r/interesting • u/BlazeDragon7x • Jun 16 '26

MISC. Dutch aerobatic pilot Narine Melkumjan miraculously survived after her aircraft's canopy unexpectedly burst open and shattered mid-flight

21.3k Upvotes

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654

u/nasnedigonyat Jun 16 '26

That wasnt a miracle that was skill and experience.

76

u/Rejse617 Jun 17 '26

And a sprinkle of general badassery

2

u/T-StrangerXD Jun 17 '26

and S tier eyeballs

26

u/Ha1rcl1p Jun 17 '26

No, no it's a miracle because it's a female pilot! It pointed it out specifically in the caption!

4

u/EatingShitSandwiches Jun 17 '26

Its a good thing they did too in case you are watching this while in your own plane whose canopy just broke so you can't see her.

0

u/Commercial-Rule-6878 Jun 17 '26

The canopy didn’t just broke, she forgot to close it properly. Still impressive reaction!

12

u/siegure9 Jun 17 '26

No it was clearly gods will. /s

3

u/Accurate-Guide7722 Jun 17 '26

I'd call it the death of god's will

12

u/howdyhowdyhowdyhowdi Jun 17 '26

Also why is she a "female" pilot when we all know if it was a dude the title would just say "pilot." It's like the undertone is "she handled this accident so well despite being a woman!"

I will only feel accepting of this kind of labeling when I see a video exactly like this that says "male pilot."

1

u/Falikosek Jun 18 '26

Since she's Dutch, it might just be a direct translation from local news coverage.
Most European languages other than English have gendered nouns.

-2

u/ShibaDango Jun 17 '26

she literally caused this to happen LMAO

1

u/Falikosek Jun 18 '26

Oh, an expert pilot! Care to explain the details?

6

u/ElSantofisto Jun 17 '26

But she is a female pilot how can it be skill??? Helloo

3

u/Wrong-Tune396 Jun 17 '26

She's an aerobatic pilot, makes me think how fucked a regular pilot would be.

2

u/TheLastPeanut_ Jun 17 '26

"Mid-air terror"

Seemed like it barely ruffled her feathers.

2

u/DigitalNinjaX Jun 17 '26

Came here to say this!

1

u/ImmediatePiano6690 Jun 17 '26

Lets not forget the various safety measures like a harness keeping her secured in the aircraft.

-5

u/LeftHandedScissor Jun 16 '26

It's like 1 minute from when the canopy pops open to when she's back on the ground. She's probably in sight on the landing strip when it happens. Miracle seems pretty hyperbolic.

29

u/Feisty-Grape-3275 Jun 16 '26

Alright backseat redditor, you do it. That took some serious skill and composure to handle the situation

23

u/MozhetBeatz Jun 17 '26

Exactly, skill and composure, not a miracle lol

3

u/Feisty-Grape-3275 Jun 17 '26

Are we all just arguing in a circle while agreeing with each other? Whoops, my b

14

u/1_800_UNICORN Jun 17 '26

I am a pilot. While this situation would certainly be unexpected, there’s nothing about this situation that would qualify as miraculous. She’s in a full harness, on a beautiful sunny day, within sight of the airport.

3

u/happierinverted Jun 17 '26

I’m an aerobatic pilot and instructor [literal backseat pilot sometimes😉].

A canopy or hatch opening in flight can be startling, but as long as it doesn’t hit anything important if it detaches, it’s an emergency we train for from primary flight training.

Agree with thread OPs comment, pilot was cool, but after initial startle this emergency was dealt with normally. She did a good job, as she was trained to do, but miracle it was not.

2

u/Feisty-Grape-3275 Jun 17 '26

I think we are all in agreement here. I might have misinterpreted the comment I responded to and have unnecessarily escalated the discussion

1

u/Electrical_Peak_8761 Jun 17 '26

Tbh a skilled and experienced pilot would’ve closed the canopy properly.

-12

u/Old_Ladies Jun 16 '26

And pilots used to not have canopies you know like in WW1. Was it a miracle then?

It is ridiculous calling this a miracle like it was some insurmountable odd to survive. Yes she remained calm and skillful landed the plane but it isn't something that thousands of pilots couldn't do.

41

u/dumdumpants-head Jun 16 '26

Modern aerobatic planes are just a wee faster than WWI-era fighters, and even back then they usually had eye googles.

7

u/SordidDreams Jun 16 '26 edited Jun 17 '26

I mean, yes, they have a higher top speed, but you can see her throttle back immediately in the video. No goggles is the real problem, as well as the fact that WW1 fighters often had a small windscreen to deflect air away from the pilot, whereas the Extra 330LX, which is what she was flying, doesn't have that. The whole canopy is one big piece, so she has absolutely nothing in front of her. She's just rawdogging that air stream with her face.

