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Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 was a flight from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport on 14 May 2018, which was forced to make an emergency landing at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport after the cockpit windshield failed.[3] The aircraft involved was an Airbus A319-100. The incident was adapted into the 2019 film The Captain.

Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633

B-6419, the aircraft involved, seen in June 2014 at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Incident
Date	May 14, 2018 (2018-05-14)
Summary	Explosive decompression due to windshield failure
Site	near Xiaojin County, Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A319-133[1]
Operator	Sichuan Airlines
IATA flight No.	3U8633
ICAO flight No.	CSC8633
Call sign	SI CHUAN 8633
Registration	B-6419
Flight origin	Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, Chongqing, Yubei District, People’s Republic of China
Destination	Lhasa Gonggar Airport, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, People’s Republic Of China
Occupants	128
Passengers	119
Crew	9
Fatalities	0
Injuries	2
Survivors	128 (all)[2]

Aircraft and crew

Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 was being operated by an Airbus A319-133, serial number 4660, registration B-6419.[4] It first flew on 11 July 2011 following roll-out from Airbus Tianjin final assembly line, and was delivered to Sichuan Airlines on the 26th of the same month.[5] It was powered by two IAE V2524-A5 engines. As of 14 May 2018, the aircraft had recorded more than 19,900 flight hours and 12,920 cycles before the incident.[1] In addition to the 3 pilots, the jetliner also carried 6 cabin crew and 119 passengers.

The pilots were: pilot-in-command Liu Chuanjian (Chinese: 刘传健) (46), second-in-command Liang Peng (Chinese: 梁鹏), and the first officer Xu Ruichen (Chinese: 徐瑞辰) (27),. Before Liu joined Sichuan Airlines in 2006, he worked as a flight instructor for ten years in Sichuan's Second Aviation College of People's Liberation Army Air Force.[6]

Incident

On 14 May 2018, Flight 8633 took off from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at 6:25 CST (22:25 UTC). Approximately 40 minutes after departure while over Xiaojin County, Sichuan at the altitude of 9 km (30,000 ft; 9,000 m), the right front segment of the windshield separated from the aircraft followed by an uncontrolled decompression.[7][8] As a result of the sudden decompression, the flight control unit was damaged, and the loud external noise made spoken communications impossible. The co-pilot however, was able to use the transponder to squawk 7700, alerting Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport control about their situation. Because the flight was within a mountainous region, the pilots were unable to descend to the required 8,000 ft (2,400 m) to compensate for the loss of cabin pressure.

About 35 minutes later, the jetliner made an emergency landing at 7:42 CST (23:42 UTC) at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport.[9] The aircraft was overweight on landing. As a result, the plane took a longer distance to come to a stop and the tires burst.[10]

Despite wearing a seatbelt, first officer Xu was partially sucked out of the aircraft.[11] He suffered facial abrasions, a minor right eye injury and a sprained wrist.[12][13] One of the flight attendants on the aircraft, Zhou Yanwen (Chinese: 周彦雯), also suffered a wrist injury and received treatment.[14] Owing to the insulation design of the Airbus A319, the temperature did not drop immediately for the passengers, despite the cockpit's exposure to the outside environment, saving them from frostbite. The flight crew remained conscious and did not experience asphyxia or frostbite. No other crew member or passenger was injured.[3][14]

Investigations

The incident was investigated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Airbus and Sichuan Airlines. In accordance with the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation's Annex 13 regulation, Airbus refrains from any further comments on their progress.[15] On 2 June 2020, the final report was released. The root cause of the accident was damage to the seal on the right side of the windshield as a result of moisture. Temperature changes from takeoff and landing led to further damage to the windshield's layers as a result of pressure difference. This culminated in the windshield bursting open.[16][17]

Aftermath

The crew of Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 were hailed as heroes by the public media and the captain, Liu Chuanjian was given a prize of 5 million yuan (£569,400).[18]

The crew and pilots continue to work for Sichuan Airlines and the airline continues to keep flight 3U8633 in operation, flying the same route.[19] The aircraft B-6419 was repaired and returned to service with Sichuan Airlines on 18 January 2019.[20]

In popular culture

The incident was adapted into the film The Captain, directed by Andrew Lau. The film, released during the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in 2019, ranked second in box office during the national holiday.[21]

This accident will also be featured in Season 23 of Canadian Documentary Series Mayday.[22]

See also

• British Airways Flight 5390, a similar incident

References

External links

• Final report of this accident by Civil Aviation Administration of China (in Chinese)
• Air traffic control recording of flight 3U8633/CSC8633 communications on YouTube - via VASAviation
• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

На других языках

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- [en] Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633

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[it] Volo Sichuan Airlines 8633

Il volo Sichuan Airlines 8633 era un volo passeggeri di linea dall'aeroporto Internazionale di Chongqing-Jiangbei all'aeroporto di Lhasa Gonggar, in Cina. Il 14 maggio 2018, un Airbus A319 operante il volo fu costretto a effettuare un atterraggio di emergenza all'aeroporto di Chengdu-Shuangliu dopo il cedimento del parabrezza destro della cabina di pilotaggio.[1] L'incidente è stato adattato nel film del 2019 con il titolo The Captain.[2]

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