On June 1, 1999, American Airlines Flight 1420 tries to land at the Little Rock National Airport during a storm, but overruns the runway, killing eleven people.

On February 24, 1989, United Airlines Flight 811 is flying above the Pacific Ocean, when part of the right-side fuselage is ripped off, ejecting nine people from the aircraft and causing explosive decompression. The flight later lands safely at Honolulu without any more loss of life.

On October 2, 1996, shortly after take off, the crew of Aeroperú Flight 603 is confused by false speed and altitude readings and contradictory warnings from the aircraft's air data system. In preparation for an emergency landing, the crew descends the aircraft, but unknowingly descend too far by relying on the false readings. The Boeing 757 crashes into the water, killing everyone on board.

On August 24, 2001, Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel while flying over the Atlantic Ocean. The pilots of the aircraft glide it to a safe landing on a runway at a naval base on an island in the Azores.

On January31, 2000, Alaska Airlines Flight 261's trimmable horizontal stabilizer jams and breaks free from its control system. The aircraft dives inverted into the Pacific Ocean, causing the death of all 88 on board.

On September 2, 1998, a fire breaks out on Swissair Flight 111 while in-flight, damaging vital systems and causing the aircraft to crash into the sea off Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, with no survivors.

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On June 10, 1990, the cockpit window blows out on British Airways Flight 5390, partially ejecting and injuring the captain through the hole. A member of the cabin crew clings to his legs as the co-pilot completes an emergency landing without any fatality. The captain is found to be still alive after being outside the cockpit for 21 minutes.

On 21 August 1995, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 is climbing to its cruising altitude, when a blade on the left-side propeller comes off. The imbalance of the rotating propeller causes the engine to partly tear itself from its mounting, creating excessive drag. The aircraft rapidly loses altitude and crashes, killing nine people.

On 24 December 1994, Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground at Algiers Airport. The four terrorists demand the aircraft be allowed to depart for Paris so they can blow up the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower, but the Algerian Army blocks the aircraft with vehicles and refuse to allow it to take off. Unable to carry out their plans, the terrorists kill three passengers over the next two days. The aircraft is then cleared to take off, but the crew diverts to Marseille Provence Airport. The hostage rescue team of the French Gendarmerie storms the aircraft, and after a gun battle in the cabin, the four hijackers are killed and everyone else is evacuated. It is described as "one of the most successful anti-terrorist operations in history."

On 1 July 2002, Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 collides with DHL Flight 611 in German airspace near Überlingen. Flight 2937 is destroyed instantly, and the DHL cargo aircraft crashes shortly afterwards, killing all 71 people on board the two aircraft.

On 20 December 1995, American Airlines Flight 965 is en route to Cali, Colombia. The crew members are asked if they would like to perform a straight-in approach to Cali. The pilots accept the offer, but as they are making the necessary changes, they inadvertently remove the waypoints from the flight plan in their flight management system (FMS), causing them to become unsure of their exact position. The crew members' mistakes leads them to fly the aircraft into a 9,000 foot mountain near Buga. Only four passengers and a dog survive.

On 25 January 1990, Avianca Flight 52, a flight to New York City from Colombia, is delayed numerous times by bad weather en route and is dangerously low on fuel as it attempts a landing. Wind shear forces the crew to abort the approach just one mile from the runway. They initiate a go-around, but are directed back into a holding pattern by air traffic controllers who are unaware of the low fuel situation. The Boeing 707 then runs out of fuel, causing it to crash on Long Island near New York.

On 28 April 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243 is en route from Hilo to Honolulu in Hawaii, when the upper half of the front fuselage is torn off, blowing out a flight attendant. The aircraft subsequently lands safely at Kahului, Maui. The fuselage failed from corrosion damage and metal fatigue.

On 22 November 2003, a European Air Transport Airbus A300 operating on behalf of DHL is climbing away from Baghdad International Airport, when the left wing explodes, causing a massive loss of hydraulic fluid which immobilizes the flight control surfaces. The crew flies the aircraft by changing the engines' thrust for control and make a safe landing 16 minutes later. A surface-to-air missile had been launched at the aircraft.

