Legendary Captain

Chapter 337 If I don't understand civil aviation, who in this world is worthy of understanding it? (Seeking monthly votes!)

"A Star Travel Airlines plane?" Duty supervisor Xu Jingzhong couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. "They're causing us trouble every day. The incidents in the last two or three years have been more than in the past twenty years. What kind of world is this? Can't air traffic controllers even make a living?"

Xu Jingzhong observed the radar screen. At Binjiang Airport, all departure procedures on Runway 20 involved a left turn after takeoff; not a single right turn was permitted. This was because the airspace to the right of Runway 20 was very close to a restricted area. Even a slight rightward deviation could easily result in inadvertently entering that restricted area. That restricted area was of paramount importance and absolutely could not be entered. Anyone daring to enter, whether it was the flight crew or air traffic control, would face dire consequences.

The standard departure procedure for Star Trek Flight 6334 should have been to turn due south after takeoff. However, after turning due south, the plane continued to turn left, starting its turn to southeast. If it continued turning like that, it would have entered a restricted area, and they would all be doomed.

At this moment, Gu Wei, the controller next to Xu Jingzhong, asked, "Sir, what do we do now?"

"Have you made contact with Xingyou yet?" Xu Jingzhong asked.

"No," another controller said.

"It seems the crew is in quite a bit of trouble." Xu Jingzhong didn't believe the crew was unaware that they had deviated from the standard departure procedures. The only explanation was that the crew was facing some tricky problems and was simply unable to handle the so-called deviation from the procedures.

"Should we call the crew?" another controller asked.

"No need? Calling him now would only cause them trouble," Xu Jingzhong stopped him. "At this time, don't cause trouble for the crew. Tell the ground and the apron to suspend clearance and takeoff. Then communicate with the area control room so that all flights destined for Binjiang Airport are flying at low speeds. The same goes for approach control; all aircraft in the approach area should circle in place and abort their approach. Also, contact the flow control room and issue a flow control notice to suspend clearance for Binjiang Airport. The reason is that there is an emergency at the airport, and we are temporarily not accepting aircraft."

Xu Jingzhong thought for a moment: "Contact the airfield operations team to prepare for runway clearing. Also, notify the airport emergency command center to issue an alert, level: red!"

The airport emergency command center is a standard department at airports, coordinating all airport operations during emergencies. It includes the fire department, emergency medical team, chemical and biological protection team, and airport police. Any matter concerning an airport emergency must be reported to the airport emergency command center; this is standard procedure.

In addition, if it really was Star Travel Airlines' plane that experienced an engine separation, then who knows what else might have fallen onto the runway. They need to have the ground crew directly check if any loose debris has fallen onto the runway.

As for the red alert level, that's the highest level, indicating a foreseeable risk of a plane crash. Since the establishment of Binjiang Airport's emergency response system, there has never been a red alert.

Star Travel Airlines truly lives up to its reputation as one of the most "unlucky" airlines in recent years, taking the "first blood" at Binjiang Airport right off the bat.

"Should we notify Star Trek headquarters?" another air traffic controller asked.

"No need, it hasn't been confirmed yet whether it's a Star Travel Airlines plane or not," Xu Jingzhong said. "Besides, if it really is a Star Travel Airlines plane that has a problem, their operations control should already know."

The emergency communication system developed by Star Travel is now quite advanced and can monitor all flights in flight. If a Star Travel plane in the air were to lose an engine, Star Travel's operations control center would definitely receive an alert without needing to issue any notifications.

Xu Jingzhong thought for a moment, and since there was nothing else for the time being, he waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and get busy."

The controller nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go get it."

After the controller left, Gu Wei stared at the Xingyou Airlines plane on the radar screen, its trajectory increasingly erratic. Its altitude remained unchanged; it just kept circling without gaining an inch. Although Gu Wei was a controller, he roughly knew that passenger aircraft were designed to maintain sufficient flight performance even with a single engine, at least in extremely low-altitude areas like Binjiang Airport. In all airlines' single-engine procedures, after a single engine failure, the aircraft was supposed to ascend to a safe altitude. But what was wrong with this Xingyou Airlines plane? It just wouldn't seem to gain any altitude. What was the crew doing?

