Legendary Captain

Chapter 137 Two planes collide?

Just as Qin Zongyang pressed the autopilot button with his right hand, the plane's speed suddenly and inexplicably dropped.

Qin Zongyang was in the autopilot position at the time, and his gaze briefly left the flight instruments, so he did not notice the drop in airspeed immediately.

At that moment, from the moment the plane aligned with the runway until it took off, Xu Xian's mind was filled with all sorts of random thoughts, and he didn't notice the trend of changing airspeed at all.

Xia Qing was watching intently, but since she wasn't a professional in the aviation industry, she couldn't understand what kind of airspeed changes were problematic.

At that moment, the only person in the cockpit who noticed the abnormal change in airspeed immediately was the first co-pilot sitting on the right.

The first officer maintained close attention to the flight data and noticed the uninstructed drop in airspeed immediately. Perhaps the drop was too unusual, for the first officer paused for a moment, didn't react quickly enough, and didn't report it immediately.

However, after a short while, the airspeed, which had dropped to 130 knots, brought the first co-pilot back to his senses.

"Instructor! Airspeed!" At this point, how could the first co-pilot not give a warning?

But Qin Zongyang had already reacted by the time the first co-pilot spoke up to warn him. Of course, he wasn't referring to airspeed, but rather the aircraft's overall condition.

Just as we were aligned with the runway and preparing for takeoff, the control tower gave takeoff clearance and also provided information on the ground wind conditions.

Still wind!

While surface winds and low-altitude winds cannot be simply equated, there is at least some correlation between the two. It's unrealistic to expect calm winds at ground level followed by raging storms once the wind picks up.

However, this actually happened! And it seemed extremely illogical!

The moment Qin Zongyang placed his hand on the autopilot activation button, the plane seemed to have gone from a smooth highway to a rugged country road. The previously stable state of the aircraft suddenly entered a state of rapid, high-frequency, low-amplitude shaking.

The difference between the two is very noticeable in terms of physical sensation; any pilot with even a little awareness would be able to tell that something is wrong.

As expected, without the co-pilot even needing to remind him, Qin Zongyang almost reflexively withdrew his right hand and returned to manual control. Just then, the co-pilot's voice rang out: "Instructor! Airspeed!"

The moment the first co-pilot spoke up to warn him, Qin Zongyang had already noticed the abnormal change in airspeed.

"Damn it!" Qin Zongyang cursed. At 130 knots, they were already in the speed warning zone; any further descent and the plane would start to shake off control.

Qin Zongyang slightly pushed the stick back to increase speed. This push couldn't be too large; excessive input could cause the aircraft to shift from a climb to a descent, which would be extremely dangerous during takeoff.

During the takeoff phase of an aircraft, obstacle clearance requirements are paramount; in fact, QAR warnings include warnings about descent during the takeoff climb phase.

Fortunately, Qin Zongyang's skills were very refined, and he controlled the amount of the stick movement with great precision. His goal was simply to briefly regain enough airspeed to get the aircraft out of the warning zone.

Within Qin Zongyang's understanding, although he didn't know what exactly the plane had encountered, he felt it was just a short-term turbulence. As long as the current airspeed was maintained, the plane should recover automatically in no time.

However, Qin Zongyang was clearly overly optimistic. After he pushed the stick, the aircraft's airspeed did not increase significantly, and maintaining such a low airspeed for an extended period was truly alarming.

However, Qin Zongyang dared not push the stick any further. He realized that the plane seemed to be in a downdraft, which had already restricted its climb. If he pushed the stick any further, the plane might actually turn from climbing to descending.

Moreover, the plane's violent shaking became increasingly obvious at this point. If Qin Zongyang hadn't been so steady with his hands, he probably wouldn't have been able to even hold onto the steering wheel.

Turbulence is a fairly common occurrence for airplanes, but shaking like this is anything but ordinary. If this turbulence continues, it could break a person's bones. Even a seasoned frequent flyer like Xia Qing couldn't help but feel a little panicked; the turbulence was simply too intense.

Qin Zongyang was now in a dilemma, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Cancel the reduced thrust, switch to full thrust!"

To protect the engine, if thrust overflows, the pilot will perform appropriate thrust reduction operations based on takeoff performance analysis, meaning they will not use the engine's full thrust. However, in this situation, the aircraft is at a sustained low speed and it is difficult to increase speed. How can they maintain a thrust reduction operation in this situation?

Upon receiving Qin Zongyang's instructions, the first officer immediately reselected the thrust settings on the CDU's N1 restriction page. After canceling the thrust reduction option, the aircraft's thrust increased again, and its airspeed began to slowly rise.

"What is this thing? Wind shear?" Qin Zongyang cursed. "There's such a thing as wind shear when the ground is calm, but it changes when it leaves the ground?"

