Air Disasters

Smithsonian Channel

Series

2011

TV14

Documentary

Aviation

Examining the world’s worst air disasters, using official reports, transcripts, and interviews with people involved to tell the stories of midair mishaps and discover what went wrong in each case.

Compilation

8.8

Why
follow?

Cast & Crew

Bill Ratner Narrator

⨁Full Cast & Crew

Where to Stream

2003– Series 21 Seasons262 Episodes

Watch options by

Upcoming TV Airings

The airings below are based on a generic national schedule. Times and dates can vary by TV provider.

Friday, December 12

12:00 PM

Missed Approach

Season 7 • Episode 4

A plane crash lands in Guam after losing sight of the airport in a storm.

Friday, December 12

1:00 PM

Who's In Control

Season 18 • Episode 6

Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 stalls and crashes less than a mile from the runway.

Friday, December 12

2:00 PM

Deadly Space

Season 12 • Episode 6

The aircraft breaks apart and falls from the sky, killing the flight's co-pilot.

Friday, December 12

3:00 PM

Out of Control

Season 6 • Episode 4

A simple error years prior causes the deadliest single-plane crash in history.

Friday, December 12

4:00 PM

Subtle Incapacitation

Season 4 • Episode 11

The 2010 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 sparks rumors of terrorism.

Sunday, December 14

8:00 PM

Fatal Distraction

Season 1 • Episode 9

Pilots try to determine why both landing-gear lights do not function on an L-1011.

Sunday, December 14

9:00 PM

Deadly Inclination

Season 12 • Episode 8

An Alitalia airliner crashes into a forested hillside just a few miles from a Zurich runway.

Sunday, December 14

10:00 PM

Fatal Friction

Season 14 • Episode 2

Human flaws cause three plane crashes in England, Colorado and Minnesota.

Sunday, December 14

11:00 PM

Seconds to Survive

Season 4 • Episode 12

Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 disappears in the Andes Mountains.

Monday, December 15

12:00 AM

Lethal Turn

Season 11 • Episode 5

Forest fires and a series of human errors lead to the deadliest air disaster in Indonesian history.

Monday, December 15

1:00 AM

Impossible Landing

Season 3 • Episode 4

United Airlines Flight 232 crashes into Sioux City's runway in 1989.

Monday, December 15

2:00 AM

Cutting Corners

Season 18 • Episode 11

The 2000 crash of an Alaska Airlines plane just off the California coast.

Monday, December 15

3:00 AM

Fatal Flaw

Season 18 • Episode 23

Disasters that involved small components that failed; accidents caused by minor defects or errors.

Monday, December 15

4:00 AM

Mountain Impact

Season 20 • Episode 15

Uncovering fatal flaws in the operations designed to prevent aircraft from flying into mountains.

Monday, December 15

5:00 AM

Soccer Tragedy

Season 13 • Episode 9

A plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team crashes just ten miles from the airport in 2016.

Monday, December 15

6:00 AM

Runway Runoff

Season 13 • Episode 7

Investigators research an airport after a passenger plane veers off the runway.

Monday, December 15

7:00 AM

Radio Silence

Season 20 • Episode 9

The deadliest aviation accidents in both Greek and Taiwanese history.

Monday, December 15

8:00 AM

Bad Attitude

Season 3 • Episode 9

A Korean Air Cargo flight crashes in a field moments after takeoff from England's Stansted Airport.

Monday, December 15

9:00 AM

Blind Spot

Season 3 • Episode 1

In 1978, PSA Flight 182 collides with a Cessna and crashes into a San Diego residential area.

Monday, December 15

10:00 AM

Dead Weight

Season 1 • Episode 5

Just after takeoff, Air Midwest Flight 5481 plummets to the ground, killing all on board.

Monday, December 15

11:00 AM

The Plane That Flew Too High

Season 2 • Episode 11

The West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crash leads to bankruptcy of the troubled airline.

Monday, December 15

12:00 PM

Hockey Team Tragedy

Season 4 • Episode 9

A Russian passenger jet crashes into the Volga River, killing almost everyone on board.

Monday, December 15

1:00 PM

Deadly Confusion

Season 20 • Episode 8

JFK Jr. disappears on the way to Martha's Vineyard; a captain loses his bearings and crashes.

Monday, December 15

2:00 PM

Missing Pieces

Season 14 • Episode 7

Three air crash investigations in which examiners are pushed to the limit to crack the cases.

