# Pilot lands Airbus safely after copliot partially sucked through cracked windshield. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 11, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855 "2018-06-11T01:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/1 "2018-06-11T01:41:45Z")
This pilot has the right stuff. He kept calm dispite seeing his copilot partially sucked through the windshield. I remember from Mythbusters that airplane windshields are airline-qualified glass rated for a bird strike. ( chicken gun episode) I’m curious how this airbus windshield failed unexpectedly? The pilot is being called a hero for landing the plane and saving the passenger’s lives. He also was given a significant cash reward. He should take a few weeks off. He earned it. 😉 [https://www.google.com/amp/wgntv.com/2018/05/15/co-pilot-sucked-halfway-out-of-cockpit-window-on-sichuan-airlines-flight/amp/](https://www.google.com/amp/wgntv.com/2018/05/15/co-pilot-sucked-halfway-out-of-cockpit-window-on-sichuan-airlines-flight/amp/) [https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1IG0A1](https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1IG0A1) [https://www.google.com/amp/www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/06/10/pilot-who-landed-plane-after-co-pilot-was-sucked-halfway-out-cockpit-window-awarded-777k.amp.html](https://www.google.com/amp/www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/06/10/pilot-who-landed-plane-after-co-pilot-was-sucked-halfway-out-cockpit-window-awarded-777k.amp.html) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/2 "2018-06-11T02:13:46Z")
I could have sworn there was a thread on this when it happened. I can’t find it though. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/3 "2018-06-11T02:33:33Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I could have sworn there was a thread on this when it happened. I can’t find it though. There was. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/4 "2018-06-11T03:08:30Z")
_Eh, Co-pilots are just ballast!_ Heard this from a pilot friend of mine… ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/5 "2018-06-11T05:53:50Z")
I assume this is a rare, freak accident? No bird strikes. Pilot says no crack either. Windshield just blew open a hole. That is so strange. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/6 "2018-06-11T06:09:37Z")
Might be getting confused with [this](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=853186&highlight=plane+sucked+window) one, where a passenger was almost sucked out. ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/7 "2018-06-11T09:06:47Z")
Very similar to a British Airways incident from 1990: > **[British Airways Flight 5390](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_5390)** > > British Airways Flight 5390 was a flight from Birmingham Airport in England for Málaga Airport in Spain. On 10 June 1990, the BAC One-Eleven 528FL suffered explosive decompression resulting in no loss of life. While the aircraft was flying over Didcot, Oxfordshire, an improperly installed windscreen panel separated from its frame causing the captain to be sucked out of the aircraft. The captain was held in place through the window frame for twenty minutes until the first officer landed at Sout... In that case, the ultimate cause was faulty maintenance of the windshield. I would guess that in this case it is going to be something similar. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/8 "2018-06-11T11:42:58Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I assume this is a rare, freak accident? Not at all; on pretty much every flight it’s a given that one or more of the flight crew will get sucked out through the windshield. Not sure why they’re making a big deal out of this particular incident. 😛 There have been a few cases of windshields cracking over the years, but catastrophic failure/decompression incidents are pretty rare. > [@aceplace57](#): > > No bird strikes. Pilot says no crack either. Windshield just blew open a hole. > > That is so strange. Random mechanical failures do happen; good design and maintenance can make them very rare, but it can’t possibly eliminate them. The fact that you regard it as “strange” (i.e. very rare and without immediately obvious cause) is a solid indication that, _overall,_ the engineers and mechanics are doing a good job. Whether they did a good job in this particular case remains to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/9 "2018-06-11T11:59:46Z")
It’s entirely possible that it was a material flaw rather than a maintenance failure. To steal a quote from _The Breakfast Club_: “It’s an imperfect world - screws fall out.” The design may be perfect, the installation may be done exactly, it may be operated in accordance with guidelines, and the material may fail because of an imperfection that was missed during manufacture. Stuff happens - that’s life. I’m not being cold or cynical - it’s just and acknowledgement that you can do everything right and still have things go wrong. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/10 "2018-06-11T18:00:27Z")
The [Fear of Landing](https://fearoflanding.com/) web site has a [good article about this incident.](https://fearoflanding.com/accidents/sichuan-flight-8633-blown-windshield/) Though there isn’t much known about the cause of the accident at this point. It does state that: > [@](#): > > They’ve already confirmed that the right cockpit windshield on the Sichuan Airlines Airbus A319 was an original part of the aircraft which was assembled at the Tianjin plant in China in 2011 and came into service later the same year. According to the logs, the windshield has never been replaced or undergone any maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/11 "2018-06-11T18:03:10Z")
> [@JoseB](#): > > Very similar to a British Airways incident from 1990: The article I posted above notes this similarity, but also notes: > [@](#): > > However, that was in a BAC One-Eleven, a British short-range jet airliner where the windscreen is attached from the outside with bolts. The Airbus A319 windshield is installed into a frame from the inside, so it can’t detach but must have failed completely across all layers after the crack. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-lands-airbus-safely-after-copliot-partially-sucked-through-cracked-windshield/815855/12 "2018-06-12T11:32:52Z")
Indeed. Since one of the underlying causes of the 1990 incident was this flawed design, one would hope that an Airbus built 20 years later dd not have the same issue. Although given the Airbus first went into production in 1994, I don’t know whether its design team would have reacted to the 1992 report - more likely they just avoided the issue in any case as a matter of best practice. In my rather uninformed opinion.