Chapter 83: Buried in a sea of thunder?
In the cabin crew room at the rear of Blue Sky Flight 9211, after a long period of cabin service, the crew finally got a chance to catch their breath.
Xia Shuyue sat in the rear cabin with the second flight attendant. The two women sat together and talked about some emotional issues. For example, before the flight, Xia Shuyue was taken away by Xu Cang alone, which was enough to arouse the endless reverie of the flight attendants.
"Tell me clearly, are you and the co-pilot named Xu Cang in the front in a relationship?" The second flight attendant was full of curiosity and emphasized: "There are only two of us here, don't lie to me, I have a sharp eye!"
Xia Shuyue was so excited by what the No. 2 flight attendant said, but she was too embarrassed to admit it: "Sister, don't ask anymore."
Flight attendant No. 2 was an experienced person. He guessed most of what happened by looking at Xia Shuyue's expression. He grabbed Xia Shuyue's hand, his eyes sparkling. "Of course, you've found a backer right after joining the company."
Because of their working circles, flight attendants can only choose between male flight attendants and pilots in most cases. Of course, it does not mean that pilots are necessarily better than male flight attendants. At least in terms of appearance and figure, the average male flight attendants are still higher than pilots.
However, when it comes to marriage, pilots are still a better choice. Two-person families are all too common in airlines.
To be fair, Xu Cang's appearance is quite good, even among the average male flight attendants, he is outstanding. In this way, the only shortcoming of the pilot is made up, and it is just a good choice.
"Your boyfriend is good-looking, but a little feminine. However, the incident of going to see the vice president of maintenance did not look good." The second flight attendant was still analyzing the situation for Xia Shuyue: "Of course, these are minor issues. After some time, no one will remember them. But, how did you two meet? You were too fast to hook up with him. You have only been in the company for a few days, or did you know each other before?"
"Sister, I've already told you that we're just ordinary friends, not what you imagine." Xia Shuyue's face was as red as a ripe apple, looking so tender and delicious that the No. 2 flight attendant wanted to take a bite.
However, as soon as this was said, the second flight attendant immediately screamed: "If not, then you... you are unrequited love, how can you be unrequited love?"
In the eyes of flight attendant No. 2, girls like Xia Shuyue should be princesses who are the center of attention wherever they go. Only men should pursue her. How could she fail to succeed in pursuing men?
Xia Shuyue didn't admit it, nor did she deny it. She just lowered her head quietly, her mind full of the scene when she first met Xu Cang. But the more she thought about it, the more excited she felt, and it was difficult for her to control herself.
The slight amount of makeup on her face could not suppress her lovely blush, making her look even more beautiful.
At this moment, the plane shook a few times, but neither of them paid much attention to it, as it was normal to have some turbulence during the flight. However, soon the passenger announcement came from the cabin: "Ladies and gentlemen, the plane is about to encounter strong turbulence. Please fasten your seat belts and follow the instructions of the flight attendant."
Xia Shuyue immediately recognized that the voice was not from the captain, but from Xu Cang. But what made Xia Shuyue feel strange was that shouldn't the captain be the one to make this Luke broadcast? Why did Xu Cang do it?
However, she did not pay too much attention to it. The cockpit was not what she wanted to think about. Soon, after the cockpit passenger broadcast ended, the chief steward in the front cabin made another broadcast, and the content was roughly the same as Xu Cang's just now.
"It looks like it's going to be very bumpy soon." The second flight attendant hurriedly tightened his shoulder straps. Normally, the cockpit would not broadcast turbulence warnings to passengers. In most cases, the cabin crew would be responsible for such matters. But if the cockpit started broadcasting, the situation would be more serious.
Flight attendant No. 2 fastened his shoulder strap and was about to remind Xia Shuyue when he felt the plane suddenly lift up. Even with the shoulder strap fastened, he felt a brief sense of weightlessness.
The passengers in the cabin did not have shoulder straps, so although it was not dangerous, it still caused exclamations in the cabin.
"So strong?"
The second flight attendant quickly tightened her seat belt. This was really scary. But just as she put her hand on the buckle, she was gently patted by Xia Shuyue.
