- 7 weeks ago
Toronto Airport: Uncovered - Season 1 Episode 2 HD
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00:01Cold weather leaves a trail of delays
00:03at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
00:11An engineering job hits a snag.
00:16Cargo is a no-show.
00:21And the baggage team has a precious passenger.
00:24This morning we have the Atlantic Cup.
00:26It's pretty exciting for us.
00:30This is Canada's biggest gateway to the world.
00:33An elite force of 50,000 working non-stop.
00:37A lot of departments that sit here are like marionette puppeteers
00:40and make sure that everything happens.
00:43Keeping flights across six continents moving
00:46while battling the elements.
00:48That's what we get paid for, to do the impossible.
00:51And facing the unexpected.
00:54There's a medical going on right now.
00:56And they're doing it around the clock
00:58to keep Toronto International on track.
01:09Toronto Pearson is more than just runways and terminals.
01:13It's a living, breathing system.
01:17Thousands of people and machines shape the rhythm of daily operations.
01:22Where one small disruption can ripple through the entire network.
01:27Over 128,000 passengers pass through every day.
01:32Unaware of the hidden challenges unfolding around them.
01:38And already today, the airport's fire department
01:41has had the most serious kind of call they can expect.
01:46We have a potential aircraft emergency coming in, landing.
01:49So it's an aircraft emergency in the air right now.
01:51So far we just know that there's some sort of indicator
01:54that there potentially might be a hydraulic problem
01:56or an issue with the brakes.
01:58The fire crews can't be certain the plane
02:00will be able to stop safely on the runway.
02:02So they're coming into land.
02:04We're going to take up standby positions
02:06on different stages of the runway.
02:08Just in case the worst happens,
02:09we're there to receive them.
02:13These calls are not our typical calls.
02:15By the numbers, I was to guess,
02:17we're probably about 75 to 80% medicals.
02:21So, fortunately, the aircraft calls are less frequent.
02:25Red 1, South Maintenance Road, short Foxtrot.
02:30Take a position, Foxtrot, row 23.
02:37So right now we've positioned ourselves
02:38on taxiway Foxtrot.
02:40We're holding short of 23, which is the landing runway
02:43that the aircraft with the emergency
02:44is going to be coming in on.
02:47Four fire trucks have been dispatched
02:49to deal with the plane.
02:50The tower will not have any aircraft lined up to land here
02:55until they get the go-ahead from us.
02:57So it has the potential to be out of service for a while.
03:02The plane is an Airbus A220-300
03:05and it's carrying passengers.
03:08You can see him off in the distance there.
03:10Even as the airport has an emergency on its hands,
03:20it needs to keep other flights moving.
03:24Air Canada's baggage handlers
03:25process over 80,000 bags every day.
03:29Today is just as busy
03:31and they're expecting one very special piece of baggage.
03:36We have the exciting opportunity
03:37to handle the Stanley Cup.
03:38We are sending the cup to Tampa Bay
03:40and, yeah, just overseeing the induction,
03:43the handling, and loading on the aircraft.
03:47The Stanley Cup is the most elite trophy in ice hockey.
03:51It's awarded to the playoff winner of the NHL,
03:54the National Hockey League.
03:57Hockey is the town.
03:59The Hockey Hall of Fame is in Toronto,
04:00so it's pretty exciting for us.
04:02We're just waiting for Phil Pritchard to arrive.
04:05Phil Pritchard is the keeper of the cup
04:07and he goes wherever that cup goes.
04:10He's called the keeper of the cup for a reason.
04:12Yeah, doesn't lose his sight.
04:18Hi, Phil.
04:21Good morning.
04:22Greg.
04:23Greg, I'm Phil.
04:24How are you?
04:25Fine, thank you.
04:26We're traveling to Tampa, Florida today for an event with Hockey Fights Cancer.
04:30Every week we are flying somewhere from Toronto to someplace either North America or around the world.
04:38I think it's been to 31 countries now.
04:40Traveling and meeting people is amazing.
04:43Everyone's got a story and it's great to hear it and great to share it.
04:46But the keeper of the cup will have to let it out of his sight during the flight.
04:54Our pride and joy.
05:03Ready to go.
05:04Yep.
