dk.coldfire-第35部分

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toyed　with　the　idea　of　conversion　to　Catholicism；　she　had　never　made　up　her　mind　what　sort　of　god　she　preferred；　whether　one　of　the　gray…suited　Protestant　varieties　or　the　more　passionate　Catholic　divinity　or　something　else　altogether。　In　her　daily　life　she　did　not　turn　to　heaven　for　help　with　her　problems；　and　she　only　said　grace　before　meals　when　she　was　visiting　her　parents　in　Philadelphia。　She　would　have　felt　like　a　hypocrite　if　she　had　fallen　into　prayer　now；　but　she　nevertheless　hoped　that　God　was　in　a　merciful　mood　and　watching　over　the　DC…10；　whatever　His　or　Her　gender　might　be　and　regardless　of　His　or　Her　preference　in　worshipers。　
　Christine　was　reading　one　of　the　pop…up　storybooks　with　Casey；　adding　her　own　amusing　mentary　to　the　adventures　of　the　animal　characters；　trying　to　distract　her　daughter　from　the　memory　of　the　muffled　explosion　and　subsequent　plunge。　The　intensity　of　her　focus　on　the　child　was　a　giveaway　of　her　true　inner　feelings：　she　was　scared；　and　she　knew　that　the　worst　had　not　yet　passed。　
　Minute　by　minute；　Holly　slipped　deeper　into　a　state　of　denial；　unwilling　to　accept　what　Jim　Ironheart　had　told　her。　It　was　not　her　own　survival；　or　his；　or　that　of　the　Dubroveks　that　she　doubted。　He　had　proven　himself　to　be　singularly　successful　when　he　entered　bat　with　fate；　and　she　was　reasonably　confident　that　their　lives　were　secure　in　the　forward　section　of　the　economy…class　seats；　as　he　had　promised。　What　she　wanted　to　deny；　had　to　deny；　was　that　so　many　others　on　the　flight　were　going　to　die。　It　was　intolerable　to　think　that　the　old　and　young；　men　and　women；　innocent　and　guilty；　moral　and　immoral；　the　kind　and　the　mean…spirited　were　going　to　die　in　the　same　event；　pacted　together　against　some　rocky　escarpment　or　on　a　field　of　wildflowers　set　afire　by　burning　jet　fuel；　with　no　favor　given　to　those　who　had　led　their　lives　with　dignity　and　respect　for　others。　
　Over　Iowa；　Flight　246　passed　out　of　Minneapolis　Center；　the　air…traffic　control　jurisdiction　after　Denver　Center；　and　now　responded　only　to　Chicago　Center。　Unable　to　regain　hydraulics；　Captain　Delbaugh　requested　and　received　permission　from　United's　dispatcher　and　from　Chicago　to　divert　from　O'Hare　to　the　nearest　major　airport；　which　was　Dubuque；　Iowa。　He　relinquished　control　of　the　plane　to　Anilov；　so　he　and　Chris　Lodden　would　be　able　to　concentrate　on　finding　a　way　through　their　crisis　As　a　first　step；　Delbaugh　radioed　System　Aircraft　Maintenance　（SAM）　at　San　Francisco　International　Airport。　SAM　was　United's　central　maintenance　base；　an　enormous　state…of　the…art　plex　with　a　staff　of　over　ten　thousand。　
　〃We　have　a　situation　here；〃　Delbaugh　told　them　calmly。　〃plete　hydraulic　failure。　We　can　stay　up　awhile；　but　we　can't　maneuver。〃　
　At　SAM；　in　addition　to　United's　own　employees；　experts　were　also　on　duty　twenty…four　hours　a　day　from　suppliers　of　every　model　of　aircraft　currently　in　operation　by　the　airline…including　a　man　from　General　Electric　；　where　the　CF…6　engines　had　been　built；　and　another　from　McDonald　Douglas；　which　had　designed　and　manufactured　the　DC…10。　Many　books；　and　a　massive　amount　of　puter…accessible　data　about　each　plane　type　was　available　to　staff　at　SAM；　in　addition　to　an　exhaustive　detailed　maintenance　history　of　every　craft　in　the　United　fleet。　They　could　tell　Delbaugh　and　Lodden　about　every　mechanical　problem　their　particular　plane　had　experienced　during　its　lifetime；　exactly　what　had　been　done　to　it　during　its　most　recently　scheduled　maintenance；　and　even　when　upholstery　damage　had　been　repaired…virtually　everything　except　how　much　loose　change　had　fallen　into　its　seats　from　passengers'　pockets　and　been　left　behind　during　the　past　twelve　months。　
　Delbaugh　also　hoped　they　could　tell　him　how　the　hell　he　was　supposed　to　fly　an　aircraft　as　large　as　an　apartment　building　without　the　aid　of　elevators；　rudders；　ailerons；　and　other　equipment　that　allowed　him　to　maneuver。　Even　the　best　flight　training　programs　were　structured　under　the　assumption　that　a　pilot　would　retain　some　degree　of　control　in　a　catastrophic　incident；　thanks　to　redundant　systems　provided　by　the　designers。　
