On the apron of Qizhou Airport, the huge figure of an Airbus 330 stands out among a group of narrow-body aircraft. Even before the sun rises, the shadow it casts is still quite concrete and oppressive.
This 330 will soon take off to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in France, Airbus's main test flight production center. In the first class cabin of the plane sat Li Rongxian, the general manager of Airbus Asia Pacific. He was supposed to go back with Boeing's representative Li Rongcheng, but something delayed him and he was delayed for a few days before he boarded the return flight.
During this period, Li Rongxian was in a good mood. The Boeing 777 project suffered a series of setbacks and might even be aborted. Some time ago, the Boeing 747 was exposed to have a design defect in the S2 switch. Although the airlines did not cause a particularly serious impact due to their trust in this classic model, it did cause a setback in the sales of 747 orders to a certain extent.
Now that the 777 and 747 have suffered setbacks one after another and the old 767 is no longer useful, the sales of its replacement, the Airbus 330, have increased significantly, which is a pleasant surprise.
However, in the midst of all the joy there are always some things that make people uncomfortable, such as some countries actually having the idea of ​​developing their own large aircraft, or someone who is so arrogant that he feels annoyed.
However, the dark clouds are only temporary and sparse, and Airbus' future is still bright. The only thing to be vigilant about now is the three extreme tests of the 777 in the near future. From his own perspective, Li Rongxian certainly hopes that these three extreme tests will fail, then the 777 will really have no chance at all.
Of course, Li Rongxian knew deep down that the problem with the last 777 verification flight had little to do with the aircraft itself, but was more directly related to the crew's misjudgment.
I heard that in order to ensure that the three extreme tests were foolproof, Boeing had used Ye Xian. Personally, Li Rongxian didn't like Ye Xian very much, but it was undeniable that Ye Xian was very capable. Moreover, it seemed that Boeing had also invited Xu Cang to the last high-altitude test. With double insurance, the probability of problems was really close to zero.
"I should have been ruthless enough to destroy this guy Xu Cang." Li Rongxian gnashed his teeth when he thought of Xu Cang's existence.
In fact, he had noticed Xu Cang's ability very early on, and had thought that Li Rongcheng would contact Xu Cang about the Boeing 777. In order to create trouble for Boeing, he did make some efforts, such as mentioning in a conversation with Jin Fuli that he could use the price reduction of Airbus aircraft in the future in exchange for Xu Cang's permanent suspension of flying.
However, Li Rongxian happened to be unaware of the relationship between Jin Fuli and Xu Cang, and he hit a wall. He was scolded by Jin Fuli on the spot and left in anger.
Jin Fuli's attitude made Li Rongxian mistakenly believe that Blue Sky Airlines had discovered Xu Cang's talent, recognized him, and was willing to devote its efforts to cultivating him. Therefore, after that, Li Rongxian did not go out of his way to trouble Xu Cang.
First, Li Rongxian felt that Xu Cang was just a pilot with a little talent, and it was difficult for him to save the situation. Like Ma Cheng of Muhua Airlines, Li Rongxian also felt that the value of a pilot had a ceiling, and he did not need to pay special attention to it. Second, Airbus was a latecomer after all, and its influence in China was not so deep-rooted, and its influence was relatively limited. Even if he wanted to, Li Rongxian could not mobilize many resources, so there was no need to fight Xu Cang to death.
However, later on, Xu Cang really emerged like a comet, shining brightly. It was not until Li Rongxian heard that Boeing was willing to entrust Xu Cang with the extreme test of the 777, which would affect the next ten years, that he realized how wrong he was.
But in fact, if Li Rongxian had put forward the same conditions to other leaders of Blue Sky Airlines instead of Jin Fuli, things might really have worked out.
A large civil airliner costs hundreds of millions, and the subsequent maintenance will incur a huge amount of expenses. If there is a good price reduction discount, except for a few exceptions, the leaders of Blue Sky Airlines would probably want to kidnap Xu Cang and hand him over to Li Rongxian.
It can only be said that Li Rongxian overestimated the vision of Blue Sky Airlines' leaders. Not all of them, but at least 90% of them are mediocre people who only care about profit and have no foresight.