On 12 August 1985, the rear pressure bulkhead bursts on a Boeing 747SR operating as Japan Airlines Flight 123, destroying the vertical stabilizer and severing all four of the aircraft's hydraulic systems. The crew manages to keep the aircraft flying for 32 minutes until it clips Mount Osutaka and crashes, killing all but four people out of the 524 passengers and crew aboard.

On 7 April 1994, Auburn Calloway, a disgruntled employee, attempts to hijack Federal Express Flight 705 armed with hammers and a speargun. Despite sustaining serious injuries, the crew successfully subdues Calloway and returns the aircraft safely to Memphis International Airport.

On 11 December 1994, a bomb explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434 on the second leg of a service from Manila to Tokyo via Cebu City, killing a passenger, injuring many and damaging some of the aircraft's control systems. The crew successfully lands the aircraft at Naha Airport in Okinawa. Ramzi Yousef, a terrorist, smuggled the bomb aboard the aircraft on the first leg of its flight.

On 3 July 1988, during the Iran–Iraq War, the USS Vincennes launches missiles which bring down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 people on board. The crew of the Vincennes claimed that, despite its high-tech equipment, it mistook the airliner for an Iranian Air Force Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter. Iran believes that the US deliberately shot down its civilian airliner.

On 19 January 1995, the crew of Bristow Flight 56C is forced to perform an emergency autorotation to a ditching in the sea, after lightning damages the tail rotor of their helicopter. Despite the rough sea conditions, the 16 oil rig workers and pilots are rescued by nearby ships.

On 31 October 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, from New York to Cairo, Egypt, dives out of the sky and crashes into the ocean, killing all 217 people on board. The cause of the crash is disputed: the Egyptian government claims mechanical failure associated with the elevator controls caused the crash, but the US government claims the aircraft was deliberately crashed by the Relief First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti in a suicide/homicide.

On 23 March 1994, Aeroflot Flight 593 is en route to Hong Kong, when it stalls and crashes, killing all 75 people on board. The pilot's 15-year-old son accidentally disabled the autopilot while in the captain's seat, causing the aircraft to bank heavily to the right, inducing the stall.

On 8 February 1986, a Via Rail passenger train and a 118-car Canadian National Railway freight train collide, killing 23 people. The freight train crew did not stop at a red railway signal on a section of a passing loop, possibly because they were asleep.

Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

On 26 September 2000, waves push the MS Express Samina off course, causing it to hit a group of rocks off Paros and sink, killing 80 people. The ferry was on autopilot, with the crew not monitoring the ship's course. They were instead watching an association football match.

Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 is forced to ditch after running out of fuel. The aircraft breaks up as the wings hit the water, killing 125 people. The aircraft had been hijacked and ran out of fuel because the hijackers did not believe the pilot's insistence that there was not enough fuel aboard to make it to the hijackers' planned destination: Australia.

March 27, 1977 – At 2:00 in the afternoon a thick fog rolled into the usually quiet Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. On the runway sat two fully loaded jumbo airliners, blanketed in fog. A bomb explosion at a nearby airport had re-directed air traffic to the undermanned airfield at Tenerife. Within three hours, a KLM 747 slams into a taxiing PAM 747, killing 583 people. The planes never left the ground.

On 2 August 2005, Air France Flight 358 overruns the runway while attempting to land in a storm. The Airbus A340 travels through the airport perimeter fence into a small ravine and catches fire. The causes of the crash were the aircraft deviating above the required approach path for its landing, touching down too far along the runway and the crew deploying the thrust reversers too slowly. All 309 passengers and crew survived.

Alternate title: "Desperate Escape"

On 24 June 1982, British Airways Flight 9 experiences St. Elmo's fire en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Perth, Australia. A few minutes later, all four engines flame out. After descending, the crew successfully restarts the engines and lands safely. The St. Elmo's fire and engine flame-outs were caused by volcanic ash spewed by Galunggung in Indonesia during a major eruption.

On 2 June 1983, a fire breaks out on Air Canada Flight 797 in the aircraft's toilet. An emergency landing is made in Cincinnati, but the aircraft is engulfed by flames on the runway, killing 23 people, including musician Stan Rogers. The opening of the aircraft's doors after the landing caused a flashover.

