0:00:04 > 0:00:06This is the story of a city.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09A city with over a million residents -
0:00:09 > 0:00:11but you won't find it on any map.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15A city that few could have even imagined a generation ago.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18It's a city...in the sky.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25There are a million people airborne
0:00:25 > 0:00:29somewhere in the world at any one time.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31A city's worth of passengers,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33straddling not just countries...
0:00:35 > 0:00:36..but continents.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40It's built out of the 100,000 flights
0:00:40 > 0:00:42that crisscross the globe every day.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48'I'm Dallas Campbell, a science broadcaster.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51'Aviation's a big part of my family's story.'
0:00:51 > 0:00:53I actually think I might be in love.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56This is engineering at the limit.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00I'm Dr Hannah Fry, a lecturer in the mathematics of cities.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05So these are all of the planes across America, right now.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07- Right now.- Wow.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09We'll be travelling the world,
0:01:09 > 0:01:14uncovering the hidden global networks and complex logistics
0:01:14 > 0:01:15that keep us safely in flight.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17- COMPUTER VOICE:- Pull up. Pull up.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19'We'll head to the very busiest
0:01:19 > 0:01:23'and biggest nerve centres of global aviation...
0:01:23 > 0:01:27I absolutely love this place, it's complete mayhem!
0:01:27 > 0:01:30'..to discover how flight is connecting the world
0:01:30 > 0:01:32'like never before.'
0:01:34 > 0:01:38We'll be meeting the people who make it all possible.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43From the army of specialists who take care of us in flight...
0:01:43 > 0:01:45He is now having trouble breathing,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49and the repeat pulse is 240, is that correct? Over.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54..to the experts that keep aircraft safe.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59This city in the sky
0:01:59 > 0:02:03is predicted to double in size in the next two decades,
0:02:03 > 0:02:04and keeping it airborne
0:02:04 > 0:02:08is testing our ingenuity to its absolute limits.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Whenever we're in flight,
0:02:23 > 0:02:26most of us take it for granted that we'll stay airborne.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32But that depends on a handful of fundamental laws of physics,
0:02:32 > 0:02:37and it's these laws that keep all aircraft in the sky -
0:02:37 > 0:02:39from the largest jets
0:02:39 > 0:02:41to the smallest.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52These two men had to register as aircraft in the United States...
0:02:53 > 0:02:57even though their wingspan is only two metres across.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06Their bodies act like an aircraft's fuselage.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10And just like a large passenger plane,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12they're powered by four jet engines.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Although they had to apply for a special exemption
0:03:16 > 0:03:18for flying without a seatbelt.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26The jet men are former fighter pilot Yves Rossy
0:03:26 > 0:03:29and three-times world champion skydiver Vince Reffet.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35I mean, this is the closest thing to a human being flying, solo.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40I think, yeah. Really it is just beautiful, you can play with clouds.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42We are getting closer to
0:03:42 > 0:03:45this dream, to one of the oldest dream of human, you know,
0:03:45 > 0:03:46like the flying, you know -
0:03:46 > 0:03:49flying like a bird, you know, when you see a bird flying around.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51And it's really powerful -
0:03:51 > 0:03:57we can go up to about 160 miles per hour. It's fast.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Every kid in the world wants to be you two.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03- And actually most adults, I think! - I wish them,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06they will take something like that in 20 years
0:04:06 > 0:04:08- to go to the office.- Yeah.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11So you have to shake...
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Flying like a bird may SOUND appealing...
0:04:15 > 0:04:18..but the thought of hurtling through the sky
0:04:18 > 0:04:21at 160 miles an hour strapped to this thing
0:04:21 > 0:04:23is frankly terrifying.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Erm... I mean, this is... I could pretend that this was easy,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31but actually that is... I don't even think I can take a single step.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Oh, my God. How do you DO this?!
0:04:37 > 0:04:41It takes years of training to fly like Yves and Vince.
0:04:41 > 0:04:42But fortunately,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46there's a much easier way of getting up alongside them
0:04:46 > 0:04:48to see just how they control their flight.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50In order to fly,
0:04:50 > 0:04:55they have to completely master those fundamental principles of aviation.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Though their launch is unlike any normal takeoff.
0:05:11 > 0:05:12To begin with, these guys
0:05:12 > 0:05:16are plummeting towards the ground with their jet packs on,
0:05:16 > 0:05:20propelling them at hundreds of kilometres per hour.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25Even the tiniest mistake could cause them to lose control.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31They're diving towards the ground to pick up speed,
0:05:31 > 0:05:34and it's only when they reach around 100 miles per hour
0:05:34 > 0:05:36that they can level out.
0:05:40 > 0:05:45The wing shape creates lower pressure above it than below it,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47and that causes lift.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50But the key to controlling the flight of any jet craft
0:05:50 > 0:05:52is the angle of the wing.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58When Vince arches his back, his wing tilts upwards -
0:05:58 > 0:06:01just enough that the lift counteracts the pull of gravity.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08This is what makes controlled, level flight possible.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16The shape of the wing is the same as you get in an aeroplane.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18The shape creates a pressure difference
0:06:18 > 0:06:19above and below the wing
0:06:19 > 0:06:23which literally sucks it up into the air.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Where airliners use a rudder and ailerons to steer,
0:06:31 > 0:06:34the jet men use their hands and bodies.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41If they want to pitch upwards, they arch their backs -
0:06:41 > 0:06:43if they want to roll from side to side
0:06:43 > 0:06:45they do it all with their shoulders.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49Oh, my God...
0:06:49 > 0:06:50Oh, wow.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59That's ridiculous!
0:07:02 > 0:07:04The forces keeping the jet men in flight
0:07:04 > 0:07:08are the very same that allow every passenger plane to stay airborne.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13But for most of us mere mortals,
0:07:13 > 0:07:16the in-flight experience is rather less extreme.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25We've become so used to jetting around the globe,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28we just take it for granted.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30Flying seems so ordinary these days,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33with every flight more or less the same.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35You know the drill...
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Welcome on board.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39You board the plane...
0:07:39 > 0:07:40..find your seat.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42make yourself comfy...
