-12-16 · 45 min
On January 1st 2007, a Boeing 737-400 crashed into the Makassar Strait near Polewali in Sulawesi. The subsequent investigation raised deep concerns about the safety record of the Indonesian airline industry.
S7 · E8Frozen in Flight (American Eagle Flight 4184) 2009-12-16 · 45 min
On 31 October 1994, American Eagle Flight 4184 falls out of the sky, killing all 68 people on board. The crash was caused by ice developing on the wing in a manner that the on-board deicing system could not remove.
S8 · E1System Breakdown (Next Generation Air Transportation System) 2009-06-10 · 45 min
1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, 1986 Cerritos mid-air collision, Avianca Flight 52, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, Überlingen mid-air collision. This special looked at the role of air traffic controllers in the airline industry, and took a look at the Next Generation Air Transportation System, a new technology meant to eliminate mid-air collisions by reducing overall dependence on radar and radio, as well as delegating some of the air traffic controllers' tasks to computers on board each plane.
S8 · E2Cruel Skies (Bad Weather) 2009-06-17 · 45 min
Southern Airways Flight 242, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, American Airlines Flight 1420, British Airways Flight 9. This special looked at the role of bad weather in disasters and examines the US Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Missouri, to see how information on weather is transmitted to pilots in the sky.
S9 · E1Panic on the Runway (British Airtours Flight 28M) 2010-09-08 · 45 min
On 22 August 1985, an engine of British Airtours Flight 28M fails during takeoff, puncturing a hole in the wing fuel tank and starting a fire. The crew successfully abandons the takeoff and stops the aircraft on the runway, but the fire spreads to the cabin. 55 people die before they can evacuate, mainly due to inhaling toxic smoke. The investigation found that fatigue of a part in the engine caused it to fail.
S9 · E2Pilot vs Plane (Air France Flight 296) 2010-09-15 · 45 min
On 26 June 1988, Air France Flight 296 fails to climb and crashes into trees after performing a flyby during an airshow at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, killing three people. The cause of this crash remains in dispute.
S9 · E3Alarming Silence (Northwest Airlines Flight 255) 2010-09-22 · 45 min
On 16 August 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 stalls as it lifts off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport and crashes just beyond the runway, killing 154 of the 155 people on board and two people on the ground. The investigation showed that the pilots failed to configure the aircraft's flaps and slats for takeoff.