Stupid, yet intriguing question: Commercial airliners and parachutes!
 

Ok, say you took a parachute as your carry on bag, and during the flight, something goes hideously wrong and the plane begins a rapid descent.

You know you're gonna die unless you equip that parachute, open the cabin door, and jump out.

So let's say you open the door and jump out and land safely... would you get arrested? If so, would the charges hold against you?

What if the plane regained control? I'm assuming you'd get arrested for endangering the lives of the passengers, however, at the time you bailed, the plane was crashing anyway.

So maybe I'm thinking something along the lines of.. self defense? You knew the plane was going down, you didn't wanna die, you had the equipment, so would they hold that against you?

Insight please!

:D

well, the doors open out, and good luck opening a door outward with a 500-600mph slipstream keeping it closed ;) So the point is basically moot!

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=97750
That woman didn't seem to have any trouble. I say go for it.

Edit: Also, in this crash scenereo, the plane could be traveling relatively slowly, making the parachute escape ideal. Just don't do it over a volcano.

tried does not equal succeeded. Seems to me she tried to open the door, but didn't manage to actually do it.

and this quote from the yahoo article shows what actually happened.
So she didnt' even manage to unlatch the door to get to the part where she found out the door won't open with a 600mph wind rushing by outside.

I stand corrected. If the plane were crashing, it's possible it could be flying much slower. In this case, the parachute would be wonderful.

I think there may be a couple of other obstacles to your escape plan besides the door; altitude for one thing.

I not an expert, but I think the atmosphere is too thin to breathe and the temperature extremely cold. The air pressure could also play with your circulatory system. Isn't there such a thing as "anti-bends"? I also wonder how your average parachute would handle those conditions.

I remember watching footage of the world record highest skydive, and the jumper had on a special insulated suit and helmet with a breathing apparatus.

As for jumping out when the plane is closer to the ground, make sure and aim to miss the engine intake.

Good luck and Godspeed you crazy brave thing!

I'd imagine you may get charged for reckless endangerment, as by opening the cabin door, you increase the risk of other passengers falling out or other bad things happening. Now, if the plane is diving towards the ground, their situation really can't get much worse, but if the pilot manages to stabilize the plane, now they've got to deal with the fact that the door is open in mid-flight.

D. B. Cooper + post 9/11 "security" measures = not getting onboard with a parachute.

If it is possible for you to stand and get to the door, then it is possible for the airline flight attendants and other passengers to restrain you.

Even if you did get the door open, the slipstream would be very dangerous. I say stay in the aeroplane and follow the instructions.

And the horizontal stabilizer.

Plane is crashing, panic ensues and you calmly produce a parachute. What are the chances of you even making it to the door once someone shouts 'hey, he's got a chute',

<a href="http://www.greenharbor.com/fffolder/carkeet.html">Tips</a>

Above is a guide detailing unplanned freefall survival tips.

It is presented in a humours manner, but the tips on impact are correct.

im not sure about the legalities,

But jumping out of a commercial jetliner while it is being used on regular passenger service has been done.

Cant recall the name, but a terrorist tried it in the US, his body (and the loot) were never recovered.


I am a commercial pilot and also a skydiving coach.

Some of the DC seiries of airliners (i think) have a rear door that opens aft.

also, Perris Valley skydiving owns a DC-9?...DC something commercial airliner that they are getting okay'd to use for regular jumping (its been in the works for years).

Also, they had one at the WFFC a few years back. I didnt get to jump it, but ive been told when you exit, there is a brief moment of calm, right before you get hit with a wall of air that feels like you are being torn apart.

D. B. Cooper was before terrorist was a lable put on every criminal.

That's his name!....

lol, no doubt. Way back before everyone was either a hero or a terrorist we were told he was a hijacker. They did find some of the cash in the forest I think, but that's about it.

Out of curiosity don't emergency doors on aircraft open inwards? The ones over the wings of aircraft that I have been on (I love exit rows for the leg room, 6'4" does not tend to fit well in cattle class... :(), all are rotate bar, lift door and pull inwards rather than move bar, press outwards... iirc

A moving fluid creates a low pressure zone. (This is how we explain how planes fly, btw.)
This is one of the fundamental laws of fluid theory. (I cannot remember its actual name, tho.) It essentially means that you cannot open any side door that opens inward. So, if you wanted to try this stunt, you would have to plan it out in advance. Or just makesure you are always flying on the correct type of planes.
Also i agree that once panic ensues and people revert to survival ethics, you would never be able to retain control of a chute, unless you had a weapon, or something!

It's Bernoulli’s theorm you're talking about.

"I swear there was a man on the wing!..." - William Shatner

Sounds like there are so many things that could go wrong it wouldn't be worth it. Of course, sure death over who knows night be a good bargain.

Personaly if i was on a plane that was about to crash i would use that parachute and wrap it around my head and pretend it was a helmet. opening the door if you could get it open while the pilot is still trying to fly the thing would just make things harder for them to handle and the panic from everyone else in the plane would get alot worse with a open door. so even if you did live and the plane crashed and everyone else died you would have that thought stuck in the back of your head the rest of your life wondering if what you did made it worse and if that is why they ended up crashing after all.
But if the cockpit or a wing is totaly gone i say go for it.

In most plane crashes it would be something catastrphic( sp?) so instant that noone would know what happened or it would just be a rough flight where noone could safely assume they would crash.