Qantas flight crews have been affected by toxic cancer-causing fumes on international flights — and pilots are warning that there could be a disaster.
An engineer was off work for a week after inhaling toxic fumes on the flight deck of a Qantas Boeing 747 flying from Los Angeles to Auckland in July.
Pilots on other airlines have blacked out at the controls of their jets because of the build-up of toxic fumes in the cockpit. Passengers are also exposed to the carcinogenic toxicants in the cabin.
Australian International Pilots Association general manager Peter Somerville said: “People don’t need to stop flying but there is a problem and it needs to be fixed.”
The problem stems from a cost-cutting design in jet aircraft that bleeds warm air off the engines and pumps it straight into the cabin without any filtration.
If the engine has an oil leak, the warm air that enters the cabin is laced with chemicals that attack the nervous system and can cause brain damage.
Report by The Mole, from the Age and Matthew Benns.
