Profession: Flight test engineer, full time, a huge organization you probably know...

Workday (test days): -[5:00] Wake up, try to catch a shower, eat -[6:00] Prepare for the days test events -[7:00] Brief the team, test points, priorities, safety, etc... -[8:00] First flight period -[11:00] Debrief, eat lunch, prepare for second period -[13:00] Second flight period -[16:00] Shutdown flight ops -[16:30] Debrief with test team and air crew -[17:30] Dinner -[18:00] Data analysis, planning for the next day -[20:00] Brief plan for next day to leadership -[21:00] Send summary for the days events home -[22:00] Relax and bed

Sounds like a great job. Do you enjoy it?

Absolutely! It's a great mix of day to day problem solving and exploring the limits of the aircraft.

Even if there was a slow decompression to 13,500 ft cabin altitude, almost no one would be unconscious. Hypoxia begins to set in as early as 5000 ft, but oxygen isn't even required in aircraft until you spend more than 30 minutes about 12,500 ft. Above 15,000 ft the average time of useful consciousness is still 30+ minutes.

Pilots are trained to 'detect' hypoxia but it is still /incredibly/ difficult.

>Even if there was a slow decompression to 13,500 ft cabin altitude, almost no one would be unconscious.

This person's theory claims that the autopilot would /maintain/ the aircraft's altitude. The cabin may slowly depressurise, but the altitude remains the same. TUC at 35,000 feet - normal cruise altitude - is only 30 to 60 seconds (on average!), which is nowhere near the 30 minute mark that it would be at <15,000 feet.

I am not experienced enough to comment on the plausibility of other aspects of this person's theory, but in terms of unconsciousness caused by decompression, it definitely seems plausible.

Though this article is likely dead I'll respond anyways. As the author notes, when cabin altitude reaches 13,500 ft, oxygen masks automatically deploy. This pretty much destroys the entire theory.

I agree about detecting hypoxia, it is very hard.