The dirty sock is hazardous to your health

Kingairer

Kingairer

'Tiger Team' Member
That dirty sock smell that sometimes floats thru the cabin, and mostly reported as a dirty PACK....well its actually a toxin and can cause serious neurological damage. This is what caused the probelms on that 767 down in the islands a while back. Another hazard to this job. Radiation, toxins, terrorists, etc.....
 
Actually it's mildew on the water separator in the pack system. That said, mildew could be considered a toxin though so I don't disagree.

I assume the "767 in the islands" thing you are talking about is the US Airways one? That was San Paulo (which is on kind of a big island I guess). It was not pack mildew that caused that problem though. The engine developed an oil leak into the bleed system which got sent through the packs and into the cabin. I spoke with one of the FAs on the trip a month ago about it (she commutes out of where I am based) and she said the whole crew that ferried the plane back to the States is out on medical leave. The CA probably will never fly again and several of the FAs are all but crippled for life. She suffers from tremors and is on an anti seizure medication. Scary stuff.
 
BobDDuck said:
Actually it's mildew on the water separator in the pack system. That said, mildew could be considered a toxin though so I don't disagree.

I assume the "767 in the islands" thing you are talking about is the US Airways one? That was San Paulo (which is on kind of a big island I guess). It was not pack mildew that caused that problem though. The engine developed an oil leak into the bleed system which got sent through the packs and into the cabin. I spoke with one of the FAs on the trip a month ago about it (she commutes out of where I am based) and she said the whole crew that ferried the plane back to the States is out on medical leave. The CA probably will never fly again and several of the FAs are all but crippled for life. She suffers from tremors and is on an anti seizure medication. Scary stuff.
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This is my first time hearing about this accident. Was it smoke in the cockpit or just a bad smell. I'm confused to why the crew didn't put their oxygen mask on if it was smoke in te cockpit. Wouldn't that have eliminated the side effects that they are suffering from.
 
I think we are talking about two different sorts of smells. I've had a fuel leak in the APU get into the air system. I guess you could call it a dirty sock smell. I'd associate it more with carpet cleaner though. Either way it after inhaling that for about 10 minutes (until I realized it was only on the APU bleed air and switching to the engine bleeds made the smell go away) I was out sick for a few days. There is a mildewy type smell that comes from old water separators. I've always called it a funky laundry smell but I guess it's kind of different.

As far as the Airways 767... I think you are right. It was a flight back from STT or San Juan. The Brazil issue I'm thinking of was a air conditioning problem that resulted in a hot cabin.
 
I'm curious, yet clueless on the matter, but would putting the oxygen masks on help the situation?
 
there are a few cjc saabs that have the perma-sock smell. One of the planes has the nickname "foot locker"
 
I used to handle HAZMAT for an aviation unit in the Army. Ever read the warnings on a can of synthetic turbine engine oil?

The stuff about it in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)?

MIL-L-23699 grade turbine engine oil has serious damaging effects to the nervous system if ingested or inhaled. If you think you have an oil leak in a pack, shut the pack off. If you think you have something like that being ventilated as a vapor into the cabin, treat it as smoke/fumes/vapors in the flight deck.

This stuff will cripple you, warp your central nervous system all to hell, and then kill you. It is NOT something to trifle with.
 
According to news reports the US Airways incident was due to a hydraulic fluid leak not engine oil
 
Firebird2XC said:
... either or. Hydraulic fluid.. be it MILSPEC varieties.. or Skydrol.. is just as bad. Possibly worse.
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Day before Thanksgiving last year I was popping the bin of an Airbus after blocking it into the gate here @ Sky Harbor on a somewhat windy day. Anywho, as I'm standing under the aircraft opening the aft bin, I look up and catch some Skydrol in my left eye....not an experience I'd ever like to repeat. Luckily there was an eyewash station in the breakroom and I was then able to go over to urgent care who flushed it out...Damn that stuff burns.
 
ozziecat35 said:
Day before Thanksgiving last year I was popping the bin of an Airbus after blocking it into the gate here @ Sky Harbor on a somewhat windy day. Anywho, as I'm standing under the aircraft opening the aft bin, I look up and catch some Skydrol in my left eye....not an experience I'd ever like to repeat. Luckily there was an eyewash station in the breakroom and I was then able to go over to urgent care who flushed it out...Damn that stuff burns.
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It was probably still pretty hot, too. Glad to hear you made it out okay.
 
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