Chapter 86: The plane is missing! Chaos in the northwest!
After the sudden lightning, without any warning, the aircraft's electrical system suddenly malfunctioned, causing almost all display lights in the cockpit to go out. In an instant, the cockpit was plunged into darkness.
I don’t know what’s going on, but the moment the lightning flashed, a sharp and piercing sound of electricity suddenly rang out in the radio communication headset. Even after taking off the headset, Xu Cang’s head was still buzzing.
The captain, who was trying his best to maintain the aircraft's condition, was caught off guard by the power system failure and subconsciously began to look at the panel. However, Xu Cang immediately reminded him: "Captain, pay attention to the aircraft's condition."
"What on earth is going on?" The captain quickly looked away, but when his eyes fell on the display unit DU, his face froze. The six DU screens used to display aircraft data and navigation information all went out, and no more information could be obtained.
"Pay attention to the aircraft status?" The captain was a little panicked. "I am asked to pay attention to the aircraft status. I don't even know the engine speed, aircraft attitude, and speed. How can I pay attention to the aircraft status? Why is there no power? Isn't the light on the engine-driven generator on?"
Aircraft power is normally provided by two generators driven by the engines, and the remaining AC power source is the APU, but except for the use of APU during transit, parking, starting or takeoff and landing in some special configurations, it does not work at other times. Moreover, the operating conditions of APU are relatively harsh, especially when providing air source.
The first co-pilot glanced at the panel and found that it was completely dark, with no abnormal displays. As for the lights on the generators driven by the two engines mentioned by the captain, there was no display at all either.
If these two lights are on, they will not be amber or red, but blue.
"Brother, no lights are on. No lights are on." The first co-pilot was confused. Normally, the power system had collapsed, and there should be a lot of fault lights on the panel. How could there be no display at all?
Just now he was stopped by Xu Cang when he wanted to look at the panel. Now he couldn't care less and just raised his head. What caught his eyes was a large black panel. There was really no fault light on.
The captain was still somewhat rational. He just took a quick glance and then looked away, instructing the first officer: "Check the meter to see which part has the problem."
There is an electric meter on the left and right of the windshield heating switch. The knob below can indicate the working conditions of different bus bars or power components. In many cases, when pilots encounter power system failures, they use this thing to assist in determining the faulty part of the power system. After all, the power system of the 737 is quite complicated, and it is difficult to judge from the phenomenon or fault lights alone.
To be honest, this is the difference between Boeing and Airbus in terms of difficulty in troubleshooting. Boeing pilots need to rely on experience to judge the fault, while Airbus relies on the ECAM system, which makes it much easier to identify the fault.
However, the answer given by the first co-pilot left the captain confused again.
"Brother, the meter doesn't show anything either!" The first co-pilot turned the knob a few times, but the meter window remained black, with no movement. "What the hell is going on?"
Aircraft power outage is something that most pilots will practice. Even if both AC and DC power are completely lost, the battery will provide emergency power for a period of time so that all displays will not disappear.
The first officer was at a loss as to what to do. Not to mention the first officer, even the captain found it incredible.
The only thing that made the captain feel a little relieved was that the two engines were still running, even though the engine data could not be seen.
"Is there something wrong with the battery?" the captain murmured.
Power system failures are rare but not uncommon. However, the captain had never encountered a situation where even the battery had a problem, whether in training, actual flights, or from hearsay. To be honest, he didn't know how to deal with it.
The first co-pilot asked carefully, "Brother, shall we start the APU?"
The two engine-driven generators are useless, and the emergency power battery is also unable to supply power, so the only hope left is the APU.
"It's too high, it can't start." Xu Cang said with a heavy face: "But you can try it."
Even the difficulty of starting the engine will increase at high altitudes, and the APU, which has more stringent operating environment requirements, will be even more difficult to start.
Of course, the aircraft is not at a very high altitude now, so there is some room for experimentation.
"Compared to the APU, can you try to call the controller?" Xu Cang raised his headphones: "Now my headphones are full of electric noise."
"There is no electric sound in my headphones, you can try it..." The captain pointed at the co-pilot.
How could the co-pilot dare to be negligent? Now the plane had nothing but a water compass that was not sure whether it was accurate or not, and the navigation display did not exist at all. He had no idea where he was flying, so he had to contact regional control.
Don't have a power failure and then a radio failure.
I started the APU first, and then hurriedly called the Urumqi control center, but after calling for a long time, there was no response.
"Change the transmitter!" The captain was furious and started giving orders again.
The first officer then abandoned the second VHF transmitter and switched to the first VHF transmitter, VHF1, which was usually used by the captain and observer.
However, even after switching the transmitter, repeated calls still yielded no results.
At this time, the captain's face began to darken. Controlling the aircraft by feel alone was already very exhausting, and now the communication was problematic again. It was really a blessing in disguise.
