A design flaw sends American Eagle Flight 41-84 smashing into a cornfield outside of Chicago, killing all 68 people on board.

An emergency landing during a violent storm kills the engines of a 737.

United Airlines Flight 232 crashes into Sioux City's runway in 1989.

From corrosion and metal fatigue to faulty repairs, three doomed airlines are brought down by gradually deteriorating parts.

Mistaken identity and hostile fire over enemy territory are among the many risks that pilots face in war zones around the world.

When basketball legend Kobe Bryant is killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, investigators examine the data, the wreckage, and the pilot's actions for clues.

LaMia Flight 2933, carrying Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team, is approaching Medellin, Colombia to play for the prestigious Copa Sudamericana championship when its crew suddenly declares a fuel emergency. Before air traffic control can clear a path, the plane loses power and crashes to the ground, killing all but seven passengers. Investigators discover no leaks and are mystified over how the experienced pilots could fly a plane with an insufficient amount of fuel. As they pore over the evidence, they ultimately uncover a deadly gamble.

Two Russian pilots with limited experience flying Boeing 737s attempt to land one in the middle of the night with both of the aircraft's engines operating at different power levels. The pairing of a new captain with an unproven first officer was enough to put passengers at risk, but there was one more factor at play that sealed the fate of Aeroflot Nord Flight 821. Witness the fatal crash that occurred minutes before landing, and follow the investigation that led to a call to completely overhaul Russia's aviation system.

The emergency landing of a Reeve Aleutian Airlines plane over the Pacific Ocean.

Air France Flight 296 fails to regain altitude after performing a flyby during an air show.

An air traffic controller's mistake causes two planes to collide on the runway.

FedEx employees fend off an attack by a coworker.

An airliner leaving LaGuardia Airport in New York is crippled after flying through a flock of birds. A Canadian flight crew faces disaster when their Boeing 767 loses power and becomes a very large and heavy glider. A violent thunderstorm wreaks havoc on a Boeing 737 flying over the Gulf of Mexico. These three crises would have led to fatal accidents if it weren't for the heroic efforts of the pilots in the cockpit. Witness some of the most remarkable landings in the history of commercial aviation and meet the pilots who pulled them off.

As Denver air traffic controllers struggle to keep departures on schedule amid heavy snow in 1987, a DC-9 is delayed on the tarmac. When the crew is finally cleared for takeoff, the plane gets only 20 feet off the ground before banking sharply and slamming back down, killing 28 of the 82 people on board. Follow investigators as they uncover why Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crashed in bad weather while others safely took off. The discovery will change commercial flight, and the teams flying these aircraft, forever.

In October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a cargo jet heading from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv suddenly begins rolling violently just seven minutes after takeoff. The pilots struggle to turn the crippled plane back towards the airport, but minutes before landing, another sudden roll sends the aircraft plummeting to Earth and straight into a high-rise apartment complex. 43 die in the crash and a nation demands answers. Investigators search for a cause of the Netherlands' worst ever airline disaster. What they find is a potentially lethal problem threatening every 747 in the sky.

Just minutes before touching down in Portland International Airport, all four engines of a DC-8 mysteriously flame out. With the aircraft dropping 3,000 feet per minute, the pilots realize they have no option but to crash land in the middle of a major American city. Witness the harrowing emergency landing of United Airlines Flight 173 in Portland, Oregon, and uncover the shocking reasons for its massive engine failure.

A Boeing 757 takes off from Washington Dulles International Airport en route to Los Angeles. In minutes, hijackers storm the cockpit and turn the plane back toward the nation's capital and straight into the Pentagon. A total of 189 people are dead, the fuselage has been vaporized, and investigators are under tremendous pressure to determine how this could have happened. Witness the crash of American Airlines Flight 77 and the ways in which the 9/11 attacks brought immediate and profound changes to commercial aviation throughout the world.

