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New FAA Rule Turns Airplane Lavatories Into Deadly Traps:
Air Worthiness Directive 2011-04-09. That's the name of a new FAA rule that
might kill you one day. It dictates that emergency oxygen masks should be
removed from lavatories in every commercial plane in the United States.
The new rule was just made public by the FAA after keeping it secret for a
long time in the name of "national security". It was communicated to airlines
previous to this date and it has already been enacted in 6,000 airplanes
across the US commercial fleet as of Friday, March 4. But neither the
government nor any of these airlines have notified passengers about these
changes.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/27137202/detail.html
According to an official FAA note, it and "other federal agencies" (TSA
anyone?) think oxygen generators in lavatories are a "security risk".
According to these agencies, terrorists may try to use this equipment to take
airplanes down, turning the oxygen canisters into explosive devices.
The [FAA] recently required the nation's airlines to disable the oxygen
generators located in all aircraft lavatories to eliminate a potential safety
and security vulnerability. [...] The FAA, along with other federal agencies,
identified and validated the potential threat, then devised a solution that
could be completed quickly.
By taking out the generators, passengers who are in a lavatory during a rapid
decompression event will not be able to use the oxygen masks. They will have
to run out of the lavatory?in the middle of a confusing emergency
situation?back to their seats. They could potentially get assistance from a
member of the crew, but who knows what would be the status of the crew during
such an event. Michael Cunningham, a Gizmodo reader who experienced a rapid
decompression event on Soutwest Airlines Flight 2294, tells how hard this is:
"I was on Southwest 2294 when it decompressed. Going from a slight nap to
tunnel vision in 7 seconds sucks. I'd hate to imagine what it would be like
if my pants were also around my ankles in the process."
The result is that passenger could die or experience lung trauma. I consulted
airplane pilots and air crew members, and they confirmed that, even while
they could take the airplane down to a safe altitude, the death or trauma
risk is very real.
Rapid decompression is a serious risk
In the same note, Lynn Lunsford?Mid-States Communications Manager Federal
Aviation Administration?says that you shouldn't worry about this new measure,
because rapid decompression events are "extremely rare:"
"Rapid decompression events on commercial aircraft are extremely rare. If
there is a sudden loss of cabin pressure, pilots are already trained to guide
the aircraft to a safe, breathable altitude as quickly as possible. Flight
attendants are also already trained to assist passengers to quickly access
oxygen?including those in the lavatories."
But that's not really true: According to industry experts, decompression
incidents are not uncommon on both civilian or military aircraft. In fact,
about 40 to 50 rapid decompression accidents occur every year throughout the
world, according to a report (PDF) by the Aviation Medical Society of
Australia and New Zealand.
http://www.amsanz.org.nz/avmedia/24/am24_2Decompression.pdf
So yes, while there are almost no explosive decompression events?like the
1985 Japan Airlines Flight 123 that killed 520 people in a 747?rapid
decompressions events do happen. The most recent notorious case was in
October 2010, when an American Airline's Boeing 757 flying from Miami to
Boston had a two-foot hole open in its fuselage at 31,000 feet. With little
oxygen at that altitude, 154 passengers and crew had to use their masks while
the plane returned to Miami Dade International Airport.
The year before that, Soutwest Airlines Flight 2294 suffered a similar rapid
decompression incident.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines_Flight_2294
The 126 passengers and five crew members were making excellent use of the
oxygen masks in their Boeing 737-300 before landing at Yeager Airport in
Charleston, West Virginia.
This is exactly why there are oxygen masks in airplanes in the first place.
If these incidents were so "extremely rare" and could be handled by the crew
so easily, the FAA would not mandate aircraft manufacturers to install oxygen
masks anywhere in the plane. It was thanks to the masks that all the
passengers were perfectly fine. Without the masks, they may have died or
experienced lung trauma.
From now on, if you are in the lavatory, that may be your fate.
--
Peter Lucas
Hobart
Tasmania
"As we weep for what we have lost, and as we grieve for family and friends
and we confront the challenge that is before us, I want us to remember who we
are.
We are Queenslanders.
We're the people that they breed tough, north of the border.
