Air Crash Investigation: Overview

Air Crash Investigation is a series which examines the causes of air disasters using aviation experts, witness testimony and official evidence recovered  from the scene. The series is producted by Canadian production company Cineflix and is classed as a docudrama. The series is known as Air Crash Investigation in Australia, Mayday in Canada and Air Emergency in the US. Air Crash Investigation was first aired in September 2003 and has continued to be a popular series shown on the National Geographic Channel in the UK.

The series follows the same formula for each episode with a reenactment of a particular air crash or accident. This is recreated as faithfully as possible from data from the flight recorder, any witnesses and cockpit voice recordings.
After the reenactment the series attempts to explain what happened in this air investigation and how the experts came to the conclusions they did.

The series is informative with industry experts interviewed alongside survivors and relatives of those on board. Computer graphics bring to life the last minutes of the aircraft and provide easy to understand images and sequences. 

Over the years Air Crash Investigation has looked at many famous aviation accidents such as Lockerbie and British Airways Flight 5390 when the captain was sucked out of a hole in the cockpit window. The series as even tackled controversial incidents such as the EgyptAir Flight 990 which has conflicting information regarding the cause, with the Egyptian's claiming mechanical error while the US claim the plane was crashed deliberately by First Officer Gameel Al-Batouti.

While the acting during the reenactments can be terrible at times the series is enjoyable nevertheless and never crosses the line into 'car crash tv'. Air Crash investigation manages to show shocking events, sometimes with surprising reality, without ever exploiting the material or the people involved. The series never shies away from showing the true causes of the accidents whether it be human error, a manufacturing error, poor repairs, or hijackers. 

Overall Air Crash Investigation is an excellent educational programme which shows not only the technical aspect of air disasters but the human aspect and the impact on people's lives.