EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; General Declared Emergency; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
Climbing through FL240 to FL320; Captain (pilot flying) and I (pilot not flying) heard a noise; and then we noticed our cabin losing pressure. As cabin altitude kept climbing; we requested to descend back down; we were only given descent to FL240 which we had already passed; Captain stopped climb at FL250 and began the descent at that moment. Descending back down Cabin ALT kept climbing rapidly; seconds later we asked ATC for lower they said they had to coordinate; by this time we had already donned our O2 masks and heard the 'CABIN; CABIN' aural warning; and we declared an emergency to descend to 10;000 FT immediately. We performed appropriate memory items; checklists; and descended to 10;000 FT MSL while still on the arrival. We then opted to descend to 8;000 FT to silence the 'CABIN; CABIN' warning; and once we noticed Cabin altitude steady and in green numbers; we removed the masks; notified ATC that we were no longer in an emergency state; and we continued to destination. Dispatch was informed of the occurrence; and gave us fuel burn numbers at our lower altitude; and we had no other issues to arrive at our destination. Passengers were informed through the PA system of what had occurred; and flight continued normally arriving 7 minutes early. Upon post flight walk around; I discovered a rubber seal hanging from galley service door. No indications were available until we heard a sound in flight. Our pressurization dropped due to a seal that malfunctioned on the galley door in flight. Lesson learned is to continue to stay aware and never let complacency take over; know immediate action items well; refresh proper use of initial action and QRH continually; otherwise this incident may not have gone as smoothly as it did thanks to coordination between all crew members involved.
Passing through FL240; on our way to the cleared altitude of FL320; both the First Officer and I noticed a rumbling noise coming from directly behind the cockpit. I looked at the EICAS and noticed the cabin rate climbing at over 1;400 FPM. I immediately looked down at the pressurization control panel to see if something had been bumped out of normal configuration. It was normal. At this time the cabin was rapidly climbing toward 10;000 FT. Without hesitation the First Officer and I donned our O2 masks and established communication with each other. I then told the First Officer to tell ATC we needed lower and hit the altitude hold button. At this point we were somewhere around FL250; with the cabin still climbing. The First Officer was very explicit; telling ATC we had lost pressurization and need lower immediately. ATC said to descend and maintain FL240. I started initiating the emergency descent procedure and heading down; telling the First Officer to declare an emergency. ATC said they could still not let us descend. It was not until the First Officer declared Mayday; Mayday; Mayday that we were cleared to 10;000 FT. We performed the emergency descent from memory. The First Officer backed both the rapid cabin depressurization and emergency descent with the QRH. At 10;000 FT the cabin was still showing 10;500 FT so we asked ATC for 8;000 FT. We descended to 8;000 FT the cabin altitude went back into the green. We stowed our masks one at a time and we told ATC we were no longer under an emergency. We talked the Flight Attendant to make sure everyone in the back was ok. They were. Then I had the First Officer make a PA to the folks and tell them what had just happened and to let them know we were still continuing on to destination. We contacted Dispatch to advise we were now flying at 8;000 FT and to let Maintenance know since we were supposed to take the same aircraft later. Dispatch sent us new burn numbers and weather advisories. We landed on time and the passengers applauded upon touchdown. I heard no negative comments during the deplaning process. During the post flight walk around the First Officer discovered 3 feet of service door gasket that had blown out.I've never had this issue in the past; and certainly experience is the greatest teacher. I would say I was very lucky in several areas. Firstly; we were only at FL250. We saw the problem developing and were in step with it and at the worst never far behind. I was very busy; but I do believe I saw the cabin altitude close to 16;000 FT. This happened in a matter of seconds. Had this blow out occurred at FL370 I think we might have had some passengers issues. My crew did a superb job. I have nothing negative to say; nor do I have any advise on how they could have done better. I do know we will all be paying more attention to those door gaskets during future preflights.
EMB-145 flight crew experiences a loss of cabin pressure passing FL240 during climb and declares an emergency. Descent to 10;000 FT does not silence the cabin altitude warning and the descent is continued to 8;000 FT. The flight continues to destination where post flight inspection reveals a galley service door seal has failed.