Commanding the aircraft for this regular, two-hour-plus flight is Captain Tim Lancaster, a 21-year-veteran pilot with over 11,000 total flying hours, and he is joined by First Officer Alastair Atchison, who is new to British Airways but has 7,500 total flying hours himself. His next objective is the most important one: find the closest airport. Later, the entire crew would admit that in those moments of terror they had left the pilot for dead, however, they never gave up saving Lancaster's body, none of them knew that they were actually saving his life. The mechanic saw on a list of maintenance jobs for theaircraft that the cockpit windows needed replacing. Up there, thousands of feet above the earth, this first officer had to rely on only himself and the help Rundle could provide. You will also be asked to complete an online assessment, which ensures that you have the right functional maths and English skills that are needed to be successful. The aircraft is now racing downwards at a heart stopping speed of over 400 mph (or 643 kph). As we have established, the aircraft operating flight BA5390 on June 10th, 1990 was a BAC 1-11-500. Not finding enough of the bolts in the store, the engineer then went to a self-service parts carousel in another part of the facility. Recalling what happened on Flight 5390, he first recalls hearing a loud bang, and then seeing the windscreen rip away. Meanwhile, cabin crew members had entered the cockpit to hold on to Captain Lancaster's body. First Officer Atchison and flight attendants Susan Gibbins and Nigel Ogden were awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air for their heroism. Amazingly, Captain Tim Lancaster suffered only frostbite, fractures to his arm and wrist and a broken thumb. The pilots followed normal procedures and were about 5,273 meters (17,300 feet) in altitudewhenpassengers heard a loud bang noise, which is way up there with "wonder what this button does,""oh no", and "GODZILLA!" British Airways recruits what it describes as the best of British, looking for people who can embrace the timeless values, style and charm that Britain stands for There were fears that the runway might be too short for the heavily fueled BAC 1-11.
He did a smashing job and were all very grateful to him that were still here 25 years down the road. Last week, Mr Atchison made his last flight as a professional pilot, going from Alicante to Manchester with budget airline Jet2.com. Investigators quickly got to work on the alarming incident, and soon uncovered an equally shocking cause. Of the remarkability of how he and his crew survived against all odds that fateful day in June 1990, he says simply, Our names were on the list that day, but not at the top.. British Airways Flight 5390 was a flight from Birmingham Airport in England for Mlaga Airport in Spain. In the dramatic reenactment of the flight for Mayday, the character of Atchison sobs upon landing. For more stories like this,check our news page. The flight touched down safely at Southampton at 08:55 local time. Learn how your comment data is processed. Specifically, the windscreen on Captain Lancaster's side explosively separated from the plane with a loud bang. art oral history, part archive, this is a thoroughly researched account of the role of the Lancaster bomber in the second world war. Its a poignant image; but so too is the estimate of 25,000 lives lost in the bombing of Dresden, and the stain left on the consciences of the men who dropped the bombs. As a member of the Corporate and Support Function team, the salaries offered are market competitive and commensurate with the role you are performing. Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests. With the plane's flight attendants holding Captain Lancaster in place, First Officer Atchison was able to regain full control of the aircraft, and set about initiating the process of an emergency landing. 0. Through different assessments, the recruitment team can check that you have the right soft skills and aptitudes to be successful in the role you have applied for and it provides a fair way to compare a huge applicant pool and narrow down candidates to the best ones to take further. As it happens, British Airways flight BA5390 is not the only flight to have lost its windshield inflight. Captain Tim Lancaster, a British Airways pilot, was sucked out of the cockpit of a plane flying at 23,00ft from Birmingham to Malaga, Spain. Alastair is a smashing chap, said Mr Lancaster, 66, now a grandad-of-five. Careers at British Airways are varied the obvious pilot and cabin crew roles have extensive on-the-ground support from roles like: Experienced pilots and aspiring cabin crew who want to work for British Airways will benefit from the 6.5 billion investment that is being made over the next five years into new aircraft, refurbished cabins for long-haul flights