Explosive decompression
Encyclopedia
Uncontrolled decompression refers to an unplanned drop in the pressure
of a sealed system, such as an aircraft cabin
and typically results from human error
, material fatigue
, engineering
failure or impact causing a pressure vessel
to vent into its lower-pressure surroundings or fail to pressurize at all.
Such decompression may be classed as Explosive, Rapid or Slow:
that are occupied by people, for example an aircraft cabin
at high altitude, a spacecraft
, or a hyperbaric chamber. For the catastrophic failure of other pressure vessels used to contain gas
, liquid
s, or reactants under pressure, the term explosion
is more commonly used, or other specialised terms such as BLEVE
may apply to particular situations.
Decompression can occur due to structural failure of the pressure vessel, or failure of the compression system itself. The speed and violence of the decompression is affected by the size of the pressure vessel, the differential pressure between the inside and outside of the vessel and the size of the leak hole.
The Federal Aviation Administration
recognizes three distinct types of decompression events in aircraft:
s because of the explosive
force, which may be likened to a bomb detonation.
After an explosive decompression within an aircraft, a heavy fog may immediately fill the interior as the relative humidity
of cabin air rapidly changes as the air cools and condenses. Military pilots with oxygen mask
s have to pressure-breathe, whereby the lungs fill with air when relaxed, and effort has to be exerted to expel the air again.
crash, in which the pilots failed to check the aircraft was pressurising automatically and then react to the warnings that the aircraft was depressurising.
s or rubber
gasket
s used to seal pressurised pipelines tend to become saturated with high-pressure gas
es. If the pressure inside the vessel is suddenly released, then the gases within the rubber gasket may expand violently, causing blistering or explosion of the material. For this reason, it is common for military and industrial equipment to be subjected to an explosive decompression test before it is certified as safe for use.
is based on a failure to distinguish between two types of decompression: the first, from normal atmospheric pressure (one atmosphere) to a vacuum (zero atmospheres); the second, from an exceptionally high pressure (many atmospheres) to normal atmospheric pressure.
The first type, a sudden change from normal atmospheric pressure to a vacuum, is the more common. Research and experience in space exploration
and high-altitude aviation
have shown that while exposure to vacuum causes swelling, human skin
is tough enough to withstand the drop of one atmosphere
although the resulting hypoxia will cause unconsciousness after a few seconds. It is also possible that pulmonary barotrauma (lung
rupture) will occur if the breath is forcibly held.
The second type is rare, since the only normal situation in which it can occur is during decompression after deep-sea diving. In fact, there is only a single well-documented occurrence: the Byford Dolphin
incident, in which a catastrophic pressure drop of eight atmospheres caused massive, lethal, barotrauma, including the actual explosion of one diver. A similar but fictional death was shown in the film Licence to Kill
, when a character's head explodes after his hyperbaric chamber
is rapidly depressurized. Neither of these incidents would have been possible if the pressure drop had been only from normal atmosphere to a vacuum.
examined this belief informally using a pressurised aircraft and several scale tests. The Mythbusters approximations suggested that fuselage design does not allow this to happen.
Flight Attendant C.B. Lansing was blown from Aloha Airlines Flight 243
when a large section of cabin roof (about 18' x 25') detached; the report states she was swept overboard rather than sucked through the hole. The Air Crash Investigation documentary report on Flight 243 (season 3, 2005) notes that the 'tear line' construction was supposed to prevent such a large slab failure. Working from passenger accounts (including one report of the hostess' legs disappearing through the roof), forensic evidence including NTSB photographs, and stress calculations, experts speculated that the air hostess was sucked against the foot-square hole initially permitted by the tear strips, blocking it: this would have caused a 10 atmosphere pressure spike, hence the much greater material failure. One corrosion engineer takes the view that the tear straps could also have been defeated by the airstream impact through Lansing's body.
Decompression incidents do not occur solely in aircraft—the Byford Dolphin
incident is an example of violent explosive decompression on an oil rig
. A decompression event is an effect of a failure caused
by another problem (such as an explosion or mid-air collision), but the decompression event may worsen the initial issue.
open during a decompression incident. However, decompression events have nevertheless proved fatal for aircraft in other ways. In 1974, explosive decompression onboard Turkish Airlines Flight 981
caused the floor to collapse, severing vital flight control cables in the process. The FAA
issued an Airworthiness Directive
the following year requiring manufacturers of wide-body aircraft to strengthen floors so that they could withstand the effects of in-flight decompression caused by an opening of up to 20 square feet (1.9 m²) in the lower deck cargo compartment. Manufacturers were able to comply with the Directive either by strengthening the floors and/or installing relief vents called "dado panels" between the passenger cabin and the cargo compartment.
