Most of us realize that nobody is "immune" to mistakes, and we stay on top of our game and stay sharp to minimize mistakes. PLENTY of "professional" pilots have made plenty of mistakes in the Flying 101 category. Landing at wrong airports, stalling on final, landing in the Everglades (three professionals in that cockpit) over a burned out bulb, some, amongst many, examples. FYI

 

Make sure your mask works before you go.

Put your mask on at the first sign of pressurization trouble.

Get down fast...but personally I'd try to coordinate with ATC first unless the cabin was in the 30's. Declaring an emergency will keep you from get violated, but may not keep you from hitting an aircraft below you.

 

I hope I'm never in the back of your airplane when we have a depress at altitude........

 

Does the TBM have a master caution light, or for that matter, any warning notification for low cabin pressure?

 

You'd prefer mid-air to sucking rubber? If the cabin's at 10K and climbing slowly you have a little time to mitigate the collision risk before plummeting blindly. I've done a couple, and one time got a real good look at opposite direction traffic on the way down.

 

It must. He knew he had a problem, sounds like he mismanaged it.

 

http://www.tbm850.com/2014/images/tbm/pim/PIM_700AB.pdf

Page 120.

 

I'd agree with the argument that slow D is more dangerous. Rapid decompression with an inoperative warning system is obvious, you know you need to descend. Most people do. Slow or gradual decompression with an inoperative warning system comes on gradually with no warning, your decision making is slowly affected and eventually you can't make any good decisions. Furthermore, the most dangerous non-pressurized flights I see are the guys from sea level that decide to go and fly XC for hours on end at 12,000 or somewhere thereabouts, same effect, it gradually creeps up on them. The ones that are cruising at 9 or something and go up to 13 to get over a pass and then back down do not seem to experience this nearly as much. Back when I did checkrides I'd occasionally have a person plan an IFR flight at some "legal, but long time at high altitude" flight to comply with some MEA. The question "do you really know what you are doing?" was on the forefront then.

 

But that is not what you said.

If you've got a slow leak and the cabin is rising slowly you can try to mitigate it with manual out flow ETC and if you are having success it would be appropriate to work on a clearance in that case. If my cabin is climbing rapidly and the rubber jungle is eminent it's time to go down. If you wait and muddle around and play the ATC clearance game until the cabin gets into the 30's as you said above you've made a grave error in judgement. And you might just kill some or all of your PAX by doing so. I am sick and tired of hearing about people allowing ATC to kill them by not understanding what they can and should do in an emergency situation.

The last one I had we got the cabin ALT master warning when the cabin climbed above 10,000. We popped the masks on and by the time I pulled a checklist the cabin was climbing above 16,000. Rapid descent time. ATC was advised passing FL310 we were at FL320.

It was a faulty outflow valve BTW. It would not respond to auto or manual inputs.

 

Was I on board that flight, hoss?

From the cardiomd files - decompression on a US Air flight.

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/ma...mpression.html

Thin air in back was quite noticable.