The exposure of media and public opinion, like a raging fire, put NTSB and GCAA on the grill.
While responding to the stormy prying and interviewing of media reporters, both parties unanimously accelerated the progress of the experiment. Three days later, NTSB and GCAA got the experimental results almost at the same time.
While flipping through the experiment report, Maiha said: "As far as the falling off of the debris on the flap is concerned, the experiment estimates that 80% of the possibility is that the aluminum alloy skin on the upper surface of the flap peels off, and 20% of the possibility is that the flap pieces directly fall off. The Boeing 777 aircraft used by Emirates 411 had just been in flight for four months when the air crash occurred. The possibility of metal fatigue is extremely low, and the initial suspicion may be due to maintenance errors such as screws."
As soon as he finished speaking, the representative of Emirates immediately sullenly said: "Airline has never made a mistake in maintenance. We would rather let a plane never take off than repair it hastily!"
Maiha looked up at him: "It's just a suspicion. It may not be that Emirates Airline made a deliberate mistake. In the 1990 British Airways 5390 accident, the maintenance department of British Airways used a ratio of standard A screw with a small size of 2 millimeters eventually caused the aircraft to fall off the windshield at high altitude, and the captain was sucked out of the cockpit. If it is an accidental mistake in maintenance, it is not impossible."
The representative of Ah Hang still disagreed with Maiha's point of view, but he could not completely veto the other party's judgment.
The wreckage of the plane was destroyed more than two decades ago.
Meha couldn't find evidence that Emirates' maintenance was at fault; likewise, Emirates couldn't find evidence that it was not at fault.
At this time, NTSB director Lovins began to report on the experimental situation of aircraft engine blade fracture. He stood up: "After 76 actual aircraft experiments on the Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engine, the following conclusions were drawn."
"First, when the heat resistance reaches 1050°C, the experimental material can pass through the fuel chamber almost without damage at speeds above 32 knots."
"Second, the Mohs hardness of the experimental material is above 4, to be precise above 4.25, which means it can resist the internal pressure of the engine."
"Third, the experimental material with a ductility of 3.2N/mm can pass through the fan blades of the front low-voltage module of the aircraft almost without damage under certain circumstances."
Lovins raised his head: "The above are the four-day experimental data and results of NTBS. There are not very few physical materials that meet these properties. But to achieve a relative speed of more than 32 knots, it can not be disturbed by the fan blades of the low-voltage module. It is very difficult. My suggestion is to find an aircraft that was in the same airspace or higher than Emirates 411. The engine of 411 suddenly exploded during takeoff. At that time, there were many aircrafts that also took off from Dubai in the nearby airspace. "
Hearing this, everyone looked at Lovins.
Joseph Sr.: "You mean, it's possible that some part fell off the other plane, and then by a one-in-a-million coincidence, it just flew into the engine of Emirates 411?"
Maiha: "The possibility is too low, what kind of coincidence is this!"
Lovins asked: "Isn't the air crash just a coincidence that eventually caused it?"
No one could refute his words.
In the meeting room, there was silence.
Lovins looked up at Zhuo Huan: "Patrick, what do you think?"
Zhuo Huan pondered for a long time, he looked at his members. Old Joseph shook his head at him. Obviously, neither Maiha's reason of "airline maintenance error" nor Lovins' reason of "a part fell from the sky" was very unconvincing. He looked at Fucheng again, and Fucheng also looked at him seriously, shaking his head slightly.
Zhuo Huan withdrew his gaze, tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table: "Find the survivors again."
Lovins was stunned: "We have read Yamila Betty's sighting report many times, and she has repeated it to us many times. Need to find her again? She probably won't be able to provide any more clues."
Zhuo Huan: "Look for other survivors who were also on the plane at that time. There are more than a hundred survivors. According to probability, Yamila Betty should not be the only one who felt abnormal."
Soon, GCAA investigators searched the accident data and found all the information about the survivors of Emirates 411.
