1 00:00:03,517 --> 00:00:05,689 NARRATOR: This plane flies into the deadliest 2 00:00:05,793 --> 00:00:08,000 weather on Earth. 3 00:00:08,103 --> 00:00:09,965 I don't like this at all. 4 00:00:10,068 --> 00:00:11,793 NARRATOR: The P-3 Orion has been 5 00:00:11,896 --> 00:00:16,655 transformed from submarine hunter to hurricane hunter. 6 00:00:16,758 --> 00:00:19,275 Look at that eyeball, huh? 7 00:00:19,379 --> 00:00:21,482 It's billed as tough as a pickup truck. 8 00:00:21,586 --> 00:00:23,448 You can abuse it, as long as you come back. 9 00:00:23,551 --> 00:00:25,689 You take care of it. 10 00:00:25,793 --> 00:00:28,103 NARRATOR: Thousands of lives and billions of dollars 11 00:00:28,206 --> 00:00:29,931 are on the line with every mission. 12 00:00:30,034 --> 00:00:31,034 [radio chatter] 13 00:00:31,137 --> 00:00:32,310 MAN: Let me know if that works for you. 14 00:00:32,413 --> 00:00:34,344 WOMAN: The camera doesn't do it justice. 15 00:00:34,448 --> 00:00:35,551 Things go wrong. 16 00:00:35,655 --> 00:00:37,517 They can go wrong pretty fast, pretty seriously. 17 00:00:37,620 --> 00:00:39,689 So we've got to give this storm that respect. 18 00:00:39,793 --> 00:00:43,068 NARRATOR: And it's up to this P-3 to fight its way straight 19 00:00:43,172 --> 00:00:50,137 into the eye of the storm. 20 00:00:54,896 --> 00:00:57,241 MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida. 21 00:00:57,344 --> 00:01:00,862 From here, the US government deploys an elite science force 22 00:01:00,965 --> 00:01:07,965 called the hurricane hunters. 23 00:01:10,241 --> 00:01:13,310 At the center of this critical operation is the P-3 24 00:01:13,413 --> 00:01:15,724 Orion, a military aircraft built 25 00:01:15,827 --> 00:01:17,586 at the peak of the Cold War, now 26 00:01:17,689 --> 00:01:20,758 fighting a different enemy. 27 00:01:20,862 --> 00:01:22,862 This plane flies straight into the heart 28 00:01:22,965 --> 00:01:25,655 of deadly hurricanes, facing weather conditions 29 00:01:25,758 --> 00:01:28,482 no plane is meant to handle. 30 00:01:28,586 --> 00:01:32,000 Al Giramonti is one of the aircraft's commanders. 31 00:01:32,103 --> 00:01:34,793 This plane actually isn't reinforced structurally 32 00:01:34,896 --> 00:01:36,724 at all to do this job. 33 00:01:36,827 --> 00:01:40,793 It's just a well-built airplane to begin with. 34 00:01:40,896 --> 00:01:43,275 NARRATOR: The P-3 Orion is a 1960s 35 00:01:43,379 --> 00:01:48,793 Kennedy era aircraft that has stood the test of time. 36 00:01:48,896 --> 00:01:51,862 For 30 years, the P-3 Orion was the best 37 00:01:51,965 --> 00:01:54,000 defense against Russian nuclear submarines 38 00:01:54,103 --> 00:02:01,034 lurking off US shores. 39 00:02:01,137 --> 00:02:03,896 At the end of the Cold War, the reliable P-3s 40 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:07,551 remained in military and government service. 41 00:02:07,655 --> 00:02:09,965 Two of them are hurricane hunters. 42 00:02:10,068 --> 00:02:10,965 She's a great plane. 43 00:02:11,068 --> 00:02:12,206 She's very forgiving. 44 00:02:12,310 --> 00:02:14,068 She can definitely take a beating and keep going, 45 00:02:14,172 --> 00:02:17,413 and it's just really a sturdier aircraft than most Jets. 46 00:02:17,517 --> 00:02:18,517 Built this age. 47 00:02:18,620 --> 00:02:20,965 Jets tend to have more flexible wings, 48 00:02:21,068 --> 00:02:26,275 which is not really good for flying in the turbulence. 49 00:02:26,379 --> 00:02:27,275 NARRATOR: Wes crouch. 50 00:02:27,379 --> 00:02:28,448 Is crew chief. 51 00:02:28,551 --> 00:02:31,103 He ensures the safety of the P-3 and everyone 52 00:02:31,206 --> 00:02:33,724 on board for every flight. 53 00:02:33,827 --> 00:02:35,620 The P-3, there was only two of these in the world, 54 00:02:35,724 --> 00:02:36,896 and this was one of them. 55 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:38,931 A lot of horsepower, so you can move and get 56 00:02:39,034 --> 00:02:41,310 in and out of places that you might 57 00:02:41,413 --> 00:02:42,448 not be able to with a jet. 58 00:02:42,551 --> 00:02:46,103 And also, the altitude is key. 59 00:02:46,206 --> 00:02:49,206 Sturdy, propeller-driven, of course, 60 00:02:49,310 --> 00:02:52,482 and the type of work we do is low down, low altitude work. 61 00:02:52,586 --> 00:02:54,482 Jets don't do so well at low altitudes. 62 00:02:54,586 --> 00:02:57,655 Propeller-driven aircraft do very well there. 63 00:02:57,758 --> 00:03:00,655 NARRATOR: This P-3 Orion is nicknamed Kermit. 64 00:03:00,758 --> 00:03:03,344 He's bristling with an array of instrumentation, 65 00:03:03,448 --> 00:03:09,931 radar, and recording devices used to track hurricanes. 66 00:03:11,344 --> 00:03:13,896 A long probe on its nose used to detect sudden wind gusts 67 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,827 distinguishes it from all other aircraft. 68 00:03:18,931 --> 00:03:22,103 The P-3 Orion is a marvel of endurance. 69 00:03:22,206 --> 00:03:25,896 Approximately 120 feet long and 34 feet tall, 70 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,344 with a wingspan of about 100 feet, 71 00:03:28,448 --> 00:03:32,517 the Orion can stay in the air for over 16 hours. 72 00:03:32,620 --> 00:03:35,344 That's about four times the duration of other aircraft 73 00:03:35,448 --> 00:03:37,344 in its class. 74 00:03:37,448 --> 00:03:41,551 The P-3s are operated by a US government agency called NOAA, 75 00:03:41,655 --> 00:03:43,931 with hurricane forecasting and research centers 76 00:03:44,034 --> 00:03:46,758 based in Miami, Florida. 77 00:03:46,862 --> 00:03:47,931 The storm is moving. 78 00:03:48,034 --> 00:03:49,827 It's picking up speed, and it's going to be-- 79 00:03:49,931 --> 00:03:52,206 NARRATOR: Shirley Murillo is lead meteorologist, 80 00:03:52,310 --> 00:03:56,103 running the show for hurricane hunting. 81 00:03:56,206 --> 00:03:59,896 NOAA is the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, 82 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,275 and NOAA's responsible for forecasting hurricanes, 83 00:04:03,379 --> 00:04:05,620 in particular with the National Hurricane Center. 84 00:04:05,724 --> 00:04:08,137 And what we do is that we actually go out and fly 85 00:04:08,241 --> 00:04:10,655 into the storms to collect valuable data that's 86 00:04:10,758 --> 00:04:13,896 going to help the forecasters. 87 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,413 NARRATOR: NOAA gathers data from numerous sources, 88 00:04:16,517 --> 00:04:20,000 including ground stations and satellites. 89 00:04:20,103 --> 00:04:22,344 But when it comes to getting up close and personal 90 00:04:22,448 --> 00:04:24,482 with these storms, there's no better tool 91 00:04:24,586 --> 00:04:29,413 in their arsenal than the P-3. 92 00:04:29,517 --> 00:04:32,620 NOAA's job is to predict when tropical storms turn 93 00:04:32,724 --> 00:04:36,344 into deadly hurricanes and do it in time so that people 94 00:04:36,448 --> 00:04:38,931 can be evacuated safely. 95 00:04:39,034 --> 00:04:42,034 It's a dangerous and critical job. 96 00:04:42,137 --> 00:04:45,620 Hurricanes do an average of $10 billion in damage every year 97 00:04:45,724 --> 00:04:47,931 in the US. 98 00:04:48,034 --> 00:04:50,137 The work is very important, and we 99 00:04:50,241 --> 00:04:52,448 have specific state of the art instruments 100 00:04:52,551 --> 00:04:57,000 that no other agency has. 101 00:04:57,103 --> 00:04:59,379 The hurricane researchers struggle with a mystery 102 00:04:59,482 --> 00:05:01,827 called rapid intensification. 103 00:05:01,931 --> 00:05:05,482 Even as instruments become more sophisticated, how storms go 104 00:05:05,586 --> 00:05:08,931 from category 1 to 5 is a complex problem 105 00:05:09,034 --> 00:05:12,068 that science has yet to solve. 106 00:05:12,172 --> 00:05:14,724 It's almost like a Rubik's cube, if you will, 107 00:05:14,827 --> 00:05:16,862 on how to actually solve that mystery 108 00:05:16,965 --> 00:05:19,000 of how storms intensify. 109 00:05:19,103 --> 00:05:22,448 The forecast is for it to move to the north, 110 00:05:22,551 --> 00:05:24,896 starting in just a few hours. 111 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:27,137 So it'll start to get out of that cold water that 112 00:05:27,241 --> 00:05:30,655 is upwelled and into the warm water again 113 00:05:30,758 --> 00:05:33,896 and should intensify. 114 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,413 NARRATOR: Rapid intensification is 115 00:05:35,517 --> 00:05:37,137 the holy grail for this team. 116 00:05:37,241 --> 00:05:38,896 If they can crack it, they could 117 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,758 save hundreds of thousands of lives 118 00:05:40,862 --> 00:05:44,241 by issuing early evacuation orders. 119 00:05:44,344 --> 00:05:47,344 The NOAA team is now watching a new hurricane that they 120 00:05:47,448 --> 00:05:49,758 fear might become a giant. 121 00:05:49,862 --> 00:05:52,275 Her name is Leslie. 122 00:05:52,379 --> 00:05:54,620 Tropical Storm Leslie is making her way 123 00:05:54,724 --> 00:05:58,034 westward across the Atlantic towards the US. 124 00:05:58,137 --> 00:06:01,482 John Pavone oversees aerial reconnaissance at the National 125 00:06:01,586 --> 00:06:02,724 Hurricane Center. 