I am informed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) there have been 306 reportable occurrences involving contaminated air during the five year period from 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2006, and a further 72 reportable occurrences between 1 January and 30 June 2007—shown as follows:
Reportable occurrences 2002 40 2003 35 2004 44 2005 78 2006 109 Total 306 20071 72 1 1 January 2007 to 30 June 2007.
This number of occurrences is out of an estimated total of 6.5 million flights over the same period by UK operators worldwide in public transport aeroplane operations. These annual totals are broken down by aircraft type in the following tables, specifically listing all aircraft types for which there were five or more reportable occurrences during that period.
Aircraft type Reportable occurrences involving contaminated air Boeing 757 9 De Havilland DHC8 8 British Aerospace BAe146 5 Embraer EMB 145 5 Various other aircraft types 13 Total 40 Note: During the same period, there were 1.1 million flights carried out by UK operators worldwide in public transport aeroplane operations.
Aircraft type Reportable occurrences involving contaminated air Boeing 757 12 Various other aircraft types 23 Total 35 Note: During the same period, there were 1.1 million flights carried out by UK operators worldwide in public transport aeroplane operations.
Aircraft type Reportable occurrences involving contaminated air Boeing 757 12 British Aerospace BAe146 6 Embraer EMB 145 6 Various other aircraft types 20 Total 44 Note: During the same period, there were 1.2 million flights carried out by UK operators worldwide in public transport aeroplane operations.
Aircraft type Reportable occurrences involving contaminated air Boeing 757 27 British Aerospace BAe146 10 Embraer EMB 145 9 Airbus A319 6 Airbus A320 5 Boeing 737 5 De Havilland DHC8 5 Various other aircraft types 11 Total 78 Note: During the same period, there were 1.2 million flights carried out by UK operators worldwide in public transport aeroplane operations.
Aircraft type Reportable occurrences involving contaminated air Boeing 757 43 British Aerospace BAe146 17 Airbus A319 10 Embraer EMB 145 9 Airbus A320 7 Boeing 737 5 Various other aircraft types 18 Total 109 Note: During the same period, there were 1.3 million flights carried out by UK operators worldwide in public transport aeroplane operations.
Aircraft type Reportable occurrences involving contaminated air Boeing 757 26 British Aerospace BAe146 11 Airbus A319 8 Airbus A320 7 Various other aircraft types 20 Total 72 Note: Estimate 0.6 million flights by UK operators worldwide in public transport aeroplane operations.
In 2006 the Department commissioned the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) to evaluate evidence submitted by the British Air Lines Pilots Association (BALPA) in relation to cabin air “fume events”. The COT received information from oil companies, airlines, engine manufacturers, independent scientific experts and pressure groups. The COT reported on 20 September 2007. Its report is published on its website:
www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/cotnonfood/index.htm.
The Committee on Toxicity considered that it was not possible to conclude whether cabin air exposures (either general or following incidents) cause ill-health in commercial aircraft crews. It recommended further work, in particular, and as a priority, to ascertain whether substances in the cabin environment could potentially be harmful to health. COT considered that this work should be designed to detect any potentially harmful substances, rather than focus on named substances.
In keeping with its commitment to promoting healthy flying, the Department accepts this priority. Through the Aviation Health Working Group, it has recently made preparations for such a study by testing equipment which may be capable of capturing substances released during oil and hydraulic fluid fume incidents. Once effective equipment has been identified it is intended to sample around 1,000 flights using more than one sampling device, more than one laboratory to analyse the results, and an independent project manager from the academic world.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has advised that UK air operators whose aircraft are required to be fitted with oxygen equipment must provide guidance to crews on its use in air contamination incidents. This guidance must be retained in their Operations Manual which is checked in the course of normal oversight by the Flight Operations Inspector.
Compliance with the guidance in the event of incidents will be monitored by routine review of Air Safety Reports and Mandatory Occurrence reports. Non-compliance would be raised formally with the aircraft operator, who would be required to propose and implement measures to ensure future compliance.