All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S05E06.Into.the.Eye.of.the.Storm.1080p.PMTP.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

Narrator: One of the most
powerful hurricanes

of all time...

Man: I've never seen
anything like it before, ever.

Narrator:
Crashes ashore in 1989.

Man:
Look at those wind speeds.

Narrator: Hurricane hugo
creates mayhem on the ground.

Man: At the time,

it was the costliest
u.s. Hurricane in history.

Narrator: While in the air...

Pilot: I can't get
the left wing down.

Man: Mother nature's
got a hold of my airplane.

Pilot: Don't force it.

Narrator: The killer storm
is ripping apart

a government research plane.

Man: She's taking it where
she wants to take it.

Pilot:
We're losing number three!

Pilot: I don't believe this.

Man: Number three
engine's on fire.

Pilot: More power!

Man: The pilot lost control
of the aircraft.

Pilot:
That's all we're gonna get.

Man: He started
plunging downwards.

Pilot: It's not enough.

Man: I thought death
may be coming.

Flight attendant:
Ladies and gentlemen,
we are starting our approach.

Pilot: We lost both engines!

Flight attendant:
Put the mask over your nose.

Emergency descent.

Pilot: Mayday, mayday.

Flight attendant:
Brace for impact!

Controller: I think I lost one.

Man: Investigation starting...

Man: He's gonna crash!

Narrator: The world is watching

as hurricane hugo
churns across the atlantic.

It's a massive cyclone,
over 375 miles wide.

The storm is marching steadily
toward the caribbean

and threatens to hit land
in less than two days' time.

On dozens of islands
and along the u.s. Coastline,

people rush
to get out of hugo's path.

But high above the ocean,

a team of hurricane hunters
is doing the exact opposite.

Man: Do you have 90?
I've got 95 on this.

Narrator:
They're heading straight
for the eye of the storm.

Jeffrey masters:
Whenever you're approaching

a hurricane for the first time

you always have a little bit of
that tingling, like anxious...

You know, what is this storm
gonna be?

All storms have
different characters,

they all have different
personalities,

and a lot of times
they can be pretty mean.

Man: 40 minutes out.

Enjoy the sunshine
while you can.

Man: Roger. Enjoying sun.

Narrator: Noaa 42
is a scientific research plane

with the national oceanic
and atmospheric administration,

or noaa.

Masters: We had a who's who

of hurricane scientists
flying with us,

some of the most experienced
hurricane scientists

in the world.

Narrator:
By flying into the storm,

the scientists on board
can precisely measure

wind speeds, temperatures,
and pressure--

valuable data
to help predict hugo's path

and ultimately save lives.

Jeffrey masters
is noaa 42's flight director.

Masters: It's my job to guide
the aircraft into the eye,

so I have to tell the pilot,
"Ok, come left 10 degrees

and change your track
to this particular track."

Gerry, let's go
with a track of 0-7-0

until we get a little closer.

So I was issuing commands
to the pilot, as well,

studying the winds,

making sure we were going to go
right into the eye.

Man: Turning to 0-7-0.
Thanks, jeff.

Narrator:
At the controls is gerry mckim.

A navy pilot for 20 years,

he's flown into
four previous hurricanes.

Gerry mckim: People think we're
crazy for flying into hurricanes

and not one of us
have a death wish,

not one of us want to get hurt.

We just do our job.

Mckim: What are you
thinking for speed?

Man: I'm thinking
we blast our way in.

Let's try to keep it
at 250 knots.

Narrator: The flight's commander
is lowell genzlinger,

one of the most experienced
hurricane pilots in the world.

Lowell genzlinger:
It's my 13th season.

This penetration
was the 249th penetration.

Narrator: Since hurricane
reconnaissance flights began

in the 1940s,

two u.s. Air crews
have been lost,

17 people killed.

Genzlinger: I guess
you probably would need to be

kind of a...maybe a risk taker,
something like that, yeah.

Probably not everybody
wants to do it.

Narrator: The noaa crew
took off from barbados

in a p-3 orion turboprop.

It has the power it needs to
penetrate the strongest storms.

Mckim:
It's a very tough airplane.

It's stubby wing with
four big huge engines on it.

It's very, very powerful,
built like a tank.

It can take turbulence.

It can take a beating
and keep on ticking,

so it's a good airplane.

Masters: The p-3s
are flying laboratories,

and they've got
over $10 million

worth of specialized
weather equipment,

so they've got the best
sort of weather picture

you can possibly get
in the air.

Narrator: 45 minutes out
from the storm,

noaa 42 is cruising
at just under 10,000 feet.

Scientist frank marks
monitors his radar

while preparing
for the mission ahead.

