Air China flight CA106 drops 21,000 ft after pilot smoking incident

Air China Flight CA106 from Hong Kong to Dalien experienced a rapid descent 1/2 hour into the flight . The plane dropping 21,000 ft
following a decompression alert was triggered by the co pilot smoking an E-cigarette in the cockpit. To disguise this the co-pilot
attempted to shut off the air circulating fan to prevent the fumes from entering the cabin. Instead he cut off the aircraft (Boeing 737)
air conditioning system which triggered a decompression alert as cabin pressure dropped. The oxygen masks deployed and crew was forced
to descend to a lower altitude

The plane continued on the Dalien despite having no emergency oxygen

www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/07/13/officials-say-vaping-co-pilot-caused-air-china-flight-to-drop-21000-feet.html

The incident is being investigated by Chinese authorities

a reply to: firerescue


Bad habits can get you into bad trouble.

a reply to: Phage

Ho Lee Fuk !

Sum Ting Wong !!!!!

a reply to: firerescue

The cockpit crew has already been fired.

a reply to: Zaphod58

You mean a firing squad? brutal

Just shutting off the Packs isnt as bad as I first assumed. I though maybe he some how triggered the blow out door. Either way FIRED is the correct remedy for this action.

a reply to: Pyle

The air conditioning packs are part of the cabin pressurization system - air is bleed from the engines, is cooled and
sent to the cabin.

Stake Air is exhausted from the cabin

Shutting off air conditioning prevents cabin air from being replaced, cabin pressure will drop causing decompression warning

originally posted by: firerescue
a reply to: Phage

Ho Lee Fuk !

Sum Ting Wong !!!!!

Is this what the cabin crew said over the PA system, before starting the rapid descent?

originally posted by: firerescue
a reply to: Pyle

The air conditioning packs are part of the cabin pressurization system - air is bleed from the engines, is cooled and
sent to the cabin.

Stake Air is exhausted from the cabin

Shutting off air conditioning prevents cabin air from being replaced, cabin pressure will drop causing decompression warning

Mostly correct, I just assumed it was something more dramatic based on initial reports.

originally posted by: carewemust

originally posted by: firerescue
a reply to: Phage

Ho Lee Fuk !

Sum Ting Wong !!!!!

Is this what the cabin crew said over the PA system, before starting the rapid descent?

No, it's what a local news once got rick-rolled into reporting

a reply to: firerescue

following a decompression alert was triggered by the co pilot smoking an E-cigarette in the cockpit.

Yeah right. I bet it wasn't no "E" cigarette, it was of them left-handed home rolls. Proly hit the wrong button while he was holding in the hit.


Did the co-pilot look anything like this:
Snoop Dogg in Soul Plane.


-dex

And they say vaping isn’t dangerous! Crazy stuff like Goose said “maybe I should just go to truck masters”
youtu.be...

What a horrible experience for those poor passengers, it apparently lasted for 15mins with people screaming as blood came from their ears, many of them required hospitalization on landing, i couldn't even begin to imagine how painful that would be.
Will definitely be a good payday coming for them though, I'd say they've earned it.

a reply to: firerescue

someone i was flying with is a prolific THC connoisseur, after take off he went to the bathroom and used a vape pen to settle his nerves. i prefer a xanax and a G&T for long flight naps.

the pen doesn't combust anything but works like a fog machine as the chemicals the THC is dissolved in boils at a relatively low temperature under 100C.

well the cabin was basically full and they almost landed the aircraft because of him as they thought he was releasing some sort of toxic agent into the air.

super embarrassing


so i wonder if there was more then just nicotine in the guys vape pen and that's why he tried to hide the smell, some of the nicotine only vapes smell alright i have a caramel cappuccino thats plesent

a reply to: penroc3

He was trying to keep the smoke confined to the cockpit. Otherwise it would have started coming through the cabin vents, and the crew would have wondered why they didn't divert once they reported it, and the passengers would have panicked.

a reply to: Zaphod58

but there is no smoke in an e-cig only a smell and maybe a small but quickly dissipating vapor.

seems like he panicked

a reply to: penroc3

I've smelled e-cigs vapors that have some pleasant aromas like fresh raspberries or cinnamon.

I've been told that THC vaporizers can have some unpleasant odors not unlike stale bong water.


-dex

a reply to: penroc3

I've seen some that blow quite a bit of smoke. He even said he meant to turn off the air circulation to prevent it from getting into the system, as he had many times. The system on an aircraft will pick up even a little bit of smoke and circulate it.

It's not like he was alone. If it was more than nicotine the other crew and possibly maintenance would notice. The fabric used in aircraft can hold onto smell pretty good, depending on how strong and how often it's exposed.

a reply to: Zaphod58


read that in days when smoking was allowed in the cabin, the exhaust vent, where cabin air was exhausted out of the
aircraft, the area around it was brown from the tar in the cigarettes.

a reply to: firerescue

Yeah, the outflow valve could get pretty vile. I never had to deal with it, thank god, but I've heard horror stories.