Legendary Captain

Chapter 219 Misunderstanding Component

When Qin Zongyang saw that the two components were in the off position, he froze instantly, his mind going completely blank. The confident and commanding air he had felt earlier crumbled in an instant, replaced by a sluggishness as if his brain were stuck.

In that instant, Qin Zongyang even lost the ability to think.

Perhaps due to excessive excitement, when he spoke loudly just now, he subconsciously pressed the call transmission button, and Qin Zongyang's voice was transmitted word for word to Xingyou Aviation's operations control center via satellite phone.

Qin Zongyang's almost frantic roar blared from the loudspeakers, audible to nearly half of the operations control center. The sound waves spread, hitting Safety Director Chen Fei directly in the blast.

"The component is off?!" Just like Qin Zongyang, Chen Fei's last smile seemed to be frozen in time, and the muscles in his face seemed to be at a loss for what expression to make next.

In his shock, Chen Fei's breathing became so heavy that he choked on his own saliva. However, thanks to Chen Fei, the control center, which seemed to have frozen in place, finally resumed operation for a short while amidst his rapid coughing.

Chen Fei, his face slightly flushed from coughing, grabbed the microphone again as soon as he recovered and roared into it, "Qin Zongyang, why the hell did you turn off the components?!"

The pressurization of an aircraft relies entirely on two components, left and right. If both components are turned off, the aircraft's pressurization system will obviously not work. If the pressurization system cannot work, depressurization is not necessarily the result.

Chen Fei clutched his head; his shout had given him a splitting headache, but he couldn't care less. Things had taken a sharp turn for the worse; it seemed their flight department had gotten themselves into another major mess.

The depressurization of Qin Zongyang's plane was very likely not a natural disaster, but a man-made one!

If the aircraft depressurization was caused by human error rather than a malfunction of the aircraft itself, then no matter how elaborate the depressurization procedures are, it will all be in vain.

Even human-caused unsafe incidents are more serious in nature than unsafe incidents caused by improper handling of mechanical failures.

In the cockpit, Chen Fei's furious roar, as if he wanted to devour Qin Zongyang alive, still echoed. However, Qin Zongyang appeared strangely calm at this moment.

Qin Zongyang remained silent for a long while, and the cockpit fell into an inexplicable silence for a moment. Only the rumbling noise of the engine and the faint sounds of the passenger cabin could be heard through the cockpit door.

It's clear that even though order in the cabin is now largely under control, things are not entirely calm.

The co-pilot on the right pursed his lips. During Qin Zongyang's frantic questioning, he had also noticed that two components of the aircraft were somehow switched off. Under normal operation, these components should be in the automatic position at this time.

If the component is turned off, the aircraft will naturally lose pressurization. Without pressurization, the aircraft will need to depressurize, so the reason for the depressurization just now was that the component was turned off!

The co-pilot considered a terrifying possibility, and his face turned deathly pale in an instant.

Qin Zongyang didn't say a word. His gaze went past the component switch and landed on the switches of the two recirculation fans above. At this time, the switches of the two recirculation fans were both open.

At that moment, Qin Zongyang seemed to know what had happened. In just a few seconds, he seemed to have aged a lot, as if all his energy had been drained. The once vigorous deputy general manager of the flight department now looked like a hunched old man who had lost his luster.

Qin Zongyang can already see the end of his professional career! When the plane lands in a little while, this flight will be the last flight of his professional career.

"You locked the wrong one, didn't you?" Qin Zongyang raised his eyelids slightly, as if this action had exhausted all his strength. His eyes were devoid of joy or sorrow, as if he were recounting someone else's story.

The co-pilot, who was in the "instructor's" seat, was trembling as he spoke. He also noticed that both recirculation fans were still on, which alone indicated that he had mistakenly turned off the component ignition.

Previously, Qin Zongyang complained that the recirculation fans were too noisy when they were working and asked the passenger to turn them off. However, both recirculation fans are still on, but the component switch below the recirculation fan switch is inexplicably off. The only explanation for this strange situation is that the passenger mistook the component switch for the recirculation fan switch and turned it off.

There's practically no other explanation! In fact, even the co-pilot himself couldn't think of any other reason to explain it all! He really did something incredibly stupid.

Turning off the recirculation fan will not cause the aircraft to depressurize, but turning off the component switch will cause the aircraft to depressurize. The difference between two adjacent switches is like the difference between heaven and earth!

The recirculation fan switch and the component switch are only three or four centimeters apart vertically, but it is this short distance that requires him, and Qin Zongyang, to pay an extremely heavy price.

At this moment, the co-pilot had clearly realized his mistake. A huge sense of fear had been lingering in his mind, making it impossible for him to think clearly.

If anyone were in that situation and their mistake caused an emergency like a plane depressurization, it's unlikely anyone could remain calm.

