Uncontrolled decompression

Short description: Unplanned drop in the pressure of a sealed system

An uncontrolled decompression is an undesired drop in the pressure of a sealed system, such as a pressurised aircraft cabin or hyperbaric chamber, that typically results from human error, structural failure, or impact, causing the pressurised vessel to vent into its surroundings or fail to pressurize at all.

Such decompression may be classed as explosive, rapid, or slow:

* Explosive decompression (ED) is violent and too fast for air to escape safely from the lungs and other air-filled cavities in the body such as the sinuses and eustachian tubes, typically resulting in severe to fatal barotrauma.
* Rapid decompression may be slow enough to allow cavities to vent but may still cause serious barotrauma or discomfort.
* Slow or gradual decompression occurs so slowly that it may not be sensed before hypoxia sets in.

## Contents

* 1 Description
* 1.1 Explosive decompression
* 1.2 Rapid decompression
* 1.3 Gradual decompression
* 2 Decompression injuries
* 3 Implications for aircraft design
* 4 International standards
* 5 Notable decompression accidents and incidents
* 6 Myths
* 6.1 A bullet through a window may cause explosive decompression
* 6.2 Exposure to a vacuum causes the body to explode
* 7 See also
* 8 Notes
* 9 References
* 10 External links

## Description

In this test chamber, air pressure drops suddenly to that of the atmosphere at 60,000 ft (18,000 m). Air humidity immediately condenses into fog, which within seconds evaporates back into gas.

The term uncontrolled decompression here refers to the unplanned depressurisation of vessels that are occupied by people; for example, a pressurised aircraft cabin at high altitude, a spacecraft, or a hyperbaric chamber. For the catastrophic failure of other pressure vessels used to contain gas, liquids, 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.[1][2] 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 US Federal Aviation Administration recognizes three distinct types of decompression events in aircraft: explosive, rapid, and gradual decompression.[1][2]

### Explosive decompression

Explosive decompression occurs typically in less than 0.1 to 0.5 seconds, a change in cabin pressure faster than the lungs can decompress.[1][3] Normally, the time required to release air from the lungs without restrictions, such as masks, is 0.2 seconds.[4] The risk of lung trauma is very high, as is the danger from any unsecured objects that can become projectiles because of the explosive force, which may be likened to a bomb detonation.

Immediately after an explosive decompression, a heavy fog may fill the aircraft cabin as the air cools, raising the relative humidity and causing sudden condensation.[4] Military pilots with oxygen masks must pressure-breathe, whereby the lungs fill with air when relaxed, and effort has to be exerted to expel the air again.[5]

### Rapid decompression

Rapid decompression typically takes more than 0.1 to 0.5 seconds, allowing the lungs to decompress more quickly than the cabin.[1][6] The risk of lung damage is still present, but significantly reduced compared with explosive decompression.

### Gradual decompression

Slow, or gradual, decompression occurs slowly enough to go unnoticed and might only be detected by instruments.[7] This type of decompression may also come about from a failure to cabin pressurization as an aircraft climbs to altitude. An example of this is the 2005 Helios Airways Flight 522 crash, in which the maintenance service left the pressurization system in manual mode and the pilots did not check the pressurization system. As a result, they suffered a loss of consciousness (as well as most of the passengers and crew) due to hypoxia (lack of oxygen). The plane continued to fly due to the autopilot system and eventually crashed due to fuel exhaustion after leaving its flight path.

## Decompression injuries

NASA astronaut candidates being monitored for signs of hypoxia during training in an altitude chamber

The following physical injuries may be associated with decompression incidents:

* Hypoxia is the most serious risk associated with decompression, especially as it may go undetected or incapacitate the aircrew.[8][9][10][11]
* Barotrauma: an inability to equalize pressure in internal air spaces such as the middle ear or gastrointestinal tract, or more serious injury such as a burst lung.[8]
* Decompression sickness.[8][9][12][13]
* Altitude sickness.
* Frostbite or hypothermia from exposure to freezing cold air at high altitude.[14]
* Physical trauma caused by the violence of explosive decompression, which can turn people and loose objects into projectiles.

At least two confirmed cases have been documented of a person being blown through an airplane passenger window. The first occurred in 1973 when debris from an engine failure struck a window roughly midway in the fuselage. Despite efforts to pull the passenger back into the airplane, the occupant was forced entirely through the cabin window.[15] The passenger's skeletal remains were eventually found by a construction crew, and were positively identified two years later.[16] The second incident occurred on April 17, 2018, when a woman on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was partially blown through an airplane passenger window that had broken from a similar engine failure. Although the other passengers were able to pull her back inside, she later died from her injuries.[17][18][19] In both incidents, the plane landed safely with the sole fatality being the person seated next to the window involved.

According to NASA scientist Geoffrey A. Landis, the effect depends on the size of the hole, which can be expanded by debris that is blown through it; "it would take about 100 seconds for pressure to equalise through a roughly 30.0 cm (11.8 in) hole in the fuselage of a Boeing 747." Anyone blocking the hole would have half a ton of force pushing them towards it, but this force reduces rapidly with distance from the hole.[20]

## 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 fuselage open during a decompression incident.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]

Cabin doors are designed to make it nearly 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 equalized. 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. Pressurization prevented the doors of Saudia Flight 163 from being opened on the ground after the aircraft made a successful emergency landing, resulting in the deaths of all 287 passengers and 14 crew members from fire and smoke.

