All language subtitles for Mighty.Planes.S02E04.P-3.Orion.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

NARRATOR: This plane
flies into the deadliest

weather on Earth.

I don't like this at all.

NARRATOR: The P-3
Orion has been

transformed from submarine
hunter to hurricane hunter.

Look at that eyeball, huh?

It's billed as tough
as a pickup truck.

You can abuse it, as
long as you come back.

You take care of it.

NARRATOR: Thousands of lives
and billions of dollars

are on the line
with every mission.

[radio chatter]

MAN: Let me know if
that works for you.

WOMAN: The camera
doesn't do it justice.

Things go wrong.

They can go wrong pretty
fast, pretty seriously.

So we've got to give
this storm that respect.

NARRATOR: And it's up to this
P-3 to fight its way straight

into the eye of the storm.

MacDill Air Force
Base, Tampa, Florida.

From here, the US government
deploys an elite science force

called the hurricane hunters.

At the center of this
critical operation is the P-3

Orion, a military
aircraft built

at the peak of
the Cold War, now

fighting a different enemy.

This plane flies
straight into the heart

of deadly hurricanes,
facing weather conditions

no plane is meant to handle.

Al Giramonti is one of
the aircraft's commanders.

This plane actually isn't
reinforced structurally

at all to do this job.

It's just a well-built
airplane to begin with.

NARRATOR: The P-3
Orion is a 1960s

Kennedy era aircraft that
has stood the test of time.

For 30 years, the P-3
Orion was the best

defense against Russian
nuclear submarines

lurking off US shores.

At the end of the Cold
War, the reliable P-3s

remained in military
and government service.

Two of them are
hurricane hunters.

She's a great plane.

She's very forgiving.

She can definitely take
a beating and keep going,

and it's just really a sturdier
aircraft than most Jets.

Built this age.

Jets tend to have
more flexible wings,

which is not really good for
flying in the turbulence.

NARRATOR: Wes crouch.

Is crew chief.

He ensures the safety
of the P-3 and everyone

on board for every flight.

The P-3, there was only
two of these in the world,

and this was one of them.

A lot of horsepower,
so you can move and get

in and out of places
that you might

not be able to with a jet.

And also, the altitude is key.

Sturdy, propeller-driven,
of course,

and the type of work we do is
low down, low altitude work.

Jets don't do so well
at low altitudes.

Propeller-driven aircraft
do very well there.

NARRATOR: This P-3 Orion
is nicknamed Kermit.

He's bristling with an
array of instrumentation,

radar, and recording devices
used to track hurricanes.

A long probe on its nose used
to detect sudden wind gusts

distinguishes it from
all other aircraft.

The P-3 Orion is a
marvel of endurance.

Approximately 120 feet
long and 34 feet tall,

with a wingspan
of about 100 feet,

the Orion can stay in the
air for over 16 hours.

That's about four times the
duration of other aircraft

in its class.

The P-3s are operated by a US
government agency called NOAA,

with hurricane forecasting
and research centers

based in Miami, Florida.

The storm is moving.

It's picking up speed,
and it's going to be--

NARRATOR: Shirley Murillo
is lead meteorologist,

running the show for
hurricane hunting.

NOAA is the National Oceanic
Atmospheric Administration,

and NOAA's responsible for
forecasting hurricanes,

in particular with the
National Hurricane Center.

And what we do is that we
actually go out and fly

into the storms to collect
valuable data that's

going to help the forecasters.

NARRATOR: NOAA gathers
data from numerous sources,

including ground
stations and satellites.

But when it comes to getting
up close and personal

with these storms,
there's no better tool

in their arsenal than the P-3.

NOAA's job is to predict
when tropical storms turn

into deadly hurricanes and
do it in time so that people

can be evacuated safely.

It's a dangerous
and critical job.

Hurricanes do an average of $10
billion in damage every year

in the US.

The work is very
important, and we

have specific state
of the art instruments

that no other agency has.

The hurricane researchers
struggle with a mystery

called rapid intensification.

Even as instruments become more
sophisticated, how storms go

from category 1 to 5
is a complex problem

that science has yet to solve.

It's almost like a
Rubik's cube, if you will,

on how to actually
solve that mystery

of how storms intensify.

The forecast is for
it to move to the north,

starting in just a few hours.

So it'll start to get out
of that cold water that

is upwelled and into
the warm water again

and should intensify.

NARRATOR: Rapid
intensification is

the holy grail for this team.

If they can crack
it, they could

save hundreds of
thousands of lives

by issuing early
evacuation orders.

The NOAA team is now watching
a new hurricane that they

fear might become a giant.

Her name is Leslie.

Tropical Storm Leslie
is making her way

westward across the
Atlantic towards the US.

