Legendary Captain

Chapter 112 The Hengduan Mountains! The Qinling Mountains! (Please subscribe!)

The sound of the machine stopping was very distinct; it was the feeling of everything in the space instantly falling silent. Everyone in the entire cabin experienced what a despairing silence truly meant at that moment.

Even the most oblivious person could sense the suffocating silence. Without the roar of the engine, the plane was like a rootless duckweed, and the pilot's control space would be severely limited.

Xu Xian lowered his gaze to the dimly lit display of the DU engine data. N1 now only had invalid values ​​for wind rotation, and the ENG FAIL indicator had appeared again.

After glancing down a few more times, Xu Xian felt a little relieved: "Thankfully, it's just a simple engine failure!"

If it's simply an engine failure, rather than severe engine damage, then the possibility of restarting the engine remains. However, how likely this is, and whether it's even worth considering, is unknown.

Inside the cabin, after the left engine shut down, both engines failed. Shortly afterward, all the lights in the cabin went out except for the emergency lights. In an instant, only the warning lights, like candles flickering in the wind, remained in the cabin.

Eerie and oppressive!

With both engines failing, the generators driven by those engines also failed, meaning the aircraft now has no power source.

In the event of such a power outage, the power system will prioritize offloading less critical power-consuming components, such as the galley busbars and the cabin entertainment system.

If the overload persists, all lights except the emergency lights will be switched off to conserve power for the main equipment and instruments. Just like the current situation in the passenger cabin.

The only source of power for airplanes now is batteries. When the batteries are fully charged, they can last for about thirty minutes, but if they are not fully charged, no one can say for sure.

In other words, if Xu Xian and his team only have a maximum of half an hour to try restarting the engine, the plane will truly be just a lump of metal.

Of course, if the engine hasn't restarted by half an hour, then it's basically game over.

The sudden power outage in the cabin caused widespread panic among the passengers, with some even wailing and screaming, prompting the flight attendant to make another announcement to reassure them.

The blue light of St. Elmo's fire outside spilled into the cabin, casting faint blue afterimages that made the interior appear exceptionally eerie.

Although the main instruments could still be temporarily powered by batteries, their brightness was much dimmer than normal. Xu Xian had never encountered a power outage before, only seeing descriptions of such situations in the manual. He had initially thought it would be just slightly dimmer, but when the actual situation occurred, what was described in the manual as slightly dim instruments was, in Xu Xian's eyes, practically invisible.

"How can you even see this?" Not only Xu Xian, but even Chen Qi was extremely dissatisfied: "Did you buy a cheap battery? Even four eyes couldn't understand the display on the PFD! What's the difference between having this thing and not having it?"

Xu Xian glanced at his own PFD and navigation page, and indeed they were almost invisible. The backup instrument panel was slightly brighter, so he had to rely on the palm-sized backup instrument to glimpse the aircraft data.

"We'll talk about that later. Now, let's proceed with the memory project for when both engines lose thrust!" Xu Xian glanced up at the water compass above to confirm that the course had not changed.

We are currently unable to contact air traffic controllers. Of course, if the transponder is displaying an emergency code, controllers should theoretically be able to see it on their radar screens. Even if we cannot establish contact with the crew, controllers should be able to coordinate with nearby aircraft to give way.

However, these are all normal procedures. There are also abnormal procedures in the world; for example, the fact that there was no advance warning for this large-scale volcanic ash event is quite unusual.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, it's still necessary to maintain an offset from the flight path. However, since the navigation page is now practically invisible, the operator cannot determine the aircraft's trajectory. The only way to maintain the offset is to keep the aircraft on its heading.

Of course, the heading of an aircraft is often different from its heading due to velocities. But this is already the best Xu Xianneng can do.

Moreover, at this point, neither the course nor the trajectory is the priority; restarting the engine is the most important thing!

If both engines lose thrust, there is a memory function, the purpose of which is to try to restore power to at least one engine.

If one engine can be restarted, the danger remains within a manageable range. If both engines fail, the risk will largely be out of the pilot's control.

