Legendary Captain

Chapter 115 Collision Avoidance! Get Ready! (Please Subscribe!)

Xu Xian's words were like a towering mountain thrown into a calm sea, creating towering waves.

The control room in Shangdu instantly erupted into chaos.

"Chimelong 5677, what's going on? Isn't engine number one supposed to have limited thrust? How could it shut down again? The volcanic ash should be very thin by now!" The director shouted emotionally, gripping the microphone.

If there was no longer any cause for the engine to stall, then why did it stall again?

"Because I stepped on the gas! I stepped on the gas of engine number one! The engine lurched twice, and then it stalled!" Xu Xian managed to choke out.

The director clearly knew that you shouldn't accelerate recklessly when the engine is surging. If the engine stalls due to surging, it's very likely that the engine is already damaged and almost impossible to restart.

"Engine surge definitely requires limiting the throttle! How can you accelerate?" the director couldn't help but complain.

Before Xu Xian could speak, Chen Qi couldn't hold back any longer and interrupted, "Who the hell built a wind turbine over there! If we don't rev the engine, it'll crash into the blades, and we won't even be able to talk to you guys anymore! How can we not rev the engine?"

Just when it seemed like it was all over, some damn wind turbine suddenly appeared and screwed them over. They were on the verge of heaven, but instead, they stumbled and fell into hell. Anyone would go crazy in that situation!

The control room loudspeakers were filled with Chen Qi's hysterical voice, and the director looked slightly embarrassed. Indeed, what normal pilot would rev the engine while it was surging?

"Can't we glide to Shangdu from our current position without power?" The director was still focused on landing at Shangdu Airport. A forced landing in the wild was simply too much of a test for his heart.

In fact, theoretically, it is possible to glide to Shangdu Airport based on the optimal glide ratio, but this is only theoretical.

However, maintaining the optimal glide ratio consistently requires constantly adjusting the aircraft speed, which involves a tremendous amount of manual operation and is difficult to execute precisely by human effort alone. In the history of civil aviation, there have been instances of perfect unpowered gliding, but these ultimately relied on a degree of luck.

That was the product of favorable timing, location, and human factors.

Xu Xian was well aware of his abilities, and the external conditions for this gliding were extremely unfavorable.

"We can't fly over it, the headwind is too strong! It's almost 80 knots!" Xu Xian said helplessly.

I don’t know if it was because of the Qinling Mountains blocking the way, but in the low-altitude environment, the headwind increased by nearly 30 knots after crossing the Qinling Mountains, which is a very large increase.

In comparison, the previously estimated gliding distance is no longer accurate enough.

At least in Xu Xian's view, they had lost their last chance to glide to Shangdu Airport. Rather than fantasizing about a miracle and gliding to Shangdu Airport without power, they were better off finding a suitable emergency landing site.

Or rather, Xu Xian felt that even a miracle from heaven wouldn't do, since everything had to be governed by a fundamental law.

Of course, if Xu Xian were to summon a deity and bring Xu Qing with him, there might still be a glimmer of hope, since Xu Qing has never been one to uphold the Basic Law.

"A headwind of 80 knots!?" The director hadn't really noticed how strong the headwind was. Of course, in very low-altitude areas, the wind speed would be relatively reduced due to ground friction, but the impact wouldn't be significant.

Xu Xian's judgment was correct; even operating at the optimal glide ratio, it was still powerless against a headwind of 80 knots.

"Shangdu, are there any recommended alternate landing areas nearby?" Xu Xian hadn't flown much and wasn't familiar with many areas. Furthermore, the poor visibility made it difficult for him to see the ground and determine a suitable landing spot. Therefore, he had no choice but to seek help from air traffic control.

The director was in a real bind. Although the area beyond the Qinling Mountains was a vast plain, it wasn't sparsely populated; there were still small villages scattered throughout. He could just find an open space to go down into, and there might be a village nearby. If he accidentally hurt someone, the pressure would fall on him.

However, since the plane at Chimelong is already in this state, if he continues to shirk responsibility, there's no point in giving orders anymore. It seems more effective to set up an altar to summon the spirit of Chimelong 5677.

In this dilemma, an air traffic controller suddenly interjected, "Sir, what do you think of Jin'an Airport? It seems quite close!"