John Pavone oversees aerial
reconnaissance at the National

Hurricane Center.

OK, Lexi, and here's
the latest vortex message

from Leslie and 983 millibars.

And here's the
latest wind profile.

The satellite gives us an
estimate, which is great,

but the airplane can actually
give us measurements.

And if you're going
to do a forecast,

you want the best available
data to do that forecast.

And the airplane is still
superior to the satellite.

NARRATOR: Leslie is now
1,250 miles off the US,

sending all the
signals that she

could turn into a juggernaut.

First of all, about
our departure out of here

and rude weather
and coming back,

expecting a very large
envelope of winds

upwards of 50 to 60 knots once
we descend down to 10,000.

In the last few
hours, what we've seen

is a tendency for the
convection here on the north

side to fire up
pretty significantly

over that warmer
water that we expected

to see north of the storm.

NARRATOR: Among her crew,
pilot Justin Kibbey, working

his way toward a promotion.

He is penetrated hurricane
eyewalls 23 times.

After another 27 penetrations,
he gets elevated to P-3

hurricane aircraft commander.

Looking at, some people
would say it's kind of crazy.

It goes against what
all pilots are taught,

as far as flying into weather.

Every storm is different.

So no matter what you're
going out there, expecting it

could have changed by the
time you fly through it again.

So each pass is
kind of the unknown.

NARRATOR: Justin is married
with young children.

He knows that his wife
lives in constant worry

because his line of work
comes with a calculated risk.

She knows that we do
it safely out there,

but there's always an unknown.

You're flying an airplane
into a hurricane,

so there's always a risk.

The P-3 Orion
contains workstations

for the meteorologists in
the cabin behind the cockpit.

Ian Sears is chief
weatherman on the aircraft

and flight director.

I take the game plan for
what the scientists want to do,

and I translate that into
an operational mission,

where we can execute what it is
they're trying to accomplish.

NARRATOR: As the
P-3 Orion readies

for its critical mission,
scientists at NOAA's National

Hurricane Center in Miami
determined that Leslie is now

a threat to Bermuda
and Eastern Canada

and worth investigating
in the P-3.

This is Hurricane
Leslie that I'm

showing here on the screen.

It looks like this might be
a potential target for us

to target.

I've got folks here on the
phone and here on the room.

So it looks like the storm
is now a hurricane strength,

and we might be able to capture
some flights into this system.

NARRATOR: On the line is Paul
Flaherty, mission coordinator.

OK, what I'll need from you
is a crew list of your folks

who will be joining
us and also--

MAN [ON PHONE]: On
our end, we would just

need to make a
decision pretty quickly

of some crew downstairs working
on the aircraft right now.

We have to get them off
that and on some crew rest.

It all depends on when
you want to start flying.

How soon do you
guys think you

would want to deploy eastward?

It looks now that depending
on the latitude and longitude

of the system
here, that we could

probably target the
first flight to be 4:00

AM on Friday.

All right.

Any changes, give me a shout.

The flight schedule is always
either 4:00 in the morning

or 4:00 in the afternoon.

This gives the
scientists on the ground

time to interpret
the P-3's data

for their morning and
evening hurricane advisories.

The pressure is now
on Kermit and his crew

to take on hurricane Leslie.

At 2:00 AM in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida,

the hurricane
hunter team gathers.

Operations have moved
from headquarters in Tampa

to Fort Lauderdale to
be closer to the storm.

The P-3 will now fly
straight into a maelstrom

of wind, water, and
lightning that few aircraft

are meant to handle.

We're headed out to
Hurricane Leslie today.

The latest weather out of Fort
Lauderdale, winds are calm,

good visibility, a few
clouds at 2,100 feet.

People can take a look.

We're going to be coming
in from the Northwest side.

We're going to be
headed southeast.

We're going to take a
turn up to the north.

And then on our inbound
pass, if we have time,

we might try and go in and out
of the eye a couple of times.

It's going to be a
long day doing that.

Navigation, Chris.

Hey, we're taking off
out of Fort Lauderdale.

We'll be round
robin out of here.

Looking for a
nine-plus hour flight.

We'll be 2, 2 and 1/2 hours
inside the storm today,

far as distance from home
for the flight engineer.

It's going to be
over 1,000 miles.

Navigation-wise,
we'll update the ditch

heading and the minimum
altimeter setting on station.

Any questions?

NARRATOR: No questions.

Time to fly.

All right, good
work, everybody.

Thanks.

NARRATOR: Co-pilot
Justin Kibbe goes

through a last
important ritual.

I call my wife.

I'll send her a text,
like this morning.

It's a little bit early,
so let her know that I

love her, love the kids.

