In 2004 , the TV show '' MythBusters '' examined if explosive decompression occurs when a bullet is fired through the fuselage of an airplane by informally using a pressurised aircraft and several scale tests . The results of these tests suggested that the fuselage design does not allow people to be blown out . Professional pilot David Lombardo states that a bullet hole would have no perceived effect on cabin pressure as the hole would be smaller than the opening of the aircraft 's outflow valve . NASA scientist Geoffrey A. Landis points out though that the impact depends on the size of the hole , which can be expanded by debris that is blown through it . Landis went on to say that " it would take about 100 seconds for pressure to equalise through a roughly hole in the fuselage of a Boeing 747 . " He then stated that anyone sitting next to the hole would have half a ton of force pulling them in the direction of it . On April 17 , 2018 a seat-belted woman on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 was partially blown through an airplane window that had been broken due to debris from an engine failure . Although the other passengers were able to pull her back inside , she later died from her injuries
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380
Southwest Airlines Flight 1380
Uncontrolled decompression