Will an airplane crash if there is a hole in it?

Question

For example if the window is missing or there is a small hole while the plane is in the air, will it cause people to be sucked out the window or the plane to crash? Please backup your answers with sources, I seen this on Mythbusters once but I can't find any solid proof!

Answer 1

small hole or window, usually is not enough to bring down aircraft. unrestrained people can be sucked out, if the hole is big enough.

a Hawaiian based airline had a plane thet lost a huge section of the fuselage, it landed OK. it was about 10 years ago.


this is a pic of the aloha airlines plane,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Flight_243

Answer 2

This is highly dependent on the plane and altitude. It most likely would not cause the plane to crash if it was only a window and did no damage to any of the fuel lines, or equipment lines running to the tail or wings. It would depressurize but once it reached an equilibrium it really wouldn't matter except for the passengers. Also if it was only a window there is no way a human could possibly make it out, small infant right beside the window possibly?. You would probably just get very cold have alot of air and trash rushing by you and pass out if you didn't get an air mask on quickly but once the pilots got to a reasonable altitude everything would be relatively fine.

sorry no sources, but I'm pretty sure what I say would hold true.

Answer 3

No, a small hole will not suck people out. It will cause the air pressure to drop, and if left unchecked, the air pressure could drop too much, but it won't suck people out.
As for the source, how about personal experience? I am former USAF aircrewman and have often personally opened a hole in the fuselage of the aircraft to make use of a sextant. The hole is about 1" in diameter and never had any problems with it.

A large hole, say a window or something sizable, will certianly cause problems. The air pressure will drop drastically and if the aircraft is too high, it might even cause the crew to pass out unless they are on oxygen.

If there is no hole to begin with and the window blows out, the sudden explosive decompression could suck loose objects out and if the hole is large enough, it could pull a person out as well.

Answer 4

A controlled ditching into calm water generally has an quite intense survival fee, each and every from time to time a hundred%. This replaced into the case human beings airlines Flight 1549, which ditched into the calm waters of the Hudson River, and it replaced into additionally the case of a Tupolev 124 that ditched into the Neva River in 1963. the main effective situation arises whilst an plane ditches into water that may no longer thoroughly calm. Waves and swells on the water floor could make it very perplexing to place the airplane down on the water without particular factors of the airplane hitting first and flipping or twisting the plane. whilst the plane is tossed approximately by utilising an unbalanced touch with the water, the survival expenditures are lots decrease. Water is a liquid, even nevertheless that's incompressible and could no longer "provide" whilst something hits it. because of the fact of this a abdomen flop in a swimming pool would be painful. If the airplane strikes the water in a fashion that doesn't shift it out of how, the impact would be very much like hitting a brick wall.

Answer 5

wizard and common sense got the idea right. if you are properly strapped in your seat, i doubt the person sitting next to the window would be sucked out. as long as the opening does not propagate due to metal fatigue (there was a case where the entire front roof section was torn off), it would be relatively safe. However, if the opening were to cause a great sudden loss of altitude and the pilots do not have enough time to reach for their oxygen mask and lose consciousness due to decompression, then the plane would crash. Then again, if the window were to be sucked out, it might hit the plane's critical component such as the tail wing which would seriously hinder safe landing, then yes the airplane might crash.

Answer 6

No, a missing window will cause depressurisation, but the airplane would not crash. Why would it? All the other important elements -- the wings, the engines -- are untouched.

In 1988, a Boeing 737 lost a huge section of its upper fuselage at 24000 ft altitude. The passengers who were seated with their seat belt on all pulled through. The only loss of life was a flight attendant who was not seated at that time.

The attached site will give you a complete record of what happened, along with pictures of the damage. You will note that the hole is a wee bit larger than a missing window...

Answer 7

It's not the hole... it's the air pressure... the hole just needs to be reinforced VERY well... people jump out of planes all the time... but the planes are moving very slow at lower altitudes... so speed and height are a factor as well.

Did you try ask.com or discovery channel's website. Maybe there is a link to a science museum in your area.

Answer 8

No, it will not explode. As they show on Myth Busters it takes a shaped charge to cause that much damage. There was an incident where a hairline fracture in the cabin of the aircraft caused the cabin to come apart however the plane was still flyable and the pilot made a safe landing.

Answer 9

I really don't know. Previously, they used to say that even a slightest hole in the plane, can cause a person to be sucked out. But mythbuster BUSTED that myth. so I have no idea which is true.

Answer 10

Since the atmosphere inside the airplane artificially pressurized, people in such airplane will suffer great discomfort. The pilot will be forced to make emergency landing. As I said, depending on the size of a hole, it may be "patched" till landing. Otherwise people may be flying all over.