Legendary Captain

Chapter 222 There's a Threat Below (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Xu Xian was startled, his thoughts about the sudden, almost explosive noise abruptly interrupted. He and Wang Qian exchanged a glance: "Brother, the cargo hold is on fire!"

"Damn it!" Wang Qian cursed and immediately ordered, "Turn off the alarm and verify the fault."

As with most fire alarms, the first step in handling a cargo hold fire is to shut off the alarm. The "verification of the malfunction" mentioned later does not refer to verifying whether it is a cargo hold fire, but rather to determining whether the fire is in the forward or aft cargo hold.

The pre-position switch for a fire alarm in the cargo hold is divided into the forward cargo hold and the aft cargo hold, so the first step is to determine the location of the fire.

Xu Xianlian pressed the FIRE WARNING button to turn off the fire alarm, and then checked the cargo compartment fire alarm panel. The cargo compartment fire alarm panel is located right next to the engine, APU, and wheel well fire alarm panels, at the top of the center console.

At this point, the word "AFT" will light up in red on the cargo hold fire alarm panel, indicating that a fire has broken out in the aft cargo hold. If "FWD" is lit up, it means that a fire has broken out in the forward cargo hold.

"Brother, it's a fire in the rear cargo hold!" Xu Xian reported.

At this moment, Wang Qian also focused his attention on the cargo hold fire alarm switch. Not long ago, during the cockpit preparation phase, his theory about being struck by lightning twice in a row still echoed in his ears, but in less than two hours, reality slapped him hard in the face.

"If we smell anything unusual or detect smoke, we put on our oxygen masks!" Wang Qian gritted his teeth and gave this instruction before continuing, "Cargo hold fire checklist!"

In fact, the cargo hold and passenger cabin are not completely sealed. There is air circulation between the gaps in the bulkhead. In other words, if the cargo hold catches fire, the smoke produced by the combustion can seep into the passenger cabin and the cockpit through the gaps.

If the smoke becomes uncontrollable later on, they will have to wear oxygen masks to avoid inhaling large amounts of smoke and losing their ability to work.

This requirement was recorded in the standard operating procedure, which Xu Xian naturally remembered perfectly. After expressing his approval, he followed Wang Qian's instructions to look through the cargo hold fire alarm checklist.

The cargo hold fire alarm checklist doesn't require memorization, but it's generally required to be completed as quickly as possible. Xu Xian, with his excellent memory, had already memorized the checklist. However, while the situation was urgent, it wasn't a matter of life and death where a second or two's delay could mean the difference between life and death. It was best to follow the rules; otherwise, constantly disregarding the standards and exceeding the checklist's limits would be excessive.

After carefully carrying out the cargo hold fire alarm checklist, Xu Xian read out the name on the checklist, and after Wang Qian confirmed it, he began the disposal procedures.

"Cargo hold fire alarm pre-lock switch, affected cargo holds, confirm, press, verify pre-lock!"

The switch that previously displayed the red "AFT" indicator is the cargo hold fire alarm pre-position switch. This switch can be pressed down; pressing it will pre-position the cargo hold fire extinguisher bottles. Otherwise, directly pressing the cargo hold fire extinguisher release switch will not release the fire extinguisher bottles.

Since the fire started in the rear cargo hold, all we need to do is press the fire alarm pre-position switch in the rear cargo hold.

"Brother, there's a fire in the rear cargo hold, so let's pre-activate the rear cargo hold power switch." Before proceeding, Xu Xian specifically checked with Wang Qian again.

The operation of such a critical switch should definitely be verified with another crew member, if conditions permit; otherwise, it could lead to serious problems.

There was a previous incident where a commercial airliner caught fire in its right engine after takeoff. According to the engine fire alarm procedure, the crew was required to shut down the affected engine from memory within a short period of time.

This engine shutdown is not simply a matter of moving the thrust lever to the idle position and turning off the starter lever; it also requires pulling out the fire alarm lever and releasing the fire extinguisher.

