Cockpit Window Cracks in Second Chinese Airbus; Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Liao Shumin
DATE:  May 31 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Cockpit Window Cracks in Second Chinese Airbus; Plane Makes Emergency Landing Cockpit Window Cracks in Second Chinese Airbus; Plane Makes Emergency Landing

(Yicai Global) May 31 -- For the second time in a month, an Airbus plane operated by a Chinese carrier has been forced to make an emergency landing because of a problem with its cockpit windshield.

Beijing Capital Airlines' flight JD421 was an hour into its journey to Vietnam from China when cracks appeared in the window. The two-month-old Airbus A321, carrying 211 passengers, made a u-turn and returned to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport.

On May 14, an Airbus A319 of Sichuan Airlines was forced to perform an emergency landing when its forward right-hand windshield pane blew out. That aircraft was built in 2011 and was delivered to the airline in July of the same year. Investigation has since revealed that the windshield had not been replaced during its near seven years of service and was still the original supplied by Airbus.

Shenzhen Airlines pilot Liu Chuanjin recounted two weeks ago the dramatic scene when a colleague was sucked half way out of the plane after its cockpit glass burst.

Under normal circumstances, a cockpit window does not crack during the service life of an aircraft, said aviation expert Wang Yanan. In the most recent incident, the window could have been defective, the aircraft may have had external damage during flight, or the cracks were present before takeoff, he added.

The A320 family has been in service for more than 40 years, Wang said. If the original design is defective, it should have been exposed long ago. The problems may be linked to an individual batch, he said. Airbus dispatched a technical team to help Chinese and French authorities investigate after the Shenzhen Airlines incident.

Editor: Emmi Laine

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Keywords:   Beijing Capital Airlines,Airbus A321,Hangzhou,Aircraft Porthole,Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport