Sunday

Engineers had no choice. They had to build a "floating bridge" in Kelowna, British Columbia. Lake Okanagan was too deep and too muddy to sink columns to support a standard bridge. So the engineers designed a bridge of nine pontoons, each as long as a football field. Then they decided to make the floating pontoons out of concrete! But, with only a dozen or so floating bridges around the world, no one has any experience building a floating bridge. Engineers and work crews must learn from scratch how to build the 6000 tonne pontoons. Then marine crews must tow the concrete behemoths across the lake, and line up each pontoon to the next to tolerances of millimetres. It's a tense day when the pontoon that marine project manager Kevin Giberson and his second in command Kevin Hamakawa are towing is pushed dangerously close to submerged cables by trick lake currents. But after two and a half years of hard work through blistering Canadian summers and frigid winters, Kelowna and the world gets a new floating bridge.

Throughout history the same builders and engineers that paved man's path out of the caves and into the modern world also caused some of mankind's worst disasters. Often a huge calamity is traced back to a tiny cause, insignificant in itself, but triggering a domino effect. We'll revisit notable disasters and search for probable causes.

When design flaws fell projects the cost is often exacted in lives as we see in this look at engineering disasters. Why did the Tower of Pisa begin to lean by as much as 17 feet; what caused the first nuclear accident in 1961 in Idaho; what killed the three Soyuz 11 cosmonauts aboard the world's first orbiting space station; how did a winter storm destroy the Air Force's Texas Tower Radar Station, killing 28; and what errors led to NASA's loos of the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander?

In the skies above North Korea, a new kind of air war is raging at 500mph...jet vs. jet dogfighting for the first time in history. American pilots bravely pit their F-86 Sabres against Communist MiG-15s. They will re-define air combat in pursuit of a previously unknown glory...the title of "Jet Ace." Their missions are fraught with peril. The new jet aircraft fly at nearly twice the speed of the piston-driven fighters of WWII. At edge of the speed of sound, life or death is decided in fractions of a second and tactics have to evolve quickly to meet the break-neck pace of jet combat. On May 20, 1950, Capt. James Jaraba rushes headlong into combat despite a malfunctioning jet. He claims his fifth and sixth victories in the resulting dogfight, becoming the first American ace of the jet age.

Machine gun fire rips through the fuselage. Flames fill the cockpit and the aircraft plummets in a wild spin. But time and again the pilot of a P-47 Thunderbolt pulls out and keeps on fighting. Over occupied Europe, the P-47 Thunderbolt blazed a reputation as the most rugged fighter of WWII. Pilot Robert S. Johnson flies with the renowned 56th fighter group. His flight is jumped by 16 deadly Focke-Wulf 190s. As hundreds of enemy rounds impact his fighter, Johnson's life depends on the legendary protection his armored cockpit affords. In June 1944, Lt. George Sutcliffe enters the fight of his life in an effort to escape 40-plus Me109s looming above him. The Thunderbolt's defensive capabilities inspired confidence in its pilots. But the aircraft was a dogfighter at heart.

It's 1990. General "Stormin" Norman Schwarzkopf has been watching Saddam Hussein maneuver in the Middle East. He knows the Iraqi dictator has a massive army. He knows Hussein is capable of extreme brutality. Now, Schwarzkopf sees signs that the dictator is about to launch a massive invasion.

It was to turn into the bloodiest and most heroic chapter in the history of the US Marine Corp. During WWII, this tiny well-fortified island acted as an advance Japanese airbase, able to identify and attack American bombers on their way to Tokyo. As the Americans advance across the Pacific, it is seen as a critical stepping-stone to the attack on mainland Japan. Garrisoned by 21,000 soldiers and fortified with a network of underground bunkers, it proves to be impervious to bomber attack. General Holland M. “Howlin’ Mad” Smith’s battle-hardened Marines to clear hidden pockets of resistance. By the time the island is finally cleared and the American flag flies unchallenged over Mt. Suribachi, only 212 Japanese survive.

In a sneak attack, German forces storm Ardennes, where Allied forces are spread thin. Their goal is to take back Antwerp, separate Allied forces, and control their supplies. The devious attack catches U.S. troops off guard, and brutal winter weather prevents them from launching an air strike. It’s up to General Eisenhower to keep the Germans from breaking through. Ike rallies the troops, employs a bold strategy of redirection, and with the fierce fighting of the tough American G.I., forces the Germans to retreat for good.

Putting viewers in the position of decision makers at historic events.

Each episode contains an event in history that has never been conclusively solved. In every episode, a team of scientists tries to solve the case.

The roots of America's War on Drugs reveals secret assassination attempts, the CIA's bizarre experiments with LSD and support of heroin traffickers, LSD parachuting from the sky, and how it led to a five decade war.

Cocaine lands in America from secret airports, lining the pockets of violent cartel bosses, and an infamous "black widow", as the CIA's shadow wars have unintended consequences. President Reagan cracks down as crack invades the USA.

American cities are exploding with drug violence as the Clinton administration opens the door for Mexican cartels and ramps up prison sentences. An unlikely meth queen rises, while a crime lord takes vengeance.

After 9/11, heroin lords and terrorists forge an unholy alliance. Afghanistan is a Narco state. El Chapo goes on the run. Big Pharma becomes the new big drug lord as Americans get addicted and ponder if the war on drugs is worth it.

Documentary taking a look at fierce and unexpected attacks by unfamiliar assassins.

Documentary taking a look at fierce and unexpected attacks by unfamiliar assassins.

Documentary taking a look at fierce and unexpected attacks by unfamiliar assassins.

Documentary taking a look at fierce and unexpected attacks by unfamiliar assassins.