ATC alerts "Fireflash"s Captain Hanson, who tells Norman that the shield around the airliner's nuclear reactor requires regular servicing and that if "Fireflash" does not land within two hours everyone on board will die of radiation exposure. ATC commandeers a military plane that docks with "Fireflash" in the air, allowing Lieutenant Bob Meddings to gain access through a service hatch and attempt to remove the bomb. The operation ends disastrously when Meddings loses his grip and falls out of the plane, deploying his parachute just moments before hitting the ground.