Although the emergency frequency 121.5 has not been tried yet and the high frequency HF has not been tried either, the captain still feels that the situation is not good.
"Let's try 121.5." Xu Cang supported his forehead with his hand. He couldn't relax at all. The current situation might be more dangerous than expected.
Even though Xu Cang has the lowest technical level in the cockpit, his vision is the highest, or it can be said that there are few people in the country who have a higher vision than him in flying.
With a broad enough vision, one's sense of danger will be more acute. He was sure that the captain could roughly understand the current situation, but he probably didn't understand it thoroughly.
As expected, it seemed that they still had a way out, but in fact, their way out was already a mirage. After trying the emergency frequency without success, they frantically flipped through the high-altitude map to check the high-frequency frequencies in the area.
Xu Cang sighed and threw the headset aside. It was obvious that he no longer had any hope in the so-called high-frequency communication. Although high-frequency communication was used as a backup measure in the routine handling of radio failure, he had never seen a case of radio failure in which contact was finally reestablished through high-frequency communication.
Moreover, he had a guess in his mind. The piercing whistling sound in the headset just now was not caused by radio interference, but by the lightning that struck the fuselage before, which then damaged the communication antenna. Even the failure of the aircraft's power system and display system was caused by the lightning just now.
Just as Xu Cang expected, the high-frequency frequency that he had worked so hard to find did not contact anyone at all.
However, when the radio failed, they discovered another problem. After waiting for a long time, the APU failed to start. Although the aircraft's altitude was now at an ambiguous value, the failure to start still made the captain and the first officer feel a little frustrated.
"Brother, what should we do now?" Like most co-pilots, his first thought when something goes wrong is to find the captain. It has almost become an instinct.
The captain was extremely confused at the moment. Controlling the plane had consumed most of his energy, and the few remaining brain cells made it difficult for him to come up with the best solution to the complicated situation at the moment.
If they followed the normal radio failure procedure, they should have returned to the 9,800 meters that the controller had agreed to, but the downdraft above was too strong, and he didn't want to be photographed again. Moreover, in the conversation between Xu Cang and the controller just now, the controller said that the artillery firing activities had stopped, and there should be no problem staying at the current altitude.
The altitude was acceptable for now, but what about the course? Even if they maintained their course and crossed the weather, how would they fly? The navigation display was no longer usable, so how would they get back to the planned route?
Now they still know that they are approximately near the P37 waypoint, but if they fly further, they really won’t know where they are. How can they get back to the expected route?
Regarding the power system failure and radio failure, after a brief consideration, the captain still felt that the power system failure was the most urgent issue to be resolved, which meant that starting the APU was the top priority.
As long as they are powered on, they have restored navigation. Even if the radio fails, they can navigate autonomously according to the electronic flight plan. After arriving at the Urumqi airport, they can make an autonomous approach based on wind direction and speed.
Moreover, it is possible that the radio communication problem was also caused by a failure in the power system. If electricity is restored, the communication problem may also be solved.
The captain thought for a moment and said to the first officer, "The APU cannot be started at this altitude. I plan to descend to about 20,000 feet. You can try to start the APU while we restore power first."
Although the electronic displays have disappeared, there is still a set of spare mechanical instruments on the plane that can display the altitude. The captain can temporarily judge the altitude by this spare instrument.
An altitude of 20,000 feet is, in most cases, sufficient for the APU to ensure a relatively high start success rate.
However, the first co-pilot had some concerns about the captain's decision. The question was whether it was reasonable to descend without contacting the traffic control. What if it caused a conflict with the aircraft below?
At this time, the captain made a prompt decision: "It's okay, the control can see us on the radar, if there is a conflict, they will let the planes below avoid it."
The first co-pilot thought it made sense and stopped objecting. But Xu Cang, who had been silent, suddenly said, "What if the control can't see us?"
The captain was stunned: "What did you say?"
Xu Cang pointed at the transponder on the central control console, and the number displayed on the transponder window disappeared. Xu Cang's face was filled with worry: "The transponder is not working, can the control still see us, Captain?"
Civil aviation control radar is different from some military radars. It does not have the ability to actively detect, but instead exchanges data with the transponder on the aircraft.
That is, the civil aviation control radar sends out a beam of inquiry waves, which are received by the aircraft transponder, and the transponder replies with a wave to the control radar, which also contains some aircraft data. This back and forth allows the controller to see civil aircraft on the radar screen.
But what if the aircraft's transponder doesn't work? No matter how much the civil aviation control radar sends out inquiry waves, there will be no response, and naturally it will not be displayed on the radar screen.
Many military radars have the ability to conduct active detection, which uses the principle of electromagnetic wave reflection and has no direct relationship with whether the detected object responds or not.