Prior to 1996, approximately 6,000 large commercial transport airplanes were type certified to fly up to 45,000 feet (14,000 m), without being required to meet special conditions related to flight at high altitude.[24] In 1996, the FAA adopted Amendment 25–87, which imposed additional high-altitude cabin-pressure specifications, for new designs of aircraft types.[25] For aircraft certified to operate above 25,000 feet (FL 250; 7,600 m), it "must be designed so that occupants will not be exposed to cabin pressure altitudes in excess of 15,000 feet (4,600 m) after any probable failure condition in the pressurization system."[26] 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 (7,600 m) for more than 2 minutes, nor exceeding an altitude of 40,000 feet (12,000 m) at any time.[26] In practice, that new FAR amendment imposes an operational ceiling of 40,000 feet on the majority of newly designed commercial aircraft.[27][28][Note 1]

In 2004, Airbus successfully petitioned the FAA to allow cabin pressure of the A380 to reach 43,000 feet (13,000 m) in the event of a decompression incident and to exceed 40,000 feet (12,000 m) for one minute. This special exemption allows the A380 to operate at a higher altitude than other newly designed civilian aircraft, which have not yet been granted a similar exemption.[27]

## International standards

The Depressurization Exposure Integral (DEI) is a quantitative 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.[29]

Other national and international standards for explosive decompression testing include:

* MIL-STD-810, 202
* RTCA/DO-160
* NORSOK M710
* API 17K and 17J
* NACE TM0192 and TM0297
* TOTALELFFINA SP TCS 142 Appendix H

## 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.[30] However, in most cases the problem is manageable, injuries or structural damage rare and the incident not considered notable.[8] One notable, recent case was Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 in 2018, where an uncontained engine failure ruptured a window, causing a passenger to be partially blown out.[31]

Decompression incidents do not occur solely in aircraft; the Byford Dolphin accident is an example of violent explosive decompression of a saturation diving system on an oil rig. A decompression event is often the result of a failure caused 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

