Air Disasters Episode Rating Graph

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

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

Investigators try to determine why Independent Air Flight 1851 was flying below advised altitude when it struck a mountain on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, killing everyone on board.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

FedEx employees fend off an attack by a coworker.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

Pilots try to determine why both landing-gear lights do not function on an L-1011.

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.

When a turboprop stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest, investigators resort to a risky test flight-and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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

Accidents caused by minor defects or errors.

A freight train carrying an excess of cargo loses its brakes while descending a mountain causing it to gain speed and derail into a neighborhood killing several people.

Avianca Flight 52 is delayed numerous times by bad weather en route and is dangerously low on fuel as it attempts a landing at New York City.

An American Airlines Flight en route to Cali, Colombia loses their exact position and flies into a mountain.

Learn how Alaska Airlines Flight 261's fatal nosedive into the Pacific Ocean led to much-needed mechanical improvements and a libel suit.

When United Flight 811's cargo door blows off at a high altitude over the Pacific Ocean, the crew acts to bring the packed aircraft down safely, and one victim's family searches for answers.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Conflicting alarms confuse pilots of Birgenair Flight 301 before it crashes into the ocean.

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

When an Illinois turboprop crashes after losing battery power, investigators uncover a series of errors made by the pilots.

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

Enter the cockpit of a high-tech turboprop as its pilots battle to keep their plane from slamming into the North Sea.

A brand-new 737 falls from the sky over West Africa during a major storm, but investigators eventually discover weather had nothing to do with it.

Discover why a cargo plane, operating as Fine Fir Flight 101, lost control after takeoff and plowed through a Miami highway in August 1997.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

Equipment and software oversights on Air Astana Flight 1388 cause a critical malfunction immediately after takeoff, forcing the crew to attempt a series of near-impossible landings.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Twenty minutes after taking off from Taipei, a China Airlines 747 suddenly disappears from radar. A massive rescue mission is launched.

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.

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.

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

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.

In November of 2008, XL Airways Germany Flight 888T crashed at high speed into the Mediterranean Sea killing all 7 on board. The Airbus A320-232 was a flight test (or "acceptance flight") which took place immediately following light maintenance and repainting done in preparation for its transfer from XL Airways Germany, which had been leasing it, to Air New Zealand, the owner.

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

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.

In 1996, at Quincy Regional Airport in Illinois, United Express Flight 5925, a Beechcraft 1900 twin turboprop, collided on landing with another Beechcraft, a private King Air, that was taking off from an intersecting runway. Why did the fiery collision turn to tragedy, causing all twelve on board the 1900 and two on board the King Air, to perish when they were unable to escape the burning aircraft?

After a long delay on a hot July evening in 1996, TWA Flight 800 leaves John F. Kennedy Airport carrying 230 passengers and crew en route to Paris. Minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 747 jumbo jet suddenly explodes without warning, killing everyone aboard. Was it a bomb? A missile? A design flaw? To find the answer, the NTSB must attempt the unthinkable: rebuild the entire plane, piece by shattered piece.

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.

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

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

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.

Moments after take-off, SAS Flight 686 collides with a Cessna on the runway.

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

A pilot allows his teen son to fly the plane; tragedy results.

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

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.