Legendary Captain

Chapter 139 Photographic Memory (Please Subscribe!)

"Blue Sky 9433, turn right to heading 050, correct sea pressure 4200, correct sea pressure 1012." The control tower on runway 04 gave a new instruction.

First officer of Blue Sky Airlines: "Turn right to heading 050, up pressure 4200, down pressure 1012."

The moment the first officer finished repeating his statement, the captain interrupted, "Tower, wasn't the Star Trek plane I just spoke to take off from runway 03?"

The air traffic control tower on runway 04 hesitated for a moment, but sensing the anger in the Blue Sky Airlines captain's tone, and realizing they couldn't hide it any longer, they had no choice but to tell the truth: "The Star Travel plane did indeed take off from runway 03..."

"Is he still on frequency 03 tower?" the captain pressed.

The controller on runway 04 glanced at the controller on runway 03 beside him, who looked helpless, and replied, "Uh... I think he's here! But..."

Before the air traffic controller on runway 04 could finish explaining, the captain of Blue Sky Airlines interjected, "I will be mindful of communication rules and will not interfere with other people's conversations."

After saying that, he immediately instructed the co-pilot to switch the second VHF frequency to the tower frequency of runway 03.

Although the crew of Star Trek Airlines can hear you speaking on the emergency frequency, the emergency frequency is ultimately for emergency use. If there's nothing urgent, saying a word or two on it is fine, but saying more than that would be considered rude.

Although the captain of Blue Sky Airlines was furious, he hadn't lost his temper and still knew about communication rules.

Blue Sky Airlines is also based at Yunnan Airport. Its pilots are naturally very familiar with the airport's air traffic control frequencies and do not need to look at aeronautical charts.

Upon receiving the captain's instructions, the first officer immediately switched the second VHF frequency to the tower frequency of runway 03 without saying a word.

After the captain glanced at the frequency to confirm it was correct, he switched the transmitter and prepared to fire.

Just then, the controller on runway 03 spoke up: "Star Travel 6777, maintain course, upper correction altitude 5100 meters, correction pressure 1012."

"Maintain course, adjust pressure to 5100 meters, adjust sea pressure to 1012, Star Travel 6777!" Star Travel Aviation's first officer replied.

The moment the first officer of Star Travel Airlines finished speaking, the air traffic control tower on runway 03 quietly added, "That's all I have to say!"

The captain of Blue Sky Airlines immediately let out a cold laugh and asked in a chilling voice over the radio, "Is there anyone else who has urgent business to discuss?"

Even though the captain of Blue Sky Airlines was already on the verge of greeting the whole family, he still gave a heads-up beforehand in order not to take up public resources.

The response to the Blue Sky Airlines captain was a deathly silence on the control tower. No one wanted to get involved in this mess at this time, and unless it was something urgent, everyone chose to give up the control tower frequency to the Blue Sky Airlines captain who was clearly on the verge of going crazy.

The captain of Blue Sky Airlines' words were naturally overheard by Xu Xian and his team, who were monitoring the frequency of the control tower on runway 03.

Qin Zongyang belatedly realized that he was very dissatisfied with the Blue Sky Airlines captain's shouting behavior: "Isn't this the guy who went crazy on the emergency frequency just now? Why is he acting up on the control tower frequency now? Is nobody in charge?"

Qin Zongyang was probably getting old and confused; he didn't even understand the situation. The first co-pilot just gave a dry laugh, unsure what to say. Xu Xian, however, didn't seem to care and casually mentioned from the back, "It looks like the plane we just landed on!"

"Huh?" Qin Zongyang's face stiffened, but he quickly understood what was going on. He coughed twice and said, "So, they've come to interrogate us?"

Sure enough, just as Qin Zongyang finished speaking, the entire cockpit's headphones and speakers were completely drowned out by the Blue Sky Airlines captain's roar.

"Star Travel's trash, if you can't fly a plane, then don't fly it! You're all looking for death, don't drag others down with you!" The captain of Blue Sky Airlines suddenly unleashed his full firepower, grabbing the Star Travel Airlines crew and unleashing a torrent of abuse.

Qin Zongyang already knew the other person was referring to him, and he knew he was in the wrong, but when had he ever lost an argument? He immediately retorted, "When I was a captain, you were probably still in junior high! Who gave you the right to talk nonsense?"

The Blue Sky Airlines captain sounded very young, probably only in his thirties. Qin Zongyang, on the other hand, had been a captain for over thirty years. When Qin Zongyang hired the captain, this Blue Sky Airlines captain was only a teenager, probably in junior high school, which was perfectly normal.

