Broken window in jet plane

[Eduardo K.]

Hi. I need help with some data. Today, the plane carrying our
country's president had to get back to the aiport because a crack appeared
in a window. This made front page of evening newspapers and stirred up
a heated discussion in local newsgroups.

That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
sucked and froze to death. Is it true? I googled a lot and could only find
links to 'Lost' series websites...

Any mythbusters on site? :)


--
Eduardo K. | To put a pipe in byte mode,
http://www.carfun.cl | type PIPE_TYPE_BYTE.
http://e.nn.cl | (from the Visual C++ help file.)

[.Blueskies.]

no, but there is this story: http://www.gallagher.com/ejection_seat/



"Eduardo K." > wrote in message ...
>
> Hi. I need help with some data. Today, the plane carrying our
> country's president had to get back to the aiport because a crack appeared
> in a window. This made front page of evening newspapers and stirred up
> a heated discussion in local newsgroups.
>
> That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
> incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
> sucked and froze to death. Is it true? I googled a lot and could only find
> links to 'Lost' series websites...
>
> Any mythbusters on site? :)
>
>
> --
> Eduardo K. | To put a pipe in byte mode,
> http://www.carfun.cl | type PIPE_TYPE_BYTE.
> http://e.nn.cl | (from the Visual C++ help file.)

[Chris]

or follow up this
http://www.washtimes.com/business/20031007-095651-9524r.htm

and this

http://www.airdisaster.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72212

".Blueskies." > wrote in message
et...
> no, but there is this story: http://www.gallagher.com/ejection_seat/
>
>
>
> "Eduardo K." > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Hi. I need help with some data. Today, the plane carrying our
>> country's president had to get back to the aiport because a crack
>> appeared
>> in a window. This made front page of evening newspapers and stirred up
>> a heated discussion in local newsgroups.
>>
>> That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
>> incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
>> sucked and froze to death. Is it true? I googled a lot and could only
>> find
>> links to 'Lost' series websites...
>>
>> Any mythbusters on site? :)
>>
>>
>> --
>> Eduardo K. | To put a pipe in byte mode,
>> http://www.carfun.cl | type PIPE_TYPE_BYTE.
>> http://e.nn.cl | (from the Visual C++ help file.)
>
>

[Peter Duniho]

"Eduardo K." > wrote in message
...
> [...]
> That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
> incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
> sucked and froze to death. Is it true?

Any "regular" making such a claim should be able to present a record of such
an incident.

I seriously doubt it did happen, but it's a lot harder to prove the absence
of an event. Just because no one here has heard of it, that's not proof it
didn't happen (though it does strongly suggest it didn't :) ).

If it actually did happen, it should be trivial for someone claiming it did
to show you a news article or aviation agency report describing the event.

I haven't seen the details of the event as originally stated, but your
description doesn't sound plausible to me. There would be significant
airflow through a window, no doubt, but I doubt it would be enough to suck a
person (whatever is meant by that), and freezing to death would require more
than some localized frostbite.

Sounds like your BS detector got set off, and it also sounds like your BS
detector is working properly. :)

Pete

[Richard Riley]

Not true.

The closest is this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Airways_Flight_5390

[Dave Doe]

In article >,
says...
>
> Hi. I need help with some data. Today, the plane carrying our
> country's president had to get back to the aiport because a crack appeared
> in a window. This made front page of evening newspapers and stirred up
> a heated discussion in local newsgroups.
>
> That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
> incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
> sucked and froze to death. Is it true? I googled a lot and could only find
> links to 'Lost' series websites...
>
> Any mythbusters on site? :)

It *did* happen - but guess what, the pilot survived (dunno if it was a
747 though).

The co-pilot did a fantastic job of bringing the plane down to below
10,000' (give the guy hangin' out the window (the captain) a chance!) -
and then landed sucessfully. The captain made a full recovery.

I'm sure someone will dig up the reference.

--
Duncan

[A Guy Called Tyketto]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Dave Doe > wrote:
> In article >,
> says...
>>
>> Hi. I need help with some data. Today, the plane carrying our
>> country's president had to get back to the aiport because a crack appeared
>> in a window. This made front page of evening newspapers and stirred up
>> a heated discussion in local newsgroups.
>>
>> That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
>> incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
>> sucked and froze to death. Is it true? I googled a lot and could only find
>> links to 'Lost' series websites...
>>
>> Any mythbusters on site? :)
>
> It *did* happen - but guess what, the pilot survived (dunno if it was a
> 747 though).
>
> The co-pilot did a fantastic job of bringing the plane down to below
> 10,000' (give the guy hangin' out the window (the captain) a chance!) -
> and then landed sucessfully. The captain made a full recovery.
>
> I'm sure someone will dig up the reference.

