Original subtitles

[Narrator] It is among the world's biggest water bombers...

With 33 tons of flame-killing payload.

[Man] When you get a big fire on your hands,

this is the aircraft that can get the job done.

[Narrator] It's constantly on call

to battle flames in the toughest conditions.

[Man] They don't call you

because there might be a fire tomorrow,

it's called because there's already something happening

really bad.

[Man 2] It's not for the weak at heart.

[Narrator] Now this Canadian plane

is on its most perilous mission ever.

[Man] A good chunk of Mexico is on fire.

[Man 2] It's a very dangerous business.

[Narrator] It's up to the mars to keep Mexico's wilderness

from going up in smoke.

Early spring on Sproat lake,

Vancouver island, British Columbia, Canada.

Home of Coulson's flying tankers and the mars,

one of the world's largest water bombers.

Coulson's mechanics are hard at it.

After a long winter in storage,

the mars needs to get in the air today.

[Steve Kendall] You come to work

and you prepare to get dirty every day.

[Narrator] Fires are already burning in the U.S. And Mexico.

And that means business.

Every hour on the lake is an hour off the pay clock.

The mars has fought fires in California,

British Columbia and across Canada.

So when the call comes, aircraft and crew must be ready to fly.

[Jim Messer] Mars always looks good

bobbing around Sproat lake.

It's coming together.

[Narrator] Jim Messer, operations manager for the mars,

is focused on preparing the plane

for the first test flight of the season.

[Jim] Yeah, we're just really getting geared up,

fire season in British Columbia.

You always get the scramble when you least expect it,

so just preparedness, go through the checklist.

[Narrator] The air crew is returning for the new season.

Everything looks good...

Until it isn't.

They've got an engine problem.

[Eugene Hulak] Everything's so old

that you don't know where to start.

Is it wiring? Is it mechanical?

Is it an overhaul part we just put on?

It's...

It keeps you thinking, keeps you hopping on your toes.

The stressful part of the job is being under the pressure

when the plane breaks,

when we're getting ready to go somewhere.

[Narrator] Seven mars seaplanes were built to haul U.S. Troops

and cargo during World War II.

By the late 1950's,

the flying boats were headed for the scrap heap.

But a group of BC foresters had an idea--

convert them into water bombers.

The mars was reborn.

After more than five decades, only two of the planes remained.

It looked like their firefighting days were over.

Then the mars found another savior.

[Wayne Coulson] The first time I saw the aircraft

was with my father when I was about 10 years old.

Back then, I just remember it being

one heck of a big aircraft.

[Narrator] In 2007, BC entrepreneur Wayne Coulson

saw an opportunity

to export their capabilities across the continent.

He upgraded one of the planes and started promoting the mars

for firefighting jobs across north America.

With its advanced avionics and firefighting technology,

there's no better weapon in the battle against forest fires.

[Wayne] These aircraft have been here for 50-some odd years,

they've done over 8,000 drops on wildfires.

These things kill fire, that's what they do.

[Narrator] The only mars still flying measures 117 feet long

and its tail reaches 38 feet above the water.

Its 200-foot wingspan is almost double that of a Boeing 737.

Fully loaded, it tips the scales at 165,000 pounds--

the same weight as a space shuttle.

The maintenance crew has spent an hour

sorting out the engine problem.

[Roy Copeland] with this little incident here,

just a simple thing,

a wire on an APU, vibration, eventually the wire let go.

[Narrator] A simple thing,

but one that can keep them grounded for days.

[Wayne] I know you've got lots to do.

[Narrator] Wayne needs his plane in the air,

because the mars has a gig.

[Wayne] Are you still going to do southern California?

[Narrator] The call came from Mexico.

Wildfires are scorching a remote mountain region

near the Texas border.

The flames can't be reached

with conventional firefighting equipment.

The only effective attack is from the air.

[Jim] Watching those fires for three weeks,

and sort of no progress, it feels like, anyways,

from just reading the papers.

[Wayne] Yeah, I think they want to bring the mars on.

So if we commit to that,

what kind of trouble could we get ourselves into?

[Jim] We're probably, you know,

two or three days from being ready.

[Narrator] But Mexico needs the mars yesterday.

Wayne takes the contract.

Now it's up to Jim and his team to deliver.

