Chapter 268: To believe in him is to believe in miracles!
In the large conference room on the top floor of ANA's headquarters in Tokyo, a giant conference table that can accommodate more than forty people occupies the center of the room . The seat at the top of the table is empty. This is the seat reserved for the chairman of All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., and no one in the company can sit in that seat.
However, this nominal head of ANA has rarely appeared in company affairs, and all matters, big and small, have been basically left to the president, Guan Yueling.
Guan Yueling's seat was to the left of the president's seat. Although Japan was heavily influenced by Western culture, it was still influenced by a certain Eastern country in many occasions, especially in terms of etiquette. The West respected the right, but Japan respected the left. As the actual controller of ANA, Guan Yueling's seat was naturally to the left of the president's seat.
More than 70% of the directors present were over 50 years old. However, in front of the young Guan Yueling, they were all reserved and did not dare to act presumptuously.
"This regular board meeting only discussed one thing, and that is the development of international routes. In recent years, in the domestic market, we have no gap with Japan Airlines, but the gap in international routes is getting bigger and bigger. No matter how well we do in the domestic market, the upper limit is foreseeable due to inherent conditions. The competition for the international market is our focus in the future." Guan Yueling said in a deep voice.
However, as soon as Guan Yueling said this, the noise inside the meeting hall became quieter. Under Guan Yueling's cold gaze, one of the oldest and most experienced directors dared to speak cautiously: "President, we have tried our best in the past six months, but Japan Airlines does have a huge advantage in international routes. They have enjoyed policy dividends for nearly 20 years. Even if we want to catch up, I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up in a few years."
If she had said this to any other director, Guan Yueling would not have tolerated it. However, this director was very experienced and had helped her before, so she did not want to embarrass him in public, so she said lightly, "If you don't do it when it's difficult, do you still want Japan Airlines to get another 20 years of dividends?"
"President, you know that's not what I meant." The director said helplessly, "Twenty years is enough to form a habit. Whether it's the domestic JCAB approving international routes or foreign airlines looking for Japanese partner airlines, they will instinctively give priority to Japan Airlines. This is the power of habit. Moreover, Japan Airlines has performed well on international routes in recent years. It seems that this habit will continue in the future."
Habits are indeed extremely scary. They seem invisible, but they go straight to the deepest laziness in people's hearts and subtly influence people's decisions.
"So according to you, Japan Airlines is a solid block in the international route market?"
The director sighed and said, "President, didn't you find two breakthroughs? The world is big, but there are actually two major sectors for international routes. One is the mature European and American market, and the other is the rapidly emerging East Asian market. In the European and American market, the breakthrough that the president found is American Airlines, and in the East Asian market, you seem to prefer Spring Airlines?"
Guan Yueling raised his eyebrows: "Oh? From your tone, it seems that you have some objection to choosing Spring Airlines?"
"If possible, it would be best to cooperate with one of Guoda, Tiandong and Muhua." The director had obviously done his homework: "Guoda Airlines is the largest airline over there, and they won't be too interested in cooperating with us, so they are naturally not a good choice. Muhua Airlines recently completed the verification of the Boeing 777, and it seems that it has interrupted its cooperation with Asiana Airlines on international routes. It seems that it is also planning to independently support the international route market, which is not a good choice either. In comparison, among the three major airlines, Tiandong Airlines is actually the most suitable for us. The distance between Shanghai and the main island of Japan is just right, and even if we use narrow-body aircraft, we can complete the round trip well..."
"But Tiandong Airlines wants to cooperate with Japan Airlines!" Guan Yueling said gritting his teeth.
However, she could see that her subordinates were not just sitting there doing nothing, and they still had some knowledge. Her expression also eased a little. That's right, Tiandong Airlines was the most suitable partner, both in terms of its own demands and its geographical location in Shanghai.
But the fallen flowers are affectionate, while the flowing water is indifferent, what can we do?
"After becoming independent, Tiandong Airlines' first international route was in cooperation with Japan Airlines. This is an advantage and a habit." Someone sighed, "President, do you really think Spring Airlines can help us open routes to Shanghai and Guangzhou?"