Cabin doors are designed to make it almost impossible to lose pressurization through opening a cabin door in flight, either accidentally or intentionally. The plug door
design ensures that when the pressure inside the cabin exceeds the pressure outside the doors are forced shut and will not open until the pressure is equalised. Cabin doors, including the emergency exits, but not all cargo doors, open inwards, or must first be pulled inwards and then rotated before they can be pushed out through the door frame because at least one dimension of the door is larger than the door frame.
Prior to 1996, approximately 6,000 large commercial transport airplanes were type certificate
d to fly up to 45,000 feet, without being required to meet special conditions related to flight at high altitude. In 1996, the FAA adopted Amendment 25-87, which imposed additional high-altitude cabin-pressure specifications, for new designs of aircraft types. For aircraft certificated
to operate above 25,000 feet (FL 250), it "must be designed so that occupants will not be exposed to cabin pressure altitudes in excess of 15,000 feet after any probable failure condition in the pressurization system." In the event of a decompression which results from "any failure condition not shown to be extremely improbable," the aircraft must be designed so that occupants will not be exposed to a cabin altitude exceeding 25,000 feet for more than 2 minutes, nor exceeding an altitude of 40,000 feet at any time. In practice, that new FAR amendment imposes an operational ceiling
of 40,000 feet on the majority of newly designed commercial aircraft.Notable exceptions include the Airbus A380
, Boeing 787
, and Concorde
In 2004, Airbus
successfully petitioned the FAA to allow cabin pressure of the A380
to reach 43,000 feet in the event of a decompression incident, and to exceed 40,000 feet for one minute. This special exemption allows that new aircraft to operate at a higher altitude than other newly-designed civilian aircraft, which have not yet been granted a similar exemption.
model
that is used by the FAA to enforce compliance with decompression-related design directives. The model relies on the fact that the pressure that the subject is exposed to and the duration of that exposure are the two most important variables at play in a decompression event.
Other national and international standards for explosive decompression testing include:
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
of a sealed system, such as an aircraft cabin
Aircraft cabin
An aircraft cabin is the section of an aircraft in which passengers travel. At cruising altitudes of modern commercial aircraft the surrounding atmosphere is too thin to breathe without an oxygen mask, so cabins are pressurized at a higher pressure than ambient pressure at altitude.In commercial...
and typically results from human error
Human reliability
Human reliability is related to the field of human factors engineering and ergonomics, and refers to the reliability of humans in fields such as manufacturing, transportation, the military, or medicine...
, material fatigue
Fatigue (material)
'In materials science, fatigue is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading. The nominal maximum stress values are less than the ultimate tensile stress limit, and may be below the yield stress limit of the material.Fatigue occurs...
, engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
failure or impact causing a pressure vessel
Pressure vessel
A pressure vessel is a closed container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure.The pressure differential is dangerous and many fatal accidents have occurred in the history of their development and operation. Consequently, their design,...
to vent into its lower-pressure surroundings or fail to pressurize at all.
Such decompression may be classed as Explosive, Rapid or Slow:
- Explosive decompression (ED) is violent, the decompression being too fast for air to safely escape from the lungLungThe lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
s. - Rapid decompression, while still fast, is slow enough to allow the lungs to vent.
- Slow or gradual decompression occurs so slowly that it may not be sensed before hypoxiaHypoxia (medical)Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...
sets in.
Description
The term uncontrolled decompression here refers to the unplanned depressurisation of vesselsPressure vessel
A pressure vessel is a closed container designed to hold gases or liquids at a pressure substantially different from the ambient pressure.The pressure differential is dangerous and many fatal accidents have occurred in the history of their development and operation. Consequently, their design,...
that are occupied by people, for example an aircraft cabin
Cabin pressurization
Cabin pressurization is the pumping of compressed air into an aircraft cabin to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for crew and passengers when flying at altitude.-Need for cabin pressurization:...
at high altitude, a spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
, or a hyperbaric chamber. For the catastrophic failure of other pressure vessels used to contain gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
, liquid
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
s, or reactants under pressure, the term explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
is more commonly used, or other specialised terms such as BLEVE
BLEVE
A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion occurs when a vessel containing a pressurized liquid above its boiling point ruptures.-Mechanism:...
may apply to particular situations.
Decompression can occur due to structural failure of the pressure vessel, or failure of the compression system itself. The speed and violence of the decompression is affected by the size of the pressure vessel, the differential pressure between the inside and outside of the vessel and the size of the leak hole.
The Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
recognizes three distinct types of decompression events in aircraft:
- Explosive decompression
- Rapid decompression
- Gradual decompression
Explosive decompression
Explosive decompression occurs at a rate swifter than that at which air can escape from the lungs, typically in less than 0.1 to 0.5 seconds. The risk of lung trauma is very high, as is the danger from any unsecured objects that can become projectileProjectile
A projectile is any object projected into space by the exertion of a force. Although a thrown baseball is technically a projectile too, the term more commonly refers to a weapon....
s because of the explosive
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
force, which may be likened to a bomb detonation.
After an explosive decompression within an aircraft, a heavy fog may immediately fill the interior as the relative humidity
Relative humidity
Relative humidity is a term used to describe the amount of water vapor in a mixture of air and water vapor. It is defined as the partial pressure of water vapor in the air-water mixture, given as a percentage of the saturated vapor pressure under those conditions...
of cabin air rapidly changes as the air cools and condenses. Military pilots with oxygen mask
Oxygen mask
An oxygen mask provides a method to transfer breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. Oxygen masks may cover the nose and mouth or the entire face...
s have to pressure-breathe, whereby the lungs fill with air when relaxed, and effort has to be exerted to expel the air again.
Rapid decompression
Rapid decompression typically takes more than 0.1 to 0.5 seconds, allowing the lungs to decompress more quickly than the cabin. The risk of lung damage is still present, but significantly reduced compared with explosive decompression.Slow decompression
Slow, or gradual, decompression occurs slowly enough to go unnoticed and might only be detected by instruments. This type of decompression may also come about from a failure to pressurize as an aircraft climbs to altitude. An example of this is the Helios Airways Flight 522Helios Airways Flight 522
Helios Airways Flight 522 was a Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 flight that crashed into a mountain on 14 August 2005 at 12:04 EEST, north of Marathon and Varnavas, Greece. Rescue teams located wreckage near the community of Grammatiko from Athens...
crash, in which the pilots failed to check the aircraft was pressurising automatically and then react to the warnings that the aircraft was depressurising.
Pressure vessel seals and testing
Seals in high-pressure vessels are also susceptible to explosive decompression; the O-ringO-ring
An O-ring, also known as a packing, or a toric joint, is a mechanical gasket in the shape of a torus; it is a loop of elastomer with a disc-shaped cross-section, designed to be seated in a groove and compressed during assembly between two or more parts, creating a seal at the interface.The O-ring...
s or rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
gasket
Gasket
thumb|sright|250px|Some seals and gaskets1. [[o-ring]]2. fiber [[Washer |washer]]3. paper gaskets4. [[cylinder head]] [[head gasket|gasket]]...
s used to seal pressurised pipelines tend to become saturated with high-pressure gas
Gas
Gas is one of the three classical states of matter . Near absolute zero, a substance exists as a solid. As heat is added to this substance it melts into a liquid at its melting point , boils into a gas at its boiling point, and if heated high enough would enter a plasma state in which the electrons...
es. If the pressure inside the vessel is suddenly released, then the gases within the rubber gasket may expand violently, causing blistering or explosion of the material. For this reason, it is common for military and industrial equipment to be subjected to an explosive decompression test before it is certified as safe for use.
Exposure to a vacuum causes the body to explode
This persistent mythUrban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
is based on a failure to distinguish between two types of decompression: the first, from normal atmospheric pressure (one atmosphere) to a vacuum (zero atmospheres); the second, from an exceptionally high pressure (many atmospheres) to normal atmospheric pressure.
The first type, a sudden change from normal atmospheric pressure to a vacuum, is the more common. Research and experience in space exploration
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
and high-altitude aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
have shown that while exposure to vacuum causes swelling, human skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
is tough enough to withstand the drop of one atmosphere
Atmosphere (unit)
The standard atmosphere is an international reference pressure defined as 101325 Pa and formerly used as unit of pressure. For practical purposes it has been replaced by the bar which is 105 Pa...
although the resulting hypoxia will cause unconsciousness after a few seconds. It is also possible that pulmonary barotrauma (lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
rupture) will occur if the breath is forcibly held.
The second type is rare, since the only normal situation in which it can occur is during decompression after deep-sea diving. In fact, there is only a single well-documented occurrence: the Byford Dolphin
Byford Dolphin
Byford Dolphin is a semi-submersible, column-stabilised drilling rig operated by Dolphin Drilling, a Fred. Olsen Energy subsidiary, and currently contracted by BP for drilling in the United Kingdom section of the North Sea. She is registered in Singapore...
incident, in which a catastrophic pressure drop of eight atmospheres caused massive, lethal, barotrauma, including the actual explosion of one diver. A similar but fictional death was shown in the film Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill
Licence to Kill, released in 1989, is the sixteenth entry in the Eon Productions James Bond series and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming novel. It marks Timothy Dalton's second and final performance in his brief tenure in the lead role of James Bond...
