WTF: Question on MSNBC site. What if you get sucked out of a plane?

[warrior1]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42496499/ns/technology_and_science-science/



Duh.

But people have been hurled through holes in cruising airplanes before. And that raises an important, if gruesome question: What would happen to you if you were sucked into the atmosphere at 30,000 feet?

The prognosis, experts say, would not be good.


edited to add:

"There are a number of critical physiological problems that would be life-ending, likely within seconds," said Peter Wagner, a physician and physiologist at the University of California, San Diego. "Forget about the fact that you don’t have a parachute. You would be instantly exposed to very, very low oxygen levels. Within three or four seconds, my guess is that you would be breathing like hell."

Loss of consciousness and death would soon follow purely from oxygen deprivation to the brain, Wagner continued. At the same time, temperatures of -70 degrees Fahrenheit (-57 degrees Celsius) — made even colder by the chill of 500 mile-per-hour (805 kilometer-per-hour) winds — would lead to rapid freezing, beginning with the skin, eyes and other surface tissues.


In response to such extreme stress, your nervous system would go haywire, leading to potentially fatal spikes in blood pressure and heart rate. And the sudden change in air pressure would lead to a nasty case of the bends, as if you were scuba diving and came up too fast.

Then, there’s the danger of getting slammed into the plane on the way out, not to mention the trauma of falling.

"You would probably be cut in half or something, depending on what you hit and what part of the body connected," Wagner said. "All kinds of awful imagery are possible."

snip

[JBoy]

1. Actually sounds like a relatively quick and painless way to go.

[Drale]

6. But you would have plenty of time to think about it

as you fell 30,000 feet, I would think it would be a terrible way to go.

[Very_Boring_Name]

17. If you read the article it says you would be unconscious within 3 or 4 seconds

[warrior1]

2. It's not like

it's something that you can plan for.

[tanyev]

3. Answer: Always keep your will up to date.

[warrior1]

4. or

don't fly.

[Poll_Blind]

5. Keep the giant fingers away from the fuselage and I'll be fine, thanks!

PB

[Codeine]

7. God's wearing one helluva wedding ring.

Stop poking, asshole!

[Adsos Letter]

14. And a righteous French Manicure!!!

it had to be said... :patriot:

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

8. If I'm in my seat, I have my seat belt on.

[Warpy]

9. First your eardrums would rupture. Then you'd lose consciousness

and if you were really lucky, you'd be over water so that your family wouldn't get stuck with a funeral. If you were really, really lucky, you'd never regain consciousness, although it would be one hell of a ride followed by one hell of a quick finish.

All in all, much better than the average way to check out.

[Adsos Letter]

15. With the right luck I'd smack my head on the aircraft on my way out

possible immediate death through blunt force trauma.

[Luminous Animal]

10. I hope I'd have time to yell, "Thanks for all the fish!"

[Keith Bee]

11. Something the article missed

At the 32-second mark, Republican policies would start to make sense.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. You would lose consciousness very quickly.

At about 35,000-40,000 feet, where most airliners cruise, the time of useful consciousness is less than about a minute. If you ever get a chance to experience an altitude chamber, go for it. It's quite an eye-opener. Even at a simulated 25,000 feet, I got pretty stupid (more stupid than usual) in just a couple of minutes - they make you do extremely simple arithmetic problems and those become impossible very quickly. I had to put my oxygen mask back on after less than 3 minutes or I'd have passed out.

[Incitatus]

13. Good to know. Our media is full of useful information.

:beer:

[spanone]

16. i suspect until it happens, i'd only be guessing.

what would happen if you hit a tree at 75 miles an hour, head on?

or if you stuck your head in a wood chipper?

and what would happen if you got your foot stuck in the railroad tracks and a train ran over your head?

[ladjf]

18. I'm no expert on the subject but I believe that a person suddenly

ejected from an airplane at 30K would die almost instantly. With the huge pressure differential and oxygen content between the outside and inside, whatever oxygen that was present in the victim's lungs would immediately and violently extracted, rupturing the lungs outward,exploding actually.

[NutmegYankee]

21. Nah, it's only a few psi.

They would more likely lose the air through the mouth, probably by screaming.

[ladjf]

24. It would be about 13 psi, yes through the mouth and the

aspirating effect of the high airspeed passing by the mouth, a very quick death.

A differential of 12 or 13 psi suddenly encountered would be the force of hundreds of lbs cumulatively.

[NutmegYankee]

27. It's only about 6-7 psi.

The cabin is pressurized to around 6000-8000 feet. That's around 10-11 psi and 30,000 is roughly 4.3 psi. We have depressurized people in hyperbaric chambers at rates that high for diving table tests without killing them by some nasty explosion of the lung. It is very painful, particularly on the ears.

My point is the lungs likely won't explode, the person will just lose the air quickly through the mouth. You'll quickly pass out from lack of oxygen at that pressure due to the low partial pressure.

[ladjf]

28. We are pretty close to agreeing that the victim would be in big

trouble, very quickly.

[NutmegYankee]

19. "The prognosis, experts say, would not be good"

Wow - now there's a "no shit" moment! Falling 30,000 feet without a parachute? God the news is getting stupider by the day.

[titaniumsalute]

20. Not sure if my body or shitty underwear would hit the ground first

[Canuckistanian]

22. That's why I make it a personal policy NOT to get sucked out of planes

Others may differ.

[Trekologer]

26. Technically, you would be blown out, not sucked out

The air pressure is higher inside the plane and it would blow its contents out into the much lower pressure outside. That's why the doors open inward..you can't physically open them while in flight due to the pressure difference.

[FormerDittoHead]

29. +1 n/t

[Recovered Repug]

23. I'm disappoint to learn that I completely misread the headline.

Having said that: "The prognosis, experts say, would not be good" - they had to go experts? Was there really any doubt?

[spanone]

25. it's the opposite of what would happen if you got sucked in.....?

[Shagbark Hickory]

30. $115 a barrell, before long not many people will be able to afford to fly anyway.

[dana_b]

31. I was a flight attendant for TWA and

a friend of mine was on flight 840 from Rome to Athens when a bomb went off. 4 people were sucked out of a not-very-big hole - including a baby. I'm sure the excruciating pain of going through that hole was enough to kill some of them - especially the adults. Horrific.