A third of the passengers lost their lives (many weren't because of the crash, but from inhaling the smoke that filled the cabin) but the efforts of Haynes, co-pilot William Records and engineer Dudley Dvorak, saved the lives of 200 people. Eventually, the engines came back to life after the molten ash that clogged the engines solidified and broke off. Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! Full Disclaimer. Today was the final flight for pilot Alastair Atchison from Alicante to Manchester. British Airways Flight 9 was flying from London to New Zealand in 1982, and was on one of the last legs of the trip, going from Malaysia to Perth, Australia. Oh, wait, the oxygen bags didn't drop because they're only deployed when the plane is above 14,000 feet, and they were a few thousand feet under that window. As for the captain who got sucked out of the aircraft? Picture Source. The aircraft picked up speed during its sudden descent as the decompression had caused the cockpit door to collapse inwards, jamming the throttle controls. Within 148 seconds, Atchison managed to bring the plane back level at 11,000 feet. In short, they now had no control of the plane whatsoever. ", Air traffic control: "Roger, that is copied. This difference is what caused the decompression. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. We have a small problem. The cabin crew got to work preparing their trolleys for meal and drinks service as passengers flipped through their travel guides and switched into holiday mode. This British Airways flight from Heathrow to Auckland was passing over Jakarta when it ran into volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines. Atchison had made a distress call to nearby airports, but could barely make out the response over the roar of 630-kilometre-per-hour winds. It seemed that he got thrust to certain death until a quick-thinking flight attendant grabbed his belt preventing him from being pulled out completely. To this day, their job is considered a prestigious career, desired by many. And so, BA5390 set off the following morning with a shoddy windscreen the only critical component that could have failed in such a dramatic way. But it didn't stop at 23 degrees. Steward Nigel Ogden was the only other seriously injured party, suffering frostbite and a dislocated shoulder. The German fighter pilot is known for taking down 80 opposition planes during World War I. That's a pretty big career leap! He was not exactly viewed as an exceptional flyer - instead, he made the big time thanks to his extraordinary marksmanship.Although encouraged to retire, Baron remained active until his iconic red plane got shot down. We have a small problem. ", Co-pilot: "Er negative sir, the er, captain is half sucked out of the aeroplane. Alastair Atchison was the co-pilot of the flight and was also very experienced. 13 minutes after the flight's departure from Birmingham, at 08:33 local time, G-BJRT was at an altitude of 17,300 feet over the railway town of Didcot, Oxfordshire. Years later, Lancaster recounted in a documentary how he had purposefully twisted his torso around to face the inside of the plane so that he would be able to breathe. However, he somehow survived the tremendous ordeal, with just a handful of injuries to show for it. He flew for Jet2 after leaving BA, eventually retiring in June 2015 on his 65th birthday. Legends come in all shapes and sizes. Captain Tim Lancaster had been sucked through a gaping hole where the windscreen should have been. But they also clogged up both engines, and the plane lost all power. The plane continued to lose altitude and the oxygen masks dropped in the passenger compartment. By the time he did, the plane had tipped up on its side, and was falling fast. Japans attack on Pearl Harbor saw him perform a dramatic U-turn and he went on to contribute to over 50 combat missions. Now and then an adrenaline junkie is born with an insatiable thirst to break down boundaries and leave their mark on the world. Pilot Min-Yuan Ho, drawing from his years of experience, determined that commercial airliners don't normally do this and disengaged the autopilot. Specifically, the windscreen on Captain Lancaster's side explosively separated from the plane with a loud bang. Captain Bryce McCormick, who initially believed the plane had suffered a mid-air collision, declared an emergency, while flight attendants took oxygen to passengers (masks did not deploy because the plane was below the 14,000ft limit). Captain "Sully" Sullenburger radioed traffic control and told them as much. MaxyM / Shutterstock.com / David Farrier / Twitter. It departed Birmingham at 08:20 local time. Is that the only problem? As a co-pilot, Alastair Atchison may not be the most famous name on this list. With one disappointing caveat that we'll let you read at the end (should you so choose). The captain of Flight 5390 is surrounded by the flight crew in his hospital bed. An emergency landing alert was quickly issued to the plane at the Sioux City airport in Iowa. Having survived about 20 minutes exposed to sub-freezing temperatures and hurricane-force winds, Lancaster had lost consciousness. Aside from the flight attendant next to him clutching the pilot's legs with all of his strength, the sudden decompression also pulled the cockpit door into the cockpit, which blocked access to the throttle. Were you aware of this extraordinary story from 1990? Lucky Lindy became the first man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Could you really jump from a plane into a storm, holding 9 kilos of stolen cash, and survive? Pilots Malcolm Waters and David Hayhoe were given the Polaris Award from the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations for their heroism. With LanCaster losing. Co-pilot Alastair Atchison regained control of the plane, while extra crew members entered the cockpit and attempted to pull Lancaster back in, unsuccessfully. What aviation news will you check out next? I thought we were going to crash," a passenger later told reporters. On December 17th, 1903 Orville and Wilbur Wright managed to cover 852 ft over 59 seconds in a plane they had built from scratch, giving birth to the new world of aviation that we know today. Just moments after take- off, the poorly-fitted cockpit window of BA Flight 5390 blew out, sucking the passenger jet's captain Timothy Lancaster with it. It was only after learning of injuries on board that the tower declared the spiraling jumbo jet to be an emergency. Photo: The cabin crew fought to keep a hold of Captain Lancaster's body. All crew members were taken to hospital, and four passengers were also treated for shock. To their astonishment, he was still alive. