Legendary Captain

Chapter 111 Both Engines Fail (Please Subscribe!)

Thanks to his keen senses as a pilot, Xu Xian noticed the problem almost immediately after the engine shut down.

Moments later, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the cockpit, undoubtedly emanating from Chen Qi. Unlike Xu Xian, who was merely stunned, Chen Qi was clearly unable to accept the engine failure at 10,000 meters altitude.

Compared to Xu Xian, Chen Qi's mental fortitude is still lacking!

"What's wrong?" The flight attendant couldn't help but feel a sense of unease upon hearing the sudden screams from the cockpit.

"What's wrong?" Xu Xian quickened his pace, pulling open the cockpit door with one hand. Only his words remained in the space: "We're going to die."

The flight attendant was about to close the door after Xu Xian entered the cockpit. However, when they tried to push the door open, it wouldn't budge. Instead, Xu Xian poked his head out and said, "Keep an eye on the entrance. The security officer needs to come in."

The moment Xu Xian entered the cockpit, he was stunned by what he saw. The captain was slumped over his seat, head tilted to the side, seemingly unconscious.

The passenger in the front seat was also sizing him up, and his first words were, "Second engine stalled, you take over!"

Xu Xian was inwardly cursing. Wasn't the co-pilot supposed to be in good spirits? Didn't he know the second engine had stalled? Why was his first word to hand over control? Was he in such a hurry?

As expected, my worries about the cockpit were justified. Luckily, he came in; otherwise, handing myself over to a co-pilot like that would have been disastrous.

Chen Qi had been a hands-off manager for too long, and seeing the person taking over come in, he was actually preparing to get up and make room for Xu Xian.

Faced with Chen Qi's unbelievable behavior, Xu Xian was truly amazed. With the captain still unconscious and one engine out of commission, how could he dare entrust the controls to a newcomer?

While autopilot can be used in single-engine mode, the aircraft remains highly unstable and requires constant adjustments to control inputs by the pilot. In this situation, if Chen Qi were to hand over control to Xu Xian, what if a significant deviation occurs during the time it takes for Xu Xian to get up and sit down?

Self-driving cars are not a panacea! Those who believe in the omnipotence of self-driving cars will not have a good ending.

Of course, this is only a possibility, and it doesn't mean it will definitely happen. However, Xu Xian felt that he only had one life, and he dared not and did not want to put his life under any possible danger.

"Wait a moment, I'll have the security officer remove the captain from the plane," Xu Xian said in a deep voice. "Get the aircraft under control, and I'll take over the controls immediately."

Xu Xian's demeanor was completely unlike that of a trainee; rather, it was like that of a seasoned captain giving orders with confidence, naturally inspiring trust.

Upon hearing Xu Xian's words, Chen Qi instantly realized that there was a gap in the control transition, and that he had been too hasty and appeared somewhat unprofessional. He hummed in agreement and then fell silent, focusing on piloting the aircraft.

For the 737, while a single engine can provide sufficient power, it has its limits. As is well known, the air becomes thinner with increasing altitude. Above a certain altitude, the power provided by a single engine will be insufficient to maintain the aircraft's cruise capability. This critical altitude is the single-engine ceiling, the maximum altitude achievable with a single engine.

This critical altitude is not static; it is affected by many factors, and the single-engine ceiling and drift rate can be obtained from the CDU.

Generally speaking, the single-engine ceiling of a 737 should be between 7,500 and 7,800 meters. This is an estimate and is bound to have some margin of error. However, even if the error is large, it cannot exceed 10,000 meters, so the aircraft is certainly not in a state where it can maintain cruise.

Just as Xu Xian had predicted, Chen Qi tried his best to maintain the aircraft's cruising altitude after adjusting the rudder, but this was simply an unattainable hope.

After stabilizing the cruising altitude, Chen Qi prepared to engage autopilot. This was correct, but he failed to notice that while stabilizing the altitude, the speed was gradually decreasing.

This means that you have to sacrifice either altitude or speed; you can't maintain both simultaneously. However, speed can't keep decreasing, otherwise, once it reaches the stick-jumping speed, the aircraft will begin to stall.

Xu Xianzhen never imagined that there were pilots who were so reckless and disregarded their own safety. They managed to maintain the altitude, but what about the speed?

Just as Xu Xian was about to offer a word of warning, the safety officer leaned halfway in and glanced into the cockpit, instantly sending chills down his spine.

The captain appears to be unconscious.

"What's wrong with the captain?" The security officer's tongue was slightly tied.

Xu Xian, however, remained calm and composed: "Move the captain to first class; I want to sit there."