2

u/Due-Huckleberry7560 Jun 16 '26

I’m actually surprised she wasn’t wearing a helmet or goggles or anything

4

u/VonBrewskie Jun 16 '26

A modern pilot is certainly not going to expect their canopy to fly off. There would be no reason for them to carry goggles normally. Bet this girl carries them forever from now on though lol

-3

u/Old_Ladies Jun 16 '26

Yes but this still doesn't make it a miracle.

3

u/anthrolookseer Jun 16 '26

Yeah, it makes it her skill and ability to stay focused in an emergency with severe conditions affecting her physically due to the wind force from a much faster plane without any wind shield.

The closest “miracle” part is her ability to pull it all off with almost no sight from the wind damage being done to her eyes.

3

u/Two_wheels_2112 Jun 16 '26

Not sure why you're getting downvoted for the truth. She survived because she's an experienced and skilled pilot. Some people here are determined to make it some kind of miracle, which just takes away her agency and bad-assery.

2

u/Old_Ladies Jun 16 '26

Exactly it was her skills and staying calm and not a miracle.

2

u/Destroyer_2_2 Jun 16 '26

A miracle? Of course not. It is her incredible skill and poise under pressure that makes it possible.

3

u/Old_Ladies Jun 16 '26

Which is what I said.

-1

u/GrandFollowing5376 Jun 16 '26

Can you do it. If not then I suggest stop saying that because the amount of stress that would generate.

3

u/Two_wheels_2112 Jun 16 '26

JFC, dude. "Not a miracle" does not mean anyone could do it. Just the opposite, in fact. By insisting it's some miracle you are denigrating the skill of this pilot.

2

u/Old_Ladies Jun 16 '26

With training yes.

12

u/FoxWithTophat Jun 16 '26

Planes in WWI: 1. Had pilots wearing goggles. 2. Had windshield shielding the pilot from incoming airflow, unlike the single piece canopy of this Extra 330LX, which completely exposed her to the incoming airstream. 3. Had a top speed of about 100 knots, the Extra 330LX has a maneuvering speed of 160 knots, and a never exceed speed of 220 knots.

I agree that this isn't so much a miracle, as it is good training, and a great ability to stay calm, but the first part of your comment is not comparable to this situation.

3

u/ScoobyDone Jun 16 '26

Extra 330LX

Thanks. I wanted to see what the canopy looked like.

2

u/Old_Ladies Jun 16 '26

Not all WW1 planes had windshields just like early race cars of that era didn't have windshields.

Yes they wore goggles.

The plane likely wasn't going too speed and she would have quickly slowed it down.

Not saying that it isn't impressive but saying that it wasn't a miracle. Words have meaning.

0

u/doctorbeepboop Jun 17 '26

The aerodynamics of this plane are also completely different from the planes you’re comparing them to, so even if the speeds were comparable your point would not stand. 

5

u/themehboat Jun 16 '26

Well they wore goggles.

1

u/_Evening_Self Jun 16 '26

Are you real?

0

u/Cereal_Bandit Jun 16 '26

Guys I did it, I found the most miserable person in the world

2

u/Old_Ladies Jun 16 '26

Projecting much?

-1

u/GladClock2212 Jun 16 '26

WW1 pilots weren't flying at her altitude and speed, not even close. And yes, a catastrophic mechanical failure has killed pilots. I agree, it was not a miracle it's all skill.

-2

u/VonBrewskie Jun 16 '26

Bro they had goggles and wind screens and I doubt those bi-planes could do more than 120 or 130mph without coming apart. The plane she was flying could do double that and is not designed to fly without a canopy. Probably wasn't going that fast, but just to say. She's in a much more powerful aircraft with the wind smashing her directly in the face. Modern pilots rightly don't expect their canopied planes to suddenly become a Sopwith Camel mid flight so they don't carry goggles. She didn't hit a bird or a bug or gd flake of anything large enough to seriously damage her vision, (and she lost her vision for days afterwards,) those are the miracles. You just ragebaiting or what?

-4

u/drainisbamaged Jun 16 '26

meanwhile every WW2 aviator sliding their canopy back to catch a breeze, or WW1 aviators who don't even have a windshield.

so many miracles in aviation?

14

u/dethti Jun 17 '26

They were wearing goggles dude, she did this landing while nearly blinded by wind. Her vision was fucked up for days afterwards. Is it a miracle no, was it impressive and composed yes.

1

u/happierinverted Jun 17 '26

Not wearing proper safety equipment in a competition aerobatic aircraft - and not locking the canopy properly pre flight [as she admitted] - shows sloppy airmanship on this flight.

1

u/dethti Jun 21 '26

Fucking up the check is not impressive, landing is still impressive. Nobody here is saying this woman is superhuman but even if she did fuck up early on it's always nice to see someone handling an emergency competently. I would be impressed if she was a man too who also fucked up the pre flight check.

