Description: December 29, 1972. Eastern Airlines Flight 401 is coming in for a landing in Miami. On the crews instrument panel, one of the three green lights confirming the planes landing gear is down and locked remains unlit. Captain Robert Loft decides

A party of Russian school children is on board a Tupolev 154 on its way to a holiday in Spain. A DHL courier plane is flying from Italy to Belgium. Their paths cross on the German/Swiss border. Back at the traffic control room, a lone controller is left to supervise two screens a meter apart. The planes head toward each other and pilots radio the controller. Unfortunately, he is at the other screen and doesn't hear them until it's too late. The two planes descend into each other and 71 people die, most of them children. The TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) could have saved them - what went wrong?

A passenger jet is a traveling life-support system that contains the highly pressurized atmosphere we need to survive in the sky. But if that pressure escapes, it can be a nightmare come true… Featuring gripping reenactments, archival footage, and eyewitness accounts, "Ripped Apart" revisits some of the most spectacular aviation disasters of the last fifty years to expose the explosive power of decompression. Along the way, the documentary reveals the many breakthroughs and design innovations that were implemented only after something went horribly wrong..

Marvels of engineering, todays modern jetliners are made up of hundreds of thousands of parts. Keeping these behemoths in the sky requires constant maintenance and repair. And if just one tiny flaw is overlooked, the result can be catastrophic. Featuring gripping reenactments, archival footage, and eyewitness accounts, Deadly Shortcuts revisits some of the most troubling aviation disasters that were caused by just a tiny, almost unseen problem.

Compared to the number of suicides in the general population, suicidal pilots are almost statistically non-existent. But when they do emerge from obscurity to unleash their horrific plans on innocent passengers, the destruction they inflict is epic. A 737 cruising above an Indonesian jungle suddenly plummets from the sky. An Airbus A-320 crashes into the French Alps. And, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 vanishes over the South China Sea, and remains one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time.

When pilots climb into the cockpit of a modern jetliner, they put their trust in an automated computer system that can control virtually every aspect of flight. Its a complicated relationship between man and machine and when it doesnt work perfectly, disaster can strike in an instant. Featuring gripping reenactments, archival footage, and eyewitness accounts, Whos Flying the Plane? revisits some of the most troubling aviation disasters that resulted from problems with autopilots and computerized systems.

Twenty minutes after taking off from Taipei, Taiwan a China Airlines 747 suddenly disappears from radar. A massive rescue mission is launched, ut all 225 passengers and crew are dead. After ruling out both a bomb and a gas tank explosion, investigators are stumped. They examine hundreds of pieces of wreckage until they discover a single piece of the hull that solves the riddle. Tragically, the crash of Flight 611 began with a problem that began twenty-two years earlier.

September 8, 1989 - On a charter trip from Oslo to Hamburg, Partnair Flight 94 is cruising at 22,000 feet -- when it suddenly begins diving toward the sea. The aging propeller plane crashes into the water. All 55 people on board are killed. It is the biggest airline disaster in Norwegian history. As investigators piece together what happened, they uncover a problem so serious, it sends shock waves through the industry. How had a single bolt caused the plane to fall out of the sky? And why is it a potential problem for every passenger plane in the world?

12th Nov ‘96 - Saudi Airways Flight is hit by a Kazakhstan Airlines jet. The collision cripples both planes killing all 349 people on board. Why did the two planes collide and who's responsible?

April 4, 1975. In the final, chaotic days of the Vietnam War, US President Gerald Ford orders an urgent mission of mercy called 'Operation Babylift'. Its goal: to rescue Vietnamese orphans from the chaos of the war and take them back to the safety of the US. Nearly 250 Vietnamese babies and children are loaded onto an Air Force C5A Galaxy, one of the world's largest planes. But after a steep and rapid ascent to get out of missile range, the aircraft's cargo door is violently blown off and the plane crashes to the ground. What caused the tragic accident? And can investigators find out before they have to flee the country?

A Crossair flight is on approach to Zurich, where snow has reduced visibility. The plane clips the treetops and plunges down, killing 24 people.

