Narrative:

We had an air quality event. Unfortunately; neither of us formally recognized that an air quality event had taken place until over two hours later. Needless to say; this wasn't written up in the maintenance log due to the fact we simply did not recognize the event until long after the exposure to bad air was over. In hindsight; I believe we were exposed to an air quality event possibly as early as departure from ZZZ on flight XXX. On departure from ZZZ2 on flight YYY; at top of climb; my first officer made a comment about smelling a 'dirty sock' smell; and I simply discounted it as the smell seemed to quickly dissipate and I honestly don't recall of smelling anything unusual the rest of the flight. My first officer says he made a comment to me about the 'dirty sock smell' on final approach into ZZZ but I honestly don't recall ever hearing him say anything to me about it. Perhaps I was already being affected by air quality and didn't realize it; or I could have been busy landing in a gusty crosswind to have missed his comment. After landing in ZZZ; I had to rush to the restroom in the terminal as I was experiencing gastrointestinal upset that had been going on since top of climb from ZZZ2. Over the next two hours I spent an unusual amount of time in the restroom and just blew it off as it must have been something I had eaten earlier. I want to make it clear that I was not incapacitated by this disturbance so therefore I saw no reason why I couldn't safely stay on the remainder of my trip pairing. When I proceeded to the gate for our next flight to ZZZ3 I encountered my first officer who was headed in the opposite direction and he did not look good. He informed me that we had been exposed to an air quality event and he told me that the outbound crew taking the plane from us became ill within minutes of boarding and was removed from flight status by company medical until they could undergo medical evaluation. At this point I was in denial of everything my first officer was telling me; but considering that I was the last person to get off the airplane; and the fact that everyone but me was experiencing problems; I at least made a wise decision at this point to not fly and to get medically evaluated with my first officer by the airport emt's. Upon being evaluated by the airport emt's; it was decreed that we both had been victims of an exposure to bad air quality and that we would both need to be taken to the hospital for additional evaluation. According to the emt's; the reason I was having gastrointestinal distress that afternoon was because my body was attempting to eliminate the toxins that it had been exposed to earlier in the day. When my blood pressure was checked; it was a normal 108/60; but my first officer's was at 80/50! My SPO2 (O2 blood saturation) was at 98%; while my first officer's was at 88%! My first officer was immediately placed on O2 and taken out of the airport to the hospital on a stretcher; while I was not administered O2 and was able to walk to the ambulance and into the hospital. Prior to being taken to the hospital; I commented to the emt's that I felt like I was 'buzzing;' but I attributed it to excessive coffee consumption; but the emt's said if my last coffee consumption was around 7 hours ago; that it should have been long out of my system by the time I was evaluated. According to the emt's; my 'buzzing' was a result of the air quality exposure. After several hours at the hospital; my first officer was much better and the medical staff discharged us. Over the next few days I have continued to feel bad. The following