Flight

Heartbreak is a cliche that people use every time they're rejected. Although I can't say that's exactly how I felt, it hit me hard when Sarah revealed that she was getting married. I couldn't stop wondering, "Why didn't we meet earlier?"

Given how at ease I'd started to feel since I met Sarah, even though it sounded like none of my business, I couldn't imagine her being in the arms of anyone else. Even though I wish she could truly understand my feelings for her, life is what it is, and I suppose some things aren't meant to be. 

I lost focus on the job and was zoning out when Rick approached me.

"Time to move."

We made our way down the Kesling International Terminal to gate 17B, where a bus was waiting to transport us to the hangar where the Air Dash J-17 was waiting to take off. Throughout the entire bus ride to the plane, I had trouble staying focused, but I had already lost it with Rick's attitude, so I had to keep it together until we reached Dallas. Funny enough, Roger happened to call at the same time to check on me after Human Resources informed him that I was sick. Although I detested lying, there wasn't really a choice but to agree with them. 

Within 15 minutes, we arrived at the hangar and got our first look at the J17, now known as Air Dash 707. The J17 was a turboprop airliner made for shorter trips, consisting of wings and two engines on both sides of the rear fuselage, little before the tail fin ,while also featuring 76 comfortable seats with front and back doors for quicker passenger boarding and deplaning. Larger carry-on items will be put on a trolley by the plane before boarding because there is less room in the overhead bins and under the seats. Upon exiting the flight, these things will be appropriately labelled and returned to the cart for retrieval at a predetermined location on the ramp or jet bridge.

"Beauty, isn't she ?" the Captain remarked.

"Y-ye-yes sir, she is" I replied

Since his only knowledge of me was that I was an AeroFly rookie pilot, he could never know that I was a member of the engineering team in charge of curating the J17. Given Horizon's stringent hiring standards for pilots, his stammer already made him question the company's decision to choose me as a candidate. 

"Alright, let's load her up."

I have to say that the moment I set foot inside the J-17 cockpit, all of my worries vanished. Given her beauty in contrast to the Skyliner, it seemed to me like a dream come true. I sat to the right of Captain Rick while he set up the plane and double-checked the manifest. As Rick asked permission to pushback since we were prepared to go, my excitement knew no bounds. 

Rick was in charge of the communications between flight 707 and JFK Tower as we taxied the aircraft towards the runway. 

"Tower, requesting clearance for take-off, flight 707"

"Flight 707, you are cleared for take off." 

"Alright kid, it's your plane now."

Fuelled by speechless excitement, I pushed the throttle in full capacity as the sounds of propellers expelling high-velocity gases to create forward thrust could be heard in order to generate speed. 

"V1.. Rotate" 

I gradually yoked back, pitching up the nose of the aircraft and a few minutes after lifting, Rick retracted the landing gear, signalling the success of the takeoff .

Rick was at ease as I kept an eye on the airspeed during our flight to Bedrin, which was expected to be 4 hours and 7 minutes. He appeared to be in a good mood after the autopilot was turned on, suggesting that this could be my greatest opportunity to ask him some questions on his time as a pilot.

"S-s-sir..?"

"Yeah.?"

"Af-af-af-after yo-yo-you retired f-fr-from.. The Air Force, wh-wh-why'd you be-be-be-become a com-comm.."

"A commercial pilot ?" 

"Y-y-yes.."

"I was bored. I loved being in the sky. No family either. My wife passed away from leukaemia.. And I couldn't bring myself to go home.."

"I-I-I'm so-so-sorry"

"Ah, don't sweat it. I miss her but… I never really moved on, either."

"S-so-so how'd y-yo-yo-you end u-up at Ho-ho-horizon ?"

"I was at Welkin Airlines as the captain in command of a C100. You know those planes ?"

I nodded in uncertainty

"The Shamal C100 was a tailless supersonic aircraft with an oval delta wing, a drooping nose for landing visibility, and a narrow fuselage that allowed for seating for 92 to 128 passengers four abreast. I operated one of them for Welkin Airlines but they became too expensive to maintain and the company sold them off to Stuart Downey for 100,000,000 $."

"St-st-stuart Do-Dow-Downey ?.."

"Jack Downey's father, yeah."

"He-he-he-he wa-wa-was an en-en-engineer..?"