[Jim] You got to hurry up. Get going.

[Narrator] The maintenance crew goes into overdrive

to get the plane ready for action.

And it's not just the plane that must be prepared to fly.

Pilots Dev Salkeld and Peter Killin are career airmen

who have flown everything from tiny bush planes

to huge passenger jets.

[Peter Killin] she looks pretty darn good.

Nice and clean.

All ready to go to work.

Control Ops.

[Dev Salkeld] They are stowed.

[Pete] Power forward.

[Narrator] Despite their experience,

Dev and Pete must re-certify each season.

[Dev] TSN locked.

[Pete] Changeover switch.

[Narrator] Before they can bomb down to Mexico,

they'll need to take the mars through some target practice

to make sure their skills are razor sharp.

[Pete] It's serious flying.

And we make sure we know the limits of the aircraft

and ourselves.

And we go out and practice and get current

and get back to work.

[Dev] Probes and door lights, green.

-[Pete] Dump doors? -[Dev] Closed and green.

-[Pete] Flaps? -[Dev] Are up on the left.

[Narrator] 25 feet behind the flight deck,

engineers Roy Copeland and Dave Millman

help keep the mars in the air.

Typical of World War II era planes,

the number of controls and systems

would overwhelm the pilots.

[Pete] Pre-start checklist is complete.

[Dave Millman] The pilots steer it and control it in the air,

but we handle the power, the props, the fuel, the oil,

all the fire warning,

anything like that is all done from this station here.

[Dev] 1,100 on standby.

[Narrator] The engineer's control system

is the same as it was in 1946.

Up front, Wayne's made sure the cockpit avionics

are cutting edge.

[Roy] I sort of refer to it as star wars up here

to raiders of the lost ark in the back.

[Dave] Is she kicking? There she goes.

Sister hook is stowed, hatches secure.

[Dev] Okay, all set in the back?

-[Dave] Turning four. -[Man] Clear on four.

[Narrator] After a 20-minute warm-up of the engines,

the mars is ready to take to the skies.

[Pete] Props are up, let's get going.

[Dev] And engineer, pilot, full power, please.

[Narrator] Dev opens up the throttle.

The mars accelerates to 60 knots.

After another 30 seconds,

the plane has carved a mile long wake.

And then, it's up and away.

[Pete] Takeoff 1-7.

[Dave] It's a rush, especially when you're leaving the water,

and you can feel the power, as you're shoving it up.

It's amazing.

[Dev] The first time I saw the mars was about 20 years ago.

First thing I thought to myself was, I want to fly that.

[Narrator] Despite its modern flight deck,

the mars is old school.

There is no computerized fly-by-wire system.

This bird is all mechanical, and it flies that way.

[Pete] The feeling on the stick for me,

it's like driving a car without power steering.

It's really heavy.

It's not light on controls at all.

[radio chatter]

[Narrator] The first test is the water scooping system.

Dev and Pete guide the mars in

holding 80 knots of airspeed

until they hit the water.

[Narrator] Airspeed dips to 70 knots.

As the plane skims the water,

two probes extend from the bottom of the fuselage

forcing water into the holding tanks

at a rate of one ton per second.

It takes just 30 seconds to scoop up 7,200 gallons of water.

Minutes later...

[Pete] Flaps are up.

Doors are green.

[Narrator] 22 doors on the belly of the plane open.

[Dev] And three, two, one, now.

[Narrator] And those 33 tons are out in less than three seconds.

The mars is one step closer to pouring water on the real thing.

[Wayne] Down in Mexico, there's so much wildfire down there,

they want us 20-day contract, up eight hours a day,

until she's gone.

So that is going to be a real challenge for the guys.

[Narrator] But the mars is still a long way from being ready.

Two rigorous test flights remain,

and if there's any sign the plane or its team aren't ready,

Jim will have no choice but to pull the plug on Mexico.

The mars and its crew will be operating

over remote and unforgiving terrain.

So it's back in the air to practice worst-case scenarios,

in case the unthinkable happens.

[Dev] We'll be doing a loss of hydraulics.

We'll be doing a simulated engine failure on takeoff,

another engine failure while we're doing a pickup.

Wonder if we should do a broadcast on 23-zero.

[Pete] Just set it up.

[Dev] 35 engine.

