Smithsonian HD Network

During the Vietnam War, the United States needed a helicopter that could defend itself; the AH-1 Cobra, the world's first pure attack helicopter.

Electronic warfare aircraft; the EA-6B Prowler; the EA-18G Growler.

The history of the longest serving bomber in the U.S. military: the B-52 Stratofortress.

The 50-year evolution of the Army's top transport helicopter, the CH-47 Chinook.

Exploring the world's top close air support aircraft, which enter battles at a minute's notice.

A journey over America's western landscape featuring "wild" history and stories of colorful characters.

A flying tour of Michigan's cultural landmarks, including Motown, the Great Lakes, the automobile industry and more.

Tour the Wisconsin State Capitol and Milwaukee City Hall, once the tallest building in the world.

A cross-country flight over icy landscapes in Alaska's Denali, vast wetlands in Florida's Everglades, and over 100 million acres of badlands, deserts, and mountains.

The Wright Brothers gave the state its slogan "First in Flight"; civil rights leaders in Greensboro; NASCAR.

A cross-country flight across America reveals the nation's most iconic industries, the people behind them and the stories of how they came to be.

A flight over North and South Dakota reveals the shared history and the vast differences of these sibling states.

When Air Transat Flight 236 runs out of fuel over the Atlantic, its pilots desperately try to keep their Airbus A330 in the air until they reach land.

The U.S. Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City, Miss.; the importance of accurate weather forecasting to the aviation industry.

On 10 January 2000, Crossair Flight 498 crashes just two minutes after takeoff from Zürich, Switzerland, while heading for Dresden, Germany, killing all 10 people on board.

A false warning in the cockpit triggers a series of pilot errors, sending a commuter plane crashing by the runway of an Amsterdam airport.

When a turboprop stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest, investigators resort to a risky test flight-and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.

Three crews experience the same devastating event; with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.

How routine flights can turn catastrophic in mere seconds when the pilots become momentarily distracted; three flights end in a disaster.

While landing at a notoriously tricky Alaskan island airport, the pilots of a twin turboprop can't stop their plane.

Almost immediately after taking off from Madrid International Airport, Spanair Flight 5022 banked to the right, slammed into a creek and burst into flames.

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; crosswinds challenge an Air France crew already halfway down the runway.

An examination of three crashes that occurred when pilots battled against their sophisticated aircraft.

A private jet attempting to compensate for a late approach to the airport, slams into an Ohio apartment building just a couple of miles from the runway.