coldair

From the Press Association;
The Press Association: Medical alert over 'fainting flight'

Rather vague reporting to say the least;
....................................................

Medical alert over 'fainting flight'
(UKPA) – 10 minutes ago
Medical services have been called to meet a plane landing at Heathrow Airport after several passengers fainted during the flight.
Around six people fainted during the flight from Newark, USA, and London Ambulance Service was asked to meet the flight when it landed at Terminal Five at 6.50am on Saturday.
It was not known what had caused the passengers to faint so the emergency services wore protective suits.
A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said it is being treated as a potential hazmat (hazardous materials) incident.
An ambulance service spokeswoman said its hazardous area response team was sent to meet the flight, along with six ambulance crews, two duty managers and three paramedics on bicycles who are based at the airport.
Copyright © 2009 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Avman

Forgive me, but I've just had a vision of three paramedics racing down the runway on their bicycles.

brakedwell

I make that five bicycles

TwoOneFour

If you have more details than the report, then why not share them?

Basil

Chemical alert as six passengers faint on transatlantic flight to Heathrow - Telegraph

Xeque

Spare a thought for those who pay the wages.
It must have been wonderful sitting on the ground for 2 hours after a trans-Atlantic flight whilst firemen in gas masks wandered up and down the aisles.
Presumably this included the people who had fainted.
What did the emergency services think it was? Akin to a scenario from a Tom Clancy novel methinks.

CaptainChaotic

Why boys are turning into girls

"The 326-page report, published by the environment protection agency, is the latest piece in an increasingly alarming jigsaw. A picture is emerging of ubiquitous chemical contamination driving down sperm counts and feminising male children all over the developed world"

"It concluded that a child could be "at critical risk" from just a few exposures to high levels of the substances, such as from rubber clogs, and imperilled by the amount it absorbed from sources ranging from food to sunscreens."


The latest and greatest modern materials are first used extensively in the manufacture of aircraft. The exposure of passengers to these materials in an aircraft is far higher than you will find elsewhere, a lot more needs to be done to establish links between these chemicals and adverse health effects.

coldair

Obviously this is just 'breaking news' More info will become available in time.

Chemical alert as six passengers faint on transatlantic flight to Heathrow - Telegraph


Chemical alert as six passengers faint on transatlantic flight to Heathrow

More than 200 passengers were at the centre of an fumes alert at London's Heathrow airport after at least six "fainted" during a transatlantic British Airways flight.



By Julie Henry
Published: 11:54AM GMT 31 Oct 2009

The British Airways flight landed at Heathrow Terminal 5 Photo: AP


The Boeing 777 was ordered to a remote part of the airfield after landing early this morning, where it was met by 11 fire appliances and six ambulances.
The drama began as the British Airways flight BA184 from Newark, New Jersey, landed at Heathrow's Terminal 5 at about 6.50am.

• The crew of the flight deck had radioed ahead to warn that six passengers had fainted, amid fears that they could have inhaled some type of poisonous chemical or been struck by a mystery bug.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus boarded the plane and spent almost two hours checking for any sign of a chemical or fumes which might have caused the passengers' illness.
After the all-clear was given, ambulance crews were allowed aboard and treated the passengers, who reported feeling "light-headed" and "faint" during the flight. None required hospital treatment.
All 216 passengers, who were kept on board while firefighters checked the plane, were later allowed to disembark.
A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: "We were called at 6.41am to reports a number of people had been taken ill on a passenger aircraft. As a precaution we ran some tests on the aircraft to ensure there were no dangerous substances but they came back negative."
The spokeswoman confirmed the Boeing 777 aircraft had 216 passengers and 14 crew on board.
A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We were called just after 6am to Terminal 5 to six patients taken unwell on a plane.
"Six patients were taken to a health centre in the grounds of the airport. We assessed them and nobody needed hospital treatment. They were taken unwell on the flight and the cause of that is under investigation.
"We were discharged from the scene at 10.10am."
"The cabin area and flight deck were declared safe using equipment and by crews wearing gas-type suits," she said.
Police were also called to the scene but a spokesman said the incident was "not suspicious".

coldair

If the passengers were seriously affected it is likely that the cabin crew would have been affected too.

I think this should be in romours & news as it may have major implications.

PAXboy

No word yet as to WHEN the pax fainted. Cruise? TOD? Approach? Even roll out. That will be key info.

[The thread started in R&N and mods have just moved it here, leaving a pointer in R&N]

Roadster280

Might it just be CC being overenthusiastic with the heat controls? In the past, many is the time I have sat in my seat sweating after the meal phase because the heat has been cranked up (presumably to aid in sending the SLF to sleep?).

wbble

Probably toxic oil fumes from the engines. It happens all the time.

Xeque

Rubber clogs = 'flip flops'?
Does this explain the preponderance of 'ladyboys' in Thailand?

dubh12000

Wow, I get the 184 at least once a month. We are always early and end up doing laps before going in.

Can anyone see if they went straight in? a 6.50 landing for the 184 is "normal".

Moira

Sounds like case of mass hysteria ...

On second thoughts ... do 6 people qualify as a "mass"?

mickjoebill

Would it not be wiser to disembark passengers immediately rather than waiting for an emergency response team?

Unless the team have kit to check for contagious bugs why leave those who are so far unaffected to sit on the plane and possibly be further affected?

If the cause is unknown who is to know that landing and switching engines off could have exacerbated the cause?


Perhaps it is a case of with the best intentions, sticking to an emergency response plan that doesn't quite fit the circumstances?



Mickjoebill

radeng

If a PAX was seriously ill, the delay could have been fatal. Maybe the emergency plan figues that if the contamination is bad, fatalities have to be accepted to prevent further contamination......

It would be interesting to have an answer to that one at a news conference.

CornishFlyer

It'll probably be down to the fact that if it is a form of chemical "weapon" or something done maliciously (worst case scenario's will always be how the investigation starts then as things are ruled out, the "threat" will be downgraded) then the offending pax could destroy any evidence. Also it may stop the spread of something if it was something that was passing from one case to another. If it was an infection, Port Health would have quarantined the a/c so as to prevent anyone else being affected. Pretty much standard procedure. I doubt they would have kept the pax on for any longer than was necessary but you never know.

coldair

From 'The Aviation Herald'

Incident: British Airways B772 near London on Oct 31st 2009, medical emergency
By Simon Hradecky, created Saturday, Oct 31st 2009 14:53Z, last updated Saturday, Oct 31st 2009 14:53Z
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Can't rule our mass hysteria, stranger things have happened

Bob Upndown

If the cause of the fainting was unknown whilst in flight, would the flight deck have gone onto masks as a precaution?