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Crew, passengers fall ill on Jetstar flight after mystery smell

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Crew, passengers fall ill on Jetstar flight after mystery smell

Old 11th Mar 2010, 18:46
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Crew, passengers fall ill on Jetstar flight after mystery smell

From SMH :Jetstar passengers, crew fall ill after chemical smell

An intensive care paramedic and three ambulance crews met a Jetstar flight on arrival in Queensland this morning after six passengers fell ill on board.

Ambulance officers assessed the passengers, who complained of nausea and headaches, during the Brisbane-to-Mackay flight.

Four cabin crew were also checked after they reported feeling off-colour.

Flight JQ882, with 182 passengers on aboard, landed after 8am this morning.

The passengers, who were not sitting in the same area, reported to cabin crew that they were smelling a strange odour, and started feeling light-headed and nauseous, said Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway.

Their complaints were passed on to the pilot who made an announcement asking if there were any doctors on board.

Fortunately for the ill passengers, two doctors were on board and monitored the passengers ahead of the landing.

The pilot radioed for emergency services to be ready upon landing, and fire trucks and ambulances met the plane on the tarmac.

The six passengers required no treatment and no one was transported to hospital, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said.

Mr Westaway said it remained "bit of a mystery" as to what might have caused the passengers to feel unwell.

Firefighters and engineers were inspecting the plane, an Airbus A320, which has been taken out of service.

There was some 'chlorine-like' odour detected, but its source remains unknown, Mr Westaway said.

While technical staff continue to examine the plane, Jetstar's service between Mackay and Brisbane remains disrupted.

Any spare capacity on Qantas Link or Virgin Blue would be secured to help people get to their destinations, but some customers might have to be put up overnight if the plane remains out of service, Mr Westaway said.
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Old 11th Mar 2010, 22:46
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The class of passenger maybe

or were the CC doing some cropdusting
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Old 12th Mar 2010, 07:43
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'scuse me.....
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Old 12th Mar 2010, 07:52
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i'm betting it recently had a compressor wash....
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Old 12th Mar 2010, 10:13
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i'm betting it recently had a compressor wash....
And that would be evident on take-off, not three quarters of the way to Mackay!
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Old 12th Mar 2010, 10:31
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Maybe an overcharging battery that was venting!

FD
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Old 12th Mar 2010, 11:23
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Oil in the bleed air again?

Wasn't this an issue with a flight into CNS a couple of years back?

Something to do with oil pooling in a bend in the bleed air system? I seem to remember them having to do a full charge climb to "burn off" the offending substance...
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Old 12th Mar 2010, 12:14
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Something about this doesn't feel right. The time of flight is all wrong for a compressor wash although details should be forthcoming soon if that was the case. Perhaps it was one of those other things that previous contributors have mentioned.

The thing that doesn't feel right though is the fact that so few passengers fell ill because of this smell (6/182) but number of cabin crew did (4/6?). This seems to be that those that knew there may be a 'problem' were more susceptible to the 'problem'. It'd be interesting to hear if others (who didn't feel ill) also smelled the chlorine type smell. For it to be that bad that six pax and four crew feel ill but two doctors can beaver away attending to people again doesn't feel right.

Then there's the fact that despite falling ill, they all recovered very quickly afterward. Remove them from the perceived danger and all is good again.

It wouldn't be the first time in aviation history that a bunch of people went ill due to panic over something being wrong rather than there actually being something wrong. The DJ terminal in Melbourne a few years back was a case in point.

Anyway, I hope there is a rational explanation to all this. I hope there actually was something that caused those people to feel ill. Although either alternative isn't pleasant.
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Old 12th Mar 2010, 18:20
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i'm betting it recently had a compressor wash....
You will loose your money then.

Compressor washes are done with hot water these days. Thats all.
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Old 13th Mar 2010, 01:27
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Money on aircon bleed valve bearing and a case of group think
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Old 13th Mar 2010, 03:10
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yes strange that the majority of cabin crew complained.......probably looking for a way to terminate the day's duty early.
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Old 13th Mar 2010, 04:03
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Had an experience on a 767 once where an unpleasant smell wafted through the aircraft at TOD. No biggy. Mentioned it to the the engineers after landing. Ground test OK (ha ha). Next sector same thing. Futher investigation revealed nothing. Next sector had a staggered descent and the same smell went thru the aircraft each time the throttles moved to idle thrust. This time some pax and cabin crew felt a bit off. At the aerobridge both pilots and most cabin crew have watery eyes and a headache. Aircraft grounded. Group think-NO. Continued exposure-YES.
Wash up. Problem caused by a faulty bearing in a ground air cart in Sydney (plane dispatched with APU inop) which had deposited a contaminant (hydraulic fluid) in the duct system exacerbated when high pressure bleed valve opened. Aircraft required complete clean of duct system. These things happen.
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Old 13th Mar 2010, 05:54
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A well known and highly respected former Chief Medical Officer for QF used to instruct the flight / cabin crews that in case of an in-flight medical emergency, they were to identify whether any doctors were on board, then take whatever steps necessary to ensure they stayed OUT of the situation.....
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Old 13th Mar 2010, 07:09
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Relax Guys...this is just todays version of the BAE 146 scam of ten years ago!!
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Old 13th Mar 2010, 08:05
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National Jet...Bae 146...10/12 yrs ago!...!!
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Old 14th Mar 2010, 06:16
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Had similar "bad smell" experience some years ago.
Effected people were gagging,eyes watering ,etc.
Stopped eating airline food,..... problem solved!
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Old 14th Mar 2010, 10:40
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If the majority of the crew were symptomatic of a fumes event, I would want to know if they operated on that aircraft on a previous sector and, therefore, had longer exposure to whatever it was.

It would perhaps explain why the ratio of affected pax to crew was curiously imbalanced.
Arrived MK around 0845L ex BN, would be surprised if they operated a previous flight...
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