Second Before Death

On 29th September 2006, a B737 had a mid air collision with a Embraer Legacy while cruising at 35,000 feet over South America . The Embraer Legacy, though seriously damaged, with the winglet ripped off, managed to make a landing at a nearby airstrip in the midst of the Amazon jungle. The crew and passengers of the Embraer Legacy had no idea what they had hit. The B737, however, crashed killing all crew and passengers on board.

The two photos attached above were apparently taken by one of the passengers in the B737, after the collision and before the aircraft crashed. The photos were retrieved from the camera's memory stick. You will never get to see photos like this. In the first photo there is a gaping hole in the fuselage through which you can see the tailplane and vertical fin of the aircraft. In the second photo one of the passengers is being sucked out of the gaping hole.

Photos taken inside the plane. These photos were found in a digital Casio Z750, amidst the remains in Serra do Cachimbo. Although the camera was destroyed, the Memory Stick was recovered. Investigating the serial number of the camera the owner could be identified, as Paulo G. Muller, an actor of a theatre for children known in the outskirts of Porto Alegre. It can be imagined that he was standing during the impact with the Embraer Legacy, and during the turbulence he managed to take these photos, seconds after the tail loss the aircraft plunged, so the camera was found near the cockpit. the structural stress probably ripped the engines away, diminishing the falling speed, protecting the electronic equipment but not, unfortunately, the victims. Paulo Muller leaves behind two daughters, Bruna and Beatriz, from a previous relationship. (Quoted from unknown source)

Q and A

Why did the oxygen mask(yellow colour as shown in the pic) drop the moment the Boeing jet was split into two after suffering mid air collision?

So here's are some background knowledge to begin with. Human being can breathe normally on ground because we are so used to sea level pressure, temperature and density. Generally, almost 99 percent of the land on this earth are above sea level. For instance, the land in Malaysia is 10-100 feet above sea level, averagely. In certain area in Africa, the land is 5000-6000 feet above sea level. And in Netherland, Holland, the land is 1 feet below sea level, that's why retaining walls are built to prevent sea water from entering the country.

As we go higher, let say at Genting Highland which is 6000 feet above sea level, the air becomes colder and thinner because temperature, pressure and density reduce with height. That's why some people find it difficult to breathe as they travel higher and higher from sea level. The same goes to travelling by airplane. Luckily, thanks to the high-tech design by aircraft manufacturer, a system calls "Pressurization System" is introduced to every aircraft which flies above 10000 feet above sea level. The purpose of this system, just as the name implies, is to pressurize the aircraft in high altitude say 10000-40000 feet above sea level. Without this system, it's impossible to breathe inside the aircraft, just like fish out of water. This system ensures that the cabin of the aircraft is maintaining a pressure at 6000 feet averagely throughout the flight even though the actual height of the aircraft can be 30000 or 40000 feet high so that the passenger can breathe normally, as if you're breathing at Genting though you're actually at a level 5-6 times higher than Genting.

That's why you'll experience ear block or ear pain when aircraft is climbing and descending, because the pressurization system is constantly monitoring itself to maintain that 6000 feet value regardless of the actual aircraft height. Of course, just before landing, it'll automatically equalize itself to match with the actual aircraft altitude and when the aircraft touches down, the 6000 is no longer maintained and is adjusted to whatever height the airport is, say 10 feet, and everything is back to normal on ground again.

The question is, what if the pressurization system fails to maintain 6000 feet cabin altitude? When this happens, the indicator in the cockpit(pilot's area) will show a dramatic increase until it hits 14000 feet mark, the oxygen mask will automatically drop above every passenger's seat and you need to wear it immediately because the aircraft is DE-pressurizing. In another words, the pressure is leaking and if no immediate action to descend to safe altitude, all passenger and crew onboard will SUFFOCATE and will lead to unconsciousness and death eventually.

Now you may be asking how can the pressurization leak? When there's a hole in the aircraft, it'll leak. The degree of the leakage depends on the magnitude of the hole. Small hole means slow leak, big hole means quick leak. That's to say, an aircraft must be perfectly SEALED inflight to prevent pressure leakage. The above pictures show that the Boeing jet was split into two inflight at 35000 feet, which means a BIG hole in the cabin. That's why oxygen mask dropped because the pressurization has exceeded 14000 feet (no longer 6000 feet as previously mentioned under normal condition) and quickly matched with the actual aircraft height, 35000 feet in this case at the time the aircraft was split, and you're really breathing as if you're at 35000 feet which is crazy and impossible.

So, I hope those of you who are interested to know have learnt somethg today. And I hope you will now realise the importance of the demo for the usage of oxygen mask by cabin crew every time you travel by airplane because it is related to safety and your life. Please don't take the demo lightly, because you never know what will happen in your flight.