In September 2010, shortly after taking off from Dubai, UPS Flight 6 catches fire. With flames spreading throughout the main deck, the pilots make a desperate attempt to return to the airport for an emergency landing. But critical systems are failing, the pilot has collapsed, smoke is filling the cockpit, and the first officer cannot see his instruments. The only way to land is to improvise an emergency procedure, but shaky communications with controllers and poor visibility inside and outside the plane will make for a nearly impossible landing.

A surface-to-air missile cripples a cargo plane just after it leaves Baghdad International Airport.

A Bashkirian Airlines Flight collides with a DHL Flight in German airspace near Überlingen.

A blade on the left-side propeller of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight breaks off; the imbalance of the rotating propeller causes the engine to partly tear itself from its mounting.

When Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 drops out of the sky on its final approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, investigators work to determine if the cause is due to plane or pilot error.

Investigators are stumped when a turboprop crashes into an Indonesian mountaintop.

It's 1961. Air traffic controllers and local dignitaries in Ndola, Africa await the arrival of UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, flying in on a top-secret peace mission. But the plane never arrives, and is found the next morning crashed and burning just a few miles from the airport. For decades, conspiracy theories have suggested that the plane was shot down. Now, startling new claims from a former U.S. intelligence officer have triggered a new investigation to get to the bottom of this controversial, decades-long aviation mystery.

Not far from Congonhas Airport, a Sao Paulo neighborhood is in flames. It's a scene of devastation caused by TAM Airlines Flight 3054, a plane that crashed just seconds after takeoff in July 2007. With a shocked nation watching, investigators from the Brazilian Air Force join forces with the National Transportation Safety Board to learn what happened. After combing through more than a hundred parameters in search of a lead, they determine a series of malfunctions caused the accident, coupled with a mechanical failure so rare that pilots had received no training for it.

Korean Airlines Flight 007 is shot down by a fighter jet when it enters Soviet airspace.

Just after take-off, Air Midwest Flight 5481 plummets to the ground, killing all on board.

The world's largest commercial airliner is coming apart in midair. Fortunately, the pilots are keeping it all together. The story of Qantas Flight 32, a 2010 passenger flight from London to Sydney, Australia. After taking off from Singapore's Changi Airport for the second leg of its flight, an engine exploded, forcing the crew to return to Changi Airport and attempt an emergency landing.

An Air Inter flight crashes into the Vosges Mountains while attempting to land.

On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, enroute from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to the Dominican Republic, crashed shortly after takeoff into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens. All 260 people aboard the plane (251 passengers and 9 crew members), as well as 5 bystanders on the ground, were killed. It's the second-deadliest aviation accident involving an Airbus A300 (after Iran Air Flight 655), and the second-deadliest aviation accident to occur on U.S. soil (after American Airlines Flight 191).

On June 1, 2009, a modern Airbus A330, traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, vanished somewhere over the Atlantic. The families of the 228 presumed victims demanded answers, but would have to wait two years to get them. This is the story of Air France Flight 447, which came to rest 13,000 feet below the ocean's surface in an area deeper than the resting place of the Titanic. The effort to find and reach the aircraft was a miracle. And what investigators discovered in the wreckage would send shockwaves throughout the aviation industry.

A Northwest Airlines flight above the Bering Sea must make an emergency landing in Anchorage.

Manchester United football team's plane crashes while returning from Yugoslavia, killing 23 aboard.

A pilot heads for a decommissioned air force base when the 767 he is flying runs out of fuel.

Just 12 minutes after takeoff, a twin turboprop loses hydraulics, an engine, and then catches fire. Find out why.

Relive the 2018 disaster of Southwest Airlines 1380, in which a passenger was nearly sucked from the plane mid-flight.

Discover how out-of-date taxi charts and a casual conversation conspired to doom the takeoff of Comair Flight 5191.

When a DC-8 cargo jet crashes on approach to a U.S. naval base in Guantanamo, investigators wonder if Cuba played a role.