Once the fire extinguisher is released, the engine will be almost completely destroyed and there will be no way to restart it. Therefore, the handling process must be carried out with utmost care.

However, because the fire alarm occurred just after the plane took off, the captain was under great psychological pressure. During the fire alarm memory test, he did not communicate with the co-pilot at all and mistakenly shut down the left engine, which resulted in both engines losing thrust and causing a serious flight accident.

This accident case is still frequently mentioned to illustrate the importance of mutual verification, especially in emergency situations.

People are prone to making basic mistakes under high pressure, which requires timely reminders and assistance from another person.

Wang Qian nodded: "Go ahead and press it!"

After both parties verified the information, Xu Xian pressed the fire alarm pre-position switch in the rear cargo hold. This pre-position switch will not spring back after being pressed, and the ARM pre-position logo will appear on the switch.

"Press and hold the cargo hold fire extinguishing release switch for one second."

The cargo hold fire extinguishing release switch, also known as the CARGO FIRE DISCH switch, is a separate switch. This switch is retractable and is different from the cargo hold fire alarm pre-position switch, also known as the CARGO FIRE ARM switch.

"Press and hold the fire extinguishing switch in the cargo hold for one second!" Wang Qian confirmed the action and indicated that Xu Xian could continue.

After Xu Xian pressed the fire extinguishing release switch in the cargo hold, he and Wang Qian almost simultaneously pressed the timer button.

After pressing the fire extinguishing release switch in the cargo hold, the release light may not light up immediately. Generally speaking, it should light up within 30 seconds. Therefore, Xu Xian and Wang Qian would time it. If the release light did not light up after 30 seconds, they would need to press the fire extinguishing release switch again. If it still did not work, there might be a problem with the release circuit, which would be a big problem.

The two ignored the issue of the delayed lighting of the release light and let time proceed before proceeding with the next steps.

"Recirculation fan switch, turn off!" This is to prevent the smoke from spreading faster.

"Component switch, high flow rate!"

Wang Qian nodded: "Component switch, verify, two high-flow positions!"

Following Wang Qian's instructions, Xu Xian adjusted the switches of the two components to the high flow level.

"We plan to land at the nearest suitable airport!" Xu Xian took a breath. "Brother, only the delayed projects are left! That's all for now!"

The delayed items are the descent checklist, approach checklist, and landing checklist! These are done after approach preparation is complete, and it's not time to do the delayed items yet.

As Xu Xian temporarily completed the cargo hold fire alarm checklist, the release light came on, and both Xu Xian and Wang Qian relaxed a little.

"Brother, we need to land as soon as possible!"

Whether it's a fire in the cargo hold, engine, APU, or wheel well, the aircraft must land as soon as possible in case of a fire emergency; there can be no delay.

"I know!" Wang Qian didn't waste any time, ignoring the other people still speaking on the frequency, and immediately switched over: "Star Trek 6333, cargo hold fire alarm, requesting immediate landing!"

But as soon as Wang Qian finished speaking, a large number of subsequent communication sounds completely drowned out his previous call, and Wang Qian didn't even know if the Rongcheng control had heard him.

After waiting for a while, and still not hearing a reply from the control officer, who was still responding to someone else, Wang Qian knew that his words had not been heard by the control officer, or at least not clearly.

"Damn, what a perfect time!" Wang Qian cursed. It was rare for the radio to be this busy today; there wasn't even a place to get a word in edgewise.

Wang Qian glanced at the cargo hold fire alarm panel. Even after the fire extinguisher was released, the fire alarm indicator in the aft cargo hold was still lit, indicating that the fire had not yet been extinguished.

Xu Xian noticed Wang Qian's actions and advised, "Brother, the delay caused by the Helen fire extinguisher bottle or its residue might keep the fire alarm indicator light on, so this isn't very useful for reference."

