All language subtitles for Mighty.Planes.S01E01.Orbis.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

[Narrator] Its exploits
are legendary...

It's the oldest DC-10
left in the world flying.

[Narrator] A vintage
airliner,

reborn as the Orbis
Flying Eye Hospital...

There's a huge
number of people

who do not need to be blind.

[Narrator]
...on a medical mission

into the heart of Mongolia.

The airplane people's job
is to get the hospital there.

[Narrator] But this flight is
turning into a nightmare.

I don't need
more problems, okay?

[boom]

[Narrator] The Orbis team
faces a rare crisis...

What we've had in
the last two, three days,

you don't have in
a year of flying.

[Narrator] ...and the fate of
the Mongolian mission

is in jeopardy.

From the outside,

this DC-10 looks like just
another passenger plane.

And here's the paperwork
for signing off.

[Narrator] But it's not.

Inside is an operating room

where doctors perform
eye surgeries

and share their expertise
with aspiring colleagues

in the world's
poorest countries.

Its last medical mission was
in Lagos, Nigeria 90 days
ago.

Now the Orbis team is heading
to Mongolia's capital,
Ulaanbaatar.

Takeoff is just 48 hours
away.

Airplanes like to fly,
but we don't fly it very often.

[Narrator] Bruce Johnson is
the director of aircraft
operations

for Orbis.

[Johnson] The job title
actually says

responsible for all
aircraft operations.

That's the pilots,
the mechanics, the logistics,

the flight planning.

[Narrator] Orbis makes as
many as eight trips a year

to destinations
around the world.

Each medical program requires
weeks of coordination.

It's a logistical nightmare
that produces happy endings.

In the last two decades,
Orbis has conducted

over 200 programs
in 77 countries,

bringing better vision to
nearly 15 million people.

Since Nigeria, the plane has
been parked in Dubai,

literally collecting dust
in the Persian Gulf.

[Johnson] Where a normal
airline would show up an hour
before,

jump in the airplane
and expect it to go,

we know better than that.

I'd like to know
what the current weather

and temperature is.

When you park an airplane,

things have a tendency
to either break or clog

and need attention.

[Narrator] Bruce's team must
do

the mother of all
pre-flight checks,

an exhaustive top-to-bottom
search for snags and
glitches.

And today's engine test
has just revealed one.

4,000 miles away in Mongolia,

hundreds gather at
the National Central Hospital

in Ulaanbaatar, hoping to be
selected for treatment

in the Flying Eye Hospital.

They're all ages and suffer
various afflictions,

including cataracts
and glaucoma.

I'll explain it to her.

So if you could bring her
to my room,

I'll be there in one minute.

[Narrator] Orbis medical
director Dr. Hunter Cherwek

is already here,

meeting local doctors and
arranging for their training

during the plane's
three-week stay.

In Mongolia,
there's a huge number of people

who do not need to be blind.

Their blindness could have been
prevented or cured,

about 80%.

[Narrator] Like many
developing countries,

Mongolia's healthcare needs
outweigh its medical
resources.

Orbis will directly assist
150 patients,

and the local doctors
they train in the process

will eventually assist
thousands more.

Back in Dubai, the
maintenance crew has 48
hours

to get the old DC-10
ready to fly.

Rich Jorgensen, a former line
mechanic at United Airlines,

knows this plane inside out.

And right now he knows he's
got an engine problem to
solve.

One of them is idling low.

Rich suspects dirt has
clogged a small, but vital
component,

the compressor inlet
temperature sensor.

[Narrator] The DC-10 has
a distinctive profile,

with two wing-mounted engines

and a third at the base of
the vertical stabilizer.

182 feet long, it rises
six stories above the tarmac

and stretches 155 feet
from wingtip to wingtip.

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital
first flew as a test plane

for McDonnell Douglas in
1970.

Today, it's the world's
oldest DC-10 still flying.

[Johnson] It needs TLC,
and that's the big thing.

It's just like if you're a
classic car owner or whatever,

they can be better than if
they came out of the factory,

if you maintain them right.

[Narrator] In 1992,
philanthropists bought the
plane

and donated it to Orbis.

Over the next two years,
it was transformed

from passenger plane
to mobile hospital.

The former first class
section is now a 48-seat
theater

where local doctors can
follow surgical procedures

as they happen in the O.R.
in real time.

Next is the pre-op
laser exam room,

a state-of-the-art
operating theater.

