China

Sichuan Airlines Co-Pilot Partially Sucked Out Plane Window, Pilot Says

"Every item in the cockpit was flying around. Most of the equipment was malfunctioning," the pilot said

What to Know

  • The jet's windshield shattered at 30,000 feet above ground and the co-pilot was partially sucked out of the cockpit
  • Captain Liu Chuanjian has been hailed as a hero since making an emergency landing
  • The co-pilot was treated for scratches and a sprained wrist

A Sichuan Airlines co-pilot was nearly sucked out of his plane's cockpit when the jet's windshield shattered at 30,000 feet Monday, about an hour into a flight from southwestern China to Tibet, NBC News reported.

Captain Liu Chuanjian told Chengdu Business News that he struggled to maintain control of the plane full of 119 passengers while his co-pilot had "half his body suspended out of the window," kept in the aircraft by his seatbelt.

Liu has been hailed as a hero in China since making an emergency landing in Chengdu, where 27 passengers sought assistance. The co-pilot was treated for scratches and a sprained wrist, China's Civil Aviation Administration said.

"Every item in the cockpit was flying around. Most of the equipment was malfunctioning," he said. "And the noise was so great, the radio was inaudible."

Windshields shattering midflight are rare. In 1990, a British Airways pilot survived after being partially sucked out of a window.

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