Legendary Captain

Chapter 164 Facing a Lawsuit?

"Is your master busy lately? If he's not busy, he should at least treat me to a meal!" the inspector joked.

Nowadays, it's common knowledge within the company that Xu Xian is Qin Zongyang's apprentice. Although Qin Zongyang's reputation isn't great among the co-pilots, it's a different story among the veteran instructors.

Most of the veteran instructors at Xingyou Aviation had a good personal relationship with Qin Zongyang. It was normal for them to sign for Xu Xian and then find an excuse to get a free meal.

Xu Xiangang took out his promotion certificate and flight inspection form. Hearing the inspector's words, he smiled and replied, "My master hasn't been busy lately. Should I talk to him about it?"

"No need! As long as he's alright, I'll go find him myself. I don't know what your master has been thinking about lately; I haven't heard from him in a long time," the inspector said with a smile.

Xu Xian: "He's recently become obsessed with health preservation; he's practically on the verge of becoming a vegetarian and chanting Buddhist scriptures."

"Really! With his temper, he's thinking of cultivating his character?" The inspector said with a smile as he reached out to take the promotion certificate and flight inspection form from Xu Xian. Suddenly, a muffled sound rang out, startling the instructor.

What was that sound?

The inspector and Xu Xian exchanged a blank look, and then, as if by unspoken agreement, they each looked back through their respective side windows.

"What the hell was that!" Xu Xian muttered. There seemed to be a hissing sound after a muffled thud. However, Xu Xian couldn't tell what the sound was.

Initially, the inspectors and Xu Xian were worried that the aircraft might have collided with something, such as the wingtip scraping against another aircraft. There have indeed been instances of aircraft collisions recently. Xingyou Airlines even issued a technical bulletin regarding such collisions in the past few days.

As we all know, once a problem arises, a period of strict crackdown follows, especially on the same problem. If someone actually defies the crackdown, the nature of the offense becomes even more serious.

After some time of random thoughts, the inspector and Xu Xian remembered that when they moved into position, they hadn't seen any other aircraft on either side. A second visual check confirmed that there were indeed no other aircraft on either side. Upon closer inspection, they even noticed no ground vehicles, so it didn't seem like they had collided with anything.

"Instructor, do you think the emergency slide has been lowered?" At this moment, the first co-pilot in the back interjected.

"What did you say? An emergency slide?" The inspector found it hard to believe.

On the contrary, Xu Xian suddenly had a flash of inspiration and understood what the first co-pilot meant.

"I think I heard an inflation sound coming from behind just now," the first co-pilot said.

It turned out that the hissing sound Xu Xian had just heard was the sound of the emergency slide automatically inflating.

Once the emergency exit is opened, the emergency slide will automatically inflate, forming an air cushion slide for sliding down in a very short time.

"No way!" The inspector's face turned green. After the first co-pilot said that, his heart clenched.

Without saying a word, he didn't just look through the side window, as that would limit his field of vision. Instead, he opened the side window, stuck his head out, and looked back.

Upon seeing this, the inspector immediately lost his temper.

The first co-pilot hit the nail on the head: the slide really was deployed!

Xu Xian didn't even need to ask the inspector what he saw; just by looking at the inspector's extremely gloomy profile, he knew what was going on.

"Brother, it seems like we're really out!" Xu Xian glanced at the first passenger seat behind him, his face full of helplessness.

He was all set to leave work happily after signing the papers, but then this mess happened right before he even arrived in Hong Kong. Isn't this just making things difficult for him?

The first co-pilot's face stiffened. He was right. Now he was in an awkward situation and wouldn't be able to leave work.

Like Xu Xian, he also heard the hissing sound, but he reacted faster. To be precise, it wasn't that he reacted faster, but rather that he had just participated in emergency training a few days prior, one of the demonstrations of opening emergency exits.

However, even if it's not a real aircraft, opening an emergency exit on a training model and then retracting the inflatable slide after it's deployed is quite troublesome. Therefore, this is only an occasional experience.

Fortunately, this was part of the first co-pilot's emergency training a few days prior, which is why he was able to react so quickly.