And finally, the recovery
room.

The changes cost $15 million
and pushed the plane closer

to its maximum takeoff weight
of 455,000 pounds.

This airplane, with
all the equipment we carry,

is extremely heavy.

It sits, with no fuel in it,
with people and its
equipment,

about 303,000 pounds,

which is pretty heavy.

When you add the 100,000-plus
pounds of fuel we need,

you're over 400,000 pounds.

[Narrator] With all that
weight,

the trip from Dubai to
Mongolia needs two legs.

First, 2,000 miles east
to Calcutta, India.

After refueling,

it's another 2,000 miles
north to Ulaanbaatar.

[Johnson] I need to look at
the fuel loads out of Dubai

and out of Calcutta to verify
that I can take off

during the time frames
for which it's scheduled.

[Narrator] But exactly how
much gas to take is a tough
call.

Load too much fuel

and the plane will exceed
its maximum takeoff weight.

But pumping too little is
also asking for trouble.

If they need to divert
from Ulaanbaatar

and head to
an alternate airport,

they could find
themselves short.

The decision about
how much to take

rests with Captain Gary
Dyson.

This flight plan
showed 3-5-0.

We may not be able to get there
with the extra gas.

I'd still rather have the gas.

[Narrator]
Gary is a FedEx pilot,

in command on the flight
to Mongolia.

Right now his focus is on
the forecast of hot
temperatures

in Calcutta.

So at 35,
it's going to be too hot.

Drop it, go to, I estimated 33.

If you looked at all week,

it was supposed to be 32,
33 is the high.

[Narrator] The higher
the temperature,

the thinner the air.

And thin air is the enemy
of aerodynamic lift.

2,000 miles from his first
stop,

Gary is already calculating
his takeoff weight

to get airborne from
Calcutta.

For FedEx cargo,
there's so much oversight there

and planning by the company on
all this fuel and everything.

But we're different out here.

We're kind of on our own.

[Johnson] We are definitely
right on the edge,

there's no doubt.

[Hezlep] Those temperatures,
they could be way off.

Meaning if a thunderstorm had
just moved through there

and cooled it off,
it could be 10 degrees cooler.

[Johnson] Well, I looked at
the temperature all week,

and the high temperature
was 32.

So that's why I went with 33.

So we know we're good,

and then based on
the current situation,

we'll make a decision as to
how much gas to put on.

[Narrator] At the FedEx
warehouse in Dubai,

Heather Machin, the associate
director of nursing,

conducts a pre-flight check
of medical supplies.

Okay, so...

So the first thing I have to
do is make sure

everything that the sheet says
is here is actually here.

[Narrator] Like the flight
crew,

Heather plans for
the unexpected.

Her rule--it's okay to
overpack on an Orbis flight.

We don't really know
what kind of surgery

we're going to see until
we go and meet the patient.

So I have to pack everything.

[Narrator] Orbis biomedical
engineer Matt Duval

has a checklist of his own.

Gas compressor.

We don't have pressure
on the system.

[Narrator] Testing every last
piece of medical equipment.

[Duval] For each piece
of equipment,

I have to do a work order
or a specific test.

[Narrator] But first he has
to make sure it's all here.

I'm looking for
a defibrillator

that they put in storage.

[Narrator] Matt has dozens of
instruments to check.

Yeah, of course,
they put it right in the cart.

[Narrator] Any problems
must be fixed now.

In Mongolia, there may be
nowhere to turn for help.

[Duval] We have to
test the one battery,

because if when we go to move
it, we have to unplug it.

[beeping]

If there's a code...
Uh-oh, that's not good.

It says it's low battery.

I mean, this plane's been
sitting here for three months,

so you got to expect
something like that.

But first I need to get the
battery going and the cords.

[Narrator] In the desert
heat,

Rich struggles with
the number three engine.

A clog in its temperature
sensor

could be causing
the low idle problem.

A package for you.

[Johnson] Okay,
that's our CIT probe?

Alright.

[Narrator] A replacement
has just arrived,

but swapping it out isn't
like changing a light bulb.

It's right in
here where we can't get to it.

Four bolts hold it on,

probably take us about an hour
and a half to get to them.

[Narrator] The progress is
achingly slow.

[Jorgensen] Well, it's
wiggly.

It's either broken
or it's loose.

And I haven't loosened up
them other two bolts,

so it might have been
not quite right.

