The Aerotoxic Logbook (ATLB) in English (EN)

Co-pilot unconscious after Fume Event during the landing approach

This is the horror scenario: one pilot suddenly smells the "old socks" smell, the other, who is currently piloting the plane, does not. But precisely that one is knocked out on the spot. The second helmsman, in this case, the captain, sends out a "Mayday" call and takes over command four miles before touching down, after he has donned his oxygen mask. Aviation Herald reported this on January 4th.

B.A. has - as we have reported here in the past - had such problems a lot lately. But, as usual these incidents are regularly - as has always been the case - played down. In any case, the Airbus A320-200 in question was maintenanced and had to spend about 85 hours on the ground to do so. That’s 3 1/2 days. That's how long it takes to clean the ducts and air conditioning of such an aircraft. And with such a number of work-hours, it also becomes clear why the airlines have little interest and even less desire to do what is necessary after a fume-event incident. Unless the 'customers', the passengers, put pressure on them.

As always, they did not notice and were not informed about the problem at any time. Not even later on.

A summary of the process  is available in German language at aero.de.

Over 50 Fume Event incidents at BA within one month

This was published in connection with a petition running via change.org. Most of the aircraft types are Airbus A319, A320, A321s.

So far, about 125,000 people have signed the petition. 150,000 signatures are the next target. The question is which other industry is allowed to harm the health of its employees and/or customers on such a regular base?

We are looking for more petitioners!

Once again 22 years on the DGB puts the subject of occupational disease on its agenda

The German GroKo coalition agreement states that politicians want reform, so something must be put on the table. The last legislative changes date back to 1997 - so some time ago. In these more than 20 years, a little more than 1 million people have probably been left empty-handed in the statutory accident insurance system, although they fell ill and with a (very) significant probability became unable to work on the job. Every year over 50,000 people fall from the social grid.

The DGB, German Head of all trade-unsions, and in particular also the, in the meantime active industrial union "Metal" had invited IG Metall to a conference: When the job makes you ill - the BK rights on the test stand.

Representatives of the parties CDU/CSU, SPD, LEFT and GREENS were invited to the panel-discussion - along with the leader responsible for social policy, Markus HOFMANN, DGB - CDU/CSU. They were able to present their ideas on reform in general and, in particular, on the Federal Government's draft bill (see entry October 17th).

Without repeating the discussion here, this insight emerged above all:

• Not all politicians know about the problems of the GUV system and of the difficulties of those affected
• Not all politicians take the trouble to take note of them.

We had informed all on the podium beforehand, drawing their attention to our compact summary here www.ansTageslicht.de/Reform.

In connection with the research project Risk Perception, we will evaluate who expressed which needs for reform and how and who addressed which fundamental problems.

If we were to give school grades, the parties and their representatives  performed like this: (= 1 equals best) 

•     LEFT-WING Party (MdB Jutta KRELLMANN): 1.3
•     SPD (MdB Bernd RÜTZEL): 2.3
•     GREENS (MdB Beate MÜLLER-GEMMEKE): 3.7
•     CSU/CDU (MdB Max STRAUBINGER): 4.3

In summary: only the representatives of the parties the LINKE and the SPD are real contact persons for these unsolved occupational health problems.

Summary of the London International Aircraft Cabin Air Conference 2019

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dieter SCHOLZ, himself a speaker at the conference in London, has summarized the results of all lectures and discussions in a condensed form: "Congress on poisoned cabin air in aircraft". 

The problem is complicated because it affects many specialist areas: Medicine/Aeronautical Medicine, Toxicology, Occupational Medicine, Aircraft Systems and Cabin Air Technology as well as legal aspects such as labour law. Everything is regulated differently in different countries.

In focus, among others: the strategic behaviour of the aviation business. "A tactic of obfuscation and delay is generally observed," says Prof. SCHOLZ. "For proactive companies, however, new business fields are opening up, which is also the case in the industrial area of environmental technology, in which Germany has an excellent standing worldwide.

New filter technologies were presented; however, it remains the fact that only RAM-Air techniques can completely eliminate the central design fault with bleed air. The Boeing 787 already uses this principle and also saves fuel with it.

Aircraft must be able to fly without polluting emissions and must have sensors installed for this purpose, something that is stated by FAA and EASA regulations. Indes: Nobody follows them, and no supervisory authority nor politicians intervene.

How strongly the FAA supports these concealment tactics, for example, is described by SCHOLZ using the model of a study by Judith ANDERSON from the Association of Flight Attendants, who had evaluated FAA databases according to Fume Events: 3000 incidents. However, the agency had only reported 18 of these incidents to the US Congress.

Similarly here in Germany - as we have described several times here in the Aerotoxic Logbook using the keyword, e.g. Fume Event (Screen: see right navigation bar; Smartphone: right at the end below).