Virgin Blue gases passengers who usually fly with Qantas

[munitalP]

From no news (ok the headline isn't but what the heck, a little poetic licence never goes amiss)

A VIRGIN Blue passenger has been taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The woman, believed aged in her 50s, was accompanied by a friend at the hospital, AdelaideNow reports.

A SA Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed the woman was being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning but said her condition was "not life threatening".

The plane was travelling from Perth to Sydney when it was diverted to Adelaide this afternoon.

Passengers told AdelaideNow they were unaware of the drama until the plane changed course for Adelaide. Some complained of an acrid smell during the flight. However, carbon monoxide is generally odourless.



About 130 passengers were screened by ambulance crews in the terminal before reboarding their flight about an hour later and continuing to Sydney.

 

[notzac]

A VIRGIN Blue passenger has been taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning.

and

Some complained of an acrid smell during the flight. However, carbon monoxide is generally odourless.

So - what was it then?

 

[samh004]

I don’t see a link to the article

Strange that one person has Carbon Monoxide poisoning while no one else does, but they do smell something. I’m guessing she probably just fell ill from the smell, whatever it was.

 

[straitman]

The obvious question is how would one get carbon monoxide poisioning on a jet aircraft :?:

Carbon monoxide is associated with piston engines :!:

 

[medhead]

From no news (ok the headline isn't but what the heck, a little poetic licence never goes amiss)

I was going to say something about biased reporting :shock:

A SA Ambulance spokeswoman confirmed the woman was being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning but said her condition was "not life threatening".

So the training officer in the underground mine i worked at lied about the dangersous of CO and the incredibly small concentration that is needed to stuff you up big time?

The obvious question is how would one get carbon monoxide poisioning on a jet aircraft :?:

Carbon monoxide is associated with piston engines :!:

I would have thought there would be some amount of CO produced in all combustion processes. Of course, my memory of basic chemistry is pretty hazy, so i can't remember if CO or CO2 takes the most energy to produce.

 

[straitman]

I would have thought there would be some amount of CO produced in all combustion processes. Of course, my memory of basic chemistry is pretty hazy, so i can't remember if CO or CO2 takes the most energy to produce.

My comment was from memory only.

I have flown piston aircraft that had a problem at the time (CT4A) and have suffered the effects but thought that CO2 was the turbine engine equivalent.

This link is one of a few that I have found and covers some interesting ground with regard to gas turbine engines.

The 6th para down states:
'he fuel is burned completely and virtually no noxious fumes such as carbon monoxide are produced.'

 

[medhead]

My comment was from memory only.

I have flown piston aircraft that had a problem at the time (CT4A) and have suffered the effects but thought that CO2 was the turbine engine equivalent.

This link is one of a few that I have found and covers some interesting ground with regard to gas turbine engines.

The 6th para down states:
'he fuel is burned completely and virtually no noxious fumes such as carbon monoxide are produced.'

Ahh thanks.

That's what i was getting at with the energy comment. Higher energy combustion process burning it more completely, hence must produce mostly CO2. I sat through that lecture but it was so long ago I can only remember hazy details mostly about that girl who sat in the 3rd row.

 

[munitalP]

I think the evolution of gas with hydrocarbon decomposition is: (I may be way off the mark applying electrical theory here)

Hydrogen (H)
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Ethane (C2H6)
Ethylene (C2H4)
Acetylene (C2H2)

The generation of the gas is energy dependant, so low energy produces an easy cleavage of H from the hydrocarbon chain whereas C2H2 (I need a chemist to help here!) is a triple bonded molecule and requires huge amounts of energy to produce... hmmm... back to uni methinks for some refresher...

Something like that anyway..

Mr confused....!

 

[medhead]

... hmmm... back to uni methinks for some refresher...

Something like that anyway..

Mr confused....!

Sounds like you were watching the girl in the 3rd row as well

 

[munitalP]

You don't have her phone number do you med? Lol

 

[medhead]

I can only wish

 

[straitman]

Amazing how quickly and how far some threads can wander off topic :!:

 

[medhead]

I guess like most Qantas news stories this story has little connection with reality. i.e. engines don't produce that much CO, the story dismisses CO inhalation as being of any concern, CO inhalation is actually very dangerous even in small amounts and the gas had an odour whereas CO doesn't. All this makes it very hard to determine if anything has happened.

Of course, the girl in the 3rd row is much more interesting