Originally Posted by
cardiomd
So, to the pilots on this forum (or the pilots of my flight if they are reading
How common is slow cabin pressurization loss?
My main issue for following up is how it happened -- will this happen again if it is not reported? I was simply curious before, but now I am concerned.
First of all, nice job of documenting the incident with the internet links etc.
Your experience is EXTREMELY uncommon. I've been flying large jets for 31 years, and I've had far more than my share of inflight problems. Engine failures, electrical fires, etc. In those 31 years, I have never had a pressurization leak - a fast one or a slow one. They are EXTREMELY rare.
Your Captain was correct in telling you that the masks won't drop automatically unless a certain cabin altitude threshold is met (Above ~12,000 feet for most large jets). The flight crew can always manually drop the masks anytime if they feel the situation warrants.
Your labored breathing had little to do with your stress. Cabin altitudes around 10,000 feet will affect everyone this way. Your crew may have wanted to stay at 10,000 feet for a smoother ride, but was then forced down to a lower altitude for easier breathing of the passengers. I'm sure they felt they would sacrifice the smoother ride for better breathing.
Sounds like they did everything right. Even IF the cabin leak was slow, they couldn't take the chance that it could turn into a rapid leak. The decision to initiate an emergency descent is exactly what I would have done.
The airline's PR department pretending that nothing happened is also no surprise.
Hope this was helpful.
Carl