On 6 August 1997, the crew of Korean Air Flight 801 is unable to see the runway during final approach for a night landing in Guam. They initiate a missed approach, but the aircraft then flies into a low hill, killing 228 people. A combination of pilot error and the instrument landing system at Guam airport being temporarily out of service for maintenance work were blamed.

AKA : Final Approach

On 3 March 1991, a Boeing 737 operating as United Airlines Flight 585 is on approach to land, when it suddenly rolls into a dive and crashes within eight seconds, killing all 25 people on board. On 8 September 1994, USAir Flight 427 is another Boeing 737 on approach to land, when it rolls and crashes within thirty seconds, killing all 132 people on board. On 9 June 1996, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 is another Boeing 737 that unexpectedly rolls in similar circumstances, but the crew successfully regains control of the aircraft and lands safely. The cause of all three incidents was the rudder experiencing a "hardover" (suddenly going to full deflection) and jamming due to thermal shock of the hydraulic control valve.

On 19 February 1985, China Airlines Flight 006's number four (right-side outer) engine flames out. As the crew tries to restart the engine, the Boeing 747SP stalls and enters into a spin. The crew successfully regains control, restarts the engine and lands safely at San Francisco International Airport. The incident was caused by pilot error.

Alternate title: "6 Mile Plunge"

On 31 August 1986, Aeroméxico Flight 498, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, and a light aircraft collide over Cerritos, California, causing both to go out of control and crash, killing 82 people. The accident was caused by neither pilot making visual contact with the other aircraft and a lack of automated collision warning systems. The crash inspires the creation of the traffic collision avoidance system.

On 3 April 1996, while attempting to land at Dubrovnik Airport in Croatia during heavy fog, a United States Air Force Boeing CT-43 strays off course and flies into a mountain. All 35 people on board are killed, including the United States Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown. The non-precision approach procedure the crew needed to follow required the use of two automatic direction finders, but the aircraft was only fitted with one.

On 3 January 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604 banks to the right just after takeoff and crashes into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people on board. The cause of this disaster is disputed and suggested to be spatial disorientation on the part of the flight crew.

On 14 August 2005, air traffic controllers lose radio contact with Helios Airways Flight 522. Two fighters from the Hellenic Air Force intercept and investigate the flight and find all but one person on board not moving. A few moments later, the aircraft runs out of fuel and crashes, killing all 121 people on board. An incorrect setting on the cabin pressurization panel caused the pilots and everyone else on board to succumb to hypoxia.

BOAC Flight 781 ,South African Airways Flight 201, Aloha Airlines Flight 243, British Airways Flight 5390, United Airlines Flight 811, Helios Airways Flight 522.

This special looks at accidents and incidents where pressurization failure or explosive decompression played a part. Episodes re-visited: Hanging by a Thread, Blow Out, Unlocking Disaster, Ghost Plane.

Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Japan Airlines Flight 123, Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, Swissair Flight 111, United Airlines Flight 585, USAir Flight 427, Eastwind Airlines Flight 517.

This special looks at accidents caused by seemingly minor defects or errors. Episodes re-visited: Cutting Corners, Out of Control, A Wounded Bird, Fire on Board, Hidden Danger.

This special looked at accidents and incidents where problems with the interface between crew members and on-board avionics were a factor and the causes of those problems. Episodes re-visited: Flying Blind, Panic Over the Pacific, Kid in the Cockpit, Vertigo, Flying on Empty.

On 23 June 1985, Air India Flight 182 explodes in mid-air and disintegrates over the coast of Ireland, killing all 329 passengers and crew members on board. Investigators discovered that a bomb from Sikh militant group Babbar Khalsa caused the explosion.

On 12 June 1972, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, just a few months old, operating as American Airlines Flight 96 from Detroit, Michigan, to Buffalo, New York, suffers an explosive decompression after a cargo door in the lower rear fuselage bursts open. The crew makes an emergency landing at Detroit without any loss of life. Two years later, on 3 March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 suffers a similar sequence of events during a flight from Paris to London. This time, the DC-10's hydraulic systems are damaged enough that the crew loses control, and the aircraft crashes in a forest near Senlis outside Paris, killing all 346 on board. At the time, it was the worst aviation disaster in history. A design fault with the cargo door mechanism was not rectified after the first accident, and the second DC-10's door opened during flight, causing the crash.

