Legendary Captain

Chapter 291 A Mishap

Bisu Airport is a complex airport in the province, with extremely unstable airflow and a particularly high altitude, even higher than Yunnan Airport, and is almost in the category of high-altitude airport.

Xingyou Aviation's operating regulations explicitly prohibit instructors from having co-pilots fly at complex airports, a rule Xu Xian still remembers. However, despite the rule, sometimes instructors will let co-pilots they value or apprentices fly for a while.

To be honest, the civil aviation environment is extremely competitive right now, with all sorts of regulations being imposed on pilots, for fear of any incident.

The fear of something going wrong is understandable. However, things have gone a bit too far now.

In the past, there weren't so many restrictions when instructors were flying with the pilots. The instructors only provided backup, and the co-pilots were free to fly as they pleased. Sometimes, even the captain would fly with the co-pilot.

Of course, the previous approach may have been a bit too rough, but how can a real co-pilot grow into a qualified captain without making a few hard landings, flying through a few stormy and turbulent days, and trying to land on short and narrow runways?

Of course, the transfer process is quite lengthy and complicated, making it unlikely that there will be any cases of smuggled goods. However, nothing is absolute, and sometimes you really do get incredibly lucky.

Leaving aside the simulator checks for turning to the left seat, the company conducts numerous line checks, but there are always some pilots who consistently perform flawlessly during these checks, drastically reducing the difficulty of piloting the aircraft. These are the most likely candidates to be unqualified pilots. If these individuals become captains and encounter challenging weather or runway conditions, their incompetence will be exposed, potentially causing even greater harm.

In the eyes of older generations of pilots, flight instructors are like a safety net for co-pilots, ensuring that no serious safety hazards occur, such as a hard landing with more than 2G.

At least in the eyes of experienced pilots, a landing with less than 2G is nothing special. The co-pilot isn't a genius; he can't land perfectly right away. As long as the landing isn't too erratic, he can keep practicing.

In the past, the civil aviation environment was very open; even trainees could fly and give it a try. Therefore, most of the first officers who rose through the ranks during that period—the captains of today—were highly skilled.

However, at some point, the entire civil aviation environment became extremely conservative, with even the slightest incident resulting in various penalties. This significantly increased the pressure on airlines, which in turn shifted to flight training.

Previously, except for a very few airports with an altitude exceeding 10,000 feet that could not be operated, almost all other airports allowed flight operations. Later, first, complex airports within the province were not allowed to allow flight operations, then short and narrow runways were not allowed to allow flight operations, and later, sometimes when there were strong gusts of wind or precipitation, flight operations were not allowed.

So, the co-pilot is only allowed to operate airports with good weather, low altitude, and clear airspace? What kind of skills can a co-pilot possibly develop at an airport like that?

However, where there's a policy, there's a countermeasure. Many instructors, when training their apprentices, completely disregard company regulations and stick to the old methods. They simply record it as the instructor operating the aircraft on the mission sheet. As for flights not conducted by their own apprentices, the instructor has no obligation to risk violating regulations; they simply fly as the rules are written.

The company's senior management was fully aware of this situation where instructors outwardly complied with the training regulations but inwardly defied them. However, they generally turned a blind eye and didn't interfere too much.

Because they also know that if they strictly follow company regulations for training co-pilots, then future co-pilots will basically be all talk and no action, unable to fly in slightly bad weather or at the same airport. With such personnel quality, if an accident were to occur, it would be a major disaster. Therefore, instructors privately training their own apprentices can be seen as a contribution to improving the quality of co-pilots.

Of course, while we understand, the rules still need to be in place. Otherwise, continuing with the old ways would be too rough and smack of laissez-faire. The company won't completely block the practice of mentoring, but it also needs to curb the indiscriminate mentoring culture.

Therefore, even though company regulations stipulated that Xu Xian's level did not actually allow him to manipulate things at Bisu Airport, Xu Xian did not refuse immediately. If Qin Zongyang really wanted him to fly to Bisu Airport, he wouldn't object. To be honest, he had never flown to an airport like Bisu before, and he was quite eager to try.

However, Xu Xian's stomach was churning, and he was in a really bad state. He was also feeling a little uneasy.

"I really miscalculated. I should have known better than to eat so much. I forced myself to swallow it back just now, and it feels like I've eaten another meal. I'm so full and uncomfortable now." Qin Zongyang rubbed his stomach. "I shouldn't have taken over this shift like this. It's making my old bones feel like they're about to fall apart. Sigh, what can I do? I'm too soft-hearted. I can't stand seeing people ask me for favors."

Qin Zongyang was wallowing in self-pity, while Xu Xian curled his lip in disgust. Just hearing about the matter of secondary digestion made him feel nauseous. However, he had just witnessed Qin Zongyang's amazing feat of swallowing back what was about to be vomited.