In the first-class cabin, Li Rongxian leisurely drank coffee and read a magazine. According to him, there were not many people in the first-class cabin on this flight, so the next ten hours of the flight would finally be quiet.
Suddenly, Li Rongxian heard a series of fire truck sirens, and even intermittent red lights shining in from the porthole. Li Rongxian put down the magazine and looked outside, and found that four fire trucks were moving away along the apron driveway, and behind the fire trucks there were many white ambulances with lights flashing.
"What's going on?" Li Rongxian was stunned, and then adjusted the direction of his gaze, but he didn't find anything unusual, which made Li Rongxian feel a little confused.
Before Li Rongxian could figure out the situation, his cell phone suddenly rang. He took it out and looked at the number. It was an unfamiliar number, but he answered it anyway.
As soon as I put the phone to my ear, a man's voice came from the receiver: "Excuse me, is this Mr. Li? We are from Shandong Airlines Operation Control Center."
"Huh?" Li Rongxian was confused. He knew Shandong Airlines, but as far as he remembered, Shandong Airlines operated all Boeing aircraft. Why would they call him?
Thinking about it, Li Rongxian couldn't help but think of a possibility, that is, new business came to the door? However, what was more strange was that if it was to discuss ordering, why did the transportation control center call him?
"Hello, I'm Li Rongxian, what can I do for you?"
Shan Airlines's Operation Control Center said, "One of our Airbus 320 aircraft received from Guoda Airlines recently had a problem with the No. 1 engine exploding. Our company contacted Airbus' technical department, but there was no response. I heard that Mr. Li was in the technical department before. If it is convenient, can you provide some technical assistance if possible?"
Due to the time difference, it should be almost midnight at Airbus headquarters. Logically, this kind of technical department should be online 24 hours a day, but Shandong Airlines has not received any response after contacting Airbus technical department many times.
Not long ago, through Qizhou Control as an intermediary, Shandong Airlines Operation Control Center learned about the situation encountered by the crew - the No. 1 engine exploded!
If it was a normal engine failure or even an engine fire, Shandong Airlines would not have to seek external assistance in the middle of the night. Although the probability is very small, the airline can still tolerate normal failures.
But the engine explosion seems to have exceeded the normal acceptable range of failures. Moreover, in the handling procedures, there are engine failures, engine fires, engine surges, over-limits, serious damage or stalls, and even flight, but there is no option of explosion.
Of course, due to the inherent design of the engine, even if the engine explodes, the explosion can theoretically be limited to the inside of the engine and will not cause the damage to spread. However, this is only theoretical. No department of Airbus dares to guarantee that not a single piece of debris will leak out in the event of an engine explosion.
This makes the engine explosion problem more unpredictable than other engine problems, and no one knows. Given the appropriate concerns about unknown problems, it is reasonable for Shandong Airlines to seek help directly from Airbus Technical Department.
However, there was no response to the numerous phone calls, and subsequent emails also fell on deaf ears, as if Airbus's technical department had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Later, I learned about Li Rongxian's itinerary through Guoda Airlines, and I had no choice but to find Li Rongxian.
Of course, maybe the subsequent crew will deal with it according to the procedures of fire alarm and serious damage, and there will be no continuity problems. But if the problem spreads and the technical force on our side cannot solve it, we still have to rely on Li Rongxian.
After listening to the explanation of the situation from the Shan Airlines Operation Control Center, Li Rongxian's face suddenly darkened. Although he didn't know the specific reason, it seemed that the aircraft engine could have exploded simply due to the crew's incorrect operation.
Since it has nothing to do with the crew, then there must be something wrong with the aircraft itself. This is a rather delicate situation. There are two main types of aircraft problems: maintenance issues and design flaws in the aircraft itself.
If it was just a maintenance issue, Li Rongxian would not be too worried, as Airbus could have handled it cleanly. But if the reason was the latter, things would be difficult to say.
"It's hard for me to say in this situation..." At this time, anyone with a bit of common sense would not talk nonsense, even though Li Rongxian had some guesses in his mind.
