Punctured pressure cabin.

What do readers think is the result of decompression via a bullet hole?

Whose bullet? The American sky marshals (and presumably others) use
frangible bullets, which wouldn't make a hole.

The Brit argument is that the terrorist would use their guns in a
"shoot-out" caused (of course!) by the sky marshal's gun. Okay, we've
postulated that the terrorist has successfully smuggled a gun on
board. Why is that? So he can crash the plane into a target? Could be,
huh?

So are you worse off risking explosive decompression, or of crashing
into Times Square at midnight?

As to the possibility of explosive decompression, as I understand the
matter, it could happen if a bullet fractured a window (though not if
it went through the skin). That's a mere possibility, as opposed to
the certainty of a suicide dive, absent the sky marshal.

A normal bullet hole would be no problem. There's already a much
larger vent to the outside, which stabilizes cabin pressure against
the fresh & heated air being pumped in from the engines. People
smarter than I say that this hole is about three inches in diameter.


all the best -- Dan Ford
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