Looking at the distraught passenger in the front seat, Qin Zongyang had already found his answer, even if it seemed ridiculous.

Mistaking the component switch for the recirculation fan switch is a rare mistake, even for a novice flight student, let alone a Level 4 co-pilot with nearly 2,000 flight hours.

Indeed, even now, after the fact, Qin Zongyang still finds this extremely absurd. If someone had told him before this happened that a Level 4 co-pilot would confuse the component ignition switch with the recirculation fan ignition switch, he would have laughed at that person's ignorance without hesitation.

The idea that a Level 4 co-pilot would confuse the component ignition switch with the recirculation fan ignition switch is as unimaginable and detached from reality as an adult getting addition and subtraction within ten wrong.

But it happened, it happened in a way that defied everyone's common sense!

After the initial mental blank, the co-pilot regained some of his thinking ability. He didn't dare look at Qin Zongyang and could only ask with some fear, "Instructor, what about us?"

"Ha!" Qin Zongyang laughed without warning, just as heartily as before. He let out a long sigh: "We're finished!"

We're finished! These five short words alone reveal the utter despair Qin Zongyang is feeling.

He had previously wanted to make Lu Xinyu a laughing stock in the entire civil aviation industry, but before he could succeed, it seemed he was about to become the laughing stock of the entire civil aviation circle.

How ironic!

Qin Zongyang paused for a moment, then pressed the speak button: "Both components are off. It must be...it must be a misoperation by the crew."

Qin Zongyang's voice wasn't loud, but it was more impactful than any explosive roar. The entire operations control center heard his words, especially Safety Director Chen Fei, whose mind went blank for a moment. After a few moments, he nervously picked up the microphone and said urgently, "Qin Zongyang, you can't say things like that! That's a huge joke!"

At this moment, Chen Fei would rather Qin Zongyang and the others had not done a proper decompression procedure than have the problem stem from crew misoperation.

When the plane depressurized, the procedures were not handled properly. Although it was a bit embarrassing, it was still acceptable. After all, people are nervous in special circumstances, and mistakes are inevitable. Others won't laugh at us too much.

However, if the crew mistakenly operates a component switch, leading to aircraft depressurization, then it's essentially no longer a technical issue. Some mistakes, once made, can be overcome with patience and the storm passes; you're still a hero. But some mistakes, once made, are a stain on your record for life.

"I know, but that's the truth." These were Qin Zongyang's last words, and then the phone was hung up.

"Mr. Chen, what... what's going on?" The emergency manager was speechless for a moment. He had been in the industry for many years and this was the first time he had ever heard of a depressurization caused by a misoperation of the unit. He had never seen anything like it before.

The emergency manager expressed feeling immense pressure regarding this unexpected and unimaginable emergency.

Chen Fei tugged at his hair, wishing he could tear his scalp off. Just thinking about reporting this to the authorities and their reaction to such an absurd incident made him feel utterly humiliated.

"President Chen?" Seeing that Chen Fei did not respond, the emergency manager called out softly again.

"How the hell should I know?" Chen Fei replied irritably to the emergency manager, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Many staff members in the operations control center seemed to be whispering amongst themselves. It seemed that news of Qin Zongyang's affair would soon spread, and there was no stopping it.

The thought of the potential consequences of this incident sent chills down Chen Fei's spine. He instructed the emergency manager, "You keep a close eye on this place!"

He then leaned closer to the emergency manager and whispered, "Tell the people here not to talk nonsense. If word gets out, I'll hold you responsible!"

The emergency manager was speechless, his face hanging low: "Mr. Chen, people can say whatever they want, it's none of my business! Besides, at my level, people might not even care!"

Regardless of whether others are willing to listen to him, given his position, he has very little power to control his subordinates. Even if he earnestly tells them to keep things confidential, they might still think he's wielding his authority like a tiger!

"This is your problem. Anyway, if something goes wrong, you'll be responsible." Chen Fei directly demonstrated the fine tradition of "higher-ranking officials can crush you," passing the hot potato to someone else and washing his hands of the matter cleanly.

"Damn it!" The emergency manager's face turned green. He had just mustered up the courage to argue a few words when Chen Fei had already disappeared.

With Guan Da gone, the pressure suddenly eased, and the entire operations control center instantly came alive. Many busybodies surrounded the emergency manager in layers.

Many of them had only vaguely heard what Chen Fei had said and weren't sure yet. But as soon as Chen Fei left, the person in charge was gone, and they all swarmed around like cats that had smelled blood.

"Bro, they said there was a mistake by the crew, is that true?"

"Is 6774 Mr. Qin flying?"

"What did you misoperate? Did you turn the component switch off incorrectly?"

"There was a crew error. Which crew? The captain or the first officer?"