Shanhai Airlines' Operation Control Center did not embarrass Li Rongxian too much, but instead asked, "Mr. Li, can you keep the communication open for a while in the future so that we can consult you at any time if we have any questions?"
"That's no problem!" Li Rongxian said immediately.
"Okay, keep in touch." After saying that, Shanhai Airlines Operation Control Center hung up the phone directly.
Li Rongxian slowly put down the phone. He finally knew what those fire trucks and ambulances were doing. Judging from the timing of the fire trucks and ambulances, the plane would probably land soon.
Li Rongxian felt his heart pounding when he thought of the possibility that there might be something wrong with the aircraft engine itself. A moment ago, he was still gloating over Boeing's Waterloo on the 777, but in the blink of an eye, the disaster might be directed to him. It was really unpredictable.
If there is a problem with the Airbus 320 itself, it is different from the design defect of the S2 switch of the 747. In any case, the 747 has been launched for more than 30 years and has been tested by the market in these 30 years.
Both people and the market have huge mental inertia. People are willing to give unlimited tolerance to the 747, a classic model that has been in operation for 30 years.
However, the Airbus 320 has only been flying around the world for ten years, far from reaching the level of so-called sentiment. As long as there is a flight accident caused by the design flaws of the aircraft itself, even if the market does not immediately abandon the Airbus 320, it will definitely be a heavy blow.
Li Rongxian absolutely cannot allow this problem to occur, which means that even at the minimum requirement, the Shandong Airlines plane cannot crash. As long as it does not crash, all problems can be modified to some extent.
Li Rongxian stood up slowly, feeling very upset. He just felt suffocated staying in the cabin. So, he simply packed up his things and walked out of the cabin.
This flight was operated by Air France, and the crew members on board knew Li Rongxian's identity. When Li Rongxian walked to the cabin door, the blond and blue-eyed flight attendant asked in fluent Chinese: "Mr. Li, the plane will be boarding soon. If you want to go out for some fresh air, please pay attention to the time."
After the flight attendant finished speaking, he noticed that Li Rongxian did not seem to be simply going out to get some fresh air, but had even taken his bag with him.
"You don't have to wait for me."
The flight attendant was stunned for a moment: "Mr. Li, are you planning to terminate the trip?"
"Yeah." Li Rongxian walked straight out of the cabin without even turning his head. It seemed that his return home would be delayed again.
…
The atmosphere in the cockpit of Flight 9451 was a little solemn. When approaching Qizhou Airport, ATC asked whether radar guidance was needed to intercept the blind landing nearby, but Shi Qi refused.
The main reason was that the return to Qizhou was a bit rushed. Not only the cockpit, but also the cabin was in a mess. It was not that the passengers were confused, but the entire crew had never encountered an actual single-engine landing, so they needed some psychological preparation.
Just because the passengers are fine doesn't mean the crew should be fine. Although Shi Qi did not explicitly mention evacuation or expected evacuation, the crew should have prepared for this situation in mind, so as to avoid being unable to handle any unexpected situations.
To be honest, there is a huge difference between simulation training and actual conditions. When several young flight attendants heard the chief flight attendant asking them to be mentally prepared for evacuation, they felt extremely stressed.
Passengers did not need to undertake any evacuation tasks. If they really needed to evacuate, they could just run out according to the instructions of the crew. Moreover, after the initial engine explosion, the subsequent flight was very stable. Over time, with the comfort of Shi Qi's passenger broadcast, the fear gradually disappeared.
After all, humans are social animals, and emotions can be sensed and contagious. Shi Qi did not think that a single-engine landing was a risky thing from the bottom of his heart, and his tone was quite calm and peaceful during the passenger broadcast, so that the passengers on the plane gradually believed that the situation was not that bad. From a practical point of view, the subsequent flight was basically no different from normal situations.
Shandong Airlines was established only a year ago, and the crew had never experienced any major incidents. This was a real problem, so they should not push too hard. Radar guidance and following procedures were not much different, so Shi Qi did not need to put so much pressure on himself. He just flew according to procedures and was more conventional. He also saw that Wu Taiming, the co-pilot, was sweating profusely, and it seemed that he was under a lot of pressure.
