First read about this in the guardian (don't judge me) immediately below was this related news headline from February :- "Boeng raises prospect of only one pilot in the cockpit of planes".
Made me think.

Thank you for your updates Shimin. Very good airmanship and flying skill from the captain.:D
I don't understand this part quoted below; The cockpit and cabin are not sealed and insulated on the Airbus. From the passenger report, it appears the mask fell out pretty quickly after the loud bang.
I wounder if having the cockpit door closed would delay much the depressurisation and the drop in temperature?

Translating Chinese to English especially "aviation language" is very difficult. Shimin is doing a great job. I think the meaning/context here has just been slightly lost in translation.

The armored cockpit door has a large blow out panel exactly for this type of situation.

Well one of you is right. :O

Can anyone point to some conclusive evidence either way ?

While it may be tempting to draw parallels with the BA One-Eleven incident, that occurred on the first flight after the windscreen had been installed with the wrong bolts. It should be easy enough to establish whether or not the A319 had just had a windscreen replacement.

As pointed out already, the Airbus design is different, the windscreen is larger than the opening and installed from the inside. It is not held in position by tension bolts and retainers.
The only way to blow out such a windscreen is if it structurally fails completely (all layers).
PPG Datasheet for A319
PPG Datasheet for 737 (as Example for a through-bolt/retainer design)
Nevertheless, a recent replacement may still be the reason for it to fail.

Fantastic Aimanship!!
 

Congratulations to Captain and Crew.
Thanks to Shimin for Excellent translation.
I am betting a Dollar the wind shield was recently replaced.

With regards to who made the airframe , give me a Fkn break.
I have had one Beech 200 front windshield crak with a loud bang, only outer layer, It happens on curved heated ones. Not the Americans fault, **** happens!

The next I had was at FL280 from City to Glasgow and ca 8 bolts protruding out after a change by the wrong mechanics, not wrong bolts. British AOC !!
I have had the honor to train hundreds of Hainan pilots in the Sim on the D328-Jet, generally excellent pilots as proven here!
Looking forward to know the cause.
Wonder how helpful the different " Boxes" was. I suppose it shoves that as long as the basics works it is all always possible to return safely to earth!!

Again, Brilliant handling.

Respecfully
Cpt B

Total respect, the passengers were so lucky to have such a competent crew in command. Brilliant.

From the DM article.
The airline stated only routine maintenance inspections, "It also confirmed the airline company had never changed or altered any windshields on the plane."

Sailvi767 I assume you are not a pilot. Any captain can hand-fly an approach in VFR, yes, but if you read the thread, there was a LITTLE more going on. It's when things become non-normal that the real ability is found

Full marks to the Flight Crew, and I gather the Cabin Crew were reassuring the passengers. Full marks to them too.

What a great interview with the pilot. Simply staggering stuff.

No, B747 windshield is external installation, not plug type.

The Captain's account shows that he couldn't use instruments, and had to fly visually and manually. Given that he had to stay pretty high to avoid mountains...what would have been the outcome if this had happened at night?

So this large blow out panel goes smashing into the instrument panel/pilots? :ouch:

I'm not familiar with the A319 or whatever it was, but normally the blowout panel goes in the opposite direction.

Update: Hero captain’s wife: Hope there will be no heroes needed in China’s civil aviation.
"We still hope that there will be no heroes in CAAC. After all, safety is the most important. The hero shows a special thing." On the afternoon of 15, later 2 o'clock, Zou Han said in an exclusive interview with China News Network at her home in Chongqing. At this time, his husband Liu Chuanjian as "hero captain" is still hotly praised and celebrated nationwide.
"When he was landing at Chengdu, I called him. He replied that he was busy. " Zou Han told the reporter that until the early morning of today, the husband was free to call her to ensure her that he was not injured. But he didn't let her go to Chengdu to meet him.
"I'm not very worried about him. He has been flying in the AF and Sichuan Airlines for many years. I really believe in his technology. His character is calm and steady." Zou Han pointed that he has flown every top plateau and high-high plateau route, including Lhasa, Daocheng, Kangding and other top plateau airports. As a flight instructor, he has done a lot of emergency training,including window shield bursting since his AF pilot career.
Liu Chuanjian exercises every day and runs in the community. "I joked, you don't have to go." He said that takes him to fly on the high plateau. Zou Han said he was lucky this time. "The aero chart shows that the aircraft is still near Chengdu. If the plane had entered the high-high plateau, it would be very difficult." Zou made her comments.
Sister Liu Chuanping said that their father was a worker in Chongqing cement factory and mother was a farmer. The family had two daughters and one son. When the elder uncle passed away so early, his parents brought up the three kids of the uncle's family. With six children in the family, the family burden was so heavy. Liu Chuanjian helped his parents since as a child. "The children who grew up in the countryside knew hard, so he cherished the career of the pilot." Sister Liu Chuanping said.
Born in 1972, Liu Chuanjian spent time of elementary school and junior high school in in this rural town. In Liu Chuanping's memory, her younger brother did homework so quickly and always got the top ranking. In the early 1990s, he was admitted to the AF flight academy. After graduated from the academy in 1995, Liu Chuanjian stayed in the school as the flight instructor for ten years, and then entered Sichuan Airlines. (My words: In China, only the best students can stay in school as teachers). Zou Han said that her husband was a simple man. No smoke, drink, play cards and majiang. He only drink tea, reading and do gardening at home.
Both husband and wife's careers are in the industry. There are two plane models on the side of TV in the living room. The bookcase is also full of Liu Chuanjian's notes and aviation books, such as "air transport services in the remote areas", "world aviation safety and accident analysis", and Chesley Sallenberg's "Highest Duty". "We both read carefully the Highest Duty." (my words: This book is translated into Chinese version by Mr. Yang, the retired director general of civil aviation administration. Mr. Yang is a senior chief pilot himself). Because of career, Zou has seen many plane-crash movies. As for the offical announcement that this landing is going to be made into a movie, "in my personal opinion, we still hope that there will be no heroes needed in China civil aviation." She made her comments. “We need more cautious and no small matter in the public safety”.
（Please forgive my poor English）

Incorrect. The cut-out is an escape hatch from the cockpit.

The provision for exactly this type of accident is implemented, however. To prevent overloading the frame, two cockpit pressure sensors are installed with inlets on the OVHD panel. They will release the latches for the door to swing open if pressure is lost in the flight deck.