Woman tries to open airplane door midflight

The sheep (I mean passengers) stayed in their seats as she tried to
open the doors.

What will happen the next time some terrorist gets up and tries to
pull a 9-11?

Will people also stay in their seats and let him fly the plane into a
building? Or will they tackle him? They did nothing to restrain this
woman who was doing something equally deadly.

We didn't need extra screening or air marshalls after 9-11.

All we needed was a simple addition to the pre-flight message to
passengers stating that they "may be called upon by the crew or fellow
passengers to subdue anyone threatening the safety or security of the
plane".

The following is a classic indication that the mind-set of passenger
uncertainty and confusion that existed prior to 9-11 still exists
today.

"other passengers stayed strapped into their seats in case she did
manage to open the door"

Cowards. The US is full of cowards. The FAA/TSA is full of cowards
who are too afraid of adding the above-mentioned sentence to
pre-flight announcements.

-----------------------

Posted 8/4/2005 12:27 PM Updated 8/4/2005 12:32 PM

Woman tries to open airplane door midflight

SEATTLE (AP) — A woman was arrested Wednesday for attempting to open
an airplane exit door while the plane was still in the air, police
said.

The 52-year-old woman from Dania Beach, Fla., left her seat and tried
to open the door as the United Airlines flight was descending into
Seattle to land, police said. The plane was at an altitude of about
4,000 feet at the time.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20050...2353-9741r.htm
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/cgi-b...246325002&fa=1

According to police, the 52-year-old from Dania Beach, Fl. left her
seat and tried to open the door as the United Airlines flight was
descending into Seattle for landing.

The plane was at an altitude of about 4,000 ft. at the time of the
incident.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport spokesman Bob Parker tells
KING-TV the woman failed to open the door, but managed to turn the
handle far enough to prompt a warning light to go off in the cockpit.

A flight attended coaxed the woman back to her seat, deeming physical
restraint unnecessary. Parker says other passengers stayed strapped
into their seats in case she did manage to open the door.

Upon landing, the woman was arrested for investigation of malicious
mischief. Police are also investigating whether alcohol and
prescription medication were involved.

Fly Guy wrote:
The sheep (I mean passengers) stayed in their seats as she tried to
open the doors.

What will happen the next time some terrorist gets up and tries to
pull a 9-11?

Will people also stay in their seats and let him fly the plane into a
building? Or will they tackle him? They did nothing to restrain this
woman who was doing something equally deadly.

At 4000 feet and descending, how would this have been deadly for the
passengers, if they stayed buckled in?
The person who would have be in the danger was the person opening the
door. It would seem the safest place would be strapped in your seatbelt.

How do you equate this with the 9/11 events?

In message mrtravel
wrote:

Fly Guy wrote:
The sheep (I mean passengers) stayed in their seats as she tried to
open the doors.

What will happen the next time some terrorist gets up and tries to
pull a 9-11?

Will people also stay in their seats and let him fly the plane into a
building? Or will they tackle him? They did nothing to restrain this
woman who was doing something equally deadly.

At 4000 feet and descending, how would this have been deadly for the
passengers, if they stayed buckled in?
The person who would have be in the danger was the person opening the
door. It would seem the safest place would be strapped in your seatbelt.

Agreed. In general, if a human can physically open the door, there is
little danger to anyone in the plane who is wearing a seat belt.

How do you equate this with the 9/11 events?

It's related only in the sense that if people had gotten up to fight
during the 9/11 hijackings, things might have turned out very
differently. A plane full of people could easily subdue 4 hijackers.

Before 9/11, the worst that ever happened during a hijacking was that
the plane would go someone unexpected and land there or *MAYBE* crash.
Since a fight in the cockpit means a certain crash, there was little
reason to do anything other then wait it out.

Today people are aware of the reality that there are worse alternatives.

Personally, I wouldn't have taken action in this case since I know about
the effects of opening the door and I know that I'm safer in my seat.

--
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful...They never
stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and
our people, and neither do we.
-- George W. Bush 08/05/2004

Agreed. In general, if a human can physically open the door, there is
little danger to anyone in the plane who is wearing a seat belt.

being strapped in won't help when the plane is buried under the ground
after the door hits the empanage.