At this time, there were no planes in front or behind Shandong Airlines Flight 9451. They could fly at any speed and in any way they wanted. After all, even MAYDAY had been announced, so they could still be given some priority. In addition, there were not many scheduled takeoffs and landings at Qizhou Airport at this time, so it was very convenient to deploy.
Although Shi Qi did not take the shortest route, he still grasped the timing of slowing down relatively late. Generally speaking, if there is no special control requirement, it is better to manage the speed during the approach phase according to the calculation method, and of course the crew and the fuselage will be more relaxed.
As long as there are no additional requirements, the flight computer can make the entire descent plan without the crew having to worry about it. However, at large airports controlled by radar, it is often impossible to fully follow the approach procedure, and the crew needs to intervene.
The Qizhou Airport has an elevation of 47 meters, and the height of the interception glide path is 1,200 meters, or 3,900 feet, which is a relatively normal interception distance, about ten nautical miles.
Under the command of the control, Shi Qi descended to 1,200 meters at the fourth altitude. After switching to the fifth altitude according to the procedure, Shi Qi pressed the APPR button on the FCU. At this moment, LOC and G/S were both armed, and the displays on the FMA were normal.
Although it didn't matter whether there was a flight guide or not, Shi Qi was still happy to see that the FMA showed no problem. According to the procedure, the fifth side of the runway 11 of Qizhou Airport was about 16 nautical miles, which was relatively long, so Shi Qi didn't rush to slow down and kept flying forward at a smooth speed. Anyway, there was no need to descend later, and the efficiency of directly leveling off and slowing down was very high, so there was no need to worry about the problem of deceleration.
The weather was pretty good today. Although the sun hadn't come out yet, the lights of Qizhou Airport could be seen from a distance, especially the runway lights. After turning to the final approach, the outline of the entire runway could be clearly seen. In addition, Shi Qi heard that the cabin behind was no longer noisy. The chief flight attendant just reported to him that the crew was in a stable mood. At the same time, the evacuation plan was briefly communicated through the intercom, which reduced the possibility of mistakes in a hurry.
As they saw the airport, Shi Qi felt a little more relaxed. The plane was not shaking much, so much so that instructor Wang Baotian, who was sitting in the back, could not help but sigh, "What great weather! God is blessing us. We are lucky."
In any case, in the single-engine case, the aircraft's handling performance will be reduced, and it is always better if the airflow can be more stable.
"Yes." The moment Instructor Wang Baotian finished speaking, the aircraft's heading was intercepted. Since Shi Qi was in manual control, he instructed Wu Taiming to adjust the go-around heading.
"Later, we will land with full flaps, but we will not release the full flaps until we reach the final approach positioning point." Now is the last bit of free time before landing, and Shi Qi needs to make final instructions to Wu Taiming during this time.
The flap distribution of Boeing is different. Boeing's flaps are retracted to the upper position, flaps 1, flaps 2, flaps 5, flaps 10, flaps 15, flaps 25, flaps 30, flaps 40. The flap distribution of Airbus is relatively simple, which is zero, one, two, three, and four. Among them, flap four is often called full flaps.
Normally, both flaps 3 and full flaps can be used for landing, and these two landing configurations are also applicable to single-engine aircraft. However, in single-engine aircraft, flaps 3 must be used in some cases, that is, there is a leveling off in the final descent phase.
Shi Qi is more used to landing with full flaps, so there is no problem with that. But if you want to avoid the problem of leveling off, the flaps cannot be put in the full flap position before passing the final approach fix point. You must put them in the continuous descent phase after passing the FAF point.
This is a relatively simple content, but in this case, Shi Qi still felt it necessary to explain everything to Wu Taiming in detail to avoid any problems later. After all, the co-pilot has relatively little experience, and under too much pressure, it is really hard to tell how much strength he has left.