"Should I contact the crew? Something seems off." The more Gu Wei looked at Xingyou Airlines' data, the more uneasy he felt. He couldn't hold back any longer.

Xu Jingzhong frowned and pointed to a Kunlong Airlines plane near Xingyou Airlines, saying, "Move this plane away, clear the airspace, and then contact Xingyou's crew."

Shortly after Xingyou Flight 6334 took off, another Kunlong Airlines plane also took off. The departure procedures for both planes were the same, and the distance between the Kunlong Airlines plane and the Xingyou Airlines plane is not currently considered safe.

"Okay!" Upon receiving the instruction, Gu Wei immediately told the Kunlong Airlines aircraft in the channel: "Kunlong 9411, turn right to heading 230 and continue to reach standard pressure of 5100. Strictly maintain the flight path; there is a restricted area on the right."

"Turn right to heading 230, reach standard pressure of 5100, maintain track strictly, received! Kunlong 9411." The Kunlong Airlines crew replied immediately.

"What happened?" the co-pilot of the Kunlong Airlines crew asked, puzzled. Because Binjiang Airport is too close to a military restricted area, the departure procedure only has two directions. One is the one they were flying with Xingyou Airlines, which involves turning due south after takeoff; the other is turning left at 170 degrees after takeoff. Kunlong Airport uses Binjiang Airport as its base, and all the pilots at Kunlong Airport know Binjiang Airport inside and out. They had never seen a departure procedure guided by radar, let alone a right turn. The right side is closer to the military restricted area. Air traffic control had clearly told them to strictly maintain their flight path, indicating that they were aware of the risk of accidentally entering the restricted area, yet they were still allowed to do so.

Every plane flying to Binjiang Airport knows that there is a restricted area to the north of the airport that must never be crossed. Therefore, none of the single-engine procedures of any airline operating at Binjiang Airport include right turns. Even though, geographically speaking, there are actually fewer obstacles to turn right.

If they were truly too busy to manage, perhaps they could understand. But the channel was perfectly quiet, not at all like someone who was too busy to manage.

This instruction truly exudes an eerie atmosphere.

"Whatever, just do it." The captain had no interest in gossip and simply followed the air traffic control instructions. However, the Star Travel Airlines plane could be seen on the TCAS display: "But what's wrong with this Star Travel plane? It's clearly deviating from the departure procedure."

They were on the same control tower frequency as Xingyou 6334, so they knew their departure procedures. Binjiang Airport control has a routine where, after switching to the control tower frequency, controllers always confirm the departure procedures with the flight crew. They heard Xingyou 6334's departure procedure clearly; it was the same as theirs. But according to TACS, they seem to have veered off course.

"Could it be that this Star Travel Airlines plane has a problem?" the co-pilot exclaimed. There were many scattered clouds in the sky today, and visibility wasn't very good, which meant the Kunlong Airlines crew hadn't visually observed the engine separation of the aircraft ahead. Otherwise, the Kunlong Airlines crew would have already been shouting on the radio.

The co-pilot glanced at DU again: "Is Star Travel Airlines in trouble again?"

In the cockpit of Star Travel Flight 6334, Lian Shanxue and Tang Jian overheard the air traffic controller's instruction for the Kunlong Airlines aircraft to turn right. Tang Jian couldn't help but ask, "Does the control tower know we're in trouble?"

Binjiang Airport is notorious throughout China for its unique air traffic control system, with departures typically conducted without radar guidance—a feature every captain must be aware of. The fact that the control tower has unusually directed Kunlong Airlines' aircraft to turn right indicates that the tower is aware of their situation and is guiding them to avoid a collision.

"Regardless of whether the control tower knows our situation, we need to get the aircraft under control first. What exactly is going on? Why can't we control the aircraft's yaw?" Lian Shanxue asked urgently. "We're constantly yawed and can't accelerate, retract the flaps, or gain altitude. Are we just going to wait like this?"

At this point, the aircraft was already over 1,000 feet high. According to the standard single-engine procedure, the aircraft should have accelerated and retracted the flaps by now. However, because the aircraft was in a yaw state, lift was somewhat reduced, which is why some throttle was applied during the turn.

