Remoak,
Many BAe 146 pilots and engineers will tell you that the APU (the small jet engine at the rear of the aircraft - for the passengers benefit) has for many years given off visible light blue oil fumes when started from cold often for about 5 - 10 minutes just before the passengers board.
These fumes fill, the entire cabin and cockpit and the crew have to breathe them whether they like it or not. This is a fact.
These regular fume events have been going on for the life time of the aeroplane and although they
may have improved things recently, I flew the aircraft for 16 years and probably at a conservative estimate did about 1000 early morning starts? This would equal about four full days of breathing oil fumes, spread over 16 years.
None of these events would have been put in the tech log, everybody knows they happen and after a while they just become 'normal' and part of the job.
The thought of the testers now trying to capture a 'fume event' at altitude is clearly extraordinary. The main engine oil seals maybe fail once in every 2,000 hours - so what possible chance has anybody of capturing an event? It clearly suits them to be seen to be trying, whilst completely ignoring the obvious events on the ground.
To my expert eyes this looks like extreme unwillingness to check the obvious things first...
My recommendation would be to start an old APU on a cold morning, mis set the airconditioning controls such that the whole cabin is filled with visible blue fumes and start testing! What chemicals are in the fumes?
Still nobody would seem to know the answer to this question. How very convenient.
It might also be prudent to seat all of the doubters, particularly the people who dictate about there being "no conclusive evidence of long term ill health in aircraft" in the fumed cabin for about an hour so that they can find out if they are one of the 30% of people who over time develop a serious medical reaction to the fumes? They should be fuming and have the answer well within the hour.
When the people who know the answers are continually ignored - it gets out eventually, always.
The sooner the better!
DB