, when a character's head explodes after his hyperbaric chamber
Diving chamber
A diving chamber has two main functions:* as a simpler form of submersible vessel to take divers underwater and to provide a temporary base and retrieval system in the depths;...
is rapidly depressurized. Neither of these incidents would have been possible if the pressure drop had been only from normal atmosphere to a vacuum.
Bullets cause explosive decompression
Aircraft fuselages are designed with ribs to prevent tearing; the size of the hole is one of the factors that determines the speed of decompression, and a bullet hole is too small to cause rapid or explosive decompression.A small hole will blow people out of a fuselage
The television program MythbustersMythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
examined this belief informally using a pressurised aircraft and several scale tests. The Mythbusters approximations suggested that fuselage design does not allow this to happen.
Flight Attendant C.B. Lansing was blown from Aloha Airlines Flight 243
Aloha Airlines Flight 243
Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-200 serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, but was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. The only...
when a large section of cabin roof (about 18' x 25') detached; the report states she was swept overboard rather than sucked through the hole. The Air Crash Investigation documentary report on Flight 243 (season 3, 2005) notes that the 'tear line' construction was supposed to prevent such a large slab failure. Working from passenger accounts (including one report of the hostess' legs disappearing through the roof), forensic evidence including NTSB photographs, and stress calculations, experts speculated that the air hostess was sucked against the foot-square hole initially permitted by the tear strips, blocking it: this would have caused a 10 atmosphere pressure spike, hence the much greater material failure. One corrosion engineer takes the view that the tear straps could also have been defeated by the airstream impact through Lansing's body.
Decompression injuries
The following physical injuries may be associated with decompression incidents:- HypoxiaHypoxia (medical)Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...
is the most serious risk associated with decompression, especially as it may go undetected or incapacitate the aircrew. - BarotraumaBarotraumaBarotrauma is physical damage to body tissues caused by a difference in pressure between an air space inside or beside the body and the surrounding fluid...
: an inability to equalize pressure in internal air spaces such as the middle earMiddle earThe middle ear is the portion of the ear internal to the eardrum, and external to the oval window of the cochlea. The mammalian middle ear contains three ossicles, which couple vibration of the eardrum into waves in the fluid and membranes of the inner ear. The hollow space of the middle ear has...
or gastrointestinal tractGastrointestinal tractThe human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....
, or more serious injury such as a burst lungPneumothoraxPneumothorax is a collection of air or gas in the pleural cavity of the chest between the lung and the chest wall. It may occur spontaneously in people without chronic lung conditions as well as in those with lung disease , and many pneumothoraces occur after physical trauma to the chest, blast...
. - Decompression sicknessDecompression sicknessDecompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
. - Physical traumaPhysical traumaTrauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
caused by the violence of explosive decompression, which can turn people and loose objects into projectiles. - Altitude sicknessAltitude sicknessAltitude sickness—also known as acute mountain sickness , altitude illness, hypobaropathy, or soroche—is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans, caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude...
- FrostbiteFrostbiteFrostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
or hypothermiaHypothermiaHypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
from exposure to freezing cold air at high altitude.
Notable decompression accidents and incidents
Decompression incidents are not uncommon on military and civilian aircraft, with approximately 40–50 rapid decompression events occurring worldwide annually. In the majority of cases the problem is relatively manageable for aircrew. Consequently where passengers and the aircraft do not suffer any ill-effects, the incidents tend not to be considered notable. Injuries resulting from decompression incidents are rare.Decompression incidents do not occur solely in aircraft—the Byford Dolphin
Byford Dolphin
Byford Dolphin is a semi-submersible, column-stabilised drilling rig operated by Dolphin Drilling, a Fred. Olsen Energy subsidiary, and currently contracted by BP for drilling in the United Kingdom section of the North Sea. She is registered in Singapore...
incident is an example of violent explosive decompression on an oil rig
Oil platform
An oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
. A decompression event is an effect of a failure caused
Causality
Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event , where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first....
by another problem (such as an explosion or mid-air collision), but the decompression event may worsen the initial issue.