"Captain, how do you get down the inflatable slide?" The mechanic below the cockpit looked up at the inspector with a face full of questions.

"How should I know!" the inspector said innocently. "Did one of the passengers accidentally open the emergency exit?"

"It should be! The wheel chocks are in place, I'll go take a look," the maintenance worker said.

"Hey, hurry up! What's that? Someone's coming down from up there!" Because the wheel chocks weren't in place yet, and the walkway hadn't come to a stop, the inspector could clearly see what appeared to be someone sliding down the inflatable slide.

Accidentally placing an inflatable slide is absurd enough, but for someone to actually slide down it is even more outrageous. It's like using an emergency escape slide as a playground slide!

When the inspectors saw someone slide down from above, the three people in the cockpit clearly heard gasps of surprise coming from the passenger cabin behind.

Then came the continuous noise!

"Holy crap, it's a child!" The maintenance crew below had a clearer view: "Captain, the wheel chocks are in place, you can release the brakes now. I'll go check on him right away, make sure he's not hurt."

The inflatable slides at the emergency exits of passenger planes have a rather steep angle when lowered, and sliding down from them can easily lead to injury. There have been several cases of injuries during emergency evacuations in the past.

"Damn it!" the inspector cursed, pulling his head back and closing the side window. "Trouble's come knocking. This is giving me a headache!"

"Instructor, it seems a bit chaotic in the back." The first co-pilot pointed to the cockpit door, where the noise coming in from outside continued unabated.

The inspector complained, "No wonder it's chaotic! The inflatable slide is down, and someone has already slid down it. What kind of mess is this? Get up and call the flight attendant over."

Although the inspector was a bit agitated, he remained relatively calm. After all, the plane had already arrived at the port, and being on solid ground was much safer than floating in the sky.

If the emergency exit was indeed opened due to passenger error, the flight crew will certainly not be punished, as it is not their responsibility. If anyone should be punished, it would most likely be the cabin crew, since that is their responsibility.

Moreover, if a passenger actually opens the emergency exit, the airport police station will need to be contacted, and there will be too many follow-up issues, making it impossible to leave work peacefully.

The first co-pilot stood up, folded up his seat, looked through the peephole to make sure there were no strangers outside, and then opened the cockpit door.

There was nothing he could do; the cabin was a mess, and who knew what was going on? Even though they weren't in the air, his professional instincts made him cautious.

The first co-pilot opened the door a crack, peeked out, located the flight attendant's seat, and whispered, "Flight attendant, come in and let's talk."

The purser was on the phone with cabin crew when the first officer called out to him. He turned around, quickly said a few words to the person on the other end, and hung up: "Okay! Number three, keep your eyes on the front!"

After giving instructions to Flight Attendant No. 3, the chief flight attendant went into the cockpit.

The Boeing cockpit is not very spacious to begin with, and with one more person in, it feels even more cramped.

"Is the slide down?" The inspector asked the chief flight attendant as soon as she entered.

The flight attendant said helplessly, "The passengers seated at the emergency exit opened the emergency exit after the plane came to a stop."

"Did anyone else go down?" the inspector asked.

"There was a child sitting in the next seat. As soon as the inflatable slide was put down, he jumped right down. We didn't expect that!" the flight attendant lamented.

"A child?" The inspector grabbed his hair. "He really used it as a slide! Where is the child? Is he hurt?"

"Captain!" The flight attendant's expression immediately turned panicked. "The child is yelling down there; it sounds like he twisted his ankle."

"Injured?" The inspector was now pulling at his hair with both hands. Things seemed to be getting complicated! If there were injuries, this was a serious problem, and it was hard to say whether they could get away with it completely.

Flight attendant: "We don't know the specifics yet; the jet bridge hasn't come close."

"The jet bridge is about to dock. Should I contact airport police?" the inspector asked. "Are the passengers who opened the emergency exits under control? And what about the guardians of the children?"

"The guardian is his mother, and she's making a scene in the cabin! She's insisting on going down too! But we don't dare let her go down; what if she gets hurt? The child is right by the slide, and if she slides down, she could easily hit the child. The only way down is through the jet bridge." The flight attendant said irritably, "Now the child's mother almost got into a fight with the passenger who opened the emergency exit, saying that our aircraft design is flawed and the safety measures are inadequate, and demanding compensation from us, otherwise she said she would sue us."

