Air Crash Investigation

During a regional commuter hop in New Zealand, the pilots of Eagle Airways Flight 2300 struggle to lower their landing gear.

On final approach to Islamabad in heavy fog, Airblue Flight 202 slams into the Himalayan foothills, killing all onboard.

A Boeing 737 crashes just moments after lifting off from an Algerian desert airport. For investigators, it's clear the left engine exploded after liftoff, and that a fatigue crack eventually explains why. What's less obvious is why an experienced crew of the state-owned national carrier was unable to keep their plane in the sky.

Dramatised reconstruction of real-life air disasters, along with interviews with aviation experts and eyewitnesses.

A Chinese aircraft lands at a top-secret US Air Force base, and the search is on for the cause of a deadly rollercoaster ride in the sky.

The case of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, which crashed into the Java Sea after a hard left bank, revealing deadly defects in the investigation that followed.

A C-130 firebomber crashes while battling an epic Australian wildfire. ATSB investigators must determine the cause-within an active fire zone.

Just moments after takeoff, a Loganair cargo flight from Edinburgh loses both engines and crashes into the icy North Sea.

The case of Luxair Flight 50, which fell out of the sky just a few miles short of Luxembourg airport while making a rushed approach through heavy fog.

The case of a commuter plane that crashed mere seconds after take-off in 1985 - a year infamous for having the highest ever numbers of deaths in civilian aviation.

The pilots of a crashed cargo jet believe they lost both engines. But when the wreckage emerges from the Pacific, the evidence tells another story.

German investigators are stumped when two planes collide while flying in the skies over southern Germany.

When a cargo plane test flight ends in disaster, investigators uncover a series of failures that doomed the DC-8 before it got off the ground.

An Air Tahoma cargo plane is within sight of a Cincinnati runway when both engines flame out and the turboprop crashes into a golf course.

Friday, February 1, 1991: as US Air 1493 lands at LAX, it collides with another plane and bursts into flames. Passengers struggle to escape the inferno, but encounter a line at one of the few usable exits. Twenty-one passengers never made it out - investigators must find out why. Interviews with survivors paint a harrowing picture of the obstacles, misunderstandings and confrontations.

On 24 February 1989, United Airlines Flight 811's right-side fuselage partially rips off, ejecting nine people from the aircraft and causing explosive decompression. The flight later lands safely at Honolulu without any more loss of life. It was later determined that an electrical short circuit caused the cargo door to open. 

On 17 October 2019, PenAir Flight 3296 overruns the runway on landing at Unalaska Airport in the Aleutian Chain of Alaska, killing one passenger. The accident was caused by incorrect wiring of the wheel speed transducer harnesses on the left main landing gear.

On 16 February 1995, Air Transport International Flight 782 crashes into the ground after failing to takeoff from Kansas City International Airport in Missouri, killing all 3 pilots. The flight crew failed to understand a three-engine takeoff procedure due to improper training. 

On 10 March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashes near the town of Bishoftu shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, killing all 157 people on board. A faulty angle of attack sensor had accidentally activated the aircraft's MCAS system. 

On 13 May 2019, a floatplane operated by Mountain Air Service collides with another floatplane operated by Taquan Air over George Inlet in Alaska, United States. All five people on board the Beaver and one passenger on board the Otter are killed in the accident.

On 16 February 1998, China Airlines Flight 676 attempts a go-around while on approach to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in poor weather conditions, but crashes into a residential area after entering a stall. All 196 people on board and 7 people on the ground are killed.

On 21 January 2019, a light aircraft breaks up in mid-air and crashes into the English Channel off Alderney in the Channel Islands during a flight from Nantes, France, to Cardiff, Wales. Argentine football player Emiliano Sala and pilot David Ibbotson are both killed.

On 21 February 1982, Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458 crash-lands in the Scituate Reservoir near Providence, Rhode Island, after a fire erupts in the cockpit, killing one passenger. The cause of the fire was a leakage of flammable windshield washer/deicer fluid.

On 26 August 2003, Colgan Air Flight 9446 crashes into water shortly after takeoff from Barnstable Municipal Airport, killing both pilots. The causes of the crash were an improper replacement of the forward elevator trim cable and the pilots not following checklist procedures.

On 19 August 1980, Saudia Flight 163 suffers an in-flight fire in the cargo hold. Despite returning to Riyadh International Airport, the flight crew fail to perform an emergency evacuation, and the aircraft bursts into flames on a taxiway. All 301 people on board die from smoke inhalation.

Corporate Airlines Flight 5966 appears out of the clouds and crashes into trees on approach to Kirksville, Missouri. The twin-engine turboprop plane catches fire just over a kilometer from the runway. The charred wreckage offers clues as to what happened. The researchers conclude that it was not a mechanical failure. They hear a recording from the cockpit that may reveal the whole beginning of the accident.

Independent Air Flight 1851 is en route from Italy to the Dominican Republic and is scheduled to refuel on a Portuguese island. For some reason, a Boeing 707 crashes into a mountain just minutes before the airport. The international team of investigators finds no mechanical faults at all and is confused about the cause of the accident. Then the CVR reveals a cluster of errors that sealed the fate of the 144 passengers.

Just moments after takeoff, Japan Airlines Flight 123 experiences two explosions. The pilot is having trouble keeping the damaged Boeing 747 in the air. It plunges into the mountain. The accident becomes one of the deadliest accidents in aviation history. Investigators immediately suspect terrorism, but the remains tell a different story, threatening all 747 planes around the world.

After losing both engines, a turboprop crashes in Papua New Guinea and investigators soon uncover a deadly flaw in an aircraft used around the world.