|
|
|
|
|
|

Pan Am Flight 201  | 1952  | Boeing 377 Stratocruiser | Accident  | 1/27  | Explosive decompression  | Passenger door blew out after lock failure[32]
BOAC Flight 781  | 1954  | de Havilland Comet 1 | Accident  | 35/35  | Explosive decompression  | Metal fatigue
South African Airways Flight 201  | 1954  | de Havilland Comet 1 | Accident  | 21/21  | Explosive decompression[33] | Metal fatigue
TWA Flight 2  | 1956  | Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation | Accident  | 70/70  | Explosive decompression  | Mid-air collision
American Airlines Flight 87  | 1957  | Douglas DC-7 | Accident  | 0/46  | Explosive decompression  | Propeller blade separated and hit fuselage[34]
Air France F-BGNE  | 1957  | Lockheed Super Constellation | Accident  | 1/?  | Explosive decompression  | Window shattered at 18,000 feet (5,500 m)[35]
Continental Airlines Flight 11  | 1962  | Boeing 707-100  | Bombing  | 45/45  | Explosive decompression  | Insurance fraud suicide bomb
Aerolineas Argentinas Flight 737  | 1962  | Avro 748-105 Srs. 1 | Accident  | 1/34  | Explosive decompression  | Aft left passenger door separated from airplane[36]
Volsk parachute jump accident  | 1962  | Pressure suit | Accident  | 1/1  | Rapid decompression  | Collision with gondola upon jumping from balloon
Cambrian Airways G-AMON  | 1964  | Vickers 701 Viscount | Accident  | 0/63  | Explosive decompression  | Propeller blade separated and hit fuselage[37]
Strato Jump III  | 1966  | Pressure suit  | Accident  | 1/1  | Rapid decompression  | Pressure suit failure[38]
Apollo program spacesuit testing accident  | 1966  | Apollo A7L spacesuit (or possibly a prototype of it)  | Accident  | 0/1  | Rapid decompression  | Oxygen line coupling failure[39]
Northeast Airlines N8224H  | 1967  | Douglas DC-6B | Accident  | 0/14  | Explosive decompression  | Fuselage cracked open from fatigue[40]
United States Air Force 59-0530  | 1970  | Douglas C-133B Cargomaster | Accident  | 5/5  | Explosive decompression  | Existing crack expanded, leading to fuselage failure[41]
Hughes Airwest Flight 706  | 1971  | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-31  | Accident  | 49/49  | Explosive decompression  | Mid-air Collision
Soyuz 11 re-entry | 1971  | Soyuz spacecraft  | Accident  | 3/3  | Rapid decompression  | Pressure equalisation valve damaged by faulty pyrotechnic separation charges[42]
BEA Flight 706  | 1971  | Vickers Vanguard | Accident  | 63/63  | Explosive decompression  | Structural failure of rear pressure bulkhead due to corrosion
JAT Flight 367 | 1972  | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32  | Terrorist bombing  | 27/28  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion in cargo hold
American Airlines Flight 96  | 1972  | Douglas DC-10-10 | Accident  | 0/67  | Rapid decompression[43] | Cargo door failure
Aeroflot Flight 109  | 1973  | Tuploev Tu-104B | Bombing  | 81/81  | Explosive decompression  | Hijacker detonated explosive[44]
National Airlines Flight 27  | 1973  | Douglas DC-10-10 | Accident  | 1/128  | Explosive decompression[45] | Uncontained engine failure
Turkish Airlines Flight 981  | 1974  | Douglas DC-10-10 | Accident  | 346/346  | Explosive decompression[46] | Cargo door failure
USAF (registration unknown)  | 1974  | Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker | Accident  | 1/33  | Explosive decompression  | Small window broke at 35,000 feet[47]
TWA Flight 841  | 1974  | Boeing 707-331B  | Terrorist bombing  | 88/88  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion in cargo hold
1975 Tân Sơn Nhứt C-5 accident  | 1975  | Lockheed C-5 Galaxy | Accident  | 138/314  | Explosive decompression  | Improper maintenance of rear doors, cargo door failure
British Airways Flight 476  | 1976  | Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B | Accident  | 63/63  | Explosive decompression  | Mid-air collision
Korean Air Lines Flight 902  | 1978  | Boeing 707-320B | Shootdown  | 2/109  | Explosive decompression  | Shootdown after straying into prohibited airspace over the Soviet Union
Air Canada Flight 680  | 1979  | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 | Accident  | 0/45  | Explosive decompression  | Fuselage tore open from fatigue[48]
Itavia Flight 870  | 1980  | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15  | Bombing or Shootdown (Disputed)  | 81/81  | Explosive decompression  | Mid-air breakup due to explosion in the cabin (Cause of explosion disputed)
Saudia Flight 162  | 1980  | Lockheed L-1011 TriStar | Accident  | 2/292  | Explosive decompression  | Tyre blowout
Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103  | 1981  | Boeing 737-222 | Accident  | 110/110  | Explosive decompression  | Severe corrosion and metal fatigue
British Airways Flight 9  | 1982  | Boeing 747-200 | Accident  | 0/263  | Gradual decompression  | Engine flameout due to volcanic ash ingestion
Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8  | 1983  | Lockheed L-188 Electra | Accident  | 0/15  | Rapid decompression  | Propeller failure and collision with fuselage
Korean Air Lines Flight 007  | 1983  | Boeing 747-200B | Shootdown  | 269/269  | Rapid decompression[49][50] | Intentionally fired air-to-air missile after aircraft strayed into prohibited airspace over the Soviet Union[51]
Gulf Air Flight 771  | 1983  | Boeing 737-200 | Terrorist bombing  | 112/112  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion in cargo hold
Byford Dolphin accident | 1983  | Diving bell | Accident  | 5/6  | Explosive decompression  | Human error, no fail-safe in the design
Air India Flight 182  | 1985  | Boeing 747-200B | Terrorist bombing  | 329/329  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion in cargo hold
Japan Airlines Flight 123  | 1985  | Boeing 747SR  | Accident  | 520/524  | Explosive decompression  | Delayed structural failure of the rear pressure bulkhead following improper repairs
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster | 1986  | Space Shuttle Challenger | Accident  | 7/7  | Gradual or rapid decompression  | Breach in solid rocket booster O-ring, leading to damage from escaping superheated gas and eventual disintegration of launch vehicle
Pan Am Flight 125  | 1987  | Boeing 747-121 | Incident  | 0/245  | Rapid decompression  | Cargo door malfunction