The cargo hold fire alarm may go out, remain lit, light intermittently, or even the main fire warning light may reappear and the fire alarm bell may ring. However, if these phenomena occur in the same cargo hold, it does not necessarily mean that the cargo hold fire is out of control. In other words, if the forward cargo hold fire alarm light is no longer lit, then the information regarding the fire is not as important as it seems.

"I know!" Wang Qian waved his hand and sighed, "I'm just annoyed by this fire alarm indicator light!"

Wang Qian raised his eyelids and gave Xu Xian a deep look. Their eyes met, and Xu Xian felt a slight tightness in his chest. He really couldn't figure out what the look in Wang Qian's eyes meant.

Blame? Angry? Or helpless?

Fortunately, Wang Qian only glanced at Xu Xian for a few seconds before looking away and refocusing his attention on the outside of the windshield. He then pressed the call button with his left hand, and this time Wang Qian shouted very loudly.

"MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! Can't you let me say something?!"

With MAYDAY leading the way and Wang Qian's almost deafening shout, the previously chaotic and busy environment instantly fell silent, a stark contrast to the noise of just a second ago.

"Sorry guys, I'm taking up your frequency for a moment." Compared to his commanding voice just now, Wang Qian's voice sounded somewhat deep. He took a breath: "Star Trek 6333, cargo hold fire alarm!"

After a brief silence on the frequency, someone from one of the crews suddenly chimed in, "Dude, you're awesome. Let's hold on for a bit."

Perhaps the Chengdu controller was also stunned by Wang Qian's shout, because after a moment of calm, he replied, "Star Travel 6333, confirmed to be a cargo hold fire?"

"That's right! We're now requesting to descend as quickly as possible and land at the nearest airport," Wang Qian confirmed.

"Besides descending and landing as quickly as possible, is there anything else needed?" the controller asked.

Wang Qian was getting annoyed by the restrictions: "I want to leave now."

Wang Qian stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence. His gaze pierced through the windshield and fell upon the layers of thunderclouds below. Just moments before, a flash of light had erupted from the thundercloud directly below them at their eleven o'clock position, as if a giant bomb had exploded within the cloud.

"Damn it!"

At this point, the controller responded, "Star Travel 6333, you're requesting an altitude, right? Please wait a moment, I'm coordinating it!"

In this area, many aircraft have already deviated from their planned routes in order to avoid the thunderstorms. Controllers need to make some adjustments to make room for Star Travel 6333 at a suitable altitude.

After the controller uttered those words and waited a while, but received no response from the Xingyou 6333 crew, suspicion immediately arose in his mind: "Xingyou 6333, is this Rongcheng calling?"

At this moment, inside the cockpit, flashes of light were reflected on Xu Xian and Wang Qian's faces. In their vision, it was as if the plane was placed on a thunderous pool, with lightning snakes dancing wildly in the clouds below. How could they possibly land?

As you look further ahead, illuminated by the hazy moonlight and flashes of lightning, the thundercloud stretches out as far as the eye can see.

During pre-flight preparations, they knew that a strong thunderstorm cloud cluster existed along their route, spanning part of Yunnan, most of Chengdu, and a small part of Shangdu. However, having reached a high altitude early on, they encountered no other problems besides relatively severe turbulence, and didn't dwell on it. But when they truly began to pay attention, they realized just how dreadful this thunderstorm cloud was.

"Brother, can we go down?" Even the daring Xu Xian was terrified at the sight of the churning lightning below.

It's not that passenger planes can't withstand lightning strikes. The design of any aircraft includes testing its lightning protection capabilities. In the regulatory authorities' airworthiness verification of a particular aircraft model, having sufficient lightning protection capability is a crucial standard.

That being said, this lightning protection capability is mostly only for dealing with an occasional lightning strike. No pilot in the world would casually fly into thunderclouds.

The lightning protection capabilities of an aircraft are designed to prevent accidental lightning strikes, not to provide evidence that an aircraft can penetrate thunderclouds.

If airplanes could really fly through thunderclouds, there wouldn't be all sorts of regulations for airlines to avoid thunderstorms.

