security cameras roll as innocent bus passengers dodge a barrage of bullets. >> these people are absolutely terrified. it's just utter panic. and an airborne race car flies directly at a cameraman. >> this went from really cool to this sucks just like, bam! >> you okay, girl? a pilot runs out of fuel and crash lands in the pacific. >> at those speeds it's like hitting a brick wall. powerful tornadoes. >> it's throwing 18-wheelers. this is something i have never

seen before. >> targeting a small town. >> oh, my gosh, it is headed right toward us. >> devastating everything in their path. and a terrorist bomb blows up a bar. >> i was laying in a puddle of beer and blood and broken glass. this is the closest i have ever come to death. >> fighting for survival. "caught on camera: life or death." >> an 1,800 horsepower race car going well over 100 miles an hour loses control, spewing sparks and flames it goes flying straight toward a cameraman who stands paralyzed.

april 20th, 2012, bristol, tennessee. the dragway best known as thunder valley hosts the american drag racing league's top sportsman's race. >> we go about 170 miles per hour in about 4.10 seconds. it's pretty crazy. >> meet 21-year-old drag race driver lizzie mussey. >> the feeling of sitting in the car and warming it up, i love warming it up in the morning. just, i love it. >> and when she lines up to start -- >> we staged, we have two sets of golds up there. both amber lights come on and i have what is called a transbrake, a button, and you let go of it. once you see the amber light go off, you react real quick. and then you floor it and then it just launches on the last amber.

>> lizzie's qualifying run earlier in the day in her beloved blue camaro goes off without a hitch. she's interviewed by the track's cameraman. >> that was fun! >> yeah? it looked fun. >> i had a great time. >> good deal. >> but in lizzie's first official race of the day, things go wrong in a hurry. >> i felt the car a little bit drag to the right and it took a hard left and kind of went from there. i won't forget that one second of it just because everything kind of started slowing down. then i felt the car lift up and i see the wall, like, and sparks flying. i didn't know where is this car going to go, flip over? i just had to brace for impact and wait until it comes to a stop. once it came on its four wheels again, and i just felt relieved.

>> you okay, dude? you okay, girl? >> and bummed because i wanted to continue racing that race. and thankful the car actually lifted up that way because i could have hit right into that wall and could have been really bad. >> in spite of becoming airborne, lizzie walks away without a bruise. >> that sucks. >> you okay? >> yeah, i'm more than okay. mad again but it's all right. >> how is the adrenaline level? peaked? >> oh, man. mad. sucks. >> don't be mad. you're in one piece. >> but she doesn't realize that the cameraman who is interviewing her narrowly escaped with his life just moments earlier. >> holy -- >> i saw him come running up to me, and i'm, like, how did you get here so fast? what the heck? no way. >> caught on camera arranged a

reunion for the cameraman who is lucky to be alive. >> there's something saucy about a chick slinging a camaro at you, brother. the camera might be all right, dude. actually, we are still rolling. >> michael hester is a 25-year veteran freelance photographer who works the drag race circuit. >> that's one for the real boys. i hopped the wall and grabbed a second camera and it was kind of a seamless tale. >> watch another angle as the car flies at grinner. covering him with sparks and flames, it's almost inconceivable how he doesn't get crushed. >> that was close. >> he holds his camera steady until the very last second. >> you know, just standing there like i was hypnotized thinking, what a great shot. looking at the screen, i'm looking at composition, and i

hate to say that, but carnage is the money shot in our world. we hate wrecks, but tv loves it. that's why the spectators come. that's what i was thinking, what a shot! and then i realized i was a part of it. and then i realized i had to do something about it. >> but you still have to wonder, why didn't he move away earlier? >> you know, hindsight is 20/20. should i have gone sooner? yeah, i'll give you that, you know? but i didn't know where she was going. she was on the wall, man. typically they will hit the wall and bounce off. so my framing didn't change. >> it went on by you. >> that's when it was on like jackie chan. >> these dudes crack me up. he was like jackie chan, tuck and roll. >> while it is easy to joke, it really is a life or death moment not to be taken lightly.