| Event | Date | Pressure vessel | Event Type | Fatalities/number on board | Decompression Type | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOAC Flight 781 BOAC Flight 781 On 10 January 1954, British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 781 a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 registered G-ALYP, took off from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, en route to Heathrow Airport in London, England, on the final leg of its flight from Singapore... |
1954 | de Havilland Comet De Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at the Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, it first flew in 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design... |
Accident | 35/35 | Explosive decompression | Metal fatigue |
| South African Airways Flight 201 South African Airways Flight 201 South African Airways Flight 201, a de Havilland Comet 1, took off at 18:32 UTC from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy en route to Cairo, Egypt, on the second stage of its flight from London to Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight crashed, killing all aboard at around 19:07 UTC on 8 April 1954... |
1954 | de Havilland Comet De Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at the Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, it first flew in 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design... |
Accident | 21/21 | Explosive decompression | Metal fatigue |
| TWA Flight 2 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision The 1956 Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred on Saturday, June 30, 1956 at 10:30 AM Pacific Standard Time when a United Airlines passenger airliner struck a Trans World Airlines airliner over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, resulting in the crash of both planes and 128 fatalities... |
1956 | Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a... |
Accident | 70/70 | Explosive decompression | Mid-air collision Mid-air collision A mid-air collision is an aviation accident in which two or more aircraft come into contact during flight. Owing to the relatively high velocities involved and any subsequent impact on the ground or sea, very severe damage or the total destruction of at least one of the aircraft involved usually... |
| 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash The 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash refers to an accident on March 14, 1961, at Yuba City, California. A B-52F-70-BW Stratofortress bomber, AF Serial No. 57-0166, c/n 464155, carrying two nuclear weapons, that had departed from Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento, experienced an uncontrolled... |
1961 | B-52 Stratofortress B-52 Stratofortress The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service... |
Accident | 0/8 | Gradual or rapid decompression | (Undetermined) |
| 1965 spacesuit testing failure | 1965 | Space suit Space suit A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft... |
Accident | 0/1 | Rapid decompression | Air leak in spacesuit |
| Soyuz 11 re-entry Soyuz 11 Soyuz 11 was the first manned mission to arrive at the world's first space station, Salyut 1. The mission arrived at the space station on June 7, 1971 and departed on June 30, 1971. The mission ended in disaster when the crew capsule depressurized during preparations for re-entry, killing the... |
1971 | Soyuz spacecraft Soyuz spacecraft Soyuz , Union) is a series of spacecraft initially designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau in the 1960s, and still in service today... |
Accident | 3/3 | Gradual decompression | Damaged cabin ventilation valve |
| American Airlines Flight 96 American Airlines Flight 96 American Airlines Flight 96 was a regular McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 flight operated by American Airlines. The flight suffered a cargo door failure on 12 June 1972 while flying over Windsor, Ontario; it is thus sometimes referred to as the Windsor incident.The rapid decompression in the cargo hold... |
1972 | Douglas DC-10-10 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a... |
Accident | 0/67 | Rapid decompression | Cargo door failure |
| National Airlines Flight 27 National Airlines Flight 27 On November 3, 1973, a National Airlines DC-10-10 aircraft was operating as a scheduled passenger flight between Miami and San Francisco with intermediate stops at New Orleans, Houston, and Las Vegas .... |
1973 | Douglas DC-10-10 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a... |
Accident | 1/116 | Explosive decompression | Crew tripping circuit breakers; engine overspeeding and disintegrating, pieces striking fuselage |
| Turkish Airlines Flight 981 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, registered TC-JAV and named the Ankara, that crashed in Fontaine-Chaalis, Oise, France, outside Senlis, on 3 March 1974... |
1974 | Douglas DC-10-10 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a... |
Accident | 346/346 | Explosive decompression | Cargo door failure |
| Tan Son Nhut C-5 accident Tan Son Nhut C-5 accident The Tan Son Nhut C-5 accident refers to the 4 April 1975 crash of 68-0218, a Lockheed C-5A Galaxy participating in Operation Babylift, which crashed on approach to an emergency landing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam. The cause was ascribed to loss of flight control due to explosive... |
1975 | C-5 Galaxy C-5 Galaxy The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many... |
Accident | 155/330 | Explosive decompression | Improper maintenance of rear doors, cargo door failure |
| Korean Air Lines Flight 902 | 1978 | Boeing 707 Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on... |
Shootdown | 2/109 | Explosive decompression | Shootdown after straying into prohibited airspace Prohibited airspace Prohibited airspace refers to an area of airspace within which flight of aircraft is not allowed, usually due to security concerns. It is one of many types of special use airspace designations and is depicted on aeronautical charts with the letter "P" followed by a serial number... over the Soviet Union Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... . |
| Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103 Far East Air Transport Flight 103 , a Boeing 737-222, had just departed Taipei Songshan Airport for Kaohsiung when the aircraft broke apart in mid-air 14 minutes after take-off.... |
1981 | Boeing 737 Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers... |
Accident | 110/110 | Explosive decompression | Corrosion |
| Byford Dolphin accident | 1983 | Diving bell Byford Dolphin Byford Dolphin is a semi-submersible, column-stabilised drilling rig operated by Dolphin Drilling, a Fred. Olsen Energy subsidiary, and currently contracted by BP for drilling in the United Kingdom section of the North Sea. She is registered in Singapore... |
Accident | 5/6 | Explosive decompression | Human error, no fail-safe Fail-safe A fail-safe or fail-secure device is one that, in the event of failure, responds in a way that will cause no harm, or at least a minimum of harm, to other devices or danger to personnel.... in the design |
| Korean Air Lines Flight 007 | 1983 | Boeing 747-230B Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced... |
Shootdown | 269/269 | Rapid decompression | Intentionally fired air-to-air missile Air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled... after aircraft strayed into prohibited airspace Prohibited airspace Prohibited airspace refers to an area of airspace within which flight of aircraft is not allowed, usually due to security concerns. It is one of many types of special use airspace designations and is depicted on aeronautical charts with the letter "P" followed by a serial number... over the Soviet Union Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... |
| Japan Airlines Flight 123 Japan Airlines Flight 123 Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a Japan Airlines domestic flight from Tokyo International Airport to Osaka International Airport on August 12, 1985. The Boeing 747-146SR that made this route, registered , suffered mechanical failures 12 minutes into the flight and 32 minutes later crashed into two... |
1985 | Boeing 747-SR46 Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced... |
Accident | 520/524 | Explosive decompression | Structural failure of rear pressure bulkhead |
| Air India Flight 182 Air India Flight 182 Air India Flight 182 was an Air India flight operating on the Montreal–London–Delhi route. On 23 June 1985, the airplane operating on the route a Boeing 747-237B named after Emperor Kanishka was blown up by a bomb at an altitude of , and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while in Irish airspace.A... |
1985 | Boeing 747-237B | Terrorist bombing | 329/329 | Explosive decompression | Bomb explosion in cargo hold |
| Jordanian Airlines Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines is the flag carrier of Jordan with its head office in Amman, Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four continents from its main base at Queen Alia International Airport at Amman Jordan. Royal Jordanian is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization... |
1985 | Lockheed L-1011 TriStar | Incident | 0/? | Explosive decompression | Inflight fire which burnt though the rear pressure bulkhead |
| Aloha Airlines Flight 243 Aloha Airlines Flight 243 Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-200 serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, but was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. The only... |
1988 | Boeing 737-297 Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers... |
Accident | 1/95 | Explosive decompression | Metal fatigue |
| Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport... |
1988 | Boeing 747-121 Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced... |
Terrorist bombing | 259/259 | Explosive decompression | Bomb explosion in cargo hold |
| United Airlines Flight 811 United Airlines Flight 811 United Airlines Flight 811 experienced a cargo door failure in flight on Friday, February 24, 1989, after its stopover at Honolulu International Airport, Hawaii... |
1989 | Boeing 747-122 Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced... |
Accident | 9/355 | Explosive decompression | Cargo door failure |
| UTA Flight 772 UTA Flight 772 UTA Flight 772 of the French airline Union des Transports Aériens was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, via N'Djamena in Chad, to Paris CDG airport in France.... |
1989 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a... |
Terrorist bombing | 170/170 | Explosive decompression | Bomb explosion in cargo hold |
| British Airways Flight 5390 British Airways Flight 5390 British Airways Flight 5390 was a British Airways flight between Birmingham Airport in England and Málaga, Spain. On 10 June 1990 an improperly installed panel of the windscreen failed, blowing the plane's captain, Tim Lancaster, halfway out of the aircraft, with his body firmly pressed against the... |
1990 | BAC One-Eleven BAC One-Eleven The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s... |
Incident | 0/87 | Rapid decompression | Incorrect windscreen fasteners used |
| TWA Flight 800 TWA Flight 800 Trans World Airlines Flight 800 , a Boeing 747-131, exploded and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near East Moriches, New York, on July 17, 1996, at about 20:31 EDT, 12 minutes after takeoff, killing all 230 persons on board. At the time, it was the second-deadliest U.S... |
1996 | Boeing 747-131 Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced... |
Accident | 230/230 | Explosive decompression | Explosion in fuel tank |
| Progress M-34 | 1997 | Spektr Spektr Spektr was the fifth module of the Mir Space Station. The module was designed for remote observation of Earth's environment containing atmospheric and surface research equipment... |
