Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.
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Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.
Season 5 episodes
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
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.
Episode credits
Directed by George D'AmatoWritten by Larry BambrickGuest stars Adam Basheer, Suresh John, Bsn Rau, Garth Sheriff, David Macniven, Craig Warnock, Vijay Mehta, Kevin Hare
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.
Episode credits
Directed by James HyslopWritten by Larry BambrickGuest stars John Watson, Robin Wilcock, Cara Ricketts, Sam Kalilieh, Jean-Marc Fontaine, Lois Tucker, Martin McNenly, Brian Kaulback
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.
Episode credits
Directed by Ian RobertsonWritten by Christopher BlowGuest stars Brian Young, Paul Braunstein, Paul Stephen, Ashleigh Rains, Brittany Allen, Paul McQuillan, Joe Bostick, Christel Crawford
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.
Episode credits
Directed by Su RynardWritten by Michael SheehanGuest stars Mary Krohnert, Jesse Bond, Sharon McFarlane, Nathalie Toriel, Johnie Chase, Lorne Hiro, Jamillah Ross, Catherine Bruce
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.
Episode credits
Directed by Phil DesjardinsWritten by Alex BystramGuest stars Brian Rhodes, Michael Carley, Richard Binsley, James Byron, Will Corno, Jon De Leon, Jerry Getty, Joel Harris
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.
Episode credits
Directed by Karl JasonWritten by Dave Gabriel BeneGuest stars Robert Bockstael, Randy Thomas, Stephan Dubeau, Shelley Findlay, Russell Ferrier, Valentine Ned, Mike Lummis, David Fraser
Fanning the Flames (South African Airways Flight 295)
45m7.0 / 10
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.
Episode credits
Directed by P.J. NaworynskiWritten by Carl KnutsonGuest stars Ivan Sherry, Simon Northwood, Derek Murchie, Stewart Arnott, Amanda LeBlanc, Mark Bondy, Sugith Varughese, Dave Hemstad
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.
Episode credits
Directed by Su RynardWritten by Carl KnutsonGuest stars Shawn Lawrence, Shaun Smyth, David Sparrow, Lee Oliveira, Amber Cull, Derrick Davidson, Tino Wilson, Dan Lett
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.
Episode credits
Directed by Tim WolochatiukWritten by Dave Gabriel BeneGuest stars Hrant Alianak, Jorge Molina, Sam Tabar, Francisco Trujillo Avalos-Davidson, Philip Shepherd, Sam Kalibar, Santiago García, Frank Longo
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.
Episode credits
Directed by George D'AmatoWritten by Larry BambrickGuest stars Simon Reynolds, Gord Rand, Doug MacLeod, Clinton Lee Pontes, Joe Lopes, Raul Tome, Dan Lamoureux, Bob Hillhouse
