Questão de Língua Inglesa

Execução: Fundatec 979_BASE_NS_DM 23/10/2025 14:51:53 A British Airways Pilot Was Sucked Out of An Airplane Natalie Musumenci 01 British Airways Flight 5390 took off on June 10, 1990. But just 13 minutes into the flight 02 from Birmingham, England, to Malaga, Spain, a windscreen panel* blew out of the aircraft, 03 ripping the flight's veteran pilot from his seatbelt, sucking him halfway out of the cockpit* 04 window, and sending the plane into a nosedive. Thanks to the quick thinking of the flight crew 05 who grabbed the pilot by his legs and held him for 20 minutes as they landed the plane, everyone 06 — including the captain — survived. 07 The panel blew as the plane carrying 81 passengers was flying at an altitude of 17,300 feet. 08 The explosive decompression forced Captain Tim Lancaster out of the cockpit, leaving his upper 09 body pinned against the exterior of the plane and his legs caught in the controls, causing the 10 plane to lose altitude. Flight attendant Nigel Ogden quickly jumped into action as Lancaster was 11 launched out of the cockpit window. "I jumped over the control and grabbed him around his 12 waist to avoid him going out completely." Ogden said in a 2005 piece published in The Sydney 13 Morning Herald. 14 Ogden said he was holding on to Lancaster "for grim death, but I could feel myself being 15 sucked out." Other flight attendants rushed to help. The pressure made Lancaster weigh "the 16 equivalent of 500 pounds," according to Ogden, who got frostbite and a dislocated shoulder 17 during the incident. Co-pilot Alistair Atcheson probably would have been sucked out of the plane 18 too if he hadn't been still wearing his safety harness from take-off. 19 The force of the explosion had thrown Lancaster's legs forward and turned off the autopilot. 20 The plane headed toward the ground through some of the most congested skies in the world at 21 more than 400 miles per hour. Amid the chaos, Atcheson managed to re-engage the plane's 22 autopilot and get the aircraft down to an altitude where there would be more oxygen. 23 The pilot described what it was like hanging out of the airplane. For Lancaster, then 24 42 years old, the situation was "completely surreal." Years later, the pilot would share his 25 experience on a 2005 episode of the documentary series "Mayday." Lancaster said that he was 26 "aware of being outside of the airplane, but that really didn't bother me a great deal." "What I 27 remember most clearly was the fact that I couldn't breathe because I was facing into the airflow," 28 he said. He remembers trying to position his body so he could breathe better, but he doesn't 29 remember much else after that. 30 Lancaster spent the next 20 minutes hanging outside of the plane as crew members 31 desperately held onto his ankles. Finally, Atcheson safely pulled off an emergency landing at 32 England's Southampton Airport. Against all odds, the pilot survived the horrifying situation. The 33 flight's captain only had frostbite from the extreme cold, a fractured elbow, thumb, and wrist, as 34 well as some bruising and shock. 35 A UK government investigation into the incident later revealed that the wrong bolts were 36 used to install the blown-out windshield, which was swapped during routine maintenance 37 27 hours before the flight took off. The flight crew who saved Lancaster's life and the lives of 38 everyone on board were awarded the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, a 39 civilian honor in the UK. The British Airways Flight 5390 incident remains one of the most 40 astonishing in the history of aviation. Perhaps even more amazingly, Lancaster was back flying 41 just months later. He retired in 2008. (Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/british-airways-pilot-sucked-out-plane-mid-flight-survived- 2024-1 – text specially adapted for this test). *Windscreen panel: it is the glass window at the front of the plane through which the pilots look. *Cockpit: the front part of the plane where the pilot sits. (Available at: www.collinsdictionary.com).