Martin Did Not Get Asphyxiated

Martin did not get asphyxiated.  Your first thought might be “was he in danger of it?” The answer to that depends on whether you ask him or me.

Last week Marty and a few co-workers flew to a meeting in Colorado in a little Cessna.  Little Cessnas don't have pressurized cabins.  When I flew in a little plane like that oxygen wasn't an issue because our altitude before takeoff was about 25 ft.  In our short flight to Sacramento we did not pass over any major mountain ranges either.  Martin's altitude before takeoff was 6000 ft.  That extra 5075 ft or so make a big difference in how soon you need oxygen.  Additionally, Colorado is known for big mountains.  There were a few big mountains to be passed over during the flight.

Now, don't worry, Martin did not attempt to take the flight without oxygen.  That is, he didn't try it intentionally.  During the trip home he just couldn't tell if his oxygen was on or not.  He thought he flipped the switch far enough.  In between 14,000 - 18,000 ft he started to feel symptoms of hypoxia.  Sleepiness started to set in.  Unfortunately, Martin had woken up at 4:15 am to get to the meeting on time.  He just assumed he was sleepy from lack of sleep.

As a side note, a little Wikipedia research told me at that altitude he had 20-30 minutes of “useful consciousness.”   Internet research is also where I learned that hypoxia is the name of the “pathological condition” that occurred.  I didn't actually know that before.

Fortunately, before Marty's time of useful consciousness expired another passenger noticed Marty starting to doze and suggested that he double check his oxygen was on.  Once the flow of oxygen actually started Marty found it much easier to stay awake.  No damage done.

Marty says it wasn't a big deal.  The plane wasn't going any higher.  If he didn't turn the oxygen on, he would have only passed out until they reached a lower altitude.  Permanent brain damage or death could not have happened.  Of course, that's probably true.  No big deal.  He just didn't turn on his oxygen during a high altitude flight. No big deal.