The world’s oceans are as beautiful as they are deadly. Thousands upon thousands of miles of empty water. If a ship encounters trouble far from land, there is little those onboard can do, except hope for rescue. Though sinking may seem to be the worst that can happen to a ship at sea, it’s actually fire that creates the most horrific pain and suffering.

In the first part of the 20th century, a seeming miracle took place. Humans learned how to fly. But the quest to reach for the skies came with tremendous danger. Events and circumstances that in an instant could turn deadly. Every time a new barrier was pushed, the limits of gravity pushed back harder, making every advancement in the world of aviation one that was paid for in blood.

They can turn bright blue skies dark as the night. They can, in an instant, make entire cities disappear. They can crush the human spirit with unflinching indifference. They are natural disasters, unforgiving forces of nature that bend steel, smash concrete, and rip human bodies to shreds. Rampaging floods, roiling oceans, boiling mountains of lava. The beauty of nature can turn on a dime, creating some of the most horrific events ever recorded in human history. Names like Vesuvius, Galveston, Johnstown are tragic reminders of an unbridled power unleashed without warning, destructive forces that can catch even the most wary souls off guard, wiping them from the face of the Earth.