https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/20/asia/india-jet-airways-pressure-intl/index.html
excerpts:
"The B737 aircraft, with 166 guests and 5 crew landed normally in Mumbai," Jet Airways said in a statement. "All guests were deplaned safely and taken to the terminal. First aid was administered to few guests who complained of ear pain, bleeding nose etc."
An official with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told CNN affiliate CNN News 18 that the crew allegedly forgot to press a button to pressurize the cabin.
"During climb, crew forgot to select bleed switch due to which cabin pressurization could not be maintained, and oxygen masks got deployed," the official said.
It's a bit more complicated then flipping a switch.
Plenty of reports of First World Pilots doing dumb stuff. I am gratified that I seldomhear or read this from my fellow airline pilots.
Willing to bet they never turned the packs back on after engine start.
That's why they have that checklist thingy... ::)
You turn the air conditioning packs off during engine start so you have enough bleed air available to start the engines.
After engine start you turn the packs back on so the aircraft will pressurize.
Of course there's a Cabin Pressure Warning System that goes off usually at 12000 feet cabin altitude.
That's probably what dropped the Passenger Oxygen Masks.
The incident is the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the airline, which like other Indian carriers has been suffering financially.
In January, two Jet Airways pilots were grounded for getting into a brawl and storming out of the cockpit briefly during a New Year's Day flight from London to Mumbai.
In view of the latest scare, India's Civil Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered a safety audit of all airlines and airports, asking the report to be submitted within 30 days. -- AFP
https://www.nst.com.my/world/2018/09/413300/30-airline-passengers-bleed-ears-noses-after-crew-blunder
Quote from: PHall on September 21, 2018, 03:56:52 AM
Willing to bet they never turned the packs back on after engine start.
That's why they have that checklist thingy... ::)
Or bleed air was selected off for the takeoff to increase performance and was never turned back on. Perhaps that + a complicated climb-out with one or more distractions could have led to the crew missing the step.
Hard to judge without facts, unproductive even.
Quote from: PHall on September 21, 2018, 12:41:07 AM
It's a bit more complicated then flipping a switch.
System-wise, maybe. Procedure-wise, not really; it's literally kicking on the packs.
I agree with you: my guess is they didn't switch on after engine start, unless they have a procedure in their AOM to turn the bleeds off on takeoff and never turned them back on. An FDR download should easily conclude it.
It's definitely an easy thing to miss if you don't do your checks, which is exactly why checks exist. .
Just doing a FlightAware check, it looks like they started their takeoff roll at 8:42pm. At 8:48, they crossed through 11,000 ft (v/s was between 1500 and 2700 fpm). At 8:49, they were on the descent. It looks like they didn't break 14,000 feet, or came just close enough to it. They descended to 10,000 and held until 9:01, then started step descents to enter back on the approach (assuming an emergency was declared) for Runway 27 (the same as the takeoff runway).
So a pretty standard climb out, not all that aggressive---unless you aren't pressurized and everyone's ears start fizzling.
Someone is in a no bueno situation; that's for sure. Wings are getting clipped over this.
Side remark:
What the heck is it with passengers who can't put their oxygen masks on correctly? Cover your nose, people!
CNN article with video:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/20/asia/india-jet-airways-pressure-intl/index.html
FlightAware:
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/JAI697/history/20180920/0025Z/VABB/VABB