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: 5/7/2025Network: Smithsonian ChannelStatus: Continuing
Peril Over Portugal
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#1 - 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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Loss of a Legend
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#2 - 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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Turboprop Terror
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#3 - 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.

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Pitch Black
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#4 - 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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Tree Strike Terror
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#5 - 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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Terror Over Michigan
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#6 - 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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Pacific Plunge
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#7 - 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.

Double Trouble
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#8 - 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
Stealth Bomber Down
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#9 - 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
Cockpit Failure
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#10 - 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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Holding Pattern
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#11 - 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
Deadly Delivery
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#12 - 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.

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Seconds from Touchdown
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#13 - 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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Caught in a Jam
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#14 - 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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Mission Disaster
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#15 - 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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Meltdown Over Kathmandu
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#16 - 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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Cabin Catastrophe
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#17 - 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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Grounded: Boeing Max 8
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#18 - 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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The Heathrow Enigma
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#19 - 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
Pilot Betrayed
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#20 - 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.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Dead Tired
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#21 - 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.

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Hudson River Runway
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#22 - 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.

Who's in Control?
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#23 - 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.

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Unlocking Disaster
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#24 - 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.

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Racing the Storm
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#25 - 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.

Watch Now:Apple TV