Air Disasters - Season 17

On Mar 19, 2016 — Flydubai Flight 981 (Boeing 737): After circling for two hours in foul weather over Rostov-on-Don, Russia, a jet abandons its second landing attempt — and seconds later dives into the runway.

On Dec 21, 1992 — Martinair Flight 495 (DC-10): Landing at Faro, Portugal amid thunderstorms, a holiday charter from Amsterdam slams down, breaks apart, and burns — yet most on board survive to tell the story.

On Feb 23, 2008 — USAF B-2 Spirit "Spirit of Kansas": Moments after takeoff from Guam, a $2 billion stealth bomber pitches up violently and falls — the most expensive aviation accident in history.

On Mar 31, 1992 — Trans-Air Service Flight 671 (Boeing 707): An explosion over the French Alps tears both engines from a cargo jet's right wing, leaving the crew muscling a crippled freighter toward a military airfield.

On Jan 31, 2000 — Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (MD-83): En route from Mexico to San Francisco, a jet develops a jammed stabilizer, and the crew's fight to save it ends in the Pacific off the California coast.

On Apr 4, 1979 — TWA Flight 841 (Boeing 727): Cruising at 39,000 feet over Saginaw, Michigan, a jet suddenly rolls and spirals into a dive — and after the recovery, investigators suspect the crew isn't telling the whole story.

On Nov 12, 1995 — American Airlines Flight 1572 (MD-83): Descending through a severe storm toward Bradley Airport in Connecticut, a jet strikes trees on a ridgeline miles from the runway — with the control tower dark.

On Oct 11, 1983 — Air Illinois Flight 710 (HS 748): A commuter turboprop loses its electrical power on a stormy night flight over southern Illinois, leaving its pilots flying blind in total darkness.

On Dec 13, 1994 — Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 (Jetstream 32): An American Eagle commuter flight stalls and crashes into a North Carolina forest on approach to Raleigh-Durham, exposing an industry-wide training gap.

On Jan 26, 2020 — Island Express N72EX (Sikorsky S-76B): A helicopter carrying basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and six family friends crashes into fog-shrouded hills near Calabasas, California.