126 00:06:02,827 --> 00:06:05,172 OK, Lexi, and here's the latest vortex message 127 00:06:05,275 --> 00:06:08,344 from Leslie and 983 millibars. 128 00:06:08,448 --> 00:06:10,068 And here's the latest wind profile. 129 00:06:10,172 --> 00:06:13,448 The satellite gives us an estimate, which is great, 130 00:06:13,551 --> 00:06:15,827 but the airplane can actually give us measurements. 131 00:06:15,931 --> 00:06:17,172 And if you're going to do a forecast, 132 00:06:17,275 --> 00:06:20,724 you want the best available data to do that forecast. 133 00:06:20,827 --> 00:06:25,103 And the airplane is still superior to the satellite. 134 00:06:25,206 --> 00:06:28,482 NARRATOR: Leslie is now 1,250 miles off the US, 135 00:06:28,586 --> 00:06:30,275 sending all the signals that she 136 00:06:30,379 --> 00:06:33,172 could turn into a juggernaut. 137 00:06:33,275 --> 00:06:35,689 First of all, about our departure out of here 138 00:06:35,793 --> 00:06:37,827 and rude weather and coming back, 139 00:06:37,931 --> 00:06:41,172 expecting a very large envelope of winds 140 00:06:41,275 --> 00:06:45,310 upwards of 50 to 60 knots once we descend down to 10,000. 141 00:06:45,413 --> 00:06:47,206 In the last few hours, what we've seen 142 00:06:47,310 --> 00:06:50,241 is a tendency for the convection here on the north 143 00:06:50,344 --> 00:06:53,000 side to fire up pretty significantly 144 00:06:53,103 --> 00:06:55,379 over that warmer water that we expected 145 00:06:55,482 --> 00:06:57,379 to see north of the storm. 146 00:06:57,482 --> 00:07:00,275 NARRATOR: Among her crew, pilot Justin Kibbey, working 147 00:07:00,379 --> 00:07:02,344 his way toward a promotion. 148 00:07:02,448 --> 00:07:05,862 He is penetrated hurricane eyewalls 23 times. 149 00:07:05,965 --> 00:07:09,724 After another 27 penetrations, he gets elevated to P-3 150 00:07:09,827 --> 00:07:12,000 hurricane aircraft commander. 151 00:07:12,103 --> 00:07:14,206 Looking at, some people would say it's kind of crazy. 152 00:07:14,310 --> 00:07:16,965 It goes against what all pilots are taught, 153 00:07:17,068 --> 00:07:18,413 as far as flying into weather. 154 00:07:18,517 --> 00:07:20,068 Every storm is different. 155 00:07:20,172 --> 00:07:21,896 So no matter what you're going out there, expecting it 156 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,275 could have changed by the time you fly through it again. 157 00:07:24,379 --> 00:07:28,000 So each pass is kind of the unknown. 158 00:07:28,103 --> 00:07:30,827 NARRATOR: Justin is married with young children. 159 00:07:30,931 --> 00:07:33,206 He knows that his wife lives in constant worry 160 00:07:33,310 --> 00:07:37,793 because his line of work comes with a calculated risk. 161 00:07:37,896 --> 00:07:39,586 She knows that we do it safely out there, 162 00:07:39,689 --> 00:07:41,034 but there's always an unknown. 163 00:07:41,137 --> 00:07:43,482 You're flying an airplane into a hurricane, 164 00:07:43,586 --> 00:07:46,000 so there's always a risk. 165 00:07:46,103 --> 00:07:48,448 The P-3 Orion contains workstations 166 00:07:48,551 --> 00:07:52,137 for the meteorologists in the cabin behind the cockpit. 167 00:07:52,241 --> 00:07:54,724 Ian Sears is chief weatherman on the aircraft 168 00:07:54,827 --> 00:07:56,586 and flight director. 169 00:07:56,689 --> 00:08:02,034 I take the game plan for what the scientists want to do, 170 00:08:02,137 --> 00:08:05,689 and I translate that into an operational mission, 171 00:08:05,793 --> 00:08:10,034 where we can execute what it is they're trying to accomplish. 172 00:08:10,137 --> 00:08:11,862 NARRATOR: As the P-3 Orion readies 173 00:08:11,965 --> 00:08:15,551 for its critical mission, scientists at NOAA's National 174 00:08:15,655 --> 00:08:18,655 Hurricane Center in Miami determined that Leslie is now 175 00:08:18,758 --> 00:08:21,482 a threat to Bermuda and Eastern Canada 176 00:08:21,586 --> 00:08:24,931 and worth investigating in the P-3. 177 00:08:25,034 --> 00:08:26,344 This is Hurricane Leslie that I'm 178 00:08:26,448 --> 00:08:28,137 showing here on the screen. 179 00:08:28,241 --> 00:08:30,862 It looks like this might be a potential target for us 180 00:08:30,965 --> 00:08:32,241 to target. 181 00:08:32,344 --> 00:08:36,344 I've got folks here on the phone and here on the room. 182 00:08:36,448 --> 00:08:39,931 So it looks like the storm is now a hurricane strength, 183 00:08:40,034 --> 00:08:45,000 and we might be able to capture some flights into this system. 184 00:08:45,103 --> 00:08:48,862 NARRATOR: On the line is Paul Flaherty, mission coordinator. 185 00:08:48,965 --> 00:08:52,275 OK, what I'll need from you is a crew list of your folks 186 00:08:52,379 --> 00:08:54,241 who will be joining us and also-- 187 00:08:54,344 --> 00:08:55,620 MAN [ON PHONE]: On our end, we would just 188 00:08:55,724 --> 00:08:57,413 need to make a decision pretty quickly 189 00:08:57,517 --> 00:09:00,344 of some crew downstairs working on the aircraft right now. 190 00:09:00,448 --> 00:09:03,862 We have to get them off that and on some crew rest. 191 00:09:03,965 --> 00:09:06,000 It all depends on when you want to start flying. 192 00:09:06,103 --> 00:09:07,413 How soon do you guys think you 193 00:09:07,517 --> 00:09:09,482 would want to deploy eastward? 194 00:09:09,586 --> 00:09:12,448 It looks now that depending on the latitude and longitude 195 00:09:12,551 --> 00:09:13,931 of the system here, that we could 196 00:09:14,034 --> 00:09:17,034 probably target the first flight to be 4:00 197 00:09:17,137 --> 00:09:18,586 AM on Friday. 198 00:09:18,689 --> 00:09:19,620 All right. 199 00:09:19,724 --> 00:09:24,241 Any changes, give me a shout. 200 00:09:24,344 --> 00:09:27,137 The flight schedule is always either 4:00 in the morning 201 00:09:27,241 --> 00:09:28,793 or 4:00 in the afternoon. 202 00:09:28,896 --> 00:09:30,724 This gives the scientists on the ground 203 00:09:30,827 --> 00:09:32,689 time to interpret the P-3's data 204 00:09:32,793 --> 00:09:36,137 for their morning and evening hurricane advisories. 205 00:09:36,241 --> 00:09:38,862 The pressure is now on Kermit and his crew 206 00:09:38,965 --> 00:09:41,586 to take on hurricane Leslie. 207 00:09:41,689 --> 00:09:44,000 At 2:00 AM in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 208 00:09:44,103 --> 00:09:47,000 the hurricane hunter team gathers. 209 00:09:47,103 --> 00:09:49,310 Operations have moved from headquarters in Tampa 210 00:09:49,413 --> 00:09:54,172 to Fort Lauderdale to be closer to the storm. 211 00:09:54,275 --> 00:09:56,827 The P-3 will now fly straight into a maelstrom 212 00:09:56,931 --> 00:10:00,310 of wind, water, and lightning that few aircraft 213 00:10:00,413 --> 00:10:02,724 are meant to handle. 214 00:10:02,827 --> 00:10:06,344 We're headed out to Hurricane Leslie today. 215 00:10:06,448 --> 00:10:09,620 The latest weather out of Fort Lauderdale, winds are calm, 216 00:10:09,724 --> 00:10:13,862 good visibility, a few clouds at 2,100 feet. 217 00:10:13,965 --> 00:10:15,137 People can take a look. 218 00:10:15,241 --> 00:10:17,344 We're going to be coming in from the Northwest side. 219 00:10:17,448 --> 00:10:19,275 We're going to be headed southeast. 220 00:10:19,379 --> 00:10:21,758 We're going to take a turn up to the north. 221 00:10:21,862 --> 00:10:24,517 And then on our inbound pass, if we have time, 222 00:10:24,620 --> 00:10:27,551 we might try and go in and out of the eye a couple of times. 223 00:10:27,655 --> 00:10:30,862 It's going to be a long day doing that. 224 00:10:30,965 --> 00:10:32,034 Navigation, Chris. 225 00:10:32,137 --> 00:10:33,586 Hey, we're taking off out of Fort Lauderdale. 226 00:10:33,689 --> 00:10:35,517 We'll be round robin out of here. 227 00:10:35,620 --> 00:10:37,862 Looking for a nine-plus hour flight. 228 00:10:37,965 --> 00:10:40,000 We'll be 2, 2 and 1/2 hours inside the storm today, 229 00:10:40,103 --> 00:10:41,689 far as distance from home for the flight engineer. 230 00:10:41,793 --> 00:10:43,448 It's going to be over 1,000 miles. 231 00:10:43,551 --> 00:10:45,344 Navigation-wise, we'll update the ditch 232 00:10:45,448 --> 00:10:47,689 heading and the minimum altimeter setting on station. 233 00:10:47,793 --> 00:10:50,068 Any questions? 234 00:10:50,172 --> 00:10:51,172 NARRATOR: No questions. 235 00:10:51,275 --> 00:10:53,137 Time to fly. 236 00:10:53,241 --> 00:10:54,275 All right, good work, everybody. 237 00:10:54,379 --> 00:10:59,241 Thanks. 238 00:10:59,344 --> 00:11:00,965 NARRATOR: Co-pilot Justin Kibbe goes 239 00:11:01,068 --> 00:11:04,275 through a last important ritual. 240 00:11:04,379 --> 00:11:05,586 I call my wife. 241 00:11:05,689 --> 00:11:06,931 I'll send her a text, like this morning. 242 00:11:07,034 --> 00:11:08,482 It's a little bit early, so let her know that I 243 00:11:08,586 --> 00:11:11,931 love her, love the kids. 244 00:11:12,034 --> 00:11:16,379 I do carry a Saint Christopher's medal with me, 245 00:11:16,482 --> 00:11:19,586 and I've had this in my flight suit pocket for all my years 246 00:11:19,689 --> 00:11:21,034 in the Navy and my years here. 247 00:11:21,137 --> 00:11:25,827 So you know, I just make sure that I got that on my person. 