If it were just an isolated cloud of thunderstorms below, Xu Xian would have gritted his teeth and gone down anyway, since the plane was on fire and they couldn't afford to waste any more time in the air. But just from what he could see, Xu Xian could see at least six or seven lightning bolts in the cloud below, with very small intervals between them, making it almost impossible for them to pass through any gaps.

There was no shortcut to get through the thunderclouds below; we had to charge straight through!

But the intermittent lightning below made Xu Xian's hair stand on end.

Wang Qian's face immediately turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Did Xu Xian really need to ask him this question? Even someone with absolutely no knowledge of flying would know the answer.

Lightning, born from the interaction of the magnetic forces of heaven and earth, is a powerful force of nature. We are already cautious enough just brushing past each other; how could we possibly charge headlong into it and try to withstand its force?

Charging straight down like this is truly a path to death.

Even though Wang Qian was extremely anxious at this moment, he had not lost his mind. Charging headlong into the thunderclouds would likely result in him being struck to pieces by lightning before he was even burned alive.

"We can't go down, we absolutely can't go down!" Wang Qian murmured.

At that moment, the Chengdu traffic control announcement blared from the loudspeaker again: "Xingyou 6333, Chengdu, call!"

Wang Qian took a deep breath, then exhaled a stream of air from his nostrils, the sound of his breathing extremely clear. It was obvious he was very nervous and could only hope to calm himself down with deep breathing.

After briefly calming himself down, Wang Qian replied to Rongcheng Traffic Control: "Star Travel 6333, reply!"

"Star Travel 6333, everything's been coordinated, you can download it now."

Before the traffic controller in Rongcheng could finish speaking, Wang Qian interrupted him, "We can't go down!"

"You can't go down?" The controller was stunned. "Star Travel 6333, you mean you're not going to descend?"

However, Wang Qian's thinking was very disjointed. He completely ignored the controller's words and instead raised a new question: "There are large areas of thunderclouds below us, making descent impossible. Can you see from the radar which direction we can get out of the thundercloud area the fastest?"

The problem now extends beyond just the cargo hold fire; the vast thunderclouds below are also a pressing issue. If they want to descend and land as quickly as possible, they must bypass the thunderclouds; otherwise, even with the greatest courage, they wouldn't dare attempt to force their way through.

The controller reacted quickly and immediately understood the meaning conveyed in the words of the Star Travel 6333 crew.

It wasn't that the crew didn't want to get off, but the thunderclouds were blocking the plane, preventing it from landing!

The radar in the air traffic control center can also display the extent of hazardous weather, and the detection range is larger and more precise. This is much better than the weather radar built into the aircraft, which is why Wang Qian sought help from the air traffic controller.

Now, whether they go forward, backward, left, or right, they will fly wherever they can get out of the thunderclouds as soon as possible.

After waiting for a while, the controller brought some less-than-good news: "Star Travel 6333, your current course is roughly the fastest way to escape, but at your current speed, it will take about twenty more minutes to completely escape."

The aircraft is currently experiencing continuous and significant turbulence, making it impossible to increase speed. Even if an emergency were to occur and the aircraft were to exceed the turbulence speed, it wouldn't save much time. Furthermore, under such severe turbulence, if the aircraft's speed were too high, causing the in-flight load to exceed the limit for an extended period, there is a possibility of structural damage to the aircraft, which would only exacerbate the already dire situation.

"I understand! I'll maintain altitude and course for now." That's the only option for now.

Although the controller said it would take about twenty minutes to completely leave the thunderstorm area, once they reached the edge of the thundercloud, the lightning weakened, and they could attempt to descend without waiting for the thundercloud to completely clear.

"Alright! Star Travel 6333, maintain altitude and heading. We will clear the airspace ahead of you so you can land at any time!" the controller said. "What is the current situation of your aircraft? Besides the cargo hold fire, is there anything else?"

