Ever wonder what happens when you open the exit door while you’re in the air? I know that the thought has crossed my mind once or twice while I was sitting in the exit-row seat.
Well, you can’t. You’ll notice that emergency exit and cabin doors open inward, meaning the air pressure from inside of the plane is going to be pushing hard out on the door at 30,000 feet. Meaning it’s going to be near impossible for you to pull the door open. That and you’re going to make the crew really mad at you.
Apparently, a woman on an American Airlines flight headed for Dallas yesterday didn’t realize this and had to be subdued by the crew until they could divert to Houston. The Age reports that after landing in Houston, six passengers got off (because it was their final destination) and the rest of the plane went on their merry way to Dallas.
It’s nice to know that not any nutjob can open an emergency exit at altitude and suck us all out of the plane, isn’t it?