The Point of No Return ; Terror at 37,000 Feet

On 60 Minutes this week Adam Hegarty speaks with distraught mothers who have been forced to give up their kids, and flown to their fathers in foreign territories.The Point of No ReturnThis is a story that's upsetting to watch. 60 Minutes has obtained disturbing footage showing young Australian girls being forcibly taken from their mothers by Australian police officers, so they can be flown overseas, back to their allegedly violent foreign fathers. To any lay person, that this could even happen defies logic. However, the reason it does is due to an international treaty Australia has signed. It's called the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Originally written to protect children, Adam Hegarty reveals there are now serious questions about whether that intention remains the case. In this investigation, he speaks with distraught mothers who have been forced to give up their kids, and are demanding the federal government fix what seems like a glaring failure of duty to look after its young citizens.Reporter: Adam HegartyProducer: Laura SparkesTerror at 37,000 FeetIt was a flight into hell. Two years ago, high over southern Myanmar, a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 flew into some of the most extreme turbulence ever encountered by a commercial aircraft. There was panic on board as passengers and crew were flung around the cabin. One man died and dozens more, including Australians, were seriously injured. Last week Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau quietly released a report into the tragedy. It agreed with a conclusion 60 Minutes had reached 20 months ago, that the pilots had flown straight into the path of a huge, developing thunderstorm. But why would experienced aviators do something so obviously dangerous?Reporter: Adam HegartyProducer: Garry McNab