"The memory entry for when both engines lost thrust?" Chen Qi immediately prepared to look it up in the electronic manual: "Damn it, where is it?!"

Compared to the memory items for engine fire alarm, severe damage or separation checklists and engine over-limit, surge or stall checklists, the memory items for checklists showing two engines losing thrust are trained much less frequently.

Single-engine training is the most basic training for every pilot; however, training involving both engines failing is much less common. This is because the probability of both engines failing is extremely low, and instructors must use their limited training time on more meaningful training subjects.

This led to a situation where, despite having the same checklist items to remember, Chen Qi couldn't recall the item about the two engines losing thrust at a crucial moment, and instead tried to find the checklist on the spot. Of course, this is not an excuse for Chen Qi's inability to remember the items. A qualified pilot should remember all the items.

Xu Xian, who was already quite confident in Chen Qi's abilities, was unsurprised. He patted Chen Qi on the shoulder, telling him not to waste any more time looking for the examination report. Memory projects should be done as quickly as possible, so there was no extra time to look for the report first.

"On my command!" Xu Xian whispered, "Start both engines and put them in flight position!"

"How did you know?" Chen Qi asked curiously, reaching for the engine start switch. He had a feeling that Xu Xian seemed to know everything.

Xu Xian was in control of the aircraft. Now, with both engines shut down, it was in a state of free gliding. He could only maintain the descent speed in order to achieve the optimal altitude-to-distance ratio. Even so, the aircraft still maintained a descent rate of about four thousand feet, which was quite astonishing.

"I'm just more surprised that you didn't know!" Xu Xian replied softly. Chen Qi didn't seem to hear him and didn't respond.

"Disconnect both engine start levers!" Xu Xian said, and Chen Qi's face was almost pressed against the Shanghai DU screen. There was no other way; the Shanghai DU's brightness was simply too poor, requiring him to get very close.

Clearly, after Xu Xian's initial prompting, Chen Qi had already remembered the next steps and had begun to actively cooperate with Xu Xian's instructions.

As Chen Qi cut off the engine start lever, Xu Xian immediately shouted the next step: "Verify EGT descent, engine start lever in both idle positions!"

Chen Qi, who had been paying close attention to the engine data indicators, had been waiting for a long time. After confirming that there was no problem with the EGT, he lifted both starter levers at the same time.

"Time it!" Xu Xian immediately gave the order, and used his left hand to press the timer. Chen Qi understood at the same time and started the timer on his side as well.

The moment the dual starter levers were lifted, Xu Xian and Chen Qi held their breath and waited. This was the first attempt to restart the engine, a life-or-death struggle.

Two people, four eyes fixed intently on EGT's instructions, Chen Qi even whispered, "Upwards!"

Although Xu Xian didn't say anything, he pursed his lips tightly and looked at the EGT index with great anticipation.

However, it seemed that fate did not want Xu Xian to overcome the difficulties so easily. After the dual starter handles were lifted, the EGT barely moved.

Chen Qi was anxious, glancing at the timer repeatedly, his hands gripping the armrests of the seat so tightly that his thumbs turned red.

After nearly thirty seconds, seeing that EGT still hadn't moved, Xu Xian sighed deeply, his expression one of utter disappointment, and said dejectedly, "Let's just cut it!"

Chen Qi was short-tempered and slammed his hand on the armrest, but he still followed Xu Xian's instructions and put the starter handles of both engines in the off position.

The first startup failed, which is a very bad start!

"Pressure mode selector manual position, outflow valve to fully closed!" Xu Xian gave the order again, his attention now focused on the pressure panel. Due to the failure of both engines and the lack of bleed air, the cabin was slowly depressurizing, and Xu Xian had to stop the aircraft's depressurization as much as possible.

Only then did Chen Qi remember the issue of boost pressure. He quickly switched to boost mode and adjusted the outflow valve to the fully closed position, asking, "Will this work?"

Xu Xian shook his head: "It's just a delay!"