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055  | 1987  | Ilyushin Il-62M  | Accident  | 183/183  | Rapid decompression  | Uncontained engine failure
Aloha Airlines Flight 243  | 1988  | Boeing 737-200 | Accident  | 1/95  | Explosive decompression[52] | Metal fatigue
Iran Air Flight 655  | 1988  | Airbus A300B2-203 | Shootdown  | 290/290  | Explosive decompression  | Intentionally fired surface-to-air missiles from the USS Vincennes
Pan Am Flight 103  | 1988  | Boeing 747-100 | Terrorist bombing  | 259/259  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion in cargo hold
United Airlines Flight 811  | 1989  | Boeing 747-122 | Accident  | 9/355  | Explosive decompression  | Cargo door failure
Partnair Flight 394  | 1989  | Convair CV-580  | Accident  | 55/55  | Explosive decompression  | Rudder malfunction due to maintenance error, leading to loss of control and in-flight breakup
UTA Flight 772  | 1989  | Douglas DC-10-30 | Terrorist bombing  | 170/170  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion in cargo hold
Avianca Flight 203  | 1989  | Boeing 727-21  | Terrorist bombing  | 107/107  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion igniting vapours in an empty fuel tank
British Airways Flight 5390  | 1990  | BAC One-Eleven | Incident  | 0/87  | Rapid decompression[53] | Cockpit windscreen failure
Lauda Air Flight 004  | 1991  | Boeing 767-300ER  | Accident  | 223/223  | Explosive decompression  | Uncommanded thrust reverser deployment leading to in-flight breakup
Copa Airlines Flight 201  | 1992  | Boeing 737-200 Advanced  | Accident  | 47/47  | Explosive decompression  | Spatial disorientation leading to steep dive and mid-air breakup
China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303  | 1994  | Tupolev TU-154M  | Accident  | 160/160  | Explosive decompression  | Improper maintenance
Delta Air Lines Flight 157  | 1995  | Lockheed L-1011 TriStar | Accident  | 0/236  | Rapid decompression  | Structural failure of the bulkhead following inadequate inspection of the airframe[54]
TWA Flight 800  | 1996  | Boeing 747-100 | Accident  | 230/230  | Explosive decompression  | Vapour explosion in fuel tank
Progress M-34 docking test | 1997  | Spektr space station module  | Accident  | 0/3  | Rapid decompression  | Collision while in orbit
TAM Airlines Flight 283  | 1997  | Fokker 100 | Bombing  | 1/60  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion[55]
SilkAir Flight 185  | 1997  | Boeing 737-300 | (Disputed)  | 104/104  | Explosive decompression  | Steep dive and mid-air breakup (Cause of crash disputed)
Lionair Flight 602  | 1998  | Antonov An-24RV  | Shootdown  | 55/55  | Rapid decompression  | Probable MANPAD shootdown
1999 South Dakota Learjet crash  | 1999  | Learjet 35  | Accident  | 6/6  | Gradual or rapid decompression  | (Undetermined)
EgyptAir Flight 990 | 1999  | Boeing 767-300ER  | (Undetermined)  | 217/217  | Explosive decompression  | Uncontrollable dive leading to mid-air breakup (Cause of crash disputed)
2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash  | 2000  | Beechcraft Super King Air | Accident  | 8/8  | Gradual decompression  | Inconclusive; likely pilot error or mechanical failure[56]
American Airlines Flight 1291  | 2000  | Airbus A300-600R  | Accident  | 1/133  | Rapid decompression  | Cabin outflow valve malfunction.[57]
Hainan Island incident | 2001  | Lockheed EP-3 | Accident  | 1/25  | Rapid decompression  | Mid-air collision
TAM Flight 9755  | 2001  | Fokker 100 | Accident  | 1/88  | Rapid decompression  | Uncontained engine failure[55]
China Airlines Flight 611  | 2002  | Boeing 747-200B | Accident  | 225/225  | Explosive decompression  | Metal fatigue
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster | 2003  | Space Shuttle Columbia | Accident  | 7/7  | Explosive decompression[58] | Damage to orbiter thermal protection system at liftoff, leading to disintegration during reentry
Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701  | 2004  | Bombardier CRJ-200  | Accident  | 2/2  | Gradual decompression  | Engine flameout caused by pilot error
Helios Airways Flight 522  | 2005  | Boeing 737-300 | Accident  | 121/121  | Gradual decompression  | Pressurization system set to manual for the entire flight[59]
Alaska Airlines Flight 536  | 2005  | McDonnell Douglas MD-80 | Incident  | 0/142  | Rapid decompression  | Failure of operator to report collision involving a baggage loading cart at the departure gate[60]
Adam Air Flight 574  | 2007  | Boeing 737-400 | Accident  | 102/102  | Explosive decompression  | Spatial disorientation leading to steep dive and mid-air breakup
Qantas Flight 30  | 2008  | Boeing 747-400 | Incident  | 0/365  | Rapid decompression[61] | Fuselage ruptured by oxygen cylinder explosion
Southwest Airlines Flight 2294  | 2009  | Boeing 737-300 | Incident  | 0/131  | Rapid decompression  | Metal fatigue[62]
UPS Airlines Flight 6  | 2010  | Boeing 747-400F | Accident  | 2/2  | Gradual or rapid decompression.  | The flight crew deliberately depressurized the cargo hold to prevent the spread of an in-flight fire.[63](p24)
Southwest Airlines Flight 812  | 2011  | Boeing 737-300 | Incident  | 0/123  | Rapid decompression  | Metal fatigue[64]
Asiana Airlines Flight 991  | 2011  | Boeing 747-400F | Accident  | 2/2  | Explosive decompression  | In-flight fire leading to mid-air breakup.[65]
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17  | 2014  | Boeing 777-200ER  | Shootdown  | 298/298  | Explosive decompression  | Shot down over Ukraine
Daallo Airlines Flight 159  | 2016  | Airbus A321 | Terrorist bombing  | 1/81  | Explosive decompression  | Bomb explosion in passenger cabin[66]
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380  | 2018  | Boeing 737-700  | Accident  | 1/148  | Rapid decompression  | Uncontained engine failure caused by metal fatigue[67][68]
Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633  | 2018  | Airbus A319-100 | Accident  | 0/128  | Explosive decompression  | Cockpit windscreen failure
2022 Baltic Sea Cessna crash  | 2022  | Cessna Citation II | Accident  | 4/4  | Gradual decompression  | Under investigation
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282  | 2024  | Boeing 737 MAX 9 | Accident  | 0/177  | Explosive decompression

