A319 FO windshield blowout

[shimin]

Update： The co-pilot has flown out, the return is all manual and visual operations
As a pilot, Liu Shunjian thought of all kinds of unexpected accidents, but did not expect to encounter the accident of British Airways flight 5390 almost identical. June 10, 1990, during the flight, the cockpit windshield suddenly broken, the captain was suck out the window, the FO flew back to safe landing, creating a miracle in the history of aviation.
On the afternoon of May 14, hours later after the accident, one local news reporter contacted Captain Liu and got the exclusive interview as follows. (Please forgive me for my brief translation)
Reporter: Are you now good health?
Liu: Not feel obvious discomfort by now, my company will have me and others a comprehensive medical examination.
Reporter: I just interviewed some people in the industry, they said the landing be very difficult?
Liu: A total challenge, not the daily issue. The difficulty is the cockpit windshield burst, all of us met the great bodily harm. The loss of pressure, the sudden pressure changes caused a lot of damage to the eardrum. Temperatures dropped to around -40C, and extreme cold could cause frostbite in the human body. The control panel (FCU) was lifted and the noise was so loud that you can't hear anything. Most radio and equipment were in malfunctions, you can only do your job by manual and visual.
Reporter: In such a high altitude, oxygen also very thin?
Liu: Like the cabin, when the cockpit loses pressure, the oxygen mask will automatically fall off, hypoxia problem is not big issue. And the cockpit and cabin are sealed and insulated, so the loss of pressure and cooling in cockpit do not affect passengers.
Reporter: I noticed that the flight departure time is at 6:25, when and where is the time of the incident?
Liu: It should be 7 o ' clock, I didn't notice the exact time, the distance from Chengdu is about 100 km to 150 kilometers.
Reporter: What were the signs at the time of the incident?
Liu: There is no sign, the windshield burst suddenly, windshield bursting making a loud noise. As I looked up, the co-pilot had flown half, and half the body was hanging outside the window. Luckily, he fastened his seatbelt. The cockpit items all flew up, many of the equipment failed, the noise was so loud that the radio couldn't be heard. The whole plane vibrates so much you are unable to readout any instruments; the operation is so difficult.
Reporter: What kind of difficult?
Liu: Instantaneous loss of pressure and low temperature make people very uncomfortable, every action is very difficult. You know, the speed of the plane was eight hundred or nine hundred kilometers (per hour) and at that height. I'm going to give you a metaphor: if you're driving at 200 km per hour in the street of Harbin, what can you do with your hand out the window? (My words for you: winter in Harbin is the equivalent of Russia's Siberia)
Reporter: very difficult indeed. I heard a 7700 code issued?
Liu: I did it, equivalent to means "Now I need help", the control center and other flight crew in air can know it, know the approximate situation, what happened, I did this with the keyboard.
Reporter: In the situation of automation completely failed, including the FCU damaged, you can not know the flight data, how to determine the direction, course, return to the airport and so on?
Liu: Yes, completely manual operation, visually rely on my own to judge, many of the civil aviation is automatic operation, but this time the automatic equipment can’t help. I have flown this route over 100 times. I should say everything of flying here is familiar to me.
Reporter: Did you pay attention to your physical condition while you were trying to save the plane and passengers?
Liu: At that time, I just want to be able to operate the aircraft safely, unable to pay attention to my and other’s physical condition. In order to avoid further damage to my colleague in the cockpit and passengers, the first is to reduce the speed, and then try to make the emergency height reduction. The noise was great, automatic equipment can’t help. Completely by hand and visual, rely on perseverance to grasp the stick to complete the return and safe landing. My body should have been a very big wobble.
Reporter: How much time did it take from the accident to the landing?
Liu: About more than 20 minutes.
Reporter: What's the weather like this morning? Did it affect the emergency landing?
Liu: The weather helped a lot. There was almost no cloud this morning, and the visibility was very good, and if it was accompanied by rain or bad weather, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Reporter: Insiders say when learning to fly there will be a simulated noise, low-temperature and other processes?
Liu: In the primary trainer stage, there will be an extreme situation simulation training. But neither height nor speed can be as fast as this one.
Reporter: There are rumors on the internet during the landing, you burst the tires.
Liu: No. The aircraft is overweight and the thrust reverser is not working, it is longer than the normal taxing distance, the tire rubs longer, causes the temperature too high, and then the tire automatically deflated--this is a protection, not a flat tire.
Reporter: Can you tell me something about your experience?
Liu: I had been flying in military school before. I work in Sichuan Airlines since 2006.
Reporter: Netizens say your experience is more like that of Captain Sully?
Liu: I respect Captain Sully. But this time it was more close to the accident of the British Airways.
Reporter: Is the BA flight 5390? Do you have special attention to movies or documentaries of aviation?
Liu: Yes. We usually pay attention to flight accidents, from the professional point of view, consider the cause of the accident, how they operate,to make some preparations.
Reporter: Have you ever thought that you would encounter this situation?
Liu: I have been preparing every day, from just graduated to now have flown for decades. I do some my own preparation. Who knows what happen in the next? My job, as a pilot, is going ready to deal with any abnormals. Nobody has problems in normal situations.