05:05It's a precious cargo, but it needs to travel to the gate, just like any other piece of baggage.
05:18Back out on runway 23, the fire department has all eyes locked on the incoming plane with potentially faulty brakes.
05:26It's managed to land safely on the runway.
05:27I'm going to go to the port side of the aircraft.
05:28The other vehicle coming up behind me will take up position on the starboard.
05:29And then, there's two vehicles coming up that will stay off of the nose.
05:35So we'll have to go down.
05:36Right?
05:384.
05:391, 2, 3, red one.
05:40It's managed to land safely on the runway.
05:44I'm going to go to the port side of the aircraft.
05:49The other vehicle coming up behind me will take up position on the starboard.
05:54And then, there's two vehicles coming up that will stay off of the nose.
05:58so we can have each quadrant covered appropriately.
06:25They're doing a physical inspection.
06:28with their TIC, which is a thermal imaging camera,
06:30and they're making sure that the brake temperatures
06:32are within normal limits.
06:3321, we've completed our ground inspection.
06:36Brake temperatures are within normal limits
06:37and no evidence of any damage to the tires.
06:39Are you going to be taxiing to your gate?
06:42OK, permanent.
06:42If you guys get us all clear, which sounds like you are,
06:45we're going to taxi to the gate.
06:47Sounds good.
06:48Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
06:50I greatly appreciate the work that you do.
06:53Nice little sentiment.
06:55They seem pretty happy with it.
06:57Runway 23 is back active again, so they're
06:59lining up planes to take off.
07:02And for precautionary reasons, we're
07:04going to follow the aircraft back just in case anything
07:06changes between this point here and when it gets back
07:08to the terminal itself.
07:18We just got stood down by incident command,
07:20so we are done now.
07:24Everything turned out well.
07:25Passengers can happily continue on and travel.
07:28And maintenance will probably take a look at the aircraft
07:31to double check everything with their systems are OK.
07:35And we'll be back in position to respond for another one.
07:43The Stanley Cup is making its way to the loading bay
07:47for the flight to Florida.
07:54Yeah, here it is.
07:55It's arrived safely.
07:59Priority tag and all.
08:00So that will be loaded with all the rest of the priority baggage.
08:03She got its own cart.
08:04Important piece of luggage here.
08:10So just put it with the rest of priority.
08:12OK.
08:12So in the door there.
08:13Yeah.
08:13OK, perfect.
08:14While bags are being loaded, other teams
08:17are servicing the plane, including lavatories and water,
08:20the operation to empty out the lavatory tanks.
08:25OK.
08:26And that it's frozen.
08:31The bitter winter weather has brought everything
08:33to a standstill.
08:39The lavatories are frozen.
08:41In this temperature, the line gets frozen.
08:43That's not good.
08:44That's why we can't load the bags yet.
08:47It's a common problem in winter.
08:49It's a chilly 14 degrees, cold enough to freeze the pipes
08:53and disable the lavatories.
08:55The plane won't be going anywhere until it is flight ready.
08:59So all bag loading is paused while they try to fix the issue.
09:06You good?
09:06Air Canada representative Matthew Essu is looking after international flights today.
09:13He's overseeing another flight to Florida and it's full.
09:17Because of the size of the aircraft, there's not enough bins for the seat number that we have.
09:24So to mitigate the issues there, we try to tag 30 bags while boarding or pre-tag before boarding
09:30to avoid any issues.
09:32Carry-on bags that are too big for the overhead bins will be tagged and put in the hold.
09:37It's too big, just tag it.
09:42Sorry, just move over here.
09:43If you're going to do that, just give me some more bags checked.
09:48The bottom one, yeah.
09:49That is a little bit big. We're going to tag it to the final. I know, unfortunately, but I know, I know, I get it, but it's a little frustrating.
10:03Passengers need to leave their tagged bags at the aircraft door for loading into the hold.
10:09It's a system based on trust, but some passengers aren't happy with being parted from their carry-on luggage.
10:16Matthews may be a thankless task, but crucial to making sure all luggage really is loaded securely.
10:26Over at the flight bound for Tampa, the cold weather team arrive with a Herman Nelson
10:31to deal with the frozen lavatory pipe.
