Legendary Captain

Chapter 177 The Incredibly Divine Grounding Point (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

"What did you say? The grounding point is exactly 2.8 meters from the central axis, not a fraction off?" Shen Yansi finally showed a hint of shock: "Are you sure?"

"Team leader, I've been to school, I can count," the investigation team leader said helplessly. "Not only me, but two other team members saw it too. Surely not all three of us saw it wrong!"

"Team leader, even autopilot can't fly this accurately!" The captain of the investigation team had truly seen something new today, and even now, he still couldn't hide the shock in his heart.

Shen Yansi knew what 2.8 meters meant, and even though he had seen his share of storms, his heart was still stirred.

That precision was almost machine-like, so accurate it seemed unreal.

The main landing gear distance of a 737-800 aircraft is 5.7 meters. If the aircraft had truly landed directly on the river's central axis, the distance from the contact points of both main landing gears to the central axis should have been 2.85 meters. However, the contact point of Xu Xian's Xingyou 6233 aircraft was 2.8 meters from the central axis, an error of only five centimeters, which is almost negligible.

That was an amazing play!

"Team leader, if the contact point on the right main landing gear hadn't cracked, affecting the aircraft's direction, this plane should have been able to pass through the bridge." Perhaps having witnessed something astonishing, the investigation team leader became unusually talkative: "Was this really piloted by a co-pilot? It's a miracle, isn't it, team leader?"

"Alright! Has the technical team started analyzing the soil layers at Kunyang Airport? Contact me immediately when you have the results. Get back to work!" Shen Yansi snapped at the incessantly chattering investigation team leader. "By the way, all investigation results are strictly confidential. You should understand the seriousness of this matter. If the investigation is leaked and any unexpected changes occur, we'll all be in deep trouble. Got it?"

This incident is the most serious accident in the history of domestic civil aviation in nearly 20 years, with nearly 130 people injured, breaking records. If not handled properly, it could cause a huge uproar. Therefore, the entire investigation team must be extremely vigilant about every detail; if anything is leaked and maliciously interpreted by outsiders, the consequences would be catastrophic.

"I know, I know, team leader, don't worry!" the investigation team leader assured him. This also concerned his own interests, so he would definitely be extremely careful.

"It would be best to send me all the footage from the emergency landing site in video format, along with explanations. Just state the facts and data; there should be no subjective judgments," Shen Yansi instructed.

"Okay, okay!" the investigation team leader replied quickly. "Team leader, I have a favor to ask. Please let me participate in the next in-depth investigation of that co-pilot. I'm really curious about what kind of person he is."

Although the investigation team leader was a member of the investigation team, after conducting an on-site investigation, he increasingly realized that the pilot who was operating the aircraft at the time was simply a monster. The key point was that this monster's skill level was only that of a semi-novice who had just entered the first co-pilot position, which was truly an extraordinary case.

Several veins popped out on Shen Yansi's forehead: "Get your act together and stop acting crazy all the time."

"Team leader, team leader, are you really not going to consider taking me along? Don't make me go out on fieldwork every day." The investigation team leader was still nagging.

This investigation team is specifically for fieldwork, and their duties do not typically involve conducting interviews. However, this is not a strict rule; if the team leader permits, the team leader can temporarily perform indoor tasks.

"A bunch of nonsense!" Shen Yansi hung up the phone immediately.

When he turned around, Xu Xian was also looking in his direction.

"Looks like I underestimated you." Shen Yansi put away his phone and sat back down. "You can't judge a book by its cover. Truly, new talents emerge in every generation, each leading the way for hundreds of years."

Xu Xian raised an eyebrow: "Team Leader Shen, you flatter me."

"However, isn't there an old saying?" Shen Yansi laughed, "Those who drown are usually the ones who know how to swim. Of course, it could also just be a coincidence, right? I think you should start worrying about the landing analysis reports for Dianyungang Airport and Kunyang Airport now. If either of these landing analyses shows a sufficiently high probability of a successful landing, you should probably consider preparing to leave this industry forever."

"Of course, I heard he hit his head and apparently has some amnesia. He might not pass the medical exams, so there's no need to worry about it too much."

"Star Travel 6233, ground wind 040/01, runway 21, ready for takeoff."

"Runway 21, ready for takeoff, Star Travel 6233."

The head of the inspection department paced back and forth in the room, stretching his limbs. Hearing the crew clear takeoff, he smiled and said, "Lin Yuan, it seems you can leave now?"

Lin Yuan was overjoyed: "Thank you, Director."

After saying that, he prepared to get up and leave.

Just as Lin Yuan was about to get up, the crew's voice came from the playback device: "Star Travel 6233, then we'll turn right and head to 230."

Shortly after, Lin Yuan quickly replied, "Okay!"

The head of the inspection department abruptly stopped, grabbed Lin Yuan who was about to stand up, and said coldly, "What does turning right and heading 230 mean?"

"That's right, the clearance at the time was to turn right and head at 230 after takeoff," Lin Yuan replied immediately.

