
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 commuter turboprop crashes onto hilly terrain in New Zealand; the search for answers inevitably leads to the cockpit.

After taking off from Taiwan, a China Airlines 747 suddenly disappears from radar and crashes, killing 225 people.

When a modified WWII fighter plane crashes into the crowd at a Nevada air show, investigators struggle to find the cause.

When a USAF stealth bomber crashes after takeoff, investigators search for a reason.