Wings of Payback

"I didn't say that the data was fabricated. I simply followed the procedure and didn't sign the record that I found suspicious. This is my right as the chief examiner," I said.

Just then, Zachary stood up.

He walked to the middle aisle, facing the head table. "I'm here today, not as the chairperson of Zach Airways, but as an experienced pilot who has worked for more than 30 years.

"I watched Yasmin grow up. She's always dreamed of becoming a pilot. Her talent, dedication, and piloting skills all stand up to scrutiny.

"But today, someone has stood in her way."

He turned around and finally met my gaze. "That person is Ethan Lowe, and he's my son."

Everyone started whispering.

Zachary continued steadily, "I ended things with his mother 20 years ago. I've never carried out my duty as his father over the past 20 years. It's my fault. But…"

His tone grew slightly serious. "As the chief examiner, he denied Yasmin's upgrade to captain, not because something was wrong with the record, but because of his mother. He's abusing his authority due to a personal grudge."

He emphasized the last few words.

The air in the meeting room went still.

Mike asked in a low voice, "Ethan, would you like to say anything?"

Instead of replying immediately, I gradually opened up the briefcase and took out the brown paper bag.

I took two documents out of it and placed them side by side on the table.

"This is the weather assessment report signed and submitted by you 20 years ago." I tapped on the first document.

The paper had turned yellow, and the words "Not suitable for takeoff" were written on it.

It was signed by Zachary on March 19th, 2005.

"This is from the same day. It is the hourly weather observation report provided by the National Meteorological Department's Southon Observation Station. The visibility was more than six miles, the cloud ceiling was above two miles, and the wind speed was five knots."

I moved on to the second document.

"You said the weather was bad and that the aircraft couldn't take off."

Then, I took out an A3 paper from the briefcase and spread it across the table.

It was a curved flight path, overlapping on the city map.

"This is the flight path of the Cessna with the registration number B-10YZ between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm on the same day. This aircraft…"

I stared at him. "…is owned by Zach Airways."

A flicker of tension crossed Zachary's face.

Under the light, his face turned as pale as a sheet as he swallowed hard.

Mike fixed his eyes on the two documents for a long time before he gradually raised his head. "Mr. Zachary, this weather report…"

Zachary remained silent.

I reached for the speaker in the briefcase and pressed the play button, and the old recording started playing through the speaker.

It wasn't loud, but every word could be heard clearly.

It was the voice of a young man, and it sounded like he was grinning nonchalantly.

"The weather is bad today. The aircraft can't take off."

There was children's laughter, the sound of propellers winding down, and the soft rustling of petals falling to the ground.

The recording was still playing, and Zachary's hands started shaking.