## Myths

### A bullet through a window may cause explosive decompression

In 2004, the TV show MythBusters examined whether explosive decompression occurs when a bullet is fired through the fuselage of an airplane informally by way of several tests using a decommissioned pressurised DC-9. A single shot through the side or the window did not have any effect – it took actual explosives to cause explosive decompression – suggesting that the fuselage is designed to prevent people from being blown out.[69] Professional pilot David Lombardo states that a bullet hole would have no perceived effect on cabin pressure as the hole would be smaller than the opening of the aircraft's outflow valve.[70]

NASA scientist Geoffrey A. Landis points out though that the impact depends on the size of the hole, which can be expanded by debris that is blown through it. Landis went on to say that "it would take about 100 seconds for pressure to equalise through a roughly 30.0 cm (11.8 in) hole in the fuselage of a Boeing 747." He then stated that anyone sitting next to the hole would have about half a ton of force pulling them towards it.[71] At least two confirmed cases have been documented of a person being blown through an airplane passenger window. The first occurred in 1973 when debris from an engine failure struck a window roughly midway in the fuselage. Despite efforts to pull the passenger back into the airplane, the occupant was forced entirely through the cabin window.[15] The passenger's skeletal remains were eventually found by a construction crew, and were positively identified two years later.[16] The second incident occurred on April 17, 2018, when a woman on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was partially blown through an airplane passenger window that had broken from a similar engine failure. Although the other passengers were able to pull her back inside, she later died from her injuries.[17][18][19] In both incidents, the plane landed safely with the sole fatality being the person seated next to the window involved. Fictional accounts of this include a scene in Goldfinger, when James Bond kills the eponymous villain by blowing him out a passenger window[72] and Die Another Day, when an errant gunshot shatters a window on a cargo plane and rapidly expands, causing multiple enemy officials, henchmen and the main villain to be sucked out to their deaths.

### Exposure to a vacuum causes the body to explode

This persistent myth is based on a failure to distinguish between two types of decompression and their exaggerated portrayal in some fictional works. The first type of decompression deals with changing from normal atmospheric pressure (one atmosphere) to a vacuum (zero atmosphere) which is usually centered around space exploration. The second type of decompression changes from exceptionally high pressure (many atmospheres) to normal atmospheric pressure (one atmosphere) as may occur in deep-sea diving.

The first type is more common as pressure reduction from normal atmospheric pressure to a vacuum can be found in both space exploration and high-altitude aviation. Research and experience have shown that while exposure to a vacuum causes swelling, human skin is tough enough to withstand the drop of one atmosphere.[73][74] The most serious risk from vacuum exposure is hypoxia, in which the body is starved of oxygen, leading to unconsciousness within a few seconds.[75][76] Rapid uncontrolled decompression can be much more dangerous than vacuum exposure itself. Even if the victim does not hold their breath, venting through the windpipe may be too slow to prevent the fatal rupture of the delicate alveoli of the lungs.[77] Eardrums and sinuses may also be ruptured by rapid decompression, and soft tissues may be affected by bruises seeping blood. If the victim somehow survived, the stress and shock would accelerate oxygen consumption, leading to hypoxia at a rapid rate.[78] At the extremely low pressures encountered at altitudes above about 63,000 feet (19,000 m), the boiling point of water becomes less than normal body temperature.[73] This measure of altitude is known as the Armstrong limit, which is the practical limit to survivable altitude without pressurization. Fictional accounts of bodies exploding due to exposure from a vacuum include, among others, several incidents in the movie Outland, while in the movie Total Recall, characters appear to suffer effects of ebullism and blood boiling when exposed to the atmosphere of Mars.

The second type is rare since it involves a pressure drop over several atmospheres, which would require the person to have been placed in a pressure vessel. The only likely situation in which this might occur is during decompression after deep-sea diving. A pressure drop as small as 100 Torr (13 kPa), which produces no symptoms if it is gradual, may be fatal if it occurs suddenly.[77] One such incident occurred in 1983 in the North Sea, where violent explosive decompression from nine atmospheres to one caused four divers to die instantly from massive and lethal barotrauma.[79] Dramatized fictional accounts of this include a scene from the film Licence to Kill, when a character's head explodes after his hyperbaric chamber is rapidly depressurized, and another in the film DeepStar Six, wherein rapid depressurization causes a character to hemorrhage profusely before exploding in a similar fashion.

