America has so many stories to tell. And nobody brings them to your home like Smithsonian Channel.

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A look at several air disasters that involved small components that failed; accidents caused by minor defects or errors; how the follow-up investigations led to changes that have made flying safer.

Air Disasters

Fatal Flaw

The 2000 crash of an Alaska Airlines plane just off the California coast leads to a disturbing discovery about the company's cost-cutting procedures.

Cutting Corners

A Swissair passenger jet catches fire midflight and crashes into the Atlantic, leading to one of the largest investigations in aviation history.

Fire on Board

Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 stalls and crashes less than a mile from the runway while approaching Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Who's In Control

A British Airways Flight's engines failure to respond cause the plane to crash-land just short of the runway.

The Heathrow Enigma

Statistically, traveling by airplane is safer than driving and other forms of transportation, but when something goes wrong during a flight, it can be catastrophic with potentially hundreds of lives at stake. This series examines some of the world's worst air disasters, using official reports, transcripts and interviews with people involved to tell the stories of midair mishaps and discover what went wrong in each case. Episodes include a discussion of how the weather affects flights -- including stories of aviation disasters and near-misses -- and a New Year's Eve flight that fell from the sky into the Florida Everglades.

Design innovations evolve as a result of terrible air disasters due to pressurization failure or explosive decompression.

S18 E22 | Ripped Apart

E23 | Fatal Flaw

E11 | Cutting Corners

E9 | Fire on Board

E6 | Who's In Control

E2 | The Heathrow Enigma