Originally Posted by
krismiler
Was the pressurisation turned back on ? A sudden and rapid increase in cabin pressure could cause these symptoms.
This is a good question.
Decades ago, I did the Physiological Training Seminar that was offered to pilots by the FAA. The one I attended was at Andrews AFB and there were 16 of us in the class.
One of the exercises was a rapid decompression from 8,000ft to something over 30,000ft. That rapid decompression occurred over 4 or 5 seconds. It was meant to simulate what might happen in an airliner that lost a window. We donned our masks and stayed at 30+K for a few of minutes before the recompression. The recompression took less than 5 minutes. All 16 of us did this (in two groups of 8). No one suffered any bleeding.
I can think of two things that were different: First, we may have been exposed to the high altitude longer than the Jet Airways passengers. Second, the air we were breathing may have been significantly colder.
BTW: I notice that they still offer this course - but in a toned down version and only in Oklahoma.
FAA Physiological Training Seminar