The Rescue Attempt and Aftermath

Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of A againgainst the Odds ad free right now Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app This series originally aired in twenty twenty two A listener note, Against the odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue may be invented Everything is based on research First stududdy Cears out the open door of a helicopter that is flying towards an active volcano From his vantage point in the back seat, he can see the Hawaiian landscape unfolding below him like a postcard Blue ocean Golden sunshine, lush green jungle Chris feels so lucky that he has to say it out loud. I can't believe I'm getting paid for this. This is a far cry from Chris's usual workplace, the dark special effects studios of Hollywood. Though he's only thirty one. Chris has been a camera assistant on a wide range of assignments For the effect studio behind Star Wars It's a cool job but also a good living which is important for a guy with two young kids Chris adjusts the joysticks on a control panel that's sitting in his lap The console controls a state of the art thirty five millimeter camera that's mounted on the front of the helicopter One of the men sitting in the front of the helicopter glances back at Chris Boss Veteran spepecial effects photographer Benson How's that camera looking Chris Give me thirty seconds. Roger that Oh man Look at this view Chris grins, working with Mike is always fun He's forty nine and has worked in the business for over two decades He's still got the enthusiasm teenager Chris leans his head out the door again to check out the landscape below The glittering waves are giving way to jagged volcanic rock They're getting closer to their destination Killaa. One of the most active volcanic sites on Earth The aerial footage they capture today will be used in the finale of Sliver coming thriller, starring Sharon Stone To get the shot, they'll need to fly directly over Poou o o A steaming crater located about eleven miles from Kiluea's main caldera After a final check of the camera controls, Chris hands the console to Mike Ready to go Mike checks the screen on the console, then gives a thumbs up Chris Miles He knows that Mike is a perfectionist In fact, This is their second pass over the volcano theirir first attempt wasn't up to his standards As they fly closer to Poou o o, Chris leans over to get a better look bowl of black volcanic rock. overver a thousand feet across At the bottom sits a smaller vent, two hundred and fifty feet wide, belching a white plume of volcanic gas from a pond of molten lava As the helicopter flies closer Feel the heat radiating from it A gust of wind hits the chopper hard, causing it to lurch violently to one side. Chris Sraps' seat as his heart starts pounding. pilots Do't even flinch. Just a little turbulence, standard stuff Chris exhales It' grateful to have an experienced pilot like Craig Hosking at the stick. As the helicopter levels off again, Mike laughs and takes the camera controls. Just keep it steady for the shot, Craig No problem Lining her up now. And go Mike starts filming as Chris watches from the back seat The helicopter begins to pass directly over the crater as the camera captures its brutal volcanic landscape Chris can't keep from grinning This shot It's going to be incredible, but Suddenly, the wind shifts again. The plume of volcanic steam changes direction, head straight for the chopper. In an instant, the three men are engulfed in toxic funes. Chris chokes as the foul smelling gases fill his nose and throat as he tries to hold his breath Here'ars a horrible sound. the engine sounds like it's fighting for its life and losing. it sputters, chokes, and goes quiet. And then They start to fall. Craig shouts from the front. Hang on Chris feels his stomach rise in his throat. He turns to Mike and sees the panic in his mentor's eyes. The engine is dead. The air is toxic and they are hurtling down into an active volcano This is real, not a movie Chris has no idea how it's going to end I heard a rumor that the CIA poisoned my granddad. Gordon Banks, the world's number one goalkeeper. It happened in Mexico, supposedly, at the World Cup in nineteen seventy. Sounds crazy. I'm an investigative journalist on the hunt for evidence. We needed to do some extraordinary things to counter these sovians This is Foul playay, an unbelievable tale of sports, spies and family secrets. