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| Date: | Thursday 13 August 1998 |
| Time: | 21:20 |
| Type: |  Boeing 737-204 Adv. |
| Owner/operator: | Peach Air |
| Registration: | G-SBEB |
| MSN: | 20807/341 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1974 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 121 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | Near Maastricht -
 Netherlands
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Dubrovnik Rudjer Boskovic Airport (DBV/LDDU) |
| London Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The flight deck crew reported for duty at 1430 hrs, and the cabin crew 30 minutes earlier at 1400 hrs. The flight departed from London Gatwick Airport on schedule and arrived at Dubrovnik at 1807 hrs. None of the crew observed anything abnormal on the outbound flight. The return flight departed one hour later and was uneventful until the incident occurred.
The aircraft had been in the cruise at Flight Level (FL) 350 with the autopilot engaged. Ten minutes before the expected start of descent, the commander went back to the toilet which was located at the rear of the cabin. On his way back to the flight deck he invited a female passenger to go forward to view the flight deck. After they had returned to the flight deck the commander resumed his seat. Shortly afterwards, at 2100 hrs, ATC requested the aircraft to descend to FL280. The first officer carried out the descent checks and closed the thrust levers to initiate the descent. However he then felt pressure in his ears and therefore checked the cabin pressurisation panel above his head. He observed that the cabin rate of climb indicator was at the top of its scale and pointed this out to the commander. The first officer then attempted to control the rate of climb, by switching to the standby system, but it had no effect. He therefore decided to put on his oxygen mask, which he managed without difficulty.
When the commander realised that there was a problem with cabin pressurisation his initial concern was to advise the visiting passenger on the flight deck to return to her seat, which she then did. He checked the cabin altitude indicator and saw that it was reading 20,000 feet. He therefore attempted to don his oxygen mask, but in doing so it became entangled with his spectacles and knocked them to the floor. He tried to retrieve them but lost consciousness and slumped forward. The first officer saw the commander slump forward and reached over to try to assist him, but was unable to do so.
The first officer then returned his attention to the aircraft, which was still at FL350, and noticed that the indicated airspeed had decreased. He initiated a descent to regain airspeed and transmitted a MAYDAY call to Maastricht ATC, requesting an immediate descent. However this transmission was partially blocked and there was initially no response from the controller. The first officer therefore repeated his emergency call and was then cleared to descend to FL250. Since this level was insufficient for a depressurisation emergency descent, the first officer repeated his MAYDAY call with increased urgency and twice more requested "immediate descent". The controller repeated the clearance to FL250 and advised that if the aircraft were to turn right, they could descend to any level. The first officer then transmitted another call in which he included the information that several people were unconscious. He was again cleared for descent to any level and was then given a radar heading.
In the forward galley the senior cabin crew member had felt pressure in her ears, heard a 'bang' and felt a rush of air, with 'misting' around. She immediately deployed the crew oxygen by manually opening the panel in the ceiling. In the cabin the passenger oxygen masks had automatically deployed and were used by all of the passengers. The passenger who had returned from the flight deck was able to take a seat in the front row of the cabin and to put on an oxygen mask.
The first officer then used the cabin call chime to attract the attention of the senior cabin crew member, who then went to the flight deck. However in order to enter the flight deck she had to remove her oxygen mask and although she knew that a portable oxygen set was stowed above row 8, she decided against the delay in retrieving the set and went straight onto the flight deck. The first officer pointed to the commander and indicated that she should try to assist him. However before she was able to do so she collapsed onto the floor next to the flight deck door. The first officer therefore made another attempt to put the commander's oxygen mask on for him, and fortunately succeeded.
Once the commander was on oxygen he regained consciousness. His first action was to deploy the speedbrake to increase the rate of descent. He then attempted to communicate with the first officer through the flight interphone, but was in fact transmitting to ATC. However he could not hear ATC at this time because of background noise as a result of his inadvertent selection of ADF identification on his audio selector. The commander was unaware that he had been unconscious and remained so until Landing. The First officer also noticed a Cabin Crew member was also unconscious. The aircraft continued and landed in London.
Accident investigation:
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Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f10840f0b61342000301/dft_avsafety_pdf_501410.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6427257 (Photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Feb-2025 08:13 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 13-Feb-2025 08:16 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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