News Panic on board Caribbean Airlines flight

[ky]

2 Jamaican Sources 1 Barbadian Source Source.

Panic on Board Carribean Airlines flight

(Barbados Nation) Over 150 passengers were thrown into panic when the plane on which they were travelling to Barbados from Jamaica experienced cabin pressure failure yesterday afternoon.

A traumatized woman told the DAILY NATION by telephone of total despair among the travellers when the “[oxygen] masks dropped down, followed by a loud bang”.

“People were screaming and ears were popping. It was extremely traumatic; and at one time the plane took a sharp left turn [while losing altitude].

“I don’t want to go over it right now,” said the caller about her experience on Caribbean Airlines Flight BW455

Source: http://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/news/breaking/06/27/panic-on-board-caribbean-airlines-flight/

Here's another source:
Flight Scare on Carribean Airlines flight

There are reports that over 150 passengers on a Caribbean Airlines flight from Barbados to Jamaica were thrown into panic on Sunday, according to the Daily Nation.

Its reported that the plane on which the passengers were travelling experienced cabin pressure failure.

The Barbados newspaper reported that a traumatised passenger, who spoke by telephone, said there was total despair among the travellers, when the “oxygen masks dropped down, followed by a loud bang”.

The passenger said people on Flight BW455 were screaming and it was extremely traumatic.

Source: http://gojamaica.net/news/read_article.php?id=29670

Last Source:
Scare on Caribbean Airlines flight


There are reports out of Barbados that 150 passengers on a Caribbean Airlines flight en route from that country to Jamaica were thrown into panic Sunday afternoon when the plane experienced cabin pressure failure.

A traumatised passenger, who is quoted in Monday's issue of the Barbados newspaper the Daily Nation, said there was total despair among the travellers when oxygen masks dropped followed by a loud bang.

The passenger, who spoke by telephone, said the terrified passengers on Caribbean Airlines Flight BW455 began screaming.

According to the woman, it was extremely traumatic and at one time the plane took a sharp left turn while losing altitude.

There has been no official word from Caribbean Airlines on the incident.

Six weeks ago, the Trinidad-based air carrier assumed control of Air Jamaica.

Under the sale agreement, the Jamaican Government received a 16% stake in Caribbean Airlines.

Source: http://rjrnewsonline.com/news/local/scare-caribbean-airlines-flight

 

[Turbinator]

 

[ky]

:lol:

 

[garyw]

According to the woman, it was extremely traumatic and at one time the plane took a sharp left turn while losing altitude.

If these idiots knew anything about flying they should have been reassured by that action.

Pilots are trained for one process - aviate, navigate, communicate. So they won't be giving the passengers announcements. They'll be dealing with the problem.

The left turn (normally 15 degress) puts them outside of the nominal flight path. This is so they don't descend into other traffic.

The descent which would have been pretty rapid is done so that the passenger and crew can fly without the need to use masks.

All in all this sounds like a fairly 'normal' emergency. One crews train for every 6 months or so.

 

[FADEC]

Sounds dramatic. And that's the intention of the news maker.

Passengers tend to exaggerate, especially hysteric women (which even become "traumatized" by bad weather landings). They picked one hysteric women out of 150 passengers obviously.

 

[Fabri91]

It's a common behaviour from the papers, really: a month or so ago I read a short web article on the website of an Italian paper where a "simple" go-around of the Air Force One was treated as a life or death-type emergency.

 

[jedidia]

If I was a passenger in a plane with pressure failure, I would certainly hope the pilot will loose some altitude before my eyes pop out of their sockets... (ok, "slight" exageration).

Anyways, yes, interviewing hysterical women for news articles is... well... hysterical. None of the reports seems even interested why the pressure failure actually happened.

 

[Jarvitä]

It seems like "passanger unfamiliar with emergency protocols" is more newsworthy than "flight crew handles emergency situation as expected".

 

[ky]

Then they need to put procedures for something like that in one of those inflight bulletins.

 

[N_Molson]

Yes.

