If you’re afraid of flying, you might want to brace yourself—this story is the stuff of nightmares.
On June 10, 1990, British Airways Flight 5390 took off from Birmingham, UK, heading to Malaga, Spain. The flight was routine at first, carrying 81 passengers. But just 27 minutes in, disaster struck at 23,000 feet.
Without warning, two cockpit windows shattered due to air pressure failure. The sudden decompression created a violent force so strong that Captain Tim Lancaster was yanked from his seat and sucked halfway out of the aircraft.
Flight attendant Nigel Ogden happened to be nearby. In a split second, he rushed into the cockpit and grabbed the captain’s legs before he could be completely pulled into the sky.
But the chaos wasn’t over.
The force of the decompression had blown the cockpit door off its hinges, jamming it into the controls. The plane, now out of autopilot, was hurtling toward the ground at nearly 650 km/h.
Co-pilot Alistair Atchinson had never landed at Southampton Airport before, but he had no choice. While he struggled to control the aircraft, Ogden and another crew member, John Heward, clung to Lancaster’s body, refusing to let go.
For 20 agonizing minutes, the captain’s upper body was outside the plane, his face repeatedly smashing against the window frame. Blood poured from his nose and head. His eyes were wide open—staring, unblinking.
Atchinson, believing Lancaster was dead, focused on landing. But the crew refused to give up. Somehow, they managed to keep their grip until the plane safely touched down.
In 1990, a poorly installed window blew out of a BA flight from the UK to Spain, causing the captain, Tim Lancaster, to be sucked halfway out at 17,000 feet. The crew had to hold on to the captain's legs for over 30 minutes while emergency landing. All survived. pic.twitter.com/QBIJ1NBsE8
— Creepy (@creepydotorg) September 28, 2023
Miraculously, Lancaster survived. He suffered frostbite and multiple fractures but lived to fly again. He continued piloting for British Airways until 2003 before joining EasyJet for another five years.
As for Ogden, the man who saved his life? He later left BA to work for the Salvation Army.
An investigation later revealed that the accident was caused by something shockingly simple—a maintenance worker had installed the wrong bolts on the cockpit window.
Experts later stated that if the crew had let go of Lancaster’s body mid-flight, it could have struck the wing, causing even greater catastrophe.
This near-tragedy could have ended in disaster. Instead, it became a testament to human instinct, bravery, and the will to survive.
Would you have kept your grip if you were in Ogden’s place? Let us know in the comments! And if this story left you breathless, share it with your friends.