Monday, December 15

3:00 PM

Missed Opportunities

Season 19 • Episode 2

Monday, December 15

4:00 PM

Fire on Board

Season 18 • Episode 9

A Swissair passenger jet catches fire midflight and crashes into the Atlantic.

Monday, December 15

5:00 PM

Kathmandu Descent

Season 15 • Episode 1

A challenging descent turns tragic when the pilots miscalculate their approach to an airport.

Monday, December 15

6:00 PM

Explosive Clues

Season 14 • Episode 5

A look at three commercial planes that became targets over the Sinai Desert and the Sea of Japan.

Monday, December 15

7:00 PM

The Pentagon Attack

Season 10 • Episode 2

The FBI and NTSB join forces to determine how terrorists hijacked American Airlines Flight 77.

Monday, December 15

8:00 PM

Blind Landing

Season 4 • Episode 5

A violent hailstorm brings down a plane in the middle of the Amazon.

Monday, December 15

9:00 PM

Heat of the Moment

Season 20 • Episode 11

Air Crash Investigation uncovers the truth behind the most legendary aviation disasters of all time.

Tuesday, December 16

1:00 AM

Lethal Limits

Season 13 • Episode 8

An investigation into a jet crash from 2008 leads to a change into the Russian aviation system.

Tuesday, December 16

2:00 AM

Fog of War

Season 7 • Episode 8

A U.S. military plane flies into a mountain while attempting to land in Croatia.

Tuesday, December 16

3:00 AM

The Heathrow Enigma

Season 18 • Episode 2

A plane engines failure to respond cause the plane to crash-land just short of the runway.

Tuesday, December 16

4:00 AM

Stormy Cockpit

Season 15 • Episode 10

Pilots steer their plane clear of a storm, but are unable to regain control of a dangerous roll.

Tuesday, December 16

5:00 AM

Split Decision

Season 3 • Episode 10

Arrow Air Flight 1285 with 248 American soldiers on board crashes after refueling in Newfoundland.

Thursday, December 18

1:00 AM

Dangerous Winds

Three planes fall prey to deadly winds, and it is up to investigators to find out why.

Thursday, December 18

2:00 AM

Tree Strike Terror

Season 17 • Episode 7

A passenger jet miraculously survives a collision with trees while landing.

Thursday, December 18

3:00 AM

Lethal Choices

Season 20 • Episode 23

Pilots must make a life or death decision, the wrong approach can trigger a more serious problem.

Thursday, December 18

4:00 AM

Concorde: Up in Flames

Season 8 • Episode 7

An Air France Concorde crashes into a Paris hotel after takeoff on July 25, 2000.

Thursday, December 18

5:00 AM

Into the Eye of the Storm

Season 5 • Episode 6

Hugo, a Category 5 hurricane, threatens to rip a plane apart.

Friday, December 19

12:00 PM

North Sea Nightmare

Season 16 • Episode 1

A modern turboprop nosedives towards the North Sea after being struck by lightning.

Friday, December 19

1:00 PM

Pushed to the Limit

Season 4 • Episode 4

Investigators try to determine what a brand new airliner fell out of the sky on a clear day.

Friday, December 19

2:00 PM

Hero Pilots

Season 14 • Episode 3

Three flights headed for disaster are saved at the last moment by heroes in the cockpit.

Friday, December 19

3:00 PM

Risky Runways

Season 20 • Episode 24

The toughest landings on earth pushed three fight crews to the limit.

Friday, December 19

4:00 PM

Nowhere to Land

Season 3 • Episode 11

An emergency landing during a violent storm kills the engines of a 737.

Friday, December 19

5:00 PM

Deadly Reputation

Season 2 • Episode 12

TAM Airlines Flight 3054 slides off a runway and crashes into a warehouse next to a petrol station.

Friday, December 19

6:00 PM

Kid in the Cockpit

Season 6 • Episode 9

A pilot's decision to let his 15-year-old son fly has disastrous consequences.

Friday, December 19

7:00 PM

Deadly Solution

Season 10 • Episode 9

A captain's decision leads to a deadly stall over the Java Sea.

Sunday, December 21

8:00 PM

Pilot Betrayed

Season 18 • Episode 3

Following the story of the Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 and Captain Rasmussen.

Sunday, December 21

9:00 PM

Deadly Crossroads

Season 18 • Episode 16

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

Sunday, December 21

10:00 PM

Operation Babylift

Season 21 • Episode 5

A United States Air Force transport aircraft suffers an explosive decompression.

Sunday, December 21

11:00 PM

Falling Fast

Season 21 • Episode 6

Pilots must ditch their plane in the Mediterranean, killing 14 of the 34 passengers.

