It’s an odd thought but it’s also not the first time that someone has thought about what might happen if an airplane door burst open mid-flight. Keep in mind if you’re afraid of flying this explanation does eventually get better, but let’s get on with the horrific stuff first to get it out of the way. First of all, when you’re traveling at cruising altitude you’re a good ways up in the air and let’s be honest, anything or anyone that exits the plane in a forceful manner, as would happen if that door opened, would likely be sucked out and the possibility of survival would be slim to none considering that the resulting difference in air pressure within the cabin, which would drop in less time than you might be able to reach for an oxygen mask, would be sudden and would seriously damage the integrity of the plane.
Now that you’re good and scared, think on this, if the door was to ever come off then you’d have about eighteen seconds to don the mask that pops down from above and place it over your face. If you didn’t manage to get it over your face you’d likely expire due to hypoxia, which would make you nauseous, dizzy, and eventually very dead. Now that you’re good and freaked out I’ll continue and hopefully keep you from hyperventilating.
This isn’t likely to happen. Not only is the door usually controlled by an electronic lock that exists only in the cockpit, but it’s also got enough pressure put upon it that would make the act of opening it accidentally or on purpose impossible. It would be akin to moving the combined weight of three mature elephants all on your lonesome. Unless you’re the Hulk or Superman I don’t see this happening. So take a breath, relax, and realize that once you’re in the air that door is going nowhere.
But what about the windows you might ask?
Well, it might certainly be a concern except for the fact that the windows aren’t technically glass. They’re made of different clear polymers and are six layers thick. They’re also curved and tempered so as to avoid cracks or decompression of any sort. So take another deep breath and calm down, because while on a plane you are far less likely to meet an untimely accident than you would be while driving in a car. Seriously, the likelihood of dying in a car is about one in a little over a hundred, while the likelihood of dying in a plane crash is one in thousands. A lot of people still have trouble believing this but it makes a lot of sense if you just think about it. Airplanes are designed to be flying taxi cabs that are essentially bulletproof and aerodynamically designed to reduce as much drag and wind shear as possible. Once you’re up in the air that door is not coming open, and you will arrive safe and sound at your next destination. Just be sure to thank your pilots and flight attendants.
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