Smithsonian TV Guide — Monday, 13 July 2026

Browse the full Smithsonian TV guide for Monday, 13 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

VIP on Board True

VIP on Board

High-profile passengers involved in air disasters.

01:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S25 · E2 · Running on Empty Documentary

Running on Empty

A cargo plane approaching its destination runway in Cincinnati suddenly has both engines flame out, sending the whole plane down in a nearby golf course.

02:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S4 · E7 · Out of Sight Documentary

Out of Sight

In 1986, 80 passengers die when two planes collide in midair and crash into a Los Angeles neighborhood, and experts explain the cause of the accident.

03:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S3 · E4 · Lapse in Security True

Lapse in Security

Breakdowns in vital security protocol cause three terrible aviation catastrophes.

04:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S23 · E9 · Delivery to Disaster True

Delivery to Disaster

Investigators are led to a pilot with a long history of failures when an Amazon cargo plane crashes into a swamp outside Houston.

05:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S11 · E4 · Breakup Over Texas Documentary

Breakup Over Texas

As pilots prepare to land a commuter plane in Houston, it suddenly dives and its left wing falls apart, and the resulting crash kills everyone on board.

Morning

06:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S18 · E1 · Nuts and Bolts Documentary

Nuts and Bolts

On February 16th, 2000, Emery Worldwide Flight 17, a DC-8 domestic cargo flight, crashed into a salvage yard after taking off from Sacramento Mather Airport.

07:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S17 · E3 · Turning Point Documentary

Turning Point

One of the worst air disasters in the history of South Korea is examined as an analytical look is taken at the final moments on board Air China Flight 129.

08:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S15 · E7 · Deadly Delay Documentary

Deadly Delay

When Spanair Flight 5022 tries to takeoff, it immediately stops and swerves to the right, resulting in a crash that kills 154 people out of the 172 on board.

09:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

Landing Hazards True

Landing Hazards

A team of experts examines some of the world's worst air disasters by going through official reports, transcripts and interviews of the people who endured it.

10:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

Plane vs. Pilot True

Plane vs. Pilot

A compilation of true stories are presented about dangerous situations where the trust between pilots and their airplanes breaks down.

11:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S21 · E3 · Playing Catch Up True

Playing Catch Up

Video footage captures the final moments of ExecuFlight 1526 as experts try to determine why the plane crashed into a residential neighborhood.

Daytime

12:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S18 · E5 · Deadly Display Documentary

Deadly Display

On May 9, 2012, a Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner took off from Jakarta's Halim Airport on a demonstration tour in Indonesia and crashed on Mount Salak.

13:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

Trained to Fail True

Trained to Fail

Using official reports, transcripts and interviews with people who were on the plane when something went wrong, officials can now determine what happened.

14:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S1 · E1 · Communication Breakdown True

Communication Breakdown

Two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Tenerife North Airport making it the worst aviation accident of all time, because of a misunderstanding.

15:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S19 · E5 · Fuel Trouble True

Fuel Trouble

Crew mismanagement and mechanical failures causing fuel issues.

16:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

Dead of Night True

Dead of Night

Airplane catastrophes that occurred while darkness was in effect.

17:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

Cockpit Breakdown True

Cockpit Breakdown

Experts investigate catastrophes linked to mismatched pilots.

Evening

18:00 1h

Mayday: Air Disaster

S14 · E3 · Vanishing Act Documentary

Vanishing Act

In 1989, a Brazilian flight crew realizes too late that they're 30 miles past their runway and then has to belly-land in the jungle because they're low on fuel.

19:00 1h

The Codebreaker Who Hacked Hitler

True Special

Gordon Welchman was an integral part of the British team of cryptographers that gave the Allies access to the Germans' military plans during World War II.

20:00 1h

Hitler's Riches

Documentary Special

The show's host talks with the last surviving witness to the discovery of Adolf Hitler's will and visits the salt mine that housed Hitler's stolen artworks.

21:00 1h

Hunt for the Nazi Gold Train

Documentary Special

In southwest Poland, two treasure hunters excavate a train they discovered in a hidden tunnel as they believe the locomotive may hold Nazi gold.

22:00 1h

Treblinka: Hitler's Killing Machine

Documentary Special

An in-depth look is taken into the Treblinka extermination camp, located near the village of Treblinka in the country of Poland, where thousands died.

23:00 1h

Combat Trains

S1 · E3 · Nazi Railway Documentary

Nazi Railway

Germany was proud of its high-speed trains in the 1930s, and when World War II started, their railroads transported Holocaust victims to the death camps.