Great Power Fighting Falcon

Chapter 447 Landing with landing gear retracted

Under full load conditions, it is impossible to complete a normal landing with only two functioning engines, and the crew has a very clear understanding of this.

"Cut off the fuel supply to the first and second engines!"

"Has been cut off!"

"Turn off one and two!"

"Closed!"

The captain and co-pilot completed the measures to be taken after the engine caught fire in a very short period of time, but they found that the fire alarm lights of the first and second engines were not extinguished, which showed that the engine fire was still continuing. The captain could see the No. 1 engine and there was thick smoke coming out. Maybe the flames were in the engine room. The co-pilot could not see the No. 2 engine close to the fuselage and could only judge by the indicator light.

"The altitude is decreasing!" the first officer reminded the captain.

The captain adjusted the power of three and four engines to maximum, "maximum power."

He hoped that the two engines would bring miracles, but was disappointed to find that the instrument showing the rate of climb was giving a negative number, which meant that the aircraft was still descending.

The co-pilot yelled, "The plane is too heavy and we can't maintain altitude!"

"Zhongnan Zhongnan, this is 8Y1771. Two of my engines stopped working and there was a fire. Call for help. I need emergency rescue!"

Zhongnan Air Traffic Control quickly entered an emergency state, and the air traffic controller in charge called, "8Y1771, can you see the airport? It is 20 kilometers ahead of you. You can use any runway!"

"I can see the airport!" The captain was able to see the location of the airport from his normally functioning instrument panel.

The co-pilot was nervously calculating the maximum distance of the plane. He nervously told the captain the answer, "We can't get to the airport, we can't get there, the plane is too heavy!"

Even if all engines are lost, the Y-8 can still glide for a certain distance by virtue of its aerodynamic layout design, which is completely different from that of a fighter jet. If the altitude is sufficient, it is not difficult to glide for only twenty kilometers, so the biggest difficulty the crew needs to face is landing without power.

However, 8Y1771 is at its maximum weight, and there is still more than half of the fuel in the aircraft. Therefore, although there are still two engines providing thrust, based on the current descent rate and flight altitude calculation, the co-pilot’s answer is that it cannot reach 20 kilometers. outside tourist airport.

Don't forget that they have entered the mountainous area, and the clearance height is less than two thousand meters.

The captain was obviously very aware of the current situation, and he made a quick decision, "Find a piece of flat land, we have to make an emergency landing! Zhongnan, we can't reach the tourist airport, I want to find an open space to make an emergency landing!"

Zhongnan Station is an alternate airport for the Air Force and not for civil aviation. Therefore, this airport is not included in the directory of civilian aviation alternate airports. Most pilots are not aware of the existence of this airport, including those who often fly this route.

While looking for an open space, the co-pilot was the first to discover Zhongnan Station. He pointed at Pingtou Mountain at the two o'clock position and said in surprise, "Runway! Look! There is a runway there! It's at two o'clock! It's the runway, right?" !”

A flight mechanic who had served in the Air Force Ground Service suddenly said, "I remember there is an Air Force station nearby, yes, there is one! We can land there!"

The captain quickly measured the distance visually, but the distance was only seven or eight kilometers, and there was always a bright future.

He quickly contacted the air traffic control of Zhongnan, "Zhongnan! There is an Air Force airport at 221st, about seven kilometers away. I want to make an emergency landing there! Repeat, there is an Air Force airport at 221st, about seven kilometers away. I want to Crash landing there!”

Without any hesitation, the director of Central and South Air Traffic Control immediately contacted the Air Force Regional Control Center to request help, and received a quick and affirmative response.

8Y1771 quickly turned and aimed at Zhongnan Station.

At this time, Li Zhan was about to leave the flight tower of Zhongnan Field Station.

Li Zhan held up his telescope and looked to the north. A civilian Y-8 medium-sized transport plane, dragging two plumes of black smoke, flew towards the field through the heavy rain. Thanks to the fact that Zhongnan Station has been conducting ratings in the past few days, the runway lights on both sides of the runway are on at this time. Otherwise, with such visibility, it would be difficult for the crew to see the Zhongnan Station runway several kilometers away.

"Two engines are on fire, and their situation is not good." Li Zhan said and handed the binoculars to Zhang Wei.

After Zhang Wei looked at it carefully, he said, "The entry speed is too fast, they will rush to the bottom of the valley."

