Full Article This is one of the most serious crashes related with both Greece in Cyprus. My parents, my brother and I are natives and are currently making calls to see if all of our family members are alright and that no one was killed. This worries me greatly.
You had a friend killed on the airplane, Mario? I'm so sorry. I'm still not sure if any one of my family members was killed either...
You had a friend killed on the airplane, Mario? I'm so sorry. I'm still not sure if any one of my family members was killed either... [/b][/quote] yes...that's too bad
My condolences go out to all of the familes who had relatives or friends on the airplane. Our thoughts are with them. And my thoughts are with you, Mario.
God, I still have the article minimized on the computer. We're making so many calls, it's unbelievable. UPDATE: The article is a bit incorrect, I think. The a/c on the plane broke and the passengers froze to death and then the plane crashed. There were 80 children on the plane.
Not so much as "the air conditioning broke" as "the a/c packs failed" (and for BOTH packs to fail...whoo, a million to one). Anyways, it's been put down squarely to decompression at FL340. Apparently, a few pax tried to take control of the airplane, but didn't descend fast enough (read: you really need to give 'er), and lost oxygen. The plane crash itself was fuel starvation. Really sad to hear. Edit: It was Helios Airways that was involved, with a Boeing 737-31S - 5B-DBY
Gosh, at FL340 to get a reasonable amount of air in a short time it's not a descent, it's a steep dive... I do wonder, however, with all their experience, why didn't the pilots go for a fast descent rate to get to an acceptable level...
On most Airbus planes (excluding the A300/A310), there's a button on the autopilot marked "Expedite". This is your 'go, baby, go' button for things like this. In a Boeing, you just slap off the autopilot and go for it...and pull the flight spoilers as well (preferrably all the way back to flt detent). I'd like to know why the crew never put their O2 masks on...they're there for a reason... And yeah, FL340 is pretty high. It's right near the service ceiling of the 737 Classic (-300/400/500) as well (which is FL350)...although I've been to 410 on a 737-700 :chemist:
Very sad to hear But, what does all that mean? I don't know any aviation terms so what you said pretty much makes no sense to me.
Wow, that's just really sad. ...and of course we have SmashPilot explaining everything with his fancy aviation terms.