/jcreiterlaw.com/Jonathan C. Reiter / 03/28/2010
Harrison, NY (News)—For the fourth time in the last four months, crewmembers and passengers aboard a US Airways airliner reported smelling a foul odor throughout the plane’s cabin, subsequently resulting in the hospitalization of nine of the plane’s occupants Tuesday, March 16, 2010. Several people aboard the Boeing 767 aircraft experienced symptoms including alleged respiratory issues and eye irritations. The US Airways plane with the tail number 251 has been grounded for the fourth time and is under investigation by US Airways and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials, as a means of finding out what may have caused the suspected cabin air contamination incident, according to information provided by NewsChannel 36.
Medic emergency medical services (EMS) personnel responded to the airport to transport seven members of the crew and two passengers to Carolinas Medical Center after they reported feeling ill due to an onboard “electrical” odor. As of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, eight of the nine victims were released from the medical center after being treated for their symptoms while the remaining passengers were transferred onto another flight to continue their scheduled trip from Charlotte, North Carolina to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Reports noted the same aircraft was involved in three other incidents on December 28, 2009, December 30, 2009, and January 16, 2010. An engine oil leak caused the January 16 incident, in which victims complained of ongoing neurological symptoms including “headaches, joint pain, tingling, and numbness in their hands and feet, as well as memory and reaction time issues”, according to news coverage from WIVB.