Originally Posted by
WingNut60
I'd have expected a few ruptured eardrums with the rate of decompression when the window went.
I wouldn't. With respect to cabin altitude/decompression, the loss of one window is not dramatic. It usually results in the cabin altitude climbing at about 2000-3000 fpm (about the same as the initial climb after take-off). In this event, it wasn't even a full window opening - it was (tragically) partially blocked. So the cabin climb rate would have been even less.
Possible that some may even have ended up bent.
Probably not. Decompression sickness (the bends) becomes an issue above 25,000 feet. The aircraft was about 33,000 feet when they commenced descent. An emergency descent typically achieves about 6,000 fpm rate of descent. Assume a conservative case of the cabin at 14,000 feet and climbing at 2,000 fpm when the descent was initiated. Solving that basic math problem has the aircraft and the cabin altitudes equalizing after 2.375 minutes at 18,750 feet. It's unlikely anyone would get 'bent' at that altitude.
Obviously a sudden drop to drop the masks.
The masks automatically drop when the cabin altitude reaches a predetermined level (usually between 10,000-14,000 feet). The rate at which the cabin altitude is increasing (or the 'suddeness' of the decompression) is irrelevant.
But did the fellows butt in the window make any difference? To cabin altitude, that is.
I'm curious about that as well. I suspect that they were only able to pull the lady in after the cabin and outside air pressures were approximately equal. After that the cabin would have been fully depressurised and any air loss from the cabin would have been due to a venturi effect. A butt in the window might slow/stop that. But was it enough to create an effective seal? Did the cabin start to repressurise? Was the gentleman stuck there until the cabin was depressurised after landing? Did he suffer any injuries - eg a Petechial Rash or worse?