Right now, he's not feeling well.

"Master, let's not talk about overeating anymore. You're not feeling well, can I fly for you?" Xu Xian realized that Qin Zongyang was deliberately trying to disgust him. If he continued talking, his stomach, which had just recovered, would probably start churning again.

Qin Zongyang immediately beamed, gave a thumbs-up, and pointed behind him: "I wonder how things are back there. I hope no one gets injured. But I kept the seatbelt indicator on the whole time, and I also told the purser to remind passengers to fasten their seatbelts. If anyone gets injured, we shouldn't be held responsible, right?"

According to civil aviation regulations, if more than two passengers are injured by turbulence during a flight, it is considered an accident.

An accident indicator is a very serious classification, only one level below an accident. If a flight crew is involved in an accident indicator, their flying career is basically over.

Therefore, when encountering turbulence, pilots not only have to worry about whether they can control the aircraft, but also about whether anyone will be injured. Sometimes, when encountering clear-sky turbulence, a sudden and severe turbulence occurs without warning, and if the seatbelt indicator light is not in the open position, some passengers may have unbuckled their seatbelts, and the crew is in for a rough time.

Turbulence in clear skies is mostly undetectable and is essentially a random event. However, when the authorities investigate, they only care about whether it's a random event or not if two or more people are injured. If the seatbelt warning light wasn't on at the time, it's definitely the crew's responsibility.

Of course, even if the seatbelt warning light is on, if the crew makes any minor procedural error, it is still the crew's responsibility, even if these minor procedural errors don't actually have much impact.

Having flown this far, Qin Zongyang felt confident that he could get through this turbulent area. His only concern was whether the cabin crew had followed his instructions and whether any passengers had ignored his warnings.

There will always be some people who, no matter how much you tell them to fasten their seatbelts, will refuse to listen. If something happens to these people, they will turn around and try to hold you responsible. Where can you go to seek justice?

"It shouldn't be a problem. If something really goes wrong, the purser should contact us." Xu Xian was optimistic. "Let's ignore the cabin for now and keep an eye on the plane. Anyway, let's not talk unless it's absolutely necessary. If I open my mouth, I'm afraid I'll have trouble keeping quiet."

Normally, if a passenger is injured, the purser will try his best to contact the cockpit no matter what. Since we haven't received a report from the purser, there shouldn't be any major problems.

However, although the purser did not contact the cockpit, Xu Xian could faintly hear vomiting sounds coming from the rear cabin. These were not from passengers, but from the flight attendants in the front cabin crew compartment, and it seemed that the crew members were not feeling well either.

Even though Qin Zongyang kept cursing and the autopilot was engaged, his left hand remained on the steering wheel to prevent it from disengaging. However, he had already relinquished his responsibility and was now ready to leave the bumpy area behind; the rest was entirely up to Xu Xian.

Qin Zongyang glanced down through the left side window. Once they passed over Kunmichuan Lake, things should calm down for a while.

Compared to Qin Zongyang, who still had the leisure to look down, Xu Xian was much more focused, holding the steering wheel with one hand and the accelerator with the other, his eyes not even glancing outwards.

Although the turbulence was quite severe, even many instructors would probably struggle to handle it. However, the two pilots in the cockpit—one a veteran with decades of experience, the other a rising star—shouldn't have much trouble managing it. In fact, Xu Xian felt the biggest problem wasn't the turbulence itself, but rather the lunch he'd eaten not long ago. At least in his mind, this level of turbulence was acceptable; after all, he'd even flown through thunderstorms, where the turbulence was far more intense than this.

Having weathered major storms, they naturally don't care about other minor troubles.

Kunmichuan Lake is the second largest freshwater lake in China. However, if an airplane were to travel over it at its speed, it wouldn't take too long. About two minutes later, from Qin Zongyang's perspective, the plane had already begun to leave the airspace over Kunmichuan Lake.

Just as the severe turbulence came extremely suddenly, once the first-class aircraft had left the airspace above Kunmi Lake, the intensity of the turbulence began to gradually decrease, eventually stabilizing at a level of mild turbulence.

Compared to the usual intermittent bumps, the continuous mild bumps were actually quite uncomfortable. However, compared to the almost severe bumps just now, Xu Xian felt that this mild bump was almost negligible.

Not long after, the plane began to turn into a circle. At this point, Xu Xian saw that the turbulence had subsided and it was probably time to begin the descent.

So, after turning to the fourth side, Xu Xian contacted the Bisu Tower: "Star Travel 6411, am I now circling and descending in place?"

"Star Traveler 6411, you can descend to an altitude of 3,600 meters. Hold this position and proceed with the approach procedure. Report the five sides."

The 3,600-meter mark is the BS401 altitude restriction point for the four-sided to five-sided turn. Before this point, the altitude must not fall below 3,600 meters, otherwise a terrain warning may be issued.