However, they had already pushed the throttle of the number two engine to its maximum, and couldn't add any more. The aircraft, currently in a yaw state, could barely maintain altitude and speed, making it impossible to continue the single-engine procedure!

"How...how should I know? This doesn't make sense!" To be honest, Tang Jian still couldn't understand why this had happened. Engine detachment is indeed rare and terrifying. But ultimately, it's just a single-engine system, essentially no different, and there's no significant difference in handling it. Yet, why did they experience such an unpredictable deflection during actual operation? It simply doesn't make sense.

Tang Jian muttered to himself, "The procedure for handling an engine detachment is the same as the procedure for an engine fire or severe damage in the standard operating procedures and abnormal inspection forms. It doesn't say that an engine detachment will cause uninstructed deflection after handling, does it? What's the difference between an engine detachment and other single-engine detachments?"

"What's the difference between an engine detachment and a free-floating engine?" Lian Shanxue quickly searched her memory, hoping to find some clues in the manual she had read before. However, just as Tang Jian had said, the checklist for engine fire, severe damage, and engine detachment was the same, and it definitely did not mention that after the handling procedure was carried out, an engine detachment would cause unplanned and uncontrollable deflection. Lian Shanxue was certain of this.

To be honest, Tang Jian is a captain after all. Even if he's not the best, he didn't carry the weight of his responsibilities for nothing, and he still has a fairly solid knowledge base. If Tang Jian says he doesn't have any, then it's very likely that he doesn't. Although Lian Shanxue has a good memory, she's not a walking encyclopedia like Xu Xian, who can memorize everything he sees. She really doesn't have the confidence that her knowledge base is more extensive than a captain's.

But if they can't figure out the real reason for the deflection, are they just going to keep wandering around like this? She looked at the map mode and realized that if they kept spinning like this, they might end up in the restricted area.

In all airport announcements regarding Binjiang Airport, information about restricted areas is highlighted in bold and marked with an asterisk. That is, announcements about restricted areas are in bold text and preceded by an asterisk to indicate their extreme importance. The announcements also show several points along the restricted area's boundary using latitude and longitude coordinates. During ground preparation, Lian Shanxue artificially created these points using latitude and longitude coordinates and connected them. Therefore, the boundary of the restricted area is visible on the map.

While this uncontrollable deflection is currently beyond the crew's control, fortunately, the magnitude is extremely small, and it will take some time before the aircraft turns into the restricted area. However, regardless of the time it takes, if the cause of the deflection cannot be found, allowing the aircraft to continue turning until it reaches the restricted area is only a matter of time.

Sure enough, it wasn't just Shan Xue who had this concern; the commanders in the control tower were also very concerned about this issue.

After guiding the Kunlong Airlines aircraft, the airspace near the airport was temporarily cleared. The only saving grace about this major incident is that it occurred outside of peak arrival and departure times. Otherwise, air traffic control would have been overwhelmed.

Now, only Star Travel's plane remains in the airspace near the airport, making it relatively easier to control.

"Star Travel 6334, is there a problem with your plane?" Gu Wei asked on the control tower.

The first question wasn't too complicated; it didn't ask what the question was, but simply whether it was.

"Yes, our number one engine has detached." This time it was Tang Jian who replied to Gu Wei: "Request that the airspace be cleared now, our aircraft is in a state of disarray."

"The engine detached? I knew it!" Gu Wei's eyes brightened slightly; it really was a problem with Xingyou Airlines. The engine detached? Then the engine is lying right there at the beginning of runway 02!

More than confirming the status of Xingyou Airlines, Gu Wei was actually more concerned about the crew's next question: "What does it mean that the aircraft is out of control?"

Not only are flight crews afraid of losing control of the aircraft, but air traffic control is too. Isn't an uncontrollable aircraft just a bomb that could explode at any moment?

"This...this is rather complicated. After following the normal procedures, the aircraft still exhibited uninstructed yaw. We tried many methods, but we were unable to correct the yaw." Tang Jian did not hide anything about this matter.

"A non-mandatory deflection?" Gu Wei and Xu Jingzhong exchanged glances, then frowned and asked, "So you're continuously turning left?"

"Yes!"