Frank marks: We're flying out,

and we have a pretty good
radar perspective.

We can see...you know, the eye
was very clearly obvious,

and we were focused on
getting this experiment

called the hurricane
energetics experiment.

Masters: The object of this

was to study the storm's
interaction with the ocean,

and in order to do that,

you need to fly at low level
near the ocean.

Narrator: The mission
will require noaa 42

to descend
just 1,500 feet above the water

before entering the storm.

30 minutes behind noaa 42,

an air force reserve c-130
is also heading for the storm.

Man: Turn left now to track hugo
on heading 0-6-6.

It will be hard to miss.

Narrator;
robert katz is the navigator.

Robert katz: We were told
it was a major hurricane,

and that's always
just a little bit nerve-racking

and exciting at the same time.

Narrator: The planes will
work together inside the storm

to get a more complete picture
of hugo's strength

so they can gauge how dangerous
hugo will be when it hits land.

Masters:
If we stay on this heading,

we should take it in
nice and straight.

We were the first aircraft
to go into the storm,

and that always adds
a little element of danger

because the only way
you know for sure

how strong a hurricane is

is if you've actually had
a flight go into it.

Narrator; at the national
hurricane center in miami,

miles lawrence
is also watching hugo closely.

He needs to know
what kind of warning to issue

to those living in the path
of the storm.

Miles lawrence: I was busy
turning the crank

back at the hurricane center,

plotting the data on maps

and entering it in the computer

and trying to make my forecast.

Narrator: Hurricanes are among

the most destructive
forces in nature,

causing billions of dollars
in damage.

Since 1983,

they have claimed an average
of 47 lives each year.

Lawrence: You can look
on the satellite picture

and see that, "hey, there's
something going on here,"

so we knew there was
something going on,

but was it gonna
get that strong?

We didn't know that,

not looking at
a satellite picture.

Looks like we need
to keep an eye on this one.

Genzlinger: We go in,
we look around, we go home.

Mckim: That's the plan.

Narrator: While they fly,

noaa 42 will transmit
regular bursts of weather data

back to the hurricane center.

Masters: There is
a aircraft satellite data link,

so every 30 seconds,
it just takes a snapshot

of what we're seeing
with the instruments,

and so they can see
the progress of the storm.

Narrator: They prepare
to begin their descent.

Masters: Oh, crap!

Narrator:
A crucial instrument fails.

Masters: Guys, my belly radar
just went down.

Just...try that.

Check the board.

Narrator: The team is relying
on two onboard radar systems

to help guide the flight
through the chaotic storm.

The most critical one
has suddenly gone dead.

Genzlinger: Jeff,
how's the heading looking?

Narrator: Without their lower
fuselage radar,

the crew is now flying
partly blind.

Masters:
Yeah, just stand by, lowell.

We just lost our belly radar.

Mckim: I have a nose radar.

It's a c-band radar also,
just like the belly radar,

but it's not as powerful
as this belly radar.

Masters:
Yeah, ok, I'm coming up.

The nose radar didn't have
as long a range

and we couldn't see
the eye wall with it.

Just try to
troubleshoot this.

I'm gonna go talk to the boss,
all right?

Hey, guys, sorry about that.

Marks: Is it fixable?

Masters: I think so.

I mean, yes, yeah.

Genzlinger: That-a boy!

We got technicians
and electronic engineers

on the back.

They're working,

and they have to reboot it
or do whatever they do.

Narrator:
The mission is in jeopardy.

Masters: This is big science,
big expensive science,

and you don't want to
screw up the science

by not going with the plan.

Narrator: Until they fly in,

neither crew will know
exactly how ferocious

the storm really is,

but satellite images

predict winds as fast
as 125 miles an hour--

the kind of winds
no commercial airliner

would ever attempt
to fly through.

Katz: All we knew
when we took off

was it would be above
a category-three hurricane,

and for the air crew

that always means
a possibility of a good ride.

That's the way we term it.

Narrator: Hurricanes are rated
on a scale from one to five.

A category three

means winds between
110 and 130 miles an hour.

It can destroy mobile homes
and cause major flooding.

Masters: The lower fuselage
radar was out about 20 minutes,

and we circled in place
for that period of time,

waiting for them to fix it,

and that was about as long
as we were willing to wait

because we had limited fuel
to finish the mission.

Nice. That's great.

Hey, hugo,
it's good to have you back.

Narrator: On noaa 42,
repairs are complete.

Masters: Uh, lowell,
radar's up.

Genzlinger:
Knew you could do it.

Ok, no more excuses.
Let's get in there.

Narrator:
Masters quickly evaluates

the current status of the winds.

The storm
has increased in strength.

Masters: I watched the displays
of the numbers,

watching the winds come up,

and I thought to myself, ok,
this is probably not so good.

