UK pilots donning oxygen masks to counter poisonous fumes in aircraft
March 28th, 2011 - 3:08 pm ICT by ANILondon, Mar. 28 (ANI): Airline pilots in Britain are secretly donning oxygen masks and issuing emergency warnings because of poisonous fumes seeping into passenger jets.
Potentially deadly incidents are being reported at the rate of at least one a week and an official dossier reveals one captain collapsing and pilots feeling dizzy and vomiting, the Daily Express reports.
At least 270 incidents have been reported to the Civil Aviation Authority since 2006, but campaigners claim the true figure could be 200 times higher because many pilots are too afraid to submit reports.
Air crew are regularly taken to hospital for post-flight checks, the CAA reports show.
Unknown to most passengers, toxic fumes, which leak into the plane’s air systems, frequently become so severe that crew have to wear oxygen masks.
The build-up of toxins in their bodies from constantly flying puts air crew at particular risk.
Campaigners believe governments and airlines are suppressing the scale of the problem in the same way the tobacco industry tried to hide the link between smoking and cancer. (ANI)
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Tags: air crew, airline pilots, airlines, campaigners, cancer, checks, civil aviation authority, governments, london, oxygen masks, passenger jets, poisonous fumes, risk, tobacco industry, toxic fumes, toxins, true figure, uk pilots