from PE:
THE FLYING GAS CHAMBER.
The dangers of noxious fumes and organophosphates being pumped into the cabin and cockpit of British Aerospace 146 jetliners (Eyes passim) has at last been officially recognised. After years of denial – including a recent whitewash by a House of Lords Committee - the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and BAE Systems, as British Aerospace is now called, have at last admitted that the fumes pose a danger to both passengers and crew.
On 26th March, the CAA suddenly and unexpectedly issued an Airworthiness Directive (AD) about the fumes. By definition this is safety related and mandatory. The AD orders operators of the 146 to report any fume incidents to both the authorities and the manufacturer and to carry out a full and thorough investigation. Despite reports of crew incapacitation, and both long and short-term effects on the health of over 100 aircrew, of 800+ incidents to date only one has produced an official (and damning) report, while two others – one in Sweden and one in Britain – are currently being investigated.
Close inspection of the AD reveals a vague reference to a previously unreported “recent crew incapacitation incident in the UK”. Private Eye can now exclusively reveal the horrific details of that incident.
On 5th November last year, a British European 146 was on a flight from Paris to Birmingham carrying 5 crew and 42 passengers. Shortly after take-off an oily smell was reported in the rear cabin, but this soon dissipated. 20 minutes before landing, the captain left the flight deck to go to the toilet. The co-pilot did likewise on the captain’s return. 5 minutes later the captain felt nauseous and had difficulty concentrating. Simultaneously, the co-pilot became unwell with highly dilated pupils. He required assistance to put on his oxygen mask, his hands were trembling, and he had difficulty communicating. The captain then noticed that his own depth of vision was impaired. The landing had to be made automatically which the captain managed to achieve despite increasing nausea. Both pilots were taken to hospital on arrival.
The incident is now being investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) at Farnborough. The urgency attached can be gauged by the fact that while such investigations commonly take two years, this report will be rushed through in weeks. While the investigators, Peter Claiden and Eddie Trimble, are among the most experienced and most respected in the world, their task is hardly enviable. The cause is easy enough to identify – a broken or damaged engine oil seal which allows organophosphates from the engine oil to enter the cabin via the air conditioning system. But this is a design deficiency and what to do about it is quite another matter. Previous modifications have already proved inadequate. Nor can an order be made to change the engines. Quite apart from the financial implications, the engines simply don’t exist. Another suggested solution is that 146 crew – both flight and cabin – should wear masks. But that would hardly be popular with passengers.
But many experts round the world believe the only safe solution is to call time on this troubled aircraft. Another file in Dr. Trimble’s in-tray concerns a rollback to a KLMUK 146 last year. Rollbacks – another quirk unique to the 146 – occur when all engine power is lost at altitude and are also caused by the same design deficiency. The fumes incidents are likely to get worse as the aircraft age and get more leaky. This probably prompted the issue of the AD but – welcome though it is – that AD would not have prevented the Birmingham incident. Nor will it stop the same thing happening again.
Dr. Chris Winder, Head of Safety Sciences at Sydney University, has made a special study of 146 cabin contamination. He’s one of a growing band of engineers and scientists who believe that the 207 BAe 146’s flying world-wide should be grounded. “We call it The Flying Gas Chamber”, he says. “I really can’t understand why the authorities let it keep flying. It’s an accident looking for a place to happen”. It very nearly did at Birmingham.