I think maybe
this is a little stronger

than a category-three hurricane.

Narrator:
Forecasters on the ground

also see signs that hugo's winds
are gaining strength.

Lawrence:
How strong was it gonna get?

Was it gonna reach
category five?

Were the winds gonna get
to 150 miles an hour,

or were they gonna stop at 130?

I had no idea.

This storm could do some damage
if it makes landfall.

Narrator:
As they approach hurricane hugo,

the crew of noaa 42
prepares for their mission.

Mckim: Unless anyone
has any objections...

Genzlinger: I'm good.

Marks: I'm good.

Mckim: Down we go.

Narrator: They're planning
to fly through the storm

barely 1,500 feet
above the ocean.

Marks: In a hurricane,

the winds are strongest
down at the low level.

We call it
the planetary boundary layer.

So if you're flying
at 500 meters,

you're right at the level

where the winds
are probably the strongest.

That's 1,500 feet.

Genzlinger: 4,000 feet.

Narrator: The low altitude

is an ideal place
to study this storm.

Mckim: Steady as she goes.

Narrator: But it's also
a more dangerous place to fly.

Genzlinger: 3,000.

Mckim: The lower you go
into the storm,

the more violent it is.

At 20,000 feet
it can still be rough,

it can still be violent,

but it's not nearly
as rough or as violent

as down at 1,000 or 1,500 feet.

Masters: You don't have
a big margin of error at all

if you're at 1,500 feet
in a hurricane.

You could encounter downdrafts
that'll drive you down

at 500 feet
or maybe a thousand feet,

without the pilot being able
to do anything about it.

Masters: Uh, lowell,
we are drifting.

Narrator:
The newly repaired radar

helps masters
guide the plane into the wind.

Masters: Let's get over
another 10 degrees left.

Genzlinger: Roger.
10 degrees left, track 0-8-0.

Mckim: Turning left 0-8-0,
coming right up.

Narrator: After noaa 42 enters
the hurricane at 1,500 feet,

the air force c-130
will follow them in

at a much higher altitude--

10,000 feet.

Katz: They preceded us
by about 30 or 45 minutes

into the hurricane.

Noaa 42, this is teal 57.

Confirm your altitude through
the eye wall will be 1,500 feet.

We always make contact
with the noaa airplanes

to make sure that
we coordinate our locations.

Genzlinger:
Teal 57, noaa 42.

That's right, we are now
descending to 1,500 feet.

Katz: Roger noaa 42.

Genzlinger:
Ladies and gentlemen,

please fasten your seat belts

and put your trays
in the upright position.

Set condition one.

Narrator:
Condition one alerts the team

to buckle up and brace
for heavy turbulence.

It will take 20 minutes

to fly through the outer wall
of the hurricane...

With winds growing
stronger and stronger

until they reach
the calm eye of the storm.

Masters: All right, guys,
let's do this.

I was definitely on edge
as we approached hugo.

I mean, this was
a big, powerful hurricane.

Narrator: Noaa 42 first enters
the outer edges of the storm--

long spiral arms
made of powerful thunderstorms.

Genzlinger:
It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Masters:
Immediately it gets dark,

and you start hearing
the hammering sound of rain

on the fuselage.

And the window
gets streaked with rain,

and you can see the wing tip

start to bounce
up and down, up and down,

but you can't see very far.

You're kind of in
this gray cocoon.

Mckim: Seriously?

It was very rough.
We were being thrown around

before we even got
to the eye wall--

not to the point
where we were out of control;

we were just
being thrown around.

Narrator: Genzlinger
joins mckim on the controls.

Genzlinger:
Two against one.

Now it's a fair fight.

Mckim: Yeah.

Genzlinger:
The controls are connected,

so when one guy
would turn it to the left,

the other guy
is still on it, too,

so you're both doing
a coordinated effort

to try and keep the wings level
and watch the pitch.

Mckim:
We don't see anything.

There's no ground reference,
there's no sky reference.

You don't see anything.

You're on full instruments
inside the airplane

looking at
your artificial horizons,

your air speed gauges,
your altitude gauges,

and whatever else tools
you have in the cockpit

to guide you.

Narrator: The powerful winds
are blowing the plane sideways.

To counteract the wind

and fly straight
through the storm,

the pilots must keep their plane
skewed to the left

at a sharp angle.

Mckim: The winds
are going counterclockwise

as we're going
into the eye wall,

so they're coming
from my left side,

so I have to point
the nose of the airplane

into the wind

to keep myself going
on the same track.

It's a very intense time
in the cockpit.

Genzlinger: So we were at least
45 degrees crabbing,

which means we were tracking
45 degrees right of our center,

so you got to forget where
you're pointing the airplane.