[Narrator] The temperature
climbs to 113 degrees.

But Rich keeps his cool.

Takeoff is now just
24 hours away.

But until the sensor
is replaced

and the engines test-fired,

the Flying Eye Hospital
won't be flying anywhere.

No space.

It's just jammed up against
all the other structures

that's in between here,

and then there's several
other things around it,

there's just no room.

[Narrator] But Rich has
worked on DC-10s for 40
years,

seven with Orbis,
and he won't be defeated.

We'll get it out.
There's no such thing as can't.

Never.

[Narrator] Onboard, Matt
supervises the Orbis version

of fastening your seat
belt...

making sure the operating
room equipment is tied down

for the long flight to
Mongolia.

If we take off and
the equipment moves and shifts,

it'll get damaged and
we can't afford that.

It'll ruin the whole mission.

[Narrator] In the recovery
room,

Heather displays her skill at
packing surgical supplies

into every last nook and
cranny.

I see this as
one huge Tetris game,

and I can fit things into
the smallest spaces.

So when we were doing the LD3's
and packing everything,

everybody, it's like, oh,
you're not going to fit that
in,

I'm like, I'll fit it in.

So, spatial awareness.

Whether I get all these sponges
in is another question.

[Narrator]
Back home in Australia,

Heather is a specialist
in ocular medicine.

This will be her
17th mission with Orbis.

Each one strengthens
her commitment to the job.

Sometimes you go to
a place or when you're at home,

you know that there's a lot
of need in the world.

When we go to somewhere

and we see that there's
more and more need,

we actually go away thinking,
gosh, we need to do more,

we need to do more,
we need to do more.

I think it's a wonderful
thing that we're doing.

And sometimes when
we are together,

or we have a wonderful child,
it's very, it's very emotional.

[Narrator] Outside, Rich and
John finally get the sensor
out.

Got it?

[Narrator] As Rich suspected,
it's clogged with desert
grit.

[Jorgensen] Oh, that's nasty
looking.

Even looking in there,
you could see the dirt.

Yeah.

[Narrator] With the new
sensor installed...

We'll be ready to go.
I'll get things ready upstairs.

[Narrator] Orbis is towed
to the apron...

...so Bruce and Rich can
check out the engines.

Alright, John,
clear on three?

[John] Clear on three.

[engines rev]

[Narrator]
If Rich's hunch is right,

the low idle on number three
should be fixed.

And it is.

One problem solved.

But now, just 14 hours
from takeoff,

another problem comes up...

[Johnson] It's a disagree
light.

[Narrator] ...a broken
anti-ice valve.

[Johnson] When you turn it
on, the valves open,

so it's telling you,
here, go, go turn it off.

See, it says, it disagrees.

[Jorgensen] Okay.

The switch is off, the
valve's supposed to be closed.

Okay, okay, yeah, okay.

[Narrator] With the anti-ice
valve stuck

in the open position,

the engines will burn more
fuel,

trying to melt ice
that isn't there.

But with the hot weather
and thin air,

adding extra fuel
is not an option.

Assuming the temperature
is 33 celsius,

we won't be able to take off
out of Calcutta

with an anti-ice valve problem.

[Narrator] Rich's solution...

wire the valve shut
so Orbis can get on its way.

It's quick and simple,

but pilots Gary and Sam
aren't so sure.

No, no, no.

If we don't have any known
icing conditions, we're okay.

Yeah, we're right on
the ragged edge

with the normal ops
going out of Calcutta, though.

With it open.

No, no.

Even if it worked
properly.

Even if everything's
normal, yeah, yeah,

I realize that, yeah,

we're that far
from the wire, yeah.

That's kind of what
we're playing with here.

You're going to
look at the valve,

we'll start the engine again,
see if it works,

and then go from there.

Yeah, with it closed,
we're okay,

as long as we don't have any
known icing conditions.

Alright.

Let's see.

Right. One thing at a time.

One thing at a time.

[radio chatter]

[Narrator] The pilots are
eventually convinced

that Rich's fix is safe

and within the DC-10's
minimum equipment
regulations.

With just hours until
departure,

he wires
the anti-ice valve shut.

The move eliminates
the need for extra fuel

and avoids adding additional
weight to an already heavy
jet.

Everything has been fixed.

[Narrator] They're still
cutting it close

for a takeoff from Calcutta
if the temperature climbs,

but for now...

it's all systems go.

