TV Guide Smithsonian Thursday

Landings can become catastrophes if pilots aren't ready when the runway comes into view.

Flydubai Flight 981 is forced into a holding pattern leading to a series of physical and mental errors that end in a fatal nosedive.

Exploring how pilots managed to stay in the air after planes experienced system failures.

An Air France Airbus A330 went down over the Atlantic Ocean, and the aircraft's cockpit voice recorders were found on the ocean floor two years later.

In July 1988 the crew of the U.S.S. Vincennes mistakes an Iranian commercial airliner for an attacking warplane and takes it down with a surface-to-air missile.

Three separate flight crews skip critical procedures in a rush to finish their flights, ignoring signs of danger.

Revolutionary designs and ship experiments change the tides of war over centuries.

Exploring four stories of uprisings across naval history including the infamous mutiny on the Bounty and the daring takeover of the brig Creole.

World War II operations involving stealth watercrafts, such as the submarine HMS Seraph, are examined in detail, as is the 1985 prototype Sea Shadow.

Exploring the maritime task forces and the Coast Guard who keep commercial vessels and US shores safe from pirates and drug smugglers.

Firsthand accounts detail the dangerous operation to storm the beaches of Normandy, France as a close look is taken at the technology behind the famed armada.

The heroism of U.S. sailors who held off the powerful Imperial Navy at the battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.

An in-depth examination of the amphibious assault ship, a type of amphibious warfare ship, which borrows its design from aircraft carriers, is conducted.

The F-111 bomber jet was a Vietnam-era failure that became vital in Libya and the Gulf War.

The ungainly-looking A-10 Thunderbolt fighter plane, affectionately called the "Warthog," protects American ground troops and outguns its competitors.

North American Aviation's P-51 Mustang fighter was requested by Britain's Royal Air Force, and its superiority helped to end World War II sooner.

Information about a heavyweight combat plane called the AC-130 is shared as an in-depth look is taken at the near downfall of the gunship's future.

Narrators Beau Weaver and Bob Naughton talk about how the P47 caused mayhem during WWII by bringing destruction to Nazis trying to fend off D-Day landings.

The flying machine that ultimately helped secure victory for the Allied Forces, with almost perfect symmetry it's equipped to cause damage and destruction.

The USAF's deadliest bomber in World War II campaigns in Europe and the Pacific, the B-17 Flying Fortresses were used by the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

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.

An in-depth look is taken at the Dambusters bomber squadron and their actions on D-Day, the Allied invasion of the French region of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

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.

Experts and veterans discuss the high-speed dives and pinpoint accuracy of the Junkers Ju-87 Stukas became a symbol of German power.

An analytical look is taken at the Supermarine Spitfire and the obstacles the aircraft faced before it could take on the Luftwaffe and dominate the skies.

Narrators Beau Weaver and Bob Naughton investigate how Little Bird helicopters that started as hunter-killers became life-saving rescue aircrafts.

Narrators Beau Weaver and Bob Naughton talk about Britain's flagship super jet during the Cold War and its most thrilling flights in the late 20th century.