I do carry a Saint
Christopher's medal with me,

and I've had this in my flight
suit pocket for all my years

in the Navy and my years here.

So you know, I just make sure
that I got that on my person.

NARRATOR: At 4:00 AM,
16 people take off

in the P-3 for a
nine-hour flight,

straight into the
jaws of a hurricane.

A hurricane is gathering
strength off the North America

East Coast, and it's
up to a Lockheed P-3

Orion to fly directly
into it to determine

whether it could be a killer.

Two scientists from Shirley
Murillo's team in Miami, Dr.

John Garmash, and
Dr. Robert Rogers

joined the P-3 crew to
study Hurricane Leslie.

As Kermit makes his way
toward the hurricane,

another P-3 is in
pieces and a hangar

at Naval Air Station
Jacksonville.

Her nickname is Miss Piggy.

She's every bit as high tech.

Though, like her
Muppet namesake,

she's a little
heavier than Kermit,

thanks to some extra
equipment on board.

For the next year,
Miss Piggy's being

overhauled, leaving Kermit to
tackle the Hurricanes alone.

It takes a year because the
P-3s need to be completely

overhauled every six years.

Clinton Batten is in
charge of her overhaul.

It's about a
one-year turnaround

time here in the hangar,
from start to finish.

At the end, your aircraft
will be not brand

new, better than brand new,
back to the fleet, ready

for service.

NARRATOR: Hurricanes wreak
havoc on any aircraft, even

the sturdy P-3s.

With Miss Piggy sidelined,
this year's hurricanes

are Kermit's problem.

And scientists believe it
will be one of the worst

seasons on record.

the.

P-3 Orion is now en route
from Fort Lauderdale

to Hurricane Leslie,
positioned 300

miles, southeast of Bermuda.

Al Giramonti is the
mission commander.

I think the biggest piece of
advice that I give to people

is almost to, kind
of, calm their nerves

a little bit by telling
them that 80% of the flight

is relatively benign.

It's mostly what you see here.

Occasionally, there
will be some turbulence,

and especially when
we get to the eyewall.

There's some turbulence.

But heck, I've been in some
eyewalls that haven't have

been fairly smooth, in fact.

What penetrations in less
than five degrees angle

of bank or less?

You know, the plane
is never out of control.

We're always in positive
control of the airplane.

It's just-- it can be
a little more bumpy

than what people are used to.

NARRATOR: At one of two
meteorologist stations

in the back, Ian Sears
leads the science

side of the mission.

One of the things that
we're really focusing on

is getting enough data that
we can get into the models

quickly and reliably.

A hurricane can
intensify rapidly.

And vice-versely, it
can be a strong storm

and decrease in
intensity rapidly.

That is the challenge that the
forecasters at the National

Hurricane Center are really
struggling with in the last 20

years is predicting those rapid
intensification phases or even

the rapid de-intensification.

NARRATOR: The P-3's
most powerful weapon

is its tail Doppler radar.

This huge array does a
complete scan of the storm.

It sends this data
real-time to Miami

to give scientists exact
info about the structure

of the storm.

It's very unique.

It allows us to
essentially take

like a CAT scan of the
inner core of a hurricane.

It collect these tail
Doppler measurements,

and then those measurements
are transmitted

in real-time to the ground.

And that information is
used for computer models

to predict both the
track and the intensity

of tropical cyclones.

We want to give a
good picture of what's

going on in the inner core.

And hopefully, that the
models will take that picture

and be able to predict what's
going to happen in the future.

NARRATOR: Ian inspects his
scope, looking for signs

of the hurricane's edge.

As flight director, his job is
to make sure that they don't

fly into zones of the hurricane
that could tear the P-3 apart.

I'm looking at the radar,
And i have no reflectivity.

And then red meaning
very high reflectivity

will go from, maybe, nothing
to red in an instant.

And that would just be
a very strong indication

of very heavy updrafts, strong
turbulence, something that

could overstress the aircraft.

And that's something we just
don't want to do because if we

overstress the
aircraft, then we

have to bring the aircraft
down for maintenance,

get it inspected, make
sure that the aircraft is

safe to fly for further crew.

NARRATOR: The next crucial
piece of technology

is a device called a drop zone.

They run $700 a piece, and
the P-3 drops an average of 30

on every mission.

They are weather
balloons in a canister.

Take the sound.

We stick it in the tube here,
then he checks the tube.

And when the flight
director calls for it,

I'll hit this switch.

Valve will open up.

Difference between aircraft
and outside pressure

actually sucks this
thing right out.

NARRATOR: The dropsonde
measures air pressure,

barometric pressure, air
temperature, wind speed,

and wind direction.

