Air Disasters
Season 18
202224 episodes
Episodes
E1Cockpit Failure
2022-09-25 · 44m
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.
E2The Heathrow Enigma
2022-10-02 · 44m
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.
E3Pilot Betrayed
2022-10-09 · 44m
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.
E4Dead Tired
2022-10-16 · 44m
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.
E5Hudson River Runway
2022-10-23 · 44m
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.
E6Who's In Control?
2022-10-30 · 44m
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.
E7Unlocking Disaster
2022-11-06 · 44m
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.
E8Racing The Storm
2022-11-13 · 44m
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.
E9Fire on Board
2022-11-20 · 44m
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.
E10Cutting Corners
2022-11-27 · 44m
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.
E11Flying on Empty
2023-01-08 · 44m
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.
E12Blow Out
2023-01-15 · 44m
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.
E13A Wounded Bird
2023-01-22 · 44m
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.
E14The Killing Machine
2023-01-29 · 44m
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.
E15Flying Blind
2023-02-05 · 44m
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.
E16Deadly Crossroads
2023-02-12 · 44m
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.
E17Lost
2023-02-19 · 44m
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.
E18Missing Over New York
2023-02-26 · 44m
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.
E19Runaway Train
2023-03-05 · 44m
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.
E20Collision Course
2023-03-05 · 44m
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.
E21Head-On Collision
2023-03-12 · 44m
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.
E22Ripped Apart
2023-03-12 · 44m
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.
E23Fatal Flaw
2023-03-19 · 44m
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.
E24Who's Flying the Plane?
2023-03-19 · 44m
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.