On 4 April 1977, Southern Airways Flight 242, a flight from Huntsville, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, flies through a severe thunderstorm and is hit by large hailstones. Both engines of the DC-9-31 fail, and the aircraft makes an emergency landing on a highway in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia. However, it collides with a gas station and explodes, killing 62 people on board and eight on the ground. Two more die later of injuries sustained during the crash.

On 8 January 2003, Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes into an aircraft hangar at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport seconds after takeoff on a flight to Greenville. All 21 people on board die, and one person on the ground is injured. Investigation showed that the pilots' controls had been improperly adjusted during maintenance, and that the aircraft was overloaded due to outdated formula for calculation of passenger weights.

In the summer of 1985, a Delta 191 aircraft was diverted away from a thunderstorm, only to be struck by powerful winds and plummet to the ground. Flames engulfed the front of the plane and more than 130 people died in a tragic accident that would eventually expose, and eliminate, an invisible killer.

A Boeing 767-200 jet, Air Canada Flight 143, ran completely out of fuel at 41,000 feet (12,000m) altitude, about halfway through its flight from Montreal to Edmonton. The crew was able to glide the aircraft safely to an emergency landing at Gimli Industrial Park Airport, a former airbase at Gimli, Manitoba.

South African Airways Flight 295 starts filling with smoke over the Indian Ocean. A fire has erupted in the rear main level cargo area; the pilots successfully open the doors in flight to clear the smoke from the aircraft, however it crashes with no survivors.

A Lockheed L-1011 Tristar operating Eastern Airlines Flight 401 to Miami International Airport crashes in the Everglades because the crew is distracted by a faulty landing gear indicator light and accidentally disengage the autopilot. 101 people die.

On 6 February 1996, Birgenair Flight 301 is scheduled to fly from Puerto Plata to Frankfurt. On takeoff, the captain finds that his airspeed indicator (ASI) is not reading properly, though the co-pilot's ASI is showing the correct speed; the aircraft subsequently crashes in the Atlantic Ocean. The pilots became confused and believed that both ASIs were malfunctioning, leading to loss of control of the aircraft. All 13 crew members and 176 passengers died. The cause of the disaster was believed to be a wasp that built a nest in one of the aircraft's pitot tubes, which was incorrectly left uncovered during the aircraft's extended stay at Puerto Plata airport.

A Gol Transportes Aéreos Boeing 737 and a brand-new Embraer Legacy business jet on its delivery flight collide in mid-air over the Amazon. The 737 crashes but the Legacy manages to make a safe landing. 154 people die.

1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision, 1986 Cerritos mid-air collision, Avianca Flight 52, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907, Überlingen mid-air collision.

This special looked at the role of air traffic controllers in the airline industry, and took a look at the Next Generation Air Transportation System, a new technology meant to eliminate mid-air collisions by reducing overall dependence on radar and radio, as well as delegating some of the air traffic controllers' tasks to computers on board each plane.

Southern Airways Flight 242, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, American Airlines Flight 1420, British Airways Flight 9.

This special looked at the role of bad weather in disasters and examines the US Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Missouri, to see how information on weather is transmitted to pilots in the sky.

Shortly after leaving London Heathrow airport in December 1988, Pan Am flight 103 exploded above Lockerbie , Scotland killing 270 people. Investigators soon discovered that a bomb in the forward cargo compartment had taken down the plane.

Find out what went wrong when a Kazakhstan Airlines jet and a Saudi Airways plane collided in the worst mid-air crash in aviation history, killing 349 people on November 12, 1996.

Rescuers have to look to the past to solve the riddle of Flight 611, a China Airlines 747 that disappeared 20 minutes after taking off.

On September 8, 1989, Partnair Flight 94, a charter from Oslo to Hamburg, suddenly begins to dive from 22 thousand feet. The aging propeller plane eventually crashes into the sea, killing all 55 people on board.