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or early and ad free on audible Audible Originals. I'm Mike Cory and this is Against the Odds Kilaa. sits on the southeastern edge of the big island of Hawaii and is the most dangerous of the five volcanoes that make up the island chain It's erupted over sixty times in the past two hundred years, making it one of the most active volcanoes on Earth On november twenty first, nineteen ninety two Three men Cameraman, Chris Duddy and Mike Benson Pilot, Craig Hosking took off in a helicopter to shoot a scene for a Hollywood movie. The job was straightforward getet footage inside a volcano But a simple shift in the wind led to a terrifying disaster that would test the men's physical and mental strength in ways they never imagined This is episode one. into the crater Chris Duddy waves his empty my Ti glass at a passing waiter He wants a second drink with dinner, even though he's pretty sure his boss, Mike Benson, is going to give him a good ribbing about it It's november twentieth, nineteen ninety two The night before they kill away a chute They're in a hotel in Hilo, a small town on the eastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii This is where Paramount has set up the Siver productduction office for the Hawaii sho. Tonight, Mike is taking the whole camera department out for dinner famous for his generosity and his larger than life sense of humor. He sees Chris ordering a second drink and calls out to the waiter Nothing for that guy He's working tomorrow Chris points at the tropical drink in front of Mike and pipes up with mock indignation. He You're working tomorrow too. Yeah, I know, but we'll never get anything done if we're both hung over Chris has known Mike since they work together Terminator two Mike has hired him as assistant cameraman on almost every job since after multiple gigs together become good friends Chris sips his second My tie and checks his watch It's getting late back in Los Angeles He'll have to head up to his room soon to call his kids Cameron is seven Collen is five They love staying up past bedtime to talk to their dad And Chris can't wait to tell them what he's doing tomorrow Flying in a helicopter over an active volcano Boys hear that You're gonna think they've got the coolest dad in the world. Benson pours himself another cup of bad coffee He's in the second unit production office, set up in a hotel suite in Hilo It's early morning on november twenty first, nineteen ninety two. and the makeshift office is already humming Over the years, Mike's grown to love these temporary nerve centers that movie companies set up for remote shoots With a few cameras, a couple of phones, a copier, a fax machine in a cheap coffee pot make movie magic. He's with his cameraman, Chris Duddy Pilot, Craig Hosking and an associate producer named Lura Viederman Laura is impressing on them the importance of today's shoot. This morning is the only break in the weather we're gonna to get. Are you sure you've prepped everything on the shotlist replies, Dead pan List Laura stares for a moment breaks into a smile. I'm kidding We got it, we got it Laura smiles back but isn't overly amused. She's young, but ultra professional with a reputation for getting the job done Obstacles be damned Mike knows it wasn't easy getting a permit to shoot over the volcano It's part of a national park and considered dangerous to fly over But somehow Laura pulled it off. He takes another sip of bitter coffee as Laura reviews the keys shot for the two hundredth time This is for the final sequence of the movie. The killer confesses to the heroine and he flies their chomper into the volcano. Blackout, credits roll. We don't know if they survive Mike knows an effectX team will use the shot as a background and insert the actors later. If it's not perfect, the suits back at Paramount will not be happy. Chris tosses his styrofoam cup into the trash Don't worry. I'll make sure Mike doesn't screw it out. Hey, come on. They all laugh Mike's got a long line of credits From the Blues Brothers to Patriot Games Everyone knows he won't screw it up All right then Good luck out there, gentlemen As they head out the door to get into the car drive to the airfield, Mike lets out a sigh of relief. given a choice between a nervous producer and a volcano. He' take the volcano any day. Chris Duddy turns over a glass bottle in his hands. He's in the back of the chopper as it flies towards Kilaa. Mike Benson and their pilot, Craig Hosking, are in front. Below them, the green of the jungle is slowly giving way the dark rock of the lava fields. Minutes ago, as the morning sun was still rising, they took off from their base camp F miles from the volcano, Chris checked and double checked the camera mounted on the outside of the helicopter. He made sure the film was loaded and the battery was fresh. Once in the air, the camera is controlled remotely. There's no way to get out and fix it if something goes wrong. But now, as the chopper closes in on the volcano, he ponders the bottle in his hands, a fifth of gin wrapped in a tea leaf Given to them by a local priest just before they took off, he addresses Craig over the clearcalm headset. What was it that the priest said? I just throw this into the volcano, right? Yeah, it's an offering for Madame Pelee. It's a