A helicopter spinning out of control and going
down sounds like a nightmare. But just imagine this uncontrolled helicopter
is falling into the mouth of an active, gurgling volcano! Unfortunately, this isn’t a tale created
by my vivid imagination or a new episode of a disaster TV series; it’s a true story
that happened more than 20 years ago. As soon as Craig Hosking was tall enough to
reach the pedals, his father started to teach him how to fly a helicopter. No wonder at the age of 16, the teenager became
one of the youngest licensed helicopter pilots ever. Besides, he was just as skilled in flying
different kinds of airplanes, seaplanes, and gliders. Eventually, Hosking became a successful aerial
photographer who also helped to make feature films and TV series. So when he was asked to participate in the
shooting of a new big-budget movie about volcano eruptions, he readily agreed. There were two other members on this little
team: freelance cameraman Michael Benson and freelance film technician Christopher Duddy. The crew's helicopter was the Bell 206B-III. Equipped with 2 cameras, the helicopter was
supposed to do filming runs of the Kilauea Volcano on the Hawaiian Islands. In particular, the filming team was interested
in the Pu'u O'o vent. Yeah that’s what it says right here: Pu'u
O'o. Although there was no active lava flow in
the vent, an orange pool glowing 120 ft (36 m) down in a pit on the side of the crater,
as well as the associated smoke plume, was enough to provide all the excitement the filmmakers
needed. It was Saturday, November 21, 1992. Everything went as planned, until the helicopter
started its third pass over the volcano. Just a couple of seconds before the crew reached
the center of the crater, things went really bad, really fast.. First, Hosking noticed that the main rotor
output started to decrease. Then, almost immediately, the rotor caution
sign lit up. It seemed like the helicopter was having serious
technical problems. In any other situation, such an experienced
pilot as Hosking still could’ve flown over to the outside of the crater. But, unfortunately, in this case, the walls
surrounding the helicopter were so steep that such a maneuver would have led to a fatal
rollover. It happened lightning-fast. In his attempts to save the day, Hosking accidentally
got into a cloud of volcanic steam and smoke. The pilot tried to leave it by auto-rotating
the helicopter down to the bottom of the crater. He knew that if a helicopter loses all its
engine power, the machine can still land safely, because the air will be moving up through
the rotors. And it probably would’ve saved their helicopter
as well... if the main rotor hadn't struck the crater's rock wall and separated from
the airframe. After that, things went completely awry when
the helicopter spun out of control and crashed inside the volcano, about 150 ft (45 m) below
the crater's rim. However, it must’ve been a lucky day for
the filming crew locked inside. Not only did the helicopter narrowly avoid
dipping into a hot bubbling lava pool, but all three men survived and had no serious
injuries, except for some bruises and minor cuts. But the situation was still extremely dangerous;
the men were stuck inside a volcano that was emitting poisonous gases, like sulfur dioxide
and hydrogen sulfide. Flammable and explosive, they’re fatally
toxic for people. The only thing that saved the filming crew
members was that they crashed in a part of the crater where fresh air was leaking inside
over the rim. After choking on the noxious volcano gases
for several hours, the filmmakers decided to make a run for it and started to climb
up toward the crater's rim. But the interior walls crumbled so easily
that every single move could cause a rock slide. Hosking returned to the helicopter and, miraculously,
made the radio work by connecting it to a spare battery. After the park officials were informed of
the crash, a daring Fire Department helicopter pilot flew inside the crater low enough for
Hosking to scramble aboard. But the other two team members were in a much
more dangerous situation. The problem was that they’d decided to continue
their climb, and when the helicopter arrived, they were stuck on a high ridge, about 80
ft (24 m) away from the rim. Obscured by the cloud of dense gases, they
had to be left behind. Duddy and Benson spend an agonizing night
listening to the lava gurgling not far beneath them, breathing in toxic gases, and trying
to come to terms with their fate. However, on Sunday afternoon, Duddy couldn't
stand it any longer. In despair, he decided to continue the climb. Benson, who had found a secure 2-by-4-ft (0.6
by 1.2 m) crevice some 50 ft (15 m) away from his companion, replied that it was too risky
and chose to remain where he was. Duddy left alone. You can imagine Benson's shock when just a
couple of hours later, he saw a body that careened past him and disappeared in the gurgling
lava. He was sure it was Duddy who’d lost his
footing and plunged into the abyss. Luckily, that wasn’t the case. Twenty-seven hours after the crash, at 2:30
PM, Duddy reached the rim of the crater! He was immediately taken to the hospital but
was released one day later. As for the thing Benson had taken for his
colleague's body, it was a survival package dropped by the rescue team who’d hoped that
it would miraculously land next to the cameraman. By Monday morning, Benson had been inside
the crater for two days, without food or proper sleep, terrified and exhausted. Even worse, all the rescue attempts failed
due to the heavy rain and fog that covered the volcano. Finally, at 9 AM on Monday, during a tiny
break in the weather, helicopter pilot Tom Hauptman noticed Benson before the fog closed
back up almost immediately. At least now it was clear where the man was. Hauptman lowered his helicopter into the vent
and used a 150-ft (45 m) rope with a net to fish the cameraman out. With no visibility whatsoever, the pilot had
to rely on his senses to rescue Benson. That's why, when he felt the rope tighten,
he pulled it up, and there was the cameraman! Benson was taken to Hilo Hospital intensive
care unit in stable condition and was treated for chemical pneumonia caused by the inhalation
of the toxic gases, as well as dehydration and exposure. The cause of the accident could’ve been
the volcanic gas, which caused a partial loss of engine power. Only thanks to the pilot's skills, the filming
crew members got away alive and with no serious injuries. However unique, this helicopter crash wasn't
the only case when people survived a fall into a volcano crater! - In 2007, a group of people was exploring
Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano in Tanzania, when a porter of the group fell into a crevice
filled with lava. Amazingly, the man not only survived, but
also climbed back to safety on his own! His legs and arms were burned, but he was
alive. What saved him was the extraordinary cold
lava of Ol Doinyo Lengai. Well, it's probably not what you would consider
"cold," but believe me, with a temperature of 950 degrees F (510 degrees C), the lava
was exceptionally cool. Instead of the red-orange flowing liquid that
probably comes to your mind, this cold lava is black and slow moving. That's why the man managed to throw his pack
down and stand on it until he finally climbed out of the crevice. - Another man fell as deep as 2,000 feet (610
m) into the crater of Mount St. Helens and remained unscathed! In 2008, John Slemp, along with his son and
a friend, went up to the crater's rim with their snowmobiles to enjoy the breathtaking
view. At one moment, an overhanging shelf of snow
under Slemp's feet broke loose, and the man dropped 200 ft (61 m) down. However, when he tried to climb back, the
snow fell apart beneath him again, and he dropped another 1,500 ft (460 m) down. When Slemp was rescued by a helicopter team
just a couple of hours later, the only injuries he suffered were a hyper-extended leg and
several minor cuts. - Then there was the woman who, during a Mount
Batur hike in Bali, suddenly fell off the platform straight into the crater. She was lucky that those around her had a
lightning-fast reaction. Seeing that she landed about 130 ft (40 m)
below the platform, other tourists formed an arm-in-arm human chain that reached the
woman and pulled her out. Besides, they managed to keep her alive until
the medical team arrived. Have I forgotten about any other people falling
into volcanoes and surviving this blood-chilling experience? Actually I think the blood would boil. Let’s not split hairs. No matter. If so, let me know down in the comments! If you learned something new today, then give
this video a like and share it with a friend. But – hey! – don't go diving into a volcano
just yet! We have over 2,000 cool videos for you to
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