"Not yet. We've followed procedures to extinguish the fire. However, we can't be sure of the outcome yet." Wang Qian thought for a moment and then asked, "Rongcheng, have any other aircraft recently flown through the thunderstorm area where I'm currently located?"

Xu Xian was startled; Wang Qian's question clearly indicated that he was prepared to fight to the death.

If the cargo hold fire gets out of control, staying in the air will be a certain death sentence. Keep in mind that if the fire spreads, even if you survive the smoke, the flames, or the heat, the uncontrollable flames could very well burn through the fuselage. At that point, the integrity of the aircraft's fuselage will be compromised, and the overall structural strength will be greatly reduced. If the aircraft's structural strength is insufficient, disintegration in mid-air will be the inevitable outcome.

If the plane disintegrates in mid-air, even if Xu Qing and Han Qi are tied together, they won't be able to handle it. If the plane disintegrates in mid-air, everyone on board will die.

Therefore, if things really develop to that point, it's better to brave the thunderclouds than to wait to die in the sky. Even if this also leads to near-death, there is still a glimmer of hope. When all other options are exhausted, this is the only way to go.

Wang Qian asked this question in order to roughly estimate the feasibility of forcibly breaking through the thunderclouds below.

If a plane had actually flown through there before, it would have given them immense confidence, although he knew the possibility was almost nonexistent.

As expected, the controller's answer was exactly the same as Wang Qian's prediction.

"In the thundercloud area below you, all aircraft have chosen to fly around it. Those that could not fly around it have returned to their bases. Only in the early stages of thundercloud development did a small number of aircraft choose to fly through it. After it developed further, no aircraft chose to fly through the clouds anymore."

Wang Qian and Xu Xian felt a chill in their hearts. These low-altitude pilots weren't fools. Since they preferred to return rather than enter the clouds, it meant that the thunderclouds below were truly impassable.

Even though they had been mentally prepared, Wang Qian and Xu Xian still couldn't help but feel disappointed when they heard the news.

While on the phone, Wang Qian kept his eyes on the fire alarm indicator light in the rear cargo hold, but the light had not gone out since the fire extinguisher was placed.

He had no idea what the situation was like in the cargo hold. If the fire in the cargo hold wasn't brought under control and continued to burn, they might not make it to the edge of the thundercloud zone.

"Received!" Wang Qian took off his headphones, pursed his lips slightly, and let out a heavy sigh, as if he were about to collapse under the pressure. He was the highest-ranking leader on the plane, and all the pressure fell on him first. Now the fire in the cargo hold was burning, and the plane couldn't disembark; it was enough to drive anyone to their death.

Wang Qian tossed his headphones aside, wiped his forehead, and found his hands covered in sweat, whether from the heat or from being anxious, he couldn't tell.

"I've never heard of a cargo hold fire in China since I started flying, especially since power banks were banned from being checked in. This is the first time I've ever experienced one," Wang Qian said, frustrated.

A long time ago, power banks were allowed to be checked in as baggage. However, after a checked power bank caught fire and triggered a cabin fire alarm, power banks were banned from being checked in as baggage throughout China. Power banks have spontaneously combusted since then, but these have all occurred in the passenger cabin and were quickly resolved. No incidents of power banks catching fire during takeoff from the cargo hold of passenger planes have occurred since that incident.

Of course, this only applies to passenger plane cargo holds; there have been a few cases of cargo planes catching fire.

As it turns out, Wang Qian really hit the jackpot today. In all these years, a passenger plane cargo hold fire has never happened before, but he was the one who encountered it.

"You're saying those passengers' luggage goes through layers of security checks, what kind of flammable stuff could it possibly have? How could it possibly catch fire? I just don't understand it."

Passengers' checked baggage goes through security checks, and any prohibited items will be found. How could a fire just start out of nowhere?

"Wait a minute!" Wang Qian suddenly remembered something: "That allyl cyanide, right? That stuff is flammable!"

Wang Qian slapped his thigh: "It must be that piece of junk!"