10:38It's a specialized heater designed to pump air as hot as 250 degrees Fahrenheit through the plane's pipes.
10:46It should be flushing fine, but just wait until the tower comes back to make sure.
10:52The Herman Nelson should have done the job, but there's only one way to make sure.
11:00Okay, fantastic. We've got a nice spring flush.
11:02The problem is fixed, and the plane is once again flight ready.
11:14Loading can resume, including the Stanley Cup.
11:17And the Airbus A319 is ready to take Ice Hockey's iconic trophy to the Sunshine State.
11:27Yep, so that's it for us today.
11:28Our Stanley Cup is safe and sound, loaded securely on Tampa.
11:32Flight's taxing off shortly, and yeah, that's it for us today.
11:36If a plane is fully booked, it doesn't have the space for everyone to carry on two bags,
11:47especially if one of them is oversized.
11:50Having to tag them for the hold poses a big problem in getting flights out on time.
11:55But this is a little bit big for your personal article, so we're going to have to tag one of them.
12:00All right, so just put this here and put it right here.
12:01That's it. No, no, no, I can see.
12:02It's under the seat.
12:03So, yeah, but it's a personal article, so we're just going to...
12:06Okay, go ahead. I can see it's too big, but let's just...
12:08Perfect. Yeah, so it's a little bit too big.
12:10We'll tag it to the final destination, free of charge.
12:12Go ahead and do that.
12:13I will. No problem, but free of charge, just letting you know.
12:16Passengers are trusted to be compliant and leave tagged bags by the plane door
12:23for loading into the hold.
12:30But experience tells Matthew a passenger may not have complied.
12:34What happens if they just bolt the flag with the player?
12:37So that's what they're doing right now? Sorry, just give me one second.
12:42Ma'am? Ma'am?
12:46At Air Canada's maintenance hangars, the engineers work 24 hours a day
12:53to keep planes flight ready.
12:56It's approaching 10 p.m., and Gervinder Tour's team are preparing for their burn and turns.
13:02The team have to burn the midnight oil to service the plane overnight
13:06so that it can be ready for its morning flight.
13:08Right now, I'll have six airplanes in this hangar.
13:11They're all our target to get them out at 7 o'clock.
13:16One aircraft, we have to get it at 5.45.
13:18It's got a 7.15 flight.
13:21The priority is to replace the faulty APU or auxiliary power unit on a Boeing 777.
13:27It's literally a small engine.
13:33Basically supplying air to start the engines and also passengers sitting in the aircraft,
13:40the APU engines are not running, then the APU serves a purpose to cool down or heat the cabin
13:46and control the temperature. So that's a very crucial part.
13:49Just one problem. The plane was supposed to be here an hour ago.
13:54It's supposed to be here any minute, but I think it's a bit late getting offloaded.
14:01For our purposes, we have a maintenance window. It runs out at 7.
14:05Ideally, we want everything out of the hangars at 7 o'clock for the flight in the morning.
14:10If the plane doesn't arrive soon, it will disrupt the engineering schedule,
14:17potentially delaying or even cancelling the next day's flight and stranding hundreds of passengers.
14:30Matthew is giving chase to a passenger on the flight to Florida.
14:33He's suspicions are confirmed that they have defied Air Canada rules and carried on a bag tagged for the hold.
14:46Okay, so just so you're... I know you're sorry, but just so you're aware of the severity,
14:50once your bag is checked into an aircraft, you're now causing a security breach.
14:53When your bag is tagged, we need to ensure that it stays tagged, okay?
14:56Because this is serious. You can actually be taken off the flight, but we won't do that here.
14:59Of course, it's frustrating, but we need to have the conversation to let you know.
15:02When it's tagged, it stays tagged, okay? Thank you.
15:05You're okay to work. I understand it's frustrating, but it is what it is.
15:08I'm just going to get a new tag printed.
15:10With the flight just minutes from departure,
15:12Matthew needs to make sure all remaining oversized bags are tagged for the hold.
15:24The Boeing 777 with the faulty APU finally turns up.
15:28Over an hour behind schedule.
15:31So that one coming in tonight, that's the 777-300-7PIN-745.
15:40And that's one of the biggest aircraft that we have operated at Air Canada.
