The Lost Malaysian plane...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Taking it up to 45K and some sort of depressuring would have killed the 240 or so folks in the cabin so there's no Flight 93 repeat.

[Natsinpwc]

I've heard conflicting things on TV about 45K and if that would knock out the passengers.  Of course there have been many differences of opinions amongst the experts on many items not to mention the Malaysian government.

I still think it was some sort of mechanical failure and all on board were unconscious.  The airlines and manufacturers fear that more than terrorism I think.

[HalfSmokes]

Taking it up to 45K and some sort of depressuring would have killed the 240 or so folks in the cabin so there's no Flight 93 repeat.

if the depressurizing is because the negative pressure outside is too much for the plane, wouldn't that compromise the plane's structure?

[imref]

so if the guy was on a suicide mission, why fly so long?

I have to wonder what was in the cargo hold.

[HalfSmokes]

I have to wonder what was in the cargo hold.

I'm wondering on whose behalf it would be stolen given the risk of a visit from a seal team or a Chinese equivalent as a result of the theft

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I would not know how you could plan on a depressurization without jeopardizing the structure, but the Paine Stewart case shows it is possible, at least for a small jet.

[Lintyfresh85]

But that killed the pilots as well. Wasn't the idea with this decompression that the pilots survived it or have I been reading the reports wrong?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I heard from a pilot that it is more the oxygen issue and if you have a mask, you could do it.

[Dave B]

if the depressurizing is because the negative pressure outside is too much for the plane, wouldn't that compromise the plane's structure?

if you let pressure out of the inside at the high altitude, it wont blow up. but it would have effects on the passengers

[Terpfan76]

[Lintyfresh85]

Wouldn't there be some sort of alarm sent back to the ATC about the loss of pressurization?

[Dave B]

Wouldn't there be some sort of alarm sent back to the ATC about the loss of pressurization?

They didnt cover that in my 100 level statics class

[HalfSmokes]

if you let pressure out of the inside at the high altitude, it wont blow up. but it would have effects on the passengers

I find it terrifying and perplexing that there is a button to do thus

[Dave B]

I find it terrifying and perplexing that there is a button to do thus

Not sure how it is done, but the pressure is regulated somehow. So I'd imagine it cold just be set lower

[HalfSmokes]

Not sure how it is done, but the pressure is regulated somehow. So I'd imagine it cold just be set lower

Kill everyone on board setting?

[comish4lif]

Kill everyone on board setting?

I think the pilots can control the mix of outside air. By allowing more air in, with less oxygen, it would negatively effect the passengers.

http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/cabinair/facts.page

[HalfSmokes]

I wonder if they'll put in a new limit on that setting now?

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

From a pilot I asked about this matter:

"The idea is that they take the plane up to 45k - pilots don
pressurized oxygen masks which are good for about 30 minutes at that
altitude then they dump the cabin pressure.  So cabin altitude rises to
45k feet. the oxygen masks drop out of the ceiling and the cabin crew
put on their gear. At 45k this will be good for about 20 minutes.  so
in 30 minutes everyone except the pilots is dead or dying.

it's quicker at 45k than 35k which is why some people think the
plane did the climb.  It would be interesting to know how long it
maintained that altitude."

[Dave B]

Kill everyone on board setting?

at some point everyday, your life is in someone else's hands. if the setting is there to stop the plane from not blowing up immediately so you can buy some time to do something else, it probably makes sense. just hope your pilot isnt a a hijacker. or hope you dont have a crazy flight attendant open the door. lots of crap can go wrong besides someone setting the cabin pressure too low

[HalfSmokes]

at some point everyday, your life is in someone else's hands. if the setting is there to stop the plane from not blowing up immediately so you can buy some time to do something else, it probably makes sense. just hope your pilot isnt a a hijacker

There are a lot of settings on a 777 that prevent a pilot from accidentally screwing up- putting a cap on the altitude where a pilot can introduce outside air seems like a software tweek that's going to happen (because even pointless fixes happen, hell gm just recalled over a million cars because an airbag may not go of if the airbag warning light is on)

[Lintyfresh85]

We can safely say the Taliban wasn't involved.

A commander with the Pakistani Taliban, a separate entity fighting the Pakistani government, said the fragmented group could only dream about such an operation.

"We wish we had an opportunity to hijack such a plane," he told Reuters by telephone from the lawless North Waziristan region.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/17/us-malaysia-airlines-southasia-idUSBREA2G10320140317

Can you imagine at their annual meetings "maaaannnn... how cool would it be to steal a 777."

 

[GburgNatsFan]

So satellites found large pieces of something that could be wreckage.

[imref]

So satellites found large pieces of something that could be wreckage.

yeah,. very close to the new search area announced yesterday. 

[houston-nat]

unbelievable that experts can see a major lead when all we can see is little blobs

[HalfSmokes]

(Image removed from quote.)

unbelievable that experts can see a major lead when all we can see is little blobs

or that's just the resolution they're willing to make public, I'm going to go ahead and put my tinfoil hat back on now