If You Can Open the Plane in Mid-air You Will Be a Superman

Any passenger who intends to open the emergency door when the plane is at 11,000 m altitude with your bare hands, forget it. It is unimaginable, because to do that you need to be so strong that you can lift two African elephants.

Key Facts About Pressure Difference

Opening airplanes in the air is impossible due to the pressure difference.(Photo: Wordpress.)

If you use your hand to not open the emergency door when the plane is flying at a cruise altitude (11,000 m), a force of more than 10,750 kg is needed, equal to the weight of two African elephants or six adult male hippos.

The reason is that at an altitude of 2,400m above sea level, the pressure inside the aircraft cabin is always higher than the outside pressure.

Why Pressure Difference Matters

Moreover, the aircraft door is designed to turn the outside face smaller than the face facing into the cabin. With this type of fabrication, to open the door from the inside when the plane is in the air, you will have to overcome the pressure difference to pull the door in, rotate the door before pushing the door out.

According to the pressure estimate at a height of 2,400 m is 75,260 pascal (Pa), the pressure at the height of the journey (11,000 m) is 23,000 Pa. The size of the emergency door of Boeing 767 aircraft is 1.88 x 1.07 meters.

Taking the door area multiplied by the pressure difference, we will have the necessary force to pull in the door at the height of the journey, and the answer is a strong force of 10,750 kg.

If the aircraft is at an altitude of less than 2,400 m, the pressure is controlled to correspond to the external pressure, the pressure difference between the inside and outside the aircraft is very small or unavailable, so pulling the door open is much easier. This is also the reason that your ears only hurt when the plane drops from 2,400.