Air France to remove oxygen cannisters from toilets on A320 and three A340's

Run_to_da_hills · 16-03-2011 07:14PM #1

"New anti-terrorist measures have made toilets the most dangerous place on passenger planes, trade unions warned today.

From next week Air France will remove all oxygen cannisters from WCs on all A320 aircraft and three Airbus A340s because of fears that they can be turned into bombs.

The decision was made by France’s Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) following advice from the United States".

More scaremongering BS from US anti-terrorist fascists that will no doubt be more of a nuisance and a potential danger to passengers than its benefit. Why can't they simply relocate this device behind some bulkhead?

So in future if you want to use the bog on an Air France jet take a deep breath before you enter just in case the plane suddenly decompresses.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366841/Anti-terror-measures-make-toilets-dangerous-place-planes-unions-say.html

Cessna_Pilot · 16-03-2011 08:31PM

Ah the good old Daily Mail. The most uber accurate of all the ****e dailies available. NOT

Plowman · 16-03-2011 08:58PM

This post has been deleted.

David086 · 16-03-2011 09:47PM

ffs next they'll be saying the seats are too soft and this may lead to someone putting a bomb in one. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

donkey balls · 16-03-2011 09:58PM

Who remembers that QF B744 were the oxygen bottle exploded a girl I know was CC on the ferry flight back and the pics that she showed me of it was mad,The bottle was in the hold which blew out and went through the floor of the plane just missing one of the crew jumpseats.

A320 · 16-03-2011 10:31PM

Grand that suits me,average 3 less to safety during maintenance.theyl prob invent a compartment where it be just masks and a long lanyard to pull the pin from a generator located elsewhere.I'd love to know how explosive they are ie thrown in a fire.

donkey balls · 16-03-2011 11:01PM

Any kind of compressed gas will go up very easy especially oxygen think of the heat triangle Fuel/Fire/Oxygen, Think back to the Value jet accident we got the full text of what happened while doing the IATA DGR course. Compressed gas can be very dangerous if not kept in the right enviorment or go off like a missile.

Tenger · 16-03-2011 11:17PM

donkey balls wrote: »

Who remembers that QF B744 were the oxygen bottle exploded a girl I know was CC on the ferry flight back and the pics that she showed me of it was mad,The bottle was in the hold which blew out and went through the floor of the plane just missing one of the crew jumpseats.

Not a great comparison. The QF incident was an oxygen bottle that exploded/was punctured. These are dangerous items to have onboard a pressurised airliner.
The AF directive refers to the chemically generated O2 canisters that supply the drop down masks for pax in the event of a decompression. These generate heat as a result of the chemical reaction thats produces the oxygen, so yes, it is plausible that the could be used to create a bomb. Personally I don't think it is probable

And placing these in a 'tamper proof compartment' would make problems for the engineers who have to inspect them on a regular basis.

donkey balls · 16-03-2011 11:31PM

I know about the QF incident as I said in the post I knew a CC member who flew on it and saw the pics what I meant was from a safety point about compressed gas,Then again what would I know about gases and other dangerous goods after all I only loaded them onto acft for a number of years and transport them by road.

BrianD · 19-03-2011 04:55PM

From todays Irish Times.

US terrorism fears over toilets on jets

GERRY BYRNE

THE US is urging changes in the toilets on passenger jets as part of its measures against terrorism.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) secretly ordered US airlines to remove emergency oxygen supplies from toilets.

They also warned aviation authorities elsewhere, including the EU, to do likewise. But the Department of Transport has refused to say whether it is to happen in Ireland.

The removed US toilet systems are identical to the emergency oxygen system demonstrated in safety briefings where a mask drops down in the event of a decompression of the aircraft.

At high altitudes, atmospheric air lacks sufficient oxygen for survival: should an aircraft’s pressurisation system fail, oxygen starvation can render a person unconscious in a short time and then kill in a few minutes.

Oxygen masks are powered by a small metal flask of chemicals. A tug on the mask creates a tiny explosion, causing the chemicals to produce enough oxygen for 15 minutes’ breathing. The flasks can heat to 250 degrees.

It is feared terrorists may have discovered a way of converting this system into a weapon or a bomb component.

Behind the toilet door they could remove the oxygen-generating flask. At the very least they could use that oxygen to accelerate a fire, it is feared.

Tenger · 19-03-2011 09:36PM

donkey balls wrote: »

.......Then again what would I know about gases and other dangerous goods after all I only loaded them onto acft for a number of years and transport them by road.

I wasn't questioning your knowledge of the topic. I just wanted to point out that the safety risk from large O2 cylinders in a an aircraft (or anywhere else) is quite different to that posed by tampering with the chemical O2 generator installed in the pax drop-down system.

Air France to remove oxygen cannisters from toilets on A320 and three A340's

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