"Jin'an?" The director was a little confused. He looked at the radar display on the main screen for a while, which showed the locations of various airports, but he couldn't see any Jin'an Airport! Moreover, he didn't remember any Jin'an Airport. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he hesitated before saying, "You don't mean that Jin'an Airport that's still under construction, do you?"

The controller paused for a moment: "Yes!"

After speaking, the controller projected an image onto the main screen.

Except for the absence of dynamic aircraft markings, this image is not much different from the radar screen display we just saw.

This picture shows an additional Jin'an Airport near the Qinling Mountains.

"This is the location map of Jin'an Airport and the pre-set control tower area. I see that this location is only a dozen nautical miles away from Chimelong's planes, so there is still plenty of altitude margin," the controller explained.

The director looked at the controller in disbelief. In fact, not only the director, but many other staff members in the control room also focused their attention on the controller who had made the suggestion about Jin'an Airport.

"You didn't just think of Jin'an Airport because it's close by, did you?" The director's lips twitched, staring at the controller's eyes in shock. He really wanted to make sure the man wasn't joking.

However, to his dismay, the controller did not seem to be joking.

"Yeah!" The controller nodded innocently. It's better than being stranded in the wild.

The sound of gasps for air filled the control room!

What powerful and direct logic! It left them with absolutely no reason to refute it!

The director was somewhat intrigued and immediately asked his assistant, "What's the current progress of Jin'an Airport?"

The assistant, much like a human hard drive, immediately explained the situation at Jin'an Airport: "The runway at Jin'an Airport is now complete, but the lighting system is not yet usable. In the navigation aids, the instrument landing system has been built, but it hasn't been calibrated or tested. Its accuracy cannot be guaranteed."

"No lighting system..." the director said, somewhat troubled. During night landings, the lighting system is a crucial visual reference. Without it, even with instrument landing signals, night landings are extremely difficult to maneuver in low-altitude conditions, especially without power.

However, the director thought about it again and realized that landing at an airport without a lighting system was indeed better than landing in the wilderness. After thinking about it, this strange suggestion seemed to have some potential!

The images previously displayed by air traffic controllers were pre-aircraft images of Jin'an Airport distributed by the Central Plains Air Traffic Management Bureau to its various regional control rooms. This was to allow controllers in the region to familiarize themselves with various information about the new airport, including details such as control handover.

The director was somewhat tempted and immediately contacted Xu Xian and the others: "Changlong 5677, there is a newly built Jin'an Airport 13 nautical miles in your two o'clock direction, which can be used as an emergency landing point."

"Two o'clock, thirteen nautical miles?" Xu Xian was initially quite happy to hear about the new airport, but when he heard the location of the airport, he was instantly dumbfounded. There was no new airport displayed on the navigation page!

The navigation page has various icons and selection buttons, including one for displaying the locations of various airports. Xu Xian did turn on the button for displaying airport locations, but he still couldn't see any airport locations.

Furthermore, Xu Xian seemed to have never heard of the so-called Jin'an Airport. However, there are many regional airports, not to mention newly built ones. It's normal that he didn't know.

"Shangdu, could you please tell me the three-letter or four-letter code for Jin'an Airport? I can't find it on the navigation page," Xu Xian said. At the same time, he switched CDU to the FIX page, preparing to enter the three-letter or four-letter code for Jin'an Airport and then draw a distance circle to determine the airport's location.

To their surprise, the air traffic control responded directly: "Jin'an Airport is not yet completed, there is no information about it in the database, so it is definitely not visible."

The air traffic control then stated, "The runway at Jin'an Airport has been completed, but the lighting system is not yet in place. In addition, the instrument landing system (ILS) signal has not been calibrated and tested, so its accuracy cannot be guaranteed."

"Holy crap! Isn't landing at an airport like this illegal?" Chen Qi blurted out instinctively.

Xu Xian looked at him as if he were an idiot: "It's legal once it's in the fields."

Chen Qi chuckled awkwardly. The question was indeed a bit idiotic. What kind of time is this? With a track available, why be so picky?

Xu Xian immediately and decisively turned 15 degrees to the right. Now that every second counted, there was no time for him to hesitate.

