Devastating systems failures in the air puts pilots to the test and shines a light on three astonishing feats of flying. A DC-10 loses all hydraulics when an engine explodes over Iowa, the crew of Qantas Flight 32 is overwhelmed by alarms after an explosion rocks their massive A-380, and a Northwest Airlines 747 is cruising 35,000 feet above the Bering Sea when the unthinkable happens.

From the wreckage of three aeroplane crashes, survivors emerge to tell harrowing tales and provide critical data about what to do in an emergency.