737 Crash Near Athens

[redd]

FN, here's a link:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationw...5aug15,0,2088268.story?coll=la-home-headlines

 

[FN FAL]

ok...to be fair, there's a mention of running out of fuel in this article. I had not heard that was an issue until now. Thanks Redd.

 

[Donsa320]

Except it was noted in one of the articles that the F-16 pilots noted pax in the cockpit, so the doors couldn't have been locked if that is true.

Yep, we'll see. The CVR should tell us if anyone finally got into the cockpit. The running out of fuel is an even bigger mystery which I doubt is true. They should have flown on to the middle of Eastern Europe if they had normal reserves.
The US NTSB will probably help in the investigation but they must be down to about the "D" team. They have people in Canada for Air France and also two helicopter crashes in Europe and Africa that they are involved in.

~DC

 

[VampyreGTX]

The initial autopsy have supposedly been done and they are saying the bodies that weren't charred were completely frozen. So this leads more to depressurization than just a faulty A/C... never heard of an AC system that will turn a human into an iceblock, literally.

 

[Dizel8]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050815/wl_nm/crash_greece_dc

More news: Frozen bodies, SMS message from pax about pilot, people in Cpit.

 

[Donsa320]

The initial autopsy have supposedly been done and they are saying the bodies that weren't charred were completely frozen. So this leads more to depressurization than just a faulty A/C... never heard of an AC system that will turn a human into an iceblock, literally.

I'm beginning to think these reports don't pass the smell test....frozen solid in a hour and a half,... right! But people seen in the cockpit by the F-16 pilots... but the 737 is out of fuel, just over Athens...hmmm. I would not be surprised if this was a cover-up and that the Royal Hellenic Air Force had shot the 73 down. Or it is imaginative reporting by the news agencies.

~DC

 

[Swede]

Lots of speculation. Here's what I bet happened.

Cap drops back to whee. There is an explosive depressurization, which dramatically cuts time of useful consciousness. The FO dons, but unfortunately, the O2 system is out of O2, or the valve is closed. Pax and FA's have some limited O2, which unfortunately only keeps them conscious enough to realize they are probably going to die. The Captain passes out in the aisle trying to get forward.

Within 15 minutes, most of the O2 aft is gone, and both pilots are probably in a deep hypoxic coma and very close to death.

I really think it's as simple as an empty or broken cockpit O2 system combined with a poor pre-flight, which might have recognized the problem.

 

[VampyreGTX]

I'm beginning to think these reports don't pass the smell test....frozen solid in a hour and a half,... right! But people seen in the cockpit by the F-16 pilots... but the 737 is out of fuel, just over Athens...hmmm. I would not be surprised if this was a cover-up and that the Royal Hellenic Air Force had shot the 73 down. Or it is imaginative reporting by the news agencies.

~DC

I wouldn't quite say frozen solid in an hour and a half is too unreasonable at the air temp at 35K'. Given standard temps, and estimating 30*C at the surface, standard decrease in temp would mean approximatly -40* at altitude. I don't see it taking all that long for a human body exposed to that temp to freeze. Why would they have to cover it up? Plane isn't responding to ATC, fighter pilots see the f/o slumped over in the cockpit and two non-crew members trying to take control of the airplane. Not mush reason not to suspect an attempted hijacking there and give the fire command. Though why wouldn't they have shot it down over the water instead of waiting until it was over populated land?

Anyway, the frozen report is "suppsedly" directly from the coroner. Here's the quote from the MSNBC article.

Most of the bodies recovered from the Cypriot plane that crashed into a mountain near Athens with 121 people on board were “frozen solid,” a Greek Defense Ministry source said on Monday.
“Autopsy on passengers so far shows the bodies were frozen solid, including some whose skin was charred by flames from the crash,” the source, with access to the investigation, told Reuters.

I also don't knwo where the fuel starvation came from as I don't see any reports of that. The ensuing fire, which got pretty intense from the video (they were using aerial foam drops to contain it) seems to indicate some fuel still on board.

 

[JimNtexas]

Is is not customary for the pilot flying to don an oxygen mask if the other pilot has to get out of her seat?

 

[falcon20driver]

Is is not customary for the pilot flying to don an oxygen mask if the other pilot has to get out of her seat?

Yes it is, and from what I understand they reported a cabin pressure problem to ATC, so someone should've definately had a mask on.