AA-465 - May 16, 2009 - KBOS - Pressurization Problem - Featuring 'Boston John'

[kea001]

An American Airlines Boeing 757-200, flight AA-465 from Boston,MA to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA) with 172 people on board, departed runway 09 and was climbing to 14000 feet, when one of "cabin pressure controllers gave the crew a hard time". The climb out was stopped at 10.000 feet, the crew declared emergency and decided to immediately return to Boston for an overweight landing (figuring, it would take them a "long, long time" to get below maximum landing weight). The aircraft landed safely on runway 04R 23 minutes after departure.

Aviation Herald
http://avherald.com/h?article=419b93b9&opt=1

Flightaware
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL465/history/20090516/1154Z/KBOS/KDFW

from: KBOS - May 16, 2009 - 1130-1230z
         Tower, Departure, Arrival North, Ground

Abbreviated to 14 min.

[mrhahn]

Thanks for posting!

"Asta lasagne, America 465"
"Don't get any on ya!"

 

[cessna157]

I don't know the details of the problem they had, but if they were having problems with just one of the pressurization controllers, then a diversion would not be needed.  But if they had lost both (or one was deferred and the other one bit the dust here), then I can understand the diversion.

The CRJ has 2 controllers, but only 1 is active.  They trade after every flight, or if 1 fails the other automatically jumps in.  But in the unlikely event that both are lost, the flight can be continued in a manual pressurization mode (which isn't all that difficult, it just requires keeping an eye on it and changing as you climb/descend)