//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Emergency Landing // Story: Constellation // by Locomotion //------------------------------// The two pilots exchanged perplexed glances. “What in the hay was that, Victor?” wondered the co-pilot. “Dunno, Turbofan,” replied Victor, visibly confused. “It can't have been the controller, that's for sure.” “Yeah, but why the sudden frantic yelling on our frequency?” A momentary silence hung over the three stallions in the cockpit before they heard another, much more recognisable voice; “Starswirl Control to Alicorn Four, urgent!” “Alicorn Four here,” Victor responded, “receiving you loud and clear, Starswirl. Send your traffic.” “Return to Starswirl Airport as advised, and try to fly as straight and as level as you can,” instructed Speedbird over the radio. “We've received word that part of your roof has been weakened during the night.” “It's what?!” Victor turned to his flight engineer. “Stratos, deactivate cabin pressurisation!” “What? At twelve-thousand hooves?” “Just do it!” ordered Victor. He then spoke into his radio; “Cockpit to cabin! Cockpit to cabin! Do you read me, Princess Twilight?!” “Affirmative, Captain. I think I might have found that ultrasonic fatigue crack we're looking for – and it's not looking too good either.” “Can you hold it together long enough?” “Yes,” replied Twilight, “provided we get back to Starswirl within ten or so minutes at least.” “Roger, Twilight. You'd better buckle in, though; I'm taking her down, and I'm taking her down fast!” Turbofan stared in shock at his captain. “But Vic, you heard what she said about the roof!” he objected “You take this baby down too fast, you'll tear us to pieces!” “It's a risk we have to take, Turbo,” said Victor grimly. “Unless we can get this thing down on the ground – and fast – we've had it. Left-left, one-hundred and eighty degrees. Descend to Flight Level One Zero – and for heaven's sakes, keep her steady!” “Okay, sir,” replied Turbofan anxiously. “I just hope you know what you're doing.” Without another word, he and Victor banked the aircraft to the left as sharply as they dared, trying not to overstress the already fragile roof panel as they raced back to Starswirl Airport on as direct a course as they could manage, while Twilight, having belted herself into the nearest seat, began casting an integrity spell on the weakened area. But even with all their expertise and careful handling, the cracks in the airframe had already grown to alarming lengths, so it was touch and go whether they could make it back to the airport in time. Every second felt like an hour as the plane drew closer and closer to dry land, with Victor watching the height gauge while Twilight struggled to keep the roof panel from tearing off. All the onlookers in the control tower could do in the meantime was to keep a sharp lookout for the Constellation and pray that it would make it back safely. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they could see an airliner approaching from the east. His hopes restored, Flash took a look at the plane through a pair of binoculars – and sure enough, he could just make out the sleek and graceful outline of the Constellation. “There they are!” he cried with relief. “I can see them!” “Still in the air?” asked Spike. “Just – but for how much longer?” “Long enough to land, I hope,” said Speedbird, turning to his radio. “Alicorn Four from Control, we now have you on binoculars and radar. You're cleared to land on Runway One Four.” “Runway One Four. Roger, sir.” “But sir,” burst out Spyder in horror, “they'll never make it to Runway One Four! Land them on one of the others – they'll crash before they even reach the threshold!” “No can-do, Spyder,” insisted Panthera grimly. “There are other planes waiting to take off in both directions on the east-west airstrips; we can't risk crashing the Constellation into any of those.” “But what if they can't line up in time?! We can't afford to...” “HOLY GUACAMOLE!!!” Spyder and Panthera looked out of the window, startled. To their horror, they could see smoke billowing from one of the Constellation's wings, while a fiery object plunged towards the sea. Moments later, they heard an urgent message over the radio; “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Alicorn Four reports loss of power to rudder and No. 3 engine!” Flash took another look at the plane through his binoculars, trying to identify what had caused the fault – but it didn't take much more than a quick glance to find what was wrong, and it came as an even greater shock when he did. “Good grief!” he exclaimed. “What is it?!” asked Rotor anxiously. “I can see why he's lost power to the No. 3 engine – he's lost the engine itself!” Spyder clapped both hands to his temples in alarm. “You hear that?! He's lost an engine! He's literally lost an engine!” he hollered. “I told you they'd never make it to Runway