A Kazakh crew manage to land an uncontrollable aircraft and investigators must determine how a freshly-serviced plane was released with a fatal flaw.

When the cockpit window of Sichuan Airlines 8633 explodes, the crew somehow battles gale-force winds and oxygen deprivation to safely land the plane.

When a UK billionaire and his family die in an Australian seaplane crash, investigators uncover a minor maintenance issue with deadly consequences.

The plan to save a Bulgarian airliner hinges on convincing the violent hijackers that their demands have been met before the plane runs out of fuel.

An Amazon cargo plane nosedives into a swamp outside Houston, the evidence eventually leads investigators to a pilot with a long history of failures.

Evidence from the disappearance of EgyptAir Flight 804 leads investigators to theorize different causes for the plane's spiral into the Mediterranean.

When Alaska Airlines Flight 261 suddenly nosedives into the Pacific, investigators uncover a critical maintenance issue with deadly implications.

After a Boeing 727's near-fatal nosedive over Michigan, investigators risk their own lives to determine why TWA Flight 841 fell out of the sky.

Flydubai Flight 981 nosedives into the runway at Russia's Rostov airport. And investigators uncover one of the most lethal traps in aviation.

When a two-billion-dollar Stealth Bomber crashes in Guam, it's up to the US Air Force to investigate the most expensive aviation accident of all time.

Rocked by an explosion that rips both right wing engines off the wing, the pilots of Transair 671 manage a miraculous landing at a French military airfield.

A Martinair flight crashes in Portugal amid thunderstorms and heavy rain, and when investigators piece together the evidence the mystery only deepens.

Facing a severe thunderstorm and a control tower shutdown, American Airlines 1572 suffers double-engine failure on final approach into Windsor Locks Airport in Connecticut.

An Illinois turboprop crashes in bad weather, and investigators eventually uncover a fatal assumption and deadly decision.

After a turboprop crashes in North Carolina, investigators resort to a risky test flight—and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.

When basketball legend Kobe Bryant is killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles, investigators look for clues amid a global outpouring of grief.

En route to the Shetland Islands, a high-tech turboprop is struck by lightning, temporarily blinding the crew and disabling their controls. The pilots declare a Mayday as the plane plunges into a terrifying nosedive. Just seconds before impact, they manage to regain control. And once they're safely on the ground, investigators uncover an unusual feature in the plane that plays a key role in this calamity.

Indonesian investigators must determine why a Boeing 737 Max8-one of the best-selling new airplanes on Earth-plunged into the Java Sea.

A private jet shuttling business passengers to Akron, Ohio slams into an apartment building less than two miles from the runway, instantly killing all nine people on board. Investigators scour the wreckage, but find few valuable clues. That is, until they plot the radar data and eventually uncover an erratic descent, a puzzling delay, and a tragic perfect storm.

A mid-air explosion rocks Southwest Airlines 1380. While pilots struggle to regain control, flight attendants make a horrifying discovery.

An early-morning flight from Lexington, Kentucky ends in disaster when a twin-engine jet careens off the tarmac.

On 12 March 2018, US-Bangla Airlines Flight 211 skids off the runway, travels through the airport perimeter fence, and crashes into a football field during landing at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. 51 of the 71 people on board are killed in the accident.

On a refueling mission during the Gulf War, a US Air Force tanker plane loses two engines. The crew struggles to fly their damaged plane to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia without radio support. It's up to a military investigator to figure out if mechanical failure or an act of war caused the spectacular blowout.

On final approach through thick clouds, a commuter turboprop in New Zealand slams into hilly terrain. Rescuers struggle to locate the crash site while survivors' lives hang in the balance. And then it's up to investigators to figure out what went wrong. It's clear there was a problem with the plane's landing gear, but the search for an explanation inevitably leads them to the cockpit.

On 18 June 1998, Propair flight 420 crashes while attempting to conduct an emergency landing at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport after an in-flight fire causes its left wing to fail, killing all 11 people on board. It was later determined that the aircraft's left brakes overheated during takeoff.

On 14 August 2013, UPS Airlines Flight 1354 clips the tops of trees and crashes into a hillside about one nautical mile short of the runway during final approach to Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama. Both crew members on board are killed in the crash.

When a Taiwanese commuter plane is rocked by a massive explosion, the scorched wreckage reveals a catastrophe started in the overhead lockers.

When a blanket of confusion and heavy fog puts two planes on a path to disaster, investigators wonder if it was the pilots themselves creating chaos.

A Pakistani airliner crashes in the Himalayas and when their most vital piece of evidence fails to deliver, investigators scramble to find answers.

When SOL Airlines Flight 5428 nosedives into a remote desert, investigators struggle to find the cause amongst the scattered and scorched debris.

A helicopter carrying offshore oil workers crashes into the ocean off the coast of Newfoundland and a far-reaching investigation reveals a fatal flaw.

A cargo jet plummets to earth in the Swedish Arctic. And as investigators pore over the evidence, a terrifying picture of chaos and confusion emerges.

A turboprop crashes into an Indonesian mountain, and while three systems could have prevented it, investigators must figure out why none of them did.

When an African airliner mysteriously crashes, Namibian investigators rule out a host of possible causes before reaching a chilling conclusion.

A brand-new 737 falls from the sky over West Africa during a major storm, but investigators eventually discover weather had nothing to do with it.

Landing on a Caribbean island in a severe tropical storm, a Colombian airliner crashes short of the runway. Investigators need to find out why.

