F = M x A
But when landed, the pressure outside is normal.
What is the problem now?
If you release the restraining mechanism around a cork sealing a bottle of champagne; then vigorously shake the bottle what will eventually happen to the cork?
The cork will be dislodged from the bottle with tremendous force.
As the pressure in the champagne bottle increases that pressure exerts force on the cork. Eventually the higher differential pressure inside the bottle overcomes the friction of the cork and the lower ambient pressure outside the bottle and the cork is ejected. Why does the bullet depart the casing when the firing pin strikes? In the second example we have a relatively small mass rapidly expanding generating enough force to launch a lethal projectile.
What is the volume of the interior of your airplane’s cabin, how many cubic meters of air is there in that cabin? Convert than number to square inches and we are likely dealing with very big numbers. Now multiply that mass by one, two or more pounds per square inch differential. The result is you have a lot of force. The force generated by that huge volume of air moving is likely more than could be generated by the New Zealand All Blacks on a scrum line. If I am standing in front of the door, and it opens under those circumstances, I am going to get ejected-forcibly.
I am not familiar with the American Airlines flight attendant accident in Miami back in 2000 referenced by an earlier poster, but I can see somebody being launched from a dangerous height and suffering fatal injuries.
Every jet aircraft I have flown has been designed to be completely depressurized either right before or very soon after landing we want to be able to get those doors open.
Force = Mass multiplied by Acceleration
Last edited by Northbeach; 7th Jan 2012 at 19:18.