"Oxygen was administered, he must have been overcome by the smoke. The first-class cabin is now separated from the rear cabin, and unauthorized personnel are not allowed to approach the front cabin," Xu Xian added at the end.

Xu Xianzheng possessed a natural leadership quality and an air of authority, commanding the situation with the composure of a captain.

The safety officer hesitated, glancing at Chen Qi. Seeing the officer remain motionless, Chen Qi turned his head and found the officer staring at him. He immediately flew into a rage and roared, "What are you looking at? Listen to him!"

The security officer realized that the only person who could carry weight on the plane now was this young man who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. So, without further hesitation, he unbuckled the captain's seatbelt, placed his hands under the captain's ribs, and prepared to lift the captain up.

Xu Xian's attention was diverted by the appearance of the safety officer, and he neglected to pay attention to the change in airspeed.

When Xu Xian came to his senses, he broke out in a cold sweat. The plane's airspeed was already close to the yellow warning zone; any lower and it would be a stick-jumping speed.

"Watch your speed!" Xu Xian shouted suddenly. Because the cockpit door was open at this time, Xu Xian's voice echoed throughout almost the entire front cabin.

The safety officer, who was about to pull the captain away, was right next to Xu Xian when he heard the loud volume. His body trembled instinctively, and even Chen Qi was stopped by Xu Xian's shout.

Thanks to Xu Xian's reminder, Chen Qi also realized the low airspeed and subconsciously started to accelerate. However, even with the left throttle lever fully extended, the speed continued to drop uncontrollably, and it looked like it would soon drop below the speed limit.

"Airspeed Low, Airspeed Low!" The low airspeed warning sounded at this moment.

Hearing the warning, Chen Qi broke out in a cold sweat, even shouting urgently, "Why can't we accelerate? I've already floored the accelerator!"

In response to Chen Qi's question, Xu Xian muttered under his breath, "What the hell!"

From this point on, Xu Xian could confirm that the co-pilot was completely unreliable.

"Disengage autopilot, switch to manual flight, push the stick forward!" Xu Xian shouted.

"Then aren't we going to drop in altitude?" Chen Qi's voice was also very loud. Whether it was because of the pressure or because he felt that Xu Xian's voice was also loud, he reflexively raised his voice as well.

Xu Xian gritted his teeth: "So you're going to stall at 10,000 meters?"

After Xu Xian finished speaking, he patted the safety officer on the back and whispered, "Hurry up if you want to live!"

He felt that letting the co-pilot control the plane was like dancing on a knife's edge, and he disliked that feeling.

Say the harshest things in the lightest tone!

The security officer didn't dare to delay. He was very strong and lifted the captain's body up by force.

As soon as the captain was moved, Xu Xian immediately climbed into the left seat, quickly fastened his seatbelt, gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and whispered, "Take control!"

Before Chen Qi could react, Xu Xian immediately disengaged the autopilot, then used his right hand to grab the accelerator lever, thus taking over manual control.

Feeling the steering wheel, Chen Qi knew Xu Xian had taken over control. He subtly breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Relinquish control!"

Xu Xianyi took over the controls and immediately pushed the stick to reduce the aircraft's attitude and increase its airspeed in order to prevent the aircraft from entering a stall state.

At the same time, Xu Xian also declared a state of emergency: "MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYADAY, ah!"

As soon as Xu Xian pressed the communication button, a piercing electric shock shrieked in his ears, almost piercing his eardrums. The sharp sound, as if it were about to stab into his brain, made Xu Xian immediately pull back his right hand, press it against his temple, and his face contorted in pain.

"What is this?!" Xu Xian asked, frowning.

"I declared a state of emergency before, but I still can't get in touch with them, and there's a static noise!" Chen Qi said.

"You've already declared it?" Xu Xian paused for a moment, glancing back at the transponder. There was no emergency code displayed at all. Was this what they meant by declaring a state of emergency?

"What's wrong?" Chen Qi was a little surprised when he saw Xu Xian looking back. When he followed Xu Xian's gaze to the transponder, he realized that he hadn't even hung up the emergency code. He blushed instantly, realizing that this was a rather basic mistake.

He coughed lightly twice, quickly hung up the emergency code, and didn't say anything to avoid embarrassment.

The captain was helped to the first class cabin by the security officer, who also asked the flight attendants to prepare oxygen cylinders. During this time, the flight attendants stopped briefly in the cabin to remove the captain's identification documents, epaulets, tie, and other identifying items.

The male passenger who had been in the lavatory was upgraded for free and was now sitting on a single sofa in first class, much more comfortable than in economy. Then, he noticed a young man running back and forth, which confused him. Finally, a living person was brought in directly from the front cabin, and the crucial point was that this suddenly appearing person was unconscious. If it weren't for the fact that the person's chest was still rising and falling, he would have suspected that some kind of murder had occurred ahead.