>> you all right, brother? >> oh, man, that was a close one, man. >> had i laid down where i was, i would have eaten those wheelie bars. >> those wheelie bars are those bars attached to the back of the race car to help keep the car on the ground. >> if death could scrape nails at you, those wheelie bars when they hit the concrete and the sparks were coming at me, that's when i was like, this went from really cool to this sucks like, bam! >> despite the close call, he walks away with nothing more than a scraped knee. >> that's a day at the office for me. that's not a deterrent. that's the high that i get. >> i have been asked, too, about, oh, are you going to get back in the car again? do you want to race after that? this one is actually mine. it's a passion i have. and it's just, i want to just continue doing it because i love it. i can't wait.

>> i have cheated death honestly more than anyone i have talked to. i am not a hugely religious fellow but i'm hugely still here. coming up -- >> oh, my gosh, dude. it's headed right for us. >> powerful tornadoes tear up a small town forcing residents to fight for their lives. >> i don't remember anything until i woke up. >> when "caught on camera: life or death" continues. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for it's smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the busses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution to the earth. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment. it's eb.

want to give your family the very best in taste, freshness, and nutrition? it's eb. want to give them more vitamins, omega 3s, and less saturated fat? it's eb. eggland's best eggs. eb's. the only eggs that make better taste and better nutrition... easy. eggland's best eggs. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. it's eb. pull out the paper and what? another article that says investors could lose tens of thousands of dollars in hidden fees on their 401(k)s?! seriously? seriously. you don't believe it? search it. "401(k) hidden fees." then go to e-trade and roll over your old 401(k)s to a new e-trade retirement account. we have every type of retirement account. none of them charge annual fees and all of them offer low cost investments. why? because we're not your typical wall street firm that's why. so you keep more of your money. e-trade. less for us. more for you.

that's why. so you keep more of your money. gestarting may 20th atts participating bay area stores. ♪ in an instant life changes. >> oh my gosh, dude. it's headed right for us, pretty much. >> oh, my gosh, tornado on the ground! tornado on the ground. it's throwing 18-wheelers. this is something i have never seen before.

>> oh my -- holy [ bleep ]. >> in 2012, a series of powerful storms decimates 14 states. >> in the plains and parts of the midwest, this is a day of recovery after a violent weekend. weekend. >> more than 100 tornadoes touched down in the midwest. one of the most violent and destructive hits the small town of henryville, indiana. with winds up to 175 miles per hour, march 2nd, 2012. 21-year-old rhett adams grabs his smart phone and starts to record. >> this is the most insane thing i have ever seen in my [ bleep ] life. my adrenaline was going and i didn't really think about it. it seemed like it was a little bit of a distance away but not close enough to be, you know, dangerous. >> a rural community of fewer than 2,000 people.

henryville has one four-way stop, one gas station and eight churches. churches. when the tornado warnings sound, not everyone is concerned. >> so my mother was texting me and telling me there was going to be severe weather and i kind of blew it off, didn't think anything of it. >> neither does perry hunter, a teacher at henryville high school. >> it just seemed like a normal day to me. we knew that there was a chance for bad weather, but we get these warnings quite often in the spring. >> it's coming right toward henryville. >> i know it. >> just a few miles away, harry's aunt lenora and wayne, her husband of 41 years, listen to the tornado warnings on television. >> you've got to be taking shelter now portions of crawford county because this storm is moving through your area with a tornado on the ground. >> i'm hoping it goes to the north of us. >> we were watching out the living room window and that's when i said, that looks kind of wicked over there. it's coming here. it's picking up.