It's April 2013. A 747 cargo plane leaves Afghanistan's largest airfield with 207,000 pounds of military equipment. Within seconds of takeoff, the pilots lose control of the aircraft. The nose won't drop, and in an instant, the plane stalls and crashes to the ground. The accident is caught on camera, leading investigators to what seems like an obvious conclusion, until further research indicates there must be more to the story. Discover how the crash of National Airlines Flight 102 became Bagram Airfield's worst ever civilian aviation accident.

Follow investigators as they use the few remaining pieces of a fiery crash to explain a Concorde's doomed flight.

Two commercial airliners go missing over the Arizona desert, and are later found in pieces, scattered along the Grand Canyon floor. It's 1956, and air disaster examiner Jack Parshall is pressed for answers. There are no black boxes or any of the advanced technology used by modern day investigators. And all he has to go on are plane fragments and his own expertise. See how Parshall and his team of experts literally pieced the accident together, and how their findings helped transform air travel as we currently know it.

Just three miles from its destination and assaulted by severe weather, TANS Peru Flight 204, crashes in Peru's Amazon jungle, leaving a one-mile-long trail of luggage, bodies, and torn aircraft. But the cause for this air disaster proves even more mysterious when it's discovered that the crash site has been scavenged by looters. Join the 312-day investigation, as examiners use all of their creativity to determine why this Boeing 737 fell from the sky, taking the lives of nearly half of those aboard.

A Legacy business jet collides with a Boeing 737 in mid-air over the Amazon Rain Forest.

A flaw on the infamous DC-10 airline causing two midair crashes in the early 70's.

The 1991 crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 to Brunswick, Georgia claims the lives of a NASA astronaut and a former U.S. senator and becomes an international media sensation. Commuter planes like this twin-turboprop aircraft aren't required to carry flight recorders, so investigators must rely on physical evidence to find the cause of the disaster. The strange angle of one of the propeller blades seems to offer an explanation, but in order to prove the detectives' theory, they'll need to take a huge and potentially lethal gamble.

A private Learjet carrying golf legend and reigning U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart takes off from Orlando heading for Dallas in 1999. But within minutes, air traffic control loses contact with the aircraft. The situation grows more urgent when the plane begins an unplanned trajectory across the Midwest. Air Force F-16 fighter planes scramble to intercept the Learjet, only to discover that the pilots and passengers are dead. The only question is why it happened.

Moments before a Pacific Southwest flight crashes in California, gunshots are heard in the cabin.

During Indonesia's unpredictable rainy season, a Boeing 737 suddenly finds itself in the middle of a violent storm in January 2002. The white-knuckle ride gets much worse when the plane loses both engines and then its electrical power. After two failed attempts to restart the crippled aircraft, the pilots are left with only one perilous option. Witness the crash of Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 and the desperate water landing with no engines, no assistance, and no electronic guidance.

A passenger jet tries to make it to land when it runs into trouble over the Indian Ocean.

When a British tycoon and his family die in a 2017 Australian seaplane crash, investigators spend over two years searching for the reason behind the tragedy.

When a tree-strike takes out both engines of an MD-83, the crew must find a way to land a 60-ton plane with no power.

A commuter flight in New Zealand turns horrific for plane crash survivors, who may freeze to death before help arrives.

Follow investigators as they race to find out why a best-selling, new plane crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff.

When an African airliner mysteriously crashes, Namibian investigators rule out a host of possible causes before reaching a chilling conclusion.

Investigators are stumped when a turboprop slams into an Argentine desert, and it's a microscopic filament that provides the first tangible clue.

Landing on a Caribbean island in a severe tropical storm, a Colombian airliner crashes short of the runway. Investigators need to find out why.

Follow the investigation to see how a DC-9 ended up on the wrong runway and in the path of an oncoming 727.

Witness the final minutes of PIA Flight 268 and discover why it crashed into a mountain just minutes from landing.

A Boeing 737, seconds before liftoff from Denver to Houston, races off the runway, hits a steep ridge, and briefly goes airborne before slamming to Earth and bursting into flames. Revisit the 2008 crash of Continental Airlines Flight 1404 and follow investigators as they look into a mechanical problem previously found on other Boeing 737s, only to find the true culprit in the Rocky Mountains.