We're the ones that they knock down, and we get up again."
Air Worthiness Directive 2011-04-09. That's the name of a new FAA rule that
might kill you one day. It dictates that emergency oxygen masks should be
removed from lavatories in every commercial plane in the United States.
The new rule was just made public by the FAA after keeping it secret for a
long time in the name of "national security". It was communicated to airlines
previous to this date and it has already been enacted in 6,000 airplanes
across the US commercial fleet as of Friday, March 4. But neither the
government nor any of these airlines have notified passengers about these
changes.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/27137202/detail.html
According to an official FAA note, it and "other federal agencies" (TSA
anyone?) think oxygen generators in lavatories are a "security risk".
According to these agencies, terrorists may try to use this equipment to take
airplanes down, turning the oxygen canisters into explosive devices.
The [FAA] recently required the nation's airlines to disable the oxygen
generators located in all aircraft lavatories to eliminate a potential safety
and security vulnerability. [...] The FAA, along with other federal agencies,
identified and validated the potential threat, then devised a solution that
could be completed quickly.
By taking out the generators, passengers who are in a lavatory during a rapid
decompression event will not be able to use the oxygen masks. They will have
to run out of the lavatory?in the middle of a confusing emergency
situation?back to their seats. They could potentially get assistance from a
member of the crew, but who knows what would be the status of the crew during
such an event. Michael Cunningham, a Gizmodo reader who experienced a rapid
decompression event on Soutwest Airlines Flight 2294, tells how hard this is:
"I was on Southwest 2294 when it decompressed. Going from a slight nap to
tunnel vision in 7 seconds sucks. I'd hate to imagine what it would be like
if my pants were also around my ankles in the process."
The result is that passenger could die or experience lung trauma. I consulted
airplane pilots and air crew members, and they confirmed that, even while
they could take the airplane down to a safe altitude, the death or trauma
risk is very real.
Rapid decompression is a serious risk
In the same note, Lynn Lunsford?Mid-States Communications Manager Federal
Aviation Administration?says that you shouldn't worry about this new measure,
because rapid decompression events are "extremely rare:"
"Rapid decompression events on commercial aircraft are extremely rare. If
there is a sudden loss of cabin pressure, pilots are already trained to guide
the aircraft to a safe, breathable altitude as quickly as possible. Flight
attendants are also already trained to assist passengers to quickly access
oxygen?including those in the lavatories."
But that's not really true: According to industry experts, decompression
incidents are not uncommon on both civilian or military aircraft. In fact,
about 40 to 50 rapid decompression accidents occur every year throughout the
world, according to a report (PDF) by the Aviation Medical Society of
Australia and New Zealand.
http://www.amsanz.org.nz/avmedia/24/am24_2Decompression.pdf
So yes, while there are almost no explosive decompression events?like the
1985 Japan Airlines Flight 123 that killed 520 people in a 747?rapid
decompressions events do happen. The most recent notorious case was in
October 2010, when an American Airline's Boeing 757 flying from Miami to
Boston had a two-foot hole open in its fuselage at 31,000 feet. With little
oxygen at that altitude, 154 passengers and crew had to use their masks while
the plane returned to Miami Dade International Airport.
The year before that, Soutwest Airlines Flight 2294 suffered a similar rapid
decompression incident.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines_Flight_2294
The 126 passengers and five crew members were making excellent use of the
oxygen masks in their Boeing 737-300 before landing at Yeager Airport in
Charleston, West Virginia.
This is exactly why there are oxygen masks in airplanes in the first place.
If these incidents were so "extremely rare" and could be handled by the crew
so easily, the FAA would not mandate aircraft manufacturers to install oxygen
masks anywhere in the plane. It was thanks to the masks that all the
passengers were perfectly fine. Without the masks, they may have died or
experienced lung trauma.
From now on, if you are in the lavatory, that may be your fate.
--
Peter Lucas
Hobart
Tasmania
"As we weep for what we have lost, and as we grieve for family and friends
and we confront the challenge that is before us, I want us to remember who we
are.
We are Queenslanders.
We're the people that they breed tough, north of the border.
We're the ones that they knock down, and we get up again."