　Initially；　the　people　at　SAM　had　trouble　accepting　that　he　had　lost　all　hydraulics；　assuming　he　meant　he'd　had　a　fractional　loss。　He　finally　had　to　snap　at　them　to　make　them　understand；　which　he　deeply　regretted　not　only　because　he　wanted　to　uphold　the　tradition　of　quiet　professionalism　that　pilots　before　him　had　established　in　dire　circumstances；　but　also　because　he　was　seriously　spooked　by　the　sound　of　his　own　angry　voice　and　thereafter　found　it　more　difficult　to　deceive　himself　that　he　actually　felt　as　calm　as　he　was　pretending　to　be。　
　Pete　Yankowski；　the　flight　instructor　from　Denver；　returned　from　his　trip　to　the　rear　of　the　plane　and　reported　that　through　a　window　he　had　spotted　an　eighteen…inch　hole　in　the　horizontal　part　of　the　tail。　
　〃There's　probably　more　damage　I　couldn't　see。　Figure　shrapnel　ripped　up　the　rear　section　behind　the　aft　bulkhead；　where　all　the　hydraulic　systems　pass　through。　At　least　we　didn't　depressurize。〃　
　Dismayed　at　the　rippling　sensation　that　quivered　through　his　bowels；　achingly　aware　that　two　hundred　and　fifty…three　passengers　and　ten　other　crew　members　were　depending　on　him　to　bring　them　home　alive；　Delbaugh　conveyed　Yankowski's　information　to　SAM。　Then　he　asked　for　assistance　in　determining　how　to　fly　the　severely　disabled　aircraft。　He　was　ùnot　surprised　when；　after　an　urgent　consultation；　the　experts　in　San　Francisco　could　e　up　with　no　remendations。　He　was　asking　them　to　do　the　impossible；　tell　him　how　to　remain　the　master　of　this　behemoth　with　no　substantial　controls　other　than　the　throttles…the　same　unfair　request　that　God　was　making　of　him。　
　He　stayed　in　touch　with　United's　dispatcher　office；　as　well；　which　tracked　the　progress　of　all　the　pany's　hardware　in　the　air。　In　addition　both　channels…the　dispatcher　and　SAM…were　patched　in　to　United's　headquarters　near　O'Hare　International　in　Chicago。　A　lot　of　interested　and　anxious　people　were　tied　to　Delbaugh　by　radio；　but　they　were　all　as　much　at　a　loss　for　good　suggestions　as　were　the　experts　in　San　Francisco。　
　To　Yankowski；　Delbaugh　said；　〃Ask　Evelyn　to　find　that　guy　from　McDonnell　Douglas　she　told　us　about。　Get　him　up　here　quick。〃　
　As　Pete　left　the　flight　deck　again；　and　as　Anilov　struggled　with　his　control　wheel　in　a　determined　if　vain　attempt　to　get　at　least　some　response　from　the　craft；　Delbaugh　told　the　shift　manager　at　SAM　that　a　McDonnell　Douglas　engineer　was　aboard。　〃He　warned　us　something　was　wrong　with　the　tail　engine　just　before　it　exploded。　He　could　tell　from　the　sound　of　it；　I　guess；　so　we'll　get　him　in　here；　see　if　he　can　help。〃　
　At　SAM；　the　General　Electric　expert　on　CF…6　turbofan　engines　came　back　at　him：　〃What　do　you　mean；　he　could　tell　by　the　sound？　How　could　he　tell　by　the　sound？　What　did　it　sound　like？〃　〃I　don't　know；〃　Delbaugh　replied。　〃We　didn't　notice　any　unusual　noises　or　unexpected　changes　in　pitch；　and　neither　did　the　flight　attendants。〃　
　The　voice　in　Delbaugh's　headset　crackled　in　response：　〃That　doesn't　make　sense。〃　
　McDonnell　Douglas's　DC…10　specialist　at　SAM　sounded　equally　baffled：　〃What's　this　guy's　name？〃　〃We'll　find　out。　All　we　know　right　now　is　his　first　name；〃　Sleighton　Delbaugh　said。　〃It's　Jim。〃　
　As　the　captain　announced　to　the　passengers　that　they　would　be　landing　in　Dubuque　as　a　result　of　mechanical　problems；　Jim　watched　Evelyn　approach　him　along　the　port　aisle；　weaving　because　the　plane　was　no　longer　as　steady　as　it　had　been。　He　wished　she　would　not　ask　him　what　he　knew　she　had　to　ask。　
　〃。　and　it　might　be　a　little　rough；〃　the　captain　concluded。　
　As　the　pilots　reduced　power　to　one　engine　and　increased　it　to　the　other；　the　wings　wobbled；　and　the　plane　wallowed　like　a　boat　in　a　swelling　sea　Each　time　it　happened；　they　recovered　quickly；　but　between　those　desperate　course　corrections；　when　they　were　unlucky　enough　to　hit　air　turbulence；　the　DC…10　did　not　ride　through　it　as　confidently　as　it　had　done　all　the　way　out　from　LAX。　
　〃Captain　Delbaugh　would　like　you　to　e　forward　if　you　could；〃　Evelyn　said　when　she　reached　him；　soft…voiced　and　smiling　as　if　delivering　an　invitation　to　a　pleasant　little　luncheo