Don't drink and fly..

[Hagar]

Rotty even King Kong would be hard pressed to open a door at altitude. Differential pressures

I don't know how modern airliner doors work. Presumably they have manually operated emergency handles (that big lever painted red) & the pressure is greater in the cabin than outside. Release the catches & the door would blow off, rapidly depressurising the cabin.

[ozzy72]

They are a trapezium shape Doug so they work like a cork, the lower the pressure outside the tighter they secure themselves... I think they also have some dirty great big bolts to secure them...

[beaky]

Y'know, I was thinking of past incidents I'd heard of involving doors opening in flight, but I realize of course that those were aboard aircraft with out-swinging doors... the new design not only has the advantage of acting as a plug under pressure, but some even have an extra latching mechanism engaged by the force of the pressure, if I understand correctly... so that scenario is probably the least likely to be a problem.
 Should a door be opened when cabin/ambient pressure is equal, the only danger would be in somebody falling out, as opposed to the usual hazrds of a rapid decompression of the cabin.
 But regardless, I'm all in favor of airlines and the government adopting a "zero tolerance" policy towards disruptive passengers.
Like that brat who was kicking the back of my seat on a flight  from Miami to New York  one time... yes, he was aware he was annoying me; a glance back confirmed he was pleased with himself, the little monster... the elderly woman escorting him pretended she didn't notice, so finally I had to turn around,  lean way over the back of my seat to get right in his face, and growl: "Stop it. Now."
Oddly enough, it worked!!

 The only snag of course with the drunks, etc. is dealing with those who are already intoxicated when they show up at the gate... unless they start making trouble right then and there, or are clearly out of it, they'll be let aboard... oh well. Best to have a drink and forget about it, I guess...

[Hagar]

I don't see how the door could act as a plug unless it opens inwards. If I remember correctly the cabin doors on the Boeing 737 & 747 open outwards. There's an emergency escape at the rear of the 747 right by the aft toilets. I thought it wise to keep well away from that although people were leaning on the door looking out at the view of the Rocky Mountains (I think) on our way to Los Angeles.

I can't remember what the 767 (the only other modern jet airliner I've flown on*) was like. I have some photos somewhere.

*PS. I've also flown on the MD-80 & DC-10. I imagine they're much the same.

[ozzy72]

Well the 737 I was on at Xmas Doug had doors that swung in and up! And they were the plug type....

[Hagar]

I agree that would be the sensible way of doing it but it might not always be practical. Maybe yours was a later model 737. Here's a 737 & 747 with outward opening doors.




I've also seen some that push out & slide sideways. It should be easy enough to find out in FS9. I assume the visual models & animations are accurate. I'm in no position to argue as I know very little about modern airliners & never took much notice.

[Craig.]

Just so you know the preassure differances, mean you would need a force of a few tons to open the door from the inside in flight. Th DC10's doors are the sort which slide upwards inside the cabin much like Ozzys description. Ironically as you have mentioned in the past Doug, its cargo doors were the exact opposite and a week point in its design till the new latches were built in.

[Hagar]

Ironically as you have mentioned in the past Doug, its cargo doors were the exact opposite and a week point in its design till the new latches were built in.

I had realised that Craig. In theory, if you could release the latches in flight an outward opening door would blow open. I believe the emergency exit door latches on large commercial airliners are operated by gas powered rams. I'm not about to try it out.

PS. A friend who was in the RAF back in the 50s told me they were pressure testing a Valiant when the cabin door blew off. It hadn't been latched properly. The door went right across the hangar & straight through the wall leaving a bloomin' great hole. Anyone in the way would have been killed outright. The pressure at the time was about 1.5 lbs per square inch.