Legendary Captain

Chapter 153 Aircraft Maintenance Personnel in Flight Clothes

Back when Xu Xian was learning to fly under Xu Qing's tutelage, he met Wang Wenya, the editor-in-chief of Pengteng Information. Although they didn't spend much time together, Wang Wenya really liked the clever young man. However, after Xu Xian finished his flying lessons and returned to Dianyun City, he lost touch with Wang Wenya considerably.

It's important to understand that Wang Wenya is not only the editor-in-chief of Pengteng Information, but also its boss, holding absolute power within the company. Helping Xu Xian manage his subordinates would be a simple matter of a word.

And that was indeed the case. After receiving Wang Wenya's call, the arrogant young reporter who had been so domineering just a moment ago suddenly became respectful, politely returned Xu Xian's phone, apologized repeatedly, and then quickly left.

The farce ended in such a dramatic way that Xu Xian couldn't help but sigh, "Having someone behind you really makes a difference."

Although there was a delay at the airport terminal, fortunately, it wasn't too late when I got on the plane, and I didn't violate any rules.

Inside the cockpit, Xu Xian was diligently preparing, while Qin Zongyang, his face full of gossip, was asking all sorts of questions: "That girl's name was Lian Shanxue, right? Our company's only female pilot?"

As Xu Xian typed in CDU, he glanced at Qin Zongyang and said, "Aren't you the deputy general manager of the flight department? Shouldn't you know more about this than I do?"

"I don't care about that! That girl claims to be from our flight department, but she spends all her time hanging around in the publicity and marketing departments. She's just a figurehead in the flight department. Do you really expect her to fly?" Qin Zongyang said.

Qin Zongyang's statement was indeed correct. Lian Shanxue spent far more time in the publicity and marketing departments than in the flight department. Although Lian Shanxue's work ID stated that she was from Xingyou Aviation's flight department, it was rather inaccurate.

Qin Zongyang had a very clear understanding of Lian Shanxue's true nature as a vase.

"They've worked hard too, what kind of hero talks about them behind their backs!" Xu Xian suddenly blurted out.

"Tsk tsk, so it's starting already? Protecting her, huh!" Qin Zongyang started sarcastically, "Hey kid, you're something else! This Lian Shanxue, what was that flight attendant's name again? Xia something? Xia Qing? Didn't realize you were such a romantic!"

Xu Xian rolled his eyes at Qin Zongyang, too lazy to pay him any attention.

Just then, the first co-pilot came up after refueling. As soon as he entered the cockpit, he reported to Qin Zongyang, "Mr. Qin, the gas is all filled up!"

Qin Zongyang simply nodded, then continued his relentless gossip with Xu Xian: "And our boss..."

Before the president could utter the word "layoff," Qin Zongyang noticed there was another person in the cockpit and turned his head slightly, saying, "You can leave now!"

"Huh? Is there something you need, Mr. Qin?" The first passenger was clearly not following Qin Zongyang's train of thought.

Qin Zongyang was eager to gossip, and seeing the first passenger seat driver dawdling and not getting out, he immediately became annoyed: "Just get out when I tell you to! Stop with all this nonsense!"

"But there are passengers picking up outside!" the first co-pilot said speechlessly.

Passengers are boarding now, and the aisle is bustling with people. What is he going out for?

"What's wrong with being a guest of honor? Go and greet the guest!" Qin Zongyang said angrily.

"Me? Mr. Qin, I'm supposed to greet the guests?" The first co-pilot was losing his composure: "I haven't learned how to do that either!"

"Can't you ask the flight attendant? Get out of here right now!" Qin Zongyang waved his hand impatiently, urging the first co-pilot to leave.

The first co-pilot looked distressed, but Qin Zongyang had made up his mind, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go out.

"These days, kids can't even go out to greet guests. Back in the day, we were always at the mercy of our teachers. When did we ever say a word against it?" Qin Zongyang sighed.

Xu Xian broke out in a cold sweat: "How can these be the same? It's not even related to my major. Aren't you just making things difficult for me?"

Qin Zongyang glared at him: "What's so difficult about welcoming guests?"

As she spoke, she mimicked a flight attendant's welcoming expression, forcing a stiff smile: "Welcome aboard, hello, welcome aboard, hello, isn't it just repeating that? What's so difficult about it?"