Guan Yueling pondered for a moment, and finally did not answer the question, because even she herself did not have the confidence.
"Let's talk about American Airlines." Guan Yueling waved his hand: "How are the discussions on cooperation with American Airlines going?"
ANA does not have the ability to independently open Japan-US routes, so it can only choose to cooperate with a domestic airline in the United States, and their choice is American Airlines.
The director sitting at the end of the seat interrupted and said, "President, the information we received from the American side still shows no progress. To be honest, wouldn't it be too aggressive for us to go directly to American Airlines for cooperation? Should we choose a second-rate airline?"
Although ANA is the top airline in Asia, it is just a small one in front of American Airlines. You know, in a mature and huge civil aviation market like the United States, American Airlines is undoubtedly a giant.
It is precisely because of the terrifying size of American Airlines that the directors of ANA subconsciously became a little timid.
"Choosing to cooperate with a second-rate airline, isn't that just going the old way? American Airlines hasn't cooperated with Japan Airlines yet. If we can win over American Airlines, we will be able to surpass Japan Airlines on American routes. The profits from American routes account for more than half of Japan Airlines' overall profits. Only by cutting off Japan Airlines' biggest profit source will we have a chance." Guan Yueling said firmly, "If we can't win the cooperation of American Airlines, then all other efforts will be in vain."
Although Guan Yueling is a woman, her courage is not comparable to that of ordinary people. If she wants to do something, she must be the first. It has never been Guan Yueling's style to lag behind others.
However, the cooperation with American Airlines, a breakthrough in the European and American markets, has been slow to make progress, and the capabilities of Spring Airlines, a breakthrough in the East Asian market, are unknown. Overall, ANA's future on international routes remains uncertain.
"President, I heard that you sold part of the profits from the American routes to Spring Airlines?" another director asked.
Guan Yueling did not deny it: "Yes, this clause will be part of the agreement with Spring Airlines in the near future. What's the matter? Is there any problem?"
The director smiled and said, "No, no. I'm just curious about what the person in charge of Spring Airlines is thinking. Even we ourselves have no confidence in the US route, so why is he so confident? "
This director had heard of Xu Cang's reputation. He was a genius in handling aviation special situations, so he must be smart, right? In this case, unless he was confident in the future of ANA's US routes, Xu Cang would not sign such a hopeless agreement.
But the problem is that ANA’s own people have confidence in the US routes, which is quite puzzling.
"I heard that some of their staff will come for training, and the young man named Xu Cang will also come. Are they here?"
Putting aside the business cooperation, the senior executives of ANA showed a certain interest in Xu Cang, a somewhat legendary young man. They wanted to see how Xu Cang was so capable.
Guan Yueling looked at his watch and said, "The plane is about to land. I may have to go to ."
"Pick him up?" The oldest director raised his eyebrows: "Ling, are you going to pick up the Spring Airlines people, or are you going to pick him up?"
It was obvious that the director was asking in a tone similar to that of an elder.
Guan Yueling smiled and said, "He is four years younger than me. I don't like people younger than me..."
As Guan Yueling's voice fell, the door of the conference room was suddenly pushed open, and Guan Yueling's secretary came in hurriedly.
Guan Yueling was very unhappy. She was so rude in such an occasion, and the person was her secretary. But seeing the secretary's anxious expression, Guan Yueling restrained her anger and asked, "What's wrong?"
The secretary handed Guan Yueling a cell phone: "President, the director of JCAB is calling."
Guan Yueling did not take the phone immediately. Instead, he looked down and found that the secretary was covering the microphone of the phone with his hand, so he asked with confidence: "What happened?"
The secretary took a deep breath and said, "Our flight 45 has crashed."
…
In the Tokyo regional control room, looking at ANA Flight 45 which had already reached an altitude of 45,000 feet, the supervisor's forehead was throbbing with veins bulging: "Can anyone tell me how a 737 can fly to an altitude of 45,000 feet?"
The supervisor's voice was not loud, but it contained uncontrollable anger, like a time bomb that could explode at any time, so that the huge regional control room was silent and no one dared to respond to the supervisor's words.
In fact, even if someone dared to answer the question, he didn't know the reason.