tradition and all film shoots here. On the first flight to Kiluea, you toss in a bottle of gin as an offering to the goddess of the volcano It keeps her happy. Chris shakes his head and smiles. If anyone would know the Kilauea flight customs, it's Craig. He's flown thousands of flights, both on and off Hawaii, and has been over Kilauea probably hundreds of times. Chris and Mike have flown with him on jobs before, but never over Kilauea soon The volcano blooms before them. Chris looks down. Beneath him yawns the massive jagged poou o o crater. A white bloom of toxic gas billows up from a vent at the bottom. The wind picks up, and Chris gets a whiff of sulphur. It smells like burnt matches and rotten eggs. You can smell that from here. Oh, it's like Satan's infernal farts. Chris starts to prepare the camera equipment, but Mike interrupts him. Better give that offering, Chris. Chris fumbles to get the bottle and throw it out the open door as Mike counts down. On three. One Two, three It ros, but a gust of wind catches the bottle just as it leaves the chopper. It spins upward for a split second, then arcs away from the volcano Chris watches as the bottle plummets, then smashes just outside the rocky edge of the crater Mike laughs. Great throw, man. We said in the volcano The wind caught it I hope you don't piss off Madame Pelly She'll be fine. Let's just go get the shot Chris feels his weight shift beneath him as Craig turns the helicopter to face the crater. He checks the camera's remote controller one last time and hands it to Mike. Mike sits back in his seat, lines up the controls, and starts the camera rolling. as they fly straight at the volcano Thirty minutes later, back at base camp, Mike Benson looks over the footage they just shot He studies the contrast of the black lava rocks against the cloudy sky He winds the tape back and watches again. hoping it'll somehow look better the second time It doesn't Chris looks over his shoulder What do you think, Mike Mike watches the tape a third time The shot isn't bad But it isn't great either As a special effects photographer His job is to come back with something spectacular. He knows he can do better He looks up at Chris Let's do it again Chris Ns. whatever you need Mike yells to Craig, who's standing outside the chopper smoking a cigarette. We're going back for another round Craig nods and stamps out his cigarette. You're the boss. Mike climbs back into the chopper and buckles in as they left off for another run at the volcano Craig Hoskking steadies the stick as he guides the helicopter back towards the rocky crater. For him, flying over the volcano is pretty routine. Usually he's just taking tourists around the rim. This trip is a little different because he's flying into the crater itself. Still, even a novice pilot could handle it The one danger is the fumes volcanic fumes consist of water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide If a helicopter gets too deep in that mixture There's not enough oxygen to burn fuel The engine can stall. The sulfuric compounds can also damage the engine's inner workings So every time Craig flies over Kilauea He makes sure to steer well clear of that toxic white cloud The wind pushes upward as he banks around the crater We heard this a storm coming later today And he hopes it's not early He wants to be long gone or that weather becomes a problem. He sees that the winds are pushing the smoke deeper into the bowl of the crater. may have to fly lower. get a clear shot. A gust shakes the helicopter, and Craig gives his usual reassuring comment. Just a little turbulence Stard stuff. Mike laughs and takes the camera controls Just keep it steady for the shot, Craig No problem. Lining her up now And go But suddenly, the wind changes direction. the column of toxic fumes shifts and expands, drifting towards the helicopter quickly engulfing it Craig's visibility drops to zero. He inhales a mouthful of sulfur dioxide and feels it stinging his throat burning his eyes. He hears the other guysys coughing along with him Craig turns the chopper to get out of the deadly whiteout. Then he hears something that makes his blood freeze. The engine sputters and stalls Fumes have choked it out, depriving it of the oxygen it needs to function rag stomachurches as the two thousand pound vehicle begins to plummet He knows he has no hope of restarting the engine before they hit the ground. His only chance of saving them is a controlled descent. He disengages the engine from the main rotors, letting the resistance of the helicopter's massive blades slow the choppers fall, like a falling leaf slowly spinning to the ground Craig has done it in simulation, but this is his first time in real life He yells over his head say. Hang on Chris and Mike grip their seats. Despite Craig's best efforts, the chopper spins out of control He can't see through the fumes. He has no idea