CABIN ATTENDANTS ABOARD CRJ EXPERIENCE DIZZINESS AND OTHER SYMPTOMS SIMILAR TO HYPOXIA. ONE PASSES OUT BETWEEN DESCENT AND LNDG. NO KNOWN CAUSE.

Date: 2008-08 · Aircraft: Regional Jet 700 ER/LR (CRJ700) · Phase: cruise

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

Synopsis

CABIN ATTENDANTS ABOARD CRJ EXPERIENCE DIZZINESS AND OTHER SYMPTOMS SIMILAR TO HYPOXIA. ONE PASSES OUT BETWEEN DESCENT AND LNDG. NO KNOWN CAUSE.

Narrative

I ARRIVED AT THE GATE IN AVP. DURING THE INITIAL START-UP SEQUENCE WITH THE ACFT STILL PWRED DOWN; I NOTICED A CIRCUIT BREAKER POPPED OUT ON CBP #2. (M7-SVC AREA) UNFAMILIAR WITH THIS CIRCUIT BREAKER; I CALLED MAINT AND WAS INSTRUCTED TO RESET IT. MAINT INDICATED THAT THERE WAS NO REASON FOR IT TO HAVE BEEN POPPED OUT. I RESET THE CIRCUIT BREAKER AND CONTINUED ON WITH REST OF THE 'FIRST FLT OF THE DAY' DUTIES. THE FLT ATTENDANTS SAID THEY HAD A LITTLE TROUBLE CLOSING THE GALLEY SVC DOOR. WITH A GREEN INDICATION ON THE 'DOORS' PAGE; WE CONTINUED ON. APPROX HALFWAY THROUGH THE 1 HR 30 MIN BLOCK TO ZZZ; I WAS INFORMED BY FLT ATTENDANT X BOTH FLT ATTENDANTS FELT DIZZY. I ASKED IF THEY NEEDED MEDICAL ATTN AND IF THE PAX WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE SAME. FLT ATTENDANT X RESPONDED 'NO' TO BOTH INQUIRIES. FLT ATTENDANT X CONTINUED TO EXPRESS CONCERN ABOUT THE GALLEY SVC DOOR. FLT ATTENDANT Y WAS WORKING THE FORWARD POS OF THE FLT. FLT ATTENDANT Y INDICATED THAT AFTER DEP SHE NORMALLY HEARS THE DOORS AROUND HER 'SEAL UP.' HOWEVER ON THIS FLT SHE DID NOT. I IMMEDIATELY CHKED THE PRESSURIZATION; RATE OF THE CABIN AND DELTA P AS WELL AS THE ESC PAGE. ALL INDICATIONS WERE IN THE GREEN AND WORKING PROPERLY. AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE; I ASKED FLT ATTENDANT X (THE REAR) TO COME UP TO THE COCKPIT SO I COULD HAVE A LOOK AT THE SVC DOOR. I ALSO INSTRUCTED FLT ATTENDANT X TO UTILIZE SOME OF THE CAPT SIDE OXYGEN TO TRY TO HELP CLR UP THE DIZZY SYMPTOMS SHE WAS FEELING. A VERY SHORT TIME AFTER EXITING THE FLT DECK; I TOO HAD EXPERIENCED THE DIZZY FEELING THE FLT ATTENDANTS SPOKE OF. I THEN INSPECTED THE DOOR AND FOUND NOTHING TRULY ABNORMAL. NOISE LEVEL SEEMED NORMAL AND SOME PAINT APPEARED TO BE MISSING ON THE BOTTOM L CAM LOCK AREA. I ASKED THE FLT ATTENDANTS TO SWITCH OUT SO FLT ATTENDANT Y COULD USE THE OXYGEN AS WELL. FLT ATTENDANT X INFORMED ME THAT SHE FELT A LITTLE BIT BETTER AFTER USING THE OXYGEN. I MADE THE DECISION FOR THE FLT ATTENDANTS TO UTILIZE THE FLT DECK OXYGEN SO AS NOT TO CAUSE CONCERN BY THE PAX. I DID