After Wu Taiming confirmed, Shi Qi said, "As long as the deviation of the aircraft is too large, we will go around, even if it is a single-engine go-around. Now that the fire is out, we can just do one more turn. Don't force a landing. If it is a go-around, help me keep an eye on the go-around thrust. Initially, retract the flaps to one level and retract the wheels during positive ascent. Don't reverse the order of the flaps and landing gear. Reversing the order will cause us trouble. Also, for a single-engine go-around, pay attention to the rudder to keep up. If you find that my rudder is not keeping up, you can directly step on it after your reminder is ineffective. You don't have to wait."
Airbus also has a very simple logic for retracting flaps at the beginning of a go-around, which is to retract the flaps to level one. That is, if Shi Qi lands with full flaps, then after the go-around, the initial flaps will be retracted to level three. If he lands with flaps three, then retract flaps to level two. This logic applies to both twin-engine and single-engine aircraft.
Boeing is different. Under normal twin-engine conditions, the aircraft can use flaps 30 when landing, and sometimes it can be put in the 40 position according to personal preference. If it is a go-around, the flaps are not retracted up one level, but directly retracted to flaps 15.
In addition, if it is a single-engine case, Boeing's landing flaps are different from those of a twin-engine aircraft. It is not flap 30 or 40, but flap 15.
If the aircraft is taking off with a single engine, the flaps must be retracted to flap one at the beginning, and then the flaps will be maintained or retracted according to the speed increase plan.
Wu Taiming wiped his forehead and said "oh".
Wang Baotian looked at Wu Taiming from behind and lifted Wu Taiming's seat with his foot: "Have you ever encountered a single shot before?"
Wu Taiming was already nervous, and Wang Baotian's questioning made him even more flustered. He stammered, "No, teacher!"
"What about the go-around?" Wang Baotian added: "I'm not saying to abort the approach, but to do a low-altitude go-around."
Wu Taiming blushed: "Teacher, I haven't encountered this either."
"So you're just a rookie." Wang Baotian sneered, "What level are you?"
Wu Taiming broke out in a cold sweat after being asked this series of questions by Wang Baotian. He felt that maybe he acted too flustered, which made Teacher Wang Baotian notice it and feel dissatisfied.
However, before Wu Taiming could answer, Shi Qi smiled and said, "Teacher, he is of a low rank and has encountered fewer things."
"But in my time, I flew for two or three years and encountered all kinds of situations."
"The plane is in good condition now, and it's not easy to have problems. The probability of problems is naturally lower." Shi Qi patted Wu Taiming on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. It's good luck that we haven't had any problems since we went back to the ground. It's a blessing for us to have good luck in flying. There's no need to be nervous!"
Wang Baotian raised his eyebrows, feeling that Shi Qi was indeed saying something else. However, since Shi Qi was the captain, he could not say anything. Wu Taiming nodded gratefully at Shi Qi. Just like a soldier firing a gun for the first time, a pilot would always have obvious emotional fluctuations when encountering a special situation for the first time. Shi Qi was willing to consider things from Wu Taiming's perspective, so he did not demand too much from Wu Taiming, but encouraged him.
After saying that, Shi Qi saw that the distance was about right, so he gave the order: "Flap one!"
"Speed ​​check, flaps one!" Wu Taiming, who had gathered his spirits, immediately got down to work and moved the flap handle to one as ordered.
Shi Qi slightly reduced the throttle and held the plane to slow down. Soon the plane slowed down to a speed close to S. During a deceleration approach, the plane needs to establish flaps and S speed before establishing the final descent, otherwise Shi Qi might have to wait a little longer to slow down.
After flap one was in place, Shi Qi looked at the aircraft's position and said to Wu Taiming, "Wait a moment for flap two and the landing gear. Let's lower them when we are about twelve nautical miles."
Generally speaking, when the flaps are in position 2, the landing gear should also be lowered, and the two are usually combined. However, the minimum altitude for flaps 2 is 2,000 feet, so it doesn't matter if you wait a little longer.
Wu Taiming naturally had no objection, and Wang Baotian was not very clear about the Airbus approach procedure, so he kept silent and left it all up to Shi Qi to operate alone.
At this moment, at the control tower of Qizhou Airport, Shi Lingling, who learned that her father's flight had a problem, rushed directly from the Shandong Airlines base to the Qizhou control tower. Since the Shandong Airlines base was next to the airport, it basically didn't take much time.
