What If the Door Comes Open During a Flight Lesson?

Know what to do when and if it happens.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 11:52 PM ET

Verified

The most important thing to remember in a door-opening scenario is to just fly the airplane. [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

As most training aircraft are unpressurized, a door opening will be loud but won't cause explosive decompression; your primary focus must be to "fly the airplane."
Do not attempt to close the door in flight; instead, safely land the aircraft at the earliest opportunity, securing the door only after you've come to a full stop.
Always wear your seat belt to prevent being sucked out, and secure all loose cockpit items to avoid losing them.

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Question: I am a recently soloed student pilot, and the loss of the door plug from the Boeing 737 Max 9 has me wondering what I’m supposed to do if it happens to me when I am flying solo? Do I declare an emergency? Will I get sucked out of the airplane?

Answer: As with most training aircraft, your Pipers, Cessna 100 series, Cirrus SR20/22s, and Diamonds are not pressurized, so there won’t be an “explosive decompression.” That’s not to say it won’t be loud and startling if it happens. It will.