
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.

Three FedEx employees must regain control of their plane when a coworker attacks them in midair.

A Russian passenger jet crashes into the Volga River, killing almost everyone on board; the incident turns into a national tragedy when rescuers discover the plane carried some of the country's famous athletes.

A pilot's decision to let his 15-year-old son fly has disastrous consequences on a commercial flight.

JFK Jr. disappears on the way to Martha's Vineyard; a captain loses his bearings and crashes over the Red Sea; pilots crash a plane over Indonesia.