Monday, December 22

12:00 AM

Deadly Distraction

Season 12 • Episode 3

A 1988 commercial flight crashes just moments after liftoff and erupts in flames.

Monday, December 22

1:00 AM

Taxiway Turmoil

Season 15 • Episode 4

A departing DC-9 in Detroit gets lost in the fog and ends up in the path of an oncoming 727.

Monday, December 22

2:00 AM

Getting Out Alive

Season 5 • Episode 9

Air accident survival stories; keeping passengers and crews alive when disaster strikes.

Monday, December 22

3:00 AM

Power Play

Season 19 • Episode 4

A turboprop loses engine power and crashes; investigators discover a fatal defect.

Monday, December 22

4:00 AM

Mystery Over the Mediterranean

Season 19 • Episode 10

Monday, December 22

5:00 AM

Terror Over Egypt

Season 11 • Episode 8

When a plane carrying Russian tourists crashes in Egypt, investigators face political tensions.

Monday, December 22

6:00 AM

Free Fall

Season 12 • Episode 7

A computer glitch causes a highly automated Qantas Airways flight to nearly fall out of the sky.

Monday, December 22

7:00 AM

Sabotage

From delusional hijackers to suicidal pilots, three flights fall victim to acts of sabotage.

Monday, December 22

8:00 AM

Deadly Mission

Season 9 • Episode 10

An investigation sheds light on the plane crash that killed U.N. Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld.

Monday, December 22

9:00 AM

What Happened To Malaysian 370?

Season 8 • Episode 11

Leading aviation experts investigate one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time.

Monday, December 22

10:00 AM

Cockpit Killer

Season 15 • Episode 9

Investigators have to figure out the cause of an African airliner's mysterious crash.

Monday, December 22

11:00 AM

Turning Point

Season 3 • Episode 5

A Northwest Airlines flight above the Bering Sea must make an emergency landing in Anchorage.

Monday, December 22

12:00 PM

Cleared for Disaster

Season 2 • Episode 10

An air traffic controller's mistake causes two planes to collide on the runway.

Monday, December 22

1:00 PM

Titanic in the Sky

Season 5 • Episode 11

An emergency landing is forced by pilots after an engine explodes.

Monday, December 22

2:00 PM

Falling From the Sky

Season 7 • Episode 2

A British Airways flight to Australia in 1982 crashes into the Indian Ocean.

Monday, December 22

3:00 PM

Miracle Escape

Season 7 • Episode 1

Passengers and crew escape a jet that skid off the runway before catching fire.

Monday, December 22

4:00 PM

Deadly Descent

Season 13 • Episode 1

When an airbus A330 loses both engines, its pilots must think of a solution before they crash.

Monday, December 22

5:00 PM

Deadly Detail

Season 10 • Episode 4

A Boeing 737 erupts in flames, putting 165 debarking passengers and crew in jeopardy.

Monday, December 22

6:00 PM

Dead of Winter

Season 12 • Episode 10

Continental Airlines Flight 1713 crashes on takeoff from Denver during a snowstorm in 1987.

Monday, December 22

7:00 PM

Blow Out

Season 18 • Episode 13

A cockpit window on British Airways Flight blows out, partially ejecting and injuring the captain.

Monday, December 22

8:00 PM

Hanging by a Thread

Season 6 • Episode 6

The roof of an Aloha Airlines 737 tears off the plane at 24,000 feet in the sky.

Monday, December 22

9:00 PM

Gimli Glider

Season 1 • Episode 2

A pilot heads for a decommissioned air force base when the 767 he is flying runs out of fuel.

Tuesday, December 23

1:00 AM

Hudson River Runway

Season 18 • Episode 5

US Airways flight suffers a bird strike with a flock of Canada geese, causing both engines to fail.

Tuesday, December 23

2:00 AM

Deadly Detour

Season 10 • Episode 5

A commuter flight over France makes a sight-seeing detour that sets off a deadly chain of events.

Tuesday, December 23

3:00 AM

Icy Descent

Season 15 • Episode 6

After experiencing icing conditions, a turboprop slams into an Argentine desert.

Tuesday, December 23

4:00 AM

System Breakdown

Season 2 • Episode 8

Five aviation disasters and the changes they have forced air-traffic controllers to make.

Tuesday, December 23

5:00 AM

Tragedy on the Potomac

Season 5 • Episode 4

Air Florida Flight 90 stalls, strikes a road bridge and crashes into the Potomac River.