You got to just think about
where your track is going.

Masters:
Lowell, we're getting off track.

You've got to go left
five degrees.

Genzlinger: Roger.
Five degrees left.

Mckim: Five degrees left.

Genzlinger:
Easy does it. Not too far.

Marks:
We're in heavy rain.

The wind is going
up and up and up and up...

Narrator: Despite
the turbulent conditions,

team members continue
collecting data for the mission.

Masters: We were expecting
a strong hurricane,

so, you know, the thought was
well, we'll follow the plan.

Narrator: At the national
hurricane center,

scientists receive a burst
of data from the planes.

Lawrence:
Look at those wind speeds.

Narrator: It reveals
increasing wind speeds

and dropping pressure
inside hugo--

a sure sign that the storm
is getting worse.

Lawrence: Think this storm's
going all the way?

We were thinking in terms of
a category-two, three hurricane,

and now we've got something
which is almost a category five.

Narrator: On board noaa 42,

jeffrey masters is coming
to the same conclusion.

Masters: I hope I'm wrong.

I really hope I'm wrong.

There'd only ever been
one category-five hurricane

in recorded history
out this far east,

and I had never been
in a hurricane

at that low an altitude
that was that strong.

Narrator: A hurricane
is classed as a category five

if it has sustained wind speeds
of 156 miles per hour or higher.

When they hit land,

they can rip buildings
clean off their foundations.

Flying through one safely

is the biggest test
any pilot could face.

Mckim: Oh!
Let me off this ride.

Narrator: Mckim knows that
turning around is not an option.

Mckim: We don't do u-turns.

Once we make the commitment
to go in, we go in.

Narrator:
In such fierce crosswinds,

banking his plane to turn

could send it tumbling
to the sea.

Mckim: I'm having to point
the nose more to the left

because the winds are getting
stronger and stronger.

Genzlinger: Let the plane
find where it wants to be.

Mckim: I'm trying, but she
doesn't know what she wants.

Genzlinger: In all directions,
you were getting knocked around,

up and then down
and then sideways.

You wonder how the airplane
stayed together.

Genzlinger:
You're losing altitude

and drifting too far left.

Mckim: I'll take more power.

Mother nature's
got a hold of my airplane,

and she's taking it
where she wants to take it--

mother nature disguised
as hurricane hugo.

Narrator: Suddenly,

the plane begins banking
dangerously to the right.

Masters: I'd never experienced
anything like this.

There was this big kind
of thundering, shaking sound.

The whole airplane
just kind of quivered.

I thought maybe
we were goners here.

Mckim: I'm trying to
pull back on the rudders,

and I can't do it.

Mckim: I can't get
the left wing down.

Genzlinger: Don't force it.

Mckim: And I look
at lowell over there,

and he's doing the same thing.

Narrator:
The sudden turbulence

shakes heavy equipment loose
in the cabin.

Masters: We had our 200-pound
life raft break loose.

Hang in there, guys.

Knives and forks from the galley
were all flying around.

Extremely dangerous situation.

Mckim: We're in an angle of bank
going down...

At that next second,

the number three engine fire
warning light comes on.

Genzlinger:
We're losing number three.

Mckim: I don't believe this.

Genzlinger:
Number three engine's on fire.

Masters: I remember thinking

this is what it feels like
to be in battle

and to be shot at,

and, you know,
death may be coming.

Mckim: Options?

Genzlinger: Not many.

Narrator:
With one engine on fire,

they're losing altitude fast.

Genzlinger:
It was coming out the tailpipe--

flames for quite a distance.

We got to shut it down.

Mckim: Go.

Narrator: If the crew doesn't
shut the engine down quickly,

flames could engulf
the entire plane.

Genzlinger:
Emergency shutdown handle!

Narrator: Pulling the handle
starves the engine of fuel

and douses the flames.

But the loss of an engine

has left them
in a dangerous bank,

and they're still
losing altitude.

Mckim: More power.

The air speed's increasing
'cause we're going down now

and we had all the power on
in the airplane,

so we have our hands full.

More power.

Genzlinger:
That's all we're going to get.

The throttles
are at the firewall.

Mckim: It's not enough.

Masters: The pilot
lost control of the aircraft.

We started plunging downwards
toward the ocean.

Mckim:
The next thing that happens--

bam.

We're through the eye wall.

Oh, thank god.

Genzlinger:
I've never been happier

to see the inside
of a hurricane.

Narrator: The crippled plane
has made a narrow escape,

emerging into the relative
safety of the hurricane's eye.

Mckim: It's just a big sigh
of relief--

phew. We're in the eye.
Now what?

Narrator:
The air in the eye is calm.

