Three harrowing disasters reveal the threat of poor weather to a safe landing, with heavy rain, thunderstorms and treacherous crosswinds.

Situations can turn deadly if training is ignored. Basketball legend Kobe Bryant is among the casualties when a helicopter crashes in LA.

Three catastrophic approaches provoke questions, from a turboprop disaster to an invisible culprit on the Cuban border.

Crashes involving high-profile passengers make international headlines and, placing investigators under tremendous pressure to come up with answers as the world looks on. A diplomat's secret mission ends with a mystery that lingers for decades. Tragedy strikes when pilots gamble with the lives of a famous Brazilian football team. And, a US Air Force jet carrying an American VIP crashes in war-torn Croatia.

Following three horrifying crashes, investigators uncover fatal flaws in the very operations designed to prevent aircraft from plowing into mountains. Somehow flying in the wrong direction, a passenger jet crashes in the Himalayas. A Chinese airliner collides with a hillside just miles from a Korean airport. And, an Airbus crash in France reveals a deadly high-tech blind spot.

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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.

Three planes are brought down by ice, and it's up to investigators to determine how modern aircraft could possibly end up with frozen wings.

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.

Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below. A thrilling day at the air show turns into a nightmare for spectators in Reno. A Learjet spirals into the heart of Mexico City and sets the financial district ablaze. And, after a catastrophic mid-air collision, a DC-9 nosedives into a Los Angeles suburb.

A trio of crashes reveal that when the nuts and bolts of maintenance go unchecked, it can spell catastrophe. A mechanic's error in judgement leads to a terrifying mid-flight disaster in Texas. Botched maintenance and a missing cotter pin leads to a life-and-death struggle for three cargo pilots. And, after a twin turboprop goes missing in the North Sea, investigators uncover a criminal empire half a world away. Take Off Tragedies

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.

When aviation decisions are made in the heat of the moment, even minor issues can have fatal consequences. A dashcam captures the horrific crash as a Taiwanese airliner nosedives into a river. Warned of a problem that doesn't exist, a KLM crew inadvertently sparks a cascade of deadly errors. And, for a revolutionary new spacecraft, a split-second decision spells a supersonic disaster.

Aviation relies on precision and accuracy. So when critical instruments in the cockpit can't be trusted, the consequences can be fatal. A Boeing 737 vanishes from radar over one of the most remote areas on earth. A Korean cargo jet slams into the English countryside just moments after takeoff. And, an inexperienced crew faces a horrific pileup of errors on a late-night flight over Russia.

Illustrating the deadly consequences of a mismatched crew, three flights end in tragedy, leaving investigators to unravel what went wrong.

Faced with the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky leaving investigators to uncover the cause.

Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source-the fuel tank. Minutes before touching down in Portland, United Airlines 173 loses all four engines over a densely populated suburb. In Japan, a Boeing 737 lands safely, but then catches fire with all 165 passengers and crew still on board. And, nearly 700 miles off course, the crew of Varig Flight 254 are forced to make a crash landing in the Amazon jungle.

Three planes fatally out of balance force investigators to question every calculation. It's a flight risk that's entirely preventable, and yet repeated disasters reconfirm the need for critical backup systems. With nearly 90,000 pounds of denim on board, a cargo plane in Miami crashes moments after lifting off. A packed commuter flight slams into a North Carolina hangar, revealing a deadly industry oversight. And, the NTSB is called in when a jumbo jet loaded with armored military vehicles pancakes to the ground in Afghanistan.

If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy. On its final approach, an Indonesian passenger jet smashes down at a catastrophically high speed. Without warning, a Delta flight crew faces a deadly storm just before touchdown in Dallas. And, tragedy strikes in San Francisco when a Boeing 777 crew lands short of the runway.

Drawing the attention of the entire world, three fatal design flaws put air crash investigators in a storm of controversy. When one of former race car driver Niki Lauda's planes nosedives into a Thai jungle, a one-in-a-million failure reveals a weak spot in every Boeing 767. A piece of the plane blows off a Turkish Airlines DC-10 causing the most catastrophic mid-air emergency of its time. And, a risky test flight is the only way to uncover the startling truth about what brought down Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311.

Confused, flying blind and lost in the dark, three crews lose site of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.

Three catastrophic runway collisions raise the same pressing question: How could two planes end up on the same runway at the same time?

With hidden flaws buried in their navigation systems, three planes suffer catastrophic computer errors that force investigators to dig deep for clues

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

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.