Chapter 399 This is China Air Force...
As he dived down, Xu Cang felt dizzy and his mind was in a mess.
The reason why airplanes are afraid of spirals is that the energy accumulates too quickly, the speed will increase very quickly, and the dive speed will also be extremely exaggerated. The airplane can easily disintegrate due to structural pressure.
However, the aircraft had not yet encountered too much structural pressure, and Xu Cang himself was the first to be unable to bear it.
In any case, the structural strength of a passenger plane is far inferior to that of a fighter plane. A fighter plane can turn a few more times, but a passenger plane cannot. If it turns a few more times, it will be difficult to correct itself, and the only outcome is disintegration.
Fortunately, the person sitting on the left was not an ordinary person. Although Richard Bayer's thinking was slower than Xu Cang's, he was capable after all. It was mainly because he was deeply confused about how he got into a spiral by mistake. For a large passenger plane, getting into a spiral is a relatively difficult behavior. Generally, it must stall before entering a spiral. How could it be so unreasonable now?
Of course, he had clearly reduced the throttle just now, but in actual feeling, the No. 1 engine actually increased the throttle significantly.
However, this is only judged from the physical feeling and running sound, after all, there is no engine data to support it.
Or is it that the engine control system has the same problem as the flight control computer?
There was no time to think about this problem. Even if he didn't understand why this happened, after turning a circle, he could only accept the fact that the plane did enter a spiral.
Once this is confirmed, the spin recovery procedure can be followed, which is universal in flight.
Richard Bayer stepped on the accelerator to the limit. This was a very routine and standard operation, but when Xu Cang, who was standing next to him, saw it, he felt his eyelids twitching wildly.
Xu Cang is in a very bad condition now, and it is difficult for him to even move his lips, otherwise he would have spoken up to remind him long ago.
Richard Baier still hadn't thought enough. Since he had suffered a loss just now, when he should have reduced the throttle but ended up throttled the No. 1 engine, he should have thought that there might be a problem with the thrust control.
The engine control of a large passenger aircraft is not that of a simple diesel engine. Its control system is very complex. To be precise, the position of the throttle lever corresponds to the thrust size, but this correspondence is not completely consistent.
Because the engine control system will slightly correct the rotation speed based on flap configuration, outside temperature, airspeed and other data, this means that even if the throttle lever is in the same position, the thrust represented at different times is slightly different.
However, this correspondence can be roughly considered as such. After all, the fine-tuning range of thrust and speed will not be very large.
The signal from the throttle lever basically drives the brushes to generate different electrical signals, which are then transmitted to the control system to adjust the thrust.
That’s right, the engine also adjusts data through electrical signals.
Since we can suspect that there is a problem with the flight control computer, why can't we extend it to suspect that there is a problem with the engine control system?
Especially with the lessons learned from the past?
Based on this speculation, even though Richard Bair's operating procedures are standard, due to the confusion of the corresponding relationships in some engine control systems, closing the throttle may turn into opening the throttle. Isn't this a complete reverse operation?
So, even if he had to back off the throttle to get out of the spin, Richard Bair should probably have done it a little slower to give the engine control system time to react.
Of course, Richard Baier’s actions weren’t actually big at first, but something went wrong, and this is a very metaphysical thing.
However, Richard Bayer was not aware of this, but Xu Cang just needed to know it. If the engine speed increased abnormally, Xu Cang would have to try his best to inform Richard Bayer that he might need to disconnect the fuel supply directly.
No matter how chaotic the engine control system is, if the fuel supply is cut directly, the aircraft will definitely stall. After the spin is corrected, an emergency air start can be performed . After all, their altitude is sufficient, and the engine itself has no hardware problems except the control system, which meets the conditions for air start.
However, perhaps God gave Xu Cang a last bit of mercy. After Richard Bayer stepped on the accelerator somewhat recklessly, no unexpected problems occurred. At least judging from the operating sounds, the thrust of both engines was reduced.
