Eight months in a Swedish prison for drunk Ryanair passenger

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Hate to bust that good news.....a little anyway....yes in mid flight the difference
in air pressure makes opening that door impossible.....BUT.....that
latch when flipped open will compromise the seal of the door so that
when the plane decends down to normal pressure levels {IE below 10,000'],
it can spring open during any sudden turbulance or jolt [IE when landing].
Good news though is that that breach of seal will be seen on the Pilot's
Warning Annunciator, when it first happens....so if the latch is open it can
be closed before any problems arise.

11-07-2009 @ 6:29PM

Rocketeer said...

I DON'T QUITE BUY THE REASON OF PRESSURE DIFFERENTIAL. THE ATOMSPHERIC PRESSURE AT 35,000 FT. IS EXTREMELY SMALL. (ALMOST VACUUM).
THE CABIN IS PRESSURIZED TO A PRESSURE EQUAL TO WHAT YOU WOULD FIND AT 8000 FT. HENCE, THERE IS MORE PRESSURE INSIDE THAN OUTSIDE, WHICH SHOULD MAKE THE DOOR EASIER TO OPEN.

I RECALL MANY YEARS AGO AN AIRLINER HAD ENGINE BLOW UP AND PIECE OF METAL HIT AND BROKE A WINDOW WHERE A PASSENGER WAS SITTING. I SAY "WAS" BECAUSE HE WAS SUCKED OUT THE WINDOW INSTANTLY.

11-07-2009 @ 8:48PM

the Chief said...

rocketeer - you are not an engineer! And apparently you don't pay much attention when flying, either. Those doors are designed to seal WITH the presure differential - watch the door close the next time you fly - the door folds INSIDE the aircraft, turns, and then presses out to seal. The door literally has to move IN nearly an inch against several tons of pressure in order to open at cruise altitude.

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