Because anyone with a little knowledge of aircraft knows that it is absolutely impossible for a Boeing 737 to fly to 45,000 feet, not to mention that this aircraft is still maintaining a good climb rate after passing 45,000 feet.
In this strange atmosphere, a rustling sound of electricity came from the loudspeaker of the control seat responsible for ANA Flight 45, and it seemed that someone was talking.
Since the control seat turned the volume of the external speaker very low, for fear of disturbing others' work, the volume was usually inaudible. But at this moment, when you could hear a pin drop, the volume was clearly audible.
The controller turned to the radar screen and instinctively called out, "ANA Flight 45?"
Since the problem encountered by ANA Flight 45 could not be understood, the southern part of Tokyo airspace was cleared, so that the controller was responsible for no other flights except ANA Flight 45. If there was an aircraft call at this time, it would most likely be ANA Flight 45.
"Turn up the volume," the supervisor shouted immediately.
The controller dared not delay and immediately turned up the volume of the loudspeaker, and gradually the sound began to become slightly clearer.
"MAYDAY...45...hijacked and decompressed...crew about to...lose control...clear air..."
In the silent regional control room, vague words echoed. It was obvious that the crew was speaking, but it contained extremely strong background noise, and the supervisor could not understand the few bytes that could be distinguished.
"What is he saying?" The supervisor ordered, "Go back and play it again."
The control station regularly records radio conversations, so it is not difficult to play them back.
The controller immediately followed the supervisor's instructions and operated the computer next to him for a while. Then he pressed the play button and the voice came out soon: "MAYDAY...45...hijacked and decompressed...the crew is about to...lose control...clear air..."
This time the supervisor leaned over the speaker and listened carefully, but when the passage stopped, he straightened up in confusion and asked, "Is this Japanese?"
Yes, the manager felt that the words he spoke were not Japanese at all, but the background noise was so loud that he couldn't be sure.
"It seems to be Chinese." At this time, someone suddenly raised his hand: "He seems to be speaking Chinese."
"In..." The supervisor waved at the man and said, "Come here."
This was a young man who looked to be in his twenties. Perhaps he had just come to the regional control room to help out. He seemed a little timid in front of the supervisor. He walked over to the supervisor and bowed 90 degrees. “I taught myself Chinese in college. I can confirm that this is Chinese.”
The supervisor patted the controller on the shoulder and said, "Replay it again!"
The controller quickly pulled back to the beginning, and the same sentence came out again. The young man listened attentively, translating as he listened: "MAYDAY! ANA Flight 45 was hijacked and decompressed. The crew is about to become incapacitated and the aircraft is out of control. Please clear the airspace within a 30-nautical-mile radius of the aircraft."
When this was translated, the supervisor was dumbfounded. He stared at the young man blankly: "Are you sure this is what you mean?"
The young man was a little frightened by the supervisor's terrifying gaze, but he still nodded heavily: "I'm sure that's what he meant. Besides, the person who said it doesn't seem to be in a good condition. His speech speed is very slow, not like a normal speaking speed, but a bit like..."
"Like what?" the supervisor asked anxiously.
The young man gritted his teeth and said, "It's like being in a state of unconsciousness due to extreme lack of oxygen."
"Hijacking, hypoxia, decompression, incapacitation, loss of control!"
The supervisor kept repeating these five words in his mind. If any one of them happened, it would be a big deal, but now all these situations are concentrated on the same plane. How can the supervisor not be confused?
"Impossible!" The supervisor still refused to believe it. "How could the crew of ANA Flight 45 speak Chinese at this time? Did you hear it wrong? Are you sure?"
The controller then whispered, "Supervisor, we may have to make a decision."
"What decision?" the supervisor shouted, "According to the meaning of that paragraph, the airspace within a radius of 30 nautical miles of the aircraft must be cleared. However, the aircraft is mobile. If we want to ensure that there are no aircraft within a radius of 30 nautical miles of the aircraft at any time in the future, we must clear the entire Tokyo airspace. Moreover, he did not mention the altitude. That means all altitudes, all airspace must be cleared. Do you dare to make this decision?"