Although the commander on duty is not as experienced as the one at Dachang Station, he is definitely well-trained, and now that he sees Comrade Li Zhan, the danger expert, is also there, he naturally feels more reassured and confident.

He quickly contacted 8Y1771, "8Y1771, calling from the Central South Tower, your approach speed is too fast. Our runway is only 1,200 meters and there is a cliff at the end. You must reduce your approach speed!"

"Central South Tower! My flaps are stuck! Repeat! My flaps are stuck!" The captain's voice was very nervous. He had just seen some hope but a fatal failure occurred.

Changing the pitch angle of the aircraft by adjusting the flaps to increase the force-bearing surface is the main means of deceleration in the air. The stuck flaps mean that 8Y1771 has lost its main means of deceleration.

The commander on duty subconsciously looked at Li Zhan, who said without any hesitation, "The engines are turned off. It would be better to hit the runway than fall into the cliff."

"8Y1771, I suggest you shut down the remaining two engines and slow down! You must control the approach speed within 210 kilometers!" said the commander on duty.

The troop commander is used to giving orders, so he uses a commanding tone. If they are civil aviation controllers, they will fully respect the subjective opinions of the captain, because the captain is the most familiar with the latest situation of the aircraft. But in the army this is not the case at all.

Li Zhan had just read the information of cargo flight 8Y1771 faxed by the civil aviation control department. He found that this cargo flight was loaded with too much cargo and fuel. Based on the observed attitude of the aircraft, he noticed that the descent rate of 8Y1771 was much higher than It shows the normal rate of descent when both engines are running, thus supporting the judgment that the aircraft's performance is severely restricted due to its heavy weight.

Don’t forget, he is very, very familiar with the Y-8 aircraft!

Therefore, he gave very decisive advice.

Shutting down the other two normally operating engines would make landing very difficult. Although the captain had conducted unpowered landing training in a simulated cockpit, everything still seemed dangerous.

However, compared with crashing thousands of meters down the mountain, staying on the runway in any way is a better choice. At least the crew has a greater chance of survival.

Li Zhan even had another guess, maybe the flaps were stuck due to ice. He is very familiar with the various models of the Y-8 series aircraft. The batch of Y-8 used by China Post Airlines used many advanced flight technologies and equipment, but that was already ten years ago. The anti-icing system used on aircraft is not foolproof.

Today's weather is very strange and abnormal. In a short period of time, the temperature changes from mid-high altitude to low altitude. The sudden change in temperature and the rapid switching between hot and cold can easily cause the anti-icing system to malfunction.

Everyone in the tower stood up and looked north, staring at 8Y1771, which was descending in altitude. Obviously, the captain is not unworthy of his reputation, and he is a very courageous person. He knew the best outcome would be to stop on the track, even if it meant hitting him. Deliberately increase the elevation angle to achieve the purpose of decelerating as quickly as possible, but at the same time, the elevation angle must not exceed the limit, otherwise the aircraft will stall. Generally speaking, this angle cannot exceed fifteen degrees.

The fate is in the hands of the captain.

"The speed is still too fast, three hundred and five!" Zhang Wei glanced at the speed radar display, sighed slightly and shook his head.

Li Zhan said, "I hope the blocking net can play some role."

But even he knew that it would be difficult for the blocking net to stop 8Y1771, which weighed nearly fifty tons.

Under normal circumstances, the taxiing distance for Yun-8 to land has reached one thousand meters. At this time, the 8Y1771, which has lost its main braking method, has to land on a runway of 1,200 meters. Maybe this 200-meter gap will become the winning factor. A key factor in the lives of aircrews.

8Y1771 touched down, and the main landing gear all landed on the runway. Li Zhan noticed that the landing position was quite forward at the north end of the runway, which meant that the captain consciously tried his best to get more available space for himself. Runway length.

"Landing speed is 260 kilometers!" the commander on duty said loudly.

Li Zhan looked at 8Y1771, whose nose gear had not touched the ground, and suddenly had a bold idea. He grabbed the microphone before he could communicate and called, "Put the landing gear up! Captain! Put the landing gear up!"

In just two seconds, the captain immediately understood the tower's intention. Without thinking too much, he gritted his teeth and moved the landing gear retracting and extending lever. The landing gear retracted much faster than normal under the influence of the gravity of the fuselage. The rear belly of the fuselage came into close contact with the runway cleanly. The sparks generated by the high-speed friction formed a flame visible to the naked eye, and then the nose of the aircraft disappeared from the runway. After landing a few meters high, the aircraft tilted to one side without the landing gear as a balance. The captain actually created a small miracle - he maintained the balance of the two wings.