and then we realized it was going to hit henryville. it's picking stuff up. look, you can see it rotate. we both had little cameras that you can take video or snapshots. we just like doing that. we were always fascinated with the sky. we just always took pictures. >> it looks like it's heading right toward us. >> maybe we should get away from the window. it looked like it was so far away when i look at the videos. i've got to close the door. oh, my gosh! tornado on the ground! tornado on the ground! before they know it, the tornado is upon them. lenora and wayne huddle together in a room with no windows in the safest part of their house. and cover themselves with a blanket. the couple has no idea how things will turn out. >> he said, i love you and i said, i love you, too. then immediately we both said, my ears are popping. it was like at the same time. >> what starts as a fascination with the stormy sky is now a

dangerous life or death struggle for survival. lenora blacks out. >> maybe i remember kind of being lifted but i don't remember anything until i woke up then. >> on the other side of town, lenora's nephew perry releases kids from henryville high school 15 minutes early. 1,200 children from kindergarten to high school in connecting buildings. but one bus released early is trapped by the storm. the driver turns around and races 11 young elementary students back to the school. the driver's eighth grade son preston is on the bus with her and describes their terrifying trip recorded on the bus security camera. >> another bus driver came out with a radio and said, i see the tornado on the ground and there's a bunch of little kids crying. it was kind of scary. and then we ran into the school. me and my mom were the last ones off.

>> they get off the bus just in time because seconds later with the cameras still rolling it's picked up and slammed into a diner. meanwhile, footage from the school's security system shows what happens in the high school where about 80 adults and children are hunkered down in school offices and the closet. >> the lights went out and then there was a loud explosion from the gym imploding. and that's when i hit the ground covered up and we heard the school rattling probably for about ten seconds. and stuff starts being pulled out of the gym. you see stuff coming loose on the roof, it's 175-mile-an-hour wind. i ran around to the front of the school and it was completely gone. >> chaos and damaging hail followed. many in henryville lose everything, but they regroup and start over knowing it may be a

long road back before life returns to normal. >> i've talked to a few people who are really struggling with anxiety from the whole situation and i'm one of them. it is not something i want to experience again. >> while some in town are scarred from the experience, no one suffers a loss like lenora. her husband wayne, a retired emergency room nurse, is found crushed in their home. he dies from his injuries. he's the one person killed in henryville during the tornado. >> at 59, you never think you're going to be a widow. you just don't think that it will happen to you. >> lenora and her family are devastated and her house destroyed. but she plans to rebuild and install a tornado-proof basement on the land she treasured with her husband. >> i'm going to make him proud. people should cherish the time that they have. live it like it's your last. carpe diem he would say.

coming up, a plane runs out of fuel over the pacific. and next, passengers under attack on a public bus. >> i did not want to die that day. >> when "caught on camera: life or death" continues. designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+.

on a warm afternoon in philadelphia, a mundane ride on a public bus erupts in gunfire. it looks like a scene from an action film, but this is no movie. these men really do open fire on a bus full of passengers. >> i did not want to die that day. >> june 18th, 2011, scared passengers, including this elderly woman standing directly in the line of fire, do their best to dodge bullets and stay alive. >> it was a mid-afternoon, a saturday, somewhere around 4:00. >> desmond jones is a philly resident and veteran driver for the southeastern pennsylvania transportation authority bus company. better known as septa.

when jones starts his shift on that sunny spring day, he's in for a shock. captured on his bus equipped with eight security cameras, it all starts when this young mother and her 2-year-old son get on the route 47 bus and run into another passenger, lafanus pickett. >> i got on near seventh and market. >> as the bus winds it way through the philadelphia streets, pickett notices the little boy. >> he was running up and down the aisle. >> pickett hears her mom tell the young boy to sit down. >> and she begins spanking him like he was some sort of animal. >> pickett leans forward and reprimands the young mom and said, he's a child, let him be a child. you shouldn't be spanking him like that. if he continues to do that, i'm going to turn you in for child endangerment. she was like, you don't know me. this is my son.

