Narine Melkumjan is a Dutch pilot who managed to make a miraculous landing with her plane against all odds. In the middle of her flight, the plane's canopy suddenly bursts open. Melkumjan frantically grappled at the controls, trying her best to survive a horrific ordeal. You can watch the video of her tense descent below. But, be warned. The clip may be upsetting for some viewers.
*PLEASE MIND WHEN WATCHING. AT 2:17 MINUTE MARK VIDEO FOOTAGE BECOMES RATHER INTENSE*
A couple of years ago during my second aerobatic 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? pic.twitter.com/nLhvDqVnII
— Narine Melkumjan (@NarineMelkumjan) June 22, 2024
Melkumjan goes on to explain the cause of this incident and the immediate aftermath on her X (formerly Twitter) account.
"A couple of years ago during my second aerobatic 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," the post begins.
"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."
Dutch Pilot Survives A Terrifying Incident Where Her Plane's Canopy Bursts Open
"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," Melkumjan states.
"Although due to all the noise, it was difficult to hear what my coach was saying on the radio, one thing I've heard loud and clear 'just keep flying.'"
She then tells newer pilots to use her experience here as a learning tool for their own flights. How Melkumjan manages to stay as calm as she does in the video is beyond me. I would've been screaming and accepting my obvious demise. Melkumjan is a lesson to us all, though. You can always overcome the most intimidating of obstacles if you set your mind to it.
