Air Disasters — Season 23
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 (6)
1. Pitch Problems
Aired 8 June 2025 • 44 min
Alaska Airlines 261 nosedives into the Pacific leaving investigators stumped . A rare storm and a deadly design flaw intersect cause American Eagle 4184 to fall from the sky. And, investigators suspect a fatal flaw in the Boeing 737.
2. Fight to the Finish
Aired 15 June 2025 • 44 min
Three flight crews face impossible odds: a Boeing 707 loses engines over the Alps as fire spreads, Air Astana 1388 goes out of control over Portugal, and a bomb on PA 434 severs control cables and blasts a hole in the fuselage.
3. Bad Data
Aired 22 June 2025 • 44 min
A billion-dollar Stealth Bomber crashes at a U.S. Air Force base—the costliest aviation disaster ever. Bad data misleads a charter flight into a Portuguese mountain, and conflicting alarms send a cutting-edge jetliner plunging into the Atlantic.
4. Landing Hazards
Aired 29 June 2025 • 44 min
Martinair 495 crashes on a rain-soaked runway in Portugal, showing how weather can doom a landing. American 1572 hits a storm and loses both engines amid a tower shutdown. And crosswinds challenge an Air France crew already halfway down the runway.
5. Training Ignored
Aired 6 July 2025 • 44 min
Kobe Bryant dies when a high-tech helicopter crashes on a routine L.A. route—training ignored with deadly results. In Missouri, cockpit chatter dooms Corporate 5966, and in Lexington, a twin-engine jet crashes after taking off from the wrong runway.
6. Reckless Approaches
Aired 13 July 2025 • 44 min
A twin-engine jet slams into an Ohio apartment building in a tragic perfect storm, raising questions about speed, power, and fatigue. A turboprop crash exposes an industry-wide issue, and at Guantanamo Bay, a cargo plane goes down near the Cuban border.