Mckim: We got to climb.

Genzlinger: Yep.

Narrator: But noaa 42
desperately needs altitude.

They're less than
a thousand feet above the ocean.

Genzlinger: No way you could
ditch or anything

because the waves
were 60 feet high,

and, you know,
who wants to go down there?

So you just wondered

how we were gonna be able
to pull this thing out.

Narrator:
The only way out of the storm

is back through it,

but with only
three engines running,

reentering the eye wall
at this low altitude

would be suicidal.

Masters: The hurricane hunters

had never been through
something like this before

and survived.

Genzlinger: Let's try
to get her up to 6,000.

Narrator: Their only hope

is to try to exit the eye
at a higher altitude,

where the winds
aren't as strong.

But with one dead engine
and heavy with fuel,

the plane
is struggling to climb.

Masters:
I thought there was about...

I figured a one in three chance

that we weren't
gonna make it back.

Narrator:
There's another problem.

The eye of the storm
is less than 12 miles across.

If they don't start turning,

they'll fly back into
the dangerous turbulence.

Masters: We had to immediately
make a decision

about how to turn
to stay in the eye

because if we hit
the eye wall again,

we were probably goners.

Mckim: I vote for left.

Genzlinger:
Absolutely. Left.

Narrator: Noaa 42
begins a series of slow spirals

inside the eye,

but the motion of the storm

means they need constant
corrections to their path.

Masters: You need to track
about two points northwest.

Mckim:
Yeah. I've got it.

Genzlinger:
Nice flying, sir.

A hurricane like this wobbles.

They don't go
in a straight line.

Each time we made a circle,
the thing would move.

You think
if a hurricane's gonna move,

it would just go in
one direction, like it's moving,

but it just wobbles.

Masters:
Everybody in one piece up here?

Genzlinger: Just barely.

Masters:
You look around you,

and you're inside
kind of a giant stadium.

You can kind of see the clouds
slowly rotating.

It's kind of this
ominous marching

of the clouds around you.

Genzlinger: Now what?

Mckim: Wait for
the cavalry to arrive?

Genzlinger: Works for me.

Narrator:
The strategy buys them time

to figure out what to do next.

Genzlinger: The only thing is

we didn't know what kind
of shape the airplane was in

as far as
structural problems, you know,

and there's nothing
you can do about that.

You just wondered, you know?

Narrator: They also have no idea
how much stronger hugo will get.

If wind speeds in the eye wall
keep increasing,

noaa 42 may be trapped
with no way out.

Masters:
When a hurricane's undergoing

its initial
rapid intensification cycle,

like hugo was doing,

sometimes it's able
to concentrate its winds

in a very small area
right around the eye.

Narrator: Their best hope

is the air force reserve c-130
still approaching in the storm.

Mckim: Noaa 42 to teal 57,
we've had an emergency.

We've lost one engine.

Katz: The first thing
that noaa 42 said to us

was that they had an emergency
and they'd lost one engine.

And our plane
became very silent.

I can remember
just turning around,

looking up at the pilots.

They turned around,

they looked back
in our direction,

and everybody was thinking,
"Oh, no."

Narrator:
The air force reserve c-130

speeds towards hurricane hugo.

Katz:
Noaa 42, we're on our way.

Narrator: Its crew is responding
to a call for help

from their endangered
colleagues below.

Katz: There was not a whole lot
that we could do.

We were two separate airplanes,

and we couldn't do
a james bond movie feature

and extract them out
one by one,

so we were concerned
for their safety.

Narrator: Meanwhile,
in the eye of the storm,

commander genzlinger

spots another
potentially deadly problem.

Genzlinger: For crying out loud.

I hope you're not too attached
to engine number four.

Mckim: You're kidding me.

We've dealt with one emergency.

Now we've got another emergency.

Narrator: A strip of rubber

is dangling from the front
of one of the remaining engines.

The deicing boot is designed to
keep the propeller clear of ice.

It's been torn loose

and could be sucked
into the engine's air intake,

putting the crew
in even greater jeopardy.

Genzlinger: And that engine's
gonna over temp,

and you have to shut it down,

and that
would have been disastrous.

Narrator: If they lose
two engines on the same side,

there's no hope of making it
back through the storm.

Genzlinger: Going through
the eye wall on two engines

would be an impossible thing.

Narrator: Once the c-130
passes into the eye,

it might be able
to fly close enough

for the crew
to assess the damage.

Genzlinger: Teal 57,
we're gonna need a favor.

I don't know if we can climb
high enough on three engines.

Can you come down to us?

Katz: Roger noaa 42.
Starting our descent.

Well, they did sound
pretty calm,

but I was very unnerved by it,

and I know our crew
was unnerved by it.

