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Mixed Measures
s25e10 · 2026-03-25
Running · GB
Air Crash Investigation
National Geographic Documentary
What it is
Flying is one of the safest forms of transport. But what happens when tragedy strikes? From human error and accidents to mechanical faults and design flaws, the success of aviation history is punctuated with disaster and catastrophe. It's rare, but it does happen. Follow experts as they determine what went wrong and work out how to prevent these horrific tragedies from happening again. Examine the wrecks and official records, and hear from eyewitnesses, passengers and aviation experts as we reconstruct some of the most tragic disasters in aviation history. Air Crash Investigation looks at what went wrong and how future disasters can be averted.
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Episode guide
13 this season · 261 totals12e11 Heading to Disaster 2013-05-04 02:00
s12e12 28 Seconds to Survive 2013-05-11 02:00
s12e13 Air France 447: Vanished 2013-05-18 02:00
s12e01 Fight to the Death 2014-03-01 02:00
Fight to the Death
On 18 June 1972, British European Airways Flight 548 stalls and crashes in a field near Staines-upon-Thames shortly after take-off from London Heathrow Airport, killing all 118 people on board. The crash was attributed to the pilot retracting the aircraft's droops at too low an airspeed and failing to recognise the stall warnings.
s12e02 Disaster on the Potomac 2014-03-08 02:00
Disaster on the Potomac
Just after taking off, Air Florida Flight 90 plunges into the frozen Potomac River. It takes an ingenious experiment to uncover why it happened.
s12e03 Speed Trap 2014-03-15 01:00
Speed Trap
Military investigators work with the NTSB to identify what happened when a Marine Corps F-4 Phantom collided with a Hughes Airwest DC-9.
s12e04 Queens Catastrophe 2014-04-05 01:00
Queens Catastrophe
When American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into Queens, New York after 9/11, it was considered an act of terror - until evidence proved otherwise.
s12e05 Lost In Translation 2014-04-12 01:00
Lost In Translation
When a flight from Zurich crash-lands, killing everyone on board, the discovery of drugs among the wreckage suggests an alarming explanation.
s12e06 Massacre Over the Mediterranean 2014-04-19 01:00
Massacre Over the Mediterranean
In 1980, Itavia Flight 870 exploded over the sea. After 30 years of investigations, experts finally reveal the truth behind the mysterious disaster
s12e07 Terror In Paradise 2014-04-26 01:00
Terror In Paradise
Experts investigate an unexpected explanation for the fatal crash of Air Moorea Flight 1121 when they hear its pilot's anguished cry on the cockpit voice recorder.
s12e08 Imperfect Pitch 2014-05-03 01:00
Imperfect Pitch
Experts investigate why XL Airways German Flight 888T spiralled into the Mediterranean sea in 2008. What deadly flaw was the Airbus hiding?
s12e09 Into the Eye of the Storm 2014-05-10 01:00
Into the Eye of the Storm
Investigators determine what sparked the engine fire that crippled a team of hurricane hunters' plane during a daring flight into Hurricane Hugo.
s12e10 Qantas 32: Titanic in the Sky 2014-05-17 01:00
Qantas 32: Titanic in the Sky
On 4 November 2010, the pilots of Qantas Flight 32 were forced to deal with a series of failures when an explosion tore apart an engine on their A380.