This photograph is of Capt. Tim Lindsay, a great guy and brilliant BA commander who flew Boeing 757 & 767 aircraft. I was fortunate enough to fly with Tim on many occasions. Tim was precise, professional, safety conscious and he always thanked his crew for their hard work. He was a real team player and very much respected. He had been involved in numerous fume events, particularly on the 757 and went by the book in reporting them. He would complete ASR’s (Air Safety Reports) which is a requirement when any smoke or fumes have been present in the cockpit or cabin and the regulator (in this case the CAA) is informed. Tim was hopeful that British Airways would investigate and work to find a solution. However, the reality was very different. Due to the number of ASR’s he had completed, Tim was referred to BAHS (British Airways Health Services). This department within British Airways have the power to ground a pilot or end their flying career. This is a letter written by Tim to the Head of Flight Operations at British Airways on 21st December 2004: ‘I am writing to you as you arranged the referral to BAHS after my Fume event on G-BPEE on the 16th November 2004. I understand that the engineering swab test found evidence of Mobile Jet II engine oil within the air conditioning ducting, which is proof of contamination and the most probable cause of the symptoms the whole crew exhibited. I have no idea of the exact reason for the BAHS referral and I hope you will be kind enough to provide me with a copy of your referral letter sent to Dr. XXXXX. SFO (Senior First Officer) XXXXX mentioned that it was something along the lines of my reporting of fume events being the highest on the fleet, a hypersensitivity to smelling oil fumes and a distinct probability of a fleet transfer if de-sensitising me was not possible (whatever the latter might mean). The actions to take in the event of “a concentration of air conditioning smoke or fumes or suspected contaminated air is identified”, as you know are detailed in the QRH. The Fume/oil smells I record by ASR are more than just transient events and are always verified by my co-pilots. I would be failing in my responsibilities as commander if I did not action the appropriate QRH checklist and consequently write them up by means of ASR as well. I have no way of knowing what contaminants are present, what concentrations of air contamination causes symptoms and therefore to safeguard the flight I action the QRH procedures. Indeed this would also seem to be in exact correlation with the Secretary of State for Transport’s answer to a recent question in the House of Commons which I add for your information. Official Report (Commons Hansard), Vol. 428, Col. 429W, Tuesday 7th December 2004 Air Passengers (Chemical Exposure) Mr Tyler: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether UK airline captains experiencing cockpit or cabin air contamination event serious enough for pilots to use emergency oxygen have a responsibility to inform passengers to which chemicals they might have been exposed. (202745) Charlotte Atkins: Pilots are required to use oxygen as a precautionary measure in all cases of suspected cockpit air abnormalities irrespective of severity of event. Flight crew are not professionally qualified to verify the cause of air contamination or identify what chemicals if any, passengers may have been exposed to. The captain has discretion to inform passengers of an event. SFO XXXXX writes in the GBPEE 16th November incident report “From a technical perspective the QRH was correctly actioned and continuation of the flight was appropriate”. Therefore I struggle to find the reason for my referral to BAHS except that I seem to have been singled out for the reason of discussing my level of reporting as my symptoms from the incident were no more serious than any of the rest of my crew. If this is a medical referral then why was my co-pilot SFO XXXXX not referred despite him having slightly more severe symptoms? I would add that Dr. XXXXX conducted no physical testing of me. I should be grateful if you could unequivocally confirm in writing that my actions when encountering air or suspected contaminated cockpit air have been in accordance with British Airways Standard Operating Procedures. I am sure you will appreciate that this request comes because of Flight Operations response to my conscientious and detailed contaminated air reporting. I would also like to add that from the swab testing results of the GBPEE 16th November, it appears almost certain that oil fumes when present in the cabin, can have physical effects upon the crew which may dangerously affect the flight safety if the SOP’s are not strictly adhered to. This may be an urgent point you might like to circulate again amongst the pilot community. Finally, I am disappointed that since you referred me to BAHS, you have not taken the opportunity to discuss the situation with me despite Dr. XXXXX’s invitation for you to do so. I am keen to play my part in helping identify and rectify this technical problem with my primary goal being enhanced flight safety within BA, and a safe working environment for crew and passengers. I hope you will appreciate that this is written in a co-operative spirit and I also recognise the considerable effort that Flight Operations and engineering are making to identify the technical problems leading to oil fumes in the aircraft cabin. However, I trust that you will agree with me that an open and accurate reporting procedure must be upheld and encouraged. Yours sincerely Tim Lindsay Capt B757/767 LHR.’ Tim passed away in 2009 from a brain tumour. Was this caused by contaminants from the aircraft engine oil? Unfortunately we will never know. What we do know is that Benzene, Toluene, Xylene etc. and many of the organophosphates used in Mobile Jet II oil are very harmful to human health and most are carcinogenic. This could also possibly explain the very high rates of cancer cases amongst crew.