day I was extremely fatigued and I felt like I was 'in a fog' all day. I spoke to my first officer and learned that he felt so bad that he wasn't even able to get out of bed all day sunday! By the following day; I was much less fatigued; but I experienced dizziness all day; especially when I got up and moved around. As of writing this report; I am suffering from a dull headache and still some dizziness. I am scheduled for additional medical evaluation tomorrow. I communicated via email with our jumpseater; a new-hire air carrier pilot; who rode down and back with us. According to him he experienced nausea on descent into ZZZ2; but it went away after he stepped off the plane and into the jetway in ZZZ2. On the return trip to ZZZ; he informed me that he developed a headache at top of climb and he had this headache until he went home and took an aspirin. According to his email; his headache finally left around four and one half hours after it started. According to him; he does not normally develop headaches for unexplained reasons as he did on flight XXX. Over the past six to eight weeks; I have been experiencing a lot of headaches and generally have not felt very good. It's been enough to concern me that perhaps I need to see a doctor. After this air quality experience; it dawned on my that my headaches are almost always while I'm at work; and once I'm home my headaches go away and I feel much better until it's time to go back to work. For example; I was on vacation last month. I returned to work for a four-day trip. Each night of the four-day trip I spent most of my layover time in my room either sleeping or lying on the bed due to a bad headache. The headache would either be gone by the next day; or nearly gone; but by the next night it would have returned with a vengeance. When I made mention of this to my first officer; he related that he's been having similar experiences with headaches and fatigue when at work. Several other md-80 pilots I've spoken with had confided that they have been having almost identical experiences over the past few months. Several weeks ago; I was en route to my destination when both my eyes suddenly started burning; got irritated and red. I noticed that my first officer seemed to be unaffected and I didn't notice any unusual smells; so I simply discounted it as an oddity. After a trip to the biffy to flush my eyes and lots of visine; I was fine. I guess I've been a fool to think that air quality events had been fixed and were not still occurring. I wish now that I had been asking more questions over the last six-to-eight weeks rather than assuming that everything was normal. It seems to me that maintenance has really gone down on these aircraft. I am seeing lots and lots of broken airplanes; along with a huge increase in MEL's compared to what I was seeing six months ago. For example; after landing saturday; we were assigned three different airplanes prior to leaving for medical evaluation over our air quality exposure. The first two planes had one MEL each; while the last plane we were assigned had four MEL's; one of which was for the #2 localizer inoperative! In summary; I am greatly concerned over maintenance of the md-80 fleet. I'm afraid that if maintenance on these planes doesn't improve soon; that we are going to see a regular occurrence of air quality incidents due to what I believe is a lack of maintenance. Make sure that proper maintenance is being done on these planes.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD80 CREW BECOMES ILL FROM FUMES EMITTED BY THE ACFT.

