Posted on 08/15/2005 8:26:58 PM PDT by traumer
If two of them are named Mohammed and Achmed Onassis, things may smell a little more fishy than they do now.
Leni
sadly, I think you may be close to the truth.
There was an UNCONFIRMED report that the regular pilot had refused to fly and the pilot on duty was a staff replacement.
It was also revealed on another thread the SMS was a fake claim.
The helios headquarters was also raided today to keep information from being "lost".
I do not think or believe it was a hijacking. I do think that if it is revealed maintenance corners were cut, criminal charges will be filed.
so the yoke would "resist" a pull up motion?
This is a tradgedy beyond words.
No oxygen level or air pressure monitors or something else that could have alerted the crew to something amiss? Just slow suffocation? Maybe maintenance too cheap to replace the warning bulb on the dashboard?
I used to operate the low pressure chambers at Pensacola and Pax River. The simulated altitude was 43,000 feet. We would do a hypoxia demonstration with the persons that were getting qualified. As you said some people take longer to feel the effects. One thing that was unusual was descendats of Middle Eastern parents seemed to last longer.
That would be Payne Stewart...
Again working from memory, the answer is yes to your question. Also, the autopilot has 3 channels, elevator, aileron and rudder. Once the pilot sets the autopilot the plane will remain straight and level. If there were no intervention with the autopilot, the plane would continue until it ran out of fuel.
Doubt it, methinks someone has watched Thunderball too many times to assume that on a civillian plane...
To someone who knows: Would a pilot who knows decompression has occurred immediately begin descent to 10000 feet?
From what we have heard, there appears to have been no attempt at descent.
This always happens when Greeks fly to close to the Sun.
Usually yes. But it sounds like from other reports that this particular airplane had a history of pressurization problems. The crew may have delayed responding to a problem with a system that had a history of malfunctions. And in many aircraft, you don't get a warning until pressurization exceeds 10000'. These guys were coming from Cyprus (sea level) and people living at that altitude would be significantly effected by the atmosphere at 10000'. They may have already lost useful consciousness. Hypoxia causes symptoms similar to being drunk. You lose the ability to do even simple tasks like adding 2 + 2 or even signing your name. And if their emergency oxygen system wasn't operating correctly, things would only get worse.
Yes, if he had useful consciousness. But as with Payne Stewart's airplane, sometimes the effects of no oxygen trump correct procedures.
It appears the pilot was unconcious or dead before they could do that.
The people who were trying to take over must not have been familiar with boeing controls.
Or the fact that a lack of oxygen makes them unconscious.
Reminds me of the cartoons where the individual isn't affected by gravity until they look down.
Or the fact that a lack of oxygen makes them unconscious.
Reminds me of the cartoons where the individual isn't affected by gravity until they look down.
Yeah, and the elevation of my house is roughly 7000'. 10000' doesn't bother me much easier. But try living at sea level and then climbing to 10000' or more in about an hour. You'd be amazed.
re: what altitude Payne Stewart's plane was at when fighter aircraft caught up
Not exactly, but they became suspicious when they noticed the aircraft had not made an expected turn somewhere over north Florida.
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