CHAPTER 1 : CUMULONIMBUS ATTACK
11 tweets from twitter @ kaptenlorco plane crashed about facts by the model of USA air transportation condition:
1. Do you think there is no hope of surviving if your plane crashed?
Fact: There were 568 aircraft accidents from 1980 to 2000 in the U.S. and more than 95.7% passengers SURVIVED!
2. Prof. Arnold Barnett of MIT: Chances for you to die while on a plane in the U.S. is 1 per 35 million flights.
3. If you are flying to the developed countries (eg Europe), the death rate is 1 per 10 million flights.
4. And if you fly to the third world countries (eg Africa), the death rate is 1 per 2 million flights.
5. Fact: During the year 2000, there were 18 million flights with 1.09 billion passengers and only 20 fatal accidents happened.
6. Based on the count, the risk of being victims of a plane crash is 1 per 3 million flights.
7. 3 million flights were equals if you fly one time every day for more than 8200 years.
8. The result from the study of U.S. National Safety Council saying: flying in a plane is 22 times safer than driving.
9. Fact: The death rate of plane's crash in 60 years period is less than a car accident in 3 months.
10. Fact: During year of 2000, there were 41,800 deaths due to car accidents, and only 878 in a plane crash.
11. Statistic for plane crash 30 years ago: 1 per 140 million miles traveled, today: 1 per 1.4 billion miles of flight.
"Now you know how safe flying is, don't you?" Ucok took his gadget back from the girl.
She didn't look too convinced, "Yeah, but that's only statistic, what if they...."
"Besides, I'm sure they had considered everything. They will do their best to make good impression on this flight-demo for us, right?"
"I guess so. But why am I still nervous?"
He sighed, "You're just being paranoid. Remember, we got to cover the whole story."
"Is it necessary for us to take the flight also?"
"You tell me, Vianka! How supposed to get a good news from inside if we don't take the flight? And I do need a good shot for the story," said Ucok.
"Yeah, but…"
"After all, you've already here, or should I ask the pilot to pull over and drop you off?"
"Damn!" Vianka laughed and punched his arm. "We're three thousand meters above the ground, how the hell they could do that?"
"That's why I need you to cool. It's just a short flight. 45 minutes only. After that we've got the exclusive news we need."
"45 minutes…yeah…same like 45 years in hell."
"You should do something to distract your mind from that thought."
"Like what?"
"Holding my hand, perhaps? For your info, I'm good to comfort a girl."
Vianka pulled her hand from the armchair spontaneously, while Ucok, her colleague tried to sneak his arm up to grasp her, "Morons, don't even think about it…"
Ucok laughed, "Take your seat and relax."
"And enjoy the flight…" Vianka continues.
"You heard what the flight attendance had said," Ucok commented then look around. "There's many person on this plane, and they all VIP person."
Sukhoi's management had invited many high-rank person of instution such local airlines, vendors, media, and government to attend the demo-flight. But not so many people gets the invitation. It was limited, there were only 50 passengers for entire 75 seats at full, but all those people were the VIP's…the decision makers…and men who suits for the luxurious that offered by the plane. The designed on the insides of plane might looks old but it intended to preserve the elegance style to comfort the passengers. The seats wrapped in first class leather and equipped with leg-shifter to make passenger's leg
lift ones leg up so the passenger could sleep better in appropriate position. To kill the boredom many entertainment facilities were plugged in, such as video, music, karaoke, or even Wi-Fi, like the one Ucok had been used, that can be used during the flight, which surely comfy the potential customers like Directors, Ministers, or even multimillionaire business men who wants to avoid the queue at commercial flight.
She saw the flight attendance approached. By tag on her left chest she could read her name, Ivana. Her cute face had shape of Eastern Europe's female, just like her idol, Maria Sharapova. Her English had funny accent but not quite fun with her face, instead she rathered looks annoyed. Probably it's because they didn't pay close attention of her announcement, been busy talking to their selves instead. So, according to the procedures the flight attendance had to get close and set up the rules.
"Is everything OK?" asked Vianka while she tightening the seat belt.
"There's been a bad weather. We'll faced heavy turbulence ahead a minutes later."
"Is it dangerous?" Vianka asked.
"No. It's only for a while," she answered, not even bother to give smiles to calm the passenger, and after that she left Vianka to her seat. "A thick fog ahead, that's all."
"A fog, eh? At one p.m? Don't you think it's a little bit odd?" Ucok said with his mystical voices. "Considering there's no rain today."
"Don't ask me. I never fly before," Vianka shrugged.
