What happens if someone opens an airplane door during a flight? Aircraft doors and emergency exits

Surely each of us looked at the emergency exit door on the plane and worried that some crazy person would open it during the flight. Stop worrying as it's almost impossible. In this article I will explain in detail why this situation is excluded. You will also find out what people who understand aircraft technology think about it.

Air pressure plays a key role in this matter. Aircraft emergency exits close tightly due to the difference in internal/external air pressure. As soon as the aircraft engines start, the air inside is sealed. It would take the power of the Incredible Hulk to open the exit mid-flight. The internal pressure of the cabin is much greater than the external atmospheric pressure, which means that even a group of people rallied together cannot pull off such a trick. At cruising altitude, every square inch of the door is subjected to enormous pressure, which is almost impossible to overcome.

What happens if the door opens during the flight? In this case, the pressure in the aircraft will instantly drop, and the oxygen masks. You will have approximately 15 seconds to put on this mask. At an altitude of 10 kilometers, the air freezes and if you do not put on a mask in 15 seconds, hypoxia will follow. Those who ignored the request to wear a seatbelt would be instantly sucked out of the plane overboard.

Pilots will immediately attempt to descend to a safe 3,000 meters as masks have a limited supply of oxygen. Passengers will gradually weaken and cease to be aware of what is happening around. Pilots' oxygen masks are more advanced as they need to keep their minds clear at all times.

Interesting fact: Airplanes have become much safer thanks to D.B. Cooper, who once spat out during a flight with $200,000. Previously, Cooper forced the pilot to relieve pressure in the cabin in order to open an emergency exit and jump with a parachute. Since then, the FAA has forced aircraft manufacturers to install a feature called the "Cooper Vane" that prevents the door from opening in flight.

What happens if the door opens during the flight? In this case, the pressure in the aircraft will instantly drop, and the oxygen masks will immediately drop. You will have approximately 15 seconds to put on this mask. At an altitude of 10 kilometers, the air freezes and if you do not put on a mask in 15 seconds, hypoxia will follow. Those who ignored the request to wear a seatbelt would be instantly sucked out of the plane overboard.

Pilots will immediately attempt to descend to a safe 3,000 kilometers as masks have a limited supply of oxygen. Passengers will gradually weaken and cease to be aware of what is happening around. Pilots' oxygen masks are more advanced as they need to keep their minds clear at all times.

Fun fact: Airplanes have become much safer thanks to D.B. Cooper, who once spat out during a flight with $200,000. Previously, Cooper forced the pilot to relieve pressure in the cabin in order to open an emergency exit and jump with a parachute. Since then, the FAA has forced aircraft manufacturers to install a feature called the "Cooper Vane" that prevents the door from opening in flight.

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“Suddenly some psycho will open the door of the plane right on the go?” Surely one of you had such an idea, along with other favorite questions from passengers (we already have a pilot on them). You should not worry - we will tell you why this is almost impossible and what will happen if this suddenly happens.

Despite the fact that, according to statistics, traveling by plane is safer than by car, many people are still afraid of flying. Often the fear of flying is a fear of the unknown and can be alleviated a little by trying to learn more about what can and cannot happen on board.

Today we are in website we will try to dispel another fear of aerophobes and simply satisfy the curiosity of other passengers. Let's start with the most important.

Is it possible to open the aircraft door during the flight?

Now all aerophobes can exhale calmly. Almost. Open emergency door aircraft on the move practically impossible because the internal pressure is much higher than the external atmospheric pressure. Therefore, in order to open the door of a flying plane, you will have to apply remarkable strength, which only fabulous heroes possess.

But what if the door does open?

Hypothetically, if the door is somehow opened, the first thing to do is to drop the pressure a lot. An oxygen mask will descend in front of you and you will have about 15 seconds to have time to put it on and be able to breathe. And passengers who ignored the requests of the flight attendants to buckle up will not even have time to reach for the mask: so quickly they will be outside the ship.

Will the pilots have time to do something?

