Apr. 28, 2010: Volcano with a view

AS A COLLEGE GRADUATION GIFT,

JOHN KITTEL GAVE HIS SON

BENJAMIN A TRIP TO ICELAND.

WHAT THEY BOTH GOT WAS AN

ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME.

SO WHILE EUROPEAN AIR TRAVEL

WAS AT A STAND STILL, JOHN AND

BENJAMIN WERE ON A HELICOPTER

HEADED STRAIGHT TOWARDS THE

THICK SPEWING ASH CLOUD.

BENJAMIN CAPTURED THIS VIDEO,

SHOWING THE ASH DRENCHED AIR

SPACE HOVERING OVER THE

ERUPTING VOLCANO.

AFTER THE HELICOPTER RIDE, THE

TWO FOUND A SPOT TO WATCH THE

VOLCANO CLOUD FROM LAND.

SPENDING NINE HOURS TAKING IT

ALL IN.

AND JOHN KITTEL, YOU'RE FROM

STUR BRIDGE, RIGHT?

>> STURBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

>> SO WHEN DID YOU GET THERE?

DID IT ERUPT AFTER YOU GOT

THERE?

>> WE GOT THERE A WEEK PRIOR

TO THAT DAY THAT WE TOOK THAT

FOOTAGE.

IT WAS, THERE WAS A SMALL

ERUPTION THAT HAD ALREADY

STARTED IN A DIFFERENT PLACE,

THOUGH.

AND SO WHEN WE HEARD ABOUT

THAT WE HAD MADE SOME PLANS TO

VISIT THE SMALLER ERUPTION, OR

ACTUALLY TOUR COMPANIES

BRINGING TOURISTS THERE

BECAUSE IT WAS A GREAT THING

TO SEE.

THERE WERE A LOT OF FOUNTAINS

SPOUTING UP THAT WERE ON THE

END OF A GLACIER.

>> AT THAT POINT PEOPLE

WEREN'T CONCERNED ABOUT FLYING

BECAUSE IT WAS ESSENTIALLY

LOCATED IN THE COUNTRY THERE.

>> YES, VERY SMALL AND

CONTAINED AND NO ASH.

AND WE DIDN'T GO ANYWHERE

BECAUSE IT RAINED THE ENTIRE

WEEK THAT WE WERE THERE.

ALTHOUGH WE HAD A GREAT VISIT

AND ENJOYED THE ISLAND

TREMENDOUSLY, MANY BEAUTIFUL

THINGS TO DO IF YOU LIKE THE

OUTDOORS.

AND RAKE YEAH VIC IS A

WONDERFUL CITY.

>> WE HAVE OTHER PICTURES THAT

HAVE BEEN SPEEDED UP HERE, BUT

YOUR SON TOOK MOST OF THE

VIDEO.

WERE YOU WORRIED AT ALL FLYING

INTO THIS THING?

>> NO.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT NOW?

>> WE ARE LOOKING AT SOMEBODY

JUST WALKING BY, ONE OF THE

MEMBERS OF THE PRESS WALKING

BY AS THE ERUPTION WAS GOING

ON.

AND THIS IS THE ERUPTION

SPEEDED UP A LITTLE BIT.

WE'RE ABOUT A MILE AWAY HERE.

IF YOU WERE TO SEE AN AIRPLANE

FLYING BY THAT ERUPTION, IT

WOULD SIMPLY LOOK LIKE A SPEC

OF DUST, TO GIVE YOU A SENSE

OF THE SCALE.

>> THE HEIGHT OF THAT CLOUD.

>> IT WAS ABOUT FIVE MILES

HIGH AT THIS POINT.

>> YOU'RE IN A CLEAR SPACE

RIGHT NOW.

BUT COULD YOU FEEL THE RESIDUE

OF THE ASH EVEN THOUGH IT WAS

BLOWING SOMEWHERE ELSE?

>> NOT AT ALL, YOU HAD NO

SENSE THAT ANYTHING WAS GOING

ON OTHER THAN WHAT YOU COULD

SEE.

>> YOU JUST SOED ME A MAP OF

THE ISLAND, AND MOST OF THE

ISLAND WAS TOTALLY CLEAR.

IT WAS BLOWING ONE DIRECTION

AND NOT ON THE ISLAND.

>> MOST OF THE ASH WAS GOING

OFF THE ISLAND.

THERE WERE SOME FARMERS WHOSE

FARMS WERE DAMAGED BY THE ASH.

AND THEN THERE WERE THREE

DIFFERENT FLOODS THAT OCCURRED

WHILE THIS WAS HAPPENING

BECAUSE THE ERUPTION STARTED

UNDERNEATH A GLACIER.

SO WHEN THE FLAISHER MELTED IT

CAUSED FLOODING.

>> I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT, THAT

THIS VOLCANO WAS ACTUALLY

UNDERNEATH A GLACIER WHEN IT

STARTED.

>> YES.

AND HOW CLOSE COULD YOU GET?

DID YOU SEE THE LIGHTNING AND

THAT KIND OF STUFF?

>> WE SAW A NUMBER OF

LIGHTNING BOLTS.

WE STAYED UNTIL IT BEGAN TO

GET DARK BECAUSE WE WERE

AFRAID THAT AFTER DARK WE

WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SENSE THE

CHANGE IN THE WIND DIRECTION.