Xu Xian was so ashamed and indignant that he wished he could disappear into the ground. They were indeed in the wrong, but his master just didn't want to lose the argument and stubbornly continued to argue back.

Xia Qingke was still in the cockpit! He really didn't want her to see this farce!

"Doesn't that just make you look even more useless?" The captain of Blue Sky Airlines wasn't one to be trifled with either. "After flying for so many years, you still don't understand how to fly? If it were me, I would have already requested to go to the ground. Why are you still shamelessly clinging to the captain's seat? What are you doing? Staying up there, waiting to embarrass yourself?"

It has to be said that Qin Zongyang has really met his match. Don't let the young age of this Blue Sky Airlines captain fool you; he's incredibly quick-witted.

Qin Zongyang was momentarily speechless, but his mind raced, and he immediately changed his tune, resorting to his usual nonsensical arguments: "It's not my fault! Who knew Yunnan would have such strong winds? Besides, there was an A380 taking off ahead, probably caught in the wake turbulence. By the way, did the control tower create a takeoff separation? Making us navigate through turbulence, even wind shear has appeared, while the ground control reported calm winds!"

Yunnan Airport is notorious for its strong winds, a fact well-known in Chinese civil aviation. If you happen to be there during the windy season, you're in for a rough time. Of course, even the strongest winds shouldn't blow an aircraft so far off course. So, Qin Zongyang quickly shifted the blame, mentioning the aircraft's wake turbulence.

To be honest, the ground-based reports of calm winds suddenly gave way to a wind shear as soon as the plane took off, which is quite illogical. The only explanation is the wake turbulence from the preceding aircraft.

Even if the wake turbulence of the preceding aircraft is strong, as long as the spacing regulations are followed, it rarely has such a significant impact. The blame lies with the air traffic control tower for not releasing the aircraft at the prescribed intervals, coupled with the calm wind conditions and weak convection, which made it difficult for the wake turbulence to dissipate, thus causing such a large impact on their aircraft.

The question directly addressed the legitimacy of the control tower's release procedures, and the controller immediately objected, retorting, "StarTravel6777, you can't just make baseless accusations. I released the aircraft according to regulations, absolutely in accordance with the authority's release interval requirements. If you don't believe me, go check the 'Regulations on Wake Turbine Classification and Wake Turbine Separation for Airbus A380' yourself. Our conversations are recorded; you can request to see them if needed, to see exactly when I released the preceding aircraft and when I released yours!"

Civil aviation traffic management regulations actually include provisions regarding wake separation for heavy aircraft. The Airbus A380, as the largest operating civil transport aircraft currently in operation, naturally falls into the heavy aircraft category. However, the Airbus A380's wake turbulence is far stronger than that of other heavy aircraft, making it difficult to apply general heavy aircraft standards to it. Therefore, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) specifically formulated separate regulations for the Airbus A380.

There's no way around it, the Airbus A380 is just ridiculously big. Different fireworks require different regulations.

"Is there such a regulation? It's not something the authorities just made up, is it?" Qin Zongyang asked, glancing at the first co-pilot.

Although Qin Zongyang was extremely experienced, he had spent his entire career flying the 737 medium-sized aircraft and had virtually no concept of heavy aircraft, let alone the Airbus A380, the heaviest of heavy aircraft. This was somewhat beyond his knowledge.

Qin Zongyang had no idea, and the first co-pilot had no idea either, so he could only shake his head hurriedly.

Seeing how useless the first passenger was, Qin Zongyang snorted coldly and glared at him fiercely. Xu Xian, who was in the back seat, patted Qin Zongyang on the shoulder, gesturing for him to take off his headphones and hand them to him.

"Could it be that you know something, kid?" Qin Zongyang smiled and handed over the earphones.

Xu Xian took the earphones but didn't put them on. He spoke into the microphone, and Qin Zongyang very cooperatively pressed the call button for Xu Xian.

"Are you referring to the official document numbered AC-93-TM-2033-03?" Xu Xian asked casually.

In an instant, not only Qin Zongyang in the cockpit, but also the first co-pilot and Xia Qing stared at Xu Xian as if they had seen a ghost. Even all the monitoring crews on the tower frequency gasped in shock.

Remembering file names is normal; people might just compliment you on your memory. But remembering file codes is truly extraordinary.

Some crew members who are familiar with this document may recall that it was released some time ago, not recently, which further highlights the immense difficulty in remembering it.

Qin Zongyang was utterly shocked: "You even know that?!"

Xu Xian actually knew! During his training, Xingfei Airlines, part of the Qingyuan Group, had intended to import a small number of Airbus A380s. They even had the necessary approvals from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), various supporting documents, and a conversion training plan. However, after extensive evaluation, Xingfei Airlines ultimately decided against the Airbus A380.