On 13 April 2010, Cathay Pacific Flight 780 suffers a duel engine failure while nearing Hong Kong International Airport at the end of a flight from Juanda International Airport, Indonesia. The aircraft makes an emergency landing at almost twice the speed of a normal landing. All 322 people on board survive.

On 16 September 2011, a vintage fighter aircraft named The Galloping Ghostcrashes into spectators during the Reno Air Races, killing the pilot, James Leeward, and 10 people on the ground.

On 18 August 1993, American International Airways flight 808 stalls, rolls to the right and crashes into the ground 1 quarter of a mile short of the runway while maneuvering onto final approach to Leeward Point Airfield in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. All 3 crew members on board survive.

On 4 April 1994, KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 crashes into a field while attempting an emergency landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, killing 3 of the 24 people on board.

On 7 August 1997, Fine Air Flight 101 stalls and crashes just seconds after taking off from Miami International Airport, killing all 4 people on board and 1 person on the ground.

On 31 March 1995, TAROM Flight 371 banks steeply to the left and crashes into a field shortly after taking off from Otopeni International Airport, killing all 60 people on board.

On 20 December 2008, Continental Airlines Flight 1404 veers off the side of the runway, skids across the taxiway and a service road and crashes into a ravine while taking off from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado. All 115 passengers and crew members on board survive.

On 14 September 2008, Aeroflot Flight 821 crashes into a ravine next to a railway line while on final approach to Perm International Airport in Perm, Russia, in poor weather conditions, killing all 88 people on board.

On 28 November 2016, LaMia Flight 2933, carrying the Brazilian Chapecoense football squad, runs out of fuel and crashes into the side of a mountain after entering a holding pattern to land at José María Córdova International Airport in Rionegro, Colombia. 71 of the 77 people on board are killed.

On 7 January 1994, United Express Flight 6291, operating for Atlantic Coast Airlines, crashes 1.2 miles short of the runway during final approach to Port Columbus International Airport after entering a stall. The two pilots, the flight attendant, and two passengers are killed in the crash.

Commercial airliner flight MH17 goes down over a warzone in eastern Ukraine. The evidence indicates the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Amid speculation in the media and against the backdrop of war, investigators are determined to get answers for the families of the 298 victims (passengers and crew), but they face political roadblocks at every turn.

After circling above the Taiwan Strait to wait out a passing cyclone, TransAsia Flight 222 crashes on the Taiwanese resort island of Penghu. The media claims the storm is to blame, but the evidence soon points investigators in a different direction. Six months into the investigation, the airline is hit with a second accident . That's when investigators uncover a systemic problem with fatal consequences.

Moments after taking off from a California airport, an American cargo plane needs to make an emergency landing. The pilots manage to bring their DC-8 to within sight of the runway, but the crippled plane crashes into an automobile salvage yard one mile east of the airport . To try to understand what went wrong, investigators call on a friend and colleague of the crew. But it will take more digging and hard evidence to understand what doomed the crew of Emery Worldwide Flight 17.

En route to Salt Lake City, Delta Airlines Flight 1141 crashes just moments after lifting off from Dallas-Fort Worth airport and erupts into flames.

On a high-stakes demonstration flight in Indonesia, a Russianmade Sukhoi Superjet slams into a mountain killing everyone on board. It's one of the most challenging salvage operations Indonesian investigators have ever faced. Once they reach the wreckage, they must figure out how a brand new jet with an expert crew and sophisticated navigation system could crash into an infamous mountain.

In California's Mojave Desert, Virgin Galactic test pilots are at the controls of a revolutionary aircraft designed for sub-orbital flight . But as the spaceship accelerates toward the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere, approaching the speed of sound, it breaks apart and falls from the sky. With the future of commercial space travel hanging in the balance, it's up to investigators to figure out what went wrong.

On 7 October 2008, Qantas flight 72 traveling from Singapore to Perth suddenly nosedives while over the Indian Ocean. With warnings flooding the cockpit and passengers being flung around, it's up to an experienced fighter pilot to get the plane to safety

On its final approach to Zurich, Alitalia Flight 404 plows into a forested hillside killing everyone on board. Did a hidden flaw in the navigation system lead two pilots down a deadly path?

Just minutes from touching down, China Airlines Flight 140 falls out of the sky at Japan's Nagoya Airport. By morning, investigators are sifting through the charred debris on the runway, but what they find only deepens the mystery.

After being delayed on the Denver tarmac due to heavy snow, Continental Airlines 1713 was eventually cleared for take-off. Barely lifting off the ground, the DC-9 abruptly banked and crashed, killing 28 people and leaving a lasting legacy.

During a routine one-hour flight on 01 December 1993, Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 crashes in northern Minnesota, killing everyone on board. Was this a matter of an inexperienced pilot?

When commuter flight ComAir 3272 ends in a harrowing death spiral, it's up to investigators to determine the cause and prevent it from ever happening again. What they discovered was a danger the industry has known about for years.

15 April 2002 - Air China Flight 129. Headed for South Korea's Gimhae International Airport, a Boeing 767 crashes into a hillside several miles from the runway. As the nation mourns its worst-ever air disaster, investigators are faced with very conflicting and concerning reports.

Just minutes after taking off from New York's JFK Airport, TWA flight 800 is ripped apart by a massive explosion. With a possible terror attack on their hands, the FBI joins investigators from the NTSB in an urgent search for answers.

On 26 September 1997, Garuda Indonesia flight 152 crashes into mountainous woodlands while trying to land at Polonia International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, in low visibility. All 234 people on board are killed. The investigation determined that the aircraft turned the wrong way during the approach.

On 2 July 1994, US Air Flight 1016 stalls and crashes into a residential area while attempting to land at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport during a thunderstorm, killing 37 of the 57 people on board. The investigation concluded that the aircraft encountered microburst-induced wind shear, causing it to crash.

On 4 February 2015, TransAsia Airways flight 235 strikes a viaduct and crashes into the Keelung River shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, killing 43 of the 58 people on board. The causes of the crash were a malfunction of the number two engine and the pilots shutting down the wrong engine.

On 31 October 2015, Metrojet flight 9268 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Sinai Peninsula during a routine chartered flight from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport to Pulkovo Airport, killing all 224 people on board.

On 31 August 1999, LAPA Flight 3142 overruns the runway and crashes while taking off from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 63 of the 100 people on board and 2 on the ground. The investigation determined that the pilots forgot to extend the aircraft's flaps and slats for takeoff.

On 31 July 1992, Thai Airways International flight 311 crashes into a mountain while on final approach to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, in poor weather conditions, killing all 99 passengers and 14 crew members on board.

En route to Dallas from Orlando, a private Learjet carrying pro golf legend Payne Stewart goes rogue. Air traffic controllers are unable to reach the crew, and as the plane continues its unplanned trajectory, it's obvious that something has gone terribly wrong.

It is September 11th, 2001, and shortly after taking off from Washington DC, hijackers storm the cockpit of American Airlines Flight 77 and fly the plane into the Pentagon. The symbol of US military might is in flames.

On 27 March 1977, the deadliest-ever aviation accident occurs at Los Rodeos Airport (now known as Tenerife-North Airport) in the Canary Islands. KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 collide on the runway in thick fog during the KLM aircraft's attempt to take off, killing 583 people.

After a one-hour flight from Taiwan, China Airlines Flight 120 touches down in Okinawa, Japan. The pilots park the Boeing 737 and switch off the engines. But just as they complete the shutdown checklist, a fire erupts and the aircraft is engulfed in flames. Incredibly, everyone on board escapes the inferno without injury. But the disaster leaves an international team of investigators with troubling questions. The hunt for answers seems like an endless quest as the smallest components come under intense scrutiny. The analysis eventually leads to a stunning discovery-the tiny failure that doomed Flight 120 is endangering lives around the world.

At the height of summer in Northwestern France, the pilots of Proteus Airlines Flight 706 deviate from their flight path to go on a sightseeing detour. Determined to give their passengers a bird's eye view of a legendary French ocean liner, they fly in a low loop around Quiberon Bay. But just as they're completing a 360 around the ship, Flight 706 suddenly explodes. From a nearby airplane, a local journalist captures the scene as the wreckage falls from the sky. And as the tragedy sinks in, so does the mystery-despite thousands of eyewitnesses, no one seems to know what happened.

Shuttling passengers from Denver to Durango in southern Colorado, Continental Express Flight 2286 is about to touch down when it crashes in the frozen wilderness just a few miles from the runway. After a dramatic rescue, it's up to investigators to figure out what went wrong. The exhaustive search for answers leads to a series of dead ends. That is, until an unlikely tip points to a shocking conclusion.

On 24 March 2015, suicidal co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately locked his Captain out of the cockpit and initiated a purposeful descent of Germanwings Flight 9525 resulting in the death of 150 people when the plane hit a mountain at 700km per hour.

On 16 January 2002, as Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 approached its destination, it encountered severe thunderstorms resulting in a flame-out in both engines and electrical failure. Unable to even transmit a mayday, the pilots had no option but to ditch the plane into a shallow river.

On 28 December 2014 Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 departed Indonesia for Singapore with 162 people on board. An hour later, after requesting permission to deviate from their route to avoid thunderstorms, all communication with the plane was lost.

On 29 April 2013, a National Airlines cargo flight operating between the British military base in Afghanistan and Dubai crashed moments after a refuelling stop killing all crew onboard.

After a routine flight from Jakarta, Garuda Flight 200 hits the ground so hard it bounces violently before careering off the end of the runway. March 7, 2007

3 September 2010 - Shortly after taking off, a fire breaks out on UPS Flight 6. As smoke fills the cockpit, getting the plane safely back is a race against time.

6 July 2013 / When Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco Airport, investigators discover an issue that could be putting passengers at risk.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 / 5 April 1991-- When a crash in Georgia kills 23, including an astronaut and a US senator, an investigator puts his reputation on the line to find the truth.

4 October 1992 - Flight 1862 from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv suffered a catastrophic crash. Investigators discover a lethal problem threatening every 747.

A 1996 collision between United Express 5925 and a private plane leaves investigators stumped until they learn a missing pilot played a role. November 19, 1996

31 October 1996 - Seconds after taking off, TAM Airlines flight 402 slammed into a residential neighbourhood bursting into flames, killing all 95 people on board.

10 October 2006-- On a routine stop at the tiny Norwegian island of Stord, Atlantic Airways Flight 670 mysteriously careers off the runway and down an embankment.

On a secret mission over Africa with the UN Secretary General on board, the United Nations DC-6 mysteriously crashes ten miles from the runway.

20 August 2008 - When Spanair Flight 5022 slams into a creek and bursts into flames, killing 154 people, it is Spain's worst aviation disaster in decades.

On 25 July 2000, a Concorde operating as Air France Flight 4590 en route to New York City, USA, stalls and crashes into a hotel in Gonesse shortly after take off from Charles de Gaulle International Airport. All of the 109 passengers and crew die in the incident and 4 on the ground.

On 16 July 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr. dies when the Piper Saratoga light aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in hazy conditions. His wife, Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette, were on board and also killed. The NTSB concluded that the crash was caused by spatial disorientation resulting in pilot error.

On 26 May 1991, Lauda Air Flight 004 spiral out of control and disintegrate about 100 miles northwest of Bangkok. All of the 223 passengers and crew die in the crash.

On 8 January 1989, British Midland Flight 92 crashes onto the embankment of the M1 motorway near Kegworth, Leicestershire, UK. The aircraft was attempting to conduct an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport. Of the 126 people aboard, 47 died and 74, including seven members of the flight crew, sustained serious injuries.

On 3 September 1989, Varig Flight 254 runs out of fuel over the Amazon and makes a belly landing in the jungle. 13 people die in the crash.

On 4 November 2008, an official Mexican Interior Ministry Learjet 45 crashes in central Mexico City. Mexican Secretary of the Interior Juan Camilo Mouriño, who was aboard the plane, was killed in the crash, along with the other seven people on board and eight people on the ground. The plane crashed in rush-hour traffic at Las Lomas.

On 20 August 2011, First Air Flight 6560, a charter flight crashed near to their destination of Resolute Bay Airport, Resolute, Nunavut, Canada in poor weather conditions. Out of the 15 passengers and crew, only three survived.

Fog makes landing difficult and as Manx2 Flight 7100 makes its third attempt, disaster strikes as the plane crashes.

Copa Airlines Flight 201 is flying towards Cali, Colombia when the plane suddenly disintegrates in mid-air.

FedEx Express Flight 14 crash lands at Newark and the pilots survive. Years later, FedEx Express Flight 80 experiences a similar but fatal crash.

Almost 12 months have passed and we are no closer to knowing the fate of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. Was it a suicidal pilot; an act of terrorism; technical failure or has a new Bermuda Triangle opened up in the region? In a world where nothing much escapes satellite technology which can pinpoint your front door from outer space, this mystery remains unsolved. How can that be?

On 18 June 1972, British European Airways Flight 548 stalls and crashes in a field near Staines-upon-Thames shortly after take-off from London Heathrow Airport, killing all 118 people on board. The crash was attributed to the pilot retracting the aircraft's droops at too low an airspeed and failing to recognise the stall warnings.

Just after taking off, Air Florida Flight 90 plunges into the frozen Potomac River. It takes an ingenious experiment to uncover why it happened.

Military investigators work with the NTSB to identify what happened when a Marine Corps F-4 Phantom collided with a Hughes Airwest DC-9.

When American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into Queens, New York after 9/11, it was considered an act of terror - until evidence proved otherwise.

When a flight from Zurich crash-lands, killing everyone on board, the discovery of drugs among the wreckage suggests an alarming explanation.

In 1980, Itavia Flight 870 exploded over the sea. After 30 years of investigations, experts finally reveal the truth behind the mysterious disaster

Experts investigate an unexpected explanation for the fatal crash of Air Moorea Flight 1121 when they hear its pilot's anguished cry on the cockpit voice recorder.

Experts investigate why XL Airways German Flight 888T spiralled into the Mediterranean sea in 2008. What deadly flaw was the Airbus hiding?

Investigators determine what sparked the engine fire that crippled a team of hurricane hunters' plane during a daring flight into Hurricane Hugo.

On 4 November 2010, the pilots of Qantas Flight 32 were forced to deal with a series of failures when an explosion tore apart an engine on their A380.

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

On 11 May 1996, ten minutes after take-off, Valujet Flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades after an in-flight fire started by an accidental triggering of an oxygen cylinder in the cargo area caused the passengers and crew to suffer unconsciousness. On impact, all 110 persons on board were killed instantly.

On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collided on take-off into construction equipment at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei during Typhoon Xangsane after taking off on the wrong runway. Out of the 179 passengers and crew, 83 people perished.

On 19 December 1997, Silk Air Flight 185 en route to Singapore crashed into the Musi River in Indonesia after abruptly plunging from its 35,000 feet (10,668 m) cruise altitude, killing all 97 passengers and 7 crew on board in an instant.

On 23 August 2005, TANS Perú Flight 204 attempted to make a landing at Pucallpa Airport, Peru, after a severe thunderstorm, but crashed into a muddy swamp 4 miles (6.4 km) off the airfield.

On 30 June 1956, United Airlines Flight 718 and Trans World Airlines Flight 2 collided over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. All 128 occupants on both flights were 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 United States.

On 10 April 2010, in heavy fog and low visibility, a Tupolev Tu-154M carrying the Polish president Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria Kaczyńska and other top officials, failed to make the runway and crashed into a wooded area while on final approach to Smolensk North Airport. All 96 occupants on board perished.

On 25 May 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 lost its No.1 engine moments after take-off at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and crashed into a trailer park shortly thereafter. All 271 people on board the plane as well as two other people on the ground were killed making it the worst single-aircraft air disaster in United States history.

On 7 September 2011, a Yakovlev Yak-42D carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team crashed on take-off at the Volga River, near Yaroslavl, Russia. Out of the 45 occupants only two survived. Five days later one of the survivors (Alexander Galimov) died, succumbing to his injuries.

On 28 December 1978, United Airlines Flight 173 ran out of fuel after a landing gear problem. The DC-8 circled in the vicinity of Portland and crashed in a sparsely populated area near 158th and East Burnside Street, killing 10 and seriously injuring 24 of the 189 on board. According to the NTSB, the flight crew failed to check the fuel state causing the plane to crash.

