
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 bomb explodes on Air India Flight 182 en route from Canada to India causing it to disintegrate over the coast of Ireland.

A helicopter carrying oil workers to an offshore drilling platform crashes.

If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy.

Mistaken identity and hostile fire over enemy territory are among the many risks that pilots face in war zones around the world.