[Dyson] We don't expect any
icing,

so the safe thing was to
make it stay closed.

[Hezlep] Thanks a lot,
Richard, sure appreciate your
work, bud.

Alright. Thanks again.

We'll just crank up, you guys
disconnect and crank up,

and we'll go.

[beeping]

[Narrator] Heather does a
final check on the equipment
straps...

That's excellent.

[Narrator] ...then shifts
gears.

It's her turn to be
a flight attendant,

along with Doctor
Gabriela Ruiz Gonzales.

Flight attendants
on both flights?

[Both] Yes.

Okay.

[Machin] It depends
who's rostered

as to what level of service
you're going to have.

I like to actually
look after you,

but other people will just put
the chips on the counter

and you have to
get it yourself.

So, you're lucky you've got
Gabriela and I today.

[Narrator] 7:00 a.m.,
departure time.

It's already 86 degrees
in the shade.

Gary lines up on
the Dubai runway...

Applies full throttle...

And the Orbis mission is on.

With the heat and
400,000 pounds of weight,

Gary needs most of the runway
to get the DC-10 into the
sky.

If everything goes
according to plan,

the Flying Eye Hospital will
reach Ulaanbaatar in 10
hours...

...and the work of saving
sight can begin.

But first, breakfast.

Gangadhara Jalli from India is
a skilled medical
videographer...

No, no, no, if you
don't want it, I'll have it.

So you want omelet
after all that?

[Narrator] ...and a fussy
eater.

Aah...

[Machin] All right?

No, no.

No? No?

What is that?
Chicken?

Just check that
you're happy with that.

You will eat and you will
enjoy.

Enjoy your breakfast, sir.

[Narrator]
At 4:00 p.m. local time,

Orbis begins its descent.

Early monsoon rains have
lowered the ground
temperature

to a relatively cool 80
degrees.

[Narrator] It's all going
well, a routine flight, and
then...

[boom]

[Narrator] The mighty plane
has just lost a third of its
power.

[Dyson] Temperature, watch your
temperature on number one.

[Narrator] The DC-10 is
at 4,000 feet,

descending through monsoon
rain.

On the flight deck, the
pilots have just seconds to
act.

[Dyson] You start gathering
the data you have,

look at the engine instruments,

is the airplane still
holding the speed?

[Narrator] The crew quickly
determines that the power
loss

is temporary and not
a complete engine failure.

[Dyson] After that,
we flew the approach

as if an engine had failed.

[Dyson] Visibility was
right at the minimum

that was required
for that approach.

We weaved around a little
bit,

even after we started
our descent

to avoid the heaviest
of the rain.

One little challenge
after another.

But that's what pilots
get paid for, you know,

the few minutes of terror

during those times
when it gets rough.

[Narrator] They're safely
on the ground,

but still 2,000 miles from
their final destination,

with worrisome questions
about what just happened.

[Johnson] We saw indications
in the cockpit

that indicated that it was
probably a compressor stall

on the number one engine.

[Narrator] Here's how it
happens.

Air entering the turbines is
compressed by a series of
fans

and forced into
the combustion chamber,

where it's mixed
with fuel and ignited.

A sudden increase in pressure
in the compressors

can disrupt the smooth
airflow.

Exhaust gases suddenly
reverse direction,

causing a drop in power and
potentially catastrophic
damage.

The team needs answers.

What caused
the compressor stall?

And is the engine
damaged beyond repair?

Replacing it will take a
week,

putting the entire
medical mission in jeopardy.

[Johnson] Normally, of
course, you get this over the
P.A.,

right, from the airlines,
right?

Okay.

Most of you probably heard
a loud bang.

We're pretty sure the number
one engine had a compressor
stall.

We have to go inspect
different areas.

And we'll go do that.

And I've already decided...

[clears throat]

...that the flight's canceled
for right now.

I do not want anybody
calling Mongolia yet.

I don't need this, I don't
need more problems, okay?

Pretty soon I'm handling
a press problem

when I need to be working on
an airplane.

We're not going
to get opioids through customs

here and into Nepal.

I don't even want to get caught
with trying to do that.

[Narrator] Heather and
anesthesiologist Jonathan
Lord

prepare for plan B.

If the plane can't
get to Mongolia,

eye surgeries will be moved
to a city hospital.

But that means flying in
medical supplies.

The question is,
is whether they have

enough stock in country.