0:07:42 > 0:07:44and prepare for takeoff.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Then, you're in the air.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50The hours roll on by,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53punctuated by welcome distractions.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Try to get some sleep,
0:07:56 > 0:07:59and hope that when you wake up, you'll be there.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05But while you're enjoying your nap,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08there's a whole host of hidden processes at work,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10making sure you get to your destination.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Not least, navigation.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Somehow, in the vast open spaces of the sky,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24the pilot has to figure out how to get from A to B.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31Tonight, Lufthansa senior pilot Captain Jo Schwarzenberg
0:08:31 > 0:08:34is flying the biggest passenger jet in the world,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38an A380 with 480 passengers on board,
0:08:38 > 0:08:40from Frankfurt to Delhi.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45The problem is, for most of the 4,000 mile journey
0:08:45 > 0:08:47he can't see a thing out the window.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52It's the middle of the night,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55and Joe's invited me to join him up in the cockpit.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01We're somewhere over Afghanistan now,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03we're about an hour and a half until landing.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06It's absolutely pitch-black outside, we can't see any city lights,
0:09:06 > 0:09:07anything like that,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10which begs the question of course - how do pilots navigate,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12how do they know where to point the plane,
0:09:12 > 0:09:14how do they know where other planes are?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19The answer lies with one of the city in the sky's
0:09:19 > 0:09:21most important hidden global networks -
0:09:21 > 0:09:25a web of markers dotted across the planet, known as waypoints.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30To fly from A to B,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33we have to have an idea how we would like to fly
0:09:33 > 0:09:36so we file a flight plan,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39which goes from landmark to landmark in earlier times -
0:09:39 > 0:09:41nowadays we are flying from waypoint to waypoint.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45So most of these waypoints aren't physical beacons,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47they are virtual points?
0:09:47 > 0:09:51They used to be physical objects in earlier days,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54but nowadays with the use of GPS it's all coordinates.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56We define points in the air
0:09:56 > 0:09:59somewhere over the Earth, give them a name -
0:09:59 > 0:10:00that's a five-letter name -
0:10:00 > 0:10:03and then we fly from waypoint to waypoint.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Waypoints are virtual landmarks.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10They allow the plane's navigation system
0:10:10 > 0:10:14to know exactly where it is and which way it's heading.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16To a pilot,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18they're almost like imaginary signposts,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20reaching up into the sky,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23giving them a trail to follow through the night.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26And on a familiar route,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29their strange names get burnt into a pilot's memory.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32Our next waypoint is NEVIV,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36and we are flying further on to PATAX, MESRA and PAVLO.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39PAVLO is the entry point to India,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42and is also the exit point of Afghanistan.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44It's like a trail of breadcrumbs.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47- More or less, yes, like Hansel and Gretel. - DALLAS LAUGHS
0:10:47 > 0:10:50How many waypoints from Frankfurt to Delhi?
0:10:50 > 0:10:52How many breadcrumbs?
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Er... I think it's a big loaf of bread, actually...!
0:10:55 > 0:10:59We have about 5,000, 6,000 miles,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02and sometimes the spacing of these waypoints
0:11:02 > 0:11:06is just 20, 40 miles so it's quite a lot.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Erm, that is a call from behind. ..Yeah, hello?
0:11:13 > 0:11:16Erm... We have to interrupt for a short while
0:11:16 > 0:11:17because our coffee's arrived.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19- Oh, that's very kind.- Yeah...
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Well, hang on, there's only two cups...
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Robin...?
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Each one of these lines
0:11:32 > 0:11:36represents the path of a real plane based on radar and transponder data.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Over 24 hours,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42air traffic reaches into every corner of the globe...
0:11:44 > 0:11:46..adding up to over 100,000 flights
0:11:46 > 0:11:49crisscrossing our planet every day.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54And with the population of the city in the sky
0:11:54 > 0:11:57set to double in the next 20 years,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59it's not enough for every pilot
0:11:59 > 0:12:01to know just where their OWN plane's going -
0:12:01 > 0:12:04they also need to avoid all the others.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09By 2034,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13it's predicted there will be over 44,000 passenger jets
0:12:13 > 0:12:15crowding out our skies.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23And the more planes,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26the more opportunities for near misses or collisions.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Bringing order to the potential chaos of the skies
0:12:43 > 0:12:47is down to a secret global army of air traffic controllers.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52One of their most crucial nerve centres
0:12:52 > 0:12:54is just outside Atlanta, Georgia.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58And today, they are busier than normal,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01because it's the build-up to Thanksgiving,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03America's biggest holiday.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Now, you might not think it to look at it,
0:13:14 > 0:13:19but this is an incredibly important room -
0:13:19 > 0:13:23probably the most important in North American aviation.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24Just beyond me,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27the air traffic controllers are managing
0:13:27 > 0:13:30the busiest airspace in the world.
0:13:34 > 0:13:3780% of the American population
0:13:37 > 0:13:41lives within three hours' flying time of Atlanta,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43and transatlantic flights
0:13:43 > 0:13:44continually cross the area.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47So it's critical
0:13:47 > 0:13:52that these 130,000 square miles of airspace
0:13:52 > 0:13:53run smoothly.
0:13:55 > 0:13:56It's the job of the controllers here
0:13:56 > 0:13:59to keep track of the vast number of planes
0:13:59 > 0:14:04and make sure they never collide, by fine-tuning their routes.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Shaun Sanders has ultimate responsibility
0:14:09 > 0:14:12for making sure this vital system works without a hitch.
0:14:14 > 0:14:15So Shaun, tell me what we're looking at here.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18So what you're looking at right now
0:14:18 > 0:14:20is every single aircraft
0:14:20 > 0:14:24that we're tracking via radar over the United States,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27and up here is Canada.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30So these are all of the planes across America, right now.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Right now. As we speak.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36What you're looking at is over 5,500 planes right now.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39Wow. This looks like a swarm of bees -
0:14:39 > 0:14:42how do you even go about organising this chaos?
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Looking at it like this,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48it looks like a lot and it IS a lot, but it's extremely organised.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51We have invisible highways in the skies,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54and these planes fly those highways
0:14:54 > 0:14:56to get from point A to point B.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58And each segment along the way,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01they make a left turn or right turn or go straight
0:15:01 > 0:15:03until they get to their destination.
0:15:03 > 0:15:04But is it almost as though
0:15:04 > 0:15:06you're looking at all of the cars in a city
0:15:06 > 0:15:08moving around, but you just can't see the roads?
0:15:08 > 0:15:09Correct.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Ordinarily it's busy enough, but over Thanksgiving
0:15:13 > 0:15:18the controllers handle up to 9,000 flights in a day.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24That's on average one every ten seconds.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Preventing aviation gridlock
0:15:31 > 0:15:34takes total focus and concentration.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39Next Wednesday is the busiest travel day of the year,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41the day before Thanksgiving here in the United States.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Are you really on edge on that day?
0:15:43 > 0:15:45- No...(!) - SHE LAUGHS
0:15:45 > 0:15:47Do you have anxiety dreams about this map?
0:15:47 > 0:15:50Never. This is just what we do.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53We don't think about the number of people on the planes
0:15:53 > 0:15:55or how many planes -
0:15:55 > 0:15:57we know we have hundreds of thousands
0:15:57 > 0:15:58of people's lives in our hand,
0:15:58 > 0:16:00but that's not what's running through your mind
0:16:00 > 0:16:02when you're controlling these planes.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Air traffic controllers across the world
0:16:07 > 0:16:11share a system designed to stop planes colliding.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14It's called "standard separation".
