Return to 2000: Captain of the Great Powers

Chapter 89 The plane is missing!Chaos in the Northwest! (Thanks to Pippi Dog, the leader of our walk!)
After the sudden lightning strike, without warning, the aircraft's electrical system suddenly failed, causing almost all the display lights in the cockpit to go out, and in an instant, the interior of the cockpit was plunged into darkness.

I don't know what happened, the moment the lightning flashed just now, a sharp and piercing electric sound suddenly sounded in the earphone of the radio communication, even after taking off the earphone, Xu Cang's mind was still buzzing.

The captain, who was trying his best to maintain the plane's status, didn't expect the failure of the power system, and subconsciously began to look at the panel. However, Xu Cang immediately reminded: "Captain, pay attention to the plane's status."

"What's going on here?" The captain quickly withdrew his gaze, but when his gaze fell on the display unit DU, his face froze involuntarily.The six DU screens used to display aircraft data and navigation information are all extinguished, and no information can be obtained anymore.

"Pay attention to the status of the aircraft?" The captain panicked a little: "Let me pay attention to the status of the aircraft. I don't even know the engine speed, aircraft attitude, and speed. How can I pay attention to the status of the aircraft? Why is there no power? The generator driven by the engine Are the machine lights off?"

Under normal circumstances, the power of the aircraft is provided by two generators driven by the engine, and the other remaining AC power is the APU, but the APU will be used except for the landing, parking, starting or some special configurations. , the rest of the time it doesn't work.Moreover, the operating conditions of the APU are relatively harsh, especially when the air source is provided.

The first co-pilot glanced at the panel and found that it was pitch black, and there was no abnormal display. As for the two engine-driven generator lights mentioned by the captain, there was also no display at all.

If these two lights were on, it would not be amber, nor red, but blue.

"Brother, it's not on, nothing is on." The first co-pilot was a little confused.Normally speaking, the power system has collapsed, and there should be a large number 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 see the panel, and now he couldn't care less, he just raised his head, and what came into view was a large black panel, and even a fault light would not turn on.

The captain was quite sensible, he just took a quick look and then looked away, and ordered the first co-pilot: "Look at the electric meter, which part is wrong."

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. Many times, pilots use this thing to assist in judging the power system when they encounter power system failures. As for the fault part, after all, the power system of the 737 is quite complicated, and it still affects the whole body. Sometimes it is difficult to judge from the phenomenon or the fault light.

To be honest, this is the difference in difficulty between Boeing and Airbus in troubleshooting.Boeing pilots need to rely on experience to judge faults, while Airbus relies on the ECAM system, which is much less difficult to identify faults.

However, the answer given by the first co-pilot left the captain in confusion again.

"Brother, the electric meter didn't show anything either!" The first co-pilot turned the knob a few times, but the window of the electric meter remained black and there was no movement: "What's going on?"

Aircraft power failure is an item that most pilots will practice. Even if the AC and DC power are all lost, the battery will provide emergency power for a period of time, so that all displays will not disappear.

Such a situation where all the displays disappeared has never been encountered in training, and the first co-pilot was suddenly at a loss.In fact, not to mention the first co-pilot, even the captain felt 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 no longer be seen.

"Is there something wrong with the battery?" the captain murmured.

It is rare but not impossible for the power system to fail, but the captain has never encountered a problem with the battery, whether it is from training, on the actual flight, or from what he heard. To be honest, he does not know. How to deal with it.

The first co-pilot asked carefully: "Brother, shall we activate the APU?"

The two engine-driven generators are useless, and the emergency power battery is dead, so the only thing left is the APU.

"The height is too high, it can't be started." Xu Cang said with a serious face: "However, you can try it."

Even when the engine is at a high altitude, it will be more difficult to start, and the APU with a more demanding operating environment will not be able to start.

Of course, the altitude of the aircraft is not too high now, so there is room for experimentation.

"Compared to the APU, can you try to call the controller?" Xu Cang raised his earphones: "Now my earphones are full of electric current."

"There is no current sound in my earphones, try it." The captain pointed to the co-pilot.

How dare the co-pilot be negligent, now the plane has no navigation display except for a water compass that is not sure whether it is accurate, and it does not know where it is flying, so it is necessary to contact the area control.

Don't have a power failure and then have a radio fail.

First, I started the APU, and called the Urumqi control in a hurry, but after calling for a long time, there was no response at all.

"Change a transmitter!" The captain was furious beside him, and began to direct again.

The co-pilot then abandoned the second VHF transmitter and switched to the first VHF transmitter, VHF1.This transmitter is usually used by the captain and observers.

