Broken windshield at 32000 Feet in the air, Pilot saves lives of 128 people on board !
We hear new and new stories of courageous acts each and everyday, but this is one that will blow your mind. A horrific and terrifying experience took place for about 119 passengers and 9 crew members aboard the Sichuan airline.
The hero in our story is the pilot Liu Chuanjian who along with his co-pilots successfully landed the airplane after its windscreen blew out in mid-air. The flight departed from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and was scheduled to arrive at Lhasa Gonggar Airport but a major complication soon arose as mid flight, at 30,000 feet up in the air, the right front segment of the windshield separated from the aircraft followed by an uncontrolled decompression.
“Everything in the cockpit was floating in the air. Most of the equipment malfunctioned… and I couldn’t hear the radio. The plane was shaking so hard I could not read the gauges”, the captain was quoted as saying.
The Incident
This horrifying incident took place but our pilot was quick on the action. The windshield broke because the seal had been damaged and moreover, it caused all external water vapor to enter, and the pressure difference at the height of approximately 9,500 metres just added the fuel to the fire. Moreover, descent to lower altitudes was not possible for they were flying over the Tibetan Plateau, however they needed an altitude of 2,400 metres to maintain cabin pressure.
As soon as the windshield broke, his copilot Xu Ruichen was sucked out of the cockpit and with the help of a seatbelt, hung on to his dear life. Still trying to battle out the fierce winds at -40 C, the captain was able to hang on to his copilot and at the same time successfully managed to steer the aircraft to safety.
All this time, the rest of the crew ensured the safety of the passengers and kept the situation calm. About 35 minutes after the incident, the plane had a successful emergency landing at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. The copilot and one of the crew members just had minor injuries and none of the passengers were greatly affected in any manner.
Investigations were conducted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Airbus and Sichuan Airlines, and before departure, they reported no faults with the aircraft. Although minor cracks in the windshield often take place, such an incident is first of its own.
Aftermath:
Liu was awarded around 5 million Yuan for this act of bravery, and the entire crew was hailed as heroes on social media. The crew and pilots continue to work for Sichuan Airlines and the airline continues to keep flight 3U8633 in operation, flying the same route.
The movie “The captain” is based on this incident of Airline 3U8633 and revolves around this heroic act and is available on Amazon Prime.
In a moment of panic, the entire crew kept their calm and acted in the proper way, it takes a great deal of bravery to maintain a calm environment. And we should applaud everyone, the crew and the passengers for displaying this act of bravery. The captain along with his crew achieved a feat which very few people can and this story is inspiring to all people around the world, as our life is unpredictable, anything can happen and we must be prepared to fight it.
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