Xu Xian had actually anticipated the possibility of allyl cyanide catching fire. However, since the authorities had published regulations for the transportation of dangerous goods, as long as the packaging and management were carried out according to standards, there shouldn't be any problems. The authorities would absolutely not joke about the safety of passengers.

Seeing that Xu Xian remained silent, Wang Qian frowned: "You don't think so?"

"I don't know!" Xu Xian shook his head: "It doesn't really matter anymore, the fire's already started, and once the fire extinguishers are used up, that's it."

"You said before that thing exists."

Before Wang Qian could finish speaking, a series of urgent signals sounded in the cockpit, indicating that the passenger cabin was requesting a communication.

Wang Qian paused for a moment, then raised his hand, signaling Xu Xian to answer the phone.

Xu Xian switched the launcher to the passenger cabin and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shortly after, the flight attendant's voice came through the headset: "I just heard a loud explosion from my seat in first class. Is that alright?"

The sound that sounded so much like an explosion had been bothering the flight attendant ever since. After instructing her crew to calm the passengers and the cabin order was somewhat restored, she couldn't help but contact the cockpit.

"An explosion? Was it really an explosion?" Xu Xian's breath caught in his throat upon hearing the flight attendant's words. "Are you sure you can tell it was an explosion?"

To be honest, it might be because the cockpit is in the nose of the plane and quite far away, or it could be due to the soundproofing of the cockpit door. Xu Xian could hear a loud noise, but he couldn't tell what the sound was or where it came from. At one point, Xu Xian even suspected that they were too close to lightning and that the sound was thunder.

Wang Qian was also eavesdropping on Xu Xian's conversation with the flight attendant. When he heard the flight attendant describe the sound as an explosion, his heart clenched.

Fire and explosion are two different concepts. It takes time for flames to burn through the fuselage, after all, an aircraft fuselage isn't made of paper. But an explosion is different; it can cause damage to the fuselage in an instant, which is extremely dangerous.

But then he thought, if the explosion had actually ripped open the fuselage, the aircraft would already be experiencing depressurization. However, even with the cargo hold fire alarm, after checking the pressurization panel, he found that the aircraft's pressurization system was still functioning normally.

In other words, at least the aircraft's airtightness has not been compromised. That's a stroke of luck amidst misfortune!

However, if the flight attendant wasn't mistaken, then it seems to confirm that the source of everything was indeed that pile of dangerous goods.

It's already quite absurd that passenger luggage could catch fire, let alone explode? Fire and explosion seem to have nothing to do with normal passenger luggage!

Either the security system at Yunnan Airport is ineffective, failing to detect prohibited items smuggled in passengers' luggage, or something went wrong while they were transporting those dangerous goods.

On this issue, Wang Qian was more inclined to trust the security check system at Yunnan Airport.

"Xu Xian! Something seems wrong!" Wang Qian turned his head and looked at Xu Xian.

Xu Xian slowly clenched his teeth: "Even if it really is allyl cyanide that's the problem, we still have fifteen minutes."

If the problem is indeed with allyl cyanide, then if it were to ignite and the resulting gases were to spread into the cabin, it would pose a significant hazard to the passengers.

At that point, they had to lower the oxygen masks to allow passengers to breathe. Otherwise, breathing in the gas containing allyl cyanide would severely irritate their respiratory tracts. Once the oxygen masks were deployed, they were disposable and could only last for about fifteen minutes.

In other words, once the oxygen masks are lowered, they must descend to below 10,000 feet within fifteen minutes. And if it is indeed an allyl cyanide fire, then the time for them to lower the oxygen masks is not far off.

If we start counting from the moment they put down their oxygen masks, they estimate they can only cruise for about ten minutes. The remaining oxygen time will be needed for them to descend.

Whether they can fly to a thundercloud area large enough for them to land within ten minutes, no one knows.

Actually, Xu Xian didn't mention one more thing. Allyl cyanide gas is irritating not only to the respiratory tract but also to the eyes and skin. Some people with weaker constitutions might not be able to withstand the corrosive effects of allyl cyanide gas even with oxygen masks. This is because passengers don't have goggles or protective suits to isolate them from the outside environment.

