Legendary Captain

Chapter 198 The Laughingstock of the Entire Company

"What's going on?" The captain, who had come to pick up the pilot, poked his head out and peered into the cockpit. "Aren't you going home yet? Do you plan to fly a couple more flights?"

The captain who took over the shift was initially just joking, but after he understood what was happening in the cockpit, his brows furrowed: "What exactly happened?"

"Captain, there's a problem with the seatbelt, we can't unfasten it!" the maintenance crew explained helplessly.

"What?" The incoming captain entered the cockpit incredulously and leaned closer to examine Xu Xian's seatbelt: "Is it stuck?"

Faced with such an awkward situation, Xu Xian blushed and said, "Captain, it really wasn't my fault."

The incoming captain tried to unfasten Xu Xian's seatbelt himself, but couldn't manage it. He simply shrugged and said, "Good grief, so you're just refusing to move?"

To ensure the pilot is completely secured, the pilot's seat is a five-point harness, with straps securing the shoulders, legs, and crotch, providing a 360-degree, no-dead-angle fixation to the seat, making Xu Xian unable to move.

Just when they were at their wits' end, the captain who was with Xu Xian received a phone call. After saying a few words, he said to Xu Xian with some difficulty, "Xu Xian, how about I go first? The cabin crew is waiting downstairs!"

No one can guarantee when Xu Xian will be able to unbuckle his seatbelt, so just waiting around is really pointless.

"Brother, you go back first. Once I've got this sorted out, I'll call the fleet and have them come pick me up." Xu Xian felt bad making the captain wait any longer. To be honest, he didn't know when he'd be able to get the seatbelt issue sorted out.

Actually, the captain didn't need Xu Xian's permission. He wasn't Xu Xian's father; he didn't need Xu Xian's approval to leave work. The captain simply felt that since they had come together, they should leave together. However, the current situation seemed to prevent him from doing so.

The captain, who had been waiting impatiently, grabbed his suitcase, said hello, and dashed off the plane.

Shortly after, the chief flight attendant approached and asked, "Captain, the cabin is ready. May we board?"

The entire crew was newly assigned, and although they sensed something was amiss in the cockpit, they couldn't figure out what had happened.

The captain who took over the shift turned green. He glanced at his watch and said, "Tell the ground crew to wait. If we need to pick up passengers, we'll let the ground crew know."

"Okay, sure!" The flight attendant glanced into the cockpit and asked curiously, "Captain, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"

The captain was still young, and the flight attendant wasn't too afraid of him, so she casually asked him a question.

The captain slapped his forehead: "Someone's refusing to leave."

"Refusing to leave?" The flight attendant peered inside again. "Brother, what's going on?"

"I can't get out of here!" Xu Xian wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into; he had truly lost face today.

"Brother, is your seatbelt stuck?" The flight attendant immediately noticed that Xu Xian's shoulder strap was not unfastened, which meant there was a problem.

Xu Xiansao blushed and could only nod.

The flight attendant was also overjoyed, as it was the first time she had ever seen a pilot's seatbelt get stuck and they couldn't get out.

"No. What should we do then, Captain?" the chief flight attendant asked casually.

The captain was at his wit's end: "How should I know! Maintenance guy, is there really no way?"

"Captain, it's not difficult to get him off. Whether I cut the seatbelt or pry open the buckle with a tool, it's fine. But after forcibly loosening it, a new seatbelt needs to be replaced, otherwise we can't let him off the plane. Replacing it again will take quite a while! I don't even know if the aircraft parts warehouse has any in stock."

This was the first time the maintenance crew had encountered a seatbelt malfunction, and they had no prior experience to draw upon.

"Good grief, are we just going to wait like this?" The captain was starting to lose his composure.

A delay of three to five minutes, or even ten minutes, in boarding is not a big deal, but any further delays will be treated as flight delays. Flight delays require a reason; you can't just delay whenever you want.

Whether it's due to flow control, weather conditions, or mechanical failure, there needs to be an explanation.

But how do you explain this situation?

The pilot is stuck in the seat and can't get out?

If this gets out, people will laugh their heads off.

Xu Xian, as the person involved, was certainly aware of his current awkward situation, but he really had no way to deal with it!

