747 cargo door latch
Hmmm... did anyone see 'Aircraft Investigation' on Five tonight? For those that didn't, it was about United 811, a 747 which had an explosive decompression because the cargo door came open in flight - apparently because of faulty wiring which made the latches open. Scary.
I just wondered, surely Boeing must have redesigned the latch or wiring? I noticed it was an old -100 series, so presumably the problem would never be on later ones, especially the -400?
Also, why does the cargo door open outwards? The only reason I can think of is that it wouldn't need space to go up inside, so more bags could be loaded. Is that right?