British Airways Flight 5390

British Airways Flight 5390

A British Airways BAC 1-11 similar to the aircraft involved in the incident.
Incident summary
Date	10 June 1990
Summary	Explosive decompression due to faulty maintenance
Site	Didcot, Oxfordshire, England
Passengers	81
Crew	6
Injuries (non-fatal)	2 (1 minor, 1 serious)
Survivors	87 (all)
Aircraft type	BAC 1–11 528FL
Aircraft name	County of South Glamorgan
Operator	British Airways
Registration	G-BJRT
Flight origin	Birmingham Airport
Destination	Málaga Airport

British Airways Flight 5390 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by British Airways between Birmingham Airport in England and Málaga Airport in Spain. On 10 June 1990 an improperly installed panel of the windscreen failed, at 17,400 feet (5,300 m), blowing the plane's captain, Tim Lancaster, halfway out of the aircraft. With Lancaster's body firmly pressed against the window frame for over twenty minutes, the first officer managed to perform an emergency landing at Southampton Airport with no loss of life.

The aircraft, County of South Glamorgan, captained by 42-year-old Tim Lancaster, who had logged 11,050 flight hours, and co-piloted by 39-year-old Alastair Atchison, who had logged 7,500 flight hours, was a BAC One-Eleven Series 528FL registered as G-BJRT. It took off at 07:20 local time, with 81 passengers, four cabin crew and two flight crew. Co-pilot Atchison handled a routine take-off, and relinquished control to Lancaster as the plane established itself in its climb. Both pilots subsequently released their shoulder harnesses, while Lancaster loosened his lap belt as well.

At 07:33, the cabin crew had begun to prepare for meal service. The plane had climbed to 17,400 feet (5,300 m) over Didcot, Oxfordshire. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the fuselage quickly filled with condensation. The left windscreen, on the captain's side of the cockpit, had separated from the forward fuselage. Lancaster was propelled out of his seat by the rushing air from the rapid decompression and forced head first out of the cockpit, his knees snagging onto the flight controls. This left him with his whole upper torso out of the aircraft, and only his legs inside. The door to the flight deck was blown out onto the radio and navigation console, blocking the throttle control, causing the aircraft to continue gaining speed as it descended, while papers and other debris in the passenger cabin began blowing towards the cockpit. He hung out the window for a moment or more, when at the time, flight attendant Nigel Ogden saw the situation in the cockpit, and quickly rushed to latch his hands onto the captain's belt. Susan Price and another flight attendant began to reassure passengers, secure loose objects, and organise emergency positions. Meanwhile, Lancaster was being battered and frozen in the 345 mph wind, and was losing consciousness due to the thin air, with the outside air temperature around -17 C / 1.4 F, not including the chill from the incredible wind.