08/07/2021 12:38
Clarín.com
International
Updated 08/07/2021 12:38 PM
About 27 minutes after the flight departure from Birmingham to Malaga, two of the six cabin windows were smashed.
The story of this British Airways Flight 5390 is an example that miracles exist.
It was June 1990
and
Tim Lancaster
took off from Birmingham airport for Spain.
Alastair Atchison was their co-pilot and they had 81 passengers on board.
When the aircraft settled into the climb, the pilots made themselves comfortable and loosened their seat belts.
When the personnel were preparing to prepare the food service, the pilots heard a very loud noise and the fuselage filled with condensation.
As if they were immersed in a nightmare from which they could not wake up, the left windshield detached from the fuselage.
Captain Tim Lancaster
was ripped from his seat and sucked out of the window at more than 10,000 meters above sea level.
The force also blew the cockpit door, nearly knocking flight attendant Nigel Ogden to the ground.
Image of the recreation of the accident.
Atchison couldn't believe what was happening and the first class passengers went into shock.
Decompression in the cockpit blew up the navigation console, the throttle control was locked, causing the aircraft to continue to gain speed as it descended.
To wreak even more chaos, the cabin door swung open and paper and debris began flying into the passenger compartment.
The pilot was thrown against the roof of the plane's cabin.
Meanwhile, the captain's body was still outside, freezing.
Flight attendant Nigel Ogden was able to miraculously close Lancaster's belt, while flight attendants tried to calm passengers, secure loose items and prepare emergency positions.
Atchitson had no choice but to start an emergency descent very fast, to reach an altitude that would offer sufficient oxygen, because the plane was not equipped to provide it to everyone on board.
He reactivated the autopilot that had been temporarily disabled and made an emergency call.
It was necessary to save the captain who, at that moment, had half his body outside the plane.
Ogden was suffering from frostbite and was exhausted from the effort of holding Lancaster down.
Two assistants came to help him.
At some point, everyone thought that the captain was dead,
but the co-pilot ordered the cabin crew not to release his body for the world.
I was afraid it would blow up and crash into the left engine, in turn causing a fire or engine failure.
The captain suffered fractures and frostbite, but miraculously saved his life.
In the midst of that terrible ordeal, Atchitson received clearance from air traffic control to land in Southampton (southern England).
Gripping Lancaster's body tightly, they prepared for the maneuver.
What might be called a true action movie scene, but this time without actors or stunts, British Airways Flight 5390 landed safely and without any seriously injured passengers.
Lancaster was immediately transferred to the hospital to treat him for frostbite and various fractures to the body.
Ogden's bravery resulted in a dislocated shoulder, a frozen half face, and frostbite damage to his left eye.
Further investigation unraveled the mystery:
a replacement windshield had been installed 27 hours before the flight
.
Despite approval from the shift maintenance manager, 84 of the 90 windshield retaining bolts were too small, while the other six were too short.
The windshield had been replaced before the flight and that almost caused a tragedy.
A human error could have cost the lives of both the crew and the passengers of this British plane that was flying to Malaga.
What some call fate or luck wanted this event, worthy of a Hollywood movie, to have a happy ending.
They all survived to tell the tale and, of course, co-pilot Atchenson and the rest of the crew were decorated for their bravery.
Source: The Sun
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