http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...simulator.html

I wonder what he was on (or if he has not taken certain recommended meds)

The Mayor of Philadelphia denies all ties with this crazy man!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Nutter

If this had been a US flight, he probably would have received more than a smack. Morons like this needs a good a__ whipping. Then let the law take care of them.

He accidently put his foil hat in a checked bag. Or that's what I heard.

Is it possible to open the door inflight?..

I would think that there are safety mechanisms preventing this possibility..

No. The laws of physics prevent it. There is too much force being put on the door when the cabin is pressurized.

I figured the law of physics may prevent it, but wasn't sure..

But, say if 20 people pushed on it.. I would think there would be a safety mechanism there to protect the door from being open while inflight..

But don't doors open inward? Pushing on it just closes it, right?

I thought the doors push outward..

If the doors opened inward, then I guess a rope could be tied to the door, and a hundred passengers could tug on it.. but wouldn't there be a safety mechanism preventing the door from opening?

Commercial airplane doors are usually plug doors that open inward (although some are then rotated and pushed outward to get them out of the way). In this way they cannot be opened in flight (except for a certain cargo door on the old DC-10 which caused some problems way back when).

I'm pretty sure every plane I've been on the doors opened outward

A red herring article then, with the fear that airplane doors can be opened inflight..

The family is scared out of their wits, when there was no possibility of the doors opening inflight..

We deplaned in Hawaii walking outside and LAX.. I could have sworn that the doors swung outwards..

I don't recall the exterior of the plane seen inwards.. that would actually seem inappropriate..

This is correct for the make and model of the aircraft. According to the photo in the news article, the plane where the incident occurred is a Boeing 757, which has plug type doors that open inward first, then swing outward. All 717s, 737s, 747s (main deck), 757s and Boeing/MD aircraft have these manually operated doors. These doors can't be opened inflight because of cabin pressurization putting force on the doors.

Doors that push outward and slide to the side of the fuselage are on all Airbus aircraft and the Boeing 777 and 787. These doors have additional safety latches which prevent the door from opening inflight. Also, it is next to impossible to push out and slide these doors to the side in the forward direction while the plane is flying at 500 mph.

I doubt 20 people could all get their hands on the door mechanism to effectively apply enough force, especially in a small galley environment.