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Aircraft are first herded
0:16:16 > 0:16:20into predetermined nine-mile-wide highways.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Within these slices of the Earth's atmosphere,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27controllers then regulate the speed and spacing of the planes
0:16:27 > 0:16:31to prevent them ever getting closer than five miles horizontally.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36But they also have a THIRD dimension to work with -
0:16:36 > 0:16:40so they can stack the planes one on top of the other,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44never closer than 1,000 vertical feet apart.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51The safety of a million airborne passengers
0:16:51 > 0:16:55depends on the precision of this system.
0:16:55 > 0:16:56These highways in the sky
0:16:56 > 0:17:01are what make the sheer scale of international air travel possible.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10But flying so many people around the world
0:17:10 > 0:17:12comes at a price.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18The largest passenger jets can burn their way through
0:17:18 > 0:17:22over 50 million litres of fuel every year.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30That fuel is the single biggest cost to getting planes in the air -
0:17:30 > 0:17:32and in the face of climate change,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35the city in the sky's thirst for the stuff
0:17:35 > 0:17:37can't be sustained indefinitely.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43But a new generation of aircraft
0:17:43 > 0:17:45is now promising to reduce
0:17:45 > 0:17:47aviation's impact on the environment.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00This is Boeing's aircraft assembly plant in Everett, Seattle.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04It's the largest indoor space in the world,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07with a floor area so vast,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09you could fit the Houses of Parliament in it 12 times over.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16And the most cutting-edge plane they build here
0:18:16 > 0:18:19is the Boeing 787.
0:18:19 > 0:18:20The Dreamliner.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24This is a cross-section of the Dreamliner -
0:18:24 > 0:18:27you get a fantastic sense of scale.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29But this particular aircraft
0:18:29 > 0:18:32it's not about the size, it's all about the weight.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39The Dreamliner's built out of a revolutionary material -
0:18:39 > 0:18:42one that's transforming the way all new planes are being made.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48'It's the biggest change in aviation design
0:18:48 > 0:18:52'since aluminium replaced wooden planes back in the 1920s.'
0:18:52 > 0:18:57- It looks beautiful. - It does, it does looks sensational.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59The material is a composite of carbon fibre and plastic.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03- Cos everything's been made of aluminium up to this point...- Right.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- ..and suddenly you're moving into a new material.- Right.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09I mean, why do that, what's the point?
0:19:09 > 0:19:11- I mean, aluminium, we know it works. - Right, right.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Well, one of the easiest things,
0:19:13 > 0:19:16if you just compare the materials, aluminium versus composite,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18you can feel the weight difference between the materials...
0:19:18 > 0:19:20Oh. Considerably lighter.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23We can design a airplane out of composites,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25and have the structure be lighter
0:19:25 > 0:19:27than it would if it was made out of aluminium.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30So this composite material, this is a real game changer.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33It is, absolutely. The airplane fundamentally
0:19:33 > 0:19:35will use 20% less fuel
0:19:35 > 0:19:37than an existing airplane of the previous generation
0:19:37 > 0:19:39of the similar size.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43It's estimated that if the entire aviation industry
0:19:43 > 0:19:46shifts to using composites,
0:19:46 > 0:19:50it could save over 6,000 million tonnes in CO2 emissions
0:19:50 > 0:19:52over the next 30 years.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56But this wonder material isn't just light.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00By weaving carbon fibres together and embedding them in plastic,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03engineers have created a material that doesn't stretch,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05even under enormous pressures.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09And that in turn
0:20:09 > 0:20:13has a direct impact on the flying experience for us passengers.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21And this is what the interior of a finished plane looks like.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Soon as you step on board, you notice the difference.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27It does feel very, very spacious, very, very light.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29You've got this lovely curved high ceiling.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Design's one thing,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36but there's something else that has a bigger impact on us.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39The unpleasant feeling we loosely refer to as "jet lag".
0:20:40 > 0:20:44Some of the sensations we associate with it could be due
0:20:44 > 0:20:47to not having quite enough oxygen when we're in flight.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52On the other side of that window, at 35,000 feet, the air is so thin,
0:20:52 > 0:20:56if you were exposed to it, you would be unconscious in seconds.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00So to stop us dying from a lack of oxygen,
0:21:00 > 0:21:02cabins are pumped full of air.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08It's considerably less air than at ground level.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16But there's a very good reason why more air can't just be pumped in.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23It is a little bit like blowing air into a balloon.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27I put air into that and the balloon is under pressure
0:21:27 > 0:21:31and the skin, stretches as a result, and as soon as I...
0:21:31 > 0:21:34let the air out and it's deflated the skin snaps back.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39And although it's not as dramatic as that, in a metal aircraft,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41exactly the same thing is happening.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44You are going to get a tiny fraction of movement,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47from the increase in pressure to the decrease in pressure,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49and that in turn will have an effect
0:21:49 > 0:21:51on the structural integrity of the fuselage.
0:21:54 > 0:21:55So on every single flight,
0:21:55 > 0:22:01the aluminium hull of a traditional plane stretches a tiny bit,
0:22:01 > 0:22:03pulling against rivets and joints.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07Those constant changes in pressure over an aircraft's lifetime
0:22:07 > 0:22:10need to be continuously checked, and made sure they're OK
0:22:10 > 0:22:14because what you don't want to happen, obviously, is this.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22To reduce strain on the fuselage, most planes are pumped up
0:22:22 > 0:22:25with the minimum amount of air needed to keep us comfortable.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31But aircraft made with the new composite materials don't stretch,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35so you can pump in more air without damaging them.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40Higher air pressure means more oxygen for us to breathe
0:22:40 > 0:22:43and Boeing's own studies suggest this helps reduce the side effects
0:22:43 > 0:22:45of long-haul flights,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49including some of the symptoms we associate with jet lag.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55So all that means when you arrive at your destination,
0:22:55 > 0:22:57you feel a little bit more yourself.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19More and more of us now fly routinely.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Since 1991, the volume of passengers at British airports
0:23:24 > 0:23:26has more than doubled.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30But there are still a huge number of potential passengers,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34who have never flown, for one very good reason...
