But don’t the passengers mercifully die before the plane crashes??
I remember the Payne Stewart incident like it was yesterday. They filmed the jet in the air knowing the passengers inside were dead before the plane crashed.
Not sure if they’re dead but they are unconscious due to oxygen starvation (hypoxia). There is oxygen at that altitude but not enough to sustain consciousness.
Pilots usually spend time in altitude chambers to learn their symptoms of hypoxia so they can recognize it and put on their oxygen masks on before they pass out. But it sneaks up on you. For me it feels like hot flashes at first then I act loopy, like a happy drunk.
I wonder if that aircraft had a depressurization alarm.