Flybe ‘fumes’ incident caused by toilet
14.06.08
A pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after the flight crew were overcome by fumes from the aircraft lavatory, the Telegraph reports. The incident took place on a Flybe BAe 146 which was being flown from Birmingham to Belfast last September, and has been used to highlight 'fuming' incidents on flights - where problems with the air supply drawn from engines has been blamed for making crew and passengers sick. However, in this case it would appear that there is a completely different - if a little bizarre - explanation.
According to the Air Accident Investigation Branch the 52-year old pilot complained of feeling light headed shortly after take-off. Other members of the crew also complained that they felt ‘drunk’ after the fumes started seeping into the body of the aircraft and cockpit. All five donned gas masks. There were no passengers on board at the time.
The AAIB report into the incident says: ‘The commander described feeling a sensation in the aircraft like being drunk. He felt it was difficult to concentrate and he felt 'fuzzy.' ‘He felt similar to being inebriated and found it difficult to concentrate. The co-pilot initially felt she had a reduced capacity to fly the aircraft but this feeling quickly passed.'
‘One cabin crew member felt light-headed, sick and distressed. The other cabin crew member felt tired and sick. The origin of the fumes was traced to the forward toilet and was probably due to a chemical in the toilet.’
The report concluded that problem was caused by too much formaldehyde being used to clean the lavatory during maintenance at Exeter airport. A spokesman for the airline told the newspaper that cleaners had ‘overdosed’ the lavatory. He added: ‘The CAA's findings confirm the fact that chemicals used to clean an onboard toilet had resulted in the crew suspecting that the cabin air quality had been compromised.‘
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