Air Crash Investigations

When pilots climb into the cockpit of a modern jetliner, they put their trust in an automated computer system that can control virtually every aspect of flight. It's a complicated relationship between man and machine and when it doesn't work perfectly, disaster can strike in an instant.

May 25, 2002. China Airlines Boeing 747 disintegrated mid-air and crashed into the Taiwan Strait just twenty minutes after taking off, killing all passengers on-board. Over 600 pieces of debris were retrieved only to deepen the mystery of the plane crash. But what did investigators find to explain why the plane shattered in mid-air?

On December 21, 1988, the residents of the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland, were preparing for the Christmas holiday, but danger was fast approaching. A packed passenger plane flying over the village exploded mid-air, shooting massive fireballs of debris onto the residents below. Ultimately, this tragic disaster killed 270 people from 21 different countries. Seven days later, investigators found

It's August 6th, 2005. High over the Mediterranean, two pilots struggle with a stalled engine. 73 kilometres from land, the pilots are faced with an impossible decision while passengers are forced to make life or death decisions. The accident will tear families apart, set in motion a massive rescue effort at sea and trigger a multinational investigation to discover why both engines on one of the w

The pilots of Flight 1493 configure the 737 for landing and although they repeatedly radio the tower for instructions, their calls go unanswered. They finally get clearance just moments before landing, but within seconds of touching down, the aircraft erupts in flames and crashes into an abandoned brick building. Can investigators determine what went wrong?

When Flight 007, carrying 269 people onboard reaches its new altitude, it is rocked by rapid decompression, spirals out of control and crashes into the sea. An international controversy erupts and within days, Soviet officials admit to shooting down the passenger plane. Can the investigators determine what went wrong while preventing an armed conflict?