Experts say the consequences of Friday’s mid-air incident might have been much more severe if the plane had already reached a higher cruising altitude, where the decompression might have been much stronger and might have ejected the passengers from the plane. But the plane was only 3 miles (4.9 km) up and still climbing. The air pressure in most commercial airline cabins is typically equivalent to that at 1.5 miles (2.4 km) altitude, according to The Washington Post.
“The pressure difference between 3 miles (4.9 km) and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) was not great enough to force a person out of the window,” said Jeff Guzzetti, a former accident investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
This is what happens in an airplane cabin when a hole suddenly opens.
VIDEO: Boeing once more: a part of the aircraft and a window fell out during the flight in the USA
What happened on an Alaska Airlines flight?
Just minutes following the plane took off from Portland on Friday, the so-called door jammer, an emergency exit that is closed with a panel instead of being used as a door, blew out. There was a gaping hole right next to the row of seats. No one was sitting next to me.
Oxygen masks dangled over people’s heads, and the pilots quickly lowered the plane and made an emergency landing in Portland.
What happens when a hole opens up in the air on a plane?
Scanpix/AP photo/Boeing 737 Max 9 lost part of the fuselage
The cabins of commercial airplanes contain compressed air, so passengers and crew can breathe easily and maintain normal oxygen levels even when flying at altitudes above 9 km.
The air pressure in most airplanes is regarding the same as that of humans 1.5 miles (2.4 km) above sea level, which supports normal physiological functions, said Scott Wagner, an associate professor in the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
If a hole opens, the air inside the cabin tries to equalize with the lower pressure air outside the aircraft. Warmer, compressed air leaves the cabin, leaving passengers exposed to cooler temperatures and less oxygen.
Three types of depressurization or decompression can occur in airplanes: gradual, rapid, or explosive. According to the FAA, the Alaska Airlines flight experienced a rapid decompression, which is when the cabin pressure changes for more than half a second, and often much longer.
Why weren’t the injuries more severe?
The incident occurred a few minutes following takeoff, when the flight was at an altitude of 4.9 km, so the pressure difference between the air inside and outside the cabin was less than at a much higher flight altitude. This means that the air pressure dropped with less force than it would have if the plane had been flying higher.
Alaska Airlines said several people on the flight suffered injuries, but all had received medical attention by Saturday evening.
One passenger’s phone was reportedly found on the ground over the weekend. Another report said one passenger’s shirt had been sucked out by a gaping hole. Some passengers said debris was flying around the plane, and investigators say two seat headrests and one seat back were missing following the crash.
Had the incident occurred later in the flight, it is likely that some of the passengers would have been walking instead of sitting, and this might have led to even more catastrophic consequences.
“At cruising altitude, anyone who wasn’t wearing a seat belt would have fallen out the hole,” said Jeremy Laliberte, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Carleton University.
At higher altitudes, the drop in air pressure would have been even more explosive and might have ripped off more of the plane’s trim, he said.
Airplanes are designed to fly even if parts of the fuselage are missing. in 1988 An Aloha Air plane lost part of its roof. The flight attendant was killed, but everyone else survived, and the pilots landed the plane safely. in 2011 A Southwest flight made an emergency landing following part of the roof was torn off.
And in 2018 one Southwest passenger was killed when the plane was partially “sucked out” through a broken window while flying at cruising altitude. The pilot made an emergency landing and no one else was injured.
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2024-07-03 11:21:04