'Hero' pilot lands safely a plane with broken cockpit window

Beijing : China hailed a pilot as 'hero' after he successfully landed an airplane with broken cockpit window in Southwest China. As per reports his co-pilot was also half sucked out from the accidental window.

Liu Chuanjian braved the intense cold and blasting wind to slow the airliner from its original speed of about 800-900 kph (500-560 mph) to land in about 20 minutes. 

The plane was carrying over 120 passengers on the plane during the incident.

Airbus A319 of Sichuan Airlines was bound for Lhasa in Tibet from the southwestern city of Chongqing when the cockpit window shattered at about 9,800 metres (32,000 feet). The flight was diverted to the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province. 

"The windshield burst suddenly and a loud noise was heard, and when I looked to the side, I saw that the co-pilot was already halfway out of the window. Luckily his seatbelt was tied," Liu told the Chengdu Business Daily. 

With plane vibrating in an uncontrollable manner, it was impossible for Liu to read the controls but with his experience and skills, he managed a safe landing.

"I didn't think about anything at all. I wanted to control the plane and land," he later told Sichuan Television.