Legendary Captain

Upon receiving Lian Shanxue's instructions, Xu Xian opened the pre-prepared engine failure or shutdown checklist and began reading: "Choose one: Engine vibration accompanied by abnormal engine indicators?"

"No!" Having already made a judgment about the engine malfunction, Lian Shanxue quickly rejected this option.

The scenario described in this option is a serious engine failure, which would require an engine fire alarm, a serious damage checklist, or a separation checklist.

"Engine detached!"

"no!"

"There is no evidence of machine vibration or abnormal engine indicators, and the engine has not detached!"

Upon seeing this option, Lian Shanxue shouted without hesitation, "Yes!"

"Step two! An engine can only be shut down when flight conditions permit!" Xu Xian said.

What does this mean? It means that when making this checklist, it's not necessary to shut down the engine; the judgment should be based on the actual situation.

For example, an aircraft has one engine that has failed, leaving only one engine. This engine's oil temperature is exceeding the limit. In this case, an engine oil temperature high checklist needs to be created. The first step in creating an engine oil temperature high checklist is to determine if the oil temperature has reached the red zone. If the engine oil temperature has reached the red zone, then the process should proceed to the engine failure or shutdown checklist.

If the engine fails or the engine is shut down for inspection, can this step still be performed?

If one engine has failed and only one engine is left to operate, can the engine be shut down simply because of high oil temperature?

Increased lubricating oil temperature leads to increased fluidity, decreased adhesion, decreased viscosity, and slower heat transfer, resulting in poorer heat dissipation, increased bearing/gear wear, increased vibration, deterioration of overall engine performance, and reduced engine corrosion resistance.

In short, high lubricating oil temperature can cause significant damage to the engine. Even in the short term, it can cause the engine to stall.

The reason for shutting down the engine when the lubricating oil temperature rises is to protect the engine. However, this is based on the premise that the other engine can provide power normally.

With one engine already lost, shutting it down to protect the only working engine, leaving the aircraft in a powerless gliding state? Don't you find that ridiculous?

Is it more important to save the engine or to save lives? Isn't this an obvious choice?

Even if it continues to run at high oil temperatures, whether it eventually shuts down or becomes unusable, that's the engine's fate, and it's a "worthy death." It will definitely last as long as it can!

Given Xu Xian and his team's current situation, with the other engine running normally, they definitely meet the conditions for shutting down the engine, so there is no situation where they cannot shut it down.

There is a fixed procedure for shutting down the engine.

"Automatic throttle, if engaged, disengage!"

Lian Shanxue pressed the buttons on the top of the thrust handle a few times. After pressing these two buttons, the automatic throttle would be disengaged.

"Thrust handle, affected side, confirmed, retract!"

Since the problem is with engine number one, all you need to do is retract the thrust handle of engine number one until it reaches the slow position.

If the affected engine is producing thrust at idle, that's the next step.

"Engine starter lever, affected side, confirmed to be disconnected!"

The action of cutting the engine start lever was not performed by Lian Shanxue, but by Xu Xianlai. Whether it's the thrust lever or the start lever, the inspection sheet always includes a confirmation note before performing the action, but this is absent from the automatic throttle disconnection procedure.

This is mainly a difference in importance. If the automatic throttle disconnects, it's fine, but if the push lever or starter lever is switched off, the problem is much bigger. Relatively speaking, the push lever is slightly better; you can just put it back on. But if the starter lever is switched off, it needs to be restarted. And starting the engine takes time, meaning that for a short period of time, the engine cannot provide power again.

Therefore, any operation of the thrust handle and starter handle must be confirmed by two people before any actual action can be taken.

After completing the shutdown procedure, Xu Xian glanced at the inspection form and continued, "Component ignition switch, affected side, shut off. Since we have engine number one malfunction, that means... left component ignition switch... shut off!"

This will cause the components that operate when the flaps retract during flight to be switched to high flow.

"Next, we'll start the APU. If the APU can start, then start the APU." After reading this, Xu Xian directly started the APU power switch.

Since starting the APU takes some time, I took the opportunity to complete the post-flight checklist that I hadn't done yet, making the most of the time.

The procedure itself was fine, but after reading such a long medical report, Xu Xian felt extremely tired. The aftereffects of staying up all night yesterday were still quite strong. Xu Xian had rarely stayed up all night before, so the reaction was rather intense.

To ensure proper cooling of the equipment, the simulator cabin was actually quite cold. Thick coats were even provided for warmth. However, after reading a long medical report, Xu Xian suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He felt as if his head had swelled up, and his temples felt bulging.

At first, Xu Xian read the medical report without any problems. However, as time went on, Lian Shanxue noticed that Xu Xian's voice was getting softer and softer, and somewhat weak. Every time Xu Xian finished reading a long sentence, he would add a very heavy nasal sound, followed by an extremely obvious pause.

When Lian Shanxue saw Xu Xian's face again, she found that his face was as white as a sheet of paper, without any color at all.

"You...you're really alright?" Lian Shanxue noticed that Xu Xian's face was covered in sweat, not from heat, but from cold sweat.

Xu Xian glanced at the instructor behind him and noticed that the instructor was studying the control panel and not looking in their direction. He immediately pulled Lian Shanxue's hand, drew her upper body closer, and whispered in her ear, "After you finish this single-engine flight, you can request to take off and land. I'm going to rest for a while."