"At an altitude of 3,600 meters, proceed with the approach according to procedure. Five-sided report: Star Travel 6411," Xu Xian repeated, then glanced at Qin Zongyang: "Master, shall I go?"

Qin Zongyang waved his hand at Xu Xianbai: "Hand over control, connect communications."

"Take control, hand over communication." After completing the handover of control, Xu Xian took over control of the MCP board, adjusted it to 11,800 feet, and set a descent rate of 1,000 feet.

While theoretically terrain warnings shouldn't occur above 3,600 meters, in certain situations, a steep descent rate can still trigger a warning even above the altitude limit. Therefore, when operating at low altitudes in complex airport areas, descent rates are generally not exceeded 1,000 feet.

Moreover, the aircraft is still traveling at a relatively high speed at this point, so setting a relatively small rate of descent can make it easier to decelerate. If the rate of descent is too large, the potential energy will be converted too quickly, which will make it difficult for the aircraft to decelerate.

A decline rate of 1,000 is roughly a suitable decline rate.

After adjusting the descent rate, Xu Xian turned the speed knob to 210 knots, and the automatic throttle gradually reduced the thrust to the slow position, and the airspeed began to decrease slowly.

Once the aircraft reached 230 knots, Xu Xian instructed Qin Zongyang to deploy the flaps, and the aircraft continued to decelerate as the flaps were deployed. The glide slope profile at Bisu Airport is very short, only six nautical miles. To avoid any unforeseen complications and to reduce the workload during the glide slope, Xu Xian decided to establish the landing configuration directly during this circling descent phase.

As the aircraft decelerated, the flaps and landing gear gradually extended. When the flaps were fully extended, the altitude was close to 3,600 meters. Xu Xian seized the opportunity and felt that there was no need to continue circling. So he turned around, entered the four-sided flight path, and flew towards point BS401.

The aircraft had now completed its landing configuration and, after passing BS401, turned to the fifth leg.

BS401 is not the final approach positioning point; the next point, BS400, is.

After maintaining an altitude of 3,600 meters through BS401, Xu Xian adjusted the altitude to 3,000 meters and continued descending. This altitude of 3,000 meters is the limiting altitude of the final approach positioning point BS400.

After passing BS400, the aircraft will begin its final continuous descent phase.

After completing the landing checklist before BS400, Qin Zongyang reported to the control tower: "Star Travel 6411, fifth approach."

"Star Travel 6411, surface wind 050/08, gust 11, runway 03 is clear for landing, be aware of the five-sided airflow." The control tower has given landing clearance.

"Runway 03, landing! Star Travel 6411." After replying, Qin Zongyang glanced at the real-time wind direction and speed on the navigation page: "Isn't it a tailwind now? Why is the surface wind about seven to eight meters upwind?"

The current wind direction and speed at this altitude are 220/12, which translates to approximately 11 meters downwind. However, the surface wind report indicates a headwind of less than 8 meters. This back-and-forth means that during the descent, there will be a wind speed shift of approximately 20 meters.

"Won't there be low-level wind shear?" Qin Zongyang asked worriedly.

Such a dramatic change in wind direction and speed could very likely result in wind shear. At other, more normal airports, low-altitude wind shear might be manageable, but at Bisu, it's a much more serious situation.

The airflow environment here is already very poor. Coupled with the highly unstable wind shear zone and the landing configuration with relatively little speed margin, if we are not careful, the aircraft may experience unsafe phenomena such as overspeeding and stalling.

Speeding might be slightly less of a problem, but if you lose control by shaking the lever, the penalty will be much more severe.

"If wind shear occurs later, perform a wind shear recovery maneuver. After recovery, first retract the flaps to 50 degrees, then climb straight up and retract the wheels, and then perform the go-around procedure," Xu Xian reminded.

Everyone knows that wind shear can be used to recover maneuver, but the key is that after recovering, you must retract the flaps first and then retract the landing gear. The order must be correct, otherwise you will definitely exceed the speed limit.

Quite a few pilots have already stumbled and fallen into this trap.

"Don't worry about the procedure. I'll keep an eye on it for you. If there's any oversight, I'll fix it immediately. There won't be any problems," Qin Zongyang said. "The wind direction and speed might change rapidly down below, so you'd better keep a firm grip on the pole."

"It's nothing." Xu Xian just smiled and didn't say anything more.

After leveling the aircraft to an altitude of 3,000 meters, Xu Xian adjusted the minimum descent altitude and then activated vertical navigation.

After passing BS400, the aircraft began its descent along the calculated glide slope.

"Passing the FAF point, the altitude is 300 feet below the go-around altitude. Adjust the go-around altitude." After waiting for the right time to adjust the go-around altitude, Xu Xian adjusted the go-around altitude. Now the go-around course and altitude are all adjusted. Now they just need to verify the altitude at a distance point.

