Pilot incapacitation occurrences 2010–2014

Cockpit fumes
During the climb from Brisbane, the captain of an Airbus A330 noticed the slight
smell of burnt oil fumes from the cockpit vents. The smell became progressively
stronger on descent into Perth at FL 140 and both the captain and first officer
reported accompanying nasal and eye irritation. The captain also reported a
slight headache which dissipated within an hour after shutdown. An engineering
inspection found a fault in the engine bleed air supply system (ATSB occurrence
201408897).
Lessons learned
Avoiding all pilots having the same illness
Pilot incapacitation in high capacity air transport
operations can have a sudden onset from
different sources, most likely gastrointestinal
illnesses. The practice of ensuring all pilots on
the same flight eat different meals prior to and
during the flight has been an effective defence
preventing all pilots on the same flight becoming
incapacitated at the same time.
Emergency training
To ensure the flight is under control, it is
important pilots have been trained adequately
to manage cases of pilot incapacitation. In the
ATSB investigation described previously, it was
reported that the operator provides emergency
training to flight crew for incapacitation with
Source: Stock image
captains of Fokker F28 aircraft twice in a 3-year
period. The captain involved in that incident
had completed the training 3 months earlier and was assessed as ‘very good’. The
captain also reported the training had greatly assisted with their response to the
incident.
Commencing 1 September 2014, Part 61 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations
1998 (CASR) Manual of Standards has included assessable criteria in the multi-crew
co-operation section on managing flight crew incapacitation. The criteria includes
the ability to identify when crew members become ineffective or incapacitated and
to complete published procedures for landing, taxi, and engine shutdown with flight
crew incapacitation as a variable.
Reporting laser strikes
Akin to food poisoning, laser strikes are a form of incapacitation with a sudden
onset. Although incapacitation from a laser strike is considerably rarer, it can be
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