In 1977, Southern Airways Flight 242 finds itself in a violent storm. When both engines fail, the pilots must land their plane on a rural Georgia highway.

Witness the final moments of ExecuFlight Flight 1526 and discover why it crashed into a residential neighborhood.

It's a routine takeoff on an ordinary morning in 2015 when Germanwings Flight 9525 leaves Barcelona for Dusseldorf. But something goes horribly wrong over the French Alps. The plane begins rapidly descending and air traffic control gets no response from the cockpit. Everyone's worst fears are realized when the plane is found smashed to pieces in the mountains. All passengers and crew aboard are dead. As the investigation unfolds, grief soon turns to horror when black box data points to a possibility so dark, it's almost beyond belief.

Relive the crash of Copa Airlines Flight 201 and the harrowing investigation in one of the world's most remote jungles.

On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737-222, crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and plunged through the ice into the Potomac River just two miles from the White House. The death toll reached 74, including four motorists on the bridge, forever changing airport procedure during inclement weather.

A plane crash into the alligator-infested Florida Everglades.

A short hop from Lyon, France to Brittany in 1998 is extended when pilots of Proteus Airlines Flight 706, a Beechcraft 1900D, decide to give passengers a bird's-eye view of a legendary French ocean liner nearby. Suddenly, the commuter plane explodes in midair and spirals into Quiberon Bay, tragically ending 15 lives. Despite hundreds of eyewitnesses, no one seems to know what brought down the twin-engine Beechcraft. Follow the unimaginable chain of events that led to this crash and discover its impact on innovations in airline safety.

It's a clear and calm December day in 1997 when a Boeing 737 suddenly plummets from the sky into an Indonesian jungle at supersonic speed. All 104 aboard are killed on impact, their bodies lost in the muddy Musi River. Evidence points to a serious mechanical failure, but when the full story of SilkAir Flight 185 is finally revealed, the cause is far more troubling than anyone could have imagined.

A design flaw on the Fokker F28 causes two similar plane crashes in Ontario and New York.

Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes shortly after take-off in Detroit.

Air India Flight 182 crashes into the sea after an explosion. Was it a tragic accident or an act of terrorism?

Emery Worldwide Flight 17 leaves Sacramento Mather Airport in February 2000 while carrying a load of freight containers. Upon takeoff, the aircraft dives repeatedly and banks to the left. The pilots attempt to regain control of the crippled plane and return to the airport, but the DC-8 crashes a mile from the runway, killing all three crewmembers. Investigators suspect the cargo was loaded improperly, until a much more troubling cause is discovered upon closer examination.

A 737 leaving Buenos Aires fails to lift off in August 1999, hurtling past the airport and crashing into a nearby industrial gas plant. Investigators from Argentina collaborate with the NTSB to determine what kept the plane from taking flight. What they discover points to a stunning conclusion that impacts the Argentinean airline industry. Revisit the tragedy of LAPA Flight 3142 and discover why an experienced crew failed to execute a basic takeoff procedure.

Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source - the fuel tank.

Airplane crashes involving high-profile passengers—including a top diplomat and a Brazilian football team—put investigators under intense pressure to come up with answers.

Traced to a breakdown of vital safety measures, three horrific disasters provoke fundamental changes to airport security procedures around the world.

Evidence from the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight 804 leads investigators to theorize different causes for the plane's spiral into the Mediterranean.

An Air France Flight is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport; terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris.

American Airlines Flight 77 slams into the Pentagon on America's darkest day of the 21st century. TWA Flight 800 explodes over Long Island minutes after leaving JFK. The supersonic superstar Concorde crashes into an airport hotel after a failed takeoff from Paris. All three air disasters made headline news around the globe, creating media frenzies, igniting conspiracy theories, and putting immense pressure on investigators. In this episode, we revisit these three accidents and follow examiners as they uncover the truth behind the tragedies.