The distance positioning point for the RNP approach to Bisu Airport No. 03 is the runway. Starting from five nautical miles, there is a standard altitude every nautical mile. When passing this point, the actual altitude must be compared with the standard altitude. There must be no deviation exceeding the limit value. If it exceeds the limit, then a go-around must be considered.

However, when vertical navigation is engaged, unless there is a computer problem with the vertical navigation system, the computer will constantly adjust the aircraft's rate of descent to keep the aircraft in a suitable descent profile.

As usual, Xu Xian did not experience any rare computer malfunctions, and the aircraft's descent profile matched the standard altitude perfectly.

"We shouldn't need to reset the guidance later, right?" Xu Xian looked at the descent profile, which extended all the way to the runway, meaning that the guidance could continuously guide the aircraft onto the runway.

Qin Zongyang nodded: "It can guide you to the runway. If you need guidance or reference, I won't reset it."

Qin Zongyang thought that Xu Xian might not have flown to such a complex airport before, so he was relatively conservative and hoped to keep the guidance open.

As the aircraft's altitude continued to decrease and after verifying that the altitude was correct, Xu Xian disengaged the autopilot and began manual operation as they approached DDA.

When the autopilot disengaged, Xu Xian secretly glanced at the wind direction and speed. Even at a low altitude of 500 feet, there was still a tailwind of about seven meters. Now that they were about to land, Xu Xian had no idea how the wind direction and speed had made such a sharp 180-degree turn in such a short time.

After disengaging autopilot, Qin Zongyang indeed didn't reset the guidance, and Xu Xian continued flying downwards following the instructions. However, as they flew, Xu Xian noticed a problem: "Why is it so high when I can see it visually?"

Logically, the descent profile followed by this guideline should not have excessive height. A 3-degree glide slope is a normal glide angle. A 3.2-degree glide slope might even cause the visual height to appear too high.

Shortly after Xu Xian raised this question, he clearly saw the PAPI lights suddenly turn three white and one red.

"What's going on?" Xu Xian quickly pressed the steering wheel slightly, increasing the descent rate to about 900 feet per minute, preparing to slowly inch back onto a suitable descent trajectory.

"Is there a problem with the guidance?" He was clearly following the guidance strictly, but judging from visual observation and the feedback from the PAPI lights, the flight path was obviously too high at this time.

There was a discrepancy between the instructions and what was seen.

"It seems a bit too high," Qin Zongyang murmured. Such an obvious visual reference could no longer be ignored; if they continued to follow the guidance, the aircraft's trajectory would only get higher and higher.

Qin Zongyang asked, "Do we need to reset the guidance?"

"Reset it, this guidance is misleading me." Xu Xian decided to use visual flight with the PAPI lights as a reference.

At this point, the aircraft was only about 200 feet off the ground. Following the visual reference, Xu Xian always felt that in order to maintain a proper glide trajectory, this glide angle seemed to exceed the three-degree glide angle on the approach chart.

The entire visual flight phase at the airport appeared extremely strange.

Perhaps due to the deviation in guidance and visual perception, Xu Xian and Qin Zongyang were distracted by too much energy. After the plane descended to a height of 100 feet above the ground, the wind speed remained unchanged, but the wind direction began to change drastically.

When the plane landed on Xu Xian's side, he had clearly aligned himself with the runway direction, but for some reason, the plane suddenly veered sharply to the right. Xu Xian was startled; the plane was already at a very low altitude, and if it continued to veer like this, it would cross the runway edge extension and might need to go around.

At this point, Xu Xian quickly shifted the steering wheel to the left, bringing the aircraft back to the runway centerline. Xu Xian had a very precise grasp of his control inputs; he was certain that this shift would correct the aircraft precisely back to the runway centerline. However, strangely, this time Xu Xian seemed to have miscalculated, resulting in an overcorrection, and the aircraft shifted from a rightward yaw to a slight leftward yaw.

Xu Xian, who was always extremely confident in his ability to control the situation, was stunned. He really didn't expect that he would fail to correct the deviation in one step. The correction was not difficult. How did he manage to make such a mistake?

Fortunately, the plane's veer to the left was minimal, and even though it had already entered runway airspace, Xu Xian quickly corrected it. However, the directional maneuvers distracted Xu Xian somewhat, and by the time he noticed the plane's altitude, the radio reading was only thirty feet.

Even though it was a bit rushed, Xu Xian instinctively started to pull the lever slightly, and then eased off the throttle a little.

"Don't stop!" Qin Zongyang shouted in alarm. Contrary to Xu Xian's expectations, the plane began to descend faster and faster. Before Xu Xian could figure out what was happening, it crashed heavily onto the runway.

(End of this chapter)