Suddenly the shock occured, the plane lifted up slightly then slamming back down in harsh. Some passengers who were not getting used to such turbulences felt queasy as Vianka had. Certainly it's not just felt by passengers or flight attendants but also the pilot in their cabin. Senior pilot, the guy with white hair, looked at the monitors with pale face while his co-pilot checking the altitude and other stuff. The white hair guy released the autopilot lock very gently in order to take control the deviation. In the midst of whacking fog as it was now, human should take over and left the machine behind. It's a lot safer to fly in manual. He hissed to his colleague, "Cumulonimbus ..."
"Should we go up?" asked the co-pilot.
"We don't know how high that hell is...we should call the tower to get info..." the Senior replies and lowered the handle of his headphone."This is Captain Ashimov from Super-Jet 115 demo-flight calling ...."
There was rustled sound and the voice response, "I heard you, captain....bzzz…what can I do for you?"
"We're heading toward a bad cloud here. Should we go higher?"
"Negative, Super-Jet 115."
"I'm afraid so. So, should we go down to avoid it? "
The tower navigation paused for a few minutes. It almost made the two pilots peevish when the rustled sound said, "I'm sorry...I can't hear you...the noise quite heavy ..."
The senior pilot shook his head, "Remind me to smack the technician when we're landing. They should check the communications equipment like I complaint to them last week."
The co-pilot shrugged, "I think it's due to the signal, not the equipment."
"Could you....bzzz....repeat what are you...bzzz...ask before?"
"Affirmative, tower...we want to avoid the cloud. Should we go down?"
Radio rustled when the observers in the closest tower gave an answer. Captain Ashimov raise his eyebrows and look aside, at his co-worker, they have to guess the unclear words from the radio, "...that's why it's...bzzz...dangerous...how high....bzzz... you right now?"
"At twenty five thousand feet ..."
"Better be at level ten...bzzz....thousand...bzzzz...mee...." the radio hissed due to the signal interference. "…bzzzzz...bzzzzz...errs..."
Captain Ashimov looked desperate, his face annoyed, "That far?"
"You heard the guy...at level ten thousand it is..."
Captain Ashimov grabs the control handle and shoved forward, moving down the plane's muzzle. He must be very gentle to do that because Super-Jet was different from common plane. The engine, which combines from a fighter aircraft and commercial plane, make it able to accommodate large number of peoples but also doing a sudden maneuver. Imagining a medium bus that can drifts like F1 cars, and the Super-Jet was that kind of plane. So, loosing control for just a little bit, that would make the plane doing a somersault in the air with lots of people scream in it.
The plane's muzzle goes downward, pushes the fog aside to make ways, and it continues to swoop down, twenty thousand feet...nineteen...eighteen…on level of twelve thousand Captain Ashimov seen the tip of the fog started to get thin. Super-Jet 115 escaped completely from the fog at level ten thousand feet but Captain Ashimov shocked to find something else upfront. He thought the dark shadows a head as a sea but turned out that was something more dangerous... that's a mountain cliff which stood firmly on their way...
They scream. Panic!
Ten miles was a narrow range. With their speed right now, the plane will cover it in less than five minutes. It's also impossible to reduce the speed at the distance. There's only one way they can do right now…
"Pull....Pull..." shouted Captain Ashimov.
To raise the plane after falling in such considerable depth will cause dangerous dives which might harms the plane and all passengers. It could twist the plane in two, and the centre part became the most critical area. So they have to make a ramp before going up but that ranges will definitely shortening the evasion. Captain Ashimov didn't want to take risk and choose to raise the plane up. It will be better for him to put the risk on the aircraft endurance than passenger safety.
"It's not working..." said the co-pilot when he couldn't move the handle to rise it up.
"Try harder..." shouted Captain Ashimov.
"Fuck!!!! Goddamn!!!"
"Mayday...mayday...this is Super-Jet 115...mayday...mayday..."
Both of them pulled the handle, as strong as they could, backward. In the midst of despaired, plane muzzle shakes when it forced to bounce up, once again, affecting the cabin situation, every monitoring needle runs wildly, Captain Ashimov sees how the cockpit window in front of him trembles. The iron bird was pressed heavily, slowly starts to follow the direction of its controller but the range to the mountain was getting close even more. The Super-Jet almost flew back into the sky when he, and his co-pilot, sees the creature…
The odd creature that's not supposed to be there….a tiger…it emerged from one of those cliff, and it's ran through the air…heading towards the plane...
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?" cried the co-pilot hysterically.
The tiger's mouth opens wide, roaring loudly to overcome the noisy sound of the Super-Jet. The beast burst forward and hits the front window of the cockpit. Captain Ashimov and his co-pilot were stupefied, that's why they're late to react...a hard thud followed by violent quivers and the blinding lights attacked…the temperatures increased in a quick sudden while the flame surrounds echoing the miserable screams while the burning plane was falling down slowly to the ground...