Even those who are well acquainted with the laws of physics and understand how it happens that a pile of metal rises into the air, sometimes they still feel discomfort, thinking in flight that there are 10 kilometers between them and solid earth. What can we say about ordinary people? Ordinary passengers are even afraid of the words "depressurization of the cockpit", not fully understanding what it is and what it threatens.
In flight
Cynics joke that you should not be afraid of airplanes, because each of them somehow returns to the ground. If you think about it, only desperate daredevils can voluntarily climb inside a fragile structure that will rise 10-14 kilometers above the surface of the planet to deliver them to their destination. In fact, as statistics show, dying during a flight is not an easy task.
Yes, something out of the ordinary can happen. Nevertheless, modern airliners and their pilots are adequately prepared for many emergencies that in the past led to tragedies with many casualties, and now become just an excuse to make an emergency landing. All automatic systems are duplicated, excluding the human factor as much as possible. If the equipment fails, experienced pilots can often still prevent a disaster or minimize its consequences. Nevertheless, sometimes troubles cannot be avoided. What happens when a plane is depressurized? Is it possible to survive and what to do?
Depressurization
At an altitude of 10, 000 meters, the pressure is much lower than on the earth's surface. Still much colder there, not enough oxygen for the normal functioning of the human body. Needless to say, even the very idea of a hole in the skin can scare even the most experienced and calm passenger? Modern cinema has brought common sense to the sacrifice of entertainment, and among ordinary people there is an opinion that even a tiny hole in the shell of an aircraft, not provided for by its design, will necessarily lead to the death of everyone on board. In fact, everything is exactly the opposite - of course, damage to the skin cannot be attributed to a completely normal situation, but it is absolutely unnecessary to consider this as a catastrophe. History knows many cases when even sufficiently large holes in the hull did not become an obstacle for the calm completion of the flight. So, it’s worth understanding what is meant by the term “depressurization of an airplane” and what this means in practice.
Causes
When it became clear what the depressurization of the cabin is, it’s worth considering what it could happen in connection with. In a normal situation, as it has already become clear, the liner is airtight and equipped with autonomous life support systems so that passengers feel more or less comfortable. Nevertheless, sometimes the existing order of things is violated. The reasons can be either internal or external:
- the human factor - the actions of passengers or crew, leading to damage to the skin;
- manufacturing defects - defective parts, violation of assembly technology, etc.;
- damage by foreign objects - intentional or accidental breakdown of a structure by various means from outside;
- contingency - the conditions under which the load on the airliner is higher than the calculated.
And then the situation, depending on what is happening, can develop in completely different ways.
What's happening?
Depressurization of the aircraft at altitude primarily threatens passengers with oxygen starvation and the so-called decompression sickness, or decompression sickness. Despite the many disaster films inside the airliner, it is unlikely to be thrown out unless they are fastened according to the instructions of the crew, and a huge hole is not in close proximity to them.
In real life, with relatively small damages to the skin, the aircraft is able to maintain the overall integrity of the structure, so that if no explosive decompression occurred that instantly injures people and leads to rapid hypoxia, the situation can be called completely controlled. The main thing is to notice a drop in pressure and a decrease in oxygen level in time to prevent loss of consciousness in everyone who is in the cabin and, accordingly, a complete loss of control.
Effects
If the depressurization of the aircraft did not cause physical injuries to anyone in the first seconds, this does not mean that there is no danger. If no action is taken, the following factors still threaten all passengers and crew:
- low temperature - can lead to frostbite, general hypothermia, death;
- decompression sickness - vascular damage due to rapid pressure drop;
- altitude hypoxia - insufficient oxygen in the air;
How the depressurization of the aircraft will end depends on how everything happened and the actions of staff and passengers. The flight can end safely without any negative consequences, and can be a disaster, even if the damage to the skin was minimal. Fortunately, as a rule, everything ends quite happily.
Security measures
Not the least role in how depressurization of the aircraft ends is how carefully the preflight preparation of both the aircraft itself and its crew is carried out. A fairly wide range of factors plays an important role: proper operation, thoughtful design, timely maintenance, regular inspections, etc.
Modern airliners are equipped with a large number of systems that constantly monitor the state of the aircraft throughout the flight. With the proper experience, pilots will notice even minor problems on time and take the necessary measures to prevent negative consequences. Well, with sudden and serious changes, what will be done in the first seconds is extremely important. So, any modern aircraft is equipped with special oxygen masks that are automatically thrown over the seats during emergency decompression. Their work is shown at the beginning of each flight by a flight attendant during a safety story. But that is not all.
Crew actions
The most serious problem with rapid depressurization is an acute lack of oxygen, which makes breathing quicker, and makes your head spin from acute hypoxia. After a few seconds, a person loses consciousness, and after a while, irreversible processes of dying brain cells begin, therefore it is extremely important that the right actions are taken in the first moments.
Having discovered damage to the skin, pilots should descend to a safe height of 3-4 kilometers in the shortest possible time. At this level, there is enough oxygen to maintain life and the relatively normal functioning of the human body.
After the situation has stabilized, it is necessary to assess the situation and decide on an emergency landing at the nearest accessible airport. Depressurization of the aircraft is a good reason to stop the flight, since there is no guarantee that the destruction will not continue.
Passenger actions
Very important is how ordinary people who deal with decompression will behave. Firstly, it is necessary to keep calm and not to panic if possible. Secondly, you need to carefully listen to the instructions of the staff and follow them. If oxygen masks have fallen from above, you should immediately put them on yourself and, if necessary, help with those around you. In addition, throughout the flight you need to be fastened, while in the seats, which can protect against serious injuries in both turbulence and explosive decompression.
