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Travel Forum / Travel Types / Air Travel / August 2008Mid-air panic as plane plunges 26,000 feet
Not sure of this statement: The French officials said the plane lost 26,200 feet of altitude in five minutes before the landing, which the pilot requested. I assume the pilot "request" refers to clearance to drop below 10,000 feet which sounds like more of a controlled descent and not a plunge, so to speak. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26401559?GT1=43001 Snip: ========= PARIS - A Ryanair plane made an emergency landing in central France after the cabin suddenly depressurized, French officials and the Irish carrier said Tuesday. Up to 26 people were hospitalized. The Boeing 737 was carrying 141 British and 27 Spanish passengers plus six crew members from Bristol, England, to Gerona, Spain, before the urgent landing in Limoges, officials in the Haute-Vienne region said. The "depressurization incident" caused the oxygen masks on board to deploy, a Ryanair statement said. French officials said 26 people were hospitalized and suffered mostly from chest, nose and ear pain. Ryanair's statement said 16 people "complaining of ear ache" were taken to hospital. >Not sure of this statement: >The French officials said the plane lost 26,200 feet of altitude in >five minutes before the landing, which the pilot requested. That's what you'd expect. The oxygen masks don't work for very long, so the plane needs to get down to an altitude where people can breathe without them. Five thousand ft/min is fast but hardly uncontrolled. R's, John > Not sure of this statement: > The French officials said the plane lost 26,200 feet of altitude in > five minutes before the landing, which the pilot requested. Plunged????? It was a controlled descent. Fast, but under the control of the flight crew. "Plunged" makes it sound like the plane was on its way to crashing. >> The French officials said the plane lost 26,200 feet of altitude in >> five minutes before the landing, which the pilot requested. > It was a controlled descent. > Fast, but under the control of the flight crew. > "Plunged" makes it sound like the plane was on its way to crashing. ------------------- Pilot humor: Question... "How often does a plane crash?" Answer is... "Once." ------------------- > "Plunged" makes it sound like the plane was on its way to crashing. "Falling out of the sky" makes it sound more sensational. -- > > "Plunged" makes it sound like the plane was on its way to crashing. > > "Falling out of the sky" makes it sound more sensational. And was probably closer to what the passengers felt like in real time without the benefit of knowing the pilots did it on purpose.. or sitting at home on a computer. >> > "Plunged" makes it sound like the plane was on its way to crashing. >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >without the benefit of knowing the pilots did it on purpose.. or sitting >at home on a computer. I heard one of the passengers talking about his experience in a radio interview this morning. His main complaint was that no announcement was made, and no information was provided by the cabin crew on what was going on until after the plane had landed. Also, although the oxygen masks had dropped, no flow of oxygen was available through the masks. As far as the passengers were concerned, they thought they were all about to die. In response, Michael O'Leary said that all crew members are required by law to wear oxygen masks during such an emergency, and would therefore not have been able to make any announcements on the PA system. Chris > Also, although the oxygen masks had dropped, no flow of oxygen was > available through the masks. As far as the passengers were concerned, > they thought they were all about to die. Passengers often think the masks aren't working, because the little bag on the mask typically doesn't inflate, and they think it should. If they hadn't had oxygen, and the aircraft had truly depressurized at cruising altitude, then they would have passed out in a matter of a minute or so. The fact they didn't pass out, says that the masks were working properly. >>>>"Plunged" makes it sound like the plane was on its way to crashing. >>> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > masks. As far as the passengers were concerned, they thought they were > all about to die. Maybe he assumed there was no flow because the bag didn't inflate. i don't believe the masks all came down and none of them had oxygen. > I heard one of the passengers talking about his experience in a radio > interview this morning. His main complaint was that no announcement > was made, and no information was provided by the cabin crew on what > was going on until after the plane had landed. Perhaps they were busy. Aviate, navigate, communicate! > Also, although the oxygen masks had dropped, no flow of oxygen was > available through the masks. How did the passengers establish that, especially since any of them without oxygen would be unconscious and unable to notice the problem? > In response, Michael O'Leary said that all crew members are required > by law to wear oxygen masks during such an emergency, and would > therefore not have been able to make any announcements on the PA > system. The pilots have microphones in their masks. But, as I said, they were probably busy. [snip] > > And was probably closer to what the passengers felt like in real time > >without the benefit of knowing the pilots did it on purpose.. or sitting [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > oxygen masks had dropped, no flow of oxygen was available through the > masks. I've been at 22,000 feet, unpressurized, utilizing oxygen. You feel like you're suffocating, ... very slowly. You breath in but it doesn't feel like you're getting any air. > As far as the passengers were concerned, they thought they were > all about to die. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Chris > "Plunged" makes it sound like the plane was on its way to crashing. I think that's exactly the intention of the media. > Not sure of this statement: > The French officials said the plane lost 26,200 feet of altitude in [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > feet which sounds like more of a controlled descent and not a plunge, > so to speak. Quite so. Standard procedure after a loss of cabin pressure is to descend as rapidly as possible to an altitude at which the passengers and crew can breathe without extra oxygen. The descent is very fast but entirely safe and controlled. And pilots practice it all the time in simulators, so they know exactly what to do. It can be alarming for passengers, but they aren't in any danger. The ear and chest problems come from the brief exposure to the low pressure of high altitudes, which makes ears pop and can cause problems like ruptured eardrums in some people if they aren't able to equalize the pressure in their ears rapidly. |
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