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Flying is one of the safest forms of transport. But what happens when tragedy strikes? From human error and accidents to mechanical faults and design flaws, the success of aviation history is punctuated with disaster and catastrophe. It's rare, but it does happen. Follow experts as they determine what went wrong and work out how to prevent these horrific tragedies from happening again. Examine the wrecks and official records, and hear from eyewitnesses, passengers and aviation experts as we reconstruct some of the most tragic disasters in aviation history. Air Crash Investigation looks at what went wrong and how future disasters can be averted.
On 8 June 1983, Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8's propeller separated from the aircraft over Cold Bay, Alaska causing an explosive decompression and loss of control. The pilot managed to land safely at Anchorage, Alaska. Since the propeller fell into the sea the cause of the separation is undetermined.
On 11 May 1996, ten minutes after take-off, Valujet Flight 592 crashed into the Florida Everglades after an in-flight fire started by an accidental triggering of an oxygen cylinder in the cargo area caused the passengers and crew to suffer unconsciousness. On impact, all 110 persons on board were killed instantly.
On 31 October 2000, Singapore Airlines Flight 006 collided on take-off into construction equipment at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei during Typhoon Xangsane after taking off on the wrong runway. Out of the 179 passengers and crew, 83 people perished.
On 19 December 1997, Silk Air Flight 185 en route to Singapore crashed into the Musi River in Indonesia after abruptly plunging from its 35,000 feet (10,668 m) cruise altitude, killing all 97 passengers and 7 crew on board in an instant.
On 23 August 2005, TANS Perú Flight 204 attempted to make a landing at Pucallpa Airport, Peru, after a severe thunderstorm, but crashed into a muddy swamp 4 miles (6.4 km) off the airfield.
On 30 June 1956, United Airlines Flight 718 and Trans World Airlines Flight 2 collided over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. All 128 occupants on both flights were killed. At the time it was the deadliest airline crash in history, and would lead to sweeping changes in the regulation of flight operations over the United States.
On 10 April 2010, in heavy fog and low visibility, a Tupolev Tu-154M carrying the Polish president Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria Kaczyńska and other top officials, failed to make the runway and crashed into a wooded area while on final approach to Smolensk North Airport. All 96 occupants on board perished.
On 25 May 1979, American Airlines Flight 191 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 lost its No.1 engine moments after take-off at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and crashed into a trailer park shortly thereafter. All 271 people on board the plane as well as two other people on the ground were killed making it the worst single-aircraft air disaster in United States history.
On 7 September 2011, a Yakovlev Yak-42D carrying the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl professional ice hockey team crashed on take-off at the Volga River, near Yaroslavl, Russia. Out of the 45 occupants only two survived. Five days later one of the survivors (Alexander Galimov) died, succumbing to his injuries.
On 28 December 1978, United Airlines Flight 173 ran out of fuel after a landing gear problem. The DC-8 circled in the vicinity of Portland and crashed in a sparsely populated area near 158th and East Burnside Street, killing 10 and seriously injuring 24 of the 189 on board. According to the NTSB, the flight crew failed to check the fuel state causing the plane to crash.
On 25 January 2010, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 an international scheduled passenger plane en route to Addis Ababa plunged into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport during a thunderstorm, killing all 90 people on board.
On 21 February 2008, Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 was operating as a scheduled domestic flight from Mérida, Venezuela to Caracas when it crashed into the side of a mountain shortly after takeoff. All 46 passengers and crew aboard the plane died.
On 1 June 2009, Air France Flight 447, a scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France, stalled and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while flying in a thunderstorm, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew on board. The causes of the crash were incorrect airspeed readings due to ice blockage of the aircraft's pitot tubes, inappropriate control inputs and the pilots not taking recovery action until it was too late.
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