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You can't leave your assigned altitude/trajectory without coordinating with ATC. Otherwise you may collide with another plane, which would make a bad situation

You can't leave your assigned altitude/trajectory without coordinating with ATC. Otherwise you may collide with another plane, which would make a bad situation worse.

mazugrin2 3y ago
Sure you can, and they likely did start descending before contacting ATC. But before they did any of that, they had to spend some time donning their oxygen masks and doing a few other "memory items" before then descending.
- michaelt 3y ago
  In this instance the report explicitly says:- > Both flight crew said they immediately donned their oxygen masks. They added that the flight deck door was blown open and that it was very noisy and difficult to communicate. > The flight crew immediately contacted air traffic control (ATC), declared an emergency, and requested a lower altitude. The flight was assigned 10,000 ft. The captain said he then requested the rapid decompression checklist, and the FO executed the required checklist from the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH). As the FO completed the checklist, the captain flew the airplane as they coordinated with ATC to return to the PDX airport. The flight landed on runway 28L without further incident and taxied to the gate. So in this particular instance, when the depressurisation happened at a comparatively low altitude, the pilots did get ATC clearance before descending.
lisper 3y ago
In an emergency you can do anything you think is necessary to address it. Source: I’m a private pilot.
- zer0x4d 3y ago
  You're conflating the right to do something with whether it is advisable to do something. Sure, you are ~allowed~ to begin an immediate descent in an emergency, but it is not a good idea considering from the pilot's perspective, the bang is most likely an engine going out and altitude is always your friend in this condition.
  - bink 3y ago
    The person everyone is replying to stated: > You can't leave your assigned altitude/trajectory without coordinating with ATC. They didn't not say it was advisable, but heavily implied it was required.
  - mrguyorama 3y ago
    The rule is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate". In an emergency, caring about ATC is literally your lowest priority, in every case. It is ATC's job to notice a plane no longer under their control and route other aircraft safely around it. Your entire job is to do everything you can to prevent the death of anyone onboard, and playing ham radio is rarely the best way to do that.
luizfzs 3y ago
Also, running checklists for specific types of emergencies.
16bytes 3y ago
Aviate comes before navigate and communicate. The pilot in charge is ultimately responsible for the safety of the aircraft, not ATC.

You can't leave your assigned altitude/trajectory without coordinating with ATC. Otherwise you may collide with another plane, which would make a bad situation worse.

mazugrin2 3y ago

Sure you can, and they likely did start descending before contacting ATC. But before they did any of that, they had to spend some time donning their oxygen masks and doing a few other "memory items" before then descending.

michaelt 3y ago
In this instance the report explicitly says:- > Both flight crew said they immediately donned their oxygen masks. They added that the flight deck door was blown open and that it was very noisy and difficult to communicate. > The flight crew immediately contacted air traffic control (ATC), declared an emergency, and requested a lower altitude. The flight was assigned 10,000 ft. The captain said he then requested the rapid decompression checklist, and the FO executed the required checklist from the Quick Reference Handbook (QRH). As the FO completed the checklist, the captain flew the airplane as they coordinated with ATC to return to the PDX airport. The flight landed on runway 28L without further incident and taxied to the gate. So in this particular instance, when the depressurisation happened at a comparatively low altitude, the pilots did get ATC clearance before descending.

lisper 3y ago

In an emergency you can do anything you think is necessary to address it. Source: I’m a private pilot.

zer0x4d 3y ago
You're conflating the right to do something with whether it is advisable to do something. Sure, you are ~allowed~ to begin an immediate descent in an emergency, but it is not a good idea considering from the pilot's perspective, the bang is most likely an engine going out and altitude is always your friend in this condition.
- bink 3y ago
  The person everyone is replying to stated: > You can't leave your assigned altitude/trajectory without coordinating with ATC. They didn't not say it was advisable, but heavily implied it was required.
- mrguyorama 3y ago
  The rule is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate". In an emergency, caring about ATC is literally your lowest priority, in every case. It is ATC's job to notice a plane no longer under their control and route other aircraft safely around it. Your entire job is to do everything you can to prevent the death of anyone onboard, and playing ham radio is rarely the best way to do that.

luizfzs 3y ago

Also, running checklists for specific types of emergencies.

16bytes 3y ago

Aviate comes before navigate and communicate. The pilot in charge is ultimately responsible for the safety of the aircraft, not ATC.