Double Pilot Incapacitation, EZY
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Double Pilot Incapacitation, EZY
Pressonitis or Gasteroentiritis?
Its a well known fact that the SOP '2 pilots must not eat at the same time' is almost universaly ignored on the line, but ironicaly one of the only Skippers to stick to it came a cropper recently on a Nice flight, allegedly.
Rumor has it that on arrival in Nice the co-pilot complained of food poisoning (from the crewfood) but the Captain persuaded him to press on with the return flight to Liverpool. You guessed it, on the way back to LPL the Co-Joe didnt get any better and then the Capt started to get the same symptoms from the same source (sauce?)......OOPS! Again rumor has it that they were both in serious risk of a double incap by the time they landed back at their base.
The ASR makes interesting reading. Maybe they will get an EZY special award for daftness like the crew that diverted into NCL a while back for 'smoke in the aft galley' which turned out to be dryice which had been chucked in the gashbin. One thing is certain they cant promote the capt as he is already a line trainer :-)
Its a well known fact that the SOP '2 pilots must not eat at the same time' is almost universaly ignored on the line, but ironicaly one of the only Skippers to stick to it came a cropper recently on a Nice flight, allegedly.
Rumor has it that on arrival in Nice the co-pilot complained of food poisoning (from the crewfood) but the Captain persuaded him to press on with the return flight to Liverpool. You guessed it, on the way back to LPL the Co-Joe didnt get any better and then the Capt started to get the same symptoms from the same source (sauce?)......OOPS! Again rumor has it that they were both in serious risk of a double incap by the time they landed back at their base.
The ASR makes interesting reading. Maybe they will get an EZY special award for daftness like the crew that diverted into NCL a while back for 'smoke in the aft galley' which turned out to be dryice which had been chucked in the gashbin. One thing is certain they cant promote the capt as he is already a line trainer :-)
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Whilst not minimising the potential seriousness of this incident in any way it appears that there is a lot of premature jumping to conclusions here.
I always understood it was the same meal rather than the same time (although that would make sense from the point of view that it would be sensible to have one pilot at the controls whilst the other eats)
Has anyone seen the pathology reports from samples of this meal - if indeed any were ever taken?
How can you be sure? You don't know that the airline food was the source of the pilot's problem. Isn't it possible that fresh meals would have been loaded at Nice and as this is the return leg would it not be unlikely that they were obtained from the same supplier?
The important word here is RUMOUR The FACTS, as far as I can see, are that one pilot became unwell (allegedly prior to the flight) and the other during the flight.
There is a very simple, possible explanation for this and one which does not involve food at all. It is a nasty, airborne virus called Rotavirus. No eating, drinking, or even sharing of mugs, cutlery etc is necessary and it can be very quick acting.
Its a well known fact that the SOP '2 pilots must not eat at the same time' is almost universaly ignored on the line, but ironicaly one of the only Skippers to stick to it came a cropper recently on a Nice flight, allegedly.
Rumor has it that on arrival in Nice the co-pilot complained of food poisoning (from the crewfood)
the Capt started to get the same symptoms from the same source (sauce?)
Again rumor has it
There is a very simple, possible explanation for this and one which does not involve food at all. It is a nasty, airborne virus called Rotavirus. No eating, drinking, or even sharing of mugs, cutlery etc is necessary and it can be very quick acting.
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I still stick to the rule not to eat at the same time as my Copilot
and not the same food of course.
I think this is common practise out there...
Keep the blue side up, jojodel
and not the same food of course.
I think this is common practise out there...
Keep the blue side up, jojodel
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How many crews on a nightstop enjoy breakfast from the same buffet service in the hotel? Or share a portion of chips/nachos (etc) in the bar?
Don't know the ins & outs of this case but double contamination could happen to any number of crews. Eating a different meal at the same time is probably the least dangerous.
Don't know the ins & outs of this case but double contamination could happen to any number of crews. Eating a different meal at the same time is probably the least dangerous.
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Its a well known fact that the SOP '2 pilots must not eat at the same time' is almost universaly ignored on the line
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Not a doctor here, but I have been informed by a chef friend that it takes some 12 hours for signs of food poisoning to show, so with that in mind, I would suggest it was something other than the Crew food.
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The only time I've been affected by food poisoning was as a pax on board a flight. Didn't need twelve hours - twenty minutes after finishing the meal I went white as a ghost, had cold chills and an upside down tummy. Barely made it to lav.