Since oxygen masks do not last forever, the task of pilots is to descend to altitude as quickly as possible. 3000 m so passengers can breathe without them. They can make it in time, as their oxygen masks are designed for large quantity time. But, despite this, the pilots will have to hurry, because the plane is likely to begin to break down.

Is there any other guarantee that the door will not open?

Again, opening an airplane door in flight is unrealistic even for a group of people, but for the most restless, we have one more piece of evidence. A special device called "Cooper's spatula", deviating under the action of the oncoming air flow, during the flight prevents the opening of the exit. So now you can definitely breathe a sigh of relief.

Are you afraid to fly on airplanes? Or maybe you have heard some ridiculous questions about flying? Tell us in the comments.

US presidential candidate from the Republican Party Mitt Romney in 2012, at a meeting with potential sponsors, was outraged that passengers could not open the "windows" on the plane.

The plane, which was flying the wife of presidential candidate Romney, landed after smoke appeared in the cabin. There was no fire (everything is made of non-combustible materials), but, of course, the plane was quickly landed. Commenting on the incident, the Republican said:

“If there is a fire on the plane and you have nowhere to go… you can’t breathe, because outside air cannot get into the cabin because the windows don’t open. I have no idea why they don't open. This is a real problem. And it's very dangerous. She gasped, rubbing her eyes. And it would be much easier for the wife to survive the stress if she could breathe fresh air during a fire. Fortunately, there was enough oxygen for the pilot and co-pilot to make a safe landing in Denver. But she's fine now," he concluded.

So why can't windows and doors be opened on an airplane?

US presidential candidate regrets not opening windows on planes

What happens if you open the door on an airplane? Let's start with the fact that after takeoff, the doors of the aircraft are under a lot of pressure. Door area - not less than half a meter. Those. 5000sq.cm Even if the difference is only 0.2 atm, then 1000 kgf must be applied to open the door. Or rather - 500kgf, since the handle is on the edge of the door, and the other side is hinged

That is, to open such a door, the power of superman is required. Not a single person can do this task. So if you are afraid that some tipsy passenger will open the door during the flight and passengers will start flying overboard, you have nothing to worry about. This is completely out of the question.

In addition, a barometric switch is built into the door lock, which, as soon as the aircraft begins to climb, automatically locks the lock tightly. The lock is unlocked only when the pressure inside the aircraft is equal to the outside (that is, on the ground).

But still...

Up to about 4 km - nothing particularly terrible will happen, it will blow hard, things will fly around the cabin. :) It will get colder. -6 Celsius for every kilometer of altitude. That is, at an altitude of 4 km it will become 24 degrees colder than at this time on the surface of the earth. Theoretically, there could be minor structural damage - but this depends on the specific circumstances of this unfortunate incident, the speed of the aircraft and the direction and speed of the wind.

At 10 km and above it will be worse - a sharp (explosive) decompression (pressure drop), up to the effect of a blast wave. Things from the passenger compartment and unfastened passengers can be carried overboard by the air sucked out. Objects flying around the cabin can seriously injure passengers (for example, a camera or camcorder). A blow to the ears (due to a change in pressure) - both sharp and hard and painful - may bleed from the ears and / or nose. There is very little oxygen at this altitude. You must immediately put on an oxygen mask (be sure to first yourself, then help others, including children).

The pilot must have time to descend to a safe altitude (4 km) - so that passengers can breathe - because. the supply of oxygen is enough for only 10 minutes. But "falling" 6 km in 10 minutes is not a problem, it can be done faster, the main thing is that the passengers do not overcool, because. the temperature difference on the ground and at an altitude of 10 km is 60 degrees Celsius. The probability of damage to the structure is somewhat greater - but nevertheless - not great.

There is such a thing as an emergency reduction, in less than 10 minutes. you can descend to a height of 3-4 km. But the sensations during such a descent will not be very pleasant, here on the ground the ears ring from a sharp pressure drop, and even more so in the stratosphere.

