In the Urumqi regional control room, the duty officer looked at the radar screen with some annoyance: "Did you receive the signal?"
"They say they're coming, Director, please wait a moment." The assistant said, and suddenly pointed at the radar screen: "Got it!"
As expected, the director looked at the radar screen in the direction pointed by the assistant and saw a signal point on it. This signal point was the image signal generated by the military radar after scanning the designated airspace, and then transmitted to the control room in real time.
"As long as there is a signal, it's good!" The director let out a long sigh. The signal means that everyone is fine, which is the most important thing. But soon, the director looked at the location of the signal point with a puzzled look on his face: "Are they on the route? How are they flying?"
Logically speaking, if the radio failed, the Blue Sky 9211 plane should have returned to the planned flight route, but the signal point now says that the route it has taken does not look like the regular route to Urumqi Airport.
In 2000, domestic airspace was not well developed and optimized. There were only a few routes into Urumqi Airport. The director had already memorized them by heart, but none of them matched the routes taken at the current signal points.
"What on earth are they doing?" The director was more and more puzzled. It made no sense for Blue Sky 9211 to fly like this. The only thing to be thankful for was that there were not many flights at Urumqi Airport, so even if Blue Sky 9211 flew like this, it would not have any impact. However, if Blue Sky 9211 went south, it might affect a very busy X22 route. Once this route was affected, the dispatching task would be several times larger. In addition, it would need to coordinate with another control area, which was extremely inconvenient and would have a very passive impact on the airspace control of the entire west.
The most urgent task is to figure out what Blue Sky 9211 is trying to do?
"Could they have a navigation problem?" the area controller suggested a possibility.
Some aircraft have problems with their flight computers during flight, resulting in missing navigation map data, so they naturally cannot fly according to the scheduled route.
"No, no!" The director's eyesight was still sharp: "If they have restored traditional navigation, then they should be flying towards a certain VOR station. Where is the VOR station in the direction they are flying now?"
At this time, the assistant asked: "So they are flying visually?"
"But there's nothing but desert and Gobi below us. How can we fly visually if there are no reference objects?" the area controller retorted casually.
However, it was this rebuttal that directly woke up the duty director. He looked left and right, and suddenly a light bulb went off in his head. He clicked his tongue and said, "This route looks a little familiar, doesn't it?"
The director paused and patted the area controller on the shoulder: "Cut the background to a low-altitude image!"
"Chief, why are you switching to the low-altitude picture?" The regional controller really didn't understand what his chief wanted to do, but he still followed the chief's instructions and switched the background to a low-altitude picture.
Once the background was cut to a low-altitude image, many obstacles appeared on the image, and some protruding parts were even at standard altitudes. This is how the regional controller discovered the clue: "Why are they flying to the area with more obstacles?"
The director did not answer the area controller's question, but took a step back, with a look of disbelief on his face: "This is not an obstacle!"
"What?" The assistant was stunned: "Director, you said it's not an obstacle?"
"Where are there such dense obstacles? Those are mountains, those are the Tianshan Mountains!" The director still couldn't recover from the shock: "They are not flying randomly, they are flying in the Tianshan Mountains!"
"Tian...Tianshan!" The regional controller was stunned: "Why are they flying along the Tianshan Mountains?"
"Because the Tianshan Mountains can guide them to Urumqi Airport!" The director suddenly laughed. "You are right. They must have a navigation problem. It is a huge problem. Even traditional navigation can't do it. They can only rely on visual reference. There is no suitable reference in the vast desert. There is only the Tianshan Mountains! Urumqi Airport is at the starting point of Bogda Mountain, the remnant of the northern range of the Tianshan Mountains. As long as you fly down the mountain range, you can see Urumqi Airport. Genius, genius, how can they think of flying along the Tianshan Mountains?"
The Tianshan Mountains are east-west and have three branches: the North Branch, the Middle Branch, and the South Branch. Urumqi is located at the foot of the mountain in the middle of the North Branch, and the half of the North Branch east of Urumqi is also called Bogda Mountain because of the highest peak of the North Branch, Bogda Peak. It is also the North Branch of the Tianshan Mountains in essence. The director found that the flight route of Blue Sky 9211 was completely consistent with the extension of the North Branch of the Tianshan Mountains, which shows that the plane was flying along the North Branch of the Tianshan Mountains.