The emergency manager was surrounded by chattering gossips, making him feel uneasy.

"What's all the yelling about? Aren't you supposed to be working? So what if you made a mistake? Haven't your hands ever slipped before?" The emergency manager, annoyed by the noise, chased away the crowd that had gathered around him. "Get back to what you were doing! And keep your mouths shut! Anyone who acts as my mouthpiece will get what's coming to them!"

Despite the emergency manager's harsh voice and menacing appearance, he was actually quite unsure of himself and how many people would heed his "warnings."

"This is boring, so boring!"

When the onlookers saw the emergency manager's fierce demeanor, they knew they wouldn't be getting any juicy gossip for the time being. In an instant, they all fell silent, grumbling and ignoring the emergency manager's earlier warning.

The emergency manager was slightly embarrassed by the reactions of those around him. Were these people really giving him no face? He couldn't even pretend to be scared; everyone looked completely indifferent. This was a huge blow to his authority.

After everyone dispersed, a figure appeared in the distance. The emergency manager was taken aback, then smiled and went to greet him: "Xiao Wang, what brings you here, Mr. Lu?"

This Xiao Wang is Lu Xinyu's assistant!

The assistant looked thoughtfully at the gradually dispersing crowd, but since the emergency manager had already come to greet him, he couldn't ignore him, so he forced a smile and went over as well.

"It's like this, Mr. Lu was supposed to be on duty the day after tomorrow, but something came up. If it's convenient for you, could you please reschedule his shift the day after tomorrow?"

The leaders of the Flight Department and the Safety Supervision Department often have to come to the Operations Control Center to take a shift and act as emergency managers. Qin Zongyang had done this many times before.

Lu Xinyu was originally scheduled to be on duty the day after tomorrow, but he had some urgent business to attend to, so he asked his assistant to come and discuss the matter of him covering for him.

The operation control shift doesn't necessarily require a designated person to watch over it; as long as a suitable person can be found to take over, the requirements aren't that strict.

The emergency manager laughed and said, "The day after tomorrow, right? No problem. I don't have anything to do the day after tomorrow anyway. You go back and tell President Lu that I'll come over and keep an eye on things. He can just focus on his own business."

It's just a small matter; it's only right to give Lu Xinyu face.

The assistant hadn't expected the emergency manager to refuse, and finding it quite common, he nodded and prepared to leave. But as soon as he turned around, he couldn't help but turn back and ask the emergency manager, "What happened just now?"

The emergency manager's face stiffened, and he shook his head vigorously, denying it immediately: "No, nothing's wrong!"

"Really?" The assistant looked at the emergency manager's face suspiciously; he had clearly overheard something. However, seeing that the emergency manager's lips were pursed as if they were sewn shut, he didn't press the matter further and left the operations control center with a hint of doubt.

Seeing Lu Xinyu's assistant leave, the emergency manager finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had absolutely no desire to get involved in the power struggle between Lu Xinyu and Qin Zongyang.

Even if Lu Xinyu wanted to know about Qin Zongyang, he absolutely couldn't let Qin Zongyang know through him.

Office of Executive Vice President Luo Qing.

After leaving the operations control center, Chen Fei went straight to Luo Qing's office. With such an absurd incident and the recent series of safety incidents at Xingyou Airlines, the authorities would likely have a lot of complaints about the company. At this point, Luo Qing was needed to make a decision.

"What? Did Qin Zongyang's hand slip? Did he close the wrong component?" After hearing what Chen Fei said, Luo Qing was slightly surprised but didn't react much, as if it wasn't a big deal.

Chen Fei: "He only said that the crew made a mistake, without specifying who it was, but I guess it was the co-pilot."

During normal operation, the co-pilot usually handles tasks like operating the switches on the control panel, especially when flying with someone like Qin Zongyang. He probably only helps with communication during takeoff and landing; otherwise, Qin Zongyang won't touch them.

And don't let Qin Zongyang's seemingly carefree demeanor fool you, he's incredibly shrewd. If Chen Fei can't do it, he can turn off the wrong component switch. Even if the passenger in the front seat turns off the wrong component switch, that would be quite absurd.

"Did it cause any problems? Were any passengers injured?"

"President Luo, they've declared a state of emergency! The passengers seem to be all fine," Chen Fei replied obediently.

Once a state of emergency is declared, it doesn't matter whether it has any impact or not; under a state of emergency, you're the boss.

Luo Qing nodded: "As long as everyone is alright, we'll handle it as needed later."

"President Luo, our company has already had two incidents, and now another one has happened. Will the authorities have any objections?" Chen Fei asked anxiously.

Luo Qing smiled and said, "What do you think? Of the twelve new domestic routes and five international routes that we submitted before, we'd be lucky if even half of them were approved."

