homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Weekend


Subscriber content preview

January 16, 2009

Strange But True!

Q. It stands unique as quite likely the only movie in history to establish two urban legends that have remained part of our culture for more than 40 years.

A. Ask baby-boomers what happens if you fire a gun in an airplane at 35,000 feet and blow out a window and many will relate the gruesome story of the evil spy Auric Goldfinger trying to kill James Bond in the 1964 smash-hit movie “Goldfinger,” say Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg in “The Science of James Bond.” The sudden depressurization of the cabin sent passengers swimming about in a whirlwind until being sucked out through the window. But as one expert explains it: This is all urban myth. With a window-sized hole, rapid depressurization of the cabin would occur but the airflow would not be forceful enough to lift a person. Of course, a much bigger hole — as can tragically occur — might very well pull someone out. In one dramatic case of a Boeing 737 en route to Hawaii, a front-roof section of the first-class cabin ripped off at 24,000 feet, opening an 18-foot hole and sucking out a standing flight attendant. Fortunately, the cockpit was undamaged and the plane landed safely with no other casualties.


 
. . .


To read this story in full login or purchase a subscription.



Previous columns:



Email or user name:
Password:
 
Forgot password? Click here.