Legendary Captain

Chapter 316 Revocation of Pilot License

In a hospital ward in Qiancheng, Xu Xian had just finished a routine questioning by the bureau's investigation team. His mind was still a little fuzzy, and he was leaning against a pillow, lost in thought.

At the bedside, Luo Qing, the vice president of Xingyou Aviation, looked worried. He had originally hoped that Xu Xian could explain everything after he woke up, but it seemed that there were even more mysteries.

"You mean you and Ning Sheng didn't know what happened back then?" Luo Qing whispered.

Xu Xian shook his head: "I don't know. I've never encountered anything so abnormal. At that time, the throttle was increased, but the plane was sinking faster and faster, and it was completely out of control. When this happened, the plane was already very low. I remember we decided to go around at about 20 feet above the radio altitude, but as soon as we increased the throttle, the plane crashed into the ground."

Luo Qing, also a former pilot, naturally understood what Xu Xian was talking about: "Could it be that there's a problem with your aircraft's attitude, like when you accelerate, you unconsciously hit the stick?"

If Xu Xian had not reduced the aircraft's attitude, even if the aircraft had increased its throttle, the aircraft's descent would have been greater, and there would have been no corrective action.

The normal procedure would be to increase the throttle, slightly pull back on the stick, and reduce the aircraft's attitude; this should correct the aircraft's descent immediately.

Xu Xian glanced at Luo Qing, realizing that Luo Qing's question was completely irrelevant to him. He felt that Luo Qing's question was an insult. Even a novice pilot would rarely make such a childish mistake, let alone someone who was on the plane with Ning Sheng at the time.

Faced with Xu Xian's disdainful silence, Luo Qing realized that her question had been somewhat insulting. Touching her nose, she changed the subject somewhat sheepishly: "So, have you figured out the reason now?"

"I don't know, there wasn't a single sign." Xu Xian scratched his head, leaning against the cushion and staring up at the ceiling. "Either the thrust reverser system malfunctioned, or there was severe vertical wind shear in the downforce direction. I really can't think of anything else. However, if it was a thrust reverser system failure, as thrust increases, drag increases, and the descent would indeed accelerate. But at that time, the aircraft hadn't touched down yet, and the air-to-ground logic hadn't switched. If the thrust reversers were engaged without command, the thrust reverser lights would illuminate. Moreover, if the thrust reversers were engaged, not only would the descent accelerate, but the speed would also decrease rapidly; these two changes should have occurred simultaneously. But in my memory, the aircraft's speed didn't change much. You know what I mean?"

Luo Qing's expression was slightly embarrassed. Xu Xian's words were a rebuttal to his earlier claim that Xu Xian had accidentally pushed the stick back while accelerating. If one were to maintain this push-back position while accelerating, the descent wouldn't decrease, but the aircraft's speed would surge upwards. Since the aircraft's speed didn't change significantly, it meant that Xu Xian's attitude control was not the problem.

"I wonder if the operations control department monitors the aircraft's thrust reverser system," Luo Qing muttered to himself.

"The operations control system can monitor the data of every single aircraft?" Xu Xian had never heard of such a thing before. "What about weather data? Can that be monitored too?"

"No! Weather data can be monitored anywhere, and even aircraft data only selects a few key systems as monitoring targets. Our operations control computer's computing power cannot support monitoring all systems of an aircraft in flight. Backpropagation failures are very rare, and operations control probably won't include them in their monitoring scope," Luo Qing explained.

Let alone in real flight operations, even in simulator training, it's rare to encounter scenarios where the thrust reversers unexpectedly activate. Thrust reverser malfunctions are indeed extremely uncommon, to the point that even Luo Qing, the Vice President of Operations who oversees the entire flight system, wasn't sure if the thrust reversers were within the monitoring range.

However, if the thrust reverser accidentally activates, the thrust reverser light should illuminate, which in turn will trigger the main warning light. The main warning light is right under the pilot's nose; if they can't see it, they're practically blind.

"I'll ask the operations control team later," Luo Qing muttered. "But if it's not a problem deduced from the data, but rather vertical wind shear, how strong would it have to be to hold down a plane at full throttle and prevent it from taking off? I can't even imagine."

"Yeah, really!" Even Xu Xian himself couldn't believe such intense vertical wind shear existed, let alone Luo Qing. Each engine of the 737-800 can provide over 110 kilonewtons of thrust, meaning that even with only one engine remaining, it can still maintain normal cruising at an altitude of over 7,000 meters. The fact that two engines with such immense thrust couldn't lift an aircraft off a plain airport with almost zero elevation requires an incredibly strong downdraft. Even with Luo Qing's experience, he probably couldn't even imagine such intense vertical wind shear.

Xu Xianke still remembered the calm and peaceful feeling when they were at Qiancheng Airport. It's not that a stable five-sided situation means there won't be wind shear, but relatively speaking, wind shear is usually accompanied by unstable weather systems, such as thunderstorm clouds.

It is precisely because of the existence of unstable factors in the entire weather system that localized abrupt changes in airflow can occur. Otherwise, if everything were calm, where would the energy come from to drive abnormal airflow movements, especially extremely strong wind shear?

