Quote:
Originally Posted by Lemurian
Look, these messages are just the picture until 0214Z. What happened next is pure speculation.
BOAC replies: - maybe I'm not expressing myself clearly. I'm looking UP TO 0214Z, not 'next'. The point I am making is that there MAY be a case for saying the cabin was INTACT until the descent warning, which would cast doubt on the "the fin fell off and tore open the fuselage" line. In fact, how long would it take for the cabin to achieve 1800fpm? Could they even have been descending before the 0210Z message stream we have?
There have been contradictory, vague and confusing descriptions of this 0214z warning and it would be helpful if one of the experts would clarify exactly what it means.
A long, long way back in this thread, somebody suggested that this warning indicated a rate of descent of the a/c great enough that it would OVERTAKE cabin altitude before reaching ground level. In other words, if the a/c continued descending at the same rate and unless cabin altitude fell at >1800fpm, pressure outside would end up greater than pressure inside.
IF that is the true meaning of this warning, it indicates that two things were true at 0214z: (1) the cabin was still intact, and (2) the a/c had just started to descend at a rate sufficient to trigger the warning.
Could one of the experts please confirm the meaning of this message?