I don't know,
I'll call Jackie or Hunter,

whoever's on the ground,
and ask them the bare minimum,

like a 25-gauge IML forcep.

Yeah.

[Narrator] This much they
know...

the compressor stall
is unrelated

to the replaced CIT sensor

or to the anti-ice valve
that Rich wired shut.

It's a new problem that
he hopes will be solved

by changing a bleed valve

that releases air
from the compressor.

Air blows it open
and it goes that way.

[Johnson] It comes that way,
stops it.

It's not stuck.

[Narrator] But the valve
works perfectly.

Well...

I was kind of hoping to
see something wrong.

You find something wrong,
that way you know what to fix.

But...

In this case, nothing's wrong.

[Narrator] Bruce makes a call
to long-time Orbis sponsor
FedEx

and their best engine
mechanics

for some advice
on what to do next.

But you guys would agree,
everybody agrees,

everybody agrees on a CF6-6D
that a compressor stalls,

you've got to do a borescope?

But I also have a medical
program I'm supposed to be at

in two days, in Mongolia.

Now, I am not going
to fly an airplane

that's illegal to fly,
but at the same time,

I can't wait a week or 10 days
just to get it inspected
either.

[Narrator] A borescope is a
tiny camera on a flexible
tube

that will allow Rich to see
inside the engine.

And that'll tell us if
there's any kind of damage

to the internal parts
of the motor.

Which they're telling me,

this engine is susceptible
to internal damage

when you have
a compressor stall.

[Narrator] It's 10 o'clock.

Orbis should be landing
in Ulaanbaatar,

but the engine problem
has thrown

a carefully plotted program
into chaos.

It's time to break the news
to Doctor Hunter Cherwek

and the rest of the Orbis
team already in Mongolia.

Hey, Hunter,
this is Bruce.

Hunter, it's Bruce.

Well, we've got
some bad news for you.

We're in Calcutta, and
we're going to be in Calcutta

until at least tomorrow
morning.

And I basically have got
to investigate what's wrong,

and I can't take the risk

that there's possibly
something wrong

without investigating
the problem, so...

[Narrator] For the first time
in recent history,

Orbis will be late.

[Johnson]
That's what our job is,

is to get the hospital there.

So if we don't do that, we're
the ones who failed, you know?

[Narrator] Borescoping the
engine is a five-hour job.

With the first surgery
scheduled in less than 48
hours,

Hunter and the medical team
in Mongolia

confront a grim prospect...

The Flying Eye Hospital is
currently in Calcutta, India.

It experienced
a mechanical problem.

[Narrator]
...running the program

without their mighty plane.

I was on the phone
to Singapore, Beijing.

We're scrambling all my
contacts and all the team's
contacts,

trying to find out where
we can get medical supplies.

We're trying to bring in
corneas for transplantation.

[Narrator] Orbis' worldwide
team of volunteer eye
doctors

pitches in.

[Horton] Dr. Garg,
my name is DJ Horton,

Orbis International,
welcome to Mongolia.

[Narrator] Dr. Prashant Garg
from Hyderabad, India,

is one of the world's
best eye surgeons.

I'm carrying
a pair of corneas

donated by Singapore
National Eye Bank.

It was fun carrying them,

particularly in the era

where you can't carry
even liquids onboard,

and I was carrying both eyes,

as well as liquids
and human tissue.

[Narrator] The question is,
will these corneas be
transplanted

in a Mongolian operating room

or in the state-of-the-art
facilities

aboard the Flying Eye
Hospital?

That all depends on how
things are going with the
borescope.

Well, it does say
if it doesn't move,

that could be the reason
why it's stalling.

But that being said,

I want to make sure that
we're doing it right.

[Narrator] The inspection of
engine number one

has been completed.

Very nice! Ah-ha!

Okay!

[Narrator] The interior
of the engine

gets a clean bill of health.

But the celebration
is short lived.

Rich still needs to pinpoint
the cause of the stall

before they can get
back in the air.

[engine revs]

[Jorgensen] We only proved one
thing.

[Johnson] We don't know what it
is?

[Jorgensen] Yeah, we don't know
what we're doing.

[Narrator] Rich eventually
discovers a tiny fault

in the variable stator vanes.

The vanes control airflow

through the front
compressor fans.

They were being pitched
incorrectly,

allowing too much air
to pass through

to the blades behind them,

resulting in
a pressure imbalance

and a compressor stall.

A quick adjustment to the
line that controls the pitch

should solve the problem
for good.

