Mayday Episode Rating Graph

On 17 October 2019, PenAir Flight 3296 overruns the runway on landing at Unalaska Airport in the Aleutian Chain of Alaska, killing one passenger. The accident was caused by incorrect wiring of the wheel speed transducer harnesses on the left main landing gear.

With flames emerging through the cockpit floor, the pilots of Pilgrim Airlines 458 manage a heroic landing on a frozen Rhode Island reservoir.

On 1 June 2009, Air France Flight 447, a scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, stalls and crashes into the Atlantic Ocean while flying through a thunderstorm, killing all 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The causes of the crash were incorrect airspeed readings due to ice blockage of the aircraft's pitot tubes, inappropriate control inputs and the pilots not taking recovery action until it was too late.

On 24 June 1982, British Airways Flight 9 experiences St. Elmo's fire en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Perth, Australia. A few minutes later, all four engines flame out. After descending, the crew successfully restarts the engines and lands safely. The St. Elmo's fire and engine flame-outs were caused by volcanic ash spewed by Galunggung in Indonesia during a major eruption.

On 10 April 2010, a Polish Air Force VIP aircraft carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria Kaczyńska and other top officials, crashes short of the runway in a wooded area while on final approach to Smolensk North Airport in heavy fog and low visibility. All 96 passengers and crew members on board are killed.

On 4 November 2010, Qantas Flight 32, en route to Sydney Airport in Australia, suffers an uncontained engine failure in its number two engine and serious damage to its left wing shortly after takeoff from Singapore. The crew members overcome a number of resulting failures and make a safe emergency landing back at Singapore with no injuries among the 469 passengers and crew members. Investigators found that a manufacturing fault in an oil pipe caused the engine failure.

When Alaska Airlines Flight 261 suddenly nosedives into the Pacific, investigators uncover a critical maintenance issue with deadly implications.

On 26 August 2003, Colgan Air Flight 9446 crashes into water shortly after takeoff from Barnstable Municipal Airport, killing both pilots. The causes of the crash were an improper replacement of the forward elevator trim cable and the pilots not following checklist procedures.

With rising young football star Emiliano Sala on board, a chartered Piper Malibu suddenly disappears from radar over the English Channel.

On 9 October 2002, Northwest Airlines Flight 85 is cruising above the Bering Sea, when the lower rudder segment suddenly deflects to the left. The pilots divert the aircraft to a successful emergency landing at Anchorage, Alaska, by using engine thrust for control. The incident was attributed to a fatigue failure of the rudder hydraulic control module, resulting in part of the module's metal casing breaking off.

On 27 March 1977, the deadliest-ever aviation accident occurs at Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife-North Airport) in the Canary Islands. KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 collide on the runway in thick fog during the KLM aircraft's attempt to take off, killing 583 people.

A massive explosion tears a hole in a 747 over Hawaii, and the trail of clues ultimately leads investigators to a catastrophic short circuit.

On 24 May 1988, TACA Airlines Flight 110, a near-new Boeing 737, flies through a thunderstorm and suffers a dual engine flameout. The captain, Carlos Dardano, manages to make a successful deadstick landing on a narrow grass levee in the Michoud area of eastern New Orleans.

On June 10, 1990, the cockpit window blows out on British Airways Flight 5390, partially ejecting and injuring the captain through the hole. A member of the cabin crew clings to his legs as the co-pilot completes an emergency landing without any fatality. The captain is found to be still alive after being outside the cockpit for 21 minutes.

On 12 November 2001, just two months after the September 11 attacks, American Airlines Flight 587 spirals out of control after taking off from John F. Kennedy Airport. Shortly after, the aircraft crashes into the suburb of Queens, killing all 260 people on board and five people on the ground. The vertical stabilizer had detached from the aircraft because of improper rudder use by the first officer, after encountering wake turbulence from a Boeing 747-400 that had taken off minutes earlier.

On 16 February 1998, China Airlines Flight 676 attempts a go-around while on approach to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in poor weather conditions, but crashes into a residential area after entering a stall. All 196 people on board and 7 people on the ground are killed.

Three hundred people are killed in one of the deadliest aviation accidents of all time after a fire breaks out on board Saudia Flight 163.

