Experts analyze various plane crashes with an aim to figure out how these disasters occurred; they also shed light on how such accidents shaped the aviation industry and improved safety standards.
En route from Cold Bay, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, Reeve Aleutian Airlines Flight #8 is 19,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean when the propeller from one of its four turboprop engines flies off and tears a hole in the fuselage.
45 minutes
The crew of ValuJet Flight #592 hears a mysterious sound shortly after taking off. Almost immediately, they are hit with a barrage of mechanical failures. Plummeting to the ground, the plane crashes into the Florida Everglades.
45 minutes
Singapore Airlines Flight 006 prepares to take off from Taipei's Chang Kai-shek Airport. As the 747 hurtles down the runway, the pilots suddenly lose control of the aircraft. It spins around violently, crashes and breaks apart.
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Singapore, SilkAir Flight 185 is 35,000 feet above the jungles of Sumatra when the plane banks sharply to the right, takes a nosedive, and crashes into a remote jungle river. All 104 people on board die in the disaster.
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Looters make off with the Flight Data Recorder from the crash of TANS Peru Flight 204. With no FDR, it will take ingenuity to reconstruct the final moments of the flight and figure out why the 737 crashed into the jungle, just 4 km short of the runway
1 hours
In 1956, a mid-air collision sends two planes crashing into the Grand Canyon killing everyone on board. Armed only with the rudimentary tools of the time, investigators from the Federal Civil Aviation Board must determine what caused the crash.
1 hours
Seconds after American Airlines Flight 191 lifts off, the left engine falls off the plane. The crew loses control of the plane, and it and crashes moments later. 273 people are killed, making this the deadliest aviation accident in US history.
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United Airlines Flight 173 is troubleshooting a minor landing gear problem when the plane suddenly loses all four engines. Unable to make it to the airport, the DC-8 crash lands in a wooded suburb of Portland, Oregon. Ten people on board die.
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Yak Service Airlines Flight 9633 starts down the main runway. But instead of lifting off, the plane runs off the end of the tarmac, strikes a tower and crashes into the Volga River. Only the plane's mechanic survives the disaster.
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Polish President Lech Kaczynski is killed after his plane crashes in heavy fog. Poland and Russia both launch official investigations, and investigators soon learn that there's a lot more to this accident than simple pilot error.
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Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 takes off from Beirut, Lebanon. Moments later, the plane spirals out of control and crashes into the Mediterranean Sea. Witnesses report seeing an explosion, leading investigators to suspect terrorism.
1 hours
After just six minutes in the air, an alarm on Santa Barbara Airlines Flight 518 tells the pilots they are dangerously close to the ground. Before they can react, the aircraft smashes into a mountaintop and is pulverized on impact.
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The disappearance of Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic Ocean launches one of the most difficult air crash investigations of all time. With wreckage lost at sea, it takes nearly two years for investigators to uncover the reasons behind the crash.
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