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Hard engineering problem - where do you open up the fuselage to get the people out? It's a tube so you can't weaken it. You also can't open a hole at the back
by jakecopp 8y ago
Hard engineering problem - where do you open up the fuselage to get the people out? It's a tube so you can't weaken it.
You also can't open a hole at the back and let them slide out backwards, you'd need a cylindrical tube in a tube which can then slide out. That's a HUGE amount of extra weight and complexity.
Planes are so so much safer than cars. Before we parachute people out of passenger planes we should be ejecting people out of the roofs of cars if an imminent collision is detected :)
- fulafel 8y agoMaybe just jettison wings+engines+cargo? Though I agree that broadly safety is solved. And obviously we must heavily reduce air travel to combat global warming.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y agoThe question then becomes are can a plane fly with each of those attached by structural bulkheads & explosive bolts. The remaining ‘crew and passenger capsule’ would need to remain sealed.
- fulafel 8y agoMaybe solid forms could be explosively or electrically welded off.
- TheOtherHobbes 8y agoNo. This speculation is just pointless. It's simply not a solution given the engineering practicalities and cost constraints. It's also not a good way to solve what is essentially a software problem. Well-designed planes are ridiculously safe compared to almost any other mode of transport. And it's completely possible to design planes that handle all but the most extreme and unlikely edge cases. The problem here isn't that passengers didn't have a Rube-Goldberg escape route, but that Boeing made some serious design errors - and then apparently tried to cover them up.
- vfinn 8y agoI don't think speculating about the possibility of an emergency solution or escape route that is outside the reach of errors made in software/hardware/you name it is pointless. Speculating about this particular idea could be, if the idea doesn't expand to other directions. Saying that problems should be solved only within their respective domains, I don't agree with.
- saalweachter 8y agoSo let's say you've successfully engineered a plane with detachable wings. Congratulations! Now what happens when this system malfunctions and one wing pops off for no reason in normal flight?
- fulafel 8y agoYou pop the remaining parts and deploy the parachute ;)
- pmyteh 8y agoRear exits aren't absolutely unheard of: the 727 and the DC-9 family had rear stair exits, and the 727 one was used in flight at least once (by 'DB Cooper' - probably not successfully though). I don't fancy the chances of the crew getting the whole cabin of a 737 out of a single door, in flight, after fitting parachutes, but without parachute training, before hitting the ground, though. Even leaving aside the weight and bulk of the parachutes. As you say, not a great idea.
- skrebbel 8y ago> Before we parachute people out of passenger planes we should be ejecting people out of the roofs of cars if an imminent collision is detected :) I'd be "accidentally" driving into a lot of trees if cars had that. Sounds like major fun!
- leroy_masochist 8y agoHave fun! Me personally, I'm going to pass on the concussion and 1/2 inch of permanent spinal compression that comes with pulling 20 G's
- mic47 8y agoImagine this happening in the tunnel
- saiya-jin 8y agoNot really, fighter pilots can do 2 or 3 of those and then have to retire due to compressive damage on their spines. The Gs involved are not benign, since it needs to also cover the case of pilot ejecting on land quickly.