Emergency exit opens during Swiss flight!

[Dimitri Cherchenko]

Swiss flight operated by Helvetic Airways from Zurich to Manchester.
About fifteen minutes before landing, the emergency exit handle came down, the door opened a bit, and passengers could see outside!

http://www.20min.ch/dyim/e5422c/M600,1000/images/content/1/9/1/19125044/10/topelement.jpg

20 minutes - La sortie de secours s'ouvre en plein vol - Faits divers (http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/faits_divers/story/La-sortie-de-secours-s-ouvre-en-plein-vol-19125044)

[Old and Horrified]

Amazing! Instead of someone getting up to push it shut, they just sit there and take photos!

[wiggy]

Regardless of the headline according to the article a spokesperson said (last paragraph, I paraphrase) a cover/handle/trim panel(?) became detached and/or moved during the flight, the door itself didn't actually move until landing.

[Ancient Mariner]

Amazing! Instead of someone getting up to push it shut, they just sit there and take photos!

When they do, they at least have their safety belt on.
How would a SLF like me know if the emergency exit could pop out while I fumbled with the handle?
I would expect the highly trained professionals in the cabin or cockpit to handle the situation.
Per

[4468]

I suppose the cover could fall off in flight. But the handle WILL NOT move unless it's pulled!

Absolutely no chance whatsoever of this over wing exit door budging whilst the a/c is pressurised!

There's a little more to this story.

[Uplinker]

@ancient mariner: er, because you read the safety card perhaps?

I love it when passengers make a big show of ignoring all the safety precautions and sit reading the newspaper during the safety brief and flight preparations - as if to prove how 'hard' they are.

[ihadcontrol]

Few years ago I was sat on an overwing exit on a 738 and witnessed the guy across from me pull the panel out and use the handel to hang his coat on - we were in the climb at the time.
Crew dealt with it (seemed no issue) but the guy protested as he couldn't see his iPad screen and their was no window blind - what a :mad:

Sure the door would have been locked (above a % n1 or something...not rated) but during the decent a few hours later I couldn't take my eyes off the door.

[FE Hoppy]

That handle has been pulled.

Lots of football fans on the flight to Manchester.

As has been said, the door is a plug type and cannot open whilst the aircraft is pressurised.

[TomU]

@ancient mariner: er, because you read the safety card perhaps?

I love it when passengers make a big show of ignoring all the safety precautions and sit reading the newspaper during the safety brief and flight preparations - as if to prove how 'hard' they are.

----------------
Well, I have read enough of Aincient Mariner's posts to know that he was only jabbing to see who squeaked.

His point is valid. Let's say I am the only one who sees the handle popped down.
Let's say I reach up to re-stow it, being a good passenger and all and having watched the briefing and read the card, I know all about emergency exit handles.
So someone sees me with my hand on the handle and screams "look, he is trying to open the exit"...well, that's me in the poo.
Lets say, whilst I try to re-stow the handle, the door pops out (If it can or can't is incidental to this tale)...that's me in even deeper poo.

Good, innit

[susier]

I think it is to be considered a good thing if in a situation like this, SLF do not interfere - instinct might dictate that if the CC aren't touching it, and aren't incapacitated to do so, and shouting at us to do it, we probably shouldn't touch it either.

[Ancient Mariner]

@ancient mariner: er, because you read the safety card perhaps?

I love it when passengers make a big show of ignoring all the safety precautions and sit reading the newspaper during the safety brief and flight preparations - as if to prove how 'hard' they are.

