An md-80 captain reported partial cabin pressure loss at FL340. The crew declared an emergency; exec...

Narrative:

During cruise (FL340) the audible cabin altitude warning sounded and the red cabin altitude light illuminated. An emergency was declared with ATC; the memory items initiated and an emergency descent to 16;000 ft was accomplished due to mountainous terrain. During the descent; the cabin altitude descended from a high of approximately 11;000 ft to approximately 6000 ft. Normal cabin pressure descent rates were observed from 16;000 ft through landing. Both the standby and transfer lockout lights remained illuminated. Both packs operated normally. Once level; with normal cabin altitude/pressure; the emergency was terminated with ATC. I elected to continue to our destination. Passenger oxygen masks did not deploy and according to the flight attendants no passengers appeared to suffer any ill effects. My hat's off to my first officer and the entire flight attendant crew for their poise and professionalism during this event. Maintenance met the aircraft upon arrival and were thoroughly debriefed.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An MD-80 Captain reported partial cabin pressure loss at FL340. The Crew declared an emergency; executed an emergency descent; and regained enough control of the cabin to continue to destination.

Narrative: During cruise (FL340) the audible cabin altitude warning sounded and the red cabin altitude light illuminated. An emergency was declared with ATC; the memory items initiated and an emergency descent to 16;000 FT was accomplished due to mountainous terrain. During the descent; the cabin altitude descended from a high of approximately 11;000 FT to approximately 6000 FT. Normal cabin pressure descent rates were observed from 16;000 FT through landing. Both the standby and transfer lockout lights remained illuminated. Both packs operated normally. Once level; with normal cabin altitude/pressure; the emergency was terminated with ATC. I elected to continue to our destination. Passenger oxygen masks did not deploy and according to the Flight Attendants no passengers appeared to suffer any ill effects. My hat's off to my First Officer and the entire Flight Attendant crew for their poise and professionalism during this event. Maintenance met the aircraft upon arrival and were thoroughly debriefed.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	891462
Time
Date	201005
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-83
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Pressurization System
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

An md-80 captain reported partial cabin pressure loss at FL340. The crew declared an emergency; executed an emergency descent; and regained enough control of the cabin to continue to destination.