Tightening the application process for new routes is one of the regulatory measures taken by the authorities to control airlines. Three safety incidents in a short period of time suggest that the consequences are not as simple as reducing flight hours; applications for new routes will also be affected.

Chen Fei frowned; this time, he had really lost out big time.

"By the way, how's Li Chuan's mood lately?" Although Luo Qing's position is slightly higher than Li Chuan's, it doesn't really have much of a binding force on him. Moreover, the marketing director is a crucial position, and if Li Chuan comes to cause trouble for him because of this, Luo Qing will be very annoyed.

"It seems like he's been working on that female pilot lately. There were rumors that the company was going to cut flight hours, but he hasn't responded."

Luo Qing breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that he has something to do with me, otherwise I won't have any peace and quiet."

"President Luo, now that Qin Zongyang has gotten into this mess, does that mean the position of General Manager of the Flight Department is already decided?" Chen Fei suddenly asked.

Luo Qing raised her eyelids slightly, a half-smile playing on her lips: "You're actually interested in who will become the general manager of the flight department?"

"No, no, I was just curious," Chen Fei quickly denied.

"The Flight Department is at least the most important department in our company on the surface. It's not like there's anything wrong with building a good relationship with the head of the Flight Department as soon as possible," Luo Qing said, seemingly unconcerned. Now that Xingyou Airlines is under the group's close scrutiny, forming cliques in this environment would be extremely dangerous. Chen Fei probably just wants to cultivate a good relationship with the future general manager of the Flight Department to make things easier in the future.

Luo Qing's open-mindedness made Chen Fei blush: "President Luo, to put it bluntly, Qin Zongyang gave up his position himself, so he can't blame anyone else."

Recently, Qin Zongyang launched a sudden attack on Lu Xinyu, leaving Lu Xinyu completely defenseless. In the end, when it came time to succeed, he himself ran into trouble.

"Are you absolutely convinced that Qin Zongyang has no chance?"

Chen Fei was stunned: "Is this even possible to turn things around?"

"He definitely can't turn things around on his own, but who knows, someone might lend a helping hand?" Luo Qing laughed. "Why are you so concerned about whether you, as the safety director, have any direct conflict of interest with the general manager of the flight department? Just watch the show! Besides, Qin Zongyang's accident might not necessarily be a bad thing."

Chen Fei was stunned: "Could it be good news?"

"How could it not be? Before, Qin Zongyang insisted on convening a temporary technical committee, dragging the entire flight department down with him. Now that he's in trouble, the meeting definitely won't be able to take place, and in the end, only he will be embarrassed. Isn't that a good thing?" Luo Qing laughed.

"You can see it like that?" Chen Fei almost applauded Luo Qing. This kind of thinking is truly beyond the reach of ordinary people!

Lu Xinyu's office.

The assistant returned to the office, panting, after a long time, making Lu Xinyu frown: "I just asked you to find someone to cover for me, why did it take so long? And it's just a matter of talking, is it necessary to act so tired?"

"Mr. Lu, it's a big deal, a really big deal!" The assistant was so excited from running that he was having trouble speaking.

Lu Xinyu's lips twitched slightly: "What could be so earth-shattering?"

"This is a fantastic thing! No, for you, Mr. Lu, it's a fantastic thing!" The assistant paused for a moment before clearly uttering a sentence.

"Me?" Lu Xinyu was taken aback. "What are you talking about?!"

"I just went to the operations control center to find someone, and I happened to run into something."

"What is it?"

"President Qin's plane has depressurized today!"

Lu Xinyu's heart skipped a beat: "Relieved of stress? How did the treatment go?"

If Qin Zongyang handles this well, wouldn't he gain some credit? That would be a huge disadvantage for me!

"I don't know how it's been handled." The assistant recovered, but couldn't hide his excitement: "But I found out later that this depressurization seems to have been caused by crew error, not a malfunction!"

"What?!" Lu Xinyu was so shocked he almost jumped up. "Is this true?"

"Really!" the assistant said. "The emergency manager told me nothing happened. But I clearly heard that something happened, and the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. So I went back and lingered outside the operations control center for a long time until someone came out and pulled me over to ask them questions."

"At the time, Mr. Chen Fei was also present. It seems that Mr. Chen Fei was furious when he heard about this," the assistant added.

"If this were true, I wouldn't be surprised if he died of anger on the spot!" Lu Xinyu's lips gradually curled into a smile: "You only asked one person?"

"No, no!" the assistant hurriedly said. "To make sure no one misheard, I waited over there for a while and asked five people. Four of them said they definitely heard it, and one person wasn't sure; he was sitting quite far away at the time."

"That's it! That's it!" At this moment, Lu Xinyu could no longer hold back and burst into laughter: "Even God is on my side!"

(End of this chapter)