Legendary Captain

Chapter 189 Dragging Xu Xian into the Water

"Those air traffic controllers are always asking all sorts of questions, but they don't do anything right." Even after Xu Xian had clearly expressed his intentions and explained the malfunction, the air traffic controllers just kept repeating questions about the aircraft's condition and coordinating without providing any information.

It's clear that Wang Lingkun isn't very flustered. And that's understandable; it's just a communication panel overheating, it won't affect aircraft handling, so why would it worry him?

If there's anything that could really worry him, it's probably that the company might settle scores after the landing. The company certainly wouldn't ignore something like that.

Thinking about the water he sprayed onto the central control panel, Wang Lingkun wanted to slap himself again.

However, there's no need to worry about compensating for the damage to the aircraft equipment. If that were the case, someone like Xu Xian probably couldn't repay the damage to the aircraft he damaged even if he worked for ten lifetimes. The real problem is that he might have his inspector's license revoked when he gets back.

Why do so many junior leaders give him face? Because many of those junior leaders are also pilots, and pilots have to go through all sorts of inspections. And Wang Lingkun happens to be the company's inspector. If something falls into Wang Lingkun's hands, and he really wants to make things difficult for the company, it would be quite a headache.

Therefore, the inspector group is very special in various airlines. Even the highest-level C-class instructors still lack the means to control others and remain at the mercy of others. However, once they become inspectors, if someone wants to deliberately make things difficult, they have to consider the possibility of that person falling into that trap in the future. In this way, the chances of deliberate obstruction are greatly reduced.

This is why top-tier instructors continue to improve themselves, hoping companies will hire them as inspectors. Having that title at least protects them from the risk of being sabotaged.

But if an inspector loses his status, especially for someone like Wang Lingkun who has offended many people, it would be nothing short of a natural disaster.

This incident, where the communication panel overheated due to human error, causing the flight to return, is clearly not an easy problem to handle. It's certainly not like some of the minor issues we've encountered before.

In the past, some disgruntled lower-level leaders had failed Wang Lingkun during certain inspections. Failing some inspections could lead to the suspension of an inspector's qualification. However, Wang Lingkun was technically proficient and passed the re-examination. Moreover, the impact of failing such inspections was not significant; even if his inspector qualification was suspended after passing the re-examination, he could regain it shortly afterward.

But this time it's different; this time it's gotten much bigger. If his inspector's license is suspended because of this incident, it will probably be for at least six months. Moreover, when the technical committee discusses whether to reinstate his inspector's license, this incident will be a huge stain on his record, and it's possible that the technical committee will reject his application for reinstatement.

Once an application is rejected, it can take several months to re-examine it. This can significantly lengthen the process.

On the long road to restoring his qualifications, those who had old grudges against him, those who disliked him, or those who simply couldn't stand him, could all kick him while he was down.

Taking advantage of someone's misfortune is something people always enjoy doing.

He always relied on his superior skills, believing he wouldn't encounter any major problems. In the end, his career as an inspector ended in such a ridiculous way.

"Instructor! If the situation continues to worsen, we can apply for an emergency landing in Qianyang. There's no need to hang ourselves at Nanyong Airport," Xu Xian suggested.

At present, it's just the communication panel overheating; there's nothing more dangerous yet, and the situation isn't too urgent. Therefore, waiting for coordination between air traffic control and Nanyong Airport is acceptable.

But if the situation worsens later, such as if smoke reappears, then it won't be convenient to wait any longer. At the very least, we can't rely entirely on Nanyong Airport.

The distances to Nanyong Airport and Qianyang Airport are actually quite similar. If Nanyong Airport cannot coordinate a solution in time, diverting to Qianyang Airport would be a better option.

Wang Lingkun also thought Xu Xian's suggestion was good, and immediately nodded in agreement: "Well, if we haven't coordinated it in another five minutes, then let's try Qianyang Airport."

At this point, the area control personnel changed again. They said they were already coordinating, asked if any further assistance was needed, and then started checking the aircraft's condition again.

Xu Xian realized that the control team had changed to experienced personnel, so he could only repeat what he had just said.

