Saturday

There have been stories for centuries about huge, aggressive albino sperm whales. They were immortalized by the classic novel 'Moby Dick.' These stories told of whales targeting ships and ramming them with their huge heads. Could stories like this be true? MonsterQuest heads to the world's oceans to investigate whether there is any truth to the theory that these white whales have become more aggressive.

Across North America there is something strange and frightening circling overhead. Witnesses tell of human-like creatures that float or hover in the skies and often descend to attack. Legends and folklore tell of strange flying creatures, but in the 1940s and 1950s, strange humanoid forms were spotted above small towns, bringing waves of panic. Sceptics claim that misidentification explains these creatures, however the mounting evidence says otherwise. MonsterQuest will analyze the video proof of this monster while scientists work to discover the identity of an eerie corpse that may unlock the mystery of these flying humanoid monsters.

"June 24, 1982 - On a clear summer night, during a seemingly calm trip to Australia, the impossible happens to British Airways Flight 009. Smoke starts filling the cabin. The engines catch fire – then stop working. The flight crew witness a bizarre shower of brilliant sparks strike the windshield of the aircraft. The entire plane is surrounded by a shimmering white glow. Without power, the plane begins falling from the sky. Passengers are terrified. The crew have no idea why their engines have quit – or how to get them working again. As they fall through the night the captain faces a difficult choice – return to the nearest airport and likely crash into the mountains, or attempt an incredibly difficult ocean landing. Just minutes before crashing into the sea, the stricken plane’s engines roar back to life. The jet limps back to Halim airport in Jakarta. But the crew realizes that their windshield is severely damaged -- making it nearly to impossible to see their runway. After suffering through a night of bizarre twists and turns, they manage to touch down safely at Halim. But they are still bewildered -- what had knocked their plane from the sky? What investigators discover changed the way pilots are trained and altered the understanding of how volcanoes can affect aviation."

"In June of 1983, a small mechanical problem in the back of an Air Canada DC-9 quickly turned into an all-out emergency 10 kilometers in the air. The aircraft was travelling to Toronto from Dallas when passengers noticed smoke coming from the rear washroom. As the smoke grows thicker, the crew has no choice but attempt to land the plane. For fifteen hellish minutes, passengers and crew struggle to deal with the thick toxic smoke. When the plane finally hits the runway in Cincinnati, all on board struggle to exit the burning plane as quickly as possible.Ninety seconds after touching the ground, the plane is engulfed in a ball of fire. Twenty-three of the forty-six people perish; the pilot is the last one to make it out alive. It takes emergency workers hours to control the blaze.Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are on the scene within an hour. They uncover a long history of problems with this DC-9, including a previous explosive decompression that may have damaged vital wiring. While the cause of the fire is never identified, in the wake of the tragedy, the NTSB recommends a comprehensive series of changes that make flying safer. These include better crew training, and improvements to emergency exits which allow passengers to escape planes more quickly. "

"Korean Air Flight 801 is flying to Guam International Airport from Seoul, when it runs into bad weather. Turbulence bounces passengers and crew – but much worse is to come. Fighting rain, and faulty navigational equipment, the crew struggle to find the airport. But just as they see it, the rain closes in again. As the plane flies closer and closer to the ground, warning sirens fill the cockpit. But still, the crew is flying blind. The rain won’t let up. Flight 801 crashes five kilometres short of the Guam airport, scattered down Nimitz Hill. While many passengers survive the crash, they can’t escape the fires that tear through the wreckage. More than 200 people are killed. For one of the survivors – Barry Small – the crash is the beginning of a crusade to make air travel safer. He believes poor seat design broke the legs of many on board, making it impossible for them to escape. He also believes badly stored duty free liquor ignited after the crash, making the fires worse. For investigators, flight 801 is a wake-up call. Vital safety equipment that could have saved the plane had been disabled, and the crew was poorly trained for such difficult landings. In the months that followed, changes were made to the airport and to the training of Korean pilots. "