"If it's not operational yet, then I need this airport information." Xu Xian felt he was about to land at the unfinished Jin'an Airport.

Since it's not operational, it's not in the database, and probably not on the charts either. He needs to obtain relevant information about this airport to prepare for the approach. At the very least, he needs to know the heading and ILS frequency of Jin'an Airport.

"Wait a moment!" Information about Jin'an Airport was included in the aeronautical charts distributed by the air traffic control bureau earlier. The director quickly analyzed the information and immediately stated, "Jin'an Airport has a runway length of 2600 meters, a width of 45 meters, a slope of 1%, and an altitude of 49 feet. Only runway 08 has an ILS (Instrument Landing System), localizer 080, ILS frequency 116.3, ILS identification code IJA, decision... well, never mind the decision altitude!"

Since there's no chance of resuming flights, deciding on the altitude is meaningless.

Moreover, Jin'an Airport is not a well-lit airport; it relies entirely on the moonlight, and the runway is not visible unless you are at extremely low altitudes.

If we fly at the decision altitude, even if both engines have the power to keep going back and forth, we definitely won't be able to land that night.

Xu Xian quickly jotted down some important information in the CDU draft column. Once he had remembered most of it, he replied, "I've received all the airport information. However, I need you to provide radar guidance."

During this process, Xu Xian entered the three-letter code for IJA, but the CDU indicated it wasn't in the database. Even though he was somewhat prepared, Xu Xian was still a little disappointed. If he could pinpoint the location of Jin'an Airport, it would be easier for Xu Xian to calculate his relative altitude, making it easier to find the right time to deploy the flaps and landing gear.

If Jin'an Airport's instrument landing system doesn't even have a DME rangefinder, then it will be completely reliant on roll and pitch guidance alone.

Xu Xian felt a little flustered.

"Turn right now to heading 085, and we will guide you into the five-sided passage. As for altitude... Jin'an Airport's FAF point is ten nautical miles from the five-sided passage, at an altitude of three thousand feet," the director said. "You can determine the altitude yourself. There are no slightly higher obstacles nearby, and the airspace clearance at Jin'an Airport is excellent."

Since both engines are currently shut down, the aircraft is in a powerless gliding state. The course can be controlled, but the altitude is uncertain.

Fortunately, the surrounding terrain was very flat with few obstacles, so the planes had almost no obstacle clearance requirements. Therefore, the director simply let Chimelong's planes determine their altitude on their own.

He told the Chimelong flight crew that the height of the FAF point was just for reference.

"Okay!" Xu Xian suddenly remembered something.

He said to Chen Qi, "Haven't we talked about the captain's coma yet?"

Chen Qi was taken aback by the question, and after a moment's recollection, he immediately lost his composure: "It seems so... oh dear..."

It's a miracle that a rookie trainee and a useless co-pilot have made it this far. They've encountered constant problems along the way, and their focus on the engine and volcanic ash has led them to completely forget about the captain's incapacitation.

"Should we talk to the control department?" Xu Xian felt a little guilty; this mistake was too basic.

Chen Qi suddenly asked, "Can you survive?"

"What?"

"When we realized we needed to make an emergency landing at that Jin'an Airport, ambulances and fire trucks were already rushing there. Even without the captain's incapacitation, there would still be rescuers," Chen Qi said. "Now, telling them the captain's incapacitation would only scare the air traffic controllers half to death; I don't think it would do any good!"

"If we can survive, everything is fine! If we can't, then it's all over. Let's just focus on flying the plane!" Chen Qi said calmly.

Chen Qi dared to say that Xu Xian had contacted air traffic control and said the captain was incapacitated. Now, with only two co-pilots piloting this unpowered aircraft, it was guaranteed to be a huge psychological shock to air traffic control. Anyone with a heart condition might have a seizure on the spot!

Since medical assistance is definitely available due to the emergency landing at Jin'an Airport, there's no point in going through the trouble of notifying air traffic control again.

Besides the huge shock of the new regulations!

Xu Xian had never imagined that this useless co-pilot could speak with such genuine magnanimity, and for a moment he was speechless.

Chen Qi was sweating profusely, but thankfully he found an excuse to cover it up.

Following air traffic control guidance, the plane flew directly to the fifth stop of runway 08 at Jin'an Airport.