It was supposed to be a routine 50-minute hop from Columbia, SC to Charlotte, NC for USAir Flight 1016. But in an instant, a beautiful summer day gave way to one of the most powerful microbursts on record, sending the DC-9 crashing to Earth and killing 37 of the 52 passengers on board. While the storm was intense, investigators are not convinced weather alone caused the disaster. Revisit the harrowing crash and discover how the plane's extreme changes in speed, direction, and altitude created fatal confusion in the cockpit.

The importance of weather forecasting to the aviation industry.

On a commuter flight from Minneapolis to Hibbing in 1993, Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 descends into the clouds on a cold Minnesota night. Suddenly, the pilots of the twin-engine turboprop find themselves ricocheting off the treetops, crashing violently into a hillside. Investigators face intense pressure to find the cause of the crash that killed all 18 people on board. Initial concerns center around the inexperienced first officer, but further digging reveals a darker issue, one that surfaced months before the plane ever left the ground.

A routine flight from Jakarta to Medan, Indonesia encounters a very non-routine obstacle: forest fires that are sending a thick blanket of smoke across all of Southeast Asia. But it was a series of avoidable human errors, not a natural disaster, that doomed Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 on September 26, 1997. Discover how an air traffic controller's number mix-up, an incorrect altitude setting, and a wrong turn claimed 234 lives, resulting in the deadliest plane crash in Indonesian history.

Relive one of the most shocking air disasters in American history as we revisit the 1999 crash that killed JFK Jr.

An investigation of a charter plane that moves off course and goes down in Canada's far north.

An August 2005 incident in which an Airbus A340 skidded off a runway, endangering the lives of more than 300 people on board, is investigated.

Arrow Air Flight 1285 with 248 American soldiers on board crashes after refueling in Newfoundland.

It was an air disaster that crippled a country, heightened tensions between two nations, and ignited conspiracy theories worldwide. On April 10, 2010, Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M, carrying Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski, crashed on Russian soil, killing everyone aboard. Russian experts pinned the blame on the pilots, but Poland's Interior Minister examined the evidence and reached a far different conclusion. Experience the tragedy that shocked the world and follow the investigation that remains steeped in controversy.

A smoke-filled DC-10 makes an emergency landing in Cincinnati and, 90 seconds later, bursts into flames.

The 1997 crash of Korean Air Flight 801, which occurred when the crew attempted an instrument landing during a heavy rain storm, is recalled.

An examination of the crash over the Red Sea in January 2004.

A DC-9 lines up for a nighttime landing at Zurich's Kloten Airport. Although the pilots can't see the runway, their navigation instruments indicate the plane is locked onto the proper signal from the airport. But the equipment is wrong. The plane is actually flying more than a thousand feet lower than it should. Discover the series of errors that caused Alitalia Flight 404 to plow into the ground six miles short of its destination.

When planes crash, the pressure is on investigators to uncover what happened. That pressure increases dramatically when the case involves high-profile victims or when examiners disagree about the cause of the accident. Witness three controversial air disasters: a 1958 failed takeoff that wiped out the Manchester United soccer team; the 1985 tragedy of Arrow Air Flight 1285, which killed 248 U.S. soldiers heading home for the holidays; and the 2010 crash that claimed the life of Lech Kaczynski, the president of Poland.

The pilots of Air Transat Flight 236 find themselves gliding without power high above the Atlantic, and investigators must figure out how a state-of-the-art airbus could run out of fuel.

With its conductors sound asleep, a freight train fails to stop and collides with an oncoming train, resulting in tragedy.

Aviation disasters that resulted from problems with autopilots and computerized systems.

An investigation into the crash of Airlines PNG Flight 1600 on Papua New Guinea reveals a potentially deadly flaw in the popular Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop plane.

When a plane's windshield shatters over the Himalayas, the pilots are forced to make a rapid emergency landing while battling freezing winds and dangerously low oxygen.

The plan to save Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Flight 013 hinges on convincing the violent hijackers that their demands have been met before the plane runs out of fuel.