"Around the globe, more than six billion people have traveled on a Boeing 737. They’re the backbone of the aviation industry. But in 1991, something happened onboard a 737 that sent shudders through the world of aviation.Moments from landing, United Airlines 585 starts spinning out of control and falls out of the sky at 450 kilometers per hour. Everyone on board is killed. In ten violent seconds, the crash site has become one of the most mysterious air disasters in aviation history.Almost two years after the crash, the NTSB had studied the crew, the weather, the rudder, and thousands of other pieces of evidence – but they can’t solve the mystery. For only the fourth time in its history, the NTSB release a report stating the cause of the crash of flight 585 was undetermined.On September 7, 1994, a year after the report on Flight 585 is released, the killer strikes again. Another 737 – this time US Air 427 – crashes near Pittsburg. All 132 passengers and crew are killed. Investigators begin to quickly see some striking similarities between US Air 427 -- and the unsolved case of United 585. But, like the earlier accident, investigators have plenty of theories, but can’t nail down a cause. With two crashes just a few years apart, serious questions are now being raised about the safety of 737s around the world. Billions of dollars, perhaps the airline industry itself, are at risk. Investigators need a break in the case, and fast.It’s only when another 737 has a similar problem – but doesn’t crash – that investigators crack the case open. The pilot of Eastwind 517, is on final approach into Richmond Virginia when, without warning, his 737 twice rolls sharply to the right. The pilot is able to recover, and land the plane safely. NTSB investigators quickly determine that what happened on board Eastwind 517 is alarmingly similar to events on flights 427 and 585. The pilot’s testimony leads investigators to zero in on the 737’s rudder controls. After a series of grueling tests, investigators discover that a key piece of equipment – a small hydraulic valve - jams and then functions in reverse under the right circumstances. It means that any time a pilot tried to correct a roll over, by pushing on the rudder, the rudder might turn in the opposite direction, causing a fatal accident. In the aftermath of the investigation, sweeping changes were made to improve the safety of the 737 -- and the entire aviation industry. New training protocols were designed to help pilots react to unusual in-flight events, upset recoveries and advanced maneuver training. The FAA also directed Boeing to redesign the rudder’s dual servo valve to eliminate the potential for reversal. Boeing spent more than a billion dollars to replace the valves on thousands of 737’s around the world."

As the fall fishing season comes to a close, captains and crews across the fleet hope for big fish and big money on their final haulbacks. With crews giving everything they have left, muscling fish and shark alike, many are relieved to be only hours away from dry land. Linda and her crew aboard the Bjorn II steam into Barnegat Light nursing injuries. EMTs wait for the boat to land, ready to examine Linda’s sliced finger and take her away to the hospital. The dock is a welcome sight to deckhand Dave Hiltz, whose anxiety about fishing and being thrown overboard is too much to control now. At the end of the day, the crew relives the season’s ups and downs over a swordfish dinner at a local restaurant. Captain Chomps and his Big Eye crew will themselves through their last haulback, which turns up big fish. Afterwards, with no bait left, and no food or supplies left for the crew, Chomps is forced to take it into port in time for Thanksgiving. The holidays bring bad tidings, however, as Chomps knows he will lose Glen and Don from the crew. After their offload in South Carolina, Don makes a move to stay on board, and Chomps makes a move to get rid of him. Chomps walks away at the end, knowing he and his brother Woody will most likely have to fish by themselves. Scotty and the crew of the Eagle Eye II, after dodging a loose lobster trap, pull up their last, big haulback. As they ride into port, they are clearly the season’s top earners. As big fish after big fish get pulled from the hold in Massachusetts, the crew celebrates their big paydays after hard work. The Frances Anne and her crew pulls into port after Captain Rick’s biggest fishing day. The tension lasts, though, between Rick and ex-Captain Slick, with Slick’s concern about ever piloting the Frances Anne again after being demoted. His worries don’t last long, however, and after he and Rick meet for beers at a local bar, Rick assures him Slick’s the man for the job.