248 00:11:25,931 --> 00:11:28,344 NARRATOR: At 4:00 AM, 16 people take off 249 00:11:28,448 --> 00:11:30,482 in the P-3 for a nine-hour flight, 250 00:11:30,586 --> 00:11:37,551 straight into the jaws of a hurricane. 251 00:11:44,344 --> 00:11:46,896 A hurricane is gathering strength off the North America 252 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,551 East Coast, and it's up to a Lockheed P-3 253 00:11:49,655 --> 00:11:52,344 Orion to fly directly into it to determine 254 00:11:52,448 --> 00:11:55,551 whether it could be a killer. 255 00:11:55,655 --> 00:11:58,931 Two scientists from Shirley Murillo's team in Miami, Dr. 256 00:11:59,034 --> 00:12:01,482 John Garmash, and Dr. Robert Rogers 257 00:12:01,586 --> 00:12:06,275 joined the P-3 crew to study Hurricane Leslie. 258 00:12:06,379 --> 00:12:09,241 As Kermit makes his way toward the hurricane, 259 00:12:09,344 --> 00:12:11,827 another P-3 is in pieces and a hangar 260 00:12:11,931 --> 00:12:13,931 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. 261 00:12:14,034 --> 00:12:16,034 Her nickname is Miss Piggy. 262 00:12:16,137 --> 00:12:17,827 She's every bit as high tech. 263 00:12:17,931 --> 00:12:19,517 Though, like her Muppet namesake, 264 00:12:19,620 --> 00:12:21,379 she's a little heavier than Kermit, 265 00:12:21,482 --> 00:12:25,241 thanks to some extra equipment on board. 266 00:12:25,344 --> 00:12:27,344 For the next year, Miss Piggy's being 267 00:12:27,448 --> 00:12:32,310 overhauled, leaving Kermit to tackle the Hurricanes alone. 268 00:12:32,413 --> 00:12:35,137 It takes a year because the P-3s need to be completely 269 00:12:35,241 --> 00:12:38,793 overhauled every six years. 270 00:12:38,896 --> 00:12:42,448 Clinton Batten is in charge of her overhaul. 271 00:12:42,551 --> 00:12:44,413 It's about a one-year turnaround 272 00:12:44,517 --> 00:12:49,413 time here in the hangar, from start to finish. 273 00:12:49,517 --> 00:12:51,896 At the end, your aircraft will be not brand 274 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,482 new, better than brand new, back to the fleet, ready 275 00:12:54,586 --> 00:12:58,206 for service. 276 00:12:58,310 --> 00:13:01,137 NARRATOR: Hurricanes wreak havoc on any aircraft, even 277 00:13:01,241 --> 00:13:04,413 the sturdy P-3s. 278 00:13:04,517 --> 00:13:07,275 With Miss Piggy sidelined, this year's hurricanes 279 00:13:07,379 --> 00:13:09,034 are Kermit's problem. 280 00:13:09,137 --> 00:13:11,344 And scientists believe it will be one of the worst 281 00:13:11,448 --> 00:13:15,206 seasons on record. 282 00:13:15,310 --> 00:13:16,448 the. 283 00:13:16,551 --> 00:13:19,068 P-3 Orion is now en route from Fort Lauderdale 284 00:13:19,172 --> 00:13:21,896 to Hurricane Leslie, positioned 300 285 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:27,448 miles, southeast of Bermuda. 286 00:13:27,551 --> 00:13:29,896 Al Giramonti is the mission commander. 287 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,344 I think the biggest piece of advice that I give to people 288 00:13:32,448 --> 00:13:34,068 is almost to, kind of, calm their nerves 289 00:13:34,172 --> 00:13:37,448 a little bit by telling them that 80% of the flight 290 00:13:37,551 --> 00:13:38,586 is relatively benign. 291 00:13:38,689 --> 00:13:40,413 It's mostly what you see here. 292 00:13:40,517 --> 00:13:42,310 Occasionally, there will be some turbulence, 293 00:13:42,413 --> 00:13:43,965 and especially when we get to the eyewall. 294 00:13:44,068 --> 00:13:45,310 There's some turbulence. 295 00:13:45,413 --> 00:13:47,689 But heck, I've been in some eyewalls that haven't have 296 00:13:47,793 --> 00:13:49,517 been fairly smooth, in fact. 297 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:51,241 What penetrations in less than five degrees angle 298 00:13:51,344 --> 00:13:52,793 of bank or less? 299 00:13:52,896 --> 00:13:54,586 You know, the plane is never out of control. 300 00:13:54,689 --> 00:13:56,413 We're always in positive control of the airplane. 301 00:13:56,517 --> 00:13:58,034 It's just-- it can be a little more bumpy 302 00:13:58,137 --> 00:14:00,413 than what people are used to. 303 00:14:00,517 --> 00:14:02,517 NARRATOR: At one of two meteorologist stations 304 00:14:02,620 --> 00:14:05,000 in the back, Ian Sears leads the science 305 00:14:05,103 --> 00:14:12,068 side of the mission. 306 00:14:15,275 --> 00:14:17,620 One of the things that we're really focusing on 307 00:14:17,724 --> 00:14:21,103 is getting enough data that we can get into the models 308 00:14:21,206 --> 00:14:22,724 quickly and reliably. 309 00:14:22,827 --> 00:14:26,275 A hurricane can intensify rapidly. 310 00:14:26,379 --> 00:14:30,793 And vice-versely, it can be a strong storm 311 00:14:30,896 --> 00:14:33,344 and decrease in intensity rapidly. 312 00:14:33,448 --> 00:14:36,344 That is the challenge that the forecasters at the National 313 00:14:36,448 --> 00:14:39,586 Hurricane Center are really struggling with in the last 20 314 00:14:39,689 --> 00:14:43,724 years is predicting those rapid intensification phases or even 315 00:14:43,827 --> 00:14:46,689 the rapid de-intensification. 316 00:14:46,793 --> 00:14:48,827 NARRATOR: The P-3's most powerful weapon 317 00:14:48,931 --> 00:14:51,000 is its tail Doppler radar. 318 00:14:51,103 --> 00:14:54,241 This huge array does a complete scan of the storm. 319 00:14:54,344 --> 00:14:56,758 It sends this data real-time to Miami 320 00:14:56,862 --> 00:14:59,827 to give scientists exact info about the structure 321 00:14:59,931 --> 00:15:02,551 of the storm. 322 00:15:02,655 --> 00:15:03,551 It's very unique. 323 00:15:03,655 --> 00:15:04,793 It allows us to essentially take 324 00:15:04,896 --> 00:15:08,758 like a CAT scan of the inner core of a hurricane. 325 00:15:08,862 --> 00:15:10,724 It collect these tail Doppler measurements, 326 00:15:10,827 --> 00:15:13,206 and then those measurements are transmitted 327 00:15:13,310 --> 00:15:14,931 in real-time to the ground. 328 00:15:15,034 --> 00:15:18,103 And that information is used for computer models 329 00:15:18,206 --> 00:15:20,931 to predict both the track and the intensity 330 00:15:21,034 --> 00:15:22,689 of tropical cyclones. 331 00:15:22,793 --> 00:15:24,793 We want to give a good picture of what's 332 00:15:24,896 --> 00:15:26,103 going on in the inner core. 333 00:15:26,206 --> 00:15:28,793 And hopefully, that the models will take that picture 334 00:15:28,896 --> 00:15:34,068 and be able to predict what's going to happen in the future. 335 00:15:34,172 --> 00:15:36,517 NARRATOR: Ian inspects his scope, looking for signs 336 00:15:36,620 --> 00:15:38,724 of the hurricane's edge. 337 00:15:38,827 --> 00:15:41,931 As flight director, his job is to make sure that they don't 338 00:15:42,034 --> 00:15:49,000 fly into zones of the hurricane that could tear the P-3 apart. 339 00:15:54,241 --> 00:15:57,827 I'm looking at the radar, And i have no reflectivity. 340 00:15:57,931 --> 00:16:03,413 And then red meaning very high reflectivity 341 00:16:03,517 --> 00:16:10,068 will go from, maybe, nothing to red in an instant. 342 00:16:10,172 --> 00:16:12,793 And that would just be a very strong indication 343 00:16:12,896 --> 00:16:16,241 of very heavy updrafts, strong turbulence, something that 344 00:16:16,344 --> 00:16:18,275 could overstress the aircraft. 345 00:16:18,379 --> 00:16:20,862 And that's something we just don't want to do because if we 346 00:16:20,965 --> 00:16:23,034 overstress the aircraft, then we 347 00:16:23,137 --> 00:16:25,241 have to bring the aircraft down for maintenance, 348 00:16:25,344 --> 00:16:27,482 get it inspected, make sure that the aircraft is 349 00:16:27,586 --> 00:16:30,482 safe to fly for further crew. 350 00:16:30,586 --> 00:16:32,827 NARRATOR: The next crucial piece of technology 351 00:16:32,931 --> 00:16:36,275 is a device called a drop zone. 352 00:16:36,379 --> 00:16:40,344 They run $700 a piece, and the P-3 drops an average of 30 353 00:16:40,448 --> 00:16:42,172 on every mission. 354 00:16:42,275 --> 00:16:46,137 They are weather balloons in a canister. 355 00:16:46,241 --> 00:16:47,448 Take the sound. 356 00:16:47,551 --> 00:16:52,862 We stick it in the tube here, then he checks the tube. 357 00:16:52,965 --> 00:16:54,448 And when the flight director calls for it, 358 00:16:54,551 --> 00:16:59,068 I'll hit this switch. 359 00:16:59,172 --> 00:17:02,172 Valve will open up. 360 00:17:02,275 --> 00:17:04,586 Difference between aircraft and outside pressure 361 00:17:04,689 --> 00:17:07,241 actually sucks this thing right out. 362 00:17:07,344 --> 00:17:09,379 NARRATOR: The dropsonde measures air pressure, 363 00:17:09,482 --> 00:17:12,517 barometric pressure, air temperature, wind speed, 364 00:17:12,620 --> 00:17:13,965 and wind direction. 365 00:17:14,068 --> 00:17:17,000 It emits data every second as it falls through the layers 366 00:17:17,103 --> 00:17:20,034 of the storm. 367 00:17:20,137 --> 00:17:22,068 Like the Doppler radar, this data 368 00:17:22,172 --> 00:17:24,689 is fed real timl-to the National Hurricane Center 369 00:17:24,793 --> 00:17:27,241 in Miami, providing critical information 370 00:17:27,344 --> 00:17:34,275 about the storm's intensity. 