Legendary Captain

Chapter 292 The Most Disgusting Flight in History

"Don't ease off the throttle, didn't you see the wind shift to headwind?" After landing, Qin Zongyang took over the controls and began to taxi and slow down.

Xu Xian handed over the controls and said with some annoyance, "I was so distracted by that visual thing that I didn't see the wind direction starting to change. I should have kept the accelerator pressed down."

While controlling the taxiing direction, Qin Zongyang analyzed for Xu Xian: "Just now, at an altitude of about two hundred feet above the ground, the wind speed didn't change much, but the wind direction went around in circles, suddenly changing from a tailwind to a headwind. When the tailwind turns into a headwind, you obviously have to maintain the throttle, or even increase it a bit, otherwise your aircraft's energy won't be stored properly."

"Oh dear, if I had noticed the change in wind direction, I definitely wouldn't have slowed down. The visibility was always too high, so I was just focused on correcting the rate of descent," Xu Xian said with a wry smile. "Ground speed is 60, and the automatic brakes have disengaged."

"Star Travel 6411, turn right and leave the station."

At this moment, the aircraft had already begun to turn right to disengage. Xu Xian took the opportunity to report: "Star Travel 6411, turning right to disengage and following guidance, report when in position."

Bisu Airport is a very small airport. After turning right off the runway and taxiing across a taxiway, you reach the apron. However, it's quite absurd that such a small airport has only five parking positions and even a guide vehicle.

Guiding vehicles are charged per trip; they're not free labor. Some large airports still operate on a self-managed basis without guiding vehicles. However, smaller airports have clearly defined taxi routes, making maneuvering easy. Yet, they still provide guiding vehicles. The reasons behind this are intriguing.

"Turn right and follow the guide, report when in position." After the aircraft turned right and separated, it was facing the taxiway leading into the apron. Once they turned around, the guide vehicle was waiting at the entrance.

Xu Xian saw that they were about to move into position, so he started the APU first and postponed the other disengagement actions to avoid the APU not being started by the time they arrived at the port.

But as soon as Xu Xian started the APU and was about to turn off the probe to heat up, the guide vehicle moved forward two steps and then disappeared to the left.

"What's going on? They're not guiding anymore?" Xu Xian was stunned. How come the guidance vehicle just drove from the tarmac entrance to the tarmac area and then disappeared? What does that mean?

It can only be said that Xu Xian is still young. Qin Zongyang pointed to the parking position facing the apron entrance: "Hasn't it already been guided? It's right in front of us."

Xu Xian looked closely and, lo and behold, the maintenance crew was already waiting at the parking spot directly opposite the apron entrance, which meant that the parking spot was prepared for them.

"So this guide vehicle was just there to make a quick appearance? Did it guide people for at least ten meters?" Xu Xian was speechless. "Isn't this just robbery? Is the guide vehicle business really that lucrative?"

Xu Xian glanced around and saw that from the tarmac entrance to the furthest parking spot, it wouldn't be more than fifty meters. What difference would it make whether or not there was guidance? The airport was practically making money hand over fist.

"Aren't all the airports in the province like this? Such tiny airports have to have a guidance vehicle; it's practically robbery." Qin Zongyang was already used to this situation. When he went to the capital's Hanjing Airport, there were often no guidance vehicles; the pilots had to navigate themselves.

The Seoul International Airport in the capital has been in operation for a long time, and many taxiway signs are no longer easy to identify, yet they still don't have any guide vehicles.

The result is that there are no guide vehicles where they should be, but airports that shouldn't have them are equipped with them—it's a huge irony.

"Can the company say it doesn't need a guide vehicle?" Xu Xian asked Qin Zongyang while performing the disengagement procedure.

Qin Zongyang shook his head: "No, as long as you operate at Bisu Airport, you have to accept the guidance vehicle service. It's bundled with the airport. Bisu is a tourist destination, airfares are expensive, and the load factor is high. Many companies won't break ties with Bisu Airport over whether they need a guidance vehicle or not, so they'll just put up with it."

As they spoke, the plane had already taxied onto the tarmac. Just before reaching its parking position, Xu Xian turned off the taxi lights and notified the control tower: "Star Travel 6411, you're in position."

See you in a bit.

Xu Xian quickly pressed the call button as a response, but did not speak.

After the aircraft is in position, wait a moment for the APU power to be connected, set the parking brake, disconnect the dual engine start handles, and then Xu Xian releases the seatbelt indicator light.

After the engine is shut off, you need to wait a while until the engine speed drops to a relatively low level before the crew can turn off the crash lights. This is to prevent accidental injury to personnel on the ground.

While waiting for the engine's N2 descent, Qin Zongyang continued discussing the landing with Xu Xian: "The airport here is at a higher altitude than in Bisu, so the flight performance isn't good. We have to be very careful when reducing throttle. Otherwise, if the energy gets too low, it won't be able to recover by increasing the throttle. You clearly haven't flown this type of airport much, so your experience is still somewhat lacking. The landing techniques for high-altitude airports and low-altitude airports are completely different. We'll have a chance to come back and fly here again sometime to get a feel for it."

