What happens if someone opens an airplane door during a flight? What happens if an airplane door opens mid-flight

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 were wearing oxygen masks wrong. 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.

Surely each of us looked at the door emergency exit on a plane and was 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 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 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.

“Stop the plane, I’ll get out,” the Auktyon group sang melancholy in the 80s. This was rightfully considered one of the most curious lines of Russian rock. But there are also such eccentrics who still perceive these words as a guide to action.

At the end of August, a passenger from the Australian airline Qantas Airways wanted to get off the plane before boarding. Flight QF2 from London to Bangkok was already descending at Sydney Airport when one of the passengers suddenly stood up and headed for the middle exit in the economy class cabin. The man tried to open the emergency door of the liner, but the crew members managed to stop him.

Despite the fact that troubles were avoided, many passengers, and especially children, who were in the cabin of the airliner, were very frightened and began to scream. The desperate passenger was transferred to an empty seat in the 1st class, where one of the stewards was constantly next to him.

Some time later, the plane landed safely at Sydney Airport, where young man The police were already waiting. The troublemaker was interrogated, but was soon released and redirected to the appropriate medical institution because he was obviously mentally ill.

Unfortunately, similar incidents Not unusual. The spare doors of airliners, equipped with massive handles and large explanatory inscriptions and pictures, attract not too sane passengers. Continental Service offers a fascinating chronology of attempts to open an airplane door in flight.

In January 2005, a tragedy in the sky above mediterranean sea the trick of a drunken Spaniard who tried to open the hatch of an airplane with 120 passengers on board almost ended. The Spaniard first started smoking, closing himself in the toilet, then tried to break the cockpit door, after which he rushed to smoke to the exit. It took several people to put him down. At the same time, there were 120 tourists on board the liner.

In August 2005, an American woman was arrested at the Seattle airport for opening the door of a United Airlines airliner during landing, when less than 150 meters were left to the ground.

In September 2006, United Airlines customers on a Los Angeles-Washington flight were terrified to death by a passenger who tried to open the door of an Airbus A320 midway through.

In January 2007, an Indian Airlines customer was about to open an emergency exit hatch in flight "for his own peace of mind." The tourist was simply tired of waiting for the plane to land - during the flight, he decided to go into the cockpit, thereby creating such a dangerous situation on board that the crew had to make an emergency landing.

In February 2007, two passengers at the New Delhi airport opened the door of the liner at the moment when the plane was on the starting runway.

In May 2007, two drunken Vietnam Airlines passengers tried to break down the door of an airplane on takeoff. They mistook the plane's emergency door for the toilet entrance. When they realized that the door would not open, they began to shout indignantly at the flight attendants, demanding to open the toilet and turn on the shower. The captain of the liner interrupted the flight and returned the plane to the terminal. The two troublemakers, named Mai Xuan Huy and Hoang Trong, were escorted off the plane by airport security personnel. As a result, the flight, which was heading from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, was delayed for 1 hour.

In August 2007, a flight attendant found a passenger opening the door in the tail section of a Frontier Airlines Airbus A319 flying from Denver to New York. The crew with difficulty twisted the intruder who resisted.

In August 2007, a tourist from Russia disrupted the flight from Sharm El Sheikh to Moscow by opening the emergency hatch and releasing rescue ladder a few minutes before takeoff.

In October 2007, on an American Airlines flight from Orlando to Dallas, a woman almost opened the door at a height when the crew members arrived in time to prevent her.

In April 2008, three drunken Russians staged a brawl during a Montenegro Airlines flight from Moscow to Burgas and intended to break out the emergency exit hatch.

In June 2008, an Israeli who mistook a toilet door for an emergency exit door in flight was arrested upon arrival at Burgas Airport.

In July 2008, an XL airline flight flying from Greece to Manchester was forced to make an emergency landing in Frankfurt after two drunk British women tried to open the door mid-flight.

In July 2008, a similar emergency landing liner airline First Choice was produced on Bermuda. The drunken Englishman was about to go out in the sky, not waiting for the arrival in Cuba.

January 2009 Canadian tourist tried to commit suicide because of unrequited love, about to jump out of a Boeing 757 at an altitude of 10 km. "Romeo" at an altitude of 10 km tried to open the door to jump out of the plane. Fortunately, the airliner's crew and several passengers managed to stop the suicide before he could open the door of the Boeing. The tourist who almost caused the crash of the liner turned out to be a certain Adrian Worrell, thirty-three years old. The police, who were already waiting for the troublemaker upon arrival in Toronto, Worrell said that the day before he had received a resignation from his girlfriend and decided to take his own life.

In April 2009, such an attempt was successful for a passenger Canadian airline Adlair Aviation, which opened the door and fell to the ground from a height of 7 thousand meters. When about 200 km remained to the target of the flight, at an altitude of 7 km above the ground, one of the three passengers, a 20-year-old resident of Cambridge Bay, began to behave inappropriately and, despite attempts by others to restrain him, opened the aircraft door and jumped out. Despite the depressurization, the pilots were able to manage and safely land the plane with open door. Both pilots and the two remaining passengers - a married couple were shocked by what had happened and described everything that had happened to the police. The young suicide belonged to a well-known family in the small commune of Cambridge Bay and was not registered with psychiatrists. Acquaintances and friends described him as a reserved and silent person.

The reason for this behavior, experts call the inadequate condition of passengers, most often caused by either a mental disorder or alcohol abuse. Unfortunately, about such unpleasant and dangerous situations in their practice, it is with drunken passengers that almost any stewardess can remember Russian airlines with extensive work experience.

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.

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.