371 00:17:36,344 --> 00:17:43,172 Now, Kermit is about to pierce the eyewall of the hurricane. 372 00:17:44,551 --> 00:17:47,137 In Jacksonville, Florida, his counterpart, Miss Piggy, 373 00:17:47,241 --> 00:17:53,000 is in a hangar for a year-long overhaul. 374 00:17:53,103 --> 00:17:55,758 Leslie is happening during the heart of hurricane season, 375 00:17:55,862 --> 00:17:58,517 so the timing could not be worse. 376 00:17:58,620 --> 00:18:01,896 Yeah, right after making that call, we did get know, 377 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,000 hey, what-if scenarios. 378 00:18:04,103 --> 00:18:05,482 NARRATOR: Paul Flaherty is chief 379 00:18:05,586 --> 00:18:08,793 of the Aircraft Operations Center's Science Section. 380 00:18:08,896 --> 00:18:10,068 Maintenance is one of those things 381 00:18:10,172 --> 00:18:12,413 that is just like, to me, it seems just 382 00:18:12,517 --> 00:18:13,689 like with your automobile. 383 00:18:13,793 --> 00:18:16,517 It seems like problems come up at the worst times. 384 00:18:16,620 --> 00:18:18,827 Historically, these are old planes, 385 00:18:18,931 --> 00:18:21,655 and they do act up at times, but we have to keep 386 00:18:21,758 --> 00:18:24,137 those aircraft running well. 387 00:18:24,241 --> 00:18:27,517 NARRATOR: These P-3 Orions fly straight into a wall of wind, 388 00:18:27,620 --> 00:18:30,482 water, and lightning, forces that would 389 00:18:30,586 --> 00:18:33,379 tear most aircraft apart. 390 00:18:33,482 --> 00:18:35,517 Already putting an aircraft in a very 391 00:18:35,620 --> 00:18:38,103 hazardous environment into the hurricane eyewall. 392 00:18:38,206 --> 00:18:39,793 We don't want to add to the risk 393 00:18:39,896 --> 00:18:42,482 by not doing our jobs properly and making sure 394 00:18:42,586 --> 00:18:45,379 that we can be as safe as possible. 395 00:18:45,482 --> 00:18:47,827 NARRATOR: Program manager Clinton Batten knows 396 00:18:47,931 --> 00:18:49,793 he is in a race against time. 397 00:18:49,896 --> 00:18:50,793 Here we are. 398 00:18:50,896 --> 00:18:53,827 We got Miss Piggy, NOOA N-43. 399 00:18:53,931 --> 00:18:56,241 She's been here for approximately three months. 400 00:18:56,344 --> 00:18:59,172 You can see it's under the wing shoring right now. 401 00:18:59,275 --> 00:19:01,379 That's for removing and replacing the center 402 00:19:01,482 --> 00:19:02,827 wing while it's in here. 403 00:19:02,931 --> 00:19:04,551 You see, we got laser guys here. 404 00:19:04,655 --> 00:19:05,689 They're looking at the airplane. 405 00:19:05,793 --> 00:19:07,758 We're going to go through a laser chute. 406 00:19:07,862 --> 00:19:09,689 That's to check the alignment of the wings. 407 00:19:09,793 --> 00:19:11,827 NARRATOR: The team uses laser technology 408 00:19:11,931 --> 00:19:14,103 to determine if after flying through hundreds 409 00:19:14,206 --> 00:19:17,275 of hurricanes, Miss Piggy's wings are out of alignment. 410 00:19:17,379 --> 00:19:19,793 Dan Marlow is the engineer in charge. 411 00:19:19,896 --> 00:19:21,551 This particular airplane was out of tolerance 412 00:19:21,655 --> 00:19:24,379 in one of the wingtips, but apparently, it's 413 00:19:24,482 --> 00:19:25,862 been that way for a long time. 414 00:19:25,965 --> 00:19:27,931 The wing additive tolerance could 415 00:19:28,034 --> 00:19:30,137 happen during some of the severe flights 416 00:19:30,241 --> 00:19:31,758 of this airplane. 417 00:19:31,862 --> 00:19:33,206 NARRATOR: The alignment of the wings 418 00:19:33,310 --> 00:19:36,827 is one of the most critical parts of the whole operation. 419 00:19:36,931 --> 00:19:37,965 We're trying to get the airplane 420 00:19:38,068 --> 00:19:40,103 as close as possible to the factory 421 00:19:40,206 --> 00:19:42,344 perfect alignment condition. 422 00:19:42,448 --> 00:19:45,793 Basically, the airplane will be flying at its optimum 423 00:19:45,896 --> 00:19:47,310 design conditions. 424 00:19:47,413 --> 00:19:50,241 Right here on today's shoot, we got 425 00:19:50,344 --> 00:19:54,206 to check that the wind tips-- the height of the wind tips. 426 00:19:54,310 --> 00:19:56,137 Engineers are going to adjust the wind tips, 427 00:19:56,241 --> 00:19:58,241 so they're in a relaxed condition. 428 00:19:58,344 --> 00:20:03,275 So when they install the center tank, there is no stress. 429 00:20:03,379 --> 00:20:06,379 Marvin has got it set up there, and we're 430 00:20:06,482 --> 00:20:11,068 going to turn on the camera, which sees the reflector, 431 00:20:11,172 --> 00:20:13,379 then it locks onto the reflector. 432 00:20:13,482 --> 00:20:14,896 So I found the reflector. 433 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:17,241 I lock onto it. 434 00:20:17,344 --> 00:20:19,724 Now, we got a green light, so we're ready to to take 435 00:20:19,827 --> 00:20:21,413 a measurement. Got it. 436 00:20:21,517 --> 00:20:22,896 Got it. 437 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,793 NARRATOR: If they're off by the smallest fraction of an inch-- 438 00:20:25,896 --> 00:20:29,896 One's down about an 1/8 inch, and one's up about 50,000. 439 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,103 NARRATOR: --Miss Piggy could get her wings 440 00:20:32,206 --> 00:20:34,655 torn off by a hurricane. 441 00:20:34,758 --> 00:20:37,896 The on the left hand's up about 48,000. 442 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,310 The one on the right hand is down about 126,000. 443 00:20:42,413 --> 00:20:44,275 This is where we get engineering 444 00:20:44,379 --> 00:20:46,172 to look at the numbers and decide if they 445 00:20:46,275 --> 00:20:48,310 need to make any adjustments. 446 00:20:48,413 --> 00:20:51,517 A little bit of adjustment on the right wing. 447 00:20:51,620 --> 00:20:52,931 You got to bring it up on the right wing. 448 00:20:53,034 --> 00:20:57,793 Yeah. 449 00:20:57,896 --> 00:20:59,379 NARRATOR: While scrutinizing the plane, 450 00:20:59,482 --> 00:21:01,965 the team finds evidence of a lightning strike 451 00:21:02,068 --> 00:21:05,379 that posed a danger to everyone on board. 452 00:21:05,482 --> 00:21:08,517 And if you look inside, you can see that it's all burnt. 453 00:21:08,620 --> 00:21:10,931 It's got soot on it here. 454 00:21:11,034 --> 00:21:13,827 NARRATOR: Strikes like this one are rare because the P3 is 455 00:21:13,931 --> 00:21:16,758 covered with static guards that are meant to draw electricity 456 00:21:16,862 --> 00:21:18,655 away from the hull. 457 00:21:18,758 --> 00:21:20,413 And the crew is trained to avoid 458 00:21:20,517 --> 00:21:22,965 the heaviest lightning areas. 459 00:21:23,068 --> 00:21:25,310 The lightning strike occurred on the top of the leading 460 00:21:25,413 --> 00:21:27,103 edge of the elevator. 461 00:21:27,206 --> 00:21:28,862 That's the aft end of the aircraft, 462 00:21:28,965 --> 00:21:30,931 and it occurred on the top side, where we 463 00:21:31,034 --> 00:21:33,034 don't normally get up to see. 464 00:21:33,137 --> 00:21:36,965 So that would be located above us here on the top side 465 00:21:37,068 --> 00:21:39,551 of the elevator. 466 00:21:39,655 --> 00:21:41,310 NARRATOR: Now, it's up to Wes and his crew 467 00:21:41,413 --> 00:21:43,620 to see if the lightning did severe damage to the 468 00:21:43,724 --> 00:21:50,379 aircraft's electrical systems. 469 00:21:51,413 --> 00:21:52,758 Lightning isn't the only threat. 470 00:21:52,862 --> 00:21:55,758 Seawater also poses a surprising risk 471 00:21:55,862 --> 00:21:57,724 in the form of huge salt plumes that 472 00:21:57,827 --> 00:22:00,724 rise from the sea surface. 473 00:22:00,827 --> 00:22:03,379 Five years ago, we were flying out of Saint John's 474 00:22:03,482 --> 00:22:07,586 Newfoundland, and we lost three engines, 475 00:22:07,689 --> 00:22:10,000 a triple engine failure in three minutes 476 00:22:10,103 --> 00:22:11,206 in this airplane. 477 00:22:11,310 --> 00:22:15,448 We flew through a salt plume, and nobody ever 478 00:22:15,551 --> 00:22:16,758 flown through a salt plume before, 479 00:22:16,862 --> 00:22:18,137 and then we started losing engines. 480 00:22:18,241 --> 00:22:20,724 Because we'd always assume that the salt layer 481 00:22:20,827 --> 00:22:21,896 stayed at 1,200 feet. 482 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,448 We were at 3,000 feet, but now they 483 00:22:24,551 --> 00:22:27,689 figure that these high winds brought the salt layer 484 00:22:27,793 --> 00:22:30,137 up as high as 8,000 feet. 485 00:22:30,241 --> 00:22:33,344 And we lost three engines in three minutes. 486 00:22:33,448 --> 00:22:35,103 NARRATOR: With just one engine left, 487 00:22:35,206 --> 00:22:37,413 the crew hobbled to Newfoundland, barely 488 00:22:37,517 --> 00:22:39,551 escaping with their lives. 489 00:22:39,655 --> 00:22:40,655 And if we would have ditched, we 490 00:22:40,758 --> 00:22:41,724 wouldn't have made it anyway. 491 00:22:41,827 --> 00:22:43,896 I mean, there were 90-foot seas. 492 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,379 It was at night. 493 00:22:46,482 --> 00:22:49,000 Very intense. 494 00:22:49,103 --> 00:22:53,827 NARRATOR: Another big problem is corrosion. 