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Is it possible for a passenger to open the door of a commercial jet while it is in flight?
We're talking about a pressurized airplane, where the internal cabin is at a higher pressure than the outside. The internal pressure is forcing the door outward against the seal. [To open the door] you have to pull the door inward. Because of the differential [difference in] air pressure, it's beyond the capability of a human to do that - they're not strong enough. It's probably 6 p.s.i. (pounds per square inch) of differential pressure against hundreds of square inches of door. So that means it would be something like a thousand pounds you'd have to pull in.
Source
Yes, he had the guy depressurize the plane. That was the only way he was able to do it. Since that time, the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] has mandated that the manufacturers disable those doors [the door at the back of the plane that Cooper used; jumping from a side door could mean hitting a wing or engine]. They have a "D.B. Cooper Switch"—that's what they call it—that disables or locks those doors when the [landing] gear is up.
Originally posted by Wrabbit2000[/iWe're talking about a pressurized airplane, where the internal cabin is at a higher pressure than the outside. The internal pressure is forcing the door outward against the seal. [To open the door] you have to pull the door inward. Because of the differential [difference in] air pressure, it's beyond the capability of a human to do that - they're not strong enough. It's probably 6 p.s.i. (pounds per square inch) of differential pressure against hundreds of square inches of door. So that means it would be something like a thousand pounds you'd have to pull in.]
Apparently all it takes is a mechanic using the wrong screws to fasten the cockpit windshield. It seemed to be secure until it popped off and tried to suck the captain out during the decompression. The flight crew struggled to hold the captain in the plane but thought he was dead because he was unconscious.
Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
No matter what they tried for pressure differentials or holes, they couldn't get explosive decompression.