Chapter 142: On the shore of the East China Sea! A miracle is about to happen!
In the cockpit, the plane bounced high after touchdown and then rushed into the sky again. As sunrise was approaching, the convection intensity increased, and the plane was becoming increasingly difficult to control under the condition of single-engine high thrust and high pitch angle.
Fortunately, Shi Qi's technique was quite skilled, and even though it was quite difficult, he was able to keep the plane under control. At this moment, Shi Qi already felt that the plane's response to wing control was a little slow, which might be due to problems with the hydraulic system.
Similar to Boeing's AB plus spare three hydraulic systems, Airbus aircraft also have three hydraulic systems, namely green, yellow and blue hydraulics. Of course, this color is only for distinction and does not really represent any practical meaning.
The green system is similar to Boeing's A system, which is powered by a pump driven by the No. 1 engine, while the yellow system is powered by a hydraulic pump driven by the No. 2 engine. There is also an electric hydraulic pump and even a hand pump to operate the cargo door when there is no power. The blue system is powered by an electric pump, and in an emergency, a ramjet can be extended to provide operation, that is, a small fan can be extended from the belly of the aircraft.
Strictly speaking, the three hydraulic systems are isolated from each other, but they can be complemented by certain devices, such as power components.
However, since the flying debris produced by the explosion of the No. 1 engine penetrated the fuselage structure, it seemed that it not only affected the connecting lines of the engine control system, but also seemed to have broken some hydraulic pipes.
Of course, if only one system has a problem, at least there will not be a particularly serious problem in the main wing control. For example, the left and right ailerons that control the main rolling function can be pressured not only by the green system, but also by the blue system.
This is the so-called backup thinking. That is, for a collection of precision devices such as large passenger aircraft, there are usually at least two sets of backup systems for key systems to ensure safety margin.
Theoretically, even a single hydraulic system can provide the power for all wing surface movements. However, in actual operation, if the hydraulic pressure required in a short period of time during some large-scale wing surface movements is too high, a single hydraulic system may not be able to withstand it, which will cause a certain degree of hysteresis in wing surface control.
Logically, the debris from the explosion of Engine 1 should only penetrate the hydraulic pipes of the green system, causing hydraulic oil leakage. However, at this time, no one dared to guarantee that there would be no problems with the rest of the hydraulic system.
If two or even all three hydraulic systems failed, it would be a disaster for flight control. Therefore, Shi Qi, who was always calm, gradually began to panic.
After the plane reached a stable altitude of 1,200 meters again, Wu Taiming, who had been waiting for a long time, unbuckled his seat belt and prepared to get up and look for Xu Cang.
"Take him directly to the front cabin workshop, then you come in and I'll talk to him." Originally, Shi Qi wanted to go find Xu Cang himself, but he thought that it would not be a good idea for him to go out like this with four bars on his head, so he pulled Xu Cang to the front cabin workshop first, and then pulled the curtain so that he could come out.
"Okay!" Wu Taiming nodded, but as soon as he went out, Wang Baotian did not sit down, but followed Wu Taiming out.
After coming out, Wu Taiming was about to look for Xu Cang, but was stopped by the No. 3 flight attendant who stayed in the front cabin workshop. The second approach bounce go-around was so scary that the No. 3 flight attendant could not bear it psychologically, and she was eager to understand the situation.
The unknown is the greatest fear.
Even if Wu Taiming wanted to explain it clearly to flight attendant No. 3 at this time, he himself didn't understand the current state of the plane, so how could he explain it to No. 3?
"Is Xu Cang still in the same position as before?" Wu Taiming had to selectively ignore No. 3's question and instead ask about Xu Cang.
Wu Taiming had come out once before to check the working condition , and by the way, he asked about Xu Cang's seat number, which was told to him by flight attendant No. 3.
Flight attendant No. 3 knew that Wu Taiming could avoid her questions, so she had already guessed that the situation was indeed difficult. However, seeing that Wu Taiming was still trying to solve the problem, she seemed to have regained some confidence.
"Yes, he is still there."
"Okay!" Wu Taiming didn't dare to stay and ran towards the cabin in a hurry.
However, just as Wu Taiming left, Wang Baotian also came out. He bumped into the No. 3 flight attendant head-on. He was going to walk right past him. However, as soon as he took a step forward, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something and called out to No. 3: "Is there another ordinary passenger in the first-class cabin besides the crew?"
