Radio Silence

September 24, 2023

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Air Disasters - S20 - E9

Radio silence between pilots and air traffic controllers can mean many different things, but only the physical evidence can reveal the true story. Three shocking cases send investigators hunting for answers.

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Air Disasters: Season 20 - 30 Episode s

20x1 - Headline News
July 30, 2023
American Airlines Flight 77 slams into the Pentagon on America's darkest day of the 21st century. TWA Flight 800 explodes over Long Island minutes after leaving JFK. The supersonic superstar Concorde crashes into an airport hotel after a failed takeoff from Paris. All three air disasters made headline news around the globe, creating media frenzies, igniting conspiracy theories, and putting immense pressure on investigators. In this episode, we revisit these three accidents and follow examiners as they uncover the truth behind the tragedies.
20x2 - Rookie Errors
August 6, 2023
While commercial pilots undergo hundreds of hours of training and testing, even experienced pilots can make deadly rookie errors.
20x3 - Collision Course
August 13, 2023
Authorities scramble for answers when a passenger plane collides with a military fighter jet in California, and two commercial planes meet a similar fate decades later in India. Investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact.
20x4 - Engines Out
August 20, 2023
When an aircraft loses total engine power, a pilot's training can make all the difference in the world.
20x5 - Fuel Trouble
August 27, 2023
Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source - the fuel tank.
20x6 - Perilous Payload
September 3, 2023
Three planes fatally out of balance force investigators to question every calculation. It's a flight risk that's entirely preventable, and yet repeated disasters reconfirm the need for critical backup systems.
20x7 - Runway in Sight
September 10, 2023
If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy.
20x8 - Deadly Confusion
September 17, 2023
Spatial disorientation is one of the leading causes of all air accidents. Even the most experienced pilots are susceptible to its subtle yet deadly effects.
20x9 - Radio Silence
September 24, 2023
Radio silence between pilots and air traffic controllers can mean many different things, but only the physical evidence can reveal the true story. Three shocking cases send investigators hunting for answers.
20x10 - Design Flaws
October 1, 2023
When former race car driver Niki Lauda's planes nosedives into a Thai jungle, a one-in-a-million failure reveals a weak spot in every Boeing 767.
20x11 - Heat of the Moment
January 7, 2024
Dashcam footage aids in the investigation of a fatal TransAsia crash, experts determine the cause of a botched emergency landing, and a test flight for a revolutionary aircraft turns deadly.
20x12 - Instrument Confusion
January 14, 2024
A Boeing 737 vanishes off the radar, a South Korean jet slams into the English countryside moments after takeoff, and an inexperienced crew faces a pileup of errors on a flight over Russia. When critical instruments cause confusion, the consequences can be deadly.
20x13 - VIP on Board
January 21, 2024
Airplane crashes involving high-profile passengers—including a top diplomat and a Brazilian football team—put investigators under intense pressure to come up with answers.
20x14 - Lapse in Security
January 28, 2024
Traced to a breakdown of vital safety measures, three horrific disasters provoke fundamental changes to airport security procedures around the world.
20x15 - Mountain Impact
February 4, 2024
Following three deadly crashes, investigators uncover dangerous mathematical flaws in the very operations systems designed to prevent aircraft from flying into mountains.
20x16 - Survivors
February 11, 2024
From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.
20x17 - Death from Above
February 18, 2024
Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below.
20x18 - Courage in the Cockpit
February 25, 2024
Devastating failures in the air put pilots to the test, and shine a light on three astonishing feats of flying.
20x19 - Maintenance Mistakes
June 23, 2024
A trio of crashes reveals that when the nuts and bolts of maintenance go unchecked, it can spell catastrophe.
20x20 - Take Off Tragedies
June 30, 2024
Three flights ending in tragedy prove that minor missteps during takeoff can have disastrous consequences.
20x21 - Dead of Night
July 7, 2024
Confused, flying blind, and lost in the dark, three crews lose site of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.
20x22 - Engine Gone
July 14, 2024
Three crews experience the same devastating event; but with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.
20x23 - Lethal Choices
July 21, 2024
Faced with a midair crisis, pilots must make a life or death decision, but the wrong approach can trigger a far more serious problem.
20x24 - Risky Runways
July 28, 2024
In Sao Paolo, the Himalayas, and on the Norwegian coast, the toughest landings on earth pushed three flight crews.
20x25 - Landings Gone Wrong
August 4, 2024
Relying on instinct rather than the rule book, three flights end in tragedy when crews improvise on their final approach.
20x26 - Frozen Wings
August 11, 2024
Three planes are brought down by ice and it's up to investigators to determine how modern aircraft could possibly end up with frozen wings.
20x27 - Runway Collisions
August 18, 2024
Three catastrophic runway collisions raise the same pressing question; a look at how two planes end up on the same runway at the same time.
20x28 - Cockpit Breakdown
August 25, 2024
Three flights end in tragedy after miscommunication mix-ups and personality clashes; Investigators try to unravel what went wrong.
20x29 - Splash Down
September 1, 2024
Three last-resort water landings, all handled differently yet each one crucial to improving the outcomes of ditching on open water.
20x30 - Northern Extremes
September 8, 2024
Faced with the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky leaving investigators to uncover the cause.

20x1 - Headline News

20x2 - Rookie Errors

20x3 - Collision Course

20x4 - Engines Out

20x5 - Fuel Trouble

20x6 - Perilous Payload

20x7 - Runway in Sight

20x8 - Deadly Confusion

20x9 - Radio Silence

20x10 - Design Flaws

20x11 - Heat of the Moment

20x12 - Instrument Confusion

20x13 - VIP on Board

20x14 - Lapse in Security

20x15 - Mountain Impact

20x16 - Survivors

20x17 - Death from Above

20x18 - Courage in the Cockpit

20x19 - Maintenance Mistakes

20x20 - Take Off Tragedies

20x21 - Dead of Night

20x22 - Engine Gone

20x23 - Lethal Choices

20x24 - Risky Runways

20x25 - Landings Gone Wrong

20x26 - Frozen Wings

20x27 - Runway Collisions

20x28 - Cockpit Breakdown

20x29 - Splash Down

20x30 - Northern Extremes

S1: Season 1

S2: Season 2

S3: Season 3

S4: Season 4

S5: Season 5

S6: Season 6

S7: Season 7

S8: Season 8

S9: Season 9

S10: Season 10

S11: Season 11

S12: Season 12

S13: Season 13

S14: Season 14

S15: Season 15

S16: Season 16

S17: Season 17

S18: Season 18

S19: Season 19

S20: Season 20

S21: Season 21