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Air Disasters

Season 11 2018 - 2019

  • 2018-10-01T02:00:00Z on Smithsonian Channel
  • 45m
  • 7h 30m (10 episodes)
  • United States
  • English
  • Documentary
Harrowing stories of tragedy and triumph are brought to life through official reports, transcripts and interviews with the pilots, air traffic controllers and lucky survivors of history's most terrifying crashes. Widely considered to be the safest form of travel, air transportation is still in its infancy and when midair calamity strikes, the results are often catastrophic. From the cockpit to the cabin, from the control room to the crash scene, we uncover just what went wrong.

10 episodes

Season Premiere

2018-10-01T02:00:00Z

11x01 Explosive Proof

Season Premiere

11x01 Explosive Proof

  • 2018-10-01T02:00:00Z45m

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.

2018-10-08T02:00:00Z

11x02 Killer Attitude

11x02 Killer Attitude

  • 2018-10-08T02:00:00Z45m

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.

2018-10-15T02:00:00Z

11x03 Deadly Myth

11x03 Deadly Myth

  • 2018-10-15T02:00:00Z45m

A blackened scar on a frozen field near Detroit marks the fatal impact zone of Flight 3272. The sudden loss of 29 lives leaves families in anguish and investigators perplexed. In search of answers, the NTSB turns to the FAA only to discover that federal regulators themselves may be part of the problem. Witness the stunning 1997 crash of this small commuter aircraft and discover how outdated ideas put pilots and passengers at risk.

2018-10-22T02:00:00Z

11x04 The Turning Point

11x04 The Turning Point

  • 2018-10-22T02:00:00Z45m

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.

2018-10-29T02:00:00Z

11x05 Lethal Turn

11x05 Lethal Turn

  • 2018-10-29T02:00:00Z45m

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.

2018-11-05T03:00:00Z

11x06 Storming Out

11x06 Storming Out

  • 2018-11-05T03:00:00Z45m

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.

2018-11-12T03:00:00Z

11x07 Caught on Tape

11x07 Caught on Tape

  • 2018-11-12T03:00:00Z45m

It was a state-of-the-art commuter plane making a simple one-hour flight from Taipei to a Taiwanese island off the coast of China. But within minutes of takeoff, TransAsia Flight 235 plunged into the Keelung River, killing all but 15 people on board. To determine the cause of the crash, investigators examine stunning footage captured by the dashcam of a passing car and uncover shocking evidence about the captain and even the airline itself.

2019-01-07T03:00:00Z

11x08 Terror Over Egypt

11x08 Terror Over Egypt

  • 2019-01-07T03:00:00Z45m

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.

2019-01-14T03:00:00Z

11x09 Deadly Discussions

11x09 Deadly Discussions

  • 2019-01-14T03:00:00Z45m

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.

Season Finale

2019-01-21T03:00:00Z

11x10 The Lost Plane

Season Finale

11x10 The Lost Plane

  • 2019-01-21T03:00:00Z45m

An Airbus A310 is minutes from reaching Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport when it disappears in the Himalayas. Two days later, the wreckage is found. None of the 113 people onboard have survived. Witness the flight's final moments, investigate the cause of the crash, and discover how the disaster underscored the need for more advanced air traffic control technology at the mountainous Nepali airport and the critical importance of teamwork among pilots.

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