On 25 January 2010, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 an international scheduled passenger plane en route to Addis Ababa plunged 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 was operating as a scheduled domestic flight from Mérida, Venezuela to Caracas when it crashed into the side of a mountain shortly after takeoff. All 46 passengers and crew aboard the plane died.

On 1 June 2009, Air France Flight 447, a scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France, stalled and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while flying in a thunderstorm, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew 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.

July 17th, 2007 TAM Airlines Flight #3054 is on its final approach to Sao Paolo's notorious Congonhas Airport. Runway 35-L at Congonhas is one of the busiest and most treacherous airports in the world. It's built on a hilltop, completely surrounded by tall buildings. The crew of Flight #3054 gets a report that the runway is wet and slippery. Captain Henrique Stephanini brings his Airbus A-320 down at the foot of the 1,945 meter long runway, activates the one working reverse thruster and applies the brakes, but his plane doesn't slow down. It hurtles down the runway at top speed, crosses a highway and slams into a building and adjacent gas station. No one on the plane survives. Twelve people on the ground are also killed. This is the worst aviation disaster in South American history. Investigators are under enormous pressure to figure out what went wrong on Brazil's busiest runway, before it claims any more lives.

August 16th, 2005 Several hours behind schedule, West Caribbean Airways Flight #708 finally takes off from Panama City en route to Martinique. The aircraft flies through weather so severe that the pilots must divert to avoid it. In addition to the turbulence, the pilots have another problem; their engines are not providing enough thrust. To solve this issue the pilots drop down to a lower altitude, but before they can reach it a Stall Warning fills the cockpit. The plane is flying too slowly to remain airborne. Before the pilots can figure out what has caused the problem, the aircraft drops from the sky and crashes on a remote Venezuelan farm. By far the worst aviation disaster in the country's history, a small team of Venezuelan investigators must now determine what brought down one of the safest airplanes in the world.

December 12th, 1985 After a six-month peace keeping mission in the Middle East, 248 elite American soldiers are on their way home for the Christmas holidays. Destined for Fort Campbell, Kentucky, they are travelling on Arrow Air Flight #1285, a discount air carrier contracted by the military to transport troops. En route from Cairo, the DC-8 eventually touches down for a routine refueling stop in Gander, Newfoundland. But just seconds after taking off again for the last leg of its journey, the plane immediately loses airspeed and altitude and crashes into a heavily wooded area just outside the remote Canadian town. An unprecedented disaster, it is one of the deadliest aviation accidents of all time and the resulting investigation ignites a storm of controversy that continues to this day.

On its second routine trip of the morning, Continental Express Flight #2574 is nearing the end of its 90-minute flight from Laredo to Houston, Texas. A state-of-the-art Embraer 120 Brasilia, the commuter plane is scheduled to make several more short flights. But just as the pilots are preparing to land, the plane falls out of the sky. Dropping thousands of feet in mere seconds, there is a massive explosion as the aircraft crashes into a farmer's field. All 14 people on board die in the disaster, and the impact is so violent that the wreckage is not recognizable as an airplane. Investigators first suspect there was a bomb on board, but when the theory is dismissed, they dig deeper and eventually reveal a chilling story of good intentions gone horribly wrong.

On 6 February 1958, British European Airways Flight 609, carrying members of the famed Manchester United football team, crashed shortly after taking off from Munich, killing 23 aboard.

On 9 October 2002, Northwest Airlines Flight 85 is cruising above the Bering Sea before problems develop and pilots must make an emergency landing in Anchorage, Alaska.

On 22 December 1999, a cargo flight operating as Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 left London Stansted Airport for Milan, Italy, crashed about 55 seconds after taking off. All 4 crew members died in the disaster.

Just minutes from landing in San Diego, PSA Flight # 182 collides with a Cessna and both planes crash in a residential area; investigators must determine what went wrong in the biggest airline disaster in American history.

On 11 July 1991, shortly after taking-off from Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport, Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 suffered an in-flight fire. The crew unsuccessfully tried to return to the airport, the plane breaking up within sight of the runway. The plane was carrying 247 Nigerian pilgrims and 14 crew who all perished.

On 7 December 1987, an angry former USAir employee by the name of David Burke boarded its parent airline, PSA Flight 1771 en route to San Francisco. The hijacker killed the pilots and shot himself after take off. Shortly afterwards the CVR picked up increasing windscreen noise as the airplane began to dive rapidly and shortly thereafter the plane crashed in a cattle ranch in San Luis Obispo County, California. All 43 people onboard were killed.

On 24 May 1988, TACA Airlines Flight 110, a Boeing 737 flew through a thunderstorm and suffered a dual engine flameout. The pilots amazingly managed to land on a grass levee close to a nearby stream at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in the Michoud area of eastern New Orleans, USA. All onboard survived.

On 8 October 2001, Scandinavian Airlines Flight 686, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-87 airliner carrying 110 people bound for Copenhagen, Denmark collided on take-off at Milan's Linate Airport into an Air Evex Cessna Citation CJ2 business jet carrying four people bound for Paris, France. The MD-87 plane suffered major damage and crashed into a hangar shortly afterwards. All 114 people on board the two aircraft were killed, the crash and subsequent fire killed a further more four Italian ground personnel in the hangar, and injured four more.

On 19 July 1989, United Airlines Flight 232's DC-10 was crippled when an engine explodes causing serious damage to the vital hydraulics system causing the plane to go out of control. The plane managed to land at Sioux City but the plane erupted into a fireball shortly after.

On 25 February 2009, a Turkish Airlines jet crashed during landing at Schiphol airport, killing nine people. What caused the plane to crash?

