Virgin Australia B737 near Melbourne and Sydney on Apr 17th 2012, fumes sicken two flight attendants

Last Update: October 29, 2012 / 11:30:59 GMT/Zulu time

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Photo of Virgin Australia VH-VBL, Boeing 737-700 — Virgin Australia VH-VBL, Boeing 737-700 (Photo credit: Andy_Mitchell_UK / Flickr / License: CC by-sa)

Incident Facts

Date of incident
Apr 17, 2012

Classification
Report

Airline
Virgin Australia

Flight number
DJ-815

Departure
Melbourne, Australia

Destination
Sydney, Australia

Aircraft Registration
VH-VBL

Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-700

ICAO Type Designator
B737

A Virgin Australia Boeing 737-700, registration VH-VBL performing flight DJ-815 from Melbourne,VI to Sydney,NS (Australia) with 129 passengers and 7 crew, was departing Melbourne when the captain noticed a burning smell in the cockpit until top of climb, where the smell dissipated. Shortly after gear retraction the purser told the flight crew there were very unusual smells in the front and back of the cabin, the captain advised the aircraft had just come out of maintenance and he had experienced a similiar encounter before recommending to open the vents to improve ventilation of the cabin and report if the smells did not improve after 3-5 minutes. One of the flight attendants in the back of the cabin reported feeling unwell and could not continue his duties. About halfway into the flight the purser entered the cockpit to discuss the fumes situation with the captain and noticed no such smell was present in the cockpit. During the descent towards Sydney, passing about 10,000 feet, the captain noticed a slight smell for about a minute. The aircraft landed safely in Sydney. After passengers had disembarked, the captain discussed the events with a maintenance engineer who advised the aircraft had undergone an engine wash prior to the flight, the first officer advised he had not smelt anything unusual throughout the flight. No passenger reported feeling unwell. A doctor declared two flight attendants unfit to return to duties, one of the two was even declared unfit to fly and could not return home until the next day.

The aircraft had already been involved in a similiar event, see Accident: Virgin Blue B737 near Gold Coast on Jun 5th 2009, fumes sicken 4 flight attendants. The aircraft has been removed from Virgin Australia's fleet in the meantime and is anticipated to resume service in Argentina.

The ATSB released their final report without conclusions, but a safety message:

The incident highlights the potential for crew incapacitation from exposure to fumes.

Clear and unambiguous communication between the flight and cabin crew should be maintained during any unusual event.

The ATSB mentioned that the captain never referred to the smoke, fire and fumes checklist as he considered the situation under control and the fumes dissipated. Part of the checklist required that cabin crew would not open the cockpit door but communicate with the flight deck only via intercom. If cabin crew were affected the captain would need to inform dispatch.

The purser reported that she felt the smell was slightly worse when she stood up and decribed the smell as similiar to dirty socks. She developed a blurry vision, dizziness and a dry throat. Her collegue at the front of the cabin felt nauseous and coughed throughout the flight. She advised the captain of the condition of the collegue in the back of the cabin but did not use the word "incapacitated" believing she had described the condition clearly enough.

The purser conducted a debrief with the cabin crew, the captain joined a short time later and advised he considered to file a hazard report.