Worst Nightmare

Pilot ‘Sucked Halfway Out’ of Cockpit Window at 32,000 Feet

Sichuan Airways captain lived to recount terrifying ordeal.

If you’re having a bad day at work, spare a thought for the co-pilot of Chinese airliner who was sucked halfway out of his plane’s cockpit windshield after it blew out. A Sichuan Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing Monday, and the aircraft’s captain has told local media about the terrifying moment when the windshield gave way. Captain Liu Chuanjian said: “There was no warning sign. Suddenly, the windshield just cracked and made a loud bang. The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window. 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,” he said. The co-pilot only suffered scratches and a sprained wrist. No passengers were hurt.