View Full Version : Opening the door just before you force land?
ILS27R
10th May 2002, 12:43
Just wondering what are people thoughts about opening the door of an aeroplane just before you force land or ditch? Is it a good idea or not? What made me think about this is that whilst you want to escape from the aircraft as fast as possible wouldn't the door (in the closed position) act to strengthen the aeroplane.
So which is the best option?
GonvilleBromhead
10th May 2002, 13:46
Surely, at least in the event of ditching, the door would be extremely difficult to open if not unlatched already ?
I can see your point, but I think I would prefer to have a ready escape route than worry about airframe strength, particularly at relatively low speeds.
Personal opinion of course.
Naples Air Center, Inc.
10th May 2002, 13:51
ILS27R,
Any extra structural integrity of the aircraft is not worth the chance the airframe would bend during the forced landing and jam the door mechanism, thus trapping you in the aircraft.
Happy Flying,
Capt. Richard J. Gentil, Pres.
Naples Air Center, Inc.
Reichman
10th May 2002, 14:18
IF you've dealt with the emergency,
IF the aircraft is trimmed out at best glide speed,
IF you've picked a suitable landing area,
IF you've put out a MAYDAY,
and IF you have the capacity to lean over and start fumbling with door handles,
THEN, unlock/open the door.
IF NOT - FLY THE AIRCRAFT>
I suspect that if you've got to worry about the contribution of the door to the structural strength of the aeroplane then you're probably in trouble... :(
ILS27R
10th May 2002, 14:55
Thankyou for your posts on this subject. Not quite sure what the above post is trying to drive at.
Cheers,
ILS27R
FlyingForFun
10th May 2002, 15:14
Reichman,
Or you could get your passenger to open the door for you. (Part of my standard briefing in PA28... "in the unlikely event of having to make a forced landing, I'll probably ask you to unlatch the door shortly before we land.")
FFF
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What I'm 'driving at' is that I don't think the door makes significant difference to the structural strength of the cabin - at least, not on any GA type that I've seen. Take a look at the door on a Tomahawk or Warrior - it's not exactly strong, is it?
You would have to hit something reasonably hard to deform the cockpit structure - under such conditions any (small) increase in rigidity due to having the door shut is probably irrelevant.
Doors are for cars.
AA5 check list for forced landing includes open canopy advice. My brief to any front seat passenger is to use their headset to ensure the canopy cannot slam shut on impact!
Rod
carbheatcold
11th May 2002, 19:17
I think the other thing to bear in mind when flying the single door Pipers is the order of getting out if you are carrying passengers in the rear. It is a lot quicker for the rear passenger to get out first if the front seat is forward.
I would always unlock/open the door before the crash as you certainly could not guarantee it would open afterwards.
chc
spudskier
12th May 2002, 20:01
absolutely, open the doors before the forced landing, believe me, those flimsy doors on a Cessna 152/172 aren't going to help the plane structurally at all!! Plus as others have stated, you don't want the door to be jammed shut when you land
you beat me to it Spud,
as soon as that little cessna lands, you don't want to get trapped in it