## See also

* Physics:Decompression - Reduction of pressure or compression

## Notes

1. ↑ Notable exceptions include the Airbus A380, Boeing 787, and Concorde

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "AC 61-107A – Operations of aircraft at altitudes above 25,000 feet msl and/or mach numbers (MMO) greater than .75". Federal Aviation Administration. 2007-07-15. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/media/ac 61-107a.pdf.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dehart, R. L.; J. R. Davis (2002). Fundamentals Of Aerospace Medicine: Translating Research Into Clinical Applications, 3rd Rev Ed.. United States: Lippincott Williams And Wilkins. p. 720. ISBN 978-0-7817-2898-0.
3. ↑ Flight Standards Service, United States; Federal Aviation Agency, United States (1980). Flight Training Handbook. U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Flight Standards Service. p. 250. https://books.google.com/books?id=ioRTAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2007-07-28.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Template:Cite PHAK
5. ↑ Robert V. Brulle (2008-09-11). "Engineering the Space Age: A Rocket Scientist Remembers". AU Press. http://aupress.au.af.mil/digital/pdf/book/brulle_engineering_space_age.pdf.
6. ↑ Kenneth Gabriel Williams (1959). The New Frontier: Man's Survival in the Sky. Thomas. https://books.google.com/books?id=3hMZAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
7. ↑ "AC 61-107A - Operations of aircraft at altitud above 25,000 feet MSL and/or mach numbers (MMO) greater than .75". Federal Aviation Administration. July 15, 2007. http://www.faa.gov/pilotos/training/airman_education/media/ac 61-107a.pdf.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Martin B. Hocking; Diana Hocking (2005). Air Quality in Airplane Cabins and Similar Enclosed Spaces. Springer Science & Business. ISBN 3-540-25019-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=KzXPJ-p75QIC. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Loss of cabin pressurization in U.S. Naval aircraft: 1969–90". Aviat Space Environ Med 63 (5): 341–345. May 1992. PMID 1599378.
10. ↑ Brooks CJ (March 1987). "Loss of cabin pressure in Canadian Forces transport aircraft, 1963–1984". Aviat Space Environ Med 58 (3): 268–275. PMID 3579812.
11. ↑ Mark Wolff (2006-01-06). "Cabin Decompression and Hypoxia". theairlinepilots.com. http://www.theairlinepilots.com/medical/decompressionandhypoxia.htm.
12. ↑ Robinson, RR; Dervay, JP; Conkin, J. "An Evidenced-Based Approach for Estimating Decompression Sickness Risk in Aircraft Operations". NASA STI Report Series NASA/TM—1999–209374. http://ston.jsc.nasa.gov/collections/TRS/_techrep/TM-1999-209374.pdf. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
13. ↑ Powell, MR (2002). "Decompression limits in commercial aircraft cabins with forced descent". Undersea Hyperb. Med. Supplement (abstract). http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/1181. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
14. ↑ Daidzic, Nihad E.; Simones, Matthew P. (March–April 2010). "Aircraft Decompression with Installed Cockpit Security Door". Journal of Aircraft 47 (2): 490–504. doi:10.2514/1.41953. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.41953. "[A]t 40,000 ft (12,200 m), the International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) pressure is only about 18.8 kPa (2.73 psi), and the air temperatures are about −56.5 °C (217 K). The boiling temperature of water at this atmospheric pressure is about −59 °C (332 K). Above 63,000 ft or 19,200 m (Armstrong line), the ISA environmental pressure drops below 6.3 kPa (0.91 psi) and the boiling temperature of water reaches the normal human body temperature (about 37 C). Any prolonged exposure to such an environment could lead to ebullism, anoxia, and ultimate death, after several minutes. These are indeed very hostile conditions for human life.".
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Mondout, Patrick. "Curious Crew Nearly Crashes DC-10". http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Tech/Aviation/Disasters/73-11-03(National).asp.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Harden, Paul (2010-06-05). "Aircraft Down". El Defensor Chieftain. http://www.dchieftain.com/news/aircraft-down/article_23a78c5b-7d34-5684-89ee-0f0a5de0c513.html.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Joyce, Kathleen (April 17, 2018). "Southwest Airlines plane's engine explodes; 1 passenger dead". http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/04/17/southwest-airlines-planes-engine-explodes-passenger-reportedly-hit-with-shrapnel.html.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lattanzio, Vince; Lozano, Alicia Victoria; Nakano, Denise; McCrone • •, Brian X.. "Woman Partially Sucked Out of Jet When Window Breaks Mid-Flight; Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Philadelphia". https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/airplane-makes-emergency-landing-at-philadelphia-international-airport/52411/.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Stack, Liam; Stevens, Matt (April 17, 2018). "A Southwest Airlines Engine Explodes, Killing a Passenger". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/us/southwest-airlines-explosion.html.
20. ↑ Lauren McMah (April 18, 2018). "How could a passenger get sucked out of a plane – and has it happened before?". www.news.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/how-could-a-passenger-get-sucked-out-of-a-plane-and-has-it-happened-before/news-story/ce94c6632b6f485fbccb05dd64b9bbee.
21. ↑ George Bibel (2007). Beyond the Black Box. JHU Press. pp. 141–142. ISBN 978-0-8018-8631-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=B3ng54W3sQ8C. Retrieved 2008-09-01.
22. ↑ "FAA Historical Chronology, 1926–1996". Federal Aviation Administration. 2005-02-18. http://www.faa.gov/about/media/b-chron.pdf.
23. ↑ US patent 6273365
24. ↑ "RGL Home Page". https://rgl.faa.gov/.