Without priming air, depressurization is only a matter of time. Xu Xian's only goal now is to start at least one engine before the oxygen masks fall off.

"Try starting the APU again!" Chen Qi adjusted the boost panel, and Xu Xian kept directing Chen Qi.

Chen Qi started the APU without hesitation, but he had a question: "At such a high altitude, can the APU really start?"

Generally speaking, starting the APU is not recommended above 25,000 feet, as it will most likely fail. However, now that both engines have failed, Xu Xian can't worry about that anymore.

"If it fails to start, try again. At least we'll have an extra power source!" Xu Xian said.

The APU's power supply limit is over 40,000 feet, while its gas supply limit is only 17,000 feet. Even if gas supply is temporarily unavailable, power supply should still be sufficient. At least the instrument panel shouldn't be so difficult to read anymore.

Suddenly, the entire plane shook slightly, and the already dim cockpit became even darker. As far as Xu Xian could see, beyond the windshield, the St. Elmo Fire seemed to have grown even stronger, as if it were about to engulf the entire plane.

If someone were looking down from the plane, they would see Chimelong 5677 plunge into a thick, dark fog, as if it were stuck in a quagmire. Originally, only the wings, engine air intakes, and nose of the plane showed signs of St. Elmo's fire. But as it sank into the increasingly dense fog, the St. Elmo's fire intensified, seemingly threatening to engulf every corner of the aircraft.

From a distance, it looked like an airplane surrounded by flames crashing into endless darkness.

"What's going on?" The slightest change in the plane caught Chen Qi's attention.

Xu Xian remained unmoved; the plane had likely entered the main body of the volcanic ash layer. This further reduced the probability of a successful restart. However, if it could penetrate the ash layer, the chances of success would greatly increase.

Xu Xian: "Never mind that, start it first!"

Starting the APU takes time, whether successful or not. Xu Xian wasn't going to wait idly. He relaxed his grip, his eyes sharpening again: "Start the engine first!"

Not far away, in the city center of Shou'an.

Even though night had fallen, the streets were still bustling with traffic. A taxi driver waited at a red light, yawning. He was a little tired after a day of driving passengers.

Suddenly, a raindrop the size of a bean fell onto the windshield, followed by a torrent of rain pouring down, as if a huge hole had been torn in the sky.

"Huh?" Rain is a common occurrence, but the driver exclaimed in surprise because he noticed a lot of dark things on the windshield.

The driver initially thought the rain had washed the dirt off the windshield, but as time went on, he noticed that the black residue was increasing. He thought his car couldn't possibly be that dirty. It was a car, not a garbage dump.

Suddenly, the driver sensed something, his gaze gradually shifting upwards, muttering to himself, "Could it be up there?"

Not only drivers, but also many pedestrians noticed black stains in the rainwater. Some even posted about the black substance in the rainwater online.

The Shou'an black rain incident quickly went viral online!

In the control room of Shangdu Airport, the controller who had been monitoring Chimelong 5677 felt that the situation was about to end and prepared to call Chimelong's planes again.

Just as his finger touched the speak button, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the diamond-shaped logo representing Chimelong 5677 on the radar screen had inexplicably turned red.

The controller gasped, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, chilling him to the bone: "Emergency code!"

This was the first time this air traffic controller had ever seen an aircraft issue an emergency code in his jurisdiction since he started working! He used to be the one just watching, but now he was the one experiencing it himself?

The air traffic controller wiped his face, which wasn't particularly sweaty, to calm himself down a bit, and called Chimelong again: "Chimelong 5677, what's your situation? Please report your current status!"

The controller saw that Chimelong 5677 had put up an emergency code, but he didn't know what was going on. What was worse, he called for a long time, but there was no response at all.

The controller's calls sounded like static to Xu Xian and Chen Qi, and didn't attract their attention.

With no response from Chimelong 5677, the controller grew increasingly anxious. After a brief silence, he turned and yelled at the supervisor's seat, "Supervisor!"

