Approximately 40 minutes after departure while over Xiaojin County, Sichuan at the altitude of 9 km (30,000 ft; 9,000 m), the right front segment of the windshield separated from the aircraft followed by an uncontrolled decompression.

[6][7] As a result of the sudden decompression, the flight control unit was damaged, and the loud external noise made spoken communications extremely difficult.

Because the flight was within a mountainous region, the pilots were unable to descend to the required 8,000 ft (2,400 m) to compensate for the loss of cabin pressure.

[13] Owing to the insulation design of the Airbus A319, the temperature did not drop immediately for the passengers, despite the cockpit's exposure to the outside environment, saving them from frostbite.

Even though the plane was unable to descend at the time of the incident due to the surrounding terrain, the flight crew remained conscious and did not experience hypoxia or frostbite.

In accordance with the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation's Annex 13 regulation, Airbus refrained from any further comment on their progress.

The force of the door opening however, resulted in 17 circuit breakers to be popped, leading to a loss of utility from linked systems.

[15][16] The crew of Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 were hailed as heroes by the public media and the captain, Liu Chuanjian was given a prize of 5 million yuan (£569,400).