It emits data every second as
it falls through the layers

of the storm.

Like the Doppler
radar, this data

is fed real timl-to the
National Hurricane Center

in Miami, providing
critical information

about the storm's intensity.

Now, Kermit is about to pierce
the eyewall of the hurricane.

In Jacksonville, Florida,
his counterpart, Miss Piggy,

is in a hangar for a
year-long overhaul.

Leslie is happening during
the heart of hurricane season,

so the timing
could not be worse.

Yeah, right after making
that call, we did get know,

hey, what-if scenarios.

NARRATOR: Paul
Flaherty is chief

of the Aircraft Operations
Center's Science Section.

Maintenance is
one of those things

that is just like,
to me, it seems just

like with your automobile.

It seems like problems
come up at the worst times.

Historically, these
are old planes,

and they do act up at
times, but we have to keep

those aircraft running well.

NARRATOR: These P-3 Orions fly
straight into a wall of wind,

water, and lightning,
forces that would

tear most aircraft apart.

Already putting an
aircraft in a very

hazardous environment into
the hurricane eyewall.

We don't want to
add to the risk

by not doing our jobs
properly and making sure

that we can be as
safe as possible.

NARRATOR: Program manager
Clinton Batten knows

he is in a race against time.

Here we are.

We got Miss Piggy, NOOA N-43.

She's been here for
approximately three months.

You can see it's under the
wing shoring right now.

That's for removing and
replacing the center

wing while it's in here.

You see, we got
laser guys here.

They're looking
at the airplane.

We're going to go
through a laser chute.

That's to check the
alignment of the wings.

NARRATOR: The team
uses laser technology

to determine if after
flying through hundreds

of hurricanes, Miss Piggy's
wings are out of alignment.

Dan Marlow is the
engineer in charge.

This particular airplane
was out of tolerance

in one of the wingtips,
but apparently, it's

been that way for a long time.

The wing additive
tolerance could

happen during some
of the severe flights

of this airplane.

NARRATOR: The
alignment of the wings

is one of the most critical
parts of the whole operation.

We're trying to
get the airplane

as close as possible
to the factory

perfect alignment condition.

Basically, the airplane will
be flying at its optimum

design conditions.

Right here on
today's shoot, we got

to check that the wind tips--
the height of the wind tips.

Engineers are going to
adjust the wind tips,

so they're in a
relaxed condition.

So when they install the center
tank, there is no stress.

Marvin has got it set
up there, and we're

going to turn on the camera,
which sees the reflector,

then it locks onto
the reflector.

So I found the reflector.

I lock onto it.

Now, we got a green light,
so we're ready to to take

a measurement.
Got it.

Got it.

NARRATOR: If they're off by the
smallest fraction of an inch--

One's down about an 1/8 inch,
and one's up about 50,000.

NARRATOR: --Miss Piggy
could get her wings

torn off by a hurricane.

The on the left
hand's up about 48,000.

The one on the right hand
is down about 126,000.

This is where we
get engineering

to look at the numbers
and decide if they

need to make any adjustments.

A little bit of adjustment
on the right wing.

You got to bring it
up on the right wing.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: While
scrutinizing the plane,

the team finds evidence
of a lightning strike

that posed a danger
to everyone on board.

And if you look inside, you
can see that it's all burnt.

It's got soot on it here.

NARRATOR: Strikes like this
one are rare because the P3 is

covered with static guards that
are meant to draw electricity

away from the hull.

And the crew is
trained to avoid

the heaviest lightning areas.

The lightning strike occurred
on the top of the leading

edge of the elevator.

That's the aft end
of the aircraft,

and it occurred on
the top side, where we

don't normally get up to see.

So that would be located
above us here on the top side

of the elevator.

NARRATOR: Now, it's
up to Wes and his crew

to see if the lightning
did severe damage to the

aircraft's electrical systems.

Lightning isn't
the only threat.

Seawater also poses
a surprising risk

in the form of huge
salt plumes that

rise from the sea surface.

Five years ago, we were
flying out of Saint John's

Newfoundland, and we
lost three engines,

a triple engine failure
in three minutes

in this airplane.

We flew through a salt
plume, and nobody ever

flown through a
salt plume before,

and then we started
losing engines.

Because we'd always
assume that the salt layer

stayed at 1,200 feet.

We were at 3,000
feet, but now they

figure that these high
winds brought the salt layer

up as high as 8,000 feet.

And we lost three
engines in three minutes.

NARRATOR: With just
one engine left,

the crew hobbled to
Newfoundland, barely

escaping with their lives.

And if we would
have ditched, we

wouldn't have made it anyway.

I mean, there
were 90-foot seas.

It was at night.

Very intense.