However, twenty-three years later, many survivors have died of various reasons. There were more than 100 passengers who survived that year, but now only 63 people can be contacted, and half of them are unwilling to recall the scene of the air crash, or because of the traumatic sequelae of the accident, they selectively forget everything that happened during the air crash .
Without further ado, the tripartite cooperation, the investigators began to conduct video interviews with 35 survivors who were willing to provide testimony and recall the scene of the air crash.
That night, in the investigation headquarters, in the meeting room.
Fucheng stood in front of the whiteboard, he looked at everyone, and finally met his companion. After nodding his head, he said: "Then let's review the whole process of what happened. First of all, unfortunately, the black box of the Emirates 411 air crash was completely destroyed in the explosion after the crash. At the same time, because the nose When it landed, all three pilots in the cockpit were killed. So no one knows what happened to the plane when the crash happened. So in this case, we can only confirm the general flight status of the plane through interviews with survivors .”
Twenty-three years ago, NTSB investigators did this.
There are no black boxes, no video recordings, and no pilots. So how do you know what happened to a plane that was almost blown to pieces before it crashed
We can only ask the survivors to piece together the truth from their fragmented memories.
Fu Cheng continued: "At 10:31 am on July 11, 1998, Emirates Flight 411 took off from Dubai International Airport and flew to Sydney after being approved by the tower. Everything went smoothly when the plane took off. It was sunny in Dubai at that time, but there was a Tropical air is circling over the east of the airport."
"The flight of the plane was stable, and the communication with the control tower was also very stable. When it flew near the tropical cyclone, it experienced certain turbulence. Afterwards, NTSB interviewed other pilots in the same airspace and confirmed that the tropical cyclone would only cause turbulence to the plane at most, but It will not affect the normal flight of the flight."
"During the turbulence, according to eyewitness Yamila Betty, she saw a piece of debris flying from the flap of the right wing of the aircraft."
Joseph Sr. frowned and asked, "How likely is it that the tropical cyclone will cause material to fall off the surface of the aircraft and cause damage to the engine?"
Fu Cheng paused, looked at him, and said in a steady voice, "What do you think?"
Old Joseph shrugged and said helplessly, "I'm just kidding."
This is probably less likely than Emirates going bankrupt today.
Fucheng continued: "After Yamila Betty saw the debris flying out of the flap, according to her recollection, within three seconds, she heard a bang. The other passengers also agreed with her testimony, and none of them saw the piece. Fragments flew off the flaps, but they all heard a huge explosion. As it turned out, it was the engine exploding."
"After the explosion, the plane began to move irregularly and violently. About five minutes later, it crashed in the desert next to the Persian Gulf."
"The above are the memories of all survivors."
After finishing speaking, Fu Cheng looked at the man sitting in the front.
Zhuo Huan turned the pen in one hand, looked down at the ground, silently meditating.
After a moment of silence, Fu Cheng said, "Teacher Zhuo, what do you think?"
Zhuohuan raised his eyes and looked at him. After their eyes met, Zhuo Huan stood up and walked to the whiteboard. Fu Cheng walked down very naturally and sat in his seat.
Zhuo Huan stood beside the whiteboard, he swept his eyes, raised his pen and pointed at Lovins: "The possibility of foreign flying objects is directly PASS."
Lovins was stunned, and said in surprise: "Why? This is also a possibility, although it sounds absurd. But as far as I know, Dubai International Airport was very busy that day, with as many as 70 planes taking off and landing within five minutes. shelf."
A sarcasm appeared on the corner of Zhuo Huan's mouth: "Are you questioning your superior's ability? If there is a foreign flying object stirred into the engine, then no matter how it is shattered by the explosion, your superior will They can find it from the endless sand and press it to death on the chain of evidence. Levi Andrew can even find fan blades that are broken like that, and conduct experiments, and can't find a single one that doesn't belong to this plane. Foreign material?"
Lovins was speechless.
Zhuo Huan continued: "Let's not mention the maintenance issue of Ahmed Airways for the time being, just for the final reference. First of all, we must clarify one issue. The thing that tore the fan blades of this Boeing 777 must come from itself."
