Mayday

Commercial airliner flight MH17 goes down over a warzone in eastern Ukraine. The evidence indicates the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. Amid speculation in the media and against the backdrop of war, investigators are determined to get answers for the families of the 298 victims (passengers and crew), but they face political roadblocks at every turn.

After circling above the Taiwan Strait to wait out a passing cyclone, TransAsia Flight 222 crashes on the Taiwanese resort island of Penghu. The media claims the storm is to blame, but the evidence soon points investigators in a different direction. Six months into the investigation, the airline is hit with a second accident . That's when investigators uncover a systemic problem with fatal consequences.

Moments after taking off from a California airport, an American cargo plane needs to make an emergency landing. The pilots manage to bring their DC-8 to within sight of the runway, but the crippled plane crashes into an automobile salvage yard one mile east of the airport . To try to understand what went wrong, investigators call on a friend and colleague of the crew. But it will take more digging and hard evidence to understand what doomed the crew of Emery Worldwide Flight 17.

En route to Salt Lake City, Delta Airlines Flight 1141 crashes just moments after lifting off from Dallas-Fort Worth airport and erupts into flames.

On a high-stakes demonstration flight in Indonesia, a Russianmade Sukhoi Superjet slams into a mountain killing everyone on board. It's one of the most challenging salvage operations Indonesian investigators have ever faced. Once they reach the wreckage, they must figure out how a brand new jet with an expert crew and sophisticated navigation system could crash into an infamous mountain.

In California's Mojave Desert, Virgin Galactic test pilots are at the controls of a revolutionary aircraft designed for sub-orbital flight . But as the spaceship accelerates toward the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere, approaching the speed of sound, it breaks apart and falls from the sky. With the future of commercial space travel hanging in the balance, it's up to investigators to figure out what went wrong.

On 7 October 2008, Qantas flight 72 traveling from Singapore to Perth suddenly nosedives while over the Indian Ocean. With warnings flooding the cockpit and passengers being flung around, it's up to an experienced fighter pilot to get the plane to safety

On its final approach to Zurich, Alitalia Flight 404 plows into a forested hillside killing everyone on board. Did a hidden flaw in the navigation system lead two pilots down a deadly path?

Just minutes from touching down, China Airlines Flight 140 falls out of the sky at Japan's Nagoya Airport. By morning, investigators are sifting through the charred debris on the runway, but what they find only deepens the mystery.

After being delayed on the Denver tarmac due to heavy snow, Continental Airlines 1713 was eventually cleared for take-off. Barely lifting off the ground, the DC-9 abruptly banked and crashed, killing 28 people and leaving a lasting legacy.

This special looked at how failures in communication lead to disasters.

This special looked at how pilots' aggressive or unprofessional behaviour can cause deadly accidents.

This special looked at how pilots safely land their aircraft in emergency situations.

This special looked at how automation in the cockpit causes deadly misunderstandings.

This special looked at terrorist acts, including bombings and shootdowns.

This special looked at pilots' carefully planned strategies in deliberately crashing aircraft.

This special looked at foreign items, including ice, a chemical oxygen generator, and a bomb as the cause.

This special looked at disasters where multiple investigations don't agree on the cause of these accidents.

This special looked at how pilots' deviation from cockpit duties lead to crashes.

This special looked at disasters caused by fires, either on the ground or in the air.