Decompression Event in an airliner

[Timberridge]

After eating oysters in Paris, I once spent the entire trip in the bathroom of an Air France 747. If the toilet actually emptied into the Atlantic, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here today.

[Timberridge]

If it's not too late to recognize International Womans Day and women pilots...

[The Tortoise]

Funny, a good friend of mine was a pilot in the Maldives. She flew guests in to get enough float hours to captain a water bomber. She's badass indeed.

I saw a photo of a Heli pilot with this sticker on the back of his helmet. It made me laugh.

[Ted Striker]

I've heard that the DCA runway is technically too short for those planes, but that some Senators came together to give them an exception so they didn't have to fly into Dulles.

rwy 1/19 @ DCA is approx 7000' and the field elevation is basically sea level. That's not too short for pretty much any narrow body. Some might be load limited for take off.

The biggest challenges there are the visual approach you have to fly when the weather is good, and that there are three runways that are close enough to mistake one for another (has happened many times). Literally the last time I was there I heard, "_____airline call sign____ ahhh... it looks like you're lining up with 15. You're cleared to land 19!"

The visual for the main southbound runway requires that you fly down the river and not go over the land on either side - even at night. That's mostly for noise because you're only 900 feet over the Key Bridge, but you can't miss that turn at the island or you'll be in the restricted airspace over the Lincoln Memorial, i.e. in deep shit. If you cut the corner at the Arlington Bridge instead of continuing down to the 14th St Bridge, you'll fly over the Pentagon - which isn't shown on the chart. It's actually pretty fun.

[::: :::]

i read that the approach is nicknamed the slam dunk

[Supermoon]

rwy 1/19 @ DCA is approx 7000' and the field elevation is basically sea level. That's not too short for pretty much any narrow body. Some might be load limited for take off.

The biggest challenges there are the visual approach you have to fly when the weather is good, and that there are three runways that are close enough to mistake one for another (has happened many times). Literally the last time I was there I heard, "_____airline call sign____ ahhh... it looks like you're lining up with 15. You're cleared to land 19!"

The visual for the main southbound runway requires that you fly down the river and not go over the land on either side - even at night. That's mostly for noise because you're only 900 feet over the Key Bridge, but you can't miss that turn at the island or you'll be in the restricted airspace over the Lincoln Memorial, i.e. in deep shit. If you cut the corner at the Arlington Bridge instead of continuing down to the 14th St Bridge, you'll fly over the Pentagon - which isn't shown on the chart. It's actually pretty fun.

Thanks for the clarification on all that.

Used get high and lie on the tables in that park that's right by the runway to watch the planes land and takeoff right over your face (Wayne's World style). Good times.

[Ted Striker]

i read that the approach is nicknamed the slam dunk

Sure. That's a common nickname for any arrival/approach that sets you up high. SFO from the east, PVR from the north, MEX from any side really... even DEN sometimes. Can also be from atc clearances/shortcuts, "he's setting us up for the slam dunk".

The same holds true for pilot's planning, but that's the chop and drop, eg "if there's no traffic, I'm gonna and chop and drop, and keep it tight" (close to the airport).

[Ted Striker]

Thanks for the clarification on all that.

Used get high and lie on the tables in that park that's right by the runway to watch the planes land and takeoff right over your face (Wayne's World style). Good times.

Yeah, DC is great for that.

[riser4]

I would have been fucked by the pressure change. My ears can't handle a regular flight. It sucks. I didn't always have an issue until a flight when I was around 30yrs old. I wanted to cut my head off I was in so much pain and I really had no idea wtf was going on. The pain goes down your neck behind your ear and into core of your brain...or somewhere like that fucking brutal! Since then I've had to use those ear pressure reducing plugs and even with those I sometimes have issues. If I have any kind of head congestion I don't even want to get on the plane.

Need to clean out the sinuses. I suggest copious quantities of blow. Either that or hot mustard.

[riser4]

Used get high and lie on the tables in that park that's right by the runway to watch the planes land and takeoff right over your face (Wayne's World style). Good times.

Back in about 1980 or so I watched my dad spend a perfectly good early June evening trying to time a photo just right so as to capture a plane directly above the Lincoln Memorial as seen somewhere out by one end of the reflecting pool. The pictures were blurry and he didn't get the shot he wanted. A tripod and a rapid fire rig might have helped.

[PNWbrit]

After eating oysters in Paris, I once spent the entire trip in the bathroom of an Air France 747.

How romantic.

[Game Over]

Thanks for the clarification on all that.

Used get high and lie on the tables in that park that's right by the runway to watch the planes land and takeoff right over your face (Wayne's World style). Good times.

We do this down in SD in Balboa park eating lunch from the marketplace deli.

Sure. That's a common nickname for any arrival/approach that sets you up high. SFO from the east, PVR from the north, MEX from any side really... even DEN sometimes. Can also be from atc clearances/shortcuts, "he's setting us up for the slam dunk".

The same holds true for pilot's planning, but that's the chop and drop, eg "if there's no traffic, I'm gonna and chop and drop, and keep it tight" (close to the airport).

I have to assume SD is another

[seano732]

If it's not too late to recognize International Womans Day and women pilots...

Would bang.

[Ted Striker]

^^^def

I have to assume SD is another

SAN has a pretty standard arrival, but when landing on 27 the terrain to the right is higher than the field, sloping down toward the runway, and there is this building (it's either a parking garage or an office building with rooftop parking) that is so close, it looks like you're going to clip it with the wingtip.

