On Feb 6, 1991 — USAF KC-135E "Whale 05": On a Gulf War refueling mission out of Jeddah, a tanker crew is suddenly thrown into a violent fight for control high over the Saudi desert.

Mission Disaster

Stephen Bogaert

Caught in a Jam

Meltdown Over Kathmandu

On Dec 15, 2014 — Loganair Flight 6780 (Saab 2000): Struck by lightning on approach to the Shetland Islands, a turboprop suddenly stops answering its pilots' commands and plunges toward the North Sea.

North Sea Nightmare

On Nov 10, 2015 — ExecuFlight Flight 1526 (Hawker 700A): A charter jet on approach to Akron, Ohio slams into an apartment building, and the NTSB untangles an erratic descent and a troubling backstory.

Playing Catch Up

On Aug 27, 2006 — Comair Flight 5191 (CRJ-100): In the pre-dawn darkness at Lexington, Kentucky, a commuter jet runs out of pavement before it can get airborne, and investigators retrace every step from gate to runway.

Tragic Takeoff

On Oct 29, 2018 — Lion Air Flight 610 (Boeing 737 MAX 8): Minutes after leaving Jakarta, one of the world's newest airliners plunges into the Java Sea, and the answers will shake the industry to its foundations.

Grounded: Boeing Max 8

On Apr 17, 2018 — Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 (Boeing 737): An engine explodes at cruise altitude over Pennsylvania, shattering a window and nearly pulling a passenger from the plane as the crew fights to get down.

Cabin Catastrophe

On Mar 12, 2018 — US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 (Dash 8 Q400): Arriving at one of the world's most challenging airports, a flight from Dhaka comes in wildly off profile and crashes beside the runway at Kathmandu.

On Jun 9, 1995 — Ansett New Zealand Flight 703 (Dash 8): A commuter flight goes down in the hills short of Palmerston North, New Zealand — and for the survivors, the freezing wait for rescue becomes its own battle.

On Jun 18, 1998 — Propair Flight 420 (Fairchild Metro): Twelve minutes after leaving Montreal, a commuter turboprop loses hydraulics, then an engine, then catches fire, as the crew races for the runway at Mirabel.

Seconds from Touchdown

On Aug 14, 2013 — UPS Airlines Flight 1354 (Airbus A300): In the pre-dawn darkness, a cargo jet clips trees and crashes a mile short of the runway at Birmingham, Alabama, and investigators must reconstruct its final approach.

Deadly Delivery

Catastrophic incidents in aviation history are meticulously reenacted, providing insight into what went wrong and if the crashes and near-disasters could have been prevented. Accounts from survivors combine with cockpit recordings and computer images to weave the gripping tales, and expert testimony reveals the hows and whys behind the events, some of which have resulted in important changes to aviation safety and regulations.

Mission Disaster

Seasons25

Season 16 Episodes10

Cast1

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Episode Summary