...I think the maneuver is to roll the plane on its side and unload the wings into something like a sideways 0 g condition. This drops the plane quickly and doesn't build up airspeed like a dive would.
Wow, I've never heard of a commercial airliner pulling a manuever like that. What is it called?
By 0g, I assume it would be like riding NASA's "Vomit Comet" training aircraft that simulates 0g? Nothing better than tasting the same airline meal "twice" on a long flight!
I'm speculating on this somewhat because I'm not a trained airline pilot. (just a light airplane pilot, glider flight instructor, and historian of local airplane crashes - maybe a real line pilot can chime in?) The difference being that you'd be riding the plane while it's at a very high bank angle. Vomit Comet does its thing wings-level.
But I could safely say that the maneuver would be called the "sudden decompression emergency descent maneuver" - or something like it :-) (Followed by the "mass upchuck chorus")
Descending without building up excessive speed is important. High speed means an indelicate pullup could bend wings, cause high g in the cabin and you still have to bleed off the speed. And simple airspeed = airframe stress. There is a reason there is a Redline Speed (Max. Never Exceed). You also have a maximum speed for flight thru turbulence so.... getting down when it's bumpy also needs to be achievable.
Yes, it would be quite the chaotic ride down.
Better for the emergency to be slow decompression so changing altitudes briskly would do the job.
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