[Narrator] Teamwork is key.

[Pete] Clock is set to zero, 20 seconds.

[Dev] Yeah, we're always working in a dangerous situation.

There's a lot of trust put into the fellows

that you're working with.

What do you figure, about 500 feet, Pete?

[Pete] 450.

Safety switch unlocked.

[Narrator] An hour later, the mars touches down.

[Pete] The flight was good.

I haven't seen what the engineers have for a snag sheet,

but I don't think it's too big.

[Dev] No, Roy seemed pretty happy.

[Pete] Yeah, yeah.

[Roy] It was tiddly boo, no problems whatsoever,

ran as advertised.

Perfect.

[Narrator] The mars is a step closer

to Mexico's raging wildfires.

But the flying boat needs some accompaniment in the air.

[Jim] Is the rest of the machine pretty well there?

[Narrator] Jim turns his attention

to another flying machine drafted for the mission.

Loaded with sophisticated navigation

and communications equipment,

this Sikorsky 76 helicopter will act as a scout.

Its secret weapon--

a heat-sensing infrared camera

that swivels like a giant eyeball.

[Brian McDonald] This is what takes it from

being a standard 76

to a great piece of firefighting equipment.

[Narrator] It's the Sikorsky's job to pinpoint the flames

and direct the mars to the drop.

[Jim] With the infrared camera,

you can find out where the hotspots are, through the smoke,

even if your visibility's low.

[Narrator] On Sproat lake,

Dev and Pete prepare for a final scoop test.

[Dev] Okay, we're just setting up,

we're on a downwind right now,

we're going to come around this way,

and we're setting up for a pickup.

[Narrator] If the giant plane has an achilles' heel,

it's the probes.

A failure could bring the drops to a halt.

[Pete] The probes can be temperamental.

The mechanics would have had them out, greased everything up,

put new springs in them where necessary.

Now we're going to go in

and just make sure everything's going to work fine.

[Dev] Probes going down.

Okay, we're lining up to test the drop.

Three, two, one, and bombs away.

Yeah, it was all good.

He called it a bull's-eye.

[Narrator] Dev's next target is a burning mountain range

half a continent away.

[Jim] There is a lot to do to get out of here,

and it's the fire business.

They don't call you because there might be a fire tomorrow.

It's called because

there's already something happening really bad.

We know we can make a difference down there,

so we've just got to make that happen.

[Pete] Alright. Mexico bound.

[Jim] Mexico bound.

[Narrator] But the mars wasn't built for speed,

maxing out at just 221 miles per hour.

It will take two days to fly to the base camp in Texas.

From BC, they'll fly 1,300 miles south

to lake Elsinore, California,

one of the few locations the plane can land to refuel.

After a brief rest, they'll head up and over the rockies

and descend into lake Amistad near del Rio, Texas.

[Jim] Ready to go? Everyone know the mission?

[Narrator] While the mars and the S76 get ready to fly,

a fleet of support trucks rolls out.

The convoy includes a command center, a fuel truck,

a mobile workshop, crew quarters, boats,

everything the team will need to operate

thousands of miles from home.

[Jim] It's always really exciting to get the mars show

on the road.

It takes a lot to pull it together.

But it's a really good start to be able to roll everything out

and just get to work.

[Narrator] But just before departure,

the mechanics find another snag on the mars.

[Jim] Either the engine rpm is not measuring right

or the prop rpm is not measuring right.

It's got to be resolved now.

[Narrator] The plane's radial engines are among

the most powerful ever produced.

Two rows of nine cylinders spin a counterweight

that drives the main crank.

At full throttle,

each massive engine delivers 2,500 horsepower

to spin the props 17 revolutions per second.

A faulty rpm reading could put the crew in danger,

giving the impression that they have more power

than they actually do.

[Erik Ovalsen] all we need is one snag,

and she's not going to get off the water.

[Narrator] Once again the maintenance team

is under the gun to puzzle out a fix.

[Man] It's an awful lot of work to get accomplished.

[Narrator] Two hours of detective work...

Finally a suspect.

[Erik] We're just getting the tach generator swapped out.

[Narrator] The tach generator measures the engine's speed.

They install a new one and ready the engine for another test.

[Erik] The troubleshooting that we did was quite extensive,

and we're crossing our fingers on this one.