i will deal with him any way i choose to. >> for whatever reason he offers his unsolicited parenting advice and he's just a little boy, that's child abuse. >> philadelphia native joe slabojen is a veteran staff writer for "the philadelphia inquirer." over his 30-year career of following court cases, he thought he had seen it all until he watches the footage captured by septa security cameras. >> she's seen on there making a cell phone call holding it up to her ear. she turns and says something to mr. pickett, and thes but door mr. pickette and the bus door opens and she exits. >> the call is to her friends now waiting at her stop. she told them about her confrontation with mr. pickett. and they are armed and ready for action. >> it looked like at first he was helping her get off, but i noticed when he, like, seemed to grab her, i knew something was wrong. >> septa security footage

captures exactly what's wrong in stunning detail. >> as she's exiting, another young man is coming toward the bus and she says something to him. from what the prosecutor said, she pointed out mr. pickett and said i want you to shoot that guy. >> as the mom and her son get off, one man goes in the front door and gestures for everyone to come to the front steps. meanwhile, his friend is busy pulling out a huge rifle he's had hidden down the leg of his pants. soon he's joined by the man at the front of the bus who pulls out his own semiautomatic weapon and they open fire. >> just absolute pandemonium in the bus. and these people are terrified. you see them racing to the front of the bus hoping they can escape there. they see a gunman out the front door. and they are all piled up in the stairwell. it is just utter panic. >> as bullets rip through the bus, lafanus pickett climbs on

the bus driver trying to escape the firestorm. >> they are targeting mr. pickett inside the bus, but targeting is a very loose word in this case because essentially what they are doing is spraying the bus. >> i was just so scared for my life. i've been shot before. i know what it felt like. i did not want to die that day. >> the footage then shows a terrifying moment as an elderly woman stands frozen in the middle of the aisle. >> she hears the gunfire apparently and bends down and a shot goes through the window and hits a seat right next to her. >> desmond jones takes his first opportunity to speed away. >> had she been seated upright, it would have gone through her first. >> the woman is lucky to be speared after a total of nine bullets are fired into the bus. throughout the ambush, jones, an army veteran, keeps his cool.

>> the passengers pretty much just hit the deck. they knew what to do. everybody was down on the floor and we just got out of there. i just took us to the nearest hospital. at the time no one was hurt, but i was taught to let the paramedics sort it out. >> desmond reacted according to his training. he's a member of the military. he took control of the situation. that bus was flying. he radioed his dispatchers so the police are meeting him there. literally calm under fire. he had a sense of responsibility to his passengers. >> as jones drives away, the gunmen, cousins jerome and raheem paterson run away. the men are arrested two weeks later and plead guilty to charges including 11 counts of aggravated assault and attempted murder. they are sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison. the young mother identified as 20-year-old penny chapman also pleads guilty to charges including attempted murder and is sentenced to five to ten

years in prison. >> to this day, i don't know why penny chapman did what she did. maybe she didn't think it would go to that level. >> regardless of the provocation, it's hard to justify having your friends come over and spray the bus. the fact that these guys fire shots at the bus and didn't hit a single person is probably as close to a miracle as i can think of. coming up -- ♪ >> a night out on the town turns deadly. >> i was laying in a puddle with beer and blood and broken glass. this is the closest i've ever come to death. >> when "caught on camera: life or death" continues. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews.

enjoy the relief!

[ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. i've always kept my eye on her... but with so much health care noise, i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still going to give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

senator john mccain made an unannounced trip to syria today. he reportedly met with rebel leaders before slipping back

into turkey. the president honored america's war dead with the breath laying ceremony at the, a, a. and a man is charged with interfering with a flight crew after allegedly trying to open the jet on a jet heading into portland, oregon. passengers restrained him. five long years of relentless palestinian/israeli violence. in 2000 to 2005, leaves a legacy, of terror, destruction and death lead to uprising. >> it happened again today. another suicide bomber in israel. this one killed 17 people. >> suicide bombers attack israelis in public places. >> bodies scattered on a highway in northern israel today. >> often on crowded buses.

