Another Day At The Office

Another day at the office.

It is the end of January now and the monsoon still continues unabated. There was heavy passing shower and strong gusty winds before the take off. Visibility was down to 400 meter RVR (Runway Visual Range).The mind went through all the possible threats and counter measures. What if we encounter sudden wind-shear on the take off run, what if an engine fails before liftoff,what if there is aquaplaneing, the list goes on.The co pilot must be kept in the loop all the time. Good communication skills, good situational awareness , good decision making process, good leadership,good handling skill are what we are trained for. It is time to put to good use now.

The big machine is on the runway now with the windshield wipers sweeping frantically and yes, counting the number of runway edge lights,the visibility was lousy. A quick check at the wind sock through the blur of the heavy down pour confirms the wind velocity provided by the control tower. A quick decision must be make now on the take off or to opt for a delay.

The thrust levers are advanced the the full forward position now and the roar of two hundred thousand horses are straining the big machine to go. But the brakes must be stepped on firmly. The rotors and the turbines must be checked to make sure that they are behaving as commanded.

The 320000kg machine reach weightlessness at 350km/hr.The auto pilot was engaged soon after the gears were retracted. It is now time to navigate away from the lightings and the thunder.

The weather radar showed another cumulonimbus on the right as the big machine climbed through 3500 meters. We did not intend to fly into it and was planning to navigating the craft further left.Suddenly  there was the loud deafening clap of thunder and the lightning was so intense the I was able to feel the sudden heat in the cockpit. The big machine has been struck by lightning.

The immediate thought was the aircraft, is there any damage? Are the power plants working normally?The full time fault monitoring system on board did not indicate anything abnormal. A careful check on the gauges showed all systems functioning as per command.

The cabin crew in charge was ordered to discreetly do a visual inspection of the wings,just to made sure. A few minutes later, the call came through the intercom system that everything looked normal. No fuel leak and no burn mark on the surfaces.

The next thought was the crew and the passengers, they must be traumatized.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We had a lighting strike. The aircraft is well protected and all systems on board are functioning normally. Please do not be alarm. We will continue with our journey to London."

As the big machine climbed towards the optimum cruising altitude,flying through rain with moderate to severe turbulence now transitioned to flying through ice with the same bumps. The big machine needs to be protected from icing now. Ice near freezing point melts on impact and flows back to the wing surface.It will refreeze and cause the aircraft to be heavier. Ice at much lower temperature is in the form of hail stone,sometimes the size of a pingpong balls.It will damage the aircraft when it impacts at 80% the speed of sound.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We have been airborne for about half an hour now and we are still in weather. For the safety of our crew, we will not be starting the inflight service for another 15 minutes. My apologies for any inconvenience caused."

Yes, safety first,champagne and caviar can wait.

It is three hours in the air now. The big machine glides through the air at a ground speed of a thousand kilometers per hour yet nothing seems to move. The spotless blue sky is up above and the haze of human creation is down below. From afar, the great curvature of this common planet of ours is in view. Come think about it, this is not a very big place.
This is the time for the co pilot to be in control and a walk through the cabin is good. Most are engrossed with the screen mounted at the back of the seat in front. Quite a few are grateful that the captain comes to re assure them that everything is all right. There is this big muscular guy seated at 40C, the poor man had been staring at a rivet on the wing for the pass three hours, face pale and palms with cold sweat claiming that it is a hole at the wing. No amount of assurance from the cabin crew can convince him otherwise . He even claim that the aileron is actually part of a broken wing. The man with a gold wing on the chest and four gold bars on the shoulder thanked him for the feed back and the fact was explained. He seemed to have calm down and on the way back to the cockpit, I can see him starting his meal now.

The big machine sits like a feather on Runway 09L,London Heathrow.
 Only idle reverse is needed for ideal conditions like this. We save fuel, save engine life and protect the environment.

"Captain, the aircraft is chocked and you are cleared to shut down the engines. We received the message from operation center in Singapore about your lightning strike 10 hours ago. We have done an inspection and there is no damaged to the aircraft. Have a good night-stop and hey, you guys bring the sunshine."

The big machine will then undergo a quick clean up and dress up,unload and reload before she heads back to Singapore,under the command of another team of highly trained, highly skilled professionals.

The crews will now go for their much needed rest but the machine cannot sit on the ground for too long. The nature of business is such that a $200 million equipment must be quickly put to producing revenue, of cause provided that it is safe to do so.




Metta,
jkhoowc