WE WERE A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT,

COULD THE ASH DRIFT OVER ON US

AND WOULD IT BE SAFE TO STAY

THERE.

MANY MEMBERS OF THE PRESS

STAYED TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE

LIGHTNING.

>> WERE YOU WORRY AT ALL

FLYING INTO THIS THING?

>> NO.

BECAUSE ICE LAB HAS VOLCANOS

ERUPTING ALMOST AT LEAST ONCE

EVERY FOUR YEARS.

THEY HAVE A TREMENDOUS

UNIVERSITY THAT STUDIES

ERUPTIONS, PROBABLY ONE OF THE

GREAT CENTERS OF KNOWLEDGE

ABOUT THIS.

AND WE WERE IN A WEATHER FRONT

WHERE THERE WAS A VERY STRONG

AND CONSTANT WIND PATTERN, SO

WE KNEW THAT AS LONG AS THE

HELICOPTER STAYED UPWIND FROM

THE VOLCANO, THE ASH WOULDN'T

BE A PROBLEM.

AND A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE SO

AFRAID OF THESE THINGS BECAUSE

OF MOUNT ST. HELENS WHICH WAS

AN EXPLOSIVE VOLCANO, AND

THERE WERE WARNINGS ABOUT THAT

EXPLOSION FOR ALMOST NINE

MONTHS BEFORE IT OCCURRED.

WHERE AS HERE THIS WAS PRETTY

WELL STUDIED THAT IT WAS GOING

TO BE AN ASH CLOUD.

SO WE DIDN'T FEEL NERVOUS

ABOUT IT.

MY SON WAS AFRAID, HE'D NEVER

BEEN IN A HELICOPTER BEFORE.

>> THAT CAN BE NERVE WRACKING.

THE CONSISTENCY OF THE ASH

THOUGH, THE REASON THEY WERE,

THEY GROUNDED ALL THE FLIGHTS

WAS THAT THERE CAN BE CHUNKS

OF STUFF IN THIS ASH, CORRECT?

>> YES.

EVERYTHING FROM VERY FINE

PARTICLES OF SILICA, TO WE

WERE SEEING BOULDERS THE SIZE

OF A BUILDING.

>> IN THE ASH.

>> LIFTED UP.

WHEN YOU SEE THIS BLACK CLOUD,

THAT BLACK SECTION THERE, THAT

CONSISTS OF BOTH ASH AND THEN

DIRT.

AND AS THAT BLACK WAS KICKING

UP, THERE WERE CHUNKS OF ASH

AND DIRT THAT WERE THE SIZE OF

A BUILDING.

>> YOU MUST HAVE BEEN THRILLED

TO BE THERE.

IT'S A HORRIBLE THING TO SAY,

BUT WHAT AN EXPERIENCE.

>> YOU HAD MIXED FEELINGS,

BECAUSE YOU FELT SO BAD FOR

THE PEOPLE WHO HAD ILL EFFECTS

FROM THIS, THE FARMERS WHOSE

FARMS WERE FLOODED OR RUINED

BY THE ASH, YET IT WAS SO

AWESOME TO SEE NATURE.

AND THIS IS A LAND OF NATURAL

EXTREMES.

>> DID YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH

TRAVEL GETTING BACK OUT?

>> WE HAD ABSOLUTELY NO TRAVEL

PROBLEMS.

WE GOT TO BOSTON EARLY ON OUR

RETURN TRIP, WE GOT TO ICE

LAND ON TIME.

>> SO THERE WAS NO PROBLEM

WITH YOU LEAVING THE COUNTRY?

>> NONE.

BECAUSE ICE LAND'S AIRPORT IS

UPWIND.

>> AND IT COULD GO ANYWHERE.

>> THEY HAD NO TRAVEL

RESTRICTIONS, THERE'S ONLY ONE

DAY THEIR AIRPORT WAS CLOSED

AS A RESULT OF THIS AND IT'S

BEEN ERUPTING CONTINUOUSLY

SINCE THREE DAYS BEFORE THE

OWE

>> IS IT STILL SPOUTING?

>> YES, BUT MUCH LESS.

AND NOW IT STARTING TO SPOUT

SOME LAVA AND THEY SAY THAT'S

A SIGN OF THE ERUPTION

CHANGING ITS NATURE.

HADN'T DONE A LOT OF LAVA YET.

>> THAT STUFF IS REALLY

AWESOME.

>> WE COULD SEE SOME LAVA

COMING UP INSIDE THE CREATER

FROM THE HELICOPTER, BUT THAT

WAS ALL.

>> WHAT IS YOUR SON GOING TO

DO WITH ALL THIS VIDEO?

>> GIVE IT TO YOU.

>> WE'D APPRECIATE HAVING IT

TOO.

ALL RIGHT, JOHN KITTEL, THANKS

A LOT, APPRECIATE YOUR COMING.

THAT IS IT FOR "GREATER

BOSTON".

TUNE IN TO THE NEW 89.7 WGBH

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FOLLOWED BY CALLY CROSSLEY AT

1:00.

TOMORROW NIGHT STEVE GROSS MAN

AND DAVID REMNICK WITH HIS NEW

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THAT'S TOMORROW AT 7:00.

I'M EMILY ROONEY.

GOOD NIGHT.