Fumes in Cockpit

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British Airways Airbus A320-200, registration G-EUYM performing flight BA-633 from Athens (Greece) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was on final approach to Heathrow's runway 27R about 4nm before touchdown when the captain donned his oxygen mask and declared Mayday, Mayday advising he was going to continue the approach. The aircraft touched down safely on runway 27R about 2 minutes later.

On Jan 4th 2020 The Aviation Herald received information that on final approach the first officer passed out, the captain smelled the odour of old socks, immediately donned his oxygen mask, declared emergency and continued for a safe landing. Passengers and cabin crew remained unaware until after landing.

On Jan 5th 2020 The Aviation Herald received more details: On approach to Heathrow the captain noticed the odour of dirty old socks, the first officer, pilot flying, did not smell anything. The captain believes the odour is dissipating. Then the first officer started breathing heavily, slumps forward and no longer responds to questions by the captain. The captain therefore takes control, dons his oxygen mask, declares Mayday, configures the aircraft for landing and lands safely. After landing, in care by medical staff, the first officer recovers.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Heathrow about 60 hours after landing.

 

https://www.avherald.com/h?article=4d189839&opt=0

 

An update:

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Fumes Cause First Officer To Become Unwell On British Airways Airbus A320

• byMark Finlay
• January 5, 2020
• 3 comments
• 3 minute read

 

** Update 5/1/2020 @18:15 UTC – After publishing this article British Airways contacted Simple Flying to say that the first officer never passed out and that he was simply feeling unwell. A statement released by the airline about the incident read:

“The Captain safely landed the aircraft. As the First Officer was feeling unwell, he was seen by an airport paramedic as a precaution, before going home.”**

A British Airways Airbus A320-200 first officer did not feel well after becoming overcome by fumes in the cockpit.

 

 

British Airways flight number BA-633 from Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) to London Heathrow (LHD) was on final approach into London when the incident occurred. British Airways A320 lands safety despite first officer feeling slightly unwell. Photo: BA

According to the Aviation Herald the British Airways Airbus A320-200 registration number, G-EUYM was four nautical miles from Heathrow’s runway 27R when the captain reported fumes in the cockpit.

Donning his oxygen mask and declaring a Mayday, the captain of the aircraft advised the tower that he was continuing the approach before landing safely on runway 27R some two minutes later.

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The captain said he could smell old socks

The Aviation Herald says that the incident occurred on January 2nd, 2020 and when looking at website FlightRadar24 we can see that the aircraft landed safely at 20:35 Thursday.

The captain of the flight said he smelled the odour of old socks and, while putting on his oxygen mask, noticed that the first officer had complained of not feeling well. The aircraft continued to make a safe landing, with cabin crew and passengers unaware of what had just happened.

According to the Aviation Herald, the aircraft was still on the ground at Heathrow Airport some 49 hours after the incident.

A similar incident happened in October

This latest incident of fumes on an Airbus narrow-body jet is just one of a string of incidents in which the cockpit of the aircraft became compromised.

On October 19th, 2019 a British Airways A320 on-route from London Gatwick (LGW) to Paphos International Airport (PFO) in Cyprus suffered a similar occurrence. While on approach descending through 8,000 feet the first officer asked the captain if he could smell onion bhajis, to which the captain replied “no.”

Then, just 30 seconds later, the first officer said that he felt a tingling sensation in his arms and legs and thought he was about to pass out. Reacting quickly he donned his oxygen mask and set the feed to 100% and told the captain that he felt unwell. The captain responded by saying he did not feel well either.

Captain and first officer go to the hospital after fumes in the cockpit. Photo: BA

Now with both pilots wearing their oxygen masks they went through their landing procedures safely bringing the plane down on runway 29 some 13 minutes later. Once on the ground they immediately opened the windows as they taxied to the stand

After the engine shutdown, the captain went to the toilet while a flight attendant was shocked when she saw how pale the first officer looked.

Again, just like with flight BA-633 the cabin crew and passengers could not smell any fumes. One of the flight attendants did, however, say that she smelt a strong fuel odour coming from the cockpit once the door had been opened.

Both pilots were taken to a local hospital for tests where they were diagnosed with very low blood oxygen saturation and high body temperature.

Doctors advised the pilots to stay overnight in the hospital, but they preferred to stay in their hotel and returned to London the next day as passengers on a different aircraft.

Oil leaks can cause fumes in the cockpit

The most probable cause of the fumes is a broken seal or maintenance issue oil leak. Oil for aircraft engines contains an additive called tricresyl phosphate, or TCP that helps reduce wear on the engines.

TCP is a toxin that, when released into the cockpit or cabin, can smell like old socks, cause nausea and even incapacitate anyone breathing it in.

Engine oil leaks cause fumes in the cockpit. Photo: BA

While fumes in the cockpit are rare, they do happen from time to time and could prove fatal if not noticed quickly. Just imagine what would have happened to flight BA-633 if the captain had also passed out.

Do aircraft not have something similar to a smoke detector in the cockpit that can sound an alarm once TCP fumes are detected?

https://simpleflying.com/a320-ba-fumes-first-officer/

 

 

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