0:23:35 > 0:23:37..fear.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42Around 15% of the UK population is afraid of flying,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45many of them so anxious that it stops them
0:23:45 > 0:23:47from ever boarding a plane.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52Humans are only really built to be a land-based animal,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55and so a fear of flying is just a natural reaction
0:23:55 > 0:23:59to being at such extreme heights, and in some ways
0:23:59 > 0:24:02the more extraordinary thing is that any of us have managed
0:24:02 > 0:24:08to train our minds to be comfortable up there at 35,000 feet,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11but as we become much more of an airborne species,
0:24:11 > 0:24:14not getting over it really is no longer an option.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21Globally, fear of flying, or aviophobia,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25deprives the airlines of millions of potential passengers.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31So no surprise they're interested in helping us get over it.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36'I've come to the two-day Fearless Flyer course which,
0:24:36 > 0:24:41'if all goes to plan, will culminate with these phobics taking a flight.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45'And to help me understand aviophobia a little better,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47'I'll be following one of them,
0:24:47 > 0:24:49'Gordon Smith, over the next two days.'
0:24:49 > 0:24:51When was the last time you got on a plane?
0:24:51 > 0:24:53Probably about ten years ago.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56So what is it in particular that worries you when you're in the air?
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I think it's the lack of control.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59You know, if something happens,
0:24:59 > 0:25:01there's nothing I can do about that.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Just a feeling of impending doom. You know, just absolute trepidation.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08All my family went on holiday together last year.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10I had to miss out on that, so I thought I'd better
0:25:10 > 0:25:13do something about it. I haven't even told my wife that I'm here.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15- Oh, really, she doesn't know? - Not a clue that I'm here,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18so that if I don't go through with it,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21you know, she won't be booking a holiday tomorrow night or anything.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28So for the session this afternoon, and for the flight tomorrow,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32both Gordon and I, we're going to be wearing these heart-rate monitors.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Now how quickly your heart beats
0:25:34 > 0:25:38can be used as a measure of your anxiety levels.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42And the idea is that we're going to try to get to the bottom
0:25:42 > 0:25:44of what is causing Gordon's fear of flying.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Please welcome to the stage, Captain Pete West!
0:25:52 > 0:25:54If you're a bit anxious,
0:25:54 > 0:25:56even the sound of a soft chime... SINGLE CHIME
0:25:56 > 0:25:57..may be alarming,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59or even several... ANOTHER CHIME
0:25:59 > 0:26:01..in rapid succession.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03To help the phobics overcome their fear,
0:26:03 > 0:26:08a pilot first explains those mysterious in-flight noises.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10I think this next sound sounds rather like
0:26:10 > 0:26:12a dog barking underneath the floor. ROUGH SCRAPING
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Has anybody heard that and thought,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17"Carrying a dog in the cargo hold?"
0:26:17 > 0:26:19or even, "A man with a saw?"
0:26:19 > 0:26:21Who wants to ask their first question?
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Who's got the first question here?
0:26:23 > 0:26:27What safety do you have in place if the wheels fail to drop?
0:26:27 > 0:26:30What other bad weather can affect flying like wind and rain?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32What if anything happened to the pilots?
0:26:32 > 0:26:36In my mind, a Canada goose has just flown into the left engine,
0:26:36 > 0:26:38it's all burst into flames...
0:26:38 > 0:26:39HEARTBEATS PULSE
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Just hearing people talk about flying
0:26:42 > 0:26:45has almost doubled Gordon's normal heart rate.
0:26:45 > 0:26:50Next the phobics are taught psychological coping techniques
0:26:50 > 0:26:53to try to control their fight or flight response...
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Breathe in...
0:26:56 > 0:26:57and push out.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03..which should help them handle tomorrow's exposure therapy -
0:27:03 > 0:27:05the flight itself.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09The next tapping point, and from here we work down the body,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11it's the top of the head...
0:27:12 > 0:27:14..underneath the eyes,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16wrist on wrist.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20OK, we've got to be tapping whilst tuned into the fear.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24But for coach Lawrence Leyton, addressing the cause
0:27:24 > 0:27:28of each individual's aviophobia is far from straightforward.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Well, fear of flying is not just a fear of crashing.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33It's actually made up of multiple different aspects
0:27:33 > 0:27:36so, for some, the fear of flying is actually the fear of heights.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40For some people, it's the fear of enclosed spaces or claustrophobia.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44And for some, and a lot of them, it's a fear of being out of control.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48The triggers, and there are multiple triggers,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51could be different in every single person.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54Tomorrow morning they'll be flying for real,
0:27:54 > 0:27:58and Gordon will find out whether he's learned to control his fear.
0:28:05 > 0:28:0710.30am.
0:28:08 > 0:28:1045 minutes until departure
0:28:10 > 0:28:13and Gordon still hasn't told his wife he's here.
0:28:15 > 0:28:16How are you feeling this morning?
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I'm pretty scared. I'm not looking forward to it.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21Just want to get it over and done with.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Yesterday I felt great afterwards, right up to about ten o'clock
0:28:24 > 0:28:28last night and then, you know, the apprehension kicked back in again.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32For one phobic in the group, it's all proving too much.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35You imagine those feelings, cos you've got the fear
0:28:35 > 0:28:37of having the panic attack, it's the fear of the fear.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Right now, Daniel, what you're doing is you're trying to suppress
0:28:40 > 0:28:43that panic attack. You're trying to push it down.
0:28:43 > 0:28:45So we're just about to board the flight.
0:28:45 > 0:28:47We checked in a few moments ago.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52The tension here among these people is really...
0:28:52 > 0:28:54Well, it's quite intense,
0:28:54 > 0:28:58to be honest, I think, looking round their faces, it's very obvious
0:28:58 > 0:29:02just how much these people have had to make themselves come here.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04Just hope it goes well on the flight.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08It's their last chance to back out.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11Good morning. How are you?
0:29:11 > 0:29:12Er, very nervous.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15That's fine. Well, you can sit anywhere after row five, all right?
0:29:15 > 0:29:20This will be the first time Gordon has flown in ten years
0:29:20 > 0:29:24and his heart rate monitor will be running throughout.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27At the moment he's too stressed
0:29:27 > 0:29:29to even talk to me.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Captain West explains what the plane is doing
0:29:32 > 0:29:34at every stage of the flight.
0:29:34 > 0:29:35CLICK
0:29:35 > 0:29:39That click is the change over from the ground power unit to the APU,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42the auxiliary power unit - remember the little jet engine in the tail?
0:29:42 > 0:29:44- RECORDED MESSAGE:- 'Please be aware that your nearest exit
0:29:44 > 0:29:46'may be behind you.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50'If we land on water, take the life jacket from under your seat.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52'Put it over your head.'
0:29:52 > 0:29:56So here comes the power coming on now. Speed increasing now.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59It's the moment of truth. Takeoff.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01Wings effortlessly lifting us into the air.
0:30:01 > 0:30:04Give yourselves all a massive great cheer.
0:30:04 > 0:30:08Here we are. We're flying. Very well done, everybody. Fantastic!
0:30:08 > 0:30:13'We're up. But, for Gordon, it's not over yet.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17'His heart rate is already higher than normal...
0:30:20 > 0:30:22'..but it's when the plane levels out,
0:30:22 > 0:30:24'that it seems to suddenly spike.