I do read the safety cards, but it only tells me how to open the emergency exits, not to secure them.
I am one of those who will put everything aside and, out of courtesy seek eye contact with the FA during safety briefings.
Heck, I can still tell you verbatim how to open the emergency exit on a Chinese Tu 154, open the container, throw out and inflate the chute. ;)
Flights like that, in those areas, have taught me to pay attention.
Per

[thatoneoranother]

... and I was sitting two rows ahead of the door that opened (I actually got the door-seat 13B assigned on-line but changed to 11B just to be able to store my bag under the seat before me :-) ). However, few minutes after the announcement that we were approaching Manchester, the handle cover fell (we all heard the noise) without being touched by anybody and the handle half opened - the aircraft was full and any passenger would have noticed an intentional action to open it!!! -
The flight assistant came to tell everybody that everything was quite OK "Just don't touch it, please!".
During the landing the upper part of the door (or at least the part I could see looking back from my seat) actually opened about 3-4 cm - and the air noise became much audible - to close back when the speed (and air pressure) decrease at ground. Yet most of the people (e.g. the ones sitting in the first 10 rows) didn't even notice the incident. There was no panic at all.
Sort of thrilling experience :-)

[Piltdown Man]

I'm guessing this was a Fokker 100. If so, this a regular occurence. Depending on the exact fit, the handle for over wing hatch may or may not be covered. But either way, the handle is wire locked with copper wire in an attempt to prevent this sort of thing happening. But the wire is regularly broken and the handle can fall to the open position. As previous posters have pointed out, it only becomes an issue when the pressure differential falls to zero. Then the hatch may fall in. It's just very noisy and engineers are required to re-apply the locking wire.

PM

[DaveReidUK]

I'm guessing this was a Fokker 100.

Yes, it was.

[lomapaseo]

I'm guessing this was a Fokker 100. If so, this a regular occurence. Depending on the exact fit, the handle for over wing hatch may or may not be covered. But either way, the handle is wire locked with copper wire in an attempt to prevent this sort of thing happening. But the wire is regularly broken and the handle can fall to the open position. As previous posters have pointed out, it only becomes an issue when the pressure differential falls to zero. Then the hatch may fall in. It's just very noisy and engineers are required to re-apply the locking wire.

PM

Assuming a light load of un-awake passengers on a late night takeoff how would this be noticed after takeoff rotation? annunciated or air noise?

I'm also a little concerned about passenger reactions. Would there be a percentage that pulled on the handle?

[DirtyProp]

... and I was sitting two rows ahead of the door that opened (I actually got the door-seat 13B assigned on-line but changed to 11B just to be able to store my bag under the seat before me :-) ). However, few minutes after the announcement that we were approaching Manchester, the handle cover fell (we all heard the noise) without being touched by anybody and the handle half opened - the aircraft was full and any passenger would have noticed an intentional action to open it!!! -
The flight assistant came to tell everybody that everything was quite OK "Just don't touch it, please!".
During the landing the upper part of the door (or at least the part I could see looking back from my seat) actually opened about 3-4 cm - and the air noise became much audible - to close back when the speed (and air pressure) decrease at ground. Yet most of the people (e.g. the ones sitting in the first 10 rows) didn't even notice the incident. There was no panic at all.
Sort of thrilling experience :-)

Am I the only one that finds the above part quite disturbing?

[DaveReidUK]

A report in the MEN quotes a Helvetic spokesman as saying that the aircraft "had just come from a major maintenance check", though its flight history would suggest that it had been back in service for at least a few days prior to the incident.

Scary welcome for fans heading to United match as 'plane door opens' on landing at Manchester Airport - Manchester Evening News (http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/scary-welcome-fans-heading-united-10168258)

[deptrai]

why disturbing? noisy door seals are extremely common, even in more modern a/c. And while 3-4cm (if that is accurate) sounds like a lot, this incident seems rather innocent and not dramatic at all. There's been door leaks in F100's leading to decompression (it's not such a big a/c), and even entire doors have been lost :) I'd say that would be more disturbing. As PM said, F100 doors are a known issue, not only overwing, if I remember correctly old F'ers with integrated stairs had doors held by bolts, not plug-type doors (DC10 cargo hatches anyone?). I believe some fixes have been applied (?), and now there's only 3-4 cm openings, that's a major improvement :)

[No Fly Zone]

Investigator: Please tell us what happened...

