Another dumb aviation question
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Just how high is cursing altitude?
I was thinking the pressure differential alone would prevent one from opening the door while in flight.
Seems I'm not the only one thinking this way:
http://www.parade.com/150792/patricksmit...exit-in-flight/
Seems I'm not the only one thinking this way:
http://www.parade.com/150792/patricksmit...exit-in-flight/
Correct, the doors have to open inward first, so the pressurization forces them shut. He might have gotten it unlatched, but it would have been impossible to open the door.
Originally Posted By: Charlie1935
Just how high is cursing altitude?
High enough where opening a door in flight would cause a problem!
Just how high is cursing altitude?
High enough where opening a door in flight would cause a problem!
Originally Posted By: Malo83
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Correct, the doors have to open inward first, so the pressurization forces them shut. He might have gotten it unlatched, but it would have been impossible to open the door.
X2
X3
Originally Posted By: Dave Sherman
Correct, the doors have to open inward first, so the pressurization forces them shut. He might have gotten it unlatched, but it would have been impossible to open the door.
X2
X3
Originally Posted By: expat
A friend was telling me, on a recent flight to China one of the passengers Freaked Out and was trying to open the emergency exit at cursing altitude.
Please tell me the is a Lock out to prevent this happening
I would like to hear more of what happened , would have made for an interesting flight .
A friend was telling me, on a recent flight to China one of the passengers Freaked Out and was trying to open the emergency exit at cursing altitude.
Please tell me the is a Lock out to prevent this happening
I would like to hear more of what happened , would have made for an interesting flight .
Originally Posted By: expat
A friend was telling me, on a recent flight to China one of the passengers Freaked Out and was trying to open the emergency exit at cursing altitude.
Please tell me the is a Lock out to prevent this happening
There's no interlock that I know of (could be wrong), but 8 PSI over 1440 square inches (assuming the door is about 48x30 inches) means the passenger would have to be able to pull the door with about 11,500 pounds of pull. And that the plastic handles could take 11,500 pounds of pull.
A friend was telling me, on a recent flight to China one of the passengers Freaked Out and was trying to open the emergency exit at cursing altitude.
Please tell me the is a Lock out to prevent this happening
There's no interlock that I know of (could be wrong), but 8 PSI over 1440 square inches (assuming the door is about 48x30 inches) means the passenger would have to be able to pull the door with about 11,500 pounds of pull. And that the plastic handles could take 11,500 pounds of pull.
All passenger exits open inward. Some airplanes have outward opening doors for maintenance or airstair access, but those are not accessible in flight.
A typical passenger exit door has about 3000 square inches of surface area, and at a pressure differential of 5 PSI that is 15,000 pounds of force. No one can overcome that.
A typical passenger exit door has about 3000 square inches of surface area, and at a pressure differential of 5 PSI that is 15,000 pounds of force. No one can overcome that.
Originally Posted By: nitehawk55
Originally Posted By: expat
A friend was telling me, on a recent flight to China one of the passengers Freaked Out and was trying to open the emergency exit at cursing altitude.
Please tell me the is a Lock out to prevent this happening
I would like to hear more of what happened , would have made for an interesting flight .
The story I got from the Lady that witnessed the event said;
An Asian gentleman just got up and started at the Exit door, in the process, he was "Climbing" over a very large Caucasian man sitting asleep in his seat at the end of the isle.
Upon being wakened the large man (who was about 18" taller then the Asian) "kind of Back-slapped" the smaller man, who then fell into the isle.
He then restrained him "by holding his head down, by his ears" until the flight crew were able to take over and lock him in a Toilet.
After it was over the other passengers started chanting 'HERO HERO' to the big man.
While the Asian, who was suspected of suffering from claustrophobia, made "Animal noises" from the Toilet.
Sounds like fun!
Originally Posted By: expat
A friend was telling me, on a recent flight to China one of the passengers Freaked Out and was trying to open the emergency exit at cursing altitude.
Please tell me the is a Lock out to prevent this happening
I would like to hear more of what happened , would have made for an interesting flight .
The story I got from the Lady that witnessed the event said;
An Asian gentleman just got up and started at the Exit door, in the process, he was "Climbing" over a very large Caucasian man sitting asleep in his seat at the end of the isle.
Upon being wakened the large man (who was about 18" taller then the Asian) "kind of Back-slapped" the smaller man, who then fell into the isle.
He then restrained him "by holding his head down, by his ears" until the flight crew were able to take over and lock him in a Toilet.
After it was over the other passengers started chanting 'HERO HERO' to the big man.
