On landing, a man opened the door of an airplane during a flight in South Korea. How did he do? Why could this happen? The Anpac experts clarify our ideas
The hatch of an aircraft open in flight? It seems impossible. Indeed it is, in most situations. When it opens, under precise conditions, it happens because the possibility is foreseen to deal with any emergencies. But then there is always the imponderable linked to human beings. As in the event that occurred on May 26 in the South Korean skies above the city of Daegu (in the southern part of the country, about three hours by flight from the capital Seoul). On board a Airbus A321 of Asiana Airlines a passenger sitting at one of the emergency exits opened the hatch at just over 200 meters above sea level, when there were about two minutes left before landing. Since at that altitude the pressure inside the aircraft is not substantially different from that outside, the disasters of sudden depressurization have not occurred. Naturally the passengers went through moments of terror but it all ended with minimal damage, only some hospitalization for hyperventilation. The passenger guilty of the opening, a young man of about thirty, was arrested. But why did it technically happen that the hatch could be opened in flight? Are there no safety procedures? And how do they work? Let’s try to understand more.
Air hatch open in flight: how it can happen
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We have contacted the pilot coordinator of theAnpac (National Professional Civil Aviation Association), the commander Danilo Recinea man who by virtue of his profession is very familiar with the Airbus A321.
What if that fellow had opened the high-altitude hatch?
“This is impossible. An airplane that goes to altitude maintains enough pressure inside to allow people to breathe. So the pressurization system creates a huge difference with the external pressure. This makes it impossible to open the doors at high altitude. No human being could do that. It’s really useless to try.”
So how do you explain the story of the Korean plane?
“This occurred at low altitude, a situation where the system knows you are about to land. In fact, as we descend, the pressurization decreases, to the point where, close to landing, the plane should not have any more. Because, by design, the doors must be able to open at this altitude. In jargon we call them “armed”: it means that they are equipped with slides that automatically deploy in case of emergency”.
How could that person open the door?
“To understand the details precisely, it is necessary to wait for the investigations. In fact, since the opening mechanism involves forward movement of the hatch, even at that altitude at a speed of about 200 km/h it would take an almost inhuman effort to open it”.
What happens in case of failure?
“We in the cabin receive immediate warning. A sort of map of the aircraft appears on a special screen with an indication of the faulty door. Then we take action to understand what happened. The doors are also manned by the staff”.
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