Editing Concorde (section)

===Cabin pressurisation===
[[Aircraft cabin|Airliner cabins]] were usually maintained at a pressure equivalent to {{convert|6000|-|8,000|ft}} elevation. Concorde's [[Cabin pressurization|pressurisation]] was set to an altitude at the lower end of this range, {{convert|6000|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/occmed/17.2.47 |title=Human Factors in the Concorde |journal=Occupational Medicine |last=Hepburn |first=A.N. |volume=17 |issue=2 |year=1967 |pages=47–51 |pmid=5648731}}</ref> Concorde's maximum cruising altitude was {{convert|60000|ft|m}}; subsonic airliners typically cruise below {{convert|44000|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Schrader|1989|p=64}}

A sudden [[Uncontrolled decompression|reduction in cabin pressure]] is hazardous to all passengers and crew.<ref>{{cite book |title=Flight Training Handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ioRTAAAAMAAJ |year=1980 |publisher=U.S. Dept. of Transportation, [[Federal Aviation Administration]], Flight Standards Service, 1980 |page=250 |access-date=15 March 2016 |archive-date=24 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624192910/https://books.google.com/books?id=ioRTAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref> Above {{convert|50000|ft|m}}, a sudden cabin depressurisation would leave a "[[time of useful consciousness]]" up to 10–15 seconds for a conditioned athlete.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theairlinepilots.com/medical/decompressionandhypoxia.htm |title=Cabin Decompression and Hypoxia |first=Mark |last=Wolff |publisher=PIA Air Safety Publication |date=6 January 2006 |access-date=29 January 2010 |archive-date=16 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316023131/https://www.theairlinepilots.com/forumarchive/aeromedical/decompressionandhypoxia.php |url-status=dead}}</ref> At Concorde's altitude, the air density is very low; a breach of cabin integrity would result in a loss of pressure severe enough that the plastic [[emergency oxygen system|emergency oxygen masks]] installed on other passenger jets would not be effective and passengers would soon suffer from [[Hypoxia (medical)|hypoxia]] despite quickly donning them. Concorde was equipped with smaller windows to reduce the rate of loss in the event of a breach,{{sfn|Nunn|1993|p=341}} a reserve air supply system to augment cabin air pressure, and a rapid descent procedure to bring the aircraft to a safe altitude. The FAA enforces minimum emergency descent rates for aircraft and noting Concorde's higher operating altitude, concluded that the best response to pressure loss would be a rapid descent.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library%5CrgPolicy.nsf/0/90AA20C2F35901D98625713F0056B1B8?OpenDocument |title=Interim Policy on High Altitude Cabin Decompression&nbsp;– Relevant Past Practice |first=Steve |last=Happenny |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration |date=24 March 2006 |access-date=22 March 2010 |archive-date=22 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022084743/http://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgPolicy.nsf/0/90AA20C2F35901D98625713F0056B1B8?OpenDocument |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Continuous positive airway pressure]] would have delivered pressurised oxygen directly to the pilots through masks.{{sfn|Nunn|1993|p=341}}