Episodes
Fight to the Death
February 8, 2015
On Jun 18, 1972 — BEA Flight 548 (Hawker Siddeley Trident): Minutes after takeoff from London Heathrow, a jet bound for Brussels fell from the sky near Staines, leaving investigators without survivors or flight recordings to explain it.
Speed Trap
February 15, 2015
On Jun 6, 1971 — Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (DC-9): Climbing out of Los Angeles, an airliner collides with a Marine Corps F-4 Phantom over the San Gabriel Mountains, forcing civilian and military investigators to work the case together.
Lost in Translation
February 22, 2015
On Jan 10, 2000 — Crossair Flight 498 (Saab 340): A commuter flight from Zurich to Dresden crashes two minutes after takeoff — the airline's first fatal accident in 25 years.
Tragedy on the Potomac
March 1, 2015
On Jan 13, 1982 — Air Florida Flight 90 (Boeing 737): Departing Washington National in a snowstorm, a jet strikes the 14th Street Bridge and plunges into the icy Potomac, just two miles from the White House.
Queens Catastrophe
March 8, 2015
On Nov 12, 2001 — American Airlines Flight 587 (Airbus A300): Two months after 9/11, a flight bound for the Dominican Republic crashes into a Queens neighborhood moments after leaving JFK, and a rattled nation fears the worst.
Into the Eye of the Storm
March 15, 2015
On Sep 15, 1989 — NOAA 42 "Kermit" (WP-3D Orion): A hurricane hunter crew flies into Hurricane Hugo east of Barbados, where turbulence beyond anything forecast puts the aircraft and its mission in jeopardy.
Massacre Over the Mediterranean
March 22, 2015
On Jun 27, 1980 — Itavia Flight 870 (DC-9): On descent toward Palermo, an Italian airliner vanishes into the Tyrrhenian Sea near Ustica — the start of one of aviation's most contested mysteries.
Imperfect Pitch
March 29, 2015
On Nov 27, 2008 — XL Airways Germany Flight 888T (Airbus A320): During a test flight before handover to a new owner, a jet plunges into the Mediterranean off the French coast, and the checkout flight itself comes under scrutiny.
Getting Out Alive
April 5, 2015
Special — Multiple incidents, including the 2009 "Miracle on the Hudson": Most air accidents are survivable. Survivors' stories reveal what makes the difference, and how the industry works to improve the odds.
Terror in Paradise
April 12, 2015
On Aug 9, 2007 — Air Moorea Flight 1121 (DHC-6 Twin Otter): A seven-minute island hop from Moorea to Tahiti ends when the small plane suddenly noses over and dives into the ocean shortly after takeoff.
Titanic in the Sky
April 19, 2015
On Nov 4, 2010 — Qantas Flight 32 (Airbus A380): Minutes after leaving Singapore, an engine on the world's largest airliner explodes, and the crew must manage a cascade of failures to bring it home.
