Warning over toxic fumes in plane cabins

Toxic fumes in cabin air pose a health risk to frequent fliers and aircrew, a coroner has said in a landmark report.

 

Stanhope Payne, the senior coroner for Dorset, said people regularly exposed to fumes circulating in planes faced “consequential damage to their health”.

 

Mr Payne, who is inquiring into the death of Richard Westgate, a British Airways pilot, called on BA and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to take “urgent action to prevent future deaths”. Most airline passengers, who fly only occasionally, will not be affected by the problem, but some frequent travellers who are genetically susceptible to the toxins could fall ill.

 

Mr Payne’s call for urgent action is likely to be welcomed by campaigners who have raised similar concerns for a number of years.

 

His report, obtained by the Telegraph, is the first official UK recognition of so-called “aerotoxic syndrome”, a phenomenon long denied by airlines but which is blamed by some for the deaths of at least two pilots and numerous other incidents where pilots have passed out in flight.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/11427509/Warning-over-toxic-fumes-in-plane-cabins.html

 

I remember flying from O'hare to Denver sitting in the back you could smell the fumes most likely from the APU. It was so strong you might be able to light a match and blow the whole plane up. LOL

Was it reported to a member of the crew or airport personnel? What did they say?

It's been years, but I think someone did mention it to a flight attendant and the FO or captain came back there. The fumes did go away.