One Four! Now what are we gonna do?!” Speedbird thought quickly. With an engine gone and the rudder disabled, it seemed as though Spyder was right – and this could only mean one thing... “We've no choice,” he announced at last. “We're going to have to risk a runway incursion if we're to get this beast onto the ground in time. What runway are they headed for, Eagle?” “Two Seven Left,” replied the radar operator. “Right, then I'd better warn the Griffonian plane first. Adler Five Zero Eight from Starswirl Tower.” “Five Zero Eight, receiving you loud and clear. We're now in position on Runway Zero Niner Right and awaiting clearance to depart.” “Adler Five Zero Eight, clearance denied,” replied Speedbird tersely. “Alicorn Four is headed towards you on Runway Two Seven Left and will be touching down in approximately two minutes from now. Taxi off the runway and return to holding position.” “Two minutes, you say?” “Affirmative.” There was a momentary pause before the Griffonian pilot responded; “But sir, we won't be able to clear ze runway in time at taxiing speed! He'll be right on top of us by the time we reach ze taxiway!” Flash stared at the radio speakers with a look of pure dread, mentally berating his beloved for having landed herself in this fix. Right now, it didn't seem as if anypony on the Constellation would make it out alive – and as if that wasn't enough, they had now landed a commercial flight in equally grave danger. Unless they could clear the runway in time... “Okay then, Adler Five Zero Eight,” answered Speedbird decisively, “in that case, you're cleared for take-off – but whatever you do, don't leave your roll too late!” “Jawohl, Starswirl Control. Commencing take-off.” This was followed by the roar of jet engines as the Braewing 747 airliner set off down the runway, straight towards the incoming Constellation and an uncertain fate. Rotor gazed anxiously at the Griffonian jet. “You're taking a big risk there, Speedbird,” he said uncertainly. “Do you think they'll make it?” “They've got to make it!” muttered Flash through gritted teeth. “They've just got to!” “Well, we'll soon know,” replied Speedbird, watching through his own binoculars as the Constellation loomed at large. “Here she comes!” With smoke still pouring out of the wing where the No. 3 engine should have been, the stricken airliner began to descend towards the ground, its speed dropping further and further the closer it came to the runway. After only a minute, it sailed over the threshold, touched down onto the tarmac and braked sharply, its crew desperately trying to halt the plane before the Griffonian aircraft crashed into them; but for every knot they lost, the smaller but equally imposing Jumbo jet was gaining at least two or three. By the time the Constellation had slowed down to galloping pace, the 747 was going so fast that there was no hope of it being able to abort its take-off. From the control tower, Flash could only watch helplessly as what appeared to be an impending disaster unfolded in front of him. Already the Jumbo was starting its take-off roll, but it was so close to the Constellation that it might never be able to gain enough height. “They're too close!” he burst out in horror. “They're going to crash!” Spike held his claws close to his face in terror. “GET OFF! GET OFF!!!” he yelled frantically. Spyder, for once, didn't say a word – he just shut his eyes and waited for the end. Luckily for both planes, that end never came. Just when it looked like it was all over for the two airliners, the smaller plane's wheels left the tarmac, and the Jumbo jet hurtled into the air merely a few hooves above the Constellation, only just missing its tailplane. Moments later, the Constellation came skidding to a halt halfway along the runway – but even now, the danger was still far from over. Twilight was doing her best to hold the plane together, but the stress of flying and the impact of landing had worsened the cracks to the point where they extended right through the fuselage. With the Constellation stationary at long last, but still in danger of collapsing, the flight crew deployed one of the emergency chutes and began to evacuate. The airframe groaned loudly as they slid down the chute and made a dash for safety, and sunlight began to appear through the cracks; but Twilight bravely stood her ground and continued to hold it up until long after the last of the crew had left. Only when she was sure they would all be safe did she finally let go of the spell and teleport herself out of the doomed plane – seconds later, the mighty Constellation folded in on itself in a huge fireball. Up in the control tower, Flash breathed a sigh of relief as his princess reappeared on the grass only a short distance away from the apron. “She made it,” he murmured thankfully. It wasn't long before the fire trucks reached the burning remains of the Constellation and began pouring