MD80 FO CITES CONCERNS ABOUT PAX ON AIRPLANE WITHOUT ANY VENTILATION.

Date: 2006-06 · Aircraft: MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model · Phase: ground

Anomalies: flight-deck-cabin-aircraft-event-other-unknown

Synopsis

MD80 FO CITES CONCERNS ABOUT PAX ON AIRPLANE WITHOUT ANY VENTILATION.

Narrative

PAX (ALL 140 OF THEM) HAD BEEN LOADED ON OUR NEW AIRPLANE AND LEFT ON BOARD WITH NO AIR CONDITIONING. THE APU WAS OPERABLE; BUT SHUT DOWN. VENTILATION WAS ON; BUT WAS COMPLETELY INADEQUATE. THE CABIN TEMP GAUGE WAS OVER 90 DEGS. THE COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY WAS BARELY TOLERABLE. THE SMELL OF VOMIT WAS IN THE AIR. UPON ARR; I STARTED THE APU AND TURNED ON THE AIR CONDITIONING. THE AIRPLANE DIDN'T COOL OFF MUCH PRIOR TO OUR DEP. THE OUTSIDE AIR TEMP WAS APPROX 65 DEGS. I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN BEFORE; AND AM EXTREMELY CONCERNED THAT THIS PUTS THE PAX/FLT ATTENDANT CREW AT EXTREME RISK. THE POSSIBILITY OF SOMEONE (YOUNG CHILD; THE ELDERLY; ETC) HAVING SOME TYPE OF HEALTH RELATED PROB (SUCH AS A HEART ATTACK; DEHYDRATION; HEAT STROKE; ETC) SEEMS FAR TOO HIGH TO ME. NOT TO MENTION THE DISCOMFORT THESE PEOPLE ARE BEING SUBJECTED TO. PAX SAFETY CANNOT BE OVERLOOKED JUST TO GET THEM ON BOARD FOR A FAST DEP. PREVENTIVE MEASURES: MY SOLUTION TO THIS PROB IS SIMPLE. IF THERE IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE FLT CREW PRESENT; DO NOT BOARD. DETERMINE; POSITIVELY; HOW LONG IT WILL BE BEFORE THEY WILL BE PRESENT. IF THAT WILL BE A LONG TIME (OR IT IS UNKNOWN); DO NOT BOARD UNLESS SOMEONE APU QUALIFIED (MECH FOR EXAMPLE) IS THERE TO RUN THE AIR CONDITIONING. IT DOES NOT TAKE A VERY HIGH OUTSIDE AIR TEMP; OR LONG PERIOD OF TIME (AS IS PRESENTED IN THIS CASE) TO ALLOW THE AIRPLANE TO HEAT UP TO 90-100 DEGS IN A VERY SHORT TIME. ESPECIALLY IN THIS CASE; A FULL AIRPLANE.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.