and the aim to trial fully autonomous robots for certain on-board tasks. On the Captains side of the flight deck, the windscreen (or windshield as we would call it) has exploded and blown straight out into the open air, taking with it even the bolts that held it to the plane on the outer fuselage. They are eventually aided by steward Simon Rogers, who joins in on the chain of men holding onto the captains motionless body. Following this, there will be a simulator assessment so you can demonstrate your skills in flying and dealing with problems in-flight, which is led by a serving pilot. Flight attendant Nigel Ogden was almost floored when the cockpit doors was blown off its hinges and crashed into the throttle controls. After all, the bolts he took off had held the windscreen in place for four years. Worse, the steward holding the captain became tired and frostbitten, requiring an exchange with another crew member, and he slipped another15 to 20 centimeters (6 to 8 inches) out of the window in the handover. The bloody windscreen on the BAC-111 that was British Airways Flight 5390. Your email address will not be published. Then John loops his arm through the seatbelt in the jump seat to give his own body leverage while he joins Nigel in holding the captain inside the plane. Specifically, in June 1990, the captain of a British Airways BAC 1-11 survived being sucked out of his seat and pinned to the aircraft's exterior for 20 minutes. Atchison landed the plane in Southampton at 7:55 a.m 22 minutes after the incident had begun. Source: PA Images via Getty Images, Summary: Delta Air Lines Flight 191 should have been a routine trip from Ft. Lauderdale Read More, Summary: When seventeen-year-old Juliane Koepcke and her mother, Maria, decided to fly back home on Read More, Exclusive for Podcrashers: It began as a routine surveillance mission on the morning of August Read More, Summary: For passengers on the final leg of Varig Flight 254, they couldn't land in Read More, Summary: When passengers boarded Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on the morning of January 8, Read More, Exclusive for Podcrashers: On April 17, 2018, terror took hold of every passenger and crew Read More, Summary: In aviation, there are few people as well-known as the infamous D.B. Once you have received your offer and the pre-employment checks have come back, all cabin crew start New Entrant Training that includes getting their Cabin Crew Attestation. Captain Tim Lancaster at the age of 42 was an experienced pilot with 21 years of experience as a commercial pilot and over 1000 hours of flight time on BAC 1-11 aircraft.Alastair Atchison was the co-pilot of the flight and was also very experienced. God knows how, but while all this was going on, Alastair managed to get the plane under control. They had been installed the night before the incident, when engineers changed the windscreen panel during maintenance. Were you aware of this extraordinary story from 1990? But his legs and feet are pressed into the control column, pushing it all the way forward this is what has switched off the autopilot and put the plane into a sudden dive. He quickly grabbed hold of Mr Lancaster, whose legs had snagged on the controls, while first officer Alastair Atchinson desperately fought to steer the aircraft as it began to nosedive. So, just before passing out, he manages to turn his head away from the beating wind, and this allows him to take tiny sips of air. After a qualifying period, you can also get access to unlimited standby and premium standby fares.

U.S. law requires airlines to have contingency plans in place for lengthy tarmac delays, and in most cases, airlines are required to allow passengers the opportunity to deplane once the delay has hit a certain length. All pilots are subject to background checks, including financial and criminal, as well as regular full medical assessments. Screenshot of a reconstruction of the event carried out by Discovery. By this time, Captain Lancaster had been pinned outside the cockpit for more than 20 minutes, causing his colleagues to fear the worst about his survival prospects. However, Nigel Odgen, the flight attendant, soon grabbed Lancaster's belt to secure it, while John Heward and Simon Rogers secured the loose objects. The situation was even worse than heknew. His face was banging against the window with blood coming out of his nose and the side of his head, his arms were flailing and seemed about 6 feet long. This is an important distinction because, normally, pilots would cover the airport layout in their briefings, and in the cockpit, would use their airport maps to learn the layout of the runways. Unfortunately, the pilot didnt seemingly account for the lack of de-icing experience in Austin and the process of spraying the aircraft tipped over the four hour delay mark. It is a flawless landing.

Immediately, the cabin fills with what looks like a misty wind from a tornado it is condensation mist that forms when an explosive decompression happens, when the air inside the cabin mixes with the colder air outside the plane, raising the relative humidity and causing sudden condensation. And when he sees the captains legs dangling inside the controls, he acts immediately. His eyes are wide open and unblinking. The tests you will take will depend on what job function you are applying for, but you can expect to take numerical and verbal reasoning tests, personality assessments and a situational judgement test . However, at 7:33 a.m., as the aircraft passed over Didcot in Oxfordshire, 55 miles west of London, at an altitude of 17,300 feet, the pilots windshield blew out, causing sudden cabin depressurization and sucking Lancaster out the window. Everyone knew what they had just done was amazing. No one else inspected the work because a windscreen was not considered a vital point that needed double checking. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The sudden decompression jolted the plane, ripping the cockpit door and dragging the pilots body outward. Captain Tim Lancaster was ripped out of his seat and sucked halfway out of the gaping hole in the cockpit as the plane soared more than 17,000ft over Oxfordshire. The last thing he remembers is seeing the side of the outer fuselage, the tail, and the two engines. British Airways staff are seen as ambassadors for the brand, which is why it is so strict on these things and if you can follow the requirements during a video interview, or at the assessment centre, you will be demonstrating that you take the image of the company seriously, too. 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The penalty will be halved if British Airways pays within the next six months. This is not a live interview, and your answers will be assessed later by the recruitment team. A keen amateur photographer, he also recently reached the milestone of flying his 100th sector as a passenger. What the AAIB uncovered next was a series of maintenance errors that led to this catastrophic error when the windscreen was replaced the morning of the flight. Captain Timothy Lancaster suffered one of the scariest accidents in the history of commercial aviation. At the moment of detachment, the cockpit was filled with a dense fog caused by the oversaturation of the air, the cockpit door came off and hit the controls and papers and objects began to fly generating a terrifying scenario. The air stewards managed to free Lancasters ankles from the flight controls while still keeping hold of him. During a flight from Birmingham, England, to Malaga, Spain, two of the aircraft's six cockpit windows smashed as they flew over Oxfordshire. Immediately, First Officer Atchison sends a mayday transmission to air traffic control (or ATC), and even though ATC can hear the first officers screams of help, the first officer cannot hear ATC because of the violent wind tunnel they are all inside of right now. © 2023 IFLScience. He was conscious as he was lifted up, and he recalls feeling and seeing himself go out of the plane. Nigel rushes into the cockpit and straddles the captains seat, putting one foot in the foot well on the floor and his other foot alongside the captains seat. What Is Vabbing And Does It Really Work? But First Officer Atchisons order is clear. Steward Nigel Ogden was the only other seriously injured party, suffering frostbite and a dislocated shoulder. of sounds you don't want to hear coming from a cockpit. The airline said it looked after passengers during the lengthy tarmac, and cabin crew served food and drinks while they were waiting for the aircraft to be delayed. The men pay tribute to the plane that proved to be a game-changer in Britains war. U.S. regulators have slapped British Airways with a $135,000 fine over a 2017 tarmac delay which left 185 passengers on a scheduled flight from Austin Bergstrom International Airport to London Heathrow trapped onboard the plane waiting for the flight to depart for more than four hours. Because of his unfamiliarity with the airport and having no maps to guide himself, First Officer Atchison requests that Rundle guide him to the airport every step of the way. These checks also include a security interview. Lancaster was covered in blood but his first words were, I want to eat. Ogden had frostbite on his face and left eye and a dislocated shoulder.
