Man causes emergency landing on Frontier flight after trying to open emergency door mid-air
A man caused an emergency landing on a Frontier flight to Chicago, after he tried to open the emergency door mid-air - but a simulation has revealed what would actually happen.
If we're really honest, everyone has experienced slightly intrusive thoughts that prompt us to do daring or even dangerous things - often in the least appropriate environments.
But one man took things a step further, after attempting to open the emergency aircraft door mid-flight, prompting the airplane to land in Miami unexpectedly.
Frontier Airlines officials said that flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Chicago O'Hare International Airport was diverted to Miami on Sunday (May 31) due to a disruptive passenger.
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The man was later identified as 51-year-old Juan Gabriel Reyes of Pahokee, Florida.
A police report alleges that Reyes had attempted to open the doors while the plane was in flight, insisting that he wanted to leave the aircraft while ignoring flight attendants.
His disruption persisted as he tried to gain access to the pilots' quarters and urinate on the bathroom floor.
When an off-duty Frontier attendant then offered to sit in his row, Reyes proceeded to grab his head and choke him, causing several passengers to intervene.
The flight was eventually diverted, and the 51-year-old has now been charged with battery, and remains in Miami-Dade jail on a $20,000 bond.
But a simulation posted by Zack D. Films has showed exactly what would happen if a passenger attempted to open the emergency doors mid-flight, and the anticlimactic answer is actually nothing - physics would simply not allow it to happen.
According to CBS Boston, a human trying to open the door would have to overcome more than 24,000 pounds of pressure at 36,000 feet, which is the equivalent to the weight of six cars, or 20 polar bears.
The pressure inside the cabin locks the door tightly, though alarms would sound in the cockpit if someone attempted to open it.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr David Birch, Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering at Surrey University, said: "It is also an airworthiness requirement that the aircraft must be able to fly and land safely with an open door, and that if opened in flight, the door must not become a hazard to the passengers or the aircraft."
In the near-impossible case that a door was to be opened, the pilot would declare an emergency, and would immediately begin an emergency descent to reduce the cabin pressure difference, he added.
Mia Williams