What a Pilot Sounds Like With Extreme Hypoxia

After the recent loss of an aeroplane due to incapacitated crew, I thought this was an interesting example of how hypoxia affects pilots (well, or anyone else really) from 2006. Fortunately the ATC realised what was going on and ordered him to descend.

More detail at http://www.zerosixright.com/pilot-suffers-extreme-hypoxia/

LiveLeak description:

Remarkably, the captains inability to turn on autopilot requires him to have to work in order to fly the airplane, keeping him conscious and the plane airborne.

The pilots words gradually become more understandable, and around 11,000 feet, he returns to normal and confirms that he had, indeed, been suffering from hypoxia. NOT from today's crash.
bremnetsays...

Amazing - pilot seemed to come out of it so quickly and got clear over the span of a minute or two. Beer bar, wine bar, cigar bar, air bar, oxygen bar... hmmm.... BRB

Paybacksays...

Typically yes, especially in a Lear, but you need the presence of mind to hook it up. He was barely holding on to consciousness as it was.

lucky760said:

Wow, that's scary.

Don't pilots have oxygen masks to strap on in case of just such an emergency?

Very happy it ended peacefully.

lucky760says...

Right, but that's obviously once he's well into it. I'm curious about how it starts and gets to that point.

Without any education on the subject, what I imagine is the cabin starts losing pressure, an alarm goes off, there's still enough oxygen in the pilot's blood/brain to reach for oxygen, etc.

Did the cabin lose pressure slowly without the pilot knowing about it or was he overcome so quickly he didn't have time to react or what else might have happened?

Paybacksaid:

Typically yes, especially in a Lear, but you need the presence of mind to hook it up. He was barely holding on to consciousness as it was.

oritteroposays...

From perusing pilot's forums, it was probably a slow decompression. There is an article on the award given to the controllers which says:

Neither NTSB nor FAA databases contain the incident.

lucky760said:

Right, but that's obviously once he's well into it. I'm curious about how it starts and gets to that point.

Without any education on the subject, what I imagine is the cabin starts losing pressure, an alarm goes off, there's still enough oxygen in the pilot's blood/brain to reach for oxygen, etc.

Did the cabin lose pressure slowly without the pilot knowing about it or was he overcome so quickly he didn't have time to react or what else might have happened?

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