Near the close of the Vietnam War, the United States launched Operation Babylift, a mass evacuation of children from war torn Vietnam. On April 4th 1975, the first Babylift flight ended in tragedy when a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy carrying 314 passengers crashed during an emergency landing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam killing 138.

On 6 August 2005, Tuninter Flight 1153 runs out of fuel and ditches into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 people. It ran out of fuel because a fuel gauge for a different type of aircraft had been installed, misleading the crew about how much fuel was on board.

On January 1st 2007, a Boeing 737-400 crashed into the Makassar Strait near Polewali in Sulawesi. The subsequent investigation raised deep concerns about the safety record of the Indonesian airline industry.

On 31 October 1994, American Eagle Flight 4184 falls out of the sky, killing all 68 people on board. The crash was caused by ice developing on the wing in a manner that the on-board deicing system could not remove.

On 22 August 1985, an engine of British Airtours Flight 28M fails during takeoff, puncturing a hole in the wing fuel tank and starting a fire. The crew successfully abandons the takeoff and stops the aircraft on the runway, but the fire spreads to the cabin. 55 people die before they can evacuate, mainly due to inhaling toxic smoke. The investigation found that fatigue of a part in the engine caused it to fail.

On 26 June 1988, Air France Flight 296 fails to climb and crashes into trees after performing a flyby during an airshow at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, killing three people. The cause of this crash remains in dispute.

On 16 August 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 stalls as it lifts off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport and crashes just beyond the runway, killing 154 of the 155 people on board and two people on the ground. The investigation showed that the pilots failed to configure the aircraft's flaps and slats for takeoff.

On 1 February 1991, USAir Flight 1493 collides with a waiting SkyWest Airlines aircraft on the runway, killing 34 people. An air traffic controller mistakenly assigned the inbound Flight 1493 to land on a runway where SkyWest Flight 5569 was waiting to take off.

On 1 September 1983, during the Cold War, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down after violating Soviet airspace. The crew did not switch the autopilot from heading to INS mode following take off which caused the aircraft to deviate from its assigned flight path.

On 10 March 1989, Air Ontario Flight 1363 crashes just after takeoff, killing 24 people. Three years later, on 22 March 1992, USAir Flight 405 also crashes just after takeoff in similar conditions to Flight 1363. The cause of the crashes was ice on the wings, which significantly reduced lift.

On 20 January 1992, Air Inter Flight 148 flies into a peak in the Vosges Mountains while circling to land at Strasbourg Airport, killing 87 people. An error made in programing the aircraft's autopilot, combined with a sudden wind change, caused it to descend more rapidly than expected.

On 19 December 2005, just seconds after takeoff from Miami, Florida, the right wing of Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 breaks off, causing the aircraft to crash into the sea, killing all 20 people on board. The causes of the crash were metal fatigue and poor maintenance.

On 25 February 2009, Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 is on approach to land at Schiphol in Amsterdam, when it stalls and crashes 1.5 kilometres from the runway. Nine people, including the three cockpit crew members, are killed. A faulty radar altimeter caused the aircraft's flight control computer to automatically reduce engine thrust prematurely, and the flight crew failed to notice the resulting drop in airspeed until it was too late.

On 17 January 2008, British Airways Flight 38 is on its final approach to land, when the autothrottles command increased thrust from the engines. The engines do not respond to the control inputs and remain at idle. The captain raises one notch of flaps to give the aircraft a few more feet of flying distance; it crash-lands just short of the runway without causing any fatalities. The fuel flow to both engines was restricted because of ice crystals causing a blockage in the fuel-oil heat exchangers.

On 24 November 2001, Crossair Flight 3597 crashes into a hill during final approach to Zurich, killing 24 of the 33 passengers and crew members on board. The cause of the crash was the pilot descending the aircraft below the minimum safe altitude for the approach.

On 15 January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 suffers a bird strike with a flock of Canada geese approximately 1.5 minutes after taking off from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. Both engines fail, and less than two minutes later, the crew members successfully ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River. All on board survive.

On 12 February 2009, Colgan Air Flight 3407 stalls at low altitude and dives into a residential area near Buffalo, New York. All on board and one person on the ground are killed. Several critical errors made by the flight crew might have been the result of their fatigue.

