Can you say: Payne Stewart ? - Explosive Decompression? Try it yourself, numbnuts.

(Rick Durden) wrote:

Evidence examined thus far indicates that the Payne Stewart crash was
decompression, but not explosive. The old Lears had some interesting
systems and according to some reports the company had not maintained
its airplanes all that well or worked off some of the squawks. Those
who have flown the old Lears can give a number of different scenarios
that would generate the gradual loss of cabin pressure that doomed the
Stewart flight.

I read the accident report and didn't see that conclusion.
The cabin altitude aural warning was on for the last 30
minutes of the flight, until it descended below the alarm
limit after one engine ran out of fuel. One would think if
it was a slow leak they would have heard the alarm and
descended or donned oxy in time. They did seem to conclude
that it was not a simple cabin breach as the windshield
icing seen by the chase flights would not have occurred if
bleed air had been supplied to the cabin.

I just didn't see any clear indication of the time scale of
the loss of pressure or whether it was explosive, sudden or
slow. The simple summary was that the cabin lost pressure
for unknown reasons, the pressurization system didn't work
(otherwise the window wouldn't have iced) and the crew
wasn't able to respond by descending or donning oxy, again
for unknown reasons.

Todd Pattist
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Todd Pattist wrote

the pressurization system didn't work
(otherwise the window wouldn't have iced)

I wish that I could have a dollar for every time that I have
had the cockpit windows frost-up (inside) in the old Boeings
with full pressurization at FL350.

Bob Moore

Robert Moore wrote:

the pressurization system didn't work
(otherwise the window wouldn't have iced)

I wish that I could have a dollar for every time that I have
had the cockpit windows frost-up (inside) in the old Boeings
with full pressurization at FL350.

Never having flown a pressurized aircraft, I can't speak
from any experience. Here is what the NTSB said about this
accident, however:

"When bleed air is supplied to the cabin,
the cockpit windshield receives a constant flow of warm air
that prevents or removes condensation,
regardless of the ambient temperature or pressure in the
cabin. Thus, the windshield would be
relatively clear following depressurization from a breach or
other undesired outflow from the cabin with
continued bleed air supply to the cabin, whereas
condensation could form and remain on the windshield
following a depressurization caused by a loss of bleed air
inflow to the cabin. Therefore, the accident
airplane most likely did not have an inflow of bleed air to
the cabin."
Todd Pattist
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