Safety in the sky depends on the outcome of air crash investigations. But sometimes investigators disagree, and the pressure intensifies when the victims are famous. A crash carrying the Manchester United football team sparks an international argument. A storm of controversy ignites when a planeload of US military personnel goes down in a fiery blaze. And, conspiracy theories erupt on both sides when the president of Poland is killed in a crash en route to Russia.

January 1st, 2007 - After taking off from Indonesia's Suribaya airport, Adam Air Flight 574 settles in for the two-hour trip to Manado. The Boeing 737 is loaded with New Year's travelers taking advantage of the country's recent discount travel boom. But somewhere over the Java Sea, the plane hits turbulence, and air traffic controllers notice the jet is hundreds of miles off course…and headed for a major storm. Air traffic controllers get in touch with the lost plane - and try guiding it back on course. But the jet's navigational systems aren't working. And the bad weather is closing in. The crew struggle to find their way - when suddenly, flight 574 disappears from radar. Rescue teams search a section of the sea the size of Ireland - but it's a fisherman who finds the first piece of wreckage. There's no hope of survivors - 102 people are killed. After months of arguing over who will pay for the salvage operation, investigators eventually retrieve the aircraft's data and voice recorders. The rest of the wreckage is left behind. When they study the black boxes, investigators realize that the crew made a series of small mistakes that doomed their plane. When they took manual control of their jet, they were betrayed by a poor understanding of their automation systems - and flew the aircraft into the sea. But pushing further, investigators find that Adam Air did not properly maintain their jets. Problems with the navigational system were well known - but never fixed. Pilots also received poor training when it came to dealing with mechanical problems. Investigators conclude that the country's entire fleet of discount carriers - not just Adam Air -- was riddled with safety issues. The investigation eventually brings about Adam Air's suspension, and large-scale reforms to Indonesia's airline industry.

Bad weather can turn an ordinary flight into a fight for survival. And the right information and equipment - both on the ground and in the air - can mean the difference between life and death. In December 2008 the United Sates was battered by a series of fierce storms. Cruel Skies brings viewers inside the U.S. Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City Missouri throughout the worst of those storms to see how forecasts are made, how information is passed on to pilots, and how planes are diverted around the most dangerous weather. Cruel Skies also revisits four pivotal aviation disasters and near-misses that have taught the industry on how to get planes in the air safely.

Clear communication is essential to safe flying. When it doesn't take place - disaster strikes. All Clear revisits five pivotal aviation disasters - and charts the changes they've forced air traffic controllers to make. All Clear also looks into the future - and takes viewers on an FAA test flight with NextGen - an all-new, digital air traffic control system that will revolutionize the airline industry. The race to fix a broken system is on -- before disaster strikes again.

In 1982, the engines on a British Airways flight to Australia catch fire then stop working. Plunging down, the engines miraculously start up again. Why was this plane knocked from the sky?

Fire Fight explores the 1983 plane crash of Air Canada flight 797 in Cincinnati on National Geographic Channel's Air Crash Investigation.

In 1997, a Korean Air flight battles turbulence, rain and inoperative navigational equipment. Crash-landing 5kms short of the Guam International Airport, many passengers die in the ensuing fire.

When two Boeing 737s crashed two years apart in almost identical circumstances, investigators raced to find the cause. Was there a fatal flaw with all the passenger jets?

February 19, 1985. China Airlines Flight 006 is nearing the California coastline when disaster strikes. A series of small problems beginning with the failure of the jets fourth engine snowballs into an all-out emergency. The plane stalls, and begins tumbling toward the Pacific Ocean. As it twists and turns, the strong G-forces make the ride hellish for the crew and passengers who are pinned to their seats. The wings buckle, the doors to the landing gear are ripped off, and parts of the tail break away. Precious hydraulic fuel essential for landing is lost. Spinning wildly in thick clouds, the crew cant tell up from down. In just two minutes the plane falls 30,000 feet (9 kilometers). Then, as it bursts through the clouds, the crew are finally able to see the horizon. Using this as a reference, they level their plane, and pull it out of its terrifying dive. Leaking hydraulic fluid, and flying with a mangled tail, the crew manage to land their crippled plane safely. The captain is hailed as a hero by the passengers. Investigators piecing together the extraordinary events of Flight 006 tell a different story. While the pilot and crew were able to save the lives of everyone on board, mistakes they made during the flight caused the near disaster. For the first time, the NTSB examines how sleep patterns and circadian rhythms helped put both the crew, and passengers, in an extremely dangerous position.

