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Accident: Alaska Airlines B734 at Sitka on Dec 20th 2008, ground power unit causes ca

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ImbracableCrunk

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Accident: Alaska Airlines B734 at Sitka on Dec 20th 2008, ground power unit causes carbon monoxide poisoning
By Simon Hradecky, created Sunday, Dec 21st 2008 16:18Z, last updated Sunday, Dec 21st 2008 16:18ZThe crew of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-400, flight AS-73 from Sitka,AK to Juneau,AK (USA) with 83 passengers, declared emergency while on approach to Juneau due to medical emergencies on board. 3 crew and one passenger had gone ill during the flight and were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning by emergency doctors responding to the emergency call. The four were subsequently delivered to a hospital.

A ground power unit at Sitka is suspected to have produced fumes causing the illnesses. Alaska Airlines however can not yet confirm the carbon monoxide poisoning stating, that this was a diagnose by first time responders. Alaska Airlines is still investigating what caused the illnesses.


I don't know about the title of the article, but it's a little disturbing.

Sadly, I'm not surprised by this. We don't need an "APU Sheriff," we need a ground HVAC Task Force.
 
More "unintended consequences" of trying to save fuel by not running the APU.
 
What kind of ground power unit was it. Power Cart, Huffer Cart, or AC cart?
 
San Quentin cart.
 
Wow very doubtful what?

Enough CO made it into the cabin to cause symptoms that long after the fact. CO has a great affinity for blood, and symptoms happen sooner rather than later. Once the GPU is disconnected and the airplane is pushed back, I don't see how the CO level would continue rising in the cabin, unless there was another source.

I'd also be very skeptical of what "first responders" say. They are rarely allowed to diagnose anything. They are there simply to treat the symptoms as they present themselves.

For instance: "He was having a heart attack". No he wasn't. He may have been "having chest pain with associated heart arrhythmia and all the presentations of a heart attack", but a paramedic cannot diagnose it as such, much less a first responder. Only a Doctor can (officially).

Same with CO poisoning. This statement
"Alaska Airlines however can not yet confirm the carbon monoxide poisoning stating, that this was a diagnose by first time responders." throws all sorts of red flags to me as not reliable.

First responders don't diagnose medical conditions (for the most part...your local agency may differ). They treat symptoms. "CO Poisoning" is not a symptom, it's a diagnosis. Altered LOC, shallow breathing, and low O2 sats are possibly symptoms of CO Poisoning, although they are not required, nor limited to these.

They may be right, but my point is first responders should never be relied on for diagnosis, even if they are right 90 percent of the time, they are still wrong too much to be reliable.
 
Enough CO made it into the cabin to cause symptoms that long after the fact. CO has a great affinity for blood, and symptoms happen sooner rather than later. Once the GPU is disconnected and the airplane is pushed back, I don't see how the CO level would continue rising in the cabin, unless there was another source.

Good points. You sound like you know much more than your average pilot.

How about CO levels in the blood were not critical on the ground, but at higher cabin alt, the reduced ppO2 unmasked the CO?
 

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