The passengers should be aware of the safety procedures. The crew always makes a demonstration before takeoff for O2 masks / life jackets. And tell the passengers they should read the instructions, usually written on a card that is attached to the back of the next seat. I always take this seriously and read the card.

But most people don't care, I've seen passengers reading during the demonstrations... (even if they don't care, it's basic politeness to pay attention to the hostess/steward...) :facepalm:

 

[Urwumpe]

why know how to don a life-vest? there is no water in the plane.

 

[ky]

I pay attention and read the bulletins.It's not enough for just the O2 mask/Life Jacket.

 

[garyw]

And the number one complaint about the oxygen masks?

"They don't work"

The reason? No one watches the demonstration where you have to PULL the oxygen mask because that releases a pin and starts the oxyegen flow.

 

[Urwumpe]

The reason? No one watches the demonstration where you have to PULL the oxygen mask because that releases a pin and starts the oxyegen flow.

Reading the manual or following the tutorials is lame. :facepalm:

 

[ky]

Reading the manual or following the tutorials is lame. :facepalm:

It's not lame anymore when it has to save your life though lol :rofl:

 

[T.Neo]

I will always read the pamphlet and try to pay attention to the safety demonstration, out of habit if nothing else.

How this event is played, is seriously annoying... it is actually a success story of airliner safety; the oxygen masks deployed, and the pilot descended to a lower altitude. In such a situation, these two things can be taken as comforting more than anything else.

I'm sure the safety briefings I've heard spoke of descending to a lower altitude in the case of a loss of cabin pressure... either Caribbean Airlines does not state this, or the passengers in question were not listening. :dry:

 

[ky]

Since Carribean Airlines owns Air Jamaica, and I've flown on Air Jamaica several times,they don't explain what to do in that type of situation.They only explain where the life jacket is and how to put it on in case of a water landing.

---------- Post added at 07:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 PM ----------

Im going to post comments from one of the sources.

 

[iamwearingpants]

why know how to don a life-vest? there is no water in the plane.

If the plane has to ditch in the ocean, it's handy to be able to float.

 

[ky]

Some comments from this source: http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=29670


"Wow, that must have been scary! I've had my fair share of real scary flights and it is still hard to get over."

"How is screaming going to help? Good thing the pilot did not give up so easily and started screaming, too."

"Having experienced a flight where the airplane lost cabin pressure above 30,000 feet and the plane suddenly making a free-fall to 10,000 feet within seconds, I can fully relate to what went through the minds of these passengers. I thought the plane was falling out of the sky. I did not experience the "loud bang" (even more terrifying), but since that experience I am terrified of flying."

---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:28 PM ----------

Carribean Airlines Confirms mishap on one of it's planes

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has confirmed that one of its planes had been involved in a mishap on a flight from Jamaica to Barbados on Sunday, but none of the 48 passengers on board had been injured.

CAL Communications specialist Laura Asbjornsen told the local media that BW455 flight had experienced cabin pressure failure “that would have caused some concern to passengers.

“I haven’t had any reports of injuries,” she said adding that the plane had been taken out of service for a full maintenance programme.

Asbjornsen said a full report of the entire maintenance review and a handling test of the aircraft will also be conducted later today.

Source: http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=29677

Is it me,or are there differences between what carribean airlines said and what the newspapers reported?

 

[Turbinator]

The reason most of the passengers get terrified when the planes do such manoeuvres is due to the fact that they do not know what the planes are capable of. The pilots of passenger planes are restricted to very gentle movements, due to passenger "comfort". However the planes themselves are engineered for and capable of extraordinary flight manoeuvres. You could barrel roll a passenger jet, and keep on flying. You could drop it down faster than a falling 10 ton truck, and shake it off like nothing happened. Given enough altitude, you could enter a tailspin stall and recover. You could lift off with a 75 degree attitude and keep on going (for a little while). You can make very sharp and snappy (for a jetliner) turns. And you could go in to a 90 degree bank and not drop out of the sky.