Crew Subdues Berserk Passenger With Coffee Pot on DC Flight, Forcing Emergency Landing

[Zorro]

The unnamed flier reportedly attempted to breach the cockpit before turning to the aircraft’s door.

Wielding their aircraft galley’s coffee pot as a makeshift weapon, the crew of an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. subdued a passenger attempting to pry open the plane’s door on Sunday afternoon.

The harrowing scene, and subsequent emergency landing, was chronicled on social media by numerous passengers on Flight 1775. One posted a video of the pilot confirming that the suspect tried to barge into the cockpit first.

“He was trying to but he couldn’t get to it,” the pilot told another passenger, in footage of the conversation shared on Twitter. The pilot said the man then attempted to open the plane’s door—which would have been disastrous at that altitude.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/unruly-passenger-forces-american-airlines-flight-from-los-angeles-to-dc-to-land-in-kansas-city

[Karadeniz]

1. I thought after 9/11, all cockpit doors were kept locked...

[MissB]

5. Yes but the pilot and copilot

Can go use the restroom if needed. I don’t fly that often but when I do, I fly first class because… comfort. I truly do not like being squished against other folks.

Anyway, when the pilot needs to use the forward restroom, the flight crew takes one of the rolling units and barricades the aisle from the galley side, so that the pilot can go use the bathroom or grab a sandwich or whatever. No passengers can go beyond the first row until the barricade is moved.

But yes, the doors are locked. Doesn’t mean someone wouldn’t try to breach.

[Karadeniz]

6. Aaah! Makes sense...

[jmowreader]

8. Is it just me...

…or should the FAA after 9/11 have mandated that all new airliners made after that date be equipped with a toilet in the cockpit?

[Miguelito Loveless]

10. That would require a serious redesign of the plane's

flight deck.

[jmowreader]

11. Not sure about that

Airliners all have jump seats in the cockpit. What would be the feasibility of replacing the jump seat with a toilet plumbed into the aircraft’s wastewater system, with a curtain for privacy?

[Miguelito Loveless]

12. Now imagine

an overflowing toilet on the flight deck...

[LymphocyteLover]

21. can't they just go in a jar?

admittedly it's more difficult for females

[RFCalifornia]

19. And leave the poor pilots to deal with the aftersmell?

Cruel and unusual punishment if you ask me

[Wounded Bear]

2. Guess they were out of duct tape...

People doing this shit should legitimately be placed on the no-fly list, pronto. Make them walk home.

[Rebl2]

9. Also they

should go to jail for a time.

[lagomorph777]

14. Add an airlock for such occasions.

Let them try to fly home.

[LymphocyteLover]

23. there's got to be some criminal prosecution here

[dameatball]

3. So, the crew used the stand your "grounds" defense of the cockpit? Ok, sorry.

[lagomorph777]

15. Jokes like that will get you in hot water.

Or so I've bean told.

[fightforfreedom]

4. Dam, planes are now safer than the passengers.

I think I will put myself on a, I will never fly list.

[superpatriotman]

7. Subways of the Sky

I will post this term 'Subways of the Sky' until the laws are re written and every offender is placed on a no-fly list indefinitely.

[lagomorph777]

16. If that prick ever gets out of jail, should still be on the no-fly list.

[Ocelot II]

13. He couldn't have opened an exterior door at altitude.

Airplanes have plug-type doors that are held shut not only by their latches but by the air pressure inside the airplane (usually the equivalent of 8,000 feet above sea level). It's impossible to open a door at 35,000 feet. But it would be unsettling to see somebody try.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. I Agree With This

We've got some DUers in the industry that could confirm or refute, but I believe the situation to be as you described.
At 30,000 feet, the delta P from the inside to the outside is nearly 10.5 psig.
The door has to be 15-18 square feet.
It takes over a ton of force to open the door.

[Ocelot II]

18. I was in the industry for awhile.

Used to teach that stuff. You are correct in your analysis. Passengers will freak out if somebody tries to open the door, but it can't be done until the aircraft is at breathing altitude, 10,000 feet or less.

[treestar]

20. How bad would it be if someone managed

to open the door at 9000 feet?

[Ocelot II]

24. The person opening the door might fall out.

[RFCalifornia]

22. This is why D.B. Cooper had the plane fly at a low altitude when he jumped