Smithsonian TV Guide — Saturday, 18 July 2026

Browse the full Smithsonian TV guide for Saturday, 18 July 2026. 24 programmes listed , including 6 tonight. US listings updated daily — scroll down to tonight's highlights or use the day tabs above to browse the weekly schedule.

Early Morning

00:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S16 · E1 · Deadly Silence Documentary

Deadly Silence

On October 25, 1999, a Learjet 35, with professional golfer Payne Stewart onboard, ran out of fuel and strayed off course before crashing into a field.

01:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S3 · E5 · Bomb on Board True

Bomb on Board

A Philippine Airlines Flight is in danger as an Al-Qaeda terrorist has sneaked an explosive on board as it's in route to Tokyo, Japan.

02:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S17 · E8 · Terror Over Egypt Documentary

Terror Over Egypt

On October 31, 2015, Metrojet Flight 9268 crashed after taking off from Sharm El Sheikh Airport, Egypt, while on route to Saint Petersburg, Russia.

03:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S9 · E5 · Target is Destroyed True

Target is Destroyed

In 1983 a Korean Air Lines flight was shot down when it strayed into Soviet airspace because the crew failed to set the autopilot correctly after takeoff.

04:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S17 · E5 · Pacific Plunge True

Pacific Plunge

All 88 passengers & crew on board Alaska Airlines Flight 261 are killed when the plane's horizontal stabilizer break and the plane crashes into the ocean.

05:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S9 · E7 · The Final Blow True

The Final Blow

In 1992 an Airbus A320 struck a mountain as it was circling a French airport, and a pilot's misreading of the autopilot controls was assigned partial blame.

Morning

06:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S15 · E1 · Fatal Transmission Documentary

Fatal Transmission

At a small airport in Illinois with intersecting runways but no control tower, a runway collision becomes one of aviation history's worst ground incidents.

07:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E48 · Wilderness Travel

Wilderness

Flights over America's most unspoiled wilderness areas provide aerial views of Mount Denali, Florida's Everglades and more than 100 million acres of nature.

08:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E74 · Outdoor Adventures Travel

Outdoor Adventures

A cross-country flight showcases its mountains, beaches, national parks and other tourist attractions.

09:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E31 · Amazing Destinations Travel

Amazing Destinations

Flights over America's natural features include iconic landmarks such as the Grand Canyon and the Everglades as well as lesser-known forests and wetlands.

10:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E1 · California Travel

California

The show's team flies over California's popular landmarks, providing viewers with a new look at Hearst Castle, Alcatraz Prison and the Golden Gate Bridge.

11:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E69 · Yellowstone Travel

Yellowstone

The history of European explorers and Native Americans from Yellowstone is shared as an aerial journey depicts the beauty of the National Park.

Daytime

12:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E27 · Kansas Travel

Kansas

The Sunflower State is the site of much history, from anti-slavery battles that predate the Civil War to some of America's first airplane factories.

13:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E37 · Beyond Hollywood Travel

Beyond Hollywood

Viewers are taken on a coast-to-coast tour of locations made famous by some of Hollywood's greatest films, such as Manhattan and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

14:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E68 · New York City 24 Travel

New York City 24

New York City is referred to as "the city that never sleeps," and an aerial tour over the five boroughs at night shows man-made and natural wonders.

15:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E53 · New Jersey Travel

New Jersey

The Garden State has been the birthplace of America's industrial revolution, the site of motion picture studios and the home of Thomas Edison's laboratory.

16:00 1h

Aerial America

Pennsylvania Travel

Pennsylvania

Jim Conrad gives an aerial tour of the Keystone State and explains that it's where the American Constitution was drafted and where the Civil War was fought.

17:00 1h

Aerial America

Florida Travel

Florida

Narrator Jim Conrad goes on an aerial tour of the Sunshine State, explores the beaches of Miami and explores the hotels and homes of Palm Beach.

Evening

18:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E36 · West Virginia Travel

West Virginia

The Mountain State, which John Denver called "almost heaven," with its fiercely independent spirit and towering peaks, is explored.

19:00 1h

Aerial America

S1 · E19 · Louisiana Travel

Louisiana

Looking down on Louisiana, one sees some of America's most spectacular wetlands alongside vast industrial plants that threaten to destroy them.

20:00 1h

Make It Out Alive

S1 · E2 · San Francisco Quake Documentary

San Francisco Quake

Five people recollect their fight to survive when a massive quake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale trapped them under collapsed and burning buildings.

21:00 1h

Ten Steps to Disaster

S1 · E4 · Deepwater Horizon Documentary Special

Deepwater Horizon

Residents, oil workers and investigators of the American Gulf Coast disclose the events that led up to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

22:00 1h

Disasters at Sea

S2 · E6 · Death on the Staten Island Ferry True

Death on the Staten Island Ferry

Suspicion falls on terrorists when a Staten Island Ferry accidentally hits a pier, but the crew present a different theory why 11 passengers died.

23:00 1h

Disasters at Sea

S3 · E3 · Fire in the Hold True

Fire in the Hold

After a giant cargo vessel explodes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a team of investigators and chemists attempt to work out what caused the accident.