"Still not good?" Chen Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead. The cockpit was very stuffy on the plane without an air conditioning system. Coupled with his irritability, he was covered in a layer of sticky sweat, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

After three failed attempts, Chen Qi's patience gradually wore thin, and he became unusually irritable.

"If we maintain the optimal glide ratio, we should be able to glide to Shangdu Airport!" Now, as we decrease in altitude, following the descent speed, the rate of descent eventually begins to decrease and stabilizes at around 2,000 feet per minute. At this rate, gliding for twenty minutes is still possible. And Shangdu Airport is about 60 or 70 nautical miles away, which should be sufficient.

Of course, all of this reasoning is theoretical. If there are strong headwinds all around, he might not be able to withstand it. Moreover, Xu Xian might not be able to maintain the optimal glide ratio at all times, so whether Xu Xian can glide to Shangdu Airport is still a big question mark.

When Xu Xian began to seriously discuss gliding, Chen Qi completely broke down: "I don't want to know if we can glide to Shangdu Airport, I just want to know when we can get the engine running."

Xu Xian had no idea whether the engine could be started; it really depended on fate, and human intervention was impossible.

Suddenly, Xu Xian felt that the surroundings had brightened slightly, and his mood instantly lifted a little: "The volcanic ash seems to have thinned out a bit, let's try again!"

Chen Qi gritted his teeth: "I refuse to believe it won't start!"

After saying that, he moved the dual-engine lever to the idle position again and started timing again.

The pressure from repeated failures made Chen Qi almost breathless. Who could know what it was like to be gliding in the air in a powerless, tens-of-tons steel behemoth?

Chen Qi swallowed hard, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead onto his eyelashes and into his eyes. The stinging sensation caused by the salt in his sweat prevented him from wiping them away; his attention was already focused on the engine data.

If he fails again this time, Chen Qi might really not be able to handle it.

As if in response to Chen Qi's plea, the EGT indicator reacted immediately after the engine lever was lifted, making Xu Xian and Chen Qi's hearts almost stop beating.

"Keep rising, keep rising!" Chen Qi said as if he were coaxing a baby, raising and lowering his hand towards the air as if afraid that the EGT would stop rising.

Not to mention Chen Qi, Xu Xian was in no better shape. He was so nervous that he stopped breathing, as if breathing heavily would extinguish the hard-won flame of hope.

Fortunately, things went as planned, and EGT maintained a steady growth momentum after its initial rise. At the same time, N1 and N2 also began to grow, although not at a very fast pace.

In high-altitude environments, the engine starting process is prolonged, which is normal and does not constitute a starting failure. Just wait as usual.

During the wait, the plane continued its descent, and the process was extremely agonizing.

Finally, after a slow initial growth, N1 and N2 began to grow at a faster rate over time, eventually reaching a rate similar to that of a normal startup.

From this point on, Xu Xian and Chen Qi were almost certain that the engine had started successfully.

However, the only thing that Xu Xian and Chen Qi regretted was that only the left engine responded, while the right engine showed no signs of starting successfully from beginning to end.

Although it wasn't perfect, the result was still within Xu Xian's expectations.

The right engine had previously experienced prolonged surge without being addressed, during which it stalled. It's highly likely that the surge caused damage to certain components, preventing normal starting.

In contrast, the left engine is simply a case of engine failure, so the probability of it being able to start successfully is undoubtedly much higher.

Overall, this result is reasonable. While it's a bit of a shame that only one engine starts successfully, it undoubtedly increases the range of controllable capabilities.

After the left engine stabilized at idle, Xu Xian instructed Chen Qi to activate the generator driven by the left engine. At this point, the APU had also started, and Xu Xian conveniently connected the APU power supply to the right-side converter bus. In this way, the left-side generator powered the left-side converter bus, and the APU powered the right-side converter bus—two AC power supplies, representing the minimum power configuration required for the 737.

Now, they no longer have to stare at the instrument screen.

As soon as the engine started, Chen Qi instantly became smug again: "I knew it! What kind of fate do I have? To die here?"