15:45Every time there's a 777 engine change, we have to use these docks.
15:49Tail on the 777 is quite high, so we're going to tail this aircraft in.
15:54Tailing means reversing the 777 in.
15:57So once the aircraft is parked in, we'll be starting removing the APU.
16:08The plane is 213 feet wide.
16:10And its tail fin is 62 feet high off the ground.
16:16If you're going to come over here.
16:32That's in, yeah, that's in.
16:34Yeah, all good.
16:36I think we're set pretty much.
16:39It takes 30 minutes to park the plane.
16:44It's now 10.40 p.m. and they've lost more than one and a half hours in the maintenance schedule.
16:49The team will need to speed things up, or they'll miss their deadline.
17:00Matthew is still trying to board passengers for the flight to Florida.
17:04Hey, give me one second.
17:05Yeah.
17:06A couple is unhappy that their carry-on is being tagged for the hold.
17:11Thanks for the help.
17:14Yeah.
17:18Ma'am, I understand.
17:19I understand the frustration.
17:20Sir, sir, sir, you're forcing the bag in.
17:22This doesn't fit.
17:23Watch, watch.
17:24Watch how the whole thing's going to lift up.
17:25Like, literally.
17:27Look at this.
17:28Look, does that fit?
17:29Does that fit?
17:30Look at this.
17:30You tell me if this fits.
17:32Okay, so we're going to tag it.
17:34Can you tag the bag for me?
17:38That's not very nice.
17:39A passenger has become verbally abusive.
17:42And then departure time, understand?
17:44Come on, let's board.
17:45Matthew is now concerned that these customers will continue to be non-compliant
17:50or unruly during the flight.
17:53Pardon me?
17:54I should rip a wire.
17:58I then worry for my crew.
18:00The specialists here are not paid to be disrespected.
18:04They don't come to work to be berated or treated badly.
18:08If Matthew does not step in, the situation could escalate.
18:16Engineers Nasir and Jeff are almost two hours behind schedule in removing the APU.
18:21So we're replacing it because this one's leaking oil.
18:25It's burning it in the bearing as well.
18:30Oh, that's another good sign there too.
18:33Nobody starts laughing looking down the tailpipe.
18:35Since it is burning oil, a good sign would be there would be blue smoke coming out the exhaust port.
18:41If you didn't change it, oh gosh, this thing would tear itself apart.
18:44Because it needs to be lubricated, right?
18:46It's got a lot of bearings and moving parts inside there.
18:49So all those moving parts, they need to be lubricated or they're going to seize up or heat up.
18:53And essentially, it's going to cause the APU to fail.
18:56So what we got to do is we got to connect this right here.
18:59It's called a fish pole.
19:01The fish pole is a powerful hoist that can hold the 749 pound APU in place while it's being detached.
19:08But the APU seems to be stuck and is coming out with difficulty.
19:27The APU has released suddenly and the abrupt movement could have caused an injury.
19:32Oh my god.
19:34Now, it's free. But they need the rest of the job to run more smoothly.
19:41Over at the departure gate, Matthew is dealing with a passenger bound for Florida.
19:46I had to take her off the flight.
19:47Right in her language, unfortunately.
19:51Airline policy is that any foul language is considered unruly behavior.
19:55And Matthew also has to protect the cabin crew.
20:04I realized it was the name-calling, the disrespectful comment that was made as she boarded the plane.
20:10The disrespect has kind of gone too far.
20:12And we're now going to make the decision to take her off the aircraft.
20:15Can you please have a meeting, Walter?
20:17Unfortunately, no. We're going to have to board, but your wife won't be.
20:19Can I?
20:20Can you please?
20:21Can you please?
20:22Can you please?
20:23So, we're going to have to go. We're going to have to go. Are you going to stay?
20:27Please, unpack this.
20:29No.
20:29Can you get another flight?
20:30Can she get another flight?
20:31She's not going to be able to travel with Air Canada for 24 hours.
20:34So, if it takes, if it's another airline, then maybe.
20:36But, okay.
20:40No, we have zero towers.
20:41No, unfortunately.
20:42So, you're just going to have to get your stuff.
20:44We're going to go.
20:46As her plane departs for Florida, this passenger will spend another night in Canada.