Due to neligence, a Birgenair Flight smashed into an ocean in 1996. And the data recorder revealed confusing sound of multiple alarms

When Korean airlines has its fifth major accident in less than three years, investigators begin to unravel what went wrong, with their search for answers leading back to Korea.

When PSA Flight #182 collides with a Cessna, crashing into the neighbourhood below, 144 people are killed. Who is to blame for the biggest airline disaster in American history?

Just two miles from a Saudi Arabian airport, a Nigerian Airways flight erupts into flames and plummets to the ground killing all 261 people on board. What caused the deadliest DC-8 crash in history?

A British flight aborts take-off when pilots think they've blown a tyre. But an engine has caught alight. Panicked passengers try to escape but minutes later fire rips through the plane and 55 die.

In 1987, a Detroit flight has a last minute change to its runway. Behind schedule, it roars down the new runway only to hit a light pole, slam into a building and disintegrate on a highway.

Flight 811 cargo door opened suddenly. This caused 5 rows of seats and 9 passengers to be flanked out. Mayday investigates the cause of the tragedy.

The Airbus A-320's maiden flight in 1988 turns into a tragedy. During a public flyover, it crashes and burns. With huge investments at stake, it must be determined if the pilot or plane was at fault.

It recreates the flight to Little Rock,analyzing the decisions made by the Captain & co-pilot.Reveals the experience of passengers in the Flight 1420.

Mayday searches for the answer to the fire on board MD11 that caused it to crash on that fateful day into the Atlantic ocean, sparing none on board.

January 1st, 2007 - After taking off from Indonesia's Suribaya airport, Adam Air Flight 574 settles in for the two-hour trip to Manado. The Boeing 737 is loaded with New Year's travelers taking advantage of the country's recent discount travel boom. But somewhere over the Java Sea, the plane hits turbulence, and air traffic controllers notice the jet is hundreds of miles off course…and headed for a major storm. Air traffic controllers get in touch with the lost plane - and try guiding it back on course. But the jet's navigational systems aren't working. And the bad weather is closing in. The crew struggle to find their way - when suddenly, flight 574 disappears from radar. Rescue teams search a section of the sea the size of Ireland - but it's a fisherman who finds the first piece of wreckage.

The horizontal stabilizer of Air Alaska malfunctioned killing all on board, but it could be avoided.We tell the story behind the fatal air accident.

Mayday examines the computer malfunction on Aeroperu Flight 603.The tragic consequence-All passengers were killed as the plane dived into the Pacific.

A routine flight turns deadly when the pilots hear gunshots in the cabin. Moments later, the aircraft dives and crashes. With 43 people dead, investigators struggle to determine the intended victim.

When an alarm warns the pilots of Flight 518 that they are dangerously close to the ground, the aircraft suddenly smashes into a mountain.

Flying through a violent thunderstorm, a plane begins its final descent towards New Orleans when both engines fail and it drops from the sky, only to manage one of the most remarkable landings ever.

Exploring how aviation safety improves one crash at a time, Air Crash Investigation looks into legendary aviation disasters.

When Polish President Lech Kaczynski is killed in a plane crash, investigators discover that this was not simply a pilot error.

In 2011, a Soviet-built Yak-42D plane carrying one of Russia's biggest hockey teams crashed into the River Volga – leaving only one survivor.

When tower controllers ask Flight 409 to head to a new heading, the pilots acknowledge the change. Moments later, the plane crashes into the sea.

A 737 is cleared to land at LAX at the last minute. Seconds after touching down, the aircraft erupts in flames and crashes into an abandoned building. Rescuers on the scene make a chilling discovery.

