A Japanese plane headed from Tokyo to Texas had to make an emergency landing after a passenger tried to open one of its doors during the flight.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) Flight 114 was diverted to Seattle hours after taking off on Saturday “due to an unruly passenger”, the airline said.
Port of Seattle police told media they had been notified of a man who “attempted to open exit doors during the flight”.
The man, who was not identified, was “having a medical crisis” and had to be restrained by other passengers and flight crew, police said.
Yeah, I hate when they don’t let you exit when passing right next to your destination. I mean, you don’t even have to stop, just open to door for a moment.
In normal flight, the pressure differential between the inside and outside is pushing the doors against the frame with thousands of pounds of force. So it’s not possible to open the door.
If you really want to go sky diving, then be sure to dump the cabin (button is on the flight deck) to equalize the pressures. It will also help to slow down below normal cruising speed. If you do dump the cabin, keep the altitude below 15,000 feet or make an emergency descent to that level. Hypoxia is a beast.
Thanks for the tips, D.B.
DB also made sure to select a Boeing 727 aircraft that has a rear stairway exit. It’s much easier to deplane that way into the slipstream.
To be clear, even if you have a door that opens outward, the doors first open inwards before rotating to go back out. That way pressure will always keep the door from opening when at a high altitude.
Veritasium did a video on it: https://odysee.com/@veritasium:f/what-everyone-gets-wrong-about-planes:e
… If you are at a crusing altitude of say angels 30, and you suddenly dump or otherwise rapidly lose cabin pressure… in addition to hypoxia, wouldn’t this also be screamingly painful for everyone’s eardrums, potentially bursting some of them?
Screamingly painful? Bursting eardrums? Probably not.
Atmospheric pressure at 30,000 feet is about 4.3psia. Aircraft cabins are pressurized to about 12psia. There will be about an 8psig difference when you lose pressurization.
To put that into perspective, diving to a depth of 20 feet is about 8.6psig relative to the surface. A sudden loss of pressure would be the equivalent of quickly rising from the bottom of a 20’ pool.
For most, the pressure will equalize almost instantly.
Hrm.
I appreciate the actual psi numbers… maybe I just have particularly sensitive ears/vestibular system?
I’ve had painful ear popping experiences from going over mountain ranges in a car… maybe ‘eardrum bursting’ is a bit hysterical of me, but multiple times I’ve gone from sea level to between 5k and 10k feet, and when my ear pressure equalize, it is often quite painful for minutes.
“Pressure” is typical. “Discomfort” is typical. If you don’t have an underlying condition like a sinus infection, “pain” is not typical. You might want to talk to an ENT.
I’m a balloon pilot. My ears will typically first equalize about 500 feet above ground level. I’ll occasionally hear small little “farts” as the pressure changes, but I rarely feel anything more than slight pressure.
but multiple times I’ve gone from sea level to between 5k and 10k feet, and when my ear pressure equalize, it is often quite painful for minutes.
If your ears aren’t equalizing until a 5k ascent, that’s approximately 2psi pressure differential. I can see how that would be quite painful.
If your ears won’t clear at all, yes, you’d have a problem. But, you’re indicating your ears do eventually equalize. You won’t experience more pain than what you already do.
Even though there is an 8psi difference between cabin and atmospheric pressure, your sinuses apparently start “leaking” at a 2psi differential; they won’t build up an 8psi difference across your eardrums.
You might try a nasal/sinus decongestant before an ascent. Pseudoephedrine works best for me, but it tends to make my head swim. Oxymetazoline nasal spray works well, but I get terrible rebound congestion from it. Phenylephrine pills do nothing, but phenylephrine nasal spray (“4-Way”) works very well for me.
Hey, entirely seriously, I do appreciate your breakdown and info, and even your suggestion to see an ENT… the last time I saw my primary care physician, they actually said they would refer me to one, given all the symptoms I’ve been having recently and over the past years.
Psuedoephedrine also makes me… basically near black out drunk, in terms of wooziness…
I will actually star/favorite this post here with all the other medications you mention so I can bring them up whenever my ENT refferal goes through.
=D
Thanks, I will keep this in mind should I ever be overcome by the urge to open a door during flight.
I thought it wasn’t possible to open a plane door in flight due to the air pressure.
It’s less the issue of opening the door, and more the problem of having a fucking nutjob running around inside your plane
Its not, but you can’t just keep a passenger on your plane who is flipping out and might try something else crazy apart from that.
Why not just duct tape them to a seat for a few hours so everybody can get to where they’re going?
Because none of the flight crew or the company wants a lawsuit if they can avoid it. Land asap and give the guy over to authorities
They do restrain disruptive passengers in those situations, very often by duct taping them to their seats. The risk of a lawsuit from the psycho is less than the risk of a lawsuit from every other passenger in the cabin when they refuse to restrain the nut job.
“I think they did a very nice job”
Duct tape is probably not always readily available mid-flight.
The flight crew is equipped, trained, and authorized to subdue passengers when necessary. They have handcuffs, zip ties, straps, and/or rolls of duct tape specifically for this purpose.
This is the exact reason why I always keep several rolls of duct tape in my carry-on.
Was it a Boeing? Because if not then the door shouldn’t have been able to be opened mid-flight.
Boeing or not, you simply can’t open a door mid flight, at altitude. But I’m sure that anyone attempting to do so would be a cause for concern.
That joke flew right over your head. Unlike a Boeing.
That’s because he tried to open the door. Everyone knows that on Boeing planes, only the door plugs can be opened in flight.
Diverted to Seattle as punishment
Flying out? And need a safety door that does open during flight? You’ve come to the right place! Our grand selection of Boeing planes welcomes you home you crazy you! C’mon and reach for that handle! But wait for the 30,000ft club! Welcome to Seattle! And seriously, don’t!
Ofc it was an American.
Where does it say they were American? I missed that if it did.
The man, who was not identified, was “having a medical crisis” and had to be restrained by other passengers and flight crew, police said. He was later taken to a hospital. It is unclear if he will face any charges.
