No more O2 mask--if you act now

[densoo]

This was sent out by ALPA last week:

ALPA’s Aeromedical Committee, in conjunction with FedEx Express, submitted a petition for exemption to the Federal Aviation Administration on October 13, 2009, seeking relief from the requirement for one pilot to don an oxygen mask above FL250 whenever the other pilot leaves the flight deck.

Subsequent to numerous discussions between ALPA and the FAA on this subject, the agency published a petition for exemption on March 4, 2010, in the Federal Register. The exemption requests that the pilot at the controls place the mask in his or her lap while the other pilot is absent.

ALPA made this request in light of the potential spread of communicable diseases by use of these masks, given that the equipment is not cleaned in accordance with U.S. Health & Human Services Department mask-sanitation standards. Pilots wanting to don the masks anytime above FL250 in accordance with current federal aviation regulations would not be restricted from doing so.

The FAA is asking for information regarding a number of issues raised by this petition. The Aeromedical Committee is in the process of developing a response to the petition to meet the FAA’s comment deadline of March 24, 2010.

If you want to get rid of this requirement to wear the O2 mask please submit your comments!

To make it as easy as possible, I've navigated through the FAA comment site and this link is the page for submitting a comment for this specific proposal. No identifying information needs to submitted (left side). All you have to do is submit a comment in the block on the right side.

http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480a41a09

Also, here is a proposed comment. You can just copy it and paste it right into the commment block and hit submit. It fits (barely). Or write your own. But take action. This is a chance to get rid of this requirement!

If you have other good reasons to get rid of this requirement, please post them here and we can also post those comments to the FAA site, en masse.

TO: FAA

While I agree with the proposal to allow pilots to place the oxygen mask on the lap during the absence of the other pilot in order to prevent the spread of H1N1, I also urge you to adopt this proposed rule for two other safety reasons:

1. An aircraft in flight is most vulnerable to terrorist activity when the flight deck door is opened for one pilot to exit to take care of physiological needs. Very specific procedures are in place for this transition. However, the threat is always there that a flight deck breach could occur. In the event the flight deck were breached by an intruder, an oxygen mask around the head is no more than a lasso that the intruder could grab to immobilize and harm the only remaining pilot. The risk of this happening is small, but if it were to happen it would be catastrophic. Wearing the mask is an unnecessary hazard. I urge the FAA to not require pilots to wrap the oxygen mask around their head so that they might not be unnecessarily vulnerable to this threat.

2. Continuous ATC radio contact is essential to the safe conduct of aircraft. Lost comm continues to be an problem with busy frequencies and equipment issues. The communication capability of the oxygen mask was designed for emergencies and is more than adequate for that purpose. However, one pilot momentarily leaving the flight deck for physiological reasons is not an emergency. Wearing the oxygen mask during the time of the other pilot's absence often results in missed radio calls, misunderstood clearances, and with no second pilot present, the loss of CRM capability to catch the mistake.

Using the quick don oxygen mask for a non-emergency is unsanitary but it isn't the most compelling reason not to wear it. Vulnerability to terrorist attack and lost comm problems are also issues that have not been addressed and must be resolved. I urge you to adopt not only the temporary suspension of this FAR, but to make it permanent.

A Concerned Pilot

 

[i fly boxes]

so let me get this straight, rather than use a sanitary wipe and wipe down the mask before you use it, you would rather jeopardize up to 400 people on board if there is a rapid decompression. Especially the guys that fly in the high 30's low 40's?

 

[b707guy]

I wonder which management pilot got picked off for, um, 'non-compliance'?

Three-seat airplanes, the rule is overkill. Unfortunately, they are getting more rare every day. Two-seat airplanes, a bit more valid. Still feel that 25k is a bit low for the requirement, though, either way.

This may have more to do with my own personal comfort of "who's been infecting this mask and with what before I got to it?", regardless of how effectively I wipe it down with sanitizer.

 

[TWA Dude]

Precautions only make sense if the threat is substantial. The threat of a rapid or explosive decompression occurring just when a pilot is using the lav is so small putting on the mask is just unnecessary. And as every airline pilot already knows, compliance with the mask-on FAR is probably less than 25%. (I do it, of course!)

Time for this reg to change.

 

[Scope out RJ's]

Precautions only make sense if the threat is substantial. The threat of a rapid or explosive decompression occurring just when a pilot is using the lav is so small putting on the mask is just unnecessary. And as every airline pilot already knows, compliance with the mask-on FAR is probably less than 25%. (I do it, of course!)

Time for this reg to change.

I agree. It was a stupid rule/reg anyway!

 

[Dan Roman]

so let me get this straight, rather than use a sanitary wipe and wipe down the mask before you use it, you would rather jeopardize up to 400 people on board if there is a rapid decompression. Especially the guys that fly in the high 30's low 40's?

I'm wondering why not wearing a mask with one pilot gone is any safer than not wearing a mask with two pilots. In other words, how does having two pilots grabbing for their mask in the event of a rapid decompression make them less likely to become incapacitated than one guy having to.

 

[flypdx]

Read the last sentence...

 

[Fubijaakr]

Additionally, if you have a "box mask" as on a 737 or 757, the mask is not certified as quick donning if it is removed from the box. Just a fun fact...

 

[BoilerUP]

Additionally, if you have a "box mask" as on a 737 or 757, the mask is not certified as quick donning if it is removed from the box. Just a fun fact...

My thoughts as well...most masks are quick-dons and absolutely NOTHING will be gained from having the mask in your lap vs. in its holder, if you needed to get it on RIGHT NOW.

A single pilot flying a jet Part 91 has to wear a mask above FL350...this altitude makes MUCH more sense for a dual-crew airliner with a crewmember out of the cockpit vs. putting a mask in the lap above FL250.

 

[densoo]

so let me get this straight, rather than use a sanitary wipe and wipe down the mask before you use it, you would rather jeopardize up to 400 people on board if there is a rapid decompression. Especially the guys that fly in the high 30's low 40's?

Exactly. Why would the FAA approve this if it were simply because pilots are too lazy to wipe down the mask (like that would do any good in sterilizing the mask).

The FAA could care less about pilots or whether they are inconvienced. The current rest/fatigue rules and the the failure to lift a finger to get Crew Pass nearly nine years after 9/11 are a pretty good examples of this. So they aren't going to be swayed by "hey, I might get H1N1" even if this could be stretched into a public health threat.

That is why I recommend the two other--and much more compelling--comments be sent. Because....

First, if an intruder gains access to the flight deck, the remaining pilot will be helpless if the intruder grabs the hose of the mask and pulls it down. Ever seen a fight when one of the people are wearing a hoodie sweatshirt? One guy just grabs the hoodie near the forehead and pulls down hard. The guy is pretty much disabled at that point. Every time we put on an O2 mask and that door is opened, we are just that vulnerable.

Second, the latest focus of the FAA is to stay in radio communication. The Minneapolis incident brought this to the forefront. The FAA recently put out an instruction to ATC to file a report if they are out of communication with a plane for more than five minutes. One pilot group was briefed of this recently and instructed to file an ASAP report if they lost comm with ATC for any reason. The O2 mask increases the chances of missing normal communications.

Intruder threat and lost comm, in this age of security awareness, are legitimate reasons to change this rule. And they are threats that the FAA might actually agree with--and finally change this rule!

Go to the site and submit your comments. Please!

http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480a41a09