Investigators must turn to 3D technology to determine why two float planes carrying tourists collided above a spectacular Alaskan waterfall.

On 29 October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 enters a nosedive and crashes into the Java Sea shortly after taking off from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, on a flight to Pangkal Pinang.

On 17 July 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 careens off runway 35L at Brazil's Congonhas Airport, crashes at high speed into a warehouse adjacent to a filling station and explodes. A total of 199 people on board the aircraft and on the ground are killed. Incorrect engine throttle settings upon landing caused one engine to reverse thrust while the other increased power, resulting in the loss of control.

On 16 February 2000, Emery Worldwide Flight 17 crashes into an automobile salvage yard shortly after taking off from Sacramento Mather Airport on a flight to Dayton, Ohio, killing all 3 crew members on board.

After a Boeing 727's near-fatal nosedive over Michigan, investigators risk their own lives to determine why TWA Flight 841 fell out of the sky.

On 19 July 1989, the tail-mounted number two engine of United Airlines Flight 232 explodes, causing serious damage to the aircraft's hydraulic systems and leaving the flight controls unusable. By varying engine thrust, the pilots manage to crash-land the aircraft at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Iowa, saving the lives of 185 of the 296 people on board. The investigation traced the engine failure to a fatigue crack in the front fan disk which had developed from a defect introduced before the disk was even made, when the original titanium ingot used to make it was formed.

On 21 February 2008, Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518, en route from Mérida, Venezuela, to Caracas, veers off course and flies into the side of a mountain shortly after takeoff. All 46 passengers and crew members on board die. Investigators determined that the aircraft took off with inoperative navigation equipment due to the pilots' failure to do their pre-flight checklist.

When the cockpit window of Sichuan Airlines 8633 explodes, the crew somehow battles gale-force winds and oxygen deprivation to safely land the plane.

On 6 February 1958, British European Airways Flight 609, carrying members of the famed Manchester United association football team, club officials and journalists, crashes into a house about 300 meters from the end of the runway in Munich after it fails to become airborne, killing 23 of the 44 people on board. The cause of the crash was slush on the runway, which slowed the aircraft down and prevented it from reaching takeoff speed.

Independent Air Flight 1851 is en route from Italy to the Dominican Republic and is scheduled to refuel on a Portuguese island. For some reason, a Boeing 707 crashes into a mountain just minutes before the airport. The international team of investigators finds no mechanical faults at all and is confused about the cause of the accident. Then the CVR reveals a cluster of errors that sealed the fate of the 144 passengers.

On 29 April 2013, just seconds after taking off from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, National Airlines Flight 102 stalls and crashes into the ground, killing all seven crew members on board.

On 8 June 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's propeller separates from the aircraft over Cold Bay, Alaska, causing an explosive decompression and loss of control. The pilots manage to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage, Alaska. The propeller fell into the sea, and the cause of the separation is undetermined.

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

On 26 September 2000, waves push the MS Express Samina off course, causing it to hit a group of rocks off Paros and sink, killing 80 people. The ferry was on autopilot, with the crew not monitoring the ship's course. They were instead watching an association football match. Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

A Kazakh crew manage to land an uncontrollable aircraft and investigators must determine how a freshly-serviced plane was released with a fatal flaw.

On 28 December 1978, the crew of United Airlines Flight 173 is preoccupied with a landing gear problem as the aircraft circles in a holding pattern in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon. It runs out of fuel and crashes in a sparsely populated area, killing 10 and seriously injuring 24 of the 189 on board. According to the NTSB, the pilot failed to acknowledge the warnings of the remaining crew regarding the aircraft's fuel state, while the remaining crew failed to adequately communicate the situation. The NTSB recommendation from this event led to the industry-wide implementation of Crew resource management (CRM) protocols.

On 16 January 2002, on final approach to Yogyakarta at the end of a routine domestic flight from Ampenan, Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 suffers a double engine flameout while flying through a severe thunderstorm and ditches in the Bengawan Solo River. 59 of the 60 people on board survive.

An Amazon cargo plane nosedives into a swamp outside Houston, the evidence eventually leads investigators to a pilot with a long history of failures.