"When I was in first class, even Shan Xue heard that sound. She also thought it was an explosion, so it must be true," the flight attendant confirmed.

Xu Xian's pupils contracted slightly; if there were no surprises, it was indeed the sound of an explosion.

"Does that gas have a smell?" Wang Qian suddenly asked.

Xu Xian nodded: "Yes, it will have an odor."

"That's good. I was worried that there wouldn't be a noticeable odor, and we wouldn't even know we inhaled it." Wang Qian said, "Tell the flight attendant that if any strange odor is detected in the cabin, immediately notify the cockpit so we can deploy oxygen masks."

The passenger oxygen masks are different; they are used during depressurization, while those in the cockpit can be manually released.

They are racing against time right now, and they should postpone the use of disposable items like oxygen masks as much as possible.

Xu Xiangang was about to relay Wang Qian's words when he suddenly noticed a commotion outside the cabin door and heard the flight attendant's exclamation in his earpiece.

Wang Qian and Xu Xian exchanged a glance, both feeling a tightness in their chests. Xu Xian asked softly, "Chief flight attendant, what's wrong in the cabin?"

Two or three seconds later, there was no response.

"Flight attendant, what's wrong?" Xu Xian swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his throat. "Flight attendant? Flight attendant!"

Xu Xian's voice grew increasingly urgent, and if he didn't respond for a long time, something must have happened!

"Check the surveillance footage!" Wang Qian suddenly remembered that there were surveillance cameras in the front cabin crew compartment, which they could display on the lower DU.

Just as Wang Qian was about to pull up the surveillance footage, there was finally some activity on the other end of the phone.

That wasn't the flight attendant's voice; it even sounded like a sob: "Brother, someone in the cabin is vomiting blood!"

The small conference room of the Star Travel Airlines fleet.

Lu Xinyu and Qin Zongyang sat facing each other. Lu Xinyu had a smile on her face, while Qin Zongyang looked impatient.

"No, if you want to ask a question, just ask. What's with smiling at me? Do you think I'm a woman?" Qin Zongyang said with obvious annoyance, his legs crossed.

Left with no other choice, he was forced to participate in the co-pilot theory check. As a result, Lu Xinyu, who was the inspector for this check, first left Qin Zongyang waiting for an hour, and only arrived after the sun had completely set.

He came over but didn't ask any questions. He just looked at his phone and occasionally showed a smug smile, which made Qin Zongyang very unhappy!

Lu Xinyu shrugged: "Oh, President Qin! Even though you've been demoted to co-pilot, I still respect you. There's no need for any questions! Let's just sit here for a bit, go through the motions, and then we can leave after the allotted time!"

Qin Zongyang snorted: "Respect my ass! Crocodile tears, fake compassion! If you want to change my position, go ahead! Anyway, a level seven co-pilot or a level eight co-pilot makes no difference to me!"

All co-pilots who failed the screening will be demoted one rank. Qin Zongyang is currently a level eight co-pilot; the next demotion would be to level seven.

After Xu Xian stopped him from retiring early to save face, he came to terms with it. Technical level and such were all irrelevant; if he was demoted, so be it, he didn't care anymore!

Lu Xinyu was naturally aware of Qin Zongyang's current mental state, and there was no point in resorting to further demotion tactics. Getting Qin Zongyang to participate in the "co-pilot" theoretical review was enough; further complications were unnecessary. In his current state, Qin Zongyang posed no threat to him.

If he were to take advantage of Qin Zongyang's misfortune again, his reputation would suffer, especially considering Qin Zongyang's considerable contributions to Xingyou Aviation. Pushing his luck too far would only make him appear petty.

Of course, in many people's minds, this is already their image.

Just then, someone entered the conference room and hurriedly whispered a few words in Lu Xinyu's ear. Lu Xinyu's eyelids twitched: "Really?"

