Do you know who I am? Blake's voice rises. Other passengers turn to stare. I'm Blake Morrison. Morrison Venture Capital.
I've invested in three airlines. I think I deserve better customer service than this. Ashley doesn't slow down. She's got bigger problems than Blake's ego. In the cockpit, Captain Mendoza and First Officer Jennifer Walsh stare at screens full of error messages.
Every navigation system shows different readings. GPS says they're flying over the Pacific Ocean. Radar shows them stationary on the ground. Altitude readings fluctuate between sea level and 40,000 feet. Jenny, run a full diagnostic on the flight management computer.
Already did, Carlos. Everything checks out. Hardware's fine. It's the software that's gone haywire. How is that possible?
This system's been tested millions of times. Someone's messing with us. Captain Mendoza reaches for his radio. Chicago Tower. This is United Flight 847.
We're showing multiple navigation failures. Request immediate priority landing. Static, then Flight 847 Chicago Tower. We show you normal on all systems. Please confirm your status.
The captain and first officer exchange glances. On the ground, everything looks fine. In the air, nothing works. Back in 34B, Victoria saves her work and closes the tablet. She reaches into her carry-on bag and pulls out a second device.
This one doesn't look like any consumer tablet. The screen shows scrolling lines of code that would make NASA programmers weep. She opens a secure connection and types Phoenix Protocol initiated. Countdown 13 minutes 47 seconds. Across the aisle, Sophia Martinez holds up her phone.
She's been recording since the emergency lighting came on. Her Instagram live stream already has 12,000 viewers. “You guys are not going to believe this,” she whispers into her phone. “I think we're about to see something incredible happen.” There's this woman back here who looks completely calm while everyone else is freaking out.
She's doing something on her tablet, and I swear she's smiling. Sophia zooms in on Victoria's face. Even in the emergency lighting, Victoria looks peaceful, focused, like she's exactly where she needs to be. The plane banks left suddenly. Several passengers gasp.
Overhead bins rattle. A flight attendant grabs a seat back to steady herself. This is Captain Mendoza again. We're being vectored to a different approach pattern. Nothing to worry about.