Survival in the Sky, known as Black Box in the United Kingdom, is a British documentary series of six one-hour episodes produced by Darlow Smithson Productions for The Learning Channel and Channel 4. The series was narrated by Will Lyman in the United States and Sean Barrett in the United Kingdom. The series primarily concentrated on commercial aviation accidents and the investigations related to them. They were first aired as a series of only four episodes in late 1996, with two additional episodes produced and aired in 1998.

Survival in the Sky
Also known asBlack Box
GenreDocumentary
Narrated byWill Lyman (United States)
Sean Barrett (United Kingdom)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes6
Production
Running time45 minutes
Production companyDarlow Smithson Productions
Original release
NetworkThe Learning Channel
Channel 4
Release1996 (1996) –
1998 (1998)

The series was produced with the cooperation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), and interviews many of the investigators and survivors of air crashes.

A book also titled Black Box (ISBN 0760304009) was published in 1996 as a companion to the series.

Episodes

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No.
series
Title Incidents Original air date
1"Blaming the Pilot"Birgenair Flight 301
British European Airways Flight 548
Tenerife airport disaster
Air France Flight 296
Air Inter Flight 148
1996 (1996)
As aviation technology improves, pilot error is determined to be the cause of two out of every three crashes.
2"Deadly Weather"Air Florida Flight 90
American Eagle Flight 4184
Delta Air Lines Flight 191
United Airlines Flight 585
USAir Flight 427
1996 (1996)
Worldwide, weather contributes to one-third of all plane crashes.
NOTE: As revealed in the episode, the crashes of United 585 and USAir 427 were not caused by weather, but rather were the result of a structural flaw in the aircraft. Despite this, they are included in this episode, rather than in one of the two subsequent episodes where the incidents would be more in line with the episode theme, for reasons unknown.[1]
3"A Wing and a Prayer"Aloha Airlines Flight 243
Japan Airlines Flight 123
United Airlines Flight 232
1996 (1996)
Improper maintenance, undiscovered design flaws and other structural failures.
4"Crash Detectives"TACA Flight 510
ValuJet Flight 592
Kegworth air disaster
de Havilland Comet decompression incidents
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
American Airlines Flight 96
British Airtours Flight 28M
1996 (1996)
Presents original footage of NTSB investigators filmed at the crash site of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Everglades.
5"TWA 800: The Investigation
The Death of TWA 800"
TWA Flight 8001998 (1998)
A special episode produced after the official findings of the TWA 800 investigation were released.
6"Sky Crimes"PSA Flight 1771
Pan Am Flight 103
Federal Express Flight 705
1998 (1998)
Examines incidents involving either international terrorism or disgruntled airline employees.

See also

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References

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