3 ms·
I'm no expert, but I've always assumed these pressurized cabins aren't exactly hermetically sealed, so a small invisible hole wouldn't noticeably depressurize t
by pengaru 3y ago
I'm no expert, but I've always assumed these pressurized cabins aren't exactly hermetically sealed, so a small invisible hole wouldn't noticeably depressurize the plane.
My assumption has been there's always fresh air actively added continuously at a rate that can compensate for such small leaks, and that it's just an automatically regulated thing. Maybe a gauge/alarm visible to the pilots would indicate an out of spec level of fresh air entering to maintain pressure, without actually being a "depressurization event"...
But a door-sized hole is a whole (har har) different story.
Edit: https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/53831/are-pressurized-passenger-aircraft-usually-completely-airtight https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/53831/are-press...
- btgeekboy 3y agoYour assumption is correct - air is pushed into the cabin by the engines, and the pressure is controlled by an outflow valve. An unanticipated hole, assuming it was small enough, would just be compensated for.
- kayodelycaon 3y agoIt wouldn’t take much of a hole to depressurize the plane. And unplanned holes in a pressure vessel have a tendency to rapidly get larger.
- pengaru 3y ago> unplanned holes in a pressure vessel have a tendency to rapidly get larger. I suspect that's only an issue on airliners when the hole happens in a window. There's no shortage of search results confirming that something like gunfire on an airliner likely won't depressurize the plane unless it hits a window....