When an aircraft's engines fail during its approach to Heathrow, the captain's quick thinking enables the flight to avoid nearby buildings. The craft crashes just short of the runway and all aboard miraculously survive. But what caused the engine failure in the first place - could Sherlock Holmes theories lend a hand to investigators?

On November 24, 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 remarkable story of the New York flight which crash landed in the middle of the city, having struck a flock of birds on take-off.

In one of the worst American crashes of the past decade, an aircraft approaching Buffalo airport plummets towards the ground and crashes into a suburban house. With a fire raging at the crash site, can investigators find any surviving clues in the wreckage?

Despite being de-iced twice for winter conditions, both engines fail in a plane departing Stockholm. It falls 3000 feet and breaks in three but everyone survives. What crippled a near-new jetliner?

On 22 August 1985, An engine caught fire during the takeoff phase of a British charter flight from Manchester, England to the Greek island of Corfu. Despite a successfully abandoned takeoff, 55 of the 137 passengers and crew are killed as the aircraft burned on the runway.

On 26 June 1988, Air France Flight 296 failed to regain altitude and crashed into trees after performing a flyby during an airshow at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, killing 3 people.

On 16 August 1987, Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed shortly after take off, killing 156 people. The crew did not follow the taxi checklist prior to take off.

On 1 February 1991, USAir Flight 1493 collided with the waiting Skywest Airlines Flight 5569 on the runway, killing 34 people. An Air traffic controller mistakenly assigned the inbound Flight 1493 to a runway where the 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 crashed just after take off, killing 24 people. Three years later, on 22 March 1992, USAir Flight 405 also crashed just after take off in similar conditions to Flight 1363. The cause of the crashes was icing.

On 20 January 1992, Air Inter Flight 148 crashed into the Vosges Mountains while circling to land at Strasbourg Airport killing 87 people. An error made in programing the autopilot of the Airbus A-320, combined with a sudden wind change, caused the plane to descend more rapidly than expected.

On 19 December 2005, just after take off the right wing of the Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 fell off and the aircraft crashed, killing 20 people. The wing fell off due to metal fatigue that resulted from poor maintenance, financial distress at Chalk's, and a lack of appropriate FAA oversight.

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.

An attempt to rescue orphans from the chaos of war-torn Vietnam ended in tragedy when a US plane crashed on April 4, 1975, killing more than 150 people.

On August 6, 2005, a Tuninter ATR-72 ran out of fuel and was forced to ditch in the sea near Palermo, Italy. Of the 39 people on board, 16 lost their lives. The mistake was simply a wrong fuel gauge that sent higher fuel readings than the actual ones.

In January 2007, an Adam Air Boeing 737 crashed into the Makassar Strait killing 102 people on board. The pilots inadvertently disengaged the autopilot while trying to fix the inertial reference system, causing the plane to plunge to the water.

31 October 1994 - American Eagle Flight 4184. It's a frigid Halloween night in the skies above Chicago. Bad weather is delaying dozens of flights, including American Eagle Flight 4184. Suddenly, the plane spins wildly out of control. The pilots fight desperately to right their plane, but can't. It smashes into a cornfield. All 68 people on board are killed instantly. Investigators eventually discover the cause is a rare weather phenomenon, and a fatal design flaw.

This special looked at accidents and incidents where pressurization failure or explosive decompression played a part.

This special looked at accidents caused by seemingly minor defects or errors.

This special looks at accidents and incidents where problems with the interface between crew members and onboard avionics were a factor, and the causes of those problems.

When Air India Flight 182 suddenly disappeared from the radar, controllers were left baffled. Investigators later discovered a sinister reason for the deadly crash.

A design fault leads to an explosion on a DC-10. Two years later the same fault causes a similar tragedy. The accident could have been prevented, but why wasn't it?

April 4, 1977 - Southern Airways Flight 242 - A DC-9 is caught in a storm so severe that hailstones crack the cockpit windshield, causing the plane to plummet to the ground. Miraculously 20 people survive.

Just after takeoff, a commuter plane plummets to the ground, killing all on board. Investigators find one of the causes to be out of date passenger weight calculations.

On August 2, 1985, Delta Air Lines Flight 191 crash-lands while on approach to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, killing eight of the 11 crew members, 128 of the 152 passengers on board and one person on the ground. This accident was one of the few commercial air crashes in which the meteorological phenomenon known as a microburst was a direct contributing factor.

On 23 July 1983, Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel at 41,000 feet (12,500m) altitude, about halfway through its flight from Montreal to Edmonton. The crew is able to glide the aircraft safely to an emergency landing at Gimli Industrial Park Airport, a former airbase at Gimli, Manitoba. An unserviceable fuel gauge and an error in converting between metric and non-metric units caused the aircraft to be loaded with insufficient fuel prior to flight.

On 28 November 1987, South African Airways Flight 295 starts filling with smoke high above the Indian Ocean after a fire breaks out in the rear main deck cargo area of the Boeing 747 combined passenger/cargo aircraft (Combi). It crashes with no survivors. The exact cause of the crash is still unknown.

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.

On 29 December 1972, Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 is on a flight to Miami International Airport. While making preparations to land, the crew is distracted by a faulty landing gear indicator light and accidentally disengages the autopilot while trying to resolve the problem. The aircraft descends until it crashes into the Everglades. Flying at night, the crew failed to notice their descent until only seconds before hitting the ground. 101 people died; 75 people survived.

