Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633

Sichuan Airlines

Industry	Aviation
Headquarters	Chengdu , China
Products	Air transport services

Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 was operating a route from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport to Lhasa Gonggar Airport on 14 May 2018 when it was compelled to perform an emergency landing at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport following the failure of the cockpit windshield. The aircraft involved was an Airbus A319-100. This event later inspired the 2019 motion picture The Captain and was also documented in the series Mayday.

Aircraft and crew

The airplane was an Airbus A319-133, with serial number 4660 and registration B-6419. It had been delivered to Sichuan Airlines on 26 July 2011, and was equipped with two IAE V2527M-A5 engines. By the date of the incident, it had accumulated over flight hours and completed cycles. Onboard were three pilots, six cabin attendants, and 119 passengers.

The cockpit team consisted of Captain Liu Chuanjian (, age 45), who had amassed 11,400 flight hours (including 9,200 on the A319); Captain Liang Peng (, age 33), with a total of 8,700 hours (6,700 on A319); and First Officer Xu Ruichen (, age 27), holding 2,800 hours (1,100 on A319). Liu began working for Sichuan Airlines in 2006 after spending a decade as a flight instructor at Sichuan's Second Aviation College affiliated with the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

Incident

Flight 8633 took off from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at 6:25 CST on 14 May 2018. Approximately forty minutes into the flight, while flying over Xiaojin County, Sichuan at an altitude of , the right front windshield panel detached, leading to an episode of uncontrolled decompression. The damage extended to the flight control unit, and intense external noise complicated communication efforts. The co-pilot activated the transponder code 7700 to notify air traffic control at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. Due to surrounding mountainous terrain, descending to the necessary altitude of 8,000 ft (2,400 m) for cabin pressure adjustment was not feasible.

After roughly thirty-five minutes, the aircraft safely executed an emergency touchdown at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 7:42 CST. Because the plane was above its maximum landing weight, it required an extended distance to come to a full stop.

Although restrained by a seatbelt, first officer Xu experienced partial ejection from the aircraft, resulting in facial scrapes, a minor eye injury, and a sprained wrist. Flight attendant Zhou Yanwen also incurred a wrist injury. Thanks to the Airbus A319’s insulation properties, the cabin temperature remained stable despite cockpit exposure to outside conditions, preventing frostbite among passengers. The crew stayed alert throughout without suffering hypoxia or frostbite. No further injuries were reported.

Investigations

The event was examined by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Airbus, and Sichuan Airlines. In accordance with Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, Airbus restricted public disclosures. The final investigation report released on 2 June 2020 concluded that the primary cause was damage to the seal of the right-hand windshield. This allowed moisture infiltration into the cavity near its lower edge. Prolonged moisture presence degraded the insulation around windshield heating wires, causing persistent electric arcing that generated excessive heat and compromised the windshield’s double-layer design. Consequently, this structural failure rendered the windshield unable to withstand cockpit pressure differentials, leading to its detachment from the fuselage. Issues with flight controls were attributed to pressure equalization through opening of the cockpit door, which activated seventeen circuit breakers and disabled interconnected systems.

Aftermath

The flight crew of Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 received widespread recognition, with Captain Liu Chuanjian being granted a reward of 5 million yuan (around £569,400). All pilots involved continue their employment with Sichuan Airlines, which maintains operation of flight 3U8633 along the identical route. The aircraft bearing registration B-6419, after sustaining damage, underwent repairs and was reinstated into service on 18 January 2019.

In popular culture

The event was dramatized in the motion picture The Captain, directed by Andrew Lau. Released in 2019 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the film achieved the second-highest box office earnings during the national holiday period.

Additionally, the episode was covered in the 23rd season of the Canadian documentary series Mayday, under the title "Cockpit Catastrophe".

See also

• British Airways Flight 5390, an incident with similar circumstances

External links

• Official accident report issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (in Chinese)
• – via VASAviation
• Accident summary at the Aviation Safety Network