Air Crash Investigations

December 11, 1996. A terrorist sneaks a bomb aboard Philippine Airlines Flight 434. On the final leg of the plane's journey to Tokyo, the bomb explodes, killing one passenger and damaging the plane's control systems. The pilot makes a successful emergency landing in Okinawa. It soon becomes clear that a notorious terrorist is responsible, but the ensuing investigation proves a larger and more deva

Sunday July 3, 1988 - toward the end of the Iran-Iraq War - 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. According to the US government, the crew mistakenly identified the Iranian Airbus A300 as an attacking F-14 Tom

On August 6, 1997, Korean Air Flight 801 was flying to Guam International Airport from Seoul when it ran into bad weather. Fighting heavy rain and faulty navigational equipment, the plane crashed five kilometres short of the runway. More than 200 people on board were killed. The crash was the beginning of a crusade for one passenger determined to make air travel safer.