On 25 October 1999, a chartered Learjet 35 operated by Sunjet Aviation, carrying golfer Payne Stewart and his agents, runs out of fuel and crashes into a field in South Dakota after flying off course, killing all 6 occupants on board.

On 20 August 2007, China Airlines Flight 120 catches fire and explodes shortly after landing and taxiing to the gate area at Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan. All of the 165 passengers and crew members survive.

Rocked by an explosion that rips both right wing engines off the wing, the pilots of Transair 671 manage a miraculous landing at a French military airfield.

On 12 February 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 stalls at low altitude and dives into a residential area near Buffalo, New York. All on board and one person on the ground are killed. Several critical errors made by the flight crew might have been the result of their fatigue.

On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is forced to ditch after running out of fuel. The aircraft breaks up as the wings hit the water, killing 125 people. The aircraft had been hijacked and ran out of fuel because the hijackers did not believe the pilot's insistence that there was not enough fuel aboard to make it to the hijackers' planned destination: Australia.

On 17 April 2018, Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 makes an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport after its left engine explodes. A passenger dies after being partially ejected from the aircraft.

On 19 December 1997, SilkAir Flight 185, en route to Singapore, crashes into the Musi River in Indonesia after abruptly diving from its cruise altitude, killing all 104 passengers and crew members on board. The cause of the crash was disputed: a US investigation concluded that it was an act of murder–suicide by the captain; however, the Indonesian investigators were undetermined, and the Los Angeles Court concluded that it was a servo valve failure.

When a two-billion-dollar B-2 Stealth Bomber named the Spirit of Kansas crashes in Guam, it’s up to the US Air Force to investigate the most expensive aviation accident of all time.

On 3 March 1991, a Boeing 737 operating as United Airlines Flight 585 is on approach to land, when it suddenly rolls into a dive and crashes within eight seconds, killing all 25 people on board. On 8 September 1994, USAir Flight 427 is another Boeing 737 on approach to land, when it rolls and crashes within thirty seconds, killing all 132 people on board. On 9 June 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 is another Boeing 737 that unexpectedly rolls in similar circumstances, but the crew successfully regains control of the aircraft and lands safely. The cause of all three incidents was the rudder experiencing a "hardover" (suddenly going to full deflection) and jamming due to thermal shock of the hydraulic control valve.

On 10 October 2006, Atlantic Airways Flight 670 lands at Stord Airport, but the aircraft overruns the runway and crashes after careening off a steep embankment. Four of the sixteen people on board are killed. The causes of the crash were a malfunction of the aircraft's spoilers and hydroplaning.

On 23 March 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 is en route to Hong Kong, when it stalls and crashes, killing all 75 people on board. The pilot's 15-year-old son accidentally disabled the autopilot while in the captain's seat, causing the aircraft to bank heavily to the right, inducing the stall.

On 22 December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, en route from London Stansted Airport to Milan, Italy, crashes into a field about 55 seconds after taking off, killing all four crew members on board. The causes of the crash were the captain following the indications of a malfunctioning attitude indicator and lack of communication amongst the crew members.

On 23 August 2005, TANS Perú Flight 204 attempts to make a landing at Pucallpa Airport, Peru, in a severe thunderstorm, but crashes into a muddy swamp four miles (6.4 km) away. The cause was the pilots not following visual flight rules that could have prevented the crash while the aircraft was being pushed by a downdraft.

When Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes shortly after takeoff, the catastrophe leads to the grounding of the entire Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet.

On 30 June 1956, United Airlines Flight 718 collides with Trans World Airlines Flight 2 over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. All 128 occupants on both flights are killed. At the time, it was the deadliest airline crash in history, and would lead to sweeping changes in the regulation of flight operations over the US.

On 7 October 2008, Qantas Flight 72 suffers a pair of sudden uncommanded pitch-down manoeuvres during a flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Perth Airport. 119 of the 315 people on board are injured. The aircraft makes an emergency landing at Learmonth Airport near Exmouth, Western Australia.

