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