Something In The Air?

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2020

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How safe is the air inside airline cabins? In January 2020, a British Airways flight from Athens to London issued a mayday emergency call when the pilot flying the plane became incapacitated during a "fume event". The airline industry does not reveal how often fume events happen, but according to some estimates they occur every day. Pilots and cabin crew say that sudden fume events and long term low level exposure to toxic cabin air are making them seriously ill and in some cases causing premature deaths. The industry insists that serious leaks of toxic gas into cockpits and cabins are relatively very rare, given the number of flights each day. And that no causal link between toxic cabin air and health problems has yet been proven. But airlines face multiple court cases later this year. For Assignment, Mike Powell talks to a representative of the airline industry about fume events, lack of transparency and claims that the health of hundreds of pilots, cabin crew and frequent fliers is being put at risk. Presenter: Mike Powell Producer: Paul Waters

Transcript

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0:00.0	January 2nd, 2020, 836 PM.
0:09.8	British Airways flight B.A. 633 from Athens is minutes from landing at Heathrow Airport.
0:17.0	Aircraft was on final approach to London Heathrow, established on the glide slope for 27 right.
0:23.0	We entered to tops of a layer of cloud.
0:25.0	At the same time, I, as pilot not flying, pilot one,
0:30.0	smelt a mild increasing to moderate smell of sweaty socks or ozone smell.
0:34.7	A serious problem is developing, which is why a confidential internal air safety report or
0:41.0	ASR was completed by the captain after the incident.
0:45.0	We're not supposed to see it, and you're not supposed to be hearing it.
0:50.0	Pilot flying didn't respond and had started breathing rapidly over the intercom.
0:55.0	I asked if he was okay, with no response, and asked again, and he replied a no.
1:01.0	By this time his head was dropping forward and was not really usefully conscious.
1:06.6	With the pilot who is flying the plane, the first officer out of action,
1:10.8	the captain takes over. Approximately seven miles to touchdown immediately donned my oxygen mask and stated that I had control.
1:19.0	Pilot 2 now fully unresponsive.
1:22.0	May day call, May a London Heathrow Tower,
1:25.0	stating piloting capacitation and intention to land.
1:29.0	The May Day call is used only in times of life-threatening immediate danger.
1:35.4	At some point during this time, Pilot 2 had recovered enough to put on their own oxygen mask,
1:39.8	but was still unresponsive to the question, are you okay? And still head down, not really moving.
1:46.0	The captain lands the plane safely and the passengers disembark normally, probably unaware of
1:51.5	the emergency in the cockpit. This is what's known in the airline industry as a fume event.
	...

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