From: (Regnirps)
Date: 10/20/2003 2:08 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

"Gord Beaman" ) wrote:

I've been following this thread for awhile and have heard of most
of these incidents before. I notice that 'all' the posts refer to
"People etc being sucked out". Isn't the proper term "Blown out"
by the higher air pressure inside?, rather than being "Sucked out
by the lower air pressure outside?.

I realize that the same effect would be realized in either case
but it seems to go against my grain to call it "Sucked out". Any
thoughts?.

Right. No such thing as "suction", which implies being pulled instead of
pushed. I suppose since we are talking about bags of fluid and because of the
way hydraulics work, the effect is as if there was something 'sucking' on the
people. It is a handy word but leads the intuition to jump to conclusions.

-- Charlie Springer

In any event an airliner continually vents more air than would be expelled
through a passenger window. If the cabin didn't vent and pressure was
constantly applied the cabin pressure would excede passenger comfort by a few
thousand feet below sea level. There are pressure relief valves, drain holes
leaks around doors etc. It all adds up.


Dan, U. S. Air Force, retired
I guess this means a bullet hole would be meaningless unless it was in
something sensitive like me or in a wiring harness, control cable, fuel tank
etc.