[Game Over]

^^^def



SAN has a pretty standard arrival, but when landing on 27 the terrain to the right is higher than the field, sloping down toward the runway, and there is this building (it's either a parking garage or an office building with rooftop parking) that is so close, it looks like you're going to clip it with the wingtip.

Cool. I was under the impression that it had the steepest descent rate of all major US airports. Local lore I guess.

[abraham]

We had a little episode a couple years ago, we're in a small plane approaching the landing strip, there's a Forest Service chopper approaching the strip from the other direction, our pilot gets him on the radio and says, wtf are you doing, get out of the way. Chopper pilot says sorry, I'll bear left and get out of the way, But instead he goes right, and right at us. Our pilot yanked us out of the way in a steep bank/roll and we missed the guy by about 50 feet, then banks back and puts the plane on the ground and we all sit there shaking for a minute, including the pilot. Dude saved our lives for sure.

Helicopters can really fuck up the air with the vortices they generate.
Seen this before?

Who's been on the new 787. I get to take one in a few weeks. Kinda excited.

I liked the one I flew on. But it was also London-LA with <100 passengers. And the woman in my row spilled her champagne so they gave us more. The auto dimming windows are nice, and that they are so big.

[bennymac]

Somewhat related - really interesting article about the Air France crash in the Atlantic in 2009. Scary to think about the chaos in the cockpit while most passengers were likely asleep in the back.

Should Airplanes Be Flying Themselves? - by William Langewiesche
Vanity Fair October 2014

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/busin...ight-447-crash

[summit]

Somewhat related - really interesting article about the Air France crash in the Atlantic in 2009. Scary to think about the chaos in the cockpit while most passengers were likely asleep in the back.

Should Airplanes Be Flying Themselves? - by William Langewiesche
Vanity Fair October 2014

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/busin...ight-447-crash

Read about this United 232 and the power of CRM and BAM pilots saving the day.

Interesting coincidence... Denny Fitch who saved the day served on the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel which my grandfather chaired (the same one who was an instructor/test pilot for WWII planes).

[stuckathuntermtn]

Buck up you pussies. I'm surprised nobody is bitching that on their last flight they ran out diet ginger ale. That will come on page 4.

You all would have shit your pants flying daylight B-17 missions over Germany in the big one; and pissed your pants in a DC-3 that shook and flexed like a '72 Gremlin.

Where are the real men today?

Dude, the originator of this thread said the hardest part was watching his kids be in pain and freak out and that otherwise it would have been fun.

You were killing it for a while there, man, now your dropping a wwii reference like get off my lawn. What happened?

[406]

OP, did someone not have their phone on airplane mode? ;-)

^^^def



SAN has a pretty standard arrival, but when landing on 27 the terrain to the right is higher than the field, sloping down toward the runway, and there is this building (it's either a parking garage or an office building with rooftop parking) that is so close, it looks like you're going to clip it with the wingtip.

Have you ever landed/taken off "6"(from the ocean side)?

It's always interesting sitting next to someone who hasn't landed in SAN..."should the office building be this close?"

[SkiBall]

Back in the 90's on a SWA flight from Phoenix to Oakland, we got to about the Grand Canyon and had some type of hydraulic leak/issue. They turned us around to go back to PHX. Noticed the plane "dancing" a little side to side IIRC. There was not a lot of people on the flight but I will always remember the mother with a young child/baby that started crying. We had had a couple beers in the lounge prior so we were a little free n easy, but the baby started crying and mom was quite uneasy. We were joking about the whole thing(deflecting?) but a co-worker comments rather loudly "You know how in all those plane crash movies that there is always a baby crying?" Mom didn't appreciate the humor at all.
Got back to PHX to the whole parade of emergency vehicles lining the runway. De-planed, waited a few hours and then they put us on the Shamu plane. Not inspiring to say the least as we hadn't sen that one before.

TLDR: Maybe we almost died, but obviously didn't./?

[hutash]

For those who haven't the pleasure of a midflight near disaster, that is likely to change. Mew federal requirements will make any regulation subject to be the most cost effective requirememt, not the safest requirement. This could get real interesting.

Theoretically, the airline can say it is cheapest to have one pilot in the cockpit, and drop the requirement for a co-pilot.

[BmillsSkier]

For those who haven't the pleasure of a midflight near disaster, that is likely to change. Mew federal requirements will make any regulation subject to be the most cost effective requirememt, not the safest requirement. This could get real interesting.

Theoretically, the airline can say it is cheapest to have one pilot in the cockpit, and drop the requirement for a co-pilot.

Link, or is this just Trump-induced-conjecture?

I have a hard time believing that the thousands of people in government and the air travel industry will not keep safety job #1. Downed planes are hard on bottom lines.

[riser4]

Link, or is this just Trump-induced-conjecture?

I have a hard time believing that the thousands of people in government and the air travel industry will not keep safety job #1. Downed planes are hard on bottom lines.

It is an obvious and forgone conclusion based upon statements regarding the 'administrative state' by various people in the administration including Trump. And regardless of the amazing and highly dedicated people who work there today, they will be squeezed by budget cuts and culling of personnel who don't drink the kool-aid. Sad times. Air safety is just one of the many areas that will be dynamited in the coming years.

[Cono Este]

Ive had some bad flights, but the worst was flying out of Buenos Aires and having the pilot announce their World Cup win. And if the dancing in the aisles wasnt enough, they mis caculated fuel and we made an unschedueled stop in Mexico. We spent six hrs parked by ourselves, in the heat, with no power. I would have preffered rapid decompression.