If I remember correctly, it was a BAe-146. Someone just posted
the link to the incident in the thread. Was a BAW flight.

BL.
- --
Brad Littlejohn | Email:
Unix Systems Administrator, |
Web + NewsMaster, BOFH.. Smeghead! :) | http://www.wizard.com/~tyketto
PGP: 1024D/E319F0BF 6980 AAD6 7329 E9E6 D569 F620 C819 199A E319 F0BF

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.3 (GNU/Linux)

iD8DBQFEOvFCyBkZmuMZ8L8RAiTyAJ4wEDxnFZ3gOKR2GqSsYe 76am2uNwCggPnP
dYILbPvVGFK7ePRpa8VTATs=
=yd7c
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

[Scott D]

On Tue, 11 Apr 2006 11:23:27 +1200, Dave Doe > wrote:

>It *did* happen - but guess what, the pilot survived (dunno if it was a
>747 though).
>
>The co-pilot did a fantastic job of bringing the plane down to below
>10,000' (give the guy hangin' out the window (the captain) a chance!) -
>and then landed sucessfully. The captain made a full recovery.
>
>I'm sure someone will dig up the reference.



It was actually on Seconds From Disaster on Discover Channel I believe
about 3 months ago. It was pretty interesting. They interviewed the
co-pilot and said the only reason why he told the fight attendant to
hold on to him was in fear of the body being sucked into an engine.
He was sure that the pilot was dead. But when they got on the ground,
they found that the pilot was actually still alive but half frozen.
It was found that the pilot side windscreen had just been replaced and
that the maintenance crew had used the wrong screws which eventually
let loose.

The co-pilot did a good job considering the pilots foot was wedged
into the yoke with the seatbelt.


Scott D.

take out the obvious to email me
Scott D.

take out the obvious to email me

[Morgans]

"Peter Duniho" > wrote

Sounds like your BS detector got set off, and it also sounds like your BS
> detector is working properly. :)

There was a case where a mechanic matched new screws from looking at the old
screws, instead of going to the repair book and getting the right screws,
while replacing a windshield in an airliner. The screws he used were
slightly undersized, and they were not able to hold, once they got to a high
pressure differential. On the first (or one of the first) flights, the
windshield blew out. Other pilot, and I think stew, held him from blowing
completely out, but he was most of the way out. I don't remember if he died
or not.
--
Jim in NC

[Icebound]

"Dave Doe" > wrote in message
. nz...
> In article >,
> says...
>>
>> Hi. I need help with some data. Today, the plane carrying our
>> country's president had to get back to the aiport because a crack
>> appeared
>> in a window. This made front page of evening newspapers and stirred up
>> a heated discussion in local newsgroups.
>>
>> That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
>> incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
>> sucked and froze to death. Is it true? I googled a lot and could only
>> find
>> links to 'Lost' series websites...
>>
>> Any mythbusters on site? :)
>
> It *did* happen - but guess what, the pilot survived (dunno if it was a
> 747 though).
>
> The co-pilot did a fantastic job of bringing the plane down to below
> 10,000' (give the guy hangin' out the window (the captain) a chance!) -
> and then landed sucessfully. The captain made a full recovery.
>
> I'm sure someone will dig up the reference.
>

Duncan, You are thinking of:

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/unusual.htm

06/10/1990

British Airways
BAC-111

On a flight from Birmingham, England to Malaga, Spain, at FL 173, a large
section of windshield fell away from the aircraft. The decompression pulled
the captain out from under his seatbelt. Despite trying to hold onto the
yoke, the captain was sucked out into the opening. A steward in the cockpit
was able to grab hold of his legs. Another steward was able to strap himself
into the vacant seat and aid in holding onto the captain's legs. The copilot
wearing full restraints made an emergency landing at Southampton. The
captain remained half way out of the aircraft for 15 minutes and suffered
only frostbite and some fractures. Improper bolts used to replace the
windshield two days earlier resulted in the accident.

[Dylan Smith]

On 2006-04-10, Eduardo K > wrote:
> That said, one of the regulars says a pilot died in a similar
> incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
> sucked and froze to death. Is it true? I googled a lot and could only find
> links to 'Lost' series websites...