Accident | 0/? | Rapid decompression | Mid-air collision |
| Lionair Flight LN 602 Lionair Flight LN 602 Lionair Flight 602 was a Lionair Antonov An-24RV which fell into the sea off the north-western coast of Sri Lanka. The aircraft departed Kankesanturai Airport with several high ranking military officials of the Sri Lankan Army on a flight to Colombo and disappeared from radar screens just after the... |
1998 | Antonov An-24RV Antonov An-24 The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau from 1957.-Design and development:... |
Shootdown | 55/55 | Rapid decompression | Probable MANPAD shootdown |
| South Dakota Learjet 1999 South Dakota Learjet crash On October 25, 1999, a chartered Learjet 35 was scheduled to fly from Orlando, Florida to Dallas, Texas. Early in the flight the aircraft, which was cruising at altitude on autopilot, gradually lost cabin pressure. As a result, all on board were incapacitated due to hypoxia— a lack of oxygen... |
1999 | Learjet 35 | Accident | 6/6 | Gradual or rapid decompression | (Undetermined) |
| Australia “Ghost Flight” 2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash Sierra Kilo Charlie was the call sign for chartered Beechcraft 200 Super King Air which, on 4 September 2000, crashed near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The flight plan of the aircraft called for the pilot to fly between Perth, Western Australia, and the mining town of Leonora, Western... |
2000 | Beechcraft Super King Air Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series... |
Accident | 8/8 | Decompression suspected | (Undetermined) |
| Hainan Island incident Hainan Island incident On April 1, 2001, a mid-air collision between a United States Navy EP-3E ARIES II signals intelligence aircraft and a People's Liberation Army Navy J-8II interceptor fighter jet resulted in an international dispute between the United States and the People's Republic of China called the Hainan... |
2001 | Lockheed EP-3 | Accident | 0/24 | Rapid decompression | Mid-air collision |
| TAM flight 9755 | 2001 | Fokker 100 | Accident | 1/82 | Rapid decompression | Window ruptured by shrapnel after engine failure |
| China Airlines Flight 611 China Airlines Flight 611 China Airlines Flight 611 was a regularly scheduled flight from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong... |
2002 | Boeing 747-200B Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced... |
Accident | 225/225 | Explosive decompression | Metal fatigue |
| Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 | 2002 | Tupolev Tu-154M Tupolev Tu-154 The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown... |
Accident | 69/69 | Explosive decompression | Mid-air collision |
| Helios Airways Flight 522 Helios Airways Flight 522 Helios Airways Flight 522 was a Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 flight that crashed into a mountain on 14 August 2005 at 12:04 EEST, north of Marathon and Varnavas, Greece. Rescue teams located wreckage near the community of Grammatiko from Athens... |
2005 | Boeing 737-31S Boeing 737 Classic The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new... |
Accident | 121/121 | Gradual decompression | Pressurization system set to manual for the entire flight |
| Alaska Airlines Flight 536 | 2005 | McDonnell Douglas MD-80 | Incident | 0/140 + crew | Rapid decompression | Failure of operator to report collision involving a baggage loading cart at the departure gate |
| Qantas Flight 30 Qantas Flight 30 Qantas Flight 30 was a Qantas Boeing 747-438, construction number 25067, registered in Australia as VH-OJK. QF30 was a scheduled flight from London Heathrow Airport to Melbourne Airport with a stopover in Hong Kong International Airport on 25 July 2008. The flight was interrupted when an oxygen... |
2008 | Boeing 747-438 Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe... |
Incident | 0/365 | Rapid decompression | Fuselage ruptured by explosion of an oxygen cylinder Oxygen tank An oxygen tank is a storage vessel for oxygen, which is either held under pressure in gas cylinders or as liquid oxygen in a cryogenic storage tank.Oxygen tanks are used to store gas for:* industrial processes including the manufacture of steel and monel... |
| Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 Southwest Airlines Flight 2294 was a scheduled US passenger aircraft flight which made an emergency landing at Yeager Airport in Charleston, West Virginia, on July 13, 2009, after what was described as a "football sized" opening in the airplane's fuselage caused rapid depressurization of the... |
2009 | Boeing 737-300 Boeing 737 Classic The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new... |
Incident | 0/126 + 5 crew | Rapid decompression | Metal fatigue |
| Southwest Airlines Flight 812 Southwest Airlines Flight 812 Southwest Airlines Flight 812 was a scheduled US passenger aircraft flight between Phoenix, Arizona and Sacramento, California . On April 1, 2011, the Boeing 737–300 operating the route made an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona after a hole appeared in the top of the airplane's fuselage above... |
2011 | Boeing 737-300 Boeing 737 Classic The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new... |
Incident | 0/118 + crew | Rapid decompression | Metal fatigue |
Implications for aircraft design
Modern aircraft are specifically designed with longitudinal and circumferential reinforcing ribs in order to prevent localised damage from tearing the whole fuselageFuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
open during a decompression incident. However, decompression events have nevertheless proved fatal for aircraft in other ways. In 1974, explosive decompression onboard Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Turkish Airlines Flight 981
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, registered TC-JAV and named the Ankara, that crashed in Fontaine-Chaalis, Oise, France, outside Senlis, on 3 March 1974...