NARRATOR: Another big
problem is corrosion.

We've already
removed the engines.

We've removed the landing gear.

That's for inspections
underneath the wheel well,

the lower planks as corrosion
checks due to the environment

this aircraft flies in.

You can imagine
this airplane flying

dead on into hurricanes,
more salt, more corrosion.

When the plane comes
in, we have to inspect

this butt line here.

And if we see any damage
or corrosion or anything,

we'll go ahead and replace it.

So we have to make sure
all these holes are clean

and round and all deburred.

And there's no potential
for cracks or anything

in the future.

Good.

NARRATOR: And sometimes,
the most mundane problems

cause the biggest headaches.

A mechanism that raises
one of the plane's antenna

is worn out.

Without it, the
P-3 Orion cannot

communicate crucial data to
the hurricane center in Miami.

So what they discovered here
is that the drive mechanism is

worn, and that can
create some felt

vibration in the airframe.

So we have to replace
that assembly.

And it's looking
like we'll probably

have to replace more than one.

NARRATOR: Finding a part
for an older rare plane,

like the P-3, is not easy.

And unless Wes can
get it, Miss Piggy may

not return to her job on time.

That's going to create a
challenge for us that we're

going to have to solve
before this aircraft goes

back into action.

Keeping these P-3
Orions in the air, I mean,

they're 20, 30, 40 years old.

They're aging.

I mean, look at us,
we're not as good

as we were when
we were 18 and 19.

Airplanes are the same way.

They're just stressed.
They're cracked.

They're being bended.

They're being twisted.

So we just have to maintain
them stay on top of it,

be vigilant, and
make sure it's good.

NARRATOR: At NOAA's National
Hurricane Center in Miami,

meteorologists continue
to keep a close watch

on hurricane Leslie, as she
creeps closer to Bermuda.

And they need critical
data from the P-3

to complete their analysis.

With Miss Piggy off
duty, it's up to Kermit

to do double duty.

And Kermit is facing
possible trouble ahead.

A P-3 Orion called Kermit
has a dangerous mission--

to fly into a massive
hurricane that is threatening

to slam into Eastern Canada.

These hurricane
hunters are going

against instinct and
conventional pilot training.

Just really never get
complacent because, as pilots,

we're trained to really
stay away from bad weather,

so it's a natural
apprehension for us to want

to steer clear of this.

But it is dangerous,
so we've got

to give this storm
that respect, no matter

how routine it may seem.

NARRATOR: Co-pilot Justin Kibbe
allows Kermit to do his job

by turning on the autopilot.

He knows that inside
the hurricane,

the autopilot is the
safest and smoothest ride.

These winds in the storm
want to push you up and pull

you down at a certain point.

So we engage the
autopilot and take

the hold off our autopilot and
just don't fight the controls.

Just let the winds do what
they want to and push you up,

pull you down,
and just, kind of,

ease the plane back to
where it needs to be.

So it's like riding a wave
or riding a roller coaster.

I'd tell you, to
be honest with you,

sometimes, when
I'm in the back,

I may get a little queasy, too.

Because the further after you
go, that's where the tail is,

so it kind of, you know,
wags back and forth, as we're

flying through the storm.

And also, back there,
the temperature

may not be just right.

You don't have a lot of
windows for visual references.

NARRATOR: The P-3 bumps along
in the rough swirling winds.

Leslie is a huge storm.

With a 190-mile radius, it
will take more than three hours

to reach the middle.

As they search for
the eye of the storm,

the scientists get
to work, trying

to solve the mystery of
the deadly explosive force

called rapid intensification.

But what's kind of
interesting to me is,

I don't know if
it's disturbing is.

I mean, you look
at these profiles,

and you're seeing winds
on the order of 75 knots.

You know, some hurricanes
can increase from a category 1,

on the Saffir-Simpson scale,
to a category 3 in, you know,

12 hours or 24 hours,
but others don't.

So is there something about
the inner core structure

of these hurricanes that do
undergo rapid intensification

that we can detect with, for
example, the Doppler radar,

and compare that
with ones that don't

undergo rapid intensification.

NARRATOR: Leslie
sending strange signals

to the Doppler radar.

They can't find the
eye of the storm.

So what I'm looking at
on this radar here is,

I've got rain bands
that are wrapping

around hurricane Leslie.

NARRATOR: Disorganized
storms like this lack

the more predictable structure
of storms with clearly

organized eyes and
pose a huge challenge

to the P-3 and her crew.

I'm looking for a
donut here on the radar.

And here's the plan.

This is we're in
the middle here,

and this is where we're headed.

And there's nothing
here that represents

an eye of a hurricane.

Unfortunately, we're not
seeing a whole lot on radar.