"Okay, first contact the aircraft parts warehouse and ask if they have any seatbelts in stock. If they do, have them find them and be ready to send them over. If they still can't untie it, then we'll have to use force. A living person can't be held back by their pee, can they?" The captain made a quick decision and gave a series of instructions to the maintenance crew: "By the way, ask your colleagues if anyone has handled a similar situation before."

If the maintenance crew here isn't up to the task, then let's request backup! He refused to believe that a simple seatbelt could stump them.

It really proved to be a problem; we encountered issues while searching for aviation materials.

"What? You can't find the seatbelt part number!" The maintenance worker was completely dumbfounded. He was going to look for the seatbelt part number himself and report it to the aircraft parts warehouse, but after flipping through the manual for a long time, he still couldn't find it.

With no other option, the maintenance crew had to ask their colleagues at the aircraft parts warehouse for help, but they couldn't find anyone there either.

Seat belts are such rare accessories; who knows where the part number is hidden?

Seeing the maintenance crew pacing anxiously, Xu Xian's forehead veins bulged: "Are you looking for Chapter 25 of the IPC manual?"

"Oh? Yeah!"

"I what?" The captain thought he had misheard something that Xu Xian had never heard before.

"A catalog of illustrated parts!" Xu Xian casually remarked, "Can't find it on the IPC?"

"They should be able to find it! I'll have him look again."

"If you really can't find it, try looking on CMM. You should be able to find it in both manuals."

Xu Xian isn't a walking bookshelf who knows everything. He admitted he was helpless when it came to obscure details like seatbelt part numbers.

"What's CMM anyway?!"

"Parts repair manual!" Xu Xian was also very annoyed: "How long does it take to replace a seatbelt?"

"Well... the flight is definitely going to be delayed anyway." The maintenance worker didn't give a direct answer because he didn't know either. He had never changed it before and would have to follow the manual later.

The captain, watching Xu Xian's conversation with the maintenance crew, grew even more irritated: "I'll talk to the company!"

With the delay seemingly inevitable, the captain felt it necessary to communicate with the company beforehand to avoid any questions from the company later.

The captain felt that mechanical failure was more likely the explanation for the delay.

Just as the captain was about to make a phone call, the first officer of the flight pulled him to the jet bridge: "Captain, I have an idea."

The captain's eyes lit up: "How so?"

"Let Xu Xian keep flying. Anyway, they've only flown to Jinyang before, which wasn't a big flight. Flying to Chengdu and back won't exceed the time limit! If he can't get off, let him keep flying!" the first co-pilot said.

The captain was completely shocked, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets: "What the hell? You actually came up with such a despicable method?"

"How am I being unethical? I was just offering you advice based on facts!" the first officer said earnestly. "Captain, you're really hurting my feelings by saying that!"

"Although it hurt your feelings, this method is still quite unethical! But then again, you're not giving me advice, are you? You're just eager to go back and play mahjong, aren't you?" The captain scoffed, "Once Xu Xian continues flying, you can go back to playing mahjong!"

Just now, while we were in the preparation room for the flight, the co-pilot told me that he had come all the way from the mahjong table and that he would go back to play mahjong after the flight.

Hearing this, it's clear he's really addicted to mahjong.

The first officer, embarrassed by the captain's blatant exposure of his ulterior motives, said, "Captain, I'm truly hurt by what you've said. Now that I'm out of options, I've pointed out a way, and you accuse me of having ulterior motives. It's really hurtful! It's going to dampen my enthusiasm!"

The captain scoffed, "You've used all your enthusiasm on playing mahjong!"

The first co-pilot's face stiffened: "Never mind, forget I said anything!"

"What's the rush!" The captain grabbed the first officer. "You may be a bit unethical, but extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. You're lucky."

The captain thought it over and over again, but he still felt that although the first officer's idea was a bit unethical, it was actually somewhat feasible.

Xu Xianfei's round trip to Jinyang only took four hours in total. Even if a round trip to Chengdu is added at the last minute, it will only take a little over six hours, so there is no risk of exceeding the time limit.

To be honest, the round trip between Chengdu and Rongcheng isn't very long, so it's not inhumane to make Xu Xian go through a bit more trouble.

Even if the first co-pilot had some ulterior motives, it wouldn't hurt to borrow him.