Xu Xian's current success isn't due to hard work; in fact, he's definitely not a hard-working person. His achievements are entirely due to his intuition and talent. However, talent and intuition can't encompass all situations, and this must be considered in the context of the landing at the Su Airport.

"I noticed you overcorrected when you were changing direction. That's not your fault; you just didn't notice the change in wind direction," Qin Zongyang explained, mentioning another small detail before landing: "In low-altitude conditions, the wind initially blows the plane to the right, then you start correcting to the left. But during this process, the wind continues to change, blowing the plane from the right back to the left. So, it's not that you overcorrected, but rather that you didn't notice the change in wind direction. If you had noticed the change in wind direction, the amount of control you made to correct to the left would have been less, and you wouldn't have overcorrected. Of course, if you had reset the guidance from the beginning and prevented it from interfering with you, you probably wouldn't have overlooked the change in wind direction."

The discrepancy between the guidance and visual observation indeed drew Xu Xian's attention greatly, which was a major reason why he failed to notice the change in wind direction.

To be honest, Qin Zongyang was momentarily stunned when his vision was too high. Before this, his flights over Bisu were blind landings, and this was his first time flying over RNP from Bisu; he hadn't expected this situation. However, as a PM, Qin Zongyang could focus more on monitoring than manipulation, so he recovered from his confusion more quickly and noticed the change in wind direction.

"This isn't a problem with handling, it's more of a matter of experience. Once you fly it once or twice and get the hang of it, it'll be much easier to fly it later." Qin Zongyang never thought Xu Xian had any problems with handling ability. This slightly heavy landing was probably just because Xu Xian was a bit unfamiliar with airports like Su and was not well prepared, plus a little bit of an unexpected factor. Overall, Qin Zongyang didn't take this hard landing seriously.

"Yeah, let's fly some airports within the province in the future. The feeling of flying at these high-altitude airports is indeed very different from flying at airports on the plains," Xu Xian said to Qin Zongyang as he turned off the fuel pump.

After closing the F/D switch, Xu Xian completed the engine shutdown checklist. He opened his side window to let in some fresh air; he had vomited for a while on the plane, and the cockpit still smelled a bit, so he needed some fresh air.

As the side window opened, gusts of cool air blew in, filling Xu Xian's nostrils, making him feel incredibly comfortable all over.

Qin Zongyang also opened the side window, creating a clear view from both sides and forming an airflow that quickly dispersed most of the foul air in the cockpit.

Seeing Xu Xian cleaning up the vomit he had just thrown into the waterproof bag, Qin Zongyang said smugly, "You young people are no good. You've already thrown up. You're not even as good as an old man like me."

Qin Zongyang was extremely satisfied with his performance in suppressing the urge to vomit during the bumpy ride.

"If you're talking about secondary digestion, then I really can't compare to you," Xu Xian said earnestly.

Qin Zongyang's ability to swallow back vomit that was already up in his throat and even on his lips was something Xu Xian could only admire.

"Young man, still so stubborn." Qin Zongyang chuckled as he pulled out his seat, seemingly preparing to go to the restroom. Now that the plane had arrived in port, there weren't so many restrictions on leaving the cockpit.

"I'm going to the restroom and then I'll take a walk around under the plane. After the passengers disembark, ask the control tower if there's any flow control. If not, board normally. Forget about the maintenance manual; I'll sign it myself when I get back up. The cockpit smells too strong, so keep the side windows open. I can't stand it. If you can't stand it either, wait until the ground power is back on before coming down." Qin Zongyang gave a few instructions: "Alright, get ready. I'm going to take a stroll now."

Generally, for safety reasons, a crew member needs to be in the cockpit when the APU is running. Therefore, if Xu Xian also needs to come down, it's best to wait until the ground power is connected and the APU is shut down before descending; this is the safest approach.

"After I got the cockpit ready and the passengers boarded, I went down for a walk around. It's getting a bit unbearable here." Although both side windows were open and fresh air was constantly flowing into the cockpit, for some reason, there was always a sour, foul smell in the cockpit, which was quite overpowering.

Although Xu Xian had already vomited quite a bit, and logically speaking, he wouldn't have much of a reaction even if he smelled some unpleasant odors, he still felt he couldn't stand being in this uncomfortable environment and needed to go outside for some fresh air.

"That's perfect. I'll go down and check it out, then you can come up." Qin Zongyang straightened his clothes slightly and opened the cockpit door. Xu Xian had already pulled out his seat; he was planning to wait for Qin Zongyang to go to the restroom, then throw the waterproof bag containing vomit into the trash can before preparing the cockpit.

But then, an accident happened.

The moment Qin Zongyang opened the cockpit door, an extremely strong, sour stench rushed into the cockpit like a tidal wave. Xu Xian, who was already preparing to get out, was sitting sideways with his face facing the cockpit door, and this almost suffocating gas assaulted his nostrils.

Xu Xian initially thought he had vomited enough in the air and wouldn't be able to vomit again, but he was wrong, terribly wrong. After being "inhaled" by the extremely concentrated gas in the cabin, Xu Xian felt like he almost died on the spot. Then came an extremely strong urge to vomit, which scared him so much that he quickly tore open the seal of a waterproof bag, buried his face in it, and began to vomit bile.

