Aircraft pressure vessels are continuously pressurized by bleed air from the
engines...that is, air is being pumped into the plane all of the time. To
keep the airplane from being blown up like a big balloon, an outflow valve
provides a continuous "leak" that lets air escape at a rate programmed by
the cabin altitude setting....so there is already a "hole" in the airplane,
put their by design. I have no direct knowledge of how big an airliner
outflow valve is, but I am going to guess three inches in diameter. Backing
up the outflow valve, in case it sticks in the closed position, is a safety
valve, preloaded to open at a given pressure differential...so there is
another hole, just waiting to open. Contrast that with the hole made by a
9mm bullet.

Don't believe ANYTHING you see on TV or in the movies about aviation. The
producers want viewers to be horrified, so they hype things up quite a bit.
Explosive decompression in and of itself does not cause the airplane to go
out of control, but the emergency measures required to get down to
breathable levels (typically 14,000 feet and below) in a hurry requires
extreme bank angles, far beyond what any airline passenger has ever
experienced in normal flight.

If a window blows out, everything that is not tied down will certainly be
sucked out, and this could include people if they were small enough. I keep
my safety belt fastened at all times when I fly...do you? Pilots have access
to altitude chambers, where they can experience explosive decompression
under controlled conditions...my ears did not blow out during a "dive" from
25000 feet to sea level. There was a big bang and the chamber filled with
fog...that was the moisture from the breath of us "passengers" condensing
out.

Emergency descents are part of training and recurrent training for jet
pilots.

I recall a movie starring either Governor Arnold or Bruce Willis in which a
fuselage-mounted engine was on fire. The hero was hanging out of the door,
of course (conveniently bypassing the fact that they are plug-type doors)
and the smoke from the burning engine was moving forward, into the relative
wind! Quite a trick!

Bob Gardner

"Aviation" wrote in message
u...
I have two questions inspired by Hollywood movies.

In the movies (Goldfinger, Executive Decision and so on),
when pressurized aircraft suffer catastrophic decompression
at high (25000+ feet) altitude (usually when the bad guy
shoots a bullet through a window) everything not tied down
gets sucked out of the plane and the aircraft goes into an
immediate, rapid nose dive and the pilots or the good guys
have to struggle to level it off or prevent a crash.

Is this an automatic "safety" feature of real, regular aircraft?
On the one hand, passengers need to get denser air to breathe
but large aircraft have oxygen masks that drop down. (I could
do some rough estimates that the average fat slob can hold
their breath for less than a minute so, without masks, the jet
would have to go from let's say 30000 feet to 5000 feet in
30-45 seconds. My ears would explode.)

I would think that a crash dive to a lower altitude could be
even more dangerous such as if it occurred in a crowded air
corridor. Maybe there are other dangers.

What REALLY happens (or is supposed to happen) in the event
of sudden decompression of real high flying aircraft?



The second Hollywood inspired question comes from Executive
Decision (1996). The main character is taking flying lessons
in a single prop 2-seater plane and lands. The plane is still
running (on the ground) and his instructor says, 'I think
you're ready to solo' and gets out. The main character starts
to taxi and then other non-flying plot developments happen.
I was wondering if taking your FIRST solo flight is that simple.

The location in the film in Washington, DC but I figure all
US flying is FAA regulated. Wouldn't the first time soloist
have to fill out some forms, file a flight plan with the
airport and maybe even do a complete pre-flight check on the
aircraft? Is the simplified movie solo flight completely
bogus or could it happen that way?


THANK YOU VERY MUCH.






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