Coroner: 6 Alive When Greek Plane Crashed

CNN ^

[COEXERJ145]

The tinfoil is being unrolled in massive quantities as is standard operating procedure on Free Republic every time a plane crashes. All airplane crashes are covered up in a massive conspiracy (at least according to the arm chair aviation experts on FR) and are caused either by a shoe bomber or a USN missile.

[drlevy88]

Don't they carry oxygen bottles in the cockpit?

[Rokurota]

From your link:

11/3/73: Pieces struck the fuselage, breaking a window, causing rapid explosive decompression and a passenger was sucked out of the plane. The plane landed safely.

2/24/89: ...resulting in explosive decompression and loss of power in the No. 3 and 4 engines. Nine passengers were sucked out of the plane and lost at sea but the plane landed safely.

6/10/90: The decompression pulled the captain out from under his seatbelt. Despite trying to hold onto the yoke, the captain was sucked out into the opening. A steward in the cockpit was able to grab hold of his legs. Another steward was able to strap himself into the vacant seat and aid in holding onto the captain's legs. The copilot wearing full restraints made an emergency landing at Southampton. The captain remained half way out of the aircraft for 15 minutes and suffered only frostbite and some fractures.

[Rokurota]

Yeah...it's not at all strange that both pilots were apparently out yet a fighter jet pilot saw a couple of people in the cockpit at 35000 feet. Apparently, they didn't need oxygen to walk around and struggle for controls.

[stylin19a]

and here is a general description of the Payne Stewart accident.

http://www.airsafe.com/stewart.htm

[Rokurota]

Dead men need no oxygen.

[Age of Reason]

Papers today were saying between 15-30 secs to get the O2 mask on before one would pass out

I can hold my breath longer than that.

[Rokke]

Pilots use a different oxygen source. If theirs malfunctioned but the cabin (passengers) worked, than the pilots could have passed out while the passengers remained conscious. Meanwhile, the cabin temperature would have dropped to outside air temperatures (well well well below freezing), and gradually the passenger emergency oxygen system would deplete. Obviously, that is all a theory, but it is a plausible explaination of what could have happened.

[drlevy88]

If they died from too little oxygen, it wasn't because it wasn't handy. At least unless Helios is really really cheap.

[InvisibleChurch]

this whole thing was just creepy

[Rokurota]

Admittedly I guess that is plausible. But I still find it highly unlikely.

[Rokke]

I would suggest it is very unusual (even unlikely) for modern commercial aircraft to lose pressurization, but it happens. It even happens in aircraft flown by US major airlines. Now, imagine a small 4 aircraft company running cheap charters from Cyprus to Prague. It is probably safe to assume their maintenance standards aren't quite up to US FAA standards. What might be unlikely in the US becomes a little more likely in that scenario.

[COEXERJ145]

Portable Oxygen Bottles (POB) are located in the cabin for the flight attendants in the event of decompression or for medical emergencies. Most likely the people seen in the cockpit were using these.

Oh, and one piece of information about the oxygen supply for the pilots, it comes from a bottle, not an oxygen generator like the passengers. If the bottle is not filled with aviation grade oxygen, it can lead to various failures all of which will cause the pilots not to receive their oxygen. Filling air bottles with the incorrect grade of air can cause the air line to freeze or there will not be enough oxygen in the air mixture for the pilots.

[Sacajaweau]

Those masks come down and you know exactly why they are there...There is no thinking about it. It's a five second job.

[Rokurota]

Losing pressuraization. Okay. Also losing backup oxygen supply, especially to pilots, maybe. Two people walking around cockpit at 35000 feet while at least one pilot is unconscious...fishy.

[Rokurota]

Portable Oxygen Bottles (POB) are located in the cabin for the flight attendants in the event of decompression or for medical emergencies. Most likely the people seen in the cockpit were using these.

So the question remains, if they were using them, why weren't the pilots?

[Bellflower]

What? Is there a huge conspiracy to keep there from being any conspiracies that I am unaware of and you are the only FRer privy to it???<sarc>

[COEXERJ145]

So the question remains, if they were using them, why weren't the pilots?

Good possibility that is why the pilot wasn't seen in the cockpit. Once he realized that the oxygen system wasn't working, he went back for one but didn't make it. Hypoxia affects everyone differently. Some can pass out and/or die very quickly but others can remain conscious and alive much longer.

[Rokke]

The pilots might have been dead. Remember, this event took well over an hour at least. The plane starts to depressurize. The pilots become hypoxic. The masks drop automatically to the passengers as cabin pressure rises above a certain limit. The folks in the cabin wait for further guidance from the cockpit. As the temperature continues to drop and no words are heard from the cockpit, the passengers and flight attendants start to work their way into the cockpit. Both crew members are found dead due to oxygen deprivation. They pull the captain out of his seat so that someone can fly the plane, but they are running out of air, fuel and time in that order.

[longtermmemmory]

can a person use the airplane controls if a boeing autopilot is activated?

IOW would the yolk still work even if the autopilot is on?

Could they have pulled up?