Originally Posted by
Magplug
The guy in the video appears to have made up his mind already. They should have had a co-pilot is his unwavering view. To suggest the F16 action in intercepting a Zombie headed for DC was something to do with whose campaign he donated to tells you all you need to know about the commentator (and the US mindset).
An insidious depressurisation above FL300 will not fog out the cabin or freeze out the windows. An explosive decompression might.... But it will also have you going straight for your oxygen mask! I have done a few decompression test flights at altitude so I speak from experience. The passengers asked no questions of the pilot after the expected flight time had been and gone? Why not?
DG is out with a second video that I find even less compelling. When he gets into his medical analysis, he wanders completely off the reservation.
There is a mindset that any decompression—fast, slow, explosive—will frost the windows. I agree that there is evidence that is not always the case; e.g., 2022 OE-FGR.
His medical (non-hypoxia) incapacitation theory hinges on the assumption that the two adult passengers would not have noticed the slumped-over pilot. While I’ve never flown in an older Citation, the few online videos from a cabin perspective show that the flight crew is clearly visible from the cabin. Seems unlikely that two conscious adults would not have attempted to render aid to the pilot and take action to address their urgent situation; i.e.. raise the cabin window shades, move to cockpit and start pushing buttons and twisting knobs. Then there’s the discussion of whether it’s technically feasible for a cell phone to make a connection from FL340.