And what that
means is the radar

is not going to help
us find the center.

I'm going to have to rely
on our wind directions

to guide us in.

NARRATOR: Finally,
they find the center,

but there is no eye.

It appears Leslie is
no longer a hurricane,

but a tropical storm.

The cockpit crew is surprised.

Her eye, as they
saw, was like 60 knots

at the surface, which
ain't a hurricane.

NARRATOR: But not as
surprised as the scientists

in the back of the P-3.

So what we've
been finding today

is our flight level
winds have been

maximum of about 60 knots.

And that's not
hurricane strength

that we've been finding surface
winds of about 50 to 55 knots,

also not hurricane strength.

NARRATOR: The tail
Doppler radar sends data

to the National Hurricane
Center in Miami,

so they can get
their first real-time

up close look at Leslie.

The Hurricane Center has
been relying on the satellites

to estimate what the
intensity of the storm is.

So these are the first
direct measurements from

an aircraft into Leslie's.

NARRATOR: Leslie is
still over cold water.

If she takes off and finds
warmer water to fuel her,

she could reach category 4.

Despite Leslie's
diminished state,

they continue their research.

And after seven
hours in the air,

the crew is getting tired.

It's about 9:15.

We left Tampa at 2:00 AM.

And being the first
flight, our bodies

aren't quite used to
be on this this rhythm

yet, this circadian rhythm.

So I think everybody's
pretty tired right now.

But with you know,
the sun's up.

Catch the next wave of
that circadian rhythm

and start feeling
good about lunchtime.

NARRATOR: Justin
still got his mind

set on hitting 50 penetrations,
qualifying him for hurricane

aircraft commander.

He's halfway there.

But now, that
Leslie's weakened,

this flight is disqualified.

That 50 is the number
we want to get to.

So tropical depressions
don't count,

so you know, we'll try
again the next day,

if it does maintain
its working strength

or, you know, goes back
down and comes back up.

It's just sitting in
one area right now,

so it's basically sucked all
the energy out of that water.

Once it starts moving,
it's got the possibility

of getting some warmer waters
and possibly strengthening,

so time will tell.

That's kind of frustrating.

We're this close to
being a hurricane

right above the surface,
but nope, at the surface.

NARRATOR: The data
gathered on this flight

will be on the NOAA
website within minutes.

Four times a day, at 11:00
AM, that's where we're at now.

The National Hurricane
Center puts out an advisory,

and they're going to take the
data that we collected today

and give a new advisory.

Something that
they've been finding

is that the stationary
system has caused the waters

beneath it to cool down.

And warm waters are the
driving force that is

going to fuel the hurricane.

And with the waters
cooling down,

the hurricane no
longer has the energy

source to maintain its
intensity or even strengthen.

So that's a lot of the reason
why Hurricane Leslie is

now a Tropical Storm Leslie.

NARRATOR: This is
critical information

that helps NOAA advise
people on the storm's path.

This is Canadian
Hurricane Center.

Hi, good morning.

This is Lexi from
the Hurricane Center.

And we are going to keep the
system as a tropical storm.

NARRATOR: They still
need to be vigilant,

but the good news is that the
storm seems to be weakening.

- Just moving too slow.
- Exactly.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: Now, the
Miami team has the most

accurate data possible.

They can get to
work, trying to build

an exact weather
model of Leslie

to predict her
intensity and path.

This is Tropical
Storm Leslie.

Today, that's
going to, probably,

affect Newfoundland tomorrow.

NARRATOR: The NOAA P-3 Orion,
a workhorse for over 30 years,

has performed perfectly.

It's one of the only planes
in the world tough enough

to do this dangerous job.

It's built as tough
as a pickup truck.

You can abuse it, as
long as you come back.

You take care of it.

Give it some good TLC.

It's going to go
right back out and do

the same mission for you.

And I think it
handles great at sea.

You know, I've been flying
it for, you know, 12 years.

It's great to fly.

It's very responsive
to our inputs.

It handles like a dream.

NARRATOR: They now return
to Fort Lauderdale.

And after a quick
turnaround, they will

pay a second visit to Leslie.

This time, with the help
of their smaller sidekick

named Gonzo.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

After a 16-hour turnaround,
the hurricane hunters

are ready to take their
P-3 Orion back out to fly

into a storm named Leslie.

The data gathered on
their first flight

showed Leslie was no
longer a hurricane,

but a tropical storm.

At NOAA's Hurricane
Research Division,

Shirley Murillo and
Dr. Robert Rogers

plan another flight to study
this large but

stationary storm.

This will be the
first time that

we actually get a storm in P-3
and the G-4 at the same time.

This is pretty exciting.

