SYDNEY - New Problem for Quantas: Fumes in Cockpit, Captain Lists Some Defects

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Title: A New Problem for Qantas: Fumes in Cockpit

International Traveler / Update

Agence France-Presse Paris, Friday, March 24, 2000

SYDNEY - A Qantas pilot has described as ''potentially disastrous'' an incident in which he was forced to wear an oxygen mask after contaminated air filled the cabin on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne.

In a confidential report Wednesday, Captain K.B. Sullivan blamed lapses in maintenance standards for the scare Nov. 5.

It was the latest in a string of highly publicized problems that have plagued the airline, prompting suggestions that a relentless effort to improve profit was harming the carrier's standards.

The most significant accident involved a 747 overshooting the runway at Bangkok last September. The crew and passengers escaped unhurt, but there was a damage bill estimated at $100 million.

An investigation is continuing.

In the most recent incident, Mr. Sullivan said that the fumes, which came in through the air conditioning unit, caused dizziness and light-headedness.

''This incident could have been a catastrophe,'' he wrote in his report, published in The Australian newspaper. ''I have increasing difficulty accepting this exposure to a potentially disastrous, if not life-threatening incident."

Members of his crew suffered nausea and headaches while passengers were also made to wear oxygen masks. Mr. Sullivan and the crew were given medical attention when the plane landed at Melbourne.

In his report, the captain listed four other defects on his flights in the previous two months, including instrument panel lighting problems and inoperable thrust reversers.

David Forsythe, the Qantas aircraft operations executive general manager, traced the fumes in the cockpit to cleaning fluid residue in an air conditioning duct. He said those exposed to the fumes would not suffer any long-term health effects.

http://www.iht.com/IHT/TODAY/FRI/IN/qantas.2.html

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), March 24, 2000


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