[Narrator] After a last minute fix on the number three engine,

the mars is just hours from del Rio, Texas.

Jim and the support convoy are already on the scene.

For the next 20 days,

home will be a spit of land jutting into lake Amistad,

a reservoir straddling the U.S.-Mexico border,

just 30 miles from the closest fires.

[Jim] We certainly have our challenges in front of us.

There's a lot of fire out there,

so it's going to be long, hard and hot.

I think we can make a difference here,

but it's going to be a tough run.

[Narrator] Lake Amistad is not just home base for the team,

it's also where the mars will scoop water

to drop on the Mexican fires.

That water will be blended with a fire retardant

called thermo-gel,

creating a mixture that stops smoking timber from rekindling.

Getting the right mixture is critical.

[Jim] The right consistency of thermo-gel is pretty important.

If you drop just water, probably in these temps and RHS,

half of it won't hit the ground, it'll just evaporate.

[Narrator] Doug Sturlangson

is the team's thermo-gel technician.

After mixing up a few trial cocktails,

Doug finds his ratio--

one gallon of thermo-gel to every 100 gallons of water.

[Doug Sturlangson] Jim, you got a moment?

I ran some water quality samples down there.

[Jim] This is out of Amistad?

[Doug] This is out of the lake, yeah.

[Narrator] The mix feels right...

[Jim] It's a little bit more than webbing going on there.

[Narrator] But they won't know for sure

until they put it to the test.

[Jim] What we'll do, too,

is I'll try to get you a sample out of the mars

in our first day or so of operation,

and get you to confirm that we're within the parameters.

[Doug] That'd be awesome.

[Narrator] With the mars just a few minutes from lake Amistad,

owner Wayne Coulson arrives.

[Wayne] Jimmy, you made 'er.

[Jim] Hey, you made 'er, buddy.

-[Wayne] How you doing? -[Jim] Good, good.

[Narrator] Wayne has only read about the fires

while Jim has seen them firsthand.

[Jim] It's still a pretty desperate situation, Wayne.

There's 200,000 hectares burnt over there,

a lot of the fire is going to be really tough.

The key concern is fresh starts.

[Wayne] Yeah.

[Jim] There's some lightning forecasted in

and that's going to be key

that it doesn't get runaway on them.

[Narrator] Suddenly the mars announces its arrival.

[Jim] When the mars starts to approach,

it's pretty similar to 36 hells angels coming at you.

Welcome to lake Amistad, there she is.

We'll get at her now, get her on the water

and start getting her out to work.

Welcome, guys, base camp Texas.

The Mexican government is in, they're in a desperate spot,

they've got a lot of fire.

They don't have a lot of control at this point.

I think they're going to fly us hard.

So we're gonna have to do some things different.

We're just going to have to stay on top of the old girl,

hopefully we don't have a whole lot of issues.

[Narrator] The mars has to be ready at first light.

The pilots head to the hotel to rest.

[Pete] Okay, well, we'll see you.

[Jim] Okay. Good night, guys.

[Narrator] But for the maintenance crew,

this is the first of many long, hard nights.

[Erik] Okay, Steve, slow her down.

[Narrator] These guys may never see smoke or fire,

but their job is crucial to the fight.

[Jim] The night maintenance guys are under a lot of pressure

because they really do have to have that aircraft ready for us.

And they don't know what they're up against

when they start an engine inspection.

[Narrator] The flight from British Columbia

has rattled a few parts loose.

[Steve] Well, we've got a missing distributor cap here,

so we have to put a new one on.

So repair that.

We've got a couple accessory panels to fix.

[Erik] We really have to give

the engine a thorough look-through

so it's ready to go for firefighting.

[Narrator] By 6:00 a.m.,

the mars is tuned up and ready for day one.

But Jim isn't happy with what he sees in the sky.

[Jim] Kind of a diabolical morning...

Lightning and thunder.

[Narrator] One bolt could spark another fire,

and they've already got enough to tackle.

[Jim] A fresh lightning strike

could become 10 hectares or greater

in a matter of a few hours,

especially if it's in a remote area, undiscovered.

[Narrator] If the mars runs into trouble over the fire zone,

there's only one safe place to land--back at the reservoir.

So the engineers insist on a thorough two-hour inspection

of the plane before they fly.

