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CAAC provides more details on Sichuan Airlines cracked windshield
May 18th 2018
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has said a cracked windshield that caused a Sichuan Airlines A319 to depressurize and make an emergency landing this week was an original part that has been in service since the jet’s 2011 delivery to the airline. Read More » The Mainland regulator said it had received no notifications from the airline of a previous malfunction, repair or other form of maintenance.
Last Monday, shortly before 7am, the right hand windshield of the A319 cracked at 32,000ft and detached from the aircraft, sucking the co-pilot half out the window and causing several cockpit instruments to fail. Fortunately, the co-pilot was strapped in his seat at the time of the incident.
The Sichuan Airlines aircraft was flying from Chongqing to Lhasa. The jet made an emergency landing at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.
The A319 was delivered to the carrier from the Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly Line in July 2011. It had accumulated 19,942 flight hours at the time of the incident. Airbus has sent a team to Chengdu to assist the CAAC and French aviation authority, BEA, with the investigation into the incident.
