Chapter 9 - The Impossible Landing
Laura stared blankly at the glowing green lights on the landing gear control panel, completely horrified.
The indicator lights were now flashing a bright, angry red, confirming exactly what the fighter pilot had just seen.
The vital hydraulic systems for the landing gear had been permanently crushed by the extreme G-force of their earlier dive.
They were rapidly approaching the dark coastline of Spain with absolutely no wheels to safely land on.
Madrid Air Traffic Control, this is civilian Flight 808 declaring a massive, catastrophic emergency, the First Officer broadcasted rapidly.
We have absolutely no landing gear and request an immediate chemical foam strip on your longest runway.
The Spanish controller responded immediately, his heavily accented voice incredibly thick with tension.
Flight 808, we are actively clearing Runway 32L and deploying emergency foam vehicles right now.
You are fully cleared for a highly dangerous belly landing, but you absolutely must maintain perfect level flight.
Laura knew the brutal, fiery reality of a commercial airliner belly landing.
If the massive jet engines hanging below the wings struck the concrete at the wrong angle, they would violently rip the wings completely off.
The intense sparks from the scraping metal would instantly and violently ignite the remaining highly flammable jet fuel.
They would be completely incinerated in a massive, unstoppable fireball before the rescue trucks could even reach them.
I am officially taking full manual control for the landing sequence, Laura announced incredibly calmly.
She adjusted her seat and gripped the heavy yoke with both hands, feeling the intense vibration of the massive machine.
She thought deeply about Leo sitting safely in the cabin with the incredibly brave veteran.
She absolutely refused to let her son die after everything miraculous they had just survived today.
The bright, glowing city lights of Madrid finally broke through the dark storm clouds directly ahead of them.
The airport runway was beautifully illuminated like a massive, glowing ribbon in the dark night.
Laura expertly lined up the nose of the heavy aircraft with the glowing white center line.
Reduce speed exactly to one hundred and forty knots, she commanded sharply.
The First Officer pulled back the throttles, his hands shaking violently with sheer terror.
Fifty feet, the mechanical ground proximity warning system blared loudly in the quiet cockpit.
Laura raised the nose of the plane slightly, performing a delicate aerodynamic flare maneuver to softly cushion the imminent impact.
Thirty feet.
Twenty feet.
Ten feet.
Brace for severe impact! Laura screamed loudly over the intercom to the terrified passengers.
The heavy belly of the massive commercial jet slammed brutally into the thick, foam-covered concrete.
The terrifying, deafening screech of tearing metal instantly drowned out every other sound in the world.
Bright orange sparks flew wildly past the cockpit windows like a violent, terrifyingly fiery meteor shower.
Laura fought the violently shaking yoke with all her remaining strength, actively keeping the wings perfectly level as they slid down the runway at terrifying speed.
The plane shuddered, groaned terribly, and bucked aggressively like a wild animal desperately trying to throw its rider.
Please just hold together, she whispered desperately to the dying, scraping machine.
May you like
The absolute end of the runway was rapidly approaching, clearly marked by bright red warning lights.
If they violently slid off the concrete and into the soft dirt, the plane would instantly flip over and catastrophically explode.
