Ice Airport Alaska

Jump aboard with scientists trying to protect Anchorage from an avalanche, then watch border agents stop a potential insect invasion. Tread carefully with a bush pilot who’s delivering explosive cargo and race to repair a Coast Guard rescue chopper.

Shiver as a DC-6 crew delivers medicine in fuel-freezing weather, then cheer on a rookie Coast Guard rescue swimmer during a crucial test. Battle a tourist-season-ending engine fault and hunker down as a blizzard closes in on two vital airports.

Inspect a new bush plane built from 70-year-old plans and take off on a US Army protection mission. Batten down the hatches as hurricane-force winds pummel Anchorage, then observe as NASA scientists blast off from Alaska’s answer to Cape Canaveral.

Take off with a pilot who’s racing to deliver food to a homesteader, then study retro technology that could be the future of bush flying. Watch mechanics-in-training take a big test while an airport night guardian marks the end of a 30-year career.

Ride along as the Coast Guard flies a 12-ton fuel truck up to a remote base, then head to a dangerous airport with a glacier racer. Fight an avian invasion with the Fairbanks crew and take a ride with a Grumman Goose that’s been parked in a museum.