
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 12 November 2001, just two months after the September 11 attacks, American Airlines Flight 587 spirals out of control shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy Airport and crashes into Queens.
British Midland Flight 92 slams into Britain's busy M1 motorway, and it seems like a rare case of dual engine failure, but investigators learn the real cause was a tragic misunderstanding.
When critical instruments in the cockpit can't be trusted, the consequences can be fatal.
From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.