Cabin Pressure Prevents Your Head From Exploding
I'm in North Carolina on business. I thought this was going to be easy.
The plane took off from Philly on time. But a few minutes into the flight, the plane started rumbling. My ears began to pop and even my nose started making noise. Kind of like the ear popping noise, but in my sinuses.
I could hear the pressurizing mechanism grinding away, forcing a whoosh of air into the cabin, so I assumed the pressure would even out. It felt like someone was inflating a balloon inside my face. I was pretty tired and even though I was horribly uncomfortable, I shut my eyes and tried to sleep a bit.
Before I knew it, we were descending. I must have fallen asleep. The guy in the seat next to me had just returned from the shitter and he thought he missed out on some sort of announcement. He asked, "Are we stopping over somewhere or are we back in Philly?"
Shit. I thought we were in Raleigh already. I shrugged.
We landed and the pilot made an announcement. The cabin pressure device failed. The backup cabin pressure device failed. The manual backup cabin pressure device failed. Somehow air was escaping from the plane faster than they could pump it in.
They asked us to remain in our seats while mechanics took a look at the plane, then we could take off again. I overheard the guy in front of me talking on his cell phone while we waited. I heard him say, "Yeah, I guess the pilot figured we wouldn't be able to hold our breath for another hour."
Another passenger, an older woman, called for the male version of the stewardess to come over. She told him that tiny men crawled inside her ears and started hacking away at her brain with little axes. Or maybe she just told him her ears hurt. One or the other.
After a few minutes, they announced we would have to switch planes. It was now an hour and fifteen minutes after our original scheduled departure time.
All of the luggage had to be moved to a new plane, and all of the passengers had to walk to another gate. We waited there an hour or so, then finally boarded a functional aircraft. A couple hours later, I was standing outside the Raleigh airport waiting for the rental car shuttle. I finally got to the hotel around 1:30am.
So yeah it sucked to get here so late, but at least I learned something:
Cabin pressure is pretty fucking important. It really does prevent your head from exploding.
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September 23rd, 2005 - 04:20
It seems to be a case of just delaying the inevitable. When I fly, it’s usually to attend some brainless business meeting and there’s no mechanism in place to stop my head from exploding in those.
September 23rd, 2005 - 06:29
Shit.
I hate flying. hate, Hate, HATE!
Yes, I am a big, fat baby.. but I don’t care..
It’s hard enough getting my ass on a plane.. but with all these stories recently it’s like tempting fate. That stupid-ass Jet Blue thing.. all those international crashes and now your story..
Shit.
I have to get on a plane Oct. 5th. SO.. if you hear of a plane going down on its way to St. John.. you know that my prediction came true.. and I died in a blaze of glory..
Shit.
September 23rd, 2005 - 09:46
This is why we should all just evolve and grow wings.
Fuck, man. I want some goddamned wings. Leathery bat wings of evil flight.
So’s I can fly all evil and shit.
September 23rd, 2005 - 11:03
I’ve done lots of flying (Army Brat) and I never much liked it. I still don’t…it isn’t so much the ‘flying’ but the ideas that plague me every time I go up. Sometimes an overactive imagination is not a good thing. Numerous ways of the plane and hence my demise run through my head. I always give a sigh of relief when the wheels finally touch ground.
September 23rd, 2005 - 12:35
For some reason I have Queen & Bowie’s Under Pressure stuck in my relatively stablized head.
Glad you made it there safe if not sound though. May you have a better experience on the way back.
September 23rd, 2005 - 18:18
i’m glad your head didn’t explode.
September 23rd, 2005 - 18:27
Kyknoord:
This meeting was just like you described. Nearly 6 hours in a small conference room hundreds of miles away from home, surrounded by people who are totally stressing out.
LC:
Did you have a crush on Emilio Estevez circa 1988 (Young Guns 2)?
Ev:
I’d prefer an evil prehensile tail. You could climb and hang all evil and shit.
Jennifer:
I think a lot of us feel that way. Every time I’m in a plane about to land, I try not to look out the window. That’s the part that freaks me out. I always worry the plane’s going to skid off the runway and catch on fire.
Sar:
Ice Ice Baby. dun dun dun dun dunna nun na.
Heather:
Thanks. Me too. That woulda sucked.
September 23rd, 2005 - 21:48
JJ, I learned that lesson on cabin pressure from watching Total Recall. You should have known all of this already. Duh.
September 23rd, 2005 - 21:53
See you at the party Richter!
September 23rd, 2005 - 23:38
Wandered through on BE and I love the blog!
September 24th, 2005 - 00:09
Thanks Eric. I love the “China Poot” sign. Classic.