Despite the complete loss of controls, the pilots continued to turn the control wheel, pull on the control column, and move the rudder pedals up until the moment of the crash. The pilots also began efforts to establish control using differential engine thrust, as the aircraft slowly wandered back towards Haneda. Their efforts were of limited success. The unpressurized aircraft rose and fell in an altitude range of for 18 minutes, from the moment of decompression up until approximately 6:40 p.m., with the pilots seemingly unable to figure out how to descend without flight controls. This is possibly due to the effects of hypoxia at such altitudes, as the pilots seemed to have difficulty comprehending their situation as the aircraft pitched and rolled uncontrollably. It is also possible that the pilots were focused on the cause of the explosion they heard, and the subsequent difficulty in controlling the jet. The flight engineer did say they should put on their oxygen masks when word reached the cockpit that the rear-most passenger masks had stopped working. However, none of the pilots did put on their oxygen masks, even though the Captain simply replied "yes" to both suggestions by the flight engineer to do so. The accident report indicates that the Captain's disregard of the suggestion is one of several features "regarded as hypoxia-related in CVR record[ing." Their voices can be heard relatively clearly on the cockpit area microphone for the entire duration up until the crash, indicating that they did not do so at any point in the flight.