Storms generally move from east to west. Judging from this rule, the fishing boat in distress, namely Nanyu 33076, should have moved westward with the wind.
Then you should turn around and search back. Maybe you just missed Nanyu No. 33076 while flying at high altitude. Maybe it's the southwest, maybe it's the northwest. In short, we should turn around and search west.
The reason for the U-turn was that the Forgotten Reef was to the west of the storm, and Le Hai's flight direction was from west to east. So, if he turned around and searched westward, Li Hai had no way to guarantee that he could fly there safely - because he had to fly at low altitudes to search, and the airspace layer with the most turbulent airflow was at mid- to low-altitudes.
At this time, Li Hai could barely hold on because the airflow became more stable as he flew eastward, and he could fly out of the storm's influence if he kept flying.
Li Hai used the lever and rudder to turn around.
Xue Zhengrong on the tower was relieved when he saw J-8F No. 81103 turning around and flying back. However, when he saw that the flight altitude did not change, it meant that Li Hai decided to continue the search, and Xue Zhengrong's heart was raised again.
"Look east, look east, Li Hai, the target is in the east." Xue Zhengrong said silently in his heart.
Li Hai was mentally prepared and began to search westward. Two minutes later, the more he thought about it, the more something was wrong.
Nanyu 33076 only sent out a distress signal, but they did not report the specific situation, indicating that the situation on the ship was very critical. If they still had the ability to maneuver, how would they choose to escape?
The captain must not know that the storm is moving west, so they will definitely not go west, because then they will never be able to leave the storm circle. The best way is to run in the opposite direction so that you can get out of the storm circle in the shortest time.
That must be it!
Li Hai firmly believed that this must be the case. He quickly turned around again, and the fighter plane drew a semicircle and flew eastward again.
There was a gentle cheer in the tower, and everyone cheered up.
After climbing slightly, Li Hai focused most of his attention on the airborne radar, not missing any clues. The radar waves reflected by the surging waves formed a layer of snowflake-like echoes on the display screen. It was not easy to spot a thousand-ton fishing boat swaying in the big waves.
The performance of the J-8F's airborne radar is much weaker than that of the domestic third-generation aircraft, but it is much more reliable than the airborne radar used on the original Su-27, although the detection range is not that far.
The airborne radar carried by the Navy version of the J-8F has a better sea search capability than the Air Force model, but it is not much better. Hainan Airlines has long ceased to assign the J-8 series fighters to sea strike missions. It is more often used as a high-altitude, high-speed interceptor aircraft.
What is the situation of Nanyu No. 33076?
The situation is very pessimistic. The ship's hull tilted repeatedly, exceeding the design limit. As a result, the ship was in danger of capsizing as waves came over it. Although the best time to take shelter was missed due to the wrong decision of the captain Wu Tai Zong, Wu Tai Zong has very rich experience.
He asked the instructor to tie himself to the captain's chair, using this method to show his determination to live and die with the ship. Instructors are political cadres sent by the local government to accompany the boat. Every fishing boat that goes out to sea for fishing operations must have cadres on board, and they must be civil servants or police officers.
The instructor is a deputy section officer in the town. Every other month it is his turn to go out to sea with Nanyu No. 33076 for fishing operations. He has almost no specific work, and at this moment, his status as a party member and cadre is particularly important.
Wu Taizong expressed his attitude in an extreme way, but this is not the action that should be taken at the moment. After the instructor tied Wu Taizong to the chair as requested, he held on to the pillar and shouted loudly, "Old Wu! The top priority is to bring everyone back safely! What's the point of doing this now!"
"Organize everyone and be prepared! If the situation goes wrong, abandon the ship and escape immediately!" Wu Taizong's attitude was very determined.
He said in a deep voice, "I am the one who harmed everyone, I must take the ship back!"
"Calm down! How can you bring the boat back alone?" the instructor said angrily.
Wu Taizong said, "I can sail the boat by myself outside the storm circle."
This ship is relatively advanced, and the engine room can be controlled from the cockpit, provided that the engine room is in good condition.
However, what are you afraid of?
At this time, the engine room suddenly reported: "Boss! One diesel engine has failed, and we have lost half of our power!"
The ship has to rely on power to cope with the rough waves. If it loses half of its power, the power that can be used to fight against transverse waves is naturally reduced by half.
Wu Taizong was about to say something to the instructor when suddenly the front suddenly became brighter, and his heart suddenly sank.
The searchlight on the top of the cockpit shines forward. The reason why the front suddenly becomes bright is that the lamppost shines on the light reflected from the big waves.
What does it mean?
It means that there is a huge wave higher than the top of the cockpit in front!
From light to dark, huge waves with a height of more than ten meters swept over, completely covering Nanyu 33076 without hesitation...
Eight hundred meters in the air, the J-8F's airborne radar No. 81103 detected this huge wave. The distance given by the airborne radar was twelve kilometers, and Li Hai noticed this huge wave that was enough to scare ships under 8,000 tons.
He subconsciously lowered the altitude by pressing the stick, and the fighter plane took a dive attitude. The airspeed increased, and soon it was at a distance where the sea surface could be clearly seen through the night vision goggles.
Unfortunately, when Li Hai descended to a suitable observation position, Nanyu No. 33076 had been covered by the huge waves and disappeared in the huge waves at this moment. After Li Hai slowed down and flew over the huge waves, Nanyu 33076 suddenly rushed out of the huge waves under the action of its own buoyancy like a submarine that was surfacing in an emergency. Then it crashed down from a position of more than ten meters and rose up. After a splash of water, the ship began to capsize...
When Li Hai looked back subconsciously, he vaguely saw something. When he found the focus, Nanyu 33076 had capsized and the water spray had dispersed.
If Li Hai continues to search forward at this time, then Nanyu 33076 will have no hope of survival. Under the huge impact, all electronic equipment on the ship was damaged, including the Beidou satellite positioning system. The ship's signal was also lost at Forget Reef at the same time.
Li Hai always felt that he had to go back and search carefully. Such a huge wave swept from east to west, and it was impossible for the thousand-ton Nanyu No. 33076 to stop it.
Without any hesitation, he quickly turned around. After a slight hesitation, he gritted his teeth and decisively lowered the flight altitude to 200 meters. In such bad weather conditions and above the sea with no visibility, flying at this height is extremely dangerous.
Time is life. If you find Nanyu 33076 a second earlier, the more than 60 crew members on board will have more hope of survival.
Li Hai can't take care of that much anymore...
