Pilot finds hole in plane's fuselage; airline and FBI investigate

[Ari707]

I guess they do really look at the plane in preflights.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/28/north.carolina.plane.hole/index.html

[USAF Pilot 07]

So the pilot found a hole the size of a bullet hole above one of the passengers window on a walk-around? Good on him, he must have either been thoroughly inspecting the plane, or seen it by some kind of luck. That's got to be pretty tough to see from the ground. Who knows how long that hole was there and how many people didn't catch it...

[cancidas]

still makes you wonder how it got there. if it is a bullet hole it's more likely it originated inside as opposed to outside like the internet's brilliant thinkers want to believe. i too wonder how said pilot saw a tiny hole way up there.

[moose135]

still makes you wonder how it got there. if it is a bullet hole it's more likely it originated inside as opposed to outside like the internet's brilliant thinkers want to believe.
Tonight on the news, they reported the FBI found a .40 caliber shell in the fuselage, and believe the shot came from outside the aircraft. One theory is that it came from a rifle which was shot into the air, and the bullet struck the aircraft while falling back to the ground.

[NLovis]

Tonight on the news, they reported the FBI found a .40 caliber shell in the fuselage, and believe the shot came from outside the aircraft. One theory is that it came from a rifle which was shot into the air, and the bullet struck the aircraft while falling back to the ground.

Jes from laser lights to .40 cal guns. I think our flights are in more danger from US residents then terrorists...

[seahawks7757]

Jes from laser lights to .40 cal guns. I think our flights are in more danger from US residents then terrorists...


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3069/3003232946_68ed53b040_o.jpg

[Derf]

Jes from laser lights to .40 cal guns. I think our flights are in more danger from US residents then terrorists...

You really should work for the daily news as an aviation expert with all this wonderful insight of our aviation situation!

[gonzalu]

So wait, fuselage is single panel, not a double wall, correct? How come then the plane did not de-pressurize? I thought any rupture in the skin would cause a catastrophic decompression event that could rip a larger hole as aluminium stretches yada yada... ???

P.S. I know more about TCP/IP Routing and Switching than I do about this subject so apologies for being ignorant LOL

[puckstopper55]

So wait, fuselage is single panel, not a double wall, correct? How come then the plane did not de-pressurize? I thought any rupture in the skin would cause a catastrophic decompression event that could rip a larger hole as aluminium stretches yada yada... ???

P.S. I know more about TCP/IP Routing and Switching than I do about this subject so apologies for being ignorant LOL

I think the mythbusters proved that explosive decompression was a myth.

[megatop412]

I know we have crazy gun crime here in Philly, but this is ridiculous! Probably got hit on the left turn to 268 degrees after departing 27R when he flew over Chester(whose mayor last year implemented a citywide curfew of ALL residents during nighttime hours last summer in an effort to bring down the homicide rate)

[moose135]

So wait, fuselage is single panel, not a double wall, correct? How come then the plane did not de-pressurize? I thought any rupture in the skin would cause a catastrophic decompression event that could rip a larger hole as aluminium stretches yada yada... ???
All pressurized aircraft leak air - you don't close a valve and seal in the pressure, you are pumping in air at a faster rate than it leaks out. This was a small hole, and wouldn't have a great effect on pressurization.

[sporky]

What has me thinking that this occurred during landing is something that stuck with me from my ramp rat days. We had a container loader puncture the fuselage of a 767, which ended up cancelling the flight. I was quite amazed that such a small hole caused the flight to cancel until I was told about that small hole developing into a much, much bigger hole during flight due to the forces acting on the fuselage as the giant metal tube hurtles through the atmosphere. This hole was about the size of a nickel/quarter, so my question is would a bullet hole also be big enough to then rip open bigger during flight?

-Tad