WW24 (IAI1124) first officer describes a loss of cabin pressurization at FL360 resulting in an emerg...

Attributes
ACN	1180480
Time
Date	201406
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	IAI1124/1124A Westwind
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Vectors
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Pressurization Control System
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 4000 Flight Crew Type 900
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

We were level in cruise at FL360 when we felt a pressure fluctuation in the cabin of the aircraft. That feeling was reinforced by the cabin gauge showing a climb. After an uncomfortable amount of time had passed without the system returning to normal; we initiated a rapid descent to higher pressure air and monitored the cabin for the safety of our passengers. Checklists were completed in a timely manner and all necessary items were addressed. We declared an emergency in the midst of the descent as soon as we could make contact with ATC. We were vectored to a local airport and made an uneventful landing. The flight was completed with maximum attention paid to safety and passenger comfort. The anomaly is believed to be a rare occurrence caused by a faulty weight-on-wheels switch. The aircraft was taken straight to two different maintenance facilities to have the issue addressed.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: WW24 (IAI1124) First Officer describes a loss of cabin pressurization at FL360 resulting in an emergency descent and diversion for maintenance.

Narrative: We were level in cruise at FL360 when we felt a pressure fluctuation in the cabin of the aircraft. That feeling was reinforced by the cabin gauge showing a climb. After an uncomfortable amount of time had passed without the system returning to normal; we initiated a rapid descent to higher pressure air and monitored the cabin for the safety of our passengers. Checklists were completed in a timely manner and all necessary items were addressed. We declared an emergency in the midst of the descent as soon as we could make contact with ATC. We were vectored to a local airport and made an uneventful landing. The flight was completed with maximum attention paid to safety and passenger comfort. The anomaly is believed to be a rare occurrence caused by a faulty weight-on-wheels switch. The aircraft was taken straight to two different maintenance facilities to have the issue addressed.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

WW24 (IAI1124) first officer describes a loss of cabin pressurization at FL360 resulting in an emergency descent and diversion for maintenance.