The BEST episodes of Air Disasters
Every episode of Air Disasters ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Air Disasters!
Harrowing stories of tragedy and triumph are brought to life through official reports, transcripts and interviews with the pilots, air traffic controllers and lucky survivors of history's most terrifying crashes. Widely considered to be the safest form of travel, air transportation is still in its infancy and when midair calamity strikes, the results are often catastrophic. From the cockpit to the cabin, from the control room to the crash scene, we uncover just what went wrong.
#2 - Focused on Failure
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/27/2014
Just minutes before touching down in Portland International Airport, all four engines of a DC-8 mysteriously flame out. With the aircraft dropping 3,000 feet per minute, the pilots realize they have no option but to crash land in the middle of a major American city. Witness the harrowing emergency landing of United Airlines Flight 173 in Portland, Oregon, and uncover the shocking reasons for its massive engine failure.
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#3 - Death of the President
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 8/10/2014
It was an air disaster that crippled a country, heightened tensions between two nations, and ignited conspiracy theories worldwide. On April 10, 2010, Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154M, carrying Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski, crashed on Russian soil, killing everyone aboard. Russian experts pinned the blame on the pilots, but Poland's Interior Minister examined the evidence and reached a far different conclusion. Experience the tragedy that shocked the world and follow the investigation that remains steeped in controversy.
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#7 - Grand Canyon
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 6/8/2014
Two commercial airliners go missing over the Arizona desert, and are later found in pieces, scattered along the Grand Canyon floor. It's 1956, and air disaster examiner Jack Parshall is pressed for answers. There are no black boxes or any of the advanced technology used by modern day investigators. And all he has to go on are plane fragments and his own expertise. See how Parshall and his team of experts literally pieced the accident together, and how their findings helped transform air travel as we currently know it.
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#8 - Subtle Incapacitation
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 8/17/2014
Five minutes into Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, something goes wrong. The pilots lose control of their aircraft, and before they can regain command, they begin an unstoppable descent into the Mediterranean Sea. All 90 aboard are dead and experts are scrambling for answers. There was a storm, but was it big enough to take down a 737? Or was there a more ominous explanation? Experience the terrifying disaster of January 25, 2010, and follow the investigation that led to a finding so controversial, some still refuse to believe it.
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#9 - The Heathrow Enigma
Season 18 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/2022
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.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#12 - Loss of a Legend
Season 17 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/24/2022
On 26 January 2020, a helicopter carrying basketball player Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and seven other people crashes into hilly terrain near Calabasas, California, killing all 9 people on board. The pilot had violated visual flight rules and suffered spatial disorientation.
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#17 - Pacific Plunge
Season 17 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/27/2022
Heroic flying isn't enough to overcome neglectful maintenance in the tragic accident of Alaska Airlines Flight 261.
#18 - Double Trouble
Season 17 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/20/2022
A cargo flight from Luxembourg to Nigeria turns into a nightmare over the French Alps for its five-person crew. A large explosion has blown both engines off the right wing, the weather is worsening, and the cockpit has lost contact with air traffic control. It will take every bit of muscle and piloting expertise to steer the disabled Boeing 707 over the mountains and reach Marseille for an emergency landing. Witness the harrowing flight of Trans-Air Cargo Flight 671, then discover the microscopic but deadly flaw that almost doomed the plane.
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#19 - Stealth Bomber Down
Season 17 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/13/2022
At the end of a four-month deployment in Guam, a two-officer crew prepares to fly back to the states in one of the world's most sophisticated warplanes: the B-2 Spirit bomber. But immediately after takeoff, the plane pitches up dramatically, losing speed and shaking violently. The pilots quickly eject from the stealth bomber just before it crashes to Earth. With a price tag of two billion dollars, it's the most expensive aviation accident of all time, and investigators are under pressure to determine what happened... and if it could happen again.
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#20 - Peril Over Portugal
Season 17 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/6/2022
Martinair Flight 495 is seconds from landing at Portugal's Faro Airport when the storm it's flying through takes a sudden turn for the worse. On touchdown, the DC-10 erupts in flames and tears apart as it slides more than 350 feet off the runway. Miraculously, most of the 340 passengers and crew survive the crash, but 56 people are killed, and investigators need to determine the cause of the accident. Bad weather appears to be the main culprit, but the discovery of a two-inch deep cut down the runway raises troubling new questions.
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#21 - Holding Pattern
Season 17 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/27/2022
A bumpy flight from Dubai to Russia's Rostov-on-Don Airport ends in disaster when the plane nosedives into the runway two hours after entering a holding pattern. With grieving families and the world demanding answers, the Interstate Aviation Committee and a team from the United Arab Emirates investigate why the pilots of Flydubai Flight 981 completed one successful go-around but crashed during the second. They suspect a problem endemic to the aircraft, but soon uncover the most lethal trap in aviation.
Watch Now:Apple TV
