TV Guide Smithsonian Saturday

A recently fired airline employee buys a ticket on the flight on which his supervisor commutes to work and smuggles a large revolver on board.

When a twin-engine jet streaks off the runway in Kentucky, investigators attempt to determine why the plane was unable to take off.

In 1991, a Lauda Air Boeing 767 passenger jet crashed into a Thailand jungle, and after the airline's owner pressed for answers, Boeing added safety features.

A loud thump prompts a pilot in Manchester, England to abort his takeoff, but as the Boeing 737 stops safely on the runway a fire spreads into the cabin.

On July 31, 1992, Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashed into a mountain on approach to Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu killing all aboard.

A helicopter delivering workers to an offshore drilling rig near Scotland is struck by lightning and an engine fails, calling for an emergency landing.

The Magnolia State is explored for everything from civil rights locales to the birthplaces of literary minds like William Faulkner, and everything in between.

An aerial tour of Southern California reveals towering mountains, a valley with Earth's hottest recorded temperatures, and some of the world's largest cities.

Aerial views of iconic American landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, New York City's Central Park and the Gateway Arch reveal their impressive beauty.

A flyover of the Old Dominion provides stunning views of America's capital city and its first European settlement as well as the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.

A tour of the historic state by air shows towns with colonial-era churches and meeting houses built around village greens as well as a 17th-century university.

An aerial tour of the width of the state reveals mountains and rivers, Civil War battlefields, and the cities where country music and the blues were born.

A helicopter view of the state provides a look at its famous scenery, with maple trees, classic red barns and green forests as far as the eye can see.

From the air, the green forests and the spectacular terrain of the Ozark Mountains and the wide Arkansas and Mississippi rivers are impressive sights.

An aerial tour of Nevada shows that it has more to offer than Las Vegas, revealing historic gold and silver mines and ghost towns as well as Hoover Dam.

An aerial tour from coast to coast captures the charm of America's most interesting small towns, from California to Florida with many visits in between.

An aerial tour of America's South encompasses the site of an infamous prisoner-of-war camp and the home of a colony of English settlers who vanished.

From the skies, the American West is full of natural and man-made wonders such as St. Louis' Gateway Arch and the vast, pristine Alaskan wilderness.

The show's team flies over the islands, capturing footage of big-wave surfers, pineapple plantations and a live, close-up overhead look at an erupting volcano.

A collection of historical footage and firsthand accounts provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Battle of Midway and how U.S. pilots won the conflict.

The Battle of Normandy is revisited as in-depth look is taken at the 85 days Canadian, British and U.S. soldiers spent trying to liberate France from the Nazis.

The people of France face the devastation of war and the hope of freedom in 1944 when the Allies invaded Nazi-occupied Europe.

Never-before-seen footage of Belgium and the Netherland's liberation from Nazi occupation and the cost the Allies and civilians paid for their freedom.

Hitler's surprise attack on Belgium in late 1944 forced the Americans into their bloodiest battle of the war.

Western Europe's liberation by Allied forces during World War II.

People telling stories from the first day of the atomic age include scientists, a bomber pilot and citizens of Hiroshima who survived their city's obliteration.

A collection of historical footage and firsthand accounts provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Battle of Midway and how U.S. pilots won the conflict.

The Battle of Normandy is revisited as in-depth look is taken at the 85 days Canadian, British and U.S. soldiers spent trying to liberate France from the Nazis.

The show's team flies over the islands, capturing footage of big-wave surfers, pineapple plantations and a live, close-up overhead look at an erupting volcano.

Michigan's elements changed the world, from assembly lines that made it possible for everyone to own a car to a record company that shaped popular culture.