"Damn it." Gu Wei and Xu Jingzhong tensed up as they watched the plane getting closer and closer to the restricted area.

"Director, if the Star Trek planes become uncontrollable, then it's only a matter of time before they have to move into the restricted area. Do you think we should talk to the military region and see if they can temporarily open the restricted area?" Gu Wei asked.

Special circumstances call for special measures. Under normal circumstances, entry into restricted areas is prohibited. However, under these extreme conditions, entering a restricted area is a foregone conclusion, and we can only hope the military region will make an exception. Prior to this, it's not uncommon for restricted areas to be temporarily opened to civilian aircraft for emergency shelter purposes.

Xu Jingzhong stepped forward, getting close to Gu Wei: "Do you know what's in that restricted area? It's the military region headquarters! You want an out-of-control plane to be hovering over the military region headquarters? Who dares to take responsibility for that? Who can bear that responsibility?"

"You mean the restricted area is the military region headquarters? Oh my god, no wonder." Gu Wei's heart skipped a beat. If it was the military region headquarters down there, then Xingyou Airlines' planes definitely couldn't be allowed to pass through.

The crew has now clearly stated that the aircraft is out of control. What if it enters the restricted area and not only loses control in yaw but also in pitch?

What if he falls? The military headquarters is right below! The thought sent chills down Gu Wei's spine!

If the crew hadn't mentioned that the aircraft was out of control, there might have been a tiny possibility of opening the restricted area. But for an aircraft that was already out of control, opening the restricted area would be putting a huge danger on the military command headquarters. How could that possibly be possible?

If Gu Wei could think of requesting a temporary opening of the restricted area, how could Tang Jian not think of it? So, logically, Tang Jian asked in the channel, "Can we request a temporary opening of the restricted area?"

"It probably won't work." Gu Wei glanced at Xu Jingzhong: "The military region headquarters is inside the restricted area, and your aircraft is not in a suitable condition to enter the restricted area."

"The plane's status?" Tang Jian was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized, "I understand."

At this moment, Lian Shanxue said from the side, "Have the control department contact the Star Travel Headquarters Operations Control; we request technical support."

Civil aviation technology is now quite mature. Air traffic control can connect to the Star Travel headquarters operations control and insert the messages from Star Travel's operations control personnel into the current channel.

Lian Shanxue and Tang Jian were now at their wits' end, and with the restricted area closed to them, they had very little time left. Since they didn't have much time to think things through, their only option was to seek outside help.

Gu Wei immediately replied, "I understand, please wait a moment!"

Star Travel Aviation Operations Control Center.

One of the staff members yawned while glancing at the display screen. With Xingyou Airlines' flight volume drastically reduced, the workload for the entire operations control system has also plummeted, leading many operations control staff to slack off. This staff member monitoring the status of in-flight aircraft was one of them.

His job is simple: if any critical system on a flight malfunctions, it will be reflected on the screen in front of him. His job is to report any alarms to the safety manager; it's a fairly low-tech job.

Since plane problems are rare, he usually doesn't move around much, except when he needs to eat, drink, or use the restroom.

This person is prone to drowsiness if he doesn't move for a long time, so this guy basically spends all his time at work dozing off.

Suddenly, in a daze, he felt something on the screen turn red.

"Huh?" He slowly opened his dry eyes, and the red warning light gradually became clearer in his vision. Finally, when he fully opened his eyes, he was jolted awake: "Flight 6334 has crashed?"

Upon opening it again, a cold sweat immediately broke out on his back; all the data regarding Engine Number One had vanished. This had never happened before.

"Manager!" The staff member stepped back and immediately got up to find the security manager.

A minute later, the security manager, who had rushed over, stared at the red flashing light on the screen for flight 6334, his expression a mixture of anger and uncertainty: "Have you figured out what the problem is?"

The staff member said with difficulty, "Manager, all the relevant data for the aircraft's number one engine has disappeared, but I don't know why."

"All the data has disappeared? What's going on?" The safety manager had never seen anything like this before. Perhaps they hadn't expected that engine number one could detach so easily. With the engine gone, there was naturally no operational data.

"I don't know! I've never encountered this before!"

