Originally Posted by
jbsharpe
Merely an interested pax also but have read the report. There didn't seem to be any explanation for how the male cabin crew survived?
My understanding was that there wouldn't have been sufficient oxygen available in the portable bottles for the duration of the flight?
JBS
Extracts from the report...
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Page 55 (1.12.2.10)
A total of four portable oxygen bottles were located at the accident site [...]. The following describes the condition of each of the four bottles:
• Bottle number 1: [...] The shut-off valve was rotated one revolution clockwise (360 degrees) until it was in the fully closed position.
• Bottle number 2: [...] The shut-off valve was rotated one revolution clockwise (360 degrees) until it was in the fully closed position.
• Bottle number 3: [...] The shut-off valve was found in the fully closed position.
• Bottle number 4: [...] The shut-off valve was rotated 1½ revolutions clockwise to the fully closed position.
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page 126
The amount of oxygen supplied by the passenger
oxygen system was designed to last 12 minutes. In order to retain consciousness after the depletion of the oxygen from the passenger oxygen system, a person on board would have had to make use of one of the additional means of oxygen supply available on board
the aircraft, i.e. the portable oxygen bottles. All four oxygen bottles were retrieved from the wreckage; three bottles were found with their valves in the open position. The Board concluded that these bottles were most likely used by someone on board the aircraft.
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page 33
1.6.3.5.2.2 Passenger Portable Oxygen
The cylinders have a maximum capacity of 311 liters (11 cubic feet) of free oxygen when pressurized to 1 800 psi. The oxygen could be used either through a four liter per minute outlet, or through a two liter per minute outlet, resulting in an oxygen availability duration of 1h 17 minutes or 2h 35 minutes, respectively.
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Always according to the report , during the FL340 cruise, the cabin was estimated to reach and maintain approximately an altitude of 24,000ft (ie a lot lower that the one attained by the aircraft).
The cabin crew would have initially donned the oxygen masks which activate with the rest of the passenger oxygen supply "rubber jungle" (and cannot be stopped once activated), while strapped in their seats .
Passenger oxygen masks were deployed at 061453Z when the aircraft was passing 18200 ft (cabin altitude 14000ft). The last 30 minutes of the CVR reveal that a chime similar to someone entering the code necessary to unlock the flight deck door was recorded at 084851Z ie 2h and 34min into the "partial compression" phase and noises were recorded consistent with someone donning of the oxygen mask and adjusting the captain's seat.
QED
TR
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