Flight attendants were in for a shock on a recent flight from Seattle to Denver when they realized that the door handle of the main cabin exit of their Boeing 737 hadn’t been secured in place for most of the flight.
The United Airlines aircraft, which is usually operated by a Boeing 737-900, had departed Seattle-Tacoma International Airport at around 4 pm and climbed to a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet as it flew across Washington State, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado for the more than two-hour flight.
During one recent flight, a flight attendant posted on a Facebook group that they heard a “pop” come from outside the aircraft as the plane was still in its initial ascent at around 10,000 feet.
But rather than declaring an emergency and getting the plane on the ground as quickly as possible, the pilots decided to continue on to Denver.
This might sound like a pretty scary situation but insiders explain that while not an everyday occurrence, the main door handle on Boeing 737s can occasionally pop out in-flight, and it isn’t actually a major safety issue.
Thankfully, the door isn’t at risk of opening because in order for the door to swing open, someone would have to forcefully pull the handle out even further before rotating it.
In effect, the door remains locked and airtight, but the handle just isn’t stowed in the aerodynamic recess where it’s meant to sit.
Given that Boeing hasn’t changed the cabin door design of its best-selling 737 model since its inception in the 1960s, it’s probably no surprise to learn that the aircraft utilizes a fully manual opening mechanism.
The door is known as a ‘plug style’ door, which swings outwards when opened. Compared to newer aircraft with updated door designs, the 737 is known amongst aircrew as being somewhat tricky to open, especially if you don’t have a lot of upper-body strength.
At cruising altitude, the plug system, which relies on the differing pressure between the outside and the cabin, ensures that the door cannot be opened in-flight even if someone attempted to lift the door handle from inside.