495 00:22:53,931 --> 00:22:55,724 We've already removed the engines. 496 00:22:55,827 --> 00:22:57,517 We've removed the landing gear. 497 00:22:57,620 --> 00:23:00,965 That's for inspections underneath the wheel well, 498 00:23:01,068 --> 00:23:04,413 the lower planks as corrosion checks due to the environment 499 00:23:04,517 --> 00:23:05,896 this aircraft flies in. 500 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:07,689 You can imagine this airplane flying 501 00:23:07,793 --> 00:23:11,965 dead on into hurricanes, more salt, more corrosion. 502 00:23:12,068 --> 00:23:13,793 When the plane comes in, we have to inspect 503 00:23:13,896 --> 00:23:15,172 this butt line here. 504 00:23:15,275 --> 00:23:18,172 And if we see any damage or corrosion or anything, 505 00:23:18,275 --> 00:23:19,413 we'll go ahead and replace it. 506 00:23:19,517 --> 00:23:20,965 So we have to make sure all these holes are clean 507 00:23:21,068 --> 00:23:22,689 and round and all deburred. 508 00:23:22,793 --> 00:23:25,862 And there's no potential for cracks or anything 509 00:23:25,965 --> 00:23:28,172 in the future. 510 00:23:28,275 --> 00:23:31,448 Good. 511 00:23:31,551 --> 00:23:33,931 NARRATOR: And sometimes, the most mundane problems 512 00:23:34,034 --> 00:23:35,724 cause the biggest headaches. 513 00:23:35,827 --> 00:23:38,344 A mechanism that raises one of the plane's antenna 514 00:23:38,448 --> 00:23:39,551 is worn out. 515 00:23:39,655 --> 00:23:42,034 Without it, the P-3 Orion cannot 516 00:23:42,137 --> 00:23:47,103 communicate crucial data to the hurricane center in Miami. 517 00:23:47,206 --> 00:23:51,310 So what they discovered here is that the drive mechanism is 518 00:23:51,413 --> 00:23:55,482 worn, and that can create some felt 519 00:23:55,586 --> 00:23:57,241 vibration in the airframe. 520 00:23:57,344 --> 00:23:59,448 So we have to replace that assembly. 521 00:23:59,551 --> 00:24:02,793 And it's looking like we'll probably 522 00:24:02,896 --> 00:24:05,482 have to replace more than one. 523 00:24:05,586 --> 00:24:07,896 NARRATOR: Finding a part for an older rare plane, 524 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,206 like the P-3, is not easy. 525 00:24:10,310 --> 00:24:12,655 And unless Wes can get it, Miss Piggy may 526 00:24:12,758 --> 00:24:17,034 not return to her job on time. 527 00:24:17,137 --> 00:24:19,275 That's going to create a challenge for us that we're 528 00:24:19,379 --> 00:24:22,206 going to have to solve before this aircraft goes 529 00:24:22,310 --> 00:24:23,517 back into action. 530 00:24:23,620 --> 00:24:26,241 Keeping these P-3 Orions in the air, I mean, 531 00:24:26,344 --> 00:24:28,517 they're 20, 30, 40 years old. 532 00:24:28,620 --> 00:24:29,620 They're aging. 533 00:24:29,724 --> 00:24:31,172 I mean, look at us, we're not as good 534 00:24:31,275 --> 00:24:33,275 as we were when we were 18 and 19. 535 00:24:33,379 --> 00:24:34,965 Airplanes are the same way. 536 00:24:35,068 --> 00:24:36,448 They're just stressed. They're cracked. 537 00:24:36,551 --> 00:24:37,448 They're being bended. 538 00:24:37,551 --> 00:24:38,862 They're being twisted. 539 00:24:38,965 --> 00:24:41,517 So we just have to maintain them stay on top of it, 540 00:24:41,620 --> 00:24:45,827 be vigilant, and make sure it's good. 541 00:24:45,931 --> 00:24:48,379 NARRATOR: At NOAA's National Hurricane Center in Miami, 542 00:24:48,482 --> 00:24:50,965 meteorologists continue to keep a close watch 543 00:24:51,068 --> 00:24:55,068 on hurricane Leslie, as she creeps closer to Bermuda. 544 00:24:55,172 --> 00:24:57,655 And they need critical data from the P-3 545 00:24:57,758 --> 00:25:00,655 to complete their analysis. 546 00:25:00,758 --> 00:25:03,482 With Miss Piggy off duty, it's up to Kermit 547 00:25:03,586 --> 00:25:06,034 to do double duty. 548 00:25:06,137 --> 00:25:16,689 And Kermit is facing possible trouble ahead. 549 00:25:16,793 --> 00:25:20,068 A P-3 Orion called Kermit has a dangerous mission-- 550 00:25:20,172 --> 00:25:22,586 to fly into a massive hurricane that is threatening 551 00:25:22,689 --> 00:25:29,689 to slam into Eastern Canada. 552 00:25:33,586 --> 00:25:35,034 These hurricane hunters are going 553 00:25:35,137 --> 00:25:38,758 against instinct and conventional pilot training. 554 00:25:38,862 --> 00:25:41,965 Just really never get complacent because, as pilots, 555 00:25:42,068 --> 00:25:44,103 we're trained to really stay away from bad weather, 556 00:25:44,206 --> 00:25:46,793 so it's a natural apprehension for us to want 557 00:25:46,896 --> 00:25:47,793 to steer clear of this. 558 00:25:47,896 --> 00:25:49,206 But it is dangerous, so we've got 559 00:25:49,310 --> 00:25:51,172 to give this storm that respect, no matter 560 00:25:51,275 --> 00:25:53,310 how routine it may seem. 561 00:25:53,413 --> 00:25:56,689 NARRATOR: Co-pilot Justin Kibbe allows Kermit to do his job 562 00:25:56,793 --> 00:25:59,241 by turning on the autopilot. 563 00:25:59,344 --> 00:26:01,344 He knows that inside the hurricane, 564 00:26:01,448 --> 00:26:05,689 the autopilot is the safest and smoothest ride. 565 00:26:05,793 --> 00:26:07,862 These winds in the storm want to push you up and pull 566 00:26:07,965 --> 00:26:08,931 you down at a certain point. 567 00:26:09,034 --> 00:26:12,620 So we engage the autopilot and take 568 00:26:12,724 --> 00:26:16,413 the hold off our autopilot and just don't fight the controls. 569 00:26:16,517 --> 00:26:18,413 Just let the winds do what they want to and push you up, 570 00:26:18,517 --> 00:26:19,586 pull you down, and just, kind of, 571 00:26:19,689 --> 00:26:21,724 ease the plane back to where it needs to be. 572 00:26:21,827 --> 00:26:24,103 So it's like riding a wave or riding a roller coaster. 573 00:26:24,206 --> 00:26:25,379 I'd tell you, to be honest with you, 574 00:26:25,482 --> 00:26:26,482 sometimes, when I'm in the back, 575 00:26:26,586 --> 00:26:27,931 I may get a little queasy, too. 576 00:26:28,034 --> 00:26:30,517 Because the further after you go, that's where the tail is, 577 00:26:30,620 --> 00:26:32,758 so it kind of, you know, wags back and forth, as we're 578 00:26:32,862 --> 00:26:33,862 flying through the storm. 579 00:26:33,965 --> 00:26:35,724 And also, back there, the temperature 580 00:26:35,827 --> 00:26:37,068 may not be just right. 581 00:26:37,172 --> 00:26:41,103 You don't have a lot of windows for visual references. 582 00:26:41,206 --> 00:26:44,482 NARRATOR: The P-3 bumps along in the rough swirling winds. 583 00:26:44,586 --> 00:26:46,241 Leslie is a huge storm. 584 00:26:46,344 --> 00:26:50,172 With a 190-mile radius, it will take more than three hours 585 00:26:50,275 --> 00:26:57,206 to reach the middle. 586 00:27:00,827 --> 00:27:03,000 As they search for the eye of the storm, 587 00:27:03,103 --> 00:27:05,206 the scientists get to work, trying 588 00:27:05,310 --> 00:27:08,000 to solve the mystery of the deadly explosive force 589 00:27:08,103 --> 00:27:10,275 called rapid intensification. 590 00:27:10,379 --> 00:27:11,689 But what's kind of interesting to me is, 591 00:27:11,793 --> 00:27:12,965 I don't know if it's disturbing is. 592 00:27:13,068 --> 00:27:14,758 I mean, you look at these profiles, 593 00:27:14,862 --> 00:27:18,931 and you're seeing winds on the order of 75 knots. 594 00:27:19,034 --> 00:27:21,517 You know, some hurricanes can increase from a category 1, 595 00:27:21,620 --> 00:27:24,379 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, to a category 3 in, you know, 596 00:27:24,482 --> 00:27:27,724 12 hours or 24 hours, but others don't. 597 00:27:27,827 --> 00:27:30,517 So is there something about the inner core structure 598 00:27:30,620 --> 00:27:33,586 of these hurricanes that do undergo rapid intensification 599 00:27:33,689 --> 00:27:36,068 that we can detect with, for example, the Doppler radar, 600 00:27:36,172 --> 00:27:37,620 and compare that with ones that don't 601 00:27:37,724 --> 00:27:40,413 undergo rapid intensification. 602 00:27:40,517 --> 00:27:42,448 NARRATOR: Leslie sending strange signals 603 00:27:42,551 --> 00:27:43,620 to the Doppler radar. 604 00:27:43,724 --> 00:27:49,758 They can't find the eye of the storm. 605 00:27:49,862 --> 00:27:51,965 So what I'm looking at on this radar here is, 606 00:27:52,068 --> 00:27:53,931 I've got rain bands that are wrapping 607 00:27:54,034 --> 00:27:55,724 around hurricane Leslie. 608 00:27:55,827 --> 00:27:58,517 NARRATOR: Disorganized storms like this lack 609 00:27:58,620 --> 00:28:01,275 the more predictable structure of storms with clearly 610 00:28:01,379 --> 00:28:03,827 organized eyes and pose a huge challenge 611 00:28:03,931 --> 00:28:06,413 to the P-3 and her crew. 612 00:28:06,517 --> 00:28:08,655 I'm looking for a donut here on the radar. 613 00:28:08,758 --> 00:28:09,655 And here's the plan. 614 00:28:09,758 --> 00:28:11,482 This is we're in the middle here, 615 00:28:11,586 --> 00:28:13,310 and this is where we're headed. 616 00:28:13,413 --> 00:28:15,586 And there's nothing here that represents 617 00:28:15,689 --> 00:28:22,206 an eye of a hurricane. 618 00:28:22,310 --> 00:28:24,827 Unfortunately, we're not seeing a whole lot on radar. 