Shocking pictures from inside the wrecked Sichuan Airlines cockpit after co-pilot was 'sucked out' of window at 32,000 feet

Images have shown the inside of the Sichuan Airlines cockpit after the dramatic emergency landing
Ella Wills15 May 2018

Shocking pictures have emerged showing the wrecked interior of a Sichuan Airlines cockpit after its windshield shattered and its co-pilot was "sucked" outside at 32,000 feet.

Industry news site China Aviation Review shared pictures of the cockpit after flight 3U8633 was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing on Monday.

Now, the images posted on Twitter have shown how the cockpit window was completely destroyed, leaving the pilots open to the elements.

They also revealed how the plane's flight control unit (FCU) was partially sucked out of the window.

China Aviation Review posted before and after shots of the cockpit interior, detailing how much of the control unit had been ripped out of the plane.

It wrote: "Crew had to operate manually because part of FCU sucked out. No windshield, lost pressure, extremely noisy, 300kt wind, multiple failure. This is a remarkable incident in aviation history. Hero pilots saved everyone."

It comes after Captain Liu Chuanjian told how a deafening sound hit the cockpit after the Airbus A319 passenger jet had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet.

"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," he told the Chengdu Economic Daily.

The captain added that "everything in the cockpit was floating in the air", and most of the plane's equipment "malfunctioned".

Blowout: the plane's cockpit window is seen with protection on it after the incident
REUTERS

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the co-pilot - who was wearing a seatbelt - was pulled back in to the cockpit.

Officials said he suffered scratches and a sprained wrist, adding that one other cabin crew member was also injured in the descent. None of the plane's 119 passengers were injured.

An investigation into how the incident occurred is under way.

The flight, Sichuan Airlines 3U8633, left the central Chinese municipality of Chongqing on Monday morning and was bound for the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. It made its emergency landing in the southwest city of Chengdu.

The windshield shattered about half an hour after the plane took off, according to reports.

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