The WORST episodes of Air Disasters
Every episode of Air Disasters ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst 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.
#1 - Terror Over Michigan
Season 17 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/3/2022
Investigators must pull off a risky test flight to see if the pilots of a heroic emergency landing are hiding a secret.
#2 - Dead Tired
Season 18 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2022
Follow the tragic crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 from Newark, NJ, into a house in Buffalo, NY, a case that confounded both forensic anthropology students and investigators.
#3 - Pilot Betrayed
Season 18 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/9/2022
A Scandinavian Airlines flight plummets from the winter sky moments after takeoff, and a seasoned pilot's career comes to an end after the culprits of the disaster are identified.
#4 - 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.
#5 - Cockpit Failure
Season 18 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/2022
Bad weather and a series of errors lead to the 2001 crash of a plane on its approach to Zurich Airport.
#6 - 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.
#7 - Turboprop Terror
Season 17 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/24/2022
When a turboprop stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest, investigators resort to a risky test flight-and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.
#8 - Pitch Black
Season 17 - Episode 8 - Aired 4/17/2022
In 1983, experts investigate a power failure that led to the downing of Air Illinois Flight 710 in total darkness.
#9 - Tree Strike Terror
Season 17 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/10/2022
Investigators search for the cause of a close call on the runway after an American Airlines flight experiences unexpected complications during landing.
#10 - Hudson River Runway
Season 18 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/2022
A comprehensive look at the famous “Miracle on the Hudson” emergency landing in January 2009, and the investigation that followed.
#11 - 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.
#12 - 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.
#13 - 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.
#14 - 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.
#15 - 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.
#16 - Deadly Delivery
Season 16 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/27/2021
A last-minute repair may have played a key role in the crash of a plane leaving Madrid International Airport.
#17 - Seconds from Touchdown
Season 16 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/20/2021
Just 12 minutes after takeoff, a twin turboprop loses hydraulics, an engine, and then catches fire. Find out why.
#18 - Caught in a Jam
Season 16 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/13/2021
A commuter flight in New Zealand turns horrific for plane crash survivors, who may freeze to death before help arrives.
#19 - Who's in Control?
Season 18 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/30/2022
When Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 drops out of the sky on its final approach to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, investigators work to determine if the cause is due to plane or pilot error.
#20 - Unlocking Disaster
Season 18 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/6/2022
When United Flight 811's cargo door blows off at a high altitude over the Pacific Ocean, the crew acts to bring the packed aircraft down safely, and one victim's family searches for answers.
#21 - Racing the Storm
Season 18 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/13/2022
The violent crash landing of American Airlines Flight 1420 in Arkansas claims 11 lives, exposing an industry-wide scandal and triggering an investigation into severe weather and pilot error.
#22 - Fire on Board
Season 18 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/20/2022
Expert investigators work tirelessly to understand the mysterious 1998 crash of Swissair Flight 111 after a cockpit fire led to the deaths of 229 people.
#23 - Cutting Corners
Season 18 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/27/2022
The 2000 crash of an Alaska Airlines plane just off the California coast leads to a disturbing discovery about the company's cost-cutting procedures.
#24 - Flying on Empty
Season 18 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/8/2023
The pilots of Air Transat Flight 236 find themselves gliding without power high above the Atlantic, and investigators must figure out how a state-of-the-art airbus could run out of fuel.
#25 - Blow Out
Season 18 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/15/2023
The crew of British Airways 5390 springs into action after explosive decompression pulls the pilot out the window, and investigators use a novel psychological tactic to determine the cause.