25. ↑ "Section 25.841: Airworthiness Standards: Transport Category Airplanes". Federal Aviation Administration. 1996-05-07. http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFAR.nsf/0/FED94F31539484AB852566720051AA5D?OpenDocument.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Flightsim Aviation Zone - Number 1 Flight Simulation & Aviation Resource! - Flight Simulator, Aviation Databases". http://www.flightsimaviation.com/data/FARS/part_25-841.html.
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Exemption No. 8695". Renton, Washington: Federal Aviation Administration. 2006-03-24. http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgEX.nsf/0/9929ce16709cad0f8625713f00551e74/$FILE/8695.doc.
28. ↑ Steve Happenny (2006-03-24). "PS-ANM-03-112-16". Federal Aviation Administration. http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library\rgPolicy.nsf/0/90AA20C2F35901D98625713F0056B1B8?OpenDocument.
29. ↑ "Amendment 25–87". Federal Aviation Administration. http://mrcabinpressure.com/amd25-87.htm.
30. ↑ "Rapid Decompression In Air Transport Aircraft". Aviation Medical Society of Australia and New Zealand. 2000-11-13. http://www.amsanz.org.nz/avmedia/24/am24_2Decompression.pdf.
31. ↑ "Woman sucked from Southwest Airlines plane died of 'blunt trauma'". https://news.sky.com/story/woman-sucked-from-southwest-airlines-plane-died-of-blunt-trauma-11337298.
32. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-26 N1030V Rio de Janeiro, RJ". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19520727-1.
33. ↑ Neil Schlager (1994). When technology fails: Significant technological disasters, accidents, and failures of the twentieth century. Gale Research. ISBN 0-8103-8908-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=DH5RAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
34. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-7 N316AA Memphis, TN". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570305-2.
35. ↑ "(Untitled)". http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1957/1957-21.htm.
36. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Avro 748-105 Srs. 1 LV-HHB Saladas, CR". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19620830-0.
37. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Vickers 701 Viscount G-AMON Barcelona". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19640523-0.
38. ↑ Shayler, David (2000). Disasters and Accidents in Manned Spaceflight. Springer. p. 38. ISBN 1852332255. https://books.google.com/books?id=ng9i5IMtlpsC&pg=PA38.
39. ↑ "Two MSC Employees Commended For Rescue in Chamber Emergency", Space News Roundup (Public Affairs Office of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Manned Spacecraft Center) 6 (6): 3, January 6, 1967, https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/roundups/issues/67-01-06.pdf, retrieved July 7, 2012, "...the suit technician who was inside the eight-foot [240 cm] altitude chamber, lost consciousness when his Apollo suit lost pressure when an oxygen line let go. The chamber was at approximately 150,000 [equivalent] feet [46,000 m] at the time of the accident..."
40. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6B N8224H Holmdel, NJ". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19670224-0.
41. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-133B Cargomaster 59-0530 Palisade, NE". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700206-1.
42. ↑ Ivanovich, Grujica S. (2008). Salyut – The First Space Station: Triumph and Tragedy. Springer. pp. 305–306. ISBN 978-0387739731. https://books.google.com/books?id=EbDGMiXvdG0C&pg=PA306.
43. ↑ "Aircraft accident report: American Airlines, Inc. McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10, N103AA. Near Windsor, Ontario, Canada. June 12, 1972.". National Transportation Safety Board. 1973-02-28. http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR73-02.pdf.
44. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-104B CCCP-42379 Chita". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19730518-0.
45. ↑ "explosive decompression". http://www.everything2.com/title/explosive%20decompression.
46. ↑ "FAA historical chronology, 1926–1996". Federal Aviation Administration. 2005-02-18. http://www.faa.gov/about/media/b-chron.pdf.
47. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker registration unknown Fort Nelson, BC". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19740305-2.
48. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 CF-TLU Boston, MA". https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19790917-0.
49. ↑ Brnes Warnock McCormick; M. P. Papadakis; Joseph J. Asselta (2003). Aircraft Accident Reconstruction and Litigation. Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company. ISBN 1-930056-61-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=l5U1YwUMAJ4C. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
50. ↑ Alexander Dallin (1985). Black Box. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-05515-2. https://archive.org/details/blackboxkal007su00dall. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
51. ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Nos. 907, 1057 August Term, 1994 (Argued: April 5, 1995 Decided: July 12, 1995, Docket Nos. 94–7208, 94–7218
52. ↑ "Aging airplane safety". Federal Aviation Administration. 2002-12-02. http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFinalRule.nsf/0/ceabe3247fab85f886256c8b0058461c!OpenDocument.
53. ↑ "Human factors in aircraft maintenance and inspection". Civil Aviation Authority. 2005-12-01. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/cap718.pdf.
54. ↑ "Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. 1995-08-23. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19950823-0.
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 "Fatal Events Since 1970 for Transportes Aéreos Regionais (TAM)". airsafe.com. http://www.airsafe.com/events/airlines/tam.htm.
56. ↑ Australian Transport Safety Bureau 2001, p. 26.
57. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Accident Airbus A300B4-605R N14056, 20 Nov 2000". Aviation Safety Network. https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/190686.
