The incredible story of Captain Tim Lancaster’s miraculous survival after being sucked out of the cockpit window has resurfaced more than 30 years after the terrifying incident.
On June 20, 1990, British Airways Flight 5390, flying from Birmingham to Malaga, was about 13 minutes into its flight when disaster struck over Oxfordshire.
As the plane was cruising at 17,300 feet, two of the cockpit windows shattered. The force of explosive decompression ripped Captain Lancaster from his seat and sucked him halfway out of the cockpit window.
This left him pinned against the aircraft’s exterior while the plane plunged into a dangerous nosedive.
Flight Attendant’s Quick Thinking Saves the Day
Flight attendant Nigel Ogden, who was in the cockpit at the time, recalled the horror: “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 added.
According to Business Insider, Ogden jumped into action by grabbing Lancaster’s waist to stop him from being completely sucked out. But as the pressure on Lancaster’s body was intense, Ogden said it felt like the captain weighed 500 pounds.
As the captain's shirt was pulled off, his body bent upward and flailed in the air, with his legs jammed forward, disconnecting the autopilot.
The plane, now uncontrollable, hurtled toward the ground at speeds exceeding 400 miles per hour through congested skies. The cockpit door was blown off its hinges, and co-pilot Alistair Atchison struggled to maintain control.
Co-Pilot’s Heroic Effort to Regain Control
Despite the chaos, Atchison managed to regain control of the aircraft and begin an emergency descent, reducing the altitude to a level where passengers and crew could breathe.
As Ogden held onto the captain, fearing for his life, Lancaster’s body was badly bruised.
“His face was banging against the window with blood coming out of his nose and the side of his head, his arms were flailing,” Ogden recalled, “Most terrifyingly, his eyes were wide open. I'll never forget that sight as long as I live."
Miraculously, Lancaster remained conscious throughout the ordeal, despite the suffocating pressure.
He ended up surviving after flight attendant John Heward, Ogden, and the crew held on to him long enough for Atchison to land the plane safely at Southampton Airport.
He would later describe the experience as "completely surreal" in a 2005 Mayday documentary, noting that while he was aware he was outside the plane.
The captain added that the most unsettling sensation was the difficulty breathing as his face was faced into the airflow.
Remarkably, Lancaster only suffered frostbite and several fractures to his elbow, thumb, and wrist, along with some bruising. Meanwhile, all 81 passengers aboard the flight walked off unharmed.
The Sun reported that a subsequent investigation revealed that faulty bolts used in the routine maintenance of the windscreen were to blame for the catastrophic decompression.
The flight crew’s quick thinking was widely praised, with Ogden receiving the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.
Lancaster, though shaken, was back in the cockpit just five months later and continued to fly for British Airways until his retirement in 2003.