Está servira para distraerle.
I am reminded of the story of an SAA flight from Lisbon to JHB some years ago. SAA had just changed caterers at Lisbon and the food loaded on the 747 was the last to be provided by the soon to be replaced supplier.
Everyone on board went down with The Revenge. Rolled up blankets at the rear to absorb the effluent and so on. No where to land as in those days SAA had to fly around the bulge.
Very unpleasant all around. Presumption, not entirely illogical, is that someone at the Lisbon caterer company spiked all the food, or the water or whatever.
Also reminded of a rumour concerning a certain hostess or two at Air Botswana, some years ago, on F 27s. If offended by Flight Crew-they did so take offence so easily-not above slipping something nasty into Flight Deck coffee, or so I was led to believe one sunny day over Francistown en route Harare.
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Time to show symptoms
12 hours to show up food poisoning? More like 2 to 4, depending on the severity.
Long ago I had a Captain who shortly after climb was more or less incapacitated due food poisoning from his breakfast in Khartoum.
He had been trying to persuade me to eat the same hubble bubble - "delicious" he said.
The rest of the story is not really to my credit, as the FE and I brought the ship back to Europe, while the Captain monopolised the toilet. Had we known how long he was going to be out of service, we should have gone down earlier.
Long ago I had a Captain who shortly after climb was more or less incapacitated due food poisoning from his breakfast in Khartoum.
He had been trying to persuade me to eat the same hubble bubble - "delicious" he said.
The rest of the story is not really to my credit, as the FE and I brought the ship back to Europe, while the Captain monopolised the toilet. Had we known how long he was going to be out of service, we should have gone down earlier.
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Time to show symptoms
I will do my best not to be indelicate here.
When food is ingested, it normally works its way through the body in one direction. If the food is tainted, however, it might change direction and exit rapidly from the entry point. This might be after only a few minutes, as anyone who has been given an emetic knows.
I don't know what is the "normal" time for food to be processed by the body and passed out in the normal manner; twelve hours-ish, I would guess, possibly more.
The longer this process takes, the greater is the tendency towards constipation; the less time it takes, the looser the composition, if you know what I mean. The results of a two-hour process are not a pretty sight, I can assure you, and it has occasionally been impossible to tell which particular orifice was in use at the time.
A chef is the last person you should ask about food poisoning.
I guess it's breakfast time somewhere in the world - bon appetites!
When food is ingested, it normally works its way through the body in one direction. If the food is tainted, however, it might change direction and exit rapidly from the entry point. This might be after only a few minutes, as anyone who has been given an emetic knows.
I don't know what is the "normal" time for food to be processed by the body and passed out in the normal manner; twelve hours-ish, I would guess, possibly more.
The longer this process takes, the greater is the tendency towards constipation; the less time it takes, the looser the composition, if you know what I mean. The results of a two-hour process are not a pretty sight, I can assure you, and it has occasionally been impossible to tell which particular orifice was in use at the time.
A chef is the last person you should ask about food poisoning.
I guess it's breakfast time somewhere in the world - bon appetites!
Last edited by Farmer 1; 4th Aug 2005 at 20:07.
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The purpose of not eating the same is avoiding food poisoning. The purpose of not eating at the same time is avoiding distraction from flying, and most of all talking to ATC. It's amazing that some professional pilots here seem to follow rules but not knowing why...
The time between intake and outbrake is mainly depending on what it is and how the body reacts. A toxic substance (either put directly into the food or as a bacterial process) may react quicker than some expired or raw ingredients. Then it's depending on the amount of the toxic substances in ratio of the body weight. And me thinks that certain stomacs are more delicat then others.
Dani
The time between intake and outbrake is mainly depending on what it is and how the body reacts. A toxic substance (either put directly into the food or as a bacterial process) may react quicker than some expired or raw ingredients. Then it's depending on the amount of the toxic substances in ratio of the body weight. And me thinks that certain stomacs are more delicat then others.
Dani
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How many crews on a nightstop enjoy breakfast from the same buffet service in the hotel? Or share a portion of chips/nachos (etc) in the bar?
I've, fortunately, only ever had food poisoning twice, once after a Mexican meal in Reading - spent two days in a hotel toilet pointing one end at the toilet and the other at the shower - and a second at work - just made it to the bog and the result looked like explosive decompression
