This is Part 2 of a two-part episode. In the early morning of 1st February 2003, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mission Control Centre is a hive of activity. This morning, the mission controllers will be overseeing  the deorbit, reentry and landing of the Space Shuttle Orbiter, Columbia.  Columbia is the oldest operational orbiter.  The 7 astronauts aboard the orbiter have just completed a 16 day scientific mission. . At 0815am the deorbit begins.

In the early morning of 1st February 2003, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Mission Control Centre is a hive of activity. This morning, the mission controllers will be overseeing  the deorbit, reentry and landing of the Space Shuttle Orbiter, Columbia.  Columbia is the oldest operational orbiter.  The 7 astronauts aboard the orbiter have just completed a 16 day scientific mission. . At 0815am the deorbit begins.

On the 25th of July 2000 at 4:40pm, Air France Flight 4590 sits on the taxiway of Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris France. Today they will be flying aboard the Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde. The passengers aboard Concorde are embarking on the first stage of a luxurious journey, travelling to New York where they will board the MS Deutschland for a 14 night cruise of the Caribbean. The total complement is 109. All of those aboard have less than five minutes to live.

In the early evening of the 2nd of August, 1985, a Lockheed L1011 Tristar is on final approach to land at Dallas Fort Worth Internatonal Airport. Now, just after 6pm, the aircraft is descending steadily towards runway 17L. The runway is currently obscured by a cloud sitting almost at the end of the runway, from which a heavy and continuous downpour of rain is falling. First Officer Price looks at the clouds in front of them and comments “Lightning coming out of that one, right ahead of us”.

At 6:30pm on the 20th of December 1995, a Boeing 757-200 sits on the taxiway of Miami International Airport. The 155 passengers and 8 crew members aboard American Airlines flight 965 are growing impatient, eager to begin their journey to Cali, in Colombia. Finally, one hour and 15 minutes after leaving the gate, the controllers at Miami International Airport give American Airlines 965 permission to line up on Runway 27R.

On the 21st of January 2000 at 3:50pm, a McDonnel Douglas MD83 flies above the Pacific Ocean, about 25 miles off the Californian coast of the United States. At this moment a crisis is unfolding in the aircraft which had its origins years earlier. What starts as a routine flight will turn into a battle between the pilots and the aircraft which will destroy them both.

At just after half past 1 in the morning on the 1st of June 2009, An Airbus A330-203 cruises at 35,000 feet above the Southern Atlantic Ocean. On board are 216 passengers and 12 crew members. What has begun as a routine flight across the Atlantic Ocean will become one of the most lengthy and complex air accident investigations in history. You are listening to Inside The Black Box. This is the story of Air France Flight 447.

It is just after 11am on the 29th of April 2016. An Airbus Helicopters EC225 Super Puma touches down on a helipad in the North Sea. CHC Helikopter Services Flight 241 has just landed on the Gullfaks B Oil and Gas Platform in the Norwegian North Sea, about 80 miles off the Norwegian Coast.

On the afternoon of the 24th of June, 1994, a crowd has gathered by the runway of the Fairchild Air Force Base in the State of Washington in the United States. The group is here to watch a practice demonstration for the Fairchild Air Force Base Airshow, scheduled to take place the following day.

On a cool winter morning a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 touches down at Orly International Airport, 7km South of Paris. It is 11am on the 3rd of March 1974. Turkish Airlines Flight 981, which left Istanbul at at 8am has arrived at its intermediate stop before its final destination of London Heathrow. While the route from Paris to London is normally under-booked, today is different. The aircraft will be filled to capacity. Turkish Airlines 981 is the birth of the modern air disaster.

This is the story of American Airlines 191, an aviation disaster which occurred on the 25th of May 1979, and the investigation that followed it.

It is just after 2pm on the Saturday the 11th of May 1996. A McDonnell Douglas DC9 lines up on Runway 9L at Miami International Airport. The DC-9 is being operated by Valujet, The takeoff is entirely uneventful and the DC-9 begins climbing into a blue Florida sky. Nobody onboard are aware that a chain reaction of events has already begun which will leave the passengers and crew dead within 10 minutes.

It’s just before 1am on the 23rd of March, 1994, An Airbus A310 cruises on autopilot at 33,000 feet above a frozen Siberian landscape. Aeroflot 593 is a regular Moscow to Hong Kong passenger service operating under the Russian International Airlines subsidiary of the national carrier, Aeroflot. Aeroflot 593 carries 63 passengers and 12 crew members. On the flight deck are five people: In 5 minutes, those in the cockpit and everybody aboard will be dead.

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