"Yes, there is a gold card." Flight attendant No. 3 vaguely knew Wang Baotian's identity, so he was very respectful: "Instructor, do you have any instructions?"
Wang Baotian shouted, "Move that passenger to economy class. If that doesn't work, you can temporarily move him to business class. Anyway, the entire front cabin workroom and first class cabin must be vacated. No outsiders are allowed."
Flight attendant No. 3 didn't know what Wang Baotian meant, so he could only say, "Instructor, we don't have the power to forcibly change passengers' seats unless there is a reasonable reason."
However, Wang Baotian was too lazy to argue with No. 3 and directly called over the aviation security officer standing in the aisle of the first-class cabin.
The aviation security officer was confused and just as he approached, he saw Wang Baotian pointing at flight attendant No. 3 and said, "You will go with her to exchange the first-class passengers. If the passenger disagrees, you will take compulsory measures against him on the grounds that he is endangering the safety of the aircraft."
"Instructor, if the passenger did not do anything excessive, I have no right to take coercive measures against him. If the incident is investigated afterwards, I will be severely punished." After all, aviation security officers are not police officers, and their law enforcement powers are strictly limited. If they arbitrarily take coercive measures against innocent passengers, it will be a very serious violation of discipline.
Wang Baotian looked at Wu Taiming who had already run to the economy class and said, "There will soon be a discussion here concerning the life and death of all the people on the plane. Do you think it is appropriate for outsiders to hear this?"
"This..." Both the flight attendant No. 3 and the aviation security officer were shocked by what Wang Baotian said. Wang Baotian's words were so serious that they could not believe it.
Wang Baotian sneered, "Why, you still can't feel it? Maybe you know the problem might be serious, but you don't know how serious it is, right? I'll tell you straight, if you're not careful, the whole plane will overturn. Do you think this is enough of a reason?"
"That's enough, that's enough!" The aviation security officer did not doubt Wang Baotian's words at all, and quickly said to the No. 3 flight attendant: "Let's go, let's go, listen to the instructor."
Flight attendant No. 3's heart was pounding. He was stunned for a while before he came to his senses. He said nothing more and went with the aviation security officer to persuade the gold card holder in the first class cabin.
Seeing that he had convinced flight attendant No. 3, Wang Baotian headed towards the business class. As soon as he entered, the meritorious pilots in the business class cast eager glances at him.
"Lao Wang, what happened to the plane?" Not only the flight attendants and security officers, but also the meritorious pilots sitting in the business class were also unsure. Not in the cockpit, they could not guess much more than the flight attendants and security officers.
Wang Baotian did not directly answer these people's questions, but pointed back and said: "I think you should go to the front together."
Just as Wang Baotian vacated the front cabin workroom and the first-class cabin and gathered the relevant personnel forward, Wu Taiming had already found Xu Cang in the economy class.
This was Wu Taiming's second time in the economy class. The first time, only some people cast curious glances at him, but this time, the passengers were obviously getting impatient, and some even stood up and questioned Wu Taiming harshly.
When Wu Taiming was about to walk to Xu Cang's seat, a burly man sitting by the aisle grabbed Wu Taiming and shouted at him to give an explanation.
Wu Taiming himself didn't have an explanation, so how could we give him one? This man was big and strong, and his strength was so great that Wu Taiming couldn't break free.
"Safety officer!" In a hurry, Wu Taiming turned around and yelled at the plainclothes security officer in the front row of the economy class.
This air safety officer does not wear a uniform, just like ordinary passengers, and his seat is often changed. But other passengers cannot tell the difference, so how could the crew not know?
Normally, this security officer was a secret sentry, working in coordination with the aviation security officer in the front. But at this critical moment, Wu Taiming had no time to care about these things. He had no time to mingle with the passengers!
The plainclothes safety officer saw that the crew was in trouble and Wu Taiming called them by name, so he did not hide and went forward to help.
Although the security guard was not that strong, he was very tough. He used his wrist to separate Wu Taiming and the passenger. The passenger probably acted in a hurry, so the security guard did not make it difficult for him, just asking him not to affect Wu Taiming.
The movement from Wu Taiming's side attracted Xu Cang's attention. As soon as he looked up, he saw Wu Taiming coming in a hurry.