The wind won't hurt althought it will make the aerodynamics interesting
for the pilot. The pressure certainly won't hurt. Maybe a few popped
ears but nothing bad. I've been in a pressure capsule with a rapid
decompression from 18000 feet. Not fun but not harmful. Was pretty
wild to see the clouds form and your vision fade away.

Gerald

G. Sylvester wrote:
Agreed. In general, if a human can physically open the door, there is
little danger to anyone in the plane who is wearing a seat belt.


being strapped in won't help when the plane is buried under the ground
after the door hits the empanage.

Wouldn't it open inwardly?


The wind won't hurt althought it will make the aerodynamics interesting
for the pilot. The pressure certainly won't hurt. Maybe a few popped
ears but nothing bad. I've been in a pressure capsule with a rapid
decompression from 18000 feet. Not fun but not harmful. Was pretty
wild to see the clouds form and your vision fade away.

There is a a lot of difference between a drop of 18000 and 4000 feet.

mrtravel wrote:

Wouldn't it open inwardly?

Wouldn't it deploy an emergency chute?

Tell me that wouldn't be a safety risk to the plane in flight.

One thing that the media hasn't reported about this story is could the
door even have been opened while in flight. Is there no lock-out
mechanism to prevent opening in flight?

Fly Guy wrote:
mrtravel wrote:

Wouldn't it open inwardly?

Wouldn't it deploy an emergency chute?

From what I've seen, she'd have to get
the door well open, and outwardly as well.
The activation appears to come from a lanyard
being pulled when the door opens out.


Tell me that wouldn't be a safety risk to the plane in flight.

Risk yes, large risk, probably not. Not sure what those
chutes are like but I'd image mostly it'd just flap and
tear alot.


One thing that the media hasn't reported about this story is could the
door even have been opened while in flight. Is there no lock-out
mechanism to prevent opening in flight?

I kinda wondered too. But they probably have to be careful
as in a crash you don't want something "locked out" because
the "unlocking" mechanism got destroyed in impact. But
almost any differential between the internal and external
pressure was gonna render the door "closed" and I suspect
that is a bit by design.

Fly Guy wrote:

mrtravel wrote:


Wouldn't it open inwardly?


Wouldn't it deploy an emergency chute?

Tell me that wouldn't be a safety risk to the plane in flight.

One thing that the media hasn't reported about this story is could the
door even have been opened while in flight. Is there no lock-out
mechanism to prevent opening in flight?

I thought the cabin pressure held the doors shut.

" wrote:

almost any differential between the internal and external
pressure was gonna render the door "closed" and I suspect
that is a bit by design.

One thing doors are tested for is the ability to be opened if the
external surfaces are encased in ice.

I suspect that the door mechanism has quite a bit of mechanical
leverage to aid in opening the door in case of extreme external
environmental conditions - or warping of the door frame, etc.

I would think that at 4000 feet it would be relatively easy to crack
the door open, allow the air pressure to equalize, and then be able to
fully open the door.

However since doors seem to be hinged on the side facing the front of
the plane, this was probably designed such that the air stream passing
outside the plane would tend to force the door closed.

In article , Fly Guy wrote:

I would think that at 4000 feet it would be relatively easy to crack
the door open, allow the air pressure to equalize, and then be able to
fully open the door.

You'd be incorrect. Nobody was in any danger of that door opening.

At 4000 feet, the plane would have about a 2psi differential, pressing
on a ~2500-square-inch door. That's 5000 pounds of force on that door,
and I assure you the door mechanism doesn't offer that much leverage.

Also, there's a continuous inflow of air into the cabin -- it's not a
static volume of air that could really "equalize." If the door were
able to be cracked open, the outflow valves would compensate by closing
to maintain cabin altitude, and there'd be even more force directed at
the slightly-opened door, forcing it closed.

However since doors seem to be hinged on the side facing the front of
the plane, this was probably designed such that the air stream passing
outside the plane would tend to force the door closed.

That too.

--
Garner R. Miller
Clifton Park, NY =USA=