>> some burned to death, including a man and woman whose bodies were found in a final embrace. >> the israeli army retaliates. but the bloodshed continues. june 11, 2003, another terrorist strikes on a crowded bus in jerusalem. sari singer is onboard. >> they said the terrorist was standing two places away from me. >> sari moved here after the 9/11 terror attacks to work with victims of terrorism. she's on her way to meet a friend in jerusalem when she's caught in this suicide attack near her home. >> i felt a huge shockwave hit my face. the only way to explain how the shot wave feels, it's like two places of metal that hit so hard against each other and vibrate back, that's how i remember my face feeling like. after the blast when it stops there's a split second of silence. and it's not the silence you hear outside in the summertime

when the crickets are out. it's literally the silence of death all around you. once the silence stopped, my ears started ringing very, very loud and i started screaming. >> from her hospital bed, sari makes a statement. >> if i leave, if i'm afraid, the palestinians win. i had shrapnel go through my shoulder breaking my shoulder bone. both my eardrums were shattered from the blast. my legs were badly cut up, my hair was burned. my face was burned and bruised. >> sari stays in the hospital for more than a week but she knows she's lucky. >> if i had not taken that seat next to the window, i definitely wouldn't be here because everyone standing around me did not survive the attack. >> 16 people are killed that day. more than 100 others injured. just six weeks earlier 50 miles away in tel aviv, another bomb goes off. >> how can they do this? how can they do this?

[ sirens ] >> april 30th, 2003, just after midnight. seconds after an explosion. >> i was laying in a puddle of beer and blood and broken glass. this is the closest i've ever come to death. >> when the blast goes off, filmmaker jack baxter is finishing up a shoot on his documentary called "blues by the beach" about this unique bar in tel aviv. >> we started doing a documentary about mike's place. and the waitresses, the bartenders, to try to get that perspective. pretty much stay out of the politics. >> i want y'all to take care of the people here in the house, the waitresses, the bartenders.

this is a song about freedom. >> mike's place is where people come to escape the tension of a country too often torn apart by terrorism. the bar has an international feel. nearly everyone speaks english and talking about politics and religion is discouraged. >> a good bartender knows how to get out of it eloquently. a good line is, are we still talking about sex? >> jack has chosen mike's place as the subject of his documentary to show how israelis are coping with the violence. >> why not? >> over the course of just two weeks, jack has become close friends with the owner, the bartender, avi who works security and dominique, a 24-year-old waitress from france who has dreams of opening her own pastry shop. >> she really affected me and i guess the film shows what she's like. >> if things are going well i

see myself maybe having my own little coffee shop things or selling case to half of tel aviv buying my cakes. >> it is jack's last night in israel. he's having a beer at a table outside saying his good-byes. >> dominique was sitting next to me. that's when one of the suicide bombers came up and tried to get into the place. >> avi, the security guard, has a bad feeling when 21-year-old asif hanik walks up. >> the guy was a little bit too quick in his pace. suicide bombings were going on all the time at that particular time. so we both looked at each other and froze. >> hanik is strapped with plastic explosives when avi kicks him in the chest to keep him from entering the crowded bar. >> and the next thing i can barely remember is this guy stepping back up onto the sidewalk and yelling. >> as hanik stumbles backwards, he blows himself up.

the explosion sends jack flying into the front window. >> the next thing i know i'm in the hospital and it is three days later. >> he's hurt but he's going to be fine. you saved a lot of people's lives that night. >> avi is critically wounded but is hailed as a national hero. >> who knows how many people would have been killed in that small space, so he saved literally a hundred lives. >> why mike's place? >> well, i think mike's place represents the best that this part of the world has to offer. >> just weeks earlier the suicide bombers at mike's place

asif and omar record this video about their plan to kill as many as possible. >> the real terrorists are the israelis. they are real sickos. it's a great honor to kill all of these people. it's a great honor. >> jack's burned face heals but he still suffers from some of his other injuries. >> frank and jack. partially paralyzed right down the middle. i also both of my eardrums blown out. i had two operations on that. they grafted a piece from my neck into my ear. >> two musicians playing that night and dominique the french waitress sitting right next to jack are killed. another 55 people are injured. the second suicide bomber inexplicably disappears before achieving his goal. >> he dropped his bomb belt and