The security manager frowned: "Is there a problem with the system?"

The staff member shook his head: "There shouldn't be any problem; the system is functioning normally."

"What does that mean?" the security manager asked irritably. "Where is the plane now?"

"Still near Binjiang Airport."

"Then contact Binjiang Airport and ask if flight 6334 has reported any problems," the security manager instructed. "I'll go report to the duty officer and be right back."

Just as the safety manager was about to leave to report to the supervisor on duty, the phone on the desk suddenly rang, and the staff member quickly answered it.

"Technical support?" The staff member looked slightly puzzled. "You need to tell me what's going on first!"

"Your crew of Xingyou flight 6334 has reported that the aircraft's number one engine has detached, and the aircraft is currently in an uncontrollable yaw state. The crew is unsure what to do and needs your technical support." The contact person at Binjiang Airport told the staff everything in one go.

"The engine... it detached?!" The operations control staff were so shocked they couldn't hold their breath, spittle flying everywhere. "Are you sure? Are you sure the crew said that?"

"It was the crew who said it themselves. The engine that fell out is still on the grass at the head of runway 02 at our airport. They can't just make things up, can they? You need to find someone experienced right now. The plane will be turning into the restricted area soon, and there's not much time left." The liaison from Binjiang Airport urged, "Once it's done, we'll give you access to the call. Hurry up."

The technology used by airlines to access crew communications is based on the emergency communication system previously developed by Xingyou Aviation. This system has now been widely adopted and operates according to its own set of rules. Airlines need local regulatory permission to access crew communications; only local authorities have the authority to grant airlines access to these communications.

"Restricted area. Me." The phone call from Binjiang Airport didn't say many words, but almost every sentence contained extremely important information, constantly impacting the staff's hearts.

After the call was disconnected from Binjiang Airport, the staff quickly explained the situation to the security manager. Even the security manager was pounding with anxiety, his heart pounding in his throat.

"The engine detached; that hasn't happened in decades." The safety manager's eyes darted back and forth, his mind racing. "If we need technical support, then our company will have to contact the chief engineer. Is General Manager Ning still here?"

President Ning is Ning Sheng, the right-hand man who was in the car when Xu Xian ran off the runway. Now, almost all the pressure from that incident is on Xu Xian, who was the one who orchestrated it, while Ning Sheng, as the right-hand man, has not received much attention.

After undergoing treatment, Ning Sheng received some punishment, but it wasn't too severe. After that, he replaced Lu Xinyu as the new chief pilot of Xingyou Airlines.

After Lu Xinyu was promoted to General Manager of the Flight Department, he could no longer concurrently serve as Chief Pilot, and Ning Sheng had been a leading candidate for Chief Pilot before this. Therefore, it was reasonable for Ning Sheng to take over as Chief Pilot after Lu Xinyu stepped down.

"President Ning? President Ning isn't on duty today, but he usually stays at the company. Shall I give him a call?" the staff member asked.

Ning Sheng is indeed not on duty today, but he's a workaholic and often stays at the company even during his rest time, so he might be on duty today too.

"Okay! Go ask them right away," the security manager said, then suddenly remembered something and called out to the staff member, "By the way, who is the crew of flight 6334?"

I was busy with something haphazardly just now, and I still don't know who the crew members are.

"Oh, the captain is Tang Jian, and the co-pilot is Lian Shanxue," the staff member replied casually.

"Lian Shanxue!" The security manager's voice suddenly turned shrill: "Go find President Ning right now. If President Ning isn't here, see if President Lu is here, hurry!"

The Flying Dart Office.

Ning Sheng was discussing with a staff member matters regarding an upcoming instructor inspection. This instructor inspection was different from previous ones; officials from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) would be coming to supervise, so Ning Sheng needed to coordinate. The chief pilot was responsible for liaising between the airline and the CAAC.

As they were talking, Ning Sheng's phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was the operations control department's landline, so he answered, "What's up?"

"President Ning, where are you now?" The voice on the other end of the phone sounded very urgent.

"I'm throwing darts!" Ning Sheng noticed the strange tone in the other person's voice and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"President Ning, please come to the operations control center immediately. One of our flights has had its engine detach."