He watched helplessly as the flight attendants and security personnel escorted the man to an empty seat in the next row, and even gave him an oxygen cylinder to breathe.

"What's going on?" the male passenger asked the flight attendant, bewildered.

The flight attendant didn't even turn her head, mechanically replying, "It's alright!"

Holy crap, this is nothing? A grown person fainting is nothing? Does that mean it's a big deal if someone stops breathing?

"Really, no." The male passenger wanted to ask again. But the security guard turned around, looking displeased, and said, "Shut up, don't talk!"

The man was immediately silenced and didn't dare ask another question.

In the cockpit, after manually controlling the aircraft and realizing he couldn't contact air traffic controllers, Xu Xian immediately changed strategy, turning right and saying, "Give me a roll, turn right thirty degrees!"

"Turn right at 30 degrees? Why?" Chen Qi asked, puzzled. "Can we ignore air traffic control instructions and just turn right and descend? Won't that cause a conflict?"

Xu Xian looked at Chen Qi in disbelief: "You don't know that turning right by thirty degrees, cutting to the right side and offsetting six nautical miles, is a way to avoid the course?"

"Hmm?" Chen Qi frowned slightly. "From the SOP?"

Xu Xian swallowed the profanity that was already on the tip of his tongue, adjusted his tone, and tried his best to speak calmly: "Course selection, turn right and head 30 degrees, then give me a course that is six nautical miles to the right."

Explaining anything to someone who knows nothing is a waste of time.

Chen Qi felt that he had also demonstrated his poor intelligence, so he stopped insisting and followed Xu Xian's instructions.

Even if Chen Qi is incompetent, he still has no problem adjusting the MCP board and inputting the CDU. If he is just playing the role of a tool, Chen Qi can barely manage it.

After spending a short time together, Chen Qi felt as if he had been very lucky to meet a savior.

At this point, after the captain was settled, the chief flight attendant came in and reported, "The captain is settled, the security officer is guarding the first-class entrance, are there any further instructions?"

The flight attendant was facing Chen Qi when she spoke, because according to the order of power transfer, the captain was incapacitated, and the first officer was now the highest authority on the plane.

This is an instinctive reaction for crew members.

However, Chen Qi very consciously pointed at Xu Xian and said, "Listen to him."

Xu Xian was not intimidated at all: "Reassure the passengers and don't let them move around. Whether you use a hard or soft approach, this is a matter of life and death, you should understand what I mean."

The aircraft is already underpowered and has poor control surface effectiveness. If passengers in the cabin were to move around wildly, it could very well cause the aircraft to become uncontrollable, which is extremely dangerous. This is not an exaggeration to say that it involves lives.

The flight attendant's heart sank, realizing the extent of the danger. She immediately patted her chest and assured him, "Leave the cabin to me, I'll handle it."

After the flight attendant left, Xu Xian said to Chen Qi, "Try calling on the emergency frequency. We must report our intention to make an emergency landing."

"Emergency landing? Where to?" Chen Qi asked instinctively.

Xu Xian released the accelerator with his right hand, pointed to an airport on the navigation screen, and said firmly, "We'll continue flying forward and make an emergency landing in Shangdu!"

There are actually only two airports within a 100-nautical-mile radius: Shangdu Airport and Anning Airport. Considering the current condition of the aircraft, landing at the nearest airport is the best option, so those are the only two choices!

Diverting to Shangdu Airport means flying forward, while diverting to Anning Airport means flying back.

Xu Xian barely hesitated in choosing the alternate airport. The difference between Shangdu Airport and Anning Airport was too obvious.

Actually, the plane is currently at roughly the same distance from both Shangdu Airport and Anning Airport. However, Shangdu Airport, being the provincial capital's airport, is far superior to Anning Airport, a smaller airport, in terms of both scale and logistical support. Given that the presence of smoke earlier caused the captain to lose consciousness, many passengers in the cabin likely suffered varying degrees of respiratory damage. With adequate airport support, the captain and passengers could receive the fastest and best medical care.

Furthermore, Anning Airport is a complex Category II airport, and its airspace conditions are nowhere near those of Shangdu Airport, a plains airport. Given the current single-engine situation, the airport with better airspace conditions will definitely be the priority.

This involves not only considering the approach but also the go-around. A good airspace greatly reduces the risks of approach and go-around.

This isn't a simulator; you can't practice whatever's difficult. In actual flight, you should definitely do what's simplest and safest possible!