20:52She's one of over 120 passengers removed from flights at Toronto Pearson each year,
20:58due to unruly behavior.
21:01I understand frustration.
21:02I understand delays can cause some annoyance and stuff.
21:06But, as soon as those passengers boarded, that in-flight came out to me and she said,
21:09is everything going to be okay on the flight?
21:11Instantly, that rings a bell to me.
21:13If something like this could happen here at the gate, where the situation can get so heated,
21:16I then worry for my in-flight crew.
21:25To keep to their tight schedule, the engineering team need the delicate APU change to go more smoothly.
21:31Just past 1.15, so, yeah, what it looks like, uh, they got everything disconnected.
21:42Um, they got the electricals off, um, the, the bolts are removed.
21:45This APU will be going down, and right away, we'll switch it.
21:49And then, same hoist, we'll be picking up a new APU and getting it back on there.
21:54So far, we're targeting to having the clean aircraft out for 7 o'clock.
22:07Every second counts now.
22:10The team's moving fast to line up the swap and get the new APU ready for lift.
22:15We've got the old APU right there.
22:19We think, uh, one of the seals in the bearing has gone, which is causing all the oil to escape.
22:25And, uh, get all over the place.
22:28The old APU will be taken to the repair shop to be serviced.
22:33Here's the new one.
22:34So, right now, we're just going to lift it up with the fork lift, just so we can get the, uh, the hoist, that bracket, attached to the new engine.
22:42And then we'll be able to lift it up right back into the plane.
22:49Now, they need to release the new one and a half million dollar APU from the cradle.
22:55It's a routine but sensitive maneuver.
22:57This mount here is what's attaching the, uh, the APU to the mount.
23:06And now that we're bringing it up, we've got to remove it.
23:08But it's a little stuck.
23:09The team has three and a half hours before the cutoff, with no buffer left in the maintenance window.
23:23The hoist holds the APU while the forklift is lowered.
23:36Down, down, down.
23:39This APU, um, have like four points where it sits on the mount.
23:46So, one of the aft points, when they were lifting the APU up to install it, it had the, one of the harness, uh, points.
23:53It got hooked up and, um, the harness got damaged.
23:57The harness, an array of wires wrapped around the APU, has caught on the forklift and torn.
24:02The harness is now damaged, and the new APU is inoperable.
24:09As the torn wire on the APU risks becoming a one and a half million dollar problem, the whole engineering team is now involved.
24:20Where did it go to?
24:22Where did it go to?
24:23It goes all the way.
24:25Where?
24:25If you look at it, it just wrapped around the entire APU.
24:27It went right there through that clamp.
24:31All right.
24:31Right here.
24:32So now, only other option that we had, we didn't have the new harness in stock to, uh, uh, what we're gonna do is now take it off the old APU.
24:43The solution is to rewire the new APU with the old APU's harness.
24:53It's a fiddly job, not what you need with just over an hour to go.
24:58We're a bit behind now at this harness change.
25:00We'll try to recover for the morning, but at this point it's, uh, very unlikely, uh, but we got a couple of extra bodies on it.
25:07Uh, two guys started removing the harness and then two guys removing the harness on the other APU.
25:12So it'll be a swap and, uh, hope for the best from this point.
25:16Yeah.
25:20As the morning patrols begin, some staff at Toronto International Airport have just one job.
25:26Preventing potential accidents.
25:28We're just coming up to the north gates here on the north side of, uh, the airport about to enter the airfield.
25:34As the first rays of dawn hit, it's time for wildlife control officer Sully Momla,
25:39callsign Birdman 71, to set out on his daily patrol.
25:45He watches for unauthorized flights in Toronto Pearson's airspace.
25:50We have, um, a lot of birds of prey this time of the year.
25:55Right now it's, uh, non-resident birds, actually snowy owls have come here from the Arctic.
25:59Um, it's, it's interesting how far they've traveled and that they decide to use the airport.
26:04If birds fly into the path of a plane, they can damage its windshield or get sucked into its engine,
26:12potentially bringing the plane down.
26:16Bird strikes are a global problem, causing a collective 60,000 hours of aircraft downtime a year,
26:22at a cost of nearly half a billion dollars.
