wrote in :

On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 16:36:36 -0500, "John Gaquin"
wrote:

:
:"Bob Gardner" wrote in message newszGIb.712245
:
:A partial quote: "Air will rush from the mouth and nose due to the
:escape
f air from the lungs, and may be noticed by some individuals."
:
:Yes, OK, I agree with that. I thought you referred to "...sustained
:burp & fart..." following rapid decompression, with which I would
:disagree. My, my -- the things we wind up discussing! :-)

Scuba divers are told that if they hold their breath on the way up,
they can rupture a lung and cause an embolism. Don't know if it's
true, but if it is, the same would apply to a rapid decompression in
an airplane.

The lung-damage part is true, but couldn't happen in an explosive
decompression situation in an aircraft. The first 10 meters descend in
water will cause an increase of pressure of 1 bar, in the air this
difference is of course just a small factor.

Nosegear