Aircraft fume disconnect

There's an interesting disconnect going on between the airline industry and regulators. KLM was recently sued by a pilot after his fourth bout of illness from fumes in the cockpit. He refused to fly the 737 again, after being recertified because the airline failed to do anything about it.

KLM, Lufthansa, Air Berlin and others have all admitted that fumes in the cockpit/cabin are a serious problem, and the governments of Germany and the Netherlands have called for international standards to be set, so the airline industry as a whole can solve the problem.

The disconnect comes in that no regulatory group has appeared to even begin moving on setting standards on the problem. The courts in the KLM case ruled that since his illness is not a recognized work related illness, KLM had the right to stop his pay, and he can't claim against insurance.

The CEO of ArkeFly is researching tests to determine who is susceptible to organophosphate poisoning. In the future employees may be tested for their susceptibility. He says that he's trying to get the condition recognized as a legitimate workplace illness so the company is protected, and employees that are sickened by it aren't left without a job, or insurance money from it.

The ICAO and FAA need to get off their butts and at the least get standards set for what's acceptable, so that the airlines and manufacturers can try to solve this problem. Not just for the crews, but for the passengers who are more susceptible to it.

flightglobal.rbiblogs.co.uk...

reply to post by Zaphod58


I agree that more investigation is needed and preventative measures should be taken for the safety of all at risk. However it depends on the scale of this incident. Is it in all 737s? Just the KLM ones? Would insurance companies just target those in KLM or just the 737? Money talks, and right now it says "use another plane if that one is too risky."

reply to post by Zaphod58


So this doesn't effect passengers or is it because the pilots are exposed to it so much more?

reply to post by MysteriousHusky


It's all planes. The reason that the 737 was specifically singled out is because of the court case. But it doesn't matter what type you are talking about, they have almost all had fume incidents through the years. The problem is that the pressurization system is run by the engines. That means when you get a bleed air leak, or an oil leak, or any kind of engine leak, it gets into the pressurization system.

That's one of the revolutionary changes with the Boeing 787. It uses an electric pressurization system, instead of the engines. It also uses a double filtration system to try to stop fumes from getting in.

reply to post by SixX18


It affects people differently. Some are hit hard by it in small doses, some don't even notice it. But it affects flight crews a lot more because, for example, Hawaiian and Go! Airlines both fly interisland in Hawaii, where flight crews may fly 10-12 flights a shift or more, because the longest flight out there is 45 minutes. Some passengers have complained of sickness after a flight too, but not to the point where they had to be hospitalized.

reply to post by Zaphod58


I have thousands of hours in 300,500,700,800, and 900 series of the 737 and this is the first I have ever heard of such a thing??

A web sight that list their fleet says they have parked all their 200, 300, and 400 series.... weird thanks for posting.

reply to post by 727Sky


I've heard about it in just about every type to date. No worse in the 737 than in others, except the 737 is used on so many short haul routes that the crews can get exposed more than others.

Zaphod58
reply to post by SixX18

 

flight crews may fly 10-12 flights a shift or more, because the longest flight out there is 45 minutes. Some passengers have complained of sickness after a flight too, but not to the point where they had to be hospitalized.

Maybe in that case where more flights are done by a craft daily, it just builds up from the previous flights as well. Interesting to know that the engines fumes can get inside the aircraft that way.

reply to post by SixX18


That's what most likely is happening, because they can fly several days a week. If they don't have a couple of days off to let their bodies purge themselves, then it can probably lead to what happened to the KLM pilot. That's one reason why they need to set standards and run tests, is to figure out if that's what is happening.

Zaphod58
reply to post by SixX18

 

That's what most likely is happening, because they can fly several days a week. If they don't have a couple of days off to let their bodies purge themselves, then it can probably lead to what happened to the KLM pilot. That's one reason why they need to set standards and run tests, is to figure out if that's what is happening.

I have one experience of being in a BA 727 in a tail seat on the tarmac as the engines revved for departure from the gate, what I was smelling was unused/unburnt fuel as well as exhaust fumes, and even the stewardess remarked back to me on the smell. Now I know there is stuff in fuel that is not so good, and I know that there is stuff in exhaust that is also not so good. My suspicion is that the bad stuff happens on the ground, and that the whole aircraft can be contaminated from that point.