Originally Posted by EasyFlyer76
I doubt anyone could open it during climb. I've had a door pop open on a non-pressurized Cessna 152 several times on rotation. You basically stabilize the climb and try to open the door a bit and then slam it shut. It's quite hard to do. I'm 5'11" 225lbs and typical climb is 65 - 70 knots. I don't think it would be easy to open a door for an aircraft with a 160 knot initial climbout speed.
eeek. I gave up on 152's a long time ago... I'm not huge, but I think you'd have to be paper-thin to comfortably fit in a 152 for any length of time. Three flights was enough for me - the 172 is much roomier for the extra $40 or so per hour.
Here's some interesting info on a pressurization-related accident a few years back (dunno if anyone remembers seeing this on the news - it seemed kind of a freaky way to go)...
Doors prove deadly if opened when cabin remains pressurized
Exit doors intended to save lives during an emergency evacuation need to be designed so they do not inadvertently kill or injure door operators if the cabin remains pressurized. The doors need to feature a vent or gate so that they can be opened safely even if the cabin pressurization system is malfunctioning.
An August 2 recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) cited the Nov. 20, 2000, accident in which flight attendant/purser Jose Chiu was hurled more than 40 feet out of the left main door when it suddenly blew open as he attempted to open it during an emergency evacuation of the American Airlines [AMR] twinjet at Miami. The accident involved an Airbus A300-605R with 133 passengers and crew on board. Chiu, who by one account was thrown beyond the wingtip, was killed on impact with the concrete tarmac. A similar case occurred almost a year later, on October 20, 2001, involving an A300-605R operated by TunisAir. While an air stair was being positioned for normal deplaning, engine bleed air kept the cabin pressurized. Excessive cabin air caused the door to burst open. The flight attendant attempting to open the door was ejected, sustaining serious injuries. A second flight attendant at the doorway also ejected was killed.
In the case of the American Airlines fatality, the airplane took off from Miami for a planned flight to Haiti. Climbing through 16,000 feet, the ECAM [electronic centralized aircraft monitoring] display indicated that the forward cabin outflow valve was fully open (actually, according to sources, insulation blankets had clogged the valve). The aircraft pressurization system may be described as akin to a leaky balloon. Bleed air from the engines pressurizes the cabin to an artificial altitude of 8,000 feet, and one or more outflow valves regulates the discharge of cabin air to maintain a constant "cabin altitude" and to prevent sudden pressure changes during climb/descent (which passengers may notice by a popping of the ears).
Full article (if you're interested) is here:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...16/ai_90503141