619 00:28:24,931 --> 00:28:26,241 And what that means is the radar 620 00:28:26,344 --> 00:28:27,827 is not going to help us find the center. 621 00:28:27,931 --> 00:28:31,517 I'm going to have to rely on our wind directions 622 00:28:31,620 --> 00:28:33,241 to guide us in. 623 00:28:33,344 --> 00:28:35,344 NARRATOR: Finally, they find the center, 624 00:28:35,448 --> 00:28:37,896 but there is no eye. 625 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,655 It appears Leslie is no longer a hurricane, 626 00:28:40,758 --> 00:28:43,310 but a tropical storm. 627 00:28:43,413 --> 00:28:46,275 The cockpit crew is surprised. 628 00:28:46,379 --> 00:28:48,206 Her eye, as they saw, was like 60 knots 629 00:28:48,310 --> 00:28:50,517 at the surface, which ain't a hurricane. 630 00:28:50,620 --> 00:28:52,793 NARRATOR: But not as surprised as the scientists 631 00:28:52,896 --> 00:28:54,724 in the back of the P-3. 632 00:28:54,827 --> 00:28:56,344 So what we've been finding today 633 00:28:56,448 --> 00:28:58,793 is our flight level winds have been 634 00:28:58,896 --> 00:29:01,103 maximum of about 60 knots. 635 00:29:01,206 --> 00:29:02,620 And that's not hurricane strength 636 00:29:02,724 --> 00:29:06,137 that we've been finding surface winds of about 50 to 55 knots, 637 00:29:06,241 --> 00:29:09,137 also not hurricane strength. 638 00:29:09,241 --> 00:29:11,275 NARRATOR: The tail Doppler radar sends data 639 00:29:11,379 --> 00:29:13,655 to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, 640 00:29:13,758 --> 00:29:15,758 so they can get their first real-time 641 00:29:15,862 --> 00:29:18,275 up close look at Leslie. 642 00:29:18,379 --> 00:29:21,034 The Hurricane Center has been relying on the satellites 643 00:29:21,137 --> 00:29:24,103 to estimate what the intensity of the storm is. 644 00:29:24,206 --> 00:29:26,482 So these are the first direct measurements from 645 00:29:26,586 --> 00:29:29,482 an aircraft into Leslie's. 646 00:29:29,586 --> 00:29:31,689 NARRATOR: Leslie is still over cold water. 647 00:29:31,793 --> 00:29:34,482 If she takes off and finds warmer water to fuel her, 648 00:29:34,586 --> 00:29:39,862 she could reach category 4. 649 00:29:39,965 --> 00:29:41,758 Despite Leslie's diminished state, 650 00:29:41,862 --> 00:29:43,931 they continue their research. 651 00:29:44,034 --> 00:29:45,862 And after seven hours in the air, 652 00:29:45,965 --> 00:29:47,724 the crew is getting tired. 653 00:29:47,827 --> 00:29:48,827 It's about 9:15. 654 00:29:48,931 --> 00:29:52,655 We left Tampa at 2:00 AM. 655 00:29:52,758 --> 00:29:54,344 And being the first flight, our bodies 656 00:29:54,448 --> 00:29:56,206 aren't quite used to be on this this rhythm 657 00:29:56,310 --> 00:29:57,379 yet, this circadian rhythm. 658 00:29:57,482 --> 00:30:00,379 So I think everybody's pretty tired right now. 659 00:30:00,482 --> 00:30:02,586 But with you know, the sun's up. 660 00:30:02,689 --> 00:30:04,103 Catch the next wave of that circadian rhythm 661 00:30:04,206 --> 00:30:05,862 and start feeling good about lunchtime. 662 00:30:05,965 --> 00:30:07,344 NARRATOR: Justin still got his mind 663 00:30:07,448 --> 00:30:10,827 set on hitting 50 penetrations, qualifying him for hurricane 664 00:30:10,931 --> 00:30:11,965 aircraft commander. 665 00:30:12,068 --> 00:30:13,206 He's halfway there. 666 00:30:13,310 --> 00:30:14,793 But now, that Leslie's weakened, 667 00:30:14,896 --> 00:30:16,793 this flight is disqualified. 668 00:30:16,896 --> 00:30:18,965 That 50 is the number we want to get to. 669 00:30:19,068 --> 00:30:20,965 So tropical depressions don't count, 670 00:30:21,068 --> 00:30:24,448 so you know, we'll try again the next day, 671 00:30:24,551 --> 00:30:27,068 if it does maintain its working strength 672 00:30:27,172 --> 00:30:29,724 or, you know, goes back down and comes back up. 673 00:30:29,827 --> 00:30:31,379 It's just sitting in one area right now, 674 00:30:31,482 --> 00:30:34,620 so it's basically sucked all the energy out of that water. 675 00:30:34,724 --> 00:30:36,517 Once it starts moving, it's got the possibility 676 00:30:36,620 --> 00:30:39,241 of getting some warmer waters and possibly strengthening, 677 00:30:39,344 --> 00:30:41,068 so time will tell. 678 00:30:41,172 --> 00:30:42,137 That's kind of frustrating. 679 00:30:42,241 --> 00:30:43,793 We're this close to being a hurricane 680 00:30:43,896 --> 00:30:47,000 right above the surface, but nope, at the surface. 681 00:30:47,103 --> 00:30:48,827 NARRATOR: The data gathered on this flight 682 00:30:48,931 --> 00:30:52,137 will be on the NOAA website within minutes. 683 00:30:52,241 --> 00:30:55,379 Four times a day, at 11:00 AM, that's where we're at now. 684 00:30:55,482 --> 00:30:57,896 The National Hurricane Center puts out an advisory, 685 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,793 and they're going to take the data that we collected today 686 00:31:00,896 --> 00:31:01,862 and give a new advisory. 687 00:31:01,965 --> 00:31:03,137 Something that they've been finding 688 00:31:03,241 --> 00:31:06,862 is that the stationary system has caused the waters 689 00:31:06,965 --> 00:31:08,206 beneath it to cool down. 690 00:31:08,310 --> 00:31:12,000 And warm waters are the driving force that is 691 00:31:12,103 --> 00:31:13,724 going to fuel the hurricane. 692 00:31:13,827 --> 00:31:15,413 And with the waters cooling down, 693 00:31:15,517 --> 00:31:17,965 the hurricane no longer has the energy 694 00:31:18,068 --> 00:31:20,689 source to maintain its intensity or even strengthen. 695 00:31:20,793 --> 00:31:24,068 So that's a lot of the reason why Hurricane Leslie is 696 00:31:24,172 --> 00:31:26,172 now a Tropical Storm Leslie. 697 00:31:26,275 --> 00:31:28,000 NARRATOR: This is critical information 698 00:31:28,103 --> 00:31:31,551 that helps NOAA advise people on the storm's path. 699 00:31:31,655 --> 00:31:33,206 This is Canadian Hurricane Center. 700 00:31:33,310 --> 00:31:34,310 Hi, good morning. 701 00:31:34,413 --> 00:31:36,103 This is Lexi from the Hurricane Center. 702 00:31:36,206 --> 00:31:40,310 And we are going to keep the system as a tropical storm. 703 00:31:40,413 --> 00:31:41,896 NARRATOR: They still need to be vigilant, 704 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,655 but the good news is that the storm seems to be weakening. 705 00:31:45,758 --> 00:31:47,206 - Just moving too slow. - Exactly. 706 00:31:47,310 --> 00:31:48,310 Yeah. 707 00:31:48,413 --> 00:31:49,862 NARRATOR: Now, the Miami team has the most 708 00:31:49,965 --> 00:31:51,931 accurate data possible. 709 00:31:52,034 --> 00:31:53,724 They can get to work, trying to build 710 00:31:53,827 --> 00:31:55,586 an exact weather model of Leslie 711 00:31:55,689 --> 00:31:59,586 to predict her intensity and path. 712 00:31:59,689 --> 00:32:01,620 This is Tropical Storm Leslie. 713 00:32:01,724 --> 00:32:03,655 Today, that's going to, probably, 714 00:32:03,758 --> 00:32:06,448 affect Newfoundland tomorrow. 715 00:32:06,551 --> 00:32:10,172 NARRATOR: The NOAA P-3 Orion, a workhorse for over 30 years, 716 00:32:10,275 --> 00:32:11,862 has performed perfectly. 717 00:32:11,965 --> 00:32:14,103 It's one of the only planes in the world tough enough 718 00:32:14,206 --> 00:32:17,310 to do this dangerous job. 719 00:32:17,413 --> 00:32:19,379 It's built as tough as a pickup truck. 720 00:32:19,482 --> 00:32:21,344 You can abuse it, as long as you come back. 721 00:32:21,448 --> 00:32:22,344 You take care of it. 722 00:32:22,448 --> 00:32:24,275 Give it some good TLC. 723 00:32:24,379 --> 00:32:25,689 It's going to go right back out and do 724 00:32:25,793 --> 00:32:26,862 the same mission for you. 725 00:32:26,965 --> 00:32:28,586 And I think it handles great at sea. 726 00:32:28,689 --> 00:32:31,137 You know, I've been flying it for, you know, 12 years. 727 00:32:31,241 --> 00:32:32,137 It's great to fly. 728 00:32:32,241 --> 00:32:34,724 It's very responsive to our inputs. 729 00:32:34,827 --> 00:32:36,724 It handles like a dream. 730 00:32:36,827 --> 00:32:41,896 NARRATOR: They now return to Fort Lauderdale. 731 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:44,068 And after a quick turnaround, they will 732 00:32:44,172 --> 00:32:46,586 pay a second visit to Leslie. 733 00:32:46,689 --> 00:32:49,448 This time, with the help of their smaller sidekick 734 00:32:49,551 --> 00:32:56,793 named Gonzo. 735 00:32:56,896 --> 00:32:58,551 Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 736 00:32:58,655 --> 00:33:02,034 After a 16-hour turnaround, the hurricane hunters 737 00:33:02,137 --> 00:33:05,034 are ready to take their P-3 Orion back out to fly 738 00:33:05,137 --> 00:33:07,517 into a storm named Leslie. 739 00:33:07,620 --> 00:33:09,413 The data gathered on their first flight 740 00:33:09,517 --> 00:33:11,482 showed Leslie was no longer a hurricane, 741 00:33:11,586 --> 00:33:13,965 but a tropical storm. 742 00:33:14,068 --> 00:33:15,965 At NOAA's Hurricane Research Division, 743 00:33:16,068 --> 00:33:18,448 Shirley Murillo and Dr. Robert Rogers 744 00:33:18,551 --> 00:33:20,965 plan another flight to study this large but 745 00:33:21,068 --> 00:33:22,827 stationary storm. 