"What about the flight data recorder? We should be able to extract the data by now, right?" Xu Xian was still unaware that the flight data recorder was damaged and naively pinned his hopes on it.

Key information in such investigations cannot be disclosed to the parties involved, so Luo Qing could only give vague answers and could not provide Xu Xian with a clear explanation.

"Well... they're probably still retrieving the data over there. We haven't gotten the flight data yet," Luo Qing said casually.

Their conversation was being recorded and will be archived, so Luo Qing couldn't say anything that might give Xu Xian a hint.

To be honest, Luo Qing isn't a good actress at all; her face practically screams "Something's wrong." Xu Xian frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

"No, what problem could there be?" Luo Qing glanced at the police officers outside the door. That's right, not only was their conversation being recorded, but there were also people watching outside, preventing them from even making small movements. This matter had escalated too much, and the police were taking it very seriously, determined to conduct the investigation with the strictest standards. No one was allowed to try anything clever.

"Really?" Xu Xian nodded suspiciously, then asked, "What are the specific details of the casualties this time?"

"It's quite serious! Xu Xian, don't worry too much. Just rest here and cooperate with the bureau's investigation. You don't need to worry about anything else." Luo Qing gave Xu Xian's question very generally. "By the way, I can't give you your phone yet. You probably won't be able to contact the outside world for the next couple of days. Just bear with it."

Xu Xian's mobile phone and other communication devices have been taken away and have not been replaced yet. There is no television or other channels to receive news from the outside world in the ward. Overall, Xu Xian is now in a state of isolation. He cannot send information out, and the outside world cannot send information back. He can only get very limited information by contacting people outside during the daily visiting hours.

Xu Xian had participated in the investigation before. When he made an emergency landing on the Kunyang River, he was also knocked unconscious by a severe blow to the head. He was also investigated by the authorities after regaining consciousness, which is very similar to the current situation.

However, the strictness back then was nowhere near as extreme as it is now, with things like confiscating cell phones, removing televisions, and regulating visitation personnel and times. Xu Xian felt that, apart from not being labeled a prisoner, his life was no different from that of a prisoner.

Xu Xian knew that the authorities would not deliberately target him, so the only explanation was that the severity of this incident was probably greater than that of the Kunyang River forced landing incident, and the enormous external pressure forced the authorities to implement the strictest standards.

Moreover, although Luo Qing didn't say it explicitly, the phrase "quite serious" was enough to explain the situation.

"How is Instructor Ning Sheng?" Xu Xian asked.

"He hasn't woken up yet, but he's not in any danger, so don't worry." Luo Qing glanced at her watch; twenty minutes were almost up. She stood up and said, "I'll be going now. If you remember any new details, just call the person at the door."

"President Luo! How's the company doing?" Seeing that Luo Qing was about to leave, Xu Xian hurriedly asked one last question.

Luo Qing shook her head without saying a word, then patted Xu Xian's shoulder: "Don't overthink it, get some rest."

After saying that, he left Xu Xian's hospital room.

After Luo Qing left, Xu Xian stared blankly at the empty house around him. For a moment, he was lost in thought. He had a feeling that this time was different from any other time.

Editorial Office of Hanjing Tianyan Magazine.

That day, Ye Jing's office welcomed a familiar face she hadn't seen in a long time—Xu Qing. Although Xu Qing and Ye Jing had a good relationship in private and Xu Qing had been interviewed by Tianyan Magazine many times, he rarely came to the Tianyan Magazine headquarters in person.

"You came to my place without saying a word, and it just so happens that I didn't have anything to do today, otherwise you would have made a wasted trip." Ye Jing and Xu Qing sat on the sofa, and Ye Jing naturally made Xu Qing a cup of tea.

Xu Qing didn't accept Ye Jing's tea; he was in a state of turmoil and had no appetite for it. "Do you have any inside information about Xu Xian's matter?"

Xu Qing didn't beat around the bush either; there was no need for him to beat around the bush with Ye Jing.

"The authorities are keeping this from you very closely this time? They haven't given you any information at all?" Ye Jing asked in surprise.

Xu Qing's expression was grave: "This time is different, so very different. Before, I could always get some information out of them with a single phone call. But this time... the authorities are like they've sewn their mouths shut, each one tight-lipped. I heard the fuselage broke in two, is that true?"

There have been news reports about this incident, but very little information has been revealed. In contrast, some self-media or unofficial media outlets on the internet have provided more detailed information.

However, Xu Qing didn't believe these rumors; he only wanted to believe official information. In the past, it wouldn't have been difficult for Xu Qing to inquire about relevant details from the bureau, but this time it was different. The people from the bureau were as tight-lipped as if they had locked their mouths, refusing to reveal a single word to Xu Qing.

Even during the Kunyang River emergency landing, which occurred in an urban river, the authorities didn't seem this secretive about the incident with Xu Qing. In Xu Qing's view, an emergency landing in an urban river was already excessive; could this incident be even worse?

However, that's exactly what happened, and Xu Xian just couldn't understand it.

Sensing something was amiss, Xu Qing finally couldn't sit still any longer. Making phone calls was useless, so he came directly to Hanjing to personally inquire about the situation from headquarters.

