In any case, it is impossible to complete a normal landing with only two working engines when fully loaded, and the crew is very aware of this.

"Cut off the oil supply for one and two rounds!"

"It's been cut off!"

"Close one shot two shots!"

"It's closed!"

The captain and co-pilot completed the action to be taken after the engine fire in a very short time, but they found that the fire lights were not extinguished, indicating that the engine fire was still ongoing. The captain was able to see Engine One, and there was thick smoke coming out, perhaps the flames in the engine compartment. The co-pilot could not see the No. 2 engine close to the fuselage, and could only judge by the indicator light.

"The height is falling!" The co-pilot reminded the captain.

The captain adjusted the power of the three and four rounds to the maximum, "Maximum power." ”

He hoped that the two engines would work a miracle, but was disappointed to find that the gauge showing the rate of climb gave a negative number, which meant that the plane was still descending.

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

"Zhongnan Zhongnan, here is 8Y1771, my two engines stopped working with fire, call for help, I need emergency rescue!"

Zhongnan air traffic control quickly entered a state of emergency, and the person in charge of the air traffic control called, "8Y1771, can you see the airport, just twenty kilometers in front of you, you can use any runway!" ”

"I can see the airport!" The captain was able to see the location of the airport from the instrument panel in normal operation.

The co-pilot was nervously calculating the maximum distance of the plane, and 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 it loses all its engines, the Y-8 is able to glide for a distance with the aerodynamic layout, which is very different from a fighter jet. At sufficient altitude, gliding for 20 kilometers is not a difficult task, but the biggest difficulty for the crew will be landing without power.

However, the 8Y1771 is at maximum weight and has more than half of the fuel in the aircraft, so although there are still two engines providing thrust, based on the current descent rate and flight altitude, the co-pilot has come up with the answer that it is impossible to reach the tourist airfield twenty kilometers away.

Let's not forget that they are already in the mountains, and the clearance is less than two thousand meters.

The captain was clearly aware of the current situation, and he quickly made a decision, "Find a flat ground, we are going to make a forced landing!" Zhongnan, we can't get to the tourist airport, I want to find an open space for a forced landing! ”

Zhongnanchang Station is an alternate airport for the Air Force and not for civil aviation, so this airport is not in the directory of alternate airports for civil aviation, and most pilots are not aware of the existence of this airport, including those who often fly this route.

When looking for an open space, the co-pilot was the first to discover Zhongnanchang Station, and he pointed to Pingtou Mountain at two o'clock and said in surprise, "Runway!" See! There's a runway there! It's two o'clock! It's a runway, yes! ”

A flight mechanic who served in the Air Force ground service unit suddenly said, "I remember there was an air force station nearby, yes, there was one!" We could land there! ”

The captain quickly visually measured the distance, but the distance was only seven or eight kilometers, and the willows and flowers were bright and bright.

He quickly contacted Zhongnan Air Traffic Management, "Zhongnan! There is an air force airfield at two hundred and twenty-one degrees, and the distance is about seven kilometers, and I am going to make a forced landing there! Repeat, there are air force airfields at two hundred and twenty-one degrees, the distance is about seven kilometers, and I am going to make a forced landing there! ”

Without the slightest hesitation, the director of the Central South Air Traffic Control immediately contacted the Air Force Regional Control Center to ask for help, and received a quick and positive response.

8Y1771 quickly turned and aimed at Zhongnan Station.

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

Li Zhan held the binoculars and looked to the north, and a civilian Y-8 medium-sized transport plane dragging two puffs of black smoke flew through the heavy rain towards the main field. Thanks to the rating of Zhongnanchang Station in the past few days, the runway lights on both sides of the runway are lit up at this time, otherwise it is difficult for the crew to see the runway of Zhongnanchang Station several kilometers away under such visibility.

"Two engines caught fire and they weren't in a good situation." Li Zhan said and handed the telescope to Zhang Wei.

After Zhang Wei took a closer look, he said, "The entry speed is too fast, they will rush to the bottom." ”

Although the commander on duty was not as experienced as the Dachang station, he was definitely well-trained, and now that he saw that Comrade Li Zhan, an expert on dangerous situations, was also there, he was naturally more relieved and more confident.