[Dave] I was on 747s for almost 12 years,

and you can do a pre-flight on that in about 15 minutes.

So this is a little bit more time consuming.

[Narrator] It's a long list that includes checking the hatches...

[Dave] No gauges back here.

[Narrator] Fluid levels...

Every lever, knob and dial,

along with the outside

and inside of the wings.

[Jim] Okay, morning, guys.

We've got our mission for the day.

[Narrator] An hour from departure,

pilots Dev and Pete arrive and roll out the maps.

The first target is a half-hour flight to the southwest.

The Santa Rosa valley is heavily treed

and difficult to access by land.

Fires to the north and west could engulf the entire valley.

[Dave] What do you think about this wind?

[Pete] I like it, performance enhancing.

[Wayne] Anybody fighting fire, it's a very dangerous business.

There's a lot of variables that go on, second by second,

based on the temperature, the winds.

So you've got to have very experienced crews

that know what they're doing.

[Narrator] As the plane's crew mount up,

helicopter pilot Peter Neilly readies the Sikorsky S76--

the eyes of the mars.

[Peter Neilly] Long day.

[Narrator] The two aircraft will be partners in this battle,

with the Sikorsky guiding the mars

as close to the flames as possible...

But not too close.

[Peter] The most challenging part is making sure

that the mars stays out of trouble, basically,

and that you don't get the guys in a bad situation

that could possibly get them killed.

[Man on radio] Traffic in the del Rio area,

helicopter Charlie foxtrot India Romeo whiskey

will be departing del Rio,

left-hand turn climbing out from lake Amistad.

[Narrator] Dev and Pete prep the mars to follow.

[Dev] This is the center of it all

where the extreme fires are happening.

We're right in the thick of it.

Absolutely, a good test for the crew,

a good test for the aircraft.

[Narrator] Once in the air, they head south

and get their first look at the enemy.

Wildfires rage across an area

three times the size of New York city.

[Dev] When you can see that many fires

and you see how many men

and equipment they have working on it,

you know they're, they're behind the eight ball.

[Jim] Right up in this little inlet here on lake Amistad.

[Narrator] At base camp, Jim follows the mars

with a satellite-based flight tracking system.

Dev is right on course.

The mars will make up to eight drops

of 7,200 gallons of water each day.

[Dev] Just going to come over a bit of a ridge here, engineer.

[Narrator] 33 tons of water--

that's what makes the mars one powerful extinguisher.

Two other land-based water bombers have been sent home.

Returning to an airfield and reloading with water

was taking too long.

[Dev] Get the speed back a little bit.

[Narrator] But that efficiency comes at a steep price.

The gas bill can run as high as $3,000 an hour.

[Dev] We got one last ridge to go over.

[Narrator] At base camp,

the mars fuel truck receives its first load of aviation gas.

It will get refilled every two days.

[Klause Ridke] You know, she can probably use up 3,500

burning at about 500 gallons per hour, so.

And it's, that's a lot of fuel.

[Narrator] After eight drops and hours of flying,

the mars is running on empty and heading for lake Amistad.

[Dev] Lyl, go ahead.

[Jim] Yeah, Lyl, do you copy?

What's your ETA on the buoy?

[Dev] It'll probably be about 15 minutes from now, maybe 20.

[Jim] Alright, copy that.

Night crew in shortly and we'll be standing by.

[Narrator] The temperature is a sweltering 80 degrees,

but for the ground crew, this is game time.

[Jim] It all goes in a flurry when they land

and hit that water, because we've got 10 hours

to get her turned around and ready to go again.

[Narrator] Dev and Pete are exhausted

after a day in the action.

Neither has any doubt, this will be a long fight.

[Dev] Still lots of fire up on the hill.

[Jim] Is there?

[Dev] Oh, there was one fire there that was,

they weren't even fighting, it was so bad.

[Narrator] With the pilots released for the day,

the maintenance crew gets to work.

But a brewing storm threatens to blow their plans to bits.

[Jim] It's probably blowing 30 knots right now.

There's white caps beating in here.

Just had a panel on the ground, it blows off,

your tools blow off.

You know, we're almost at the impossible level

to keep working out there right now.

[Narrator] By nightfall, the storm is still raging.

