
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.

A look at three deadly air disasters that are caused by misunderstandings between pilots and air traffic controllers.

Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues; in the end, all three trails lead back to the same source -- the fuel tank.

Confused, flying blind and lost in the dark, three crews lose sight of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.

Three flights end in tragedy after miscommunication mix-ups and personality clashes; Investigators try to unravel what went wrong.