However, Xu Xian abruptly stopped mid-sentence. The faint smell of burning that had been there suddenly became much stronger, and even without bending down to get close to the communication panel, Xu Xian could still smell it quite clearly.

"Damn it!" Wang Lingkun, who was standing closer, was caught off guard by the sudden deterioration of the situation.

Xu Xian, who was sitting in the observer's seat, noticed that a few wisps of very faint white smoke were rising from the gaps in the communication panel.

The situation seems to be deteriorating even faster than he anticipated!

Wang Lingkun stared at the communication panel. Even though the white smoke wasn't very noticeable, he still managed to spot it.

"It's smoking! Am I seeing things?" Wang Lingkun was so surprised that he even doubted his own eyesight.

"No! It's starting to smoke! How could it develop so quickly?" Xu Xian gritted his teeth and immediately notified control: "The control panel is starting to smoke!"

"If Nanyong Airport can't accept us, we can accept Qianyang Airport. Which one is more convenient for you?" At this point, Xu Xian could no longer wait and definitely needed to land as soon as possible.

For some reason, Nanyong Airport hadn't received any messages. Left with no other option, Xu Xian had to add Qianyang Airport, a slightly farther choice.

Wang Lingkun had no objection to Xu Xian's direct announcement that an emergency landing at Qianyang Airport was permissible. More than the airport, he was concerned about what to do if the overheating of the communication panel worsened. What if the cockpit caught fire? Even if there was no fire, what if the smoke thickened and affected the crew's breathing? Should they execute the smoke, fire, or dense smoke checklist?

The aircraft has procedures for responding to engine fires, cargo hold fires, wheel well fires, and APU fires, but there is no standard procedure for handling a fire on the communication panel!

The best course of action now is to descend quickly and land as soon as possible.

The controller in Nanyong District, who was just making routine records, immediately became alert when he heard smoke coming from the communication panel. If the overheating of the communication panel earlier was just a minor incident, then the smoke indicated a potential fire.

All that could be heard was the Nanyong District Control Center shouting to their colleague, "Have you coordinated things with Nanyong Airport? If not, try contacting Qianyang Airport?"

Amidst the anxious voices of the air traffic controllers, another colleague took the initiative to contact Qianyang Airport.

"Star Travel 6554, we've already contacted Qianyang Airport. We should have news soon." Nanyong Area Control reassured the Star Travel crew while they were still waiting.

Although the situation of Star Cruises 6554 is quite critical, basic regulations must be followed. It is not permissible to order an emergency landing or return to the airport before the airport can accept the flight.

Of course, if the crew declares an emergency, then both air traffic control and the airport will revolve around the crew and will do everything in their power to meet their needs.

Immediately afterward, Nan Yong added, "Star Travel 6554, do you need to declare a state of emergency?"

The moment the words of control were spoken, Xu Xian immediately denied it: "No need, you just need to cooperate as soon as possible. It's still under control for now."

Returning to the origin or making an emergency landing are the authority of the flight crew, not just something that can be done when an emergency is declared. While the communication panel is smoking, that's all; at least Xu Xian and Wang Lingkun don't believe it's time to declare an emergency.

"OK!"

Then, a brief silence fell over the frequency.

Meanwhile, Qin Zongyang, who was monitoring this frequency, was extremely anxious. Since Xu Xian had suggested that Qianyang Airport could also be considered, it meant that the situation in the cockpit could not afford to wait any longer; in other words, the situation was becoming dangerous.

To be honest, Xu Xian only said that the panel started to smoke. But he didn't say anything about the amount of smoke, whether there was any open flame, or whether it was spreading. The controller didn't even ask.

Qin Zongyang wasn't worried about Xu Xian and the others' safety. Even in the worst-case scenario, if the communication panel caught fire, it wouldn't affect flight control. As long as the controls were fine, their personal safety was guaranteed. Although Wang Lingkun wasn't a great person, his piloting skills were quite good, and Qin Zongyang was confident in that.

Like Wang Lingkun, Qin Zongyang was more concerned about the company's accountability afterward. If this matter was related to Xu Xian, it would be fine, but if it was, it would be troublesome.

