Alaska flight incident reveals another feature Boeing didn’t inform pilots about - Federal investigators said that Boeing didn’t make pilots aware that when a plane rapidly depressurizes, the cockp…::undefined

  • solrize@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    If that design is necessary it has presumably always been like that on every pressurized plane ever built. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise. But, some vents should be able to equalize the pressure without opening the door.

    ISTR hearing that El Al planes had separate entrances for the cockpit and passenger compartment so there was no way to enter or leave the cockpit except on the ground. No door, just a reinforced wall. But maybe that was a post-911 urban legend.

    • flying_mechanic@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Aircraft maintenance has been doing the negative pressure unlock tests on cockpit doors for decades, its honestly surprising what isn’t common knowledge. Like others have said, rapid decompression of only a portion of the aircraft is very bad, and will result in massive structural failure as individual compartments aren’t pressure rated and will blow apart. The doors I’ve had experience with had large panels that would pop out when in a negative pressure event.

    • brianorca@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      There are surely some vents that could handle a slower decompression, but a sudden event that reduced the pressure by half in a single second would be too much. 6 tons is a lot of force for a door to take, especially when it is in the opposite direction of most threats the door is supposed to stop.

    • BoscoBear@lemmy.sdf.org
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      10 months ago

      Seems like a burst disk in the bulkheads would be a better solution than counting on a door to pop open.

    • someguy3@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Cockpits would need their own bathroom, food, and maybe sleeping area if they had no door. Can’t see that happening.

      • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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        10 months ago

        Your getting downvoted by people who’ve never flown on a 737, or even better, an MD80!