On 25 January 1990, Avianca Flight 52, a flight to New York City from Colombia, is delayed numerous times by bad weather en route and is dangerously low on fuel as it attempts a landing. Wind shear forces the crew to abort the approach just one mile from the runway. They initiate a go-around, but are directed back into a holding pattern by air traffic controllers who are unaware of the low fuel situation. The Boeing 707 then runs out of fuel, causing it to crash on Long Island near New York.

Just minutes after taking off from New York's JFK Airport, TWA Flight 800 is ripped apart by a massive explosion. With a possible terror attack on their hands, the FBI joins investigators from the NTSB in an urgent search for answers. Both agencies are hoping for quick results, but the investigation into TWA Flight 800 will eventually pit them against one another, and will turn into one of the longest, most costly and challenging ever conducted.

En route to Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Flight 780 is high over the South China Sea when both of the plane's engines fail, turning the Airbus A-330 into a 200-ton glider; the captain takes over manual control and manages to power up one engine.

On 27 December 1991, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 crash-lands without loss of life in Gottröra moments after taking off due to both engines failing. Clear ice from the tops of the wings had been sucked into both engines, causing internal damage. An automatic system (of which the pilots were unaware) to increase the engines' thrust contributed to their failure.

When a UK billionaire and his family die in an Australian seaplane crash, investigators uncover a minor maintenance issue with deadly consequences.

On 11 September 1991, Continental Express Flight 2574 is nearing the end of its intra-state flight from Laredo, Texas, to Houston. As the pilots are preparing to land, the aircraft tips into a dive and falls out of the sky as the left wing tears apart. All 14 people on board die. Improper maintenance caused a section of the horizontal stabilizer to break loose during flight, after which the pilots had no control.

Just moments after takeoff, Japan Airlines Flight 123 experiences two explosions. The pilot is having trouble keeping the damaged Boeing 747 in the air. It plunges into the mountain. The accident becomes one of the deadliest accidents in aviation history. Investigators immediately suspect terrorism, but the remains tell a different story, threatening all 747 planes around the world.

On 17 January 2008, British Airways Flight 38 is on its final approach to land, when the autothrottles command increased thrust from the engines. The engines do not respond to the control inputs and remain at idle. The captain raises one notch of flaps to give the aircraft a few more feet of flying distance; it crash-lands just short of the runway without causing any fatalities. The fuel flow to both engines was restricted because of ice crystals causing a blockage in the fuel-oil heat exchangers.

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.

Martinair Flight 495 crashes in Portugal amid thunderstorms and heavy rain, and when investigators piece together the evidence the mystery only deepens.

On 11 September 2001, during the September 11 attacks, American Airlines Flight 77 flies off course and crashes into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, after being hijacked. All the 64 people on board the aircraft, including the 5 hijackers, are killed, along with 125 people in the building.

On 30 July 1998, Proteus Airlines Flight 706 collides with a light aircraft during a detour over an ocean cruise liner and crashes into Quiberon Bay off the coast of Lorient, France. All fifteen occupants on board the two aircraft are killed.

On 24 December 1994, Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport. The four terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris so they can blow up the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower, but the Algerian Army blocks the aircraft with vehicles and refuse to allow it to take off. Unable to carry out their plans, the terrorists kill three passengers over the next two days. The aircraft is then cleared to take off, but the crew diverts to Marseille Provence Airport. The hostage rescue team of the French Gendarmerie storms the aircraft, and after a gun battle in the cabin, the four hijackers are killed and everyone else is evacuated. It is described as "one of the most successful anti-terrorist operations in history."

On 9 June 1995, Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 suffers a landing gear malfunction during final approach to Palmerston North Airport in New Zealand. The aircraft descends until it crashes into hilly terrain as the pilots try to resolve the problem. 4 of the 21 people on board are killed.

On 24 March 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525 enters a high-speed descent and crashes into the French Alps during a flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Düsseldorf, Germany. All 150 people on board are killed.

On 4 November 2008, an official Mexican Interior Ministry Learjet 45 crashes in central Mexico City. Mexican Secretary of the Interior Juan Camilo Mouriño, who was aboard the plane, was killed in the crash, along with the other seven people on board and eight people on the ground. The plane crashed in rush-hour traffic at Las Lomas. The plane crashed due to a loss of control from wake turbulence.

