If you ’ve seen the aeroplane safety demonstration enough times , you know the drill for the oxygen masquerade . If there is a release in cabin pressure the masks come down . First , you put yours over your expression and pull the strap over your head , and then you help anyone else who needs it . make sense . You ’re no effective to others if you ’ve pop off out from lack of O . But what about the next part , when they tell you that “ although the traveling bag on the oxygen masquerade may not inflate , atomic number 8 is flowing to the mask ” ? If the bagful does n’t do anything authoritative , why is it there ?

The rider aeroplane mask are “ continuous flow ” masks , which are dissimilar from “ diluter requirement ” masquerade party , which are what the crew have . A diluter need masquerade only eject O when the user inhales . This prevents waste of oxygen and allow the instruments on the mask to find the exact oxygen level being delivered . It function to make certain the crowd stay alert enough to get the aircraft down into more oxygenated aviation .

A continuous flow mask is constantly release oxygen whether the user is inhaling or not . Passenger masks do n’t have to function as efficiently because they ’re there just to check that you stay alive . Even with some waste , there ’s enough oxygen to nourish everyone until the airplane accomplish denser air travel .

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The bag on the mask allows for a bit of oxygen nest egg . If the mask is situated well on your human face , the oxygen continuously make out out will collect in the base as you are exhaling or else of seeping out the sides of the mask . ( The air - flow on any atomic number 8 mask is one - agency . Exhaled breath does not journey back into the thermionic tube , but out of valve on the masquerade . ) However , even if there is a good sealskin , if you are breathe fast ( which is probably what ’s go to happen in a panicky situation ) , you ’ll probably suck down what ’s going through the handbag before it fill . They do n’t want the great unwashed thinking , " Hey this thing ’s not doing anything ! " and strike off the mask or freaking out if their neighbor ’s bag inflates but theirs does n’t . That ’s why the safety presentment need to reassure you that , yes , your mask is still doing its Book of Job even if the bag is n’t inflating . You ’ve get enough to worry about if the oxygen masks are down . Your oxygen masquerade party suitcase should n’t be one of them .