The reason why you need to reduce the throttle before correcting a spin is to prevent excessive thrust, which will accelerate the aircraft's spiral downward momentum. If the speed increases too quickly, the aircraft's fuselage structure will not be able to support it.
After reducing the throttle, Richard Baier stepped on the left rudder and slowly pushed the sidestick forward.
Correct the spiral in three steps, reduce the throttle, step on the reverse rudder, and push the control stick forward.
The purpose of pressing the reverse rudder is to stop the aircraft from spinning further, while pushing the joystick forward is to correct the stall, because in a sense, a spin is caused by the inconsistent stall degree of the two wings, so to correct the spin, you must first correct the stall.
Because of his previous "experience" in operating the sidestick, Richard Baier imprinted this matter in his mind, and when he pushed the sidestick forward, his movements were quite gentle.
Ever since Xu Cang asked Richard Bayer to completely suppress his sidestick signal, there seemed to be no more problems with the feedback of the control signal, and the nose of the aircraft really reduced the angle of attack as Richard Bayer operated.
Richard Bair's recovery procedure was very standard, and, fortunately, there were no unexpected changes in either the throttle or the control surfaces, otherwise, if a mess of problems had occurred at this time, it would have been quite tricky for Richard Bair.
The aircraft quickly stopped the spin with the standard spin recovery procedure, but the nose was still pitching down and the aircraft was still losing altitude. However, the aircraft had sufficient altitude margin before, so some altitude loss was acceptable.
After confirming that the spin had been corrected, Richard Baier began to push the throttle forward to increase thrust, while slowly pulling the stick to change the aircraft's attitude to level flight.
This operation is not difficult. At least Richard Bayer can divert some of his attention to Xu Cang on the right during this period.
When he really noticed Xu Cang, his expression changed suddenly.
Xu Cang's lips turned slightly purple, his face was extremely dark and slightly black, which were obvious symptoms of massive blood loss. If this situation persisted for a long time, the victim would go into shock.
Once the person goes into shock and cannot get timely treatment, it can be life-threatening.
"Xu Cang, can you hear me?" After stabilizing the plane a little, Richard Bayer immediately shouted at Xu Cang, fearing that Xu Cang had fallen asleep at this time. If he fell asleep in this state, he might never wake up.
Xu Cang drooped his eyelids and glanced at Richard Bayer: "I'm not deaf, I don't need such a loud voice."
"But you look very bad. You must land quickly." Richard Bayer was worried. "If this is the case, we will not be able to take our last route."
Xu Cang raised his eyelids and seemed to relax a little: "Are you talking about an emergency landing at sea?"
Richard Bayer didn't say anything, which was considered as his agreement.
Xu Cang had completed a nighttime forced landing in the waters off the coast of Qizhou. Only Xu Cang could complete such a difficult forced landing. Of course, no one could always be 100% sure of such a thing, and Xu Cang was not in good condition, and was completely inferior to the spirit and energy of the forced landing near the coast of Qizhou. Therefore, the probability of a successful forced landing was even lower.
However, no matter how small the probability is, it is better than having no way out.
If you really reach a point where you have no other options, then it’s not a question of whether the probability is small or not, but a question of having to do it.
However, given Xu Cang's current condition, not to mention whether he could withstand the impact of an emergency landing at sea, or the possible erosion of the cold sea water after the emergency landing. Even if he could survive by chance, it would take an unknown amount of time for rescuers to arrive in the vast ocean and be sent to a hospital on shore. Xu Cang would most likely not survive until that time.
"Xu Cang..." Richard Bayer wanted to say something, but suddenly, he heard a crackling sound of electric current in his ears.
Richard Bayer was stunned and tilted his head to look around the cockpit, wanting to know where the sound of electricity came from.
"It seems to be coming from the speakers." The captain behind pointed to the speakers on the left and right sides of the cockpit, then looked down at the communication panel: "Is the communication system going to be restored?"