[Man] The wind's a challenge,

you don't want to be dropping parts.

We're working always above water.

You fall from this height up here,

you're 20-30 feet above the water.

It's not for the weak at heart.

[Narrator] As midnight approaches,

the maintenance crew is working hard

to get the mars in shape for tomorrow's mission.

[Man] Get home before daylight for a change.

[Narrator] But mother nature is not cooperating.

[Erik] The biggest challenge being the weather,

like right now, it's starting to blow,

that's why I'm hanging onto the ring cowl here,

make sure I don't fall off.

It's pretty hard to cope with.

[Narrator] As the storm ramps up a notch, the team takes cover.

[Man] Shelter.

[Erik] We've actually had a federal weather warning

come over the radio, so heavy, heavy, really heavy winds

and thunderstorms and stuff.

So we're staying on the beach for now.

[Narrator] By 7:00 a.m. The skies have cleared.

But after a night of frustrating setbacks,

there is still maintenance work to complete

when the flight crew arrives at base.

Two hours behind schedule,

they're finally on board and ready for round two.

[Dave] Second engineer's back in his seat.

You're cleared for your pre-run up checklist.

[Dev] Okay, we're just gonna depart straight ahead

and we'll climb up to 3 or 400 feet.

[Narrator] Last night's lightning

strikes have sparked new fires and rekindled some old ones.

[Jim] The weather here has been absolutely violent.

We've had fresh starts,

we've had restarts of fires that were pretty well out.

So it's really thrown some challenges at us.

[Pete] It's really dry out there.

And fires are popping up all over.

[Narrator] Today the mars goes further south

where the overnight fires threaten untouched valleys.

The plane will make repeated drops,

with a ferry time of almost 40 minutes between scoops.

[Pete] Lyl, it's 76.

Yeah, Dev made the pass through.

[Narrator] The Sikorsky is already scooping the targets.

Chopper pilot Peter Neilly has spotted some tricky drops

for the mars.

[Pete] Slight right turn on the outbound.

Make it 100 degrees.

[Narrator] This is where their partnership really pays off.

[Peter] Alright, saving the data.

[Narrator] In the Sikorsky's cabin,

Jim Thomasson uses an infrared camera to see through the smoke

and target the burning heart of the fire.

[Jim Thomasson] Okay, I have it on target right now.

Switching to infrared.

[Narrator] Then Peter relays the coordinates to the mars.

[Peter] Lyl, 76.

[Dev] Roger.

[Peter] Yeah, Dev, it looks like the inbound run

is going to be east, 0-9-0.

Target elevation, 5,400 feet.

[Dev] Okay, we're just getting set up for the drop.

Line looks good.

We are armed for the salvo.

[Narrator] As the bomber heads in for its run,

the chopper follows to make sure the mars hit its target.

[Jim] Here comes the load.

Beautiful shot.

Right on the fire line.

How'd it look for you, Pete?

[Peter] Yeah, it looked like a real good shot,

looks like they got it all.

[Narrator] Another good day.

Plane and crew have performed flawlessly.

The mars heads back to base for a final scoop

to rinse out the tanks.

[Dev] Lima Yankee Lima, base.

[Narrator] But then, trouble--

one of the probes might be jammed.

[Dev] Yeah, we're inbound,

should be there in three or four minutes.

[Narrator] This is not what Jim wants to hear.

[Jim] What I can tell you is I hate probe issues,

that's what I can tell you.

[Narrator] The maintenance crew is on it

as soon as the mars touches down.

[Jim] Okay, so for benefit of the doubt,

we might be better off to pull both probes out tonight,

while you're in there anyway.

[Eugene] Yeah, it takes less time,

and then we can hopefully solve the issue.

There may be issues with both, who knows.

[Jim] I hope you find something.

Stay safe out there.

[Eugene] You bet.

[Narrator] The fix-it crew has only a few hours

of daylight left.

If they can't fix the probes,

operation Mexico ends right here.

[Erik] Without these, they do not pick up water,

which means we're not putting out any fires,

and that's what we're paid to do.

[Narrator] There's only one way to solve this problem--

those 90-pound probes have got to come out.

[Erik] Want me to do the first part?

[Eugene] Sure, you're feeling strong and you're younger.

[Erik] Ready?

[Eugene] Okay, we'll set it on the edge there.

