Stewards Hang On to Legs of Pilot Almost Sucked Through Windshield

A British Airways captain was sucked partway through a windshield that blew out at 24,000 feet on Sunday, but other crew members managed to cling to him while the co-pilot made an emergency landing, the airline said.

The pilot, Tim Lancaster, was hospitalized with serious injuries but was expected to survive, authorities said. Police said eight passengers were treated for shock.

“I could see a body hanging out of the window with two men and a woman hanging on to his legs. They were trying to stop him being sucked out,” said passenger Margaret Simmonds.

The incident occurred as the British-built twin-engine BAC-111, carrying 81 passengers and six crew members, was en route from Birmingham, England, to Malaga, Spain.

A British Airways spokesman said a steward was in the forward galley when he heard a loud bang and saw Lancaster being pulled from his cockpit seat.

But he managed to grab the pilot’s legs. A second steward rushed to his assistance “and they held onto him,” the spokesman said.

The co-pilot turned back and made an emergency landing at Southampton Airport, 70 miles southwest of London.

The airline spokesman did not know what caused the windshield to shatter. The Civil Aviation Authority was investigating.