A loss of cabin pressure demands fast action and clear radio calls — an emergency descent is one of the most language-intensive situations in aviation. Here is the vocabulary of pressurisation and decompression.
pressurise (v.)
cabin pressure
cabin altitude
outflow valve
cabin altitude warning
rapid decompression
emergency descent
oxygen masks
don the oxygen mask
10,000 feet
hypoxia
time of useful consciousness
chemical oxygen generator
cracked windshield
door seal
You can study these words and phrases right here.
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Term pressurise (v.) Click the card to flip itDefinition To keep the air pressure inside the cabin safe and comfortable as the aircraft climbs to high altitude.
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Term cabin pressure Click the card to flip itDefinition The air pressure maintained inside the cabin. If it falls, the crew must act immediately.
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Term cabin altitude Click the card to flip itDefinition The pressure altitude the cabin 'feels'. In a decompression it climbs towards the aircraft's real altitude.
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Term outflow valve Click the card to flip itDefinition The valve that controls how much air leaves the cabin, and so regulates its pressure. A common source of pressurisation faults.
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Term cabin altitude warning Click the card to flip itDefinition The automatic warning light and horn that activate when the cabin altitude rises too high.
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Term rapid decompression Click the card to flip itDefinition A fast loss of cabin pressure. It risks hypoxia and demands an immediate emergency descent.
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Term emergency descent Click the card to flip itDefinition A rapid, high-drag descent to an altitude where the air is safe to breathe, flown after a loss of cabin pressure.
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Term oxygen masks Click the card to flip itDefinition Masks that supply oxygen when cabin pressure is lost. The passenger masks drop from the panels automatically.
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Term don the oxygen mask Click the card to flip itDefinition To put your oxygen mask on immediately — the crew's first action in a decompression, before starting the descent.
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Term 10,000 feet Click the card to flip itDefinition The altitude the crew descend to after a decompression, where the air is safe to breathe without extra oxygen.
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Term hypoxia Click the card to flip itDefinition A dangerous lack of oxygen in the body, caused by low air pressure at high altitude.
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Term time of useful consciousness Click the card to flip itDefinition The short time a person can still act usefully without oxygen at high altitude — seconds, not minutes, in the cruise.
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Term chemical oxygen generator Click the card to flip itDefinition The source that feeds the passenger masks. It runs for about 15 minutes and cannot be switched off once started.
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Term cracked windshield Click the card to flip itDefinition A crack in the outer pane of the windscreen. The inner panes still hold the cabin pressure, so it is usually a Pan-Pan, not a Mayday.
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Term door seal Click the card to flip itDefinition The seal around a door that keeps the cabin airtight. A failed seal can cause a slow decompression.
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