October 31, 1994 - It's a cold Halloween night in the skies above Chicago. Bad weather is delaying dozens of flights, including flight American Eagle 41-84 waiting to land. As the plane starts to descend, it spins wildly out of control. The pilots fight desperately to right it but can't and the plane smashes into a field, killing all 68 people on board.

Follow the ensuing investigation and find out how the 'Roselawn' crash became one of the most important accidents in aviation history.

Air Crash Investigation shares this account and other stories of astonishing survival and heartbreaking disasters of some of the most tragic air disasters. Plane crashes and near-disasters from around the globe are investigated in meticulous detail, providing a look into what went wrong and if they could have been prevented. These events have helped change aviation safety and brought about some of the most important standard regulations that we know today.

When engines failed, pilots of United Airlines Flight 232 tried to land at Sioux City, but the aircraft exploded, killing half of those on board.

An Airbus ran out of fuel over the Atlantic. Mayday tells the untold story of how the crew managed to glide to a safe landing.

Within minutes of take off, a loud bang is heard in the cockpit of British Airways Flight 5390. The windshield has blown out and the captain has been sucked through the opening - his body plastered to the side of the plane. The co-pilot is in a frantic situation; the plane is diving quickly, and, hampered by the deafening wind in the open cockpit, he can’t hear the replies of air traffic controllers who are trying to find out what has happened. Against all odds, the co-pilot successfully lands the plane. The ensuing investigation uses innovative methods to uncover the cause of the disaster and reveals an alarming situation in the maintenance hangar of one of the world's largest airlines.

A thunderous bang, heard shortly after take-off of ASA Flight 529 signals something is amiss. The situation - one of the propeller blades is now just a stub, and hanging on the left wing is a mangled mass that was once the engine. After nine minutes of keeping the plane airborne, the flight crew is forced to crash land. All passengers and crew survive the crash until a raging fire breaks out, forcing the passengers to run through searing flames. As a result, many die from their burns. Federal aviation agencies investigating the crash determine the propeller failure was caused by corrosion, the third such incident involving the same manufacturer. Their inquiries led them to conclude that the crash could have been avoided had a fatal flaw not been inadvertently covered up.

Tension mounts in the cockpit in as Avianca Flight 052 circles over a foggy New York night running on alarmingly low fuel.Will it crash?

Deadly Crossroads investigates the tragic collision of a Russian passenger airplane and DHL courier airplane on 1 July 2002.

American Airlines Flight 965 from Miami, USA to Cali, Colombia is one of the many delayed flights during the peak holiday season. In an effort to recover lost time, the pilots push the Boeing 757 full speed to the last. Flown by two experienced pilots, the passenger jet is equipped with every computerized navigation aid. The system goes awry just as the pilots intend to land. Rushing a landing, they find themselves disoriented and headed into a mountainside. As they struggle to pull the plane back into a climb, it stalls. Four survivors, the air traffic control in Cali and one flight recorder serve as guides for investigators to reconstruct the last thirty minutes of the flight. Their findings conclude that the veteran pilots, lulled by the state-of-the-art automation misdirected the plane then failed to release the air brakes whilst applying full power to climb out of danger.

On April 28 1988, passengers on a short island hop from Hilo to Honolulu suddenly see the roof and walls of their cabin rip completely off the plane, only their seat belts separate them from the ocean below. Flying at an altitude of 7300 metres, the passengers and crew are blasted by winds of over 500 kph, choking on frigid air that contains little oxygen. In the passenger cabin, all phone wires are severed and the pilot is assumed dead-but in reality, he is frantically trying to arrange an emergency landing at one of the world's most challenging airstrips. Miraculously, everyone on board survives-except for one flight attendant.

Twelve minutes after takeoff on August 12, 1985, a thunderous bang echoes through JAL flight 123.The pilots are stunned to realize that the steering system is completely unresponsive. Crippled by the low oxygen levels, they struggle to control a plane that lunges wildly through the sky, headed directly into the mountains around Mt. Fuji (Japan's largest mountain). After 30 minutes of wrestling with the wind, the pilots remain helpless as the plane crashes into the side of Mt. Osutaka. An American spots the smoking wreckage and initiates a rescue operation. Tragically, it is called off by Japanese authorities who believe that no one survived the impact. Japanese responders later learn that many injured passengers died during the 14 hours it took them to reach the scene. Out of a passenger list numbering 524, there are only four survivors. Tragic images, expert investigators, and witness testimony help to illustrate both the errors committed and lessons learned from the single worst aircraft accident in history.

