In 1990, the windshield of British Airways Flight 5390 came off at an altitude of 17,000 feet. This triggered a sudden decompression in the cockpit, resulting in the captain being partially ejected out of the aircraft. As luck would have it, Nigel Ogden, a flight attendant, was…

@subzndubz @fasc1nate In order to drop to a lower altitude you have two options. Corkscrew, or dive. In both cases, the flight attendant would not have been able to hold on to the pilot hanging out the window. A gradual descent was the only option.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate They were dropping to a lower altitude, but the speed of the plane would prevent them from being able to pull him in. Even if possible so many things could go wrong in that attempt. Ultimately safer holding him in place

@subzndubz @fasc1nate Jets can't glide, they need speed to stay airborne.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate Air speed is the biggest problem. They can't slow down without falling out of the sky.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate Many reasons. But probably has to do with altitude of jets like this & the altitude that light aircraft have which differ. So they'd need to clear flight paths. Unsure of where take off was but I'd guess London etc, which means they flew over a lot of military zones 1/

@subzndubz @fasc1nate Lots of midair collision hazards at any lower altitude plus clearing the airspace so they could descend isn't as uncomplicated as it sounds. Get it to a runway made available in an emergency. Think of the passengers.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate I think they descended immediately, and I'm sure Air Traffic got other aircraft out of their way. I would think they could and probably did pull him in before landing.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate That is standard procedure for loss of cabin pressure. I’m sure they. Throttle back to slow the speed and lose altitude . You think they just keep on flying at 500 knots!

@subzndubz @fasc1nate I don't think you understand the speed at which an aircraft flies and the pressure with which that causes

@subzndubz @fasc1nate Flight is still a miracle to me, so I can’t help you with this one.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate That actually makes it worse with the heavier air but the had to land anyway.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate If they could’ve they would’ve don’t you think?

@subzndubz @fasc1nate They did. They descended as fast as possible to get on the ground.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate It is a question of weighing the captain's life against everyone on board. The copilot could have sent the plane into a hammer head stall and a resulting tail slide. Which would reduce the aerodynamic forces allowing a rescue. But could the plane recover from the stall? Unlikely.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate If the forces were that great his grip would have given out. Doesn’t make sense at all

@subzndubz @fasc1nate One of the big things is the had him pinned in place with his knees around the frame. To pull him in they would have had to pull him forwards and then in with 100+ mph wind. It was safer for all involved to keep him there. Also they did drop altitude it’s the only reason he pt 1

@subzndubz @fasc1nate How is dropping to a lower altitude supposed to help

@subzndubz @fasc1nate It's not the altitude but the sheer force of the wind. Keep in mind, these commercial aircraft flies at around 500 mph.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate Commercial airlines should install seat belts for their pilots same as what military fighter pilots use in fighter jets. This will avoid such accidents and casualties.

@subzndubz @fasc1nate Go watch it on YouTube.