user: Q: Malaysia Air Flight 370: Could Passengers Have Survived 777 Ascent To 45,000 Feet?

With so much media speculation about the Malaysia Air Flight 370 Boeing Boeing 777 aircraft ascending to 45,000 feet and then dropping precipitously into the 20,000 foot range, I’ve gotten numerous questions from reporters and the public asking whether the aircraft could climb to that altitude and whether the passengers could survive. First, it’s important to remember that the radar data showing the aircraft’s altitude is based on primary radar return data that is known to be inaccurate at great distances from the radar ground stations, as is the case here. While I do not believe that the aircraft actually climbed to 45,000 feet and then made a rapid dive to 23,000 feet, this answer addresses whether, if the radar data reports are accurate, the passengers could have survived. While no one, of course, knows how this story will end, and I certainly don’t want to give false hope to the families, I do think clearing up some technical points is helpful in the absence of the detailed, factual information normally provided in the US by the National Transportation Safety Board in these types of situations.

There has been much talk in the media about the radar data showing the aircraft climbing above the altitude for which it was certified by the FAA and higher than airlines normally fly. While it is true that the 777 was not certified to fly at 45,000 feet (it is certified to fly higher than most airliners,in excess of 40,000 feet) that does not mean that the aircraft cannot climb higher than that altitude. In fact, certification standards will allow for margins beyond the certification limits. While certainly not a safe or recommended practice, it would not be unusual for an aircraft certified at 40,000 or more feet to be able to climb to 45,000 feet without suffering catastrophic failures.

The radar data showing that the aircraft continued to fly after it hit 45,000 feet tend to indicate that there was no catastrophic failure. As far as the passengers surviving at that altitude, it’s important to remember that aircraft that fly above 10,000 feet have pressurized cabins. That is true, of course, of all major airline aircraft. These aircraft are pressurized to mimic the pressure experienced by the human body at an altitude of less than 8,000 feet. Regardless of the aircraft’s altitude in flight, the cabin pressurization system will mimic the pressurization at 8,000 feet or less. This means that at 45,000 feet, the passengers would likely feel the same cabin pressure as at normal cruise altitude. There is no reason to believe that supplemental oxygen would have been required. Or that passengers would not have been able to survive, if in fact the aircraft did climb to 45,000 feet.

A: With so much media speculation about the Malaysia Air Flight 370 Boeing 777  aircraft ascending to 45,000 feet and then dropping precipitously into the 20,000 foot range, I've gotten numerous questions from reporters and the public asking whether the aircraft could climb to that altitude and whether the passengers could survive. First, it's [...]


Q: Facebook Begins Testing New Timeline Design [PICS]

Facebook is testing a series of cosmetic changes to the top of users’ Timelines, the company has confirmed.

Screenshots of the new design were posted on Talking Points Memo Tuesday morning. The images (below) show a condensed version of Timeline, in which a user’s details (name, occupation, education, location) appear in reverse type on top of — rather than below — the cover photo.

The carousel of thumbnail images highlighting friends, photos, places, likes, etc. has also been compressed. Images are now replaced by thumbnails. Next to these, a new “Summary” section appears, presumably to highlight key events on a user’s Timeline.

It’s not clear if the new design will give users greater control over the appearance of their Timelines. We’re curious to know, for instance, whether users will be able to modify the color of the type that appears on top of their cover photos.

What do you think of the new design? Do you like the reverse type? Would you miss the thumbnail images if they were removed?

Back in the days when The Facebook was only available to select networks, the News Feed didn't exist. Users hopped between profiles like this one.

With the September 2006 launch of Facebook's News Feed, user profiles contained mini-feeds that displayed user activity.

While not a huge year for profile redesign, users began to interact more with each other's profiles -- remember Facebook Gifts?

2008 - The App Era

Users were able to add application tabs to their profiles (e.g. Bumper Stickers). Facebook also introduced the Publisher tool bar, which allowed a user to publish a status update, photo or link to his profile.

A new kind of user profile, Pages launched in 2009. Users could "become a fan" of a Page (until 2010, when they could "like" a page) to see that individual's or business' updates in their news feed.

2010 - A Visual Redesign

Late in 2010, Facebook launched a new profile that, up until this week, remained pretty much unaltered. Users took advantage by getting creative with the new photo banner at the top of the page. Also, Facebook told you what friends/fans you had in common in the upper right-hand corner of each page.

As of Sept. 20, Facebook's new ticker has the ability to follow a user around to every page, including profiles. The company also introduced a "View As" widget in the upper right-hand corner that allows a user to preview how others see her page.

Announced Thursday at Facebook's f8 conference, the new profile will act like a virtual scrapbook, featuring important milestones that have occurred since your time on Facebook. Compared to the evolution of the social network's profile thus far, this redesign appears the most significant.

A:

assistant: Facebook is testing cosmetic changes to the top of users' Timelines, the company has confirmed.