Posted on 01/23/2010 7:17:08 PM PST by SilvieWaldorfMD
Edited on 01/23/2010 7:59:39 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
A flight had to be diverted to Denver after a passenger allegedly tried to open an exterior door of a United jet while it was in flight Saturday afternoon, according to officials at Denver International Airport.
Can you actually get those open while in the air and the planes pressurized?
I’ve been feeling kinda’ ambivalent lately. Maybe I should take a flight or two and hope one of these yahoos is on board. It would make me feel alive.
Wasn’t there a CSI about such an incident?
Had the same thing happen to me 15 years ago, on a Continental flight from Tampa to Houston. At 35,000 feet over the Gulf of Mexico, a female passenger decided she wanted a little fresh air; so she stood up, went to the nearest exit and began pulling on the door. The cabin crew and some passengers pulled her away and sat on her until we landed.
Turned out that she was on some heavy-duty meds for a mental problem, but her prescription ran out while she was vacationing in Florida. Today, I can only imagine the reception that passenger would receive.
Thankfully, no. Their construction precludes this.
I thought they were supposed to have automatic latches so the door can only open when the plane is not flying. This is what passengers are told. Mischief???
Too bad they can’t waterboard him. I’m sure he’s with his court-provided attorney right now figuring how to sue the airline.
No doubt he was looking for a clean place to lay his prayer rug. I hope he wasn’t offended by the flight attendants.
>>Can you actually get those open while in the air and the planes pressurized?<<
They have something like explosive charges (not exactly) to overcome the pressure differences.
He was just looking for the roulette room.
Or the buffet.
No you cannot.
Lets see. About 8 psi. If the cabin door is 6ft by 3ft thats about 2600 square inches of surface area.
Thats about 20,000 lbs of force to open the door.
(this is all rough math btw)
If the guy was actually capable of opening the door, it would take an army to arrest and hold him.
I’m an ex-airline employee, wife still with a major carrier. The answer to your question is “NO”. The cabin doors cannot be opened if the A/C, that would be aircraft to the people in Rio Linda, is pressurized.
Your Welcome
Maybe Superman could. They are pressurized shut.
I usually ask for exit row for more legroom and to make sure no nuts get to the door.
Your Honor, my client that the bathroom door was stuck.
Ever tried opening a door on a vehicle traveling 75 miles/hour? (I haven’t - saw someone try at a lower speed once). But opening one on a jet flying hundreds of miles/hr? Wouldn’t happen.
Let’s take him back up to flight level 250, but this time without a planeload of passengers who might be at risk. Once he gets up there, he can open the door. Some kind flight attendants, who also happen to be Sumo Wrestlers, can help him deplane.
Someone pointed out that it takes tremendous force to open the door at altitude, and this may be the man’s motivation for his attempt. Just suppose that you were bored on a long flight, and your seatmate challenged your manhood and bet that you couldn’t open the door. You would demand satisfaction! So we can send the other passengers and crew up on another plane to witness his athletic prowess. They will cheer when he is successful.
And since he won’t be landing, at least not in the usual sense of the word, he’ll only have to pay a half fare for the flight.
Doesn’t matter where you sit. The new rules are that if someone or ones become crazy the rest of you must act to overtake them.
That would be "you're" welcome in airline employee lingo.
Perhaps the morons that conducted the “independent Pentagon review” of the Fort Hood massacre/terrorist attack, will be dispatched to quickly scrub this event too.
Take 'em down or be shot down.
Before we rush to judgement we should ask the question: Was he trying to get IN the plane or trying to get OUT?
My Bad...you are welcome...feel better?
Valid point, Sir!
Yep, you can.
There is probably a way to do it, but I doubt it could be done from the door itself. Unless FAA rules have changed since D.B. Cooper jumped out of a 727 (idiot!), never to be seen again.
DBCooper was able to lower the rear stairs on that 727 because he instructed the pilot to go below 10K feet and de-pressurized the cabin. The only other way to open the doors during flight would be someone wearing Fruit-of-Kaboom briefs.
Actually, I have steered an airplane using the doors.
But it wasn’t pressurized at the time.
Flight training - FUN!
Remember this one?
http://articles.sfgate.com/2000-12-15/news/17671011_1_lincoln-regional-airport-plane-aboard
LOL!
Yes, I do. I think they wove that idea into a CSI:Miami episode. With a few twists.
Crazy story.
I wouldn’t answer the door. If fact, I would hang a “No Soliciting” sign on the outside. It works sometimes, if they are fluent in English.
Hmm...I was wondering if a door could be constructed that would open...it sounds like the answer is no.
(I was thinking of “A View To A Kill.”)
But how do bomb bays open?
But how do bomb bays open?
This is what happens every time a passenger acts up on an airliner now. I’m an en route air traffic controller I know.
Airline passenger door are of a plug type design. When the close they are actually rotated inward at a slight angle then pushed forward and seated into place. When the plane is pressurized the cabin pressure pushes against the door, pushing it further into the "plug" or seated position. Its nearly impossible to open a airline, plug type door when the plane is pressurized. Infact its almost impossible to open on when the plane is pressurized while on the ground. This is why all commercial aircraft are equipped with a dump valve thats automatically opened when the plane lands and weight is placed on the main landing gear. If not the emergency crews could no open the doors in the event of an emergency. And would have to cut through the fuselage with a rescue tool.
This is a bit of a flying myth, kind of like the whole myth of shooting a hole in the cabin during the great debate over guns in the cockpits and Air Marshals.
The same way the doors to the landing gear do.
Bomb bay doors of combat aircraft are designed to be opened in flight and under high speeds. The BB doors of the B-1 bomber can be opened and munitions safely deployed at speeds of over mach 1.
BB Doors, just like the doors that cover the landing gear of large aircraft are designed to be opened and closed at various speeds during flight. Entry exit doors of commercial aircraft are not.
You have it right, Sir. The bombay doors, landing gear doors are not pressurized and do not rotate inside the fuselage to press outward as you said.
The bomb bays are not pressurized. Those doors are simple clam shell doors, much like gear doors for the landing gear.
Wrench, you said it best. & simple too!
That automatically makes it a better than 50/50 chance he is a young, male muslim.
Hey, who do you think you are? This is a “NO PROFILING ZONE” sar/off
I’d do it if I could carry my weapons.
Bomb bays aren’t a pressurized cockpit or cabin space. No air needed in there.
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