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s25e10 · 2026-03-25
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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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10 this season · 261 totals15e01 Deadly Silence 2016-06-07 22:30
Deadly Silence
En route to Dallas from Orlando, a private Learjet carrying pro golf legend Payne Stewart goes rogue. Air traffic controllers are unable to reach the crew, and as the plane continues its unplanned trajectory, it's obvious that something has gone terribly wrong.
s15e02 Inside 9/11: The Pentagon Attack 2016-06-14 22:30
Inside 9/11: The Pentagon Attack
It is September 11th, 2001, and shortly after taking off from Washington DC, hijackers storm the cockpit of American Airlines Flight 77 and fly the plane into the Pentagon. The symbol of US military might is in flames.
s15e03 Disaster at Tenerife 2016-06-21 22:30
Disaster at Tenerife
On 27 March 1977, the deadliest-ever aviation accident occurs at Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife-North Airport) in the Canary Islands. KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 collide on the runway in thick fog during the KLM aircraft's attempt to take off, killing 583 people.
s15e04 Deadly Detail 2016-06-28 22:30
Deadly Detail
After a one-hour flight from Taiwan, China Airlines Flight 120 touches down in Okinawa, Japan. The pilots park the Boeing 737 and switch off the engines. But just as they complete the shutdown checklist, a fire erupts and the aircraft is engulfed in flames. Incredibly, everyone on board escapes the inferno without injury. But the disaster leaves an international team of investigators with troubling questions. The hunt for answers seems like an endless quest as the smallest components come under intense scrutiny. The analysis eventually leads to a stunning discovery-the tiny failure that doomed Flight 120 is endangering lives around the world.
s15e05 Deadly Detour 2016-07-05 22:30
Deadly Detour
At the height of summer in Northwestern France, the pilots of Proteus Airlines Flight 706 deviate from their flight path to go on a sightseeing detour. Determined to give their passengers a bird's eye view of a legendary French ocean liner, they fly in a low loop around Quiberon Bay. But just as they're completing a 360 around the ship, Flight 706 suddenly explodes. From a nearby airplane, a local journalist captures the scene as the wreckage falls from the sky. And as the tragedy sinks in, so does the mystery-despite thousands of eyewitnesses, no one seems to know what happened.
s15e06 Dangerous Approach 2016-07-12 22:30
Dangerous Approach
Shuttling passengers from Denver to Durango in southern Colorado, Continental Express Flight 2286 is about to touch down when it crashes in the frozen wilderness just a few miles from the runway. After a dramatic rescue, it's up to investigators to figure out what went wrong. The exhaustive search for answers leads to a series of dead ends. That is, until an unlikely tip points to a shocking conclusion.
s15e07 Murder in the Skies 2017-01-23 23:30
Murder in the Skies
On 24 March 2015, suicidal co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately locked his Captain out of the cockpit and initiated a purposeful descent of Germanwings Flight 9525 resulting in the death of 150 people when the plane hit a mountain at 700km per hour.
s15e08 River Runway 2017-01-30 23:30
River Runway
On 16 January 2002, as Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 approached its destination, it encountered severe thunderstorms resulting in a flame-out in both engines and electrical failure. Unable to even transmit a mayday, the pilots had no option but to ditch the plane into a shallow river.
s15e09 Deadly Solution 2017-02-06 23:30
Deadly Solution
On 28 December 2014 Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 departed Indonesia for Singapore with 162 people on board. An hour later, after requesting permission to deviate from their route to avoid thunderstorms, all communication with the plane was lost.
s15e10 Afghan Nightmare 2017-02-14 01:00
Afghan Nightmare
On 29 April 2013, a National Airlines cargo flight operating between the British military base in Afghanistan and Dubai crashed moments after a refuelling stop killing all crew onboard.