Air Disasters

The pilots of Crossair Flight 3597 struggle on their approach to Zurich Airport, hampered by bad weather, an understaffed control tower, and a runway using antiquated equipment. By the time they decide to abort the landing, it's too late. The plane plunges into a hillside, killing 24 of the 33 on board. It's Switzerland's worst air disaster in over a decade and investigators are pressured to find answers fast. What they discover is a series of errors that will lead to sweeping changes to the airport and to the airline.

January 2008. British Airways Flight 38 is about to land at Heathrow Airport when calamity strikes. The Boeing 777, one of the safest planes in the airline industry, suffers double engine failure, and with only seconds until the aircraft hits the ground, Captain Peter Burkill must attempt a highly risky move to save the lives of the 152 people on board. Witness the remarkable emergency landing the follow investigators as they solve the mystery behind the crash, using unrelenting diligence and a little inspiration from Sherlock Holmes.

A Scandinavian Airlines flight plummets from the winter sky moments after takeoff, and a seasoned pilot's career comes to an end after the culprits of the disaster are identified.

Follow the tragic crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, NJ, into a house in Buffalo, NY, a case that confounded both forensic anthropology students and investigators.

A comprehensive look at the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency landing in January 2009, and the investigation that followed.

When Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 drops out of the sky on its final approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, investigators work to determine if the cause is due to plane or pilot error.

When United Flight 811's cargo door blows off at a high altitude over the Pacific Ocean, the crew acts to bring the packed aircraft down safely, and one victim's family searches for answers.

An MD-82 crash lands in Arkansas during a severe thunderstorm, but investigators believe weather was not the main reason for the accident.

A Swissair passenger jet catches fire midflight and crashes into the Atlantic, leading to one of the largest investigations in aviation history.

Learn how Alaska Airlines Flight 261's fatal nosedive into the Pacific Ocean led to much-needed mechanical improvements and a libel suit.

The pilots of Air Transat Flight 236 find themselves gliding without power high above the Atlantic, and investigators must figure out how a state-of-the-art airbus could run out of fuel.

The crew of British Airways 5390 springs into action after explosive decompression pulls the pilot out the window, and investigators use a novel psychological tactic to determine the cause.

A blade on the left-side propeller of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight breaks off; the imbalance of the rotating propeller causes the engine to partly tear itself from its mounting.

An Air France Flight is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport; terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris.

A cleaning crew makes a careless error while cleaning a Boeing 757, affecting the plane's computer system and causing it to crash into the Pacific Ocean.

A Bashkirian Airlines Flight collides with a DHL Flight in German airspace near Überlingen.

An American Airlines Flight en route to Cali, Colombia loses their exact position and flies into a mountain.

Avianca Flight 52 is delayed numerous times by bad weather en route and is dangerously low on fuel as it attempts a landing at New York City.

A freight train carrying an excess of cargo loses its brakes while descending a mountain causing it to gain speed and derail into a neighborhood killing several people.

A Greek ferry, the Express Samina, is pushed off course by strong waves and crashes into a rock formation, causing 80 passengers to lose their lives in the freezing water as they wait for rescue.

With its conductors sound asleep, a freight train fails to stop and collides with an oncoming train, resulting in tragedy.

Design innovations evolve as a result of terrible air disasters due to pressurization failure or explosive decompression.

Accidents caused by minor defects or errors.

Aviation disasters that resulted from problems with autopilots and computerized systems.