Air Disasters — Season 8
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. Choosing Sides
Aired 16 October 2016 • 45 min
One of the worst crashes in British history has a stunning cause that changed aviation safety forever.
2. Testing the Limits
Aired 23 October 2016 • 45 min
What caused a 767 to break apart in mid-air? A world-famous race car driver discovers a surprising answer.
3. Vanishing Act
Aired 30 October 2016 • 45 min
After a terrifying crash, survivors face a new challenge: surviving the remote Brazilian jungle.
4. Sideswiped
Aired 8 January 2017 • 45 min
Relive the crash of Copa Airlines Flight 201 and the harrowing investigation in one of the world's most remote jungles.
5. The Final Push
Aired 15 January 2017 • 45 min
See if two MD-11 planes crashes, nearly 12 years apart, were both the result of pilot error or a flaw in the aircraft itself.
6. The Death of JFK Jr.
Aired 22 January 2017 • 45 min
Relive one of the most shocking air disasters in American history as we revisit the 1999 crash that killed JFK Jr.
7. Concorde - Up in Flames
8.0Aired 29 January 2017 • 45 min
Follow investigators as they use the few remaining pieces of a fiery crash to explain a Concorde's doomed flight.
8. Accident or Assassination
Aired 12 February 2017 • 45 min
Mexico's war with drug cartels appears to reach a terrifying new level when a special government charter carrying the president's right-hand man plummets to Earth. There's speculation that this plane crash was no accident but an assassination. The investigation takes a startling new turn after the cockpit voice recorder is recovered. Revisit the night when Mexico City's financial district became an inferno and follow examiners from the crash scene investigation to the shocking conclusion that changed everything.
9. No Clear Options
Aired 19 February 2017 • 45 min
When a commuter turboprop plane crashes at an Irish airport, investigators uncover a startling gap in aviation safety.
10. Death in the Arctic
Aired 26 February 2017 • 45 min
An investigation of a charter plane that moves off course and goes down in Canada's far north.