[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by tcar

Don't think that's true... hell, my house is 3,000 feet higher than that plane was.


And there is no doubt that that door was opened. It was open when it landed.

I'm an aerospace engineer that works for an airplane manufacturer, it's true. Typically airplanes minimally pressurize on the ground prior to takeoff, it's the most comfortable for the passengers because it limits rapid changes in cabin altitude. It is also how the system is designed to work. As for the door, there are typically locks or pins that prevent the door from being opened while pressurized. It's the same concept as an airplane emergency window, they only remove to the inside of the airplane so you can't remove it when pressurized. The pilot can manually shut off the pressurization system, at which point all bets are off. Note that I also mentioned that there are three models of this plane, one of which is not pressurized.