0:30:24 > 0:30:29'This moment appears to be the specific trigger point
0:30:29 > 0:30:30'for Gordon's fear.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35'But, using the relaxation techniques
0:30:35 > 0:30:36'he was taught yesterday,
0:30:36 > 0:30:39'he gets over it in moments.'
0:30:39 > 0:30:41Remember to breathe.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47It looked like you completely stopped breathing there!
0:30:47 > 0:30:51'Gordon then does something he never thought possible.
0:30:51 > 0:30:56'10,000 feet above the ground, he stands up.'
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Ah, dude, I'm so pleased for you.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02'For Gordon, it's as effective a cure
0:31:02 > 0:31:05'as he could ever have hoped for.'
0:31:07 > 0:31:09Now I'm feeling fantastic. I feel absolutely fine.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Already I've stood up and haven't walked far,
0:31:12 > 0:31:14but I've been up, seatbelt's off and more relaxed.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16When was the last time that you stood up on a plane?
0:31:16 > 0:31:1825 years ago.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22It's just... It is really extraordinary.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25It's really extraordinary and I'm so, so pleased for you.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28- CAPTAIN:- 'Give yourselves one massive round of applause,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30'for becoming fearless flyers.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32'Well done to everybody.'
0:31:32 > 0:31:35- That's us down. - You've literally just done a flight.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37You've literally just done a flight.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39'Give yourselves another round of applause.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41'You've done it. Well done.'
0:31:43 > 0:31:47- Well done. Congratulations! - Thank you very much.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50- Brilliant. Well done.- Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52Thank you. Bye.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54This is genuinely a life-changing thing for you.
0:31:54 > 0:31:56Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:31:56 > 0:31:59And I'm 48 years old this year, you know,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03I've been terrified of flying for the past 20, 25,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07haven't flown for ten and just... I'm missing out,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10so I need to stop missing out and get back out there.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12PHONE DIALS
0:32:12 > 0:32:15'Gordon can't wait to give his wife the news.'
0:32:16 > 0:32:18Connecting. Hi there.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21'Hi. What are you doing?'
0:32:23 > 0:32:25With my camera crew up in Glasgow Airport.
0:32:25 > 0:32:26'Gordon.'
0:32:30 > 0:32:34- Say hi.- 'I don't want to say hi.' - I've just been in an aeroplane.
0:32:38 > 0:32:39You get to go on holiday now.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41'I don't know what to say.'
0:32:42 > 0:32:47Now Gordon can join the other million citizens of the sky
0:32:47 > 0:32:48whenever he wants.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08It is perhaps surprising that so many of us
0:33:08 > 0:33:12are still afraid of flying, at a time when international air travel
0:33:12 > 0:33:15has become safer than ever before.
0:33:20 > 0:33:24In fact, only one in every five million flights involves
0:33:24 > 0:33:25a fatal accident.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33But what happens if a passenger,
0:33:33 > 0:33:37rather than the plane, has an emergency at 35,000 feet?
0:33:39 > 0:33:41SIREN WAILS
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Banner University Medical Centre deals with a steady stream
0:33:49 > 0:33:52of emergency patients from the city of Phoenix.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57But many of the medical dramas they deal with here
0:33:57 > 0:34:00actually take place thousands of miles away.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03If you're flying on a major airline and you do get sick,
0:34:03 > 0:34:06the chances are the cabin crew will talk to the medics
0:34:06 > 0:34:09in this very room to find out what to do
0:34:09 > 0:34:11wherever you are in the world.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Thank you for calling Medlink.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Please go ahead with the passenger age, gender...
0:34:20 > 0:34:23OK, so you'll go ahead and make the medical arrangements for the child?
0:34:23 > 0:34:27And how much longer do you have remaining in flight? Over.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31Dr Bhow at Medlink - how do you copy? Over.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36ER doctor Moneesh Bhow has been on duty since 7am
0:34:36 > 0:34:40and he's just responding to his first in-flight emergency...
0:34:41 > 0:34:45..a call from an aircraft travelling from the Middle East to Bangkok,
0:34:45 > 0:34:49it's 8,000 miles away, somewhere over the Indian ocean.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54I understand an 82-year-old male with a possible stroke.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57What was the condition that brought him to your attention? Over.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04For Dr Bhow, the pressure's now on to make a quick diagnosis.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08OK, copy that, so the passenger was standing, he passed out,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12is currently on the floor. Is he able to answer any questions? Over.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16OK, is he... is he breathing on his own?
0:35:16 > 0:35:19Dr Bhow's depending on the captain
0:35:19 > 0:35:23and cabin crew to accurately relay the patient's symptoms.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27OK, copy that, so what we need to find out
0:35:27 > 0:35:31if he's still not responding, but he is breathing, I need to know what
0:35:31 > 0:35:36his vital signs are and is there any spontaneous movement to his arms
0:35:36 > 0:35:39or legs or is there a part of his body that he's not moving? Over.
0:35:40 > 0:35:42I'm sorry, that last transmission cut out.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44Could you please repeat? Over.
0:35:44 > 0:35:47Captain, are you still on the line? Over.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49They've lost communication.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Do we know where this flight is right now?
0:35:55 > 0:35:59Yeah, they're just coming up on the coast of western India.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02Western India. They're coming up on the coast, OK.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04The situation is not looking good.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06- What is it, stroke?- Stroke.
0:36:06 > 0:36:07From Dubai to Lagos.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10I'll check Karachi to see if they have a neuro...
0:36:10 > 0:36:12- Yeah, neuro and a CAT scanner. - OK. I'll see.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14If it does turn out to be a stroke,
0:36:14 > 0:36:19they'll need to get the patient on the ground as soon as possible.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23So we've got options, our probably last good option is Calcutta.
0:36:23 > 0:36:26- After that...- If we're going to go down, we're going to land...
0:36:26 > 0:36:28We're going to say over here, yes.
0:36:29 > 0:36:33First, the team needs to quickly work out from their database
0:36:33 > 0:36:37which airports have the right medical facilities close by.
0:36:37 > 0:36:38How long is this flight?
0:36:40 > 0:36:43They identify several airports within range,
0:36:43 > 0:36:46but only two have the necessary medical facilities
0:36:46 > 0:36:48to treat a stroke.
0:36:48 > 0:36:49Neither are en route.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54Option one is Delhi, 600 miles out of their way.
0:36:54 > 0:36:59Option two is behind them, but closer - Muscat.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02And they're 400 miles away from there.
0:37:02 > 0:37:07400 miles, we're looking at an hour.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12They just check to make sure they have things like imaging,
0:37:12 > 0:37:16so something like a CAT scan, and they're just trying to make
0:37:16 > 0:37:19that decision now, so it's quite a fine balance between the needs,
0:37:19 > 0:37:23the medical needs, and also the captain needs to make sure...