The Tokyo area is the busiest airspace in the whole of Japan. If it is completely cleared, half of Japan's civil aviation will be affected. How dare he take such a heavy responsibility?
In fact, it was not that the supervisor was unwilling to believe the young translator, but that he did not dare to believe it.
This decision is so difficult to make!
"Moreover, judging from the radar, ANA Flight 45 is still climbing. If the pressure was really relieved, why is the plane still climbing?" the supervisor raised his question.
If the pressure is released, then an emergency descent is required. Isn't this common sense? Why would anyone climb higher? Isn't this seeking death?
At this time, a voice came out from nowhere: "Could it be that the hijackers are operating the plane?"
It is indeed counterintuitive to ascend while decompressing, but it seems plausible if the hijackers were climbing for some ulterior motive.
"Then what you just said was also said by the hijacker?" The supervisor said in a deep voice: "A hijacker who speaks Chinese, is also reporting the status of the aircraft and requesting to clear the airspace. Do you know what you are saying?"
Indeed, if he was a hijacker, he would definitely not be in the position to report the aircraft's condition to the controller. He even mentioned clearing the airspace for safety reasons. This was obviously for the purpose of rescuing the plane, which does not seem like something a hijacker would say.
Moreover, even if the hijacker was controlling the plane, he is not a god. How could he break through the ceiling of the 737?
Regardless, this incident is full of weirdness.
"You don't know why the 737 was able to break the ceiling. You also don't know why there is a Chinese-speaking person appearing on the communication frequency of ANA Flight 45?" The supervisor was already upset, and now he was even more furious when he saw that none of his subordinates were reliable.
"Because there is a team of people from China Airlines on ANA Flight 45." At this time, the supervisor's assistant came over and said, "I just contacted ANA. The flight crew in question is Japanese ANA employees. However, there are people from Spring Airlines on the plane. They plan to go to ANA for training and sign a cooperation agreement between ANA and Spring Airlines."
The supervisor's expression lightened up a bit: "What about the person who just spoke?"
"There is a person named Xu Cang among the people of Spring Airlines. I think he was the one who spoke just now." The assistant said softly, "If it was a hijacking, the original crew may have been injured, and Xu Cang took over. If this is the guess, it is quite logical."
"Xu Cang?" The supervisor exhaled softly: "I know this person, he seems to be quite powerful."
The assistant beside him emphasized expressionlessly: "It's very impressive."
The supervisor looked gloomy. According to the information and explanation provided by the assistant, many things seemed to make sense. Of course, not everything can be explained, such as the fact that ANA Flight 45 exceeded the ceiling.
"What should we do?" asked the assistant.
Even if you don't want to face it, you still have to face it, right? Escaping will only cause greater harm.
The supervisor gritted his teeth and announced: "A state of emergency has been declared in Tokyo airspace. No other aircraft are allowed to enter Tokyo airspace except in emergency situations."
It was a difficult decision, but the supervisor made it anyway.
After thinking for a while, he looked at his assistant and said, "Help me contact JCAB!"
…
At this moment on the plane, Xu Cang was already at the end of his strength after struggling to deliver that speech. The extreme lack of oxygen had made him unconscious, so much so that he even forgot that he was in the airspace of Tokyo, Japan, and that he was still using Chinese to make the announcement.
Of course, he didn't know whether Tokyo Control had received the information. Even if the control center had given feedback, the windshield was broken and the air was backflowing. The huge noise could cover everything, and the controller's feedback could not be heard at all.
In fact, he didn't want to care about the controller's feedback. That kind of thing was not important at all.
The only thing he can do now is how to get out of his current situation.
He was about to collapse. This was not something he could survive by relying on his willpower or endurance, but was determined by physiological factors and could not be changed. Once he passed out due to lack of oxygen, the plane would be completely out of control.
What's worse is that the MCP board of the plane is completely damaged, and the autopilot can't be used at all. Otherwise, if he had set up the autopilot in advance, there might be some chance of turning around.
Xu Cang couldn't put on the oxygen mask, so he could only hold the oxygen mask with his right hand and buckle it on his face through the rubber hose. However, due to the obstruction of the rubber hose, Xu Cang's face and the mask could not fit together well, which resulted in only a very weak amount of oxygen from the oxygen mask blowing onto Xu Cang's face.
This oxygen may help Xu Cang stay awake a little longer, but the result will be just a drop in the bucket and will not make any difference.
However, at this time, Xu Cang also had to make a choice. It was inevitable that he would fall into a coma due to lack of oxygen in the future. However, he also believed that as long as the plane descended to a low enough altitude, even less than 10,000 feet, he would be able to regain consciousness.
But the question is, how can we descend from the current altitude to 10,000 feet?
Xu Cang held the oxygen mask in his right hand and groped for the corner of the central control console with his left hand. He soon found the knob switch of the cockpit door locking system. He tried to turn it, but the cockpit door did not open.
This knob is a spring knob. If no external force is applied, it will automatically return to the center. Under normal circumstances, Xu Cang would naturally turn this knob without any effort, but now it is different. Every turn consumes Xu Cang's last bit of strength.
After one unsuccessful attempt, Xu Cang turned it again, but there was still no response.
Xu Cang was very anxious. Why was the cockpit still not open?
If the cockpit door was open, there might be a slight chance of getting outside help.
However, at this critical moment, the cockpit door could not be opened.
In fact, Xu Cang was really confused at this time. It wasn't that the knob didn't work, but he turned it in the wrong direction, so of course he couldn't open the door.
Of course, Xu Cang's expectation of getting external assistance was wishful thinking. He didn't know the current situation in the cabin. If he knew, he wouldn't have such unrealistic ideas.
Unable to open the cockpit door, Xu Cang did not try again. If he tried again, he would have used up the last bit of his strength.
How to get down from 20,000 feet? How can the plane get down to 10,000 feet when he lost consciousness, without autopilot and human intervention?
Xu Cang was never a person who was willing to wait for death. He stood up slightly against the strong wind with only the last bit of strength, and reopened the yaw damper switch that Kuroda Takashi had closed before. After that, he retracted the speed brake, switched from his right hand to his left hand, continued to hold the oxygen mask close to his face, lowered his head slightly, and then put the oxygen mask against the steering wheel, and finally let his right hand hang down, directly giving up control of the plane.
"You'll let me live, right?"
Xu Cang felt the weak flow of oxygen from the oxygen mask, and finally there was only a last trace of consciousness left. After muttering to himself, everything returned to darkness.
At this moment, the cockpit of ANA Flight 45 was in an extremely strange scene. Apart from the whistling air current, there was no other movement. Kuroda Takashi slumped in the left seat, his life or death unknown. Xu Cang held the oxygen mask with his left hand against the steering wheel, his right hand hanging down, not controlling the plane at all.
At this moment, this huge aircraft carrying hundreds of people is truly unmanned.
…
About three or four minutes later, in the Tokyo regional control room, the supervisor looked at the distorted flight path of ANA Flight 45 on the radar screen, his face gloomy to the extreme. At this moment, the radar showed that the altitude of the plane had exceeded 50,000 feet.
Previously, when the limit was broken, the supervisor was still confused and afraid, but at this time, he was relieved.
If some special means were used, it might be possible to get the 737 to 45,000 feet, but 50,000 feet was clearly an illogical number. Rather than believing that the plane had really reached 50,000 feet, the supervisor had begun to doubt the accuracy of the number.
"Could there be something wrong with the plane's transponder?" Not to mention the supervisor, the controller in charge also sensed something was wrong.
The aircraft altitude information on the control radar comes from the aircraft's transponder. If there is a problem with the aircraft's transponder, the altitude information transmitted will naturally be wrong. If it is a problem with the transponder, then the possibility is much greater, at least greater than the probability of a 737 flying at an altitude of 50,000 feet.
No, it's much bigger!
The supervisor actually thought of this problem, but he didn't say anything because he was thinking about another problem.
If the person who spoke just now was Xu Cang, since he was able to report this, then the probability is relatively high that hijacking has become a less urgent problem. Then, what is the most urgent problem, hypoxia and decompression.
