Cole slid down the side of the top hatch to the side of the plane. He had found the cabin door to be jammed shut, which was not a good sign at all. All in all, for those in the front of the plane, the landing wasn’t [i]that bad[/i] comparatively. In fact, he was rather proud of the job he and Xi had done in setting her down. The two of them had walked away. [i]Any landing you can walk away from…[/i] As the old flying adage went. He doubted some of the passengers would appreciate the sentiment though. 

The plane itself was in better condition overall than he’d first thought. The emergency landing was as textbook as anyone could have asked for and they’d followed the procedures. [i]Aviate, Navigate, Communicate[/i]. The third one he’d get to in time. The wings stuck up from the earth on both ends and the props were sadly peeled back like molted flowers over the still smoking turbines. He shook his head. [i]What a bloody waste…[/i]. He thought. She had slid on her fuel weight in the belly once they hit pushing a decent mound of dirt and mud around the forward section of the aircraft. The tail section, the part he most wanted to examine was angled up in the air, still attached, but as he came around over the wing. He found what he had suspected.

The cargo loading doors were gone. The whole assembly was missing and completely blown off down to the hydraulic hinges. The stinking smell of the fluid was everywhere and was streaked down the side of plane past the rudder. One piece had struck the tail when it came off which had caused the jam in the elevator. The whole section was badly mauled. It was a wonder the tail had even stayed attached. If they’d lost it in the air there would have been no saving them. That was no consolation to the passengers though. Those in the back near where they had loaded the cargo had an especially rough go of it. He was both proud and ashamed at the same time. 

The greasy aroma of jet fuel also mingled noticeably in the air from the open jettison valves which he stooped to investigate when he heard some voices from inside the cabin. He needed make sure no one lit one up in the joy of survival and blew them all to hell after what they’d just been through. Stranger things had happened. 

“We’re about two-hundred miles west of Lhasa.” He said stepping up through the destroyed cargo bay and looking at those awake and alert. His voice was gruff as if he’d just pulled the aircraft over to make a stop at a rest area. “Our transponder and GPS are still active, but will only last as long the batteries." He said answering the question at hand. "We need to get everyone out of this aircraft as soon as possible until my first officer and I can check it over... And whatever you do," He said pausing briefly for effect. "[i]Do not smoke around this aircraft[/i]."