The incredible story of how British Airways Pilot survived after being pulled out of his cockpit window is resurfacing more than thirty years later.
As the plane flew over Oxfordshire about 13 minutes into its flight to Malaga from Birmingham, two of six cockpit windows were broken.
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The BAC-111 was flying at 17,300ft when Captain Tim Lancaster, a British Air Force pilot, was sucked from his seat.
This sudden decompression also caused the door to be blown off its hinges and nearly sent flight attendant Nigel Ogden crashing down.
Nigel was quick to act and grabbed his pilot’s legs just as the man was about to disappear out of the glass.
Nigel later the Sydney Morning Herald: “I was just stepping out, with my hand on the door handle, when there was an enormous explosion, and the door was blown out of my hands.
“I thought ‘My god, it’s a bomb’.
“I turned around and saw that the windscreen was gone and Tim the pilot had been pulled out of his seatbelt. All I could see were the legs.
“I grabbed him around his waist and jumped on top of the control column to stop him from completely going out.
His shirt was pulled from his back, and his entire body was bent forwards. He had doubled up around the top of aircraft.
The plane was hurtling downwards at a speed of nearly 650 km/h as his legs were jammed in front, disabling the autopilot. His flight door also rested on the controls.
Nigel was holding onto the pilot as the captain slipped out the window. However, he was getting frostbite. His grip was also loosening.
John Heward was the second member of cabin crew to rush into the cockpit. He grabbed the Pilot by his belt.
Nigel continued: “I still held Tim but my arms became weaker and he fell. I thought he was going to slip, but then he bent into a U around the windows.
The blood was dripping from the nose of the man and on the side of his face. His arms seemed six-foot long and were flailing.
The eyes of the man were wide-open. It’s a sight I will never forget for as long as my life.
Meanwhile the co-pilot Alistair Atchison had taken over the controls.
He warned his co-workers not to release the pilot, as not only could he be killed but also his body might cause serious damage to the aircraft.
Simon, a second flight attendant, strapped into the chair of the third pilot and held on to the men’s chain.
Nigel said to the Sunday Times, “All I remember was looking at the copilot Alastair Aschison struggling with the plane and screaming ‘Mayday! Mayday!’ “Mayday!”
Alastair was able to control the aircraft despite all of this chaos.
‘Tremendous pressure’
The pilot executed a descent in an emergency to an altitude at which everyone aboard could breath.
His captain dangled out the window while he made an emergency landing.
Nigel said: “I told John to take charge in the cabin, and ran back afterward to check on the passengers. They had all heard a bang.”
She was a saint.
“I screamed, ‘Brace! Brace!’ All knew how serious the situation was.
The pressure Alastair was under must have been immense – the lives of everyone were in his hands. “But he brought down that plane perfectly.”
They were met at Southampton Airport by firefighters.
Amazingly, the only injuries that were sustained by the pilot included frostbite as well as a few fractures and bruises.
A photo of him in the hospital was taken.
Nigel received treatment for his injury and was able to leave the plane wearing his arm sling. All 81 of the passengers left unharmed.
A report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch states that a windscreen fitter used the incorrect bolts 27 hours prior to the flight.
According to the report, “poor work practices and poor judgments were commonplace.”
This bizarre story was the subject of a 2005 documentary entitled Air Crash Investigation-Blow Out.
Social media recently became flooded with stills of the show.
Amazingly, all involved were back on the plane within a few weeks.
Nigel was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, and continued with BA until leaving to work for the Salvation Army,
Captain Lancaster returned to flying in five months and remained with BA for five years before joining easyJet.
Atchison, a former Jet2 First Officer who was flying up until 2015 when he reached 65 years old.
Even the 1971-built plane returned to the skies.
The airline flew for three additional years in BA colors, followed by eight years with Romanian budget airline Jaro International.
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