How come if a window is smashed out on an airplane it will cause a disaster but other planes can open doors with no problem.

Question

Was on a flight the other day and remembered as a kid being worried the window would break and everyone would get thrown out of the plane, but went sky diving and half the plane was open with no issue. What’s the difference?

In: Physics

Answer 1

The difference is altitude. If you open a door when the plane is high, the air pressure in the plane is much higher than the air pressure outside, and a great gust of wind sucks things out the hole. Once the pressure is equalized, at the height a commercial airliner flies, the passengers would suffocate (which is why the plane is pressurized). Lower, neither of these issues is as big a problem.