On Jan 13, 1982 — Air Florida Flight 90 (Boeing 737): Departing Washington National in a snowstorm, a jet strikes the 14th Street Bridge and plunges into the icy Potomac, just two miles from the White House.

Tragedy on the Potomac

Stephen Bogaert

Queens Catastrophe

Lost in Translation

On Jun 18, 1972 — BEA Flight 548 (Hawker Siddeley Trident): Minutes after takeoff from London Heathrow, a jet bound for Brussels fell from the sky near Staines, leaving investigators without survivors or flight recordings to explain it.

Fight to the Death

On Jun 6, 1971 — Hughes Airwest Flight 706 (DC-9): Climbing out of Los Angeles, an airliner collides with a Marine Corps F-4 Phantom over the San Gabriel Mountains, forcing civilian and military investigators to work the case together.

Speed Trap

On Jan 10, 2000 — Crossair Flight 498 (Saab 340): A commuter flight from Zurich to Dresden crashes two minutes after takeoff — the airline's first fatal accident in 25 years.

On Nov 12, 2001 — American Airlines Flight 587 (Airbus A300): Two months after 9/11, a flight bound for the Dominican Republic crashes into a Queens neighborhood moments after leaving JFK, and a rattled nation fears the worst.

On Sep 15, 1989 — NOAA 42 "Kermit" (WP-3D Orion): A hurricane hunter crew flies into Hurricane Hugo east of Barbados, where turbulence beyond anything forecast puts the aircraft and its mission in jeopardy.

Into the Eye of the Storm

On Jun 27, 1980 — Itavia Flight 870 (DC-9): On descent toward Palermo, an Italian airliner vanishes into the Tyrrhenian Sea near Ustica — the start of one of aviation's most contested mysteries.

Massacre Over the Mediterranean

On Nov 27, 2008 — XL Airways Germany Flight 888T (Airbus A320): During a test flight before handover to a new owner, a jet plunges into the Mediterranean off the French coast, and the checkout flight itself comes under scrutiny.

Imperfect Pitch

Special — Multiple incidents, including the 2009 "Miracle on the Hudson": Most air accidents are survivable. Survivors' stories reveal what makes the difference, and how the industry works to improve the odds.

Getting Out Alive

On Aug 9, 2007 — Air Moorea Flight 1121 (DHC-6 Twin Otter): A seven-minute island hop from Moorea to Tahiti ends when the small plane suddenly noses over and dives into the ocean shortly after takeoff.

Terror in Paradise

On Nov 4, 2010 — Qantas Flight 32 (Airbus A380): Minutes after leaving Singapore, an engine on the world's largest airliner explodes, and the crew must manage a cascade of failures to bring it home.

Titanic in the Sky

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.

Tragedy on the Potomac

Seasons25

Season 5 Episodes11

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