safety question: providing oxygen to a baby in the case of a drop of cabin pressure

[[email protected]]

That's the first time I am trying to post in this group, apologies if
my question is perhaps a little bit off the main stream. It's motivated
by (a) the recent crash of an airliner going from Cyprus to Greece
(under truly horrific circumstances, if you ask me) and (b) a planned
journey where my wife and I want to travel with our two children (4 yrs
and 10 months) by airplane to and from our destination. The 10-month
old will be 14 months old by the time of the journey and I am concerned
about what may happen to her in the case of a drop of cabin pressure --
like on that fatal flight from Cyprus to Greece. The standard procedure
is to put on one's own oxygen mask first and then take care of one's
child. So far so good, but what if your child doesn't have it's own
mask? -- since (a) it's so young that it does not have its own seat and
(b) all seats in the vicinity are occupied, which means that there
won't be any otherwise unused mask that one could grab. It seems to me
that exactly one mask per seat will drop from the cabin ceiling, so I
am assuming that the question is valid.

I can only speculate about what safety procedures may usually be in
place to prevent this kind of situation. Are there perhaps oxygen
flasks stowed somewhere in the cabin together with appropriate masks?
But how shall someone make it with such a flask to your seat if the
pilots are following proper procedures and take the plane into a dive?

Well, I do not want to speculate too much. I usually enjoy flying,
trusting the general safety standards, but the crash in Greece has made
me concerned as a father of a small kid. Hope somebody who is
knowledgeable will provide an answer.

Best regards

Thomas

[Bob Moore]

wrote
> (b) all seats in the vicinity are occupied, which means that there
> won't be any otherwise unused mask that one could grab. It seems to me
> that exactly one mask per seat will drop from the cabin ceiling, so I
> am assuming that the question is valid.

In the Boeing aircraft that I flew,(B-707, B-727) there were four
masks for each three seat row.

Bob Moore
ATP B-707 B-727
PanAm (retired)

[Ron Rosenfeld]

On 25 Aug 2005 12:46:58 -0700, wrote:

>That's the first time I am trying to post in this group, apologies if
>my question is perhaps a little bit off the main stream. It's motivated
>by (a) the recent crash of an airliner going from Cyprus to Greece
>(under truly horrific circumstances, if you ask me) and (b) a planned
>journey where my wife and I want to travel with our two children (4 yrs
>and 10 months) by airplane to and from our destination. The 10-month
>old will be 14 months old by the time of the journey and I am concerned
>about what may happen to her in the case of a drop of cabin pressure --
>like on that fatal flight from Cyprus to Greece. The standard procedure
>is to put on one's own oxygen mask first and then take care of one's
>child. So far so good, but what if your child doesn't have it's own
>mask? -- since (a) it's so young that it does not have its own seat and
>(b) all seats in the vicinity are occupied, which means that there
>won't be any otherwise unused mask that one could grab. It seems to me
>that exactly one mask per seat will drop from the cabin ceiling, so I
>am assuming that the question is valid.
>
>I can only speculate about what safety procedures may usually be in
>place to prevent this kind of situation. Are there perhaps oxygen
>flasks stowed somewhere in the cabin together with appropriate masks?
>But how shall someone make it with such a flask to your seat if the
>pilots are following proper procedures and take the plane into a dive?
>
>Well, I do not want to speculate too much. I usually enjoy flying,
>trusting the general safety standards, but the crash in Greece has made
>me concerned as a father of a small kid. Hope somebody who is
>knowledgeable will provide an answer.
>
>Best regards
>

I believe certain rows have an extra mask. I recall several flights where
people were moved about so that the infants could be seated in the
appropriate rows for that reason. But you should be able to check with
your airline.


> Thomas

Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)

[[email protected]]

That's just to thank Bob and Ron for their answers to my question. Now
I rest assured regarding this issue.

Thomas

[David Lesher]

{mask for kids}

Also, the other reason for 4 masks is so that there's a spare; in
theory usable by cabin crew if by your seat when the ball drops.

Another question to explore is what is the effect of NOT having a
mask.

The immediate one is loss of consciousness, but I'm not clear on
how long either an adult or a child has to be deprived before they
have any lingering aftereffects. Obviously, at some point they die;
and somewhere short of that they may get brain damage, but what's
the timeline?

(Friends who have been through the chamber training say that recovery
when the O2 starts is almost instantaneous.)

Note that the masks only have a few minutes worth of O2; the theory
is the cockpit crew {with FAR more O2...} can either fix the problem,
or dive to breathable altitudes before .....



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