"The engine detached!" Ning Sheng exclaimed excitedly, his voice rising involuntarily. "Okay, okay, okay! I'm coming right away."

After hanging up the phone, Ning Shenggen's dart handler said, "I have something urgent to attend to. You go ahead and do your work."

After saying that, he ran wildly towards the door.

At Huining Airport, Xu Xian stared at the plane in the sky that had lost one of its engines, his heart pounding wildly.

He was so familiar with the livery of Star Travel Airlines' planes that even from this distance, Xu Xian was still very confident that the plane in the picture was indeed a Star Travel Airlines plane.

Thinking back to his chance encounter with Lianshan Snow yesterday, Xu Xian had a very bad feeling.

Xingyou Airlines has very few flights at Binjiang Airport, only two in total. He checked Lian Shanxue's flight last night, and the departure time was around this time, so it was obvious who was sitting in the cockpit of the plane.

Xu Xian was extremely anxious, but he had no idea about the plane's current situation. Was he just supposed to stand here and watch the show?

Suddenly, he spotted the Hoinyong Airport control tower not far from his base. The base was practically next to Hoinyong Airport; the two were very close, and the Hoinyong control tower didn't seem too far away either.

Xu Xian made up his mind and decided to stay and watch; he absolutely could not accept this. He could go to the Huining control tower and use the communication equipment there to contact the crew, and perhaps he could offer some assistance.

Without hesitation, Xu Xian identified the direction of the control tower and rushed straight there.

The control tower was very close to the garrison, and Xu Xian soon arrived at its base. At the tower entrance, a soldier was on guard; the tower was a restricted area, and unauthorized personnel were not allowed to enter.

"You said you want to go up to the control tower, do you have a work permit?" The soldier on guard immediately refused Xu Xian's request to go up to the control tower.

Xu Xian said anxiously, "Brother, I don't have a work permit, but the situation is very urgent. Look up there, there's a plane whose engine is missing. It's really critical. I need to go up and use the control tower's equipment to see if I can help them."

"I don't look at the sky, I only look at the entrance. You can't go in without a work permit." Unexpectedly, this soldier was extremely dutiful. He didn't even look up at the sky, but just stared intently at Xu Xian, not letting Xu Xian's slightest movement slip by.

"Brother, can't you make an exception? I'm not a bad person, we're all family, this is a matter of life and death." Xu Xian was almost going crazy, but the rules of the military were ironclad. The control tower was of great importance, how could they let just anyone in?

"What's the matter?" Just then, the main entrance to the control tower opened, and a somewhat weathered middle-aged man stepped out. He glanced at Xu Xian and asked, "What happened in the sky?"

"Our company—no, Xingyou Airlines—has an aircraft whose engine has detached. I don't have any information about the situation here, so I hope we can contact the crew through the control tower's equipment to see if we can provide any assistance," Xu Xian quickly said.

"The engine detached?" The middle-aged man exclaimed in surprise, then looked up sharply and saw the plane turning in the sky: "Has something really happened?"

There were no flight training sessions at Huining Airport today, so as the tower controller, he was on a day off. He had just woken up and was still unaware of what had happened.

"I'm not kidding, it's extremely urgent!"

The middle-aged man sized Xu Xian up, especially glancing at the Luohang logo on Xu Xian's chest: "Even if something really happens, what help can you offer? You're a fighter jet pilot, what do you know about civil aviation?"

"I understand, I understand, can you let me up? I really understand!" Xu Xian said urgently. This middle-aged man seemed to be a staff member of the Huining control tower. If he agreed, he might be able to get in.

The middle-aged man poured the water from the water jug ​​he was holding into the grass and sneered, "You know? You know nothing about civil aviation! Kid, it's like being in a completely different field. It's good that you're willing to help, but don't do something pointless. Go back."

After saying that, the middle-aged man prepared to leave.

"Damn it, if I don't understand civil aviation, who in this world is qualified to?" Seeing the middle-aged man about to leave, and realizing his last hope was slipping away, Xu Xian flew into a rage, his voice almost shattering the heavens: "I am Xu Xian, Xu Xian of Xingyou Airlines!"

Looks like we won't reach 1,000 monthly votes this month.

(End of this chapter)