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The Best Episodes of Air Crash Investigation: Special Report

Every episode of Air Crash Investigation: Special Report ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Air Crash Investigation: Special Report!

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In this special season of Air Crash Investigation, every episode examines multiple aviation disasters that prove to have similarities including; engines that separated from their aircrafts mid-flight, mismatched pilot pairings that led to deadly crashes,

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 1 Episode 1 - Communication Breakdown
    10.0/10(25 votes)

    #1 - Communication Breakdown

    S1:E1

    Some of the deadliest air crashes in history have been caused by simple misunderstandings, and it's a tiny error in the cockpit that brought tragedy to Quincy Airport in Illinois. Meanwhile, a minor mistake, a non-standard approach, and heavy smoke add up to a tragic misunderstanding that cost the lives of everyone on board Garuda Indonesia Flight 152. And, however disastrous, never has a misunderstanding taken as devastating a turn as on the island of Tenerife and the single deadliest aviation accident of all time.

    Director:Unknown
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  2. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 1 Episode 3 - Hero Pilots
    10.0/10(19 votes)

    #2 - Hero Pilots

    S1:E3

    It takes years of training to become an airline captain, but it's when a crisis strikes that a pilot really earns his stripes. An airliner is crippled after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport, and the courageous captain pulls off an amphibious landing in the Hudson River. A catastrophic failure strikes high above the Canadian Prairies turning a Boeing 767 into a very large and very heavy glider. And, when the engines of TACA Flight 110 flame out in a violent storm, its captain pulls off one of the most remarkable landings in the history of commercial aviation.

    Director:Unknown
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  3. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 4 Episode 4 - Risky Runways
    10.0/10(18 votes)

    #3 - Risky Runways

    S4:E4

    In Sao Paolo, the Himalayas, and on the Norwegian coast, three flight crews are pushed to the limit by the toughest landings on earth.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 4 Episode 5 - Landings Gone Wrong
    10.0/10(16 votes)

    #4 - Landings Gone Wrong

    S4:E5

    Relying on instinct rather than the rule book, three flights end in tragedy when crews improvise on their final approach.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 5 Episode 4 - Accidents in the Air
    10.0/10(14 votes)

    #5 - Accidents in the Air

    S5:E4

    Although rare, mid air collisions do occur, and are usually preceded by inattention, poor judgment and circumstance. United Flight 718 + TWA Flight 2, Proteus Airlines Flight 706 and Embraer Legacy Jet + Gol Flight 1907.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 5 Episode 5 - Impossible Landings
    10.0/10(15 votes)

    #6 - Impossible Landings

    S5:E5

    With zero margin for error, three catastrophes are narrowly averted by pilots who somehow manage to land their damaged planes. Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, Aloha Airlines Flight 243 and Air Canada Flight 797.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Air Crash Investigation: Special Report

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  7. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 5 Episode 10 - Sabotage
    10.0/10(17 votes)

    #7 - Sabotage

    S5:E10

    Three flights are hijacked by acts of sabotage. When the cockpit of an Ethiopian airliner is stormed by hijackers, the captain manages an heroic yet deadly ocean landing. Investigators are torn between competing theories after an Italian passenger plane is blown out of the sky. And, Namibian investigators reach a chilling conclusion after piecing through the wreckage of LAM Mozambique Flight 470.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 1 Episode 4 - Plane Versus Pilot
    9.0/10(16 votes)

    #8 - Plane Versus Pilot

    S1:E4

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 1 Episode 5 - Explosive Evidence
    9.0/10(13 votes)

    #9 - Explosive Evidence

    S1:E5

    In 1985, an Air India flight vanishes off the coast of Ireland. The rescue mission discovers that the crew had no warning before the jet was ripped apart. Investigators are alerted to a bag checked in without the passenger boarding. Another explosion on the same day at Tokyos Airport is soon linked to this incident. The bomb builder is traced and sent to jail but the person who checked the bag onto the plane has never been caught.

    Director:Unknown
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  10. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 1 Episode 6 - Killer in the Cockpit?
    9.0/10(16 votes)

    #10 - Killer in the Cockpit?

    S1:E6

    Compared to the number of suicides in the general population, suicidal pilots are almost statistically non-existent. But when they do emerge from obscurity to unleash their horrific plans on innocent passengers, the destruction they inflict is epic. A 737 cruising above an Indonesian jungle suddenly plummets from the sky. An Airbus A-320 crashes into the French Alps. And, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 vanishes over the South China Sea, and remains one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time.

