Sichuan Airlines Flight 3U8633 enroute to Lhasa declared an emergency on Monday after a part of the windshield blew off at FL320 (32,000ft)
The crew immediately declared an emergency and manually descended the aircraft to FL100 (10,000ft) after parts of the Autopilot system were damaged. The aircraft landed safely at Chengdu Shuanliu Airport but did encounter burst tires upon landing.
The Captain of the flight has subsequently released a statement saying: “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.” and summarised the scene: “Everything in the cockpit was floating in the air. Most of the equipment malfunctioned … and I couldn’t hear the radio. The plane was shaking so hard I could not read any of the gauges”
The airline has confirmed the co-pilot suffered minor scratches and a sprained wrist and one other crew member sustained minor injuries during the descent.