Fucheng thought for a while, raised his hand and asked, "Is it only from the engine?"
Zhuo Huan looked at him: "Not necessarily."
Fucheng was silent for a moment, and then said: "When we investigated the accident of Japan Airlines 917 last year, an invisible culprit appeared. It was electromagnetic waves. If you say Mr. Andrew, the ace investigator of NTSB, and all of us present today , can't find a killer who can slice through the fan blades and flaps at the same time... could it, it's gone, or invisible in the first place?"
After Fu Cheng's words fell, Zhuo Huan was stunned.
At the same time, old Joseph, Lovins and others also showed surprise expressions.
There were rustling discussions in the conference room.
Zhuohuan looked at Fucheng with sharp eyes: "The reason."
Reason, the reason why this view is suddenly raised.
Fucheng looked back at him seriously, and gave the answer: "I just feel that if I were investigating the air crash of a top-notch, perfect plane, a piece of its low-pressure fan blade in front of the tail vertebra suddenly broke, and Afterwards, so many people searched together, but they couldn't find the culprit. Then... when you rule out all the impossible situations, the rest, no matter how unbelievable, are facts." The voice paused, and Fucheng seemed to want to say What, but he closed his mouth and didn't speak again.
Zhuo Huan's gaze stayed on him for a few seconds, then he looked at everyone sitting at the table, and said, "It's not impossible to have an invisible murderer. For the next investigation, we should start from this aspect."
***
In the UAAG office, discussions began about possible causes of the accident.
Su Fei said without hesitation: "Electromagnetic waves. Japan Airlines 917 was affected by the aurora, which caused electromagnetic disturbances in the aircraft's MCD magnetic debris detector, and finally affected the aircraft's telex system."
Fucheng shook his head: "It can't be electromagnetic waves. Electromagnetic waves may cause engine abnormalities, but they will definitely not make the skin of the plane's flaps fall off." After a pause, he added: "The flaps are peeling off, this is definitely an objective phenomenon. due to physical causes."
"Your words are inconsistent."
Everyone turned their heads and looked at the man sitting by the window.
Zhuo Huan stood up while chewing gum, and calmly pulled his chair to the crowd.
Lina was a little surprised: "Reid?"
Uncle Zhuo sat down on the chair carelessly, crossed his legs, and looked at Fucheng: "Your proposal is an invisible murderer. But you also said that the falling off of the flap fragments is a physical effect visible to the naked eye."
Fucheng's lips moved.
Old Joseph came up with a reason: "Perhaps, these two things are really unrelated, just a coincidence? The flap fragments may have fallen off, possibly due to a maintenance error at Emirates Airlines, or an extremely rare material fracture. To put it simply, Either Yamila Betty was wrong, or...she made it all up. She didn't see any flaps come off at all, she just didn't want to be deported, so she made up this lie."
There was a sudden silence in the office.
After a long time, Zhuo Huan sneered and said, "Take this as the last possibility."
Su Fei: "That's not electromagnetic waves, what are they?"
Old Joseph thought for a moment: "When we investigated the Japan Airlines 917 crash last year, we said that in the British Airways 38 crash in 2008, it was the ice slag that blocked the fuel pipeline and eventually caused the engine to stall. Of course, this accident happened in Dubai in the summer. Ice could be present. But is it possible that... the culprit is water?"
Fu Cheng shook his head: "Water, even ice, can't cut the fan blades of the aircraft engine."
Although Lina can't intervene in these topics, she is full of love for aircraft, otherwise she would not resign from the United Nations and come to UAAG. She poured a cup of coffee for everyone and said with a smile, "Don't worry, it's been twenty-three years, and it's not too late."
Su Fei: "The invisible killer is not water, not electromagnetic waves... is it temperature? Extremely high temperature?"
Zhuo Huan glanced at him, and let out a sneer in his nose: "To make you think, is to make you talk nonsense? How high is the temperature, over 1000°C? Oh, the fuel chamber of the Trent 800 engine itself can reach 1000°C high temperature."
