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A United States Air Force transport aircraft conducting the inaugural flight of Operation Babylift suffers an explosive decompression when the rear cargo door fails and crashes into a paddy field while attempting an emergency landing.

A United States Air Force transport aircraft conducting the inaugural flight of Operation Babylift suffers an explosive decompression when the rear cargo door fails and crashes into a paddy field while attempting an emergency landing.

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Air Disasters

S13, EP3 "Fatal Approach"

A false warning in the cockpit triggers a series of pilot errors, sending a commuter plane crashing by the runway of an Amsterdam airport.

Air Disasters

S17, EP9 "Turboprop Terror"

When a turboprop stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest, investigators resort to a risky test flight-and uncover an industry-wide safety problem.

Air Disasters

S3, EP2 "Mayday Munich"

A plane with members of the Manchester United football team crashes while heading home from Yugoslavia, killing 23 aboard.

Air Disasters

S4, EP8 "Focused on Failure"

On 28 December 1978, the crew of United Airlines Flight 173 are preoccupied with a landing gear problem as the aircraft circles in a holding pattern in the vicinity of Portland, Oregon; it runs out of fuel and crashes in a sparsely populated area.

Air Disasters

S21, EP6 "Falling Fast"

Investigators discover a shocking mistake when pilots must ditch their plane in the Mediterranean, killing 14 of the 34 passengers.

Air Disasters

S21, EP5 "Operation Babylift"

A United States Air Force transport aircraft conducting the inaugural flight of Operation Babylift suffers an explosive decompression when the rear cargo door fails and crashes into a paddy field while attempting an emergency landing.

Air Disasters

S21, EP4 "Sight Unseen"

Saudi Airways and Kazakhstan Airlines jets hit each other at 14,000 feet sending both planes spiraling to the ground.

Statistically, traveling by airplane is safer than driving and other forms of transportation, but when something goes wrong during a flight, it can be catastrophic with potentially hundreds of lives at stake. This series examines some of the world's worst air disasters, using official reports, transcripts and interviews with people involved to tell the stories of midair mishaps and discover what went wrong in each case. Episodes include a discussion of how the weather affects flights -- including stories of aviation disasters and near-misses -- and a New Year's Eve flight that fell from the sky into the Florida Everglades.
Starring: Brad Borbridge, Carlos Gonzalez-Vio, Hannah Cheesman, Jean-Michel Le Gal, Jim Annan, Jonathan Aris, Julian DeZotti, Kris Saric, Leon Aureus, Niamh Carolan, Samy Osman, Stephen Sparks, Steven Pigozzo, Tim Funnel, Von Flores
Original Air Date: May 15, 2011
Genres: DocuseriesTV Series
Rating: TV14
Playback: HD
19 seasons available on demand
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