746 00:33:22,931 --> 00:33:24,275 This will be the first time that 747 00:33:24,379 --> 00:33:27,827 we actually get a storm in P-3 and the G-4 at the same time. 748 00:33:27,931 --> 00:33:28,896 This is pretty exciting. 749 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:29,896 Very exciting. 750 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:31,551 Yeah. 751 00:33:31,655 --> 00:33:32,862 NARRATOR: They've learned that Leslie is 752 00:33:32,965 --> 00:33:34,620 still sitting over cold water. 753 00:33:34,724 --> 00:33:36,931 And once it starts to move over warmer water, 754 00:33:37,034 --> 00:33:43,724 it could, again, escalate into a hurricane. 755 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,758 They're going back to find out what's happening. 756 00:33:48,862 --> 00:33:52,931 Flight number 2 for this grew into tropical Storm Leslie. 757 00:33:53,034 --> 00:33:55,724 I'll turn it immediately over to Rich for the weather. 758 00:33:55,827 --> 00:33:57,620 Once we get into the storm environment, 759 00:33:57,724 --> 00:34:00,103 obviously, we'll be dealing with a lot of convection, 760 00:34:00,206 --> 00:34:03,206 especially on the north side of the storm. 761 00:34:03,310 --> 00:34:06,482 Actually, by satellite, more than what we had yesterday. 762 00:34:06,586 --> 00:34:10,206 So expect to see the belt sign coming on a little bit more. 763 00:34:10,310 --> 00:34:12,655 The storm has moved a little bit north. 764 00:34:12,758 --> 00:34:15,068 It has gone over some warmer water 765 00:34:15,172 --> 00:34:17,137 and has started to indicate that it 766 00:34:17,241 --> 00:34:21,655 might be firing up again. 767 00:34:21,758 --> 00:34:24,896 NARRATOR: Kermit is once again ready to intercept the storm. 768 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,034 On today's mission, it will be accompanied 769 00:34:27,137 --> 00:34:30,517 by its much smaller sidekick, a Gulfstream 4 named 770 00:34:30,620 --> 00:34:34,172 Gonzo, the tiny daredevil. 771 00:34:34,275 --> 00:34:37,172 The Gulfstream 4 is a fast, sleek flying 772 00:34:37,275 --> 00:34:41,655 science lab, about 78 feet long and over 24 feet high. 773 00:34:41,758 --> 00:34:45,689 The G-4 has a swept-back wingspan of almost 78 feet, 774 00:34:45,793 --> 00:34:49,103 reducing drag and increasing speed. 775 00:34:49,206 --> 00:34:51,206 Kermit and Gonzo will work in tandem, 776 00:34:51,310 --> 00:34:54,793 with Kermit inside the storm and Gonzo flying around 777 00:34:54,896 --> 00:34:56,517 and, at times, above it. 778 00:34:56,620 --> 00:34:58,172 I like that breeze coming up. 779 00:34:58,275 --> 00:34:59,448 It feels good. 780 00:34:59,551 --> 00:35:01,724 NARRATOR: Commander Jeff Hagen is one of the plane's 781 00:35:01,827 --> 00:35:03,620 two pilots on this mission. 782 00:35:03,724 --> 00:35:06,793 Very unique G-4 acquired for NOAA for doing 783 00:35:06,896 --> 00:35:08,586 hurricane surveillance. 784 00:35:08,689 --> 00:35:10,965 In the past couple of years, we've 785 00:35:11,068 --> 00:35:14,068 integrated a tail Doppler radar onto the plane, 786 00:35:14,172 --> 00:35:15,448 and we're very fortunate to have 787 00:35:15,551 --> 00:35:17,793 great mechanics here at the aircraft operations center. 788 00:35:17,896 --> 00:35:20,275 And the guys keep it pristine, and it looks 789 00:35:20,379 --> 00:35:21,689 just like the day we got it. 790 00:35:21,793 --> 00:35:24,413 NARRATOR: Since the 1980s the Gulfstream 4 791 00:35:24,517 --> 00:35:27,275 has made its mark as a high-end corporate transport, 792 00:35:27,379 --> 00:35:29,931 but Gonzo is one of a kind. 793 00:35:30,034 --> 00:35:32,241 Well, the primary difference between this one and what 794 00:35:32,344 --> 00:35:34,551 you'd see on a ramp at any commercial airport 795 00:35:34,655 --> 00:35:36,551 is the tail Doppler radar assembly 796 00:35:36,655 --> 00:35:38,310 that our science and engineering divisions 797 00:35:38,413 --> 00:35:39,758 installed on the airplane. 798 00:35:39,862 --> 00:35:41,620 It gives them a vertical profile 799 00:35:41,724 --> 00:35:43,827 of the storms as they're flying it out the tooth. 800 00:35:43,931 --> 00:35:45,965 It's rather unique and still kind 801 00:35:46,068 --> 00:35:47,482 of in an experimental stage. 802 00:35:47,586 --> 00:35:50,758 But from what I understand, works extremely well. 803 00:35:50,862 --> 00:35:52,344 NARRATOR: For the first time ever, 804 00:35:52,448 --> 00:35:54,275 Gonzo and Kermit will attempt to share 805 00:35:54,379 --> 00:35:56,379 data from new tail Doppler equipment 806 00:35:56,482 --> 00:35:59,137 attached to each aircraft. 807 00:35:59,241 --> 00:36:01,344 While the P-3 can fly into the storm, 808 00:36:01,448 --> 00:36:03,758 the G-4 can get high above it and get 809 00:36:03,862 --> 00:36:06,931 an overview of the hurricane that the P-3 cannot. 810 00:36:07,034 --> 00:36:09,655 If it works, these Doppler radar systems 811 00:36:09,758 --> 00:36:11,827 may help these scientists determine what 812 00:36:11,931 --> 00:36:18,931 turns a storm into a killer. 813 00:36:22,448 --> 00:36:24,724 Once again, the hurricane hunters take 814 00:36:24,827 --> 00:36:27,586 flight to intercept Leslie. 815 00:36:27,689 --> 00:36:30,413 The P-3 Orion flies from Fort Lauderdale 816 00:36:30,517 --> 00:36:35,068 to the open Atlantic, 250 miles southeast of Bermuda. 817 00:36:35,172 --> 00:36:36,689 Approaching your altitude. 818 00:36:36,793 --> 00:36:37,689 Got it. 819 00:36:37,793 --> 00:36:39,241 Yeah. 820 00:36:39,344 --> 00:36:41,931 NARRATOR: It takes them three hours to reach the storm. 821 00:36:42,034 --> 00:36:43,758 So I'm going to have to turn the airplane a little bit 822 00:36:43,862 --> 00:36:45,344 to help me find the center. 823 00:36:45,448 --> 00:36:47,758 That's going to help me get to that zero wind. 824 00:36:47,862 --> 00:36:50,241 I can't rely on radar anymore because I 825 00:36:50,344 --> 00:36:54,000 can't see any evidence of what would be an eye. 826 00:36:54,103 --> 00:36:55,965 So I'm going to have to rely on winds 827 00:36:56,068 --> 00:37:01,620 to help me find the center. 828 00:37:01,724 --> 00:37:03,103 We're in the center. 829 00:37:03,206 --> 00:37:05,379 This is a very big and broad storm. 830 00:37:05,482 --> 00:37:09,413 So basically, what we have here is a very big storm, 831 00:37:09,517 --> 00:37:11,517 with its mass spread way out. 832 00:37:11,620 --> 00:37:14,034 It's like a figure skater that has 833 00:37:14,137 --> 00:37:16,206 their arms spread out as far as they can, 834 00:37:16,310 --> 00:37:17,724 with dumbbells in their hands. 835 00:37:17,827 --> 00:37:19,793 And it's having a hard time contracting 836 00:37:19,896 --> 00:37:24,068 and getting that spin to accelerate and go faster. 837 00:37:24,172 --> 00:37:26,655 So we're not really finding any evidence that this is 838 00:37:26,758 --> 00:37:33,517 going to be a hurricane today. 839 00:37:34,793 --> 00:37:37,310 NARRATOR: As the P-3 scans Leslie, the much faster 840 00:37:37,413 --> 00:37:39,379 Gonzo takes off 90 minutes later 841 00:37:39,482 --> 00:37:46,275 and heads for the storm with an ETA of less than two hours. 842 00:37:47,310 --> 00:37:51,137 Aircraft is tight, commander. 843 00:37:51,241 --> 00:37:52,137 No warnings. 844 00:37:52,241 --> 00:37:54,034 We're good to go. 845 00:37:54,137 --> 00:37:56,862 NARRATOR: Jason Mansour is commander on the G-4's 846 00:37:56,965 --> 00:37:59,275 important mission. 847 00:37:59,379 --> 00:38:01,551 It is ingrained in us that weather is dangerous, 848 00:38:01,655 --> 00:38:04,827 and we definitely take that heart in our operations. 849 00:38:04,931 --> 00:38:07,689 But sometimes, you need to know what 850 00:38:07,793 --> 00:38:11,310 a hurricane is doing, what a tropical storm is doing. 851 00:38:11,413 --> 00:38:14,310 That involves going into harm's way through the worst weather 852 00:38:14,413 --> 00:38:17,758 on Earth to obtain the best possible data. 853 00:38:17,862 --> 00:38:19,551 NARRATOR: Now, both planes are at the stretch 854 00:38:19,655 --> 00:38:22,413 of the Atlantic, where Leslie has stalled. 855 00:38:22,517 --> 00:38:24,896 The P-3 flies into the storm. 856 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,137 The smaller and more fragile G-4 857 00:38:27,241 --> 00:38:29,413 encircles and flies above it, gathering 858 00:38:29,517 --> 00:38:35,517 data at its edges to compare with that coming from the P-3. 859 00:38:35,620 --> 00:38:38,620 The G-4 is atop, P-3 down low. 860 00:38:38,724 --> 00:38:41,413 With the goal of this flight, on Leslie's specifically, 861 00:38:41,517 --> 00:38:44,206 is to compare the data from our tail Doppler radar 862 00:38:44,310 --> 00:38:47,275 to the P-3's tail Doppler radar to make sure that we're seeing 863 00:38:47,379 --> 00:38:49,448 the same things or that we're seeing 864 00:38:49,551 --> 00:38:50,448 very, very different things. 865 00:38:50,551 --> 00:38:51,965 Either one is useful to us, as we 866 00:38:52,068 --> 00:38:55,206 continue to improve the data that we obtain 867 00:38:55,310 --> 00:38:57,724 on these mission flights. 868 00:38:57,827 --> 00:38:59,413 NARRATOR: Jason knows that the G-4 869 00:38:59,517 --> 00:39:01,724 is not as robust as the Orion and can 870 00:39:01,827 --> 00:39:04,206 be torn apart in the winds. 