I only heard Xia Shuyue pointing to the small window on the rear door with some confusion: "Sister, why is it dark?"
"What are you talking about? What time is it?" Flight attendant No. 2 responded casually. But when she looked out the window following Xia Shuyue's instructions, a look of surprise appeared on her face: "How could this happen?"
It should still be daytime now , why is it already pitch black outside?
"This..." The second flight attendant rubbed his eyes, turned sideways, and instinctively wanted to get closer to see. At this moment, something strange happened. The almost unimaginable infinite light suddenly exploded in the incomprehensible darkness outside the window.
Flight attendant No. 2 was caught off guard and subconsciously closed his eyes under the stimulation of the strong light.
"What exactly is going on?"
Although Xia Shuyue did not look directly out the window, she was forced by the bright light to turn sideways to avoid the strong light, and her heart began to be shrouded in doubt and confusion.
Not only the crew room in the rear cabin, but most of the passenger cabin was brightly lit, as if there were countless searchlights outside surrounding the entire plane.
Such an abnormal situation was much more shocking than the violent turbulence just now. Anyone with some common sense could understand the impact of turbulence on an aircraft, but encountering such a strong light at an altitude of 10,000 meters was beyond common sense.
Almost instantly, screams were heard in the cabin, and the flight attendant call bell was pressed continuously. Flight attendant No. 2 heard the movement in the cabin, pulled open the curtain of the rear cabin crew room, and wanted to take a look inside the cabin to see what the cabin situation was like.
However, the repeated call bells only made the second flight attendant upset. Seeing the noisy cabin, he wondered whether he should go to the cabin.
I heard someone in the cabin take the lead, and the rest of the people followed suit. It was unavoidable to be nervous to encounter such a strange thing at such a high altitude, and I couldn't stop like a car, so I could only call the flight attendant to explain the confusion.
If it was a normal time, the flight attendants would be able to get there, but the cockpit just made an announcement, and the flight attendants themselves could not move around. If they were injured due to the turbulence, it would be a big deal.
But seeing that the order in the cabin was becoming increasingly chaotic, the chief flight attendant in front, after making several broadcasts to appease the passengers to no avail, used the internal communication to ask the other flight attendants to sit down while she herself prepared to go to the cabin.
After hearing the chief steward's instructions, the second steward gave up the idea of getting up, still mumbling, "What on earth happened just now?"
In fact, not to mention the passengers’ reactions, even the flight attendants themselves couldn’t figure out the situation.
To be honest, the second flight attendant was still a little worried about the chief flight attendant. In severe turbulence, if the seat belt is not fastened, it is easy to cause serious problems.
However, the cabin order could not be left alone, otherwise some passengers would become disobedient and cause problems. Therefore, the flight attendant had to weigh the pros and cons and personally go to appease the passengers. At the same time, she was more experienced and knew to hold on to something at all times when walking in the aisle to avoid accidents.
However, just after the chief flight attendant finished explaining the matter to the third flight attendant next to him and just untied a shoulder strap, suddenly, the originally noisy cabin suddenly became quiet.
The chief flight attendant was startled and looked into the cabin. He found that many passengers had stopped shouting and were looking around, but no one knew what they were looking at.
"What happened? Why is there so little movement all of a sudden?" The flight attendant became suspicious. It was really strange that everyone in the cabin became quiet while he was just attaching the shoulder straps.
However, before the chief flight attendant could figure out the situation, he suddenly noticed the third flight attendant next to him. The flight attendant, who had originally looked normal, now looked terrified, as if he had encountered something extremely terrifying.
The chief purser grabbed the hand of flight attendant No. 3 and found that his palms were full of sweat, which showed that he was extremely scared.
"What's wrong with you?" the chief flight attendant suddenly asked. If the people in the cabin were like this, why was the third flight attendant next to him also like this? What was going on?
However, the third flight attendant raised her trembling hands slowly and pointed to the outside of the cabin door with a voice that sounded almost like crying: "Sister, I think I heard thunder."
The flight attendant was stunned: "What did you say?"