However, even if the transmitter is switched, there is still no result after multiple calls.

At this time, the captain's face began to darken.Just relying on feeling to control the state of the aircraft is already quite exhausting, and now there is a problem with the communication.

Although the emergency frequency of 121.5 and the high-frequency frequency of HF have not been tried yet, the captain feels that the situation is not good.

"Try 121.5." Xu Cang supported his forehead with his hands, and he couldn't relax even a little bit in his heart. The current situation may be more dangerous than expected.

Although Xu Cang's technical level in the cockpit is the lowest, but his vision is the highest, or in other words, there are few people in China who have a higher vision in flying than him.

When the vision is wide enough, the sense of danger will be more acute.He can be sure that the captain can roughly understand the current situation, but he should not understand it so thoroughly.

Sure enough, it seems that they still have a way out, but in fact their way out is already in vain.After trying the emergency frequency to no avail, he frantically dug out the high-frequency frequency in the high-altitude map viewing area.

Xu Cang sighed, and threw the earphones aside, apparently he no longer placed his hopes on the so-called high-frequency communication.Although high-frequency communication is used as one of the backup methods in the routine treatment of radio failure, he has never seen in the case of radio failure, and finally re-established contact through high-frequency communication.

Moreover, he had a guess in his mind.The ear-piercing screeching sound just now was not a problem of radio wave interference, but the lightning that hit the fuselage earlier, causing damage to the communication antenna, and even the failure of the aircraft's power system and display system was caused by the lightning just now Caused.

As Xu Cang expected, the high-frequency frequencies found out through hard work did not contact anyone at all.

However, when the radio failed, they discovered another problem.After waiting for a long time, the APU startup finally failed.Although the altitude of the plane is now at a relatively 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, when something goes wrong, the first thought is to find the captain, which has almost become an instinct.

The captain was in a state of disarray at the moment, controlling the plane had consumed most of his energy, and the remaining brain cells could not make an optimal solution to the intricate situation at this moment.

If it was following the normal radio failure procedure, at this moment they should return to the 800 meters that the controller had agreed to before, but the downdraft above was simply 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 shooting activities have stopped, and there should be no problem staying at the current altitude.

The altitude is temporarily acceptable, but what about the heading?Even if they maintain their course and cross the weather, how will they fly later?The navigation display is no longer available, how do they get back on the planned route?

Now they still know that they are around the waypoint P37, but after flying further, they really don't know where they are, so how can they return to the expected route?

In terms of power system failure and radio failure, after a short balance, the captain still felt that the power system failure was limited to be solved, that is, starting the APU was a top priority.

As long as they are connected to the power and they resume navigation, even if the radio fails, they can pilot themselves according to the electronic flight plan, and after flying to Wushi Airport, they can approach independently according to the wind direction and speed.

Moreover, it is possible that the radio communication problem is also due to the failure of the power system. If the power is restored again, the communication problem can also be solved together.

The captain thought for a while, and said to the first co-pilot: "The APU cannot be started at this altitude. I plan to descend the altitude first, and when I get down to about [-] feet, try to start the APU again. Let's restore the power first."

Although the electronic displays have disappeared, there is still a set of spare mechanical instruments on the plane, which can display the altitude.The captain can temporarily judge the altitude through this backup instrument.

In most cases, the altitude of [-] feet is enough for the APU to ensure a relatively high starting success rate.

However, the first co-pilot was a little worried about the captain's decision. The question was whether it was reasonable to lower the altitude without contacting the controller. What if there was a conflict with the aircraft below?
At this time, the captain made a decisive decision: "It's okay, the controller can see us on the radar. If there is a conflict, they will let the plane below avoid it."

As soon as the first co-pilot heard it was reasonable, he didn't object anymore.But Xu Cang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "What if the control doesn't see us?"

The captain was taken aback: "What did you say?"

Xu Cang pointed to the answering machine on the central console, and the number display on the window of the answering machine also disappeared.Xu Cang couldn't help worrying: "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 to exchange data with the transponder on the plane.

That is, the civil aviation control radar sends out a beam of inquiry radio waves, and after being received by the aircraft's transponder, the transponder returns a radio wave to the control radar, which also contains some aircraft data.In this way, the controller can see the civil aviation aircraft on the radar screen.

But what if the plane's transponder doesn't work?No matter how the civil aviation control radar sends out inquiry waves, if there is no response, it will naturally not be displayed on the radar screen.

And many military radars have the ability to actively detect, but use the principle of electromagnetic wave reflection, which has no direct relationship with whether the detected body responds or not.

