Safety
Toxic air: cabin air quality could have deadly results
The quality of cabin air remains a concern for aircraft manufacturers in their quest to ensure the safety of crewmembers and passengers.

The quality of cabin air remains a concern for aircraft manufacturers in their quest to ensure the safety of crewmembers and passengers. Even small oil leaks have laid the groundwork for a disturbing sequence of events that too often figure in routine flight report summaries covering airliner and corporate aircraft crews and passengers.

In one case, a Nov. 12, 1999, flight from Stockholm to Malmo, Sweden, the crew of a BAe 146 operated by Braathens Malmo Aviation reported feeling “strange” and experiencing a “moonwalk sensation.” During the third leg of the three-leg flight, the cabin manager went to the cockpit to find that both pilots were wearing their oxygen masks. According to the captain, he was so close to blacking out that he instructed the first officer to take command and land the airplane.