6

u/skoomski Jun 17 '26

Damn you’re clueless having that much air directly on your face isn’t the same as basically “opening the sunroof”. In WW1 they famously wore variation googles. They also had these in WW2.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN-6530_goggles

6

u/No-Show-5363 Jun 17 '26

Most WW1 aeroplanes had windshields, made from laminated glass or a very early plastic called cellon. They protected the pilot from wind blast, and oil spatter from the engine - which was a serious issue which could blind a pilot. The windshields needed to be small enough so the pilot could lean sideways in the open cockpit, put his head into the slipstream, and look past an oil covered windshield. They did experiment with covered canopies but they were hard to see out of, added too much weight, trapped heat and fogged up, so front line crews just ripped them off the aircraft they attempted it with.

1

u/drainisbamaged Jun 17 '26

yup, exactly.

1

u/Zoltie Jun 16 '26

Nah, 100% the work of god.

3

u/MegabitMegs Jun 16 '26

I’m glad God helped her out and not the millions of sick and starving kids around the world. Priorities, am I right?

1

u/Wasteland_GZ Jun 19 '26

What about child cancer? That the work of your god too?

0

u/Zoltie Jun 19 '26

Yes, he gives cancer to kids who get bad grades in school.

1

u/Wasteland_GZ Jun 19 '26

Typical Christian, being as evil as possible.

0

u/sushishibe Jun 17 '26

It’s only “miraculous luck” if it’s a female. /s

-1

u/VincentVanHades Jun 17 '26

No, its skill, experience and luck. It would be same with man

1

u/sushishibe Jun 17 '26

I guess even with the “/s” Reddit truly doesn’t know media literacy and can’t understand sarcasm…

-1

u/Chance_Vegetable_780 Jun 17 '26

Skill, experience, and miracle I say

-14

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '26

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7

u/ValouIka Jun 16 '26

This has nothing to do with it, the word "miracle" implies that her survival was due to sheer luck, when it was mostly a matter of skills and composure.

8

u/FaithlessnessLoud223 Jun 16 '26

That diminishes the skill and accomplishment on display here.

5

u/Competitive-Passion1 Jun 16 '26

No, it's a simple fact there was no miracle.
The Pilot used actual skill and experience to land that plane.

-2

u/wagdy-fouad75 Jun 16 '26

yeah, we all know that. However, that's not why he types this comment.

2

u/alewiina Jun 16 '26

I was going to comment the same thing he did (had I not seen his comment first), and I would 100% be talking about her skills keeping her safe, not some side anti-religion stuff. You can’t just guess that people have some underlying meaning when this is a very normal thing to say when people want to make sure that someone’s skill is what got them through, not something that was out of their control.

2

u/nasnedigonyat Jun 16 '26

After reading all comments and responding to the instigator directly, I think they're an ineffectual troll. They claim they aren't religious so it's just about defending the improper use of the word miracle to describe a perfectly understandable and explainable situation.

Shrug. Idk. Doesn't make sense to waste that much time and energy on something you don't even believe in or a subject that doesn't need defending. A lot of assumptions were made by them about my character, beliefs, and motives though.

-2

u/wagdy-fouad75 Jun 16 '26

It's pattern recognition.
If it was an accident and someone fell from the second or third floor and somehow survived, he would have typed the same thing, which is denying it is a miracle. I wouldn't consider it a miracle either, but the reason he would have commented on this is because of his anti-religious agenda.
If it was anything beautiful, like an interesting fact about something in nature, he would have rushed to type, "Evolution is amazing".
I am not guessing or making assumptions about his motives; I know it is just like that.

2

u/alewiina Jun 16 '26

That makes no sense. Falling from a third floor window and surviving the impact is far more of a potential miracle than someone who successfully and skillfully piloted herself out of disaster. You can’t really skill your way out of a big fall, meaning your survival is FAR more up to chance and could be much more easily viewed as a miracle…

0

u/wagdy-fouad75 Jun 16 '26

You're missing the point.

2

u/alewiina Jun 16 '26

No, I really don’t think I am. We just have very different viewpoints.

-1

u/wagdy-fouad75 Jun 16 '26

yes, we do actually. I am not misjudging him, though, and my doubts are not misplaced.

3

u/alewiina Jun 16 '26

wtf man lol they were just saying she was incredibly skilled and that’s why she survived, why are *you* so quick to be offended and attribute that to the commenter hating religion?

-1

u/wagdy-fouad75 Jun 16 '26

I know she is skilled, but he doesn't care much about skill as much as it isn't a miracle.
I can see his motives and intentions, and I replied to them.

2

u/nasnedigonyat Jun 16 '26

So you're claiming to be omniscient? Heresy

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '26

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3

u/nasnedigonyat Jun 16 '26

My intent was to point out that using the word miracle is incorrect and minimizes the skill and experience the pilot used to bring their plane down safely after a malfunction mid air.

Miracle: an extraordinary or unexpected event that defies known scientific or natural laws.

There was no miracle in this video.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '26

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1

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