0:37:23 > 0:37:25We're just getting them back now.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Is the passenger awake now?
0:37:27 > 0:37:31Can he speak at all? Is he able to speak normally to his son? Over.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37OK, so he started choking and that's what caused him to faint,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39is that what I'm understanding?
0:37:39 > 0:37:42It seems the passenger collapsed not because of a stroke,
0:37:42 > 0:37:46but because he'd choked on food, unnoticed by the cabin crew.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51OK, but we would still like an update in 30 minutes
0:37:51 > 0:37:53as to his condition. Over.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59MedAire handles 38,000 emergency calls a year,
0:37:59 > 0:38:02and because they deal with flights across the globe,
0:38:02 > 0:38:06those calls can come in at any time of day or night.
0:38:12 > 0:38:15An hour later, Dr Bhow checks in with his patient,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18and there's been an unexpected development.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20He is now having trouble breathing
0:38:20 > 0:38:24and the repeat pulse is 240, is that correct? Over.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32The passenger had seemed to be recovering.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Let's continue the oxygen,
0:38:35 > 0:38:40and let's plan to land at the closes possible option.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42Let's plan to divert into Mumbai.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45We will have medical personnel meet you on arrival.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48They are turning already, yeah.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Dr Bhow suspects these symptoms
0:38:51 > 0:38:54may be due to an underlying heart condition,
0:38:54 > 0:38:58so he's advising the captain to divert to Mumbai.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01A diversion like this can cost an airline
0:39:01 > 0:39:04hundreds of thousands of dollars.
0:39:05 > 0:39:06It's a huge decision.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11How common is having to make that call to divert an aircraft?
0:39:11 > 0:39:13I would say probably in a 24-hour period,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16we're probably diverting once or twice.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20Our ultimate priority is to take care of the passenger,
0:39:20 > 0:39:24so if we feel that the passenger is in critical need of getting
0:39:24 > 0:39:28on the ground, then, you know, cost is a secondary consideration.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31But it is probably the most stressful call that we take
0:39:31 > 0:39:35when we make a decision for a diversion.
0:39:35 > 0:39:37As soon as the flight lands, the patient will be rushed
0:39:37 > 0:39:40to hospital where local doctors will take over.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46As with most of MedAire's cases, Dr Bhow may never find out
0:39:46 > 0:39:48whether his patient lives or dies.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57It may be possible to look after sick passengers in the air,
0:39:57 > 0:40:01but with 100,000 flights crossing our skies every day,
0:40:01 > 0:40:05ensuring the physical wellbeing of the aircraft themselves
0:40:05 > 0:40:07is a huge challenge as well...
0:40:11 > 0:40:14..especially when flying takes us
0:40:14 > 0:40:18into some of the most extreme conditions on the planet.
0:40:20 > 0:40:26Right now, it's about minus 40 degrees and it's staggeringly cold.
0:40:26 > 0:40:30It's actually really difficult to breathe because the bits of moisture
0:40:30 > 0:40:35freeze inside your nose and it feels like you're inhaling dust almost.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39Any exposed skin too is really prone to frostbite within a few minutes
0:40:39 > 0:40:43and if I didn't have my jacket on, I'd get hypothermia pretty quickly.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47But the extraordinary thing is that these conditions are what
0:40:47 > 0:40:51the average plane is flying through once it gets to cruising altitude.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55So, when you're sitting there with your G&T and you're watching
0:40:55 > 0:40:58your in-flight movie just a few centimetres from the outside,
0:40:58 > 0:41:01remember that the plane and all of its equipment
0:41:01 > 0:41:04has to function perfectly at these temperatures
0:41:04 > 0:41:06for hours and hours on end.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13Every day planes enter the most hostile environment imaginable.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16Flying higher than Mount Everest,
0:41:16 > 0:41:19battered by winds of hundreds of miles an hour,
0:41:19 > 0:41:23we just expect them to function perfectly, flight after flight.
0:41:24 > 0:41:29But as planes clock up the air miles, there's an extreme hazard
0:41:29 > 0:41:31they'll eventually run into...
0:41:34 > 0:41:36..lightning...
0:41:37 > 0:41:41..by far the most dangerous powerful force of nature
0:41:41 > 0:41:45your plane is ever likely to encounter.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50Down on the ground, getting struck by lightning is a rare event -
0:41:50 > 0:41:52not so up in the air.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59Every plane gets struck by lightning on average once a year.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04That means across a typical jet's lifetime,
0:42:04 > 0:42:08it will get zapped an astonishing 25 times.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22So why aren't passengers regularly electrocuted in flight?
0:42:22 > 0:42:24To find out, I've come to Germany.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Lightning is dramatic, it's unpredictable,
0:42:29 > 0:42:32it's extremely dangerous, a bolt of lightning is hotter than
0:42:32 > 0:42:37the surface of the sun. You really, really don't want to get hit by it.
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Kann losgehen?
0:42:41 > 0:42:42OK.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48Here at Darmstadt University's high voltage lab,
0:42:48 > 0:42:50they study lightning protection.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56A car gives you much the same protection as a plane.
0:42:56 > 0:42:59They're both metal boxes with people inside.
0:43:00 > 0:43:03So what happens if whichever metal box you're in
0:43:03 > 0:43:05is struck by lightning?
0:43:05 > 0:43:06I'm about to find out.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09I can feel something. Can I feel static?
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Oh, God, I can feel something in the air.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14No, it's just fear, I think.
0:43:14 > 0:43:15CLICK
0:43:15 > 0:43:19I heard something go click and suddenly I feel really nervous.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Oh, God, I feel... OK.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26Funf, vier, drei, zwei, eins...
0:43:26 > 0:43:29I know it's safe, it's safe. It's safe.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31As long as I don't open the door, cos he told me
0:43:31 > 0:43:34not to open the door or touch anything.
0:43:34 > 0:43:35HUGE BANG!
0:43:37 > 0:43:39BLEEP! BLEEP!
0:43:39 > 0:43:41Oh, my God.
0:43:45 > 0:43:46Oh, my God.
0:43:48 > 0:43:49Schuss.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00- Schuss. - BANG
0:44:00 > 0:44:02He is still alive.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10A single bolt is too quick to see in detail,
0:44:10 > 0:44:14but the lab can generate a slower electrical pulse to help show
0:44:14 > 0:44:17what happens when lightning hits a metal box.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23And what is happening to this car on the ground
0:44:23 > 0:44:27is exactly the same as what happens to aircraft in the sky.