Actually, Xu Xian didn't need to say that. However, out of habit, he proactively contacted the control tower when turning right.

Lin Yuan was already preparing to change shifts. He casually confirmed Xu Xian's words and then began to switch shifts with Zheng Sheng.

The head of the inspection department's expression darkened slightly: "Why turn right? Wasn't it said that turning right after takeoff is strictly prohibited?"

With such tall buildings near the airport, the airport's flight procedures must not be following the old rules, otherwise it would definitely affect flight safety.

Therefore, after the Xinfeng Building reached a certain height, the airport modified some flight procedures and imposed additional requirements on air traffic control.

One point is that for aircraft taking off from runways 21/22, unless under special circumstances, they are not allowed to make a right turn after takeoff. This is to prevent the Xinfeng Building from becoming an obstacle if a power system failure occurs after a right turn and the aircraft needs to return.

If, due to special circumstances, an aircraft needs to turn right after takeoff, its flight path must not exceed 240. The authorities have verified that as long as the flight path after takeoff does not exceed 240, even if the aircraft needs to return to Dianyun Airport, the Xinfeng Building will not be an obstacle to the return.

"Takeoff from runway 22 is affected, so we need to turn slightly to the right first," Lin Yuan said.

"Who gave you permission to pass?" the head of the inspection department asked coldly. "It's not about the frequency of permission checks, is it?"

Although the head of the inspection department has been sitting in his office for some time, he still knows some basic frontline knowledge. Star Travel 6233's takeoff time was too early; the clearance control area probably hadn't even opened yet.

If it's too early and the control area hasn't opened yet, then the usual alternative is...

"Control tower! It was me who gave the clearance, Chief!" Lin Yuan said nervously.

That's right, at this time, air traffic control often takes over the role of clearance control, granting the crew temporary clearance to leave.

"Director, is there a problem?" Seeing the director of the inspection department looking like this, Lin Yuan panicked a little.

Director of the Inspection Department: "Why was a heading given instead of a track? Did you consider the impact of wind?"

The track and heading will differ to some extent due to the influence of wind. Unless there is no crosswind at all, there will always be an angle between the track and heading.

"There was basically no crosswind at the time, so it shouldn't have any impact, right?" Lin Yuan said anxiously.

What are the wind direction and speed reported at 6 o'clock?

"040/01." Looking at it this way, there is indeed almost no crosswind.

"What is the wind direction and speed at seven o'clock?"

"070/5." This time it was Zheng Sheng who answered, because Lin Yuan had already left by then, and he didn't know the wind direction and speed at seven o'clock.

"070/5!" The head of the inspection department slapped Lin Yuan on the head, completely stunning him. "The wind is picking up on the left! You brainless idiot!"

Furthermore, as altitude increases, the influence of ground friction decreases, and wind speeds at higher altitudes are typically higher than those at ground level. Therefore, crosswinds may not be negligible when Star Travel 6233 takes off.

Due to the crosswind, although the crew was flying at heading 230, the actual flight path was estimated to be 245.

"Damn it, damn it!" The head of the inspection department scratched his head frantically. "I was wondering why the crew reported the Xinfeng Building obstructing the return flight path? Logically speaking, that shouldn't happen. At first, I thought it was a pilot error, but it turns out it was you, you brainless idiot! You're dragging our air traffic control into this!"

If the requirements issued by the Traffic Management Bureau had been followed, Star Cruises 6233 would not have been obstructed by the Xinfeng Building even if it had returned to its origin. However, the crew claimed that the Xinfeng Building was blocking their return trajectory when they returned. It's impossible for both of them to be blind.

Although development around Yunnan Airport is unstoppable, and the construction of such tall buildings around the airport is quite illogical, the authorities are still working hard to ensure flight safety.

At least in countless verifications, as long as the flight path is kept within 240 degrees, the Xinfeng Building will not become a problem for the aircraft to return to base. However, this problem still occurred.

The bureau's investigation team raised questions about this at the time, but the head of the inspection department confidently assured them that there were no problems with air traffic control. It's likely that after the malfunction occurred, the crew panicked and made operational errors, failing to properly execute control commands.

However, when the head of the inspection department recalled how he had patted his chest and made guarantees in front of the head of the investigation team, he felt as ridiculous as a clown.

Lin Yuan understood what the director of the inspection department had said. By the time he realized it, he was already shaking like a leaf.

"You piece of trash, if you can't even use the correct wind, then just obediently use the flight path, don't you know that?" The head of the inspection department roared, his voice echoing throughout the room.

Lin Yuan was sweating profusely. He knew he had made a huge mistake, a mistake that could ruin his career.

"Director, please save me! I didn't mean to, I really didn't mean to, I didn't expect the wind direction and speed to change!" Lin Yuan was almost crying.

The head of the inspection department gritted his teeth, clearly furious: "What kind of regulation is this if you don't constantly monitor wind direction and speed? Go home and raise pigs!"

Lin Yuan was now terrified: "Director, what if the gust of wind isn't actually that strong?"