Once the power was restored, the cabin lights came back on instantly, and many passengers cheered.

Xu Xian also breathed a slight sigh of relief; the pressure of both engines failing was still too great for him. Even if they could glide to Shangdu Airport, they would only have one chance for an approach, which was far too demanding.

After the left engine stabilized, Xu Xian slowly pushed the left throttle lever forward, trying to increase the throttle and stop the aircraft's descent. However, just as N1 reached about 70, that familiar throttle sound reappeared.

The engine is surging again!

Xu Xian and Chen Qi felt their hair stand on end. However, Xu Xian reacted very quickly this time and immediately began to reduce the throttle. When the throttle was reduced to about 65 mph, the engine surging began to gradually lessen and eventually disappeared.

"Damn it, the volcanic ash still affects the engine!" Xu Xian cursed inwardly. However, the only saving grace was that after the thrust was reduced to 65, the surge phenomenon never reappeared.

"Then we'll have to reduce thrust from here on out!" Xu Xian said. A slight surge will occur when the thrust exceeds 65, and the surge becomes quite noticeable when it reaches 70.

"Sixty-five maximum thrust?" Chen Qi gritted his teeth. "Even during a fifth-wing approach, the thrust is more than sixty-five. That's only slightly better than both engines losing thrust. It's completely unreliable! Can the plane even maintain level flight now?"

Chen Qi's analysis is correct. With only one engine running, maintaining a thrust of 65 is completely insufficient to sustain the aircraft's power requirements for level flight. This means that even with the left engine currently running and maintaining the maximum N1 thrust of 65, the aircraft's descent cannot be stopped.

However, even with a maximum thrust of 65, the aircraft still cannot complete the go-around maneuver. In other words, the approach is still a one-shot deal, only with slightly improved maneuverability.

Xu Xian's expression was grave. Faced with Chen Qi's complaints, he simply replied, "Even with a thrust of sixty-five, I can still land!"

There was no turning back now. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, it was better to face the challenge head-on. Moreover, Xu Xian felt that if there was no chance of resuming flights, then they would resolve the issue once and for all!

So what if it's a one-off deal? He has the decisive power to make a final decision!

"You can land there!" Chen Qi sneered. "You can't even fly over slightly higher mountains! But luckily, Shangdu is a flat airport! There's always a way out!"

If this situation were in the mountainous plateau environment of southwest China, obstacle crossing would be a major problem. Fortunately, we are in a plain area with few high obstacles.

As soon as the words were spoken, the clouds parted and the sun shone through the windshield, revealing a vast and open space, like a sudden burst of light after a long period of darkness. The blue light from the St. Elmo Fire dimmed considerably, and the lights on the ground could even be faintly seen.

"We're out? We're out!" Chen Qi exclaimed excitedly, looking at the scattered lights on the ground. This meant they had emerged from the volcanic ash layer, or at least left the main body of the ash. From now on, the probability of the only working engine shutting down again would be greatly reduced.

Xu Xian was also somewhat pleased. The surge in the left engine was likely caused by volcanic ash adhering to the turbofan blades; once the wind blew it off, the surge might stop when he accelerated!

However, Chen Qi's excitement didn't last long. He suddenly felt that it was too quiet around him. Even though it was such an exciting thing as getting out of the volcanic ash layer, the person next to him was too indifferent and didn't make a sound.

Chen Qi glanced at Xu Xian, only to see Xu Xian staring blankly ahead, his eyes filled with not joy at the clash with the volcanic ash layer, but only deep despair.

"What's wrong with you?" Chen Qi, confused, looked in the direction of Xu Xian's gaze and choked up. The joy that had just arisen vanished in the blink of an eye.

Before my eyes stretched a dark shadow that stretched for thousands of miles!

There is always a way out, but there are always mountains that can block people out!

Xu Xian and his group parted the clouds and saw the sky, the earth, and the mountains!

That's a natural barrier that has existed since ancient times!

That is an immortal and eternal dragon!

That's the Qinling Mountains!

(End of this chapter)