After arriving in Hanjing, Xu Qing thought that Tianyan Magazine's headquarters were also here, and Ye Jing might be there. So he came to try his luck and see if he could get some information in advance, since Ye Jing had quite a few connections.

Ye Jing pondered for a moment, then silently got up and went to the window, pulling down the blinds to block out the view. After doing this, Ye Jing took out her phone, tapped a few times, and then turned the screen to show Xu Qing.

"This is a photo taken on-site. Just take a look at it yourself and don't tell anyone," Ye Jing instructed. At least for now, this kind of photo is still a restricted document and, in principle, cannot be shown to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing took the phone, and after just a glance at the screen, her heart almost stopped beating.

On the grass outside an airport runway, a plane's fuselage broke in two. The front part of the fuselage was stuck in the ground, while the rear half of the fuselage was crushed on top of a Starfly Airlines plane. The situation was extremely tragic.

In this light, it seems that rumors circulating online are more reliable.

While Xu Qing was looking at pictures on his phone, Ye Jing paced back and forth in front of him, telling him everything she knew: "Xu Xian has woken up. He said that he experienced an abnormally rapid descent at a height of fifty feet before landing, but no matter how much he accelerated, he couldn't stop the rapid descent."

"You mean we encountered vertical wind shear?" Xu Qing guessed instinctively. This coincided with one of Xu Xian's guesses.

"That's not the key issue." Ye Jing paused for a moment. "According to Xu Xian, they didn't receive a wind shear warning. However, he decided to go around at about twenty feet, and even after increasing the throttle to go-around thrust, the aircraft still couldn't gain a climb."

"You mean the downdraft from the vertical wind shear is so strong that the plane can't go around?" Xu Qing was also shocked: "How is that possible?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it!" Ye Jing spread her hands. "The on-site investigation of the aircraft wreckage has been going on for some time now, and there are no obvious signs of mechanical failure. Moreover, Xingyou Aviation's operations control center has not received any fault code data, so it's very likely that the aircraft itself is not the problem. So, either it was a flight crew error, or it encountered an unprecedentedly strong vertical wind shear. Which do you think is more likely?"

"Damn it!" Xu Qing handed the phone back to Ye Jing: "Where's the flight data recorder? It should have information on wind direction and speed."

"Xu Qing, now I'm going to talk about the biggest problem in this matter."

Xu Qing's heart tightened: "What happened?"

"Xu Qing, the flight data recorder is severely damaged, and the data may not be able to be extracted."

Xu Qing was completely stunned: "You know I'm talking about the flight data recorder, the black box! That thing can be damaged to the point that the data can't be retrieved?"

"I know what you mean! The flight data recorder was probably damaged during the impact. Xu Qing, there's no need to dwell on why the flight data recorder was damaged right now. The important thing is that such important data is gone, and many things become unclear." Ye Jing said worriedly, "I heard from the technical department that the flight data recorder has been sent to a professional data recovery agency. However, it's unlikely that the data will be recovered for at least a year and a half to two years, or even forever. Moreover, the METAR report from Qiancheng Airport at the time showed that the weather around the airport was quite good, which was very unfavorable for Xu Xian. Besides, those reporters these days are really..."

Ye Jing walked to her desk, picked up her tablet, opened a news page, and handed it to Xu Qing: "Xu Xian's cockpit voice at the time was exposed. Xu Xian said that he was not used to operating with his left hand. At the same time, the QAR warning data of Xu Xian during the flight in the left seat was also disclosed, showing that the number of warnings of Xu Xian during the flight in the left seat was higher than the average. So those media reporters used this as a gimmick to point the finger at Xu Xian's technical level."

"Switching from right to left, from right to left, is bound to take some getting used to! Isn't that normal? What's the point of a QAR warning if it doesn't exceed the limit? Are you using this to say that Xu Xian's driving skills are flawed? You're blatantly lying!" Xu Qing retorted angrily.

"For those of us in the industry, these reporters' claims are obviously unfounded. But the general public doesn't know that; with their limited discernment, they're easily swayed by these unscrupulous journalists. At least compared to the possibility of encountering an unprecedentedly strong vertical wind shear in civil aviation history, the possibility of Xu Xian making a mistake in control is still much greater." Ye Jing said coldly, "Xu Qing, Xu Xian is in great danger this time, really extremely dangerous!"

"If the flight data recorder data cannot be recovered."

Ye Jing squinted: "Xu Xian probably won't be able to clear his name even if he jumps into the Yellow River this time!"

"But there's no evidence to suggest that Xu Xian made a mistake in his operation!"

Ye Jing sneered, "Sometimes the common people are the most clear-headed, and sometimes they are the most easily deceived. The plane overran the runway, the fuselage broke apart—such serious casualties, are we just going to let it drag on like this without any explanation?"

"So, what do you think will be the outcome of Xu Xian's case?" Xu Qing asked with a gloomy face.

Ye Jing shook her head: "Xu Qing, you should have thought of that! At least until the flight data is recovered, Xu Xian's pilot's license will be revoked!"

(End of this chapter)