Although the Kunyang River emergency landing incident caused quite a stir, and the authorities didn't say Xu Xian handled it improperly, he didn't earn a single promotion point and was grounded for several months. In the end, it was a huge loss. If Xu Xian gets involved in this panel overheating incident, his already meager promotion points might be completely deducted.

If Xu Xian doesn't become a captain soon, won't his dream of promotion just remain a pipe dream?

Thinking of this, Qin Zongyang cursed Wang Lingkun's ancestors for eighteen generations. His precious disciple was flying with that unlucky Wang Lingkun; if something happened to him, it would definitely be because of that old bastard Wang Lingkun.

After discovering the frequency was silent, Qin Zongyang could no longer hold back and contacted Xu Xian and the others directly on that frequency: "6554, are you still able to control the situation?"

"Hmm? Not bad!" Xu Xian replied casually, then asked uncertainly, "Master?"

"Master? Qin Zongyang?" Wang Lingkun already felt that the voice sounded familiar, and after hearing Xu Xian say it, he immediately realized that the person was Qin Zongyang.

Wang Lingkun had barely uttered a single word when Qin Zongyang interrupted him.

Qin Zongyang uttered only two words: "Private message!"

"Private chat?" Xu Xian was stunned. Two planes could chat privately? So the current situation is like online chatting, where you can chat one-on-one?

However, it can only be said that Xu Xian lacked experience. Wang Lingkun immediately understood after hearing Qin Zongyang's words. There were many other groups monitoring the area control frequency in Nanyong, and some things were inconvenient to discuss publicly, so they could only find a quiet frequency to discuss them in detail.

After Wang Lingkun instructed Xu Xian and Lian Shanxue to carefully listen to the first VHF radio, he changed the emergency frequency of the second VHF radio to 123.0 and then switched the transmitter to the second VHF radio.

Xu Xian understood immediately upon seeing Wang Lingkun's actions. He occasionally did this when flying small planes, but he never expected that some pilots would still be using this method in civil aviation operations.

123.0 is a very obscure frequency, and almost no one listens to it. It was perfect for Wang Lingkun and Qin Zongyang to whisper to each other for a short time.

"Old Qin, can you hear me?" Wang Lingkun spoke into the radio first.

"What the hell is going on with you? Are you deliberately messing with me? I've been flying for so many years without any major problems, and now you're causing this mess when I'm flying with my apprentice?" Qin Zongyang started cursing as soon as he arrived.

Wang Lingkun was utterly wronged and repeatedly protested, "Am I just bored? I'm primarily responsible for this! A normal person wouldn't do something that hurts the enemy a hundred while also injuring themselves a thousand. Am I out of my mind?"

Qin Zongyang scoffed at this: "You've lost your mind more than once or twice!"

"You!" Wang Lingkun was already extremely annoyed by the overheating issue of the panel, and then being mocked by Qin Zongyang almost made him lose his temper.

"I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you! I just want to ask you one thing: did you spill water on it?" Qin Zongyang got straight to the point.

Wang Lingkun gritted his teeth for a short while, but finally deflated like a punctured balloon and immediately admitted, "Yes!"

"As expected!" Even though he had already guessed, Qin Zongyang's heart still pounded wildly when he heard Wang Lingkun admit it.

This incident was clearly a safety incident caused by human error!

Now, here's an important point!

Qin Zongyang asked urgently, "Did you spill water on it when you were filling the container? Did you put the lid on?"

The SOP clearly states that open cups containing liquids are not allowed to pass over the center console, in order to prevent liquids from splashing onto the center console.

Most liquid spills on the center console occur when the water cup is not properly filled, causing the water to spill.

If Xu Xian's people didn't put the lid on their water cups, that would be a violation of cockpit regulations, making it an even more serious offense.

"It's covered, it's covered! I know that!" Wang Lingkun said repeatedly.

"Can anyone testify to this?"

Wang Lingkun thought for a moment: "When flight attendant number three brought it over, the lid was already on; she can testify to that!"

"Flight attendant number three? That's good!" If it were just the flight crew verifying their own credentials, it might lack credibility, since flight crews are interconnected and there's always the possibility of them covering for each other. But if the flight attendant testifies, the credibility is greatly increased.

Upon hearing this, Qin Zongyang immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good!"