26:27In 2009, a flight from New York's LaGuardia Airport struck a flock of birds.
26:34The plane's engines lost thrust and it had to make an emergency landing on the Hudson River.
26:41Toronto Airport is very inviting to birds and other wildlife.
26:45We have 5,000 acres of land here at the airport. It's a lot of space and a lot of it is just green space in an urban setting.
26:56Greenery makes up a third of that land, attracting animals like coyotes,
27:00who can get through the perimeter fence and on to the runways. Two creeks also run through the airport.
27:08That makes it a huge attractant that the birds and wildlife, especially migratory birds, just passing through.
27:16To ward off any uninvited guests, Sully will have to deploy his secret weapon.
27:27Sully has just begun his shift, but the engineering team are rapidly approaching the end of a long night.
27:35And they're still racing to get the new APU in the plane and get the 777 back online.
27:40For the wiring harness, it's got a bunch of these clamps that are holding it in, so I don't know how much time it'll take.
27:54I mean, you can see the mess. It's what we got to deal with.
27:57How are you guys going to remember where all of it goes?
28:02They're all kiwis. You can't put them on the wrong spot.
28:05I know, but like trying to figure out like a puzzle.
28:10So we're just mapping out where the new harness will be going.
28:14The team have taken off the torn harness.
28:17It's left them just minutes away from their deadline as they attach the replacement.
28:21So far, so good.
28:28It was super tight.
28:29We got it on a lot quicker than I thought we would, that's for sure.
28:32We're almost there. Almost there.
28:41This time, the APU is lifted into the plane without any hitches.
28:49We're almost there.
28:56Nasir and Jeff finish fitting the new APU just before the 7am cutoff.
29:09Hi. How are you?
29:10Good, how are you?
29:11Nice to see you.
29:12Over at the terminal, Wesley Valentim is overseeing the international gates.
29:17Unloading inbound flights and then ensuring the planes make their departure slots.
29:24Manager, permit please.
29:26Yeah, go for rent manager.
29:27I'll get one at 70 each.
29:30I'm missing a pilot.
29:31According to the offload instructions, there should be a pilot here, but gravity, there's not.
29:38All right, copy. I'm going to come to your gate.
29:40I'm just going to grab some pictures of that, okay?
29:42One of the leads is offloading a flight, 837 inbound.
29:46And there's a piece of cargo that they said was loaded on the aircraft, but it's not on the aircraft.
29:51So it's a load discrepancy.
29:54Every flight has instructions for loading cargo.
29:58Cargo should be arranged so that the plane is balanced.
30:02And there shouldn't be any difference between the amount of cargo on the paperwork
30:06and what actually makes it onto the aircraft.
30:09There's been accidents that have happened like that because of shifting cargo.
30:14That can play with all the weight and balance of the aircraft.
30:16You're supposed to have pallet all the way back here, right?
30:19Yeah.
30:19Doorway and tail.
30:20Yeah.
30:21There's two pallets not here.
30:22I mean, no.
30:23These two?
30:23Yeah.
30:23Both are missing?
30:24Yeah.
30:26Any discrepancies can pose a safety risk, and Wesley needs to investigate urgently.
30:32Yeah, Ivan is the biggest bird we have here.
30:39He is a bald eagle.
30:41He's 24 years old.
30:42We've had him here at the airport working for 24 years.
30:46And he's been trained to do something very specific.
30:56Leave him a little treat right there.
30:57Sully lays down some quail as bait on one end of the creek.
31:06He'll release the eagle at the other end.
31:10We're going to fly all the way across the top of the creek, come on over to the platform,
31:15have a treat, and then fly all the way back. It's about a kilometer.
31:18Ivan has been trained to fly along the creek, flush out any birds near the runway,
31:25collect the quail at the other end, and fly back to Sully for more quail.
31:33Ivan has flown the same flight path for 24 years.
31:37All the great blue herons, the swans, the geese and ducks are well aware of who Ivan is.
31:42His presence will deter them from nesting in these spots.
31:47He is so well trained to stick to his route that there's no need to shut the runway down while he flies.
31:54All right, we're going to let Ivan out now?
32:14Ivan follows his training path and covers the creek in two minutes, scaring off any other birds.
32:24He's earned himself half a quail.
32:30A well-deserved meal.
32:34He flushed out the whole area. You can see there's nothing around.
32:37Nothing actually came off the creek, so it's actually pretty clear from the last time we've flown him.
32:42Right, buddy?
32:44Sully aims to fly Ivan once a day.
32:46Ivan's a key part of our operation.
32:49When you have a natural predator flying through almost on a daily basis, that itself will just deter them.
32:55They'll find another spot where there isn't a large predator of this size flying and patrolling the skies.
33:01The wildlife team have 30 birds of prey, including hawks and falcons, but there's only one bald eagle.
33:09He's definitely my favorite.
33:18Did you see that?
33:19On the ramp, Wesley is investigating the plane that arrived with missing cargo.
33:27There's two pallets of cargo that are missing, that they were never loaded.
33:38The pallet that was supposed to be in front of the door, and then there's another pallet the next compartment over.
33:43Those were not there.
33:45The aircraft has to be loaded in a certain way, depending on weights, right?
33:50So the aircraft is not balanced correctly.
33:52How cargo is loaded affects a plane's center of gravity, and how it flies.
34:10An uneven load can change a plane's handling in flight.
34:13Obviously, the plane landed safely, but we have to report our findings, and then investigate what happened over there, and why it was sent that way.
34:27That job falls to Matthew.
34:30He dealt with an unruly passenger yesterday, but today, he's on the ramp.
34:36So pretty much how this works is all the weights and the balloting is done by our load department.
34:41The manager brings the load sheet to the aircraft, so the load sheet tells exactly where these pallets are supposed to go, where the cargo is positioned in the aircraft.
34:49This ensures that it's balanced perfectly.
34:52It's not just baggage and cargo that is loaded onto the plane.
34:56Sometimes we send empty cans to stations that are missing a few or need a few extra sent to them, so we'll send some over so that they can as well load their bags and send them around the world as we do.
35:07If they're running low and we have access in our station, we'll gladly send them over.
35:11In this instance, the reverse happened.
35:14Two empty cans, which only weigh about the same as two passengers, were on the paperwork, but ultimately weren't loaded.
35:22Matthew discovers that the pilot and load manager knew of the change and approved it, but the paperwork wasn't updated.
35:28The plane was always safe to fly, but Wesley was right to check the discrepancy.
35:37Safety first, always, is what we say here.
35:41Sully carries on his round, looking for hazards.
35:44We're looking for birds of prey, we're looking for coyotes.
35:47Here we are, keeping an eye out for singles, ducks, geese, any sort of wildlife.
35:53Ground, Birdman 7-1.
36:00Birdman 7-1 at Juliet Echo, permission to inspect the ponds.
36:05So, actually, if you notice, a bird just went down.
36:08There is a red-tailed hawk that landed on the other side of that retention pond.
36:13Right there, there is a pylon in the middle of the field, and it's using the pylon as a perch.
36:19Right next to the landing strip.
36:26There's an airplane about the land.
36:28It's in a very critical spot.
36:30I have to take immediate action.
36:35Air Canada has been rebooking hundreds of passengers.
36:38Who can we help in a direct flight?
36:40Who have been delayed or missed their connections due to overnight snow.
36:4413 people.
36:45That's actually not bad.
36:4613 people today.
36:47But one flight in particular has been delayed for over six hours, and the passengers aren't happy.
36:54Operations manager Sarvi Najatian has stepped in.
36:58So, whom do you have in front of you?
36:59Is it a family?
37:00Is it a, or is it an elderly?
37:04They want to speak to a manager?
37:06No problem.
37:07Let them know that manager will be down there, and we're going to talk to them.
37:10So, we're actually heading to another connection point.
37:15Customers coming from international are going to domestic, and the reason for the delay, unfortunately, is weather.
37:23Mother nature.
37:25We, unfortunately, if it's uncontrollable, us as an airline, we cannot provide them any hotel, any meal voucher.
37:32The customer is not happy with what the agents are telling them.
37:37I'm going to talk to them and support my team.
37:41Over by the runway, with the hawk perched dangerously near to an incoming plane's path, what Sully needs is firepower.
37:49Sully aims to scare the hawk away with a loud noise and a bright light.
