Mechanic: Greece Jet Lost Pressure in '04

[Eugene]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5214765,00.html

Mechanic: Greece Jet Lost Pressure in '04


Tuesday August 16, 2005 11:46 PM

AP Photo ATH105

By DEREK GATOPOULOS

Associated Press Writer

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Investigators trying to determine why a Cyprus
airliner carrying 121 people crashed in the Greek mountains focused on
reports of past technical problems, with a former mechanic for the
airline saying Tuesday the jet lost cabin pressure during a flight
last year.

Autopsy results indicated that dozens of people, including the
co-pilot and a flight attendant, were alive when Helios Airways Flight
ZU522 crashed Sunday near Grammatiko, 25 miles north of Athens,
killing everyone on board. The body of the German pilot, who
reportedly was not in the cockpit before the crash, has not been found.

Coroners hope test results will show if toxic gases rendered the
people on board unconscious or whether the passengers and crew were
knocked out by a sudden decompression of the cabin and cockpit at
34,000 feet.

<snip>

A former chief mechanic for Helios, Kyriakos Pilavakis, said the plane
lost cabin pressure during a December flight after a door apparently
was not sealed properly.

full article

[Boomer]

1. So what about the frozen bodies

Was there any truth to the earlier report that the bodies were frozen solid? Where the heck did that claim come from?

[Massacure]

2. The temperature drops on average 3.6 degrees for every 1000 feet up.

If it was 70 degrees in Greece at sea level, it would be -74 at 40,000 feet.

[OneTwentyoNine]

3. There will be something come out about the oxygen system....

This whole thing isn't rocket science. They were at 34,000 ft,they also have cabin pressure gauges that are (supposedly) monitored constantly.

Rapid decompression will happen in seconds,at that point oxygen masks fall for everyone including pilots. The pilot does a quick descent down to 10,000 ft to where oxygen is no longer needed. The pilot could do that descent in 8 minutes or less--no problem if he has oxygen. If he doesn't or the passengers they could be dead in a few minutes or less.

My guess is this plane was screwed up oxygen wise and not properly maintained,we'll see. This is a tragedy that could have been prevented EASILY.