You can't know everything about
this airplane or any airplane.

So, I mean, I've been working
on it for 40 years,

and I all the time
find out things

that I've never,
never touched before.

[Narrator] There's only one
way to make sure Rich is
right.

A high power engine run-up.

I'm not comfortable
going any faster.

[Narrator]
This is the moment of truth.

Alright, we're going to start
three, one,

and then two, Rich?

Okay, so RPMs should increase
on N1 and 2.

N1, we're at 20.7, plus or
minus two, so it's perfect.

100.5.

I'm happy. You happy?

[Jorgensen] Looking good, man.

Everything's looking good.

Looks like we're ready to go.

[Narrator] The Orbis mission
is back on track.

They'll be in Ulaanbaatar
two days late

but still in time for
the first scheduled surgery,

provided Gary the captain
signs off on the repairs.

[Jorgensen] I would say
we have a positive fix.

Well, with everything that you
and Bruce have told me,

I'm perfectly satisfied
and have great confidence

in the engine working
just like it's supposed to.

[Jorgensen] Yeah.

I have bought it one more time.

Yeah.

[Johnson] What we've had in
the last two, three days

is like, you don't have all
this

in six months
or a year of flying.

[Dyson] Warning lights.

Mission, radar, transponder.

Max power.

80 knots. Check.

Rotate.

Positive rate, gear up.

[Narrator] The Flying Eye
Hospital is back on the move.

From Calcutta,

it's a four-hour flight north
into Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia,

where the Orbis medical team
is assessing hundreds of
people,

all of them hoping to be
selected for treatment

in the Flying Eye Hospital.

[Cherwek] We really try to
find patients who really need
it most

and would never be able to
get this care otherwise.

[Narrator]
Munkhundraa Sukhbaatar,

a 22-year-old student,

is blind in her right eye and
can barely see out of the
other.

The hope is a cornea
transplant

will dramatically improve
the vision in her left eye.

[Garg] I decided
to do transplant,

keeping that fact in mind
that she's still studying,

she is young,
she has only that eye,

which has a potential for
some improvement of vision.

So if we are here, why not to
help that lady to see the
world?

[Narrator] Three years ago,
local surgeon Dr. Moogie

performed a transplant
on Munkhundraa,

but it didn't work.

They have high hopes for
a better result this time.

A second chance at a
transplant is almost unheard
of

in a country so short
on medical resources.

I have so many waiting lists,

but all cases not possible
to include,

because 25 cases only
selected

and waitlisted cases
are still waiting.

[Narrator] 11:00 p.m.,

30 hours behind schedule,

the DC-10 descends
into Ulaanbaatar...

[Machin] I hope you've
enjoyed your flight.

Please pick up
all of your rubbish.

Thank you for flying
Air Orbis.

[Narrator] ...and makes
a smooth touchdown.

Well, think it all worked out
kind of like we planned it.

Thanks for all your help.

[Hezlep] Very nice, John.

[Narrator] For Orbis staff
on the ground,

the plane is a welcome sight.

[Cherwek] Hey, buddy!

Hey, how you doing,
Hunter? Good to see you!

It's really great
to see you guys. Thank you.

Good to see you.

Hey, Heather!

[Narrator] But their first
surgery is just 12 hours
away.

Bruce!

How's it going?

I'm doing well.
We got it here.

Finally.

Yeah. Hey, that's good.

[Narrator] On the tarmac
at Genghis Khan Airport

in Ulaanbaatar,

the Orbis DC-10 is
about to be transformed

from plane to
state-of-the-art eye
hospital.

[Johnson] We're getting ready

to offload all our ground
equipment,

start to set it up
in hospital mode.

[Machin] For the queue first,
then accessories,

then I'll move back to
recovery.

[Narrator] The air
compressor, air conditioner,
vacuum pump,

and generators
are all medical grade

and specially designed
for the plane.

[Jorgensen] They have to have
compressed air,

they have to have
electricity.

It's probably the most
important thing here.

This stuff quits, we're done.

They can't function without
it.

[Narrator] The surgery
and post-op rooms

get a top-to-bottom scrub.

It's virtually like
a real hospital back home.

[Narrator] Except for
the 11 video cameras

carefully positioned so local
doctors can watch the
surgeries

in the classroom up front.

We've delivered the hospital,

and sort of the pressure's off
a little bit for us.

Pressure's now on the medical
staff to get it done.

