Air Disasters — Season 16
The disaster is only the beginning of the story.
About this season
Catastrophic incidents in aviation history are meticulously reenacted, 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.
Episodes (10)
1. North Sea Nightmare
Aired 25 April 2021 • 45 min
Enter the cockpit of a high-tech turboprop as its pilots battle to keep their plane from slamming into the North Sea.
2. Playing Catch Up
Aired 2 May 2021 • 45 min
Witness the final moments of ExecuFlight Flight 1526 and discover why it crashed into a residential neighborhood.
3. Tragic Takeoff
Aired 9 May 2021 • 45 min
Discover how out-of-date taxi charts and a casual conversation conspired to doom the takeoff of Comair Flight 5191.
4. Grounded: Boeing Max 8
Aired 16 May 2021 • 45 min
Follow investigators as they race to find out why a best-selling, new plane crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff.
5. Cabin Catastrophe
Aired 23 May 2021 • 45 min
Relive the 2018 disaster of Southwest Airlines 1380, in which a passenger was nearly sucked from the plane mid-flight.
6. Meltdown Over Kathmandu
Aired 30 May 2021 • 45 min
Witness the Kathmandu crash of US-Bangla 211 and follow detectives as they investigate both the plane and the pilots.
7. Mission Disaster
Aired 6 June 2021 • 45 min
A plane loses control during a Gulf War refueling mission and investigators must determine if enemy fire was the cause.
8. Caught in a Jam
Aired 13 June 2021 • 45 min
A commuter flight in New Zealand turns horrific for plane crash survivors, who may freeze to death before help arrives.
9. Seconds from Touchdown
Aired 20 June 2021 • 45 min
Just 12 minutes after takeoff, a twin turboprop loses hydraulics, an engine, and then catches fire. Find out why.
10. Deadly Delivery
Aired 27 June 2021 • 45 min
A last-minute repair may have played a key role in the crash of a plane leaving Madrid International Airport.