Bernard Vaillot
Director
Air Disasters (2011)
Season 5
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
Country: United States
Languages:
English
S5E1 - Fight to the Death
Can a generation gap actually cause a catastrophic air disaster? Witness the story of BEA Flight 548, a scheduled passenger flight from London Heathrow to Brussels, which crashed in June of 1972 shortly after take-off near the town of Staines, England. All 118 people on board were killed. The accident became known as the Staines air disaster and, as of 2018, remains the deadliest air accident to take place in the United Kingdom and also marks the highest death toll involving a Hawker Siddeley Trident.
Feb. 8, 2015, midnight
S5E2 - Speed Trap
On June 6, 1971, Hughes Airwest Flight 706, a Douglas DC-9-31, enroute from Los Angeles, California, to Salt Lake City, Utah, collided in mid-air with a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, of the U.S. Marine Corps, over the San Gabriel Mountains, near Duarte, California. The F-4 pilot and all 49 passengers and crew on board the civilian airliner died; the Radar Intercept Officer of the F-4 survived. Join the NTSB and military experts as they work together to uncover how a fighter jet could collide with a civilian airliner.
Feb. 15, 2015, midnight
S5E3 - Lost in Translation
In January 2000, Crossair Flight 498, a Saab 340 commuter flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Dresden, Germany, crashed two minutes after takeoff in the Swiss municipality of Niederhasli. The seven passengers and three crew members aboard the aircraft all died on impact. It was the first fatal crash for the Swiss regional airline Crossair in its 25-year history.
Feb. 22, 2015, midnight
S5E4 - Tragedy on the Potomac
On January 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737-222, crashed into the 14th Street Bridge and plunged through the ice into the Potomac River just two miles from the White House. The death toll reached 74, including four motorists on the bridge, forever changing airport procedure during inclement weather.
March 1, 2015, midnight
S5E5 - Queens Catastrophe
On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, enroute from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to the Dominican Republic, crashed shortly after takeoff into the Belle Harbor neighborhood of Queens. All 260 people aboard the plane (251 passengers and 9 crew members), as well as 5 bystanders on the ground, were killed. It's the second-deadliest aviation accident involving an Airbus A300 (after Iran Air Flight 655), and the second-deadliest aviation accident to occur on U.S. soil (after American Airlines Flight 191).
March 8, 2015, midnight
S5E6 - Into the Eye of the Storm
In September of 1989, NOAA 42 “Kermit” flew a research mission into Hurricane Hugo, east of Barbados. On approach, there was a temporary outage of the lower fuselage radar, blinding the crew as to the structure and strength of the storm. Follow the crew through it's hair-raising ordeal as they monitor the landmark hurricane, while flying a plane in turbulence so severe, it puts the mission in jeopardy.
March 15, 2015, midnight
S5E7 - Massacre Over the Mediterranean
In June of 1980, Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15 that left Guglielmo Marconi airport in Bologna, Italy traveling to Palermo, Sicily, and was in its final descent before crashing into the Tyrhennian Sea near the island of Ustica. All 77 passengers and 4 crew lost their lives in the crash, the cause of which is still debated to this day.
March 22, 2015, midnight
S5E8 - Imperfect Pitch
In November of 2008, XL Airways Germany Flight 888T crashed at high speed into the Mediterranean Sea killing all 7 on board. The Airbus A320-232 was a flight test (or "acceptance flight") which took place immediately following light maintenance and repainting done in preparation for its transfer from XL Airways Germany, which had been leasing it, to Air New Zealand, the owner.
March 29, 2015, midnight
S5E9 - Getting Out Alive
Did you know 80% of all air accidents are survivable? See how the aviation industry is working to raise that number as survival stories, including the "Miracle on the Hudson", are recalled.
April 5, 2015, midnight
S5E10 - Terror in Paradise
In August 2007, what should have been a seven-minute island-hop from Moorea to Tahiti, in French Polynesia, ended in disaster. According to eyewitnesses, Air Moorea Flight 1121, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, was climbing through 400 feet when it suddenly nosed down and dove into the ocean killing all 20 on board.
April 12, 2015, midnight
S5E11 - Titanic in the Sky
The world's largest commercial airliner is coming apart in midair. Fortunately, the pilots are keeping it all together. The story of Qantas Flight 32, a 2010 passenger flight from London to Sydney, Australia. After taking off from Singapore's Changi Airport for the second leg of its flight, an engine exploded, forcing the crew to return to Changi Airport and attempt an emergency landing.
April 19, 2015, midnight
Network: Smithsonian Channel
Episode Runtime: 45 min.
Season Runtime: 11970 min.
Released: May 15, 2011
Last Air Date: July 20, 2025, midnight
Status: Returning Series
Certification: 12
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