On 23 July 2014, TransAsia Airways Flight 222 crashes into buildings while attempting to land at Magong Airport during inclement weather and low visibility, killing 48 of the 58 people on board.

On 22 November 2003, a European Air Transport Airbus A300 operating on behalf of DHL is climbing away from Baghdad International Airport, when the left wing explodes, causing a massive loss of hydraulic fluid which immobilizes the flight control surfaces. The crew flies the aircraft by changing the engines' thrust for control and make a safe landing 16 minutes later. A surface-to-air missile had been launched at the aircraft.

On 16 July 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. dies when the Piper Saratoga light aircraft he is piloting crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in hazy conditions. His wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, are on board and are also killed. The NTSB concluded that the crash was caused by spatial disorientation resulting in pilot error.

On 18 September 1961, a Douglas DC-6 operated by Transair Sweden, carrying Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, crashes en route to cease-fire negotiations in Northern Rhodesia during the Congo Crisis. All of the 16 passengers and crew members are killed.

On 31 October 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, from New York to Cairo, Egypt, dives out of the sky and crashes into the ocean, killing all 217 people on board. The cause of the crash is disputed: the Egyptian government claims mechanical failure associated with the elevator controls caused the crash, but the US government claims the aircraft was deliberately crashed by the Relief First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti in a suicide/homicide.

On 27 August 2006, Comair Flight 5191, operating for Delta Connection, crashes into a wooded area while taking off from Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky, killing 49 of the 50 people on board.

On 31 October 2015, Metrojet Flight 9268 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Sinai Peninsula during a routine chartered flight from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport to Pulkovo Airport, killing all 224 people on board.

After a routine one-hour flight from Minneapolis, Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 crashes in northern Minnesota, killing everyone on board. Investigators face intense pressure to find the cause. The cockpit voice recorder raises disturbing questions about an inexperienced pilot. But as investigators dig deeper, they uncover a troubling pattern of abuse that led to a breakdown in human cooperation.

On 6 August 1997, the crew of Korean Air Flight 801 is unable to see the runway during final approach for a night landing in Guam. They initiate a missed approach, but the aircraft then flies into a low hill, killing 228 people. A combination of pilot error and the instrument landing system at Guam airport being temporarily out of service for maintenance work were blamed. AKA : Final Approach

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.

On 20 August 2011, First Air Flight 6560, a charter flight, crashes near its destination of Resolute Bay Airport, Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, in poor weather conditions. Out of the fifteen passengers and crew members, only three survived.

On 20 January 1992, Air Inter Flight 148 flies into a peak in the Vosges Mountains while circling to land at Strasbourg Airport, killing 87 people. An error made in programing the aircraft's autopilot, combined with a sudden wind change, caused it to descend more rapidly than expected.

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.

On 10 November 2015, Execuflight Flight 1526 enters an aerodynamic stall and crashes into an apartment building and an embankment during final approach to Akron Fulton International Airport in Akron, Ohio. Both crew members and all seven passengers on board are killed in the crash.

Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 appears out of the clouds and crashes into trees on approach to Kirksville, Missouri. The twin-engine turboprop plane catches fire just over a kilometer from the runway. The charred wreckage offers clues as to what happened. The researchers conclude that it was not a mechanical failure. They hear a recording from the cockpit that may reveal the whole beginning of the accident.

After a turboprop crashes in North Carolina, investigators resort to a risky test flight—and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.

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.

On 12 December 1985, Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying troops of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, stalls and crashes just seconds after taking off from Gander International Airport in Canada, killing all 256 people on board. The cause of the crash remains disputed.

On 22 February 1991, a military aerial refueling aircraft loses both engines from under the left wing while on a combat mission in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, causing serious flight control problems and forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing.

Copa Airlines Flight 201 is flying towards Cali, Colombia when the plane suddenly disintegrates in mid-air.

On June 1, 1999, American Airlines Flight 1420 tries to land at the Little Rock National Airport during a storm, but overruns the runway, killing eleven people.

On 14 November 1990, Alitalia Flight 404 descends too low and crashes into the woodlands of the Stalderberg Mountain near Weiach, Switzerland, 5.2 nautical miles (9.6 kilometres) short of the runway during final approach to Zurich Airport. All 46 passengers and crew members on board are killed.