On 29 September 2006, Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 and a brand new Embraer Legacy business jet (registered N600XL) on its delivery flight collide in mid-air over the Amazon rainforest. The Boeing 737 commercial flight crashes into the Amazon, but the Legacy manages to make a safe landing at an airbase. All 154 people on the Gol jet die. Air traffic controllers had cleared both aircraft to fly at the same altitude in opposite directions, and the transponder of the Legacy had either failed or had been switched off, making both aircraft's traffic collision avoidance systems useless in preventing the collision.

August 2, 2005. In a raging thunderstorm after a difficult landing, Air France 358 skids off the runway in Toronto. As it crashes, the left engine catches fire. There are only seconds to escape.

24 June 1982 / British Airways Flight 9. When all engines fail, the plane plummets but moments later, the engines restart. What caused this mysterious event?

2 June 1983, Air canada Flight 797, a small mechanical problem in the back of a Canadian aircraft quickly led to an all-out emergency. Thick, toxic smoke filled the plane before it burst into flames, killing 23 people.

August 6, 1997. Korean Air flight 801 departed from Seoul, Korea. It had been cleared to land at AB Won Guam Airport, Agana when it crashed about three miles south-west of the airport.

3 March 1991 - United Airlines Flight 585 - - A Boeing 737 jet spins out of control on its descent, and ten seconds later all 20 passengers are dead. What resulted was one of the longest and most expensive enquiries in US aviation history.

19 Febuary 1985 - Flying at 41,000 feet, a China Airlines flight encounters turbulence and the autopilot turns on. A series of mistakes and the pilot's poor understanding of autopilot almost ends in disaster.

31 August 1986--The loss of over 80 lives near LA's busy airport forces authorities to change the way planes are tracked and monitored.

April 1996. US government officials and business executives are on a trade mission to Bosnia and Croatia. As they near the Dubrovnik airport, rain and clouds make the journey increasingly difficult.

January 3, 2004. Moments after taking off from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, a Boeing 737 crashes into the Red Sea. The plane's black boxes reveal the horrifying final moments.

14 August 2005 - When Athens air traffic control fails to make contact with Helios Airways Flight 522 from Cyprus, two F-16 fighters are despatched, only to watch helplessly as the jet crashes into a mountain.

28 April 1988. A short island hop from Maui to Honolulu quickly turns into a nightmare for the crew and passengers aboard Flight 243. Shortly after take-off a loud bang is heard, removing a huge chunk of the plane's roof and walls.

It was supposed to be a routine mail drop for the DHL cargo plane, but, shortly after leaving Baghdad's Saddam Hussein Airport, an anti-aircraft missile hit the Airbus A300 and the crew were thrown into a fight for their lives

On a flight between Osaka and Tokyo, the alarm system blares out a warning: a stabilizer has blown off and the plane can no longer steer. 30 minutes later it hits Mount Osutaka in the worst single aircraft accident in history.

The three-man crew of FedEx 705 are just finishing their climb out from Memphis when they are attacked. In the struggle to control both the plane and the attacker, the pilots perform incredible feats in order to save their lives.

An explosion jolts the pilots of PA 434; a bomb has gone off and there's extensive damage to the plane. The blast kills one passenger and injures another ten, with a notorious terrorist being behind the bombing.

The USS Vincennes, stationed in the Persian Gulf, tracks an incoming aircraft. The plane is destroyed, but the crew's elation turns to dismay as it becomes clear they have shot down an innocent airliner with 290 people on board.

A helicopter is ferrying workers to an oil platform when it is struck by lightning. The pilots struggle to keep control but are forced to ditch. Investigators find a design flaw which made it a sitting target for lightning.

Egypt Air flight 990 is over the Atlantic when it suddenly plunges towards the water, killing all 217 people on board. Follow the investigation that became one of the most controversial in modern aviation history.

The new Airbus leaves Moscow and the captain invites his two children to the flight deck. The boy turns the steering column, which sets off a chain of events that leads to the deaths of all 70 people on board.

An Ethiopian Airlines aircraft is hijacked and told to fly to Australia. The pilot fails to convince the hijackers that the plane doesn't have enough fuel, so he decides to trick them. Events end in tragedy.

When the windshield fell off the cockpit of a BA flight after take-off and the pilot was sucked out, his co-pilot had to fight to land the plane.

When Flight ASA 529 crashed after one of its propellers failed, many of the passengers were killed. The cause of the failure was corrosion.

When an Air France Airbus was hijacked by four Algerian terrorists in 1994, the French authorities were left with no choice but to send in their special forces squad to kill the terrorists and free the passengers.

Seventy-one people died when two planes crashed into each other in mid-flight after receiving conflicting signals from air traffic control.

When the navigation system on American Airlines Flight 965 went wrong just before landing, the experienced pilots stalled and crashed.

25 January 1990. Fog over New York City meant that many planes were delayed from landing. For Avianca Flight 052 the delay was too long and it crashed.

The investigation of United Airlines Flight 811, which lost five rows of seats and nine passengers when the cargo door opened while in flight.

Chronicling an airline pilot and co-pilot's struggle to beat a storm to Little Rock, Ark., that climaxed in a crash.

A fire and electrical failure on Swissair Flight 111 ends in tragedy, with the plane crashing into the Atlantic, killing all 229 passengers and crew on board.

Shortly after takeoff, the horizontal stabilizer of Air Alaska Flight 261 malfunctions, causing the plane to dive into the ocean.

The crew relies on malfunctioning airspeed and altitude indicators to make an emergency landing which ends in disaster for Aeroperú Flight 603.

Air Transat Flight 236 begins to leak fuel over the Atlantic and must glide into a landing at the naval base on the island of Azores.