where they're going down. They could be falling straight into the vent full of molten lava A dark wall emerges from the fumes. They're heading for the rocky side of the crater. Chris shouts. Look out. Crek tries to bank the shopper, but he's too late O a loud crack, the border blades snap off against the jagged rocks. The force pushes the chopper away from the wall as the severed blades spin off to the fog fewew terrifying seconds They free fall And then the chopper hits the ground The men are rocked around in their seatbelts like rag dolls, equipment smashes, metal bends and brakes then Silence takes in the situation all things considered be a lot worse The chopper has landed upright He's alive The other men are too then again They're in a whiteout of poisonous gas. They're inhaling sulfur dioxide with every breath Inside an active volcano Nobody coming to get them Duddy coughs violently as he struggles to unbuckle his seatbelt He' alive, and so are Craig and Mike fully engulfed in the poisonous white fumes that are pouring out of the bottom of the crater. The steam is so thick that Chris can barely see his hand in front of his face. They need to move fast to wherever they can escape the fumes and catch their breath Chris looks into the front seat and sees the dashboard of the chopper is smashed. He taps Mike on the shoulder Flank, are you okay? I think so Creig? Yeah. Nothing broken. ink The bile rises in Kris's stomach as the smell of sulfur fills his nose and burns the back of his throat his lungs convulsing as they fight to expel the poisonous gas. We gotta get out of here. As Craig and Mike pry themselves from their seatbelts, Chris sees blood streaming down Craig's forehead. You sure you're al right, Craig? It's just a scratch. must have bumped it on the dashboard. They scramble out of the chopper, onto the rocky floor of the crater. Chris feels a blast of feet on his skin stpped into a sauna, he wonders how close they are to the lava pond in the center of the crater steam surrounding him. posossible to tell He squints at his surroundings Through the haze, he can barely see the steep wall of the crater rising in front of him He doesn't know if it's the way to safety does know. Farther from the heat Lava point That's good enough for him. It signals for Craig and Mike to follow. This way, the three men stumble across the sharp and jagged rocks. but then stops. We've got to get the film. Chris looks back at the helicopter, the plexiglass bubble that held the camera Broken. The film magazine is lying on the ground. Instinctively, he starts moving towards the chopper, but then the reality of the situation hits him. Are you kidding? Yeah. what am I saying? Forget it. They resume their push towards the wall of the crater before long it comes into focus. A massive edifice Dark volcanic stone It looked imposing from the air. Cose, It's even more daunting Three lean against the wall and rest for a moment. The smell of sulfur is still overpowering, but Chris is relieved to discover he can breathe a little bit easier. He trains his neck back to look up the steep slope of the crater wall an air seems to be gusting in from above, hugging the wall of the crater before it mixes with the toxic gas. Chris looks back in the direction of the chopper, barely visible through the fumes Beyond it, you can make out the central vent of the crater another fifty yards and they would have crashed in that v sunk into the lava He turns back to the wall of Rock He can't see the top clearly, but he thinks it's maybe two or three hundred feet high. Chris looks into the strined faces of the two other men Cim it and get out of you're right? Craigan M non Sounds like a plan. Let's move Chris starts scrambling up the rough and ragged terrain. The other two follow. The surface of the crater wall is jagged. When Chris grabs the rocks to steady himself, he can feel their sharp edges digging into his palms. Still, he's making good progress. The slope is steep, but it's manageable It's difficult to keep a steady footing with all the loose rocks, but it continues to scramble upward He stops for a moment to check on Mike and Craig They're not as young and athletic as him But they're making progress as well. Chris cups his hands around his mouth. I'll scout ahead. He keeps climbing towards a large rock, sturdy enough. over it then another large enough to put his feed on progress He feels a wave of encouragement topop can't be far away. Soon he'll reach the rim Three of them will escape and survive But as he climbs over another boulder Heart sinks can see the pathway towards the top more clearly 's getting steeper and steeper Closer it gets to the rim terrible realization hits him Trader is bold shaped The slope is gentle near the bottom And as it approaches the top, it's practically vertical. higher they go possible the climb will become. Choice Staying at the bottom of the