On 31 October 2014, an experimental spaceflight test vehicle named VSS Enterprise suffers a catastrophic in-flight breakup and crashes into the Mojave Desert in California, United States, while performing a test flight. The co-pilot, Michael Alsbury, is killed; the pilot, Peter Siebold, is seriously injured.

On 25 July 2000, a Concorde operating as Air France Flight 4590 en route to New York City, USA, stalls and crashes into a hotel in Gonesse shorty after take off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport. The plane had struck foreign debris from a Continental Airlines DC-10 causing the plane's fuel tanks to ignite and the engines to fail. All of the 109 passengers and crew die in the incident and 4 on the ground.

(Pakistan International Airlines Flight 268) A Pakistani airliner crashes in the Himalayas, and when their most vital piece of evidence fails to deliver, investigators scramble to find answers.

On 9 May 2012, an aircraft on a demonstration tour crashes into Mount Salak in the province of West Java. All 45 people on board are killed.

Headed for South Korea's Gimhae International Airport, a Boeing 767 crashes into a hillside several miles from the runway. As the nation mourns its worst-ever air disaster, investigators face puzzling evidence: The surviving captain of Air China Flight 129 claims that everything on board was normal, but air traffic controllers testify that the crew's radio communications were anything but.

On 2 August 2005, Air France Flight 358 overruns the runway while attempting to land in a storm. The Airbus A340 travels through the airport perimeter fence into a small ravine and catches fire. The causes of the crash were the aircraft deviating above the required approach path for its landing, touching down too far along the runway and the crew deploying the thrust reversers too slowly. All 309 passengers and crew survived. Alternate title: "Desperate Escape"

On 8 March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board. As of February 2015, no trace of the Boeing 777-200ER had been found, and speculation is that it crashed in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.

(West Air Sweden Flight 294) A cargo jet plummets to earth in the Swedish Arctic. And as investigators pore over the evidence, a terrifying picture of chaos and confusion emerges.

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.

On 7 March 2007, while landing at Yogyakarta at the end of a routine domestic flight from Jakarta, Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 hits the ground so hard that it bounces violently before running off the end of the runway, killing 21 of the 140 people on board.

When basketball legend Kobe Bryant is killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles, investigators look for clues amid a global outpouring of grief.

When Flydubai Flight 981 nosedives into the runway at Russia’s Rostov Airport, investigators uncover one of the most lethal traps in aviation.

On 3 January 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604 banks to the right just after takeoff and crashes into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people on board. The cause of this disaster is disputed and suggested to be spatial disorientation on the part of the flight crew.

On 3 September 2010, the pilots of UPS Airlines Flight 6 report a fire and declare an emergency shortly after taking off from Dubai International Airport. The crew tries to land back at the airport, but are unsuccessful. The aircraft flies over the airport and crashes into an unpopulated area nearby. Both of the pilots die.

(Kenya Airways Flight 507) On 5 May 2007, Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes shortly after takeoff from a stopover in Douala, Cameroon. All 114 passengers and crew died in the accident.

On 19 November 1996, United Express Flight 5925, operating for Great Lakes Airlines, lands at Quincy Regional Airport and collides with a light aircraft taking off from an intersecting runway. All 14 occupants on both aircraft were killed in a subsequent fire.

On 31 July 1992, Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain while on final approach to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, in poor weather conditions, killing all 99 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

On 26 May 1991, the thrust reverser of the first engine of Lauda Air Flight 004 accidentally deploys in mid-flight causing the plane to spiral out of control and disintegrate about 100 miles northwest of Bangkok. All of the 223 passengers and crew die in the crash.

On 7 January 1994, United Express Flight 6291, operating for Atlantic Coast Airlines, crashes 1.2 miles short of the runway during final approach to Port Columbus International Airport after entering a stall. The two pilots, the flight attendant, and two passengers are killed in the crash.

On 16 August 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 stalls while cruising and crashes in rural Venezuela during a severe thunderstorm. Investigations revealed there were no faults with the engines. Pilot error led to the stall which was misinterpreted by the crew members, who took no recovery action until it was too late.

