No. A pressurized airplane is like a balloon....more pressure inside than
out. If the pressure differential overcomes all of the safety features meant
to avoid such a disaster, there would be a blowout at the weakest
point...maybe a window, maybe a door seal, who knows? OTOH, if "cabin
pressure could not be maintained" means an explosive decompression to you,
then your statement would be correct.

What it would take to keep the fire burning in the engines is something else
again...there has to be a point at which combustion fails. Obviously, the
two fun-seekers lost their engines. Neither you nor I know why. I can't
understand the restart problem, though.

An aspect of max altitude that has not been mentioned here is the "coffin
corner" where Mach buffet and stall speed come together. Nothing to do with
engine failure, but a consideration when flying high.

Bob Gardner

"Bucky" wrote in message
oups.com...
Bob Gardner wrote:
Maximum altitude is usually based on pressure differential...the
difference
between ambient pressure outside the aircraft vs cabin pressure...the
engines don't come into the equation.

So you're saying that the engines could operate at an even higher
altitude. It's just that the cabin pressure could not be maintained?