But they were trying to be
as matter of fact as they could.

Narrator: The crew now faces
a critical decision.

Genzlinger: We're too heavy
to get much higher.

Mckim: Want to dump some fuel?

Narrator: Dumping fuel
will make it easier to climb,

but if they dump too much,

they won't make it back
to barbados,

more than 310 miles away.

Genzlinger: Uh...

I think we can spare
15,000 pounds,

but we won't be doing
any sightseeing on the way home.

Prepare for fuel dump.

Masters: Ok, guys, shut off
all the equipment, ok?

Everything goes dark.
All right? Everything.

Narrator: Their electronic gear
could spark an explosion.

Genzlinger:
When you dump fuel,

it comes right out
over the wing.

If anybody's
talking on the radio

or got any emitters that might
start a spark or anything,

you could have a fire.

Mckim: Fuel dump switch?

Genzlinger: On!

There it goes.

We dumped it
for 10 or 15 minutes,

and we got rid of
all the fuel that we could.

Narrator: Noaa 42 took off

with enough fuel
for a nine-hour flight.

After dumping
15,000 pounds of fuel,

the tanks will be empty
in about four hours.

Mckim: My engines
are still putting out

the same amount of power,

and now i've just lost weight,

and now my wings,

with the amount of lift
that they're generating,

can actually pull me up higher.

Genzlinger: Come on,
you piece of crap!

Narrator: Above them,

the air force plane powers
into the eye of the storm.

Katz: Stand by, noaa 42.

We'll begin getting
into position now.

Narrator:
To meet inside the hurricane,

noaa 42 needs to climb while
the air force plane descends.

The two crews must coordinate
their air speed and bank angle

to keep from slamming into
hugo's treacherous eye wall.

It's beyond dangerous.

Katz:
Noaa 42, we see you.

Narrator: Pilots
would never risk doing this

if lives weren't at stake.

Katz:
We coordinated our positions,

and once we saw each other,
it was purely done visually.

Genzlinger:
No sudden moves. They're on us.

Katz: And as we got closer,

we flew within about a thousand
feet of the other airplane.

Narrator:
One slight miscalculation,

and the two planes
could collide.

Masters: The close fly-by
that the pilot of teal 57 did

with the pilot of n42-rf

in the eye
of a category-five hurricane

with a shrinking eye
of only 10 miles diameter...

One of the most remarkable feats
of aviation ever attempted.

Katz: We tried to see if there
were any panels missing.

That would have been
a big concern

because if a panel was loose

and eventually broke away
from the airplane,

it could have gotten caught up
in a propeller,

which would have been
a very serious thing.

And they also had
an engine fire,

so they wanted us to see

if there were any visible signs
of fire still remaining.

We didn't see any of that.

Noaa 42, you look like
you're still in one piece

other than that deicing boot.

Mckim: They eyeballed us

and said
they don't see any damage.

Narrator: Moments later,
there's more good news.

Genzlinger: I'll be damned.

Deicing boot's gone.

Mckim: Best news
i've heard all day.

Narrator:
The deicing boot has blown off

without damaging the engine.

Genzlinger: That was a relief
to see that that thing's gone

when it was.

Teal 57,
we need another favor.

We can't stay in here.

Fuel's gonna be an issue
very soon.

Can you help us find
a soft spot?

Katz: Roger that.
We'll see what we can find.

Masters:
We asked them very nicely,

"Could you please go in and out
of the eye wall of hugo

a couple different places
to find a soft spot for us?

And please do it at the altitude
that we're maxed out at,

which is 6,000 feet."

Katz: They were asking us
for a way out of the storm.

As a crew, we got together
and we decided to go ahead

and continue making our
penetrations exiting the storm.

We asked noaa

if they could delay in the eye
a little longer,

and they did that.

Narrator: On board noaa 42,

there's nothing to do
but wait...

Genzlinger:
We got to get out of here.

Narrator: And hope
they don't run out of fuel.

Masters: Now, we'd almost gotten
killed going in at 1,500 feet,

so it was very brave of them
to agree to this request

to go in and out
of the eye of hugo

multiple times
at 6,000 feet.

Mckim: Any word yet, guys?

Katz: Noaa 42, I think
I have something for you.

Narrator: The air force plane
has found a possible exit point.

Katz:
Try the northeast quadrant.

That was what we determined

would be the better
of the headings for them to try.

It would be the best one

with the least amount
of turbulence for them.

Genzlinger: Roger.
Northeast quadrant.

We'll see you back at base.

Mckim:
Let's hope they're right.

Narrator: The crew prepares
for a second perilous trip

through the wall
of a category-five hurricane.