On 17 July 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 careens off runway 35L at Brazil's Congonhas Airport, crashes at high speed into a warehouse adjacent to a filling station and explodes. A total of 199 people on board the aircraft and on the ground are killed. Incorrect engine throttle settings upon landing caused one engine to reverse thrust while the other increased power, resulting in the loss of control.

On 16 August 2005, West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 stalls while cruising and crashes in rural Venezuela during a severe thunderstorm. Investigations revealed there were no faults with the engines. Pilot error led to the stall which was misinterpreted by the crew members, who took no recovery action until it was too late.

On 12 December 1985, Arrow Air Flight 1285, carrying troops of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, stalls and crashes just seconds after taking off from Gander International Airport in Canada, killing all 256 people on board. The cause of the crash remains disputed.

On 12 May 1989, a 69-car freight train goes out of control while descending from California's Cajon Pass. It derails in a residential neighbourhood of San Bernardino after reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Two residents and two train crew members are killed in the initial crash. More than a week later, an underground gasoline pipeline, damaged by earth-moving equipment during the post-crash clean-up, ruptures and sparks a fire that kills another two people. A clerical error had caused the train's weight to be greatly underestimated, and it had been assembled without enough locomotives to provide adequate braking. Additionally, several of the engines had completely inoperable brakes, but this information was not passed on to the crews.

Note: This is a Crash Scene Investigation episode.

On 27 December 1991, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751 crash-lands without loss of life in Gottröra moments after taking off due to both engines failing. Clear ice from the tops of the wings had been sucked into both engines, causing internal damage. An automatic system (of which the pilots were unaware) to increase the engines' thrust contributed to their failure.

On 11 September 1991, Continental Express Flight 2574 is nearing the end of its intra-state flight from Laredo, Texas, to Houston. As the pilots are preparing to land, the aircraft tips into a dive and falls out of the sky as the left wing tears apart. All 14 people on board die. Improper maintenance caused a section of the horizontal stabilizer to break loose during flight, after which the pilots had no control.

On 6 February 1958, British European Airways Flight 609, carrying members of the famed Manchester United association football team, club officials and journalists, crashes into a house about 300 meters from the end of the runway in Munich after it fails to become airborne, killing 23 of the 44 people on board. The cause of the crash was slush on the runway, which slowed the aircraft down and prevented it from reaching takeoff speed.

On 9 October 2002, Northwest Airlines Flight 85 is cruising above the Bering Sea, when the lower rudder segment suddenly deflects to the left. The pilots divert the aircraft to a successful emergency landing at Anchorage, Alaska, by using engine thrust for control. The incident was attributed to a fatigue failure of the rudder hydraulic control module, resulting in part of the module's metal casing breaking off.

On 22 December 1999, Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509, en route from London Stansted Airport to Milan, Italy, crashes into a field about 55 seconds after taking off, killing all four crew members on board. The causes of the crash were the captain following the indications of a malfunctioning attitude indicator and lack of communication amongst the crew members.

On 25 September 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 collides with a light aircraft while approaching Lindbergh Field and crashes in a residential area in San Diego. All 137 people on both aircraft and seven people on the ground die.

On 11 July 1991, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 is taking off from Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport with 247 Nigerian Hajj pilgrims and 14 crew members on board. A tire bursts during the takeoff, starting a fire on the landing gear. The crew is unaware of the fire and retracts the gear after takeoff; and the fire spreads. Encountering problems, the crew then tries to return the aircraft to the airport, but it breaks up during flight and crashes about three kilometres from the runway.

On 7 December 1987, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 1771, on a flight to San Francisco, crashes at the speed of sound on a mountainside in rural San Luis Obispo County, California. All 43 people on board are killed. Investigators found that passenger David Burke, a former USAir employee, took a gun on board the aircraft and shot the pilots in a murder-suicide plot to kill his former supervisor (who was also a passenger on board) after being fired from his job days earlier. USAir was in the process of merging with PSA at the time of the crash.

