Episode Guide
Season 20
Episode Guide
Headline News
S20
E1
A look at three plane crashes that made global news and put intense pressure on investigators to uncover the true cause of the accidents.
Rookie Errors
S20
E2
The simplest mistakes are at the heart of some of the worst airline accidents, and while commercial pilots undergo hundreds of hours of training and testing, even experienced pilots can make deadly rookie errors.
Collision Course
S20
E3
Facing deadly tragedies that could have been avoided, investigators comb through the wreckage of three separate midair collisions in a race to prevent another fatal impact.
Engines Out
S20
E4
When an aircraft loses total engine power, a pilot's training can make all the difference in the world, but it's still up to investigators to determine what went wrong.
Fuel Trouble
S20
E5
Three mysterious accidents send investigators hunting for clues. In the end, all three trails lead back to the same source-the fuel tank.
Perilous Payloads
S20
E6
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.
Runway in Sight
S20
E7
If pilots aren't prepared when the runway is in sight, a landing can quickly become a tragedy.
Deadly Confusion
S20
E8
JFK Jr. disappears on the way to Martha's Vineyard, a captain loses his bearings and crashes over the Red Sea and pilots crash a plane over Indonesia. ALL NEW
Radio Silence
S20
E9
The business jet carrying PGA golfer Payne Stewart and former Alabama football quarterback crashes. A look at how loss of pressurization and structural failure led to this crash and the deadliest aviation accidents in both Greek and Taiwanese history NEW
Design Flaws
S20
E10
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. Radio silence between pilots and air traffic controllers send investigators hunting for answers. ALL NEW
Heat of the Moment
S20
E11
Featuring captivating reenactments and state-of-the-art CGI, Air Crash Investigation uncovers the truth behind the most legendary aviation disasters of all time.
Instrument Confusion
S20
E12
When critical instruments in the cockpit can't be trusted, the consequences can be fatal.
VIP on Board
S20
E13
Airplane crashes involving high-profile passengers put added pressure on investigators.
Lapse in Security
S20
E14
Three horrific aviation disasters are all linked to breakdowns in vital security measures.
Mountain Impact
S20
E15
Following three horrifying crashes, investigators uncover fatal flaws in the very operations designed to prevent aircraft from flying into mountains.
Survivors
S20
E16
From the wreckage of three airplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.
Death from Above
S20
E17
Mid-air tragedies are particularly horrifying when they occur over a community, and rain terror on the people below.
Courage in the Cockpit
S20
E18
Devastating failures in the air put pilots to the test, and shine a light on three astonishing feats of flying.
Maintenance Mistakes
S20
E19
A trio of crashes reveal that when the nuts and bolts of maintenance go unchecked, it can spell catastrophe.
Take Off Tragedies
S20
E20
Three flights ending in tragedy, prove that minor missteps during takeoff can have disastrous consequences.
Dead of Night
S20
E21
Confused, flying blind, and lost in the dark, three crews lose site of the horizon and fall into the same deadly trap.
Engine Gone
S20
E22
Three crews experience the same devastating event, but with radically different outcomes when an engine falls off their commercial airplane.
Lethal Choices
S20
E23
Faced with a mid-air crisis, pilots must make life-and-death decisions, but the wrong approach can trigger a far more serious problem.
Risky Runways
S20
E24
In Sao Paolo, the Himalayas, and on the Norwegian coast, three flight crews are pushed to the limit by the toughest landings on earth.
Landings Gone Wrong
S20
E25
Relying on instinct rather than the rule book, three flights end in tragedy when crews improvise on their final approach.
Frozen Wings
S20
E26
The consequences are disastrous when ice forms on an airplane's wings.
Runway Collisions
S20
E27
In catastrophic runway collisions, investigators must retrace every step.
Cockpit Breakdown
S20
E28
With communication mix-ups and personality clashes in the cockpit, three flights end in tragedy leaving investigators to unravel what went wrong.
Splash Down
S20
E29
Three last-resort maneuvers where open water is the only available runway.
Northern Extremes
S20
E30
In the extreme conditions of the far North, three flights fall out of the sky.