[Erik] Yeah, roger.

Done.

[Narrator] The good news--

everything looks normal.

The bad news--

everything looks normal.

[Narrator] Everything seems a-okay.

But a closer look reveals the waterproof lubricant is gone.

And that's likely caused a jam.

Thousands of gallons of water rush past the extended probes

on every scoop.

After so many scoops,

the friction of that water has stripped the probes clean.

[Erik] It's night and day right here, aqua lube, perfectly dry.

I mean, nothing there.

We'll just have to lube that up, hopefully that was our issue.

We'll find that out.

[Narrator] It's another grueling all-nighter

to get the plane ready for daybreak.

[Man] We're tired, though, long night.

[Erik] Yeah, mission accomplished,

good to go for another day.

[Narrator] They finish up and head to bed

just as the flight crew arrives.

[Pete] Good morning.

[Jim] There's still a fair amount of fire behavior.

[Narrator] Inside the command truck,

Jim's on the radio with fire officials in Mexico.

Another satisfied mars customer.

[Jim] They're finding things very effective

with our coverage level on the ground.

I think it's going quite well.

[Dev] We've been averaging over seven hours a day now,

and been making some good progress on lots of fires.

[Pete] From all indications,

we're knocking down our targets.

[Narrator] By now the easiest targets have been dealt with.

What remains are the most stubborn fires

in the most precarious locations.

Today, the mars will navigate over high peaks

and through steep valleys,

striking the hotspots feeding surrounding fires.

After three successful drops

the plane is heading back to the reservoir for another scoop.

Engineer Roy leaves his post

to make a routine mid-flight inspection...

[Roy] I'm going out for a walk around.

[Narrator] ...and spots a serious problem.

[Roy] Go ahead with a feather on number four.

[Pete] Roger, feather on number four.

[Narrator] Back at base...

[Dev] Uh, mars base, it's Lyl.

[Jim] Lyl, go for base.

[Narrator] Jim gets the call he hoped would never come.

[Dev] We've had a problem with number four engine,

we've had to shut it down.

It looked like there was a fuel leak.

[Jim] Copy, inbound, four to five minutes.

Three engine procedure and cleared in to land.

[Narrator] This is where preseason practice pays off--

landing with three engines is part of the training.

[Jim] We're just going to head out on the lake,

standby for the aircraft to land.

[Narrator] As a safety precaution,

Dev brings the plane down well away from shore.

The mars is safely on the lake.

But towing the 100,000-pound craft to the anchor buoy

is dead slow.

Dev and Dave keep watch out the hatches

while Roy assists Jim in the boat.

[Jim] Not sure what the problem is yet.

Some sort of fuel flow, could be as simple as a line,

or a fitting, or something a lot more serious.

[Narrator] Once the plane's moored,

Jim climbs in to get the full story.

[Dev] We had no indication ourselves.

The engineers alerted to us.

One of them was doing a walk around,

noticed either some fuel or some oil

coming from number four engine.

[Narrator] With the maintenance team still on rest,

Jim's counting on the flight crew

to get the plane back in the game.

[Jim] We've already lost some hours on the day,

and like a good Indy pit stop,

we're still looking to try to scramble ourselves back out

and get over target.

[Narrator] At least it's not a fuel leak.

[Pete] Got an oil leak.

[Narrator] But until they can find the source of the trouble,

the mars is still on the sidelines.

After an hour they find the cause--

a loose coupling on an oil pressure transmitter.

[Pete] Just trying to put the accessory cowls back on.

I think we're okay.

[Narrator] Access ladder stowed, and they're ready to fly.

[Jim] We think it's all good now,

so we're gonna cast off the buoy and just do some checks

as they taxi off.

But we're pretty confident that it's all good.

[Narrator] The mars is back on the job.

The 66-year-old plane turns in and out of treacherous canyons

as if it were newly minted.

But then Jim checks his flight-tracking screen.

[Jim] Ahh.

Looks like it's coming in.

[Narrator] The mars is inbound to base,

and there are still hours of daylight left.

The plane is beyond radio contact,

and Jim isn't feeling optimistic.

[Jim] Dang.

I'm not sure what's going on.

My suspicions would say they've had a stuck probe on pickup,

and therefore, they're coming back.

