The American Airlines incident over Miami was, at worst, a rapid decompression.
The first thing pilots do in such a scenario is pretty straightforward: They don their cockpit oxygen masks and commence a rapid descent to an altitude no higher than 10,000 feet. Even with a total pressure loss there are several minutes of supplemental oxygen available for both passengers and crew, but the protocol is always to get down as quickly as possible. When the passenger above spoke of "descending really fast," this isn't because the plane was crashing, it was because the crew was doing what it was trained to do. I'm sure it was startling, but a high-speed emergency descent is well within the capabilities of any aircraft and not, by itself, unsafe...
If, at some point during all of this, cabin pressure falls below a certain threshold -- usually the equivalent of 10,000 feet -- the passenger masks will deploy from the ceiling, exposing everybody to the so-called rubber jungle. This is typically the point where people begin shrieking and picturing their loved ones, but try to relax. The masks are there to assist you; the plane will be at a safe breathing altitude in just a few minutes. And 10,000 feet, the deployment trigger height, isn't very high; in most depressurization incidents you could ignore the masks entirely with no ill effects...
11 November 2010
Why your airplane dives after losing cabin pressure
Information in an article at Salon will allow you to remain a little more calm if/when the plane you are flying in starts to nosedive after a loss of cabin pressure:
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Do you know, if the general public knew even a little bit of science then there would be much less need for panic in situations such as this. Unfortunately, the general public in the USA eschews scientific knowledge at all costs. I have several ideas about why this is, but these ideas are considered cynical, which they probably are. Clear thinking is anathema to religious people. Oops...
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's a religious thing, bigjohn. It's more along the lines of not reading TYWKIWDBI, and other outlets of knowledge, secular or divine.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you're not over the himalayas when this happens hehe.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, now that I read the full article, I stand corrected:
ReplyDelete"Incidentally, should a pressure loss occur over mountains or so-called critical terrain, pilots will follow predetermined depressurization routes (sometimes called "escape routes") that allow for a timely, if more gradual descent. Even if crossing the Andes or the Himalayas, there is always the opportunity to reach a safe breathing altitude before supplemental oxygen runs out."