Xu Xian glanced disdainfully at Qin Zongyang's old face: "The difficulty is right there on your face!"

"My face?" Qin Zongyang touched his face and instantly realized that Xu Xian was mocking his appearance. He laughed loudly, "I, Qin Zongyang, have a face like tree bark now, but when I was young, I was a handsome young man. Everyone who saw me would praise me."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Xian's profile and chuckled, "I'm old now, but I have a handsome apprentice! He even managed to seduce the president of Xingyou! No, wait, you seduce him back then, which is a real honor for this old man!"

As Qin Zongyang spoke, he nudged Xu Xian's left arm with his elbow, a mischievous grin on his face: "Tell me! Lian Shanxue, Xia Qing, and our CEO, which one do you like?"

Xu Xian snorted and uttered only one sentence: "Crazy!"

Despite being called crazy by Xu Xian, Qin Zongyang showed no anger. Instead, he began to assess Xu Xian: "Our CEO is good-looking and wealthy, but she's a strong woman, not easy to manage. In the end, it won't be you marrying her, but her marrying you. Not good, not good!"

"Lianshanxue is a lovely young lady. Lively, adorable, and quite thoughtful. She's a good match for you!"

"Xia Qing speaks softly and gently; she would make a good wife. However, she doesn't seem to match you; she's a bit too mature!"

Xia Qing is indeed a bit older than Xu Xian, but only by two years. They say a woman three years older than Xu Xian is a lucky match, so logically speaking, Xia Qing isn't considered particularly old. Qin Zongyang's point is that Xia Qing's demeanor doesn't quite match Xu Xian's.

Although Xu Xian had already experienced the harsh realities of society, he still looked like a handsome young man. In contrast, Xia Qing exuded a maternal aura.

When Xu Xian and Xia Qing stand together, they look less like a couple and more like siblings or mother and son. This isn't based on their appearance, but purely on their overall demeanor.

"So what if you're mature? Only mature people can take care of others!" Xu Xian suddenly said.

Qin Zongyang became interested: "Oh ho, so you like Xia Qing's type. You don't like young girls or strong women, you just like mature women."

"You old lewd man? Is that something you need to worry about?" Xu Xian was somewhat embarrassed and angry.

Qin Zongyang chuckled knowingly, "Alright, alright, this isn't my concern. It's our great Casanova Xu's concern. I won't say anything, I won't say anything!"

After a barrage of words, Qin Zongyang saw that the guests had almost finished, so he gradually calmed down and got down to business.

During this inspection, Qin Zongyang strictly followed the inspection standards, only allowing Xu Xianxing to cooperate and not to operate the aircraft.

From aircraft preparation to pushback and engine start-up, there were no problems. After the engines started normally and the pre-taxi checklist was completed, and the apron gave the taxiing instruction, Xu Xian turned on the taxi lights, and Qin Zongyang gave the maintenance crew a taxiing signal.

When the maintenance crew saw Qin Zongyang give them a hand signal, they returned the signal to let the plane go. However, after taking only two steps, they inexplicably glanced back in the direction of the plane.

After confirming the aircraft's taxiing route, Xu Xian glanced casually to the left and saw the maintenance crew returning.

"Master, look what the maintenance crew is doing?" Xu Xian pointed to the left.

"Huh?" Qin Zongyang looked in the direction Xu Xian was pointing and saw the aircraft mechanic with his arms crossed. He asked in confusion, "You want us to stop? What's wrong?"

Upon seeing that the cockpit had received his message, the maintenance crew quickly made another hand gesture, clapping his hands down and waving his baton up and down between his waist and knees.

"Why are you telling us to ease off the throttle? What's going on?" Although somewhat confused, Qin Zongyang still eased off the throttle and brought the plane to a stop after it had just taxied away.

As the engine noise subsided, the maintenance crew knew the flight crew was reducing throttle, and immediately ran towards the aircraft. Approaching the cockpit, he spread his right hand with five fingers facing it, then clenched it into a fist after meeting Qin Zongyang's gaze.

Xu Xian saw it too and said in surprise, "Is something really wrong? They even made us set up parking brakes!"

"Don't let anything go wrong!" Qin Zongyang abruptly stopped and braked. This was Xu Xian's flight path inspection, and he didn't want any problems to arise.