0:44:31 > 0:44:35The car is acting as what's known as a Faraday cage,
0:44:35 > 0:44:37named after the scientist Michael Faraday.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42That huge charge hitting the car flows around the outside
0:44:42 > 0:44:45of the metal skin of the vehicle to the ground,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49rather than coming straight through it, keeping me completely safe.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52It's thanks to the Faraday effect that we're safe
0:44:52 > 0:44:55when a metal plane gets struck by lightning.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03That's all very well for the passenger planes still made
0:45:03 > 0:45:08of metal, but it poses a problem for the new breed of composite aircraft.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13Composite doesn't disperse electricity in the same way
0:45:13 > 0:45:17that metal does and so without protection, these planes
0:45:17 > 0:45:20and their passengers would be in real danger.
0:45:22 > 0:45:23I've come to Cardiff
0:45:23 > 0:45:27to find out how engineers protect composite aircraft.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34'Professor Manu Haddad's job is to make them lightning-proof.'
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Well, obviously, if there was no lightning-protection design,
0:45:37 > 0:45:44you would have a very disastrous effect due to a lightning strike.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Manu's going to show me what happens to unprotected composite
0:45:52 > 0:45:55when it's zapped by an artificial lightning bolt.
0:45:57 > 0:45:59OK, ear defenders on, please.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03So when you're ready, press the green button. You want a countdown?
0:46:03 > 0:46:06- Yeah.- Three, two, one.
0:46:06 > 0:46:07BANG!
0:46:08 > 0:46:12Oh, can even hear it through the ear defenders. Quite loud.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19With the ultra high-speed camera,
0:46:19 > 0:46:24strips of carbon fibre can be seen being blasted off the surface.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29Manu, it smells... it almost smells like burnt hair.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32Oh, gosh, look at that, that's incredible.
0:46:32 > 0:46:36The fibres are sticking up out of the surface.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38Yes, because, in aluminium,
0:46:38 > 0:46:43the current is able to spread itself in all directions.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47Here the current is only flowing along the direction of the fibre.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51It has generated a lot of heat and big forces.
0:46:51 > 0:46:53This is really quite damaged...
0:46:53 > 0:46:56the structural integrity of this board, though.
0:46:56 > 0:46:59You definitely would not want this to happen to your aircraft.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03Avoiding this kind of damage was a real challenge
0:47:03 > 0:47:06for the new generation of composite planes.
0:47:08 > 0:47:13After decades with no large jets lost to lightning strikes,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16nobody wanted to see this threat re-emerge.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19Fortunately, we have a very good solution
0:47:19 > 0:47:23and this is using a copper mesh, a very thin copper mesh,
0:47:23 > 0:47:27which will allow us to distribute the lightning current
0:47:27 > 0:47:31uniformly on the surface and avoid the damage that you see here.
0:47:33 > 0:47:36'That delicate layer of copper webbing should be enough
0:47:36 > 0:47:39'to protect a composite plane.'
0:47:39 > 0:47:43And this is the protected side, which has the mesh.
0:47:47 > 0:47:48BANG!
0:47:50 > 0:47:53Well, there's definitely a lot less of a smell this time, Manu.
0:47:53 > 0:47:57- Oh, wow!- Yes, because, er, you can see the result there.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00You see how the protection works.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02It actually conducted all the current safely away.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04That is very impressive, though.
0:48:04 > 0:48:07I mean, there's almost no significant damage whatsoever.
0:48:07 > 0:48:09It's a very clear demonstration
0:48:09 > 0:48:14that the lightning protection works very effectively.
0:48:14 > 0:48:15BANG!
0:48:23 > 0:48:26Despite everything the skies throw at us,
0:48:26 > 0:48:28flying in complete safety has become the norm...
0:48:31 > 0:48:33..and that reliability has allowed aviation
0:48:33 > 0:48:36to transform another aspect of our lives.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40As well as moving three billion passengers,
0:48:40 > 0:48:43over six trillion dollars' worth of cargo
0:48:43 > 0:48:45jets its way around the globe every year.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Just about anything that can fit on a plane
0:48:51 > 0:48:53is today sent as air freight.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59We send a bewildering array of stuff all around the world by air
0:48:59 > 0:49:02these days and obviously the bigger the thing that you want to send,
0:49:02 > 0:49:06the more expensive it becomes, the more problematic it becomes,
0:49:06 > 0:49:10especially if that thing is fragile and an awkward shape, I don't know,
0:49:10 > 0:49:12something like a horse, for example.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16Now this is my new friend Chardonnay, who is off for an event.
0:49:16 > 0:49:21Now, that event just happens to be 6,000 miles away
0:49:21 > 0:49:23in Hong Kong on the other side of the world.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29Chardonnay and the team are destined
0:49:29 > 0:49:32for the prestigious Longines Masters show-jumping event.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36And they're due in Hong Kong by 5pm tomorrow.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42First job for equine vet Gordon Sidlow is to make sure
0:49:42 > 0:49:46all the horses are disease-free before they board their flight.
0:49:49 > 0:49:50Who's next, Dave?
0:49:50 > 0:49:54'And the temperature check is particularly invasive.'
0:49:54 > 0:49:58- Are we dealing with the rear end here?- Yeah.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00- The back end?- We are.- OK.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03- Bring his tail up like that...- Yeah.
0:50:03 > 0:50:09- ..pop it in...- Yeah. - ..and press the button.- OK.- OK?
0:50:09 > 0:50:13He seems pretty relaxed about the whole procedure.
0:50:13 > 0:50:14There you go.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16'Thankfully we don't have that at check-in yet.'
0:50:19 > 0:50:23The loading team have just seven hours to get all 64 horses
0:50:23 > 0:50:27health checked and boarded onto their own specially chartered plane.
0:50:29 > 0:50:30'Easier said than done.'
0:50:30 > 0:50:32- HORSE WHINNIES - Come here!
0:50:35 > 0:50:38In twos and threes, they're loaded into specially-designed
0:50:38 > 0:50:42aviation horseboxes, the same size as a standard cargo container.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49But the seating plan needs special attention.
0:50:49 > 0:50:50There are a few rules.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53- All the horses have to travel facing forwards.- Right.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56We generally try...or they generally try and put the stallions
0:50:56 > 0:50:59at the front because you don't want stallions behind mares.
0:50:59 > 0:51:01Is that actually a problem
0:51:01 > 0:51:03with horses getting a little bit frisky on board?
0:51:03 > 0:51:07They can be, certainly if the mare is thinking about coming in season.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10Stallions are designed to react to that and they will react to that
0:51:10 > 0:51:11and there's a few tricks for...
0:51:11 > 0:51:14little bit of grease up the nose and what have you
0:51:14 > 0:51:17to make the stallions less likely to sniff the mares.
