I'm glad that the subject of fire extinguishers has been brought up.
During my days with a certain UK based aviation regulator I was doing some work with fire extinguishers and discovered that BCF Extinguishers (as used in aircraft and which have been banned virtually everywhere else) are extremely hazardous, even deadly, when used in confined spaces - as discovered by the now deceased Israeli tank crew. The first aid treatment is to remove to fresh air immediately - this is slightly difficult at FL 350.
The chances are that if you do use a BCF extinguisher on board an aircraft with a fire you are going to have some very ill people on board, if not dead. Yes, of course the other option is not a particularly desirable situation but fires can be extinguished by other means. Portable, hand held fire extinguishers are about as much use as a chocolate teapot at fighting anything other than the smallest of fires so a CO2 jobby would be just as useful as BCF and a lot safer.
So I raised the question with said regulator - why are BCF extinguishers still used on aircraft? The answer - (paraphrasing) 'They're lighter and cheaper in terms of weight versus effectiveness.'
So a good CO2 extinguisher would be just as effective but heavier and you would probably have to lose one revenue earning seat off each aircraft. Heaven forbid that to be the case. BCF is not the best option when all factors are taken into consideration but it is by far the cheapest.
Give me a 5kg CO2 extinguisher any day over BCF. I will survive a lungful of CO2 but don't fancy my chances with BCF.
Oxygen cylinders are black with a white band, BCF extinguishers are green (quite bright usually) with big letters BCF on them. There is no CVD condition that would confuse black/white with green, not even monochromacy, and BCF is usually quite easy to read, even for dyslexics. The quoted case is clearly one of decision error when faced with a stressful situation, although why on earth the CA would choose to use CVD as an excuse is beyond me, probably to avoid being labelled Tit Of The Month.
What's the point of this revelation? It goes to show that safety (of passengers) may be compromised where cost is involved.
If you could prove that CVD pilots were cheaper to 'maintain' than colour normal pilots you'd all be flying for airlines tomorrow.(Tongue in Cheek)
Onto the subject of avionics and colour displays, or any coloured items on the aircraft for that matter. Who works on aircraft? B1 A&P and B2 Avionics Licenced Aircraft Engineers. How are the instruments coloured displays checked, to ensure colours are correct? By the B2 LAE I imagine. Who changes the coloured lenses of external aircraft lights and the flight deck instrumentation. The B1 LAE? Who drives the B-747 from the stand to maintenance hangars via the lit taxiways at night and back to the stand to park the aircraft using the red/green parking lights that the CAA Study reckons is safety CRITICAL? Company authorised B1 engineers usually. I don't know of any carrier which uses its flight crews for maintenance tasks.
Who doesn't have to undergo any form of medical testing by the CAA, including colour vision testing? Licenced Aircraft Engineers!! The CAA is quite happy for potentially CVD LAEs to drive heavy aircraft at night on airports and for potentially CVD LAEs to certify coloured displays as fit for use.
Which CAA Med Dept personnel are ATPL holders? The only one down at Gatwick with any heavy aircraft experience I'm aware of is RH, who took a sabbatical in 2006 to fly 757s for Globespan for 6 months. He may have got his 500 hours Multi-Crew experience in during that time. JF left the CAA in 2005 to fly for FlyBe (IIRC). There may be others, admittedly, but I can't say I was ever aware of anyone leaving to fly for airlines other than those mentioned above.
Personally, I feel that, given the CAA's arguments on this issue, commercial aviation experience would have to be an absolute necessity for any senior post holder. How can you justify any practical operational decision when you have no first hand knowledge of that environment yourself?
Check please!
Coat, Hat.....Whooosh........back under stone!