I had a great plot line planned for "The Blue
Angels" in which Joshua Hayle, the novel's chief villain, throws Frank
Quinn (a lapsed henchman) out of his private plane into the sea somewhere
between Nunavut and Greenland. As an aside, the fact that this scene was to be
set in December makes it feel worse somehow, but I’m fairly sure that the
season wouldn’t be of primary concern to poor old Frank as he plummeted to his
death. Anyway, I decided to research the issues around this particular plot
line to see how realistic a proposition it really was. It turns out that I was
right to do so as, for various reasons, it’s not actually possible to open an
aircraft door in flight, especially if the cabin is pressurised (as is the case
in “The Blue Angels”). The basic reason for this is that aircraft doors are
designed for safety and, as a part of this effort, they have to be pulled
inwards before they can be opened outwards. With the pressure difference
between the cabin and the troposphere being huge (let’s say 8 pounds per square
inch just to get a number in) it would take a large piece of pneumatic machinery
to pull the door in against the huge weight of air pushing outwards. A human
being – even a very strong one – just wouldn’t stand a chance. Of course, this
is just one reason the doors won’t open and there are myriad safety systems in
play in a scenario of multiple redundancy. It was enough to scupper my plans
though. So, it’s back to the drawing board and Frank Quinn lives to fight
another day.
On a personal level, I was pleased to learn of
this impossibility even if it causes me extra work. Now, if I am unlucky enough
to find myself on a plane with a nutcase trying to open the doors, I can scream
along with everyone else but know, in my heart, that all he’ll be wasting is
our time.