A History Of Uncontrolled Decompression In The Aviation Industry

The altitude that commercial jet aircraft operate at is unforgiving. It puts aircraft fuselages under significant pressure, but a lot has been learned over 75 years of commercial jet flight.

Despite operating at significant altitude, passenger aircraft offer one of the most statistically safe ways of traveling. It is an extreme environment though, and one that puts hardware and crew under a great deal of literal and metaphorical pressure.

The aviation industry has learned a great deal about uncontrolled decompression over the last 75 years. In this short article, we explain why aircraft are pressurized, discuss what happens in the event of depressurization and look back at a handful of losses that have been the result of uncontrolled decompression and discuss how they helped the aviation industry move forward.