> ... the plane was in the air over 3 hours before
> the crash. Have a source for the 1 hour?
Nope. The timeline just posted above seems more reliable,
except ...
It says 1:20 from loss-of-contact to F16 intercept.
35,000 is the maximum altitude for sealed mask breathing
in an unpressurized environment. Even with an unlimited
O2 supply, it's doubtful that anyone but cockpit crew
could survive long. The passenger drop masks would be
useless without an emergency descent. And neither the
cabin O2 generators, nor the cockpit bottles last 1:20.
Note that the timeline doesn't mention when people
were observed moving about the cabin. Unless the
decompression was very slow, my bet is that everyone
would have been dead (but not "frozen solid") by
intercept time.
The only way a sudden loss of pressure can occur is if a hole suddenly appeared. When we test cabin pressure, we have allowable leakage, no cabin is air tight, close but not all tight.
A small leak would only have an effect in flight, if the AC system was turned off. or the Cabin Pressure regulator was stuck open. Usualluy it is failed to closed.
There are a couple of small portable O2 tanks in the passenger compartment of most planes, making it possible for a flight attendant or passenger to extend his or her breathing time until overcome by cold.
Wild speculation on my part, but my present guess is that the pilot's supplemental O2 supply didn't work, taking him out before the passengers. If he put on his mask when the instruments indicated a decrease in pressure, but while the air was still breathable, he could have gone before the passengers. Again, that is wild speculation without any factual support.