Qin Zongyang's series of questions and answers revealed his utter bewilderment; everything that had just happened simply didn't make sense.

"Could it be the wake turbulence from the aircraft in front?" the first co-pilot guessed. The aircraft in front was a heavy fighter like the A380, and among heavy fighters, the A380 was a behemoth.

An aircraft's wake is most directly related to its takeoff weight. The A380's maximum takeoff weight is seven or eight times greater than the B737's; they're not even in the same league. Therefore, the wake it produces should also be of considerable intensity.

Of course, aircraft wake is also related to aircraft configuration. Normally, with a smooth configuration, the aircraft's wake is more noticeable.

"I've followed an A380 before when it took off. How can the wake of a heavy fighter jet be this strong? That's absurd!" Qin Zongyang said irritably.

The A380 is indeed quite rare, especially in China. However, what qualifications does Qin Zongyang have? What hasn't he seen? He has taken off closely following an A380 from other airports more than once. To be fair, the A380's wake turbulence is indeed more noticeable than other aircraft, but to be this strong is a bit outrageous.

"Probably not! The control tower has left enough clearance for the wake to dissipate!" Xu Xian said.

After the A380 took off, the control tower asked Xu Xian and his team to wait outside the runway for a few minutes. During this time, the wake should have dissipated. Even if it didn't completely dissipate, the wake shouldn't have been this strong.

Qin Zongyang shouted angrily, "Did that kid in the control tower miscalculate the time?!"

The interval times and distances between light, medium, and heavy aircraft are all different. Qin Zongyang wondered if the air traffic control had made a mistake with the interval times. For example, the A380 is clearly a heavy aircraft, but the air traffic control was using the interval requirements for medium aircraft, so the interval would definitely be too short.

If the interval is too short, there might not be enough time for the wake to dissipate, making it appear so strong. However, even so, the wake of that A380 in front was no joke.

However, all of this was just Xu Xian's conjecture. Logically speaking, situations where restrictions create intervals should be relatively rare, after all, it's not something that's difficult to calculate.

Just as Qin Zongyang finished speaking, the aircraft's speed began to gradually increase with the increase in thrust, and it was already approaching the initial speed of retracting the flaps. Qin Zongyang thought about quickly retracting the flaps, because in the smooth configuration, the aircraft's speed range was much wider than when the flaps were extended.

Otherwise, if the flaps are always down, the space he can operate in will be much smaller.

However, before Qin Zongyang could give the command to retract the flaps, Xu Xian saw the red word "WINDSHEAR" appear below the attitude indicator of the PFD.

Xu Xian's scalp tingled instantly, and he immediately shouted, "Watch out for wind shear!"

Almost at the same time Xu Xian shouted "Wind Shear," the WINDSHEAR, WINDSHEAR audio warning suddenly appeared, echoing throughout the cockpit.

Qin Zongyang's reaction was incredibly fast. He slammed the throttle to the front, using maximum thrust, and at the same time, pressed the TO/GA switch to disconnect the autothrottle. He started at a 15-degree initial attitude and began following the flight guide.

Qin Zongyang's hands remained remarkably steady. Even in such turbulent conditions, with the aircraft in an extremely unstable state, the control loop was perfectly in place, without the slightest deviation. Although Qin Zongyang had become preoccupied with power struggles in recent years and had neglected honing his skills, his foundation was still quite solid. His ability to perform wind shear maneuvers was exceptionally reliable; Xu Xian, at least, could never achieve such precision.

Qin Zongyang, that old rascal, is truly skilled enough that even while performing wind shear, he still had the energy to curse loudly: "Is this some kind of wake vortex or wind shear?!"

The Chairman's Office of Chimelong Airlines.

Wen Mingyuan sat on the sofa with a gloomy face, and opposite him, Wen Jingshu also had a worried look on her face.

After the bureau's investigation report was released, Wen Jingshu almost temporarily put aside the Xingyou Airlines matter and focused on cooperating with her father to deal with the major crisis facing the Wen family.

The fact that the authorities haven't released information about the substitute player is enough to put the Wen family in a huge crisis. If Xu Jingyang finds out about this, he'll probably laugh for three days and three nights.

Years ago, Wen Mingyuan tricked him, causing the Xu family's downfall. Today, Xu Xian's unintentional act has plunged the Wen family into a dangerous situation of being attacked from both sides. It must be said that karma is cyclical, and retribution will eventually come.

"Hasn't the authorities given us a single word? There are less than two hundred people on that plane. Checking them one by one would only take a little effort. How could they not find them?" Wen Mingyuan roared angrily. This head of the Wen Group hadn't been this angry in a long time, and he was even somewhat out of control.

