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Air Disasters

Air Disasters

Catastrophic incidents in aviation history are meticulously re-enacted, providing insight into what went wrong and if the crashes and near-disasters could have been prevented; accounts from survivors combine with cockpit recordings and computer images to weave the gripping tales and expert testimony reveals the hows and whys behind the events, some of which have resulted in important changes to aviation safety and regulations.
2 seasonsDocumentary, AviationTV-G
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Coming Soon

    Cabin Chaos
  • Cabin Chaos

    After a Chinese airplane lands at a top-secret US Air Force base, the search is on for the cause of a deadly rollercoaster ride in the sky.
    Upcoming

Watch Now

Season 227 of 10 Episodes

  • 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.

  • After an explosion rips both engines off the right wing, the pilots of Transair 671 manage a landing at a French military airfield.

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

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

  • In November 1995, American Airlines flight 1572 clips the tops of trees along Peak Mountain Ridge and strikes an instrument landing system antenna at Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Conn.

  • In 1983, Air Illinois Flight 710 crashes into an open pasture area in poor weather while en route to Southern Illinois Airport, killing all 10 people on board; the cause of the crash was the pilots' mismanagement of an electrical problem.

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

Record to Watch Later

4 episodes will be broadcast over the next two weeks

    Powerless Plunge
    Deadly Climb
    Running on Empty
    Firebomber Down
  • Powerless Plunge

    Just moments after takeoff, a Loganair cargo flight from Edinburgh loses both engines and crashes into the icy North Sea.
    Upcoming
  • Deadly Climb

    In 1985, a DC-9 airliner crashes seconds after takeoff from Milwaukee.
    Upcoming
  • Running on Empty

    Air Tahoma Flight 185, an overnight cargo flight from Memphis, Tenn., approaches its final destination, Cincinnati.
    Upcoming
  • Firebomber Down

    A C-130 firebomber crashes while battling an epic Australian wildfire; ATSB investigators must determine the cause within an active fire zone.
    Upcoming
Air Disasters

More about Air Disasters

Catastrophic incidents in aviation history are meticulously re-enacted, providing insight into what went wrong and if the crashes and near-disasters could have been prevented; accounts from survivors combine with cockpit recordings and computer images to weave the gripping tales and expert testimony reveals the hows and whys behind the events, some of which have resulted in important changes to aviation safety and regulations.

Starring

Jonathan Aris

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