Inventing the jet engine came with a few disasters

The act of dive bombing during World War II was a death defying trial of skill and nerve. You aimed your aircraft down, four miles above the ocean, and plummeted at speeds of up to 275 miles per hour.

The Terrifying Physics of World War II Dive Bombing (3:43)

During the battle of Midway, dive bomber Dusty Kleiss scored a direct hit on the Japanese carrier Hiryu by anticipating its next move: he aimed for where he thought it was going, rather than where it actually was.

U.S. Pilot Scores a Direct Hit on the Carrier Hiryu (2:56)

The sinking of the Titanic and the ensuing loss of life was horrific enough to prompt major action: in 1914, 16 nations formed an international patrol to scour the oceans for icebergs.

The Loss of the Titanic Led to "Iceberg Patrols" in the Atlantic (2:34)

Dusty Kleiss is a bonafide American hero: a veteran pilot of the Battle of Midway, and one of the most effective dive bombers in U.S. military history.

This Pilot Was the Unsung Hero of the Battle Of Midway (2:30)

Investigators suspect that a design flaw in old 737s—later fixed by Boeing— may have caused the September 14, 2008 crash. But was it addressed in Aeroflot-Nord Flight 821?

Was Flight 821 Brought Down by a 737 Design Flaw? (2:47)

720 million years ago, life on Earth was just about to take off. But a violent volcanic eruption in Northern Canada may have slowed down the process, thanks to clouds of ash that blotted out the sun.

Did a Volcano Eruption Slow the Development of Life? (3:00)

After the carnage of World War I, the U.S. Army Air Corps saw the need for a new type of plane with the range, altitude and speed to effectively bomb its targets. Boeing soon obliged with the powerful B-17.

The B-17 Bomber Changed the Face of Aerial Warfare (1:59)

The focus of the investigation into the crash of TAROM 371 on March 31, 1995 turns to the soundness of the pilots—everything from their experience level, to their medical and mental well-being is examined.

Were Tarom Flight 371 pilots fit to fly? (2:29)

Just before it crashed on April 4, 1994, the captain of KLM Flight 433 reported an oil pressure alarm. But investigators found no evidence of a problem—so how do we explain the discrepancy?

How an oil pressure alarm misled pilots (2:58)