[Narrator] Once again the mars

is making an unscheduled pit stop.

[Dev] Lyl, we'll be landing shortly.

[Jim] Copy that. Is that it for the day?

[Dev] Yeah, I guess so.

[Jim] Any issues with the aircraft?

[Dev] No, the airplane's working good.

[Jim] Woo-hoo!

[Narrator] Mexico's fire officials called an early end

to the day.

[Jim] And 76 will be inbound as well?

[Dev] You betcha.

[Jim] Copy that. Standing by at the boat.

[Narrator] 16 days into the 20-day contract,

the mars has extinguished all its targets.

One of the world's largest water bombers

has beaten back the worst of Mexico's wildfires.

[Pete] It was laying down pretty good.

You could tell where we had been.

[Dev] Yeah, quite a difference this afternoon

from this morning.

[Pete] Yeah, she performed like a top.

[Jim] You got the flight sheet there, Dev?

Yay. Thank you.

Just about 100,000 liters dropped.

Four drops, so 19-5 imperial gallons,

that's good numbers for four drops.

That'll have an impact for sure.

[Narrator] Until further notice, the mars is on standby.

That gives Wayne Coulson a chance to offer

one aviation enthusiast the ultimate flying experience.

[Rod Lewis] That'll wake you up.

[Jim] That wakes you up every time.

[Narrator] One of Wayne's pet projects

is to offer select pilots with a passion for the mars

a chance to fly it.

[Rod] You know the 3350s that we operate

are in sea furies or the rare bear.

[Narrator] Texas oilman and billionaire Rod Lewis

is a pilot and a collector of vintage aircraft.

Based in San Antonio, he made the trip out to del Rio

as soon as he heard there might be a chance to fly.

[Dev] Hi, Rod, welcome aboard the martin mars.

-[Rod] How are you doing? -[Dev] Yeah.

-[Rod] One awesome airplane. -[Dev] Yeah, thank you.

[Rod] Unbelievable, unbelievable.

[Wayne] The mars has done a really good job.

And it's great to have someone like Rod Lewis join us

as a aviation enthusiast to come and fly the mars

before we take her back home to BC.

[radio chatter]

[Dev] Roger.

[Narrator] Of the seven mars seaplanes built,

this is the only one still flying.

[Rod] Could I have a little friction, please?

[Dev] Roger.

[Narrator] Piloting the mars puts Rod

among a select group of aviators.

[Wayne] Well, how the hell was that?

[Rod] Unbelievable.

[Wayne] Yeah.

It gives a new meaning to the gentle giant.

[Rod] Oh, yeah. Unbelievable, unbelievable.

You've got a hell of a team.

[Wayne] Oh, thank you. Yeah, they're great people.

[Rod] Hell of a machine.

[Wayne] Yeah.

[Narrator] And a hell of a mission.

Dev and Jim can look back with pride

on what's been accomplished.

[Dev] We've been working many days here now.

So, and we are seeing some progress.

Fires are starting to lay down, and it's looking good,

so hopefully they're going to send us home pretty soon.

[Jim] It's been a long, hard grind, but we're there.

You know, we had some great missions,

lots of adverse weather,

wind and lightning that slowed us down,

but the old girl ran great.

Most fires are under control, the ground crews are in now.

Guys are pretty beat, time to pack up, time to head her out.

[Narrator] 105 hours of flying time.

16 consecutive days.

Half a million gallons dropped.

Down time?

Just three hours.

[Wayne] We could take this airplane anyplace on the planet

and I would not be concerned

that we would miss a day of work.

These guys are absolutely excellent,

they love the airplane, and they love the job.

[Narrator] At last it's time to head home.

[Jim] Alright, fuel's coming at you, bob,

your go-home fuel load.

This one will take you back, back up to BC.

[Narrator] They won't have long to rest.

Within days, the mars and her crew will be back at it,

battling blazes in the forests of British Columbia.

As it swoops low over lake Amistad,

Pete and the crew can't help wondering

how many more missions the mars has in her.

[Pete] Well, the airplane's 66 years old.

It's probably going to end up in a museum one day.

I hate to see it retire,

but you know, when it goes for its rest,

it'll be well earned.

[Narrator] Until that day,

the mighty mars will keep on fighting fires

like no other aircraft can.