It’s fall on the North Atlantic, the time of year when the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream meet and create some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. It’s also make-or-break for the US swordfishing fleet, and every season captains and crews risk it all just to make a paycheck and come out on top. Captain Scotty and the crew of the Eagle Eye II race to battle for the top spot, and Scotty wastes no time in loading up his boat and steaming to the Grand Banks. Hoping for a stellar first haulback, Scotty finds a place to fish and sets his 40 miles of mainline. The crew places bets as to how many fish they will come up with, but unfortunately, Scotty and his crew are disappointed when the day brings nothing but sharks, empty hooks, and a minimal amount of fish. Legendary Captain Linda brings out her finest in hopes to out-catch Scotty and the Eagle Eye II. This season, Linda has a cream of the crop crew and is at the helm of the legendary fishing vessel Hannah Boden. Satisfied with her new boat and crew, Linda steams east to the Grand Banks. Like Scotty, Linda hopes to start her fall swordfishing season with a banger haulback, but misfortune strikes again for Linda as her and her crew are stopped dead in their tracks due to a mechanical failure. Volatile Captain Slick is back with his young buck crew and an inept greenhorn. Before the boat even leaves the dock, Greenhorn Chris “Butters” Mitryk makes a bad first impression on the captain as he holds up the departure to Georges Bank. Luckily, Butters catches a break, and the Frances Anne pulls the bowlines and steams towards the fishing grounds. The captain and crew look to have a stellar first trip and return with a stuffed hold of fish just like they did last season. Last off the dock is the Big Eye. Captain Chomps’ habit of failing to pay his crew has left him crewless with the exception of his loyal stepbrother Woody.

As Hurricane Igor approaches the elite swordfishing fleet, the captains race to get in one last big haul before they’re forced to batten down the hatches and run for port. With no time to waste, deck crews are rushed, and costly mistakes are not tolerated. On Georges Bank, Captain Slick and the Frances Anne are on the fish, but when deck boss Lemmy Eastburn fails to land a two-hundred pound swordfish, he quickly runs afoul of his captain’s short temper. Even as Slick moves inland, and the fish keep coming up on deck, Captain Slick is not letting it go, and it’s hard to see what Lemmy can do to regain his boss’s good graces. Captain Chomps and the Big Eye has started the season deeply in debt, and greenhorn Matt needs a good season to support his growing family. After a bad start to their haul, the fish finally start coming up, and Matt makes an ill-timed rookie mistake by losing one of the biggest fish on their line. With the pressure from Chomps and the rest of the crew to turn around their slow start, Matt has to start learning quickly before he costs his boat more money they can’t afford to lose. Scotty of the Eagle Eye II, scrambling to get in one last haul, encounters a problem when he can’t find his final beeper buoy on the radar. After wasting hours trying to track the beeper down visually, they discover that veteran deckhand Darryl Wallace failed to turn the beeper on during the set. The foolish mistake cost the Eagle Eye time and money, and an angry Captain Scotty promises punishment for Darryl. On the Hannah Boden, it’s the deckhands who are angry, and the invective is directed at one of their own. All season, veteran fish cleaner Kenny Puddester hasn’t done his share of the work on deck, and his slacker attitude ignites an argument on deck that almost comes to blows.

The most anticipated day of the year has arrived. Josh and Sean find they are chasing in the same areas as Tornadovideos.net in western Kansas. The DOW and TIV find themselves in Quinter, Kansas as a supercell produces multiple tornadoes. Reed intercepts a cell which produces an "Elephant Trunk" tornado. Both teams try to intercept a cell which nearly causes devastation to Greensburg, Kansas once again. For once, no one wants to see the tornado touch down.

As both teams try to gain the perfect shot, Reed's girlfriend Jene Young gets lost in a hailstorm and nearly gets hit by a tornado. Meanwhile, the science team hands over to Karen Kosiba, a PhD student in the DOW, who tries to make the teams drive into a high-precipitation supercell to intercept a tornado.

It is the last week of the season. Both teams chase deep into Nebraska as a cell produces a tornado in Kearney, Nebraska. The TIV intercepts. While Sean is in a tornado, the Tornadovideos.net team chase a supercell in Kansas when they nearly get hit by a tornado, but deploy their high-definition probe into the tornado. The TIV has only one more opportunity to make the intercept. The chase is on.

Classical pianists Masa Tayama and Rhiana Henderson dream of combining their two passions, music and canal cruising. So, they’re risking Masa’s life savings to commission a one-of-a-kind aquatic home that serves as both a floating concert hall and hotel.