Su Fei: "..."
"Then what can I think! It needs to be invisible, and it can damage the fan inside the plane and the flaps outside the plane at the same time! Does this thing have three heads and six arms? Then why does it only target the right wing and the right side? Start the engine, are you looking down on the left engine!"
Fucheng was taken aback for a moment, and he said in surprise: "No, it's not that it doesn't attack the left wing and the left engine, it's that its range of influence is only on the right side."
Old Joseph also snapped back to his senses, and he quickly said to Lina, "Lina, can you print a 3D structural drawing of Boeing 777 for me."
Lina smiled softly, "Of course."
But Zhuo Huan said: "It's too slow."
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
I saw Zhuo Huan turned sideways and stretched out his hand to take a blank piece of paper from his desk. Holding a pen, he quickly drew a smooth curve on the white paper. Then, another curve spread across the white paper at an extremely fast speed. The black ink continued to smear on the white paper, as if there was no need to think about it. In just thirty seconds, a hollow Boeing 777 appeared on the white paper.
Of course, only half, only the right wing and the engine under the wing, and the fan blades in the engine.
Fu Cheng stretched out his hand and pointed at the flap at the rear of the wing: "Here, the 'shards' that Betty said she saw flew out from here."
Zhuo Huan drew a circle on the flap, and then he drew a circle on the low-pressure fan blade on the rear side of the engine.
Everyone looked at the picture he drew on the white paper.
Old Joseph looked at the structural diagram on the white paper in astonishment: "Actually, the fragments of the flaps and the broken fan blades of the engine... are not very far apart."
Yes, although one is on the upper surface of the wing and one is inside the engine. But if you ignore the layers of metal materials blocking each other, just looking at the straight-line distance, the flap fragments and the fan blade fragments are almost just stuck together!
Fu Cheng immediately said: "We should see how far the distance is between the two, and check the actual distance..."
"1.9 meters."
The voice stopped abruptly, Fu Cheng looked at Zhuo Huan.
Zhuo Huan lowered his eyes, looking calmly at the black lines on the white paper. As if aware of the young man's gaze, he raised his head and said, "Estimated visually. The ratio of the maximum thickness t of an airplane wing to the chord length c is the relative thickness. The relative thickness of a Boeing 777 is about 14%..."
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the office.
Everyone turned their heads to look at the door, and outside the glass door, Lovins was holding a document in one hand while looking at everyone in the room. Seeing that everyone saw him, he waved his hand, with a joyful expression on his face, obviously in a good mood.
After getting permission, he opened the door and came in, and said happily: "V, the invisible murderer you mentioned yesterday, I went back and thought about it for a long time. I found a document. In July 1990, TWA Air 800 crashed. That is A Boeing 747 aircraft stayed at the airport for three hours before takeoff. The weather was too hot, and the fuel gas in the fuel tank became flammable. This caused the temperature of its fuel gas to reach 114 degrees Fahrenheit after takeoff, and the high temperature and wires A short circuit, which eventually caused the fuel tank to explode, and a chain reaction, which caused the engine to explode."
Lovins couldn't hide his excitement: "Look, an invisible murderer is temperature!"
Su Fei looked at Lovins with the eyes of a fool, imitating Zhuo Huan's tone just now, and said sarcastically: "Is it just to make you think nonsense?"
Lovins froze.
Su Fei went on to say: "It's still high temperature, and the fuel tank exploded. Don't you trust your boss's ability? If the fuel tank really exploded, wouldn't he be able to find out twenty-three years ago?"
Lovins was taken aback by Su Fei's words, and didn't react at all.
The punk boy was quite proud. He looked at his companion, wanting to gain some praise and praise. However, under the bright lights of the office, Fu Cheng frowned slightly, and Old Joseph also showed a strange expression. Zhuo Huan raised his eyes and looked at Lovins. After a long time, he laughed and said in a loose voice, "You found the information, or your boss found it."