"Hah... not really"

From 1946 through 2000, Stuart Downey worked as a banker for McFarland's Apex Capital Group, which was the biggest investment bank in the country. He eventually made the decision to leave his position in 1996 after securing roughly 180 million from the assets he managed, but one day, a businessman by the name of Tyron McGill enters into his office and informs him that Shamal was going to fail due to the failure of C100 and needed finance worth $ 50,000,000. Before approving the loan, Stuart decided to look into the company himself. Seeing a potential buy-out and an opportunity in rebranding, he made Tyron an offer of $80,000,000 to buy his company, which the latter unexpectedly accepted, and soon after that, Stuart quit his job at McFarland to become the CEO of Shamal, later renamed Horizon Aerosystems. After suffering significant losses on its C100 fleet, Welkin Air was eventually acquired by Horizon for $100,000,000, and Stuart agreed to restore it. However, this time, his son Jack was named CEO. Jack had to be fired after Welkin Air made losses estimating $ 50,000,000 - $100,000,000 and appointed as CEO of Horizon under the direction of his father, who stepped down later in order to retire, due to his inability to manage the company. Asher Cormac, Stuart's business partner, was later appointed as the CEO for Welkin Air. 

"W-wow."

"Yeah, Jack's a loser honestly. He's still young and really has no clue about how this business works. Stuart isn't going to be around much longer and it's only for him that I'm still around cause once he's gone, my ass is out the door too."

"Oh…"

"This job.. It has a lot of promise, kid. You have a bad employer and it's a race. I'm not criticising you for flying today. You're bloody lucky to be seated next to me, but considering Stuart's hiring practices, I... I was shocked that he made an exception."

I felt terribly guilty once more. I began to feel unworthy of being in the cockpit on this journey in every way. Given that Rick has been with Horizon for almost 20 years and that he knows Stuart, it shouldn't come as a surprise to see someone like me flying alongside him. However, Rick couldn't be held responsible for this. Maybe after today's flight I should stop flying and tell Rick that I'm not a licensed pilot ? But I'm certain Rick will tell Stuart about it, which would be problematic for Jack, who is merely attempting to see my devotion by giving me a chance. My head hurts more when I think about it.

"Hey, turn off the autopilot, we're approaching Bedrin airspace." 

As directed, I complied 

"Bedrin Tower, this is Air Dash 707, requesting clearance to land."

Silence filled the airwaves. 

"Alright, I'm gonna use the bathroom. Keep an eye on the altimeter and let me know if you get any transmission from the tower."

"Ye-yeah."

As I started to consider the weather, the details of the runway, and the information that was pertinent to the landing, the plane started to gradually descend. Our in-flight navigation deactivated halfway through the descent, which caused us to lose track of the runway position. At first, it appeared to be an error, but there was a risk that the flight was malfunctioning, which I wanted to tell Rick about when he returned to the cockpit.

However, considering how important the landing of a plane can be in contrast to the other factors, it had been more than 15 minutes since Rick had gone to the restroom, and I was beginning to worry since there was no communication from the tower or indication of the runway as we got closer to 5,000 feet. I made the decision to notify Rick even if it meant violating his privacy because the transponder wasn't working and there was turbulence in the area.

"C-C-Captain.. We-we-we go-go-got a pr-problem, I think"

Nothing came back from the lavatory. 

However, I noted that the clasp to the luggage area from the upper deck was open. Since it appeared doubtful that someone would enter that particular area of the plane, things were beginning to seem strange. 

I descended the stairs to the baggage claim, followed a short corridor to the back of the aircraft, and hollered for the captain. As I came closer, I could hear the sound of intensifying electric sounds that are often produced when there is a fuse, followed by an explosion that would quickly release fuel and cause a plane crash.

"C- CAPTAIN !" I screamed, running towards the explosion only to find Rick dead and the transponder destroyed. 

I moved back to the upper deck and noticed the aircraft was in a nose-diving position as it began descending quickly. There was no point in trying to keep the plane in the air since I knew we were going to crash and instead raced for safety to the back of the aircraft. The plane hit the ground with the front part of the fuselage completely torn as the body slid across the ground with the wings detached and engines blown, as well as the tailfin torn without the rudder intact. Despite surviving the collision, I passed out as a result of the impact.

My memories of being dragged from the debris were hazy as I was unable to see what happened and could only feel the raindrops pounding my face with screams in the distance, shouting for help. 

I regained consciousness about five hours later in what appeared to be a hospital ward with a window facing me. When no one was nearby, I began to yell for assistance just as the doctor entered through the door on my left. 

"Hey, hey, it's alright.. It's okay.. You've been an accident. Calm down."

"Am I- Am I going to be okay ?"

"Yes, you will. You need to rest, okay ? It's alright.."

"What- What happened..?" 

"You survived an accident."