A house owner is determined to make her dream come true and build a stunning floating home using the latest in contemporary design. Susan Dunn has always enjoyed a sporting life on the water in Seattle Washington but now she wants to live on it – and in style! Susan employs a local architect who is renowned for designing ultra modern floating homes. After meeting with him she decides she wants a home with crisp clean exterior walls creating a façade of simple beauty. Inside a graceful floating stairway will lead up to an open plan living space. Bi folding doors will open out onto a west facing deck with a glass roof and teak slat blinds. This ingenious design allows Susan to enjoy her views in privacy but also to merge the deck into the living space for entertaining on a modern and grand scale. At the back is an east facing deck that catches the morning sun for Susan to enjoy her breakfast alfresco. A build yard in Seattle is tasked to construct this massive stunning design and every detail proves to be a challenge. Once complete the contemporary floating home is towed to it’s mooring. On route the floating ‘work of art’ attracts a lot of attention but finally it makes it to it’s new home with a float home community on Seattle’s Lake Union.

Mark and Holly Junak have wanted to live on a floating home all their life. When a mooring became free in Chichester Marina, UK, they decided to take the plunge and build a floating home from scratch. They hire award winning architect Richard Coutts to come up with a sleek modern single storey design with a roof terrace and floor to ceiling windows. It's down to float home builder Jeremy Ireland-Wheeler to build it. He is a veteran of over 40 float home builds.  The floating concrete base that the house will sit on is made in The Netherlands. The Dutch team must pour tons of concrete around a reinforced steel mesh to form a huge hollow box, weighing in at 40 tons! It is then loaded onto a special truck and driven to the ferry port in the nick of time, where it takes the short sea crossing to the UK. Once in Chichester Marina, the team must lower it using a heavy duty crane, into the water in a tense operation. Not knowing whether it will float evenly, they release the cables and it sits perfectly in the water. Now builder Jeremy constructs a 26 ton house at his workshop 45 miles away. Using insulated pre-cut wooden panels, he must assemble the pieces like a giant jigsaw puzzle! He builds special hatches to allow weights to be added to balance the house when it's on the water. As he cannot exceed a certain height, he builds the roof deck into a cleverly designed recess, allowing for the perfect party deck. Up against the clock, he finishes the house with stylish cedar panels to protect it. Then it's wrapped in 2500 sq feet of plastic, like a giant Christmas present! It’s now ready to be lifted onto a truck for its journey to the marina. The problem is, it barely fits out of the workshop door! After a mighty struggle, they get it out and it causes traffic mayhem on the narrow streets leading to the highway. On arrival at the marina, it is lowered onto the waiting floating base but one end overhangs too far. After some heart stopping adjustments they finally get it in place. Mark and Holly can now move in and 3 weeks later we see their minimalist, ultra modern, floating home, overlooking the lily-pads and the swans. The perfect relaxing retreat. 

Harry Janzen and Tina McComb are nature lovers living on Canada's Vancouver Island. They enjoy the outdoors, enjoying spotting wildlife such as deer, eagles and even killer whales. They want to move onto the water full time and find the perfect mooring at Maple Bay Marina on the island’s east coast. Builder David Messier will design them a massive 3 storey wilderness retreat with a second floor glass wall leading onto a patio deck, while above it he designs a huge roof terrace the size of the footprint, all capped off with a 14 ft barrel roof. The only problem is that they will need a special 2 ton steel frame to support the glass walls and roof deck. Risking the balance of the house, David starts construction on 2 massive floating foundation pads, bolted together in the water.  The wooden frame of the house makes up for the weight of the frame and the house is eventually balanced out. Now David must construct the decks and the barrel roof. Hoisting porthole windows 20 feet into the air to fit into the vaulted ceiling is a tense moment. Now he must fit the glass doors that will open onto the decks. Custom-made in the US, one slip now will set them back weeks while they wait for another to be made. They carefully get the doors installed after struggling up the narrow stairs. With the house nearing completion, Dave and his team move it out into the tidal channel for its crossing to the mooring site. The wind immediately grabs hold of it, pushing it straight into another house. Two motor boat get it under control in the nick of time. Now they must beat the ebbing tide before the house grounds itself on the seabed. Finally, they win the battle against the elements and tie the new home into its mooring overlooking the bay. With the house in place Harry and Tina start to test the layout of their furniture and see for the first time, their stunning wilderness views.