At this time, Shi Lingling's official work permit was much more useful. She didn't even need to make an appointment in advance or get a temporary pass. She could travel freely in the airport control area and go directly to the control tower with her official work permit.
As for the personnel of the General Administration's Propaganda and Education Center, the duty director of the tower control, with the mentality of "less trouble is worse than more", tacitly allowed Shi Lingling to observe their command process throughout.
At this moment, the sun had not yet risen, and except for some areas illuminated by airport lights, the rest of the surroundings were pitch black. However, Shi Lingling could vaguely see a ball of light above the fifth side of Runway 11 from the window, which was probably the Airbus 320 of Shandong Airlines.
"Is the ground support ready?" Shi Lingling asked.
The duty director nodded: "Everyone was in place ten minutes ago."
"The crew reported no new problems?"
“Not yet.”
Perhaps because Shi Lingling came from the General Administration, the attitude of the duty director when talking to her was very similar to the attitude when reporting to his superiors, and was a little humble.
Just as the duty officer finished speaking, a steady male voice rang out from the radio speaker at one of the control seats: "Shandong Airlines 9451, flight 11 has made a blind landing."
At this time, the tower controller did not answer immediately, but cast his eyes to the duty director next to him to ask if he had any new instructions. Shi Lingling walked over from the window. She recognized that the voice just now was her father Shi Qi. She originally planned to communicate directly with Shi Qi, but the frequency of Qizhou Tower was open. Shi Lingling thought about it and finally gave up the idea.
The duty director saw Shi Lingling hesitated to speak and asked, "Do you have any requests?"
Shi Lingling waved her hand: "No, just follow your own procedures."
"Yes." The duty officer nodded and made a gesture to the tower controller. The controller understood and immediately replied to the crew: "Shandong Airlines 9541, calm wind on the ground, runway 11 can land."
"You can land on runway 11." Shi Qi replied casually, and then said, "If we take off later, please apply to keep it on the side."
If the standard go-around procedure is followed, the aircraft should turn right immediately after the pull-up, and the turning angle should be very steep. If it is a normal twin-engine aircraft, there is no hidden danger. However, in a single-engine aircraft, immediately turning at a large angle at the start of high thrust and high pitch angle will bring some additional burden to the crew.
Although Shi Qi thought it would not be a big problem even if he followed the standard missed approach procedure, the Qizhou Airport was less than 50 meters high, and the surrounding area was flat and the clearance conditions were frighteningly good. There was no terrain threat at all, so theoretically, it should not be a big problem to deviate from the standard missed approach procedure and stay on one side.
The only thing to consider is whether it will affect other aircraft. However, strictly speaking, they all declared a state of emergency, and it was never them who gave way to others, but others who took the initiative to avoid them.
If you can reduce some trouble for yourself, it is better to reduce it.
As expected, the tower control directly changed the go-around procedure for Shi Qi: "Shandong Airlines 9451, change the go-around procedure and maintain an altitude of 3,600 meters on one side."
"Stay aside, go up 3,600 meters." Shi Qi immediately replied: "Thank you!"
After the tower control finished explaining everything, Shi Lingling turned her attention back to the sky above the fifth leg of runway 11. The duty officer standing behind Shi Lingling noticed that Shi Lingling was really staring at the fifth leg without blinking, looking extremely concerned.
After hesitating for a moment, the duty director couldn't help but ask, "Miss Shi, I'm curious, has the function of the General Administration's Education Center been changed?"
Shi Lingling turned slightly and said calmly, "What do you mean?"
The duty director smiled awkwardly: "I mean, shouldn't the Aviation Security Department be in charge of this matter?"
"Well, this matter is indeed under the jurisdiction of the Aviation Security Department." Shi Lingling was very honest and nodded in response, then turned her attention to the fifth side of the runway.
The duty director still didn't get the answer he wanted: "So why did you come here, Miss Shi?"
Could it be that the people in the General Administration have such a high level of awareness that even the reporters at the Propaganda and Education Center are directly sharing the responsibility with the Aviation Security Department?