This is quite straightforward and simple to complete just some basic contact information and a few other questions. 31 Years Ago A Pilot Survived 20 Minutes Outside A Flying Jet (Jake Hardiman) BAC One-Eleven; The Near Crash of British Airways Flight 5390; BA captain sucked out of window and saved by cabin crew holding his belt (Sam Corbishley) How a British Airways pilot was sucked out of the cockpit at 23,000ft 30 years ago and a On June 10, 1990, one of the most incredible events in commercial aviation took place. The pilot had

As the tweet explains, in 1990 a pilot was almost completely sucked out of the craft's window, leaving just enough of him inside the plane for others to hold onto (specifically the leg part). Other prerequisites for cabin crew include: British Airways cabin crew are seen as ambassadors for the brand, which means that the uniform standards require staff to be well-groomed, with a conventional and professional finish. And amazingly, Captain Lancaster survived and returned to flying just five months later. Ultimately, medical professionals credit the captains survival with two things: one, being at 17,000 feet altitude where the air was moderately breathable was better than being at a higher altitude where breathing would have been impossible, and two, First Officer Atchisons feat of flying, which got the plane back on the ground in just 20 minutes after the explosive decompression. Indeed, much more recently, May 14th, 2018 saw the same thing happen to a Sichuan Airlines Airbus A319 operating flight 3U8633 from China's Chongqing Jiangbei International (CKG) to Lhasa Gonggar Airport (LXA) in Tibet. After spending nearly 22 minutes exposed to winds of more than 600 kilometres per hour and temperatures close to -17 C, Captain Timothy Lancaster was treated and taken to a hospital alive. In 2011, it merged with Iberia to create the International Airways Group, which is the third largest in the world in terms of annual revenue. Which means he needs to be guided by expert hands to the airport. The guy who was really keeping it cool, however, was Lancaster, who was hanging out the window of an aircraft and exposed to the extreme cold. As a result of these troubling findings, the accident report recommended sweeping reviews of quality assurance at British Airways, including whether it was appropriate for employees to self-certify their own work, whether their vital points list was incomplete, and other shortcomings ranging from job descriptions to engineer training to product standards. Talk about your educational background and how that has prepared you for success on the British Airways engineering team. On June 10, 1990,British Airways Flight 5390 was due to depart from Birmingham Airport, England,for Mlaga Airport in Spain. It departed Birmingham at 08:20 local time. To say, life is full of miracles and the incredible story of this pilot of British Airways Flight 5390 is a veritable example of this. The airline disputed the DOTs findings and said the delay was both reasonable and consistent with the objective of transporting the passengers to their desired destination. The Air Accident Investigation Board (or AAIB) investigates how this impossible disaster happened and they start with the missing windscreen. During a British Airways flight from Birmingham to Malaga, one of the aircrafts cabin windscreens broke and this caused Captain Timothy Lancaster to be Because it had time pressure: the plane was due to leave shortly. Now Nigel holds the captains legs while John holds onto his ankles. Third steward Ogden and purser Heward reacted quickly. Photo: The cabin crew fought to keep a hold of Captain Lancaster's body. Pilots at British Airways enjoy a competitive salary with additional flying pay and other perks, including: For experienced pilots, the application process is lengthy and rigorous, with several stages. Sometimes miracles dont just happen in movies. He had over 1100 hours as a co-pilot on the Bac 1-11 according to Wikipedia.On board, Needless to say, these three decades never had another flight quite like the incredible survival story of flight BA5390. By . British Airways Aircraft Mechanic Interview Questions & Answers. Following the terrifying ordeal onboard Flight 5390, First Officer Alastair Atchison and cabin crew members Susan Gibbins and Nigel Ogden were awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. After reading the incredible story of Timothy Lancaster, read about the fascinating case of Juliane Koepcke, the girl who fell 10,000ft and survived a fatal plane crash! However, he did not fly off thanks to his legs still tucked under the controls. The men holding onto the captains body look at First Officer Atchison, wondering aloud if it would just be easier to let go of the captains body.