What happens if someone opens an airplane door during a flight? What happens if an airplane door opens mid-flight
Every frequent flyer knows that flight attendants spend a lot of time explaining how to use oxygen masks before takeoff.
"To open the oxygen supply, gently pull the mask towards you." Sounds easy and simple, unless you're trying to do it in a fast decompression environment at an altitude of about ten kilometers.
Fast Decompression
Rapid decompression is an unplanned reduction in pressure under pressurized conditions. It happens, for example, when someone opens an airplane door during a flight, or if an airplane window shatters.
However, statistics show that most of these rapid decompressions are due to leaks in the aircraft structure that result from improper repairs.
What happens if the plane door is opened?
But if the plane door is still opened in the middle of the flight, everyone who is close to it will be immediately thrown out. The temperature in the cabin will drop sharply to very low levels, and the plane itself may begin to fall apart. During a fast decompression at cruising altitude, adults will have fifteen to twenty seconds to put to good use before passing out.
It would seem that this time should be enough to use your mask and help the child next to you, but in a fast decompression environment, you will have to take care of many other things. Former pilot aircraft on an online forum described what it is like to be in a fast decompression environment. “Your tongue is in your throat in a matter of seconds, your ears start to hurt, and your teeth become a thousand times more sensitive.” If you do not pass out, then the biggest risk that awaits you is hypoxia. Your body will be deprived of oxygen, leading to disorientation, slow heart rate, loss of consciousness and death.
Flight safety
That is why an oxygen mask is the first thing you need to do, as it will help you survive until the moment the pilot takes the depressurized plane to a height where you can breathe on your own. But nervous passengers need not worry too much. The pressure difference between the outside and inside of the plane is too high, making it physically impossible to open the doors mid-flight, which hasn't stopped people in the past from trying to do so, however.
At cruising altitude, about three and a half kilograms of mass presses on every six square centimeters of the aircraft. As for the windows, they are designed to withstand monumental pressure from the outside, so the force that a person can apply to them will be nothing to them. They are made using a polycarbonate compound and have several thick layers. Although fast decompressions are very rare, you still need to know what you need to do if something like this happens on board the aircraft you are flying. Make sure all seat belts are fastened, you know where the mask will come from and also how to use it.
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 kilometers as masks have a limited supply of oxygen. Passengers will gradually weaken and cease to be aware of what is happening around. Oxygen masks pilots are more advanced, as they need to always maintain clarity of thought.
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.
One of the most amazing stories occurred in the world civil aviation happened on November 24, 1971. The events that took place aboard the Boeing 727 served not only as a lesson in safety issues, but also became a powerful impetus for the development of door technology in aircraft. Today we will tell you why the mechanism for opening doors in an airplane is called Cooper's paddle.
Process
The case developed like this. Named Passenger Dan Cooper, sat in seat C18 - which is located at the tail of the aircraft. One of the flight attendants sat next to him. As soon as the plane took off the ground, Cooper handed the flight attendant a note. She, thinking that it was his phone number, simply put it in her pocket. Surprised by this behavior, Cooper said aloud that it would be better if she looked at the note, since it says about the bomb, which he has right now in his suitcase. After that, Cooper invited the stewardess to notify the pilots and ground services about this, with the information that the plane had been hijacked.
Dan Cooper demanded a ransom of 200 thousand dollars, otherwise he threatened to blow up the plane in the sky. In addition to 200 thousand dollars, Cooper asked for 4 more parachutes. During the negotiations, he explained to the FBI that the money and parachutes should be handed over when they landed on the ground. The intelligence officers managed to convince Cooper to release all the passengers - there were 36 of them. But all the employees remained on board - the pilots and flight attendants. On the ground, the plane was refueled and took off again into the sky.
Cooper was given a ransom and 4 parachutes. After climbing, Cooper left the hostages and retired to the tail section. Later it turned out that he opened the tailgate and just jumped out with the money. Even the most elite doors would not have helped in this situation - it was possible to open the door without any devices. Why Cooper asked for 4 parachutes remains unknown. The plane landed successfully and no one was hurt.
After this incident, Boeing, and then Airbus, added special mechanisms to the design of the aircraft that do not allow the doors of the aircraft to be opened when the pressure between the passenger compartment and the outside is too different. Actually, the Cooper paddle is the very mechanism in the Boeing that does not allow you to open the doors of the aircraft at a height.
This innovation received both positive and negative feedback, since there were opponents of the fact that the doors can now not always be opened. But in reality, this is a very good innovation, since modern aircraft fly at altitudes where opening the door could result in the death of all occupants.
Although airplane doors are much more complex than home doors, they are essentially the same – hinges and handles. Of course, in the case of aircraft door handles, beautiful fittings from Italy are not needed, functionality is important here. The handles must be large, durable, and most importantly, transfer the opening force to the hinges, since it can be very difficult to open the door. And if for home you could buy
If you are thinking about what to do if suddenly someone on the plane opens the door - don't worry, because you have no chance.
First, due to the pressure difference in open door in less than a second, pull out everything that is not fixed. Think about what happens when you pull out the plug in the bathroom. But if you have a habit of not unfastening your seat belts during the flight, this will not help much in case of a serious depressurization. It all depends, of course, on the height to which the plane has already managed to climb, but we are talking about a standard flight at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
Even if you have time to put on an oxygen mask, then the oxygen reserves will only last for 10 minutes, during which the pilots can try to land the plane. Although landing and just a significant change in altitude take much more time, and indeed, most likely, during this time it will simply fall apart in the air.
However, there is also good news: It is not possible to open the door during the flight. First, there is a lot of pressure on her. Perhaps back in 1932, when the aircraft were not equipped with a sealing system, it could be opened somehow. But in modern aircraft there is such a system: all the doors of the aircraft are designed according to the cork type. Before the door can be opened outward, it must be pushed inward. This is possible due to the special shape of the door and the body of the aircraft. If you try to push the door, it will get stuck like a cork. Due to the pressure in the aircraft cabin, it is almost impossible to open the door or hatch.
Secondly, it is protected by a number of electronic and mechanical latches. So you will need at least a jack. But no one will let anyone on board with him.
However, I urge you not to succumb to aerophobia and be reminded that the aircraft is one of the most safe species transport (although it seems to me the safest is railway): the chance of an accident is only 1:9821, and in the case of a trip in a car - 1:114. For example, over the past 6 years, there have been only 107 air crashes in the world, the number major accidents road transport exceeds this number by several tens of thousands of times.
However, this does not at all reduce the number of people who do not fly at all (and there are no people who do not drive a car or bus because of fear) or fly and are constantly afraid. Most likely, a psychological rule is triggered here: I’ll most likely be lucky in a car or bus and I will jump out, jump out or just stay alive, but in the case of a falling plane, this will no longer work. It is this lack of any hope of salvation, even in a very unlikely case, that forms a wild fear of air travel in many people.
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 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. 
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.
