Simulation Game: Crisis Management-Chapter 408 - 195: Race Against Death

Last week, due to a lack of assistance, the cockpit was operated solely by Bolton. He had to observe the manual, control the aircraft, and calculate the route, which led to a particularly poor performance in the latter half, resulting in a crash soon after.

But this round, with Gu Ji’s involvement, the aircraft maintained the best lift-to-drag ratio early on.

At this moment, the Boeing-7M8 was like a large glider, relying solely on airspeed, wind direction, ailerons, the APU, and other parameters and equipment to glide steadily for a certain period.

"I can’t believe it, Mr. Yasen, that at your age, you still possess such excellent computational ability."

Bolton turned his head, looking slightly amazed at Gu Ji, who was much older than him, even showing more respect in his address. However, when he heard "11" minutes, his pupils clearly dimmed a bit.

"11 minutes, FL200, for a ’glider’ weighing sixty to seventy tons, is it really possible to land safely..."

"Young man, since I can astonish you, why can’t we create a miracle together?"

Gu Ji looked intently into Bolton’s eyes.

He knew this young co-pilot had skills, but due to his youth and lack of experience, he tended to panic and get nervous when things happened, which was the real gap between a co-pilot and a captain.

Although he was panicked too, after experiencing so many crises, he deeply understood the importance of morale.

The more critical the situation, the more Gu Ji needed to stabilize the scene.

Only in this way could he become an excellent tactical commander.

Perhaps it was his calm voice and the experienced and aged look in his eyes that gave Bolton confidence.

"You’re right, Mr. Yasen, let’s save the 107 passengers on AM649 together. Now, all commands are to follow the manual, and you will give oral broadcasts. If there are any emergencies..."

Bolton gave a serious look at Gu Ji as he spoke, as if entrusting him with last words, "Take control immediately!"

"Understood! FL200, use APU bleed air to restore cabin pressurization."

"APU starting! Oh God, thank you it’s still working."

FL200 refers to a flight level of twenty thousand feet, with the conversion altitude of VMO/MMO around 6,000 meters. The APU, or auxiliary power unit, is located at the very end of the aircraft’s tail fin, with its own electric starter, powered by a separate battery, with an independent additional gearbox, lubrication system, cooling system, and fire protection device. The fuel comes from the aircraft’s total fuel system.

At this time, there was a sound of a code being entered outside the cockpit door, and the door was opened.

Gu Ji turned back suddenly.

He thought it was a terrorist, but to his surprise, it was Chief Steward Betty.

Her head was injured, her hair disheveled, her forehead bleeding, and the buttons of her dark blue uniform had popped open, revealing her impressive bosom inside.

Perhaps intimidated by Gu Ji’s eerie gaze, Betty recoiled half a step.

"Oh my God, you scared me! What’s the situation now?"

"Not optimistic, Betty, we’ve experienced dual engine failure. Although I really don’t want to say this, please inform the cabin passengers to prepare for an emergency landing!"

"Oh God..."

Betty exclaimed, with fear written all over her eyes. As a chief stewardess, she certainly knew how low the success rate of an emergency landing with dual engine failure was.

As Betty prepared to leave, Gu Ji suddenly remembered an issue and hurriedly called out to her.

"Chief Steward, you need to evenly distribute the passengers in the economy class seats to prevent the aircraft from being tail-heavy."

"Understood, leave the cabin issues to me!"

Despite being initially panicked, Betty, an experienced chief stewardess, quickly adjusted her mindset.

The door closed, leaving only Gu Ji and Bolton in the cockpit again.

Bolton gripped the control stick tightly.

"Time."

"8 minutes left. We are now in the middle of the Mexico Plateau, in the mountainous plateau basin region. It’s mainly a prairie climate with an average altitude of 2,000 meters. To the east is the Sierra Madre Mountains, with forested terrain and uneven topography, so we can’t head west. We need to find a relatively flat prairie, preferably a road."

Gu Ji quickly browsed the terrain map.

At this height, through the cockpit windshield, the ground was now visible—a vast green plateau, with slightly undulating terrain, covered with lush green trees like a thick carpet, looking exceptionally fresh against the blue sky.

But this ’scenery’ was full of danger for the two.

When an aircraft attempts a mountainous emergency landing, these trees are akin to nails on a highway, instantly destroying the landing posture and tearing the fuselage into pieces.

"Mr. Yasen, do you see the prairie?"

"No."

"Time."

"5 minutes."

"I think I’ve spotted a river..."

Following Bolton’s gaze, on the west side of the fuselage, Gu Ji saw a winding brown reflective ribbon—a river weaving through the forest.

"Bolton, are you considering a water landing?"

"It’s our last resort."

Bolton’s tone was very heavy.

Water landings seem feasible, but they are not easy to execute.

There’s a saying in civil aviation: "Better to crash in the mountains than on water," which shows the difficulty of water landings. Numerous planes have attempted water landings worldwide, but only one has safely completed it.

The one who accomplished this water landing feat was the famous Mr. Sully.

Bear in mind that Mr. Sully’s landing on the Hudson River was on the main channel of New York State, United States, where ships can pass, with broad waters. Additionally, the landing was during winter when the river flow was at its lowest and the water was calm.