caused the floor to collapse, severing vital flight control cables in the process. The FAA
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
issued an Airworthiness Directive
Airworthiness Directive
An Airworthiness Directive is a notification to owners and operators of certified aircraft that a known safety deficiency with a particular model of aircraft, engine, avionics or other system exists and must be corrected....
the following year requiring manufacturers of wide-body aircraft to strengthen floors so that they could withstand the effects of in-flight decompression caused by an opening of up to 20 square feet (1.9 m²) in the lower deck cargo compartment. Manufacturers were able to comply with the Directive either by strengthening the floors and/or installing relief vents called "dado panels" between the passenger cabin and the cargo compartment.
Cabin doors are designed to make it almost impossible to lose pressurization through opening a cabin door in flight, either accidentally or intentionally. The plug door
Plug door
A plug door is a door designed to seal itself by taking advantage of pressure difference on its two sides and is typically used on pressurised aircraft...
design ensures that when the pressure inside the cabin exceeds the pressure outside the doors are forced shut and will not open until the pressure is equalised. Cabin doors, including the emergency exits, but not all cargo doors, open inwards, or must first be pulled inwards and then rotated before they can be pushed out through the door frame because at least one dimension of the door is larger than the door frame.
Prior to 1996, approximately 6,000 large commercial transport airplanes were type certificate
Type certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
d to fly up to 45,000 feet, without being required to meet special conditions related to flight at high altitude. In 1996, the FAA adopted Amendment 25-87, which imposed additional high-altitude cabin-pressure specifications, for new designs of aircraft types. For aircraft certificated
Type certificate
A Type Certificate, is awarded by aviation regulating bodies to aerospace manufacturers after it has been established that the particular design of a civil aircraft, engine, or propeller has fulfilled the regulating bodies' current prevailing airworthiness requirements for the safe conduct of...
to operate above 25,000 feet (FL 250), it "must be designed so that occupants will not be exposed to cabin pressure altitudes in excess of 15,000 feet after any probable failure condition in the pressurization system." In the event of a decompression which results from "any failure condition not shown to be extremely improbable," the aircraft must be designed so that occupants will not be exposed to a cabin altitude exceeding 25,000 feet for more than 2 minutes, nor exceeding an altitude of 40,000 feet at any time. In practice, that new FAR amendment imposes an operational ceiling
Ceiling (aeronautics)
With respect to aircraft, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions.The word ceiling can also refer to the height of the lowest obscuring cloud layer above the ground.-Service ceiling:...
of 40,000 feet on the majority of newly designed commercial aircraft.Notable exceptions include the Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
, Boeing 787
Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use...
, and Concorde
Concorde
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
In 2004, Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
successfully petitioned the FAA to allow cabin pressure of the A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
to reach 43,000 feet in the event of a decompression incident, and to exceed 40,000 feet for one minute. This special exemption allows that new aircraft to operate at a higher altitude than other newly-designed civilian aircraft, which have not yet been granted a similar exemption.
International standards
The Depressurization Exposure Integral (DEI) is a quantitativeQuantitative property
A quantitative property is one that exists in a range of magnitudes, and can therefore be measured with a number. Measurements of any particular quantitative property are expressed as a specific quantity, referred to as a unit, multiplied by a number. Examples of physical quantities are distance,...
model
Scientific modelling
Scientific modelling is the process of generating abstract, conceptual, graphical and/or mathematical models. Science offers a growing collection of methods, techniques and theory about all kinds of specialized scientific modelling...
that is used by the FAA to enforce compliance with decompression-related design directives. The model relies on the fact that the pressure that the subject is exposed to and the duration of that exposure are the two most important variables at play in a decompression event.
Other national and international standards for explosive decompression testing include:
- MIL-STD-810, 202
- RTCARadio Technical Commission for AeronauticsRTCA, Inc. is a volunteer organization that develops technical guidance for use by government regulatory authorities and by industry. Requirements for membership include a fee that is based on information in the application for membership, and an interest in aviation...
/D0-160 - NORSOK M710
- API 17K and 17J
- NACE TM0192 and TM0297
- TOTALELFFINA SP TCS 142 Appendix H