The maintenance worker ran to the cockpit with the headset in hand, reconnected it, and shortly after, his voice came from inside the cockpit: "Did you turn on your taxi lights?"

Qin Zongyang glanced at the glider light switch: "It's on? The glider lights aren't turning on?"

"It's not lit!" the maintenance worker said.

Xu Xian thought for a moment and said to Qin Zongyang, "The taxi lights not being on shouldn't affect the passage!"

According to MEL's release standards, even if the taxi lights are not working, it can still be released normally. Xu Xian has read many books, so he doesn't even need to look at the MEL manual.

Qin Zongyang didn't have Xu Xian's brain, but having flown so many flights, he knew that taxi lights didn't affect clearance.

"Is the glider light alright?" Qin Zongyang asked.

"It's okay if the taxi lights don't work, but the fixed landing lights are a problem!" the maintenance worker said.

"A fixed landing light?" Xu Xian suddenly remembered that the aircraft fault log stated the left fixed landing light was not working. While Qin Zongyang was pondering this, Xu Xian spoke with the maintenance crew: "Our aircraft has retractable landing lights. One landing light on each side can be non-functional, as long as at least one of the two working landing lights is a fixed landing light. Both retractable landing lights are working, and the right fixed landing light is working—doesn't that meet the requirements?"

The retractable landing lights on both sides are working properly, but only one fixed landing light is malfunctioning. According to the MEL, it is permissible to proceed.

Aircraft mechanics are professionals in this field, how could they not know? But he was worried about something else, so he hurriedly said, "When the preceding aircraft was approaching, the control tower told them they hadn't turned on their lights, but in reality they had all the lights on. As a result, after landing, they checked and found that the taxi lights and the fixed landing lights on both sides were not working."

During aircraft approach and landing, all lights need to be turned on. One reason for this is to scare away birds. The bright lights can deter birds even if they are in front of the aircraft.

The two fixed landing lights are, needless to say, absolutely blindingly bright headlights. The taxi lights, on the other hand, are round lights located on the front landing gear, and their brightness is slightly less than that of the fixed landing lights.

With all these lights on, they are quite conspicuous even during the day. From the control tower, one can have a clear view of aircraft during their low-altitude approach. If a problem is detected with the aircraft's lighting system, the crew will usually be alerted.

It was thanks to the tower's warning that the crew tested the external lights after arriving at the port and discovered that the taxi lights and the two fixed landing lights were no longer working.

"But the fault log only says the left fixed landing light is not working, right?" Xu Xian was a little confused. The mechanic's report was different from what was written on the fault log!

The maintenance crew said helplessly, "That's the problem! When the crew tested it, the taxi lights and the two fixed landing lights were malfunctioning. But when we tested it a little while later, the taxi lights and the right fixed landing light were working, only the left fixed landing light was still not working."

Xu Xian was stunned: "You mean the lighting system is malfunctioning?"

There might be a short circuit at the wiring, or some other reason. It's possible that the lighting system or other devices might have similar issues. After waiting for a while and trying again, it suddenly worked.

"We tested it several times, and the taxi lights and the right-side fixed landing light were all working, so we released it according to the MEL. But now the taxi lights are having problems again," the maintenance crew said.

Xu Xian's expression also darkened: "Are you worried that the right-side fixed landing light might also be faulty?"

"The taxi lights are fine, but if the fixed landing light on the right side is malfunctioning, then that's a real problem!" the maintenance worker lamented.

Just then, perhaps noticing that Xingyou's plane hadn't moved for a while after the taxiing instruction was given, the tarmac controllers inquired: "Xingyou 6993, what's wrong with you? I see you've been waiting here for quite some time."

When the aircraft's transponder is switched to ground mode, the controller does not need to look at it visually; the aircraft's taxiing position can be seen on the screen.

"On the tarmac, there's a problem with our lighting system; we need to test it," Qin Zongyang explained over the radio.

Apron control: "Approximately how long will it take? If it takes a long time, you'll need to move your position; a plane needs to pass through soon."

The Star Travel 6993 aircraft is currently positioned right at the tarmac exit. If another aircraft needs to taxi out later, the Star Travel aircraft will become an obstacle.

"Two minutes!" Qin Zongyang replied.

The air traffic controller thought for a moment and said, "Okay! No problem then. Finish it as soon as possible, and let me know the follow-up decision!"

