Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 was an Airbus A319-100, serial number 4660, registration B-6419. 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. As of 14 May 2018, the aircraft had recorded more than flight hours and cycles before the incident. In addition to the three pilots, the jetliner also carried six cabin crew and 119 passengers. The pilots were: pilot-in-command Liu Chuanjian, second-in-command Liang Peng, and the first officer Xu Ruichen. 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.
Incident
On 14 May 2018, Flight 8633 took off from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at 6:25 CST. Approximately 40 minutes after departure while over Xiaojin County, Sichuan at 30,000 feet, the right front segment of the windshield separated from the aircraft followed by an uncontrolled decompression. As a result of the sudden decompression, the mode control panel was damaged, and the loud outside noise made communications impossible. The co-pilot however, was able to use the transponder to squawk 7700, alerting Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport control about their situation. Due to the flight being within a mountainous region, the pilots were unable to descend to the required 8,000 ft to compensate for the loss of cabin pressure. At the same time, there had been a storm present which the flight had initially been cruising above. As a result of the sudden loss of cabin pressure, the pilots were forced to fly through the storm as it was within the lowest altitude they could fly at safely. The jetliner then made an emergency landing at 7:42 CST, about 35 minutes later, at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. During the landing however, the aircraft was overweight and the thrust reverser took a long period of time to work. As a result, the plane took a longer distance to come to a stop and the tires burst. Xu, the first officer, despite wearing a seatbelt, was partially sucked out of the aircraft. He suffered facial abrasions, a minor right eye injury and a sprained waist. One of the flight attendants on the aircraft, Zhou Yanwen, also suffered a waist injury and received treatment. Due 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, preventing any frostbite from occurring. The captain and both co-pilots present on the flight remained conscious and did not experience asphyxia or frostbite. No other crew member or passenger was injured.
Investigations
Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633's windshield blowout's root cause has yet to be confirmed. There is an ongoing investigation 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.
Aftermath
The crew of Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 were hailed heroes by the public media and the captain, Liu Chuanjian was given a prize of 5 million yuan As the root cause of the incident has not yet been identified, no other measures have been taken as a result of the incident. The crew and pilots continue to work for Sichuan Airlines and the airline continues to keep flight 3U8633 in operation, flying the same route. The aircraft B-6419 was repaired and returned to service with Sichuan Airlines on 18 January 2019.