Here are some more interesting points:

Aircraft most flights are carried out on high altitude for good reason: safety, comfort, economy. When emergency, the crew of an aircraft at high altitude has a greater margin of time and ability to cope with it. In cold rarefied air, there is less resistance to movement - fuel is saved, engines are better cooled. On high altitudes there are no insects and birds, less strong and multidirectional air currents that cause turbulence (for example, when air goes down around cumulus clouds, and up between them).

In simple words, turbulence can be explained as follows: the plane moves through the air, as if it were a dense stretched carpet. Under favorable conditions, the pressure on the surface of the "carpet" is distributed evenly; it is even and smooth. But as soon as the conditions change, folds and wrinkles pass along the “air carpet”. Passengers feel this, and it seems to them that the plane is diving into a hole. But their feelings are deceiving: the plane does not fall and does not fall anywhere, but glides on (only not on a flat, but on a wavy surface).

In the event of an engine failure, the plane does not roll and does not fall into a dive or tailspin - the thrust simply drops. Engines accelerate the plane, not steer it.

Even if all engines fail, they will still work in autorotation mode (in this case, the energy required to rotate the engine is taken from the air flow on it). This allows the plane not to fall, but to glide (flying, if necessary, more than 100 km.) And land safely at the nearest airport.

More about aviation: let's remember about, but, well,

Flying can be stressful for many reasons. From long queues at the airport to crying babies on board, flying affects and stresses passengers in many ways. And if that wasn't enough, planes are also a template for movies where things go wrong.

Media Messages mass media about various incidents and terrorist acts significantly increased people's fear of flying, and many now look at other passengers as if each of them could break loose at any moment and try to open the plane door, signing a death warrant for all passengers.

Can you open an airplane door?

But what happens if you try to open an airplane door while it is in the air? Nothing. Of course, your movements will be restricted by flight attendants until the end of the flight, and you will be arrested as soon as the plane lands, but nothing will happen to the plane itself. Why? 'Cause you won't be able to open the door

The pressure won't let you do it. Think of an airplane door as a drain plug that is held in place by internal pressure. Almost all aircraft doors open inwards. Some rise up into the ceiling, others roll away from the outside, but first they open inward, and even the strongest person on the planet cannot overcome the force that holds the door in place.

pressure difference

The pressure inside an aircraft cabin is much higher than outside. Therefore, you will need to pull the door with superhuman strength. At cruising altitude, inside the cabin, the pressure is about 0.7-0.8 atmospheres, which is the equivalent of a force of one kilogram per square centimeter. That's the kind of power you'll have to try to overcome. Naturally, now you want to know what is happening on more low altitudes. Again, this is scientific evidence, so don't take it as a challenge. Even a 15 percent difference compared to standard atmospheric pressure would be too big for a human to overcome. Doors can only be opened right at the ground. And that means very close to the ground. When emergency during takeoff or landing, the doors must open easily so that the inflatable slide can be lowered from the aircraft.

Serious problems

If you can open the doors in the air, it means that you are facing more serious problems. This means that the pressure inside the cabin is greatly reduced. Although it would be so intriguing on screen, it is deadly, as is the explosive depressurization that occurs when the cockpit takes damage. This is what happened relatively recently with a Southwest Airlines plane. One of the plane's engines exploded and debris shattered the plane's glass, partially blowing the woman out of the window, who eventually died.

Consequences of depressurization

The air quickly left the cabin due to the higher pressure, and passengers were automatically given access to oxygen masks. At low atmospheric pressure, the human body cannot get enough oxygen and quickly falls into a state of hypoxia. In this particular case, the pilot of the aircraft was skillful enough to make emergency landing before anyone on board the aircraft was exposed to a lack of oxygen. And this is good, because photos from the scene showed that almost all passengers did not put on their oxygen masks correctly. Cover both your nose and mouth with the mask! But even if you are at a height at which you can theoretically open the door, you still will not be able to do this, as special mechanical aerodynamic wedges will interfere with you.