And judging from the position of the plane, it is estimated that it will take another twenty minutes to reach the Urumqi airport area.
"Quick! Inform the airport of the situation and have them prepare to receive the aircraft." The director still felt uneasy after giving the order: "Tell them to pay attention to the east. The plane should be coming from the east. Send someone to give the crew the landing signal from a high altitude."
From the current situation, we can roughly know that Blue Sky 9211 may not only have navigation problems, but also communication problems, most likely the failure of two-way communication. In this case, once the plane arrives at the airport, the airport cannot give landing permission by radio, but through flashing lights or flag signals.
However, this kind of situation is rare, and the director was worried that the Urumqi Airport would mess up due to being caught off guard. Therefore, when he asked his subordinates to pass on the information of Blue Sky 9211 to the airport, he specifically mentioned this aspect, so that the airport could prepare in advance.
I can only say that the director's worries were absolutely justified. After the Urumqi Airport received the relevant news, the entire airport was in chaos. However, fortunately, there was some time to prepare, so there was no need to panic.
…
In the cockpit of Blue Sky Airlines Flight 9211, Xu Cang had handed over the controls to Captain Tan Heling. From the time the plane had problems until now, although Xu Cang had not done any physical work, sometimes mental exhaustion was more tiring than physical work.
They were out of the dangerous weather, the sun was shining, and the northwest was in full view. If the visual conditions were good, it would be easy to keep a distance from the obstacles on the top of the mountain.
To be honest, the most dangerous period is from the time we descend to 5,100 meters to the time when dangerous weather appears. Because the visual conditions are poor, we need to stay extremely focused at all times and not be careless at all.
In that short period of less than ten minutes, Xu Cang felt as if his whole body was being drained away, so after leaving the dangerous weather area and the visual conditions improved, he immediately handed over the control to Captain Tan Heling.
At this time, Tan Heling was so impressed with Xu Cang that he didn't have any objections at all.
Seeing Xu Cang leaning back in his seat tiredly, Tan Heling turned his head and asked, "Why don't you take a rest? You can still take a nap for ten minutes. I'll watch the plane."
Xu Cang leaned his head against the back of the chair, his eyelids trembling, and he was about to collapse. Xu Cang didn't want to doze off at this time, but his eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds and he couldn't bear it anymore.
To be honest, Xu Cang is good in every way except his physique and his energy is not up to par. It's strange. Xu Cang is only in his twenties, which is obviously the prime of his life. Why does he feel like he is in his twilight years?
Xu Cang propped himself up, wondering if he would fall asleep if he continued to stay there. He picked up a wet towel from the utility box on his right hand side and wiped his face. He turned back and said to Xia Shuyue, "There is a little boy in seat 21A at the back. I promised him that I would give him a model airplane after we land. When we land, talk to the flight attendant and get him one."
Xu Cang thought for a moment: "Also, after the plane lands, if there are no unexpected circumstances, we will taxi in with a single engine, and will not perform any evacuation or rapid departure procedures, just like a normal approach. You don't need to perform any unconventional procedures, just treat it as a normal approach. In addition, if the airport assigns us a remote parking position, we will temporarily apply for a bridge. There are some problems with the communication now, and changing the parking position may take some time, you don't have to worry, just wait. After landing, if there are still passengers asking about problems on the route, just respond that it is due to weather reasons, and don't say anything else. Did you hear clearly, Shuyue?"
Xu Cang said a lot at once, and Xia Shuyue was silent for a while before she understood everything. However, she was a little confused: "Isn't it okay to use a remote parking position? Why do we have to wait for the bridge position?"
In fact, Captain Tan Heling didn't understand it either. While controlling the plane, he tilted his head slightly to listen to what Xu Cang was saying.
“What could happen? The lightning strike point alone is very obvious, and we don’t know if there are any other problems with the fuselage. If it is at a remote parking position, the passengers will most likely look back at the plane after getting off. If they see any clues, some things will be difficult to explain. Don’t get yourself into trouble. There are usually obstructions on the walls of the jetty, which is obviously better than having no obstructions at all.” Xu Cang’s tone was weak at the end, and he really looked like he was about to fall into a peaceful sleep at any moment.
