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
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