On 20 December 2008, Continental Airlines Flight 1404 veers off the side of the runway, skids across the taxiway and a service road and crashes into a ravine while taking off from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado. All 115 passengers and crew members on board survive.

On 14 September 2008, Aeroflot Flight 821 crashes into a ravine next to a railway line while on final approach to Perm International Airport in Perm, Russia, in poor weather conditions, killing all 88 people on board.

(SOL Flight 5428) When SOL Airlines Flight 5428 nosedives into a remote desert, investigators struggle to find the cause amongst the scattered and scorched debris.

After losing both engines, a turboprop crashes in Papua New Guinea and investigators soon uncover a deadly flaw in an aircraft used around the world.

On 10 March 1989, Air Ontario Flight 1363 crashes just after takeoff, killing 24 people. Three years later, on 22 March 1992, USAir Flight 405 also crashes just after takeoff in similar conditions to Flight 1363. The cause of the crashes was ice on the wings, which significantly reduced lift.

(Northwest Airlines Flights 299 & 1482) When a blanket of confusion and heavy fog puts two planes on a path to disaster, investigators wonder if it was the pilots themselves creating chaos.

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.

On February 24, 1989, United Airlines Flight 811 is flying above the Pacific Ocean, when part of the right-side fuselage is ripped off, ejecting nine people from the aircraft and causing explosive decompression. The flight later lands safely at Honolulu without any more loss of life.

On 19 February 1985, China Airlines Flight 006's number four (right-side outer) engine flames out. As the crew tries to restart the engine, the Boeing 747SP stalls and enters into a spin. The crew successfully regains control, restarts the engine and lands safely at San Francisco International Airport. The incident was caused by pilot error. Alternate title: "6 Mile Plunge"

On 26 September 1997, Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 crashes into mountainous woodlands while trying to land at Polonia International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, in low visibility. All 234 people on board are killed.

FedEx Express Flight 14 crash lands at Newark but the pilots survive but years later, FedEx Express Flight 80 experiences a similar but fatal crash.

On 8 February 1986, a Via Rail passenger train and a 118-car Canadian National Railway freight train collide, killing 23 people. The freight train crew did not stop at a red railway signal on a section of a passing loop, possibly because they were asleep. Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

On 1 February 1991, USAir Flight 1493 collides with a waiting SkyWest Airlines aircraft on the runway, killing 34 people. An air traffic controller mistakenly assigned the inbound Flight 1493 to land on a runway where SkyWest Flight 5569 was waiting to take off.

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.

On 20 August 2008, Spanair Flight 5022 attempts to takeoff from Barajas Airport, but stalls immediately, banks to the right and crashes, killing 154 people out of the 172 on board. The pilots aborted the first takeoff attempt, and the second attempt resulted in the crash.

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.

On January31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261's trimmable horizontal stabilizer jams and breaks free from its control system. The aircraft dives inverted into the Pacific Ocean, causing the death of all 88 on board.

On 3 September 1989, the pilots of Varig Flight 254 enter an incorrect heading into the flight computer. Instead of flying towards its destination, the aircraft flies west and after some time is over a remote area of the Amazon jungle. Attempts to reach an alternative airport are unsuccessful, and the aircraft eventually runs out of fuel. The pilot makes a belly landing in the jungle where 13 people die.

On 6 July 2013, on landing at San Francisco International Airport, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 strikes a seawall and crashes short of the runway. Of the 307 people on board, 2 passengers die at the crash scene; another dies shortly after in hospital.

On 31 October 1996, TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashes seconds after takeoff from São Paulo–Congonhas Airport into a heavily populated residential area, killing all 96 people on board and 3 on the ground. The crash was attributed to the uncommanded deployment of a faulty thrust reverser on the right engine.

On September 8, 1989, Partnair Flight 94, 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.

Competing in a highly-modified P-51 Mustang at the Reno Air Races, Jimmy Leeward is determined to set a new speed record, but half way through the race, his plane spirals out of control and crashes onto the tarmac in front of the stands.

On 19 January 1988, Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286, operating for Continental Express, crashes near Bayfield, Colorado, while on final approach to Durango. Both crew members and seven of the fifteen passengers on board die.