NY Bound BA747 Emergency Landing London

[Gerard]

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/10/02/2010-10-02_nycbound_british_airways_flight_makes_emergency _landing_at_heathrow_airport_11_m.html

[darlyn]

Ah, the media once again blows things out of proportions in the most uninformed way possible. From my limited experience I'd say the emergency landing was only precautionary to ensure the plane didn't de-pressurize at altitude. The supposed smoke a passenger claims to see under wing was probably just condensation (http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-China/Airbus-A330-243/1779583/&sid=5bdc85c2dbf0642787de7f68710a3e32) .

Another "mid-air scare" is averted. LOL!

[NLovis]

Ah, the media once again blows things out of proportions in the most uninformed way possible. From my limited experience I'd say the emergency landing was only precautionary to ensure the plane didn't de-pressurize at altitude. The supposed smoke a passenger claims to see under wing was probably just condensation (http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-China/Airbus-A330-243/1779583/&sid=5bdc85c2dbf0642787de7f68710a3e32) .

Another "mid-air scare" is averted. LOL!

It was also possible the door could have opened up while flying. Aside from depressurizing you would have to worry about suction. While sketchy a loose knob is nothing to take lightly.

[heeshung]

The article was horribly written. I have no idea what "smoke under the wing" has anything to do with a door. Even if the person actually said that, I'm pretty sure an uninformed journalist would still be able to tell that it's completely irrelevant. It's probably in there as fluff.

747's have plug type doors. At cruising altitude and pressurized, there's 3-4psi against the door which amounts to hundreds, if not thousands of pounds of force holding the door closed. Therefore, it's very unlikely that it would open on its own. However, it is still possible to open the door with a pressurized cabin. When the handle is turned, depressurization flaps above and below the doors slowly depressurize the aircraft, avoiding explosive decompression and minimizing suction risk.