Bernard Vaillot
Director
Air Disasters (2011)
Season 24
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 44 min
None+
Genres: Documentary
Keywords: tmdb.airplane-wreck, tmdb.exploding-airplane, tmdb.aviation-documentary, tmdb.air-disaster, tmdb.airplane-hijacking, tmdb.airplanes, tmdb.airplane-crash + 3 more, tmdb.aviation-disaster, tmdb.airplane-accident, tmdb.airplane-casualties
Network: Smithsonian Channel
Country: United States
Languages:
English
S24E1 - Terror Over The Pacific
A massive explosion tears a hole in a 747 over Hawaii, and the trail of clues ultimately leads investigators to a catastrophic short circuit.
July 20, 2025, midnight
S24E2 - Disaster At Dutch Harbor
While landing at a notoriously tricky Alaskan island airport, the pilots of a twin turboprop can’t stop their plane.
Jan. 4, 2026, midnight
S24E3 - Deadly Departure
After a DC-8 cargo plane with only three working engines crashes on takeoff in Kansas City, investigators uncover a flaw in the pilots’ training.
Jan. 11, 2026, midnight
S24E4 - Without Warning
Two float planes collide midair near an Alaskan waterfall. One shatters; the other crash-lands intact. With no warning before impact, investigators use wreckage clues and 3D tech to uncover how—and why—the deadly crash occurred.
Jan. 18, 2026, midnight
S24E5 - Eleven Deadly Seconds
Solving the crash of China Airlines Flight 676 hinges on 11 baffling seconds when neither pilot controls the airplane.
Jan. 25, 2026, midnight
Smithsonian Channel
44 min/ep
12048 min
May 15, 2011
Jan. 25, 2026, midnight
Returning Series
12
Action
Action
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