"I want to go home.. This.. This is all my fault, if I hadn't done any of this, he'd be alive by now and.." 

The physician drugged me before I could finish. 

Later, when I came to my senses, I was in a surgical ward and could only hear the beeping of a monitor controlling my vital signs and see crossfades of surgeons chatting. A little while later, I was awakened in a regular ward, where the security was alerted to my presence and the same doctor as before came to see me. 

"Mr. Rishab, my name is Dr. Mary Ann. How are you feeling today ?"

"I.. feel okay. Oh my god!"

"What is it ?"

"My stutter…I-It's gone. I can't believe it."

"You had a massive injury on your head because of the impact due to which we performed a surgery and kept you in observation for 3 days now."

"Oh… right."

"Do you want to tell me what happened on the plane ?"

My uncertainty about whether to tell her the truth or lie permeated the room.

"We… We were getting ready to land in Bedrin. The captain.. He.. He said he was going to use the bathroom and then, because the transponder was deactivated, I lost location of the runway and moments later, it turned out that he deactivated it."

"Rishab, do you think you'll be okay in conveying this to the DIW ?"

The DIW (Damage Investigation Authority) was a federal investigation agency that looked into significant accidents, especially those involving aeroplanes, and submitted a report outlining the accident's cause for both the product's manufacturer and the airline service. Typically, one side is held accountable while the other is made whole by payment of costs and damages

"I can't… I'm.. I'm guilty too"

"What do you mean ?" 

"I flew beside Captain Rick without holding a pilot's licence.."

"How was that allowed ?"

"My boss, Jack Downey.. He… he always knew that I wanted to be a pilot and I was a project engineer at Horizon. I don't why but.. He was persistent that I take the chance. I.. I knew it was a bad idea and now look what's happened."

"Shhh.. Rishab, it isn't your fault. Listen, if you need more time, I can give you that but the DIW isn't going to wait very long, okay ? The carrier you were supposed to deliver the plane too is demanding an explanation for this and DIW is answerable for that. I hope you understand.." 

"Yeah, okay." 

"Good, so take your time and let me know when you're ready."

Now that the DIW was involved, I was certain to be found guilty and sentenced to prison, with Jack perhaps losing his job at Horizon as a result of his reckless choice, which I had always known was a bad one. Despite the fact that I love to fly, I didn't feel the need to take the extreme of operating an aircraft without the proper authorization because, if the jet was only carrying passengers, I would have been labelled a murderer by the media but with the damage already done, there didn't seem to be a chance of avoiding imprisonment.

I cried and let out my feelings in the ward for a few days before telling Dr. Mary that I was prepared to meet with the DIW. 

"Mr. Rishab. My name is Aadan Kwame and this is my partner, Kori MacKay. We're the investigating officers of the accident surrounding Air Dash 707, which you and Captain Rick Jonas were operating on October 10th, 2015 and I hope you're feeling ready to talk about flight 707. "

"Yes.. sir"

"Mr. Rishab, can you tell us exactly what happened on flight 707 ?"

"The GPS got corrupted and we lost control over the plane after an explosion happened in the lower deck."

"Do you know how this happened ?" 

"I'm not sure. Captain said to descend and maintain 3,000 ft. since we had about 30 minutes before approach. The explosion happened and I went blank…"

"Mr. Rishab, we spoke to Fort Bedrin Air Traffic and they said your transponder was turned off at approximately 6:30 AM followed by an explosion southwest of Montana Bay at 7:05 AM. Although this was a plane scheduled for delivery, we have to understand why this plane was affected by one of the worst case scenarios of having its transponder deactivated since… that can only be done with some tampering." 

"I'm not sure, Officer. I told you what I remember."

"Okay, we'll have more questions for you once we have the black box. Have a good day."

Indignant by my answers, but not yet making accusations, Aadan and Kori left. I soon asked Mary Ann to keep the details of what had happened a secret, and she agreed while advising me to exercise caution. With a gauze covering my arm and a few stitches in my face, I was released from the hospital hours later.

However, my departure from the hospital was not a pleasant one as tabloid journalists surrounded me with multiple questions regarding the accident while security tried to intervene and disperse them.

I was unaware of the news reports, but one thing quickly became obvious. No one will settle for anything less than the truth, thus it's likely that the narrative of Air Dash 707 is more extensive than I initially assumed. Everyone who was involved in the crash investigation, whether the DIW or the citizens of Brunworth, did so for the sole purpose of answering one major question:

WHY WAS THE TRANSPONDER DEACTIVATED ?

(In most circumstances, transponders are used to advise ATC of an aircraft's height as well as its location in space.)