crater, where the toxic fumes are most concentrated P suicide Chris keeps pushing forward But when he grabs for the next wall, it comes loose from the wall Look out. Watch as the rock tumble down the steep slope I missing mike by inches. You al right Dper stops climbing and squints up through the haze towards the rim He scans the terrain for places where he could get a foothold, but he doesn't see any. He's hit a dead end He turnurns and calls down to Mike and Craig. Don't come up here. It's too steep takes a step back down to rejoin them It stumbles on the loose rocks. As he regains his balance, it dawns in him. falls down this slope going to get hurt ill the sharpest of the volcanic rocks knives if he fell from this height, cut him into ribbons Mress has no safe path down He's trapped halfway up the crater wall. ree Oking clings to the side of the rock wall, gasping for air fififty feet above him first study has just told them path out It' a dead end Benson is just a few feet above him He seems frozen. Dear Craig calls out to him Mind it Okay I think so I got a hang here until they send the rescue team Mg shakes his head and shouts so Chris and Mike can both hear him Guys No one knows we're down here chaos of the crash, Craig didn't have a chance to send a Mday message, and the chances that anyone saw them go down are close to zero. It will be at least an hour before anyone even realizes they haven't returned to base camp By then Dead asphyxiated by the fumes knows what he has to do. I'm going back to the chopper to send a Mday. You sure it's safe? Nope. But I don't have a better idea He takes a deep breath, and starts back down the rocks. He feels the temperature climbing as he gets closer to the bottom of the crater Noxious steam from the vent gets thicker He feels himself struggling to breathe By the time he reaches the flatter surface of the bottom, he knows he needs to act fast. He takes a deep breath, holds it, and makes a break for the helicopter In thick haaze, the silhouette of the chopper emerges. Craig feels the pressure in his head and lungs building. He has to breathe He exhales, gasps, and takes in a alum of sulfuric fues It's like swallowing burning matches his eyes of water and he almost trips from the dizziness. But he manages to stay on his feet and keep going Which is the chopper, but every breath sens his lungs into spasms of coughing. He has to breathe fresher air the run back to the rock wall. Iteems like a marathon He sees a small hill about fifty feet away that just might elevate him above the worst of the fumes. He sprints for it and scrambles to the top and breathes The air here is a little better. He does his best to take in what oxygen he can and cough the sulfur. his lungs. Mike shouts to him from the wall Yeah Just getting my second wind. Greg takes in a long breath dives back into the fuse toward the helicopter ducks inside and takes in the wreckage Most of the equipment has been smashed and twisted by the crash dashboard is a broken mess, but the radio looks intact. He grabs the microphone and flicks it on. Cck Check Damn it. The radio is dead Now what Craig knows he has to find some way to repair the radio and send out a Mday His eyes are burning hold this breath much longer. Benson clings onto the rocks on the crater wall, gasping for breath The air is fresher here than it was near the helicopter. St Lungs are burning He pulls his shirt up over his mouth hoping it will filter out the toxic fumes He looks up the wall of the crater through the haze You can see Chris curled up on a rock ledge more than a couple of feet wide. Hey, Chris They're holding up. Mike shakes his head He's encountered some extreme conditions during his long career making movies, but nothing even remotely close to this He looks back down er. trying to spot the helicopter Totally shrouded Craig, how you doing down there There was no Before Mike K reply, he's racked with a violent coughing fit The sulfur is scorching his lungs. Every breath is agony has to find some better air. Looks above and spots a rocky alcove set deeper Crater wall. As he inches towards it, rocks give way under his feet He struggles to stay upright Finally, after a few minutes, he reaches the small alcove. pulls himself into it. Takes a breath is relieved to find that the air is fresher here We can stay inside the alcove and avoid the worst of the fumes As he leans against the crater wall, he feels a rising sense of dread. How long can any of them stay alive in this hellish landscape pictures his wife, Stephanie his two grown kids, Garrett and Danielle no idea. 