Xu Cang directly asked the answering machine's question, which made it difficult for the captain to answer.From the current point of view, except for the basic rudder control 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 failure warning will pop up on the flight management computer.But now both flight management computers are off, where can I see the fault warning?

Moreover, judging from the fact that the panel was completely black, the captain would naturally have a slight wavering about whether the transponder was still working.

Although it deviates from the normal radio failure procedure to descend the altitude by itself, the captain is confident that he can explain it clearly afterwards.But the premise of all this is based on the fact that no other serious problems will occur. If there are safety problems with other aircraft during the descent, let alone whether you can survive, even if you survive, you will definitely say no afterwards. clearly.

In addition, the transponder is the 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 TCAS of the other party will not warn.In today's visual environment, it is impossible to see clearly from the outside. There is no TCAS reminder, so the pilot can only notice when two planes collide.

Thinking of this possibility, cold sweat broke out on the captain's forehead, and the decision he just made began to waver again.

At this moment, Xu Cang breathed a sigh of relief, and said worriedly: "Besides, is it really good to go down the altitude? Even if there is no traffic conflict, Captain, haven't you thought of another possibility?"

The captain was stunned, did Xu Cang still have a problem with what he said?But he couldn't think of anything else that he hadn't considered.

I saw Xu Cang pointing to the engine start switch, and quietly said: "It will rain more, captain, what if the engine is turned off? Is the altitude of [-] feet enough for us to start the APU and then start the engine?"

The captain's face froze, and he thought about what Xu Cang said. After he understood the meaning hidden in Xu Cang's words, he felt a cold chill from the soles of his feet to the sky.

However, still in a state of ignorance and ignorance, he asked in a daze: "The engine is off, the engine is fine, why did you turn off the car?"

Xu Cang sighed, sometimes ignorance is a blessing!Many pilots felt that as long as the two engines were still running, it was 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 can distinguish what they are facing, and he can better understand what their state is at the moment.

If you are facing an abyss, if you are walking on thin ice, if you are not careful, they will be destroyed. This is their current situation!

Xu Cang still wanted to explain something to the first officer, but he only heard the sudden noise in the cabin at the back. Before Xu Cang could figure out what was going on behind him, there was a loud crashing sound in his ear, as if something hit him. After reaching the cockpit door, there were calls from the flight attendants, which was extremely chaotic for a while.

Xu Cang's pupils shrank, something happened in the cabin!
Different from the worried atmosphere in the cockpit, there is no sound in the control room of Wushi area at this moment, as if the movement of a needle falling on the ground can become the strongest sound in the room at this time.

The source of this situation lies in an area controller's radar screen.

"It's gone?" The director stared blankly at the radar screen, and the signal point representing Blue Sky 9211 disappeared before his eyes.

The supervisor on duty has been engaged in flight control work for 20 years, but he has never seen the signal of an aircraft disappear in front of his eyes.There are many meanings represented by the radar signal message, but one of them will have a very, very bad direction.

The area controller tapped on the keyboard, sweating profusely on his head, but after this operation, the signal point representing Lantian 9211 still did not appear on the radar screen.

The controller tried to call Lantian 9211 several times, but there was still no answer.I called again on the emergency frequency of 121.5, but there was still no response.

"I was still talking just now." The area controller felt the chill from the director behind him that almost froze the surroundings. He didn't even need to turn around to know what the director on duty was like at the moment.

"Who the hell can tell me where that plane went!" The roar of the supervisor on duty resounded throughout the area control room, but there was no answer when the voice echoed.

That's right, no one can answer that!
The area controller lowered his head, and said a little tremblingly: "Director, the plane can't be contacted, and the radar signal has disappeared, could it be?"

"Shut up!" The supervisor on duty yelled and interrupted the area controller.

If the simple radar signal disappeared, they would not be so flustered. Sometimes this problem will occur when the aircraft's transponder fails, but coupled with the inability to contact the crew, there is no room for reverie.

The supervisor on duty held his forehead, took several deep breaths, and forcibly pressed down the heartbeat that almost jumped out of his chest: "Empty all aircraft in your jurisdiction, open X23, X41, H40 routes, and all aircraft passing through your jurisdiction will take temporary routes to detour. open."

The on-duty supervisor was silent for a while, then patted the assistant beside him: "Contact the General Administration and report the situation of Lantian 9211."

The assistant was stunned for a moment, he didn't go to work immediately, but thought for a while, and asked that rather sharp question: "If the General Administration asks about the status of Lantian 9211, how should I answer?"

The supervisor on duty rubbed his temples and gave four words: "Suspected missing!"

　Who can make me ten more?

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)