Episodes

Countdown to Collision: Airport UK

With 200,000 tonnes of freight passing through it every year, Stansted is one of Europe’s busiest cargo hubs.

Countdown to Collision: Mega Port Rotterdam

With 430 million tons of cargo passing through its harbours every year, Rotterdam Port is the biggest in Europe.

Countdown to Collision: Troll A Norway

Sitting in the North Sea, 65 kilometres off Norway, Troll A is one of the biggest gas platforms in the world.

Countdown to Collision: Mega Dam Brazil

The World’s most powerful hydroelectric dam, Itaipu, lies on the jungle-covered border between Brazil and Paraguay.

Countdown to Collision: Mega Mine Australia

At 600 metres deep and nearly 4 kilometres long, Super Pit is the biggest open mine in Australia.

Countdown to Collision: Arctic Icebreaker

In the Arctic Circle, a highly advanced ship, the Timofey Guzhenko, risks heavy ice and treacherous conditions to reach the world’s Northernmost oil offloading platform.

Countdown to Collision: Sao Paulo Metro - Metro de Sao Paulo

This film follows the hard-pressed team of metro workers as they race against the clock to get everyone to work on time.

Countdown to Collision: Cargo Train

This documentary follows the dynamic team of railway workers as they race against the clock to get the three kilometre-long train to the port on time.

The Series

From the extreme heat of an Australian Gold Mine, to the bitter cold of an oil-carrying Russian Icebreaker; from the explosive dangers on a Norwegian Gas Platform, to the mighty power of one of the world’s most powerful Dams in Brazil; from Europe’s busiest shipping port, to one of the UK’s busiest airports – this series explores engineering innovation as it has never been seen before.  

We explore how clever inventions avert disaster in these superstructures as workers race against time to complete a succession of complex missions. These men and women face some of the greatest challenges of their careers as they blast for gold, pump gas from the bottom of the ocean, transfer oil across ice-covered seas and turn around massive container ships and cargo planes.

Shot on three continents, and in some of the toughest conditions on earth, this series takes an inside look at the vast engineering systems that make the modern world work.

Each film explores six or seven key inventions that assist workers complete the tasks before them. With the clocks ticking and deadlines imminent, each innovation is put through its paces – from laser scanners that help pilots park planes, to sensors that detect deadly vibrations in dams, machines that speed through gas pipes checking for faults and cameras that can detect if a driver is falling asleep at the wheel. 

Stunning CGI animation explores the inner workings of these amazing innovations while dramatic archive explores the events that led to famous disasters in history. This series follows the workers involved as they battle against time and use these remarkable innovations – trying to avert a COUNTDOWN TO COLLISION.

Credits
Executive Producer
Series Producer
Production Manager
Production Co-Ordinator
Narrator
6x60' for Quest for Quest