Former US Airways flight attendant Sylvia Baird was one of seven pilots and flight attendants who were exposed to a severe fume event on a Boeing 767 in January 2010.
The smell started while the plane was taxiing. Several economy passengers asked for ice packs to ease their sudden headaches, then a handful started to vomit. In first class, passengers were so still, the cabin crew stopped to make sure each was still breathing.
Within 18 months of that flight, six crew members were diagnosed with chemically-induced brain injury by separate doctors across different states.
Three, including Baird, have since had strokes. Two others have died from cancer. Another, their captain, killed himself.
In 2016, doctors discovered and removed Baird’s first brain tumor. In 2020, they found another that was inoperable.
The effects of fume events—when leaks of synthetic oils or other fluids into an aircraft’s engines produce toxic gases that are released into the cabin and cockpit via the air supply—are often fleeting, mild or present no symptoms at all.
But some passengers and crew members, like Baird, have been diagnosed with long-lasting and severe illnesses.
In the most extreme cases, fume events have allegedly been fatal.
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