Because they couldn't establish a location point, and because the No. 08 instrument landing system at Jin'an Airport didn't have a DME function, Xu Xian and his team couldn't independently determine their distance to the airport.

Since most of Jin'an Airport has been completed, there are not many construction lights, which blend perfectly into the surrounding night, making it impossible for Chimelong 5677, which already has poor visibility, to distinguish the location of the airport.

They could only judge whether their altitude was sufficient by the approximate distance observed on radar.

Actually, this doesn't involve much technical skill.

They might not be able to reach the altitude of Shangdu Airport, but reaching Jin'an Airport, which was just a stone's throw away, would be a much easier task. At least before reaching low altitude, Xu Xian, based on the distance to the airport given by air traffic control and his own altitude, felt that the problem was still very easy to handle.

Xu Xian kept the aircraft in manual control. After intercepting the course, he delayed deploying the flaps and landing gear as much as possible, especially the landing gear.

When the landing gear is deployed, the aircraft's drag increases dramatically, which can easily lead to problems with low altitude.

For an aircraft whose two engines have failed, going too low means it will not return.

Adhering to the principle of erring on the side of higher speed rather than lower speed, Xu Xian instructed Chen Qi to continuously deploy the flaps to reduce the aircraft's speed when the air traffic control reported that the aircraft was three nautical miles from the runway, while simultaneously lowering the landing gear.

The runway at Jin'an Airport is not long; it's less than 3,000 meters long, which is quite pathetic compared to the wide runways of Yunnan and Yunnan, which are often over 4,000 meters long.

If they land on the runway at Yunnan Airport, Xu Xian and his team will face much less pressure. After all, with a runway over 4,000 meters long, there's a good chance they can stop midway, so what's there to fear about a slightly higher altitude?

But it's different in Jin'an; the 2,600-meter track is simply not enough. If the approach height is too high and the drift distance is too long, then there won't be enough braking distance, and there's a risk of running off the track.

Therefore, Xu Xianfang cannot simply seek stability when deploying flaps and landing gear; he needs to take a slight risk.

After establishing the landing configuration, Chen Qi discovered that they were still about one point above the glide path, and at this point, they were very close to landing.

"Isn't this instrument landing signal working? It's very stable!" Chen Qiyi noticed that the current altitude was just right for a twin-engine aircraft that had shut down, but too high for a normal aircraft or a single-engine aircraft.

It must be said that this young man, who inexplicably stepped forward, has an impeccable grasp of timing. I wonder which company nurtured this talent!

At this point, the plane was very close to the ground. Due to the poor visibility and the lack of a lighting system, even at such a close distance, they could only roughly make out the outline of a runway.

However, that was enough for Chen Qi.

With the help of instrument landing signals and radio altimeters, they can generally find the leveling machine, even without lights, although doing so is not a compliant operation.

Of course, their grounding might be a bit stiff, but Chen Qi and Xu Xian are quite confident that it will land accurately on the runway.

In a particularly good mood, Chen Qi even made a joke about the instrument landing signal at Jin'an Airport.

In their view, they were lucky today, having escaped with their lives.

Before landing, Xu Xian specifically moved the transmitter to the passenger broadcast position so that he could notify the cabin at any time in case of an emergency.

"100!" At this moment, the radio altimeter reported the altitude, showing that the aircraft was 100 feet above the ground, and the aircraft had already landed at a position half a point above the glide path.

The height is quite good!

"50!" Xu Xian tightened his grip on the steering wheel with his left hand; they were about to enter the leveling phase. He was still a little nervous about operating the vehicle with his left hand!

Chen Qi was also excitedly waiting for the 40-foot call signal. Normally, the plane should have already reached the airspace above the runway by now.

"40!"

The countdown at 40 feet arrived as scheduled!

But the next moment, the reading from the radio altimeter horrified Xu Xian!

"50!"

The radio altimeter readings have actually increased!

Xu Xian's mind raced, and he instantly understood an extremely terrifying problem.

He looked ahead, but it was still pitch black. He could only make out a rough outline, which was already very close.

However, even so, a bead of cold sweat appeared on Xu Xian's forehead.

He abruptly pressed the communication button and shouted sternly, "Crew! Collision avoidance, prepare!"

(End of this chapter)