On Jan 31, 2000 — Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (MD-83): En route from Mexico to San Francisco, a jet develops a jammed stabilizer, and the crew's fight to save it ends in the Pacific off the California coast.

Pacific Plunge

Stephen Bogaert

Terror Over Michigan

Double Trouble

On Mar 19, 2016 — Flydubai Flight 981 (Boeing 737): After circling for two hours in foul weather over Rostov-on-Don, Russia, a jet abandons its second landing attempt — and seconds later dives into the runway.

Holding Pattern

On Dec 21, 1992 — Martinair Flight 495 (DC-10): Landing at Faro, Portugal amid thunderstorms, a holiday charter from Amsterdam slams down, breaks apart, and burns — yet most on board survive to tell the story.

Peril Over Portugal

On Feb 23, 2008 — USAF B-2 Spirit "Spirit of Kansas": Moments after takeoff from Guam, a $2 billion stealth bomber pitches up violently and falls — the most expensive aviation accident in history.

Stealth Bomber Down

On Mar 31, 1992 — Trans-Air Service Flight 671 (Boeing 707): An explosion over the French Alps tears both engines from a cargo jet's right wing, leaving the crew muscling a crippled freighter toward a military airfield.

On Apr 4, 1979 — TWA Flight 841 (Boeing 727): Cruising at 39,000 feet over Saginaw, Michigan, a jet suddenly rolls and spirals into a dive — and after the recovery, investigators suspect the crew isn't telling the whole story.

On Nov 12, 1995 — American Airlines Flight 1572 (MD-83): Descending through a severe storm toward Bradley Airport in Connecticut, a jet strikes trees on a ridgeline miles from the runway — with the control tower dark.

Tree Strike Terror

On Oct 11, 1983 — Air Illinois Flight 710 (HS 748): A commuter turboprop loses its electrical power on a stormy night flight over southern Illinois, leaving its pilots flying blind in total darkness.

Pitch Black

On Dec 13, 1994 — Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 (Jetstream 32): An American Eagle commuter flight stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest on approach to Raleigh-Durham, exposing an industry-wide training gap.

Turboprop Terror

On Jan 26, 2020 — Island Express N72EX (Sikorsky S-76B): A helicopter carrying basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and six family friends crashes into fog-shrouded hills near Calabasas, California.

Kobe Bryant

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.

Pacific Plunge

Seasons25

Season 17 Episodes10

Cast1

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