In 1993, China Eastern Airlines 583 staged an aerial horror in the clouds: a 96-second jolt and shaking injured many people in the cabin. Some broke bones, some bled and there was chaos inside the plane.
Should they make a forced landing on the spot, or should they think of something else? The question before the crew was too difficult to choose, because they were about to face a US military base.
At the end of the 20th century, the international situation was uncertain, and Sino-US relations had setbacks from time to time. Will the US military allow the Chinese airliner to land unharmed? Will this matter cause more international problems?
1. China Eastern Airlines 583 is in distress
On April 6, 1993, the noon sun in Shanghai was very dazzling, and a China Eastern Airlines plane was about to soar into the blue sky according to the established route at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, everything was so calm and normal. With a whistle, the plane rushed into the sky.
However, after 6 hours of smooth flight, the plane suddenly jolted.
At 6:18, the normally stable cabin suddenly flew up at full speed, the engine was running at high speed, the entire fuselage played a thunderous sound, and the speed of the plane's ascent and crawling suddenly accelerated, and the entire cabin also triggered a red alarm.
The passengers, who were still preparing to rest, were in a mess: "What happened? What is wrong with the plane? Is the plane going to explode?"
Sounds like these echoed through the cabin with cries, and the crew seemed to be silent, not reassuring the passengers on the radio. So, the unguided and evacuated led to a mix of screams, screams, and the sounds of passengers tearing their oxygen masks, causing a riot and some people shouting, "Is there anybody, my head is broken!
As everyone knows, when the cabin was in chaos, the crew was also busy saving themselves, and the captain Liu Jianping's hand had already been cut with a wound, blood gushing, and the flight attendants had already been staggered.
This was a precursor to a plane crash, and everyone was in a mess. No one could have imagined that what caused all this was a lever that had been touched.
At noon on the same day, China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 flew from Beijing, China to Los Angeles International Airport in California, USA.
There were 235 passengers and 20 crew members on board, and the captain, Liu Jianping, was a skilled pilot, and everything was safe and sound until about 12 noon.
But no one could have imagined that just six hours later, when the plane was approaching the Bering Strait in the Arctic Circle, the accident suddenly happened.
At 6:18, when a crew member was about to take the documents, he accidentally touched the right control lever with his arm, and this small lever was activated, and suddenly, the plane got a signal and immediately increased the command to accelerate at the pitch angle, and the plane suddenly rushed out.
At the same time, the stall alarm was also triggered, and the aircraft immediately entered a dive state.
The sudden change woke up the crew and passengers, who had already been resting, and everyone was thrown out in their sleep, and even the passengers who had already fastened their seat belts fell on the back of their heads due to the sudden dive.
Captain Liu Jianping reacted quickly, but before he could stand up, his shaking arm was scratched by the table and chair, and blood gushed out.
The purser tried to grab the megaphone button for the announcement, but the button that was close to her was never reachable due to the confusion.
Therefore, for tens of seconds, the emotions of the passengers were not calmed, so that the cabin was in chaos.
"Did anyone save us? Did the plane crash? Are we going to die? Where is the captain?"
2. The crew's misoperation caused a 96-second bump
Captain Liu Jianping struggled to stand up with the feeling of dizziness, he had already been hit the back of the head, and his whole eyes were full of stars, and he didn't even react for a while, the co-pilot next to him was firmly in control of the joystick!
You must know that when the plane is turbulent, the autopilot of the aircraft will forcibly control the aircraft and bring it back to its normal state, but the entire cabin is in an emergency, and the co-pilot is too frightened to realize that he is controlling the joystick, so the autopilot cannot intervene in this chaotic situation at all.
In the cabin, ordinary passengers were dizzy from scratches on the armrests, and the captain and co-pilot sitting in the driving seat were also distorted by the bumpy body and were out of control.
In desperation, the co-pilot suddenly let go of the autopilot, and as a result, the plane fell into strong turbulence and vibration.
When the flight attendant trying to press the radio button, he was slammed back to the floor and seriously injured immediately.
"Are we going to die? Are we going to die on the first plane? Are we going to fall into the sea?
The people in the cabin shouted and cursed, and the sharp voices of everyone made the whole crew very confused, and even one passenger was thrown more than 10 meters away, and the whole person cried bitterly and wailed.