Very exciting.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: They've
learned that Leslie is

still sitting over cold water.

And once it starts to
move over warmer water,

it could, again, escalate
into a hurricane.

They're going back to
find out what's happening.

Flight number 2 for this grew
into tropical Storm Leslie.

I'll turn it immediately
over to Rich for the weather.

Once we get into
the storm environment,

obviously, we'll be dealing
with a lot of convection,

especially on the north
side of the storm.

Actually, by satellite, more
than what we had yesterday.

So expect to see the belt sign
coming on a little bit more.

The storm has moved
a little bit north.

It has gone over
some warmer water

and has started to
indicate that it

might be firing up again.

NARRATOR: Kermit is once again
ready to intercept the storm.

On today's mission,
it will be accompanied

by its much smaller sidekick,
a Gulfstream 4 named

Gonzo, the tiny daredevil.

The Gulfstream 4 is
a fast, sleek flying

science lab, about 78 feet
long and over 24 feet high.

The G-4 has a swept-back
wingspan of almost 78 feet,

reducing drag and
increasing speed.

Kermit and Gonzo
will work in tandem,

with Kermit inside the storm
and Gonzo flying around

and, at times, above it.

I like that breeze coming up.

It feels good.

NARRATOR: Commander Jeff
Hagen is one of the plane's

two pilots on this mission.

Very unique G-4 acquired
for NOAA for doing

hurricane surveillance.

In the past couple
of years, we've

integrated a tail Doppler
radar onto the plane,

and we're very
fortunate to have

great mechanics here at the
aircraft operations center.

And the guys keep it
pristine, and it looks

just like the day we got it.

NARRATOR: Since the
1980s the Gulfstream 4

has made its mark as a
high-end corporate transport,

but Gonzo is one of a kind.

Well, the primary difference
between this one and what

you'd see on a ramp at
any commercial airport

is the tail Doppler
radar assembly

that our science and
engineering divisions

installed on the airplane.

It gives them a
vertical profile

of the storms as they're
flying it out the tooth.

It's rather unique
and still kind

of in an experimental stage.

But from what I understand,
works extremely well.

NARRATOR: For the
first time ever,

Gonzo and Kermit
will attempt to share

data from new tail
Doppler equipment

attached to each aircraft.

While the P-3 can
fly into the storm,

the G-4 can get high
above it and get

an overview of the hurricane
that the P-3 cannot.

If it works, these
Doppler radar systems

may help these
scientists determine what

turns a storm into a killer.

Once again, the
hurricane hunters take

flight to intercept Leslie.

The P-3 Orion flies
from Fort Lauderdale

to the open Atlantic, 250
miles southeast of Bermuda.

Approaching your altitude.

Got it.

Yeah.

NARRATOR: It takes them three
hours to reach the storm.

So I'm going to have to
turn the airplane a little bit

to help me find the center.

That's going to help me
get to that zero wind.

I can't rely on radar
anymore because I

can't see any evidence
of what would be an eye.

So I'm going to have
to rely on winds

to help me find the center.

We're in the center.

This is a very big
and broad storm.

So basically, what we have
here is a very big storm,

with its mass spread way out.

It's like a figure
skater that has

their arms spread out
as far as they can,

with dumbbells in their hands.

And it's having a
hard time contracting

and getting that spin to
accelerate and go faster.

So we're not really finding
any evidence that this is

going to be a hurricane today.

NARRATOR: As the P-3 scans
Leslie, the much faster

Gonzo takes off
90 minutes later

and heads for the storm with
an ETA of less than two hours.

Aircraft is tight, commander.

No warnings.

We're good to go.

NARRATOR: Jason Mansour
is commander on the G-4's

important mission.

It is ingrained in us
that weather is dangerous,

and we definitely take that
heart in our operations.

But sometimes, you
need to know what

a hurricane is doing, what
a tropical storm is doing.

That involves going into harm's
way through the worst weather

on Earth to obtain the
best possible data.

NARRATOR: Now, both
planes are at the stretch

of the Atlantic, where
Leslie has stalled.

The P-3 flies into the storm.

The smaller and
more fragile G-4

encircles and flies
above it, gathering

data at its edges to compare
with that coming from the P-3.

The G-4 is atop,
P-3 down low.

With the goal of this flight,
on Leslie's specifically,

is to compare the data
from our tail Doppler radar

to the P-3's tail Doppler radar
to make sure that we're seeing

the same things or
that we're seeing

very, very different things.

Either one is
useful to us, as we

continue to improve
the data that we obtain

on these mission flights.

NARRATOR: Jason
knows that the G-4

is not as robust as
the Orion and can

be torn apart in the winds.

It's also a jet,
and jet engines

can flame out in the
hurricane strength rain.

