In article ,
writes
We all have seen the movies were one pistol shot or what not causes
the side of an airliner explode sucking the people, seats, etc. into
the void. What would happen in the reality? Let's assume the plane is
at the cruising altitude.

I wouldn't call that 'catastrophic' decompression, one of the best
examples of which would be the Comet crashes and subsequent
investigation which are very well documented. The JAL 747 which lost the
fin when the rear pressure bulkhead failed (although it continued to fly
for nearly an hour before hitting a mountain). A couple of incidents
where DC10s lost cargo doors, causing very serious damage and the loss
of at least one aircraft. A 737 that lost nearly half of the cabin roof
landed safely.

There was the BAC 1-11 where a windscreen was sucked out, sucking the
captain out of his seat and onto the nose. The first officer managed to
land it whilst a steward held onto the captain's legs.

--
John