While commercial pilots undergo hundreds of hours of training and testing, even experienced pilots can make deadly rookie errors.

Authorities scramble for answers when a passenger plane collides with a military fighter jet in California, and two commercial planes meet a similar fate decades later in India. Investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact.

When an aircraft loses total engine power, a pilot's training can make all the difference in the world.

Three planes fatally out of balance force investigators to question every calculation. It's a flight risk that's entirely preventable, and yet repeated disasters reconfirm the need for critical backup systems.

If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy.

Spatial disorientation is one of the leading causes of all air accidents. Even the most experienced pilots are susceptible to its subtle yet deadly effects.

Radio silence between pilots and air traffic controllers can mean many different things, but only the physical evidence can reveal the true story. Three shocking cases send investigators hunting for answers.

When former race car driver Niki Lauda's planes nosedives into a Thai jungle, a one-in-a-million failure reveals a weak spot in every Boeing 767.

A Boeing 737 vanishes off the radar, a South Korean jet slams into the English countryside moments after takeoff, and an inexperienced crew faces a pileup of errors on a flight over Russia. When critical instruments cause confusion, the consequences can be deadly.

Following three deadly crashes, investigators uncover dangerous mathematical flaws in the very operations systems designed to prevent aircraft from flying into mountains.

From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.

Faced with the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky leaving investigators to uncover the cause.

A bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 103, causing the aircraft to disintegrate in mid-air and the wreckage of the aircraft to crash into the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people on the ground.

Partnair Flight 394 loses control, breaks up in mid-air, and crashes into the North Sea. The aircraft's vertical stabilizer had vibrated loose during flight due to excessive wear on sub-standard bolts, sleeves, and pins that had been illegally sold.

The world's deadliest mid-air collision and the overall third-deadliest aircraft accident, Saudia Flight 763 and Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907 collide in mid-air near New Delhi, India.

Investigators discover a shocking mistake when pilots must ditch their plane in the Mediterranean, killing 14 of the 34 passengers.

An Airbus A321 carrying Russian tourists back from Egypt in 2015 suddenly disappears from radar minutes after takeoff. Air Force jets locate the charred wreckage in the Sinai Desert. There are no survivors. How did this modern airplane just fall from the sky? Follow Egyptian investigators and their Russian counterparts as they work through political tensions and wild rumors to discover the truth behind the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268.

In August, 1985, an airplane's engine catches fire as it accelerates.

The 1988 flight of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, which saw the top of its fuselage torn off due to an explosive decompression, is recalled.

A Korean Air Cargo flight crashes in a field moments after takeoff from England's Stansted Airport.

The story of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, which was hijacked while on a routine trip to the Ivory Coast. The hijackers demanded to be taken to Australia, but there was one problem: the plane didn't have enough fuel to make the trip.

The 1996 crash in Croatia of USAF IFO-21, an executive transport aircraft carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and 34 others, is examined.

See if two MD-11 planes crashes, nearly 12 years apart, were both the result of pilot error or a flaw in the aircraft itself.

A landing goes wrong when Delta Airlines Flight 191 is hit by an invisible force.

What caused Garuda Flight 200 to slam to the ground and careen off the runway in Yogyakarta, Indonesia? Was it a powerful downdraft? Was there something wrong with the wing flaps? Or did a baffling decision by the pilot lead to the death of 21 people? Join us as we investigate the crash of March 7, 2007, through actual video captured at the scene and testimony from a heroic passenger who survived the disaster. Then see how the investigation led the troubled airline to overhaul its training and safety protocols.

The 1995 crash of a Super Puma helicopter in the North Sea while ferrying workers to an oil platform is recounted.

Witness the Kathmandu crash of US-Bangla 211 and follow detectives as they investigate both the plane and the pilots.

Five minutes into Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, something goes wrong. The pilots lose control of their aircraft, and before they can regain command, they begin an unstoppable descent into the Mediterranean Sea. All 90 aboard are dead and experts are scrambling for answers. There was a storm, but was it big enough to take down a 737? Or was there a more ominous explanation? Experience the terrifying disaster of January 25, 2010, and follow the investigation that led to a finding so controversial, some still refuse to believe it.