Xu Cang directly pointed out the problem with the transponder, which made it difficult for the captain to answer. From the current point of view, except for the basic control of the rudder and mechanical instruments, almost all electronic equipment has lost its function, at least from the naked eye.
If there is a problem with the 737's transponder, a fault warning will pop up on the flight management computer. But now both flight management computers are turned off, so where can I see the fault warning?
Moreover, judging from the black panel, the captain would naturally have some doubts about whether the transponder was still working.
Although the self-descending now deviates from the normal radio failure procedure, the captain is confident that he can explain it clearly afterwards. However, all this is based on the premise that there will be no other serious problems. If there are safety problems with other aircraft during the descent, let alone whether he can survive, even if he survives, he will definitely not be able to explain it clearly afterwards.
In addition, the transponder is a basic component of the TCAS air collision avoidance system. If the transponder is not available, even if there is a traffic conflict with the aircraft below, the other party's TCAS will not warn. In today's visual environment, it is impossible to see clearly outside. Without TCAS warning, it is possible that the pilot will not be able to detect the collision between the two aircraft.
When the captain thought of this possibility, cold sweat broke out on his forehead and the decision he had just made began to waver.
At this moment, Xu Cang let out a long sigh and said worriedly, "Besides, is it really okay to descend? Even if there is no traffic conflict, Captain, haven't you thought of another possibility?"
The captain was stunned. Did Xu Cang say that there was still a problem? But he couldn't think of anything else he hadn't considered.
Xu Cang pointed at the engine start switch and said faintly, "It will rain even harder down there. Captain, what if the engine shuts down? Is 20,000 feet high enough for us to start the APU and then the engine?"
The captain's face froze, and he thought about what Xu Cang said. After he understood the hidden meaning in Xu Cang's words, he felt a chill running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
However, he was still in a state of ignorance and asked blankly: "The engine was turned off. The engine was fine, why did it turn off?"
Xu Cang sighed. Sometimes ignorance is bliss! Many pilots think that as long as the two engines are still running, it is not the most dangerous time. It may be based on this idea that the first co-pilot misjudged the situation of the aircraft at this time.
However, Xu Cang's mind was always clear. He could tell what they were facing and what their current state was.
They feel like they are on the edge of an abyss and walking on thin ice. If they are not careful, the plane will be destroyed and everyone on board will die. This is their current situation!
Xu Cang was about to explain something to the officer when he heard a sudden noisy sound in the cabin behind him. Before Xu Cang could figure out what was going on, he heard a loud bang, as if something had hit the cockpit door. Then came the calls of the flight attendants. It was extremely chaotic for a while.
Xu Cang's pupils shrank. Something happened in the cabin!
…
Different from the worried atmosphere in the cockpit, the Urumqi regional control room was completely silent at this moment, as if the sound of a needle falling to the ground could become the loudest sound in the room at this moment.
The source of this situation is the radar screen of an area controller.
"Gone...gone?" The director stared blankly at the radar screen. The signal point representing Blue Sky 9211 disappeared right before his eyes.
The duty officer has been engaged in flight control for twenty years, but he has never seen an aircraft signal disappear from his sight. Radar signal messages have many meanings, but one of them has a very bad direction.
The regional controller typed away on the keyboard, sweat pouring down his forehead, but after all these operations, the signal point representing Blue Sky 9211 still did not appear on the radar screen.
The controller tried calling Blue Sky 9211 several more times, but still got no response. He called again on the emergency frequency 121.5, but still got no response.
"We were just... talking." The area controller felt the chill coming from the director behind him, which was almost freezing the surroundings. He didn't even need to turn around to know the state of the director on duty at the moment.
"Who the hell can tell me where that plane went!" The duty manager's roar echoed throughout the entire regional control room, but there was no response when the voice echoed.
That’s right, no one can answer that!
The regional controller lowered his head and said tremblingly: "Director, we can't contact the plane, and the radar signal has disappeared. Could it be..."
"Shut up!" the duty manager shouted and interrupted the area controller.
If simply the radar signal disappeared they wouldn't be so panicked. Sometimes this problem occurs when there is a problem with the aircraft's transponder, but coupled with the fact that the crew could not be contacted, there was no room for imagination.
The duty director covered his forehead, took several deep breaths, and forcibly suppressed his heartbeat that was about to jump out of his chest: "Clear all aircraft in your jurisdiction, open X23, X41, and H40 routes, and from now on all aircraft passing through your jurisdiction will use temporary routes to bypass."
The duty director was silent for a moment, then patted the assistant beside him and said, "Contact the General Administration and report the situation of Blue Sky 9211."
The assistant was stunned for a moment. He did not go to work immediately. Instead, he thought for a moment and asked a rather pointed question: "If the General Administration asks about the status of Blue Sky 9211...how should I answer?"
The duty director rubbed his temple and gave four words: "Suspected missing!"
