A pilot for Sichuan Airlines was partially sucked out of a plane after the front windshield broke
- A Sichuan Airlines flight that was traveling from Chongqing, China, to the Tibetan capital Lhasa was forced to make an emergency landing in the city of Chengdu after the windshield broke.
- The plane's co-pilot was partially sucked out of the window, according to Chinese media reports.
- No passengers were hurt, but the pilot who was partially sucked out of the plane had scratches and a wrist sprain. Another crew member also suffered injuries, according to reports.
A co-pilot for Sichuan Airlines flight 3U8633 was partially sucked out of a plane on Monday after one of the front windshields busted open, according to Chinese media reports.
The plane, which was traveling from Chongqing, China, to the Tibetan capital Lhasa, was forced to make an emergency landing in the city of Chengdu after the windshield broke.
No passengers were hurt, but the pilot who was partially sucked out of the plane had scratches and a wrist sprain, according to Chinese media citing the Civil Aviation Administration of China's (CAAC) Southwest Regional Administration. According to the CAAC, another crewmember was also injured, but no other details were shared. There were 119 passengers onboard, and 27 received check-ups after the incident, according to CGTN, a state-run TV network.
No details have been shared about what caused the windshield to break.
The captain of the flight, Liu Chuanjian, told Chinese media that there were no signs that something was wrong with the plane, an Airbus A319, before the incident.
"The incident happened at 7 o'clock. There was no sign before the windshield burst. Just a huge noise. When I looked at the other side, the co-pilot was partially blown out of the aircraft. Luckily, he had the belt buckled up. Many devices were malfunctioned and the plane was jolting strongly. It was very difficult to control," Liu told media, according to CGTN.
The event is the latest in a string of incidents where windows on plane have broken or been damaged.
On April 17, a Southwest Airlines flight from New York City to Dallas was forced to make an emergency landing after an engine failure sent debris flying into the cabin and busted open a passenger window. The woman sitting next to the window, 43-year-old Jennifer Riordan, was partially sucked out of the broken window and died as a result of her injuries.
In early May, another Southwest Airlines flight traveling from Chicago to Newark, New Jersey, made an emergency landing because the outer layer of a passenger window was cracked.
The NTSB is investigating the incident on April 17 and said that the process could take at least a full year.