However, Shi Lingling just calmly said: "Because my father is on the plane."
"Hmm?" The duty director didn't react for a moment: "Miss Shi, what did you say?"
Shi Lingling finally turned around again and pointed to the control seat that had just spoken to the crew: "The crew member who just spoke... is my father."
As soon as these words were spoken, the duty director's face suddenly changed.
At this moment, in the cabin, Xu Cang could clearly see the sparse lights on the ground through the window, and it seemed that the altitude was already very low. Not long ago, Xu Cang heard the sound of the landing gear being lowered, and in a very short time afterwards, the plane began to turn to a gentle descent phase.
Many people can't tell whether the plane is slowly rising or falling, but Xu Cang's body senses are extremely sensitive, so he can feel it. However, since the plane turned from level flight to the final descent, he felt that the sound of the engine's rotation seemed to have no obvious change.
Logically speaking, after entering the final descent phase, the engine speed should be lower than that of level flight, that's for sure. However, Xu Cang didn't hear the running sound of the No. 2 engine decrease at all.
Moreover, in the later stages, the aircraft often showed a rather abrupt nose-down behavior. This was obviously not caused by airflow, but more like artificial pressure. However, this repeated artificial nose-down behavior did not seem normal.
As the altitude gradually decreased, Xu Cang could even see the clearer appearance of some buildings on the ground. But for some reason, Xu Cang always felt that something was wrong.
However, out of trust in Shi Qi, he was inclined to believe that his perception was an illusion. After all, a simple single-engine landing was not easy for a pilot of Shi Qi's technical level, but at least it was not beyond the level of difficulty. He believed that Shi Qi could still handle it steadily.
However, contrary to what Xu Cang believed, in the final low-altitude environment after the aircraft stabilized its landing configuration, Shi Qi often manually pushed the stick up instantly to suppress the aircraft's continuous tendency to lift its head.
The control was too complicated, and even Wang Baotian, who didn't know much about Airbus, couldn't stand it anymore. He asked in a somewhat accusatory manner: "If the plane has more power, you should reduce the throttle. Your speed is too high."
Shi Qi did not answer Wang Baotian. How could he not be able to maintain the aircraft's condition in such a good fifth-side environment? You have to know that the aircraft's speed is only 55, which is definitely not considered a high throttle even at a plain airport. Under normal circumstances, the base throttle should be at least 65.
However, for some reason, even though the thrust was set relatively low, the plane still couldn't stop rising spontaneously. In order to suppress the rising trend, Shi Qi could only push the stick continuously. However, with this action, the speed of the plane began to slowly increase. However, the speed of the plane was still within an acceptable range, but it couldn't be left alone like this.
If it was a two-engine flight, Shi Qi would have already reduced the throttle. However, Shi Qi had flown a single-engine flight before. In actual flight , the throttle cannot be reduced randomly in a single-engine flight. If it is reduced too much, the subsequent downward momentum of the aircraft will be difficult to stop. At this time, the airflow on the fifth side was obviously very stable. At this time, there was only less than two meters of head wind at a thousand feet, and there was only calm wind at even lower altitudes. There shouldn't be such a mismatch between the aircraft's attitude and the throttle!
Shi Qi had already learned by heart what single-engine throttle should be used for final approach at what altitude airport. He subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Teacher, the speed is a bit too fast," Wu Taiming reminded.
Under these circumstances, Shi Qi had no choice but to reduce the throttle to 50. Now the altitude was only a few hundred feet, and he didn't dare to reduce the throttle any further. If he reduced it any further, it would almost be a twin-engine slow train, and such a correction would be too extreme.
At this moment, engine number one had been completely scrapped and could not provide any thrust, while the other engine had a speed of only fifty, which was obviously a setting with too low thrust.
You know, even when both engines are working normally, at the altitude of Qizhou Airport, the base throttle of both engines should be over 53. But now with only one engine at 50, the aircraft does not seem to have any signs of energy decay, but is still full of energy.
"Five hundred feet!" Wu Taiming shouted.
