Bernard Vaillot
Director
Air Disasters (2011)
Season 23
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.
Released May 15, 2011
Episode 45 min
None+
Genres: Documentary
Watch Providers: The Roku Channel, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Paramount Plus Premium + 3 more, Philo, YouTube TV, Paramount Plus Essential
Network: Smithsonian Channel
S23E1 - Pitch Problems
Alaska Airlines 261 nosedives into the Pacific leaving investigators stumped . A rare storm and a deadly design flaw intersect cause American Eagle 4184 to fall from the sky. And, investigators suspect a fatal flaw in the Boeing 737.
June 8, 2025, midnight
S23E2 - Fight to the Finish
Three flight crews face impossible odds: a Boeing 707 loses engines over the Alps as fire spreads, Air Astana 1388 goes out of control over Portugal, and a bomb on PA 434 severs control cables and blasts a hole in the fuselage.
June 15, 2025, midnight
S23E3 - Bad Data
A billion-dollar Stealth Bomber crashes at a U.S. Air Force base—the costliest aviation disaster ever. Bad data misleads a charter flight into a Portuguese mountain, and conflicting alarms send a cutting-edge jetliner plunging into the Atlantic.
June 22, 2025, midnight
S23E4 - Landing Hazards
Martinair 495 crashes on a rain-soaked runway in Portugal, showing how weather can doom a landing. American 1572 hits a storm and loses both engines amid a tower shutdown. And crosswinds challenge an Air France crew already halfway down the runway.
June 29, 2025, midnight
S23E5 - Training Ignored
Kobe Bryant dies when a high-tech helicopter crashes on a routine L.A. route—training ignored with deadly results. In Missouri, cockpit chatter dooms Corporate 5966, and in Lexington, a twin-engine jet crashes after taking off from the wrong runway.
July 6, 2025, midnight
S23E6 - Reckless Approaches
A twin-engine jet slams into an Ohio apartment building in a tragic perfect storm, raising questions about speed, power, and fatigue. A turboprop crash exposes an industry-wide issue, and at Guantanamo Bay, a cargo plane goes down near the Cuban border.
July 13, 2025, midnight
Smithsonian Channel
45 min/ep
11970 min
May 15, 2011
Jan. 11, 2026, midnight
Returning Series
12
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