On 24 May 1988, TACA Airlines Flight 110, a near-new Boeing 737, flies through a thunderstorm and suffers a dual engine flameout. The captain, Carlos Dardano, manages to make a successful deadstick landing on a narrow grass levee in the Michoud area of eastern New Orleans.

On 8 October 2001, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, carrying 110 people bound for Copenhagen, Denmark, is taking off at Milan's Linate Airport in thick fog. On the runway, it collides with an Air Evex business jet carrying four people bound for Paris, France. The airliner suffers major damage and crashes into a building shortly afterwards. All 114 people on board the two aircraft are killed, along with four on the ground. The crew of the business jet had made a wrong turn while taxiing in the fog and inadvertently taxied onto the runway.

On 19 July 1989, the tail-mounted number two engine of United Airlines Flight 232 explodes, causing serious damage to the aircraft's hydraulic systems and leaving the flight controls unusable. By varying engine thrust, the pilots manage to crash-land the aircraft at the Sioux Gateway Airport in Iowa, saving the lives of 185 of the 296 people on board. The investigation traced the engine failure to a fatigue crack in the front fan disk which had developed from a defect introduced before the disk was even made, when the original titanium ingot used to make it was formed.

On 8 June 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's propeller separates from the aircraft over Cold Bay, Alaska, causing an explosive decompression and loss of control. The pilots manage to land the aircraft safely at Anchorage, Alaska. The propeller fell into the sea, and the cause of the separation is undetermined.

On 11 May 1996, 10 minutes after takeoff, ValuJet Flight 592 crashes into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board. The cause was an in-flight fire which was started by the accidental triggering of a chemical oxygen generator improperly shipped as cargo.

On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collides with construction equipment at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei while attempting to take off on the wrong runway in a typhoon. 83 of the 179 passengers and crew members perish. Investigators concluded that pilot error was the cause of the crash.

On 19 December 1997, SilkAir Flight 185, en route to Singapore, crashes into the Musi River in Indonesia after abruptly diving from its cruise altitude, killing all 104 passengers and crew members on board. The cause of the crash was disputed: a US investigation concluded that it was an act of murder–suicide by the captain; however, the Indonesian investigators were undetermined, and the Los Angeles Court concluded that it was a servo valve failure.

On 23 August 2005, TANS Perú Flight 204 attempts to make a landing at Pucallpa Airport, Peru, in a severe thunderstorm, but crashes into a muddy swamp four miles (6.4 km) away. The cause was the pilots not following visual flight rules that could have prevented the crash while the aircraft was being pushed by a downdraft.

On 30 June 1956, United Airlines Flight 718 collides with Trans World Airlines Flight 2 over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. All 128 occupants on both flights are killed. At the time, it was the deadliest airline crash in history, and would lead to sweeping changes in the regulation of flight operations over the US.

On 10 April 2010, a Polish Air Force VIP aircraft carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria Kaczyńska and other top officials, crashes short of the runway in a wooded area while on final approach to Smolensk North Airport in heavy fog and low visibility. All 96 passengers and crew members on board are killed.

On 25 May 1979, the left engine of American Airlines Flight 191 falls off moments after takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The aircraft crashes into an open field shortly thereafter, killing all 271 people on board and two people on the ground. The engine fell off because the pylon attaching it to the wing had suffered damage caused by improper maintenance procedures.

On 7 September 2011, an aircraft carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team crashes shortly after takeoff at Yaroslavl, Russia, killing all but one of the 45 occupants. The investigation found that the pilots were not properly trained on the aircraft type and mishandled the aircraft during the takeoff.

On 28 December 1978, the crew of United Airlines Flight 173 is preoccupied with a landing gear problem as the aircraft circles in a holding pattern in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon. It runs out of fuel and crashes in a sparsely populated area, killing 10 and seriously injuring 24 of the 189 on board. According to the NTSB, the pilot failed to acknowledge the warnings of the remaining crew regarding the aircraft's fuel state, while the remaining crew failed to adequately communicate the situation. The NTSB recommendation from this event led to the industry-wide implementation of Crew resource management (CRM) protocols.

On 25 January 2010, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, en route to Addis Ababa, plunges into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport during a thunderstorm, killing all 90 people on board.