'll ever see them again Oking searches through the helicopter something to power the radio. He can only take a few breaths before the sulfur causes him to hck again. It finds a flashlight with working batteries. Wrong voltage The radio needs twenty four volts to power up He spots Chris's camera bag in the back seat ips it open. His eyes light up. A camera battery Thisotects the back of the small plastic cartridge. It's twenty four volts Fe his lungs fighting to expel the toxic gas He grips the battery in his palm and rushes back to the hill, packing and spitting the whole way. When he reaches the hill collapses onto his knees Vomas Here's Mike in the distance So far, after catching his breath Craig gets to work pulls out a pair of pliers, he rescued from the chopper's toolkit uses them to take the case off the battery He carefully strips the insulation off the ends of two exposed wires. He takes a deep breath holds it as he rushes back to the helicopter He ducks under the dashboard and searches for the radio's power leads. The wire is under the dash angled mess. but Craig manages to locate the radio's power cables. He yanks them loose from the helicopter battery. strips the insulation with his pliers. As his body heaves from another coughing fit, Craig takes the wires from the radio and the camera battery them together. The radio springs to life Craig can't believe he pulled it off But he knows there's no time to celebrate. He grabs the handset. Mayday, May day Helicopter down in Kilauea Can anyone hear me There's nothing Craig can feel his lungs, fighting to expel the sulfur. He day May. Mayay. crashed in poooo o oh crater. Can anyone Suddenly, there's a voice on the other end. Roger mayday Craig nearly collapses with relief. Help me finally be coming. Each passing second, it's getting harder to breathe wonders if he, Mike, and Chris Hold out long enough G arrested Producer Laura Veterman holds the phone away from her ear She's trying to talk to someone from the Hawaii County Fire Department. rescuing her camera crew the fire department rep letting her have his They shouldn't have been flying directly over the crater. It's way too dangerous, especially today when there's a storm coming. Laura hass been shoutted out a hundred times before Agry producers Three directors This time, someone's life is at stake. She chooses her next words carefully. Look, I understand why you're upset, but we had a permit to be there. Every relevant agency signed off on it. Now, are you going rescue my guys or not The county fire rep relents. Of course we are. We're coordinating with the Park Service to put together a team right now Laura pushes for details. The park service has already put out a call for a rescue chopper to make an emergency airlift And one of the local aviation companies has responded pilot's on his way to the crater as they speak What if the airlift doesn't work What's plan B We're working on When the call ends, Laura sits in silence for a moment anxiously tapping her fingers on her desk She picks up the phone and dials the number for her boss at Paramount She needs to alert the studio to what's happening. and see if they can come up with their own plan B Just in case Don Sarer pilots his chopper through gray clouds and a darkening sky toward Kilauea volcano just a few hours ago. He was in the office of this charter flight company back on Maui. doing some paperwork Then, he got the call from the park serervice. Three people, including his friend, Craig Hosking crash landed inside an active crater. volcano's E eastern Rim. Dawn jumped right into action He stopped to pick up a park ranger and headed straight for Kilauea Dawn circles the smoke filled cauldron Ooo o o, looking for any sign of the survivors the Ranger in the co pilot seat shakes his head. It's a mess down there. You're telling me Don's only been a chopper pilot in Hawaii for about six years In that short time, he's rescued swimmers from thirty foot waves and helped the police airlift bails illegal marijuana He's never done anything remotely like this A storm has come in and put a low pressure system over the top of the volcano Noxious white fumes have filled up the crater like a bowl of soup Even spotting the survivors is going to be tough landing inside be outright impossible As he crests over the lip of the crater, the volcanic fumes fill the cabin worse than he expected The sulfur fills his throat lgs his vision begins to darken just lightheaded Park Ranger shouts at him. Gone Okay? Gone Don feels something on his face and his eyes snap back into focus He realizes that he was close to passing out thinking park Ranger slid an oxygen mask onto his face. Thanks How was close He circles over the crater again Her this time to avoid the deadly clouds of steam and smoke. He doesn't know how he's going to find a way into this soup He needs the wind to shift before he can even think about a rescue attempt. It was the fumes that brought down the first chopper There's no way he's letting the same thing happen to him Craig Hosking looks up from his hill as he tries to catch his breath. Fumes seem to be growing thicker by the minute realizes it must be the storm pushing all the