Mike Corey (Host)

What do you have in mind?

Let's divide the controls.

I'll work the collective and keep our altitude stable.

That way, you can concentrate on the cyclic.

Lefevre can see that Torpy is hesitant.

Splitting the controls is extremely dangerous because both pilots have to be perfectly in sync.

If they give conflicting commands to the helicopter's rotors, the rotors could over-torque, causing the chopper to spin out of control or suddenly lose altitude.

It goes against everything they're taught in flight school.

Then again, nothing in flight school really prepares you for flying in conditions this extreme.

Finally, Torpy nods.

Right away, Lefevre sees a difference in Torpy's flying.

The helicopter's movements have become sharper, and he adjusts more quickly to the gusting crosswinds.

Minutes later, Lefevre sees the flash of the EPIRB strobe.

He orders flight mechanics Fred Kalt and Lee Honnold to get ready to drop flares around the survivors.

Now, the real work begins.

Captain Ted Lefevre pulls back hard on the collective, raising the helicopter's altitude just in time to dodge an oncoming wave.

He can tell they're climbing from the way he feels pinned to his seat, but when he looks at the altimeter, it stays pegged at 40 feet.

It's measuring the distance to the nearest water below them, and the wave is rising as fast as they're climbing.

Finally, the wave breaks, and the altimeter jumps to 120 feet.

Lefevre relaxes his grip on the collective.