"Seriously! The operations control center is in complete chaos! Mr. Lu, you need to go and take charge right away!"

Lu Xinyu stood up abruptly, quickly scribbled a few lines on the screening form in his hand, threw it aside, and said to Qin Zongyang, "I have something to do now, so let's call this inspection over. I've already signed that screening form. You can fill in the score yourself."

With that, Lu Xinyu and the person who had just come in hurriedly left, leaving Qin Zongyang bewildered.

"What's going on?" Qin Zongyang reached out the investigation form. Sure enough, Lu Xinyu had signed it in the inspector column. He really hadn't lied to him.

Lu Xinyu rushed to the operations control center. As soon as he arrived, the noise that greeted him made him frown.

"Where's Long Cheng! Get out here!" Lu Xinyu scanned the surroundings and, not finding the emergency manager, suddenly shouted, his voice dominating the entire area.

"Mr. Lu, Manager Long has gone to the restroom!" someone next to him explained.

Lu Xinyu stared incredulously at the already chaotic operations control center: "It's a complete mess here, and that good-for-nothing Long Cheng is still in the toilet. Even if he pooped in his pants, he should be here!"

The staff member was also extremely ashamed: "The Chengdu traffic control just called to explain the situation with 6333. Manager Long was probably under a lot of pressure; he went to the restroom several times afterward, and just now he went again."

"Damn it, you're using this kind of trash for duty?" Lu Xinyu said angrily.

Some people experience uncontrollable urges to urinate or defecate when they are nervous, which is not uncommon. This wouldn't be a big deal if it happened to an ordinary person, but when it happened to an emergency manager on duty, it was utterly ridiculous.

Lu Xinyu suppressed his anger slightly; now was indeed not the time to confront them. He directly asked the staff member next to him, "What's the situation with 6333 now?"

"6333 is now reporting a fire in the cargo hold!"

"Cargo hold on fire?" Lu Xinyu looked up at the large screen in the operations control center, which displayed 6333's basic data, including altitude data.

"If the cargo hold is on fire, why hasn't it descended yet?" According to standard procedures, a cargo hold on fire should descend and land as soon as possible, but the altitude displayed on the screen, 6333, has not changed.

The staff immediately explained, "The Chengdu air traffic control just said that there is extremely strong lightning activity below the area where 6333 is located. The range is very wide and the intensity is extremely high. 6333 simply cannot descend."

Lu Xinyu's lips twitched slightly. The radar screen in the operations control center was no match for that in the air traffic control center. The air traffic control center could provide accurate weather information, while the operations control center could not.

"There's one more thing!" the staff member mentioned.

"Hmm?" Lu Xinyu's voice twitched slightly. "What's wrong?"

The staff member said with a hint of worry, "This flight carried dangerous goods, and it's possible...it's possible that the fire in the cargo hold was caused by those dangerous goods."

This staff member didn't actually know much about the situation on the plane; he was just inferring the result from his own rudimentary logic.

Lu Xinyu paused for a moment, then asked, "What about communication with the flight crew?"

"The Chengdu air traffic control has given us permission to use the emergency communication system, and we are now trying to connect with the crew."

Lu Xinyu nodded: "Okay!"

When such decisions are difficult, that's precisely when their professional advice is needed.

"Mr. Lu, the connection has been established!" At this moment, the staff member in charge of the emergency communication system turned around and reported.

"Transfer to broadcast!" Lu Xinyu instructed.

Upon receiving the order, the staff switched the playback device to broadcast. The moment the communication was connected, Xu Xian's rapid coughing came over the loudspeaker, filled with boundless anger.

"Transportation control? Investigate the party that shipped this dangerous goods. They definitely didn't ship allyl cyanide! Absolutely not!"

This should be the longest chapter ever, fulfilling the promise made last month for a thousand monthly votes.

It's almost the end of the month, so I'm asking for monthly votes too, hoping to get over a thousand this month!

(End of this chapter)