Questionmarks over how Boeing saved costs when using plug instead of door

 What on the overwing exits stop them physically from being opened by a passenger with poor survival instincts during flight and did Boeing design engineers remove this safety mechanism from instructions for when installing a plug instead of a door. What other safety features did they omit on the grounds of cost saving in the design for using a door plug instead of a real emergency exit. 

Normal cabin doors can't be opened during flight by design since they swing forward into the wind. There are few comments around on how this door (when installed) pivots. Is it up like the overwing exits or is it down since with such a small door there are probably no self inflating slide like the normal cabin doors. Or is it left or right. On the 737-200 the emergency exit overwing door came out loose and into the cabin. On the 737-NG-800 they swing up and out of the way. I doubt it just is pushed out and fall down because that could damage it during testing / maintenance. Would the overwing exit doors also be ripped off if they where opened during flight. 

Normal cabin doors are opened by a trained professional using a long lever, but emergency exits like this one must be able to be opened by an untrained medium strength passenger using a relatively small handle. Entrance and exit doors can't be opened during flight due to them opening into the wind and therefore would be very hard to move. 

Another big question mark over Boeings design is can this plug really be removed during flight from the inside by pulling out a panel and removing 4 bolts. Wouldn't that be at risk for a hijacker with a parachute like Cooper. There is a reason no doors can these days be opened from the inside during flight. 

More studies and pictures are required comparing the installation and workings of the plug to a fully functioning emergency door. 


PS:20240110:22:50: New pictures shows a fully functioning emergency exit door have an electric actuator that stops the mechanism from being opened in flight. This and the opening mechanism is placed just under the window so stops the door from having a normal sized window like the plug have.  

This brings us back to the bolts that instead stops the roller coming out of its fastenings. If they where installed one would question the way they where installed. A bolt through holes in 2 pieces of metal have a tendency to pull those metal pieces towards each other when tightened. Did these bolts have only a partial thread (instead of fully threaded set screws) and sleeves on them on the middle to prevent this. 

If no sleeves the bolts themselves would be hit with force by the rollers they tried to keep in place and bolts don't really like to be hit repeatedly on their middle, even by vibration or if they are thermally hardened. Bolts are there to keep things together and to a degree keep stuff from moving laterally but only if the stuff is kept tight together, not if there is space for movement.  

So metal fatigue in the bolts could still be an issue here which could be checked by looking for deformation or nicks on the rollers if the bolts can't be found.


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