If Xu Xian, who was some distance from the cockpit door, could react in this way, one can only imagine the "harsh" environment that Qin Zongyang, who was directly in the way, was in.

Qin Zongyang never expected the cabin to be in this state. He had already leaned out of the cockpit as he opened the cockpit door, and only realized the seriousness of the situation when he was completely out of the cockpit.

In that thick, almost viscous, sour environment, the urge to vomit, which had been suppressed, immediately began to stir, and this time it was like a burst dam, seemingly impossible to hold back.

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Qin Zongyang didn't return to the cockpit. Instead, he opened the bathroom door and began vomiting violently while holding the toilet.

In the cockpit, Xu Xian, who was already vomiting and delirious, suddenly felt the acidic liquid coming out of his mouth begin to taste bitter. Looking down, he saw a small puddle of dark green liquid that had appeared in his waterproof bag.

Xu Xian's mind was already somewhat unclear at that point; he felt as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his head, and his entire head felt like it was about to explode. If a normal person saw this dark green liquid, they would probably know that it was bile that had been vomited up due to violent vomiting.

Unlike when he vomited a lot in the air earlier, this time Xu Xian only vomited some acid and bile, but the reaction was still violent, which made it difficult for him to breathe.

Xu Xian, who was already vomiting terribly, felt dizzy and lightheaded due to lack of oxygen. Fortunately, the side window of the cockpit was open, allowing a steady stream of fresh air to enter, which enabled Xu Xian to catch his breath.

In a daze, through the half-open pilot door, Xu Xian noticed that the passengers in the cabin were mostly slumped over, looking as if their bones had been removed, a state very similar to his own.

Because of the severe vomiting, Xu Xian even had tears in his eyes, so his vision was not very clear. He could only vaguely see that many passengers had a lot of vomit on them.

Good heavens, judging from this, all of the hundred or so people in the cabin have been infected. And judging from the "fragrant smell" coming from the cabin, it's really not a place for humans to stay.

Suddenly, Xu Xian heard the sound of a cabin door opening, followed by screams and vomiting.

The passengers, who had been tormented to the point of near death in the cabin, saw the cabin door open and, with their last bit of strength, grabbed their luggage and rushed out.

The flight attendants in the front cabin originally wanted to maintain order, but as soon as they stood up, their legs felt weak, and they could only let the passengers run out as if their lives depended on it.

At the junction of the cabin door and the jet bridge, a continuous stream of people rushed out of the cabin door, as if there was something terrifying inside the cabin.

On both sides of the running crowd, ground service staff and bridge operators were vomiting while leaning against the bridge walls.

The moment the hatch opened, the ground crew was directly attacked by the biological weapon and immediately lost control, turning around and vomiting. The nearby bridge operator was caught in the crossfire; in the few seconds he hesitated, he lost his last chance to escape.

He was a little distance from the cabin door, but the strong, sour smell emanating from the passengers rushing out assaulted the nostrils of the jet bridge operator. At that moment, he finally realized what the ground staff were vomiting, and he joined the vomiting crowd.

The disembarkation process, which originally took about ten minutes, was shortened to less than five minutes. By the time Xu Xian had recovered a little, the cabin was already empty.

Xu Xian wiped his mouth, stuck his head out of the side window, took a deep breath, then grabbed a damp towel and covered his mouth and nose before rushing out, looking like he was using a poison gas bomb.

When Xu Xian rushed out of the cabin, the staff entrance on the corridor bridge had already been opened, and a lot of people had already gathered on the corridor bridge.

After a quick assessment, Xu Xian found Qin Zongyang, who was almost collapsed on the ground. At this moment, Qin Zongyang was leaning against the covered bridge, his eyes vacant, as if he had entered a state of transcendence and non-thought.

Beside Qin Zongyang, the flight attendant, seemingly on her last breath, struggled to communicate with a cleaning lady: "If you don't clean it up, are you just going to leave it like this?"

"It's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that the smell inside is too strong. If we really want to clean it, the airport needs to provide the necessary equipment, otherwise we absolutely won't go in," the cleaning lady said with great certainty, seemingly determined not to budge.

Xu Xian removed the towel, leaned closer, and asked, "What related equipment?"

The cleaning lady was startled by Xu Xian's sudden appearance, but after seeing his uniform, she said, "It's something like a gas mask. Your cabin... oh dear, I feel nauseous just getting a little close, I really can't stand it."

Xu Xian had truly broadened his horizons today. Those cleaning ladies are seasoned veterans; if even they couldn't endure it, then what was inside was truly beyond human tolerance.

"Does the airport have gas masks?" Xu Xian asked, glancing at the ground staff member next to him who had just finished vomiting.

The ground service staff were clearly still a bit slow to react, taking a couple of seconds to answer: "Yes, the emergency command center has them. I've already contacted them."

Xu Xian stared at the trail of footprints that stretched from the cabin door to the end of the corridor, along with the faint, continuous trail of filth on the ground, and felt his stomach begin to rumble again.

(End of this chapter)