Narrative: WE HAD AN AIR QUALITY EVENT. UNFORTUNATELY; NEITHER OF US FORMALLY RECOGNIZED THAT AN AIR QUALITY EVENT HAD TAKEN PLACE UNTIL OVER TWO HOURS LATER. NEEDLESS TO SAY; THIS WASN'T WRITTEN UP IN THE MAINT LOG DUE TO THE FACT WE SIMPLY DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE EVENT UNTIL LONG AFTER THE EXPOSURE TO BAD AIR WAS OVER. IN HINDSIGHT; I BELIEVE WE WERE EXPOSED TO AN AIR QUALITY EVENT POSSIBLY AS EARLY AS DEP FROM ZZZ ON FLIGHT XXX. ON DEP FROM ZZZ2 ON FLIGHT YYY; AT TOP OF CLB; MY FO MADE A COMMENT ABOUT SMELLING A 'DIRTY SOCK' SMELL; AND I SIMPLY DISCOUNTED IT AS THE SMELL SEEMED TO QUICKLY DISSIPATE AND I HONESTLY DON'T RECALL OF SMELLING ANYTHING UNUSUAL THE REST OF THE FLIGHT. MY FO SAYS HE MADE A COMMENT TO ME ABOUT THE 'DIRTY SOCK SMELL' ON FINAL APPROACH INTO ZZZ BUT I HONESTLY DON'T RECALL EVER HEARING HIM SAY ANYTHING TO ME ABOUT IT. PERHAPS I WAS ALREADY BEING AFFECTED BY AIR QUALITY AND DIDN'T REALIZE IT; OR I COULD HAVE BEEN BUSY LANDING IN A GUSTY CROSSWIND TO HAVE MISSED HIS COMMENT. AFTER LANDING IN ZZZ; I HAD TO RUSH TO THE RESTROOM IN THE TERMINAL AS I WAS EXPERIENCING GASTROINTESTINAL UPSET THAT HAD BEEN GOING ON SINCE TOP OF CLB FROM ZZZ2. OVER THE NEXT TWO HOURS I SPENT AN UNUSUAL AMOUNT OF TIME IN THE RESTROOM AND JUST BLEW IT OFF AS IT MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING I HAD EATEN EARLIER. I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I WAS NOT INCAPACITATED BY THIS DISTURBANCE SO THEREFORE I SAW NO REASON WHY I COULDN'T SAFELY STAY ON THE REMAINDER OF MY TRIP PAIRING. WHEN I PROCEEDED TO THE GATE FOR OUR NEXT FLT TO ZZZ3 I ENCOUNTERED MY FO WHO WAS HEADED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND HE DID NOT LOOK GOOD. HE INFORMED ME THAT WE HAD BEEN EXPOSED TO AN AIR QUALITY EVENT AND HE TOLD ME THAT THE OUTBOUND CREW TAKING THE PLANE FROM US BECAME ILL WITHIN MINUTES OF BOARDING AND WAS REMOVED FROM FLT STATUS BY COMPANY MEDICAL UNTIL THEY COULD UNDERGO MEDICAL EVALUATION. AT THIS POINT I WAS IN DENIAL OF EVERYTHING MY FO WAS TELLING ME; BUT CONSIDERING THAT I WAS THE LAST PERSON TO GET OFF THE AIRPLANE; AND THE FACT THAT EVERYONE BUT ME WAS EXPERIENCING PROBS; I AT LEAST MADE A WISE DECISION AT THIS POINT TO NOT FLY AND TO GET MEDICALLY EVALUATED WITH MY FO BY THE ARPT EMT'S. UPON BEING EVALUATED BY THE ARPT EMT'S; IT WAS DECREED THAT WE BOTH HAD BEEN VICTIMS OF AN EXPOSURE TO BAD AIR QUALITY AND THAT WE WOULD BOTH NEED TO BE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR ADDITIONAL EVALUATION. ACCORDING TO THE EMT'S; THE REASON I WAS HAVING GASTROINTESTINAL DISTRESS THAT AFTERNOON WAS BECAUSE MY BODY WAS ATTEMPTING TO ELIMINATE THE TOXINS THAT IT HAD BEEN EXPOSED TO EARLIER IN THE DAY. WHEN MY BLOOD PRESSURE WAS CHKED; IT WAS A NORMAL 108/60; BUT MY FO'S WAS AT 80/50! MY SPO2 (O2 BLOOD SATURATION) WAS AT 98%; WHILE MY FO'S WAS AT 88%! MY FO WAS IMMEDIATELY PLACED ON O2 AND TAKEN OUT OF THE ARPT TO THE HOSPITAL ON A STRETCHER; WHILE I WAS NOT ADMINISTERED O2 AND WAS ABLE TO WALK TO THE AMBULANCE AND INTO THE HOSPITAL. PRIOR TO BEING TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL; I COMMENTED TO THE EMT'S THAT I FELT LIKE I WAS 'BUZZING;' BUT I ATTRIBUTED IT TO EXCESSIVE COFFEE CONSUMPTION; BUT THE EMT'S SAID IF MY LAST COFFEE CONSUMPTION WAS AROUND 7 HOURS AGO; THAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN LONG OUT OF MY SYSTEM BY THE TIME I WAS EVALUATED. ACCORDING TO THE EMT'S; MY 'BUZZING' WAS A RESULT OF THE AIR QUALITY EXPOSURE. AFTER SEVERAL HOURS AT THE HOSPITAL; MY FO WAS MUCH BETTER AND THE MEDICAL STAFF DISCHARGED US. OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS I HAVE CONTINUED TO FEEL BAD. THE FOLLOWING DAY I WAS EXTREMELY FATIGUED AND I FELT LIKE I WAS 'IN A FOG' ALL DAY. I SPOKE TO MY FO AND LEARNED THAT HE FELT SO BAD THAT HE WASN'T EVEN ABLE TO GET OUT OF BED ALL DAY SUNDAY! BY THE FOLLOWING DAY; I WAS MUCH LESS FATIGUED; BUT I EXPERIENCED DIZZINESS ALL DAY; ESPECIALLY WHEN I GOT UP AND MOVED AROUND. AS OF WRITING THIS RPT; I AM SUFFERING FROM A DULL HEADACHE AND STILL SOME DIZZINESS. I AM SCHEDULED FOR ADDITIONAL MEDICAL EVALUATION TOMORROW. I COMMUNICATED VIA EMAIL WITH OUR JUMPSEATER; A NEW-HIRE ACR PLT; WHO RODE DOWN AND BACK WITH US. ACCORDING TO HIM HE EXPERIENCED NAUSEA ON DSCNT INTO ZZZ2; BUT IT WENT AWAY AFTER HE STEPPED OFF THE PLANE AND INTO THE JETWAY IN ZZZ2. ON THE RETURN TRIP TO ZZZ; HE INFORMED ME THAT HE DEVELOPED A HEADACHE AT TOP OF CLIMB AND HE HAD THIS HEADACHE UNTIL HE WENT HOME AND TOOK AN ASPIRIN. ACCORDING TO HIS EMAIL; HIS HEADACHE FINALLY LEFT AROUND FOUR AND ONE HALF HOURS AFTER IT STARTED. ACCORDING TO HIM; HE DOES NOT NORMALLY DEVELOP HEADACHES FOR UNEXPLAINED REASONS AS HE DID ON FLT XXX. OVER THE PAST SIX TO EIGHT WEEKS; I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING A LOT OF HEADACHES AND GENERALLY HAVE NOT FELT VERY GOOD. IT'S BEEN ENOUGH TO CONCERN ME THAT PERHAPS I NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR. AFTER THIS AIR QUALITY EXPERIENCE; IT DAWNED ON MY THAT MY HEADACHES ARE ALMOST ALWAYS WHILE I'M AT WORK; AND ONCE I'M HOME MY HEADACHES GO AWAY AND I FEEL MUCH BETTER UNTIL IT'S TIME TO GO BACK TO WORK. FOR EXAMPLE; I WAS ON VACATION LAST MONTH. I RETURNED TO WORK FOR A FOUR-DAY TRIP. EACH NIGHT OF THE FOUR-DAY TRIP I SPENT MOST OF MY LAYOVER TIME IN MY ROOM EITHER SLEEPING OR LYING ON THE BED DUE TO A BAD HEADACHE. THE HEADACHE WOULD EITHER BE GONE BY THE NEXT DAY; OR NEARLY GONE; BUT BY THE NEXT NIGHT IT WOULD HAVE RETURNED WITH A VENGEANCE. WHEN I MADE MENTION OF THIS TO MY FO; HE RELATED THAT HE'S BEEN HAVING SIMILAR EXPERIENCES WITH HEADACHES AND FATIGUE WHEN AT WORK. SEVERAL OTHER MD-80 PLTS I'VE SPOKEN WITH HAD CONFIDED THAT THEY HAVE BEEN HAVING ALMOST IDENTICAL EXPERIENCES OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS. SEVERAL WEEKS AGO; I WAS ENRTE TO MY DESTINATION WHEN BOTH MY EYES SUDDENLY STARTED BURNING; GOT IRRITATED AND RED. I NOTICED THAT MY FO SEEMED TO BE UNAFFECTED AND I DIDN'T NOTICE ANY UNUSUAL SMELLS; SO I SIMPLY DISCOUNTED IT AS AN ODDITY. AFTER A TRIP TO THE BIFFY TO FLUSH MY EYES AND LOTS OF VISINE; I WAS FINE. I GUESS I'VE BEEN A FOOL TO THINK THAT AIR QUALITY EVENTS HAD BEEN FIXED AND WERE NOT STILL OCCURRING. I WISH NOW THAT I HAD BEEN ASKING MORE QUESTIONS OVER THE LAST SIX-TO-EIGHT WEEKS RATHER THAN ASSUMING THAT EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT MAINT HAS REALLY GONE DOWN ON THESE AIRCRAFT. I AM SEEING LOTS AND LOTS OF BROKEN AIRPLANES; ALONG WITH A HUGE INCREASE IN MEL'S COMPARED TO WHAT I WAS SEEING SIX MONTHS AGO. FOR EXAMPLE; AFTER LANDING SATURDAY; WE WERE ASSIGNED THREE DIFFERENT AIRPLANES PRIOR TO LEAVING FOR MEDICAL EVALUATION OVER OUR AIR QUALITY EXPOSURE. THE FIRST TWO PLANES HAD ONE MEL EACH; WHILE THE LAST PLANE WE WERE ASSIGNED HAD FOUR MEL'S; ONE OF WHICH WAS FOR THE #2 LOC INOP! IN SUMMARY; I AM GREATLY CONCERNED OVER MAINT OF THE MD-80 FLEET. I'M AFRAID THAT IF MAINT ON THESE PLANES DOESN'T IMPROVE SOON; THAT WE ARE GOING TO SEE A REGULAR OCCURRENCE OF AIR QUALITY INCIDENTS DUE TO WHAT I BELIEVE IS A LACK OF MAINT. MAKE SURE THAT PROPER MAINT IS BEING DONE ON THESE PLANES.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.