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In one scene of Airport 75 (1974), the stewardess tries calling the tower, but you can see there is a big hole by the copilot seat.

enter image description here

But the plane finally landed very safely.

Why didn't the plane crash even though its cockpit had a big hole?

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    I think her hair and shirt would be getting blown around an awful lot more than they seem to be, anyway.
    – Dronz
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 6:10

1 Answer 1

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This might be a better fit over at Aviation..but the answer is... "it's the movies".

Also, depending on the altitude as long as they can breathe (as indicated by the lack of oxygen mask) and the plane is still capable, it can fly...not very well but it can still fly.

In the case of Airport 75, the smaller aircraft only impacted right above the co-pilot seat. It didn't damage any required surfaces/engines so that the aircraft couldn't fly, it was just that there was no-one left on board who could pilot it.

As for the damage, aircraft have suffered much worse and still made safe landings.

A classic example is Aloha Airlines 243

Aloha Airlines Flight 243 (AQ 243, AAH 243) was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-297 serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, but was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. There was one fatality, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing, who was ejected from the airplane. Another 65 passengers and crew were injured.

The safe landing of the aircraft despite the substantial damage inflicted by the decompression established Aloha Airlines Flight 243 as a significant event in the history of aviation, with far-reaching effects on aviation safety policies and procedures.

enter image description here

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  • A NN of the answer I would post too, nice!
    – gsamaras
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 0:47
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    That term is unfamiliar to me,
    – Paulie_D
    Commented Aug 7, 2016 at 6:00
  • A Nearest Neighbor Pualie_d, sorry :P
    – gsamaras
    Commented Aug 8, 2016 at 16:46
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    I'm impressed that only one person died in that incident. Hooray for seatbelts!
    – JAB
    Commented Jul 13, 2017 at 16:52
  • And that was just terrible luck. The flight attendant just happened to be right where the breach originated. If she had been further back in the cabin, she probably would have made it.
    – Chico the Friendly Monkey
    Commented Jul 23, 2020 at 1:43

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