Loading ...There are more reports daily from pilots that air polluted by engine fumes is making them ill and perhaps even incapable of safely handling their aircraft.
Once recent account from of Neils Gomer, a captain on a Swedish aircraft, who was almost completely incapacitated by toxic fumes. “It was during the descent that my first officer told me he was feeling really bad and very close to vomiting. He went on to oxygen. Five seconds later I, too, was close to vomiting. I managed to put on my mask, after which I could hardly move. We were sitting there flying at 600 miles an hour, late at night, both of us more or less incapacitated. I could not even raise my hand; I could not talk; it was like I was paralyzed.”
The pilot also stated that many of the 73 passengers on the flight were so deeply asleep that it was difficult to wake them up - a fact confirmed by the accident investigator, who noted that passengers were in a “zombie-like condition”. They managed to land, but said later that if he had delayed by seconds going on to oxygen the plane would have crashed.
Hundreds of incidents of contaminated air on aircraft have been filed by pilots in recent years. The concerns about the effects of toxic fumes from engines - which some medical specialists refer to as “aerotoxic syndrome” does not just effect pilots and cabin crew; passengers are at risk too. After examining Civil Aviation Authority records it is estimated that the problem is affecting up to 200,000 passengers each year.
The aviation industry has been criticized for knowing about the problem and doing little to tackle it. With reports linking exposure to contaminated air with long-term harm to health, lawyers report that passengers and crews are beginning to seek redress.
Last month the government began a study into the subject -The Department for Transport says that it is about to undertake ground-breaking research into incidents involving fumes.
In 50 of years of commercial flights with all the advances in design, safety and comfort, little has been done about the fact that both passengers and crew are breathing in air that comes straight from the engines.
www.caa.co.uk
