2.
  Underneath his John Wayne attitude, Franck Calmotte was not in fact that sure of himself. He was about to bring in a Falcon for a landing on a tiny airstrip, even though all the indicators transmitted by the plane's own computers certified that everything was perfectly normal. Too normal in fact! Vibration levels were lower than they should be for this type of aircraft, and fuel consumption was well below what it should have been for an engine this powerful. Everything pointed to some sort of problem onboard, either with the computer or in the data transmission link.
Calmotte turned to Yann, an aerospace engineer on his team of specialists, who was already up to speed on the situation.
"Yann, I hope I didn't bite off too much when I said we could land a plane by remote control. Just tell me that I'm not wrong, that technically it's possible…"
The engineer was very pleased with himself, clearly in his element when it came to the science, technology and math that most people found impenetrable. He obviously thrived in this world. He slowly folded his hands in front of his face, like a sage about to dispense the wisdom.
"It is indeed possible. Thanks largely to our subsidiary Sagem Défense Sécurité. They were instrumental in a European program launched several years ago called SAFEE—Safer Aircraft in Future European Environment. The idea is actually quite simple. To avoid problems and counter the risk of hijackings, SAFEE provides for a strictly controlled security procedure that can be activated to take over the controls of an aircraft from the ground, and bring it in for a landing. Initially the system was designed to apply the so-called ‘fly home' principle—to bring the plane back to its original airport. But now the experimental network stretches far enough so you can pretty much have it land wherever you want."
"Right, I've heard about the procedure. But do you think it'll work with the Falcon? Is it equipped for SAFEE?"
Yann rubbed his hands together.
"It's very likely. The applications derived from the SAFEE program are in use everywhere today. So as to whether we can technically take control of the aircraft and bring it in for a landing here, the answer is yes. We have the equipment we need, that I know, because it's the Sagem hardware for the SAFEE program that provides the relay between the ground and the inertial navigation unit. On the other hand, you can imagine how tight the security procedure is for something like this. I'll need an authorization from both the civil aviation authority and the transport ministry before I can activate the system."
"You've made my day, Yann."
Not trying too hard to be modest, the engineer added: "It's just a question of experience. Remember, I started my career working on the A380 when SAFRAN was the contractor for the Aircraft Information System…!"
The director brought the engineer back to their more pressing issue: "Are you absolutely sure that the plane can land by itself?"
"Yes. If it receives the right data, there's no problem. Our runway isn't very long, but we have an ILS and the autopilot will follow the glide slope and cut back the throttle according to the instructions transmitted by the onboard computer. Then the angle computer will pull the plane up at the last second for a soft landing."
"That's exactly what we're going to do. Let's go!"
The two men were joined by a third who sat down in front of a screen to calculate the flight plan. The information was quickly sent to the Falcon.
The news had quickly spread around the control tower and the entire staff was hovering anxiously nearby. Suddenly a series of green lights flashed on: both authorizations had been received.
In seconds the data was beamed to the Falcon. Using the SAFEE program, the engineer had made contact with the aircraft's avionics suite, and was starting procedures to deviate the plane from its current course.
For everybody watching anxiously in the control tower, the plane was a small white dot moving on a round screen. They all gathered behind the air traffic controller, eager for any news about the Falcon, which stayed on course.
Murmurs of speculation raced around the room, as the different experts proffered their comments.
Suddenly the Falcon changed its heading and began to descend.
"It worked," exclaimed Yann. "It's following our instructions."
Calmotte was not quite as ebullient.
"But since the pilot hasn't responded, it means he's not at the controls. What the hell is going on up there?!"
He began pacing back and forth.
Martine hurried in from behind him, clutching a notepad.
"I've got some info on the Falcon. It's from Villaroche."
"Villaroche?" Yann repeated with manifest disbelief.
"Exactly. And apparently it's one of SAFRAN's planes," Martine confirmed. "Or one of theirs via Dassault of course."
Calmotte help up his hand to cut them off.
"I don't get it. What's the problem?"
Yann explained: "Snecma, our aircraft engine subsidiary, sometimes carries out tests at Villaroche.
"Which means what?" Calmotte shot back. "That the Falcon is some kind of experimental flight?"
Yann just shrugged. "Looks like it. A very ‘stealthy' flight if you ask me…"
Calmotte turned to Martine, pointing to her notepad. "Contact Villaroche. Tell them what's going on here and ask them for all the details. We need to know what to do next."
He'd barely finished when a voice behind him aid "Sir, the Falcon's in its final approach. It'll be landing in a few minutes."
Calmotte stepped quickly over to the tower's vast bay window, looking out at the runway. It definitely was not very long, and the jet was going to come in at high speed. The plane was no lightweight either.
He wondered what the chances were that it would overshoot the end of the runway. But that couldn't be as bad at letting an aircraft dangerously low on fuel fly for another hour or two. And he was even more concerned about why the pilot didn't answer their repeated messages.
"An experimental flight…," he murmured.
Everything was going very fast, too fast for his taste. What if he had made a mis
by diverting the plane?
"That's a pretty short runway for a Falcon," said another observer in the control room.
Calmotte cracked his knuckles. Things were tense enough as they stood.
Someone pointed out to the horizon. "There it is!"
A dark spot was hurtling towards the control tower at high speed. One of the technicians grabbed a pair of binoculars and zoomed in on the plane.
"It's not a trijet—it must be one of their newer planes."
The aircraft ripped through the sky like a meteor, rapidly closing the distance to the runway.
The Falcon was going to land.
It was too late to turn back now….
1 SAFEE : Safer Aircraft in Future European Environment.
2 ILS:
Instruments Landing System, a system of radio waves permitting aircraft to
land during periods of poor visibility or by instruments only.
***
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