Pilot Sounds Drunk Declaring Emergency | ATC vs Pilots

Pilot is having problems flying the plane, speaking slowly with slurred speech gives the impression he could be drunk while flying.

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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:32 - Declaring an Emergency
3:24 - Ypsilanti
5:21 - Everything A-OK
9:44 - Descend FL 260

[clownhands]

“Other than that, A-OK”. Mad props to this guy’s hypoxic sense of humor.

[thefoolishtrav]

The pilot was amazing keeping himself together! You can tell he was running on 100% willpower.

[fruitygranulizer]

for all those who arent pilots there is still somethign to take away from this:

notice how despite being passed out for so long, the fo was able to wake up and resume normally functioning. that is because even after you pass out, you'll still be alive for a while and your brain just goes into this limp mode until it gets back oxygen. this is why you ALWAYS ALWAYS help yourself to the air masks before helping your kids out or any loved ones. it is important that you are able to get that one while your brain is still awake. if your loved ones pass out, its totally fine as long as you are awake to put on the mask for them after which they will be able to wake up.

[DaedalusYoung]

Some background info I Googled:
The incident happened in July 2008. It was a cargo flight, there were no passengers, only the Captain and FO were on board. The FO was unconscious, but his arm was flailing violently, and so he kept switching the autopilot off. This is why the Captain had to keep hand flying the plane, which caused him to concentrate and it's probably why he remained conscious. A second controller was indeed listening in after it became clear there was something going on. She recognised the hypoxia.
Both controllers received a safety award (the Archie League Medal of Safety) for the Great Lakes region for their actions in getting this plane to safety.
Neither the NTSB nor the FAA have reports on the incident, so the cause is unknown.

[opticalecho]

I can’t believe this guy held onto consciousness through sheer focus and force of will

[Automalice]

Huge respect to that captain for getting the attention of the air traffic controllers despite falling to hypoxia!!! Insane resistance!

[dlvox]

I went through hypoxia training in the military. In a pressure controlled environment. They simulated taking us up to “30, 000 feet” while on O2. Then we removed the masks and were required to perform several tasks. Simple math problems, paddy cake, reading comprehension. It is incredible. You would be amazed to know how quickly the symptoms arise, how you quickly lose situational awareness, etc. Then you don the O2 masks and within literally 1 minute you are like, “what the heck were we just doing”. It feels like right before you go under anesthesia if you’ve ever had surgery. That’s my best description.

[hadorstapa]

So, new piloting task order:
1) Respirate
2) Aviate
3) Navigate
4) Communicate

[thedevilinthecircuit]

As an AF flyer, I picked up on the hypoxia clues right away. We were required to attend physiological training (altitude chamber) every 18 months. My early symptoms were always loss of color perception and tunnel vision. We also practiced rapid decompression at 40K ft to train for mask-on and "gang load" the O2 regulator. This training can save your life, Kelsey. Get the training as soon as you can.

[Metoobie]

The second I heard the pilot's voice, my blood pressure shot up lol. Even if he was intoxicated, (and that would be REALLY intoxicated) I would still (if I was ATC) consider that an aircraft in distress. As a medic, I took on a patient one day, that everyone else ignored and even showed disdain to, because they assumed he was drunk; he was in diabetic shock. A red flag is the universe inviting you to investigate further. Yes, you're going to find a hundred drunk people. But the day you save a life, you will never forget. Also, the day that you could have saved a life and you choose to ignore it, I promise- you will never forget. It was really curious that ATC wasn't alarmed at the initial coms!

[youneke]

Hey Kelsey, I don't think you let the viewers know just how incredible this was by the captain. Hypoxia can be and is very deadly for a pilot because you will lose consciousness and sometimes not even know what's going on because of the euphoric side effect. This pilot stayed focus from FL320! All the way back down to FL110. The first officer was already passed out and his hands were flailing all over and knocking off the auto-pilot, which means if the captain lost consciousness it would be game over for both. No one knows for certain how the captain pulled this off but it is believed him being a long time smoker helped. His lungs were already accustomed to the lack of oxygen from his long time smoking habit so being hypoxic was another day at the office for them, thus keeping him awake.

[Drjoyce]

As a flight surgeon in the USAF, I completed altitude chamber training. Upon removing the mask at artificial FL350, I was required to perform small tasks. I multiplied when I was supposed to divide. I couldn't spell. I also started giggling and became giddy. It was interesting to observe fellow docs whose baseline personalities were accentuated. One airman fell asleep, another had no adverse effects, a third became very combative.
My one concern about the audio from this clip is the failure of the ATC to direct the pilot to immediately don the oxygen mask.

[suegardner]

Well, I'm glad you plan to do that course! When the pilot said 'everything is AOK' - that was eerie. There is such a striking difference in the before-and-after voices. Really quite scary.

[benedikt]

"everything else is A-OK!" - typical hypoxic euphoria. I once had a hypoxic pilot at a balloon meeting. Everyone (about 20 pilots) told him via radio to use oxygen. He answered everyone how great everything is and that all is good! Then suddenly he did not answer any more. Luckily a few minutes late he was on the radio again with a sober voice: "Thanks to all - I fucked up. I am on oxygen and NOW everything is OK! Thank you for your help!"

[ericsteinhardt]

Incredible how quickly the pilot recovers once he's no longer hypoxic.

[zidoocfi]

Speaking as a controller who develops training for my fellow controllers about emergencies, in the last five years we now teach controllers dealing with suspected hypoxia events, we should firmly tell a pilot to "put your oxygen mask on" in addition to clearing the airplane to an altitude of roughly 10, 000 feet. Before that, controllers were only taught to clear airplanes for a descent.

[grahamclark]

That was horrible. I really felt for them, The captain did amazingly well to hang on

[BonitaKayAllen]

I studied this case in initial training when I became a flight attendant. What saved this Captain and made it so that he did not pass out like his FO is that he was a chain smoker. His body was used to operating on decreased oxygen. The fact that he was a chain smoker actually saved his life. Because he remained at least semi-conscious enough to continue to function until they were able to get back down to a breathable altitude. When the FO finally came around neither one of them realized that there had been any problem at all. They did not realize what had happened

[Natalies_Page_Turners]

I initially thought he was having a stroke. Scary situation but thankfully the pilot could communicate the issue.

[redmond]

I heard a similar clip out of Australia before where the controller said loudly and clearly: "Aircraft Callsign, OXYGEN OXYGEN OXYGEN" Seems like a good way to get the message across to a pilot with very limited mental capacity