Legendary Captain

Both PANPAN and MAYDAY can indicate a state of emergency, but relatively speaking, PANPAN indicates a slightly lower level of urgency.

Is the failure of an engine a very serious matter? The answer is obviously yes!

However, engine failure doesn't necessarily equate to an immediate crisis. After all, by design, an engine is perfectly capable of providing sufficient lift. Moreover, engine failure alone generally doesn't escalate the damage further, and the level of danger remains within a manageable range.

It's urgent, but not to the point where immediate action is needed! That's PANPAN!

In comparison, the situation on a Mayday is much more serious. For example, if it's not an engine failure but an engine fire, then PANPAN cannot be used; a Mayday must be declared. For unpredictable and dangerous situations like fires, immediate action is crucial. What if the engine explodes while burning? What if the debris from the explosion damages the engine and causes further harm? No one can guarantee the safety of these situations, making the situation even more urgent.

Many trainees couldn't distinguish between PANPAN and MAYDAY, and in any emergency, they would declare MAYDAY without thinking. Xu Xian originally thought Lian Shanxue would do the same, but little did he know that Lian Shanxue had come prepared!

Lian Shanxue's instructions were very clear. First, report the current situation to the control tower, declaring a state of emergency or prioritizing the operation. Second, communicate your intentions so that control can respond accordingly. Otherwise, deviating from the standard departure procedures and remaining on the sidelines without informing control is extremely irresponsible.

"You two handle it yourselves! We're doing the ILS approach on runway 02L. Report it when you land directly on the ILS!" With Xu Xian as his assistant, the instructor was happy to have some free time, letting the two of them figure it out on their own. He just listened from the back, and if any major mistakes occurred, he would step in to correct them. He could easily make money.

"Then you decide when to turn," Xu Xian said to Lian Shanxue. This statement gave Lian Shanxue a great deal of autonomy. However, it also required Lian Shanxue to have a clear mind and know what to do next.

As he spoke, Xu Xian glanced at the altimeter and called out, "1000 feet!"

"UP speed!" Lian Shanxue answered immediately, almost without hesitation.

"Great!" Xu Xian praised. Seeing that Lian Shanxue wasn't moving her hands, he reminded her, "The autopilot is engaged, do you expect me to adjust it?"

Lian Shanxue was still basking in Xu Xian's praise, momentarily forgetting that it was now in autopilot mode and she needed to operate the MCP herself.

Lian Shanxue said "Oh," adjusted the speed to 210 in the speed window, and then waited for the plane to accelerate and retract its flaps.

Because it only has one engine, when the aircraft accelerates, the power of a single engine is insufficient to maintain a sufficient rate of climb, resulting in a climb rate of only 300-500 feet per minute.

Even so, the aircraft's acceleration process was extremely laborious. It took about two seconds to gain a single stop of speed. Xu Xian and Lian Shanxue could only wait patiently for the speed to be sufficient before they could retract the flaps.

During this period, Lian Shanxue did not issue an engine failure checklist. Her plan was to wait until the flaps were retracted and the aircraft was fully stable before issuing the abnormal checklist.

Since the engine failure checklist has no memory entries, it simply involves disconnecting the starter lever of the faulty engine and then attempting an in-flight start as needed. If the in-flight start fails or the engine does not need to be started, a landing checklist is issued; these are steps that do not require immediate attention.

Lian Shanxue has indeed put in a lot of effort. During the event, she took the time to read the electronic version of the SOP and thoroughly understood it.

Xu Xian was greatly pleased by Lian Shanxue's composed demeanor. Lian Shanxue was, in a sense, his student, and Xu Xian deserved much credit for her performance.

Xu Xian continued to play his role: "V2+15, level up!"

"Flaps tuck in!" Lian Shanxue replied quickly.

At this point, Xu Xian became the tool, retracting the flap handle.

"Flap speed!"

"Fold in the flaps!"

Xu Xian fully retracted the flaps, waited for the flap position indicator to show that the flaps were fully retracted, and then, after the transition lights went out simultaneously, announced: "Flaps retracted, transition lights off!"

He promptly deactivated the automatic brakes, positioned the landing gear handles in the neutral position, and simultaneously heard Lian Shanxue's instructions: "Request a right turn and fly to BHS for a circling maneuver to handle the malfunction!"

"No need to apply anymore, it's your decision," Xu Xian reminded him. The instructor had already given permission for him to handle it himself.

"Oh, I forgot!" Lian Shanxue said, "Then could you call a direct flight to BHS for me in CDU?"

"Should we wait for the flight path?" Xu Xian asked.

BHS is the holding point in the 02L instrument landing go-around procedure at Rongfu Airport, and there is a standard holding procedure at this point. The holding route that Xu Xian mentioned is the standard holding procedure published on the aeronautical chart.

Lian Shanxue shook her head: "No need, it's too much trouble. I'll just use the heading selection to circle around in place when we arrive at the destination!"

Actually, Xu Xian felt a little relieved. He hadn't used the standard wait function in CDU for a long time and had slightly forgotten how to type it. He would have been a little worried if Lian Shanxue had actually made him use the BHS standard wait function!

At least, we saved face.

"I thought you would just turn right three times!" Having not given himself away, Xu Xian was in a good mood and even made a light joke.

Lian Shanxue rolled her eyes at Xu Xian: "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Many trainees don't know how long it takes to complete the checklist. If they turn right three times without thinking, they may not finish the checklist by the time they turn five times.

Because a single engine failure or shutdown checklist is not enough to solve the single-engine problem, a single-engine landing checklist is also needed.

Two abnormal inspection forms in a row, plus approach preparation and approach briefing, it's highly questionable whether they can all be completed before the fifth approach.

After Xu Xian entered the direct flight path to BHS within the CDU, Lian Shanxue selected horizontal navigation and flew to BHS first. When they were about to reach BHS, they switched to heading selection.

Once everything was stable, Lian Shanxue announced: "Engine failure or shutdown checklist."