If you can't find someone among thousands or tens of thousands of people, that's one thing, but less than two hundred people, and they even bought tickets with their real names. As an official agency, the Civil Aviation Administration wouldn't find it too difficult to know exactly who these two hundred people are; it would just take a little time and effort.

Could it be that the authorities are finding it too troublesome and don't want to bother looking? But with such a large case like Chimelong 5677, how can they be so perfunctory?

Or did that old bastard Chen Chuan manage to persuade the bureau's investigation team? But that's highly unlikely! What kind of influence could Chen Chuan possibly have to affect the bureau's investigation team?

Wen Mingyuan probably couldn't have imagined it even if he racked his brains; it was just that the person he desperately wanted to find didn't want to be found.

"Dad, you know! The influence we can exert on the Bureau is very limited." Wen Jingshu sighed, "Relying on the Bureau for information is probably not a viable option."

No matter how influential Wen Mingyuan was in the business world, he ultimately couldn't affect an official institution like the Bureau. Wen Mingyuan wanted to question the Bureau sternly about why they couldn't find him, but even if he had more courage, he wouldn't dare.

"What did that old bastard Chen Chuan say?" Wen Mingyuan asked in a cold voice.

Wen Jingshu: "Chen Chuan met with the five shareholders a couple of days ago, one of whom was Wang Fengying's representative. They must have reached an agreement!"

Snapped!

Wen Mingyuan slammed his fist on the table, his anger palpable: "A bunch of greedy good-for-nothings! They see others making money in the low-to-mid-end market and they always want to get involved too. But they don't realize that once they enter the low-to-mid-end market, they'll be competing directly with Xu Qing and Han Qi. These past few years of comfort have given them the audacity to challenge Xu Qing and Han Qi. Don't they know the meaning of death? Leaving aside Qingyuan Group, Kunlong Airlines currently has no successor. Once Han Qi retires, how can Kunlong Airlines possibly hold onto its business? Then we can naturally fill the vacated market share—isn't that the safest approach? Losing a few years of profit is their death sentence. If Changlong follows their path, won't it be squeezed out of existence by Kunlong and Qingyuan?"

The low-to-mid-end market of domestic civil aviation has been largely divided up by Qingyuan Group and Kunlong Airlines, leaving only scraps for other airlines to enjoy.

In contrast, the high-end market is highly competitive, with Qingyuan Group's subsidiary, Xingfei Airlines, focusing on the high-end segment. However, compared to the low- and mid-end markets, Qingyuan Group and Kunlong Airlines haven't completely eliminated competitors, leaving some room for others. Chimelong Airlines survives by leveraging the high-end market deliberately left by Qingyuan Group and Kunlong Airlines, and it's doing quite well.

The high-end market is indeed very efficient at generating revenue, but compared to the massive scale of the mid-to-low-end market, the total amount of money earned is still relatively small, as it has greater limitations.

Perhaps they've been living too comfortably these past few years, or perhaps they're envious of the huge profits Qingyuan Group and Kunlong Aviation are making, some shareholders are recklessly trying to seize the low-to-mid-end market.

Wen Mingyuan had a much clearer understanding of the power dynamics in the domestic civil aviation market than those short-sighted shareholders, and he was not blinded by the huge profits in the low-to-mid-end market.

He knew perfectly well that as long as Xu Qing and Han Qi didn't completely retire, Qingyuan Group and Kunlong Airlines would remain the leading forces in China's civil aviation industry. Anyone who dared to challenge their authority would be crushed.

Although Qingyuan Group and Kunlong Airlines made the most money, they didn't completely dominate the civil aviation market, even if they joined forces. The market share that Qingyuan Group and Kunlong Airlines deliberately left is enough for other airlines to thrive, as long as those airlines understand their own positioning.

However, some shareholders of Chimelong Airlines are now blinded by greed and have lost sight of their own position.

Wen Mingyuan was certain that as long as Chimelong Airlines dared to announce its entry into the low-to-mid-end market, it would be squeezed out of the civil aviation industry within two years.

"They simply don't know the power of Xu Qing and Han Qi!" Wen Jingshu sighed.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) oversees all civil aviation affairs, and it's always been the administration that rules others; airlines have no choice but to comply. Xu Qing and Han Qi are figures who can influence the CAAC's decisions, a feat no other airline can achieve.

"You're courting death!" Wen Mingyuan cursed. "Let's try to find a way to get through to the bureau! If that doesn't work, then we'll have to investigate ourselves!"

"Investigate it yourself? If you investigate further, it will involve your personal privacy. If others find out, it could be a fatal secret!" Wen Jingshu advised.

In today's society, personal privacy is highly valued. Any company that dares to infringe on customer privacy will be met with fierce criticism, and it could be fatal.

