Back in March 2023, a United Airlines passenger was met by police at Boston Logan International Airport. With about 45 minutes of the flight from Los Angeles to Boston to go, the man attempted to open the airplane’s emergency door. He also went after flight attendants with a metal spoon. While he moved the emergency door’s latch from armed to disarmed, and pulled the lever about a quarter of the way unlocked, the door never opened. Even if he did get the door fully unlocked, experts say occupants needn’t worry. Here’s why.

Doug Moss is a retired airline pilot. He’s also an aviation safety and security program instructor at the University of Southern California. The expert told the Washington Post that it’s pretty much physically impossible to open a plane’s emergency door mid-air.

Airplane emergency doors are meant for ground use

On the ground, when the aircraft is depressurized, the forces inside and outside the cabin are equal. In emergencies, then, trained crew members can open these exits swiftly. Upon activation, many emergency exits deploy inflatable slides, facilitating evacuation. These slides are engineered to inflate rapidly, so passengers can quickly exit the aircraft.

At cruising altitude, the cabin is highly pressurized to maintain a safe environment. This pressurization creates a significant difference in force between the inside and outside of the aircraft.

Emergency exits are designed as “plug-type” doors, meaning they open inward before swinging outward. Due to the higher internal pressure, these doors are pressed firmly against their frames, making it physically impossible to open them during flight. No passenger, experts say, regardless of strength, can overcome this force.

Exceptions are possible

While at cruising altitude, an unruly passenger could never open an emergency door themselves, they might actually be successful at lower altitudes. This is because the pressure inside the cabin is decreased, so the force pushing the door against its frame lowers.

For example, in May 2023, a man on an Asiana Airlines flight over South Korea opened the emergency exit door while the plane prepared to land. He was successful because the airplane was only 800 feet above the ground. 12 people went to the hospital.

So, you might keep this in mind while flying: It’s basically impossible for occupants to deboard a commercial flight mid-air in general.

Now, there are other safety concerns at hand with an unruly passenger attempting to open a plane’s emergency door. The suspect in the United Airlines event above stuck a flight attendant in the neck three times, MassLive.com reported. Passengers and crew ended up restraining the unruly passenger for the remainder of the flight, and the airplane landed safely in Boston. Same for the Asiana Airlines event.