There is a difference between unintentional safety incidents and those caused by violations of regulations. At least the former is subject to slightly less severe penalties, which is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Just as Qin Zongyang was feeling slightly relieved, Wang Lingkun stammered and said, "Actually, it wasn't spilled when the water was being handed over."

"Huh? What is that?" Upon hearing this, Qin Zongyang thought there was more to the story and became nervous again.

"Actually, I accidentally drank hot water and couldn't stand the heat, so I threw it up," Wang Lingkun told the truth directly.

For a moment, Qin Zongyang was stunned. He had tried countless guesses, but never imagined the reason would be like this. But after a brief moment of shock, a deafening laugh erupted from the radio, almost piercing his eardrums: "You're something else! I was just being nosy! You'd better watch yourself!"

Since it was all Wang Lingkun's own fault and had nothing to do with Xu Xian, he had absolutely no need to worry about it. As for what punishment Wang Lingkun would receive, he had no interest whatsoever.

Even though Wang Lingkun couldn't see Qin Zongyang's ugly face on the other end of the frequency, he could almost imagine it. Upon hearing that it had nothing to do with his apprentice, Qin Zongyang instantly lost the idea of ​​intervening and let him fend for himself.

This is so damn true!

"Although I did spill the water, part of the reason was that your apprentice kept me chatting and distracted me. If the company really investigates this, your apprentice will also bear some responsibility!" At this point, Wang Lingkun certainly knew that only by involving Xu Xian could he have a slight chance to reduce his responsibility.

If Xu Xian gets involved in this matter, Qin Zongyang will definitely not stay out of it. Having a deputy general manager of the flight department helping out will at least offer some assistance.

Qin Zongyang's bright smile vanished instantly, and he asked directly, "Xu Xian, is that so?"

At this moment, although Xu Xian was mainly focused on listening to the first VHF radio, he also paid some attention to the second VHF radio, and naturally noticed that Qin Zongyang was asking him questions.

Helpless, Xu Xian had no choice but to switch transmitters and reply, "It seems so!"

"You see?" Wang Lingkun said immediately, "Old Qin, my business with Xu Xian is counting on you!"

Qin Zongyang fell into a deep silence. If Xu Xianzheng got involved, he couldn't possibly stand idly by.

Just as Wang Lingkun was waiting for Qin Zongyang's reply, Nanyong Air Traffic Control sent a message: "Star Travel 6554, Qianyang Airport has indicated it can receive you. Now turn right to heading 260 and descend to an altitude of 4200 meters!"

Xu Xian immediately replied: "Turn right, heading 260, descend to an altitude of 4200 meters, Star Travel 6554!"

After saying that, he reminded Wang Lingkun, "Instructor, we can prepare to land in Qianyang!"

"Okay, I heard you!" Seeing that Qin Zongyang was still undecided, Wang Lingkun said again over the radio, "Old Qin, I have to go now. We need to make an emergency landing in Qianyang. I'll call you after we land!"

After saying that, he switched the second VHF radio back to the emergency frequency.

"We're going to make a rapid descent!" With that, Wang Lingkun set the altitude to 13800 feet on the MCP board, pressed the altitude change button, adjusted the speed to the maximum speedometer at 320 knots, slowed the throttle, and pulled up the speed brakes to the flight position.

One reason Wang Lingkun wanted to descend quickly was that the co-pilot's side window might need to be opened during the smoke or dense smoke removal process. If the aircraft was too high, it would cause depressurization problems, so it was necessary to descend as quickly as possible.

Of course, the smoke emitted from the overheated communication panel wasn't much, and it shouldn't escalate to the point where it would be necessary to open the side windows for ventilation. However, Wang Lingkun had to eliminate any possibility and prepare for various possible scenarios.

At the same time, after receiving instructions from Wang Lingkun, Lian Shanxue made a simple passenger announcement reminding passengers to fasten their seat belts.

Whether it's a rapid descent or an emergency descent, the aircraft's condition changes drastically, and if you're not wearing a seatbelt, there's no telling what danger might occur.

Meanwhile, on another plane, Qin Zongyang was lost in thought. He had to come up with a way to shut Wang Lingkun up and pull Xu Xian out of this mess!

(End of this chapter)