A video showing a Dutch pilot trainee successfully landing a plane after the canopy opened mid-flight has gone viral.
The video was posted by Narine Melkumjan, the pilot who managed to remain calm when her cockpit canopy burst open hundreds or thousands of feet in the air and safely land the aircraft. The canopy shattered after opening.
Melkumjan wrote, "Couple of years ago during my second training flight of that day, on a very hot summer day, the canopy of the Extra 330LX that I was flying opened in flight and shattered. As you can see from the video, it was a challenging experience that could have been avoided if I had made a proper visual check before taking off. The canopy locking pin had never gone into the locked position, and I failed to notice it during my checks."
"I also made the mistake of going to the training camp right after recovering from COVID, without allowing my body enough time to fully regain strength. Additionally, flying without any eye protection made the flight even more challenging than it already was," she said.
Melkumjan recalled, "The flight was a distressing experience, filled with noise, breathing difficulties, and impaired visibility. It took me nearly 28 hours to fully recover my vision. Aerodynamically, I’ve experienced some buffet and controllability challenges. Probably the most difficult part was to keep the power in, thus trading my vision and breathing for kinetic energy."
She stated that she hopes her story "serves as a cautionary tale" and that other pilots will learn from her mistakes.