At this time, the aircraft was far away from the aurora area and the ionizing radiation area. In the absence of strong electromagnetic interference, some other systems related to the electrical system seemed to resume work.
However, it is now in electrical emergency configuration, and the speakers can only emit sound at a fixed low volume, and the crew cannot increase the volume.
"The communication system has been restored?" Richard Bayer was overjoyed: "The first one, or the second one?"
At this point, the plane had already deviated far from the planned route, and they didn't know which area they were in. So the captain immediately pointed to the second VHF and said, "Call directly on the emergency frequency."
Richard Bayer quickly switched the transmitter to the second VHF, and pressed the speak button into the microphone: "WN3102, anyone hear me, please answer!"
After the words
"Useless?" Richard Bayer was stunned, then he called the emergency frequency several times again, and then even the electrical noise disappeared .
"Damn it, what the hell is this?" Richard Bayer cursed, threw the headphones aside, and looked at the already extremely weak Xu Cang: "Should we continue to fly forward?"
Xu Cang leaned his head against the seat, his eyes moved downwards, focusing on the throttle lever: "Did you reduce the throttle just now?"
Richard Beyer nodded. "Yes, I was trying to ease off the accelerator at first, but..."
"But... Engine No. 1 is accelerating." Xu Cang withdrew his gaze and focused it on the vast starry sky, followed by a long period of silence.
On his profile, Richard Bayer saw a deep solemnity.
"That means that the aircraft's engine control system has also encountered a problem similar to that of the flight control computer, and the position of the throttle lever does not correspond to the thrust?" The captain's voice became more desperate as he understood the current situation.
Although the sidestick and engine throttle lever seem to be normal now, the lessons of the past are still fresh in our minds, and no one knows when the sidestick control under the flight control computer and the throttle adjustment under the engine control system will go wrong again.
Or perhaps the three in the cockpit had a hunch that the fault had not disappeared but had merely been hidden for a short time and would reappear later.
So, under the circumstances of unpredictable aircraft state control and unpredictable aircraft thrust adjustment, can the plane really fall?
"Xu Cang, there seems to be no problem with the side stick and throttle now..." Richard Bayer whispered: "If there is a problem, or if all of them are wrong, can you land?"
Xu Cang tilted his head. His expression was very scary, and he already had a bit of dead air. He just looked at Richard Bayer silently: "If the flight control surfaces and engine thrust are completely unpredictable, is this plane still controllable?"
Richard Bayer moved his lips. He didn't know how to answer this question. There was no doubt that the current situation was completely beyond his ability.
The flight control computer and engine control system had problems one after another. The plane might not obey the crew's commands at all. How could such a plane land?
This may seem like a rhetorical question, but in reality it is a definite statement.
The aircraft must be under control before it can be "controlled" to land, which is a necessary prerequisite.
The captain's face turned pale all of a sudden. If the problem was just the response of the flight control surfaces, he would not be so desperate, because in the hands of some extremely skilled pilots, they could complete the landing with just a pair of throttle levers, and he believed that Xu Cang was the representative of such extremely skilled pilots.
"What should I do then?" Richard Bayer asked the question again in shame. No matter when, he could only ask this question.
Can a plane that's completely out of control really fall?
If it is possible, it must have come from Xu Cang, but in Xu Cang's current state, he might not even be able to raise his hands.
Xu Cang's Adam's apple moved, and he suddenly turned to Richard Bayer: "Let's go to Japan!"
"Japan!?" The captain was stunned: "Why go to Japan? From our current position, China should be a little closer."
Xu Cang shook his head and said in a weak but firm voice: "Let's go to Japan!"
Richard Bayer opened his mouth, and he suddenly realized a possibility: "Xu Cang, do you think this plane is going to crash? Do you think we can't survive?"
"This plane is no longer safe. I will try to land it, but I'm not sure." Xu Cang's eyes were extremely deep: "If it is going to crash in the end, then it shouldn't crash in my country. It will naturally return to where it took off from. Japan is where it should go."
Richard Bayer and the captain were stunned by Xu Cang's words.
