Air Crash Investigations

In June of 1983, a small mechanical problem at the back of an Air Canada DC-9 quickly turned into an all-out emergency ten kilometres in the air. The pilot had no choice but to attempt an emergency landing at a nearby airport. The plane burst into flames 90 seconds after it hit the runway killing 23 people. How did the fire start? Investigation into the air crash would struggle to find answers.

August 2, 1985. By the time the crew of Delta Airlines Flight 191 reached the threshold of Dallas Fort Worth Airport, they'd already diverted around two separate storms. When the plane enters a third storm front, it is hit by powerful winds that slam the plane to the ground. 136 people die. The crash helps scientists overcome a notorious weather danger to airplanes, the microburst.

July 23, 1983. It's a calm summer evening, when an inexplicable failure strikes, causing the loss of two engines on a brand new passenger jet midway between Montreal and Edmonton. Powerless at 12,000 meters altitude, the pilot needs all his skill, and a little bit of luck, to get his plane to the airport. But his saga doesn't end there because the runway he thought was abandoned is anything but.