 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Falcon 2000EX first officer reported loss of cabin pressure at FL430 resulting in an emergency descent and diversion to the nearest suitable airport.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1290129 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201508 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | Mixed |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Falcon 2000 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Pressurization System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 50 Flight Crew Total 9000 Flight Crew Type 1000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
[We] performed an emergency descent. The aircraft was cruising at flight level 430. The aircraft was about 2 hours into the flight and weighed approximately 33000 lbs and was in smooth air on top of the clouds. Both pilots felt the large cabin pressure change in their ears first and noticed the rapid cabin rate increase on the synoptic. The aircraft oxygen masks were donned and an emergency descent was initiated. The passenger oxygen masks were deployed and donned. The cabin altitude cas was displayed. Air traffic control was notified and the aircraft descended to 7000 feet while deviating around several thunderstorms. The cabin altitude and emergency descent checklists were completed during the descent. The highest cabin altitude was approximately 15000 ft. ATC provided radar vectors to ZZZ. We had an uneventful landing. After reflecting on the event; I believe a single button push notifying ATC of our emergency and auto selecting 7700 on the transponder would have helped. Donning the crew masks; establishing radio communication with ATC and then selecting the 7700 transponder code within a submenu all while initiating an emergency descent could have been accomplished faster with a change in transponder interaction.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Falcon 2000EX First Officer reported loss of cabin pressure at FL430 resulting in an emergency descent and diversion to the nearest suitable airport.
Narrative: [We] performed an emergency descent. The aircraft was cruising at flight level 430. The aircraft was about 2 hours into the flight and weighed approximately 33000 lbs and was in smooth air on top of the clouds. Both pilots felt the large cabin pressure change in their ears first and noticed the rapid cabin rate increase on the synoptic. The aircraft oxygen masks were donned and an emergency descent was initiated. The passenger oxygen masks were deployed and donned. The Cabin Altitude CAS was displayed. Air Traffic Control was notified and the aircraft descended to 7000 feet while deviating around several thunderstorms. The CABIN ALTITUDE AND EMERGENCY DESCENT Checklists were completed during the descent. The highest cabin altitude was approximately 15000 ft. ATC provided radar vectors to ZZZ. We had an uneventful landing. After reflecting on the event; I believe a single button push notifying ATC of our emergency and auto selecting 7700 on the transponder would have helped. Donning the crew masks; establishing radio communication with ATC and then selecting the 7700 transponder code within a submenu all while initiating an emergency descent could have been accomplished faster with a change in transponder interaction.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.