Deadly Crossroads investigates the tragic collision of a Russian passenger airplane and DHL courier airplane on 1 July 2002.

On April 7, 1994, FedEx flight 705 is just finishing its climb out of Memphis, U.S. when an off-duty FedEx flight engineer suddenly storms the cockpit. Bashing in the crew members' skulls with a hammer and armed with a spear gun, the crazed attacker seems

To tap the precious oil reserves in the North Sea, workers must travel hundreds of kilometres by helicopter over treacherous waters to reach their remote drilling platforms. The region is notorious for its turbulent weather, so the pilots of Super Puma he

Newly equipped with a fleet of Airbus jets, the Russian company Aeroflot inaugurates a new non-stop route from Moscow to Hong Kong. A little over a year later on March 22, 1994 the elite reserve captain of the now routine flight is also a proud father, in

Minutes before it lands at Heathrow, an aircraft is inexplicably crippled by double engine failure and falls from the sky. Incredibly, everyone survives. But can investigators find what went wrong?

When an American plane begins to lurch and lose altitude, the skilled pilots manage to narrowly escape a fatal crash. But what caused them to lose control of the plane in the first place?

Flight 358 skidded off the runway in Toronto. An engine caught fire, trapping more than 300 passengers.

August 31, 1986. A calm Labor Day weekend is shattered by a horrifying tragedy. A Los Angeles neighborhood is devastated and more than 80 lives are lost when two planes fall from the sky. An Aeromexico DC-9 is preparing to land at Los Angeles Internationa

April, 1996. American government officials and high-powered U.S. business executives are on a trade mission to Bosnia and Croatia. The first day of their demanding three-day trip takes them from Zagreb to Tuzla to Dubrovnik. Among those aboard the flight

On 3 January, 2004 in the darkness before dawn, Flash Airlines flight 604 takes off from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, heading to Paris. Sharm is a popular resort destination for many Europeans, and the flight is filled with families returning home. Just minute

Sunday, August 14, 2005. Larnaca Airport, in Cyprus. It's 9:00am and low cost airline Helios Airways Flight 522 is scheduled to fly to the Greek capital, Athens, before continuing its route to Prague, in the Czech Republic. Captain Hans Mertens, the 58-ye

By the time the crew of Delta Airlines Flight 191 reached the threshold of Dallas Fort Worth Airport, they'd already diverted around 2 separate storms. They see rain and lightning up ahead, but fly on. Inside the storm, their plane is hit by powerful wind

Due to an inexplicable failure of the two engines,the pilot needs all his skill to get his plne to the airport. Will luck be on his side?

Nature, red in tooth and claw, is certainly cruel, but it's difficult not to admire her skill in weaponry design. Claws are certainly not subtle; snatching, piercing and crushing all at once. Coupled with the power of a 1000 lb grizzly, the stealth of the

Flight 295's cabin caught fire and disappear in the Indian Ocean. Recovery of the wreckage created a rumour of illegal weapons bringing it down.

Just after take-off a small commuter plane plummets to the ground, killing all on board. Follow as investigators find the single clue that led to a deadly disaster.

April 4, 1977. Southern Airways flight 242 is en-route from Huntsville, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia. Ten minutes into the flight the crew notices a menacing storm in their path. Their radar shows them a "hole" in the middle of the storm, the crew believes

In 1985, an Air India flight vanishes off the coast of Ireland. The rescue mission discovers that the crew had no warning before the jet was ripped apart. Investigators are alerted to a bag checked in without the passenger boarding. Another explosion on the same day at Tokyos Airport is soon linked to this incident. The bomb builder is traced and sent to jail but the person who checked the bag onto the plane has never been caught.

Due to neligence, a Birgenair Flight smashed into an ocean in 1996. And the data recorder revealed confusing sound of multiple alarms