A co-pilot of the Sichuan Airlines was partially sucked out of the cockpit’s window when the windshield of the aircraft shattered mid flight. Captain Liu Chuanjian and the other crew members of the flight were praised later when they successfully managed to make an emergency landing after the frightening incident occurred on May 14, at 30,000 feet on an Airbus A319. The aircraft was travelling from the southern city of Chongqing to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet.
Jiang Wenxue, a Civil Aviation administration official said, “The situation was very critical. The windshield was blown off at a 10,000-meter-high altitude. The aircraft was in a state of low pressure and a temperature was minus 30 to minus 40 degree Celsius”. Reports say that the co-pilot was almost sucked out of the cockpit but kept calm. Capt Liu while talking to a leading news agency said that there was no sign before the windshield burst but just a huge noise.
Capt Liu of Sichuan Airlines further narrated, “When I looked at the other side, the co-pilot was partially blown out of the aircraft. Luckily, he had the belt buckled up. Many devices were malfunctioned and the plane was jolting strongly. It was very difficult to control”. Reports say that the co-pilot suffered a few scratches and a sprained wrist. There were 119 passengers on board and none of them were reportedly injured and the aircraft made a safe landing at the Chengdu Shuangliu Airport in southern China.
However, the passengers were petrified of the incident and described frightening scenes onboard during the incident. The incident happened when meals were being served by the flight attendants. One of the injured flight attendant said that some air stewardesses were thrown in the air. The incident happened 80 minutes after the flight took off at 6:27 am local time. AN investigation on the incident is underway.
Photo Credits: travelandleisure