There was a case in the late 1980s in Britain where due to an improperly
fitted windscreen (on the captain's side) during maintenance on an
aircraft, the entire windshield half departed the airframe.

The aircraft was a BAC 1-11 (a twin jet airliner which looks similar to
a DC-9). It happened at FL230 while the aircraft was climbing over
Oxfordshire on its way to Spain. The captain had loosened his seatbelt,
and he was actually "sucked" [0] out from his seat even though he hadn't
actually removed his seat belt. Two of the cabin crew hung onto his
legs. The captain was splayed out over the nose of his plane for 15
minutes. He suffered some frost bite and fractures, but survived the
ordeal.

[0] really blown out as the air made a rapid exit from the aircraft,
propelling the unfortunate captain out of the hole where the windscreen
used to be.

--
Dylan Smith, Port St Mary, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net

[B A R R Y]

Morgans wrote:

> There was a case where a mechanic matched new screws from looking at the
> old screws, instead of going to the repair book and getting the right
> screws, while replacing a windshield in an airliner. The screws he used
> were slightly undersized, and they were not able to hold, once they got
> to a high pressure differential. On the first (or one of the first)
> flights, the windshield blew out. Other pilot, and I think stew, held
> him from blowing completely out, but he was most of the way out. I
> don't remember if he died or not.


He survived to fly again, I saw the documentary. The accident was a
British carrier.

AFAIR, the pilot who held his feet retired, never to fly again...

[Bob Chilcoat]

Here's a story of that one.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/02/06/1107625054101.html?from=top5
--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"Morgans" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Peter Duniho" > wrote
>
> Sounds like your BS detector got set off, and it also sounds like your BS
>> detector is working properly. :)
>
> There was a case where a mechanic matched new screws from looking at the
> old screws, instead of going to the repair book and getting the right
> screws, while replacing a windshield in an airliner. The screws he used
> were slightly undersized, and they were not able to hold, once they got to
> a high pressure differential. On the first (or one of the first) flights,
> the windshield blew out. Other pilot, and I think stew, held him from
> blowing completely out, but he was most of the way out. I don't remember
> if he died or not.
> --
> Jim in NC

[David CL Francis]

On Mon, 10 Apr 2006 at 15:41:35 in message
>, Peter Duniho
> wrote:
>"Eduardo K." > wrote in message
...
>> [...]
>
>I haven't seen the details of the event as originally stated, but your
>description doesn't sound plausible to me. There would be significant
>airflow through a window, no doubt, but I doubt it would be enough to suck a
>person (whatever is meant by that), and freezing to death would require more
>than some localized frostbite.
>
Something similar did happen in the UK to a BAC 1-11 I think it was. I
recall reading details of the incident.

It occurred because of faulty maintenance. The Captain's screen had been
removed and replaced but almost all of the bolts used were wrong and too
short.

In flight, but not too high as I recall the windshield blew out and the
Captain was pulled partly out though it. Other crew on the flight deck
held on to him and the first officer landed successfully.

The Captain I seem to recall was not seriously injured.

That one definitely happened
--
David CL Francis

[Peter Duniho]

"David CL Francis" > wrote in message
...
> Something similar did happen in the UK to a BAC 1-11 I think it was. I
> recall reading details of the incident.

I didn't say something similar didn't happen. I said the specific incident
described didn't happen.

[Dave Doe]

In article >,
says...
> "David CL Francis" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Something similar did happen in the UK to a BAC 1-11 I think it was. I
> > recall reading details of the incident.
>
> I didn't say something similar didn't happen. I said the specific incident
> described didn't happen.

The details weren't quite right - but it did - happen. It wasn't a 747
and he didn't die - ok?

I believe you stated:
I haven't seen the details of the event as originally stated, but your
description doesn't sound plausible to me. There would be significant
airflow through a window, no doubt, but I doubt it would be enough to
suck a person (whatever is meant by that), and freezing to death would
require more than some localized frostbite.


So yer wrong about that too :)

--
Duncan

[Peter Duniho]

"Dave Doe" > wrote in message
. nz...
> So yer wrong about that too :)

Wrong about what? Nothing in the text you quoted was contradicted.

[Richard Riley]

"a pilot died in a similar
incident in 1998 when a windshield on a 747 fell off and the pilot was
sucked and froze to death. "

The pilot didn't die
It wasn't in 1998
It wasn't a 747
The windshield didn't fall off (it blew out)
The pilot was only partly sucked out
He didn't freeze to death.

Other than that, the statement was correct