Upon hearing this, the inspector was utterly bewildered. Cases involving injuries are notoriously difficult to handle. If the court were to accept the case, it would be an unbearable headache.

"No, what does this have to do with us?" Xu Xian was completely speechless. In his mind, this kind of thing had nothing to do with them, so why should they be sued?

The inspector sighed, "There are cases of murderers buying kitchen knives online to commit murder, only to have the stores that sold them end up being sued. What strange things don't happen these days?"

The inspector glanced outside: "We're near the bridge, get back to work."

Shortly after the inspector finished speaking, a gloating voice suddenly rang out on the tarmac control radio: "Star Trek brothers, your slide is up!"

This is a crew from a nearby flight crew who spotted the slide of Star Travel 6443's plane and made a joke about it on the frequency!

"Ninety thousand yuan a time, do you want to try it?" the inspector casually retorted.

The captain chuckled and joked, "No need. If I fly it once, I'll have wasted a month's worth of flights. I'm not doing it!"

"You can only drive once a month! I can drive twice a month!" the inspector said casually.

The inspector's nonchalant boasting about his salary level was a huge blow to the morale of the captain from another airline. He silently muttered, "Awesome!" and then said nothing more.

The inspector retorted to the captain who had been mocking him, then contacted apron control: "Apron, is contacting airport police for you?"

Honestly, after flying for so many years, the inspectors have never had to call the airport police. When they're unsure, they still need to ask air traffic control.

"Could you contact the site? Is it about the emergency exits being opened?" The tarmac control had just overheard their conversation on the radio and understood what had happened.

"That's right!" The inspector replied briefly before immediately switching gears: "On-site, Star Travel 6443, a passenger here has opened the emergency exit. Please contact the airport police for us."

"Star Travel 6443, is it necessary to contact the airport police? Is the reason that the emergency exit was accidentally opened by a passenger?" It is quite rare to need to contact the airport police, so the on-site commander still needs to verify the accuracy.

"Yes! There's also a child who slid down the slide and got injured. Please contact the airport hospital for us as well," the inspector added.

The on-site commander was utterly bewildered; someone was injured, and it was even a child: "Star Travel 6443, confirming parking position 161? Could you please verify the extent of the injury?"

"The parking position is 161. It should just be a sprained ankle. Let the doctor go directly to the tarmac when he arrives!" If it really is a sprained ankle, then it's inconvenient to move the child. It's better to just take the injured child away from the tarmac when medical assistance arrives.

"Received! The aid will be ready soon, please wait a moment!"

The inspector then called over the flight attendant: "Tell the security officer to keep a close watch on the person who opened the emergency exit and the child's guardian. Airport police will be here soon."

"What about the other passengers?" the flight attendant asked.

"Let them off the plane first!" the inspector said. The cabin was in complete chaos; if they weren't let off soon, they might mutini.

The flight attendant nodded repeatedly.

"Wait a minute!" Just as the flight attendant was about to leave, Xu Xian stopped her: "Before you disembark, make an announcement asking if any passengers are willing to provide identification, especially those in the rows near the emergency exits."

"Make a certificate? What certificate?" The inspector, the first co-pilot, and the inspector all asked in unison.

Xu Xian, however, first asked the chief flight attendant, "Wasn't the emergency exit opened after arrival at the port?"

"Yes!" the flight attendant replied.

"So the plane has come to a complete stop?"

"Um!"

"Since the plane is in a stable, stationary state, we are most likely not responsible. This is the key point; we must preserve evidence. We can offer appropriate compensation to passengers who have the potential to testify in order to obtain their commitment to do so. Remember to collect their contact numbers," Xu Xian said earnestly.

"What if no one is willing to act as a witness?" After Xu Xian's question, the flight attendant also took the matter of finding someone to act as a witness to her mind. However, as a flight attendant who dealt with passengers for a long time, she was amazed by Xu Xian's suggestion, but it was not very feasible.

