Air Disasters

The Airbus A340 is a sophisticated plane with a glowing safety record. But in August 2005, one of these highly engineered jets had a hazardous landing during a thunderstorm. While landing, it skidded off the runway and put the lives of over 300 passengers and crew in peril. Was it simply bad weather that caused this disaster or was the plane itself at fault? Join the investigation that shone a light on the growing issue of runway overruns and led to life-saving safety procedures that, to this day, have only been put into place in a few cities.

High above the Indian Ocean, pilots and passengers aboard a 747 witness pinpricks of light engulfing their plane as smoke begins to fill the cabin. Shortly afterwards, all four engines fail, forcing the pilots to attempt to resuscitate the aircraft before it crashes into the sea. Witness the strange phenomena that overtook British Airways Flight 9 and how their struggle to safely land the plane changed the way pilots today are trained to handle similar eruptive emergencies.

A small mechanical problem in the back of a Toronto-bound DC-9 quickly turns deadly six miles in the air. As the cabin and cockpit fill with smoke, the crew desperately attempts an emergency landing. Against all odds, they successfully touch down, but 90 seconds after hitting the runway, the cabin erupts in flame, and 23 people still inside the plane are killed. See how this tragic end led to changes to make crews better equipped to fight fires.

Flying blind in a fierce storm, the crew of Korean Air Flight 801 attempts to land, but there's a problem: they can't find the airport. The passenger jet ultimately crash-lands three miles short of its destination, and while some survive the impact, more than 200 people are killed. This is a story of an air disaster that easily could have been prevented, prompting to a damning investigation that pointed a finger at the Guam airport, the airline, and the FAA, and leading to changes to the airport and the training of Korean pilots.

The Boeing 737 is one of the most popular and profitable planes in the world and the backbone of the aviation industry. But in the 1990s, two deadly crashes and another near miss puzzled investigators, which sent them scrambling for answers. Their hunt led to the longest investigation the NTSB has ever conducted, with the fate of the airline industry hanging in the balance. Witness these mysterious and tragic accidents, and see how they led to a worldwide recall on 737s as well as sweeping changes in training protocols.

It was a masterpiece of flying, a race against time to right an out-of-control Boeing 747 before it spirals into the Pacific Ocean. The crew somehow made a miraculous recovery and safely landed their aircraft. The plane's captain was instantly hailed as a hero. Investigators piecing together the events of the near disaster, however, tell a different story. Relive the harrowing six-mile plummet of China Airlines Flight 006 and the findings of the NTSB examination that revealed the effects jet lag and lack of sleep can have on pilots.

A DC-9 is just minutes from landing at LAX Airport when it is rocked by a sudden jolt. Within seconds, it crashes to Earth, demolishing a small L.A. community. Soon after, a wrecked private plane is found, leading to an unmistakable conclusion: a midair collision. Follow investigators as they determine what happened in the skies over Cerritos, CA, what caused this disaster, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

The White House is rocked when a military jet carrying American politicians and distinguished visitors mysteriously vanishes in the mountains of Croatia during a storm. When the crashed plane is found, the hard questions begin: why did this specially redesigned US Air Force 737 crash? Was it simply a case of bad weather or, in a war-ravaged part of the world, was there another cause? Relive the 1996 air disaster that killed a star in the Democratic Party, Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, and put the Air Force on the defensive.

In the darkness before dawn on January 3, 2004, a pilot loses control of his charter jet and crashes into the Red Sea just minutes after taking off. Was it terrorism? A mechanical failure? Or did the very experienced and respected pilot make a mistake that cost all 148 on board their lives? We revisit the crash of Flash Airlines Flight 604, one of the strangest air disasters in recent history, and reexamine an investigation in search for answers that perhaps will forever remain at the bottom of the Red Sea.