The Airline Fired a Single Dad—Hours Later, a Jet Lost Both Engines
Chapter 11
Marcus’s mind raced.
Flight 482 was carrying passengers again.
The airline had returned it to service after the morning delay.
He had a terrible feeling.
“Who cleared the aircraft?”
Rebecca checked.
“The chairwoman’s office.”
Marcus shook his head.
“She’s under arrest.”
Rebecca looked at the screen.
“Then someone else has control.”
Marcus stared at the aircraft data.
Fuel pressure.
Engine temperature.
Control commands.
Something didn’t fit.
He opened the maintenance history.
The original aircraft had never received the full fuel-system inspection.
Instead, the records showed a compressed inspection performed in just eleven minutes.
Marcus stared.
“They never fixed it.”
Rebecca’s face went pale.
“We have to stop it.”
“Already airborne?”
“No.”
“It has passengers?”
“Yes.”
Marcus grabbed the radio.
“Contact the crew immediately.”
The tower tried.
The pilots responded.
Marcus listened.
Flight 482 was climbing.
Everything appeared normal.
Then the captain reported something.
“Fuel pressure fluctuation on engine one.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Tell them to shut down the affected engine.”
The tower relayed the message.
The pilot complied.
Seconds later, engine one lost power.
The crew declared an emergency.
Marcus watched the aircraft descend.
“Engine two.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“What?”
“Check the second engine.”
The data appeared.
Fuel pressure falling.
Marcus’s voice became urgent.
“They’re going to lose both.”
The tower asked,
“Can they restart?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not if contamination has already reached the combustion system.”
Then he saw the aircraft’s route.
It was over farmland.
No major airport nearby.
He studied the terrain.
A small regional airport appeared seven miles east.
Runway length: 6,800 feet.
Enough.
He transmitted.
“Tell the captain to divert east.”
The captain acknowledged.
The aircraft glided.
Engine two failed.
Both engines gone.
Marcus watched the altitude decrease.
“Stay calm.”
The captain’s voice came over the emergency channel.
“We’ve got the aircraft.”
Marcus listened.
The pilots were skilled.
But an engine-out landing was one thing.
Landing after a total dual-engine failure was something else.
The aircraft descended toward the regional airport.
Marcus kept communicating with the tower.
“Keep the nose down. Protect airspeed.”
The captain responded.
Then the runway appeared.
The aircraft touched down hard.
Smoke came from the landing gear.
But it remained on the runway.
Every passenger survived.
The airport erupted in emergency activity.
Marcus finally exhaled.
Then he looked at Rebecca.
“That’s twice.”
She shook her head.
“Two aircraft.”
“Same failure.”
“Same sabotage.”
Marcus nodded.
But then he noticed something.
The aircraft data showed a remote command had been issued again.
This time, the source was different.
Not the airport.
Not Amelia’s jet.
Not Hangar 9.
It came from Marcus’s own home network.
His face went pale.
“Someone is using my credentials.”
Rebecca stared.
“How?”
Marcus thought.
The messages.
The hacked school.
His former maintenance account.
Someone had copied his old authentication key.
“There is only one person who had access to that.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked toward her.
“Kevin.”
They searched the records.
Kevin Brooks had disappeared.
His car was found outside the airport.
Inside was a laptop.
The laptop contained copies of Marcus’s old passwords.
And one final file.
A recording.
Kevin’s voice.
“I’m sorry.”
Marcus listened.
“I didn’t know how far he would go.”
“Who?”
“Knox.”
Then Kevin continued.
“He told me if I didn’t help, he’d hurt my family.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
The recording ended.
But the final seconds contained something else.
A street address.
Gerald Knox’s safe house.
Marcus stood.
“We have him.”
The federal team moved immediately.
But when they reached the address, Knox was gone.
Only one thing remained.
A map.
With one location circled.
Ava’s school.