Lin Yuan's only hope now is that the crosswind is not strong and the deviation between the heading and the flight path is not large, so that the actual flight path of the aircraft does not exceed 240.

"It's not that big, it's not that big, it's not that big, right?" The head of the inspection department slapped Lin Yuan on the head every time he said that. By this time, he was almost driven mad with anger.

"If it wasn't your fault, do you think it was the crew's fault?" the head of the inspection department gritted his teeth. "You know that the pilot who was in control landed precisely on the center line of the Kunyang River, just five centimeters off. You're saying someone like that couldn't maintain course?"

The fact that Xu Xian's touchdown error was only five centimeters had already spread. Before the head of the inspection department knew about this, he could still boldly say it was due to the crew's operation. Now that they know there's a problem with air traffic control, they wouldn't dare to shift the blame to the crew.

The grounding deviation is only five centimeters; just thinking about it makes my scalp tingle.

"Five centimeters!" Lin Yuan's mouth trembled. Although he was not a flight professional, air traffic controllers were at least half in the industry, so they naturally knew what a five-centimeter deviation in the landing point meant. Even the aircraft might not land that precisely.

At this moment, even Lin Yuan, the person directly involved, began to doubt whether he had taken full responsibility. Mainly because Xu Xian's performance was so frightening that he couldn't even muster the slightest thought of questioning him.

The head of the inspection department slapped his forehead: "We're doomed! Once the detailed inspection is completed, the flight data will definitely be analyzed one by one, and the release error will definitely be discovered."

This is only the beginning of the investigation. Once the investigation team begins to carefully analyze the flight data, the aircraft's course and flight path during takeoff will be clear and impossible to hide.

The head of the inspection department thought it was a disaster!

It's important to know that a key reason the crew didn't choose to land at Yunnan Airport was the presence of the Xinfeng Building! However, this obstacle appears to have been caused by a control error.

"Director, what should I do?" Lin Yuan originally thought that the whole thing had nothing to do with him, but now it seems that he is one of the culprits!

Just thinking about the overwhelming amount of questioning online about this matter, if they found out that there was a problem with the permission I gave, wouldn't they tear me apart?

"What can we do? What can we do? Just wait! Whether you live or die, it's up to fate," the head of the inspection department sneered. He absolutely did not want to get involved in this mess.

The following morning, at the site of the forced landing on the Kunyang River.

Shen Yansi couldn't control himself. He abandoned his indoor work and ran to the emergency landing site. He had to see that miraculous landing point with his own eyes.

Shen Yansi took a ruler and went to the site to measure it. He read the measurement precisely 2.8 meters, and a slight change finally appeared on his face.

"Is it a coincidence?" Shen Yansi murmured.

"Team Leader!" At this moment, the investigation team leader came running over excitedly, sidling up to Shen Yansi and saying with great enthusiasm, "I told you so, didn't I? It really is like seeing a ghost, Team Leader, don't you think so!"

"You're saying someone can really do this? It must be a coincidence!" Shen Yansi still refused to believe that this was something that could be accomplished by human power.

"Who knows!" The investigation team leader curled his lip. "However, I still want to see who that person is, whether he has three heads and six arms. So team leader, don't send me out on fieldwork today."

Seeing the investigation team leader bring up the old issue again, Shen Yansi impatiently pushed away his large face that was leaning in: "How's the landing analysis for Kunyang Airport and Dianyun Airport going? When will it be available?"

In fact, these two landing analyses are the key to this incident.

The investigation team leader grumbled unhappily and said, "The landing analysis for Kunyang Airport is simpler, and we should have results today. The one for Dianyun Airport requires rewriting the program. Our investigation team has already moved into Xiangyu headquarters, and we will notify them immediately as soon as we have results."

"Did Xiangyu say how long it would take?" Shen Yansi asked.

Investigation team leader: "How would I know? But it doesn't seem too difficult, it shouldn't take too long."

Although it sounds like reprogramming, it only requires changing a few data points and isn't that complicated.

The best simulator center in China is currently the headquarters of Xiangyu. To ensure the impartiality of the results, the investigation team sent people to Xiangyu headquarters overnight to supervise the entire simulation verification process.

"Okay." Shen Yansi nodded. "By the way, these two analysis reports are crucial to keep confidential. Absolutely no leaks are allowed, understand?"

"Got it! Keep it a secret, keep it a secret, keep it a secret! I'm tired of hearing it so often," the investigation team leader said, exasperated.

Just then, Shen Yansi's assistant rushed over with a stack of documents in his hand.

"What is it?" Shen Yansi took the documents, frowning. "Landing analysis of Kunyang Airport?"

"Yes!"

"So fast?"

When Shen Yansi opened the landing analysis of Kunyang Airport, his brows furrowed even more.

Shoyu Headquarters! Inside the No. 1 simulator cabin!

At this moment, simulator number one was conducting a landing feasibility analysis at Dianyun Airport. Among the observers were not only members of the bureau's investigation team, but also Xu Qing.

At this moment, Xu Qing's face was full of worry!

(End of this chapter)