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 - 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.
#2 - 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.
#3 - 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.
#4 - 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.
#5 - 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.
#6 - 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.
#7 - 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.
#8 - 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.
#9 - 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.
#10 - A Wounded Bird
Season 18 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/22/2023
A blade on the left-side propeller of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight breaks off; the imbalance of the rotating propeller causes the engine to partly tear itself from its mounting.
#11 - 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.
#12 - 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.
#13 - 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.
#14 - 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.
#15 - 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.
#16 - 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.
#17 - 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.
#18 - 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.
#19 - Head-On Collision
Season 18 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/12/2023
Two trains collide near the town of Hinton in Alberta, Canada, and the event becomes known as one of the deadliest accidents -- and greatest mysteries -- in Canadian railway history.
#20 - Control Catastrophe
Season 19 - Episode 5 - Aired 6/18/2023
Equipment and software oversights on Air Astana Flight 1388 cause a critical malfunction immediately after takeoff, forcing the crew to attempt a series of near-impossible landings.
#21 - Power Play
Season 19 - Episode 4 - Aired 6/11/2023
An investigation into the crash of Airlines PNG Flight 1600 on Papua New Guinea reveals a potentially deadly flaw in the popular Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop plane.
#22 - Pressure Point
Season 19 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/4/2023
Minutes after takeoff, Japan Airlines Flight 123 experiences a sudden loss of pressurization and crashes into a mountain northwest of Tokyo, prompting investigators to look for answers.
#23 - Missed Opportunities
Season 19 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/22/2023
Investigators try to determine why Independent Air Flight 1851 was flying below advised altitude when it struck a mountain on the Portuguese island of Santa Maria, killing everyone on board.
#24 - Deadly Exchange
Season 19 - Episode 1 - Aired 5/21/2023
A twin-engine turboprop carrying 15 people on a flight from St. Louis is on final approach to Kirksville, Missouri. Visibility is poor, but the pilots appear to have the runway lights in sight. When the plane crashes into a wooded area just 1.2 miles from the airport, it's up to the NTSB to find out what happened in the final seconds of Corporate Airlines Flight 5966.
#25 - Who's Flying the Plane
Season 18 - Episode 24 - Aired 3/19/2023
Experts document aviation tragedies that show how safety is a delicate balance between automated systems and pilot training, often meaning the difference between survival and disaster.