Smithsonian HD Network

A fishing derby tests pilots; crews battle a rusty plane; an aviator must dream big or go broke.

When a 737 careens off the runway in Indonesia, investigators uncover a shocking explanation for the crash.

A look at the fatal consequences that can occur when a fire breaks out on a plane; three flights that erupted in flames and the investigations that changed aviation forever.

On July 11, 1991, the crew of Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 unsuccessfully tries to return to the airport after a burst tire creates an in-flight fire which causes 247 Nigerian pilgrims and 14 crew to perish.

When the crash of a commuter plane in Georgia kills a NASA astronaut, a four-term U.S. senator and 21 others, the disaster grabs headlines around the world.

Investigators must figure out why the safety systems of a turboprop plane failed to prevent a crash into an Indonesian mountain.

The South's famous landmarks, historical milestones and unique culture.

A coast-to-coast aerial tour celebrates the best small towns in the United States and tells stories about the men and women who called them home.

A sweeping tour over popular destinations in America, including the Badlands, Nantucket, the National Mall and more.

One of the most beautiful states on the Atlantic Coast.

Taking an aerial tour of Virginia.

A flight over Indiana explores the Hoosier State's rich agriculture, busy highways and basketball legends; exploring the War Memorial and the Angel Mounds of the southwest.

An aerial view of major cities in the United States, including Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Boston.

An aerial tour over Dallas and Fort Worth highlights the cities' differences while showcasing their shared contributions to the Texas narrative.

A sky-high tour over Iowa explores its vast stretches of farmland, covered bridges and evolution from wilderness to statehood.

An orphaned bear cub flies to a new home, Bush pilots bring life-saving medical machinery to a remote village; record snowfall threatens to close down Anchorage airport for Thanksgiving and the U.S. Army prepares for airborne warfare in the Arctic.

A breakdown on the Fairbanks runway threatens a heavy-weight military jet's urgent mission; a rookie flight instructor faces a make-or-break flight; an ice-tour pilot races against Alaskan weather; a bush airline flies a 400-mile pizza delivery.

A major snowstorm disrupts Christmas travel in Anchorage; bush pilots aid an Arctic village after a fire; ice jeopardizes an airborne science mission; Customs agents combat a surge in illegal holiday food imports.

A Coast Guard chopper pilot battles winds in a mission that will decide her flying career; a mountain construction project gets an express aerial delivery of materials in Alaska-style; two bald eagles hitch a first-class ride.

A trainee chopper pilot tackles a midair engine shutdown; Bush pilots face a high-altitude test on an aerial grocery run; the US Army in Alaska launch their biggest helicopter deployment ever, and an Arctic-sports phenom flies high to win gold.

Scientists fly to save Anchorage from avalanche destruction; border agents stop a potential insect invasion at Anchorage International; a bush pilot flies explosive cargo for a village festival, and the Coast Guard races to repair.

Shiver as a DC-6 crew delivers medicine in fuel-freezing weather, then cheer on a rookie Coast Guard rescue swimmer during a crucial test; battle a tourist-season-ending engine fault and hunker down as a blizzard closes in on two vital airports.

Inspect a new bush plane built from 70-year-old plans and take off on a US Army protection mission; batten down the hatches as hurricane-force winds pummel Anchorage, then observe as NASA scientists blast off from Alaska's answer to Cape Canaveral.

A pilot races to fly food to a homesteader; entrepreneurs reviving a 1940s airframe land on ice to prove it can be the future of bush flying; trainee plane mechanics face a crucial test and an airport night guardian calls time.

The Coast Guard flies a twelve-ton fuel truck to keep a remote base operational; an athlete flies to a dangerous airport for a glacier race; Fairbanks crews fight an avian invasion and after a decade in a museum, a Grumman Goose takes to the skies.