took off. and there was a big manhunt in israel. he was found 12 days later floating in the port of tel aviv. ♪ >> for those who lived through this suicide attack, the close call with death is impossible to forget. >> after the cameras go and after the crowd disperses, you're the one that's left with mental pictures and pain. but you learn to live with it. coming up, out of fuel over the water and nowhere near an airport. >> that's a very dangerous scenario. the plane can end up falling apart. >> when "caught on camera: life or death" continues. yup. let's put it to the test. all right! hot dog eating contest? [ laughs ]

look at that price! nice! that's the thing! walmart checks thousands of competitors' prices every week. i like that! onward! charcoal. if someone else advertises a lower price, walmart will match it at the register. i didn't know that. i'm full of good ideas! okay. not so much muscle! all right, you ready? mm-hmm. that's incredible! that's the walmart low price guarantee! bring your last grocery receipt to walmart and see for yourself. whoa! hey, we got a weather alert for this location... golf-ball sized hail and damaging winds are on the way... kids... eh, don't worry. it's tornado-proof. anyway, i'd put the car in the garage and secure these things. they could become flying debris. kids! watch this. [ beep ] [ children screaming ] [ car alarm chirps ] awesome. [ male announcer ] mobile weather alerts from your home insurance? that's allstate home insurance. great protection plus helpful tools to make life better. talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ] and let the good life in. what makes a sleep number what makes a sleep number store different? you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those.

if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. the sleep number memorial day sale. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. this is your body there. you can see a little more pressure in the hips. take it up one notch. oh gosh, yes. oh, yeah! they had no idea that when they came to a sleep number store, we were going to diagnose their problems and help them sleep better. and right now save on the closeout of our classic special edition bed set. just $1299-a savings of $600-and discover the only memory foam bed with dual air adjustability. plus 36 month financing on all beds through memorial day only. once you experience it there's no going back. wow. don't invest in a mattress until you you find your sleep number setting. only at the sleep number store. sleep number, comfort individualized. available out there. i knew devry university would give me the skills that i needed to make one of those tech jobs mine. we teach cutting-edge engineering technology,

computer information systems, networking and communications management -- the things that our students need to know in the world today. our country needs more college grads to help fill all the open technology jobs. to help meet that need, here at devry university, we're offering $4 million dollars in tech scholarships for qualified new students. learn more at devry.edu. for qualified new students. the math of retirement is different today.ek. money has to last longer. i don't want to pour over pie charts all day. i want to travel, and i want the income to do it. ishares incomes etfs. low cost and diversified. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

and airplane flying over the pacific has run out of fuel and is about to go down. >> it is a very dangerous scenario. >> it's called ditching in flight lingo. and in this precarious life or death situation, it is anybody's guess if the pilot who is the only person onboard would survive. the flight brings back memories of the miracle on the hudson in january 2009, when a bird strike knocks out both engines on us airways flight 1549. amazingly all 155 passengers and crew onboard survive, but no one can guarantee an outcome as smooth as this textbook landing. friday, october 7th, 2011, the pilot of this cessna 310 engine plane radios a distress call. he's just more than halfway through a 2300-mile flight from monterey, california, to hilo airport on hawaii's big island

when he realizes he's low on fuel and desperately needs help. u.s. coast guard pilot lieutenant eric modjeska is called in to intercept the cessna and coordinate a rescue. >> we took off to go intercept the pilot and escort him into the crash site. >> modjeska and his hercules c-130 are dispatched from barbara's point on hawaii's oahu island. this long-range search and rescue plane is equipped with state-of-the-art cameras housed in this dome attached below the nose of the airplane. operators from inside the plane can zoom in and track vessels and planes for miles around. once modjeska reaches the distressed pilot, they are still 350 miles off the coast. >> we followed him for about an hour and a half. >> and it's still unclear if the cessna will make it to land. >> i did not think that he was going to make it based on what he was telling us with the

amount of fuel that was in his tanks and the speed he was getting. i knew it was going to be close. >> after flying side-by-side for 90 minutes, it becomes obvious he's not going to make it. but will the pilot survive the crash into the open seas? >> it's a very dangerous scenario. luckily, his type of airplane is capable of flying very slow, it's very light, it really is the ideal type of airplane to ditch into the water. >> modjeska gives the cessna pilot instructions on how best to ditch the plane. >> to make sure his wings were level, his descent was minimized and his rate of speed was correct when entering the water. we had him put on his life jacket and had him brace for impact with his life raft in front of him to provide cushioning and we had him jet in the open escape hatch to exit the plane quickly out onto the wing. >> but if things don't go exactly as planned -- >> the plane can end up falling apart.

