SkyWest Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Buffalo, Drops 28,000 Feet in 3 Minutes

The Federal Aviation Administration initially reported a pressurization problem and said it would investigate. Snow said there was no indication of any pressurization issues, and the FAA later issued a statement that did not reference a pressurization problem.

SkyWest also said there was no problem with the plane’s door, which some media initially reported.

Flight 5622 was originally scheduled to fly from Chicago to Hartford. The plane descended 28,000 feet in three minutes.

SkyWest Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Buffalo, Drops 28,000 Feet in 3 Minutes

What's strange about this story is the reason for the drop kept changing. First it was pressurization, then a door, and finally a sick passenger.

I used to fly all the time and I never heard a plane having to descend so quickly.

That'd play hell with your vodka tonic, and your stomach!

just to clear something, in your vast flying experience have you ever had to make an emergency landing?
If the nearest landing strip requires a plane to drop 28,000 feet in 3 minutes than what Is strange about that?

originally posted by: StoutBroux
That'd play hell with your vodka tonic, and your stomach!

And the ears!

a reply to: Daughter2

Somewhat hard to find but the jet was an Embraer E170, they don't seem to have a bad history at all. Maybe they use the same pitot tubes as Airbus...

Cheers - Dave

Probably another employee trapped in the luggage compartment.

a reply to: Daughter2

From what I have read, a certain rogue element from Israel (namely Mossad) currently have the capabilities to take control of an aircraft and are using this new technology to threaten governments. First Germany and France. Now the US.

Take the above with pinch of salt.

originally posted by: Daughter2

The Federal Aviation Administration initially reported a pressurization problem and said it would investigate. Snow said there was no indication of any pressurization issues, and the FAA later issued a statement that did not reference a pressurization problem.

SkyWest also said there was no problem with the plane’s door, which some media initially reported.

Flight 5622 was originally scheduled to fly from Chicago to Hartford. The plane descended 28,000 feet in three minutes.

SkyWest Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Buffalo, Drops 28,000 Feet in 3 Minutes

What's strange about this story is the reason for the drop kept changing. First it was pressurization, then a door, and finally a sick passenger.

I used to fly all the time and I never heard a plane having to descend so quickly.

Buffalo seems to be under a weather threat.

Here is the weather for Buffalo...

KBUF 222354Z 24011G19KT 10SM -RASN SCT010 BKN014 OVC019 02/00 A2969 RMK AO2 SLP059 SNB25E30B46 P0002 60003 T00220000 10078 20022 53022

KBUF Buffalo

I don't know what the codes for the weather is, perhaps someone else who knows can translate.

A passenger passed out, and it was reported to the pilot that it might have been because of a pressurization problem. The Captain chose to perform a rapid descent to get to thicker atmosphere to be safe.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
A passenger passed out, and it was reported to the pilot that it might have been because of a pressurization problem. The Captain chose to perform a rapid descent to get to thicker atmosphere to be safe.

One passenger?

Maybe that one person was asthmatic or had some other respiratory problem that made them more sensitive to less pressure. But if there was a pressurization problem on board, wouldn't the alarms on board notify him?

a reply to: WarminIndy

It depends. The alarms don't sound until the pressure level drops below a certain altitude in the cabin. If it was a slow leak it would start affecting one or two people that were more sensitive to altitude, then more and more.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: WarminIndy

It depends. The alarms don't sound until the pressure level drops below a certain altitude in the cabin. If it was a slow leak it would start affecting one or two people that were more sensitive to altitude, then more and more.

I have a portable oxygen machine operated by batteries. Next time I fly, I am going to take it with me.

a reply to: WarminIndy

Pressurization problems are extremely rare. I can count on one hand the number in the US in the last ten years. It's far more likely to happen on small private aircraft than on a commercial aircraft.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: WarminIndy

It depends. The alarms don't sound until the pressure level drops below a certain altitude in the cabin. If it was a slow leak it would start affecting one or two people that were more sensitive to altitude, then more and more.

They just said on the news it was NOT a pressurization problem. So why would the pilot drop?

a reply to: Daughter2

Because when a passenger passes out for no reason, it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially if the pilot is concerned about a potential pressure problem. An emergency descent doesn't affect the aircraft structure, so doesn't hurt anything. Yes, it's scary as hell for the people on board, but he chose not to take the chance.

There was a miscommunication somewhere about a door opening and several people passing out. If that was reported to the pilot, then off course he's going to do an emergency descent.

a reply to: WarminIndy

It's been a while since I've posted here on ATS, so I hope this posts correctly. I'm a simulatorf*g pseudo-pilot, and yes I've listened to ATIS reports, so I think I can decipher the Buffalo information for you. It'll read like this:

KBUF (ICAO code for Buffalo Airport), Time: 22:23:54 ZULU, 24011 is probably Heading 240.11 degrees for wind direction, 19 Knots wind speed on the ground along that heading, Visibility is about 10 Miles but I don't know if it's greater than or less than 10. Looks like there's some info you left out too; PCPN is Precipitation which reads as "Very Light."

I can't read much of this though, I'm used to the Automatic Terminal Information Service breaking down the weather info for me, but that is really more for pilots, telling them what to expect and which runways you'll be using in the conditions given.



What surprises me most is the fact that this thing lost 28,000 feet in 3 minutes; that's pretty damn steep. We measure the descent rate of aircraft in Feet Per Minute, and average descent rate for an approach is like, 2,000 FPM or 1,800 FPM, 1,500 even, depending on where you're flying or what you're up to. If we just take 28,000 and split it 3 ways you get a descent rate of about 9,300 FPM. I'm going to assume that the 28,000 was just the vertical distance covered, wasn't it? This descent just seems a little extreme to me for a response to a possible loss of cabin pressure... I mean, I get it if it's like that British Airlines thing where the windshield/windscreen blew out and the captain was wedged out the window, but you don't need to go that steep if you still have reasonable control of the situation and aircraft.

I don't see descent rates like that unless I'm playing War Thunder.

a reply to: TheOneFreeMan

That's about normal for loss of pressure. A 747 could do an emergency descent up to 10,000 fpm.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I was involved in a rapid decompression. It was in a P3, and we were only at about 15k when a seal failed in one of the manual sonobuoy chutes in the aft of the aircraft. No one was near it, so there were no injuries, but the air in the plane turned like fog for a minute, and wow, the ears...

The pilot had that bird down below 5k in a minute. A few of us, including me, had ear blocks so bad we almost passed out. When we got on the deck, we were sent to the dispensary, where they actually had to puncture our ear drums to release the pressure. I will never forget that hiss of air, and the instant relief.

a reply to: charlyv

We had a -135, I think it was the early 90s, coming back from England. The Nav stood up to do a sextant shot, when the overhead window blew out. The decompression was so bad it pulled his upper body through. That window is about a foot long by four or five inches wide.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: charlyv

We had a -135, I think it was the early 90s, coming back from England. The Nav stood up to do a sextant shot, when the overhead window blew out. The decompression was so bad it pulled his upper body through. That window is about a foot long by four or five inches wide.

Holy Moly. Talk about reliving your birth. That poor Nav had to have been injured pretty bad, did he survive?