The captain made up his mind and prepared to discuss it with Xu Xian. The round trip to Chengdu wasn't Xu Xian's responsibility; he wasn't obligated to fly there, so his consent was necessary.

As long as Xu Xian agrees, he can call the dispatcher, explain the situation, amend the mission order, and get the vehicle released again in time.

After all, this is for the company's punctuality, so the dispatcher probably won't refuse. The only obstacle now is Xu Xian.

But after hearing the captain's plan, Xu Xian shook his head vigorously: "No, I absolutely won't fly!"

"Why not! We're already here, why not fly? Don't you want to earn a little extra money? The landing fee in Chengdu is quite high!" the first co-pilot advised.

Because Chengdu Airport has a very high volume of passengers, the landing fee for landing in Chengdu is higher than that for ordinary airports in plains areas, which naturally makes it more efficient at making money.

Although the first co-pilot had his own ulterior motives, he was telling the truth.

Even with real money in front of him, Xu Xian still wouldn't agree. Normally, he would have agreed, but this was different. He glanced outside the door, making sure no flight attendants were there, and then lowered his voice, saying, "What if I need to pee? I can't get up, are I going to wet my pants?"

The maintenance crew member was in the cockpit at the time, and upon hearing Xu Xian's words, he was so happy that snot bubbles appeared on his nose.

The captain was taken aback at first, then asked, "Do you need to pee?"

"Huh?" Xu Xian was also confused by the captain: "I don't need to pee right now!"

"That settles it!" the first co-pilot exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "Then we'll just hold it in for a while!"

"I don't want to pee now, but what about later? Can I really hold it in? It's a round trip to Rongcheng, plus transit time, that's over three hours! What if I get sick from holding it in?" Xu Xian was furious. How could someone come up with such a ridiculous idea? Are they even human?

"That's nothing, it's only three hours! When we were accumulating experience during our commercial pilot training at flight school, three hours without landing was commonplace, wasn't it?" The first officer didn't seem to care.

Within the commercial pilot training program at flight school, there's a Time Building phase, which involves accumulating time. During this phase, students fly around extensively to build up their pilot time. It's not uncommon for a single flight to last three hours.

"What the hell!" Xu Xian, having also gone through the private sales stage, knew all too well the intricacies: "You don't expect me to collect urine in a bottle, do you?"

Although Xu Xian had never done such a thing, he had heard of this emergency method. In the case of long-haul flights where there are not many airports available for landing, some pilots would bring a small bottle on the plane in case they really couldn't hold it in and had to use the bottle to collect their urine.

This is a little-known secret within the aviation community; it's not in books, but almost everyone who has gone through flight school knows it.

Xu Xian wasn't against this method. If things got desperate, he wouldn't just wet himself on the plane or in his pants, so it was still a solution. Who would laugh at a solution that's cheap?

But that was during the novice learning to fly stage, just like now. Back then, you only interacted with classmates and instructors; the circle was small, so even if you did it, no one said anything. Now? Besides flying, there are also flight attendants, a whole bunch of company employees. If one person finds out and can't keep their mouth shut, it'll be news that spreads throughout the entire company.

Those who are also in the flight crew might be able to understand, but those flight attendants or ground staff who don't know the ropes wouldn't know, wouldn't they become a laughing stock?

Also, I used to be able to do this mostly when I was flying solo. Now, not to mention there are so many people on the plane, there are at least two people in the cockpit. How could I have the face to do this?

Perhaps sensing that he had pushed Xu Xian too far, the first co-pilot quickly asked, "Did you just drink some water?"

"No!"

"That won't do! Just bear with it, and don't drink water later." The first co-pilot laughed, "Besides, it might be untied later."

"That's right! They're cracking down on on-time performance now. If they start holding people accountable, you won't be able to escape it either," the captain chimed in.

"How can you blame me for this?"

"Is it my fault?" the captain laughed. "Look at the maintenance log's fault report. If the seatbelt problem didn't just start today, why didn't you let the maintenance crew fix it? And you even signed off on it! Now that there's a problem, you're not going to take responsibility?"

"Damn, are they really going to mess with me?" Xu Xian laughed in exasperation. "Captain, we can't do this!"