8Y1771 trailed flames and stopped more than 100 meters from the end of the runway. Fire trucks and ambulances rushed over with sirens blaring in the heavy rain, but the greatest danger had been eliminated. Li Zhan watched as the right wing touched down at the last moment and the wing tip inserted into the grass on the right side of the runway. The No. 4 engine touched the ground and the blades broke.

The plane looked badly damaged.

All the crew members survived without even a scratch or scratch, which is the best news. After inspection, the goods in the warehouse were not damaged. Overall, it was a successful crash landing under impossible circumstances.

Just over a hundred meters short, the fixed base of the blocking net had been completely torn out by the aircraft, which showed how huge the kinetic energy of the aircraft was after landing. The people in the tower looked at each other. If the landing gear had not been retracted, 8Y1771 would never have escaped the fate of rushing to the bottom of the valley.

It is a very extreme approach to retract the landing gear at a critical moment to use the large-area contact between the belly of the aircraft and the runway to increase friction in order to achieve the purpose of deceleration. I have never heard of a crew landing without landing gear. I have only seen crews getting angry because of landing gear that could not be lowered normally.

However, if this extreme deceleration method had not been adopted, 8Y1771 would have fallen into many pieces at the bottom of a thousand-meter-deep valley, and might have ignited a fire and caused secondary damage.

After Zhang Wei breathed a sigh of relief, he and Li Zhan walked down the tower and whispered, "Your bad idea may have saved the crew or harmed it."

Li Zhan was very puzzled and frowned, "As you can see, even if the fixed base of the blocking net is pulled out, the plane will definitely crash down if this is not done."

"Such a choice is not difficult, but the crew may have to undergo repeated and lengthy investigations by the insurance company, especially the captain." Zhang Wei said solemnly, "You forget that they are local airlines, not our army. Insurance company They will not care about this. They will follow the rules and be so cold-blooded that they think the landing gear can be lowered normally but the crew did not use it, thus causing serious damage to the aircraft, and refuse to pay compensation based on this."

Li Zhan was extremely surprised, "It doesn't make sense, does it? All records can prove that the captain's choice at the time was reasonable, and the insurance company has no reason to refuse compensation."

After getting on the commuter bus and heading to the scene, Zhang Wei said in a deep voice, "If the plane crashes down the mountain, as long as the crew's operation is normal and human factors are eliminated, the insurance company will pay according to the bill, even if it means they will pay more money. . But in this situation, I am afraid that no matter how much the compensation is, the insurance company will not easily pay it."

Some of Li Zhan's ideas were refreshed. He was surprised and said, "This is unreasonable. Is this how insurance companies do things?"

"Most of the time it is." Zhang Wei spread his hands helplessly and said, "But it depends on the specific situation. This plane belongs to Postal Airlines. Postal Airlines is a big company and may not care about this little money. Maybe the insurance company wants to maintain its relationship with Postal Airlines. The relationship will be compensated. But no matter what, the crew has to explain and be investigated for the unusual behavior of retracting the landing gear after the main landing gear touched the ground. You say, is this a good thing or a bad thing for the crew? "

Li Zhan was silent and said helplessly, "As long as a person is alive, nothing else matters. Besides, the crew of 8Y1771, especially the captain, is very powerful. They did it more perfectly than I imagined. The wings remained intact even after the belly of the aircraft touched the ground. Maintaining balance, the aircraft was gliding straight forward. If there had been some deflection at that time, the aircraft would have rolled and there would have been consequences that no one wanted to see."

"Yes, the captain is very powerful." Zhang Wei admired him very much. There were not many pilots in the army who could do this.

Li Zhan said, "You will report to the chief of staff in detail, and I will report as well. We can help the crew as much as we can."

"Okay, I understand."

That's all that can be done, providing more parameter data and all voice communications between the Zhongnan Station tower and the 8Y1771 cargo flight, and if possible, Li Zhan also hopes to provide a specific solution based on the particularity of the location of the Zhongnan Station. An analysis report proving that the captain took the most appropriate measures.

These tasks must be completed as soon as possible, because the 8Y1771 cargo flight must be removed as soon as possible so that Li Zhan can conduct his exploratory flight.

He conducted a detailed inspection of cargo flight 8Y1771 in the rain.