Back when Xingfei Airlines was eagerly trying to introduce the Airbus A380, Xu Xian was learning to fly by tagging along with Xu Qing. Although Xu Qing rarely flew anymore, he still kept up with the company's work and read a lot of information about the Airbus A380. Xu Xian also read a lot of information about it, including this document, "Regulations on Wake Tide Class and Wake Tide Separation of Airbus A380".

"I happened to have seen it once before, and I remembered it!" Xu Xian said with a smile.

In Xu Xian's eyes, wasn't this just normal operation? But in the eyes of others, it was almost a monstrous performance.

To be honest, Xu Xian's almost photographic memory gave him a huge advantage in absorbing knowledge from books. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come up with such a clever trick as an answer index in the first exam for Star Travel Aviation.

Xia Qing, standing beside Xu Xian, was also captivated by his extraordinary abilities. Such unique and unconventional displays always possess a powerful allure, and this was certainly true for Xia Qing as well.

This handsome man seems to have a different kind of scent about him!

The control tower was clearly caught off guard by Xu Xian's move, and mumbled, "I think so! Anyway, I'm fine on my end."

Xu Xian handed the earphones back to Qin Zongyang; it was time for his performance.

"That might be due to a problem with the regulations; the assessment of the Airbus A380's wake intensity was insufficient. Shortly after takeoff, we encountered wind shear, and afterwards, the aircraft consistently experienced a rolling moment to the left. Later, the rolling moment suddenly increased, exceeding the aircraft's ability to recover, which caused us to veer off runway 03. There's really nothing we can do about this!" Qin Zongyang said.

The air traffic controller remained silent for a moment. The Star Travel crew was unlikely to lie; the aircraft had specialized equipment to record flight data, including not only aircraft parameters but also environmental parameters such as wind direction and speed. Whether they encountered any unforeseen and severe turbulence after takeoff could be investigated; the crew had no reason to deny it.

The ground was calm and the wind was still, so it was highly unlikely that the airflow would suddenly change after takeoff. The only explanation was the wake turbulence of the aircraft in front, which happened to be an Airbus A380, making everything seem plausible.

If that's the case, then it's very likely that the Civil Aviation Administration's settings for the wake turbulence separation of the Airbus A380 are still insufficient.

Of course, even if the turbulence was indeed the cause, it doesn't mean the crew bears no responsibility. We also need to consider the extent of the turbulence. If turbulence did exist, but its intensity wasn't significant and didn't exceed the aircraft's correction limits, then it's the crew's fault, or at least partly their fault. After all, if they could have corrected it but failed, it indicates a lack of capability, and they will certainly bear some responsibility. However, if the turbulence intensity exceeded the aircraft's correction capabilities, then it can generally be considered an objective cause. In this case, the crew will typically not be penalized, or will only receive very minor penalties.

The authorities and airlines are quite rational in dealing with flight issues. They don't always blame the pilots when problems arise, because some problems cannot be changed by human intervention and are caused by objective reasons.

The most typical example is exceeding in-flight load limits. Severe turbulence during flight can cause the aircraft's load to exceed limits. This isn't exactly a safety incident, but the crew usually isn't penalized. Turbulence is generally beyond the crew's control. Aside from using turbulence speed or requesting a change of altitude, the crew has few solutions.

Of course, if someone is blind and flies into cumulonimbus clouds or thunderstorms, causing the aircraft to overload in the air, that's a different story.

In fact, the situation has now developed to the point that if what the Star Travel crew said is true, then the "Regulations on Wake Tide Class and Wake Tide Separation of Airbus A380" issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China has loopholes and urgently needs to be revised.

Although this time it was a close call, who knows what might happen next time?

While air traffic control remained silent, the captain of Blue Sky Airlines wasn't about to let Xu Xian and his team off the hook: "Regardless of the reason, I'm definitely going to report this to the Southwest Regional Administration—no, to the General Administration. This matter absolutely needs an explanation!"

"Suit yourself!" Threatened, Qin Zongyang's temper flared up: "If you don't go, I'll look down on you!"

Having exhausted its verbal sparring, air traffic control brought this farce to a close: "Star Trek 6777, contact approach 124.05, goodbye!"

"Approach 124.05, goodbye!" the first co-pilot said.

Just as the first officer was contacting the approach, Qin Zongyang had been pondering a question that had been bothering him. After the aircraft approached stable cruising, he finally asked, "What exactly was that rolling torque we just experienced?"

(End of this chapter)