At this moment, the maintenance crew member said, "Captain, we've found the part number. The warehouse can send it over anytime. It's up to you."

Seeing that they had reached a critical juncture, the first co-pilot squeezed into the cockpit, leaned close to Xu Xian, and whispered, "Brother, let's talk about something."

"What?" Xu Xian didn't give the co-pilot, who had no humanity whatsoever, a friendly look either.

"Here's what we'll do! If you help me fly two sections of the Chengdu route, I'll secretly give you five hundred yuan as a reward."

Clearly, the co-driver's mahjong addiction is deeply ingrained.

Xu Xian was so shocked his mouth gaped open: "There's such a thing?"

"You think you don't fly often? Of course you do! Sometimes something comes up and you can't fly, so you want to skip your shift. If it's a good shift, someone will probably cover for you. But if it's a bad shift and you don't want to take leave, it's not uncommon for you to pay someone else to fly for you."

"But the trip to and from Chengdu isn't a bad one!"

The round trip to Chengdu is short and efficient, but the landing fee is high. It's not a great option, but it's definitely not a bad one!

"I have something to do! Something urgent!" The first co-pilot patted Xu Xian on the shoulder: "And this money is to help with your bladder."

"Well!" Xu Xian shook himself slightly, checking his reserves.

Seeing Xu Xian hesitate, the first co-pilot quickly urged, "Please help me out!"

"Alright! Seeing how anxious you are, I'll help you!" Xu Xian said with an air of magnanimity.

The first co-pilot was overjoyed: "Great! Great! You're using the company phone number, right? I'll add you as a friend later!"

Upon hearing that there was more money coming in, Xu Xian grinned from ear to ear: "That's right, just search for that phone number!"

"Okay, okay!" Seeing that things were settled, the first officer excitedly stepped out of the cockpit and beamed at the captain, "Xu Xian agreed! I'll go make the call!"

"Alright, go ahead and make the call!" The captain waved his hand, then went into the cockpit and said to Xu Xian, "Notify the site to board the passengers!"

Presumably because they had been waiting for a long time, the passengers disembarked from the jet bridge as soon as the staff informed them of the boarding process. At this point, Xu Xian began preparing the cockpit; since the fuel was already filled, there was still time to prepare the cockpit.

The first officer turned on the seatbelt indicator to signal the crew that the passengers had arrived. Seeing the passengers, the first officer, who was about to make a phone call, went to the front cabin crew area to make the call.

Perhaps feeling that he could go back to playing mahjong, the first passenger seemed a little too excited, and his voice was very loud.

"Yeah, what can you do? The passenger's seatbelt is stuck, he can't get up. What can you do?"

"Yes, it's really funny, but I'm not lying! Revise the mission statement, have the station send it over, and get it cleared again!"

Now that electronic release is used, the dispatcher can make a simple change, and the crew can see it on their tablet. However, the mission statement cannot be digitized yet; the airfield needs to print out a new mission statement and send it over.

The first co-pilot's voice was so loud that Xu Xian could hear it even through the cockpit door. Sitting there, Xu Xian's face turned green. Did he want the whole world to know about his embarrassing moment?

When the captain saw that the first officer had revealed all of Xu Xian's misdeeds, greatly damaging Xu Xian's reputation, and seeing Xu Xian's ashen face, he offered a few words of comfort: "It's nothing."

Before the captain could finish speaking, the cockpit door was flung open, and the first officer's head popped in: "Captain, dispatch has everything settled!"

The captain was startled by the first officer who suddenly jumped in: "Keep your voice down, are you making an announcement?"

"What's wrong?" The first co-pilot hadn't realized his mistake.

"What kind of respectable thing is it that Xu Xian's seatbelt got stuck? Can you please keep your voice down when you're on the phone with the dispatcher? They're picking up passengers! Be mindful of the social impact."

"Oh dear, who would care about that!"

The captain lowered his voice: "What about the cabin crew? Didn't they hear it too?"

"It's okay, nobody's gossiping!"

"Really?" The captain was somewhat skeptical.

Really?

Seeing the first co-pilot's confident assurances, Xu Xian began to believe him somewhat and breathed a sigh of relief.

As a result, the whole company found out the next day.

(End of this chapter)