On 22 March 2013, a German B757 took off from Hamburg airport with destination Gran Canaria, Spain, right after getting a deicing treatment. At the start of its descent, the crew noticed a strong smell, apparently coming from the air-conditioning system. More than a year later, the CIAIAC (the Spanish Air Accident Investigation body) published a quite alarming interim statement, declaring that two of the crewmembers of that flight are now seriously ill as a result of this incident and have been incapacitated. This story reminds us that fume events can lead to serious health and safety issues. BeCA therefore prepared a technical paper with some clear recommendations to the crew. Here is a short summary of it.

Oil Smells In the Cockpit (OSICs) constitute an important threat to flight safety and the crew and passengers’ health. They must therefore be taken seriously. They usually come from heated engine oil leaking into the bleed air supply. The sources of contamination may be diverse: excessive engine oil levels; faulty engine oil seals; oils and grease used in maintenance of the air supply ducting; and the APU, among others.

What are the symptoms?

A fume is a gas or vapour that smells strongly and is dangerous to inhale. An oil fume event happens when oil smell is perceived in the cockpit / cabin. Research showed that the main symptoms were: headache, fatigue and mental confusion, nose and eye irritation. However, effects can sometimes be felt days or months later. Given the symptoms, it is easy to understand why these events can compromise the safety of the flight. But it is also important to stress the potential long-term effects on the crew and passengers’ health, which can lead to incapacitation.

Recommendations

During the flight, if you detect oil smell:

• Always consider donning the oxygen masks.
• If the crew’s performance is impaired, use oxygen at 100%
• Where appropriate, consider following the “smoke/fume checklist”

After the flight, we recommend you should:

• Write the airplane technical log as accurately as possible
• Complete ASR/MOR forms
• File a report to the national authority (it is an EU requirement)
• Not operate if you felt bad during the flight (unless you have been declared fit to fly)
• Inform your employer. You must follow the work accident procedure
• Take 50ml of blood and keep it refrigerated for possible future tests
• Record medical data for 72 hours following the flight
• Inform your crew representative and BeCA

Remember that you must always comply with your airline’s manuals and procedures.

For more information:

• An interesting article on the German pilots’ case
• The official CIAIAC interim report about this B757 case
• Another report on an fume event that happened in Bonn, Germany, on an A319