He quickly contacted 8Y1771, "8Y1771, Zhongnan Tower calls, your approach speed is too fast, our runway is only 1,200 meters, and there is a cliff at the end, you have to reduce your approach speed!" ”

"Central South Tower! My flaps are stuck! Repeat! My flap is stuck! The captain's voice was very nervous, he had just seen some hope but there was a fatal glitch.

Increasing the force surface by adjusting the flaps to change the pitch angle of the aircraft is the main means of deceleration in the air, and a jammed flap means that the 8Y1771 loses its main means of deceleration.

The commander on duty subconsciously looked at Li Zhan, who did not hesitate at all, and said, "The engines are all turned off, and it is better to smash on the runway than to fall into the cliff." ”

"8Y1771, it is recommended that you turn off the remaining two engines to slow down! You have to keep your approach speed within 210 km/h! The commander on duty said.

The commander of the unit is accustomed to giving orders, so he uses a commanding tone. In the case of civil aviation controllers, then they fully respect the subjective opinion of the captain, who is most familiar with the latest situation of the aircraft. But in the army it is not at all the case.

Li Zhan had just read the information of the 8Y1771 cargo flight faxed by the civil aviation management department, and he found that the cargo flight was loaded with too much cargo and fuel, and according to the attitude of the aircraft observed, he noticed that the descent rate of the 8Y1771 far exceeded the normal descent rate of the two engines, so it corroborated the judgment that the weight of the aircraft was too large and seriously restricted the performance of the aircraft.

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

Therefore, he gave a very decisive suggestion.

Shutting down the other two working engines would have made landing very difficult, and the captain had practiced unpowered landing in the simulated cockpit, but everything was still dangerous.

However, it is better to stay on the runway in any way than to fall down a hill for thousands of meters, and at least the crew has a better chance of survival.

Li Zhan even had another guess, maybe the flap was stuck because of icing. He knew the Y-8 series of aircraft very well, until the batch of Y-8s used by Mail Airlines used many advanced flight technology and equipment, but that was ten years ago. And the anti-icing system used in the aircraft is not foolproof.

Today's weather is very strange and abnormal, in a very short period of time from high altitude to low altitude, the sudden change of temperature, the rapid switch between hot and cold can easily make the anti-icing system fail.

Everyone in the tower stood up and looked north, staring at 8Y1771, which was descending at the elevation angle. Obviously, the captain is not in vain, and he is a very courageous person. He knew the best outcome would be to stop on the runway, even if it was to hit it. The elevation angle is deliberately increased to achieve the purpose of deceleration as soon as possible, and at the same time, the elevation angle cannot be exceeded, otherwise the aircraft will stall. Generally speaking, this angle should not exceed 15 degrees.

Fate is in the hands of the captain.

"It's 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 that the blocking network can play some role." ”

But even he knew that it was difficult for the blocking net to stop the nearly fifty-ton 8Y1771.

Under normal circumstances, the gliding distance of the Y-8 landing has reached one thousand meters, and at this time, the 8Y1771, which has lost its main braking means, has to land on a runway of 1,200 meters, and perhaps this 200-meter gap will become a key factor in taking the lives of the crew.

8Y1771 touched the ground, and the main landing gear landed on the runway, Li Zhan noticed that the position of the ground touching was quite forward at the north end of the runway, which meant that the captain consciously tried to get more usable runway length for himself.

"Landing speed of two hundred and sixty kilometers!" The commander on duty shouted.

Li Zhan looked at the 8Y1771 whose front landing gear had not yet touched the ground, and suddenly had a bold idea, and he didn't have time to communicate and directly grabbed the microphone and shouted, "Put the landing gear away!" Captain! Put away the landing gear! ”

In just two seconds, the captain immediately understood the intention of the tower, and without thinking too much, he gritted his teeth and broke the landing gear retraction lever. The landing gear retracted much faster than normal under the action of the gravity of the fuselage, the rear belly was in close contact with the runway, and the sparks produced by high-speed friction formed a visible flame, and then the nose of the aircraft landed from a height of several meters, and the plane without the landing gear as a balance tilted to one side, and the captain actually created a miracle - he maintained the balance of the wings.

