00:00In 1990, the cockpit window of a plane FII off and one of the pilots named Timothy Lancaster
00:06got sucked out, so the cabin crew just held onto his legs while the plane landed. But
00:10before we start, smash the like button and make sure to subscribe if you haven't and
00:14hit that notification bell so that you won't miss any new stories. Sometimes miracles don't
00:19just happen in movies. To say, life is full of miracles and the incredible story of this
00:24pilot of British Airways Flight 5390 is a veritable example of this.
00:30In 1990, a plane from this British company took off normally to Malaga. Everything seemed
00:35to be going from strange to stranger when one of the cockpit windshields blew into the
00:39air. The aircraft was at an altitude of 5,000 meters and its pilot was about to experience
00:44what, unfortunately, would be the most dramatic story of his life. He sucked out of the window
00:50and, miraculously, survived. On June 20, 1990, one of the most unusual incidents in the history
00:56of aviation took place. During a British Airways flight from Birmingham to Malaga, one of the
01:01aircraft's cabin windscreens broke, and this caused Captain Timothy Lancaster to be sucked
01:06out of the window due to the sudden depressurization. Miraculously, the captain survived the accident
01:12thanks to the help of flight attendants and the expertise of the co-pilot, Alison Acheson.
01:17Captain Timothy Lancaster suffered one of the scariest accidents in the history of commercial
01:21aviation. He was exposed to winds of more than 600 kilometers per hour and temperatures
01:26close to negative 17 degrees Celsius for more than 22 minutes. When they were at 17,000 feet
01:32, while the flight attendants were serving drinks and the pilots waited for breakfast,
01:38Captain Lancaster's side windshield ruptured. The sudden decompression jolted the plane, ripping
01:43the cockpit door and dragging the pilot's body outward. However, he did not fly off thanks
01:48to his legs, still tucked under the controls. Nigel Ogden, one of the crew members, noticed
01:53the situation and managed to grab Lancaster, who was being pressed against the fuselage due
01:58to the wind and speed, although he was starting to freeze due to the low temperatures. After
02:02few minutes, Ogden, still holding onto Lancaster, was by now developing frostbite and exhaustion. So,
02:09chief steward, John Heward and air steward Simon Rogers took over the task of holding onto the
02:14captain. They all tried their best to get Lancaster back into the cockpit, but it was impossible
02:19due to the high-speed wind. By this time, Lancaster had shifted several inches farther outside and his
02:24head was repeatedly striking the side of the fuselage. The crew believed him to be dead,
02:29but Acheson told the others to continue holding onto him, out of fear that letting go of him might
02:34cause him to strike the left wing, engine, or horizontal stabilizer, potentially damaging it.
02:39An emergency landing, Timothy Lancaster still hanging out the cockpit window.
02:44Meanwhile, co-pilot Alastair Acheson alerted the control tower about what had happened and
02:50proceeded to make an emergency landing. Without waiting for an answer, he began the descent,
02:54even running the risk of crossing into the path of other planes. Eventually, Acheson was able to hear
03:00the clearance from air traffic control to make an emergency landing at Southampton Airport in the
03:04UK. The air stewards managed to free Lancaster's ankles from the flight controls while still
03:09keeping hold of him. Fortunately, at 8.55 local time, 7.55 UTC, the plane landed safely at Southampton,
03:17and the passengers disembarked using boarding steps. Pilot Timothy Lancaster was alive. After spending
03:22nearly 22 minutes exposed to winds of more than 600 kilometers per hour and temperatures close to
03:27negative 17 degrees Celsius, Captain Timothy Lancaster was treated and taken to a hospital
03:33alive. He made his recovery within weeks and returned to work after less than five months.
03:38The cause of the accident, subsequent investigations revealed that the windshield rupture occurred
03:42because of some bolts that were thinner and smaller than usually were used, which had to withstand
03:47the pressure difference between the cabin and the exterior. In other words, the accident took
03:52place due to faulty maintenance. They were awarded. First Officer Alastair Stuart Acheson and cabin crew
03:57members Susan Gibbons and Nigel Ogden were awarded the Queen's Commendation for valuable service in the
04:03air. Acheson was also awarded a 1,992 Polaris Award for his ability and heroism.
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