[TheForge] O/T Survivor

[Andy Vida]

John Husvar wrote:
> 
> GHS wrote:

> Explosive decompression is a myth, folks. Gad, even Mythbusters did a
> show on the subject. Status of myth: Busted. (Discovery Channel, IIRC)

	From a bullet hole, yes, from major structural failure, no.

	Remember that flight in Hawaii about ten years ago where the
	entire section of the hull decided to leave the scene?  Several
	people were sucked out including at least one right-side row
	of seat-belted passengers.  The photos of the jet were 
	incredible.  It was as if Boeing had built a convertible
	737 for those balmy, sunny Hawaiian days :)

	Hollywood depictions are, of course, ridiculous.

> Getting a whole window to blow out would be a little more difficult.
> They puncture more like a car windshield.

	Anad they are double-paned with Lexan inside.  Being
	at "room temperature" makes it unlikely that it would
	shatter, so even if the outer glass went, the inner is
	likely to survive.
> 
> Anybody remember the airliner over the pacific, out of Honolulu, that
> lost 1/3 of its cabin roof at 30,000 feet? One fatality when a flight
> attendant was blown out of the cabin by the 400+ MPH slipstream, several
> minor injuries, and a safe return to Honolulu.

	This is the one I refer to.  More than one fatality, unless
	the 70s were truly better to me than I realize.  I recall
	an entire row of seating being ripped away, the passengers
	going bye-bye.  Still, pretty incredible and a credit to
	the quality of Boeing's manufacturing.
> 
> Airliners are pretty hard to hurt. Even that plane that crashed in Sioux
> City kept flying with most of the hydraulic controls disabled by an
> engine compressor coming apart. Pilot came very close to landing it
> under control. The airlines and manufacturer rerouted some of the lines
> to make such an event less likely.

	The compressor faiure was so catastrophic that ALL the
	hydraulics were knocked out of the empennage.  In fact,
	didn't they even lose most if not all of their aeleron
	control as well? The pilots steered with the engines.
	I greatly admire the skill displayed by them to get as 
	far they did.  At least some of the passengers got out 
	alive.  the footage of the aircraft cartwheeling down
	the runway is pretty scary, though very spectacular.