High-flying captain soars to success

Memorable trip

His career took off in 2010 when he became a co-pilot of a Boeing 737 plane. Abuduerxiti moved up the ranks and became a captain six years later.

But to this day, he treats every flight as if it was his first, remembering what one instructor once told him－"It's not just the controls you are holding in your hands, but also the lives of many others."

Yet, there is one frightening experience he is unable to forget, a flight from Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, to Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, on Dec 15, 2016. His plane climbed to an altitude of about 9,000 meters, and all of a sudden the flight instruments failed. He had never encountered anything like it before.

"It was like when you drive a car very, very fast, and suddenly everything stops working," he said.

He felt a rush of panic go through his body but thankfully it didn't last long. Abuduerxiti managed to calm himself in a matter of seconds. He went through the checklist with his co-pilot and landed the aircraft safely. Even though his clothes were drenched with sweat, the passengers didn't realize what had happened.