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/ba5390-pilot-sucked-out-windscreen-the-ultimate-nightmare/101813438, Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app, Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article, The mystery of the world's only unsolved hijacking, Supplied: UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch, Child abuser superannuation loophole to be closed by federal government, 'Starved' national galleries and museums hopeful of May budget cash lifeline, Ukraine's interior minister among 14 dead after helicopter crashes near kindergarten outside Kyiv, Teenage boys in custody after reports of gun shots in Queensland's Western Downs spark emergency declaration, Passengers heard 'bang' as Qantas flight crossed the Pacific, pilot issued mayday call, Unheralded Aussie steals the show with freakish moment at Australian Open, Thanasi Kokkinakis sets up clash with Andy Murray after marathon delay, Church of England bishops refuse to allow same-sex marriages after years of debate, Days after deadly Yeti Airlines crash, grieving families wait for Nepalese authorities to return the bodies, a growing number even resorting to private charters to avoid the chaos, computer system outage grounded all domestic flights across the US, took off without any of the passengers' luggage on board, accidentally flew someone's pet dog to Saudi Arabia instead of the US, something had gone horribly wrong: 'explosive decompression', issues with his tools meant the maintenance manager had to reach across the nose of the plane with both hands, In their final report, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch concluded, a symptom of a culture that prioritised sticking to the schedule, This teenager fell 3km to Earth and lived. With no way to pull him in, Atchison was forced to land with his pilot hanging out of the window and held by his ankles. Everyone on board survived . Let's explore the unbelievable tale of British Airways flight BA5390. Many of the norms he set function till today. Aristotle said that there is no great genius without a mixture of madness and it was probably the case with Adolphe Pegoud, a brilliant pilot who was the first to successfully execute the classic loop-the-loop technique. This was, and remains, an immensely popular leisure corridor among sun-seeking British tourists looking to enjoy a Spanish holiday. None were the right-sized bolt. But he made a series of errors and lapses in judgement that would prove disastrous. The battered windscreen was found in a field near Chosley in Oxfordshire, along with the corner post and some of the bolts that had been securing it. After skidding further, the other wing came off and the plane ground to a halt, with fire and emergency crews rushing to the scene. If landing an airliner on a river already sounds like trying to float a boat through an iceberg, well, the situation was actually worse than that. 13 minutes after the flight's departure from Birmingham, at 08:33 local time, G-BJRT was at an altitude of 17,300 feet over the railway town of Didcot, Oxfordshire. About an hour into the flight, an engine's fan disk failed. His debut 33.5-hour flight began in New York on May 20th, 1927. Since hydraulic fluid was now leaking at a pretty serious pace, the controls of the plane became weaker and weaker. It was with the carrier for seven years before BA acquired the airline and its fleet in 1988. The situation was even worse than heknew. This particular example bore the registration G-BJRT. Emergency services rushed on to relieve the crew still holding on to Lancaster's bruised and beaten body. That being said, it does still serve Mlaga from London City and Heathrow all year long, as well as Southampton and London Gatwick seasonally. On board, there were also 4 flight attendants led by chief steward John Heward. Co-pilot Alastair Atchison made an emergency descent, but due to the sound of rushing air could not hear air traffic control. Atchison also received a Polaris award in 1992 for his efforts amid the frightening and challenging conditions that faced him. The store room supervisor, who had been in the job for about 16 years, noted that usually, a slightly longer bolt the A211-8D would be used to fit that windscreen, but the manager decided that as A211-7D bolts had come out, he would put the same ones back in. Japans attack on Pearl Harbor saw him perform a dramatic U-turn and he went on to contribute to over 50 combat missions. And I turned my body round and I was looking back along the top of the aircraft," he said. All Rights Reserved. Nigel Ogden was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, and continued with BA until leaving the industry to work for the Salvation Army. Astonishingly, the landing was successful and no injuries were sustained to any passengers. This time, the job was set up for him, with all the parts he needed. At the time of passing away 60 of his records were still intact, ensuring he left a lasting legacy behind. Whilst some may take offence to the nature of his actions, there is no denying the ability of Manfred von Richthofen, a man who is still known to this day as the Red Baron.

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