Pilot who was sucked out of cockpit mid-flight made admission from hospital bed

A pilot who somehow survived being sucked out of a cockpit at 23,000ft made an emotional admission from his hospital bed.

British Airways pilot Tim Lancaster was fighting for his life during Flight 5390, from Birmingham, UK, to Malaga, Spain, in June 1990.

With 81 passengers on board, the incident took place shortly after takeoff when the cockpit’s left windshield panel unexpectedly blew out.

The force alone sucked Lancaster partially out of the aircraft where he spent 20-long minutes against the window frame. As the aircraft travelled over Oxfordshire, crew members desperately clung to his ankles.

But it was flight attendant, Nigel Ogden, who was able to rush into the cockpit to grab Lancaster's legs, just as he disappeared out of the window.

Even Ogden began to slip out of the opening too, but a second cabin crew member, John Heward, rushed in and grabbed him by the belt.

That's when another flight attendant strapped himself into the pilot's chair and helped hold the chain of people down.

You can see the blood above and to the right of the window (YouTube/Retrontario/NBC News)

While all this was going on, co-pilot Alastair Atchison managed to take control of the aircraft, descending to a more breathable altitude.

Thankfully, the British Airways flight was able to emergency land at Southampton Airport.

Captain Lancaster survived, but not without multiple injuries, including frostbite, fractures, and shock.

During NBC's coverage of the incident, reporters asked Lancaster if he was scared of dying when he was hanging on.

"It did cross my mind," he admitted. "For a moment or two."

An investigation by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) later revealed that bolts belonging to the windshield had been replaced with slightly smaller ones which proved to be a lot less secure.

"What I remember most clearly was the fact that I couldn't breathe because I was facing into the airflow," Lancaster also said in the 2005 documentary Mayday.

Lancaster somehow survived the freak incident (YouTube/Retrontario/NBC News)

Providing more insight into what happened, Ogden told the Sydney Morning Herald: "I whipped round and saw the front windscreen had disappeared and Tim, the pilot, was going out through it - he had been sucked out of his seatbelt and all I could see were his legs.

"I jumped over the control column and grabbed him round his waist to avoid him going out completely.

"His shirt had been pulled off his back and his body was bent upwards, doubled over round the top of the aircraft.

"His legs were jammed forward, disconnecting the autopilot, and the flight door was resting on the controls, sending the plane hurtling down at nearly 650kmh through some of the most congested skies in the world."

He continued: "I thought I was going to lose him, but he ended up bent in a U-shape around the windows.

"His face was banging against the window with blood coming out of his nose and the side of his head, his arms were flailing and seemed about 6 feet long.

"Most terrifyingly, his eyes were wide open. I'll never forget that sight as long as I live."