38:14So, he fires a blank, followed by a flare.
38:17He's moving away from the critical area.
38:20He just cleared that hawk away from the active area.
38:23So, off it goes, and there we have it.
38:28If that bird got up at the wrong time and flew in the wrong direction, it could have got struck by an aircraft.
38:39We don't overuse the pyrotechnic.
38:41It desensitizes the birds.
38:42So, we use it for situations like that, where we need something to be moved really fast.
38:47Come on, Birdman 7-1.
38:49You know, I say it often.
38:50We're here to deter and preserve.
38:53You know, we're here because we love the birds.
38:56We want to keep them safe, but we're also trying to keep the people safe.
39:00Sarvi is now in ITT, International to Transit, where international passengers connect to their next flight.
39:12We came on the flight.
39:13You hear from Sins.
39:15First of all, they cannot tell us to go.
39:17We started boarding, and we're in that, where we call it, lobby, waiting to go for open house.
39:24They tell us.
39:25So, they put us on the flight.
39:28We see that there is a mechanical issue that they were trying to fix.
39:33After they made an announcement saying, because now the crew has gone over their time, the crew needs to be trained.
39:39Then something to leave left.
39:40The next thing is, oh, the food has gone bad.
39:44Seriously, they took us off the plane.
39:45They took you guys off the plane.
39:47After spending more than six hours on the plane.
39:50After spending more than six hours on the plane with all these excuses, because we were told it was a mechanical issue that they were fixing.
39:57Yes.
39:58First of all, I'm very sorry.
39:59You went through this, and that's not nice, and I'm very sorry for that.
40:02Obviously, it was a lot of things happening for this flight.
40:05Do you mind, give me the flight number again, please?
40:07Eight, I think.
40:08One, eight, six, eight.
40:09So, and then, just a quick question.
40:12Are you rebooked now?
40:13Yes, we are rebooked.
40:14But tomorrow?
40:15Okay, this is all I needed to know.
40:19I'm just going to call Rami.
40:21Sarvi needs approval from her supervisor, as it seems the delays were caused by everything apart from the weather.
40:28Hey, can I see?
40:29Hey, Rami, Sarvi here.
40:30Hey, Sarvi.
40:31Rami, I have eight people here at ITT.
40:33This is because of the cancelled St. Vincent flight.
40:37In ITT?
40:38ATT.
40:39Okay.
40:40Okay.
40:41So.
40:41Oh, okay.
40:42Yeah, so apparently there was a lot going on.
40:45Not only that, it was, um, they said it's maintenance, and they said, oh, weather.
40:48But then they said, well.
40:50Yeah, 100%, give it to them.
40:51It's okay, that, uh, you can put my name.
40:52Okay, perfect, Rami.
40:54Thank you so much.
40:55No worries.
40:55That will solve the problem.
40:56Amazing.
40:58Okay, bye.
40:58Normally, in those cases, we don't get the compensation of hotels or anything like that, but, uh, we have to take care of it.
41:05So, yeah, I authorized an hotel for them.
41:08So, it's, uh, it should be a problem.
41:09It was a long delay, and I can see they were, like, they're tired.
41:14Um, I have good news.
41:17If you need a limo voucher to get back home, my colleagues are here to help you.
41:20If you need a hotel to spend the night, my colleagues are here to help you.
41:23You're welcome, I'm sure.
41:25And if you need, yeah, if you need anything else, sorry again for this inconvenience, okay?
41:30I am.
41:31Let me tell you today, I am sorry.
41:34Although it's, some, some of them are not controllable, but I am very sorry.
41:37So, will...
41:37Thank you, sir.
41:38Will they book the hotel for me?
41:40Yes.
41:40Oh, good.
41:41Easy.
41:42And they'll get a travel voucher as well to and from the hotel?
41:44Yes, yes.
41:45Just talk to my colleague, and he will help you out.
41:48Okay, of course, no worries.
41:49No worries.
41:50Thank you, sir.
41:51With that, a busy 24 hours at Toronto International come to an end.
41:59For now, everything is back on course.
42:02But staff can be sure of one thing.
42:04The work is never done.
42:07And tomorrow, we'll bring in a whole new set of challenges.
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