Terrifying moment when the pilot’s canopy flies open and falls apart during the training flight, leaving her to fight to land the plane

This is the terrifying moment a pilot’s canopy flew open and shattered in the air during a training flight, leaving her fighting to land the plane safely on the ground.

Narine Melkumjan, a Dutch pilot, shared the “disturbing” footage on social media over the weekend of the moment she became embroiled in the mid-air chaos while flying her Extra 330LX aircraft.

The shocking ordeal, which took place several years ago during Nadine’s second ever aerobatic flight, appeared to go smoothly as she flew over a patchwork of green fields.

But nothing could prepare her for what was to come.

Moments later, the skilled pilot was seen struggling to maintain control after the protective barrier was ripped from the plane and shattered before her eyes.

Suddenly the canopy of the plane flew open and shattered in midair

Nadine struggled to maintain her grip on the controls, but calmed herself as she braved the strong wind

Nadine, who was not wearing a head or glasses during the chaotic flight, appeared visibly distressed as the strong wind hit her face, leaving her struggling to keep her eyes open.

She later said that it took 28 hours for her vision to return to normal due to the high winds she experienced.

As she continued the flight, she could be seen battling the elements as she pushed through the wind to grab the right controls and remained impressively calm as she prepared to land the plane.

The brave pilot soared over the fields as the plane shook and tilted to one side, but Nadine remained focused on reaching safety.

After regaining control of the plane for several minutes, she begins her descent onto a runway and miraculously lands on the runway without a scratch.

She rushes along the surface to a stop and you can see gasps of relief as the plane hits the ground.

But although the ordeal took place several years ago, Nadine only recently shared the clip along with a warning message to other pilots.

“The flight was an unsettling experience, full of noise, difficulty breathing and reduced visibility,” she wrote.

The brave pilot stayed in the air with the broken canopy for several minutes as she prepared to land the plane

Nadine struggled to keep her eyes open during the chaotic flight, with the wind hitting her face as she soared through the air

She miraculously made it to the runway and shared a post on social media with a warning message to other pilots after her ‘disturbing’ experience

Nadine admitted that the ‘challenging experience’ could have been avoided if she had carried out the necessary pre-flight checks

‘Aerodynamically, I experienced some buffet and controllability challenges. “Probably the hardest part was keeping the power in, trading my vision and breathing for kinetic energy,” she continued.

“Although it was hard to hear what my coach was saying on the radio with all the noise, I heard one thing loud and clear: ‘just keep flying.'”

Nadine admitted that the ‘challenging experience’ could have been avoided if she had carried out the necessary pre-flight checks.

“The hood locking pin had never been in the locked position and I did not notice it during my checks,” she said.

“I also made the mistake of going to training camp immediately after recovering from COVID, without giving my body enough time to fully regain its strength.

“Plus, flying without any eye protection made the flight even more challenging than it already was.”

Melkumjan, whose social media feeds are filled with videos of her flying, noted that she shared the footage as a “cautionary tale” for fellow pilots.

‘I’m sorry it took so long before I could share these video images. It is not easy to expose my vulnerabilities to the world,” she said.

“However, I have come to realize how important it is to be transparent about our shortcomings and the lessons we learn along the way.

“To all my fellow pilots out there, fly safe.”