water onto the blaze. No-one was hurt, but the two flight attendants were badly shaken and Twilight rather drained from having used so much magic. Nevertheless, she tried not to let it get to her as Flash told her and the cockpit crew what had happened the night before. “So can you describe what the saboteur looked like?” asked Speedbird hopefully. Flash grimaced. “What else? I'd know that face anywhere – that guy was none other than Tailstrike in person!” Twilight, Spike and Rotor stared in horrified disbelief; but Panthera looked confused. “Uh...who exactly is this Tailstrike of whom you speak, Lieutenant?” “The sort of pony you air crash investigation types want to beware of,” stated Flash grimly. “Freelance criminal in many capacities is Tailstrike, and that includes terrorism, regicide and aviation sabotage.” “He's been suspected to have caused more than twenty air accidents over the years, seven of which have led to lives being lost,” put in Rotor. “He even attempted to bring down Alicorn Three about two years ago.” “As in Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's private airliner?” “Yeah, that's the one, Colonel. See, there was this really scornful aristocrat from Vanhoofer who had taken a dislike to Cadence and wanted to claim the throne of the Crystal Empire for himself,” explained Spike, “so he hires Tailstrike as his assassin.” “I was on the investigation team for that mishap too, as a matter of fact,” added Rotor. “From what I could work out, he'd most likely done something similar, but to the No. 2 engine pylon rather than the roof. If it hadn't been for the pilots, there wouldn't have been a sole survivor on that plane when it crashed – as it was, one of the equerries was killed, and Prince Shining Armour was incapacitated for about a month afterwards.” “What about Tailstrike's, er...'client'?” “Arrested and clapped into jail with his name taken off the civil list,” clarified Flash. “We put out a search for Tailstrike, and indeed I myself came pretty darn close to apprehending him.” “What happened?” quizzed Spyder. “He gave me a d...literally gave me a dizzy spell and made good his escape while I was out,” said Flash. “By the time I'd regained my senses, he was long gone – and something tells me that he'll be long gone from Starswirl if we don't find him soon.” Speedbird nodded grimly – but before he could voice his agreement properly, the sound of the telephone ringing startled all in the control tower. “Yes? ...I see......where? ...okay...right, I'll get right on that.” “Who was it?” inquired Victor. “Some anonymous caller says they saw an all-over grey unicorn stallion skulking over on the apron next to a McPommel PC3 propeller-driven airliner, registration: Equine, Mustang Pommel Apple Iron.” Rotor's eyes widened. “Wait just a minute – that's the registration of Professor McPommel's private airliner. Seems you were right, Your Highness; he must be in the thick of it.” “So it seems,” mused Twilight. “Speedbird, see if anypony's on that plane, and if so, bring them in for questioning.” “Will do, Highness.” But at that moment, the radar operator turned around with a look of worry on his face. “That might be a bit difficult, I'm afraid.” “Why?” asked Spike. “The plane in question has just taxied out to Runway Two Seven Right and is lining up for departure.” “What?!” Speedbird stared in shock at the radar screen, and then out of the window. Sure enough, the airliner was carefully positioning itself behind the threshold ready to take off. “But...but they've had no clearance!” Quickly, he grabbed his radio microphone and spoke into it; “Starswirl Control to Equine Apple Iron, you have not been authorised onto the runway and are requested to return to the apron.” But there was no reply. The PC3's engines rumbled into full thrust, and the airliner set off down the runway. “Come in, Apple Iron!” bellowed Speedbird. “Abort take-off, or we will be forced to intervene! Apple Iron, do you read me?” “DOWN WITH THE CONSTELLATIONS AND DEATH TO DE HOOFILLAND!!!” shouted a defiant voice over the radio. A long, loud screech followed, prompting everyone in the tower except for Spyder to cover their ears. By the time it had died down and they could hear themselves think, the plane had lifted off and was well on its way out of Manehattan. Spyder went into a frenzy as he watched the plane receding into the distance. “HE'S GETTING AWAY! HE'S GETTING AWAY!” he screeched frantically. “SOMEPONY, DO SOMETHING!!!” “I'll tell you what we're going to do!” shouted Twilight, her use of the Royal Canterlot voice drowning out Spyder's hysterical yells. Everyone in the tower fell silent, and Twilight resumed her normal voice as she explained her plan; “Speedbird, contact Fort Maine VOR and get a fix on that plane. Victor, Stratos, Turbojet, scramble the reserve plane – it's time we gave McPommel and Tailstrike a taste of their own medicine...”