Xia Shuyue nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Xu Cang was indeed thoughtful. Now most of the people in the cabin really thought that they were just encountering severe weather. It would be best to let them think so and get off the plane.
After saying so many words at once, Xu Cang felt like his brain was almost deprived of oxygen. He thought that he should exercise later. His physical condition was not good and he could easily not withstand any strenuous work.
Suddenly, after crossing a mountain range, a large plain came into view. Unlike the Gobi Desert we had flown over before, this plain was full of vibrant green, as if it were a paradise.
The climate in the entire northwest is arid, and there are few such large plains. As the core city of the northwest, Urumqi naturally occupies the best land in this area. This plain in front of us is surrounded by the Tianshan Mountains to the south, the Gurbantunggut Desert to the north, the Toutun River to the west, and the remnants of the Kalaza Mountains to the east. In such a large area, there is only such a good place in the middle.
"Looks like we're almost there!" Xu Cang yawned, turned around and said to Xia Shuyue, "You go out first, call the co-pilot in, and make me a cup of coffee."
"Coffee, 111?"
111 means that the ratio of coffee, water, and sugar is one to one to one.
"Add two portions of sugar, otherwise it will be too bitter." Xu Cang doesn't like coffee, and only by adding more sugar can he accept it a little.
Xia Shuyue got up quickly, put away the observer's seat with the help of Xu Cang, and went out.
Not long after, the first co-pilot who had just been kicked out by Xu Cang came in again. He was quite surprised to see that the sun was shining outside and even the Urumqi Airport was right in front of him.
He was about to continue when he was stopped by Xu Cang.
Xu Cang felt that he was no different from a useless person now, his mind was very confused, so he might as well let this first substitute come up. The situation was urgent just now, and this first substitute's brain was overloaded and couldn't work. Now most of the problems have been dealt with, so it should be possible to handle it.
The captain wanted Xu Cang to sit in the front again, but seeing that Xu Cang's upper eyelids were sticking to his lower eyelids, he knew that he was probably very tired, so he didn't force him.
He still knew how to approach when the two-way radio failed, and Urumqi Airport was not a special airport, and the air currents were not particularly strong, so he was still confident that he could land.
As soon as he changed seats, Xia Shuyue brought in the coffee. Originally, Xu Cang intended to use the coffee to wake himself up, but as soon as the hot coffee went into his stomach and warmed him, Xu Cang felt even more sleepy.
Cursing inwardly that the coffee that can refresh you is just a lie, Xu Cang supported his forehead with one hand, trying hard to keep himself awake.
Not long after, the plane entered the airspace of Urumqi Airport. The captain originally planned to descend to a lower altitude and fly over the airport tower to request landing, but as soon as they approached the airport, something like a searchlight on top of the tower gave them a green light signal, indicating that they could land. It seemed that the airport had received the news long ago.
This made things convenient for the crew. Based on the wind direction and speed obtained previously, the captain chose a runway on his own, cut into the third leg and made a visual approach. The landing was completed very smoothly. Xu Cang didn't say a word from beginning to end.
He was still thinking that except for the captain's poor mental quality, everything else was acceptable.
After landing, according to Xu Cang's plan, they relied on a single engine to taxi. In actual flight operations, one engine is completely capable of taxiing. Of course, in some special cases, such as encountering an uphill slope, taxiing with a single engine would indeed be more troublesome, but this situation is indeed rare.
After landing, the plane stopped on the escape path because it didn't know which way to slide. Soon, the guide vehicle arranged by the airport drove over.
Originally, Xu Cang had thought of giving them a remote stand, as it would be troublesome to contact them if they needed to change. But in the end, the airport arranged a position close to the bridge for them, which saved them the trouble.
The plane approached the bridge and cut off the engine. Only then did the captain and the first co-pilot breathe a sigh of relief, thinking that this money was really not easy to earn and they almost lost it.
Since the advancement seemed too normal, and the crew did not behave abnormally due to Xu Cang's advance instructions, the atmosphere was quite harmonious when the passengers disembarked. Basically, no one had any problems with the plane, but were more concerned about subsequent compensation.
