Takeoff

Every time a plane crashes, the world takes notice…and so do the experts whose job it is to figure out what happened. This season, we uncover why a state-of-the-art helicopter full of oil workers plummeted into the North Atlantic, how a Pakistani airliner ended up on a crash course with the Himalayas, and the chilling reason why an airliner slammed into the African wilderness. Witness accounts, interviews with investigators, and white-knuckle reenactments bring these air disasters to stunning life.

A wedding flyover that turned tragic. A commuter flight that mysteriously veered off course and slammed into a mountain. A pilot and passenger who survived a crash only to succumb to the raging currents of an icy waterway. These are just a few of roughly 100 aircraft accidents that occurred in Alaska in 2015 and challenged one of the busiest and most unique offices of the National Transportation Safety Board. Follow NTSB investigators as they attempt to determine the probable cause of each crash, be it man, machine, or environment.

The dream of flight was finally realized on a North Carolina beach in 1903. In the century since then, innovations have come fast and furious, and the skies have filled with extraordinary creations.

Ever since autos have run the roads, inventors have been dreaming of ways to get them up in the air. In the last 100 years, some 300 flying car designs have actually made it off the ground, but none have commercially taken off…not yet anyway. This two-part series explores the turbulent history of the road-to-air vehicle, from early failures to recent breakthroughs in technology and design. Discover how the futuristic world of flying cars is becoming a reality, and explore how this new world of travel may bring a new world of obstacles.

A thought-provoking documentary about the ill-fated Trans World Airline Flight 800 to Paris, France, which exploded on July 17, 1996 just 12 minutes after takeoff from JFK International Airport, killing all 230 people on board.

Harrowing stories of tragedy and triumph in the sky are brought to life through official reports and interviews with flight crews, investigators, and survivors of history's most terrifying crashes. Widely considered to be the safest form of travel, air transportation is still in its infancy, and when midair calamity strikes, the results are often catastrophic. From the control room to the crash scene, we uncover what went wrong, then reveal what's been done to ensure these disasters never happen again.

An airliner collides with a light plane just after takeoff, causing its elevators to jam in the full climb position.

Harrowing stories of tragedy and triumph in the sky are brought to life through official reports and interviews with flight crews, investigators, and survivors of history's most terrifying crashes. Widely considered to be the safest form of travel, air transportation is still in its infancy, and when midair calamity strikes, the results are often catastrophic. From the control room to the crash scene, we uncover what went wrong, then reveal what's been done to ensure these disasters never happen again.

They are the high-flying pride of the U.S. military, one-of-a-kind warriors that, over the decades, collectively revolutionized aerial warfare. This series takes you behind the scenes to reveal the origin stories of the U.S.A.F.’s most iconic aircraft.