Passengers aboard an Australian Quantas flight from Townsville to Brisbane on September 17 got a scare at 30,000 feet when the pilots put the plane into a rapid descent after a pressurization issue.
Quantas 1871 was cruising at about 30,000 feet when the flight crew pushed down the plane’s nose. There are very few details yet about the incident, but passenger Naomi Lynch told media that she heard the pilots say “Emergency descent! Emergency descent!” and the plane then plunged rapidly.
Planes that fly above 10,000 feet have pressurized cabins. The higher you go in the atmosphere, the thinner the air. This means there is less oxygen to breathe. 10,000 feet is considered the ceiling of breathable air for most people, though those in better physical condition and without health problems may be able to breathe comfortably at higher altitudes.
When a plane’s systems detect a cabin pressure problem like a leak, pilots are notified. Standard operating procedure is for the flight crew to immediately descend to 10,000 feet. If the plane does not descend, passengers will lose consciousness and eventually die of oxygen deprivation.
When there is a cabin pressure problem the oxygen masks above seats deploy. These are hooked up to small chemical oxygen generators that provide 10 to 15 minutes’ worth of the gas, well enough time for the plane to reach 10,000 feet. It is not known whether the oxygen masks deployed on the Quantas flight.
The flight was diverted to an airport at Rockhampton, which was the closest landing strip, and it touched down at 7:16 a.m local time on September 17. The flight’s original landing destination and time was Brisbane at 9 a.m.
A spokesman for Quantas said that diverted passengers would be put on new flights the same day to Brisbane.
Australia’s aviation officials have started an investigation into the incident.
Just a few days ago, Quantas had another problem. A plane taking off for Singapore somehow damaged the runway at Perth airport, tearing up chunks of the tarmac as it lifted into the air.