8Y1771 dragged the flames to a stop more than a hundred meters from the end of the runway, and the fire engine ambulance honking siren rushed over in the heavy rain, but the greatest danger was removed. Li Zhan watched at the last moment when the wingtip of the right wing touched the ground and was inserted into the grass on the right side of the runway, the No. 4 engine touched the ground, and the blades were broken.

The plane did not appear to be lightly injured.

The crew all survived, not even a single bump and bruise, which is the best news. After inspection, the goods in the warehouse were not damaged. Overall, it was a successful forced landing that was carried out under impossible circumstances.

Just over 100 meters away, the fixed base of the blocking net has been completely pulled out by the aircraft, which shows how huge the kinetic energy of the aircraft after landing. The people in the tower looked at each other, if the landing gear was not put away, the 8Y1771 would never have escaped the fate of rushing to the bottom.

It is extremely extreme to retract the landing gear at a critical moment and use the large area of contact between the belly and the runway to increase friction in order to achieve the purpose of deceleration. I have never heard of a crew that would land without the landing gear, only that the crew was in a hurry to fire for a landing gear that could not be lowered properly.

However, if this extreme deceleration method is not adopted, 8Y1771 will fall into many pieces at the bottom of the valley at a depth of thousands of meters, and may even ignite a fire and cause 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 the crew." ”

Li Zhan was very puzzled, frowned, and said, "You see, even if the fixed base of the blocking net is torn out, if you don't do this, the plane will definitely rush down." ”

"It's not a difficult choice, but the crew is afraid that they will have to undergo repeated and lengthy investigations by the insurance company, especially the captain." Zhang Wei said in a deep voice, "You forget that they are local airlines, not our troops. The insurance company will not take care of this, they will do it according to the rules and will be so cold-blooded that they think that the landing gear can be lowered normally, but the crew did not use it, which caused serious damage to the aircraft, and refused to pay accordingly. ”

Li Zhan was surprised, "It doesn't make sense, right?" All the records prove that the captain's choice at the time was reasonable, and the insurance company had no reason to refuse to pay. ”

After getting on the commuter bus and going to the scene, Zhang Wei said in a deep voice, "If the plane falls off the mountain, as long as the crew's operation is okay and the human factor is excluded, the insurance company will pay according to the order, even if they will lose more money." But in this situation, I am afraid that no matter how much the compensation is, the insurance company will not easily buy it. ”

Some of Li Zhan's concepts were refreshed, and he said in surprise, "This is unreasonable, the insurance company does things like this?" ”

"Most of the time." Zhang Wei spread his hands helplessly and said, "But it also depends on the specific situation, this plane is from the postal airline, and the postal aviation family may not care about this money, maybe the insurance company will pay in order to maintain the relationship with the postal airline." Either way, however, the crew had to explain and investigate the unusual act of stowing the landing gear after the main landing gear touched the ground. You say, it's a good thing or a bad thing for the crew. ”

Li Zhan was silent, and said helplessly, "As long as the person lives, nothing else matters, besides, the crew of the 8Y1771, especially the captain, is very powerful, and they are even more perfect than I imagined." After the belly touched the ground, the wings remained balanced, and the plane taxied straight forward. At that time, if there was some deflection, the plane would roll over and there would be a result that no one wanted to see. ”

"yes, the captain is amazing." Zhang Wei admired it very much, and there were few pilots in the army who could do it.

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

"Okay, I understand."

That's all he can do, provide more parametric data and all the voice communications between the Zhongnan station tower and the 8Y1771 cargo flight, and if possible, Li Zhan also hopes to issue an analysis report that proves that the captain has taken the most appropriate measures, based on the peculiarities of the location of Zhongnan station.

These tasks had to be completed as soon as possible, because the 8Y1771 cargo flight had to be taken away as soon as possible so that Li Zhan could carry out his exploratory flight.

He braved the rain to conduct a detailed inspection of the 8Y1771 cargo flight.