airline staff in northwest china's xinjiang uygur autonomous region made a rare decision last week after their aircraft was poised for takeoff: driving the plane back to the terminal for the sake of speed.
the last flight from south xinjiang's hotan city to the regional capital city urumqi was about to take off when an anxious father appeared at the terminal pleading for help as the clock approached midnight on april 30.
the uygur man's seven-year-old son had broken his arm in a tractor accident and was in urgent need of surgery in urumqi, and the last flight to the regional capital was their only hope to retain the boy's arm.
it didn't take long before the airliner and related departments as well as the passengers onboard decided to come back to pick up the special passengers.
a child whose arm was broken is helped board an airplane in hotan airport in northwest china's xinjiang uygur autonomous region, on april 30, 2021. (photo provided to xinhua)
the cabin crew set up a special space for the injured boy on the plane and later donated money to help the family.
in about one and a half hours, the plane landed at the airport in urumqi, where a special medical team quickly took the boy to a local hospital.
a string of green channels including a police car leading the way were utilized to make the trip to the hospital as fast as possible.
doctors conduct operation for the boy in a hospital in urumqi, northwest china's xinjiang uygur autonomous region, on may 1, 2021. (photo provided to xinhua)
thanks to the time saved by the delayed flight and other efforts, the boy's broken arm was reconnected, and he will now undergo a week's medical observation.
"thanks a million. our family owes so much to everyone involved in the relay race," the father said, who preferred to stay anonymous.
the operation took about three and a half hours. "we just had a special labor day," li li, one of the surgeons who performed the operation, said on his wechat page.
"everyone is racing against time to help retain the seven-year-old uygur's arm... wish him a quick recovery."