>> if that happens, the pilot is in far greater danger of being seriously injured or killed. the pilot prepares for a crash landing and now the plane is out of fuel. just 13 miles from land, it hits the water hard. >> it's like hitting a brick wall. so it's a very abrupt, and you can see in the video, too, he makes a sharp almost 180-degree turn at the end. it's a violent forward-throwing scenario. >> it's a tense moment as the spray from the impact settles it reveals the first good sign, the plane has not broken into pieces. but there's no more radio communication from the pilot and the plane won't stay afloat for long. rescue choppers are now racing towards the aircraft, which is bobbing in the swells. as modjeska and his crew stay on site and circle the wreck, they hope for the best. then, after about 25 seconds, you can see the pilot crawling out of the hatch.

he stands on the wing of his crippled cessna to wait for help. >> the helicopter was on scene ready for the pickup. >> the coast guard helicopter arrives and a rescue swimmer drops into the choppy water. >> it took seven minutes from when the plane entered the water to when the helicopter hoisted the man into the helicopter. >> watch as the rescue swimmer holds onto the basket even after it leaves the water with the pilot secured inside. >> the rescue swimmer holds on to the basket and drags his fins a little bit behind the basket to try to stabilize it as it goes up to the helicopter. >> once the rescued pilot and the coast guard swimmer are both safe inside the helicopter, it's mission accomplished. and the lieutenant stays on the scene just long enough to watch the cessna disappear. >> the plane had sunk about 10 to 15 minutes after it entered the water. so it was a very good thing that the helicopter was on the scene at the time. >> the pilot is uninjured but shaken up and taken to an area hospital.

>> he was very grateful that when he said just seeing the plane when we established a formation up on him to escort him in, he really knew he had a lot of support. >> but perhaps the luckiest coincidence for both pilots is a training session that rehearsed this exact life or death ditching scenario less than 24 hours earlier. >> one of the scenarios we were specifically training for was a small airplane running out of gas and falling short of the hawaiian island chain. and the next day we had that actual scenario take place. >> and for a coast guard pilot, it's a proud moment. when all the training and preparation is put to the test. >> it's very rewarding, especially when you see a scenario you have practiced before. that's when it all comes together. coming up, one man's terror -- >> we'll try to put you down to the spot right there to the left of him. >> hope to god it works. >> is another man's thrill. >> whoo!

>> when "caught on camera: life or death" continues. a french fr. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. 100% vegetable juice, with three of your daily vegetable servings in every little bottle. the day building a play set begins with a surprise twinge of back pain... and a choice. take up to 4 advil in a day or 2 aleve for all day relief. [ male announcer ] that's handy. ♪

woman: everyone in the nicu -- all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment. i wouldn't trade him for the world. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. if you're caring for a child with special needs, our innovative special care program

july 1994, a day on the beach at the pacific coast goes all wrong when a swimmer starts a perilous climb up this cliff. he's hanging out on a deserted cove when the tide comes in and blocks the beach access off. he tries to climb over a 200-foot cliff. wearing just shorts and sneakers he gets about 150 feet above the rocky shoreline when he panics and freezes clutching to the side of the mountain. what starts out as a relaxing day trip is now a life or death rescue mission. a four-man team from the u.s. coast guard is called and leaves its station in astoria, oregon.

helicopter pilot lieutenant don taylor. >> basically we start out with the aircraft commander, the co-pilot, the flight medic and the rescue swimmer. >> flying at 140 miles per hour the crew gets to the scene in just a few minutes. the flight mechanic and rescue swimmer assess the situation to come up with a plan. >> basically looking at the situation that you've got on the cliff, they are making a decision as to how to get the rescue swimmer down and how to get him from point a to point b and ultimately point c to where the victim is. >> do you want me to try to push you down to a certain spot there to the left of him. >> that's kosher and i'll walk down to five feet below the guy, walk over and come up underneath him. >> hope to god it works for him. >> all right, no problems. we're ready for deployment.