58. ↑ "Columbia Crew Survival Investigation Report". 2008. pp. 2–90. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/298870main_SP-2008-565.pdf. "The 51-L Challenger accident investigation showed that the Challenger CM remained intact and the crew was able to take some immediate actions after vehicle breakup, although the loads experienced were much higher as a result of the aerodynamic loads (estimated at 16 G to 21 G).5 The Challenger crew became incapacitated quickly and could not complete activation of all breathing air systems, leading to the conclusion that an incapacitating cabin depressurization occurred. By comparison, the Columbia crew experienced lower loads (~3.5 G) at the CE. The fact that none of the crew members lowered their visors strongly suggests that the crew was incapacitated after the CE by a rapid depressurization. Although no quantitative conclusion can be made regarding the cabin depressurization rate, it is probable that the cabin depressurization rate was high enough to incapacitate the crew in a matter of seconds. Conclusion L1-5. The depressurization incapacitated the crew members so rapidly that they were not able to lower their helmet visors."
59. ↑ "Aircraft Accident Report – Helios Airways Flight HCY522 Boeing 737-31S at Grammatike, Hellas on 14 August 2005". Hellenic Republic Ministry Of Transport & Communications: Air Accident Investigation & Aviation Safety Board. Nov 2006. http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/pio/pio.nsf/All/F15FBD7320037284C2257204002B6243/$file/FINAL REPORT 5B-DBY.pdf.
60. ↑ "Airline Accident: Accident – Dec. 26, 2005 – Seattle, Wash.". http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/flying-cheap/incident/20051229X02026/1/.
61. ↑ "Qantas Boeing 747-400 depressurisation and diversion to Manila on 25 July 2008" (Press release). Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 2008-07-28. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
62. ↑ "Hole in US plane forces landing". BBC News. 2009-07-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8150346.stm.
63. ↑ "Air Accident Investigation Report - Uncontained Cargo Fire Leading to Loss of Control Inflight and Uncontrolled Descent Into Terrain" (PDF). General Civil Aviation Authority. https://www.gcaa.gov.ae/en/ePublication/admin/iradmin/Lists/Incidents Investigation Reports/Attachments/40/2010-2010 - Final Report - Boeing 747-44AF - N571UP - Report 13 2010.pdf.
64. ↑ "Southwest Jet Had Pre-existing Fatigue". Fox News. 2011-04-03. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/03/southwest-jet-pre-existing-fatigue/?test=latestnews.
65. ↑ ﻿Crash Into The Sea After An In-Flight Fire, Asiana Airlines, Boeing 747-400F, HL7604, International Waters 130 km West Of Jeju International Airport, 28 July 2011﻿ (Report). Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board. 24 July 2015. ARAIB/AAR1105. http://skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/2143.pdf. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
66. ↑ "2016-02-02 Daallo Airlines A321 damaged by explosion at Mogadishu » JACDEC" (in de-DE). http://www.jacdec.de/2016/02/02/2016-02-02-daallo-airlines-a321-damaged-by-explosion-at-mogadishu/.
67. ↑ "Southwest Flight 1380 Statement #1 – Issued 11:00 a.m. CT". https://www.swamedia.com/releases/release-de080387b716f7f68a21d1f86491d2a4-initial-statement-southwest-airlines-flight-1380.
68. ↑ "Southwest flight suffers jet engine failure: Live updates". 17 April 2018. https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/southwest-flight-emergency/index.html.
69. ↑ Josh Sanburn (April 5, 2011). "Southwest's Scare: When a Plane Decompresses, What Happens?". Time. http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/05/southwests-scare-when-a-plane-decompresses-what-happens/. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
70. ↑ Michael Daly and Lorna Thornber (April 18, 2018). "The deadly result when a large hole is ripped in the side of an aircraft". www.stuff.co.nz. https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/103194084/the-deadly-result-when-a-large-hole-is-ripped-in-the-side-of-an-aircraft.
71. ↑ Lauren McMah (April 18, 2018). "How could a passenger get sucked out of a plane — and has it happened before?". www.news.com.au. http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/how-could-a-passenger-get-sucked-out-of-a-plane-and-has-it-happened-before/news-story/ce94c6632b6f485fbccb05dd64b9bbee.
72. ↑ Ryan Dilley (May 20, 2003). "Guns, Goldfinger and sky marshals". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3039583.stm. "It's not all fiction. If an airliner's window was shattered, the person sitting beside it would either go out the hole or plug it - which would not be comfortable."
73. ↑ 73.0 73.1 Michael Barratt. "No. 2691 THE BODY AT VACUUM". www.uh.edu. http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2691.htm.
74. ↑ Karl Kruszelnicki (April 7, 2005). "Exploding Body in Vacuum". ABC News (Australia). http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/04/07/1320013.htm.
75. ↑ "Advisory Circular 61-107". FAA. pp. table 1.1. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/media/AC 61-107A.pdf.
76. ↑ "2". Flight Surgeon's Guide. United States Air Force. http://wwwsam.brooks.af.mil/af/files/fsguide/HTML/Chapter_02.html.
77. ↑ 77.0 77.1 Harding, Richard M. (1989). Survival in Space: Medical Problems of Manned Spaceflight. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00253-2. https://archive.org/details/survivalinspacem0000hard.
78. ↑ Czarnik, Tamarack R. (1999). "Ebullism at 1 Million Feet: Surviving Rapid/Explosive Decompressionn". http://www.geoffreylandis.com/ebullism.html.
79. ↑ Limbrick, Jim (2001). North Sea Divers – a Requiem. Hertford: Authors OnLine. pp. 168–170. ISBN 0-7552-0036-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=lPp68NAoUF0C&pg=PA168.

## External links

* Human Exposure to Vacuum
* Will an astronaut explode if he takes off his helmet?

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncontrolled decompression. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Engineering:Uncontrolled_decompression&oldid=3243575"