Kit Roberts
The crew of a commercial flight reportedly had to hold the door shut on a plane after it took off.
The American Airlines plane had departed from Los Angeles and was heading to Mexico City on Friday (24 November) when crew made the horrifying realization that the door was apparently 'cracked'.
A spokesperson for American Airlines told The US Sun that the flight was forced to divert back to the airport in LA due to a 'possible mechanical issue'.
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An account from a passenger who was said to be on the flight claimed that they overheard crew saying that the door needed to be held shut.
They said: "American Airlines had to deplane us, and my boss heard the flight attendants say that there was a crack in the door and they had to physically hold the door closed while they turned the plane back."
A spokesperson for American Airlines also apologized for the incident, saying: "We never want to disrupt our customer's travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience."
Commercial aircraft cabins are pressurised, which maintains temperature and oxygen levels throughout the flight.
Once you get to higher altitudes, this also means that the difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the plane effectively seals the doors shut.
So, when the plane is flight at that altitude it would be extremely difficult for even The Rock to open the plane door all by himself.
However at a low altitude, that level of pressurisation hasn't been reached yet.
That pressurisation does also mean that a 'crack' in the door could be very bad indeed when under the stress that the aircraft has to endure in flight.
The pressurisation is also essential for flying above a certain altitude as without it the lower oxygen levels would render both passengers and crew unconscious.
This is also why in an emergency the oxygen masks will drop down. Passengers can then access an emergency supply of oxygen while the pilot descends to a safe altitude.
Fortunately, in this case none of these measures were ultimately required as the issue was spotted shortly after takeoff.
The American Airlines aircraft was able to divert back to the airport and land safely after the issue was raised.
It was then able to depart some hours later.
UNILAD has reached out to American Airlines for further comment.