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
I’m no expert, but I believe it has something to do with altitude and air pressure. Commercial airliners fly much higher and the air is much thinner. Passengers would have a difficult time breathing if the plane was opened somewhere. The inside of the cabin is also pressurised to make it comfortable for the passengers and feel like the same air pressure they would feel on the ground. If you smashed out a window, the pressure on the inside tries to equalize with that on the outside and that’s why (in the movies) people get sucked out. Not sure if it works that way in real life, tho. Sky diving planes fly at a low enough altitude, they don’t have to have the cabin pressurised. The air might be a little thin, but not horribly so.
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