Chen Qi had no objection to the choice between Shangdu and Anning; it wasn't a difficult choice to begin with.

While Xu Xian was controlling the plane, Chen Qi suddenly asked, "Do you know what this smoke is?"

Chen Qi had only asked casually, not expecting an answer, but Xu Xian suddenly replied, "Volcanic ash!"

"What?" Chen Qi immediately raised his voice: "Are you kidding me? Does our country have volcanoes?"

Xu Xian remained expressionless, simply replying, "The neighboring country has them!"

"Then why didn't the meteorological department issue a warning? It's impossible for such a large-scale volcanic ash event to go unnoticed!" Chen Qi still didn't believe it.

There have been cases of aircraft experiencing emergencies when flying through volcanic ash long ago. Since then, monitoring of volcanic ash has been incorporated into civil aviation weather forecasting. The meteorological department should theoretically be able to detect the scale of the volcanic ash they encountered today.

It should be, but there are just so many illogical things in the world.

Xu Xian, however, took it all in stride. He never placed his hopes on others, only trusting his own eyes: "Maybe we've just been supporting a bunch of good-for-nothings!"

Xu Xian never hesitated to use vicious words to criticize the meteorological department's incompetence.

"Our air conditioning system has filters, so why isn't it filtering anything?" Chen Qi asked, puzzled.

The 737's air conditioning system ducts are equipped with a filter with extremely fine pores. If there really was volcanic ash, it should have been able to block it!

"You think volcanic ash is really just ash?" Xu Xian sneered. "This is already the result after filtering!"

Volcanic ash, though called ash, is actually mostly small gravel and mineral particles. Most of the larger particles are blocked by the filter, but not all of them are blocked; even a little bit leaking in is enough to bother the people on board.

To be honest, even if the filter couldn't block all the volcanic ash, the concentration of volcanic ash and smoke inside the cabin was still quite outrageous. Xu Xian even had reason to suspect that the filter might be faulty as well.

However, it doesn't matter now. Whether the filter is faulty or not, the result is to land as soon as possible.

"Give me a way to change altitude, speed 280 knots, and descend as quickly as possible!" Xu Xian commanded.

Xu Xian had previously reviewed the checklist for "Volcanic Ash," which recommended easing off the throttle when encountering volcanic ash. This would reduce EGT and minimize the probability of engine damage or stalling.

When using altitude changes to descend, the throttle is in slow position. Once the aircraft is stable, Xu Xian prepares to engage autopilot.

"Put on your oxygen mask, you go first!" Xu Xian ordered.

The cockpit is now enveloped in acrid smoke, which would cause severe discomfort if left unattended for too long, and could even lead to unconsciousness. Xu Xian didn't want the captain to become incapacitated again.

The plane is now basically stable, so Xu Xian told Chen Qi to put on his oxygen mask first. After Chen Qi put it on, Xu Xian would then monitor the plane while Xu Xian put on his own oxygen mask. This way, they could avoid a brief loss of monitoring of the plane if they both put on their oxygen masks at the same time.

Wearing an oxygen mask is also the first step on the volcanic ash checklist, the primary goal being to ensure that the pilot can remain alert and capable of working.

Once both men had put on their oxygen masks, Xu Xian engaged autopilot. At this point, the aircraft had already shifted to a six-nautical-mile offset on the right.

"Volcanic ash inspection form!" Xu Xian gave the order.

Chen Qi paused noticeably: "There's a report for the volcanic ash?"

It's not Chen Qi's fault. Not to mention China, civil aviation worldwide hasn't encountered volcanic ash for a long time. People are naturally not very sensitive to this checklist, and it's rarely involved even in simulator training.

Xu Xian took a deep breath: "Fire prevention chapter!"

Xu Xian demonstrated his encyclopedic abilities, knowing even such obscure knowledge. He not only knew about the volcanic ash examination form, but also which chapter it belonged to, and could even recite the steps of the form clearly.

However, the volcanic ash test report wasn't something to memorize. Moreover, the report was rather obscure, so even with Xu Xian's confidence, he still felt that following the report was the safest course of action.

"Oh, oh!" Chen Qi nodded as if he understood, and following Xu Xian's prompts, he looked for the volcanic ash checklist in the fire prevention section of the quick checklist.

However, just as Chen Qi opened the electronic manual, Xu Xian suddenly heard the sound of an engine shutting off, and even Chen Qi's finger, which was tapping the tablet screen, froze.

For a moment, the whole world fell silent! A silence so profound it was despairing!

"Is it over?" Chen Qi turned around and asked quietly.

As soon as Chen Qi finished speaking, the cockpit and passenger cabin were plunged into darkness!

(End of this chapter)