After everyone got off the plane, Xu Cang suddenly became more energetic for some reason and shouted, "Pack up and get ready to get off the plane."
"Aren't we going to stop flying?" The first co-pilot was sitting in his seat, looking a little confused: "Isn't there still one more section?"
The captain rolled his eyes and said, "What the hell are you doing? Let's go down and have some tea."
The first officer looked dumbfounded: "Tea, where are we going to have tea?"
Xu Cang said unhappily, "Where are we going? To the Northwest Bureau! We have messed up most of the Northwest airspace, and you still want to fly back? Will the planes agree to this? Will the people in the Northwest Bureau agree to this?"
Xu Cang was quite sober at this time. He put away his headphones and prepared to go out to get the box. However, when he opened the door, he ran into a group of people in formal attire. They looked aggressive and difficult to deal with.
Xu Cang glanced at the group of people and found that everyone had a certificate hanging around their neck, but it was too far away to see what was written on it. However, it was certain that the bridge guards did not stop these people, which meant they were not passengers.
A person who seemed to be the leader of the crowd saw Xu Cang coming out of the cockpit and greeted him with a smile: "Crew?"
"Ah!" Xu Cang nodded: "Who are you?"
The man took out his ID and showed it to Xu Cang: "We are from the Northwest Bureau, come with us."
…
At this time, in a hotel in Jianchuan City thousands of miles away, Ma Cheng, general manager of the strategic department of Muhua Airlines, was answering a phone call.
"Boss Ma, this is pretty much the situation with Blue Sky 9211. The crew is expected to return to Jianchuan tomorrow, and this matter will eventually have to be handed back to the Southwest Bureau for handling."
Ma Cheng was still thinking about the report from his men. After a long while, he asked, "Is the information you got reliable?"
"Boss Ma, this is absolutely reliable. It's just that the Northwest Bureau didn't ask too many questions. This matter is not under their jurisdiction, so they didn't care too much about the details. If you really want to know the details, you have to wait for the Southwest Bureau's investigation."
Blue Sky Airlines is an airline under the jurisdiction of the Southwest Bureau. If there is a problem, the final investigation power must be in the hands of the Southwest Bureau. Of course, the plane crashed in the Northwest airspace, and the Northwest Bureau cannot ignore it, but it will not intervene too much.
Ma Cheng hummed: "I know, hang up!"
After hanging up the phone, Ma Cheng was still immersed in the news that his subordinates had just heard. If his subordinates had not guaranteed that the news was absolutely accurate, he would not have dared to believe it until now.
"Go up... Tianshan Mountain?" Ma Cheng smiled: "Is there really such a magical person in this world?"
In fact, Ma Cheng doesn't care about so-called geniuses at all. Geniuses just have a higher starting point than ordinary people, and if they don't work hard, they will be overtaken by ordinary people.
However, in recent days, Ma Cheng checked Xu Cang's background. From the current point of view, Xu Cang's performance is really not related to hard work. There is no way, Xu Cang's poor performance after joining the company has been well-known in Jianchuan Airlines, and it is easy to know.
But such an unmotivated guy can still achieve performance that is beyond the reach of others. Could it be that God really feeds him with food?
With all navigation methods failing, Xu Cang's route along the Tianshan Mountains was already amazing. Another plan, flying from P37 near Pengze Lake and then relying on the sun to identify the due west direction to fly to Urumqi Airport, was also brilliant.
"It seems that I still underestimated him."
Ma Cheng thought for a moment, then dialed another number. The call was quickly connected: "I'm Ma Cheng. Where's Director Liu?"
"Wait a moment, Mr. Ma!"
Soon, someone else answered the phone. It was a middle-aged man with a slightly frivolous voice: "How come our Manager Ma has the time to ask about my little recruitment office?"
"Old Liu, stop talking nonsense to me, I have something serious to say!" Ma Cheng seemed to have a good personal relationship with Director Liu, and he had no scruples when he spoke: "Recently I met a co-pilot from Blue Sky Airlines in Jianchuan, I think he's a good guy. I'll ask my secretary to send you a summary of his situation later, you can take a look. If you think it's okay, come to Jianchuan, the sooner the better."