"What are you doing?" Xu Cang was frightened by Wu Taiming's momentum.
However, Wu Taiming didn't waste any time talking to Xu Cang this time. He unbuckled Xu Cang's seat belt and without saying a word, he grabbed Xu Cang's wrist and pulled him forward.
Xu Cang's frail body could not withstand the pull of Wu Taiming, who was much stronger, and was pulled all the way to the front cabin.
Wu Taiming let Xu Cang go only after walking through the business class and reaching the cockpit door of the front cabin workroom. At this moment, Xu Cang looked around and noticed that the more than 20 meritorious pilots had gathered together, almost filling the entire front cabin workroom and the connected first-class cabin.
"I didn't expect it to be so lively." Xu Cang looked at the group of meritorious pilots with burning eyes, and did not give in, even with a hint of sarcasm in his words.
"Just stand here." Wu Taiming said, and then knocked on the cockpit door. Soon, the cockpit door's locking system unlocked, and Wu Taiming opened the door and walked in. Not long after, Shi Qi, who had replaced him, came out of the cockpit.
In this way, a group of meritorious pilots, Shi Qi and Xu Cang gathered together for the first time.
"You're just letting a co-pilot watch over the faulty plane?" Xu Cang said coldly.
"The door is not locked. If there is any problem, I will go in and control the plane immediately." Shi Qi patted the cockpit door that was not closed tightly, and then stared at Xu Cang: "Besides, I think compared to this little risk, I feel it is necessary to explain some things to you clearly."
"If it's about this plane, I've already made it clear to Wu Taiming." Xu Cang flicked his nails, then put his hands behind his back and looked around at the meritorious pilots: "But if it's something else, I feel like there's nothing to talk about, especially with you guys."
After hearing these words, the expressions of the meritorious pilots were extremely wonderful. In fact, after Wang Baotian relayed the situation of the plane, they had gathered together to discuss it a little bit, and they still felt that the situation was almost unsolvable at the moment, as if there was no sure landing plan. It was really ironic that they had to rely on Xu Cang, who was going to be complained by them.
Xu Cang didn't target Shi Qi, but Shi Qi couldn't help but frown when he saw Xu Cang's expression. He didn't really care about Xu Cang's mockery of those meritorious pilots. In fact, from a personal point of view, he even agreed with what Xu Cang did. Because among these meritorious pilots, except for a few, many were just old-timers who were really disrespectful.
The only thing that bothered Shi Qi was that Xu Cang seemed too calm. If he wasn't a saint, Shi Qi didn't believe that someone could be so calm when facing life and death.
Obviously, rather than believing that Xu Cang possessed a spiritual realm that transcended the mundane, Shi Qi felt that Xu Cang had a way to ensure his own safety, or at least it was a high-probability event.
"Do you have a way to land?" Xu Cang's performance made Shi Qi more and more convinced that he was capable of handling the current situation.
Xu Cang couldn't help but frowned: "Aren't you counting on me? In your eyes, am I not a kid who is unworthy of the position and should give up the title? Why are you counting on me?"
"If we weren't all flying Boeings, would we still need a guy like you?" a meritorious pilot said angrily.
There is some truth in this statement. This time, their luck was really bad. It happened to be an Airbus model that they were completely unfamiliar with. There was no other way. Airbus aircraft had only been in China for five years. Some of those present had retired for more than five years. How could they have the opportunity to touch an Airbus model? Even if they had the opportunity, who would bother to change the model before retirement at such an old age?
"Old Zeng, shut up!" At this time, an old teacher stopped the person who was talking. This person was the old teacher who had said a few good words for Xu Cang in the small meeting room of Shandong Airlines. He had no personal grudge against Xu Cang. He simply felt that Xu Cang was too young. He just wanted the bureau to give a convincing explanation. Therefore, his attitude towards Xu Cang was not bad: "Little brother, I know you have some resentment towards us. But in the current situation, we are grasshoppers on a rope. There is no need to waste energy at this time."
Xu Cang shook his head and said very seriously: "Teacher, you are wrong about one thing. We are not on the same boat. If we go back to Qizhou Airport to gamble our lives, if you have a 50% chance of survival, then you have at least an 80% chance. That's the difference."