"Thunder..." Flight attendant No. 3 suddenly shook the flight attendant's hand: "It's thunder, very close! "
"Thunder?" The flight attendant finally heard what the third flight attendant said. However, she still couldn't understand. Although it was rare, it wasn't such a terrible thing to occasionally hear some subtle thunder during a flight. Why did she react so strongly?
However, just as the thought came to the captain's mind, heaven and earth gave the answer.
The roar that was almost earth-shattering was like the steel that penetrated the fuselage and exploded directly beside the flight attendant's ear. The instantaneous heavenly sound penetrated his flesh and bones, captivated his heart and soul, and made the flight attendant dizzy and dazed.
After a while, the flight attendant recovered a little, but this brief moment of clarity was followed by even more terrifying emotions.
Something big is going to happen to the plane!
In the cockpit, after the bright light that almost made the entire cockpit difficult to see passed , there was another thunder that pierced the eardrums. The captain, who had just scolded Xu Cang, looked cold. Although the radar showed that there should be no dangerous weather in the direction of the plane, there were still thunderclouds on both sides. The situation he had just encountered was also within his expectations.
"It's okay, it's just a flash." The captain's voice was calm. At this time, the sky was full of thick clouds, covering the sun. If there was lightning nearby, it would indeed cause that kind of strong flash. The only thing that worried him was that the thunder just now seemed a little too close.
Normally, the sound of thunder should not reach the plane. But the thunder just now seemed to explode right next to my ear, which shows how close the lightning must be to the plane.
The first co-pilot had probably never seen such a scene before, and his face turned a little pale, but overall he was still okay.
Although the captain looked calm, his left hand was on the steering wheel, ready to take control of the plane manually at any time. Xu Cang would never believe that he was confident in his actions.
Unlike the two people who were not sure if they were really not afraid or just pretending not to be afraid, Xu Cang felt more and more uneasy. However, there was one thing that Xu Cang was very concerned about. If the radar shadow in this area was really caused by excessive rain, then so far, the plane was just flying in the clouds and was not affected by obvious precipitation.
Could it be true, as the captain said, that it was just a flash of lightning?
The plane itself is a Faraday cage, so even if it is struck by lightning, it will not suffer devastating damage under normal circumstances. It's just that the thunder just now was indeed closer, and like the captain, I was really a little worried.
We waited for another twenty seconds. Although the plane was a little bumpy, it was generally stable. There was no thunder or lightning, and the plane didn't even encounter precipitation.
It seemed that at that moment, everything calmed down!
The captain, who was a little nervous at first, felt relieved when he saw this change. He unconsciously let go of the steering wheel with his left hand and laughed twice: "I told you, God is giving us face. The previous planes had no choice but to go around for more than a hundred nautical miles, but when it was our turn, God opened a small path and there was not even a drop of rain..."
While the captain was speaking, Xu Cang felt a little more relaxed. After all, if there was no precipitation, the radar shadow would probably be nothing more than a mirage and would not exist.
But just as the captain said the last word, almost as if his words were followed by actions, the plane was suddenly affected by an extremely strong downdraft, like a giant hand pressing the nose of the plane down.
In the blink of an eye, the autopilot was disconnected, and the cockpit was filled with the warning sound of the autopilot disconnection. The captain, who had let go of the steering wheel, hugged him in anger, but it seemed as if a crack had appeared in the sky, and heavy rain rushed down, like the Milky Way leaking out, unstoppable pressed the plane down so hard that it couldn't lift its head.
Despite the captain's efforts, the plane did not slow down its descent at all.
"Hold it, hold it!" The captain saw that he was unable to do it, so he shouted and asked the first co-pilot to help.
After a brief brain blank, the first co-pilot quickly came to his senses, gripped the steering wheel with both hands and began to pull back with all his might.
However, faced with the mighty power of heaven and earth, the plane did not move at all, but instead descended madly from an altitude of 9,800 meters.
In the regional control room, the controller has a relatively leisurely job, because the airspace he is responsible for is covered by a large area of weather and there are basically no aircraft. Even the few aircraft are granted great autonomy to fly around them, and he is only responsible for monitoring.