A Boeing 727 leaving Dallas for Salt Lake City on August 31, 1988 crashes just moments after takeoff, killing 14 of the 108 passengers and crew on board. The NTSB is fast to arrive on the scene, but finding the answers to what went wrong won't come nearly as quickly. Revisit the disaster of Delta Airlines Flight 1141, recounted by one of its fortunate survivors, and follow the inquiry, which uncovers a fatal error made during takeoff.

When a flight ends in disaster, investigators must determine what, and sometimes who, caused the accident. Some cases are easy to solve, but others require unrelenting diligence and Sherlock Holmes-level powers of deduction. See what it took to solve three plane crashes that stumped examiners, one in the Florida Everglades, another in the small Scottish village of Lockerbie, and a miracle emergency landing at London's Heathrow Airport.

Most passengers relax after their plane touches down, but when Uni Air Flight 873 landed, that's when the terror began.

A plane loses control during a Gulf War refueling mission and investigators must determine if enemy fire was the cause.

An MD-82 crash lands in Arkansas during a severe thunderstorm, but investigators believe weather was not the main reason for the accident.

A mid-flight bombing aboard Philippine Airlines Flight 434 forces its pilots to attempt a daring landing at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan.

The story of China Airlines Flight 006, which almost crashed into the Pacific Ocean after experiencing engine trouble. The investigation of the incident detailed how jet lag and lack of sleep can impact pilots.

After a terrifying crash, survivors face a new challenge: surviving the remote Brazilian jungle.

In the skies above the Mojave Desert, Virgin Galactic's commercial spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, accelerates toward the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere, guided by test pilots. Suddenly, the aircraft breaks apart and falls from the sky, killing the flight's co-pilot. With the future of space tourism in jeopardy, NTSB investigators must determine exactly what caused the test flight to go so horribly wrong.

Air China Flight 129 prepares to land at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea when a direction from air traffic control to change its approach sets off a series of tragic events that claim the lives of 129 people on board. What happened in those final moments between the captain and his crew? And could a few critical seconds have made the difference between life and death? Discover what caused the worst air disaster in South Korean history and find out the key recommendations made to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.

The investigation into a midair collision over Cerritos, Cal., leads to improvements in how planes are monitored.

When a modified WWII fighter plane crashes into the crowd at a Nevada air show, investigators struggle to find the cause.

Some of the deadliest air disasters in history have been caused by simple miscommunications. A tiny error in the cockpit brings tragedy to Quincy Airport in Illinois. A moment of confusion turns a routine flight in Sumatra into chaos. And a runway mix-up on the island of Tenerife sends two jumbo jets on a collision course. Watch these disasters unfold and see how safety investigators responded to prevent human misunderstandings from triggering future catastrophes.

Passengers place their lives in the hands of pilots on every flight. While pilots are highly trained to handle a wide variety of emergencies, it is often personal problems like impatience, arrogance, and incompetence that can lead to tragedy. Witness three air disasters caused by human flaws and tension in the cockpit, including the 1972 crash of a British Trident, a Minnesota commuter plane that slammed into a hillside, and a Colorado flight doomed by a hungover captain.

When civilian airliners explode in the sky, rumors involving terrorist plots and enemy acts often follow. It's up to investigators to gather the evidence they need to determine if they are examining a plane crash or a crime scene. Three commercial flights became targets over the Sinai Desert, the Sea of Japan, and a combat zone in Eastern Ukraine. See the impact these crashes had on the world and the changes they triggered in the aviation industry.

A 737 cruising above an Indonesian jungle suddenly plummets from the sky. An Airbus A320 crashes into the French Alps. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanishes over the Gulf of Thailand. At first, these accidents perplex investigators, until surprising findings suggest the pilots could be to blame. See how these acts forced the industry to be more proactive in monitoring the mental health of their pilots.