While the Asian, who was suspected of suffering from claustrophobia, made "Animal noises" from the Toilet.
Sounds like fun!
Didn't D B Cooper exit from a 727 at cruise altitude?
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: cjcride
Didn't D B Cooper exit from a 727 at cruise altitude?
The 727 does indeed have a pressure door at the aft end of the passenger compartment. The cabin would need to be unpressurized to open the door, and then, gain access to, and actuate the air-stairs.
Didn't D B Cooper exit from a 727 at cruise altitude?
The 727 does indeed have a pressure door at the aft end of the passenger compartment. The cabin would need to be unpressurized to open the door, and then, gain access to, and actuate the air-stairs.
Originally Posted By: cjcride
Didn't D B Cooper exit from a 727 at cruise altitude?
The aircraft, a Northwest 727 (-100, IIRC) was flown unpressurized at Cooper's request.
The aircraft was also flown at low speed and low altitude.
I doubt, though, that the huge rear airstair door could have been a plug door. More likely large pins in strong sockets.
He got a mere $200K and some of the bills were found nearly a decade later in the mud of a riverbank far from where he would have landed, whether dead or alive.
His remains have never been found.
Didn't D B Cooper exit from a 727 at cruise altitude?
The aircraft, a Northwest 727 (-100, IIRC) was flown unpressurized at Cooper's request.
The aircraft was also flown at low speed and low altitude.
I doubt, though, that the huge rear airstair door could have been a plug door. More likely large pins in strong sockets.
He got a mere $200K and some of the bills were found nearly a decade later in the mud of a riverbank far from where he would have landed, whether dead or alive.
His remains have never been found.
The door frame is part of the APB. The stairs themselves are after the bulkhead. Here's a video of an MD-80, the 727 would be similar. The green catwalk seen in the video (that swings up) is used for emergency exits where you drop the tailcone. Note that the door swings inward:
And I take it back that "all" passenger doors open inward. The Beech 1900 has an outward opening forward airstair, so does the King Air.
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
So the rear airstairs are aft of the aft presure bulkhead?
That makes more sense than what I was thinking.
And I take it back that "all" passenger doors open inward. The Beech 1900 has an outward opening forward airstair, so does the King Air.
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
So the rear airstairs are aft of the aft presure bulkhead?
That makes more sense than what I was thinking.
I had a hard time finding a video of a DC-9/MD-80 forward airstair that showed the door opening. Here is an old Ozark commercial that at about the 26 second mark shows the door opening (also later shows the ventral stairway):
There's a series of latches and hooks that keep this little door sealed. The forward airstairs are in a pressurized section of the aircraft while the aft stairway is not.
I don't believe the 737 forward airstair door opens outward like this.
There's a series of latches and hooks that keep this little door sealed. The forward airstairs are in a pressurized section of the aircraft while the aft stairway is not.
I don't believe the 737 forward airstair door opens outward like this.
Originally Posted By: kschachn
I had a hard time finding a video of a DC-9/MD-80 forward airstair that showed the door opening. Here is an old Ozark commercial that at about the 26 second mark shows the door opening (also later shows the ventral stairway):
There's a series of latches and hooks that keep this little door sealed. The forward airstairs are in a pressurized section of the aircraft while the aft stairway is not.
I don't believe the 737 forward airstair door opens outward like this.
Doesn't the MD rear airstair open through a door when the aircraft is on its gear, and you only have to drop the tail-cone if its a belly-landing?
I had a hard time finding a video of a DC-9/MD-80 forward airstair that showed the door opening. Here is an old Ozark commercial that at about the 26 second mark shows the door opening (also later shows the ventral stairway):
There's a series of latches and hooks that keep this little door sealed. The forward airstairs are in a pressurized section of the aircraft while the aft stairway is not.
I don't believe the 737 forward airstair door opens outward like this.
Doesn't the MD rear airstair open through a door when the aircraft is on its gear, and you only have to drop the tail-cone if its a belly-landing?
The aft (ventral) stairway cannot be operated in flight. But the tail cone can be dropped with or without the gear being down. It has to do with whether the exit latch (seen in that first video) is armed or not. I have seen grooming crews open the ventral door with the tail cone armed, and that drops the cone on the tarmac.
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Doesn't the MD rear airstair open through a door when the aircraft is on its gear, and you only have to drop the tail-cone if its a belly-landing?
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Doesn't the MD rear airstair open through a door when the aircraft is on its gear, and you only have to drop the tail-cone if its a belly-landing?
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