"Blue Sky Airlines? What good seedlings can a small company like that have that are worth a trip for me? I say, Lao Ma, don't make the mistake."
Ma Cheng shouted, "Whether it is a good candidate or not, you will know after you read the documents. I can't lie to you. Wait a minute, I have a call."
Ma Cheng put the phone down and saw that it was an unfamiliar number, but he still picked up the phone.
As soon as the call was connected, Lu Jinghua's voice came out: "Mr. Ma, hello! I'm Xiao Lu. I met Mr. Li at the Dragon Hotel a few days ago."
Ma Cheng knew who it was as soon as he recalled it, and asked casually, "Mr. Lu, what's the matter?"
"It's like this. When I met Mr. Ma that day, I should have played the role of host, but I happened to have some urgent matters to deal with so I was delayed. I was thinking that if Mr. Ma didn't have anything urgent, would you be so kind as to let us get together tomorrow?" Lu Jinghua was the general manager of the flight department after all, but he spoke in a very humble manner.
If it were normal times, Ma Cheng would not bother to pay attention to Lu Jinghua, but now he was sleepy and was offered a pillow, so there was no reason for him to refuse.
"Then let Mr. Lu spend the money."
When Lu Jinghua heard that there was a chance, he was overjoyed and said quickly, "It's okay, it's okay, it's my duty. Mr. Ma, I 'll contact you after I book a place."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Lu." After that, Ma Cheng hung up Lu Jinghua's phone and said to Director Liu, "I just received a call. I have to meet with the leaders of Blue Sky Airlines tomorrow. I just want to test their attitude. Maybe I made a mistake. Take a look at his information and tell me. If you think he is suitable, then come over. If you think he is not suitable, just pretend I didn't say anything."
"Okay, we still have to give face to our President Ma."
After saying that, Director Liu from the Recruitment Office hung up Ma Cheng's phone, really not giving him any face. After hanging up the phone, he kept muttering, "You're so nervous, I thought I met some god?"
About half an hour later, Ma Cheng's secretary indeed brought over a thick stack of materials.
Director Liu Minxue put on his glasses, leaned back in his chair leisurely, picked up Xu Cang's materials and started reading: "I want to see who this immortal is."
At first, Director Liu Minxue was still a bit joking, and he instinctively felt that Ma Cheng was making a fuss. But as time went on, the smile on Liu Minxue's face gradually faded, and then turned into solemnity, and finally even revealed a hint of horror.
Time passed by minute by minute. Liu Minxue went from reading ten lines at a glance at the beginning to reading word by word at the end, fearing that he would miss any details. Finally, when it was almost time to get off work, Liu Minxue slowly closed the document.
The staff saw that it was almost time to get off work, and some of them had already started to pack up. Suddenly, Liu Minxue called out to a young female employee next to him, "Xiao Wang, help me with something."
"Hmm?" The female employee named Xiao Wang didn't expect her boss to assign her tasks when she was almost off work. She felt a little unhappy, but still asked, "Director, what's the matter?"
Liu Minxue let out a long breath, as if to calm his chaotic heart: "Help me book a flight to Jianchuan, the sooner the better!"
…
At noon the next day, Lu Jinghua drove to the reserved hotel. He originally planned to handle Xu Cang's Blue Sky 9211 matter, because the crew was expected to arrive in Jianchuan soon. But Luo Yong kept urging him to handle Ma Cheng's matter, and the phone call yesterday was also made under Luo Yong's supervision, which made Lu Jinghua very helpless.
However, there was one thing that surprised Lu Jinghua. When he asked Ma Cheng out yesterday, he thought it would take a lot of hard work, but it went so smoothly that even Luo Yong, who was supervising, felt incredible.
After inquiring, it was found that the incident of Blue Sky 9211 was not caused by the crew, but by objective weather. It is said that the people of the Northwest Bureau were quite satisfied with the response of the crew after learning about it. This made Lu Jinghua feel much more relieved. Otherwise, if there was a problem, Lu Jinghua would definitely take care of Xu Cang.
After arriving at the hotel and parking the car, Lu Jinghua went straight to the private room he had booked. But when he entered the room, he found that Ma Cheng had already arrived, which surprised Lu Jinghua.
