On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 19:43:55 -0800, "G.R. Patterson III"
wrote:

Aviation wrote:

On the one hand, passengers need to get denser air to breathe
but large aircraft have oxygen masks that drop down.

[snip]

As for your ears, they're already toast. The pressure just dropped
from the pressure at 8,000' to that at cruise altitude in a few seconds.

Based on what others have written about chamber simulations, it would
appear that irreversible ear damage (which is what I would infer as
being "toast") is not an inevitable consequence, although. I've no
doubt that the sensation from any reversible consequences is not
always pleasant .

Basically, the pilots need to get their masks on and get the plane down below
25,000' as rapidly as it can possibly be done. The descent to 10,000' can be made
a little more leisurely, but not much - there's always someone in the cattle
section who panicked and isn't wearing a mask.

One aspect that I have not seen addressed in this thread is the fact
that most oxygen systems can provide supplemental oxygen for a few
minutes only (I dimly recall figures like 3-5 minutes, but that may be
inaccurate). The pilots also need to get down to 10,000 feet within
that time before everyone's oxygen generators run out.

Regards,

George
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