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Four Injured After Jet Blue Flight Makes Emergency Landing At Long Beach Airport
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Several people were injured Thursday after a Jet Blue aircraft had to make an emergency landing at Long Beach Airport. Flight 1416 returned to Long Beach at 9:29 a.m., 25 minutes after it took off for Austin, TX. (losangeles.cbslocal.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I wanted to correct a misconception, Sebastian:
Quote: "...the oxygen masks... <snip> ...They are designed to add oxygen to the existing air in the cabin."
No, the PAX O2 masks merely provide supplemental O2 to the person using it...to be used only in cases of a cabin depressurization...since those masks provide a "mix" of cabin air, and pure O2. The masks when dropped do NOT provide O2, unless pulled down by the passenger (or crew) and then a lanyard pulls a pin, and the O2 flow is initiated.
Nowadays, as a weight-saving measure, there are "Oxygen Generators" in each PSU that provide about 15 minutes' of pure O2, but at a very low rate. Enough to keep a person conscious, as the airplane descends to a lower altitude. Many decades ago, these systems were plumbed from dedicated oxygen tanks, under pressure (but separate from the flight deck crew O2).
Those O2 generators get very hot because of the chemical reaction that produces the O2. They present a fire hazard, actually.
When I read that there is a Tweet by actor Jackson Rathbone, I shudder. he said:
"The oxygen masks did not deploy, but the brave stewardesses came around and manually deployed them...."
Which was the WRONG action!
Quote: "...the oxygen masks... <snip> ...They are designed to add oxygen to the existing air in the cabin."
No, the PAX O2 masks merely provide supplemental O2 to the person using it...to be used only in cases of a cabin depressurization...since those masks provide a "mix" of cabin air, and pure O2. The masks when dropped do NOT provide O2, unless pulled down by the passenger (or crew) and then a lanyard pulls a pin, and the O2 flow is initiated.
Nowadays, as a weight-saving measure, there are "Oxygen Generators" in each PSU that provide about 15 minutes' of pure O2, but at a very low rate. Enough to keep a person conscious, as the airplane descends to a lower altitude. Many decades ago, these systems were plumbed from dedicated oxygen tanks, under pressure (but separate from the flight deck crew O2).
Those O2 generators get very hot because of the chemical reaction that produces the O2. They present a fire hazard, actually.
When I read that there is a Tweet by actor Jackson Rathbone, I shudder. he said:
"The oxygen masks did not deploy, but the brave stewardesses came around and manually deployed them...."
Which was the WRONG action!
To aid in passenger breathing.. for those suffering from smoke inhalation.
On every airplane I've flown it's part of the "Smoke in the Cabin" emergency checklist!! He was just following his EP's!!
Not on the Airbus… The only scenario I can think of where you would drop the masks (on the Airbus) would be in the event you depressurize the cabin and remove the smoke using the Ram Air while still at high altitude (which would be a very desperate situation). The masks in the cabin do nothing to aid in passenger breathing through smoke since it doesn't form a seal… if anything it can make matters worse… If you have an actual fire in the cabin, dropping the masks would make the cabin an even more oxygen rich environment, adding fuel to the fire.
The only benefit I can come up with is that it gives passengers something to hang on to and maybe act as a sort of safety blanket to help calm their nerves (again, assuming there is no fire in the cabin).
The only benefit I can come up with is that it gives passengers something to hang on to and maybe act as a sort of safety blanket to help calm their nerves (again, assuming there is no fire in the cabin).
We have the same procedure for the 757/767s. We will only deploy PAX oxygen in the event of high cabin altitude. We NEVER will deploy oxygen with smoke of fumes. For smoke or fumes our SOP states: "Warning: Do not activate the passenger oxygen system. It provides no smoke protection for passengers as it mixes oxygen with cabin air. It is also an extreme fire hazard."
We have the same procedure on the CRJ, for the same reasons you stated above. Additionally, the oxygen generators put off quite a bit of heat in the cabin when they are being used. Not something you want when there is fire.
I'm not familiar with the airbus, but from the article it sounds like they didn't drop automatically and the pilots did not drop them either. Maybe the FA thought it was a good idea.
I'm not familiar with the airbus, but from the article it sounds like they didn't drop automatically and the pilots did not drop them either. Maybe the FA thought it was a good idea.
Quote: "Maybe the FA thought it was a good idea."
Likely...and, they were wrong. The flight deck crew would have had the ability to "dump" the cabin after the engine was shut down...and associated pack turned off. The remaining pack would supply fresh air. Thus clearing much of the smoke. But of course, the pilots were very busy, and FAs acted on their own initiative, apparently.
I daresay this incident will be incorporated in JetBlue's re-current training curricula.
Likely...and, they were wrong. The flight deck crew would have had the ability to "dump" the cabin after the engine was shut down...and associated pack turned off. The remaining pack would supply fresh air. Thus clearing much of the smoke. But of course, the pilots were very busy, and FAs acted on their own initiative, apparently.
I daresay this incident will be incorporated in JetBlue's re-current training curricula.
Looking at the altitude graph, they never exceeded 10,000 feet. Would this be the reason they didn't deploy? I would guess that with no loss of pressurization, manual deployment would be the only way.
Yeah, even with an catastrophic engine failure, cabin pressurization is usually not affected. The flight attendants have a manual deploy tool... Good initiative, bad judgment. Having said that, it's difficult to put yourself in a situation with 150 panicked passengers looking to you for safety. I hope no one takes this as a criticism of the cabin crew, they have a tough job. They don't have the luxury of knowing what's going on during most situations.
Deploying the masks could well have calmed 150 panicked passengers more quickly and more effectively than being told to
calm down by the cabin crew, so that might turn out to be the reason they were deployed. There are good technical reasons for when to deploy them, or not to, but I wonder if the technical specs include the psychological factor.
Like everyone else here, I wasn't there and I wasn't the one assessing the mood of the passengers and how it was trending. It will be interesting to see what the final NTSB report has to say on the matter of the masks. Until then, I'll withhold judgement.
calm down by the cabin crew, so that might turn out to be the reason they were deployed. There are good technical reasons for when to deploy them, or not to, but I wonder if the technical specs include the psychological factor.
Like everyone else here, I wasn't there and I wasn't the one assessing the mood of the passengers and how it was trending. It will be interesting to see what the final NTSB report has to say on the matter of the masks. Until then, I'll withhold judgement.
Before anyone comments. I know the masks on the flight-deck for the flight crew are totally different and do as work as true oxygen masks.