Pilot handled loss of cabin pressure at 32,000ft professionally, says  Medview Airlines

Louis Ibah

Medview Airline on Thursday, dispelled fears on the safety of its operations, saying the loss of cabin pressure on its Lagos-bound aircraft late Tuesday was  professionally handled by the pilot-in-command, in line with global standard safety procedures. 

Chief Operating Officer of the airline, Mr. Michael Ajigbotoso, told journalists in Lagos that the airline’s Boeing 737-500 aircraft with registration number 5N-BQM from Abuja had developed problems with its cabin pressurisation system while descending into Lagos.

“When the captain noticed a warning sign of cabin depressurisation while desending from 32000ft altitude into Lagos, he quickly briefed the passengers and he referred to his check list and applied the necessary procedure to mitigate the situation,” said  Ajigbotoso.

Owing to the lack of oxygenated air at altitudes above 11,000 feet, aircraft flying at such altitudes are often presurised (with artificial air) to allow passengers breath properly and remain alive. Where there is loss of cabin pressure – that is where the equipment fails – pilots are obliged to descend as fast as possible to a lower altitudes while at the same time oxygen masks are dropped for passengers to wear over their nose and breath.

Ajigbotoso said the Medview Airline pilot had followed this safety procedure and that there was no harm to any passenger during the emergency descent.

“The oxygen masks dropped and they were  in good working condition for the passengers usage and the situation was professionally handled according to required operational standard procedures,” said  Ajigbotoso.

“The captain then called for priority landing from air traffic controllers because he had been on number seven on the queue, and he was obliged and he made a safe landing.  The passengers were calm as it did not pose a  serious danger to them,” he added.

The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), said it has been notified of the serious incident by the airline and that it has commenced investigation to unravel the cause and prevent a future occurrence.