Judging from all the current signs, Flight 9451 is very similar to the cursed Flight 1549 in his memory. Except for the location of the accident and the airline, the rest of the failure phenomena are almost exactly the same.
So, Xu Cang had reason to believe that if they chose to make an emergency landing on land, the outcomes of the two would be similar. In the later Flight 1549, the crew chose to make an emergency landing on land when they had no other options. In the end, the fuselage broke apart and almost all the people on board were killed.
"Stop lying here. In an emergency landing on land, the fuselage is most likely to break in the middle, which happens to be where your seat is. You are obviously the most in danger." Someone couldn't stand Xu Cang and tried to expose his lies .
Under normal circumstances, what this person said was true. Xu Cang's seat was indeed the most dangerous place. But according to the memory of Flight 1549, after the emergency landing, the plane did not break into two sections as usual, but into three sections as rare. The few people who survived that time were all passengers in the middle cabin, which was Xu Cang's side.
Xu Cang raised his chin and said, "Then what are we still discussing? Let's go down and see who lives and who dies."
"You..." Such a confident attitude made the person who had just spoken speechless. He rushed forward and stared at Xu Cang: "Why do you think you can survive?"
These people were all old and experienced, and they could roughly tell whether Xu Cang was just showing off or had the confidence. However, from what everyone saw, Xu Cang seemed to be confident and not afraid of the life-threatening landing in Qizhou.
At this moment, Shi Qi also stood up and said earnestly: "Xu Cang, if you really have a solution, you might as well bring it up. Now is not the time to be angry. We are not the only ones on the plane. There are more than a hundred other passengers."
Xu Cang's attitude towards Shi Qi was relatively good. At this time, he also expressed his inner thoughts: "Teacher Shi, if there is really a way to ensure everyone's safety, I will try it, but it is too dangerous. I can only choose to protect myself. Teacher Shi, I guess you have also tried to forcibly shut down the engine just now?"
"We tried turning off the main engine switch, but it didn't work. The timing of shutting down the engine under the fuel pump is too difficult to master. I don't think it should be tried unless it is absolutely necessary."
Xu Cang suggested: "Why don't you try to get to a high enough altitude, and then shut down the fuel pump at a high altitude. As long as there is enough altitude, you can do a powerless glide landing with both engines turned off. I think it should be feasible for you, Instructor Shi, right?"
Precisely because of the lack of confidence in the delay of engine flameout after shutting down the fuel pump, Xu Cang thought that he should simply go to a high enough altitude, such as 20,000 feet. Of course, this 20,000 feet is just an estimated value. If the No. 2 engine does not have abnormal reverse thrust, it should be able to reach more than 20,000 feet. But now with reverse thrust, whether it can reach 20,000 feet is unknown.
Anyway, as long as there is a high-range ratio and a lot of room for margin, you can calmly wait for the engine to shut down after turning off the fuel pump, and then make the approach by unpowered gliding with both engines shut down.
When both engines fail, the most worrying thing is insufficient altitude. As long as there is enough altitude margin, landing with both engines failing is actually still somewhat maneuverable.
As soon as Xu Cang said this, everyone in the field was amazed. This method of creating enough redundancy for oneself is indeed a feasible way.
"Shi Qi, this method seems feasible?" Even Wang Baotian, who had a lot of opinions about Xu Cang, felt that it was feasible.
However, Shi Qi was a little angry: "Xu Cang, in the 9811 incident, you calculated an approach trajectory based on mental arithmetic alone. Why? Because the wind was very stable at that time. Things that require calculations are most afraid of turbulent airflow. Now it is close to sunrise, the convection is getting stronger, and the height-to-distance ratio is not calculated at all. If you think it is feasible, go by yourself. Now I just want to know what the risky plan you mentioned is?"
"Instructor Shi, since I am sure I can protect myself, why should I put myself in danger? What makes you think I would do that?" Xu Cang's eyes moved away from Shi Qi and fell on the group of meritorious pilots: "In other words, if I accompany you to take risks, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"
hiss!
Even Shi Qi found this unbelievable. At this critical moment of life and death, Xu Cang was still blackmailing a group of meritorious pilots in public.
Some of the hot-tempered meritorious pilots were almost furious: "You little bastard, I told you that you are not a good person, and now you are taking advantage of others' misfortune."