NOT FEEL THE SITUATION WARRANTED UTILIZING THE PORTABLE OXYGEN FOR THE FLT ATTENDANTS. HAD THAT BEEN A CONCERN AT THE TIME; I WOULD HAVE DECLARED AN EMER AND DIVERTED. I PERSONALLY AND BRIEFLY OBSERVED THE PAX AND NOTICED NOTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. BOTH FLT ATTENDANTS SHOWED NO PHYSICAL EXTERNAL SIGNS OF HYPOXIA (WHICH WAS MY INITIAL CONCERN) AND STATED THEY WERE FINE TO CONTINUE ON. I RETURNED TO THE COCKPIT AND USED A LITTLE OF THE OXYGEN AS WELL. WITH ALL INDICATIONS IN THE GREEN; I DIDN'T FEEL IT NECESSARY TO INTERRUPT THE FLT AND CONTINUED ENRTE TO ZZZ. I MADE NUMEROUS CALLS TO THE BACK SO AS TO CHK ON THE WELFARE OF THE CREW AND PAX. THE FLT ATTENDANTS STATED THAT THEY SEEMED TO FEEL BETTER WHEN THEY WERE IN THE REAR OF THE ACFT. THEY ALSO SAID THE PAX STILL HAD NO COMPLAINTS. WHILE IN THE DSCNT INTO ZZZ; I WAS INFORMED THAT FLT ATTENDANT Y 'ALMOST PASSED OUT' BY FLT ATTENDANT X. FLT ATTENDANTS STATED THEY WERE 'OK' BUT JUST WANTED TO GET ON THE GND. I ASKED APCH FOR AN ALT BELOW 14000 FT AND WAS ASSIGNED 12000 FT. I TOLD ATC WE WERE HAVING A POTENTIAL MEDICAL ISSUE WITH A FLT ATTENDANT AND ASK FOR THE MOST DIRECT RTE TO ZZZ. WE WERE ALREADY ON THE ARR WITH ZZZ LESS THAN 10 MINS AWAY. ZZZ WAS THE NEAREST SUITABLE ARPT WITH THE BEST MEDICAL AIDE SHOULD BE NEEDED. WE ARRIVED AT THE GATE AND SHUT DOWN THE ENGS (R; THEN THE L) I NOTICED A SMELL OF FUEL; BUT IT WAS FAINT AND BRIEF. WE COMPLETED THE SHUTDOWN CHKLIST AT THE SAME TIME I HEARD A THUMP FOLLOWED BY A KNOCK AT THE DOOR. I OPENED THE DOOR TO FIND FLT ATTENDANT Y PASSED OUT ON THE FLOOR IN THE GALLEY. I BENT DOWN AS SHE WAS 'COMING TO' AND ASSISTED HER INTO THE COCKPIT AT WHICH TIME I PUT HER ON 100% OXYGEN. I TOLD THE FO TO CALL FOR MEDICS. SHORTLY AFTER I ASSISTED IN DEPLANING THE ACFT; I HEARD THE OTHER FLT ATTENDANT HAD PASSED OUT AS WELL. EMER CREWS ARRIVED; ADMINISTERED TREATMENT TO ALL CREW MEMBERS EXCEPT THE FO. FLT ATTENDANT Y WAS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL VIA AMBULANCE. FLT ATTENDANT X AND MYSELF REFUSED THE HOSPITAL TRIP AND WAS RELEASED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY. THE FO WAS LATER REMOVED FROM FURTHER FLYING AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE. NOTHING FURTHER TO RPT. DURING THE PRECAUTIONARY INVESTIGATION; IT WAS UNCLR AS TO WHAT CAUSED THIS EVENT. THERE ARE A FEW THEORIES CONCERNING THIS ISSUE; BUT MAINT HAS COMPLETED THE APPROPRIATE TESTS; I CAN ONLY SPECULATE.

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