871 00:39:04,310 --> 00:39:06,655 It's also a jet, and jet engines 872 00:39:06,758 --> 00:39:11,758 can flame out in the hurricane strength rain. 873 00:39:11,862 --> 00:39:14,965 The real air is very limited. 874 00:39:15,068 --> 00:39:18,000 I don't care if you go in 100 knots or 400 knots, 875 00:39:18,103 --> 00:39:19,586 if things go wrong, they can go wrong 876 00:39:19,689 --> 00:39:24,379 pretty fast, pretty seriously. 877 00:39:24,482 --> 00:39:26,931 NARRATOR: Leslie is mostly a smooth ride for the crew 878 00:39:27,034 --> 00:39:29,379 of the P-3, but the occasional pocket 879 00:39:29,482 --> 00:39:31,827 bounces them around, giving co-pilot Justin 880 00:39:31,931 --> 00:39:33,896 Kibbe an uncomfortable jolt. 881 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:34,965 I'm glad I didn't have a heart 882 00:39:35,068 --> 00:39:36,310 monitor on because I'd have probably 883 00:39:36,413 --> 00:39:42,517 gone through the roof. 884 00:39:42,620 --> 00:39:46,448 NARRATOR: Back on the G-4, drop zones are released. 885 00:39:46,551 --> 00:39:48,965 Weather canisters that send real-time data 886 00:39:49,068 --> 00:39:52,034 back to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. 887 00:39:52,137 --> 00:39:55,482 Data coming into both aircraft is crystal clear. 888 00:39:55,586 --> 00:39:59,000 Leslie is no longer a threat. 889 00:39:59,103 --> 00:40:00,862 Right now, Leslie is, kind of, 890 00:40:00,965 --> 00:40:03,827 a steady state, if not declining category 891 00:40:03,931 --> 00:40:05,034 1 hurricane. 892 00:40:05,137 --> 00:40:06,931 It's sitting over the same water, 893 00:40:07,034 --> 00:40:09,344 and the water beneath the surface 894 00:40:09,448 --> 00:40:12,310 is a little bit cooler than what's at the surface. 895 00:40:12,413 --> 00:40:17,931 So until it moves off this plot of ocean that it's sitting on, 896 00:40:18,034 --> 00:40:20,689 it's not going to have the fuel to start 897 00:40:20,793 --> 00:40:24,965 to intensify as it moves off to the North Atlantic. 898 00:40:25,068 --> 00:40:27,413 NARRATOR: At the hurricane research division in Miami, 899 00:40:27,517 --> 00:40:31,068 Shirley Murillo and her team receive the data. 900 00:40:31,172 --> 00:40:32,827 All this is from today, yeah. 901 00:40:32,931 --> 00:40:35,344 NARRATOR: What they discover sends a sigh of relief 902 00:40:35,448 --> 00:40:36,551 through the room. 903 00:40:36,655 --> 00:40:37,862 Ian Sears is right. 904 00:40:37,965 --> 00:40:40,241 Leslie is weakening. 905 00:40:40,344 --> 00:40:42,827 The two planes have proven to be the best combined 906 00:40:42,931 --> 00:40:44,896 tool for tracking hurricanes. 907 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:48,241 I really like the combination of the G-4 with the P-3, 908 00:40:48,344 --> 00:40:49,965 a coordinated flight. 909 00:40:50,068 --> 00:40:51,517 NARRATOR: Shirley's team analyzes 910 00:40:51,620 --> 00:40:53,034 the data from the two planes. 911 00:40:53,137 --> 00:40:56,241 It's early days, but it looks like Kermit and Gonzo working 912 00:40:56,344 --> 00:40:58,551 together make a powerful team. 913 00:40:58,655 --> 00:41:01,724 Right now, it's still in a research mode. 914 00:41:01,827 --> 00:41:06,068 And so now, when the G-4 is down on the ground, 915 00:41:06,172 --> 00:41:07,379 we can collect the data. 916 00:41:07,482 --> 00:41:10,241 We'll look at both of the data sets, 917 00:41:10,344 --> 00:41:11,793 and we'll see what we get. 918 00:41:11,896 --> 00:41:14,586 Hopefully, it will be something good. 919 00:41:14,689 --> 00:41:16,379 NARRATOR: In Newfoundland, Leslie hits 920 00:41:16,482 --> 00:41:18,275 with half the expected force. 921 00:41:18,379 --> 00:41:21,689 Accurate forecasts using data gathered by the NOAA hurricane 922 00:41:21,793 --> 00:41:24,931 hunters means there are no unnecessary evacuations 923 00:41:25,034 --> 00:41:29,034 and no casualties, but now an even bigger storm 924 00:41:29,137 --> 00:41:30,793 is on the horizon, one that will 925 00:41:30,896 --> 00:41:40,896 put the team to one of their greatest tests in history. 926 00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:47,965 The 2012 hurricane season is a busy one. 927 00:41:49,379 --> 00:41:51,551 10 hurricanes keep the P-3 Orion 928 00:41:51,655 --> 00:41:56,448 and its team of hurricane hunters on constant watch. 929 00:41:56,551 --> 00:41:59,379 The convection isn't looking too good this morning. 930 00:41:59,482 --> 00:42:01,413 We'll see what we get when we get out there. 931 00:42:01,517 --> 00:42:03,413 Maybe the dry air intrusion will get a little bit 932 00:42:03,517 --> 00:42:06,551 of turbulence out of that, but we'll see what 933 00:42:06,655 --> 00:42:08,655 happens when we get out there. 934 00:42:08,758 --> 00:42:10,931 NARRATOR: The most devastating storm of the season 935 00:42:11,034 --> 00:42:13,000 was Hurricane Sandy. 936 00:42:13,103 --> 00:42:15,275 Sandy met with two other storm systems, 937 00:42:15,379 --> 00:42:17,724 threatening the safety of thousands on the east coast 938 00:42:17,827 --> 00:42:19,137 of North America. 939 00:42:19,241 --> 00:42:24,793 It's what one meteorologist dubbed a frankenstorm. 940 00:42:24,896 --> 00:42:27,758 For decades, this is the kind of challenge the hurricane 941 00:42:27,862 --> 00:42:29,379 hunters have faced. 942 00:42:29,482 --> 00:42:31,931 They conducted 10 grueling back to back 943 00:42:32,034 --> 00:42:35,241 flights into one of the worst storms in history. 944 00:42:35,344 --> 00:42:36,517 Do you have any questions on whether 945 00:42:36,620 --> 00:42:43,586 or what we're doing today? 946 00:42:49,689 --> 00:42:51,068 NARRATOR: Thanks to the work of the P-3 947 00:42:51,172 --> 00:42:53,517 Orion called Kermit and the NOAA team, 948 00:42:53,620 --> 00:42:55,620 predictions were made of exactly where 949 00:42:55,724 --> 00:43:02,793 and when Sandy would hit. 950 00:43:04,103 --> 00:43:07,137 And with the help of Gonzo, the Gulfstream G-4, 951 00:43:07,241 --> 00:43:09,482 the forecasters made an accurate prediction 952 00:43:09,586 --> 00:43:16,517 of the hurricane's intensity. 953 00:43:20,793 --> 00:43:23,310 As a result, massive evacuation orders 954 00:43:23,413 --> 00:43:24,896 were issued on the coastal areas 955 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:27,758 of New York and New Jersey. 956 00:43:27,862 --> 00:43:29,482 It's incredible, incredible rush, 957 00:43:29,586 --> 00:43:31,655 but you're doing very, very valuable data. 958 00:43:31,758 --> 00:43:34,586 You're doing it as safely as you possibly can while going 959 00:43:34,689 --> 00:43:35,827 through a hurricane. 960 00:43:35,931 --> 00:43:37,965 And like I said, it's very much a team 961 00:43:38,068 --> 00:43:40,068 environment and team success. 962 00:43:40,172 --> 00:43:44,448 NARRATOR: Justin Kibbe made six more hurricane penetrations-- 963 00:43:44,551 --> 00:43:45,724 Are we ready to get the penny? 964 00:43:45,827 --> 00:43:46,724 Awesome. 965 00:43:46,827 --> 00:43:47,724 All right. 966 00:43:47,827 --> 00:43:49,034 We did it. 967 00:43:49,137 --> 00:43:51,068 NARRATOR: --putting him that much closer to hurricane 968 00:43:51,172 --> 00:43:52,310 aircraft commander. 969 00:43:52,413 --> 00:43:54,517 I've always had a love of aviation. 970 00:43:54,620 --> 00:43:55,620 I've always wanted to be a pilot. 971 00:43:55,724 --> 00:43:57,068 I've always wanted to fly. 972 00:43:57,172 --> 00:43:59,689 I've always been the kid who likes to go out in the rain, 973 00:43:59,793 --> 00:44:02,310 and you know, watch the storms roll in. 974 00:44:02,413 --> 00:44:04,896 So I combined the two of flying and getting 975 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:07,586 to go into these amazing storms that not 976 00:44:07,689 --> 00:44:10,931 everybody in the world gets to do and not many people at all. 977 00:44:11,034 --> 00:44:13,586 NARRATOR: Timely evacuation saved thousands of lives 978 00:44:13,689 --> 00:44:15,344 during Hurricane Sandy. 979 00:44:15,448 --> 00:44:18,827 Thanks to the P-3 Orions and the Gulfstream 4's 980 00:44:18,931 --> 00:44:22,344 pinpoint accurate data. 981 00:44:22,448 --> 00:44:25,586 But Kermit and Gonzo had to do all the missions themselves, 982 00:44:25,689 --> 00:44:32,655 with their counterpart, Miss Piggy, undergoing an overhaul. 983 00:44:35,379 --> 00:44:37,206 This deadly hurricane season made 984 00:44:37,310 --> 00:44:40,793 it even more urgent to get Miss Piggy back in the air. 985 00:44:40,896 --> 00:44:44,172 The problem is, nature never ever goes along with our plan. 986 00:44:44,275 --> 00:44:46,586 So very often, the minute we put the planes 987 00:44:46,689 --> 00:44:48,034 down, something changes. 988 00:44:48,137 --> 00:44:49,655 And we get the phone call, saying, 989 00:44:49,758 --> 00:44:53,827 how quickly could you have these planes up and going? 990 00:44:53,931 --> 00:44:56,517 NARRATOR: No one knows what nature has in store. 991 00:44:56,620 --> 00:44:58,482 But if all goes according to plan, 992 00:44:58,586 --> 00:45:00,862 Kermit and Gonzo will be joined by Miss Piggy 993 00:45:00,965 --> 00:45:04,482 next hurricane season to help keep 994 00:45:04,586 --> 00:45:07,655 the public out of harm's way.