If they disregard passenger privacy and insist on searching for the person, even if they weather this crisis, it will sow the seeds of a huge hidden danger for Chimelong. If others find out about this, Chimelong will be in danger of collapse.

Such actions are, in fact, akin to drinking poison to quench thirst.

"What else can we do? They haven't made a move yet because they're still trying to reach an agreement with Wang Fengying of Shenggong Construction. Once they've settled all the details, Changlong and Shenggong will rise up together, leaving us attacked from both sides. Our Wen family will be in grave danger." Wen Mingyuan sighed, "It's better to die later than now. There's always a chance if we survive."

Using underhanded methods is certainly not a wise move, but the immediate crisis is the most urgent matter, and Wen Mingyuan is already at his wit's end. If Chen Chuan and Wang Fengying truly reach a complete agreement, he won't be able to handle it.

Wen Jingshu remained silent. To be honest, she didn't have any good solutions to the current predicament.

Just then, Wen Mingyuan's phone rang. He answered it, listened for a moment, then his gaze suddenly fixed on Wen Jingshu, and he said in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

Due to wind shear, the aircraft had to maintain its wings level and could not turn. Therefore, the departure procedure of turning right shortly after takeoff could not be followed.

Star Travel 6777 maintained its flight path!

The control tower was preparing to have Star Cruises 6777 switch to its approach frequency, but upon checking the radar, they discovered that Star Cruises 6777 had deviated from the departure procedure. They immediately questioned, "Star Cruises 6777, what's going on? Why did you deviate from the departure procedure?"

Shortly after, Xingyou6777 replied: "Xingyou6777 is experiencing wind shear and requests to remain on one side!"

"Wind shear? Wind shear in this kind of weather?" Control tower was bewildered: "Star Trek 6777, keep it on one side, issue a report!"

After saying that, the control tower added, "Star Travel 6777, what level of wind shear are we experiencing now?"

However, Star Cruises 6777 did not respond at all. The control tower assumed that the crew of Star Cruises 6777 was busy dealing with wind shear and did not have time to answer, so they did not persist in asking questions so as not to disturb the crew of Star Cruises 6777.

At the same time, there was also an aircraft waiting to take off at the runway head of runway 04.

"Blue Sky 9433, calm winds on the ground, runway 04, cleared for takeoff!" The control tower for runway 04 issued takeoff clearance: "After takeoff, strictly maintain your flight path. Right deviation is strictly prohibited and could cause disruption!"

Star Travel 6777 is currently maintaining a single flight path. If it veers to the right after taking off from runway 04, it will cause a conflict with Star Travel 6777. That's why the control tower on runway 04 gave a special reminder.

"Runway 04, are you cleared for takeoff? Right turn prohibited! Blue Sky 9433!" the Blue Sky Airlines crew replied.

Inside the cockpit of Star Travel 6777, Qin Zongyang was cursing loudly. The intensity of this wind shear wasn't particularly high, but its duration was exceptionally long. More than ten seconds had passed since it appeared, and there was still no sign of it ending.

"Why is this plane constantly rolling to the left?" Qin Zongyang suddenly asked, puzzled.

Xu Xian, who was behind, also noticed that Qin Zongyang was continuously operating the right pressure plate. It seemed to be a spontaneous situation caused by airflow affecting the aircraft.

From the turbulence and wind shear that occurred after the plane took off, to its current inexplicable rolling trend, everything seems strange.

"However, the rolling trend is not strong yet, otherwise..." Qin Zongyang was just about to say that the plane was still under control when a violent rolling torque struck. Qin Zongyang was caught off guard and failed to hold the yoke. The plane suddenly rolled to the left, and the bank angle exceeded thirty degrees.

As soon as the aircraft deviated from one side of the flight path of runway 03, the wind shear warning disappeared, but it was immediately followed by the bank warning.

BANK ANGLE!

The rolling moment was extremely strong, causing the aircraft to veer significantly to the left almost instantly. Runways 03 and 04 are parallel runways, not far apart, and the Star Travel 6777's left veer caused it to drift directly to one side of runway 04.

On the radar screen, the air traffic controllers on runways 03 and 04 broke out in a cold sweat. The small diamond-shaped dot representing the Star Travel 6777 aircraft had completely overlapped with the flight path on runway 04, just as a Blue Sky Airlines plane took off from runway 04.

On runway 04, Blue Sky 9433 had just taken off. The first officer retracted the landing gear under the captain's command, and his gaze shifted from inside the cabin to outside.

But when his gaze shifted outside, a look of horror crossed his face. He slowly pointed directly upwards and exclaimed in shock, "Is that an airplane?"

(End of this chapter)