However, Xu Cang didn't chat with these people at all. He held up three fingers and said, "Make a decision!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Cang bent one of his fingers, leaving only two.
Such behavior made the meritorious pilots' scalps tingle. This kid Xu Cang was simply lawless, but they really couldn't do anything to him.
Some angry pilots cursed at Xu Cang, but this did not stop Xu Cang from bending his second finger. With only the last finger left, the mad pilots even forgot to curse and held their breath, not knowing what to do.
"Okay, tell me what conditions you have!" At this critical moment, Wang Baotian spoke up, like a leader making a decision: "As long as you can keep us alive and safe, we can agree to one of your conditions."
However, Xu Cang laughed, shook his head, and pointed directly at Wang Baotian: "They promised me, it has nothing to do with you. I don't need you to promise me anything, we will slowly settle our accounts later."
At this point, Wang Baotian's face flushed red. Xu Cang really insulted him in public. However, Wang Baotian's words just now also gave the honorable pilots who were too embarrassed to lose face an opportunity to back down. They ignored Wang Baotian and nodded, indicating that they were willing to agree to Xu Cang's conditions.
"Safety officer, come here!" Xu Cang waved at the security officer, and when the security officer looked confused, he said, "The law enforcement recorder is on!"
"Ah?" The security officer didn't quite understand what he meant: "Are we going now?"
"Of course it's now." Xu Cang sneered, "Words are not enough, we have to leave some evidence."
The faces of those meritorious pilots were all embarrassed. Some of them had really thought of agreeing first and regretting it later, but they didn't expect Xu Cang to be so cunning that he actually wanted to record them.
However, the teacher who had a better attitude towards Xu Cang didn't care much. He asked Xu Cang softly: "Little brother, tell me what you want us to do?"
Xu Cang seemed to have been planning this for a long time, and blurted out: "As meritorious pilots, you should have the right to recommend ICAO flight commissioners in China! This is what I want!"
As soon as these words came out, even Shi Qi behind Xu Cang turned pale, and Wang Baotian's mind was in turmoil. After a series of events, he thought of a terrible idea: "You have been plotting to take over the recommendation rights of our flight specialists from the beginning? You want to get out of the control of the Civil Aviation Administration!"
Xu Cang's face was indifferent: "CAAC is a shackle for me. It has given me too many restrictions. Naturally, I have to break it."
The civil aviation authorities of member states under the jurisdiction of ICAO can regularly select a certain number of pilots to serve in ICAO. Among them is the position of flight specialist, which is a little bit similar to the authority's appointed representative, which is equivalent to the representative entrusted by ICAO in a member state.
Because of their working relationship with ICAO, the civil aviation authorities of local member states have very weak jurisdiction over ICAO's flight commissioners, and this is exactly what Xu Cang needs.
"Okay, okay! We thought you were a sheep, but after all the twists and turns, you are the man-eater." Wang Baotian never expected that Xu Cang would use this opportunity to force the emperor to abdicate in order to gain the right to recommend their flight specialists. This move was extremely cruel.
"This is the situation, make a decision." Xu Cang shouted.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Wang Baotian, on the other hand, was the one who could take it and let it go: "Xu Cang, you are so cruel! As long as I survive, I will recommend you to the General Administration, okay!"
However, Xu Cang shook his head again: "One more or one less doesn't make much difference. I just said that I will settle the score with you slowly. Besides, you will no longer have the right to recommend soon."
Wang Baotian's eyes widened. He understood the meaning of Xu Cang's words: "You want to deprive me of my title? Just you!"
Only meritorious pilots are eligible to recommend. If the title of meritorious pilot is revoked, then the right to recommend will naturally be lost. But he didn't understand why Xu Cang dared to say that he could take away his title.
However, Xu Cang did not respond and looked around: "What about you guys?"
Given the situation, everyone else agreed to recommend Xu Cang, which made Xu Cang very satisfied. Acting like a grandson these days finally paid off.
"Even if you agree, it is not the final decision. This matter concerns everyone on the plane, and they have to make the decision as well." So Xu Cang went straight to the economy class.
Behind him, the impatient meritorious pilot shouted, "What on earth is the method you are talking about? If we don't go back to Qizhou, where should we go?"
Xu Cang did not turn around, just facing away from everyone: "If the land doesn't work, then we'll go to the sea! Above the East China Sea, that's our direction."
