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.

Last Updated: 11/27/2024Network: Smithsonian ChannelStatus: Continuing
Double Trouble
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#1 - 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.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Cockpit Killer
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#2 - Cockpit Killer

Season 15 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/1/2020

When an African airliner mysteriously crashes, Namibian investigators rule out a host of possible causes before reaching a chilling conclusion.

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Stormy Cockpit
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#3 - Stormy Cockpit

Season 15 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/8/2020

A brand-new 737 falls from the sky over West Africa during a major storm, but investigators eventually discover weather had nothing to do with it.

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North Sea Nightmare
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#4 - North Sea Nightmare

Season 16 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/25/2021

Enter the cockpit of a high-tech turboprop as its pilots battle to keep their plane from slamming into the North Sea.

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Playing Catch Up
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#5 - Playing Catch Up

Season 16 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/2/2021

Witness the final moments of ExecuFlight Flight 1526 and discover why it crashed into a residential neighborhood.

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Tragic Takeoff
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#6 - Tragic Takeoff

Season 16 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/9/2021

Discover how out-of-date taxi charts and a casual conversation conspired to doom the takeoff of Comair Flight 5191.

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Grounded: Boeing Max 8
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#7 - Grounded: Boeing Max 8

Season 16 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/16/2021

Follow investigators as they race to find out why a best-selling, new plane crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff.

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Cabin Catastrophe
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#8 - Cabin Catastrophe

Season 16 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/23/2021

Relive the 2018 disaster of Southwest Airlines 1380, in which a passenger was nearly sucked from the plane mid-flight.

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Meltdown Over Kathmandu
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#9 - Meltdown Over Kathmandu

Season 16 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/30/2021

Witness the Kathmandu crash of US-Bangla 211 and follow detectives as they investigate both the plane and the pilots.

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Mission Disaster
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#10 - Mission Disaster

Season 16 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/6/2021

A plane loses control during a Gulf War refueling mission and investigators must determine if enemy fire was the cause.

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Caught in a Jam
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#11 - 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.

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Seconds from Touchdown
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#12 - 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.

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Deadly Delivery
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#13 - 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.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Holding Pattern
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#14 - 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
Peril Over Portugal
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#15 - 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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Stealth Bomber Down
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#16 - 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.

Watch Now:Apple TV
No Warning
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#17 - No Warning

Season 15 - Episode 8 - Aired 10/25/2020

Investigators are stumped when a turboprop crashes into an Indonesian mountaintop.

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Pacific Plunge
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#18 - 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.

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Terror Over Michigan
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#19 - 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.

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Tree Strike Terror
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#20 - 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.

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Pitch Black
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#21 - 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.

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Turboprop Terror
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#22 - 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.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Kobe Bryant
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#23 - Kobe Bryant

Season 17 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/24/2022

When basketball legend Kobe Bryant is killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, investigators examine the data, the wreckage, and the pilot's actions for clues.

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Cockpit Failure
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#24 - 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.

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The Heathrow Enigma
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#25 - 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