In the previous sentence, Xu Cang clearly pointed out the request to clear the airspace, and the scope was very large. In addition, the crew was also mentioned to be incapacitated. Combined with the chaotic flight trajectory on the radar screen, the supervisor actually had a very scary thought in his mind, that is, whether there was a sober person on ANA Flight 45 who was controlling the plane.
The supervisor lowered his head slightly and happened to meet the controller's eyes. The supervisor also saw a trace of fear on the controller's face, which showed that the controller had also thought of this possibility.
What does it mean to have a completely uncontrolled aircraft?
No one dared to give this answer, especially given that the Tokyo metropolitan area is just below.
Suddenly, the assistant who had just contacted JCAB came over with the phone in his hand and walked over: "It's connected."
The supervisor stared at the radar screen, on which the flight path of ANA Flight 45 was still chaotic and irregular. Suddenly, the supervisor sighed heavily, as if he had made a decision, and took the phone handed over by the assistant.
…
At the same time, not long after, in the office of the Director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Hanjing, Li Jie was handling official business as usual.
As the leader of the entire CAAC, Li Jie's office is rather simple and a bit old-fashioned in style. The only impressive thing is the huge bookcase on one side of the room, which is filled with all kinds of books. Even the whole office is filled with the aroma of ink.
Suddenly, the office was violently opened and Li Lin, Director of the Aviation Safety Department, rushed in.
Li Jiefang started writing and asked Li Lin without changing his expression, "What's the matter?"
Li Lin took a deep breath and said, "Director Li, the Director of JCAB wants to call you for something urgent."
Li Jie stopped working completely and looked at Li Lin deeply: "Transfer the phone to me."
"Okay!" Li Lin just responded and turned to look outside, as if someone was waiting outside.
Soon, the landline on Li Jie's desk rang. He picked up the receiver and a Chinese accent came over: "Director Li, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have something urgent to do and need your opinion."
Li Jie raised his eyebrows. This voice really belonged to the Director of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB).
"Director Nagashima, if you have anything to say, please feel free to tell me."
"Director Li, not long ago, ANA Flight 45 encountered some problems in Tokyo airspace. Now we seriously suspect that the crew lost control of the plane due to decompression and lack of oxygen, which means that there is an unmanned plane over Tokyo."
Hearing this, Li Jie frowned and said, "Director Changdao, if you are here just to tell me this news, then I can only say that I regret this."
"No!" The director of the Civil Aviation Bureau of Japan said in a deep voice: "The last communication with the plane came from a Chinese-speaking person. According to the information we have, it is very likely that the person is a pilot named Xu Cang from your CAAC. His last communication seemed to indicate that he was in a bad situation, and the radar track of the plane now also shows that the plane is not under control. Director Li, an unmanned plane is over our capital, this is unacceptable."
Li Jie pursed his lips: "What do you mean?"
"For the safety of the entire Tokyo, I feel it is necessary to take all necessary measures. However, during a call with the president of ANA, I learned that this man named Xu Cang is very unusual, and perhaps he has the potential to change everything." The director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Japan said: "I don't trust the president of ANA on this matter. Since Xu Cang is from your CAAC, I naturally have to ask you. Do you think he...can do it?"
Li Jie was silent for a moment: "Director Changdao, you are throwing the problem to me!"
"No, no, no!" said the Director of the Civil Aviation Bureau of Japan: "I will make the final decision! Director Li, you know this is an extremely difficult decision. If possible, I don't want to make it, as long as you give me a reason."
Li Jie knew what Director Changdao meant by all the necessary measures. An unmanned aircraft flying over the capital was a time bomb. No country could accept this.
It can be seen that the director of the Civil Aviation Bureau of Japan is also under tremendous pressure. In fact, Li Jie can already guess what the director of the Civil Aviation Bureau of Japan is thinking, but at this juncture, he needs the support of others.
Li Jie could have stayed out of this at this time, but he thought about it and said solemnly: "I am not telling you what to say next as the director of CAAC, but I am giving you my suggestions in my personal capacity."
Director Nagashima let out a sigh: "I understand, go ahead."
Li Jie narrowed his eyes slightly and said in an unquestionable tone: "Believe in him. To believe in him is to believe in miracles!"
