Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: MONDAY, June 11, 1990 TAG: 9006110057 SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: Associated Press DATELINE: LONDON LENGTH: Medium
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 [from] being sucked out," said passenger Margaret Simmonds.
The incident occurred as the British-built BAEC 111, carrying 81 passengers and six crew members, was en route from Birmingham, England, to Malaga, Spain.
A British Airways spokesman, speaking anonymously, said a steward in the forward galley heard a loud bang and saw Lancaster being pulled from his cockpit seat.
The steward grabbed the pilot's legs. A second steward rushed to his assistance "and they held onto him," the spokesman said.
The co-pilot 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.
"We had been flying for about 20 minutes when there was a huge bang," said passenger Chris Opie. "There seemed to be some smoke immediately after the bang and suddenly there was sheer panic."
He said the plane immediately began a rapid descent.
"It was terrifying," Opie said. "I thought we were going to just drop like a stone to the ground . . . We landed quite normally, although everyone was petrified."
by CNB