Although it was only a short 90 seconds, the entire cabin crew lived like a year. Tens of seconds later, the pilots finally controlled the fuselage, and the plane was no longer jolting.
Everyone sweated and stared firmly at the autopilot, knowing that if the autopilot of an airplane breaks, the only fate of the entire crew is to crash elsewhere and the plane crashes.
When the plane stabilized and the cabin crew gradually quieted down, there were still many people wailing and shouting. Most of the passengers were injured to varying degrees, and everyone helped each other to treat their wounds.
However, the crew piloting the plane is facing a more important problem: in front of a civilian airport where a US military base is located, and the landing conditions have been met, but will the US military agree to a forced landing?
The crew immediately reported the news to the command desk, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry immediately established relations with the American side. The US Pentagon learned that it turned out that Flight 583 was going to make a forced landing at the Sersenia Air Base in the Aleutian Islands.
This is an alternative challenge; if the turbulence of the plane is a matter of life, then the forced landing at a US military base is an unknown event, and will the US military treat its people with a humanitarian attitude? Will there be another international dispute over this matter?
The crew simply did not dare to imagine it - because the era was too special, and the airfield on this US military base was also very special.
3. The plane survived a forced landing at a US military base
The U.S. military has military bases all over the world, and this is not a secret thing, but the military base here is a place that the Pentagon has named and asked for heavy secrecy.
The Pentagon demanded that the military personnel and equipment on the US military base here should not be explored by the outside world.
So Liu Jianping has fallen into deep self-doubt: even if he makes contact with the ground, he can really have the ability to make a forced landing, and what can he deal with the "sequelae"?
Although China and the United States had already established diplomatic relations at that time, after the reform and opening up, the economic friction between China and the United States has never been broken, and the international community has reacted differently because of various things.
After a moment of thinking, Liu Jianping still tried to get in touch with the ground staff, in the face of various dangers, only human life is the most worthy of consideration. Therefore, the Chinese diplomatic department got in touch with the relevant departments of the United States.
Happily, the US Air Force replied: it agreed to a forced landing.
Liu Jianping breathed a sigh of relief when the US side replied, and he immediately informed the passengers in the class through the radio: Since the base runway for the forced landing ahead is not very long, there may be various dangers when landing, and all passengers must take self-rescue measures in advance.
With Liu Jianping in charge, all the passengers were on standby, everyone did not cry or make trouble, held their breath and concentrated, just waiting to see if the plane could land smoothly in the dark runway.
The heavily damaged plane resolutely sailed ahead of its time, while the passengers on board, without exception, chose to be silent, and everyone gave the crew enough respect and support.
After a rumbling sound, at 20:20 on April 6, China Eastern Airlines 583 passed through the clouds and fog and came to the runway of the US military base airport in heavy rain.
The crew and passengers had already seen that 200 US soldiers were waiting for them with flashlights, and what moved the Chinese people even more was that the US military not only sent soldiers, but also sent many ambulances to wait for them.
Seeing this, Liu Jianping's confidence increased, and he immediately manipulated the control stick to smoothly land the plane at the airfield of the air base.
When the tires of the plane touched the ground, cheers and applause rang out in the cabin, and the staff of the US military base also acted quickly, treating the wounded and supporting the passengers and crew to hand over the accident.
The person in charge of the military base also arranged for the injured passengers to be transferred to a hospital with good medical conditions, and broadcast to the local Chinese to ask for help to interpret at the hospital.
The near-crash of the 583 plane caused a shadow in the hearts of the passengers, and everyone would think that their lives were lost at sea, and no one could have imagined that the plane would finally stop safely on the airport of another country.
After the incident, the Civil Aviation Administration of China conducted an investigation into the matter, and the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States also conducted a unified investigation of the aircraft. They found that there was a serious flaw in the design of the handle, and anyone sitting next to the handle could accidentally touch the handle and the aircraft would misoperate.
The truth was revealed, and the injured were treated, but unfortunately, two of the passengers died of their injuries and passed away while in the hospital.
Even today, plane crashes do happen occasionally, but planes are still very convenient, fast and safe compared to other means of transportation.
The 583 aircraft was so successful that most of the passengers brushed shoulders with death, but this special experience became a memory that those who witnessed it would never want to mention.
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