Originally Posted by
PaxBritannica
The Captain's account shows that he couldn't use instruments, and had to fly visually and manually. Given that he had to stay pretty high to avoid mountains...what would have been the outcome if this had happened at night?
It adds difficulty but should not have changed the outcome. He stated he flew the route hundreds of times so should have had a pretty good mental plot of minimum safe altitudes. In addition the primary flight displays should have still been functioning providing terrain and nav information if they were in fact operating. I suspect given the type of headsets most airlines use communication would have been impossible.
Most if not all airlines have decompression procedures for flight segments where a immediate decent to 10’000 feet is not practical. Pilots are required to review those as they approach such areas. We get a reminder on the flight plan anytime we are entering a terrain critical area.