Terrifying Simulation Reveals Pilot’s Harrowing Experience After Being Sucked Out Of Plane Mid-Flight

A shocking simulation has shown the terrifying moment when a pilot was pulled out of the cockpit window mid-flight. The incident happened back in 1990, involving Captain Tim Lancaster and co-pilot Alistair Atcheson, who were on a British Airways flight that had been airborne for just 13 minutes when disaster struck.

While the flight was heading from Birmingham to Malaga in Spain, two cockpit windows suddenly cracked and shattered completely, causing the pilot to be sucked from his seat. His upper body, including his head and torso, ended up dangling outside the aircraft through the open window.

A simulation shows what happened to the unfortunate pilot YouTube/Zack D Films

Flight attendant Nigel Ogden heroically managed to grab the pilot's legs and hold on, preventing him from being pulled out completely. Despite the crew's frantic efforts to keep Lancaster from falling, his head kept hitting the plane's roof, and many of them feared that the injuries he sustained were fatal.

Meanwhile, co-pilot Atcheson concentrated on bringing the plane to safety as the crew continued to hold on to the pilot.

Ogden recounted the terrifying event to The Sydney Morning Herald, saying: "I whipped round and saw the front windscreen had disappeared and Tim, the pilot, was going out through it - he had been sucked out of his seatbelt, and all I could see were his legs."

He continued, "I jumped over the control column and grabbed him round his waist to avoid him going out completely."

and also described, "His shirt had been pulled off his back and his body was bent upwards, doubled over round the top of the aircraft."

A reconstruction of the horrifying moment Discovery

"His legs were jammed forward, disconnecting the autopilot, and the flight door was resting on the controls, sending the plane hurtling down at nearly 650 kmh through some of the most congested skies in the world."

As Ogden started to slip out, another cabin crew member, John Heward, rushed into the cockpit and grabbed him by the belt to prevent him from falling. A second flight attendant then strapped himself into the pilot’s seat, helping to keep the human chain stable.

A simulation, shared by Zack D. Films on YouTube, visually recreates the incident, showing Lancaster dangling outside while Ogden desperately holds onto his legs inside the cockpit.

Incredibly, the plane was eventually able to land safely at Southampton Airport. Both Lancaster and Ogden miraculously only suffered minor injuries despite the terrifying ordeal.

Reflecting on the incident, Lancaster said he was 'aware of being outside of the airplane, but that really didn't bother me a great deal'. In the 2005 documentary Mayday, he recalled, "What I remember most clearly was the fact that I couldn't breathe because I was facing into the airflow,"