Testing The Sidewinder[]
The U.S. Army is testing a new path-clearing, mobile base called the Sidewinder in the African jungle when the ground below it begins to crumble and collapse. The Sidewinder has strayed onto a World War 2 landfill covered by a thin crust of soil which caves in under the machine's immense weight.
The old ordnance in the pit bursts into flame as the Sidewinder falls in, threatening the lives of the crew when the power fails and the internal cooling system shuts down, but the vehicle has fallen onto its side and is unable to climb out.
Into The Pit[]
A supervising Army helijet lowers two men into the pit: one to get below the smoke to determine the Sidewinder's situation, another to attach a cable to its leg. Both men suffer severe burns and are rushed to hospital in the helijet while the more powerful helicopter pulls the cable in an attempt to right the Sidewinder. Their efforts are in vain when the cable detaches itself before the Sidewinder is properly on its feet and falls back onto its side.
Despairing, General Peters comments that without heavy lifting gear it will be impossible to effect a rescue, which reminds Lieutenant Ralph of International Rescue. They radio a call for help which is picked up by Thunderbird 5.
Thunderbirds On Stand-By[]
In reality, International Rescue had been monitoring the situation since the disaster first occurred, but Jeff had not launched the Thunderbirds at the risk of intruding on a confidential mission. Instead, he has Scott in Thunderbird 1 and Virgil and Brains in Thunderbird 2 ready for immediate launch in case their help is needed. When John reports that a call for help has been received, Thunderbirds 1 and 2 launch and make their way to the danger zone.
Brains Devises A Strategy[]
The General is growing impatient, anxious about the fate of his trapped men. His concerns are well founded. Deep below, the Sidewinder's hull starts to crack under the heat intensity. As smoke starts pouring into the machine, the crew do what they can to keep the machine stable. They turn their air conditioning and cooling plant up to maximum, plug the holes with rags and get tissues to cover their faces. Unfortunately, fate seems to be against them. The rags constantly catch fire and despite their best efforts, smoke continues to pour into the control room. With the cooling plant and air conditioning now running low, Frank, to Sweeney's horror, passes out from a combination of smoke inhilation and heat exhaustion. International Rescue needs to act and fast.
Fortunately, Scott is on the way, with Virgil and Brains not far behind. After arriving on the scene, Scott talks to General Peters about the situation. Realising that they needed more infomation, he sends his Remote-Control Hover Camera into the pit, relaying the video to Brains in Thunderbird 2. After watching the video, the International Rescue scientist realises what has happened and comes up with a plan on how to rescue the Sidewinder and her crew. With the aid of a diagram, he explains the situation to the Tracy brothers.
It turns out that the Sidewinder has fallen into a disused mine that was later used as landfill site, where military equipment was dumped following the end of WWII. The pit was originally filled in but over the years, some of the rubbish caught fire, burning and melting away the rest of the equipment. This left a big underground cavern, with the fires still burning and a thin crust of top soil overhead. The Sidewinder unwittingly walked across the thinest part of this crust layer, where her sheer weight caused it to collapse.
History lesson over, Brains tells them his plan. The first step is to destroy the rest of the crust layer, with a series of carefully placed explosions. This will not only remove the barrier but create a ramp, which they can use to drag the Sidewinder out of the pit. After relaying his instructions, the Tracy brothers set to work.
Recovery Vehicles In Action[]
The first step of the plan has the Army helicopter lower Virgil into the pit to lay the charges. Unlike the helijet crew, however, Virgil is wearing a fire safety suit and although the heat is barely tolerable, he is able to lay the charges without issue. Scott then retrieves Virgil using the Mole. Once the Mole is safely out of the way, Brains detonates the charges. Seeing these explosions, the General (not knowing it is part of International Rescue's plan) yells at them. The Sidewinders safety features will expire at any moment. They need to do something now!
Fortunately, Virgil is already in position. With the obstruction removed, he takes the two Recovery Vehicles to the edge of the pit and fires down several electro-magnetic cables, which attach themselves to the Sidewinder. Virgil then puts the Recovery Vehicles in reverse and with a loud groan, the Sidewinder finally starts to move. Unfortunately, the rescue does not go as smoothly as everybody would like, The Remote Control Recovery Vehicle 2, encounters traction issues and frequently skids in the soft sand. Worse still one of Recovery Vehicle 1's cables falls off mid-rescue, forcing Virgil to return to the side of the pit and reattach it. Fortunately, the cable is not damaged and the operation resumes.
As the Sidewinder nears the edge of the pit, Recovery Vehicle 2 slips again, but manages to recover. A moment later, the Sidewinder emerges with the International Rescue machines pulling her clear of the pit and its raging inferno. The metal groans loudly as it comes into contact with the much cooler desert air and the same cracks that let smoke in now let it out. Colonel Sweeney has just enough time to realise that he and the others are safe, before he too passes out.
Crisis Averted[]
When Sweeney regains consciousness, he, Frank and Johnny have all been safely moved onto a medical helicopter, which is ready to take them to hospital. As Brains and Virgil pack up their equipment, Scott pays a visit to the Sidewinders crew. Sweeney and Johnny both express their gratitude, which Scott happily accepts. Frank unfortunatey is still unconcious, but Sweeney assures Scott he'll recover. On behalf of himself and his comrades, Sweeney thanks Scott for saving their lives.
As Thunderbird 2 heads back to Tracy Island and the medical helicopter takes the soldiers to hospital, General Peters and Scott stand in the shadow of the badly singed Sidewinder. The General is over the moon. Although she is damaged, the Sidewinder, now in the care of army technicians, can be can be repaired and best of all, there were no casualties. Scott accepts his thanks before returning to Thunderbird 1. As Peter's tells Ralph how he wishes the International Rescue Boys were part of his force, Thunderbird 1 and the U.S. Army helicopter take off, heading back to their respective bases.