By Rev Fr Omokugbo Ojeifo.
A short video of one minute thirty-seven seconds has been circulating on Facebook for the past two days. It is a video made by a passenger aboard an Air Peace flight from Lagos to Enugu. The video shows oxygen masks deployed, with passengers in commotion: screaming, crying, praying. The popular narrative on the streets is that the airplane almost crashed. Air Peace has given its own side of the story. But as you well know, some Nigerians love tragedy and would run to the market with stories that they often know nothing about. While I am not writing to defend Air Peace or any other Nigerian airline, I think that in matters like this ignorance tends to carry the day as people who have never smelled an airplane cabin in their life are so eager to make exaggerated claims.
For those who fly regularly, one of the safety announcements you always hear on board has to do with the deployment of oxygen masks. This is such a vital announcement because it is about the safety of lives. You would often hear in the pre-flight safety briefing, “Should there be sudden loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop down from the panel above your head. Place the mask over your mouth and nose…” The announcement goes on and on and tells passengers how to fit their own masks before attempting to help others. This pre-flight info may send shivers down the spine of fliers. But it is a safety procedure.
So when and why are oxygen masks deployed on a flight? Oxygen masks are deployed when a plane suddenly loses cabin pressure. Because planes fly at very high altitudes the air that passengers breathe inside the cabin is always regulated. Aircraft cabins are pressurised using cooled and filtered air bled from the engines. This helps to keep the air pressure inside the cabin at the air equivalent of about 8,000ft, even though planes fly sometimes as high as 40,000ft. This is done to make the cabin atmosphere comfortable and more pleasant. The dry air in the cabin helps to facilitate easy breathing. But this changes when there is a loss of cabin pressure. This loss can happen slowly or dramatically.
What can cause loss of cabin pressure? Several reasons. It could be a result of technical problems with the pressurisation system. It could be the pilot’s fault, for instance when the pilot leaves the pressurisation system on manual gear. It could also be as a result of cracks in windows or the fuselage, or incorrectly sealed door. It could be change in atmospheric conditions. These are all potential triggers. When one or more of these happen, cabin pressure changes. Whatever the case, the pilot is expected to make an emergency descent to a safe altitude of between 8-10,000ft. This can be a very bumpy experience because the descent is faster. So imagine that a plane loses/changes cabin pressure at an altitude of 40,000ft, the pilot will probably have between 5-10 minutes to descend to about 10,000ft. When this happens, you might think that the plane is crashing. But this is a safety measure. The pilot is actually doing what he should do.
Now you might ask, why does the pilot need to descend so fast? Because when there is a loss of cabin pressure, there is supplemental oxygen for each passenger, which may last between 10-15 minutes, after which passengers begin to experience hypoxia, that is oxygen starvation. This may lead to unconsciousness. Passengers may not even realise that they are oxygen-starved until they can no longer breath. That is why the pilot has to make the descent to a lower altitude faster where there less pressure is needed so that passengers can begin to breathe normally. When the loss of cabin pressure is dramatic, passengers might hear a loud bang, like a clap of thunder, because air inside and outside the cabin meet. Objects might even start flying around.
These are the possible situations under which oxygen masks are deployed. To be sure, it can happen with any plane anywhere in the world. It is not a Nigerian thing. That is why the pre-flight briefing about loss of air pressure is done whether you are flying from New York or Tehran or Beijing or Paris or Nairobi or Jakarta or Rome or Sao Paulo or Sydney or Addis Ababa. It is the same instruction everywhere. Has loss of cabin pressure ever led to air disaster? Yes, on a few occasions but the general consensus of aviation experts is that it is very uncommon. However, that is why cabin crew include oxygen masks in their pre-flight safety briefing.
Now, in the video recording of the Air Peace flight incident posted on Facebook, passengers were raising a hue and cry with “Holy Ghost” fire prayers all renting the cabin. You’d think that it was one of these popular religious crusades or revivals taking place. I can understand with them. You just think everything is coming to an end, and truly, sometimes loss of cabin pressure can lead to fatal disasters, but as I have said experts admit that this is very rare. I thought that passengers would have paid more attention to the pilot and listen to his instructions instead of the commotion and video recordings (which is really not advisable). Many of them refused to wear the oxygen masks, which is actually for their own safety. But the major issue is with the bandwagon of social media commentators that have skewed the entire incident to give semblance of a tragedy averted.
Like I said, I am not writing this to defend Air Peace. I know that the aviation industry in Nigeria has a long way to go to meet all globally accepted standards. But certification of airlines and airports is something that is done by ICAO and so there is no country that can bribe its way through if it does not meet the minimum standards. To that extent, we can be sure that basic safety measures are adhered to even here in Nigeria. I know that many of our airplanes are old and many of our airports are unable to receive flights when night falls because of their poor runway lighting. Even our four international airports cannot compete with local airports in many countries. That is why we must keep putting pressure on government and aviation industry operators to do the needful. I am sure that there is no airline operator that will wish a tragedy to happen because not many airlines survive after an air mishap. Huge costs incurred from paying compensations can lead to liquidation.
But my problem is with many of those posting and commenting on the videos made of the Air Peace incident on Facebook. One learned gentleman who posted the video said it was “cabin depression.” Cabin depression? Really? As if the airplane cabin is a human being that can suffer depression! That shows how much Nigerians like to talk about things that they don’t have sufficient knowledge or information about. Fortunately, I was still able to read many sensible comments. Those who are frequent flyers know that the sky is not always as beautiful as it seems. Anything can happen, from severe turbulence in the starry sky that can send passengers into panic mode to landing difficulties due to strong headwind, poor visibility, etc. This is the reality of the beautiful sky.. That is why we trust in God’s protection when we embark on our journeys and also trust that our pilots will be at their best.
Over a month ago, I was on an international flight. As we were about to land, a crew member came on the PAS and, as part of her landing safety announcement, said: “We now ask that you familiarise yourself with the nearest emergency exit.” I turned and looked at the passenger next to me and we both smiled, almost saying together, “We are going to land on this plane, no need for that.” But that is how much premium is put air safety. Two weeks ago I was on a BA flight from Edinburgh to London. The flight time was just an hour thirty minutes. But at various intervals the pilot kept ascending and descending altitudes through the bumpy sky because of the bad winter weather. At a certain moment I was becoming very nervous, but the pilot assured that everything was OK. He was very humorous, and that is what pilots do to calm nerves. When we were about to land, there was a very strong headwind which prompted the pilot to land with an unusual speed. When BA sent a questionnaire asking me to rate the flight, I gave the pilot 100%. I am sure they will take that seriously.
One unusual thing that has fascinated me over the last couple of years is watching videos of air disasters. I can’t tell how many hours I have ‘burnt’ watching such videos and they have really enriched my perspectives about what pilots do go through to put a plane up in the sky or to bring it down. I taunt myself that I will go to an aviation school and learn just the basics about flying. The science is just so awesome. That is why I make it a duty call to say a word of thanks to the captains on every plane I fly in. So when next you are flying in an airplane, listen attentively and take the pre-flight cabin briefing seriously. A recent well-researched article on cabin depressurisation in a British newspaper ended this way: “Clearly there is a reason the pre-flight safety briefing is there – if the rubber jungle appears, you really do need to don the oxygen mask. Tighten the mask and breathe normally, and please: no selfies.” May God always lead us safely to our destinations.