SLC: When I boarded, I read the safety card, just in case. I always do so. Part way through the flight it began to get bumpy and a read the card again. About 20 minutes before landing, it got Very Bumpy.

Investigator: The flight crew reported very light turb. Please go on.

SLC: I thought it was very rough. I was concerned that we might crash during landing, so I re-read the emergency door operating instructions. After another heavy jolt, I thought that I'd better practice and I pulled the release handle. The door started hissing.

Investigator: How many times have you flown in an Exit Row?

SLC: This was my second flight on any airplane. It looked like I was the only one reading the emergency instructions, so I thought I should be prepared.

Investigator: (Shaking head while leaving room....) God help us all!:ouch::ouch:

[tdracer]

Am I the only one that finds the above part quite disturbing?

Way back when, during flight testing of the 767/CF6-80C2, we did a fairly high speed simulated RTO with full reverse thrust. At the time they hadn't yet finalized the reverse flow and there was significant reverse flow impingement on the fuselage. During the RTO, I could see daylight past the seals around the emergency exit door :rolleyes:. It also got rather noisy...

[Gargleblaster]

Re "Am I the only one that finds the above part quite disturbing?"

Untill further, it seems so.

Things that are supposed to be closed should of course remain closed, and if not that will be investigated and acted upon.

However, during landing, you could open any door or window on the aircraft without any adverse effects other than some noise and a mild breeze.

[Piltdown Man]

Assuming a light load of un-awake passengers on a late night takeoff how would this be noticed after takeoff rotation? annunciated or air noise?

When airborne, the only thing of note would be handle sticking out. There is no extra noise. The aircraft's pressurisation would be placing several hundred pounds pressure on the hatch keeping it shut. A very, very strong person might mange to pull the handle off, certainly not open the door. On the ground, typically there is more noise, unless of course the hatch falls in. Having the inlet of a Tay within 20 feet would mean everybody would know something unusual has happened. It's even noisier on a F70 as some of our passengers found out.

PM

[msbbarratt]

Am I the only one that finds the above part quite disturbing?

No you're not.

What seems to have happened here is that a plug type door came loose.

Furthermore it would appear that it is an emergency exit, and that it is one of those that you're supposed to pull inwards and then discard.

Therefore it has no hinges, nothing to restrain it to its door frame other the catches operated by the handle. Which has moved far enough to open up a 3-4cm gap which passengers can see through. One supposes that the catches are in effect entirely disengaged.

That means that when that aircraft landed a reasonably heavy lump of metal work was not fully restrained, and close to being free to bounce around the cabin on landing. It wasn't about to fall outwards - it's a plug - it could only fall into the cabin.

Looking at the angle of the door in the photos it would seem ripe for being dislodged by a good heavy bump on landing. If that landing had been heavy I imagine that a loose door would cause considerable carnage, especially if had developed into a go-around.

[Volume]

Maybe the safety briefing should include the explanation of the difference between a handhold and a handle... Highly improbably that it moved down by itself.

[DaveReidUK]

Highly improbably that it moved down by itself.

Posts #12:

the handle cover fell (we all heard the noise) without being touched by anybody and the handle half opened - the aircraft was full and any passenger would have noticed an intentional action to open it!!!

And 13:

But the wire is regularly broken and the handle can fall to the open position.

would suggest that that's exactly what did happen.

[Nialler]

As SLF, I would have instantly pinged a member of the CC. I would not have laid a finger on it.

[AFTA]

Because everytime Doors and emergency exit is discussed it seems like some people take for granted that these are always plug type.

[Tu.114]

15 minutes before landing. This would typically put the aircraft at or above FL100. At that time, there still should be some pressure differential putting a load on the exit.

