Unknown Skies part 31
Elsa and Anna's blood ran cold when Sam had said,
"We've just lost our main hydraulic system!"
They both knew how much of a dangerous situation they were now all in. The Hydraulic system on a commercial airliner was it's life blood for all intents and purposes. Most of the functions of a plane required hydraulics, including the flight controls, flaps, slats, spoilers, operation of the undercarriage and the brakes.
Some systems could be improvised, using engine thrust to steer the plane and the lowering of the undercarriage by gravity, but for a plane to get into that kind of a situation was incredibly dangerous and it often lead, more often than not, to a crash!
"Is it bad?" Anna asked in a terrified tone.
Sam took a moment to respond to Anna's question, after checking the flight displays multiple times,
"Quite serious, our main hydraulics have gone down, but some of the more critical functions have gone to the backup hydraulic line. We should be fine but i will have to physically check the aircraft to see the damage for myself and decide what we do from there"
As Sam was saying this, Dan had picked up the intercom mic and spoke into it.
"Kate, are you and everyone in the back ok?"
It was a little while, before Kate responded,
"A little shaken up. But most of us are fine, just a few minor injuries. They'll need hospital treatment just to be safe"
"Understood" Dan replied, "I need you to do something for me, i need you to tell me if there is any damage to the aircraft you can see"
It was a long while before Kate responded,
"Some minor damage to the cabin, that can be expected. But there is major damage to the lower deck. One of the team, Josie went down into the forward luggage compartment and she told me there is a large hole to the outside! Wires and pipes leaking fluid everywhere and she says that the nose gear looks to be jammed on something!"
Sam and Dan both froze at Kate's statement. If the nose gear was jammed, it would be highly dangerous to attempt a landing, especially if the damage to Quebec Echo was a serious as it was made out to be!
"We need to repair the nose gear if we can" Sam said to his best friend.
"But who will fly the plane? Winter Airways regulations say that there have to be two people in the cockpit at any one time" Dan replied, questioningly.
Sam knew that Dan was right, even though Winter Airways technically didn't exist anymore, and Quebec Echo was the only Winter Airways jet currently operational, Sam and Dan had agreed to continue to work under the Winter Airways regulations, in order to maintain some resemblence to their original lives as scheduled airline pilots.
They were stuck, no-one else who was onboard Quebec Echo could fly the 757. It was likely that the plane would have to belly land on the Ice Runway at Arendelle, probably leading to the plane breaking up on impact.
That was until Sam turned back in his seat, to look at his sisters, who both looked back at him in confusion.
"I think we have our back up pilots right behind us" He said.
Both Elsa and Anna's eyes widened at that.
"We have no flight experience! Anna and i can't fly the plane, all we've done is switch the engines on. For all you know, we could crash the plane!" Elsa exclaimed.
"If Dan and I don't go and repair the undercarriage, we will crash in Arendelle! You two are the only ones that i trust to fly Quebec Echo. Besides, Dan and I will probably be back before we reach Arendelle." Sam replied, smiling at Elsa.
Elsa knew Sam was right, it was up to Anna and herself to keep the 757 in the air until Sam and Dan could repair the undercarriage.
"Very well, but please hurry." Elsa eventually said in reply.
Sam and Dan then unbuckled themselves from their seats and moved out of the way so Anna and Elsa could take their place. Anna taking the captain's seat on the port side of the cockpit, whilst Elsa took the co-pilot's seat on the starboard side of the plane.
"Don't worry, we'll be back soon" Sam said to his sisters as he left the cockpit with Dan, leaving the two sisters all alone in the cockpit of Quebec Echo.
Anna was the first to speak,
"You know sis, i think i found where Sam stashes his chocolate in the cockpit"
Elsa didn't speak however, she was just sitting in her seat, looking straight ahead, her hands hovering over the control column.
"Are you alright sis?" Anna asked, her voice full of concern for her elder sister.
Elsa was silent for a few more moments before she finally spoke,
"This is probably how Mother and Father felt"
"Eh?" Anna asked, not quite catching Elsa's drift.
"I mean this is probably how they felt just before they died"
Elsa explained.
Anna was taken aback at Elsa's comment.
Taking Anna's silence as a sort of message to continue, Elsa continued to speak,
"Look at us, we are in a crippled Aircraft, more likely than not, we will end up crashing into the sea and all on-board killed!"
"But we won't crash. Sam and Dan are currently below, repairing the damage, the engines are running and the autopilot, which kinda freaks me out, is keeping us aloft. Don't you worry Elsa. We will be fine. Have a little faith" Anna replied in a conforting tone.
Elsa knew her sister was right and she did feel a bit better with Anna's words, but that moment of calm was shattered when the intercom bleeped loudly, causing both sisters to nearly jump out of their skins!
Elsa picked up the Intercom handset, which she had seen Dan use earlier and spoke into it,
"Hello?"
"Elsa, it's Sam. We have a problem." Sam's voice filtered through the intercom.
"What kind of problem?" Elsa asked, her voice showing concern.
"How do i say this?... The damage is more serious than we thought. There is a rather large hole in the lower fuselage and alot of our electrical systems are going to need repairs. Dan is doing his best with those, but the worst damage is to the hydraulics. I can do some repairs, but i am going to need to remain here until we arrive in Arendelle to make sure the repair holds" Sam replied.
"That means..." Elsa said before she trailed off.
"You'll have to land Quebec Echo yourselves"