    Director:Unknown
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  11. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 2 Episode 1 - Headline News
    9.0/10(24 votes)

    #11 - Headline News

    S2:E1

    Three devastating crashes make front page news around the globe, and the media frenzy puts intense pressure on investigators to uncover the true cause of these deadly disasters. On September 11th, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 disappears from radar and slams into Pentagon. When TWA Flight 800 explodes over Long Island, a media reports spark a four year investigation. And, when an Air France Concorde crashes in Paris just seconds after takeoff, it signals the end of the supersonic era.

    Director:Unknown
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  12. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 2 Episode 3 - Collision Course
    9.0/10(22 votes)

    #12 - Collision Course

    S2:E3

    Facing deadly tragedies that could have been avoided, investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact. In California, a massive passenger plane collides with one of the fastest fighter jets in the sky. Seven years later, another deadly collision leaves investigators puzzled and San Diego in shock. And, in India, two passenger jets collide causing the world's deadliest-ever midair collision.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 2 Episode 9 - Radio Silence
    9.0/10(25 votes)

    #13 - Radio Silence

    S2:E9

    Radio silence between pilots and air traffic controllers can mean many different things, but only the physical evidence can reveal the true story. Three shocking cases send investigators hunting for answers. A Greek airliner goes rogue and crashes outside Athens. A China Airlines 747 disappears from radar and the culprit is discovered on the ocean floor. And, when controllers lose contact with a private jet, fighter planes scramble to intervene.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 3 Episode 4 - Lapse In Security
    9.0/10(14 votes)

    #14 - Lapse In Security

    S3:E4

    Traced to the breakdown of vital safety measures, three horrific air disasters provoke fundamental changes to airport security procedures around the world. A passenger plane is obliterated in the California hills and investigators find a smoking gun in the wreckage. A 747 explodes over the Atlantic. And, after a routine landing, fire engulfs a commuter plane in Taiwan.

    Director:Unknown
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  15. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 3 Episode 6 - Survivors
    9.0/10(15 votes)

    #15 - Survivors

    S3:E6

    From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency. Pummeled by a storm, a DC-9 flames out and crash lands on a Georgia highway. An accelerating plane suddenly careens off the tarmac in Denver. And, a Korean jumbo jet smashes into a hilside on approach to Guam.

    Director:Unknown
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  16. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 3 Episode 8 - Courage In The Cockpit
    9.0/10(13 votes)

    #16 - Courage In The Cockpit

    S3:E8

    A DC-10 loses all hydraulics when an engine explodes over Iowa. The crew of Qantas Flight 32 is overwhelmed by alarms after an explosion rocks their massive A-380. And, a Northwest Airlines 747 is cruising 35,000 feet above the Bering Sea when the unthinkable happens. Devastating systems failures in the air put pilots to the test, and shine a light on three astonishing feats of flying.

    Director:Unknown
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  17. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 3 Episode 10 - Take Off Tragedies
    9.0/10(10 votes)

    #17 - Take Off Tragedies

    S3:E10

    Three flights ending in tragedy, prove that minor missteps during takeoff can have disastrous consequences. With a typhoon quickly approaching, a 747 in Taiwan crashes on the tarmac. In Detroit, a DC-9 barely lifts off before leaving behind a mile-long trail of scorched debris. And, after a minor repair in Madrid, a distracted crew makes a deadly mistake.

    Director:Unknown
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  18. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 4 Episode 2 - Engine Gone
    9.0/10(22 votes)

    #18 - Engine Gone

    S4:E2

    Three crews experience the same devastating event, but with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 4 Episode 3 - Lethal Choices
    9.0/10(17 votes)

    #19 - Lethal Choices

    S4:E3

    Faced with a mid-air crisis, pilots must make life-and-death decisions, but the wrong approach can trigger a far more serious problem.

    Director:Unknown
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  20. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 4 Episode 9 - Splash Down
    9.0/10(16 votes)

    #20 - Splash Down

    S4:E9

    Three last-resort water landings-all handled differently-yet each one crucial to improving the outcomes of ditching on open water.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Air Crash Investigation: Special Report Season 5 Episode 1 - War Zone
    9.0/10(17 votes)

    #21 - War Zone

    S5:E1