Lovins: "…"
Sighing, Lovins said helplessly: "Yes, it is the case materials that Deputy Director Andrew found, and he proposed this direction. Hey, don't look at me like that, Patrick, haven't you already said that I am Andrew The deputy director's subordinate, yes, I am his confidant. You all know the reason why I came to Dubai, so is there any problem with me reporting the investigation progress to the deputy director every day?"
Zhuo Huan didn't even give Lovins alms out of the corner of his eye, but only gave him a contemptuous sneer.
Su Fei was stunned: "Wait, what do you mean this is. I said temperature, RIP laughed at me. Lovins said temperature, you still praise him?"
Old Joseph: "Oh, why haven't you understood yet! The temperature is not the point, the point is, the fuel tank exploded! The TWA 800 crash, its engine exploded, and even its fuel tank exploded, all were easily discovered afterwards. But Emirates 411 is different. Twenty-three years ago, it was blown to pieces. In the end, the investigation team only found the engine exploded. But maybe, they didn’t find out at that time that the fuel tank of this plane also exploded slightly. It’s just that It was a very small explosion that was masked by a larger explosion."
Lina also asked curiously: "Wait a minute, then I don't understand. Since you also said that the fuel tank explosion was not found back then, how can we speculate that the fuel tank exploded today after 23 years?" ? This time, you don’t even have the wreckage of the damaged plane.”
Uncle Zhuo snorted softly. Once he was in a bad mood, his face would instantly darken. Standing up, putting his hands in his pockets, Zhuo Huan stepped out of the office.
Everyone shouted at him in surprise: "Reid?"
When he walked to Fucheng, he stuffed the paper with the structure diagram on the right side of the Boeing 777 into the young man's arms.
Fu Cheng turned his head: "Teacher Zhuo?"
Zhuo Huan walked to the door, stopped in his tracks, and looked back at him: "When I'm angry, you can either replace my job and tell that stupid Harvard graduate what's wrong with him. Or..." His lips curled up slowly , Zhuohuan raised his eyebrows at Fucheng: "Or, you can do another thing so that I won't be angry anymore."
Su Fei said angrily: "Who is a stupid Harvard graduate!"
Old Joseph and Lina are wondering...
Old Joseph: "What's the other thing?"
Lina frowned: "Another thing?"
His fingers tightened, and the roots of his ears felt slightly hot. The heart in his chest also beat a beat faster, but when the four eyes met, the young man looked at Zhuo Huan with eyes that were still extremely calm.
Fucheng's voice was calm: "If you want to smoke, you can go outside. Teacher Zhuo, smoking is prohibited in the investigation headquarters."
"... tsk."
Zhuo Huan turned and left.
In the office, Fu Cheng retracted his gaze and explained: "The Global 800 air crash, the fuel tank explosion had a great impact, and it was almost impossible to ignore it in the investigation afterwards. The perceived, smaller fuel tank explosion was due to fragments of flaps, and broken fan blades."
When throwing the white paper to Fucheng, Zhuo Huan also casually threw the pen he used frequently to him. It is a Montblanc fountain pen, the most classic black 146.
Fucheng took the pen and drew a circle on the white paper, wrapping the flaps and the engine in it.
"If it is said that there was a very small and small-scale explosion inside the fuel tank that is difficult to see with the naked eye and has no change in appearance, then there are reasons for the fracture of the flaps and the fracture of the engine fan."
"That invisible murderer..." Fu Cheng looked up at Su Fei, "The shock wave after the explosion."
"The shock wave after the explosion directly shattered the alloy material on the upper surface of the flap, and also shattered the closest and weakest part of the fan blade."
"The explosion was really too small. The plane encountered a tropical cyclone at the time and was in a turbulent state. The small explosion inside the fuel tank was covered up by the violent turbulence when it happened, and was erased by the aircraft explosion afterwards. Only the swaying The shock wave from the past, which severed the fan blades and shattered the upper surface of the flaps, left behind crucial evidence."
The author has something to say:
Zhuo Anxi: Fucheng, kiss me.
Fu Chengcheng: [Silence] Well, Mr. Zhuo, walk slowly.