Masters: Things that
we couldn't really strap down

we just threw into the loo
and closed the door

and figured they would just
stay in there and rattle around.

The most dangerous thing
that we had coming up

was the turbulence going through
the eye wall again.

Narrator: Noaa 42 is going to
try to punch through the storm

at 6,000 feet.

They hope the winds
at this altitude

will be less destructive.

Genzlinger: Set condition one.

Masters: At that point,

we really didn't have
much choice.

We were low on fuel.

Our pilot said,
"We're going for it.

Set condition one.
Put on your seat belts.

We're heading out of the eye."

We weren't confident at all

that we wouldn't just
suddenly have a failure

and go splashing
into the atlantic ocean.

Genzlinger: We had to go
through the rain bands

and weave our way through

the exterior parts
of the hurricane.

Masters: We were very concerned
on the flight back

that we weren't gonna make it.

Narrator: The air force crew
has chosen the exit point well.

There is far less turbulence
at this altitude.

Genzlinger:
That's more like it.

Narrator:
After a tense 20-minute journey

back through the storm
that nearly killed them,

the crew finally escapes
hugo's powerful grasp.

Masters:
The sun was shining above us,

and I said,
"Hallelujah, praise god,

we're going home."

Oh, my god.

Genzlinger: What a day!

Mckim: Got a little too close
for comfort, if you ask me.

Teal 57, we're out, and...

I think we owe you one.

Katz: All part of the service.

We'll see you guys
back on dry land.

Narrator:
After their harrowing ordeal,

gerry mckim
and lowell genzlinger

get their plane
and everyone on board

safely back to barbados.

Genzlinger: I don't think
it sunk in till we got home,

what we really went through.

Narrator: Now it's up
to noaa pilot and safety officer

terry laydon

to investigate why a crew
of skilled hurricane hunters

was nearly killed on the job.

Terry laydon: A lot's at stake

that could be repeated
if you didn't figure out why.

Laydon: First thing I want to
do is tear that engine apart.

Narrator: Between september 17th
and the 22nd,

hugo devastates st. Croix,

then tears through
charleston, south carolina.

The storm inflicts more than
$9 billion in damage

and claims 49 lives.

But more might have died

if not for the work
of the hurricane hunters,

who helped sound the alarm

by accurately predicting
hugo's path.

Genzlinger: Set condition one.

Narrator: Noaa 42

has flown safely through
dozens of other hurricanes.

Masters: All right, guys,
let's do this.

Narrator:
Investigators need to know

why this mission
was so harrowing.

They begin
with a close examination

of the engine that caught fire.

Laydon: We called in a navy
maintenance engineering crew

from naval air station
jacksonville.

Let me see that again.

These folks can
pull an airplane apart,

put it back together,
and look at every aspect of it.

Masters:
It's getting a little bumpy.

Narrator: They suspect
the severe turbulence

somehow damaged the engine.

Mckim: Whoa.

Narrator:
But they don't know how.

Mckim: Oh!
Let me off this ride!

Narrator: Data from a sensor
in the cockpit

reveals how severe
that turbulence was.

Laydon: Pulling a lot of gs
in that cockpit.

Narrator:
The g-meter uses sensors

to detect the aircraft's motion

and calculate how much stress
it's being subjected to.

Mckim: I can't get
the left wing down.

Genzlinger: Don't force it.

Narrator: The g-forces

are some of the most powerful
ever recorded in any hurricane,

and far beyond what the plane
was designed to withstand.

Laydon: The p-3 can handle

up to 3 and a half positive gs
and 1 negative g.

The g-meter recorded stresses
of 5.8 positive gs

and 3.7 negative gs.

Narrator:
But the question remains...

Did the severe turbulence
somehow cause the engine fire?

Investigators find
an unexpected answer.

Laydon: This had nothing
to do with the storm.

Narrator: The turbulence
was not a factor in the fire.

Laydon: They determined
that the fuel control unit

was the problem.

Narrator: A broken sensor
couldn't properly regulate

the amount of fuel
flowing to the engine.

Laydon: The maintenance folks

said the turbulence,
the addition of power,

had nothing to do
with that failure.

Narrator:
Navy records reveal

that the same problem has been
reported on other planes.

Laydon: And as it turns out,

the navy has a history
of this kind of problem.

Narrator:
When the sensor failed,

it fed too much fuel
to the engine

and it ignited
into a stream of flames.

Genzlinger:
We're losing number three!

Mckim:
I don't believe this.

Narrator: It was just
an unlucky coincidence

that the failure happened
during this flight.

Laydon: It could have
happened on takeoff.

It could have happened
en route to the hurricane.

Genzlinger:
You got to shut it down.

It could have happened anytime.

It's just incredible
that it happened

at the worst possible time.

