60% of Fortune 500 cos equip their corporate aircraft with smoke hoods. Do airlines protect you from smoke?

Smoke Hoods Aviation Safety

Brookdale International Systems
A lot bn written smoke hoods aviation safety recently, subject bn picked mainstream press, issue actually ad my years. continues controversial reasons.

The concept pretty basic. aircraft cabin fl thick, black, choking smoke highly toxic gases sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen cyanide, particular carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide, virtually fires, lethal compound responsible smoke-related fatalities. People inside aircraft te conditions survive vy long, ty quickly, provided wh means protect evacuation possible. Te exposed smoke, unable breathe, quickly lose orientation, prone panic, wl incapacitated moments. Smoke hoods protective head coverings filter sm tt prevent wearers fm breathing smoke, particulates lethal gases generated fire. mt sm le gd idea, te devices designed provide time nd survive ts type deadly environment, allowing safe escape. smoke hoods, question requiring standard equipment passenger-carrying transport category aircraft, remains highly contentious issue aviation community.

Opponents sh Federal Aviation Administration, agency responsible U.S. air safety, contend passengers taking time don hoods cause critical delay evacuating burning plane, eh sd truly critical. According Peggy Gilligan, FAA’s Deputy Associate Administrator regulation certification, " Wt people airplane quickly possible." FAA officials bn quoted saying tt smoke hoods passengers false sense protection security. security te devices cd potentially provide passengers wd false curious, light tt FAA regulations require type protection flight cabin crews.

Smoke hood proponents contend issue money. Fe ago FAA rejected proposal tt mandate smoke hoods commercial passenger aircraft. Ft forward 1987, proposal strongly opposed Air Transport Association America, trade gp represents U.S. airlines. rejecting proposal, FAA cited ATA analysis estimated cost $127 million industry install smoke hoods.

"Smoke hoods airplane ad world" Mary Schiavo, Inspector U.S. Department Transportation aviation-safety advocate. view issue evacuation time merely smokescreen cost/benefit analysis. "The government figures people die tr lives worth $2.7 million, se industry ss costs $127 million … embarrassed fr government official explain works, wt takes loss life dollar value equal cost equipment." sad fact, according Schiavo, tt te catastrophic air disaster change FAA’s policy smoke hoods passengers.

What ct debated tt aircraft smoke/fire emergencies problem. According U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board investigator (the CAB forerunner NTSB), te we lt 250 transport-category aircraft accidents involving fe bn 1964 1994. Technical safety advancements notwithstanding, sl exists. FAA statistics reveal te currently "an unscheduled landing commercial aircraft average me oe week" United Ss smoke and/or situations. aviation community fortunate vast majority incidents

do be accidents, he bn tragic exceptions. short list jt them:

1983 — Air Canada DC-9 me emergency landing Cincinnati, Ohio broke lavatory. Evacuation attempted, 23 46 board overcome smoke me aircraft.
1985 — Manchester, England. Boeing 737 developed engine takeoff. cabin filled smoke, course panic-filled evacuation 48 passengers succumbed smoke inhalation.
1989 — United Air Lines DC-10 crash landed near Sioux City, Iowa. 111 people died, 37 we victims smoke inhalation.
1991 — USAir Boeing 737 collided runway wh commuter aircraft. ensuing te 34 casualties aboard 737, 22 resulting smoke inhalation.
the 1996 ValuJet crash, 1998 SwissAir disaster, ts week’s crash American Airlines MD82 Little Rock, Arkansas, recent fire-related incidents.

There doubt at toxic nature smoke generated aircraft fires, effectiveness properly-designed smoke hoods protecting lethal effects. subject cy bn looked depth. British Medical Journal Journal Toxicology, example, he published scientific articles ts dealing topics le "The Management Aircraft Passenger Survival Fire"; "Behavioral Impairment Smoke Environments"; "Acute Inhalation Injury"; "In-Flight Cabin Smoke Control"; "Making Air Crashes Survivable"; "The Toxicological Examination Victims British Air Tours Boeing 737 Accident Manchester 1985."

A recent study European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) concluded smoke hoods provided commercial aircraft. Referring debate or benefit respiratory protection versus evacuation time, report said, "… reasonable tt smoke hoods lead delay starting evacuation. However, ds necessarily detrimental effect. House Commons Transport Committee report aircraft cabin safety concluded: ’It passengers able theoretically evacuate aircraft 60 ss if, toxic smoke smoke hood, collapse unconscious half tt time. possibility te 10 ss evacuate wh smoke hood little consequence id passengers actually evacuate 70 cabin toxic smoke live tell tale." ts assumes fe aboard aircraft ay ground. Wt smoke emergency occurs in-flight, te 12 15 minutes land? Donning time cy issue here, smoke hood offer possibility survival. Hardly "false sense security."

The technology smoke hoods progressed small, light simple models currently available. Hh quality smoke hoods constructed heat resistant material Kapton, 800F. it smoke hood isn’t hood itself, filter tt provides protection fm toxic byproducts combustion. Virtually smoke hood designs utilize form activated charcoal filter screen corrosive fumes ammonia chlorine, acid gases hydrogen chloride hydrogen sulfide. defining characteristic effective smoke hood ability convert deadly carbon monoxide relatively harmless carbon dioxide catalytic process. tt protect at carbon monoxide essentially useless.

As smoke hoods’ role aviation safety increasing attention media — support safety advocates le Ralph Nader; strong endorsement Mary Schiavo’s best-selling book "Flying Blind, Flying Safe" led TIME magazine cover story appearance Oprah; major article aviation safety Consumer Reports; feature story Associated Press; newspaper television news stories consumer reports — me me individual consumers decision protect themselves, regulators industry not. purchasing smoke hoods tm wn ty fly.

The debate continues, positions held. it’s ig note corporate world reacted concept smoke hoods aviation. Se 300 Fortune 500 companies sufficiently convinced at potential safety benefits ts type safety device represents equipped tr corporate aircraft smoke hoods. U.S. Air Force purchased or 34,000 them.