Delta Connection Bombardier CRJ900 was flying from Providence, RI, to Detroit, MI, and had to divert to Albany, NY, after losing cabin pressure at high altitude. The aircraft landed without incident, and no one onboard was injured.
On Wednesday, November 27th, a SkyWest AirlinesBombardierCRJ900, operating as Delta Air Lines flight 3831, which services the nonstop route from Rhode Island T.F.
Green International Airport (PVD) to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), was forced to divert to Albany International Airport (ALB) after the aircraft lost cabin pressure at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
According to flight data from FlightAware, the aircraft took off at 5:38 local time and landed at 6:33, after a flight time of 55 minutes.
The flight was originally scheduled to be 615 miles but ended up being just 280 miles due to the diversion. The aircraft was roughly 30 NM southeast of ALB when the incident occurred.
The aircraft reached a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet around 17 minutes into the flight but only stayed at that altitude for two minutes before the crew performed an emergency descent procedure, descending to 10,000 feet in just four and a half minutes.
The aircraft declared an emergency and squawked 7700, the transponder code, to indicate to ATC that the aircraft was in an emergency situation.
It maintained this altitude for around twenty minutes before completing two hold patterns and diverting to ALB.
The aircraft then spent another 12 minutes descending from 10,000 feet before landing safely on runway 19.
According to ch-aviation, the aircraft with the pressurization system failure is N689CA, a 17.18-year-old aircraft produced at the Montréal Mirabel facility.
It was delivered to Delta Air Lines in October 2007. The CRJ900 has 76 economy class seats and is powered by two General Electric CF34-8C5 engines.
The aircraft averages roughly 2,000 flight hours and 1,500 flight cycles a year, putting the aircraft at an estimated total of 34,360 flight hours and 25,000 flight cycles.
The aircraft remained in ALB for 11 hours and then continued to Detroit for maintenance and inspection purposes, where it has remained as of November 29th.
A replacement EmbraerERJ-175 (registered N300SY) was dispatched to ferry passengers to the DTW. The aircraft reached Detroit with a 9.5-hour delay.
All major jetliners are pressurized to maintain a cabin altitude of roughly 6,000 feet. The aircraft uses air from the engine to maintain a particular pressure in the cabin.
This environment prevents the need for supplemental oxygen at high altitudes and prevents decompression sickness, barotrauma, and other physiological issues.
The air is cooled, and its moisture content is reduced to a level that makes passengers comfortable.
The system also has valves to help control the pressure in the cabin. The failure of these valves (mainly outflow valves) will prevent the system from pressurizing.
As a result, the flight must either be completed below 10,000 ft (the threshold at which the human body can compensate for the lack of a pressurized environment) or canceled.