It has been a while since I have last flown the Fokker. But I seem to remember that the overwing exits move in a little bit when one pulls the lever - so looking at the picture, I am distinctly under the impression that this has not happened on its own. On top of this, in several years on this type (both F70 and F100), the few times I have had (or even heard of) an overwing exit open without good cause have all been passenger related. Reasons ranged from curiosity that killed no cat, but cancelled the flight to a passenger that felt the need for some fresh air just after boarding and only saw the problem with opening the windows on an airliner after a stern lecture.

[deptrai]

overwing exits move in a little bit when one pulls the lever

yes. some assume a door can not be plug type just because it is rotated outward in the fully open position. there's more complex mechanisms

passenger related

there's all kinds of explanations, including "I thought it was the toilet"...

[peekay4]

Hmm I think you are right deptrai.

Even though the door frame isn't larger than the opening (a la traditional plug-type doors), there seems to be a physical stopper mechanism which prevents the door from being jettisoned outwards. So effectively the door is still a plug-type and cannot be opened if there's enough pressure differential.

[Ian W]

I would be interested in the thoughts behind the MD8n/717 and Fokker plug type doors. According to the instructions the SLF is expected to stand-up, face the rear of the aircraft pull the handle then unplug and lift the door into the aircraft and lay it on and against the back of the seat.

The overheads are very low in these aircraft so as the :mad: hits the fan you unbuckle and adopting a quasimodo style hunch turn around and try to open and lift the far heavier than you thought emergency exit into the aircraft while several dozen people seat surf at you dragging their rollaboards. :eek:

In comparison the 737 outward doors seem far more sensible at least the door is moving in the way everyone wants to go.

[TURIN]

That must be the newer NG 737 because the older classics had similar doors as described above.

[Nialler]

Can someone explain to me the photo in the OP?

It appears at the top of the exit that the nadle has dropped and that the door (fascia) has a gap at the top.

It is what is to the left that I do not understand. It appears to be clear air, as if that part of the fuselage were missing. It's not a glimpse of rolling countryside through a chink of a slightly ajar exit - it appears to be far far bigger than that, yet the exxit seems to be relatively flush with the fuselage.

I'm assuming that I'm missing something, but I can't see it.

[Chris Scott]

Quote from Ian W:
"I would be interested in the thoughts behind the MD8n/717 and Fokker plug type doors. According to the instructions the SLF is expected to stand-up, face the rear of the aircraft pull the handle then unplug and lift the door into the aircraft and lay it on and against the back of the seat."

In my experience (not on F100s), it certainly isn't an easy manoeuvre, particularly with other passengers in the way, although the seat pitch is greater than between other seat rows. But, AFAIK, in no case is it recommended to place the door on a seat after its removal. The instructions tell you in effect to rotate the door (which is really a hatch) in two axes to enable it to be thrown outside as far clear as possible. Tricky if you have back trouble already. The door usually ends up on the wing, unless it falls off the leading edge.

As 4468, FE Hoppy and Piltdown Man have already intimated, these plug-type doors cannot open inwards with even the slightest of positive differential-pressure. So, unless there was a pressurisation failure 15 mins before landing, it seems likely that in this incident only the handle and the trim panel moved.

[deptrai]

Turin, Yes, the 737 NG overwing exits are a new design. "self-disposing" - you open it and it flings outwards. 2 springs and a hydraulic damper. You don't need to apply any force (quite contrarily, be careful not to hold it else it will pull you...). No plug, no initial inward motion, but "flight locks", 28V solenoids that lock/unlock based on how many main doors are open, thrust setting etc. Unlike older non-plug doors, the design seems safe enough, no incidents reported (?). Regulators like the design, because it's very quick to open in an emergency. I believe bombardier C series use a similar design, and more aircraft may follow. Only drawback that has been reported so far is that they're not level with the floor.

[Nialler]

Before anyone takes the bother to correct me on my last post I can see it more clearly now.

In my defence, I had cranial surgery a year ago and my eyesight dims through the day to the extent that I use a braille keyboard in the late evening...