On 21 February 2008, Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518, en route from Mérida, Venezuela, to Caracas, veers off course and flies into the side of a mountain shortly after takeoff. All 46 passengers and crew members on board die. Investigators determined that the aircraft took off with inoperative navigation equipment due to the pilots' failure to do their pre-flight checklist.

On 1 June 2009, Air France Flight 447, a scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, stalls and crashes into the Atlantic Ocean while flying through a thunderstorm, killing all 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The causes of the crash were incorrect airspeed readings due to ice blockage of the aircraft's pitot tubes, inappropriate control inputs and the pilots not taking recovery action until it was too late.

This special looked at how people survive aviation accidents, in part with demonstrations at the Czech Airlines Training Centre. It provided case studies on the following flight: - Asiana Airlines Flight 214 - Air France Flight 358 - Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 - Air Canada Flight 797 - US Airways Flight 1549

This special looked at how failures in communication lead to disasters

This special looked at how pilots' aggressive or unprofessional behaviour can cause deadly accidents.

This special looked at how pilots safely land their aircraft in emergency situations.

This special looked at how automation in the cockpit causes deadly misunderstandings.

This special looked at terrorist acts, including bombings and shootdowns.

This special looked at pilots' carefully planned strategies in deliberately crashing aircraft.

This special looked at foreign items, including ice, a chemical oxygen generator, and a bomb as the cause.

This special looked at disasters where multiple investigations don't agree on the cause of these accidents.

This special looked at how pilots' deviation from cockpit duties lead to crashes.

This special looked at disasters caused by fires, either on the ground or in the air.

Three devastating crashes make front page news and the media frenzy puts intense pressure to uncover the true cause of these deadly disasters.

While commercial pilots undergo hundreds of hours of training and testing, even experienced pilots can make deadly rookie errors.

Investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact.

When an aircraft loses total engine power, a pilot's training can make all the difference in the world.

Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source - the fuel tank.

Three planes fatally out of balance highlight to investigators a flight risk that's entirely preventable, and yet seemingly not stopping.

If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy as evidenced in these three crashes.

Spatial disorientation is one of the leading causes of all air accidents. Even the most experienced pilots are susceptible to its subtle yet deadly effects.

Radio silence between pilots and controllers can mean many different things, but in these stories, the physical evidence reveals the truth.

Drawing the attention of the entire world, three fatal design flaws put air crash investigators in a storm of controversy.

Devastating systems failures in the air put pilots to the test and shine a light on three astonishing feats of flying, including Qantas Flight 32.

Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below.

Revisit three crashes involving high-profile passengers and the pressurized investigations into the causes that followed.

These are three horrific air disasters that provoked fundamental changes to airport security and the measures we follow across the world today.

Follow three horrifying crashes that revealed high-tech blind spots in the technology preventing aircraft from ploughing into mountains.

From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.

Follow three mid-air tragedies that rained terror on those below when they happened over crowded areas.

When aviation decisions are made in the heat of the moment, even minor issues can have fatal consequences.

A trio of crashes reveal that when the nuts and bolts of maintenance go unchecked, it can spell catastrophe.

Three flights ending in tragedy prove that minor missteps during take-off can have disastrous consequences.

Confused, flying blind and lost in the dark, three crews lose site of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.

Three crews experience the same devastating event, but with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.

Faced with a mid-air crisis, pilots must make life-and-death decisions, but the wrong approach can trigger a far more serious problem.

In Sao Paolo, the Himalayas, and on the Norwegian coast, three flight crews are pushed to the limit by the toughest landings on earth.

Relying on instinct rather than the rule book, three flights end in tragedy when crews improvise on their final approach.

Three planes are brought down by ice, and it's up to investigators to determine how modern aircraft could possibly end up with frozen wings.

Three catastrophic runway collisions raise the same pressing question: How could two planes end up on the same runway at the same time?

Illustrating the deadly consequences of a mismatched crew, three flights end in tragedy, leaving investigators to unravel what went wrong.

Three last-resort water landings-all handled differently-yet each one crucial to improving the outcomes of ditching on open water.

Faced with the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky leaving investigators to uncover the cause.

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We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.