Woman tries to open aircraft door midair

An article in The Age will be scary reading for the nervous flyers out there.

A flight in the US had to be diverted to Houston after a passenger tried to open an emergency door.

The woman was unable to open the door on the American Airlines flight from Orlando, Florida, to Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas, and no one was injured in the incident late Saturday.

The passenger was detained by local authorities in Houston, said Charley Wilson, a spokesman for Fort Worth-based American.

But if that makes you nervous you should make sure to read the companion article at Galdling.com:

Ever wonder what happens when you open the exit door while you’re in the air? I know that the thought has crossed my mind once or twice while I was sitting in the exit-row seat.

Well, you can’t. You’ll notice that emergency exit and cabin doors open in-ward, meaning the air pressure from inside of the plane is going to be pushing hard out on the door at 30,000 feet. Meaning it’s going to be near impossible for you to pull the door open. That and you’re going to make the crew really mad at you.

Apparently, a woman on an American Airlines flight headed for Dallas yesterday didn’t realize this and had to be subded by the crew until they could divert to Houston. The Age reports that after landing in Houston, six passengers got off (because it was their final destination) and the rest of the plane went on their merry way to Dallas.

It’s nice to know that not any nutjob can open an emergency exit at altitude and suck us all out of the plane, isn’t it?

It is nice to know.