Now, not to defend WS, but this may be a bit of media ignorance.

If the plane was indeed undergoing pressurization problems, this may well not have been the plane "dropping 20,000 feet" but instead was a controlled emergency descent by the pilots once the problem occurred.

The thing that makes me suspect this is the 180 degree turn. This was probably the plane heading back to Calgary.

And why do I suspect this? It hits close to home. This, precisely, is the reason that I went from 0 miles in the three years before 2000 to E that year. And the reason I was on the Glen Burns fear of flying course.

From personal experience... this is terrifying. And indeed, the silence is deafening. There is no sicker sound than those masks coming down

Simon