Adventurous young professionals, Ani and Charles are taking on the project of a lifetime – they’ve bought a busted old oil barge that they want to turn into their rustic first home. Based on the Thames in Hampton, south west London, the couple have a tight budget which leaves no option but to do nearly all the work themselves. With no experience, are they biting off more than they can chew?

Buyers in the Atlanta area searching for those one-of-a-kind items -- a vampire hunting kit, anyone? -- know exactly where to go, but the quantity is always limited and the prices fluid. "Auction Kings" follows the action at Gallery 63, a storied auction house in Hotlanta with a reputation for selling both bizarre and high-end items. Its owner, Paul Brown, manages his feisty staff and mingles with his customers, bidders and buyers who come from all walks of life.

Buyers in the Atlanta area searching for those one-of-a-kind items -- a vampire hunting kit, anyone? -- know exactly where to go, but the quantity is always limited and the prices fluid. "Auction Kings" follows the action at Gallery 63, a storied auction house in Hotlanta with a reputation for selling both bizarre and high-end items. Its owner, Paul Brown, manages his feisty staff and mingles with his customers, bidders and buyers who come from all walks of life.

Buyers in the Atlanta area searching for those one-of-a-kind items -- a vampire hunting kit, anyone? -- know exactly where to go, but the quantity is always limited and the prices fluid. "Auction Kings" follows the action at Gallery 63, a storied auction house in Hotlanta with a reputation for selling both bizarre and high-end items. Its owner, Paul Brown, manages his feisty staff and mingles with his customers, bidders and buyers who come from all walks of life.

Buyers in the Atlanta area searching for those one-of-a-kind items -- a vampire hunting kit, anyone? -- know exactly where to go, but the quantity is always limited and the prices fluid. "Auction Kings" follows the action at Gallery 63, a storied auction house in Hotlanta with a reputation for selling both bizarre and high-end items. Its owner, Paul Brown, manages his feisty staff and mingles with his customers, bidders and buyers who come from all walks of life.

Buyers in the Atlanta area searching for those one-of-a-kind items -- a vampire hunting kit, anyone? -- know exactly where to go, but the quantity is always limited and the prices fluid. "Auction Kings" follows the action at Gallery 63, a storied auction house in Hotlanta with a reputation for selling both bizarre and high-end items. Its owner, Paul Brown, manages his feisty staff and mingles with his customers, bidders and buyers who come from all walks of life.

Buyers in the Atlanta area searching for those one-of-a-kind items -- a vampire hunting kit, anyone? -- know exactly where to go, but the quantity is always limited and the prices fluid. "Auction Kings" follows the action at Gallery 63, a storied auction house in Hotlanta with a reputation for selling both bizarre and high-end items. Its owner, Paul Brown, manages his feisty staff and mingles with his customers, bidders and buyers who come from all walks of life.

At a chilly 7000 feet, the wet cloud forests of Panama test Dave and Cody’s partnership. Hypothermia, sheer cliffs, flooded rivers and venemous predators lie in the path to rescue, and there’s only one way to make it down the mountain: together.

In Wyoming’s Rocky Mountains, the freezing cold, deep snow and lack of resources threaten survival, but Cody and Dave’s minimal gear is enough to make it across frozen waterfalls, snow caves, dead elk and survive unlikely snow problem.

Winter in the Great Plains of Montana is a windy snow-drift prairie with hardly any survival resources. But using the remains of a rancher’s burned down shack Cody and Dave show how to exploit every tree, every rock and eat every mouse they see.

Three drilling rigs enter the race for Black Gold, but they get off to a rough start. Mechanical issues slow down the Viking. Peanut, the smallest Longhorn roughneck, has an accident that may keep him out of the oilfield for good. Big Dog Driller Tim has a birthday he’ll never forget.

Longhorn Driller Gerald has problems with both his crew and his well. Wayne and his roughnecks on the brand-new Viking rig are finally making progress. Driller Justin and the Big Dog crew struggle to save what has turned into “The Well from Hell.”

Gerald’s Longhorn crew has drill bit problems as they close in on the pay zone. One of the roughnecks on Wayne’s Viking crew has a career-threatening injury. On the Big Dog, Driller Justin teaches the crew’s rookie on the rig and on the town.