However, just when the controller was relaxing, an alarm suddenly sounded on the radar that an aircraft in the jurisdiction had deviated from the predetermined altitude.
The controller was shocked and immediately found the plane in question, which was Blue Sky Flight 9211. The plane should have maintained an altitude of 9,800 meters, but now it had dropped below 9,500 meters and showed no sign of stopping.
"Blue Sky 9211, you have deviated from the altitude. Please maintain an altitude of 9,800." Although there were no planes nearby and it would not cause any conflict, the deviation from the altitude by such a large amount still required immediate action.
However, there was no response from Blue Sky Airlines after calling out. The controller was a little surprised and tried calling out again, but still got no response.
At this point, the controller finally realized that something was wrong. Whether it was a mechanical failure, human error, or some other reason, the plane could not descend any further because there was an artillery area directly below the plane that extended to a height of 8,500 meters!
The area controller turned pale after another call to no avail. He saw that the Blue Sky 9211 plane continued to dive at a high rate of descent and had already exceeded an altitude of 9,200 meters.
"Blue Sky 9211, maintain altitude immediately, there is an artillery firing area below!"
However, the urgent call did not elicit any response. The regional control room could no longer sit still. He took off his headphones, stood up immediately, and shouted at an angle in the regional control room: "Cheng Yuan, quickly contact the military and ask them to stop the artillery firing area at 84 degrees 36 minutes east longitude and 41 degrees 23 minutes north latitude."
The colleague named Cheng Yuan was stunned: "What's wrong?"
"What's going on?" the area controller shouted, "There's a Blue Sky Airlines plane diving down from 9,800 meters and it's about to reach the top of the artillery range. Contact the military immediately."
Cheng Yuan didn't dare to neglect it: "I'll go right away!"
After instructing his colleagues, the regional controller continued to call Blue Sky 9211, but it was still like a drop in the ocean, without any ripples at all.
The area controller looked at the dangerous weather around the plane on the radar, and a very bad idea gradually formed in his mind.
Inside the cabin, although the plane occasionally experienced severe turbulence, it was still within an acceptable range. However, after a burst of bright light and a noise that sounded like thunder, before anyone could figure out what was going on, the plane seemed to be pressed down hard by an invisible giant hand.
The force was so violent and sudden that some passengers who had not fastened their seat belts were almost lifted into the air with their buttocks off the seats. Only because of the fastening of the seat belts did no danger occur.
In a moment, the cabin, which had been quiet for a while, was completely drowned out by the wailing of ghosts and gods. However, the flight attendants were unable to maintain order in the cabin at this moment. They were also confused about the current situation, and the fear of the unknown was also invading their minds.
Xia Shuyue, who was in the rear cabin, felt it more clearly. She felt like she was not on a plane, but on a roller coaster diving down.
"What on earth is happening?" Flight attendant No. 2 was shocked and scared. She had been flying for a long time and had never seen such a scene before.
Xia Shuyue held the shoulder straps tightly with both hands, lowered her head silently, and tried her best to suppress the fear in her heart. However, no one can really stay calm on a diving plane.
But just when Xia Shuyue's heart was trembling violently, her ears moved slightly, and she suddenly raised her head and looked around.
Flight attendant No. 2 also noticed Xia Shuyue's actions. Even though he was terrified, he still asked, "What's wrong?"
At this moment, there was no longer fear on Xia Shuyue's face, but confusion and puzzlement.
"Sister, did you hear that?" Xia Shuyue listened attentively.
Flight attendant No. 2 looked at Xia Shuyue and asked, "What? What did you hear?"
"Crunching sound. Sis, can't you hear it?"
Flight attendant No. 2 was even more puzzled: "That creaking sound, what is that?"
"It's like the sound of metal squeezing..."
"Metal crush?" Flight attendant No. 2 didn't quite understand Xia Shuyue's description at first, but suddenly, her eyes widened and she thought of a possibility, a possibility that would kill them instantly.
I only heard her murmur in a low voice: "This voice, could it be..."