To be honest, Shi Qi felt a little uneasy, and this feeling was growing rapidly. But he couldn't find out what was wrong, so he didn't say anything and let the plane continue to approach.
After the throttle was raised to 50, the over-energy situation of the aircraft seemed to have improved a little, which finally made the worried Shi Qi feel better.
"One hundred to decision!"
Shi Qi straightened his body slightly and prepared himself for landing.
"Decision high, straight ahead on the runway!"
At this moment, the plane was only two hundred feet away from the runway. The runway touchdown area was already clearer under the lighting, and Wang Baotian, who was sitting in the back, even held his breath.
Shi Qi's hands were steady, and after switching to visual control, the plane remained steady, accurately entering the airspace above the runway at an altitude of fifty feet. Almost at the same time as the radio altitude of fifty was displayed, the plane crossed the runway entrance standard, with no error, and the descent profile was extremely accurate and terrifying.
Usually, after entering the airspace above the runway, you can slightly reduce the throttle to test the energy of the aircraft. However, this method is not suitable for single-engine situations. Just like Shi Qi's hesitation to reduce the throttle when the aircraft had high energy during the approach phase, if a single-engine aircraft reduces the throttle too early, it will not be able to increase it back later. Moreover, since there is only one engine, the aircraft's sinking is more sensitive to the change in engine thrust, which requires the pilot to be more conservative in throttle control.
When the plane passed the height of twenty feet, Shi Qi felt that the plane had enough energy and was absolutely safe, so he pulled the throttle to the limit.
At this moment, the plane's energy must be too high, even Wu Taiming could see it. However, no one would question it. The runway of Qizhou Airport is 3,200 meters long, so even if it drifts a little further, it will definitely be able to stop.
On the contrary, if the throttle is retracted too early and the plane crashes, it is unknown whether the plane will be seriously injured.
Shi Qi had a clear mind. He knew how to weigh the pros and cons and end the situation in the safest way possible.
After Wang Baotian saw Shi Qi's throttle reduction from behind, he stopped looking inside and turned his attention to the outside. However, when he looked outside, even though the sun had not yet risen, he could still vaguely distinguish the runway surface under the illumination of the runway lights.
With this reference, Wang Baotian immediately sensed something was wrong and asked, "Did you fully open the accelerator?"
From Wang Baotian's perspective, the throttle of the plane is reduced at this moment, and then the attitude is gradually increased. The plane slowly sinks and touches the ground. It should be a very smooth process.
But the throttle was fully pulled out, Shi Qi was also increasing the attitude, and then the plane was almost level, it stopped descending!
Wang Baotian first thought that Shi Qi had not fully released the accelerator, even though he had just seen Shi Qi releasing the accelerator.
"I've used up all the throttle!" How could Shi Qi not know whether he had used up all the throttle? He also couldn't understand why this situation occurred.
In Shi Qi's plan, he could accept a slightly longer level drift distance, but at this time the plane was almost flying level and there was no sign of descending at all. How long would it take to drift?
If it were a normal pilot, he would have to go around at this time. But Shi Qi was experienced and he just pushed the stick up and pressed the plane down artificially.
This technique requires great care, because if you are not careful, the nose of the plane will touch the ground first, which may cause the front landing gear to break. Only people with superb skills like Shi Qi dare to do this.
Sure enough, after Shi Qi's action, the plane landed almost flat on the road in a very small position.
As soon as the plane touched down, Shi Qi immediately activated the reverse thrust. However, at this moment, something strange happened. As soon as the reverse thrust was activated, for some unknown reason, the entire plane seemed to have been subjected to some unpredictable force, and it was shaking wildly with extremely violent amplitude, as if the entire plane was about to be shaken apart.
Shi Qi's face changed drastically when he saw this. Before he could figure out why this happened, Wu Taiming, who had been paying attention to the speedometer, asked in confusion, "Brother, why can't the speed be reduced?"
At this moment, Xu Cang's eyes in the cabin suddenly widened, because he clearly saw through the window that the reverse thrust of the No. 2 engine on the other side was not fully opened at all, but only opened a crack.
"No, no, no!" Xu Cang gritted his teeth and said, "Something happened!"