volcanic gases back down into the crater It doesn't come soon suffocate He hears the sound of a distant chopper Closer Craig dashes through the fog and into his crashed helicopter to get on the radio May day, Mayay. Can you hear me? Roger, we hear you Circling the crater now The rescue pilot tells him he's waiting for a break in the fumes moment they see an opening But when that happens, Craig will have to run straight to them T have much time, the wind could shift in an instant, turning their landing zone into a potential death trap. If we come down, are you in good enough shape to get to us Yes, yes. I'll just need a few minutes to direct the other guys. Don't have a few minutes. We've got an opening. We're coming in now Craig feels the breeze kick up from the helicopter's rotors and sees the noxious clouds lift just a bit. Then he hears the chopper touch down. He can't see it through the fumes, but from the sound of its rotors, he can tell it's close. He yells as loud as he can, hoping the others can hear him through the roar of the blades M, Chris, get down here if you can. There's a chopper. But he can't wait for them. He has to move now He makes a break for it, running toward the sound of the still spinning blades. He can only see a few feet in front of him. He stumbles over a jagged rock and nearly goes face first under the hot ground. But somehow, he catches himself and keeps going He sees shake through the haze. It's the chopper. With his last breath, Craig sprints the final few yards. The park ranger grabs him by the shirt and pulls him in the chopper's open door. The pilot shouts. I'm getting us out of here now The helicopter's engine sputters as it lifts slowly into the air. For a moment, it hovers just a few feet off the ground, and Craig worries that's about to stall out, just like his did. But then he hears the whine of the blades kicking into high gear. Seconds later, they're above the crater and out of the fumuse s saafe Craig lies back on the floor of the chopper, coughing and tasting the sulphur in his throat. He can't believe it saf. He looks down and is shocked to see just how bad the fumes in the volcano have gotten. The crater is a mass of white. He can't see the bottom or any trace of Mike and Chris He yells to the pilot. We have to go back. We can't leave them there. Not now. It's a nightmare in that crater. and the storm, it's getting nasty. We'll have to come back tomorrow Tomorrow Drake's heart sinks, but he knows the pilot is right. With no visibility, they have no hope of finding the others. The sun is already starting to drop, but Craig doesn't know if Chris and Mike can hold on until tomorrow. is down there He didn't think he'd make it another hour As the rescue chopper flies him to safety, Craig looks back at the murky crater one more time It's back tears. He can't help but feel responsible for Mike and Chris. After all, he was their pilot He can't believe he's being forced to leave them behind. Now, he can only pray that his colleagues, his friends survivive the night this tiny rock ledge Chris Duddy shouts into the void Rreg. R get a reply Chris has no idea why Craig has suddenly stopped answering. Fumes finally get to him Did he wander off in search of some other way out? Chris doesn't even want to think about the other possibility A few minutes ago, he definitely heard the sound of a helicopter thought it had meant rescue But now the helicopter sound is gone too. Freg have flown out on it But no never leave them behind like that somewhere below Here's Mike Shout. Don't worry Someone will come for us soon. But what happened to Craig? Don't think about that now. Just try and save her strength Chris doesn't know how much more he can take coold, hard rain has started falling A minute ago, Chris was roasting from the volcanic heat. Now he's damp and shivering. Volcanic soot trickles down his face and stings his eyes. Rays of amber light cut through the clouds and the thick smoke. From his work in cinematography, Chris knows that means it's golden hour of stunning orange light before the sun setets, he normally cherishes this time of day. But when the sun goes down, Chris knows it's only going to get colder thenen they'll have to spend the night here It survive the fumes of the storm in the unstable rocks As Chris watches the last rays of sunshine disappear. Wonders If it's the last sunset, you'll ever see it Follow Against the Odds on the Audible app or wherever you get your podcast. You can listen to all episodes of Agst the Odds ad free by joining Audible This is episode one of our two part series Crash in a volcano. A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't exactly know what was said. Everything is based on historical research Produced by Audible. I'm your host, Mike Corey Eric Truhart wrote this episode Eedited by Sean Rviv. Sound Design by Joe Richardson Engineered by Sergio Enriquez.