The verbs here are a bit alarmist - descended from 2200 to 800 feet over 45 seconds sounds less horrible - though this should have been reported even if just to NASA.
The article additionally says the entire ordeal lasted 45 seconds, but clearly part of that 45 seconds was a steep dive.
At a rate of 8600ft/min, they were in a dive for about 10 seconds. But obviously levelling off means a rate of dive a lot less than 8600ft/min.
As a passenger, even if I couldn't see out the window, you'd definitely
know you weren't going "up" anymore at that rate of decent.
I presume due to the lower partial pressure of oxygen.
Irrelevant. The cabin pressure is controlled independently of the Earth's environmental altitude pressure.
> Probably the lower oxygen content.
That's literally exactly the same thing as the thing that I said.
The verbs here are a bit alarmist
though this should have been reported even if just to NASA.
It’s intentionally kept separate from the FAA, which has the enforcement role, to encourage reporters to come forward. The second ‘A’ in NASA is ‘Aeronautics’, after all, so it’s a reasonable place to put this function. Reporting to ASRS comes with a certain degree of immunity to enforcement actions, and keeping it separate from the FAA reinforces that.
They have a monthly publication, Callback, which includes anonymised snippets of reports, with each issue presenting lessons learned and usually centred around a specific theme. It’s worth a look if you have an interest in how the US aviation system tries to prioritise safety.