
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.

On 26 May 1991, the thrust reverser on the number one engine of Lauda Air Flight 004 deploys in flight without being commanded, causing the aircraft to spiral out of control, disintegrate, and crash about 100 miles northwest of Bangkok.

From corrosion and metal fatigue to faulty repairs, three doomed airlines are brought down by gradually deteriorating parts.

Polish Air Force Flight 101, carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria Kaczyńska and other top officials, crashes in a wooded area while on final approach to Smolensk North Airport in heavy fog and low visibility.

A billion-dollar Stealth Bomber crashes at a U.S. Air Force base-the costliest aviation disaster ever; bad data misleads a charter flight into a Portuguese mountain; conflicting alarms send a cutting-edge jetliner plunging into the Atlantic.