"Mr. Ma, why are you here so early?" Lu Jinghua sat down quickly, looking extremely nervous.
He had already arrived 20 minutes early, but he didn't expect Ma Cheng to arrive even earlier. And judging from Ma Cheng's demeanor, he probably hadn't just arrived, but had been here for a while.
"I feel a little confused, so I came here early to calm down." Ma Cheng looked calm, but he poured a cup of tea for Lu Jinghua who had just sat down: "Mr. Lu, let's eat slowly after the meal. Can we talk about the matter first? Otherwise, the meal will not be delicious, right?"
Lu Jinghua was stunned. He didn't expect Ma Cheng to be so anxious. Was he going to tell everything right away?
Seeing Lu Jinghua's hesitation, Ma Cheng smiled and said, "Mr. Lu, don't worry too much. I don't like beating around the bush. I don't think Mr. Lu is that kind of person."
Lu Jinghua smiled bitterly, "Boss Ma is really a straightforward person. Well, I won't hide anything and let's speak frankly. This is what happened. Some time ago, our company applied to the General Administration for the introduction of 777 and the opening of international routes, but was rejected by the Administration. We wondered if the Administration felt that our company lacked experience in operating international routes, so they wanted to cooperate with your company and jointly operate an international route. I just wonder if your company can give us a chance to learn?"
After listening to Lu Jinghua's explanation, Ma Cheng burst into laughter. "Boss Lu, we are not children anymore. Why should we agree to such a thing? International routes are basically divided among the three major airlines. Why should we give you a share of the cake?"
Lu Jinghua said quickly: "Boss Ma, we at Blue Sky Airlines are clear about our position. Even if we enter the international route, it will only be a small share of the profits. It will not have any impact on you."
Being able to say this, Lu Jinghua's attitude can be described as humble.
In fact, Lu Jinghua also felt that there was nothing wrong with what Ma Cheng said. The three major airlines now monopolize international routes, so why should they bring Blue Sky Airlines along? It is not impossible that the apprentice will starve the master to death. Of course, this extreme situation will basically not happen.
"Mr. Lu, if this is what you are talking about, I will be embarrassed to eat the rest of the meal."
When Lu Jinghua heard this, his face changed drastically: "Boss Ma, if you can help us, we at Blue Sky Airlines will be very grateful to you."
Ma Cheng was immediately displeased when he heard Lu Jinghua say this. This was an attempt to bribe him, Ma Cheng!
Ma Cheng said unhappily: "Boss Lu, although I, Ma Cheng, am not a gentleman, it is not good if you talk like this!"
Lu Jinghua also knew that he had said the wrong thing, but he was also anxious. When he came here from the road, he knew that it would be difficult to persuade Ma Cheng this time, but Luo Yong gave him a death order, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
"Boss Ma, don't be angry, that's not what I meant." Lu Jinghua panicked: "Boss Ma, is there really no turning back on this matter?"
Ma Cheng sneered: "Boss Lu, it seems that you are still hoping for the best. This matter is absolutely impossible..."
However, before Ma Cheng could finish, the door of the private room was roughly pushed open, and a middle-aged man walked in. He looked at Lu Jinghua with a smile: "Of course we can discuss it! But if you want to get something from us, you will naturally have to pay something..."
Lu Jinghua was stunned, but looking at Ma Cheng's appearance, the people who came seemed to be from Muhua Airlines, so he subconsciously asked: "What does Muhua Airlines need?"
Ma Cheng saw who was coming, was startled for a moment, and shouted softly: "Old Liu, don't talk nonsense!"
The person who came turned out to be Liu Minxue, the director of the Aviation Recruitment Office, whom Ma Cheng had spoken to yesterday.
However, Liu Minxue raised his head to stop Ma Cheng and held up three fingers: "One international route joint operation right, two domestic routes, a total of three! I only want one person from your side..."
Lu Jinghua took a deep breath. Changing one person for three routes was simply a fantasy, so he first looked at Ma Cheng.
Ma Cheng's heart skipped a beat. Just as he was about to stand up, he heard Lu Jinghua ask, "Who do you want?"
Liu Minxue grinned, revealing a determined expression: "Xu Cang!"