•Please contact me if you have knowledge of any kind about toxic fumes in aircraft, e-mail ash@dagbladet.no.

(Dagbladet.no:) In contrast with the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) believes that under-reporting of toxic fume incidents is a major problem. The FAA made this crystal clear as recently as 8 June this year at the US/Europe International Aviation Safety Conference.

“The FAA is becoming increasingly concerned by numerous reports of smoke or gasses on flight decks and in passenger cabins. Our analyses of the data indicate that a large number of such incidents are not reported,” stated Jim Ballough, the FAA’s Director of Flight Standards Service, at the conference.

Will put pressure on the airlines On 29 March this year, the FAA sent out a so-called FSAW (Flight Standards Information Bulletin for Airworthiness), requiring the industry to introduce new reporting routines for incidents involving smoke or fumes in passenger cabins and on flight decks:

• Maintenance personnel must determine whether that the airlines have adequate procedures for reporting, investigating, and following up these incidents.