The real air is very limited.

I don't care if you go in
100 knots or 400 knots,

if things go wrong,
they can go wrong

pretty fast, pretty seriously.

NARRATOR: Leslie is mostly
a smooth ride for the crew

of the P-3, but the
occasional pocket

bounces them around,
giving co-pilot Justin

Kibbe an uncomfortable jolt.

I'm glad I
didn't have a heart

monitor on because
I'd have probably

gone through the roof.

NARRATOR: Back on the G-4,
drop zones are released.

Weather canisters that
send real-time data

back to the National
Hurricane Center in Miami.

Data coming into both
aircraft is crystal clear.

Leslie is no longer a threat.

Right now,
Leslie is, kind of,

a steady state, if
not declining category

1 hurricane.

It's sitting over
the same water,

and the water
beneath the surface

is a little bit cooler
than what's at the surface.

So until it moves off this plot
of ocean that it's sitting on,

it's not going to
have the fuel to start

to intensify as it moves
off to the North Atlantic.

NARRATOR: At the hurricane
research division in Miami,

Shirley Murillo and her
team receive the data.

All this is from today, yeah.

NARRATOR: What they discover
sends a sigh of relief

through the room.

Ian Sears is right.

Leslie is weakening.

The two planes have proven
to be the best combined

tool for tracking hurricanes.

I really like the combination
of the G-4 with the P-3,

a coordinated flight.

NARRATOR: Shirley's
team analyzes

the data from the two planes.

It's early days, but it looks
like Kermit and Gonzo working

together make a powerful team.

Right now, it's still
in a research mode.

And so now, when the G-4
is down on the ground,

we can collect the data.

We'll look at both
of the data sets,

and we'll see what we get.

Hopefully, it will
be something good.

NARRATOR: In
Newfoundland, Leslie hits

with half the expected force.

Accurate forecasts using data
gathered by the NOAA hurricane

hunters means there are
no unnecessary evacuations

and no casualties, but
now an even bigger storm

is on the horizon,
one that will

put the team to one of their
greatest tests in history.

The 2012 hurricane
season is a busy one.

10 hurricanes
keep the P-3 Orion

and its team of hurricane
hunters on constant watch.

The convection isn't
looking too good this morning.

We'll see what we get
when we get out there.

Maybe the dry air intrusion
will get a little bit

of turbulence out of
that, but we'll see what

happens when we get out there.

NARRATOR: The most devastating
storm of the season

was Hurricane Sandy.

Sandy met with two
other storm systems,

threatening the safety of
thousands on the east coast

of North America.

It's what one meteorologist
dubbed a frankenstorm.

For decades, this is the kind
of challenge the hurricane

hunters have faced.

They conducted 10
grueling back to back

flights into one of the
worst storms in history.

Do you have any
questions on whether

or what we're doing today?

NARRATOR: Thanks to
the work of the P-3

Orion called Kermit
and the NOAA team,

predictions were
made of exactly where

and when Sandy would hit.

And with the help of
Gonzo, the Gulfstream G-4,

the forecasters made
an accurate prediction

of the hurricane's intensity.

As a result, massive
evacuation orders

were issued on
the coastal areas

of New York and New Jersey.

It's incredible,
incredible rush,

but you're doing very,
very valuable data.

You're doing it as safely as
you possibly can while going

through a hurricane.

And like I said,
it's very much a team

environment and team success.

NARRATOR: Justin Kibbe made six
more hurricane penetrations--

Are we ready
to get the penny?

Awesome.

All right.

We did it.

NARRATOR: --putting him that
much closer to hurricane

aircraft commander.

I've always had
a love of aviation.

I've always wanted
to be a pilot.

I've always wanted to fly.

I've always been the kid who
likes to go out in the rain,

and you know, watch
the storms roll in.

So I combined the two
of flying and getting

to go into these
amazing storms that not

everybody in the world gets to
do and not many people at all.

NARRATOR: Timely evacuation
saved thousands of lives

during Hurricane Sandy.

Thanks to the P-3 Orions
and the Gulfstream 4's

pinpoint accurate data.

But Kermit and Gonzo had to do
all the missions themselves,

with their counterpart, Miss
Piggy, undergoing an overhaul.

This deadly
hurricane season made

it even more urgent to get
Miss Piggy back in the air.

The problem is, nature never
ever goes along with our plan.

So very often, the
minute we put the planes

down, something changes.

And we get the
phone call, saying,

how quickly could you have
these planes up and going?

NARRATOR: No one knows
what nature has in store.

But if all goes
according to plan,

Kermit and Gonzo will
be joined by Miss Piggy

next hurricane
season to help keep

the public out of harm's way.