A lot of things come to mind when boarding a plane. Knowing that planes could float in the water, this only means that the aircraft doors are made of something lightweight yet so strong that it cannot be easily destroyed. As you feel the aircraft doors with your hands, curiosity comes to kick in. What if I open them, what’s going to happen?
No matter how tempted you are, you are forbidden to open it! This article will explain what will happen if you successfully open the aircraft door.
Most commercial airliners are flying between 30,000 – 43,000FT above sea level; cruising at about 880-926 km/h. At that point of altitude and speed, if you successfully opened the door, the plane would suffer rapid decompression. In a matter of seconds, the plane cabin will be depressurized. All loose objects and people who are not on their seatbelt will be sucked out and ejected into the atmosphere.
Those passengers remaining will also have less chance of survival because the plane will deteriorate due to pressure difference. Temperature in the cabin would significantly drop to frost-bite levels. We should also remember that the air is thin at higher altitudes. Therefore, oxygen will decrease and it will be hard for someone to breathe.
Some oxygen masks are expected to be damaged because of the aircraft deterioration. If there is someone who is unlucky and got a malfunctioned oxygen mask or someone who is not wearing an oxygen mask at all, there will only be 15-20 seconds before hypoxia kicks in. Hypoxia is the condition where the body is deprived of oxygen. When this happens, disorientation, slow heart rate, unconsciousness and death will occur.
The chances of someone attempting to open an aircraft’s door during mid-flights are extremely small because it is near to impossible because of the following reasons:
Air Pressure in the cabin is pressurized at a survivable level. Therefore, the pressure inside is much higher than the outside air pressure. The pressure at a typical cruising altitude would be at the average of 1.5 Kg (3.3lbs) of pressure per square inch of the plane surface. This pressure pushes hard against the door keeping it locked and safe.
A standard commercial airplane door is usually measured 6ft in length and 3.5 ft. in width. In order to open up the door, you need to overcome at least 11,340 kg of force (11.160 tons) or about 19 adult male grizzly bears.
Aircrafts are equipped with other safety mechanisms. The doors of the plane are electronically locked in the cockpit. The only people who have access to it are the pilots. Also, the bolts and the locks are located deep under the aircrafts structure. Thinking of destroying it? No you can’t.
Other things to remember is the door outside which is designed to be smaller than the inside part of the door. This only means you can open the door from the inside. There are also steps to open the aircraft. First, you must pull the door inward. Then, turn and push it outward making it harder to open. This only proves that it is not as easy as opening a car door or the door in your room.
There are only two ways to open the aircraft during mid-flight. It’s either the plane is depressurized or while the plane is flying at a low altitude. Before you attempt to do that, the pilot will perform an emergency landing. While descending, you will be stopped by your fellow passengers and crew.
There were numerous people who attempted to open the door during mid-flight. On July 6 2021, a woman was arrested for trying to open the aircraft’s door during the mid-flight while flying from Dallas to Charlotte with American Airlines.
The bottom line for this is… Just don’t ever dare to do it. This is for you and everyone’s safety or else, you’ll be banned from flying. Attempting to open an aircraft door in the middle of a flight is punishable by law. This is a reminder that we have to be responsible for our actions, all the time.