Genzlinger:
Emergency shutdown handle!

Narrator: Even though the storm
did not cause the engine fire,

it did damage the plane.

Genzlinger: Hope you're not too
attached to engine number four.

Mckim: You're kidding me.

Narrator: The storm deicing boot

threatened to knock out
a second engine,

which would have led
to certain disaster.

Masters: We were worried

that it would get caught
in the propeller

and shut down
the number four engine,

but we got lucky,
that didn't happen.

Narrator:
They wonder why hugo contained

such unusually
strong turbulence.

When the team studies

all the scientific data
from the flight,

they find their answer.

Marks: No wonder
we had problems.

Narrator: The violent winds
that rocked their plane

were caused by an unusual
weather phenomenon

that's never been seen before.

The eye wall of the storm

was dotted with tornado-like
areas called mesovortices,

where wind speeds reached
200 miles an hour.

Noaa 42 was unlucky enough
to fly directly into one.

Investigators are left
with an important question

about the future
of hurricane research flights.

Mckim: Unless anyone has
any objections...

Genzlinger: I'm good.

Marks: I'm good.

Narrator: When the next
major storm hits...

Mckim: Down we go.

Narrator: How can they keep
hurricane hunters safer

when they fly
into the eye of a storm?

Investigators interview
each member

of the hurricane hunting crew.

Marks: We'd been in
at 1,500 before,

and it was fine.

We weren't thinking about
what could happen.

We were making decisions
based on past experience,

based on past knowledge,

not expecting the unexpected.

Masters: We didn't have long
to look at the storm

before the radar went out.

Oh, crap!

Guys, my belly radar
just went down.

Narrator:
The broken radar system

left them less time
to evaluate the storm

and made a stressful situation
even worse.

In hindsight,
flight director jeffrey masters

thinks the mission
could have been made safer.

Genzlinger:
Set condition one.

Masters: We should not have been
going in at that low an altitude

with a full bag of fuel.

Genzlinger: We're too heavy
to get much higher.

Mckim: Want to dump some fuel?

Masters: When you
start off a mission,

you've got a heavy fuel load,

and that puts more stress
on the wings.

Genzlinger: I think we can spare
15,000 pounds.

Masters: It makes sense
to go in at a higher altitude

and then maybe do the mission
at a lower altitude later

when you've got less fuel.

Genzlinger: We go in,
we look around, we go home.

Mckim: That's the plan.

Laydon:
They were doing their best

to support
the scientific mission.

Genzlinger: By doing
the lower work first,

it was decided that
everyone would be fresh

so that we could, you know,

get things over with
early in the flight.

Mckim: Steady as she goes.

Laydon: But sometimes a little
more discretion is warranted,

and it would have been
very helpful, I believe,

in this case.

Narrator: After this incident,

noaa made a number of changes
to keep hurricane hunters safer.

The first plane into the storm

now flies in no lower
than 5,000 feet,

where the updrafts
and downdrafts

are much less violent.

Mckim: I think that's a very,
very good safety recommendation.

After you kind of figure out
what the storm's all about,

then you can go in
and do your hardcore,

really, really
nitty-gritty research

and get that plane down

where it can give you
the numbers you need,

the ground truth, everything,

and make sure that everything
you're doing is safe.

Masters: Lowell, radar's up.

Narrator: They also ensure

that crews always review
the mission strategy

before flying into a storm.

Marks: People have
asked me many times

why we keep flying
in hurricanes.

You've been doing it
for 32 years.

Why do you need
to keep doing it?

And I say, "Because
every time I go there,

I see something different.

I learn something new."

Narrator: Meteorologists hope
the discoveries made by noaa 42

will help improve
hurricane forecasts

and save lives.

Mckim: It costs millions
and millions of dollars

to evacuate a mile of coastline,

so if we can get...
Let's say down to a mile,

how magical would that be,

that we only had to evacuate
maybe a 10-mile strip

and know that we were pretty
darn good at doing that?

I think that's a goal.

Narrator: Noaa 42 was repaired

and went on to fly
into more than 30 hurricanes

without another
serious incident.

Katz: Hugo was one of those
unforgettable hurricanes

from an air crew point of view.

In my entire career,

i've had a couple of hundred
hurricane penetrations.

I don't remember them all,
but I remember hugo.

Mckim: I'll take more power.

I always think that I was
up there for a reason.

I was up there to do my job.

Go.

Genzlinger: I think he did
a fantastic job

of handling the airplane.

Nice flying, sir.

And everybody on the airplane
worked well.

Masters:
Hang in there, guys.

We were in the wrong place
at the wrong time

in a bad part of the ocean,

and we're very lucky
to be alive.

Oh, hallelujah.