[Narrator] Within hours, the
Flying Eye Hospital is ready

for Dr. Garg and
his surgical team.

Just for today,
if we could keep our clothes on

until we're behind a curtain,
Jonathan, or in the bathroom,

I would appreciate it.

Hi. How are you?

[Cherwek] You know, I think
the amazing thing about Orbis

is how flexible and
adaptable we are.

We've made it through the
storm,

and I think today's been
a fantastic day,

and I expect a great program.

She's a little nervous?

Okay, understandable.

[Garg] Now, my first suture
is in place.

So I'm less worried about
the cornea slipping

over the viscoelastic into
the fornix or over the sclera.

These sutures basically decide
on the distribution

of corneal tissue in
the recipient opening.

[Cherwek] Our goal is really
not how much we can do,

it's how much we can show

and how much we can get them
to do after we leave.

That's the whole purpose.

It's not coming in
and showing off,

it's coming in and showing how.

[Narrator] Dr. Moogie,
assisting Dr. Garg,

begins sewing sutures
in Munkhundraa's eye,

but encounters scar tissue
around the cornea.

The cornea is
almost like butter.

When you pass the needle,

it goes very smoothly
through the tissue.

But if you are suturing
cornea

to the sclerized or fibrosed,
toughened tissue,

you need more pressure
on the side

where the tissue is fibrosed.

...sutures as of now,

and the remaining eight sutures
we have to finish.

She was finding it difficult
to pass the needle,

and therefore at the end
of two sutures,

she asked me to come back
and take over.

I'm sure that after this

additional four days
of training,

she may again come back
on to track.

How is she feeling now?

The pain she was having is
okay?

[Narrator] If Munkhundraa's
transplant takes,

she will have clear vision
in one eye.

It will be life-changing.

She'll find out when the
patch comes off in 12 hours.

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital
has completed

its first day of surgery
in Mongolia.

[Woman] So in about 20 minutes

she should feel
a little bit better.

Long days, long nights,
lots and lots of work.

But there is so much to do
and I'm happy to do it.

We have a tremendous
impact on our patients,

obviously, and the doctors
we work with,

but I think, almost selfishly,

the greatest impact Orbis has
is on the crew.

I think it's very easy to
think you're a great doctor

because you come from
a high resource center.

But I can tell you that
the best doctors I've met

have been outside of my
country.

So it's been a very eye-opening
experience, excuse the pun.

[Narrator] At National
Central Hospital,

Munkhundraa opens her newly
repaired eye for the first
time.

Can you see my hand?

[Sukhbaatar] Five.

Two.

One.

Five.

I was expecting some degree
of improvement in vision,

but not to that extent.

[Narrator] After performing
nine corneal transplants,

Dr. Garg heads home to India.

Tomorrow new specialists
will arrive

to teach the latest
techniques

in pediatric and
retinal surgery.

I'm looking forward to go home.

It will be fun to
see the family back.

Okay, so let us keep in touch.

[Narrator] Dr. Garg leaves
with a final word of
encouragement

to his proteges.

And best of luck,
you are wonderful.

Thank you, goodbye.

I noticed this morning

some of these looked
a little shiny,

and they don't usually
look shiny.

So I went up and checked,

and there's a lot of real
fine sand has been picked up,

and you can feel it
on the leading edges.

If it's a bad one,
you have to file it out.

See, like here, see this one.

There was a bad ding in it,
it's been filed out.

You file out the crack or
the ding so it won't crack.

If you leave it, it'll crack
and it'll break off,

and now you've got
big problems.

[Narrator] The Orbis DC-10
has logged more than 40
years

of service as an airliner
and eye hospital,

but will soon be replaced
by an MD-10,

a newer model of the DC-10,
donated by FedEx.

Like its predecessor,
the new jet will allow Orbis

to take their expertise
where it's needed most.

[Man] This is the sixth nerve
nucleus here.

[Narrator] And will serve as
a powerful symbol

of their commitment to
eliminating treatable
blindness.

People will say,

you really don't have to
have an airplane

to have, to do medical work,

but it does draw public
attention and awareness

to what we're trying to do.

I'm making sure
the plane's ready to go.

I've got three weeks to do it.

So...

By then, it'll be perfect.

[Narrator] Up next,

the Orbis team flies to
Central and South America.

And this mighty plane will
be ready to continue the job

of saving sight worldwide.

[music]

[music]