It is obvious that this plane is unsafe, but if this sentence comes from Xu Cang's mouth, it will have a different meaning.
From what Xu Cang said, he had already prepared for the worst.
A plane crash is not a possibility with a very low probability, but something that is very likely to happen, and Xu Cang does not want this to happen in his own country.
Admittedly, it will take a longer time to return to Japan, but Xu Cang will still choose this route.
"You can't do this!" After a brief silence, the captain let out a piercing roar. The sharp and painful sound almost resounded throughout the entire cabin: "If you fly to Japan, you won't be able to make it to the landing in your condition!"
Now Xu Cang is only half alive. If it takes even longer to return to Japan, he will probably only have one breath left during the approach. Can he land in that state?
"Then do it yourselves!" Xu Cang narrowed his eyes, like a tiger licking its wounds.
The captain's breath was choked, and he held his head: "No, no, no, we can't land, we can't land."
Richard Bair saw the captain in despair and fear, and whispered to comfort him: "At least there are no problems with the side stick and throttle now. Maybe the failure of the flight control computer and engine control system will not occur later, and we can land by ourselves."
If there had been no problems with the sidestick and throttle, Richard Baier would have been able to complete the landing despite the huge failure of the electrical system, given his ability.
But is it really the case as Richard Baier says?
"Impossible, we all know that those faults have not disappeared at all, how could they disappear?" The captain seemed to be a little crazy in extreme fear. He leaned forward and pushed a pair of throttle levers with his right hand.
Richard Baier was caught off guard and the throttle was pushed forward a little.
In this case, the thrust should be slightly increased.
However, the plane suddenly tilted its nose to the left, and Richard Baier was so scared that he quickly pressed the right rudder to eliminate the nose drift. Moreover, he did not dare to move the throttle lever again, for fear of further problems.
"I told you, I told you the fault has not disappeared at all!" the captain roared.
The reason why there is a sudden leftward drift is that the thrust of the No. 2 engine is greater than that of the No. 1 engine. However, the throttle position is the same on both sides, so the thrust of the engines on both sides should be roughly the same.
The thrust inconsistency between the engines on both sides appeared again, which directly proved that there was still a problem with the engine control system.
However, the problem seems to be intermittent.
Similarly, the flight control computer failure should also be intermittent.
In essence, intermittent and continuous failures are not that significant. If they occur once on the final approach, the aircraft will be in a state of extreme deviation, which cannot be repaired later. Moreover, given the frequency of failures in the flight control computer and engine control system, problems are bound to occur during the final approach.
Or, to be more precise, given the current situation, can they really fly to the fifth leg?
"Without him, we can't survive!" The captain stood up directly from the observer's seat. He supported himself on the top of Xu Cang's seat with one hand, with a fierce expression on his face. He approached Xu Cang and said, "You can't go to Japan. If you go to Japan, none of us can survive!"
"If you can't survive, it's all your own fault." Xu Cang said coldly.
"No, no, no, you can't do this." The captain's eyes were bloodshot. "You are a god, you must have a way. You can land even if the wing is broken. You are omnipotent. You can obviously save all of us!"
Xu Cang turned around, his eyes were extremely determined: "Then let's go to Japan!"
The captain immediately became furious: "Go to Japan, go to Japan, but you don't even have that damn navigation, how are you going to Japan, how are we going to Japan?"
They all knew that Japan was roughly in the north, but they didn't know the exact direction. In view of the existence of some special countries, they couldn't just go north randomly.
Xu Cang has always said that he wants to go to Japan, but he himself doesn’t know how to get to Japan!
"We'll know soon." Xu Cang withdrew his gaze and murmured softly.
The captain was startled: "What did you say? What do you know?"
A little light was reflected in Xu Cang's eyes: "I know...how to get to Japan!"
Almost at the moment when Xu Cang finished speaking, a vague English voice with a slight accent came out from the speaker that originally only made the hissing sound of electricity...
“This is China Air Force…”