Too many people nowadays tend to adopt a hands-off attitude, thinking it's none of their business. If they were willing to provide the credentials, they'd likely have to run around a lot, which many would find too troublesome, making them even more inclined to stay out of it. Even if no one were willing to provide the credentials, the flight attendant wouldn't be surprised.

"It's alright!" Xu Xian bit his lip. "The flight data recorder will record the time the parking brake was set and the time the emergency exits opened. This should be enough to prove that the emergency exits opened after arrival, and if the child was injured afterward, we naturally won't be held responsible. However, even if the parking brake was set, it's not impossible for the plane not to move; this is just a high-probability deduction. The safest approach is to get testimonies from nearby passengers. Alternatively, if all else fails, we can request testimonies from maintenance personnel. Of course, given that they are outside the aircraft, we don't know how effective their testimonies will be. Anyway, you should try your best to persuade the passengers to testify. If you're going to promise them some kind of benefit, it's best to find a way to record it so the company can reimburse you."

"Huh? What's wrong with you guys?" Xu Xian asked, noticing that everyone was looking at him with shock.

The inspector shook his head, "Cunning! So cunning! How did Old Qin, with his questionable IQ, end up with an apprentice like you?"

"Brother? You studied law?" The flight attendant's eyes lit up, her face full of admiration.

At this moment, Xu Xian was enveloped in the light of wisdom, so radiant!

"No! Just read more books, right?" Subtle pretentiousness is the most deadly. However, this behavior only made Xu Xian seem even more impressive to the flight attendant.

After seeing off the reluctant flight attendant, the inspector called the company to explain the situation. At the same time, following Xu Xian's suggestion, he also gave the company a heads-up, saying that they might need to offer some material rewards to get passengers to testify.

Although capitalists are known for being stingy, they also know that if responsibility for the cleanup cannot be confirmed, the losses will be even greater. Weighing the benefits, Star Travel readily agreed to reimburse the extra rewards paid to passengers.

Now that the matter has been mostly explained, the three people in the cockpit are quietly waiting for the arrival of airport police and airport medical personnel.

Xu Xian had always thought that Yunnan Airport was inefficient, and he was prepared to wait for twenty or thirty minutes. However, for some reason, less than five minutes later, a team of airport police came down from the jet bridge. The efficiency of this police operation was simply outrageous.

Even when the airport police arrived, the passengers had not yet disembarked.

The flight attendant went up to them, explained the situation to the airport police, and then the police prepared to arrest the person.

At first, the injured child's mother was unwilling to let the passenger who opened the emergency exit be taken away by the police so easily. After all, this person was the culprit who had injured her child.

Eventually, airport medical personnel arrived and took the injured child away. The child's mother, still worried, didn't argue further and left with the ambulance.

However, even though she had to leave, the child's mother still said that she would not only make trouble for the passengers who opened the emergency exit, but also that the crew had failed to fulfill their safety supervision responsibilities and should be held accountable as well.

The inspector was also very annoyed by the harsh words spoken by the child's mother. Although the flight attendant found a passenger willing to testify, he was still worried.

Compared to the inspectors' concerns about potential lawsuits, Xu Xian was more concerned about the outcome of the flight route inspection.

After the airport police and medical personnel left, Xu Xian cautiously asked the inspector, "Instructor, what do you think of this inspection?"

By this time, the inspector was already extremely impatient. He waved his hand and said, "We'll talk about it later. Let's see what the company says. If the company says it's okay, then I'll sign it for you."

"Instructor, this has nothing to do with the flight path inspection, right?" Xu Xian couldn't accept it.

Inspector: "If this matter isn't resolved, then this flight isn't considered finished. How can we sign off on it?"

"It can't be like this?" Xu Xian was going crazy. Had the cooked duck really flown away?

"Let's go to the flight department and ask later. The company might just say it's fine on the spot. If it's fine, I'll sign it for you," the inspector reassured him.

"Teacher! What if the court accepts the case? Even if we have a high probability of winning in the end, it could drag on for a very long time. Do I have to wait?"

The inspector nodded very naturally: "Yes!"

(End of this chapter)