he will never even get close to the water. instead, he will make his way slowly to the climber. instead, he'll stay tethered to the hoist cable and make his way slowly to the stranded climber. as he's lowered into position, the pilot is conscious of the wind generated by the helicopter blades, which can be enough to blow the climber right off his precarious perch. >> we want to put the rescue swimmer to either side of the victim. and we also want to put the rescue swimmer slightly below the victim on the side of the cliff. >> the man has been clutching to the cliff for two hours when the swimmer makes contact well below him. scared and exhausted, his hands have practically gone numb from holding on. >> easy forward. easy forward. right five feet. he's starting to put the strap around.

your position is good. >> finally with a strap around the stranded climber, the rescue swimmer gives his pilot the signal to pull away from the cliff. >> prepare to take the load. i'm taking the load. left 50 feet. >> we want to get away from the cliff as safe and as quick as possible. we want to get the rescue swimmer and the victim over the water or close to the shoreline there with the surf is in case anything was to happen. >> bring the swimmer up. the swimmer is just outside the door. moving in. moving in. >> safe inside the helicopter, it takes just a few minutes to land nearby. tired and dirty, this cliffhanger has a happy ending. while most people try and avoid these types of life or death situations, some actually seek them out flirting with danger at

death-defying heights. >> you just have to find your own way through it from point a to point b. >> this is 24-year-old meche sameda who travels the world to places like california's yosemite national park. >> i'm going to do it. >> meche is one of two people ever to concur task point without a safety harness. a 99-foot walk on a one-inch thick nylon rope. a vertigo induced 6900 feet over yosemite valley. remember, this is without any safety gear. >> whoo! >> meche is considered one of the best high-line slack liners both with and without a safety harness. >> the feeling is amazing because you control yourself. and if you lose focus, it's getting dangerous. >> slack lining has been around for decades. this video from 1938 in india shows a man balancing on a loose

bouncy rope, hence the name slack line. these names the line meche walks is more taught and he takes the sport to new heights. once the nylon rope is stretched and anchored, meche gets to work. he makes it look easy but make no mistake, it's not. even members of meche's entourage all use a harness. ♪ >> meche keeps his fear of falling in check. >> fear is not good. you if you don't know how to control fear, it's becoming way more dangerous. >> green lake, austria, meche traverses a distant world record, 525-foot 12-minute walk over the icy cold green lake. >> it's really cold.

it's about 45, 48 degrees. >> it's the longest slack line ever attempted in europe. getting past the midway the lowest point of the line is the hardest. >> you have to like control your breathing, your body. hear into yourself, your mind is collecting so deep with your body, with your muscles, with everything. you feel the energy. >> also in austria a walk 12,000 feet high through the clouds across two of the highest peaks in europe. for most people, it's plain and simple terror. but for meche, it's just a warm-up. back in the u.s., he craves a tougher challenge and finds it.

like in oregon's aptly named monkey face, another successful ramble without the aid of any kind of safety harness. >> i think it is less dangerous than driving a car. >> this daredevil doesn't just walk from one end to the other, when he gets close to the other side he does his signature move. kneeling on the line he puts his hands together as if praying and actually shuts his eyes. >> i go like this and close my eyes for one second. it's an amazing feel. it is just something that i want to say thank you. >> it's inconceivable for most of us and yet even in near darkness meche is completely unphased. >> i got it! yea! there's more to life. it is just those limit moments.

around the country -- >> put that gun down or i will kill you! >> -- police officers are trained to expect the unexpected. from harrowing high speed chases. >> if we got into an accident at those speeds, somebody usually gets terminated. >> to terrifying traffic stops. >> i really thought he was going to run. i certainly had no idea that he feels about to pull a gun. >> one officer's chilling encounter on a bridge. >> he kind of crawled up my body, bit part of my eyebrow off.