0:51:17 > 0:51:19- No in-flight movie?- Absolutely not.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22I've just got visions of them watching Black Beauty for nine hours
0:51:22 > 0:51:24- on a loop.- On a loop, yes.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30In total, they'll have around 32 tonnes' worth of horses
0:51:30 > 0:51:31on the flight.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38So it's vital the cargo handlers load up the boxes evenly
0:51:38 > 0:51:41throughout the plane to make sure it isn't unbalanced.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46There you go, here's a little pre-flight snack.
0:51:46 > 0:51:47If they upgrade you,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50they might give you a carrot or an apple or something.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54So I'm actually going to have to say cheerio to Chardonnay for now
0:51:54 > 0:51:57because to make their flight as stress-free as possible,
0:51:57 > 0:52:00only the grooms and the vets and the owners are actually allowed
0:52:00 > 0:52:05on the flight, so I'm going to take a different flight
0:52:05 > 0:52:08and I'm going to meet them on the other side of the world
0:52:08 > 0:52:10in Hong Kong tomorrow.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12By the time they've finished loading,
0:52:12 > 0:52:14I'm already well on my way to Hong Kong.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19Five hours after mine, their flight leaves Liege,
0:52:19 > 0:52:23setting off on its 6,000-mile journey through the night.
0:52:29 > 0:52:30Its destination?
0:52:32 > 0:52:35The city known as the gateway to China
0:52:35 > 0:52:38and its 1.4 billion citizens.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Hong Kong imports and exports more cargo
0:52:45 > 0:52:47than any other airport in the world.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53To keep this vast flow of goods moving through the skies,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57Hong Kong's built the biggest cargo hub on the planet.
0:53:00 > 0:53:03It's here that the horses will be arriving from Belgium
0:53:03 > 0:53:05in just a few hours' time.
0:53:06 > 0:53:09Cargo super terminal one is at the epicentre.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15It's a hangar the size of Wembley Stadium...
0:53:17 > 0:53:21..handling up to three and a half million tonnes of cargo a year
0:53:21 > 0:53:23from every corner of the world.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Most air freight that arrives here is sorted
0:53:31 > 0:53:35and stored in a vast automated filing system
0:53:35 > 0:53:38until it's ready to be spat out again and sent on its way.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44If you just think about that tiny little movement that you make
0:53:44 > 0:53:45with your index finger
0:53:45 > 0:53:48when you click on the buy button on your phone or your computer,
0:53:48 > 0:53:52whatever it is, far from it just having ramifications
0:53:52 > 0:53:53in a virtual world,
0:53:53 > 0:53:58it actually sets in motion huge cargo centres just like this.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07'But not all cargo goes into storage.'
0:54:07 > 0:54:09- 25.- 25, OK, got it.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14'Some goods have to reach their destination without delay.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18'Everything arriving in the perishables area must get
0:54:18 > 0:54:22'to the clients within an hour and a half of landing.'
0:54:22 > 0:54:25- Can we open and have a look and see what we've got here?- Yes.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Right, what do we have in here?
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Oh, my God, look at these beautiful crab.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39Wow, look at that. Whereabouts have these come from?
0:54:39 > 0:54:41Korea.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44OK, one, two, three.
0:54:45 > 0:54:46Snails from Taipei.
0:54:46 > 0:54:47Taipei.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52I absolutely love this place.
0:54:52 > 0:54:54It's complete mayhem cos the whole thing about it
0:54:54 > 0:54:56is about speed so there's no waiting about -
0:54:56 > 0:55:00things just come in and they go out straightaway again.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02It's all about getting these expensive delicacies
0:55:02 > 0:55:06from here to the restaurants in double quick time.
0:55:11 > 0:55:15- These have come all the way from Colombia.- Colombia.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17I'm just trying to work out what they are, actually.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21I can tell you that they are exotic, and that they come from Colombia.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25- I like it.- You like to eat it? Nice. What does it taste like?
0:55:25 > 0:55:28- Sweet.- Very sweet. - Very sweet. Very sweet.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32Air cargo has completely transformed our lives
0:55:32 > 0:55:35in the most extraordinarily short amount of time.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38We just expect exotic fruit like this
0:55:38 > 0:55:40to be on our supermarket shelves,
0:55:40 > 0:55:44irrespective of the season, irrespective of where we live.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47And it's because of aircraft, the fact that this can travel
0:55:47 > 0:55:51all the way round the world and get to you fresh before it rots.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57But there's another category of cargo they deal with here.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02Just landed right on schedule,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05the 64 show-jumping horses from Belgium.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07They've been in the air for 16 hours,
0:56:07 > 0:56:10and travelled 6,000 miles.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13And with only two days to go before the event,
0:56:13 > 0:56:17it's crucial the horses now reach their stables as quickly as possible
0:56:17 > 0:56:18for some much needed rest.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26'Vet Gordon Sidlow made the journey along with them
0:56:26 > 0:56:29'and has to make sure they're match fit.'
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Horses do get jet-lagged, some more so than others,
0:56:31 > 0:56:34but it's relatively poorly understood
0:56:34 > 0:56:35because it's more difficult
0:56:35 > 0:56:38to tell if a horse is jet-lagged or just simply tired.
0:56:39 > 0:56:42Within two hours flat, every horse has been whisked away.
0:56:58 > 0:57:02'The next morning and 6,000 miles since we last met,
0:57:02 > 0:57:05'I've come to see how Chardonnay's flight went.'
0:57:05 > 0:57:07Oh, hi.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09Hi.
0:57:09 > 0:57:12Look at you. Look at you, hey.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17The annoying thing is Chardonnay looks a lot fresher
0:57:17 > 0:57:20and in a lot better shape after his long-haul flight than I do.
0:57:22 > 0:57:23There we go, look. Look at that.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30Keeping a million passengers constantly in the air
0:57:30 > 0:57:34alongside a parallel world of flying cargo is an astonishing feat
0:57:34 > 0:57:37which the vast majority of us take completely for granted.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41And it's only possible
0:57:41 > 0:57:44because modern aviation is a truly global system,
0:57:44 > 0:57:47linking the world as never before.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53But what goes up must eventually come down.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58Next time, we prepare for the final
0:57:58 > 0:58:00and most challenging part of any flight...
0:58:02 > 0:58:04..touchdown.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07From landing at one of the most dangerous airports in the world...
0:58:07 > 0:58:09That is crazy.
0:58:09 > 0:58:12- ELECTRONIC VOICE: - 'Pull up. Avoid terrain.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15..to keeping the busiest runways open...
0:58:15 > 0:58:17It could have a catastrophic effect.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19It's hundreds of lives that are at stake.
0:58:19 > 0:58:22..to witnessing a plane's final moments.
0:58:22 > 0:58:28Oh! It's like watching an animal being torn apart by another animal.
0:58:28 > 0:58:30If you'd like to find out more about the design
0:58:30 > 0:58:34and engineering of this most incredible City In The Sky, then
0:58:34 > 0:58:37go to the website below and follow the links to the Open University.