Plot Synopsis

Using cockpit recordings, passenger mobile phones, footage from in-air and on-the-ground cameras, and first-person interviews with survivors, witnesses and air-accident investigators, TERROR IN THE SKIES explores aviation incidents and near misses, revealing why these incidents happened and what must be done to prevent them from reoccurring. This series shows firsthand how pilot errors, technical failures, small mistakes, and big storms have placed passengers in life-or-death situations, with each one-hour episode featuring a different one of these four root causes: "Pilot Error," which chronicles overstressed, undertained, and distracted pilots and what it means to passengers when a pilot falls asleep, another suffers a panic attack, or yet another is distracted by his laptop; "Technical Meltdown," documenting how faulty equipment causes near-air disasters, like an engine exploding mid-flight or landing gear failing during descent; "Small Mistakes," which reveals how a loose bolt, a tripped circuit breaker, a fatigue crack and other small issues have led to big problems for pilots and their passengers; and "Nature Strikes Back," which highlights what happens when wicked storms, wild turbulence, and a flock of geese strike modern airliners. Smithsonian Channel aired the US premiere of this series on Sunday, September 29, 2013 at 8pm ET/PT. While the UK version was hosted by aeronautical engineer Brendan Walker, the US version did not have a host.