"Okay, Star Travel 6993!" Qin Zongyang finished speaking, switched to the launch terminal, and contacted the maintenance crew: "Now I'll turn on the fixed landing lights on both sides. Take a look, and watch your eyes!"

The two fixed landing lights are extremely bright; looking at them directly could even damage your eyes, which is why Qin Zongyang specifically reminded them.

Aircraft maintenance personnel are professionals; how could they not know how to protect their eyes?

"Captain, please turn on the lights!" the maintenance crew said.

Qin Zongyang turned on the landing lights on both sides: "I've turned them on! Do you see any problems?"

Shortly after, the maintenance crew replied, "Captain, the fixed landing lights on both sides aren't working! Try again!"

Upon hearing that there were no fixed landing lights on either side, Xu Xian's heart sank. It seemed like they couldn't leave!

Time was of the essence, and air traffic control was still pressing them. Without further ado, Qin Zongyang switched the landing lights on both sides and asked, "Now?"

After a short wait, the maintenance crew's voice rang out again: "Captain, there's still no response! We can't take off like this!"

Xu Xian almost coughed up blood on the spot. What kind of mess was this? This kind of problem occurred during his own flight route inspection? Don't waste too much time, cancel this flight.

Qin Zongyang's expression was equally grim. He had only managed to snatch Xu Xian's inspection authority from the jaws of defeat because Wang Lingkun had been drinking and making a mistake. If things weren't resolved today, who knew if Wang Lingkun would become increasingly enraged and determined to fight Qin Zongyang to the death?

As the saying goes, "the longer the night, the more things can go wrong." If we don't finish the inspection today, and something unexpected happens later, there will be no one to complain to.

"I'll try again!" Qin Zongyang was unwilling to give up and tried once more, but the result was still the same.

"What the hell is this crappy plane?!" Qin Zongyang was completely exasperated. However, given the current situation, they definitely couldn't leave for the time being. Gritting his teeth, he contacted air traffic control: "Airport, our lighting system is malfunctioning. We can't leave for now; we need to tow it back!"

The Star Travel plane has now crossed the advance route and can no longer advance on its own; it needs a tow truck to help.

"Are there any tow trucks nearby?" the tarmac asked.

Qin Zongyang glanced around: "No, it'll probably be a while!"

"Star Travel 6993, turn right and clear the T1 taxiway," the apron controller announced.

"Okay!" Qin Zongyang contacted the maintenance crew: "Could you call a tow truck for me? Let's go back first! We need to turn right to clear the T1 taxiway; it's causing a disruption."

T1 taxiway is the exit of this helipad, where the Star Travel aircraft is currently located.

"Okay, Captain! I need to contact the spare parts department to have them send over the lights. We'll probably need to replace them. I'll need to check the part numbers later, so it might take a while!" the maintenance worker said. "Oh, and since we're towing them back, let's replace the taxi lights too!"

An airplane has a large number of parts, so they can't be used haphazardly. There are specific regulations regarding which part should be used where.

"Whatever you want, just hurry up. How long will it take to check the tracking number?" Qin Zongyang was anxious; he wanted to make the most of every second and get it done as soon as possible.

The maintenance worker replied, "I don't have the manual on hand right now. I'll call and ask once it arrives! After that, I'll contact the aircraft parts warehouse!"

Qin Zongyang sighed to the heavens. So, it turns out we still need a middleman. With more steps involved, efficiency drops!

"Don't you guys remember?" Qin Zongyang couldn't help but complain.

The maintenance crew member was also helpless: "Captain, the IPC isn't some thin booklet! We're not robots! Besides, even if we memorized it, we can't rely entirely on memory! If we make a mistake, it could be fatal. Different aircraft, even if they're the same model, might use different parts."

It involves some very critical information. Even if they remember it, as long as it's not particularly urgent, the maintenance staff are still willing to verify it. If something goes wrong with this, it's not just a matter of losing their jobs.

"The lighting system isn't anything particularly important to begin with. Who can remember such obscure details?" the maintenance worker said.

Indeed, compared to other important systems such as the powertrain, the lighting system does have a relatively smaller impact.

"I remember!" Xu Xian licked his lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said to the maintenance crew, "Have the parts warehouse prepare the lights first. Fixed landing light part number Q4559X! Taxi light part number P/N4554!"

(End of this chapter)